• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

police break into Quaker Meeting House in Westminster, London

Met raids Quaker meeting house and arrests six women at Youth Demand talk

Arrested for “enacting peace”

Police have raided a Quaker meeting house and arrested six women attending a gathering of the protest group Youth Demand.

More than 20 uniformed police, some equipped with Tasers, forced their way into the Westminster meeting house at 7.15pm on Thursday, according to a statement by the Quakers.

Any reaction from the freedom of speech in Europe loving US Vice President?
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Toddler reportedly suspended from nursery school for transphobia: 'Totalitarian insanity'

A toddler in the United Kingdom was reportedly suspended from a nursery school for allegedly exhibiting transphobia.

Data from the country's Department of Education show that the student, who was 3 or 4 years old, was among 94 students who were suspended or expelled from similar primary schools for "abuse against sexual orientation and gender identity" during the 2022-2023 academic year, according to The Telegraph.

Of the 94 suspended pupils that year, 10 were aged 7 or younger and one was 4 or younger, though the government data did not provide details of the children's identities. The data also reportedly show that the number of students suspended or expelled from all state primary schools for homophobic or transphobic behavior increased from 164 in 2021-22 to 178 in 2022-23.

Continued below.
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The reward of transparency before God and man

"The Lord confides in those who fear Him" from Psalm 25.

100% Truth, folks.

Fear: Respect, follow, seek ever to obey - *listen* for His voice.

•••••

Consider a few things about King David (the author of Psalm 25), if you will.

Most leaders of countries expend great effort in maintaining a polished image of self-sufficency and confidence in their righteousness - and employ an army of handlers to spit-shine that outward appearance and keep it as pristine as possible - heaping praise upon their hero's every word and deed.

And the leader laps it all up - ever seeking to glorify themselves and hide or deny their glaring imperfections.

Ah... the human condition. The curse of the sin nature we all inherit.

And then there's David, the shepherd boy become King. So many of his beautiful Psalms (songs) are recorded in Scripture - and realize that David handed these over to his chief musicians to perform publicly before all of his subjects - and lead them in worship of Israel's God.

The lyrics reveal a man who grieved over and openly confessed his great sins, experienced periods of profound depression when he couldn't perceive the nearness of his God, and strove mightily with fear and anxiety because of his numerous enemies. A man of war and yet at times the fraility of a child.

But notice also, the profound awe and respect He had towards God. He understood that God is a God of justice - but received by faith - was also his very Redeemer.

These songs are prolific with praise and adoration - and provide joyful revelations of God's own heart - of grace, mercy, compassion and love for His Creation.

For you and me.

Such an imperfect man - yet bestowed with the eternal honor of warming up the throne for the Man/God who would follow in his lineage - the King of Kings and Lord of Lords - Jesus Christ.

Holy Scripture refers to David as a "man after God's own heart." I figure that it is because he learned through experience what was perhaps the most important command to keep to ensure consistent intimacy with the Living God:

Psalm 51:6 KJV

"Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom."

Why was David so transparent before God and man? Because he genuinely wanted to share with everyone great and small how to have that same intimacy with God. It's all about receiving His love, and purposefully passing it on.

Don't let your heart be hardened
Don't let your love grow cold
May it always stay so childlike
May it never grow too old
Don't let your heart be hardened
May you always know the Cure
Keep it broken
Before Jesus
Keep it thankful, meek and pure.

- Petra

•••••

Psalm 25 NIV

Of David

"1 In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.

2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how fiercely they hate me!

20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, Lord, is in you.

22 Deliver Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!"

biblegateway.com

Christianity Makes You More Likely to be a Victim of Unpleasant and Harmful Behavior?

Throughout my life I always unfortunately walk just along the very line at where Christianity begins and no further.

This could be because of fundamental concepts that I struggle with. One concerns unrealistic expectations: the idea that you are always sinning even when the bar is practically impossible like perhaps having to not find a hilarious joke funny as it is inappropriate: let’s say it touches on being offensive/dehuminising to some or sick/morbid. Or for instance expecting your average married guy not to touch himself or even experience sexual attractiveness towards a passing beautiful woman.

So I kindly need more help with the above - something I can’t seem to ever get over conceptionally: these unrealistic expectations on people.

Also, as the thread title points to, another massive subject is the meekness aspect to Christianity. I often feel like there are plenty of people out there that pose us potential harm. Sometimes this harm can be small but regular (like the increased likeliness of being taken advantage of in the workplace) and sometimes this potential harm is huge, like having openness and a non-judgmental approach towards otherwise ominous-seeming individuals and ending up being robbed or raped, etc.

Isn’t there something about Christianity that makes one more vulnerable, more likely to be a sucker, more compromising to the point where even whole Christian nations can be put in harms way?

Your thoughts are most welcome.

God and Humour

I previously asked members here if they think that God has *reasonable expectations for us: like say he might expect a chronic alcoholic to have the conviction to walk a different route home so as to avoid the temptation of his local bar, but wouldn’t expect the same alcoholic to resist a shot of Vodka suddenly being waved under his nose at some celebratory event where he was unaware there would be alcohol.

I guess I’m talking about the compulsions that we humans have and what can realistically be expected. If we take humour, can it seriously be expected that people shouldn’t find inappropriate jokes funny? Is that something that we even have control over? Also, isn’t at least a lot of humour funny *because it is transcending/touching appropriateness in a surprising or abstract way? Also, isn’t there an involuntary element to the act of laughing anyway - bit like a hiccup?

Tired of all the hatred

Hi all,

As a Nebraskan, there was an article from the (secular) media about how Archbishop Lucas of Omaha is retiring and is being replaced.

Most of the comments were "child predators!" "let the children be safe!" "human trafficking."

I blocked them all because I cannot STAND reading all this hate-filled bigoted comments against the faithful.

When will it ever end?

How long, O Lord.

ugh

Casey Putsch discuss building a car with "over 100 miles a gallon" and "zero to 60 in under 5 seconds"

Automotive designer, engineer, and the owner of Putsch Auto Media, Casey Putsch recently appeared on Tucker Carlson's podcast. In this episode of The Tucker Carlson Show, Putsch gave his insights on his 2012 innovation, the Omega Car.

Casey Putsch claimed that this highly efficient diesel vehicle is capable of achieving "over 100 miles per gallon" while accelerating from "0 to 60 in under 5 sec."

Casey Putsch also opened up about the setbacks he faced despite successfully building the Omega car.

"When I successfully built the car, I realized I dont have a voice. I asked myself, if the world does not know of its presence, and nobody hears about it, then what am I gonna do with this thing," Casey Putsch said.
Tucker Carlson further went on to compare Casey's feelings to those of Nikola Tesla, suggesting that, like Tesla, Casey's work was not commercialized and lacked media influence.

"You felt like Nikola Tesla", Carlson remarked.
Casey Putsch casually replied, saying:

"Perhaps I don't, but he certainly had an interesting character."
"Cars have not gotten any better since the 1990s" - Casey Putsch's Take On The U.S. Automotive Industry

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Did the Apostle Paul send Onesimus back to Philemon as a slave?

De 23:

15 You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.
Don't send the runaway slave back to his original owner. This Mosaic law contradicted Roman law more than a millennium later.

BSB, Phm 1:

10 I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.
Paul considered Onesimus to be his spiritual son. The name "Onesimus" meant "useful" or "profitable" in Greek. He made a wordplay with the name:

11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
Onesimus became a believer under Paul's care. He became useful to the Lord.

12 I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.
Roman law required a runaway slave (fugitivus) to be returned to his original owner.

13 I would have liked to keep him with me,
That's against Roman law.

so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
Paul didn't want to order Philemon but to appeal to him.

15 For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for good— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother. He is especially beloved to me, but even more so to you, both in person and in the Lord.
Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon, not as a slave but as a fellow believer in the Lord. Paul appealed to Philemon's sense of Christian love to set Onesimus free to be a slave (bondservant) in Christ. Paul didn't appeal to Moses' De 23:15.

17 So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.
Subtly, Paul drew on his apostolic authority to try to convince Philemon to free Onesimus. Paul crafted his letter carefully to avoid violating Roman law and telling Philemon what to do.

20 Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
It was a masterpiece in deliberative rhetorical writhing.

Around the same time, Paul wrote a separate letter to the Colossians 4:

7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
Philemon's local congregation was aware that Onesimus was a trustworthy individual.

Did the Apostle Paul send Onesimus back to Philemon as a slave?

Yes, according to Roman law.

No, according to Christian love. Paul appealed to Philemon to receive Onesimus as a beloved brother in the Lord.

Ignatius mentioned Onesimus being the bishop of Ephesus. Provided this was the same person, Onesimus went from slave to brother to bishop. Ephesus was only 200 km from Colossae. There was a good chance that Philemon obliged.

17 more criminals sent to El Salvador prison, including 'Extremely Dangerous' MS-13 and Tren de Aragua Gang Members

They include 7 alleged TdA members & several convicted murderers, rapists, & pedophiles. None were removed via the Alien Enemies Act. All were deported via Title 8/regular US immigration law, and all had final orders of removal/deportation orders.

It is too late for some of their victims but Trump is preventing future acts of violence against innocents.

Back from hiatus

I engaged in discussions here for awhile last year and have taken a break. Now I'm back with a second wind and a renewed spirit. I am a non-affiliated Christian with unconventional beliefs. This time I thought I'd summarize those beliefs in this introduction. My core belief is simple. First, I believe that a "Christian" is one who by faith accepts Jesus as the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament and is the "only begotten Son of God" who came to give His own sinless earthly life as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind and who lives their life according to the teachings of Christ and the commandments of God on which they are based. Thus, I believe that the answers to all of the questions about living a Christian life can be found in the teachings of Christ and the commandments of God. Nothing more, nothing less. I believe that the biggest problem with the modern church is that the teachings of Christ and the commandments of God have become obscured by the teachings of men. For 2000 some odd years, men have added their two cents worth and have altered, added to, taken away from, and replaced the teachings of Christ with new self serving ones. It is those teachings that have divided us into an estimated 45,000 different "denominations" worldwide. Every denomination has their own teachings of men that they follow and deem holy and so they reject anyone who doesn't believe in those teachings, leaving the Christian faith hopelessly splintered. With that in mind, once you dismiss and eliminate the teachings of men, then the teachings of Christ and the commandments of God actually come into focus. I have studied the teachings of men for my own educational purposes and find that while many of them simply elaborate on the teachings of Christ, the majority veer from them in detrimental ways. When God opened my eyes to this simple fact, I began to realize just how much of what is being taught in modern churches is the teachings of men that alter, add to or take away from the teachings of Christ. My purpose here is to discuss those beliefs that are based on the teachings of men and compare them to the teachings of Christ for those who, like myself for many years, are searching for the truth at the bottom of it all.

Ha ha ha ha! You want $500 BILLION from Ukraine's rare earths? BE MY GUEST! (Complex topic - to engage in it - please watch video)

Hi all,
this is the best punchline of the last few months!

To engage in this thread please watch all 18 minutes of our ABC's deep dive investigative journalist - Matt Bevan.​


You'll learn a lot about rare-earths, China, Australia, California, and Texas.

And you'll learn about smart and silly.

Login to view embedded media

China, Japan, South Korea to jointly counter US tariffs, Chinese media reports


Apparently China, South Korea and Japan are putting aside about 3000 years of mutual hostility with a free trade agreement (and a joint response to tariffs)

Who knows, maybe this rapprochement might be what gets Trump his Nobel Peace Prize (because "fixing the Russian invasion of Ukraine appears to be dead in the water)?

Joyce Meyer

I just recently ordered a Joyce Meyer book from Amazon (yeah Iknow Joyce Meyer) titled The Answer to Anxiety, hoping it would be THE book that would help me like The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peal did. Well,
I got to a part of the book that we’ve all heard before….in the Bible. It’s about prayer and how we should not repeat prayers, repeating the same words over and over “like the Gentiles do”. That made me think of the rosary. Is praying the rosary the same thing the Bible speaks about and if not, why not?

Arson attack on Republican Offices

New Mexico Republican Party headquarters targeted in suspected arson attack, officials say

The structure suffered "damage to the front entryway and smoke damage throughout the building," fire rescue said.​
The words "ICE=KKK" were also spray-painted on the building, officials said.​
Albuquerque Fire Rescue, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recovered "incendiary materials" at the scene of the fire, but the investigation remains ongoing, officials said on Monday.​
The Republican Party of New Mexico said the incident was a "deliberate act of arson."​
"This horrific attack, fueled by hatred and intolerance, is a direct assault on our values, freedoms and our right to political expression," party officials said in a statement on Sunday.​
Party officials said this is not an isolated incident, claiming it is part of a "disturbing pattern of politically motivated violence that has plagued our country -- fueled in part by the silence and implicit encouragement from progressive leaders who refuse to condemn these acts."​
The violence continues and grows -

Global Awakening

Something interesting- I was at the Global Awakening building in Mechanicsburg a few weeks ago for a healing service to get prayer. I was waiting to get called back and there was another woman sitting at the table next to me, I got to talking with her. It turns out she was a senior research scientist at Purdue University doing research on quantum physics, she may have been one of the top experts on quantum physics in the entire world! I didn't ask her at the time but if I see her again I would like to hear about what she was working on!

Elon Musk Finds More Savings


"Elon Musk has financially retaliated against his own child and reduced his financial support substantially and unilaterally. He did this after Ashley was forced to bring this matter to court, when he refused to respond to her many private attempts to resolve this matter without publicity," St. Clair's legal team, Karen Rosenthal, Bikel Rosenthal & Schanfield LLP, alleges to PEOPLE in an exclusive statement.

Evangelical teacher suspended for not using trans pronouns to have $43K taken from account: court order

An Evangelical Christian from Ireland, who was suspended from his teaching job, is to have over $43,200 (€40,000) forcibly removed from his bank account following a court order.

Enoch Burke was first suspended from his job as a teacher at Wilson’s Hospital School, a Church of Ireland school in Westmeath, following a disagreement with the school’s principal about the school's policy toward a student who wanted to socially transition and identify as the opposite sex.

Burke publicly voiced his opposition to using the student’s new name, “they/them” pronouns, and the school's position on affirming transgenderism generally.

Continued below.
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In The Meantime

Satan was foiled in his attempt to turn the King aside from His divine path, but he succeeded with the servants (Satan can cause a believer to commit sin—but the sin will not be willful, as a sinner’s is—NC); and so the highest and best gift of God (salvation—NC) has been the occasion for the development of the worst evil (the greater the gift, the greater the wrong by not receiving it - 1Pe 4:18—NC). For man under the responsibilities which flow from this dispensation of grace has done worse than during that of law (because more information has been given in the New Testament about God’s will than in the Old Testament, thus making Christians more accountable—NC). The wickedness of Israel caused the heathen to blaspheme the name of Jehovah (via poor examples of obedience to God—NC). But now, within the sphere of Christian profession, a worse thing is found.

The Jews always professed reverence for the Law, though he practically disobeyed. What do we see now in the lands of Christendom? The Word of God is esteemed by some no other than a myth, classed with the legends of paganism. By others the Lord is spoken of as a good, though mistaken man, esteemed as a
Hero who really wished to raise man morally, but who allowed His disciples to believe and propagate a lie to accomplish the end He had in view; as an enthusiast who suffered death rather than withdraw His offer. And the literature of the present day teems with writings containing this terrible doctrine, a blasphemy as absurd as horrible.

Nor is this confined to such writers as are professed infidels; for the truth of the Word is undermined, if not openly denied, by those who take the place of being theological teachers. All such books, by traitorous professors, are far more pernicious and dangerous than the vulgar infidelity of the last century. A distinguished feature of the present-day is that every shade of infidel thought has its representative and teacher. Theism is made the groundwork of science and taught in its halls, and being exalted to the rank of science, is applied as a corrector of God’s Book; it stops not at material things, but enters boldly the moral domain, and dares to judge what God must be, and what He must not be; decides how much—rather how little of the creation belongs to God and how much to “evolution.” God bears with this, for the present day is salvation, not judgment, and His longsuffering is the proof.

The kingdom of heaven (whenever the word “kingdom” is used it almost always refers to the New Earth, i.e. ”Thy kingdom come,” we never see the word “kingdom” when referring to the New Heaven—NC) is the rule of Christ the King over this world. But how does He reign when He is rejected? The principles of the kingdom were in grace made known to man (Eph 2:8), and after he had cast out the King, he used His name and the inherent subjugating authority belonging to it, to establish a system for himself, where the name of the King is freely used, but His rights practically ignored; where instead of righteousness reigning, all the worst corruption of nature is dominant, the name of Christ is on their lips, the truth of Christ in its life-giving power is all but unknown. Hence the present time discloses the mystery of the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom as the scene of Christ’s power and glory was no secret; it was abundantly and clearly foretold by the prophets. Godly Jews were waiting for it, rejoicing in the hope of it (Jews who believed in God for the coming kingdom on the earth—NC). Further, it was predicted, though perhaps imperfectly apprehended, that the coming King should be despised and rejected, wounded in the house of His friends, valued at thirty pieces of silver—the price of a slave. But it was not revealed that the King should be more than nineteen hundred years absent, and that during His absence men should arrogate to themselves His authority, and establish human power buy its use (human power not God’s power); still less, that the Jews rejection of their King should be, in the wisdom of God, the occasion for the calling out of a people for a heavenly portion, who, while here passing through a path of predestined suffering, would be of all men most miserable if in this life only had they hope in Christ (1 Co 15:19). It is these two things we see now—the absence of the Lord from the scene of His future glory, and the hidden working by which He secures to Himself a people who, in spite of suffering, nay, using it rather as a means, are destine for a higher than kingdom glory (2 Co 4:177—the New Heaven will be far greater and glorious for the believers in Christ than the New Earth for the Jews who presently believe in God but not in Christ—NC).

—Roger Beacon (1220-1292)








MJS daily devotional excerpt for March 31

“Romans Six reveals our position as having died unto the principle of sin; Romans Seven teaches us our position as having died unto the principle of law. Both must be counted upon if we are to abide in Christ, and walk in the Spirit, as set forth in Romans Eight.

“We have to look at ourselves and see how far we are devotedly following the Lord Jesus, with full purpose of heart—how we can say, ‘This one thing I do’; but we must take care at the same time not to get into legal bondage by this standard. If I say, ‘Here is a rule of conduct: follow it,’ this cannot reach the heart, the affections. The ministration of the letter brings only failure, and condemnation; for it prescribes a rule which man, being a sinner, can never follow. It does not change a man; it proves him ‘ungodly and without strength’ (Christians should love God, not because of salvation, but just because of who He is. Thus having eternal gratitude to Him—NC).

“We may turn even Christ into that letter of condemnation; we may take His life, for instance, and make it our law. Nay, we may turn even the love of Christ into our law; we may say, ‘He has loved me, and done all this for me, and I ought to love Him, and do so much for Him, in return for this love,’ etc. Thus if we turn His love into a rule of life, it becomes the ministration of condemnation” (loving God for Who He is, is the greatest of all—NC).

—Miles J Stanford

24/7 Prayer and Ministry in Harrisburg, PA

Hey I was just at the JHOP (Justice House of Prayer) building last Sunday PM t for the 6pm meeting, it turns out they are about ready to launch 24/7 prayer and ministry. They have already started sets 6pm-midnight on Sunday nights and also 6pm-midnight on thursday nights. This should be amazing, it may change the city of Harrisburg forever! Once they start 24/7 I may be down there every night! If you are within driving distance you may want to come! Having a ministry like this in town is a dream come true, imagine a place where you can go any time of the day or night and get in the presence of God! I may drop in at 3am sometimes! The address is the PA Council of Churches building 900 S Arlington Ave Harrisburg. You have to knock on the window for someone to come and let you in, you can see the people in the prayer room through the window.
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IDF kill Red Cross workers in Gaza

Gaza: Red Cross outraged over killing of medics by Israeli forces

The Red Cross movement has expressed outrage that eight Palestinian medics were killed along with six Civil Defence first responders and a UN staff member by Israeli forces in southern Gaza.

Craig Morgan says his faith is 'non-negotiable,' praises 'resurgence of American pride’

Craig Morgan has never been one to shy away from his beliefs; whether in his music, his military service or his everyday interactions with fans, the country music star has been vocal about his faith and patriotism for decades.

In 2025, following the release of his latest EP, American Soundtrack,the “What I Love about Sundays” artist said he's seen a shift happening in the country, one that excites and reassures him.

“There’s a resurgence in pride in our country that we’ve not seen in — I don’t know — I’d say about four years or so,” the 60-year-old artist told The Christian Post.

Continued below.

White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War

Ahead of President Trump’s plan to impose sweeping tariffs across the globe this week, his administration is weighing a new round of emergency aid to farmers, who are likely to be caught in the middle if America’s trading partners retaliate.
The early discussions offer a tacit acknowledgment that Mr. Trump’s expansive tariffs could unleash financial devastation throughout the U.S. agricultural industry, a crucial voting base that the president similarly tried to safeguard during his 2018 trade war with China.
While the president has not announced any details of an aid package, his advisers have signaled in recent days that he could follow a playbook similar to the one he used in his first term, when he directed billions in payments to farmers who saw their exports to China plummet amid a trade war with Beijing. NYT

It's "Déjà vu all over again" or, what's the definition of insanity again? Problem is, it's just not the farmers this go around who will feel the effects of retaliatory tariffs. I live in Seattle, and north of me there's this place called Point Roberts who depend on Canadian customers. Darn near every business there is or will go under.

Spider Web Construction

There is a fairly large spider web spanning the gap from our patio roof to a fence and garden nearby. I haven't measured it but I would guesstimate it's about 3 metres at the widest point including the anchoring strands.

I haven't got the heart to take it down and it is not in our way being above our heads for the most part.

As I stood looking at it I wondered how the spider managed to reach the guttering on the patio to hold one end of a long thead. So I went looking for an explanation.

Wikipedia had the following - Spider web - Wikipedia

Many webs span gaps between objects which the spider could not cross by crawling. This is done by first producing a fine adhesive thread to drift on a faint breeze across a gap. When it sticks to a surface at the far end, the spider feels the change in the vibration. The spider reels in and tightens the first strand, then carefully walks along it and strengthens it with a second thread. This process is repeated until the thread is strong enough to support the rest of the web.[14]

After strengthening the first thread, the spider continues to make a Y-shaped netting. The first three radials of the web are now constructed. More radials are added, making sure that the distance between each radial and the next is small enough to cross. This means that the number of radials in a web directly depends on the size of the spider plus the size of the web. It is common for a web to be about 20 times the size of the spider building it.[15]

After the radials are complete, the spider fortifies the center of the web with about five circular threads. It makes a spiral of non-sticky, widely spaced threads to enable it to move easily around its own web during construction, working from the inside outward. Then, beginning from the outside and moving inward, the spider methodically replaces this spiral with a more closely spaced one made of adhesive threads. It uses the initial radiating lines as well as the non-sticky spirals as guide lines. The spaces between each spiral and the next are directly proportional to the distance from the tip of its back legs to its spinners. This is one way the spider uses its own body as a measuring/spacing device. While the sticky spirals are formed, the non-adhesive spirals are removed as there is no need for them any more.

Who taught the spiders to build webs and why would they even have bothered to begin with?

Not only that but their jaws are designed to make it easy to cut silk strands when they need to -


In spider fangs, however, the serrations are not evenly spaced. Instead, Pugno and Greco found that the gap between them is narrowest at the tip of a fang and widest nearest the base. This, they say, suggests that when spiders want to cut a fibre, their fangs slide inwards across it until it becomes trapped in a serration of the same size. At the contact point between fibre and serration, the required cutting force is at a minimum, thereby maximizing the efficiency of cutting.

“We conducted specific experiments to prove that the fang of a spider is a ‘smart’ tool with graded serrations for cutting fibres of different dimensions naturally placed in the best place for maximizing cutting efficiency,” Pugno explains. “This makes it more efficient than a razor blade to cut these fibres,” Greco adds.
Convenient outcome for blind unguided chance isn't it? And why would senseless chemicals even begin to form life without a motive?

Income inequality fueling Tesla attacks

It's not just many losing their jobs from DOGE but when tesla owner are getting under attacked as well it maybe a symptom of a much bigger problem.

Income inequality is massive in the USA. Common symptoms of this systemic problem is higher stress levels or unease, insecurity among its population, poverty, homelessness, resentment and distrust of the rich and the rich acting with indifference and excessive entitlement with the much greater wealth/power given to them by the massive wealth inequality.

We don't see these levels of unrest in nations where wealth is more equally distributed and "authority gradients" are less steep. Nations like Canada and some nations in EU where wealth distribution is at healthy levels. Such system creates trust and friendly relations or cooperation between rich and the lowest working classes.

I don't think people are simply seeing Tesla owners as supporters of Musk but also people who are rich or on their way to becoming rich.

And because in a country with massive income inequality exists strong resentment towards the rich then it's not hard to see these circumstances are helping to fuel the attacks.

If the unrest escalates further, we might start seeing wealthy people who may not own a Tesla vehicle become targets of attacks as well.

The only solution is find a way to have more equal distribution of wealth like in some EU nations. It will also help mitigate authority gradients and that is efficient.

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