.

Maine Family Planning -- the largest network of sexual and reproductive health care clinics in the state -- is ending primary care services at three clinics in Ellsworth, Houlton and Presque Isle, affecting about 800 patients.

Under H.R.1 -- the mega-bill that President Donald Trump signed into law over the summer -- family planning and abortion providers are not allowed to collect Medicaid funding if they received at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in 2023.

<Medicaid funds are not used to cover abortion costs>

The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) sued on behalf of Maine Family Planning to restore the funds, but a judge ruled in August that, because Roe v. Wade -- the constitutional right to an abortion -- was overruled, Congress can "withhold federal funds and otherwise disassociate from conduct that is not enshrined."

[Primary care patients are being referred to other facilities for primary care, but those facilities may be far away or not have capacity.]

"Maine is a rural state, and accessing care is complicated."

"Even if you can get in, for instance, to a gynecology department, you may have a six-to-eight-month wait before you can be seen, which, if you have a concerning lump on your breast or a concern about skin changes or a history of cancer, that's too long. And, in some cases, that we could be, be a life-altering wait for care," [Dr. Shields-Haas] added.

Shields-Haas added that some of Maine Family Planning's primary care patients may now be forced to drive upwards of three hours in order to access care, or patients who live on unbridged islands may be forced to fly or take a boat in order to access primary care, which may be cost-prohibitive.

Since I am blessed with access to a full liturgical library and in digital format, I thought it good to share with my fellow Orthodox members texts from the Monthly Menaion, the full Octoechos, the General Menaion, the Triodion and the Pentecostarion members might not have access to or be familiar, as well as less known texts from the Divine Liturgy, including older recensions of the Orthodox Divine Liturgy and variants no longer commonly used, such as the Divine Liturgy of St. Mark recently celebrated by the Patriarch of Alexandria.

In particular, since the Divine Services are heavily abbreviated, whether in Greek or Russian practice, many members might not be familiar with the entire content of the beautiful Canons of Matins, for in many jurisdictions, only the Irmos and Katavasia of each ode are sung, or sometimes even less. I love the Antiochian Church and regard them as one of the best when it comes to liturgics, but it is depressing when one compares the contents of the official texts for Orthros they publish with what is in the Menaion - because there is a lot we are missing, but admittedly pastoral needs preclude celebrating these services in full at the present. But perhaps new ways can be found of making these services accessible - perhaps something like the pious practice of Anglicans in the UK of listening to Choral Evensong over the radio could be used to allow different Orthodox choirs to sing parts of the Divine Services not usually heard, for the edification of the Orthodox while at home or at work.

For my part, I am going to share what I have, asking for the blessing of St. Luke the Evangelist, the Holy Prophets Moses, Habbakuk and Daniel, St. John of Damascus, St. Romanos the Melodist, St. Theodore the Studite and St. Ephraim the Syrian and our Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary.

I also wish to dedicate this thread to my Orthodox brethren @prodromos and @jas3 and my dearly beloved friends @RileyG @MarkRohfrietsch and @chevyontheriver and @Shane R who I believe will find this liturgical material edifying - and I do plan on including some Western Rite Orthodox texts which may appear in their service books as well.

I also wish to thank our dear friend @ArmyMatt , a chaplain and priest of the Orthodox Church in America, who attended St. Tihkon’s Seminary, whose online streaming service is one of the best places to hear the services of the Orthodox Church online in English.

I have an urgent prayer request from your church.

I need urgent fervent prayer for my friends. They're undergoing through a spiritual battle. They need strength and strong faith in God. For Lola, Mary, several doctors. Severe satanic attacks. Urgent fervent prayer right now. Can you include them in your prayer list at church. We need prayers. Satanic attacks specifically in the mind. This is important. We need prayer warriors. We need all church members to pray for that.

They're actually from there too. They need all the prayers they can get. Very urgent.

Of Saul ..........

The army of the Philistines approached and had threatened the covenant people, which disturbed the king (1 Samuel 28:4-5).

He was not able to consult the Lord through any of the legitimate ways, so in desperation he sought for the very people he banished.

He requested a medium and was sent to the home of a woman at En Dor (v. 7). Saul met the woman in a disguise and asked her to “bring up” Samuel the prophet.

The woman was aware of the law of the land and that Saul had banished her kind of people from practicing their sorcery. (vv. 8-9). After a promise from Saul that the Lord would not punish her, she attempted to bring up Samuel and to her own surprise, he actually came back to life! (vv. 10-12).

The exchange between Samuel and Saul at this point is reminiscent of prior conversations. Saul asked Samuel what to do about the Philistines, and Samuel responded by reminding Saul that YHWH had departed from him and gave the kingdom to David because of Saul’s disobedience.

Samuel then told Saul that he and his children would die in battle and be “with” Samuel (vv. 16-19).
And he did.

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

So do you believe that ghosts do come back to visit us ?

Hi everyone I wanted to share this story with you about an extreme test that I went through the last year and only overcame this and sustained this with God and the love of Christ.

I will give you the journey of my life in the last year.

In October 2024 last year I had a terrible pain in my stomach and it was felt like it was 8/9 out of 10 the pain. I was in agony for three days stretch. It subsided though, during this time as always I was praying and holding on and trusting in God. During this I made my food easier to prepare. The pain continued for some months at a much reduced level and I had moderate light body swelling internally. The pain lasted for some months at a decreasing level. This started a physical recovery for me from anorexia.

The pain has gone today, The body can repair sometimes from severe damage as my GP told me, people too can have operations to if needed. Also, with God if your recovery is to be in his will it is possible if you trust him to get to a semi functional or functional state as well. I was taking Holy water during this time and the Holy Sacraments at church which I continued to attend regularly during this time. I think that without these it could be even worse.

In December I had mild gas poisoning and God rescued my life with this and I got treatment and gave thanks to God and came out beaming and got to have a Christmas free from headache due to the gas.

Then I received religious abuse in February 2025 and at times I thought I was alone at some times and desolate God's spirit would appear and then depart to another world above that Psalm 104 speaks of and I felt his love. This supported me with autism and my nervous system. I also had a blessing with Holy Oil once a month at church and I also again drank Holy water daily received from the church blessed during this and I would pray and check in for a for time with God and then let my spirit decide with Psalm 24 if they needed anything to equip us through the week. I also did things to get me through and thought of good things and connected my pain to Christ’s suffering and it got me through which Christ wants us to do as Christians.

Then a miracle of God came and the words of the abuse that entered my body would just disappear in tracts sometimes overnight and the mental wounds would heal up of the pain by Christ alone and the Holy Spirit. I could hear them coming to remove the words to at times if awake. We have a mysterious working and he God hates violence as Psalm 11 tells us and he will support those who are afflicted and not abandon them as Psalm tells us 37 in difficult times. Wounds healing and being equipped to cope in extreme trials happens time and again through Christ as it happened to with Saints such as Saint Agatha.

During this I too held onto Jeremiah’s promises for a plan for peace again and hope as my destiny (Jeremiah 29:11). I also thought about eternal life beyond earth with Christ. This was my own mission amongst extreme trials that the former Pope Francis to has spoken of too in the “Footsteps of Christ our Hope speech.”

During this time of religious abuse I would also look after my spirit to and ask for a blessing at church and prayers to from the minister to and they were powerful tools. I would confess to what I was hearing as abuse to heal my soul. Give glory to God. I could have been injured, but I don’t think one part of my body was touched thanks be to the most merciful God. Life isn't as always sweet as roses as a Christian, but there is inner joy and peace with Christ which you cannot put a worldly price on.

Now I want to share something sweet with you. In 2023 in May I was nearly taken to my grave with anorexia, but Christ got me out of there. At that time, visitors came to see me. My niece came who I helped to raise as a child and she wept and said goodbye to me. Her father came to and my brother in law came and was the one who was leading prayers and always hoped for me to come out. Christ intervened and I came out like Christ’s most loved Lazarus to. I was to like Sleeping Beauty to be woken by Christ's though who is the Son of God by sending the Holy Spirit with its healing touch. The Holy Spirit also made me aware that Christ would anchor me in this recovery period by a vision.

Today, my niece got married on Sunday and I was there to attend and I cried when I saw the three of them my family members coming down the aisle like they came to also when they saw me when I was expected to go to my grave.

They was my strong team who was involved in helping to pray for me during a great difficult time and they came out arm in arm to walk my niece down the aisle to meet her husband I was there to watch and alive. They almost took me to the grave as finished in the body because of my conditions. Christ though carried me out and restored me to a functional state over the course of time. I could be there at the wedding, only due to God. People greeted me and remarked I seemed more of the old me before anorexia. This reminds me of the promise of the Lord in the book of Corinthians that he can make us a new me (2 Corinthians 5:17). As we all do I walk my daily path with Christ. Praise be to God. Get help from others and from a hospital if you cannot recover alone, I have done that in the past but this was right for me today with Christ. Do not delay though looking for help in the medical system if you need to which Christ supports too.

I have shared a video of a video clip of them coming down the aisle. A time to celebrate. Hold on in extreme trials and God will see you through.

Who doesn't love a wedding?

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Some time back I made an email account with Proton Mail. I liked the security and anonymity it (claims to) provide. Now I'm getting ready to start selling some records at Discogs.

I recently read some articles that Proton is known to often be used by criminals and people up to no good. I don't know how important that is. Would it be a bad idea to use a Proton account for selling and buying? Would you trust buying merch from someone using a Proton account?

The day before the start of the latest shutdown drama, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared that Republicans were “lying” about the Democrats’ hostage demands to turn the lights back on. No, the left’s spending plan would not pay for health care for illegal immigrants, the New York Democrat said. Doing so would require a change in federal law that bars such a thing, echoed Jeffries’ pals in corporate media.
“Nowhere have Democrats suggested that we’re interested in changing federal law,” he told NBC News for a story under the misleading headline, “GOP misleads with claim that Democrats shut down to give health care to ‘illegal immigrants.’” The story, like a lot of reporting from the corporate media, hasn’t aged well.
Hakeem and his team are lying to the American people. The truth is, hundreds of millions of dollars in direct and indirect spending is going to pick up the tab for the explosion of illegal aliens in this country.

Indeed, the wording in the law the Democrats are demanding be removed was intended to stop taxpayer money ending up paying for health care for illegals.

Dear Chuck,

I finally graduated with my master’s degree and would love to buy a new car. My spouse and I do not agree; she wants me to keep driving my 2017 clunker and pay off the student loan debt. Who is right?

Ready for My Dream Car

Dear Ready for My Dream Car,

So glad you asked. Let me turn this around and ask you some questions before I reply. Let’s start with a few probes so you and your spouse can get on the same page.

Context of Your Financial Picture

• Do you need a new car, or do you just want one?
• Is your “clunker” still in good shape?
• Why do you want a new car?
• What is your financial state?
• Do you have an emergency fund, are you giving regularly, and is your student debt small or large relative to your expected income?
• Do you have a job and a stable income?
• Why are you and your spouse not united?

When a dream car becomes a nightmare

Continued below.

Interesting bit of trivia for All Hallows Eve.
*******************************************

On Oct. 31, 1517, an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, launching the widely influential Protestant Reformation.

Luther’s objections to various corrupt practices and theological positions taken by the Catholic Church continue to influence religion and culture in the Western world to the present day.

However, challenging such widespread views led to Luther gaining many adversaries, ranging from scholars who intellectually debated him to rulers who tried to stamp out his cause violently.

Some of these opponents started as allies, eventually falling out with Luther over what and how to reform; others began as enemies, but later became direct or indirect allies.

Here are seven notable enemies of Martin Luther

1. Girolamo Aleandro

Continued below.

The Supreme Court of Finland on Thursday heard the landmark case of Päivi Räsänen, a Finnish member of parliament who has been repeatedly dragged into court over a six-year-old Bible verse tweet that criticized the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland for promoting LGBT pride month.

Räsänen, who also served as Finland's interior minister from 2011 to 2015, faced her third trial in the country along with Bishop Juhana Pohjola, despite being unanimously acquitted twice by the Helsinki Court of Appeal and the three-judge District Court of Helsinki, according to a statement from lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International.

Continued below.

NEWBERG, Ore. -- A car crash Sunday, July 5 resulted in both drivers being arrested after police in Oregon discovered they were both driving stolen vehicles.


What a fortuitous turn of events...

WASHINGTON — Online antisemitism is "the new pornography," author Mary Eberstadt warned at a 60th anniversary celebration of "Nostra Aetate," where Catholic and Jewish leaders reflected on the declaration's lasting impact on interfaith reconciliation and the need to confront Jew hatred.

On Tuesday, The Philos Project and the Saint John Paul II National Shrine organized an event marking the Second Vatican Council's "Nostra Aetate" declaration, promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1965 and serves as a "Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-christian religions."


The declaration condemned antisemitism, repudiating the charge of collective Jewish guilt for the death of Christ, and it affirmed the spiritual connection between Christianity and Judaism, as well as God's enduring covenant with the Jewish people.

Eberstadt, author of Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics and senior research fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute, addressed the impact of the Hamas-led terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She stated that the attack, followed by Israel launching military operations in Gaza, has "unleashed antisemitic warfare in critical corners of the West," including on college campuses and on social media.

Continued below.

The largest public school employee union in New Jersey is slated to host an event next week exploring and promoting the history of drag to interested educators.

The New Jersey Education Association(NJEA), a nonprofit that represents approximately 200,000 educators in the state and is affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), will be hosting the 45-minute program titled "Drag is not a Crime: The Past, Present, and Future of Drag" on Nov. 7 during the two-day NJEA Convention in Atlantic City, according to its website.

The program will take place through the NJEA's Consortium, which boasts of being "proudly supported by an NEA grant" and "on a mission to put diversity and representation at the forefront of curriculum development."

Continued below.

Pray that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew) finds Salvation in Jesus Christ as he is now an outcast of the Royal family:

Ramsey County prosecutors on Wednesday charged a self-described “right wing libertarian” in connection with a summertime vandalism spree that targeted LGBTQ+ Pride flags and anti-Trump signs in St. Paul’s Highland Park and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods.

George Thomas Floyd, 23, of St. Paul is also charged with smashing windows at a bookstore, coffee shop and St. Paul Academy and Summit School that cost more than $14,000 to repair altogether.

Prosecutors say that Floyd shared many of the photos [of the vandalism] with a woman whom they named in the complaint but did not charge with a crime.

Minutes later he added: “I know they’ll never find me as long as I’m smart,” before sending a photo of a boarded-up window at Half Price Books on Ford Parkway, where police took a report about a broken window in front of a Pride-themed display around 7 a.m. on June 23.

Prosecutors allege that Floyd also searched for “no kings counter-protest” on his phone ahead of the June 14 anti-Trump protest at the Minnesota Capitol.

After the rally, Floyd wrote: “Well, it was less exciting than I was hoping for."

“It appeared that Floyd had helped make a batch of cookies a few weeks before the event, and he took them to sell at the Pride festival,” prosecutors write. “It is not clear if Floyd adulterated the cookies he helped make and sold at the festivities.”

I ran across this idea today and whats interesting is that most people hold to a double standard between us and Christ.

Matthew 3:7

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Click to expand...

Pretty harsh coming from Christ right? But what about these verses?

1 Peter 3:15-16

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Click to expand...

Or

2 Timothy 2:24

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

Click to expand...

Now we know we're allowed to be angry.

Ephesians 4:26

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,

Click to expand...

Soooooo the question is, can you be angry and repeat what Christ did against the pharisees and it be okay when dealing with other Christians? Because it seems like people hold a double standard that it was okay for Christ to do it, but we are never allowed to because "its wrong". But if it was wrong, then Jesus would have been wrong because either something is wrong or something is right and there is no double standard in Gods rules. Specially since we are supposed to imitate Christ.

My thought is that the verses talking about conduct is a general teaching. Not necessarily an all or nothing idea. Because if its all or nothing you would have to say then that Christ was in the wrong by just raising his voice and calling them vipers. So in general, here is the behavior but be slow to anger (James 1:19-20) and if angry, do not sin.

What do you guys think?

DOGE staffer set to replace admiral leading Navy’s research office​

Rear Adm. Kurt Rothenhaus was booted as chief of naval research for Rachel Riley, a former partner at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company who joined HHS as part of the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency in January, The Bulwark first reported Thursday.

Rothenhaus, who had been in the top post at the Office of Naval Research since June 2023 overseeing billions of dollars in grants, has been moved to an unknown position.

His replacement is highly unusual given that the office — created by Congress in 1946 to fund Navy and Marine Corps research — is typically run by a two-star admiral with extensive experience in technology, science, and engineering.

Riley, a Rhodes Scholarship recipient, has no apparent naval experience and has reportedly had a tumultuous several months working in the Trump administration.

A man accused of fatally stabbing a Nebraska Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to the murder of Father Stephen Gutgsell and other charges.

Gutgsell, 65, died after deputies found him stabbed in December 2023. Gutgsell had been serving as the parish priest at St. John the Baptist Parish in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. Deputies charged Kierre L. Williams in the attack that took place in the rectory next to the church.

Williams filed a notice in December 2024 that he would argue he is not responsible for the murder by reason of insanity and filed a “not guilty” plea in February 2024. Williams changed his plea to “guilty” of murder, burglary, and weapons charges on Oct. 21.

“We are glad that Mr. Williams chose to hold himself accountable and not put Father Gutgsell’s family, relatives, friends, or this community through a trial,” Scott Vander Schaaf, a county prosecutor, said in a statement.

Continued below.

Total Depravity (the first of the five points of Calvinism)

I've heard Calvinists like RC Sproul and say "Total Depravity" can be misunderstood, and a better term might be "Total Inability".

What is the biblical basis for Total Depravity or Total inability.

And what can a person do before they become a christian.

Please pay close attention to the wording here and to the verb tenses. This is speaking to the church in Ephesus, to the faithful in Christ Jesus. And the description it gives of the faithful in Christ Jesus is of those who were (past tense) dead in their trespasses and sins, in which they formerly (past tense) walked (in conduct) according to the course of the world. They formerly (past tense) lived in the lusts of their flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were (past tense) by nature children of wrath.

So, what that is saying is that they were no longer living like that. They were no longer doing those things. So they were no longer children of wrath, but children of God, chosen by God to live holy lives, pleasing to God. Their faith in Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, changed them from the inside out, and it turned them about so that they now walked in the opposite direction of what they walked before. They turned from their sins to now follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands in holy living, in the power of God.

But how did that happen? They didn’t do it in themselves. Only by the grace of God, in the power of God, in submission to the Lord, in surrender of their lives to Jesus Christ, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in the Lord, were they able to die to sin and now live for God and for his righteousness, in obedience to our Lord’s commands. For we can do nothing in ourselves to earn or to deserve our salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But it takes our cooperation with God’s grace for our hearts to be changed.

And please do not misinterpret these words when it says, “even when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” What this is saying is that we can do nothing to earn or to deserve our own salvation. No amount of fleshly good works will gain us salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But the words above this make it clear that those who are saved by grace are transformed of the Spirit of God out of their lives of living in sin to now live holy lives to God.

So this is not teaching that we can remain in our sins and still have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. That is antibiblical teaching. For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (see Titus 2:11-14)

But sadly there are many people today who are teaching God’s grace as a free gift of salvation from sin and eternal life with God based on lip service only to God, with no mention of God’s requirements that we die to sin and obey him in practice if we want to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God when Jesus returns for his faithful bride, his church. And so we have many who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who have never died to sin and are not now walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

For they are listening to the lies of “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who are deceiving them into believing a lie which says that all they have to do is “believe” (not usually defined biblically) in Jesus and now all their sins are forgiven, and now they are guaranteed entry into heaven when they die.

But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, please embrace the teachings of the Scriptures, taught in their appropriate context, on the subject of salvation from sin and eternal life with God and what God requires of us in the way of thought, word, and deed. For if sin is our practice, and not obedience, we won’t have life in Jesus Christ.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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In Which You Formerly Walked
An Original Work / October 30, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Former Fox News host and analyst Tucker Carlson continued his descent into rank antisemitism on Tuesday, publishing an interview with far-right podcaster Nick Fuentes, who has engaged in open holocaust denial and praised Hitler in the past.

Despite former disagreements between them, Carlson and Fuentes bonded over their shared suspicion of “these Jews,” as well as their distaste for Christian Zionism and its supporters among the Republican Party.

The self-identified lapsed Episcopalian Carlson lauded Fuentes for his criticism of Israel and U.S. support for it, “because it’s insane and it hurts us. We get nothing out of it. I completely agree with you there.”

Continued below.

SEOUL, South Korea — AI is changing the world as we know it, and the Church has a responsibility to be ahead of the curve, says Christian technologist Nick Kim.

Kim, who has spent over 20 years working in the technology sector, including time at Google and YouTube, says AI is unlike anything else ever invented because while these “make our lives easier, they don’t really challenge what it means to be human.”

“AI is fundamentally different from any other invention because it is taking our most prized asset, our intelligence, and we are now outsourcing it to a machine,” he said.

Continued below.

President Reagan agreed to an illegal alien amnesty in exchange for tougher laws on immigration and border control. It was not anticipated that successive administrations would actively or negligently fail to enforce these laws. That an amnesty was given with no penalty perhaps contributed to the continuing flood of immigrants to the US, escalating under the Biden administration.

At present the deportation of criminal aliens is supported by most. However, after the number of egregious criminals has been significantly reduced, consideration will have to be given to those illegal aliens who have resided here for as much as forty years and have been otherwise law abiding and tax paying residents. This opens the subject of the spectrum of penalties for law breaking.

Illegal aliens are by definition law breakers. Our legal system can provide a spectrum of penalties from community service to the death penalty. For people who exceed the speed limit, usually a fine is imposed. The idea of a financial penalty may be an appropriate response for those illegal aliens who have been otherwise law abiding. The assigning of a $15,000 fine for each illegal alien might provide an incentive to others to not enter illegally.

The use of a financial penalty for law breaking might be the best approach as the blanket amnesty of the Reagan administration seemed to not discourage further law breakers. We want ot be compassionate, yet we still need to maintain a deterrence. This could also be advanced by making provision for temporary work visas with a $10,000 fee. If the cartels were making that much for smuggling people in, it might make a dent in the cartel business model.

An interview was made several years ago of a Texas rancher who loved close to the border. He commented that most of the people that were crossing the border in the past were the type of people you might invite to Sunday dinner. However, he observed that the type of people coming across at the time were not the same type of people. The implication was that there had been a sharp increase in the criminal element.

Our national policy should be to rid ourselves of criminals and show compassion for those who we would not mind to have over for Sunday dinner.

I saw this question asked on another platform.

I find those who's opinions truth disagrees with, that they live in another universe, one of their own making and can't be reasoned with in any way. They think point blank that their reality/opinions are not optional regardless of the truth that opposes it. They bulldoze truth and don't adhere to it or respect it.

In most situations people already have their minds made up. And that's fine if that's where they sit, since we all are like that in general.
Even those I've found who like to make it sound like they are "undecided" eventually reveal their bias, side, they lean toward.

I've been online "discussing" things with people for many, many years in various platforms.
Not one person in those years has ever said in any of those discussions that I've been in or witnessed.....oh, ok, I get it, thank you all for sharing that. It's caused me to change my mind on that. I appreciate you all sharing the truth and showing me I was wrong.....or something to that leaning.

Platforms are just ways for all of us to voice our opinions, just like we did before the internet when we'd talk face to face with others, but online it's to a broader audience.
One thing we forget to keep in mind...we shouldn't expect to change anyone's opinion anymore than they will change our opinion!!

So what is your motivation to discuss/debate things online?