Sunday School

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

What in the name of DOGE is Musk doing? He’s just implementing Project 2025.

Christian Nationalists plot to ‘Seize the Institutions of the Federal Government’.

Now, get back to the office so we can save taxpayers money!

Trump isn’t defending religious communities — he’s waging war on them.

Does Trump’s anti-Christian bias executive order favor one religion?

Religious leaders take the Separation Of Church And State seriously and sue the DHS and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is not happy with Pete Hegseth.

Justice Department fires multiple immigration judges amid case backlog.

The effects of DOGE and potential cuts to Medicaid are likely to hit communities where Donald Trump is popular.

Some loved the JD Vance speech in Munich, others not so much.

World of Woo:  The latest Anti-Vaccine ‘Study’ is a political stunt.

Environment: Decades of agricultural innovation has delivered a triple win.

Vaccine sceptic RFK Jr is now a powerful force in US science: what will he do? It was the rise of online misinformation that helped fringe ideas go mainstream.

Measles outbreak erupts in one of Texas’ least-vaccinated counties.

Can you debunk any of the “Best argument for having faith in God”?

What is Secular humanism?

What happened when the US tried high tariffs and ‘America first’ policies in the 1930s?

How can we know that an animal or AI, is conscious?

Early Earth’s cycles influenced the chemistry of the first life.

Long Reads:  

Behold the strange spectacle of Christians against empathy.

‘Here lives the monster’s brain’: the man who exposed Switzerland’s dirty secrets.

Groundbreaking cancer treatment destroys 99% of cancer cells.

Sunday Book Club: Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers, and Human Nature.

Some photographs taken last week. Eight images that tell the story of America.

While you are waiting for the kettle to boil……

Coffee Break Videos:  Atheism is growing in America but… Trump’s useless Task Force to “Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias”. An Israeli Arab Muslim meets some pro-Palestinians.  The most useful thing AI has done.

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

Have a great week folks!

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2025, has been scrutinized for several inaccuracies and misleading claims. Below is a fact-check of key assertions made during his address:

1. Claim: UK laws criminalize private prayer near abortion clinics.

Fact: Vance referenced the case of Adam Smith-Connor, suggesting that UK buffer zone laws prohibit private prayer near abortion facilities. However, Home Office guidance clarifies that private prayer is protected unless it becomes intrusive. The laws are designed to prevent harassment, not to ban silent or private prayer.

2. Claim: Scottish laws ban private prayer within homes near abortion clinics.

Fact: Vance alleged that Scotland prohibits private prayer in homes located near abortion clinics. The Scottish Government refuted this, stating that the buffer zone laws address public actions intended to influence abortion decisions and do not extend to private prayer within homes.

3. Claim: European leaders are censoring free speech, posing a greater threat than external adversaries like Russia or China.

Fact: Vance criticized European policies, citing incidents such as the conviction of a British ex-serviceman for praying outside an abortion clinic. While European countries have regulations to prevent harassment and hate speech, these laws are implemented to balance free expression with the protection of individual rights.

4. Claim: Romania cancelled its presidential election due to flimsy suspicions of foreign interference.

Fact: The 2024 Romanian presidential election was annulled following reports of significant foreign interference, including Russian internet campaigns promoting certain candidates. The decision was based on substantial evidence of external meddling, not merely on flimsy suspicions.

5. Claim: European countries are suppressing conservative voices and censoring dissenting opinions.

Fact: Vance pointed to actions in the UK, Germany, and Sweden as examples of censorship. However, these countries enforce laws against hate speech and actions that may incite violence or discrimination. The measures aim to protect public order and individual rights, rather than suppress legitimate political discourse.

In summary, while Vice President Vance raised concerns about free speech and democratic values in Europe, several of his claims were based on misinterpretations or lacked context. European nations implement laws to balance freedom of expression with the protection of individuals from harassment and hate speech.

[_Robert_Participant]

Pretty stupid for Vance to school Europe on “democracy” when he is part of a single-party regime, consisting of non-elected billionaire (and paid-for “representatives” and judges) who owns a media propaganda channel. And of course, all elections are rigged, even though zero evidence has ever been produced except for Russian meddling in their favor.

[UnseenParticipant]

I also posted this elsewhere, but it’s worthy of being posted here as well. By quoting Napoleon’s  “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” he’s basically announcing that he’s prepared, has mentally justified to himself, moving into the full dictatorship phase where he obeys no one but himself. Not the courts, not the congress, and not even the will of the people.

And the recent Supreme Court ruling made him immune to criminal prosecution. And while he can still be impeached, all Federal enforcement power resides in him as the head of the Executive Branch.

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by  Unseen.

[StregaModerator]

Thank you, Reg!

I’m in a 24 hour snowstorm in a cabin in the woods. What could possibly go wrong?  😑

(I’m actually caretaking this property, so technically I’m more like Jack Nicholson in The Shining)

[jakelafortParticipant]

All snow Strega? Raining ice here in CT.

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

Rest assured Strega, nothing has every happened to anyone who spent time in a cabin in the woods!! MAGA and Musk have everything under control.

[StregaModerator]

Yes Jake, we have a small break to allow the iced rain to plunge down and glaze the snow, so when the snow returns this evening, it will have a nice new platform to settle on.

I’m leaning towards The Shining, Reg

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by  Strega.

[jakelafortParticipant]

One of the weird things about traveling to the far north in Vermont during the winter is the felicity of the apricity. The clean air. Yeah. You can taste it. City slickers who never ventured outside their rat cages would be amazed.

As soon as you cross over from MA to Brattleboro there is more snow. A lot more snow in some years. A line of demarcation. Reminds me of the time i was climbing a mountain in the Adirondacks and at the base just a few inches. Suddenly i hit a point three quarters of way up where it went from negligible to four feet and up in drifts. All of the other footprints spoke of hikers who had turned back. Not me. A trail that was so familiar was foreign. Branches straining under the weight. Trail blazes concealed. At the summit the sense of solitude and an indelible beauty. The way down was so cool. Parts of the mountain are too steep to be anything but cautious when descending. But the snow acts as a buffer so i could go like hell on wheels.

I say that to say live your lives in play for there will come a day when you’ve no more to say.

[_Robert_Participant]

We have a house in the woods….well it’s more like a bayou, LOL. It’s about 78 degrees today. You would think 3 acres is enough, however if we ever left here, I would like at least 30 acres. High of 85 today, but it’s supposed to dip into the 50’s tonite.

[jakelafortParticipant]

Robert that is charming. Really cool spot.

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

I spend very little “off time” at home. I tend to disappear to the West of Ireland for a few days, maybe 6 times a year with a few 1 day visits in between. Mostly hiking or beach walking in some of these locations. (Often do the Diamond Hill trip, at about 16:10).

I do some “digital nomad” work too and will go to one of the Canary Islands fora few days. I tell nobody, just take my laptop and work as normal. I hope to be back in Atlanta soon too.

I do most of my running here, just a few minutes  from my house.

[_Robert_Participant]

jakelafort wrote:

Robert that is charming. Really cool spot.

Thanks Jake,

We enjoy watching the wildlife and keep bird feeders running all year.

 

 

[_Robert_Participant]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:

I spend very little “off time” at home. I tend to disappear to the West of Ireland for a few days, maybe 6 times a year with a few 1 day visits in between. Mostly hiking or beach walking in some of these locations. (Often do the Diamond Hill trip, at about 16:10). I do some “digital nomad” work too and will go to one of the Canary Islands fora few days. I tell nobody, just take my laptop and work as normal. I hope to be back in Atlanta soon too. I do most of my running here, just a few minutes from my house.

We talk about escaping midsummer heat for a few weeks to a month. Ireland and Scotland seem like interesting choices. We tried lower Alaska. Really beautiful, but half the time we were there it was almost as hot as Florida. Freaked me out when the guys took their shirts off, they looked like ghosts.

[Author]

Posts