ENCOURAGING: Swiss Say ‘No’ to Soaking the Rich

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

‘Inequality in Opulence is Better than Equality in Poverty’ — Switzerland Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutte 

# – # – # – # – #

https://reason.com/2025/12/03/switzerland-just-overwhelmingly-rejected-a-new-wealth-tax-will-california-lawmakers-learn/

Switzerland Just Overwhelmingly Rejected a New Wealth Tax. Will California Lawmakers Learn?

  • The hammer of heavy wealth and inheritance taxes falls hardest on those still climbing the economic ladder.

J.D. Tuccille | 12.3.2025 7:00 AM

*** begin quote ***

California progressives are pushing a wealth tax that would skim 5 percent of the assets of billionaires to cover the state government’s fiscal gap. That is, it would hit billionaires to start—there’s no telling who would come to be regarded as wealthy enough to be fleeced as the state’s spending likely continues to outstrip its revenues. But before Californians proceed down the path of chasing high earners out of the state, they should consider the example of Swiss voters, who just rejected a billionaire tax of their own.

*** end quote ***

Unfortunately, all the “We, The Sheeple” in the Pepuls Republik of Kaliforkneeah are NOT smart enough to realize that, like the Federal Gooferment’s income tax, eventually in a few years will come “down” to include everyone. 

Argh!

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ENCOURAGING: Oklahoma girls’ basketball team does the moral thing

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/15/oklahoma-girls-basketball-team-championship-return?utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4b9c55d78644b3a882a4d

Oklahoma girls’ basketball team returns championship after realizing they lost

  • Scoreboard error gave Academy of Classical Christian Studies team the edge over Apache high school

José Olivares
Wed 15 Oct 2025 05.00 EDT

*** begin quote ***

A US high school girls basketball team is said to have proved “there are still good people in this world” after taking the unprecedented step of returning a championship it had won after realizing they had actually lost the title-clinching game.

The story stems from the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, where a crucial scoreboard error early in the game gave the girls basketball team at Academy of Classical Christian Studies the edge over its Apache high school counterpart, as CBS News recently reported.

*** end quote ***

“Let us remember we are in the Holy Presence of God. For more days than I’d care to count, those words were said in my presence. Not until now do I think I begin to understand them.” — character “John” in CHURCH 10●19●62 Volume 2 Page 371

Here’s a classic case of “doing what’s right” when it would be easier to do nothing.  But forever, that coach and team would know that they did NOT win.  In essence, they would be cheating themselves out of an opportunity to grow up.  

“Your habits will determine your future.” — Jack Canfield in The Power of Focus

I hope that everyone make a big fuss and an exemplar of what “good American character” looks like.  The most comperable example is when those Japanese sports fans at the Olympics cleaned up after themselves. 

We can all learn some lessons here.

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ENCOURAGING: Hegseth’s Speech “Those who long for peace must prepare for war.”

Thursday, October 2, 2025

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/read-hegseth-speech-generals-admirals/

READ: Hegseth’s Speech to Generals and Admirals
Sept. 30, 2025

*** begin quote ***

Mr. Chairman, the Joint Chiefs, generals, admirals, commanders, officers, senior enlisted, NCOs, enlisted and every member of our American military, good morning. Good morning, and welcome to the War Department, because the era of the Department of Defense is over.

You see, the motto of my first platoon was, “Those who long for peace must prepare for war.” This is, of course, not a new idea. This crowd knows that. The origin dates to the fourth century Rome and has been repeated ever since, including by our first commander-in-chief, George Washington, the first leader of the War Department. It captures a simple yet profound truth; to ensure peace, we must prepare for war.

From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: warfighting, preparing for war and preparing to win, unrelenting and uncompromising in that pursuit. Not because we want war. No one here wants war. But it’s because we love peace. We love peace for our fellow citizens. They deserve peace, and they rightfully expect us to deliver it.

*** end quote ***

I was interested in his 10 points. Could find it reported anywhere on the inet.  I wonder why?

I like the line that “in with the Stockdales, the Schwarzkopfs, and the Pattons.”

I hope he can make this culture change stick.  

Would I want my eldest son, who is 15 years old, eventually joining the types of formations that we are currently wielding? If in any way the answer to that is “No” or even “Yes, but,” then we’re doing something wrong, because my son is no more important than any other American citizen who dons the cloth of our nation.

Seems like he, or his speech writer, hit the nail on the head.

“To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” – George Washington 

Still very true.

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ENCOURAGING: “Forbidden” llists are counter-productive to censorship

Monday, September 15, 2025

https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/from-forbidden-to-top-sellers?r=3snn7d

From Forbidden to Top Sellers

  • If books are any indication, the Bio-Pharmaceutical Complex is losing in the marketplace of ideas.

John Leake  —  Sep 09, 2025

*** begin quote ***

The dummies who tried to impose a censorship regime in the United States should have understood that their scheme wouldn’t work.

Key actors in the “censorship-industrial complex,” as Michael Shellenberger calls it, should have understood that their enterprise was doomed to fail, just as the Catholic Church’s Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Forbidden Books), maintained between 1560 to 1966, was doomed to fail.

Notable authors on the Index included Jean-Paul Sartre, Michel de Montaigne, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Victor Hugo, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, André Gide, Nikos Kazantzakis, Emanuel Swedenborg, Baruch Spinoza, Desiderius Erasmus, Immanuel Kant, David Hume, René Descartes, Francis Bacon, Thomas Browne, John Milton, John Locke, Nicolaus Copernicus, Niccolò Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei, Blaise Pascal, and Hugo Grotius.

Rather than censoring and banning ideas, it’s always better to discuss and debate them. 

*** end quote ***

I remember in Catholic High Skrule each week, the Diocesan newspaper (I forget the name) would print the Forbidden Books and Forbidden Movies lists.  And the good Christian Brothers would make a point of reminding us that these would damage our souls.  Little did they realize it was, just like Adam and Eve, tempting us.  I know everyone tried to read or see these “evil demons”.  Most of us succeeded.  Word quickly spread which were worth the effort and which weren’t.  Laugh!

I don’t think it made a difference.  

If I was the Principal I would have put the summer required reading list as “Prohibited” and it would have gotten read.

Sigh!  Those were the “easy days”.

— 30 —

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ENCOURAGING: Samaritan’s Purse is a great example of “foreign aid”

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/a-flourishing-garden-of-faith-in-liberia/

A Flourishing Garden of Faith in Liberia

  • In her desperation, Tutu cried out to God. He answered through a Samaritan’s Purse urban gardening project, which is now blessing her and others in need. 

© Copyright 2025 Samaritan’s Purse. All rights reserved.
Samaritan’s Purse
PO Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607
828.262.1980

*** begin quote ***

Hunger and malnutrition are constant threats in Liberia, with few safety nets to catch families when they fall. Here, in one of the poorest nations on earth, parents often face incredibly difficult choices.

*** and ***

The Samaritan’s Purse team brought shovels, hoes, rakes, a wheelbarrow. There were also seeds for lettuce, tomato, beetroot, pepper, and cabbage.

Our team showed Tutu how to build raised garden beds, how to space her crops for sunlight and airflow, and how to grow vegetables in sacks—a method she’d never seen before but one critical for avoiding erosion and soil diseases.

“I already knew a little about planting cassava—that’s a common food here—but I had never seen a garden with all these things,” she said. “Especially one growing in bags. That was new to me.”

*** end quote ***

I love when a true charity sparks in the dejected impoverished individual entrepreneurship and that lifts them out of poverty and spreads dikw (i.e., data, information, knowledge, wisdom) organically in civil society.  What more can someone ask for their personal “foreign aid” donation that to truly change the world?

I’ve read many times small charities distribute livestock to needy families or villages and eliminated starvation and poverty by introducing “capital animals” to spark optimism, hope, and industry.  

Just recently, I read about “camel’s milk” becoming an “industry” by the introduction of some knowledge (i.e., camel care; processing milk) and some technology (i.e., milking tools and technique).  How much could that have cost?  And the “uplift” is enormous. 

Western civilization has uncovered “capitalism” as the key that unlocks the prison of poverty.  No better way to get hostile individuals to cooperate than by demonstrating “win win” solutions. 

I’ve often thought badly about USA’s “foreign aid” which is described as “poor people in the USA donating to rich people in foreign countries”. What better way to transform it than to get “We, The Sheeple” to support these transformative charities.  Gooferment can’t do “charity” efficiently or effectively.  Private organizations can focus on worthy causes and individuals.  Time to end Gooferment “foreign aid”.

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ENCOURAGING: Maybe AI isn’t so good after all

Monday, August 18, 2025

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/ask-ai-why-it-sucks-at-sudoku-youll-find-out-something-troubling-about-chatbots/#ftag=CADf328eec

Ask AI Why It Sucks at Sudoku. You’ll Find Out Something Troubling About Chatbots

  • How much can you trust a generative AI tool if it can’t explain itself honestly or accurately? 

Jon Reed  —  Aug. 8, 2025 4:00 a.m. PT

*** begin quote ***

That’s what researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found when they challenged large language models to solve sudoku. And not even the standard 9×9 puzzles. An easier 6×6 puzzle was often beyond the capabilities of an LLM without outside help (in this case, specific puzzle-solving tools).

*** and ***

You might expect LLMs to be able to solve sudoku because they’re computers and the puzzle consists of numbers, but the puzzles themselves are not really mathematical; they’re symbolic. “Sudoku is famous for being a puzzle with numbers that could be done with anything that is not numbers,” said Fabio Somenzi, a professor at CU and one of the research paper’s authors.

*** end quote ***

That’s some “wonderkid” you’ve been celebrating in the press.  “AI will revolutionize … <insert favorite profession>”! 

So we have kids using it to cheat in school; NBD  —  no big deal.

Legal opinions cite incorrectly or cites non-existent court cases —  BIG deal!

And, now it can solve a 6×6 sudoku.  Or gives the wrong answer?

With the final straw, it can’t “show it’s work” (i.e., the steps it used to reach the “solution”).

Pardon me if I declare AI “not ready for prime time”!

The human equivalent is the Titan submersible suffering a catastrophic implosion and you want me to let is drive a truck?  We don’t need AI to make disasters.  Humanity can do it quite well without help.

— 30 —

 

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ENCOURAGING: A local champion and educator for proper childhood nutrition overcomes challenges

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Nurse Swaps Medicine for Mangos After Epiphany: Patients Were Malnourished While Fruit Rots All Around

Nurse Swaps Medicine for Mangos After Epiphany: Patients Were Malnourished While Fruit Rots All Around

By Andy Corbley – May 23, 2025 

*** begin quote ***

In Uganda, a nurse was excited to start practicing medicine, but realized only afterwards that his patients didn’t so much need pharmaceuticals as proper nutrition.

14 years ago in northern Uganda’s Yumbe district, Francis Asiku was riding home from that nursing job having witnessed a four-year-old suffering from acute malnutrition. It was a disturbing experience he admits, but while passing by some mango trees in the village of Midigo, he saw birds feasting on mangos that were rotting on the ground.

A question stopped his pedals and his mind: why were the birds eating that nutritious fruit? Why was it left to rot? The epiphany which followed gave rise to the Mango Project, a local-led initiative to preserve mangoes from the two harvests per years, and get them into the mouths of the least-fortunate children.

*** and ***

“Should we wait for the government to come to our rescue, and yet the situation keeps getting worse?” he remembers asking his earliest colleagues on the Mango Project.

*** and ***

Asiku has become a local champion and educator for proper childhood nutrition, armed with an orchard of 310 hybrid mango trees bred to resist fruit flies and erratic weather. He knows that mangos alone can’t resolve the problem: for example they contain virtually no protein or iron, vitamin B2, B1, choline, or zinc.

So in response to the interest in the project from donations, Asiku managed to squirrel away enough money to afford a solar-powered drier, with which he dries okra and eggplant, adding sources of vitamin K, B1, magnesium, and calcium.

He hopes to obtain a government license to distribute his foods further afield.

*** end quote ***

Amazing what one human can accomplish from a simple observation and follow thru.

I was shocked at his realization that Gooferments really don’t help and often frustrate solutions.

If the fellow had a GOFUNDME, then I’d have chipped in.  A few dollars may translate into saved lives.

Never underestimate the power of one motivated individual.

“Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done.” — Robert A. Heinlein

“Give me the place to stand, and I shall move the earth.” Attributed to Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC) was a Greek mathematician, philosopher, scientist and engineer. 

This fellow found his lever, his place, and moved the world!

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: a team of ~50 make a “triple play”

Friday, May 9, 2025

https://nypost.com/2025/05/07/health/10-year-old-heart-transplant-patient-saves-lives-of-two-toddlers/

Hero 10-year-old heart transplant patient pays it forward — to save the lives of two toddlers
By Diana Bruk  — Published May 7, 2025, 6:00 a.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

Doctors at New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital performed an extremely rare series of surgeries in July that changed the lives of three children forever. 

A heart from a deceased donor was transplanted into 10-year-old Hend Almesafri, who paid it forward by then providing her pulmonary valve to John Catoliato, 2, and her aortic valve to Teddy Carter, 3. 

*** end quote ***

Again a team of ~50 make a “triple play” IMHO.  Three beautiful babies all getting a new lease on a real life without the future of more surgeries in the future.

Really amazing.

Just goes to show you what humans are capable of when someone really “makes it happen”.

I don’t care what it cost because it’s time, attention, and resources well spent.

Now let’s focus on the “lessons learned” and AAR (after action reports).  

How can we as a society of caring responsible adults make this the norm rather than the “news”?

I pray this inspires everyone to look around to make their own “miracles”.

Dona Nobis Pacem

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: Bicycle Refurbishers Pedal Good to the World for 26 years

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/chicago-bicycle-refurbishers-pedal-good-to-the-world-for-26-years-with-150000-bikes-saved-from-landfills/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=29-04-2025

Chicago Bicycle Refurbishers Pedal Good to the World for 26 Years With 150,000 Bikes Saved from Landfills
By Andy Corbley – Apr 24, 2025 

*** begin quote ***

Working Bikes, located at 2434 S. Western Ave in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, has seen an awful lot of bikes pass through its doors; pulling them from landfills, picking them up off the curbside, or accepting them from community members. Over 150,000 have been repaired since the registered 501(c)3 got its wheels turning in 1999.

12% of all the bikes they restored are sold in the Working Bikes storefront. 15% meanwhile are donated right back to the people of Chicago through local program partners that will ensure they arrive in the hands of people in need of transportation.

The whole operation is volunteer-supported: anyone can come in and fix a bike or learn how. A few dedicated employees ensure that salable models are in excellent condition, or boast unique designs and features.

*** end quote ***

I love the international economic chain that they have created.  Micro-loans to buyers and training local talent  — here and overseas  — in repair and maintenance.

That’s America in action!

—30— 

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ENCOURAGING: Interesting heroic tale of the Polish “James Bond”

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

FROM PRIME VIDEO

The Resistance Fighter

The Resistance Fighter tells the incredible true story of the Polish “James Bond” war hero Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, a man of extraordinary courage, who served as an emissary between the commanders of Poland’s resistance movement and the Polish government in exile in London at the height of WWII.

# – # – # – # – # 

I doubt I’d ever have, or would have had, the courage to act in this fashion.

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: A movie about a fellow I never heard of who had great courage and faith

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

FROM PRIME MOVIES

*** begin quote ***

Escape From Germany

79 Missionaries are trapped inside German borders as Hitler races to invade Poland. The last one got out and into Denmark on August 31. The next day Germany invaded Poland and the war began.

*** end quote ***

Hard to believe that this is a true story, but it appears to be.

Not a Hollywood adaption but more of a documentary of one man’s faith.

Very impressive how they avoided and evaded the Nazi terror.

While not a Mormon, it is a testament to their faith. 

I found the movie very motivating.

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: Demonstration project shows improved yields, diversified crops, and boosted incomes

Friday, March 14, 2025

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/degraded-lands-transformed-into-productive-farms-with-science-we-can-create-wonders/

Degraded Lands Transformed into Productive Farms: With Science, We Can Create Wonders
By Andy Corbley – Mar 3, 202

*** begin quote ***

In a degraded and semi-arid farming area in India, simple science-driven changes to the landscape have colored the horizon, and a village’s fortunes, with green.

In the Latur district in the central western state of Maharashtra, 40 years of erratic rainfall, groundwater depletion, soil erosion, and crop failures have impoverished the local people.

In the village of Matephal, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) launched a project in 2023 that aimed at addressing these challenges through integrated landscape management and climate-smart farming practices.

*** and ***

“This ICRISAT project improved yields, diversified crops, and boosted incomes. It also spared women from walking over a kilometer for drinking water, now available in the village for people and animals,” said Mr. Govind Hinge of Matephal village.

*** end quote ***

Pretty amazing results.  Went from “dirt poor” with no water to abundant water and good soil.  

Unfortunately, the author doesn’t itemize the capital investment that went into creating this miracle.  While obviously significant, far beyond what a poor village could afford, one wonders what the ROI would be?  For example, the 30 tons of fish harvested might be a source of capital.  A 13 foot rise in the water table might be economically exploitable.  The extra acreage that become productive might be a source of capital to be used.

I wonder if the world’s engineering schools could be an educational resource?  Imagine instead of funding football teams with expansive coaches, Universities could complete for whose intervention produces the most results.  Funny?  No fill the stadium with two equally sized plots and see which produced the best tomatoes.  Yeah, now that is exciting. 

Listen to the 4 minute video and see if you’re not as impressed as I am. 

Interesting to me is that this intervention made a permanent positive change in peoples’ lives.

# – # – # – # – # 

Note: I learned that a hectare (symbol: ha) is a unit of area that is accepted in the International System of Units (SI). It is primarily used to measure land area. One hectare is equal to 10,000 square meters and is equivalent to approximately 2.471 acres.

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ENCOURAGING: One of my favorite books available for free — The Swiss Family Robinsson

Saturday, March 8, 2025

https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/johann-david-wyss/the-swiss-family-robinson/mary-jane-godwin_william-godwin

The Swiss Family Robinson
Johann David Wyss
166,675 words (10 hours 7 minutes) with a reading ease of 56.32 (fairly difficult)
Translated by Mary Jane Godwin and William Godwin.

# – # – # – # – # 

I found this book somehow and was totally absorbed by it.  Maybe that’s why I have sympathy for the survivalist lifestyle.  Maybe if I had made different choices, then I’d have different results.  

Amazing all the great, and not-so-great, books that are available here.  I’ve chipped in and hope you do too.

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: One standard for EVERYONE in a meritocracy!

Monday, February 17, 2025

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/02/epic-president-trump-releases-powerful-ad-support-secret/

EPIC! President Trump Releases POWERFUL Ad in Support of Secret Service Prior to Super Bowl LIX – Can You See What’s Missing?

by Jim Hoft Feb. 9, 2025 5:00 pm

*** begin quote ***

President Donald Trump released a powerful new ad on X Social and Truth Social in support of the US Secret Service prior to the kick off to Super Bowl LIX.

*** end quote ***

Made sense to appeal to American pride.  So far, the Secret Service has not been involved in any scandal.  Although their (DEI influenced) performance in Butler PA was not up to snuff.

All physical standards should be reviewed in every aspect of the Federal Gooferment.  No more “accommodations”.  And, I include fat old out-of-shape men; not just slightly built short women as bodyguards.

One standard for EVERYONE in a meritocracy!

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: A foreign good soul puts in a lot of effort to help someone they don’t know

Sunday, February 9, 2025

FROM 1440 https://join1440.com/

<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2025-02-08>>

*** begin quote ***

Today, we’re sharing a story from reader Richard B. in Springfield, New Jersey.

“My daughter left her handbag with her phone and passport in the back of a taxi in Paris on the eve of a Sunday. Flight with her family was scheduled for 1 pm the next day. At 2:30 am, our phone rings in New Jersey with a 510 area code. When it rings a second time, my wife answered. A voice says, ‘Please don’t hang up as I have been trying to call someone for the last 6 hours. I work for Boeing in Seattle and my sister lives on the outskirts of Paris and has Felice U.’s pocket book. She doesn’t speak English but would like to return it. Her husband found it in the back of his cab.’”

“Our daughter contacted her concierge and arrangements were made for the brother-in-law to come to the hotel. This was accomplished by 10 am and they made the plane home in time. We still are not sure how the man in Seattle was able to trace us to NJ but his detective work and persistence in attempting to find someone is amazing. Upon their return, my daughter and her family found multiple calls from him on the home phone and my son-in-law’s cell phone documenting his persistent efforts. There are, indeed, good people in this world.” 

*** end quote ***

I’d call what these folks did a “mitzvah”!

https://www.solonchabad.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/294114/jewish/A-mitzvah-is-not-just-a-good-deed.htm

*** begin quote ***

… … a mitzvah, even one he didn’t understand, is a connection n a way to get closer to G‑d that transcends logic. We affix a mezuzah to our doorposts, not just because it makes sense to us, but because this is G‑d’s wish. When we fulfill the request of G‑d, we are strengthening our bond with Him. Next time a mitzvah comes your way, make the connection! 

*** end quote ***

More than just a “good deed”, these folks really made a “connection” with more people than they know or imagine.

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: Kate Middleton looks like she’s enjoying just doing something normal

Saturday, February 8, 2025

https://nypost.com/2025/02/06/entertainment/royal-family-live-updates-news-photos-feb-6/

Royal family live updates: Kate Middleton pairs up with girl, 5, on field trip who has no idea she’s a princess
By Sarah Ng, Kaydi Pelletier and Nika Shakhnazarova 
Updated Feb. 7, 2025, 6:28 a.m. ET

# – # – # – # – # 

Maybe I’m a sucker for a photo op, but the lady looks like she was just having bit of fun doing something “normal”.  I’m sure that the security was really tight wvwn though it was “invisible”.  And the children had no idea something special was happening.  

And, Kate Middleton has a beautiful smile and an air of Noblesse oblige.

Again, she makes you forget just how evil and expensive “monarchy” is.

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: Baltimore Ravens fans make a positive gesture in a sport plagued by poor sportsmenship

Saturday, February 8, 2025

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/classy-ravens-fans-return-the-favor-for-foes-after-bills-player-drops-ball-in-heartbreaking-playoff-loss/

Classy Ravens Fans Return the Favor for Foes–After Bills Player Drops Ball in Heartbreaking Playoff Loss

By Andy Corbley – Jan 29, 2025 

*** begin quote ***

The quality among Baltimore Ravens fans have donated to a GoFundMe to raise money for an autism charity supported by Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid, who just dropped a key pass that could have taken the franchise to the Super Bowl.

In a bizarre reversal of circumstances, the fundraiser mirrors what happened last week: when Bills fans set up a GoFundMe to raise money for a diabetes charity supported by Ravens tight end, Mark Andrews, who also dropped a key pass that may have taken his franchise to the Super Bowl.

*** end quote ***

This is a tremendous counterweight to all the bad stories we read about out-of-control fans and players.

I’m proud to put my money where my mouth is and donate to Dalton Kincaid’s gofundme.

https://gofund.me/84651e43

While good works should be done in secret, this needs to be encouraged.

(Ever 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!)

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: Getty Museum team had their game plan payoff

Thursday, January 16, 2025

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14268629/Getty-museum-fire-prevention-karen-bass.html

Simple steps taken to prevent Getty Museum burning down. Why didn’t Karen Bass do the same?
By BRITTANY CHAIN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Published: 18:44 EST, 9 January 2025 | Updated: 19:10 EST, 9 January 2025

*** begin quote ***

While most of the Pacific Palisades has been reduced to ash and rubble after it was caught in the path of the devastating California wildfires, the iconic Getty Museum is still standing after implementing a simple routine. 

The museum’s successful efforts to keep the fire at bay begs the question: why didn’t Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass use similar tactics to protect homes and land? 

*** end quote ***

Sounds like the Getty Museum leadership had their game plan and worked it.

All the politicians and bureaucrats are scrambling to blame someone else.  Just once, I’d like someone stand up and say: “I made a mistake but we will not make that one again.”  Maybe they won’t get praised for the mistake, but they can serve as an object lesson.

The Getty Museum team demonstrated that if you do the job, excuses are not needed.

Impressive. Easy to succumb to complacency until it’s too late. Wonder if any lessons are being learned anywhere else?

Old maxim is: “You don’t have to pay for EVERY lesson yourself.  You are allowed to learn from the mistakes of others.”

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ENCOURAGING: A problem and a prescription to solve it (mostly)

Thursday, November 21, 2024

https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/opinion/question-for-trump-to-solve-just-how-many-million-migrants-did-joe-let-in-8-million-12-15/

Question for Trump to solve: Just how many million migrants did Joe let in? 8 million? 12? 15?
By Andrew Arthur 
Published Nov. 13, 2024, 7:35 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to crack down on the southern border and deport those here illegally.

But the million-dollar question left by the Biden administration: Just how many people is that?

A recent House Judiciary report says that “For almost four years, Americans have watched as President Joe Biden and border czar Vice President Kamala Harris have abandoned the southwest border and welcomed nearly 8 million illegal aliens into the United States.”

But that 8 million is likely an undercount — and perhaps by a lot.

The House Committee on Homeland Security estimated in the spring that there would have been 10 million encounters during Biden’s four-year term. And that doesn’t include “got-aways” — people who crossed illegally without ever talking to a Border Patrol agent.

There are, meanwhile, all kind of “parole” and other programs the Biden administration used without Congressional approval to fly immigrants in directly from South America and other parts of the world.

*** end quote ***

OK, so the answer is “a lot”.  Some proportion are criminals or neer’do’wells,  While the rest are a mix of those seeking a better life or some who want to collect on the dole.

How do we differentiate who is a “Priority One Removal” and who don’t we really care about?

Fortunately some really smart people have some great ideas.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/11/expediting_deportation_using_carrots_and_sticks.html

americanthinker.com
Expediting Deportation, Using Carrots and Sticks
By Ned Barnett

<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2024-11-13>>

*** begin quote ***

How do you deport the roughly twenty million individuals living illegally in the United States? For a lot of reasons, this will be a huge challenge, and likely a costly one – when was the last time the government did anything even remotely correct without it busting the budget?

Well, for one thing, you could try offering incentives for people to make their deportation easier than it might otherwise have been.  

First, offer them an option. Go home on your own, and you will be eligible to apply for legal residency, along with anyone else who wants to come to America and who hadn’t broken our laws to get here.

*** and ***

What about the stick? Tell this same population that if the government has to take actions to deport them, they will have to wait for more than the current ten years before even getting to the end of the line for legal immigration, lengthening the time before they can return to America, but this time as legal immigrants. 

*** end quote ***

And, the details outlined seem very reasonable.

Then DJT4547 and his team can focus on the criminals, welfare cheats, and sanctuary cities and NGOs.

I like this approach.  We’ll see how they tackle it.

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: Let’s do more than pray!

Saturday, September 28, 2024

<<< FROM QUORA >>> 

Regular People & Their Amazing Stories
Taresa Strachan

 *** begin quote ***

A mother made a run to Walmart with her young son. While in the store, she turned around and he was gone. She looked all over for him, and was on the verge of becoming frantic when she walked to the front of the store and spotted him.

She was just getting ready to lay some scolding on him when she realized he was doing something very strange. He was kneeling at one of the benches just inside the store and he was praying. She could not understand why he was doing this. Then she looked above him at the huge poster he was facing. It had photos and descriptions of missing children, and it read: “Every second counts.”

So she took a photo of her son doing this and posted it on Facebook. It went viral in no time. And as it did, one Facebook commenter summed it up pretty well, writing: “Whether or not you believe in God really doesn’t matter. This was a child in Walmart who was thinking about others and doing the only thing he could to help. The world would be a better place if everyone followed his example.”

Photo courtesy: 89.5 KVNE

# – # – # – # – # 

https://www.missingkids.org/home

https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/search/poster-results

Erick Sanchez
NCIC# M357784090
Missing Since: February 14, 2024
Piscataway, NJ
Age Now: 16 Years Old
Male

# – # – # – # – # 

I can’t imagine what this child’s family is going through.

We need more than platitudes, milk cartons, and web pages.

Let’s all look.

Sigh!

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: In her digging, Sharyl Attkisson finds that Federally-Funded Study Data is hidden?

Monday, September 23, 2024

https://sharylattkisson.substack.com/p/update-on-the-amish-approach-to-covid?publication_id=2579146&post_id=148901873&isFreemail=true&r=3snn7d&triedRedirect=true

Update on the Amish Approach to Covid
As a result of my challenges, journal makes multiple corrections to scientific article
Sharyl Attkisson
Sep 15, 2024

*** begin quote ***

Can Data From Federally-Funded Study Be Kept Hidden?

In response to my request to see study supporting materials, data, and communications, which the public owns since it was a taxpayer-funded study (and the tenets of solid science require transparency so that any findings can be replicated), West Virginia University stalled and then eventually provided only heavily-redacted materials that revealed very little except that several other observers had also questioned the study.

According to Springer Nature, “Journal of Religion and Health has a research data policy which encourages authors to publish data in a public repository where possible, but does not require that they do so.”

The National Science Foundation, which used US taxpayer money to fund the questioned study, provided no meaningful information when asked.

*** and ***

And, most important of all, why were the most significant takeaways of international interest seemingly ignored including that the researchers found no evidence that the Amish suffered more harm for not having shut down schools, businesses and church; for not isolating, masking or social distancing; for not Covid testing and vaccinating; and for not having spent a great deal of public funds on various measures.

*** end quote ***

I hope, that among the many things that DJT promises to change, the “liberation” for  Federally-Funded Study Data is madated.

We already know that there is a cover up of the disastrous effects of the Covid “vaccine”.  That’s no surprise.  What is surprising is that the Amish stayed open and true to their beliefs and demonstrated that there wasn’t any adverse impact.

Argh!

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: 4-year-old Girl Uses Alexa to summon help

Friday, September 20, 2024

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/quick-thinking-4-year-old-girl-uses-alexa-to-call-for-help-as-mom-suffers-epileptic-seizure/

Quick-thinking 4-year-old Girl Uses Alexa to Call for Help as Mom Suffers Epileptic Seizure
By Andy Corbley – Sep 5, 2024 

*** begin quote ***

When Lyla Leathem saw her mom collapse into an epileptic seizure, she remained calm and knew just what to do.

She knew she was supposed to call her great-grandmother—but her mom Leah’s phone was locked. The four-year-old ran upstairs and asked Amazon Alexa to make the call instead.

Mother Leah Bigg had fallen unwell at her home in Somerset on August 25th. Family members had previously shown Lyla how to use Alexa for phone calls as her mom often suffers from seizures at night which can be life-threatening. But they had no idea the youngster had listened—until she was called into action.

*** end quote ***

Sharp that a four year old could take action; most wouldn’t have the capability of finding an alternative.

One can question the living arrangements that made this necessary, but that doesn’t detract from a resourceful child’s action in a crisis.

—30—

 

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ENCOURAGING: I thought only Batman fought crime sinsle handedly?

Friday, September 13, 2024

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/after-police-didnt-take-it-seriously-he-exposed-an-international-bike-theft-ring-on-his-own/

After Police Didn’t Take it Seriously He Exposed an International Bike Theft Ring on His Own
By Andy Corbley – Aug 30, 202

*** begin quote ***

As one might imagine, the police in counties like Sonoma, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz didn’t listen to him. “We’re not Interpol” they would say.

*** and ***

Hance had been clued into the Colorado bike smuggling ring with a Modus Operandi extremely similar to that of the one he believed was behind the thefts all over California, but was even more bold—bike thieves at one point smashed through the front of a bike shop with a van, loaded up the van with a dozen bikes, and drove off.

As to the California smugglers, Hance believes the man at the end of the trail is operating out of Jalisco, and Hance’s sleuthing turned up perhaps the chief fence on this side of the border. Victoriano Romero—who was then subsequently raided by police and found to be in possession of bikes similar to ones reported stolen on Bike Index, along with $200,000 cash in a strongbox in his San Jose auto shop.

The arrest of Romero hasn’t disrupted the network, and Hance still sees that the Jalisco seller routinely offers high-end bikes for sale on his social media pages: accessible only because Hance uses a VPN to funnel his connection through Mexico.

*** end quote ***

Maybe the politicians and bureaucrats of Sonoma, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz should put Brian Hance in as their Police Commissioner?  

I can’t imagine a bigger slap in the face than a private individual cracking international crime rings.

Argh!

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: Anyone in Prospect Park, PA should consider this fellow for plumbing work, imho!

Monday, August 26, 2024

FROM. QUORA

“I want to take a moment to recognize my cousin Andrew Henry and here’s why. My neighbor Gregory who is elderly, retired, and disabled recently had a sewer line break in our shared front lawn. The sewage was backing into the houses. After speaking with Greg a few times about the issue It became clear that he didn’t have the insurance needed to repair the sewer or have sufficient funds, actually none. As you can imagine it was an unpleasant situation and was not something that should be left unattended. Andrew spoke with Gregory and also found out that he is a retired Air Force veteran. After a few rounds of conversation back and forth, Andrew decided he wanted to help Gregory in a time of need. This Saturday, on his day off, and with a $1000 donation (cost of material), he gathered some help and put a new sewer line in for him. Thank you Andrew for giving back to your community and for helping Gregory and my family. The world could definitely use more people like you. If anyone in Prospect Park, PA or surrounding towns needs the services of an excellent plumber please consider reaching out to Andrew.”

# – # – # – # – # 

Probably need a little more identification for those folks in the neighborhood.

Definitely needs recognition.

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: Something all girls should be taught and men should learn — boundaries

Saturday, July 27, 2024

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13659259/Instant-karma-Moment-female-MMA-champion-21-brutally-floors-sex-pest-right-hook-repeatedly-told-stop-touching-her.html

Instant karma! Moment female MMA champion, 21, brutally floors ‘sex pest’ with right hook after she repeatedly ‘told him to stop touching her’

  • Alisa Irinina, from Stary Oskol, Russia, had dated the man in the past

By Taryn Pedler and Will Stewart
Published: 09:25 EDT, 22 July 2024 | Updated: 09:49 EDT, 22 July 2024 

*** begin quote ***

This is the moment a female MMA champion brutally floored a ‘sex pest’ with a right hook after she repeatedly ‘told him to stop touching her’. 

Alisa Irinina, 21, took matters into her own hands when a man she had briefly dated in the past turned up uninvited to her birthday and began ‘behaving inappropriately’. 

The woman, from Stary Oskol, Russia, said she had told him to stop ‘touching her’ several times but claimed he continued to ‘pester’ her and even threw something at her despite Alisa making it clear she was not interested.

*** end quote ***

Good for her.  Don’t depend on anyone to protect yourself.  He deserved it and should get a few days in the cooler to reinforce the lesson.

“Victim disarmament is the view that it is somehow better to see a woman raped in an alley and strangled with her own pantyhose, than see her with a gun in her hand.” — T.D. Melrose 

I hope we train all boys and girls in a martial art to give them the confidence to defend them selves in all situations.  There are some impressive videos of little children taking adults down hard.  

Don’t waste their time with “gym”!

—30—

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ENCOURAGING: Let’s redeffine “juvenile” — from age to something more reasonable

Friday, May 10, 2024

FROM FARK

What does it take to get certified as an adult in Missouri? Well, a year-long crime spree is a good start 

https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/17-year-old-certified-as-adult-charged-with-53-crimes/?ICID=ref_fark

Missouri
17-year-old certified as adult, charged with 53 crimes
by: Kevin S. Held 
Posted: May 2, 2024 / 04:51 PM CDT 
Updated: May 3, 2024 / 08:53 AM CDT 

*** begin quote ***

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A juvenile accused of a year-long crime spree will stand trial as an adult.

The St. Louis County Family Court certified Juanell Carter, 17, as an adult on Thursday. He faces 53 criminal charges for allegedly breaking into dozens of cars across the region and stealing purses, credit cards, firearms, and motor vehicles.

*** end quote ***

“I told you that ‘juvenile delinquent’ is a contradiction in terms. ‘Delinquent’ means ‘failing in duty.’ But duty is an adult virtue—indeed a juvenile becomes an adult when, and only when, he acquires a knowledge of duty and embraces it as dearer than the self-love he was born with. There never was, there cannot be a ‘juvenile delinquent.’ But for every juvenile criminal there are always one or more adult delinquents—people of mature years who either do not know their duty, or who, knowing it, fail.” ― Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers 

Clearly, when one choses “the dark side”, society must protect itself. 

This person is no longer a “child” deserving of special status. 

Time to redefine our society’s paradigm on criminal responsibility.

Immediately.

Here’s the wake up call.

—30—

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