One’s own culture can be tricky to observe and contemplate because seeing the forest when you are living in the trees is tough to do. It’s always been easier to recognize a culture different from one’s own because the contrasts stand out and often offend. To articulate what one routine repeats on a daily basis takes a big breath, step back, and serious self-reflection.

Consider the Superbowl, its comercials and half-time show. How many host or attend a party to tune in to what used to be a unifying American experience? Once upon a time schools and cities rallied together to support the local sports teams. But the Super Bowl rises above this and calls all in the United States to come party at this once a year event. The ensuing Monday morning is full of chatter about the commercials, game, and half-time entertainment. This wasn’t always the case.

The tide turned in 1993 when Michael Jackson was selected as the Super Bowl Half-time artist. According to IMDB , Jackson’s presence doubled viewership. The NFL quickly learned the power behind who they invite to perform and turned this into one of the most decked out pop/rock shows to exist. No longer was this event just about football. It became the platform to prop up the pop/rock idol of the day to manipulate the masses. Yes, manipulate.

Most people are completely blind to the purpose of entertainment. While it has a time and place in each person’s life, it has grown to proportions where some never grow up. I witnessed my late father being one of them. Don’t get me wrong, my dad was responsible. He earned his pharmacy license and worked for the same corporation for 32 years. But besides providing for his family, life to him was about always cracking a joke, making fun, playing a round of golf or tennis, and then plopping in front of ESPN for hours upon end. He subscribed to the local newspaper for one purpose: to read the sports page.

Many people, like my dad, want to be amused for life. This was done on purpose. A group of people who are immature are easily seduced, deceived, conquered, and controlled.

Panem et circenses – Bread and circuses

I applauded TurningPoint USA’s impressive alternate half time show. f you missed it, I took photos of the time to move your cursor to in order to watch the show on #YouTube. The link is at the bottom of the blog.

I’m not sure hosting #KidRock was the best idea since lyrics to other songs he produced are definitely questionable, but at least he didn’t sing those songs at this performance in a foreign language and pretend it was family friendly like the #NFL hired #badbunny to do.

Don’t you love how classy they’re all dressed in #turningpointusa’s show?

#GabbyBarrett models that a gorgeous woman doesn’t have to dress like a slut when on stage behind a microphone. Our girls finally have a good role model on how to dress and carry themselves!

How about the quality lyrics to the songs performed? “A life without work is just a myth.” “If you got to label me, label me proud.” “when we’re pressed down, we get back up again.” “There’s a book in your house…”

Just make sure you teach your kids how to respect and drink responsibly since one of the song does glorifies the drinking crowd.

While I am not a huge fan of Country Music as a genre, it’s American Culture and known for quality lyrics as opposed to the stereotypical rebellious, sexual, angry, and violent lyrics of Rock, Hip Hop, and pop music.

https://www.youtube.com/live/nJszMT9wZtQ?si=kLkFCFfclXhALZKshttps://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Absbk62qJ/

Many others had a lot to say. Clayton Wood wrote on Facebook, “Here we go again another Superbowl Halftime controversy https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GRTqePzDk

MCRTV posted on Facebook the English translation to Bad Bunny’s lyrics sung on stage. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HxQvkajRS/ Yikes, not exactly the music I want to listen to much less my kids. But hey, I did the same thing when I was a teen. I thought I could enjoy the beat and ignore the lyrics. When they mumble like Bad Bunny in another language its not tough to do. However, words do matter. More on that thought the blog I wrote on The Folly of Don’t Be a Prude.

The Folly of “Don’t Be a Prude”

Back to the Superbowl Half-Time Show, the NFL doesn’t like the competition https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Zc1arNu3Y/

David Rameria title his FB post, “When Two Halftimes Reveal a Nation’s Spiritual Crisis.”

Then starts his blog with, “Super Bowl LX gave America more than a football game—it gave us a mirror, and the reflection reveals a profound spiritual crisis.

Bad Bunny became the first Latino solo artist to headline the halftime show, performing almost entirely in Spanish.  At the exact same moment, Turning Point USA streamed an alternative show featuring Kid Rock, drawing millions who refused to watch the official broadcast. 

Two stages. Two Americas. One spiritually sobering moment. The Problem on Both Stages…” Read the rest here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19FFjBqWNU

Resources:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482607/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_ov_pl

https://www.that-was-the-year.com/post/the-evolution-of-american-culture-from-post-war-grit-to-1950-s-glamour

Liam Out Loud concisely articulates what’s really going on. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BCyphtFha

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2026/02/06/what-to-know-about-turning-point-usa-halftime-show-including-controversies

Who was Jesus and was he really born on December 25? Why do churches celebrate Christmas Eve? It can be good to doubt and question why certain traditions are practice. But one should consider the attitude behind it. Is it to better understand or to mock and justify rebellion? Be careful of the later and let’s dig into the first.

There is no record of the exact date when Jesus of Nazareth was born. During this time in history poverty was rampant and record keeping scant as the costs of scrolls and scribes were exorbitant. But, individuals were very good at giving oral accounts that were much better than what moderns can fathom who depend on written texts to refer to.

According to Luke 2:8-20 shepherds who were keeping watch of their flock at night were greeted by an angel to proclaim the birth of the Savior. Israel is too cold in December to stay out at night with one’s sheep. It’s more likely that they would do this in the Spring or Fall.

Some say that Jesus was born in the Spring near the time of the Passover. Others say he was born later during the season of Fall Festivals of Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah. Both have deep literary significance with what each of these holidays commemorate that fore shadow the promised Messiah. So why celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25?

December 21st is known as the Winter Solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere it is the darkest day of the year as the angle of the earth points away from the sun even though Earth is actually in the closest part of its ellipse to it. Pagan celebration of this involved raucous partying, rituals, feasting, and sacrifice to their various gods. But in the 10th century, Norwegian King Haakon the Good, desired to convert all of Norway to Christianity. What better way than to blend Jesus’s claim to be the light of the world in John 8:12 and switch the celebration to his time of birth?

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Interestingly, Hanukkah also known as the Feast of Dedication, a holiday not clearly instituted in the Torah like the Spring and Fall Festivals are, also falls somewhere around this time each year. The history behind this is found between the last prophets before Christ ~167-164 B.C. in the books of I Maccabees chapters 3-4 and II Maccabees 8:1-10:18, Apocrypha texts. Judas Maccabeus led a guerrilla-style rebellion against Antiochus Epiphanes to purify the Temple and restore Jewish faith practices. From this an 8 day celebration of rededicating the temple became known as Hanukkah. A key part of this celebration is the menorah, originally a seven branch candelabra that originates from Exodus 37:17-24.

Yeshua is recorded in John 10:22-23 as observing this festival:

²² Then came the Festival of Dedication^[a] at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 

The next few verses shed incredible understanding onto Jewish expectation and longing of the time. They wanted a political Messiah to free them from the bondage of the Roman Empire. The Maccabean Revolt was temporary. The majority of the brothers who led it died horrific deaths as an independent Israel eventually gave way to the rule of Rome. This did not align with the prophecies and hopes for freedom. Keeping this in mind, pick back up in John 10 verse 24:

²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^[b]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’^[c]? ³⁵ If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— ³⁶ what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” ³⁹ Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

Reading this one can surmise why many Jews rejected Yeshua as Messiah. He did not fit the mold of what they believed. He did not give them the political freedom from Rome that they sought. Picking back up in the rest of the passage:

⁴⁰ Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, ⁴¹ and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And in that place many believed in Jesus.

This belief in Yeshua isn’t the kind that the demons exhibit as described in James 2:19. Rather, it’s the kind that changes lives through genuine repentance and true worship! It frees one from looking for heaven on earth in an utopian style of government. They experience the power of being forgiven a debt to G-d that they could never pay and in turn extend that forgiveness towards others. They are finally able to apply the Shema as written in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 by loving G-d with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind. Then in turn love their neighbor as themselves!

Perhaps this is what 10th Century Norwegian King Haakon had experienced which is why he was also called good and wanted to spread to others by converting Winter Solstice into Christmas. The bigger question is what have you experienced and desire? What do hope to convey to others when you wish a Merry Christmas?

For more reading and references in this blog:

https://textandcanon.org/paul-and-first-century-letter-writing

https://allthatsinteresting.com/yule

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%208%3A12&version=NIV

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-menorah

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2037%3A17-24&version=NIV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2010:22-42&version=NIV

https://www.gotquestions.org/Maccabean-Revolt.html

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/feast-dedication-jesus-hanukkah

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%206%3A4-9&version=TLV

https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/James%202%3A19

Fall Holidays

What is Rosh Hashanah besides the first of the fall Jewish holidays that shows up on some calendars and calls for a day off of public school in certain communities? Why should it be observed by all Jews and possibly believing Gentiles who are grafted in through Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead?

First, to clarify, the purpose of this blog is restore and respect the spiritual rich history behind this holiday, not to get bogged down in the various unique cultural traditional details that one may be familiar with. By all means share in the comment section if you have something to add and correct any misnomers of which I am blissfully unaware.

Here’s one to start with. Last week I was enjoying the company of lovely friends when two who are Jewish looked at me strangely when I referred to High Holy Days as feasts or festivals. Little did they know I was thinking of this book that has taught me much about what I will discuss in this blog. One did agree that if I were to be a good practicing Christian I should first understand the Jewish faith and history.

Rosh Hashanah is referred to “The Head of the Year”, but it’s actually the 7th month of the Biblical Jewish calendar not the first. “ADONAI said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blast on the shofar.” Leviticus 23:23-24 It is a day of rest with no specified name. So why is it now referred to “New Year?” Perhaps it evolved to this like other traditions.

The new year varies depending on its purpose. The primary and secondary school year starts somewhere in August or September for most in the United States, but the academic medical school year starts July 1st. Neither starts in January. Then we have fiscal calendars for accounting and taxing purposes. There are planting and harvesting seasons so don’t get hung up on this “New Year” reference for agrarian based cultures of which Ancient Israel was one.

At the time of Christ, Tishri or the 7th month was established as the beginning of the fiscal year where Passover in the month of Nissan signifies the beginning of the spiritual year, but even this varies based on the tradition followed.

Don’t get hung up on the name either. There’s no fancy name or title given in scripture. It’s just referred to “Yom T’ruah” meaning the day of blowing. This evolved to the feast of Trumpets for some. So why this instrument and for what purpose?

Various types of horns or trumpet like instruments have been used to rally the masses to signify some form of announcement whether they are war cries or to announce the entrance of the king. What is unique about shofar is that it is to be made by a ram’s horn to remind the people of the ram that the LORD provided in the thicket for Abraham to sacrifice instead of Isaac his only son as recorded in Genesis chapter 22. This ram pointed to Jesus laying down his life as further described in Isaiah 53 that would ultimately occur in Golgatha as described in Matthew 27.

As a musician, I find it fascinating that the person who was to blow the shofar was to be a trained musician since youth who played beautifully on a virtuoso level. One who could play to evoke the deepest emotion within. His music was to awaken the deepest parts of the soul to reflect and remember.

This was to review all that God had done to rescue Israel from the slavery of Egypt which points to the ultimate freedom from sin, through Christ, that the apostle Paul writes about in Romans chapter 6. This freedom would finally equip genuine repentance of sins that kept weighing Israel down of which is another major theme of Rosh Hashanah especially moving into Yom Kippur.

Another theme of the holiday is judgement. That certainly isn’t a popular topic today. People are deluded into thinking that everything is ok as long as you are ok with just about any behavior, lifestyle, or belief, but this isn’t the case. What people do in private spills over into the public and affects others. So let’s look closer at look.

The view that the LORD judges Israel and the Gentiles obviously isn’t very popular, but is based on Deuteronomy 11:13-18. There are three books that get opened on Rosh Hashanah that group people into three general categories: the righteous, the wicked, and the in between.

According to second century Rabbi Meir, the righteous have their name inscribed in the book of life, the wicked in the book of death and the in between are given 10 days until Yom Kippur to repent based on Psalm 69:28 which states, “Erase them from the book of life, let them not be written with the righteous.” and Exodus 32:30-32 “You have committed terrible sin. Now I will go up to ADONAI; maybe I will be able to atone for your sin…Now, if you will just forgive their sin! But if you won’t, then I be you bot me out of your book which you have written.” -The Complete Jewish Study Bible. There are lots of theological disagreements and implications in this which I will not pursue further here with the exception of one.

Humans are easily seduced by power, corrupt it, and love to lord it over their subjects in the name of God and religion. This is why all ancient cultures governments were entwined with gods of various cultures. Ancient Israel was to be different and set apart because this God of One who created all and is sovereign over all was an anathema to all other religions at that time.

The other differentiation is unlike the sacrificial systems of the numerous gods of all nations, YWHY prescribed Himself as One, Omnipotent Sovereign through Moshe or Moses to be only deity that could be satisfied. The promise of redemption and restoration was real. Not only this but the people could have fellowship with God experience His love and one another rather than living in constant fear and bickering. Free will to chose to love and obey was offered instead of demanded through force, conquest, and constant fear of the unknown. All other religions operate on the later.

This transitions into another major theme of Rosh Hashanah: repentance. Repentance is the voluntary means by which to submit to YWHY’s rule, authority, and law. It is how to become a righteous subject of such king.

So in closing, take time to reflect upon the spiritual depths discussed. Do not mistaken YHWY’s patience in judgement as indifference or inability to intervene. He is sovereign over all the earth, it’s rulers, and nations whether they honor him or not. Do not excuse your lack of submission to His rule based on the abuses or neglect of others. Choose this day and choose well.

Beware of the Re-writers

Back in February I wrote about getting Americans to return to constitutional principals by learning the original to start from. This led to my search for a copy of the Florida Constitution.

Make America Constitutional Again

Little did I realize that six proposed Amendments would be sponsored and placed on the November 5, 2024 ballot to change the Florida Constitution.

The founding fathers designed a unique form of government that would be limited by a Constitution. Each state has their own in addition to the Constitution of the United States of America. These words are compiled to generate a meaning that was supposed to create a representative form of governance or republic that had restrictions to prevent tyrannical rule.

However, words can be misinterpreted, misconstrued, and maligned. Some would argue that the profession of law has been corrupted by those most talented in doing just this. While it may seem to be more prevalent at this time especially in certain areas, it really isn’t a new tactic.

Consider one of the very first stories of human beings, chapter 3 of Genesis: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You^[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” The first tactic is to question what was said.

The second is to twist the intent behind commands, directives, and laws. ⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The third is to misapply it by taking it out of context as a separate entity. Look at the temptation of Jesus in Matthew chapter 4: “Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus aptly replies, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Expanding to other strategies used in the war of words is to change the meaning of words and phrases. How often does one hear, “That’s not what it means!” or “What does that mean?”

Well that’s exactly what is going on with the majority of the Amendments listed on the Florida November 5, 2024 ballot.

Amendment 1: https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/Initiatives/fulltext/pdf/10-104.pdf in summary is proposing to change school board elections from non-partisan to partisan vote as if divisions weren’t big enough already. But perhaps it will review one’s affiliation’s that explain why furies are provided liter pans, sexually confused students are allowed to impose their personal identity crisis onto others in bathrooms and locker rooms, and sexually graphic materials are included in health curriculums. Voting YES will mean school board candidates must divulge their political party affiliation. It also means that independent voters will not be able to vote on school board in the August primary.

Amendment 2: https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/Initiatives/fulltext/pdf/10-105.pdf rambles on about preserving the right to fish and hunt via traditional means as a constitutional right. Why this isn’t already a right is really baffling.

Amendment 3: https://initiativepetitions.elections.myflorida.com/InitiativeForms/Fulltext/Fulltext_2205_EN.pdf is laced with seductive wording to make it seem like voting in favor for it will further supply the state government with funds to provide great services with taxation on the approval of marijuana for recreational use. Meanwhile, it gives one corporation sole privilege to be the source of the substance while putting all competition out of business. It also opens to door to a myriad of additional social problems of which enough present. Vote “No” is probably in the best interest of everyone but the sponsors of the amendment.

Amendment 4: https://initiativepetitions.elections.myflorida.com/InitiativeForms/Fulltext/Fulltext_2307_EN.pdf deceives, lies, and mispromises. It’s quite the example of ambiguity to allow for interpretation as anyone sees fit. The advertising behind the amendment is very misleading. For example Unlike other Amendments, Amendment 4 does not define any of its key terms. For example, it does not define “viability,” “health care provider,” “patient’s health,” or how serious a health concern would need to be to allow exceptions for late-term abortions. These uncertainties create loopholes resulting in more abortions later in pregnancy than voters intend.

Amendment 4 goes TOO FAR by allowing late-term abortions, far beyond when science says the baby is capable of feeling pain.

Amendment 4 would overturn current laws requiring a parent’s consent BEFORE a minor can have an abortion, thereby making abortion the only medical procedure that can be performed on a minor without a parent’s permission.

Amendment 4 pretends to “just bring things back to how they were with Roe vs. Wade” – but it actually goes much further – creating a constitutional right to abortion throughout all nine months with no protections for the unborn baby.

In Michigan, where voters recently approved a similar amendment, the same lawyers who wrote Amendment 4 are currently suing the state to force taxpayers to fund abortions. The same thing will happen in Florida if Amendment 4 passes. Be sure to visit the Votenoon4FL.com web page for more information. The link is listed below.

Home

Amendment 5: https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/initiatives/fulltext/pdf/10-106.pdf Here’s an interesting amendment that proposes an amendment to the State Constitution to require an annual adjustment for inflation to the value of current or future homestead exemptions that apply solely to levies other than school district levies and for which every person who has legal or equitable title to real estate and maintains thereon the permanent residence of the owner, or another person legally or naturally dependent upon the owner is eligible. This amendment takes effect January 1, 2025.  A YES vote would allow the homestead exemptions to be adjusted for inflation, a NO vote would keep the homestead exemptions the same as current.  But let’s look closely at the language of the proposal:

(1) An exemption not exceeding fifty thousand dollars to a
82 person who has the legal or equitable title to real estate and
83 maintains thereon the permanent residence of the owner, who has
84 attained age sixty-five, and whose household income, as defined
85 by general law, does not exceed twenty thousand dollars; or
86 (2) An exemption equal to the assessed value of the
87 property to a person who has the legal or equitable title to
88 real estate with a just value less than two hundred and fifty
89 thousand dollars, as determined in the first tax year that the
90 owner applies and is eligible for the exemption, and who has
91 maintained thereon the permanent residence of the owner for not
92 less than twenty-five years, who has attained age sixty-five,
93 and whose household income does not exceed the income limitation
94 prescribed in paragraph (1).

Who has an income less than 20,000 and owns property?

Could it be that this Amendment is just smoke and mirrors to the Tax racket described here?

Local and State Property Tax Racket in Florida

Amendment 6: https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/initiatives/fulltext/pdf/10-107.pdf Proposes the repeal of the provision in the State Constitution which requires public financing for campaigns of candidates for elective statewide office who agree to campaign spending limits.  A YES vote would repeal the requirement for public financing for campaigns of statewide office candidates who agree to campaign spending limits, a NO vote would keep the law the same.

I’d like to thank the women of We The Locals Podcast.com for their guide and podcast on this subject. Visit it here: https://wethelocalspodcast.com/#9a605efa-1b4a-43c8-96a0-a50861dfb927

Other recommended references;

https://www.flfamily.org/

Home

ttps://votenoon4florida.com

For the full Genesis Chapter 3 click here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203&version=ESV

For the full Matthew 4 story of the temptation of Jesus, click here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204&version=ESV

For a fantastic sermon discussing how the Bible can be misinterpreted click here:

August 20, 2024 Primary Election Palm Beach County, Florida School Board District 5

In February I wrote about a debate I attended between the two Republican candidates for Sheriff in Part I. This post I will be focusing on a debate that was held between three of the candidates for the District 5 position for the Palm Beach County School District School Board.

First, to clarify, the Palm Beach County, School District 5 position will be voted on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 in the Primary Election. School Board is a non-partisan local government position. Since this is a primary election, people will receive a different ballot according to either the Democratic, Republican, or Nonpartisan voter’s registration preference. But the five people running for PBCSD Board District 5 will appear on all three of these ballots, unlike sheriff regardless of their particular party status.

A winner for District 5 could also emerge from this Primary Election on August 20, 2024, but it is unlikely since the winner must secure more than 51% of the votes which will be difficult with five people running. Most likely whoever the two individuals who secure the highest percentage of votes will then run off on November 5, 2024.

The Palm Beach County School Board is comprised of 7 districts that do NOT geographically coordinate with the the 7 districts for the Palm Beach County County Commissioners Board. Why this is is a whole additional subject. In short, I view it as a convenient complication to keep the normal citizen ignorant and unaware of their local governance. Stay with me though so that you can change this and hold these leaders accountable. After all, the school district taxes your property without homestead relief, determines its own millage rate, and is the largest business in Palm Beach County with an astronomical budget funded by your public tax dollars.

PBCSB like most boards rotate terms so approximately half of the board is up for election at the same time. This also allows for incumbents to have time to merge into the board and learn the system should they be new, which many of the American Founding Fathers envisioned. People would leave their farms and businesses for a time to serve their community. They would then return to their farms or businesses. Each would take their turn leading. This professional politician game where they move from different position to position isn’t what was intended.

School Board members serve for a four year term. This year, 2024 the seats that are up are Districts 1,2, and 5. Women Impacting the Nation, founded by Trombino hosted a Candidate Forum at the August monthly Charter Meeting Tuesday evening in School Board District 5 in Boca Raton. The leadership of WIN asked three of the school board candidates who were present several questions followed by the audience. The three candidates present were Gloria Branch, Mike Letsky, and Suzanne Page.

Each were given an opportunity to answer, but Branch rudely interrupted Letsky early on because she didn’t like that he was differentiating himself from her. Meanwhile Ms. Branch was the one who went first and arrogantly claimed to be the ONLY one… blah ,blah, blah. Heated exchanged calmed down and civil dialogue ensued.

Branch began to sound like a broken record resaying the same things over and over again. My teen daughter who I took with me for her summer homeschool civics field trip found it amusing that a grown woman would claim experience because her father was a principal and superintendent in the past. We are also puzzled why a “successful banker” would give that career up in order to be a substitute teacher. If she cares so much why didn’t she share specific plans that she has to implement if elected?

She just kept harping on getting back to the basics of “reading, writing, and arithmetic.” Thankfully she didn’t refer to them as the “Three R’s.” It might be a catchy phrase, but it’s a terrible way to teach reading, spelling, and writing. It’s already confusing enough for students to differentiate between write, rite, and right! Then its just sloppy speaking to claim that R in arithmetic. But this was the slogan to start public schools in the beginning of the 19th century. See my blog on Private, Public, or Homeschool The Answer Part II in the references below for that bunny trail.

Back to the school board debate, Mr. Letsky specified that student scores and learning were not improving with the laptop curriculums. He shared data on this and proposed ditching these costly programs in order to replace it with returning to empowering teachers to lead daily instruction and require students to read physical books.

Letzky also impressively articulated specific ideas of where to cut wastefully spending in the budget to increase teacher salaries and benefits in order to retain talent. Details like “15.5 million dollars were spent on Multi-Cultural a.k.a. DEI curriculum and 5.5 million dollars were spent on Social Emotional Learning, SEC.” He understands what I blogged about curriculum this time last year. See that story in the references below.

Mike is also aware of the busing and transportation problems and has solutions to address them. Good talent needs to be retained through good leadership, respect, and decent pay.

Suzanne Page kept calling herself Pitbull Page. She promised to address the DEI problem in the schools. Dr. Page also promised to deal with the bloated budget. She pointed out that PBCSD has 24 different lawyers whose incomes are consuming some of the wasteful expenses. She didn’t seem too excited about increasing teacher pay like Letsky.

Obviously, I’m endorsing Letsky. But look up the candidates web pages, read, and determine for yourself. I included the link for Letsky’s below. Branch has her page designed to take over mine when I tried to insert it, so I ditched it. Her page should be easy to find because she raised a lot of money from donors outside of the county unlike Letsky. 71 of Mike’s donors are grassroots locals who care to change the board. If Suzanne Page has a web site, I couldn’t find it. I’m sure she’s a great person with good values, but it’s hard to envision her being successful in what she claims she will do.

Two other candidates are on the ballot who were not present at this debate. Mindy Koch who is boasting that she is endorsed by former Chair of the Board, Frank Barbiari, Jr. I’m curious if this man still has any supporters. The disrespectful way he treated the public at board meetings revealed him as a tyrant. The other candidate is Charman Postel. Both of these women are democrats with progressive views. I’m guessing that’s why they weren’t at WIN’s debate.

One closing thought, understand the reason for public school, how it is funded, and operated before you cast your vote. It’s one of the most important government businesses that affects you and your community whether you have children in the system or not.

https://ballotpedia.org/Statewide_primary_elections_calendar

Click this link to find your sample ballot: https://www.votepalmbeach.gov/Voters/Precinct-Finder

https://voteletsky.com

Curriculum Has a Time and Place

Private, Public, or Homeschool, The Answer Part II

Who’s the best candidate?

Early March 2020 major news broke out across the world about a possible worldwide pandemic. Since one of my projects years ago when I worked in the pharmaceutical industry was to work with infectious disease medical thought leaders about a new drug to treat influenza called zanamivir I had been scouring through the CDC’s web site for information about this new strain of coronavirus.  I recalled what these thought leaders taught about how quickly a pandemic could spread throughout the world given our modern travel habits.  I knew it was a matter of time before it would be a local issue.

But, I also remembered that doctors, even the thought leading ones at the prestigious medical school are humans vulnerable to pride to fill their curriculum vitae’s with publications, speaking engagements, referrals, and political advancement within the medical and local communities of which they partake.  They are subject to the quality and quantity their subordinate researchers support them with.  The accuracy and speed of their testing equipment limits and sometimes fails them.  And most of all the statisticians can “cook the books” or power their studies to say just about whatever the writer of the hypothesis really wanted to prove.   A professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center taught me to be careful of the latter.  He repeated frequently, “Figures lie and lairs figure.”

So I began to tune in to dissident voices that argued against what the mainstream media was saying to see what they had to say and why. Fragmented parts of my life finally came together to form a clear picture much like lost pieces from 1000 piece puzzle.

Fast forward to January 2024, another bizarre time of events. Rumors of what happened on January 6 still haunt many. I’ve always felt that there are two sides to any story with the truth often falling somewhere in the middle.

I don’t really remember where or how I came across an article featuring one of the J6 prisoners and the treatment they have endured. I felt compelled to share it through one of my social media accounts on December 2, 2023. I forgot about it and moved on. But then early in January 2024, at an informal dinner out, I met the fiancé and mom of one of one of those men!

What has ensued since is a friendship with these two women who encouraged me to write to Barry.

First I had to re-write my first letter to him in order to comply with the standards of what the federal prison system would allow for me to send. No stickers, tape, cards, or flyers are permitted. Only a hand written note on white paper. Then I started receiving letters back from him along with updates from his fiancé and mom on how happy he was that I started to write.

It’s been a long time since I had a pen pal and wrote letters. It’s also been a while since I studied at public school and university. Most of us weren’t taught much about the Constitution of the United States. Most public school curriculum offers Civics: American Government for only one or maybe two years. However, I’ve worked to ensure that my homeschool daughter has it every year since middle school.

One organization that has helped me to do this is Constituting America. They host weekly live podcasts on Tuesdays at 2 PM EST. Each week they host a different guest who is well experienced in the Constitutional topic they plan to discuss. This guest gives a brief monologue on the subject which is followed by the most thought provoking Q & A by regular members of the show.

They have also introduced me to a few other great resources like the Ashbrook Center which is an independent organization at Ashland University that is committed to restore and strengthen the capacity of the American people for governing themselves. Below are links to these organizations and their resources.

Lastly all of these organization offer their resources freely because people who can support them financially do. So if you can, please consider donating to them, thank you and let’s make American Constitutional again.

https://americanminute.com

Home

Home

https://constitutingamerica.org/

Exclusive Update: J6 Political Prisoner Barry Ramey Launches Appeal Against Egregious Sentence – Continues His Fight for Justice – PLEASE DONATE BELOW

Home

https://online.hillsdale.edu/landing/constitution-101

Family Theatrical Drama

https://www.turningpointacademy.com/resources : Look for the Patriots’ Catechism Ages 12-99, Junior Patriots Kit Ages 5-8, Constitution Kit: Ages 9-12 Bahnsen Economics Course: Ages 14-18 and How We Got Here: Ages 12-18

Perhaps the push began in the early 2000’s. At least that’s when my manager at the time informed my colleagues that we would be given a day off to do some volunteer work project as a team. We chose d.c. Central Kitchen as some of us had already volunteered there with various other church and civic groups. It has an amazing reputation for turning excess food from restaurants and catered events in delicious meals for the local shelters.

It was a fantastic change of scenery and experience for us. The cook in charge, a former hopeless unemployed homeless man, made demands in his commands that gave us an appreciation for the essence of time when working with food. He also enlightened on how to cut vegetables properly quickly without endangering the tips of one’s fingers. While this experience turned delightful for the most part, sidebar conversation broke out and discussed that pharmaceutical companies have public image problems so this must be the higher ups way to combat it, market a new “We’re Do Gooders” campaign. Meanwhile it also turned out like a holiday week that put pressure on us to get the job done in less time.

Back to volunteering, I was raised that this is what Christians are supposed to do. They are to care for the poor and needy any chance they can. I had also learned over the years that it was a great way to accrue a new skill that would prove useful in my personal life. For example, to this day, I think of that cook every time I slice carrots. So, I took advantage of this dual reality raising my daughter.

First, we worked with Tiffany, a Miami Dade County Biologist, in removing invasive plants species. Next we raised mangrove seedlings that we secured from Frost Science Museum and then mucked around in the swamps near Virginia Key with MUVE to plant them. Another time we met up an army of people that packed up meals at the Fairgrounds for Feed My Starving Children.

In Alabama my daughter learned how to care for goats with a local farmer. What a delight this turned out to be. She would have never been permitted to volunteer with animals at any 501 3-C organization because she was too young. Rather she experienced what happened in old school America, children had to help on the farm.

Another amazing experience my daughter had volunteering in Alabama was at Ft. Toulouse/Ft. Jackson State Park. We stumbled across this opportunity when we stayed there in our RV when we had evacuated from Hurricane Irma when we had lived in Miami. Deborah Jenkins noticed how interested my daughter was in the history she taught, took her under her tutelage, and supported one of the new favorite child re-enactors.

Our last volunteer opportunity in Alabama was one I wrote an extensive blog on. It is linked below for convenient viewing. Elise wound up as one of the leads in a unique cross-cultural theater production with A-KEEP, Alabama Korean Education Economic Partnership.

All these experiences add up to more than 200 hours of volunteer experience that we found out counted for nothing in the State of Florida for High School Graduation or the Bright Futures Scholarship because they happened before she was in high school, but they certainly have exponentially accumulated to enable my daughter to be one of the most amazing people one can interact with.

Since, thankfully, my daughter has been able to volunteer helping children safely on and off horses at Delmar Farm in Loxahatchee.

She enjoyed a semester singing with Young Singers of Palm Beaches

She’s helped at Vacation Bible School at our local church Crossbridge and now actively serves with the Dirty Mechanics so she should be able to claim the over 100 hours of volunteer work in high school.

Every single one of these experiences have been worthy and a good use of time, but one cannot keep giving their time away especially with the price tag college and post graduate school comes with. My daughter needs to work for money in addition to study to learn and perform well. So why are colleges now sending flyers bragging about how many hours of volunteer service their students have clocked in?

Granted that University of Tennessee Knoxville’s sports teams take their name, the Volunteers, from the state’s nickname I’ve seen service hours quoted by other college recruitment flyers my daughter has received. Why is this the new bragging and selling point from universities?

When I went to college back in the late 80’s I struggled to study and work as a Resident Assistant so that I could get in and out in four years without summer school. I needed to save on housing costs and go home to work in the summer to keep my college loans low. There was barely time to go to church on Sundays, much less enjoy a day of rest. There is no way I had time to “serve” the community in addition to.

Think this through, those who brag about their volunteer hours must have enough income to hire housekeeping, lawn service, and a myriad of other help. They also do not need to juggle two or three jobs to pay the bills. So, this push for serving for free is really a way to bully the poor and make their lives harder.

It’s also a convenient means to move towards the social credit score economic system that many are supporting. While this may seem oh so caring and kind, think about the realities of life and human nature first.

I’ve examined the income and benefits of the people who work for 501 3-C’s verses those who are in small business. It makes the executives of 501 3-C look like cushy jobs. They don’t personally have to manage the hassles much less bear the financial risks that owners do. Yet, they get to brag that they work for a 501 3-C. Meanwhile they convince people to work for them for free via volunteering.

Don’t get me wrong, many of these community groups do provide helpful services to their neighborhoods and not all of them pay well. It’s also good to volunteer, but at what cost and how efficient is it really? Plus if business owners aren’t allowed to make any money after all the licensing fees, taxes, and insurance they have to pay much less healthcare for themselves and their employees who’s going to donate the dough to keep the 501 3-Cs running?

Questions like this are why some governors are requiring students to take and pass Economics before they graduate from high school. But whose curriculum and philosophy of economics is being taught?

Do yourself a favor and brush up on your own understanding of economics. Consider taking the free online classes from Hillsdale College. Sign up for the Mises Institute publications and newsletters from Steve Moore, Committee to Unleash Prosperity. They are posted below for your convenience. Just beware that your email account may mark them as spam or junk because they want to keep you as a “useful idiot.” But don’t let them, press on.

Also, your personal life may benefit quite a bit from a better understanding of just where your money is going. It may also depress you to see that much of it is stolen from you a.k.a. taxes and redistributed. But take heart, only the ignorant continue to live with their heads buried in the sand.

Lastly, contemplate: “The law has been perverted through the influence of two very different causes–naked greed and misconceived philanthropy.” -Frederic Bastiat first published in 1850 “The Law.” I highly recommend securing a copy of this classic essay. Read and consider the whole 55 pages.

Family Theatrical Drama

https://www.akeep.org/

https://www.crossbridgeboca.org/

About

Home

https://delmarfarm.org/

https://www.dirtymechanics.org/

https://online.hillsdale.edu/

https://mises.org/

Volunteer with MUVE

https://www.yspb.org/

A friend invited me to Kings Point Republican Club in Delray’s Meeting last night where they hosted the Republican Candidates for Sheriff Q &A Debate.

It started off with a friendly gesture by Gauger to allow Diaz to go first.

Diaz started off stating his motto, “Citizens Before Politics.” He went on to say that the Sheriff’s budget should be out in the open. He wants to order an audit of what has been spent to date. He believes money has been mismanaged under the current sheriff of Palm Beach County. Next He wants to advocate for victim’s of domestic abuse. The former Captain has witness too many repeat calls where mostly, but not all women are trapped in their situations. They don’t know their rights, how to seek refuge, and become independent of their abusers financial provisions.

Mr. Diaz Proceeded to his next area of concern, how the homeless are treated. He cares to find out WHY are they homeless before jumping to judgments and putting them behind bars. Again in his experience he found that too many of them are military veterans, sufferers of PTSD and other mental illnesses. The fourth commitment he made is to get a better partnership with PBSO and PBCSD police. He wants the corresponding neighborhood officer very familiar with the school layout. Lastly, Lauro Diaz shared that he would assess all these special units that Sheriff Bradshaw set up. If the units are not producing results then the individuals working there will be placed back out to patrol the streets.

Next the other Republican candidate for PBSO Sheriff, Michael Gauger, took to walking the aisle. He boasted of all his previous awards and accomplishments during his 50 years of law enforcement and community involvement. Michael flaunted that he had his masters in social work. He set up citizen’s patrol and other volunteer agencies that once numbered 4,000 but is now down to ~700. Gauger then tagged onto some of what Diaz said. He exposed that Sheriff Bradshaw set up an opulent office on PGA Blvd that houses 11 people and is costing tax payers $46,000 a month. That Bradshaw has increased salaries in some instances $30,000 more. He has purchased GMC Denali’s. Overall Sheriff Bradshaw has run debt in excess of 1,000,000. The last point that Gauger made was that Bradshaw did away with evaluations. Supervisors are too busy trying to be the buddy of deputies. He promised to bring back accountability, but he didn’t say how.

Next Peter Cavanagh, President of King’s Point Republican Club, walked a microphone around the room for attendees to ask questions.

I had a tough time keeping up taking notes on who said what, but I did notice that it seemed that I began to hear similar responses from each of the candidate that would assuage the inquisitor’s concern. So it caught me off guard towards the end when they were asked if they would support one another during the election against Bradshaw. Diaz seemed more open to the proposition, but emphasized that differences would have to be worked out. Gauger said the same. He also was burned in a deal years ago by someone who convinced him of similar deal so I sensed great hesitation which will hurt the Republican ticket when the time comes to defeat Bradshaw.

Albeit many of the responses sounded similar, I was endeared to hear that Diaz has suffered himself a few life threatening situations where his backup froze and couldn’t respond to prevent him from getting beat any further. This is service to appreciate. Thank you former Captain Diaz for putting your life on the line. I also appreciate that you don’t sugar coat situations and are upfront about the current weaknesses that exist in the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. I hope that this doesn’t come back to hurt your efforts as unfortunately some would rather burry their heads in the sand and want to just hear that everything is going fine.

Here is the web sites for both candidates in the debate in alphabetical order. Thank you to Peter Cavanagh and the Kings Point Republican Club for hosting this last night. I hope this helps you to make an informed vote in the Palm Beach County Primary on Tuesday, March 19, 20204.

*I learned about this article published in 2019 that quotes Gauger’s work monitoring Jeffery Epstein too late to ask Michael to comment on. I recommend reading it to consider for yourself who Michael Gauger really is. https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/politics/government/2019/07/13/jeffrey-epstein-model-prisoner-who-swept-mopped-floors-official-says/4602151007

Referenced cites:

https://www.diazforsheriff2024.com/

https://www.gaugerforsheriff.com/

https://www.votepalmbeach.gov/Elections/Election-Dates-and-Deadlines

A feature on the life and impact of Vivien Thomas

A common question to get people to interact is to ask, “Who is your role model?” Many raise or teach their children in the hopes that their kids will bring themselves up when the question is answered. Then others of us want to point the students to a myriad of individuals who overcame life’s hurdles to make significant impact in life. In this blog I will be focusing on Vivien Thomas.

I knew nothing about Thomas nor the physician, Dr. Alfred Blalock who he helped make famous before I was directed to invite a prominent black academic physician to attend the premier PBS Home Video showing of Partners of the Heart with the Black Caucus at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, partnered with The Alfred Sloan Foundation, Liberty Mutual, Scotts, National Endowment for the Humanities, cpb, and PBS to fund the production of this documentary. I’m so glad they did.

Following this event, I was given a few copies of the video tape to share with the doctor who attended and keep one myself. I’m grateful as I needed to watch the video several times to catch all the history I was never taught. I also needed to re-watch it to inspire myself when feeling professionally inferior because I never paid for more initials like, RN, RpH, NP, PA, or MD that would enable me to get clinical job instead of just sales and marketing.

This became even more important to me when I fell back on what my undergraduate degree had trained me to do. I could no longer deliver the messages that I was mandated to do for big pharma, but I could return to the classroom to encourage and raise up a better generation who would restore the ethical environment I so longed to promote in health care and in other sectors.

Each February I found time to share this video in celebration of Black History month with my students. I wrote up questions to correspond and ensure students were engaged and personally reflecting on the story. It turned out to be a great lesson to pass onto a substitute teacher as my health declined.

My physical condition digressed to the point of making teaching an impractical option for me especially with a little one at home. So, I left the public classroom and switched to homeschooling my daughter.

Time wore on. VCRs and videos became obsolete. But I continued to keep a VCR player so that when my young one reached the age of reason she too could be blessed by watching this.

In 2004 HBO films decided to produce Something the Lord Made featuring Alan Rickman as Blalock and Mos Def as Vivien Thomas. As usual a different spin on the relationship and history between the two men filled out the story more.

The character traits that I found so inspiring in Viven Thomas were several. First, he taught how to not take disrespectful behavior from a superior in the most well mannered way. He calmly and respectfully told Dr. Blalock that he wouldn’t be treated that way after Blalock lost his temper and blamed Thomas. He was resigning. However Vivien was so winsome in his manner, that Blalock begged him not to quit, promised to never treat him that way again, and didn’t.

Secondly, Thomas never wallowed in self-pity even though he had many justified reasons to do so. He couldn’t go to medical school even though it was his plan. The stock market crashed. The money his dad saved to pay for him to go was gone. He made the best of what job options were available to him. He and his wife figured out how to live on menial job income.

Third, he never stooped to the level of the arrogant medical elite. Thomas dressed impeccably, walked confidently, and stayed humble in relation to The Lord God Creator. When he was treated poorly by the staff at Johns Hopkins Hospital during the Jim Crow era, he held his head high, didn’t fuss, and maintained his own good manners. He did what he could with the social circumstances of the day, but never reduced himself to yelling, ugly protests, or violence.

Lastly, and certainly not least, Vivien proved that education has nothing to do with the school attended or degree attained. Instead it has everything to do with personal attitude, ability to think, and desire to learn. 

The story between the two also taught me how different  Nashville and Baltimore were in the 1950-60’s. The cities today reap what they sowed then. 

There are many lessons in economics to be learned from this time as well. Here today and gone tomorrow. Borrower beware.

Learn history, black, white, yellow, and brown. There are good and bad role models in each with applicable lessons for improvement for all. #BlackhistoryMonth

For more information on Vivien Thomas visit

https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/vivien-thomas/