INSPIRATIONAL: Surgeon Saved His Life as a Teenage Immigrant

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/a-surgeon-saved-his-life-as-a-teenage-immigrant-now-they-operate-together-for-charity-in-ethiopia/?utm_source=newsletter.goodnewsnetwork.org&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=newborn-seals-strike-a-pose&_bhlid=ea31a3722d85b0f5607e35bb57c75f12874b42ea

A Surgeon Saved His Life as a Teenage Immigrant. Now They Operate Together for Charity in Ethiopia
By Andy Corbley – Jan 13, 2026

*** begin quote ***

One can imagine it didn’t take much for him to make room in his schedule to return to Ethiopia to do surgeries through the nonprofit Heart Attack Ethiopia. On the first surgery mission trip a couple of years ago, Mesfin surprised Dr. Jim Kauten, who was also there at the time.

“That was especially nice in my mind,” Kauten said. “For him to be able to pay back to his community services that he received in the United States, and he was able to pay it back in Ethiopia.”

As well as providing a key service in the operating theater, the native Amharic-speaker acts as the social glue between volunteer surgeons and patients, children like he once was, unable to understand or talk to his benefactors. His translations help put the patients at ease and stitch both sides of the volunteer team together.

*** end quote ***

Sometimes we never know who benefits or how they benefit.  In this case, there was a great feedback loop. The lack of feedback should never discourage charity. 

Have you heard that old Irish adage about “good works only count if done in secret”. Funny, I learned that from my maternal English Protestant grandmother who wanted to teach me about my maternal grandfather’s “heathen Irish culture that has a few good points”. ROFL!

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INSPIRATIONAL: The largest underwater structure ever discovered in France rewrites history?

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/p/7000-year-old-underwater-wall-raises?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2863167&post_id=184352981&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=58ecz2&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

7,000-year-old underwater wall raises questions about ancient engineering — and lost-city legends

  • Scientists found a massive underwater wall off the coast of France that might help explain the origin of the legend of Ys.

Big Think By Frank Jacobs
Jan 13, 2026

*** begin quote ***

The structure consists of some 60 massive granite monoliths, set directly onto the bedrock in pairs at regular intervals. Smaller slabs and packing stones fill in the gaps, locking the whole into a single, deliberate construction. With an estimated total mass of around 3,300 tons, this is the largest underwater structure ever discovered in France.

The team named it TAF1, after Toul ar Fot, the Breton term for this stretch of sea (in English: “Hole of the Wave.”)

TAF1 is not just massive; it’s ancient as well. By reconstructing ancient shorelines, researchers dated the wall to between 5,800 and 5,300 B.C. That’s centuries older than Stonehenge, and millennia older than the pyramids of Giza.

*** end quote ***

Once again demonstrating how little humanity knows about anything, in this case about the past.  Stunningly pushing back the “oldest” label from Stonehenge.  (I’ve seen it personally and, as a fat old white guy injineer, all I could think was “NFW did humans do this without heavy equipment”!  Some smart people have found that with sand and wobbling big <synonym for excrement> could be moved.  But vast distances?  Here’s an example of “hunter gatherers” doing big construction.  

Bottom line:  Where there is a will; there’s a way.  And, don’t underestimate any human no matter what you think, they are geniuses just waiting to prove your pre-conceived notions wrong.

“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.” George Bernard Shaw

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TECHNOLOGY: Maybe a simple small phone is good for children and older adults?

Monday, January 19, 2026

https://www.androidauthority.com/mudita-kompakt-hands-on-ces-2026-3631800/?utm_source=newsletter

This tiny, e-ink Android phone is the minimalist gadget I’ve been waiting for
Say hello to the Mudita Kompakt.
By Joe Maring
<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2026-01-14>>

*** begin quote ***

One of the more interesting smartphone trends of the last year or two has been the rise of minimalist phones; phones that are designed to be less addictive than “regular” smartphones while still keeping you connected to phone calls, texts, etc.

I saw one such device at CES 2026 last week. It’s called the Mudita Kompakt, and compared to other minimalist phones on the market today, it’s the first one I’m actually tempted to buy.

As you’d expect from a phone of this caliber, the Mudita Kompakt is a pretty simple device. It has a 4.3-inch e-ink touchscreen display, a 3.5mm headphone jack, IP54 dust/water resistance, 32GB of storage (expandable up to 2TB), and a 3,300mAh battery rated to last up to six days.

*** end quote ***

​This might be a good phone for “children” who are old enough to handle it. Unlike the politicians and bureaucrats that run schools, I think that children NEED to be able to communicate with parents and visa versa. Teachers are not above suspicion and emergencies happen. Like when my child’s bus driver missed his drop off. And, there has been (at least one or two that I remember) school shootings that were first reported by a “child” with his phone.

Heck I might ever get one as my “next” phone! Might even be perfect for befuddled old people like me?

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MONEY: Paper money has zero intrinsic value; hard money prevents chaos

Sunday, January 18, 2026

https://joehoft.com/up-in-smoke-irans-currency-totally-collapses/

UP IN SMOKE – Iran’s Currency Totally Collapses
January 13, 2026 by Joe Hoft

*** begin quote ***

The crisis for the Islamic Iranian regime just got worse as the country’s currency totally collapsed. It’s virtually worthless.

The International Business Times reports on Iran’s currency crash:

The Iranian rial has effectively collapsed, plummeting to an unprecedented low of more than 1.47 million per US dollar on unofficial markets this week. The currency crash has triggered a wave of nationwide ‘revolutionary’ protests, as the cost of basic survival spirals out of reach for millions of Iranians.

On Monday, 12 January 2026, the dollar was quoted as high as 1.47 million rials in the ‘free market’ of Tehran, marking a catastrophic decline from 2025 levels. For comparison, the rial traded at roughly 70 to the dollar during the 1979 revolution; it has now lost approximately 20,000 times its value over four decades, according to The Economic Times.

*** end quote ***

The Dead Old White Guys were very right when they said that money should only be gold or silver.  Their wisdom is on display for anyone that cares to see.

It the Iranian rial was a gold coin, then it would be very hard to start a panic.

I believe that one of the reasons that Gaddafi was deposed from Liberia was that he wanted to be paid for his oil in gold. The first time I heard about a golden dinar was when he was agitating against the Petro dollar.  His mistake was making it public.

I hope everyone has a few silver eagles stashed away for the “hard times” when they come.  And they will come because paper money always returns to its intrinsic value —  zero!  “Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value – zero.” — Voltaire 

William Rusher, the editor of the conservative National Review, quoted economist Milton Friedman as saying that “if the government were to take over the Sahara Desert, there would be a shortage of sand in five years.”

“Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind, none has been more effective than that which deludes them with paper money.” — Daniel Webster

“But if in the pursuit of the means we should unfortunately stumble again on unfunded paper money or any similar species of fraud, we shall assuredly give a fatal stab to our national credit in its infancy. Paper money will invariably operate in the body of politics as spirit liquors on the human body. They prey on the vitals and ultimately destroy them. Paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice.” — George Washington

“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” — Thomas Jefferson

“Welcome to the age of paper money, where governments and central banks can manufacture as much money as they want without limit. Gold was the last limit. Its banishment as a standard unleashed the inflation monster and leviathan itself, which has swelled beyond comprehension.” — Llewellyn Rockwell

“He chose poorly.” A mammoth understatement by the Grail Knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097576/quotes

What form of money do you choose to save in?

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SOFTWARE: PROTON PASS is “uncontactable”

Saturday, January 17, 2026

https://proton.me/support/troubleshooting?product=pass

PROTON, PROTON PASS

# – # – # – # – #

I’m using the PROTON suite.

I had a question about PROTON PASS.

I can’t see how to generate a random password.

And, I couldn’t find any way to leave a message, email, or comment. Argh!

The original question is just an :annoyance”,

Not being able to contact is a “big negative”.

Argh!

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GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Leave bear eviction to the private sector

Saturday, January 17, 2026

https://nypost.com/2026/01/08/us-news/bear-living-under-mans-california-home-finally-leaves/

Giant bear living under LA man’s house finally leaves after 37 days — thanks to this bizarre method
By Jeremy Louwerse
Published Jan. 8, 2026, 6:18 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

The bear eviction finally happened Tuesday after Johnson contacted “The Bear League” — a group from Lake Tahoe that specializes in bear removal emergencies.

“We heard about Ken, we felt bad for him and flew down and got the bear out,” said Ann Bryant, the founder and executive director.

The crew jumped into action, firing paintballs into the crawl space until the bruin had enough — retreating from its den.

“The bear was gone in 20 minutes,” Bryant said.

The paintballs are filled with vegetable oil and sometimes “they hit the bear in the rump,” added Bryant — who said her organization does between six and eight bear extractions a day.

Johnson told The Post he quickly covered the crawl space with two layers of plywood and sandbags to prevent the bear from ever coming back. The Bear League also placed an “electric mat” in front of the crawlspace designed to give a small shock if stepped on.

The shock mat proved to be handy when the bear returned Wednesday but got zapped.

*** end quote ***

Take note that the Gooferment’s efforts caught the wrong bear.  That made me laugh.  We all know that the Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy.  Why do they keep demonstrating it to us?

Like most private sector fee market solutions, it was quick and easy.  And, painless except to the bear who found it a PIA (pain in the ass)! Laugh!

Seriously, about the only thing the Gooferment is good at is killing things!

Argh!

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DISCOURAGING: Catholic youth basketball game parents set a new low bar for conduct

Friday, January 16, 2026

https://nypost.com/2026/01/15/us-news/nyc-parents-erupt-into-massive-brawl-during-catholic-youth-basketball-game-at-staten-island/

Parents erupt into massive brawl during Catholic youth basketball game in Staten Island
By Bonny Chu, Fox News
Published Jan. 15, 2026
Updated Jan. 15, 2026, 7:21 a.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

Spectators ejected by a referee for disruptive behavior at a CYO basketball game will now face a one-year ban.

“The mission was about the kids,” Fossella, whose children reportedly played CYO basketball, said during a press conference.

“The mission was about teaching them responsibility. The mission was about them having a good time: the kids. The kids are the center of this universe here. And every once in a while some spectators get out of control and ruin it for the kids and ruin it for everybody else.”

*** end quote ***

Hard to imagine that could occur.

When my sainted wife was coaching 6-8 grade girls basketball, she had ONE instance where ONE parent was getting “too EXCITED with the refs”.   She immediately called a (valuable) time out, left the team with her assistant and me, stomped across the court, and QUIETLY read the parent the riot act.  That was the last we ever heard him do that at a game. The Old Lady didn’t want any <synonym for excrement> distracting “her” girls.  

Hopefully all involved are properly “instructed in the error of their ways”.   For Catholics to behave like common street thugs is a terrible example to set for their children, other children, and the world in general.

— 30 —

 

 

*** end quote ***


POLITICAL: Why can’t we just declare “victory” and end the War on Drugs?

Thursday, January 15, 2026

https://internationalman.com/articles/the-idiocy-of-using-a-200-billion-navy-to-enforce-a-140-cocaine-premium/

The Idiocy of Using a $200 Billion Navy to Enforce a 140× Cocaine Premium

by David Stockman

<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2026-01-09>>

*** begin quote ***

Stated differently, the idiots behind Prohibition—from alcohol to cocaine and heroin—believe that they can win by defying the law of supply and demand.

*** and ***

And that gets us to the absurd economics of the so-called War on Drugs. In this case, we are talking about using hundreds of thousands of domestic law enforcement personal led by the DEA, thousands of Coast Guard and other border patrol and now $40 billion Navy carrier battle-groups to hunt down 312,000 pounds of a drug that is no more lethal than alcohol!

After all, the US governments at all levels spends an estimated $100 billion per year on the War on Drugs. So even if just 20% of that is directly against the cocaine traffic, that’s nearly $320,000 per pound of cocaine interdicted!

That’s surely stupid enough, but it’s not even the half of it. Spending that much on policing, interdiction and supply destruction drives the price skyward.

*** and ***

The folly described above is not an isolated mistake but a symptom of a system that no longer understands economics, incentives, or limits. An empire that misuses power abroad while debasing its currency at home inevitably reaches for coercion when the bill comes due.

*** end quote ***

Like Vietnam, the Gooferment should just leave the War on Drugs or the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs” by declaring “victory” and saying the problem is no longer “out of control” or “significant”.  We all know that the Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy.  So why not let it “lie” its way out of a stupid policy?

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DISCOURAGING: Seems like “Somali Immigration” is a national disaster!

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/watch-gop-rep-brandon-gill-busts-receipts-during/

WATCH: GOP Rep. Brandon Gill Busts Out the Receipts During Hearing and HUMILIATES Democrat Witness After Dem. Asserts Massive Somali Immigration Stengthens Minnesota
by Cullen Linebarger Jan. 7, 2026 12:20 pm

*** begin quote ***

GILL: Let me ask you one more: What percentage of Somali-headed households are on welfare in general?.

BALLOU: I don’t know.

GILL: It’s 81%…After ten years of being in the United States, what percentage of Somali households continue to be on welfare?

BALLOU. I don’t know.

GILL: The number is 78%.

*** and ***

GILL: What percentage of working-age Somalis who have been in the U.S. for ten years or more, how many of them speak English very well?

BALLOU: I don’t know.

GILL: The answer is about half. That seems pretty low, doesn’t it?

*** end quote ***

Hard to see any positive impact of “Somali Immigration” except that the D’s seem to like it just fine.  The Taxpayers of Minnesota and the USA may have a much different perspective.

I have a few “modest” solutions:

  • All felons are immediately deported.  If they are naturalized citizens, then they are immediately “denaturalized”!
  • All Federal programs must end.  If States want to fund something, then they can do it.
  • All immigrants must pass a basic English test or will not be admitted.
  • All immigrants must have a sponsor, just like back in the old days.  The sponsor bears responsibility for those they sponsor —  if a felon is committed, the sponsor goes to jail.

That should clean stuff up in a hurry.  It’s all about incentives.

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MEMORIES: Reflections upon another year around the sun

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

An old tradition in parts of Germany for men who were still single on their 30th birthday was to sweep the steps of city hall while dressed in drag until they could find a virgin to kiss. Fortunately, it’s been modernized a bit since then. Now, single men and women spend their 30th drinking cheap booze with their friends while sweeping steps or doing other chores to show they’re “eligible” for marriage.

“Birthdays” are just “life’s participation trophies”.

I once wrote:

Maybe someday it’ll be worth “grazillions” at that Antique Roadshow. I can hear it now: “Yes, Veronica, it’s an original primitive author from the earliest days of print on demand when the aboriginal people committed their stories to bound pages of paper. How did you come by this?” “My Great Great Grandmother Terry was a Real Estate Agent and sold Ferdinand a house. And, he was so pleased he gave her this book. She didn’t think much of it, but my Great Grandmother prized it. So it was handed down to me.” “You do know this is an original with a self-proving provenance?” “Really, I had no idea!” “Yes, all of the originals from the author have a personal dedication and are signed on page 51. Do you have any idea how much it is worth?” “No, but always thought $100 because of it’s uniqueness.” “Well, as an original American primitive author, it’s very rare. We believe less than 100 copies were created at cost of less than $20 each. And, it gives us a rare authentic insight to the American culture from the 1950’s to the 2010’s. So, at auction, we believe that it will be sold for … …”

and there the dream ends. ROFL!

Who knows when life really ends?  Maybe when we lose our senses — humor, pathos, frustration, wonder — those are our real senses.

In any event, until the final curtain, this Reinke will just “Face Life”.

Laugh!

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