Chris wants me to write about something else, but I just don’t have the words for it right now. I’ll get there… eventually. For the moment, SNAP and other food benefits seem to be the topic of the week, so I’m going to go with that.

So there are a lot of people doing a lot of things right now. There’s “rage bait” folks out filling carts with junk and claiming it’s with EBT. There are assholes who are scamming the system by making fraudulent claims. And then there’s honest, hard working people (and/or those who are disabled or otherwise unable to work) legitimately trying to make ends meet getting caught in the SNAP shut down, who are actually going to suffer. This last category is the only one that I actually care about.

Different states have different rules for SNAP. To my knowledge, all states have work requirements for eligibility. There are also new rules for ABAWD, or Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents, who are those between 18 and 54 who otherwise have no reason not to work. The ABAWD requirements do not apply to those who are not able bodied, or those who have children under 14. For the most part, I don’t have any issues with those rules, as written, with the sole exception of pregnant women. Pregnant women are considered “disabled” for ABAWD and work requirements for SNAP. This means that a woman who keeps herself continually pregnant is fully exempt from having to work in any way. Before anyone gets on my case, WIC takes care of pregnant and breastfeeding women, so they do not need a special exemption for this. IMO, of course.

The name SNAP means “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” The program, at its beginning, was meant to provide supplemental food for those who were working but not able to make ends meet. I know I’ve been there (though I’ve never been on SNAP). The important words here are “supplemental” (meaning “…provided in addition to what is already present or available to complete or enhance it.” – Oxford English Dictionary) and “assistance” (meaning, “…the provision of money, resources, or information to help someone.” – ibid). As most of us know, SNAP and the other helper programs were meant to be a hand up, not a hand out. They weren’t meant to be lived on, but instead were meant to help you get on your feet after something bad happened (death of a spouse or supporting guardian, loss of job/career, military families, etc.). That’s not what is happening now.

There are families who have been on SNAP and other benefit programs for generations. The reasons start out honest enough, with people being in low paying jobs and being unable to move or find better work, and going on from there. These generational problems are systemic. The current means of helping people doesn’t actually help them. It traps them.

At one point, I was a single mother. I left an abusive wusband, stayed in a women’s shelter until I could get to court, and eventually was given low income housing in a gated community and welfare to pay my bills. I had gone from being the breadwinner, when my wusband was staying at home with the kid, to being stuck at home for an undefined amount of time. I tried several times to get work. I WANTED to get work. I despised being on the dole. The problem was, the cheapest childcare I could get cost more than I would earn (as in, in its entirety… childcare was very expensive where I was living). I couldn’t get help paying for childcare, because a) if I could work, I obviously didn’t need help anymore and b) if I was at work, my wusband could take the kid. The fact that abuse was part of the pattern and an ongoing issue between us didn’t seem to matter. This is a social “help” trap. There’s no way to escape it without outside help, help which my father thankfully provided, at great cost I might add.

Read More

(Apologies from Allyson, who hasn’t had time to post things as often as she should.)

October 24, 2025:

Whitexicans serve up satire with a side of salsa – progressives want it shut down
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/10/22/whitexicans-serves-up-satire-with-a-side-of-salsa-progressives-want-it-shut-down-1594512/

First Video Ever Inside Antifa Safehouse Located Just 1 Block from ICE Facility – When They Saw Camera, Intimidation Tactics Began Instantly
https://www.westernjournal.com/first-video-ever-inside-antifa-safehouse-located-just-1-block-ice-facility-saw-camera-intimidation-tactics-began-instantly/

‘No Kings’ Oligarchy Fighter Bernie Sanders Explains Why He Needs 3 Homes
https://twitchy.com/dougp/2025/10/22/oligarchy-fighter-bernie-sanders-explains-why-he-needs-3-homes-n2420688

‘WE F**KING DID IT’: Man wins ‘all-female’ video game tournament backed by US milk companies
https://www.theblaze.com/return/man-wins-all-female-fornite
“It’s a space designed for women to compete at the highest level, for serious money,” the company says. However, it took just one year since the tournament’s inception for it to become dominated by a male.

Robert De Niro melts down on MSNBC and attacks rural Americans
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/pat-gray-unleashed/robert-de-niro-melts-down-on-msnbc-and-attacks-rural-americans
The actor’s Trump derangement syndrome appears to have taken over his mind as he babbled live on air, openly insulting those who disagree with him.

Suppressors are protected under the 2A – (This is a donation request ad, doesn’t mean it is not the truth – jlr)
https://secure.gunowners.org/direct-suppressor-twitter-action
Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice is fighting to keep outdated gun bans like the NFA. They admit suppressors are protected by the Second Amendment, but they still want to restrict your right to own them. Suppressors are used by millions of law-abiding Americans. The ATF’s own data proves they’re safe and common, but anti-gun bureaucrats want to ban them anyway. This isn’t safety. This is gun control, plain and simple.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IF you are interested
Hopi Prophecy for 29 October 2025 Will Shock the World — The 3I/Atlas Warning Has Begun​
video – 00:25″33 – https://youtu.be/Uv-_vxrUoYA

Why Will Astronomers Be Conducting A “Special Training Exercise” That Is Exclusively Focused On Comet 3I/ATLAS From November 27th, 2025 To January 27th, 2026?
https://michaeltsnyder.substack.com/p/why-will-astronomers-be-conducting
(Michael Snyder is a bit of an alarmist, and is trying to sell his books, so read “cun grano salis” – YMMV – jlr)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antifa Does Not Exist. Antifa is not and organization.
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/antifa-does-not-exist-antifa-is-not

The “Trump Government Shutdown” is costing imaginary millions.
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/the-trump-government-shutdown-is

Stopping the leaks…
https://oldnfo.substack.com/p/stopping-the-leaks
Hegseth changes policy on how Pentagon officials speak with Congress
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2025/10/22/hegseth-changes-policy-on-how-pentagon-officials-speak-with-congress/

One queue is not like the other
https://www.collapselife.com/p/when-the-same-metal-tells-a-different
Queues beget clues. But please, don’t mistake this story as a redux of Tuesday’s. There’s something far more important going on in the line-ups beyond Manhattan.
Tuesday: The quiet panic on West 47th Street
https://www.collapselife.com/p/cashing-in-on-gold

Flyers at Michigan Protest Threaten “Unparalleled Disorder” if Demands to Abolish Supreme Court and ICE Are Ignored
https://www.americanewsnation.com/2025/10/22/flyers-at-michigan-protest-threaten-unparalleled-disorder-if-demands-to-abolish-supreme-court-and-ice-are-ignored/ ( I suppose that the Left will have “mostly peaceful” “Unparalleled Disorder” – jlr)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What Are The Chances Of A Food Stamp Collapse In November?
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/what-are-chances-food-stamp-collapse-november
video – 00:02:14 – https://youtu.be/znUydRH0CUM

EBT Serfs Threaten Violent Mass-Shoplifting Spree if Food Stamps Cut
https://armageddonprose.substack.com/p/ebt-serfs-threaten-violent-mass-shoplifting
(I guess that they mean “mostly peaceful””Violent Mass-Shoplifting” if Food Stamps Cut – jlr)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Muslim Migrant Declares ‘I’m Here to Rule You. This Is My Land, It Belongs To Allah.’
https://gellerreport.com/2025/10/muslim-migrant-declares-im-here-to-rule-you-this-is-my-land-it-belongs-to-allah.html/?lctg=92233992
When people show you who they are, believe them.
Imagine how embarrassed authorities will feel when they discover that this fellow wasn’t some lone nut, but was expressing views that are widespread among Muslims. (Sadley, the “FORMERLY Great” Britain has already effectively surrendered to Islam – jlr)
video – 00:02:10 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1975122191080620498
related
Jihadi Zohran Mamdani Claims It’s An “Illusion” that Muslims Can Become New Yorkers and Assimilate
https://gellerreport.com/2025/10/jihadi-zohran-mamdani-claims-its-an-illusion-that-muslims-can-become-new-yorkers-and-assimilate.html/?lctg=92233992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The US Is Broke, and No One in the US Seems to Care – but the World Does
https://redstate.com/redstate-guest-editorial/2025/10/23/the-us-is-broke-no-one-in-the-us-seems-to-care-but-the-world-does-n2195337

Indivisible: The Next Step is to Normalize Direct Action
https://grayzoneresearch.substack.com/p/indivisible-the-next-step-is-to-normalize

October 27, 2025

USDA says food aid benefits won’t be issued next month due to ongoing government shutdown
https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/usda-says-food-benefits-wont-be-issued-next-month-due-ongoing
( DO NOT TAKE THIS AS AN OFFICIAL NOTICE
While this is a good news site, it IS NOT https://www.usda.gov/ – jlr)

From Lifeline to Hammock: How Food Stamps Became a Way of Life
https://pjmedia.com/jamie-wilson/2025/10/26/from-lifeline-to-hammock-how-food-stamps-became-a-way-of-life-n4945282

States warn SNAP benefits may stop in November if government shutdown continues
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-delayed-usda/

Notes from the edge of civilization: October 26, 2025 – Rome. Rome. And more Rome.
https://www.collapselife.com/p/notes-from-the-edge-of-civilization-48f
Three signs we’re living through the fall of empire: art heists, housekeepers, and — Oh SNAP! — hunger.
( … Don’t kid yourself: SNAP is the modern-day annona, digital grain credits uploaded to a plastic card. Rome’s grain dole ran on ships and coinage; ours runs on databases and debt. Both systems were built to preserve calm through consumption. When they break, hunger sets in along with panic, anger, and the realization that the empire never had a backup plan. Or cared, really. – jlr)
( Panem et Circenses, aka Bread and Circuses – translation: welfare (of all kinds) and entertainment (sports, political schanagans, the internet) – jlr)
video – 00:03:50 – https://youtu.be/fD1OQtXYEFE

Grrr…
https://oldnfo.substack.com/p/grrr-4d5
… So we ‘may’ get an answer as to how long it will take for the major cities to start rioting over food…

November 1st Deadline: When 42 Million Americans Suddenly Have Their Food Stamp Benefits Shut Off, What Do You Think Is Going To Happen?
https://michaeltsnyder.substack.com/p/november-1st-deadline-when-42-million

Federal Workers needing food banks after missing one paycheck?
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/federal-workers-needing-food-banks

EBT Apocalypse: When the Purple Drink Runs Dry and the Cities Go Full Mad Max

https://wilderwealthywise.com/ebt-apocalypse-when-the-purple-drink-runs-dry-and-the-cities-go-full-mad-max/
We are at a period of significant SNAP (Social Norms Are Precarious) risk because of the EBT (Entitlement Brawl Trigger).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coast Guard Opens Fire as U-Haul Truck Drives Straight at Base Gate During Protest
https://www.westernjournal.com/wild-footage-coast-guard-opens-fire-u-haul-truck-drives-straight-base-gate-protest/
video 0 00:00:42 – https://youtu.be/weYGEwkHDoA?t=2
(This was a TEST. This was only a TEST. To see if the military would actually fire on US citizens illegally and violently trying to enter a base – jlr)
(Sooner or later, government LEO agents, and the military, are going to get the “weapons free under the following circumstances . . .” order – jlr)

Argentine Beef Import Stuns U.S. Farmers
https://unitedcause.com/argentine-beef-import-stuns-u-s-farmers/
Trump’s Proposal Sparks Outrage

“Like Giving A Map To A Hitman”: Democrats To Launch ICE Tracker
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/giving-map-hitman-democrats-launch-ice-tracker
In a move clearly designed to help illegal aliens avoid the authorities, the Democratic Party has proposed adding an ICE tracker to its website to allow anyone to track the movements of agents.

Steve Scalise was shot by a radical leftist — now he reacts to Jay Jones’ murderous fantasies
https://www.theblaze.com/news/exclusive-steve-scalise-was-shot-by-a-radical-leftist-now-he-reacts-to-jay-jones-murderous-fantasies
…They just think if they tag you a Nazi, then that makes it okay to kill you,” Scalise added. “That is telling certain people — it’s like a dog whistle to say, ‘Go kill that person.’ And it’s just what they say about their political opponents. It’s insanity.”

Two Federal Judges Admit Staffers’ Use of AI Led to Errors in Court Rulings
https://www.westernjournal.com/two-federal-judges-admit-staffers-use-ai-led-errors-court-rulings/
Two U.S. District Court judges — U.S. Southern District of Mississippi Judge Henry Wingate and U.S. District of New Jersey Judge Julien Neals — issued court orders drafted by staff that “misquoted state law, referenced individuals who didn’t appear in the case and attributed fake quotes to defendants, among other significant inaccuracies, according to a release on Grassley’s website.(https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/rep/releases/grassley-releases-judges-responses-owning-up-to-ai-use-calls-for-continued-oversight-and-regulation)

Journalists Uncover Antifa ‘Hit List’ on the Streets on Portland
https://www.westernjournal.com/journalists-uncover-antifa-hit-list-streets-portland/

DOJ gives stark warning after California Democrats threaten to have federal agents arrested
https://www.theblaze.com/news/doj-gives-stark-warning-after-california-democrats-threaten-to-have-federal-agents-arrested

That’s what I get for thinking – This should put me on some hate lists.
https://thelawdogfiles.substack.com/p/thats-what-i-get-for-thinking

Cities continue to expand, impose public camping bans over concerns of homelessness, deadly fires
https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/tacoma-expands-public-camping-ban-amid-homelessness-concerns

House Democrat Party Leader Hakeem Jeffries Endorses Jew-Hating Communist Mamdani for NYC Mayor
https://gellerreport.com/2025/10/house-democrat-party-leader-hakeem-jeffries-endorses-jew-hating-communist-mamdani-for-nyc-mayor.html/

Trump Wants New “Golden Fleet” Of Future Battleships For Hemispheric Defense
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/trump-wants-new-golden-fleet-future-battleships-western-hemisphere-defense
At the center of the Golden Fleet are plans for a 15,000 to 20,000-ton “future battleship” equipped with long-range, hypersonic missiles, described as the modern equivalent of the World War II battleship. Instead of cannons, these next-gen warships will be optimized for missile warfare.

Wind Power: Not the Utopia We Were Sold On
https://pjmedia.com/eric-florack/2025/10/25/wind-power-not-the-utopia-we-were-sold-on-n4945240
Wind Power: Not the Utopia We Were Sold On, Part Two
https://pjmedia.com/eric-florack/2025/10/25/wind-power-not-the-utopia-we-were-sold-on-part-two-n4945250

Guess Who Donated to the White House Ballroom Project? The Left Is Gonna Flip!
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/10/25/guess-who-donated-to-the-white-house-ballroom-project-the-left-is-gonna-flip-n4945248

They’re Coming For Your Wood-Burning Stove… Again
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/theyre-coming-your-wood-burning-stove-again
The Smart Air Monitor is the thing to watch here, I suspect. Full-on banning wood burners is a difficult sell – especially in the US – so the “compromise” measure may be mandated air quality meters to replace the smart meters in electrically heated homes.
(Leftist/Liberal countries have gone berserk – jlr)

“We’re Living Through A Coordinated Sabotage Of Truth-Seeking Institutions”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/were-living-through-coordinated-sabotage-truth-seeking-institutions
video – 00:01:46 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1981410748275339312

Washington Student Group Holds Lecture on October 7 Massacre ‘VIctory’
https://gellerreport.com/2025/10/washington-student-group-holds-lecture-on-october-7-massacre-victory.html/?lctg=92233992
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The TDS Zone
BATSH*T  INSANE: Kansas Legislator Thinks the Trump Team Is Plotting an Escape to Argentina
https://twitchy.com/grateful-calvin/2025/10/24/bats-insane-kansas-legislator-thinks-the-trump-team-is-plotting-an-escape-to-argentina-n2420825
There is crazy, and then there is batsh*t, bars-in-the-window, over-the-rainbow, straitjacket-and-padded-room crazy.

THE ASSASSINS NETWORK: MSNBC Claims Trump is Plotting to “Kill Anyone He Wants” Using The Military
https://gellerreport.com/2025/10/the-assassins-network-msnbc-claims-trump-is-plotting-to-kill-anyone-he-wants-using-the-military.html/

George Conway frets over White House being leveled and replaced with Trump Tower
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/10/25/george-conway-frets-over-white-house-being-leveled-and-replaced-with-trump-tower-1595454/

Swalwell Demands 2028 Democratic Candidates Pledge to Demolish Trump’s Privately-Funded White House Ballroom
https://istandforfreedom.com/swalwell-2028-dem-candidates-ballroom/
Rep. Eric Swalwell has other plans. The California Democrat took to X with a demand so bizarre it reads like satire:
“Don’t even think of seeking the Democratic nomination for president unless you pledge to take a wrecking ball to the Trump Ballroom on DAY ONE.”
Swalwell is making the physical demolition of a privately-funded improvement to the White House a litmus test for the next Democratic presidential nominee.
https://x.com/RepSwalwell – Rep. Eric Swalwell – @RepSwalwell – Don’t even think of seeking the Democratic nomination for president unless you pledge to take a wrecking ball to the Trump Ballroom on DAY ONE.
vide0 0 00:03:22 – https://youtu.be/vvfaOryzs1U

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.” – Alexander Fraser Tytler 1800s

That is a set of hypocritical cojones you have there.
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/that-is-a-set-of-hypocritical-cojones

(Filed under FA to FO – jlr)
Mouth issuing body bank notes on a negative balance.
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/mouth-issuing-body-bank-notes-on

Democrat Wet Dreams of U.S. “Cultural Revolution”.
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/democrat-wet-dreams-of-us-cultural
Dear Old James Carville speaks:
video – 00:21:13 – https://youtu.be/-5RYE4Mzp6M?t=686

A little humor…To start your week…
https://oldnfo.substack.com/p/a-little-humor-319

October 29, 2025:

How to fix the budget cycle – a quick Monday missive
https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/how-to-fix-the-budget-cycle
…Congress has not managed to pass a budget in 28 years. the last time was 1997.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(This is worth the time to read, but remember he is a bit of a dark and dismal doom-sayer, and is trying to sell books.
The information is usually spot on tho – jlr)
“The Well Has Run Dry”: Are The People That Are Having Epic EBT Meltdowns Serious About What They Plan To Do Next?
https://michaeltsnyder.substack.com/p/the-well-has-run-dry-are-the-people
People all over social media are publicly threatening to steal food once their EBT benefits run out. Some of them are taking it one step further by threatening to get violent with anyone that tries to prevent them from stealing food.
video – 00:20:02 – https://youtu.be/wMtov4MI2hw

Food Lines Are Already Growing Longer All Over America
https://michaeltsnyder.substack.com/p/food-lines-are-already-growing-longer

Massive November Robbery Wave Promised as USDA Confirms No Food Stamps Next Month – Recipients Threaten Revolt: Graphic Videos
https://www.westernjournal.com/alert-massive-november-robbery-wave-promised-usda-confirms-no-food-stamps-next-month-recipients-threaten-revolt-graphic-videos/
video – 00:01:00 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1980805525404082450
video – 00:00:51 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1982167079798378966 – we’re gonna walk out of Walmart with our buggies
video – 00:00:35 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1981141543101878517 – Why haven’t I seen a single one saying they’re going to go out and get a job 
video – 00:01:18 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1981711194869129632 – she outright says she’s planning on visiting your home to eat your food
video – 00:01:12 – https://twitter.com/i/status/1982122481088668089 – “White people owe us food stamps”

FOOD STAMPS OVER, Ending Nov 1, Food RIOTS May Spark Trump INSURRECTION ACT
video 02:04:00 – https://youtu.be/r8ST1RLiD4I
read the comments on YouTube under the video
It’s the inner city that we have to watch out for the most. When they can’t trade EBT for drugs, it’s gonna get crazy.
“Avoid crowds – Get Out of the Cities. – NOW.  A year too soon is better than a day too late” – John Wilder

Dozens of States Sue Trump Administration Over Planned Food Stamp Cuts
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/us/politics/trump-food-stamps-snap-lawsuit.html
The states petitioned a federal court days after the Agriculture Dept. said it would not take emergency steps to provide aid during the government shutdown.

Retail giants offer special perks to struggling SNAP recipients, while non-welfare families get none
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/10/29/retail-giants-offer-special-perks-to-struggling-snap-recipients-while-non-welfare-families-get-none-1596269/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US Domestic Terrorists Have Been Trained Overseas
https://www.ldsavow.com/forum/threads/us-domestic-terrorists-have-been-trained-overseas.314091/
THESE ACTIVIST GROUPS ARE NOT REGISTERED FOREIGN AGENTS. PURSUING THE EVIDENCE THAT THEY’VE RECEIVED FOREIGN AID IS A WAY TO PULL THE PLUG ON THEIR “PROTESTS”

Pentagon directs managers to fire low performing civilian workers with speed and conviction
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/10/29/pentagon-directs-managers-to-fire-low-performing-civilian-workers-with-speed-and-conviction-1596245/

Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury claims Trump starving Americans while her party blocks reopening the government
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/10/29/democratic-rep-melanie-stansbury-claims-trump-starving-americans-while-her-party-blocks-reopening-the-government-1596172/
embedded video – 00:01:06

DOJ pardon attorney doubts validity of Biden autopen pardons as nullification campaign picks up steam
https://www.theblaze.com/news/nullification-campaign-picks-up-steam-as-doj-pardon-attorney-rejects-validity-of-biden-era-pardons
US pardon attorney Ed Martin suggests there would be ‘serious difficulties’ in defending the Biden-era pardons and commutations.

‘Anti Greta’ activist seeks asylum in US over dangers in Europe, Elon Musk backs her claims
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/10/29/anti-greta-activist-seeks-asylum-in-us-over-dangers-in-europe-elon-musk-backs-her-claims-1596258/

RECORD Turnout First day of Early Voting in NYC Mayoral Race
https://gellerreport.com/2025/10/record-turnout-first-day-of-early-voting-in-nyc-mayoral-race.html/?lctg=92233992
This is important. New York City elections are renowned for notoriously low turnout.
(Q: How many NON-citizens will be voting in this US election? = A: as many as it takes for Mamdani to win – jlr)

19-year-old fatally attacked 52-year-old worker at Chick-fil-A with knife and hammer
https://www.theblaze.com/news/chickfila-worker-hammer-knife-killed
(Where are the leftist wackos screaming and crying for hammer and knife control? – I’ll wait – jlr)

House Oversight Committee deems some of Biden’s autopen orders ‘invalid,’ asks DOJ to investigate
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/emb-5am-oversight-committee-deems-some-bidens-order-invalid-asks-doj-review
The findings come after a monthslong probe into the Biden administration’s use of an autopen for executive decisions and pardons.

Dems’ Most Obnoxious Star Tried to Become Marijuana Queenpin, Tycoon – Crockett Financials Bringing Disastrous Attention
https://www.westernjournal.com/revealed-dems-obnoxious-star-tried-become-marijuana-queenpin-tycoon-crockett-financials-bringing-disastrous-attention/

President Trump, You Have a Very Limited Time To Put Down Insurrections With Deadly Force Before It Is a Civil War!
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/10/andrew-wallace/president-trump-you-have-a-very-limited-time-to-put-down-insurrections-with-deadly-force-before-it-is-a-civil-war/

Federal judge indefinitely blocks Trump admin from laying off federal workers during shutdown
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ruled earlier this month that the firings had a “human cost that could not be tolerated.” The judge also said that she believes the administration’s efforts to fire the employees will be deemed illegal and an overstep of executive authority. Illston claimed in a hearing that the firings, which were expected to impact approximately 4,000 employees, were “political retribution.”

More than 160 Republicans potentially investigated in FBI’s Arctic Frost probe, House panel says
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/160-republicans-potentially-investigated-fbis-arctic-frost-inquiry-house-gop
The size and scope of the Biden-era Arctic Frost investigation continues to be revealed to be larger than known, as more internal DOJ & FBI records are released.

Trump Getting Ready to End Violent US Revolution
https://usawatchdog.com/trump-getting-ready-to-end-violent-us-revolution-larry-klayman/

(it’s Alex Jones soooo cum grano salis – jlr)
The Democrat Party Is Officially Bragging That They Are Going To Use The EBT / SNAP Benefit Shut Down To Trigger Mass Looting & Civil Unrest In The Hope Of Igniting A Civil War!
https://www.infowars.com/posts/red-alert-the-democrat-party-is-officially-bragging-that-they-are-going-to-use-the-ebt-snap-benefit-shut-down-to-trigger-mass-looting-civil-unrest-in-the-hope-of-igniting-a-civil-war

Shock New Report Lays Out The Full Scale Of Environmental Damage Caused by Onshore Wind Turbines
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/shock-new-report-lays-out-full-scale-environmental-damage-caused-onshore-wind-turbines

“Need To Be Lean”: Amazon Cuts 14,000 Corporate Jobs In Major AI-Era Restructuring
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/amazon-plans-axe-30000-corporate-jobs-cuts-begin-tuesday

Again, you don’t break perimeter…But….
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/again-you-dont-break-perimeter

S. Korea President’s Gift for Trump Is a LOCK to Trigger ‘No Kings’ Lefties
https://twitchy.com/dougp/2025/10/29/s-korea-presidents-gift-for-trump-is-a-lock-to-trigger-no-kings-lefties-n2420990

I found this one on TikTok, and decided to try it!

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs, skin removed (bone in or out, doesn’t matter)
• 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes
• 3/4 cup green olives (no pimento)
• 1 shallot, sliced thinly
• 8 baby potatoes, quartered
• 8 to 10 whole cloves garlic
• 2 to 4 tbsp white wine (or white wine vinegar)
• 2 to 4 tbsp good quality olive oil
• 1 large sprig fresh rosemary, minced OR 2 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp herbs de provence
• salt, to taste

Preheat your oven to 375°F.

In an oven-safe casserole dish with high sides, place your chicken thighs evenly in a single layer. Add the cherry tomatoes (whole) and olives (also whole) around the chicken. Add the shallot in a layer over everything, and the baby potatoes above the shallot. Tuck the garlic in between the potato pieces. Drizzle the wine and olive oil over everything, and then add your spices.

Bake your Poulet Provencal in the oven for 30 minutes, then check. Your chicken should register 165°F, and the potatoes should be ready to eat. If not, return the dish to the oven for 15 more minutes, checking every 5 minutes.

Serve with a side salad, or a nice crusty French bread. Your choice!

We pay taxes to our government to get services from that government.

We are forced to transfer our wealth to others via wealth transfer programs, e.g., welfare and the like. These are not services.

I want a strong military; I am willing to pay taxes for that. I want the law to be enforced; I’m willing to pay taxes for that. I want public schools, libraries, and other services of that sort; I am willing to pay taxes for that.

Regardless of what services or wealth transfers you like or dislike, taxes are how we pay for them.

Our history is filled with stories of the state collecting taxes. Why did Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem? Why was Robin Hood stealing? Why is there a battle over moonshine? The answer is taxes.

In Europe they have an insidious tax called a Value Added Tax (VAT). This imposes a tax every time the value of an item is increased. If you buy a piece of leather for a pound, add some leather dye, cut some holes in it, and put some pretty stampings on it, it is still a piece of leather, but as a belt it has a higher value. When you sell your belt to a distributor or retailer, you pay for the increase in value as a tax.

Tariffs are in the news. These are taxes that importers pay on goods imported into the country. One of the big things in the founding was the idea that the states could not put tariffs on interstate commerce. Part of the commerce clause of the Constitution.

Those taxes go to funding services and wealth transfers.

There can be existence taxes. If you are alive, you have to pay some amount in taxes. Or you have to pay a tax for owning your car or boat. Sometimes those taxes are hidden as “registration fees”.

There are transfer taxes. When you transfer ownership of an item to an end user, that will often have a sales tax or transfer tax.

Homeowners are well aware of the evil that is property taxes. We pay almost twice as much in property taxes as we do on our actual mortgage. People that rent are also paying property taxes; they just don’t know it. In other words, if the cost to the landlord was less, the landlord could charge less and not lose money.

There are capital gains taxes. When you sell something and make a profit on the sale, you get taxed on the profits. There are limits to the things you can sell this way. I learned the beauty of this when I wrote a check for $75K to the IRS for selling my domain name.

Income tax is the one that most people know about. Unfortunately, most people don’t understand how taxes work. Just ask the average American about filing taxes. They are thrilled when the government gives them money. They fail to realize that this is money that they loaned to the government, interest-free.

It is their money they are getting, not the government’s. The incentive structures are so perverse that there are people that are getting more money from the government in tax “refunds” than they paid to the government. This is an example of wealth transfer.

Down in Florida, the Governor is working on getting rid of property taxes.

This is a great thing for homeowners and, indirectly, renters. I would love to see my monthly payments drop by two-thirds.

The problem is that the cost of running my local schools and my town services isn’t going to drop by two-thirds. The cost of the school system will continue to go up.

What will change is my power over the local budget. My town has voted down budget increases for the schools two or three times since I moved here. We can speak out and be heard.

If property taxes were to be eliminated, other taxes would increase to match the loss in revenue. We would just be paying a different tax.

Worse, that tax money would flow, not to the local government, but to the state government. The state government would decide where the money is best spent.

Do you truly believe the state is going to prioritize the school system of Athol, MA, or do you think Boston will get the priority.

All I need to do is look at how highway funds are spent. MA 32 coming north out of MA used to be a horrible mess. If you could go 25 MPH on the road, you were pushing it. When you reached the NH line, it became a beautiful road again.

At a time when locals were beating their cars to death on the MA32, the roads of Boston were getting repaved for the third or fourth time. I, personally, observed parts of I-95 and MA-2 near Boston get repaved twice while no work was performed on MA-32.

The NH people used their local budget, financed by property taxes, to pay for road maintenance. They got some funds from the state because it was a state road. The locals of NH had much more control than the locals of MA.

This was explained to me by my town office years ago, after I purchased my home. Our assessed value was about 2.5 times what we paid for the house. I wanted them to change our assessment.

The town clerk explained that assessments were done every year for a part of the town. If our home were to be assessed at the selling price and the value of our neighbors homes was also increased, the total assessed value of all the taxable property would drop.

If that happened, they would need to raise the rates. They wouldn’t be cutting town costs, they would be changing the dial they twisted to get the money they felt they needed.

My mentor was one of the fathers of the Internet. He was responsible for one of the most commonly used network test tools ever ping.

He was a subject matter expert in dozens of different areas; networking was just one of them.

After he died in a car accident, I moved into other areas, programming and learning new things. I quickly learned to ask people what terms and acronyms actually meant. The reason? Often I would know the thing they were referring to, but not that particular term.

This made me look like an ass. They would be talking about “jargon,” and I would be lost. They would explain what the jargon term meant, and I would suddenly be an expert. It wasn’t sudden; I just didn’t know what they were referring to to begin with.

The education industry is the worst for this. They change their terminology almost every year. This is very frustrating.

There is an entire set of students that cannot function in English. They don’t speak it, they can’t read or write it, and they don’t understand spoken English.

In other words, they are children of immigrants, both legal and illegal, with no English skills. This requires entire cadres of teachers to deal wtih.

The term I first heard for these students was “They had English deficiencies.” Of course they were functionally illiterate in English.

Then the term changed; they were children with “English as a Second Language”. This rapidly morphed into “ESL” students.

I teach ESL to friends in Brazil via Google Hangouts. There is no shame in not being literate in English if you live in a country where English isn’t the primary langauge.

I recently heard a teacher describe his school as being 1/3rd ESS. Huh?

Translation: ESS is the replacement for ESL. This is the education industry’s politically correct way to say “students who are functionally illiterate in English”. A third of the student population. Ouch.

Over time I’ve watched the term “pupil” morph to “student.” It still felt the same to me. The concept is one of a person learning from a teacher. A teacher is responsible for teaching pupils and students.

They changed the term again. The new term is “learners”.

This is a horrible term. Not all children are learners. Not all children are self motivated to learn. Learning is a skill we teach and we hope our children learn.

If a learner fails, the teacher is no longer the obvious responsible person.

I am so tired of trying to figure out what the term de jure is.

Words and phrases have particular meanings. These meanings are steeped in history and tradition. Over time, those definitions might change, but words have meaning.

The meaning of words morphs either naturally or intentionally. They also mean different things based on different cultures.

In England, a “fag” is a cigarette. In the United States, it is a male homosexual.

When I was a kid, we used a phrase, “I’m so angry I could jump down your throat!” Or, quoting from the Cambridge Dictionary, “I made the mildest of criticisms and he jumped down my throat.”

I was having a very frustrating conversation with my son’s principal. I some point I said, “I’m so frustrated I’m having a hard time not jumping down your throat.” At the end of the conversation, as I was leaving, she asked why I didn’t become a teacher and invited me to become one.

I left feeling good.

The next day I was told I was not allowed on school property because I had threatened to physically harm her.

She didn’t want to hear what the phrase meant. She didn’t care that she had not felt threatened at the time. Instead, after the fact she decided it was a threat.

Opening Our Minds

When we are listening, we need to understand and accept the meaning of the words as the person speaking intends them. To do otherwise is to act in poor faith.

When I am talking about criminal aliens, or illegal aliens, it means exactly what the law says it means. It means a person who is not a citizen of the country and who is here without permission of the government.

It does not mean all immigrants or migrants. It means exactly what the definition says it means.

If you hear somebody say, “We should deport illegal aliens,” it is highly unlikely they are talking about legal immigrants. Yes, there are some people who want legal immigrants gone. That is a different issue.

It is worse when we hear spokespeople conflating these terms intentionally. Normally they begin by claiming to know the motive of the speaker. Having decided on the motive of the speaker, they then tell you how to interpret the phrase, twisting the intended meaning of the word or phrase.

Again, I grew up in an age where proper English used male pronouns to indicate both male and female when speaking of a group. I’ve gotten used to the newfangled method of using “they” and “them” instead, but I slip from time to time.

When I slip, does this mean I’m excluding women? No. It just means I’m using proper English from my childhood.

This includes things like “postman”, “mailman”, “policeman”, “fireman”, and hundreds of other terms of the sort. It is not exclusionary, nor is it denying that there are female letter carriers. These are just the original terms.

Phopic

“Agoraphobic”, “arachnophobic”, “hydrophobic”, and “acrophobic” are all fears. Fear of open spaces, fear of spiders, fear of water, and fear of heights.

My daughter has said I’m “transphobic”. I asked her, “Have I ever exhibited fear of a trans person?”

“No.”

“Then why are you saying I’m afraid of trans people? That is what “phobic” means.”

“Yeah, that’s what ‘phobic’ means, but ‘transphobic’ doesn’t mean fear of trans people.”

The word was intentionally picked to suggest that anybody having a disagreement regarding anything trans related is actual acting out of fear of trans people.

It doesn’t matter what they say the term means; people know that “phobic” means “scared of.”

Unregistered Firearm

Uh, there is no such thing.

While TV shows talk about firearm registrations and people owning registered firearms, the reality is that there is no federal requirement to register your firearms.

An “unregistered firearm” just means a gun that nobody was forced to tell the government about. Some states require firearm registration. Some states require that the firearm that you carry on your person be registered with your permit.

These are the exceptions to the law.

A recent news story about a New Hampshire man sueing his former high school administration for breaking into his vehicle and searching it because he had told a friend he owned a firearm mentions that “He had a registered firearm”.

There is no such thing in New Hampshire. There is no way to register your firearm with the government in New Hampshire.

Mostly Peaceful Protest

Between 2003 and 2012, The March for Life in Washington, D.C. drew crowds exceeding 400,000 people. I’ve heard reports as high as 1.2 million for some of the 2020s.

Between 1987, the first march, and today, there have been zero or nearly zero violent actions by the protesters.

What reports of violence can be found seem to be from counterprotesters doing violent things to the people of the march.

Any protest that erupts into violence or mob-like actions is not peaceful. It isn’t even mostly peaceful.

I’ve strayed; some of these are more akin to lying than misusing words.

Look for the least offensive definition

When you open your mind, you should be able to read or hear the words and decide which definition to use. Don’t leap to the worst possible definition, or to an obscure definition; work to understand what is being said and communicate.

I run into things on TikTok and Facebook that are funny, sad, embarrassing, frustrating, and the whole gamut of other emotions. This one, though, hit home. It talks about something near and dear to my heart: going hungry. You can ask any of my friends, even at my poorest moments in the past 20 years, I have ALWAYS had a full fridge, freezer, and pantry. Always. If that meant I had to visit a food bank, so be it. I’ve been hungry before, and I never intend to be there again.

Take a pause and watch…

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