Tag: freedom

A Toilet in Every Home

 

In 2010, I found myself working in Noida, India – a modern pop-up city on the outskirts of Delhi.

Narendra Modi, a lifelong political operative, was angling to become the 14th prime minister of India. One of the more unusual planks of his platform was the aspiration to put a toilet in every home.   (At the time, about half the homes in India didn’t have indoor toilets, and those that did were predominantly in cities or their surrounding sprawl.)

A Quote and a Message Following the Latest Indictment

 

Bravery by Maxwell D. Taylor, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army: “The greatest military operation of history was the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Probably no other operation ever received such careful planning and meticulous attention to the smallest requirements.”

His commander read these words as their meetings and preparations for battle commenced:

He either fears his fate too much
Or his deserts are small,
That dares not put it to the touch,
To gain or lose it all.
Marquis of Montrose

Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement?

Ryan Anderson ’04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute.

Surveillance Starts With a G

 

Lately, I keep getting a request to leave a rating for a service or product … for everything. Window cleaning, dryer repair, ordered a candle, ordered some olive oil, clothing, dentist visit, eye exam, routine doctor visit, drugstore purchase, etc. Immediately on the same day, I am asked to complete a survey … for everything I am doing or wherever I have made a purchase.

If the experience was exceptional, I want to do it. But when I click on “take the survey,” I am asked to log in with my email address and on everything, it says ‘powered by Google’! So I back out. I have Gmail, like millions of others. I have noticed the speed has picked up and my phone is anxious to fill in more words that I don’t choose, in both email and text. I have had emails disappear from my phone of a religious nature by magic. I set my phone down to take a sip of coffee or water, and the story is gone. It’s not in my trash — just disappears.

I had Dish before our current move. I was pleased with them. The tech arrived just as Covid was unfolding. He set it up and pulled out a long speaker system to lay in front of my TV. I said I don’t want that. He said I know, but I have to show that I offered it and take a picture. He packed it up. He showed me all the features. I said I don’t want voice activation on my TV or from remote, so he disabled it. He said you will get a survey. They ask you to rate my performance from 1 to 10. If you don’t rate me a ten on all answers I fail. I get a bad review. This is Google’s policy. I gave him a 10 and made a mental note.

Memorial Day Viewing: 5 Movies and a 10 Episode Series

 

Every day I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful for, living in the United States of America. But on Memorial Day I am especially grateful to the many fighting men and women who have paid the ultimate price to secure my freedom. So, during the Memorial Day weekend, I thought it appropriate to suggest some films that remind us how many others have given their lives on our behalf.

The World War II ten-part series Band of Brothers is the most exceptional television event ever created. The focus is on one company of soldiers, from the time they prepare to go to war through the battles they fought. Watching Band of Brothers, I am always reminded that a few gave everything so the many could experience American liberty.

The 2019 movie Midway is another excellent World War II example of sacrifice. The true-life story is about the famous battle in the Pacific that turned naval warfare to the advantage of the United States. Fury is another World War II film that focuses on one tank crew in an ultimate tale of courage. The movie by David Ayer is a homage to his family and all those who have served in the military.

From Order to Chaos

 

“On Passover, we create order to lose order. On this night, we balance between order and chaos, between organizing the Seder with a set chronology and in concrete stages and then telling a messy story that gets interrupted and upended with all of our commentary. It is a story of injustice and triumph, of human strain and divine salvation, of hesitation and progress. Of course, it must be told in fits and starts.” — Dr. Erica Brown

You have not been to a “real” seder in its most glorious and celebratory form unless you have attended a seder at the @iwe home . . .

Squeals of delight as children play on the climber punctuate the solemn and heartfelt melodies that rest on our hearts; laughter permeates the room as a familiar line of a recitation is transformed into a delightful and unique understanding; I hum the now familiar melodies when I sometimes get lost in the Hebrew singing of prayers; a multitude of dishes fill the dining table as I eat far too much indulging in the fabulous Pesach recipes (made almost entirely by iwe)—corned beef, four kinds of chicken, zucchini latkes, potatoes, carrot souffle, roasted peppers and mushrooms—and at least ten other dishes to choose from; Mrs. iwe works to hold the entire process together; guests who speak Spanish, English, Hebrew, who tell their life stories and listen attentively to each other. . . songs sung in harmony that call us to sway gently with our souls; a recital of the exodus from Egypt, probably a chaotic and confusing march, punctuated by G-d’s miracles . . .  expressions of gratitude to G-d for our arriving at this day . . . and laughter, always laughter, as we remember that we were once slaves, and we are now free. . .

The Atonement of Trump

 

I watched our former president, Donald Trump, arrive at the courthouse in Manhattan, NY, to be arraigned for committing a supposed crime. None of the news networks were clear then on the charges, but they commented how sad this day was and likened him to Nixon and O.J., as the aerial shots followed the motorcade – a ridiculous comparison and how odd they all mouthed the same thing.  They weren’t sad at seeing a president hauled to court for the first time in history, but that he brought yet more shame on our country.

I had never heard of Attorney Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor in this case, until this moment. I don’t think anyone did unless they were from New York. Here are some interesting facts about him and his record, including the downgrading of criminal offenses in New York:

On January 4, 2022, after three days in office, he announced that his office would no longer prosecute low-level offenses such as fare evasion, resisting arrest, prostitution, and cannabis-related misdemeanors unless accompanied by a felony charge. He also decided to seek lesser charges for burglaries and store robberies where the offender “displays a dangerous instrument but does not create a genuine risk of physical harm”.

Last Train

 

Seeing a mass of armed, uniformed men called into a movement by a single, laconic demand, one inevitably began to grow curious about the individuals that made it up. The outstanding property you discover, is the readiness with which he can change personalities. For example, follow a couple of soldiers off duty down the street, any street in Germany. You admire their bronzed, smiling faces and the way they walk loosely and gracefully as athletes. They’re completely human beings.

This is the story of an American student, working his way overseas in 1936 to visit Europe. The cheapest country for his cash is Germany, which just unveiled an interesting new government. Our student is curious and proceeds with the backing of a journalistic education and support of teachers and friends.

The excerpt is from The Last Train From Berlin by Howard K. Smith, copyright 1942. Let’s continue from the same book.

Federalist Radio Hour Host Emily Jashinsky is in for Jim today. Emily and Greg start by dissecting the left’s full meltdown over Twitter suspending several journalists on the left for violating the new doxxing rules. They also discuss the impact Twitter has in exposing media bias and whether Elon Musk’s actions break his pledge to champion free speech. They’re also furious as Philadelphia public schools plan to impose a mask mandate on students when they return in January just as the damage done to poor and minority students in California from being out of school becomes clearer. Finally, they wonder what exactly Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg does following reports he was vacationing in Portugal just a week before the nation was threatened with an economy-crippling railroad strike.

Welcome to the New (Brainwashed) Civilization

 

I had a disturbing conversation with a relative, a cousin who is an off-the-charts left-leaning liberal and much older than me. She lives out west. She’s my flesh and blood and I let it drop today that I, and others in our family and my husband’s family had not been vaccinated.  My reasons are personal preference due to major food allergies and a very bad reaction to a flu shot in 2008.

She and her husband have been vaccinated and boosted out the tail. When I disclosed this, she had a meltdown. “OH! OH! Oh no!! Oh!  NO!  I never would have thought you were like that!  I am sweating — I can’t talk — I have to end this conversation! Oh no! A super spreader — how could you not?!!  We had no post-symptoms!

Remembering 9/11 and Comparing Today

 

I remember 9/11 like most of you.  Time seemed to stop that day and the clock didn’t seem to resume for weeks and longer.  I was at my desk at work, and our receptionist came running through the front door and hollered, “Smitty – turn on the radio!  Something happened at the World Trade Center!”  I was known as Smitty because there were too many Lindas in my office.  I turned on the radio near my desk.  A plane had crashed into one of the towers. I thought like many that it was an accident, a control tower errored.  We were protected – how could it be anything else?

Another co-worker had a small, hand-held TV, and we huddled around it.  While the news and details were sketchy, another plane hit the second tower and I knew this was no accident.  Hell had descended in front of me on a hand-held TV.  I lived in Boston, and suddenly life changed.  Air space and Canadian borders closed.  We later learned a plane went down in Pennsylvania, diverted because it was headed for Washington, DC, and the courageous on board overcame the terrorists and it crashed in a field while those on board said goodbye on their cell phones.

Walmart Shopper: “May God Bless You”

 

We ran into our local Walmart for a few items.  Every aisle I went down, I encountered a younger, overweight fellow riding on one of those driving carts. He seemed to always be in front of me.  Sometimes things happen for a reason.

In Walmart, as in every grocery store these days, most including me are fixated on prices.  There are things I can’t find anymore like frozen pineapple juice concentrate – or any pineapple juice.  Sometimes common items are almost empty or stock is very low.  I see carts with not much in them.

Today there was a young guy on the vitamin aisle. He asked the clerk for help.  He said he just had leg surgery and was told he needed to boost up his immune system.  Don’t we all?  He scanned the immune boosters as I scanned his leg. Massive stitches in his calf, swollen foot, he shook a bit as he stood.  It looked like a shark or alligator bite or a bad accident.  I thought he needed one of those driving carts – how did he even make it into the store?

Member Post

 

Wisdom, honesty, truth and common sense go a long way – in politics and life.  So it’s hard to believe the words coming out of the president’s mouth that conservatives, mainly those that support a “Make America Great Again” philosophy, are now considered “semi-fascists”.  This is a lie.  Biden is labeling people because they want […]

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Who Are the Easy Targets?

 

One only needs to look at modern history to recognize that attacks against the Jews persisted through the centuries with little resistance from the Jews themselves. During World War II, there were pockets of rebellion, but Jews mainly lined up like lambs heading for the slaughter. Depending on the country and times, Jews were desperate to fit in with the societies in which they lived, sacrificing their beliefs, their knowledge of history, and even their common sense to deny imminent dangers. Until the country of Israel was established, with its heroism and demands for survival, the Jews lived in denial. And yet the seeds for survival may have been planted as a result of the Warsaw ghetto revolt.

Warsaw, Poland, was no exception to the rounding up and imprisoning of Jews. As they had often demonstrated, the Jews complied with the efforts of the Nazis to detain them:

Shortly after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, more than 400,000 Jews in Warsaw, the capital city, were confined to an area of the city that was little more than 1 square mile.

Join Jim and Greg as they welcome the Supreme Court marshal urging state officials in Virginia and Maryland to protect Supreme Court justices and stop protests outside their private homes. But they do wonder why it took her almost two months to do this. They also get a kick out of California Gov. Gavin Newsom trying to claim there is more freedom in California than in Florida in his laughable attempt to troll Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. And they fume as yet another mass shooter littered the internet with his fascination with other mass killings.

As the United States celebrates 246 years since we declared our independence, Jim and Greg each list three things they love about America.

 

Quote of the Day: Freedom

 

“Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.” – Ronald Reagan Jan 5, 1967

Reagan was right about one thing: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We are in a battle for the soul of our country; especially the principle that it was founded on individual liberty and freedom. That battle has to be won (or lost) at the grassroots. When a critical mass supports freedom, it grows like wildfire. When it does not, freedom dies.

Member Post

 

In April, 1989 the Chinese Communist Party crushed the student uprising in Tiananmen Square. One of the most iconic pictures to come out of that revolt was the figure of a solitary man, briefcase in hand, standing in front of a military tank. If you would like to see that picture look up my friend […]

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