History – DNC-Consulting

Woman!

The majority of this article was drafted before the controversy with the SCOTUS nominee. The intent is to honor the role of women and woman. Affirming again that how you choose to live is your business and is between you and whatever god, God, or gods you worship. Provided you allow others the same rights to life, liberty, and pursue happiness, I do not care how you choose to live.

How you choose to live should not denigrate anyone, let alone biologically living males and females, men and women. Leading this discussion to answer the simple question posed by US Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) to SCOTUS nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, “What is a woman?” Again, affirming the role and embodiment of a woman is more than the sum of her sexual parts; the question does have merit and deserves answered. What is a woman?

The Bible relates that all creation occurred in six days; on the sixth day, the woman was created as the supreme creation of God, and then God rested on the seventh day. Not here to argue religion, but to herald that final glorious act of creation, the woman. How grateful I am for the women in my life. Various scriptures relate that woman was created so man would not be alone, so a helpmeet was found for Adam, and the woman would be equal to the man in all things. An interesting dichotomy was found in creating the woman: Adam was created of the dust, but the woman was created from Adam’s side. According to biblical accounts, no other female in the species created replicated this pattern. Clearly, there is a lesson for us to understand, acknowledge, and support socially through laws and societal norms.

What a unique creation the woman is. Paradoxical in all things, a woman is soft and strong, inflexible and flexile, independent, and a great team member. What family is complete without a woman and a man? One of the great truths in life is that man and woman were created separate and dependent, and gender is an eternal construct. Each person is born male and female, with their creator’s traits, personalities, and intelligence. Yet what do we see in all modern societies; the continued blurring of lines, roles, and dehumanization of the grandeur of man and woman, but of the two woman, has been taking the worst hits.

Consider fashion; since the feminist movement began, fashion for women has warped and destroyed the modesty, chastity, and glory of a woman. Fashionistas are trying to make the woman into a young boy at best. Always to be “fashionable,” the woman is made to squeeze, pinch, and be uncomfortable. Women’s shoes are a contortion and torture exercise, a balancing act sacrificing function and comfort for some twisted idea of style. Long have I looked upon the inequality in fashion between men and women and been abhorred, disgusted, and discomfited by the base and profane ideas accepted as “stylish” and “fashionable.” Women, why do you allow yourself and your high and holy station to be demeaned in the name of “fashion?”

Consider make-up and all the chemicals a woman is “supposed” to use to “improve” her beauty. The emoluments alone are sufficient to baffle and bewilder, then add the smells and paints, and the woman is taught from day one that being natural is insufficient to being attractive or whole. Yet, I know differently, for I have seen strong and powerful women who never touch these things and remain effective, regnant, and influential. Tell me honestly, what you put on your face, to make up, what value is there in this process? Who told you you needed these chemicals to be a woman?

Human biology, and I would presume all biological sciences, defines a female as having two X chromosomes, whereas males have an X and a Y chromosome. I passed biology with high marks but failed zoology as I did not attend enough to be scored. If there is a biologist who would like to weigh in, please feel free to correct me. The developing fetus develops as either a male or female as growth occurs in the germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages of life. The physical characteristics separating males and females are coded into a person’s DNA, and fourth-grade science was apparent on these topics.

Psychology in recent years has declared that a person’s choices can change the gender of a person, but the sex of a person remains coded genetically. Thus, woman, as a biologically separate class of animals, have different bone structures, hair, glands, skin, hormones, etc., coded from birth, regardless of how that person chooses how to live. Please allow me to make a strong point, a woman, and for that matter, a man, are more than the sum of their sexual parts. If this were not true, then those men having sexual reassignment surgery to obtain female genitalia would automatically adopt all the characteristics of a woman upon the conclusion of surgery. Estrogen and testosterone, hormones, and chemicals would not need to be supplemented, and the mental processes separating a man and a woman would not need to be fought so assiduously by those having their sex surgically or chemically altered. Again, supporting the fact that it is psychology and not biology, establishing the difference between biological men and women, and the sum of their sexual parts is a non-issue.

On the topic of psychology, look to the results of choosing to live in a manner opposite of birth sex. We discover suicides, depression, anxiety, and a host of other mental diseases prevalent in this population, not witnessed to the same degree in different populations. Why the LGBTQ+ populations have such prevalent and significant occurrences of these mental diseases is a question modern society refuses to research as this has been termed out of bounds as potentially anti-LGBTQ+. Thus, research supports that the populations of those choosing to live life in this manner have these mental problems but refuses to ask why; do you see a problematic situation? All this while attacking the role, lifestyles, and position of woman.

Under the role of woman, there is a title worthy of acknowledgment, and the title is lady. Like gender, being a lady is a choice, a lifestyle, and contains social obligations, societal expectations, and requires significant effort on the part of the woman to obtain the title lady. For example, Nancy Reagan was a lady, Hilary Clinton is merely a woman. What separates these two women is class, respect, dignity, and more, not politics, not personality, and definitely not lifestyles and social circles. Being a lady requires sacrifice, making choices over long periods of time, and it demands total commitment to achieve. Females become women through growth, females become ladies by choice and sacrifice, and are granted this title by others.

In attempting to make this distinction clearer, allow me to draw a more specific example between women and ladies. Gretchen Wilson sings a song, “Redneck Woman.” The song lists qualities of a woman, specifically a class of woman “Redneck women.” No aspersions cast, no denigration, and no offense offered. Frankly, I have deep respect for several redneck women. I am also proud to know and respect a lot of women who ride horses as cowgirls and rodeo stars, some really kick butt women from the US Military, and more. But, a lady is phenomenally different by choice, and this is the point.

Great ladies of history include amongst their ranks Katherine Hepburn, Doris Day, Nancy Reagan, Barbara “The Silver Fox” Bush, Abagail Adams, Mary Todd Lincoln, Mother Theresa, Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher, Sarah and Esther of Old Testament fame, Mary of New Testament fame, these and more are ladies. First and foremost, these females are women, strong and independent, then they choose to become ladies and are honored more than mere women or as the sum of their sexual parts. Women honored, revered, and respected for their contributions to womanhood, society, and sacrifices, women who practiced gentleness, compassion, respect, and kindness as quintessential aspects of their core identity, not for worldly fame or personal gain. Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16^th President, honored two women as mothers and called both ladies of influence. Yet, Disney would have us believe that all stepmothers are horrible creatures. A vast chasm exists between women and ladies, and this is but one of the separations or classifications between women; by the choices the woman makes, a lady is created.

In trying to make a point about not hitting women, President Biden accidentally created a problem. President Biden remarked that nobody should punch a woman in the face. Distinguishing multiple times in the same speech that hitting a woman in the face, specifically, is not allowed. As a kid, I learned not to hit women at all; even if being attacked by a woman, a man merely defends themselves restraining a woman if necessary, not to cause additional injury to herself or someone else. But, Biden implied that only hitting a woman in the face is problematic; what a detestable creature is the man who would hit a woman! I am not condoning violence in any shape or against any person. For thousands of years and across hundreds of societies, those who would enact violence, society, rightly, has dolled out steeper punishments to those committing violence against women.

Social laws throughout recorded history have always treated women differently. Sometimes in history, this has been to the detriment and unequal treatment of women, and recently in history, treating women as equals to men is a fact that should be cheered and heralded. Yet, along comes transgenderism demanding equal treatment under the law, not as a separate but equal category, but supplanting women, representing more attacks on women and womanhood by conspiring men for personal gain. Don’t believe me; look at the story of the NCAA and the recent swimmer making news and winning championships, and tell me that conspiring men are not attacking the equality of women. A charade of disrespect is cast before us, slandering women and womanhood for some amorphous and ambiguous term for lifestyle choices and not sound science, or respectful dialogue about laws.

I conclude where I began, respecting women, honoring ladies, and decrying the attack on women and womanhood as the demented and twisted attack of conspiring men and women who would see women destroyed upon the altar of political correctness. Ladies, you have my respect, admiration, and sword, for you are deserving. Women, you have my respect for the roles you fill as opposites of men and your work as mothers, teachers, and the co-equal helpmeet of men. May those conspiring to destroy you be found buried in the hole they have dug for your destruction.

© Copyright 2022 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images. Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.

Year End (2021) – An After Action Report

Between Christmas and New Year 2019, I accepted an offer to write more frequently for a group that, at the time, was calling itself “No More BS.” What an amazing opportunity the challenge to write more regularly became, and how much I have come to enjoy writing. Like all things in life, the challenge came with a cost; I had exhausted myself mentally, I was spent by October. Physically my body could not answer the call of my mind, and my mind was screaming at me to stop. Let’s talk about drivers and BS, for the importance to American society success is found in ending the BS.

Little Joey Biden and his Afghanistan Debacle are still unfolding, and I fully admit this turn of events from August 2021 has left me numb. When America left Hanoi (April 1975) and Vietnam fell, many Americans, especially veterans, felt defeated in ways hard to describe. Who knew that in such a short space of time (less than 50 years), America would repeat Hanoi (August 2021) by a couple of magnitudes? Some very cynical veterans I know suspected the politicization of Afghanistan would lead to a repeat of history; but, I can honestly say I never expected Biden to act in such a disastrous and self-defeating manner.

Leaving Americans, allies, and stakeholders on the ground, holding the bag of responsibility, remains the quintessential yellow-spine craven move of the new century. One of the greatest insults from my time in the US Military was the corporatization of the military officer corps. Disconnecting responsibility and accountability, honoring weak-kneed drivel to the detriment of the professional NCOs and the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines has been utterly unacceptable. Why; because every corporatized military in history has failed! Now, America has Afghanistan and Vietnam, and the government leaders refuse to acknowledge they are the problem, and the sitting president rewards pubescent behavior. Sickening!

The military, to be effective, must be out of sync with the society they protect. A sacrifice principle is required from those who love country more than themselves and voluntarily wear their country’s uniform. Yet, the politics and political leaders refuse to allow the military to act at home and abroad, so we repeat history. May I ask, how many more Vietnam’s and Afghanistan’s does America need to relive before accepting that personal sacrifice is quintessential to a strong military? Mr. President, Little Joey, when does the BS end, and the motivation to lead return from bureaucratic hands to professional officers and NCOs? For I warn you, what you have right now is a mob, and you desperately need a military!

But, Afghanistan, in all its depravity, is not the only outrage from this year where BS needs to end. Consider something with me, the power of jury trials. High-profile trials have been occurring and continue through this holiday season and end-of-year celebrations. How incredibly grateful I am for the rule of Constitutional Law that provides for a jury by peers. More often than not, juries get the law right and hand down fair verdicts. Yet, the Corporate Media refuses to accept that jury trials are the best method for handling problems in a constitutional society. I have seen the media meltdowns repeatedly when juries hand down verdicts the media have tried and failed to influence.

Now ask yourself, dear reader, why does the media try cases before all the facts have been presented? Power, the answer remains ever simple, the media have become what they consider as THE single greatest power in American society. The self-delusion is a steaming hot pile of BS dished up for public consumption 24/7/365, and the media refuses to eat the BS they are serving. Considering themselves better than common citizens, above the law, the media companies have decided they can arbitrate, decide, and deserve to be listened to and obeyed. Well, jury trials work, and it is time more journalists are introduced to the concept through defending themselves in a court of law.

Worse than the corporatization of the US Military has been the continual erosion of the rule of law. The Uniform Code of Military Justice is regularly abused for the benefit of the powerful and the destruction of the weak. When the law is cheapened, joked about, and castigated, the trust in civil society is broken, and the military is but a smaller example of what is occurring in American society as a whole. When warriors are not judged by their deeds, but upon their political connections, the society hiring warriors, training warriors, and sending them into harm’s way will quickly find the warriors are gone. Their replacements are not worth the honor and trust. Leading to society being taken over and destroyed.

Feel free to disagree, but Rome remains the quintessential example in history of what happens when a republic fails to accept social consequences, infects its society from within, and then picks fights with neighbors. Rome had the greatest military in recorded history, and it fell ingloriously all because the military, a microcosm of the society as a whole, decided politics was more important than the rule of law. Popularity became more important than law and obedience to the rule of law. Who taught Rome to fall; who brought the Roman Legions to their knees? Look no further than their politically elected leaders who spent their time and the people’s money in riotous living, perversions, and trying to evade responsibility for their actions. Tell me, are we not seeing the same exact abuses in current society that is witnessed on the pages of history with Rome falling?

What is the only difference between Rome’s fall and any other government with elected political leaders? Advanced weaponry to include nuclear weapons. What is the only safeguard in republican and democratic societies strong enough to save those societies from repeating Rome’s example; learning history and obeying the rule of law. Of the two, learning history is more important, which is why learning history was the second casualty in the fight to overthrow the rule of law. The first casualty was teaching students how to read.

The abuse of children remains an utter abomination, and rightly so. But until the political leaders can be made to accept they are facilitating abusers of children masquerading as K-12 School Districts and teachers, the abuse of children, the wasting of precious resources, and the sacrifice of innocence will continue and worsen. In Virginia’s gubernatorial election this past November, the central theme was public education. Virginia, as your newly elected officials come into power, are you willing to watch those elected and demand they obey the electorate’s will and change education in your commonwealth?

Over the holiday, I watched heart-wrenching videos of parents who almost lost their child to suicide because the teachers groomed the child into transgenderism, all without the parent’s knowledge. Worse, the parents were abused by the government when the teachers involved called “Child Protection Services (CPS).” Tell me, when bureaucrats join together for the abuse of those they are duly sworn and duty-bound to protect, who is at fault; the elected leaders! What did the elected leaders do when the parents complained; they joined forces to continue abusing the child and the parents. The exact opposite of what they were hired to do, scrutinize the government employees and protect the electorate from abusive government operations, practices, and people.

Unfortunately, some of you think this is only happening in California, Virginia, New York, or some distant city/county/state. No, the truth of the matter is this is occurring in your child’s school district right now. Your children, grandchildren, cousins, and neighbors are all being abused and harmed, and the rot is at your doors. Don’t take my word for it; investigate for yourself. Go to local school board meetings and ask to see the curriculum your child is being exposed to, and you will find the truth, and the truth will first abhor, then anger, and then motivate you.

I hope the motivation will be sufficient to inspire action to become more informed, pay closer attention to local political races, and stop allowing incumbents a free pass to officiate in the destruction of America. One of the frequent conversations in my home is, “What are my plans after I complete the Ph.D. degree I am chasing?” The temptation is real to run for political office, either mayor or school board, sheriff, or judge; I want to get into this fight to defend the America I love. Most people think the battle for America’s soul is being fought in the US Senate or House of Representatives when the reality is the fight for America’s soul is being fought and lost in local elections, and it is time to find strong candidates who are willing to run for office and fight this fight locally.

The biggest lesson I have learned in writing this year, a degree doesn’t represent smarts or capability; those come by working in the trenches for something more important than self. The US Navy taught me endurance in the face of insurmountable odds and enemy shenanigans, and the US Army taught me to think and have grit and determination. I know I am not perfect; I am not the “picture perfect politician.” I prefer blue jeans and button-downs to suits and ties, but I know people, and I prefer real people to the fake effrontery currently holding the reigns of political power.

Writing this past year, I have faced my demons, and while I still fight those demons, I know the need to engage is real, helping others promotes healing, and teaching provides the opportunity to learn more perfectly. I know the power of citizens motivated to protect hearth and home, and I celebrate freedom. I would see my neighbors armed with knowledge, possessing the motivation to speak out and act according to beliefs and win the American heritage left us. I believe in America, and I know that when Americans are left alone, they use the power of freedom to change the world; all we need is to shrink the government, and America will begin to blossom again.

Shrinking the government begins locally. The local government protects against county and state government abuses. The state government protects against federal violations. The federal government protects borders and provides for the common trade of goods across state lines. Limiting government is not a bad idea at all; in fact, it is the only good idea that can help save America. Join me!

© Copyright 2021 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images. Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.

Christmas and Other Holidays – A Frank and Open Discussion

I am unapologetically a Christian, I regularly attend church, and I exercise faith through daily scripture reading, prayer, and other works synonymous with being a Christian. Being a Christian, I embrace freedom, especially freedom of religion; “Let [all people] worship how, where, or what they may.” I am not smart enough to tell anyone, convince anyone, or try to force anyone to believe anything. As a point of fact, my articles very specifically encourage you to find your answers, much as I have done, through study, learning, and faith.

Yes, this is a discussion! I do not understand Christmas in any way, shape, or form; while this also applies to all accepted holidays, Christmas is my focus. If you understand Christmas better or any holiday mentioned, feel free to teach me so that we both may learn more perfectly. Christmas, as a child, was only once a time of wonder. I remember that Christmas; I must have been 6 or 7 years. I do not remember what I got for Christmas, but I remember how I felt. I have not felt similarly since, and while I know why, I do not understand how to put the wonder back into Christmas.

Annually, Christmas, New Year, and the rest of the mid-winter holidays are a time for deep depression. I struggle to feel anything from Halloween to mid-February; think London Fog as a mental condition, and your close to understanding what is happening between my ears annually. As a child and teen, the holidays were always a time of stress, increased drama, and tons, and tons, of dishes. The holiday season brought increased torment as parents’ stress (especially) resulted in increased violence (physical and mental). Thus, I learned not to appreciate the holidays but loath the workload, violence, and abuse and view the holiday season as a time of greater pain and suffering.

Don’t even get me started on how to celebrate Mother’s and Father’s Day. There are holidays, and choosing to celebrate or not is just as important as how to celebrate and whom to celebrate. The biggest mistake society makes is trying to force everyone to celebrate the same holiday!

As an adult, mainly due to the depression, I avoid stores between Halloween and mid-February, like the plague! The music of “Christmas” does not lift, and I find it difficult to hear. To me, the people during Christmas are more challenging to be around. I do not understand their choices and changes in attitude, their happiness, nor share in their wonder and excitement. The pagan beliefs Catholicized into Christmas traditions blow my ever-loving mind! I do not see Christ in a decorated “Christmas” Tree or other Christmas pageantry. Simply put, every Christmas Tradition, generally accepted by Christendom, is stolen from mid-winter pagan holidays. As I have studied the origins and beliefs inherent in Christmas, Easter, Halloween, All Saints Day, etc., I see more and more of the historical imprint of early Catholic Church leaders, and I stand aghast that these beliefs have turned into traditions that bind and hold fast the human mind.

Yet, to not wish someone else, especially another Christian, “Merry Christmas” is to be judged less a Christian. I do not understand! I believe in Christ; I believe in and have a knowledge of his reality, birth, life, death, resurrection, and visitation to all the Twelve Tribes of Israel after his resurrection. I accept Christ as my Savior and advocate before the Father. But, I do not understand Christmas celebrations or why these celebrations “speak of Christ, rejoice in Christ,” or promote Christian beliefs! I understand the underpinnings of, and like the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. I see Christ in this celebration of lights and appreciate those who celebrate this simple holiday simply. But Hanukkah is not a holiday I can fully enjoy either, not for the lack of trying.

I have the same problem with Passover, not for the lack of trying, but I cannot celebrate this holiday, for I feel something is missing. Easter, will someone please explain to me the lines of logical congruence between a bunny rabbit laying eggs and the resurrection of Jesus Christ! None of the “traditions” of Easter make a lick of sense to me. While I feel different at Easter than I do with any other holiday, I do not celebrate this holiday either, even though I respect and honor, follow and try to emulate Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, advocate, and hopefully friend. While we’re on the topic of incongruent traditions, Santa Claus creeps me out! The fear of being judged without an advocate or appeals process is anti-Christian, but Santa Claus continues to play a fearful role in Christmas. Worse, the mysticism prevalent in a belief in Santa Claus fills my mind, not with Christ’s giving of himself, but of Halloween! Tim Burton’s movie, “Nightmare Before Christmas,” is closer to how I see Santa Claus, put him in Halloween, and leave him there!

Yet, here we are, another Christmas celebration is upon the world, and I do not understand! I like the lights of Christmas and enjoy them year-round, but they are not symbols of Christ lighting the world; they are just lights to me, with no particular holiday attachment. I am a foodie, but food is just that, food. No special holiday attachment; worse, as a diabetic, I have to watch how, when, where, and what I eat. There is no fun in that, no holiday significance, and frankly, no joy in Mudville.

A friend declared, Christmas is about love. What is love? I know from significant study what love is not. Love is not sex! Love is not punishment, abuse, torment, and throwing all the dishes out of the cupboard and forcing a young child to wash every dish in the house repeatedly until that dish somehow passes an arbitrary level of cleanliness, with frequent beatings for failure to meet that level of cleanliness! Love is not inflicting pain, causing tears, and being violent. It has been easy to identify what love is not. But defining what love is, what it feels like, and how to share love, I have no clue!

Often, I am referred to as a “Cold-Hearted, mean, bastard,” many times, other adjectives are thrown in to describe me. I wear a “bar-sinister” proudly; I am a bastard! I fight this nature of myself every single day; sometimes I win, more often I lose. Sometimes I have thought, maybe this aspect of my character is why I cannot fathom the meaning of holidays, find wonder, or experience joy as readily as others. Sometimes I think the method of how I was raised is inherent in being that bastard I despise. Yet, I am a survivor because of the ways and manners of my childhood upbringing, and I have gratitude for being a survivor. Meaning somewhere in there is gratitude for how I was raised and being a bastard. I fully appreciate how paradoxical that thinking is. Remember, a paradox is where two points that appear contradictory at first glance but in deeper understanding are closer than they are apart.

What does being a bastard have to do with Christmas and celebrating the birth and life of Jesus Christ; thankfully, I can answer that question. Only in and through Jesus Christ can my nature change. That single hope is precious to me, remains an impetus in motivating me to change, and powers my striving. Without the birth of Christ, there could not be a death and resurrection. Without the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ, man could not change his nature, understand and possess freedom, or comprehend the higher laws of giving of self, choosing a different method of living, and rising above the natural man and comprehending why man has to rise above his natural beliefs into a higher understanding.

Yes, I celebrate Jesus Christ! Make no mistake; I am grateful for my Savior; but, I do not understand Christmas! I cannot fathom a celebration of Easter as currently celebrated and understood in Christendom. I long for further light and knowledge to more appropriately commemorate the birth, life, reality, resurrection, and example that is Jesus Christ! I know that only through the merits, mercy, and justice of Christ can I eventually gain the further light and knowledge I seek. Please don’t think I do not celebrate when I wish you the happiest of holidays; it is an honest expression of a heartfelt desire for you to celebrate and worship how, where, when, and what you may. Please understand, though, I am not participating, not because I do not believe, but because I do not understand.

A well-intentioned person told me to “Fake it until you make it.” I have tried following this advice, and while it worked in other aspects of life, I learned more, and faking it stopped working. Where holidays are concerned, I cannot “Fake it, hoping to somehow, make it.” Faking it requires a method of belief with a hope. I have hope and knowledge; thus, I do not have a belief, or reason to believe. In possessing knowledge, my belief can take wing with confidence, and in that understanding, I can no longer “fake it.” As a respecter of religious belief, and as a seeker of light and knowledge, there have been times I have thought how easy it could be to be an atheist; but, in possessing knowledge, I understand I cannot live without the belief and knowledge of a Savior, a Heavenly Father who had the sense to hand man laws, cover his mind with a veil of his past life, and tell man to live by faith. The atheist cannot understand the value in living by faith, for they choose not to believe, even when presented with evidence.

C. S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors, speakers, and characters from history. He understood the chasm between choice and the consequences of choosing not to believe and live according to beliefs. Mark Twain is another character, author, and speaker who I deeply admire and appreciate, for many of the same qualities exhibited by C. S. Lewis, are found in Mark Twain. Thus, we find both an exemplar of the principles discussed and another issue with the holidays. Knowing what I know regarding the origins of the holidays, the traditions adopted and Christianized, and the chains which bind from traditions, I struggle with celebrating holidays.

As a child, I asked why do we decorate a Christmas Tree? After removing all the religiosity, the answer was because their parents did it that way. Why did we feast; remove the religiosity, and we find it’s because everyone else celebrates holidays (peer pressure and traditions) with feasting. In the movie and play “Fiddler on the Roof,” the primary character sings, discusses, and lives under the iron fist of tyrannical tradition, and I am left with one question, “Why?” Why do something just because it is tradition? Jesus Christ brought freedom of conscience; believe how, when, where, and what you may, act and live according to your beliefs, and you are exercising freedom and liberty. Where does tradition fit into belief and living according to choice, freedom, and agency?

Bringing the conversation back to principles of freedom, choice and showcasing how decisions determine destiny. Again, I am not casting aspersions, nor trying to convince anyone to do something they are not comfortable with, nor am I denigrating or deriding anyone’s beliefs, traditions, or methods of worship or celebration. My intent is not to cause a crisis of faith but to understand for myself. Please, embrace your freedom to choose to worship, and celebrate, how, where, when, and what you may. In possessing this freedom, allow others to worship and celebrate how, when, where, and what they may. Enjoy your holiday traditions and celebrations. But, please do not judge me as less because I do not understand, believe differently, and live according to my beliefs.

Santa Claus coming to town fills me with dread and despair, not hope, wonder, or joy. A white Christmas is not a dream for me but a symbol of more snow to shovel, even though I LOVE watching the snow fall and playing in the snow. Christmas trees do not thrill me but represent a ton of work to put up, more work to maintain, and more work to take down. Food is not a celebration but represents more work, time, effort, and sacrifice, for momentary pleasure. While I enjoy food, eat food, and talk about recipes to make food, I do not worship at the altar of food or see any connection between food and traditional celebrations.

I totally get it; the Children of Israel fled Egypt the Passover is a sacred remembrance and should be celebrated; but, Christ showed a better way, and through that better way, the bitterness of fleeing is swallowed up in joy. Why eat bitter herbs and unleavened bread as part of the tradition and celebration? Joy is knowledge with aspects of painful experience encapsulated in achievement. Thus, to me, the flight of Israel shows how faith, painful experience, and achievement are possible, and I want to shout and sing for joy. I have always thought of Passover as a time for glorious celebration. Strike up a band, sing, shout, and make merry, for we survived the Passover, escaped Egyptian slavery and harsh bondage, and now are free! The same goes for Hanukkah, the resurrection of Christ, the birth of Christ, and every other holiday. The holiday, to my understanding, represents, or signifies, a reason to make merry because those who came before achieved something through enormous difficulty, suffered dreadful pains, and achieved a better place. They have joy, and we share in that joy.

Bringing up the final aspect of the holidays, sharing joy. How do we share in the joy those who suffered experienced? This is the crux of holiday celebrations. How we answer this question determines the traditions we embrace; the decisions and consequences produce a destiny. Consequences are neither good nor bad, simply natural actions formed from a choice an agent made. How we choose to place a value on those consequences immediately determines how often we will make the same choice again, leading to determined destiny over time and repetition. Using this understanding of choices and consequences, we revisit the question, “How do we choose to share joy?”

I do not know how to answer this question! Worse, I feel this single question forms the crux of all holiday celebrations, and I am flummoxed! Some have suggested I perform more service to share joy. Others suggest giving gifts. Others have offered well-meaning opinions, ideas, and suggestions that I cannot fathom as connected to a holiday—leading to a need to understand why. Why act differently leading up to a holiday when you act in an opposing manner the rest of the year? Why not act the same year-round?

Again, there is no judging, no aspersions cast, no denigration of actions and choices here. I am not your judge! But, these questions are the questions I struggle with living, understanding, and connecting to holiday celebrations. If you have answers, please share them with me, help me understand how you share joy, celebrate, and feel.

83 Years – Have We Really Learned the Lessons?

Bait & Switch My uncle served in the US Air Force in Berlin while the Berlin wall was still standing. My father learned German and then hosted Germans who wanted to experience America to come into our home to visit America multiple times. Since I was a child, I remember hearing the personal stories of those who lived WWII. As an armchair historian, WWII has captured my interests on multiple occasions due to the consequences it has had on society. Unfortunately, no society across the globe seems to have sufficiently learned the lessons of WWII to avoid repeating history. Current events appear to be leading back to the same pressures and problems that sparked WWII.

But, you say, WWI is not breeding discontent in a manufacturing nation, who is retaliating through building militarily to conquer the world and avenge wrongs imposed by victors upon the loser. Yet, I would point to Russia, China, and Iran and ask, are you sure? Honestly, look at the rhetoric and the history, look at the desires of the government leaders, look to the insidious weaseling of those leaders into every facet of the world to control the leavers to make war; then ask, is a war being waged and nobody noticing? Was not Nazi-Germany throwing a war by conquering her neighbors, and the “world powers” were busy denying what they saw with their eyes?

November marks 83 years since Kristallnacht “the night of broken glass” or “The November Pogrom,” while Nazi-Germany focused on rooting out the members of its society that were considered unworthy. Yes, this included people of all populations found less desirable, not just the Jewish population. Do we observe similar actions by nascent national actors today? China has broken its word to Hong Kong and treats multiple internal populations worse than the Jews in Nazi-Germany. The world mostly remains silent and conforms to China’s pogrom. Iran continues to practice religious discrimination against its people and act reminiscent of hellish and brutal thugs from Dante’s lowest rings. Russia continues to treat its neighbors as pawns to be beaten and molested like an old lady with her social security check, and they are a local street gang on the streets of New York City.

Yes, I honestly wonder if the rest of the world is paying enough attention, has learned the lessons of WWII sufficiently to avoid reliving the past, and I keep rolling the dice and coming up with “snake-eyes.” Only, WWII had several graces that modern warfare will not have. WWII did not have missing nuclear weapons and a history of using LIC as a means of starting conflicts from safety. WWII did not have economic and bio-war at the same levels and effectiveness we have currently. More frightening of all, the minds of the students in school were significantly different. More societies on the globe had strong foundations of nuclear families, which sent strong-minded people into harm’s way for their nation.

In the 83 years since Kristallnacht, the nuclear family has been eroded, corroded, and attacked mercilessly on every front by every enemy known to man. I have relatives who talk of a matriarch or patriarch who held the family together was central to the strength of the family and led the family in gentleness and with religious faith. All of which is almost anathema and criminal in our modern society. A father was arrested for trying to get any acknowledgment that the school board knew his daughter was brutally raped in a school bathroom. Mothers and fathers are labeled terrorists for asking simple questions and insisting that bureaucrats paid through forced taxation answer questions from the taxpayers footing the bills. Unfortunately, this is but the tip of the iceberg in the fight against the nuclear family.

If asked, how many of you can name the allies from the Middle East of Nazi-Germany? Off the top of your heads, can you recall who and why these nations aligned themselves with Hitler and Mussolini? Since these nations were unindicted co-conspirators at the trials in Nuremberg, did the hate and reasons for joining Nazi-Germany die or thrive when Nazi-Germany fell? If you do not know, I encourage you to do a little research. Why, because it will make the actions of the current regimes in the Middle East make a lot more sense, more to the point, current events, allied relationships, and protagonist relationships are more easily explained and understood when you realize the perniciousness of Nazi-Germany rhetoric on the Middle Eastern nations involved. I cannot give you what I know without unduly influencing you in a manner that I refuse; some lessons must be learned independently.

Speaking of Post-WWII nation-states, consequences of WWII, and unindicted co-conspirators, what Pacific-Asian nations signed onto the Nazi-German allied relationship that are now causing problems. Do not say China! At the time of WWII, China was under the iron-clad thumb of Japan, as was Korea, and the brutality is barely mentioned in history books in America. Yet, knowing this information makes the vehemence and actions of other Asian nations make sense, even though most of these countries cleaned up their acts and denounced hatred. More lessons not taught in American history which is truly a shame and a scandal.

Never forget, during Krystallnacht, the thugs and terrorists were neighbors, teenagers, people everyone knew and were well acquainted with, and the authorities looked upon the abuse of the innocent and did nothing! China abuses its populations, and the United Nations heaps praise and commendations upon China. Iran persecutes women and other people, invests heavily in terrorism across the globe, and is awarded and honored. Russia openly invades NATO allies, and NATO decides it is not worth the “hassle” of defending a treaty. Where are the “world leaders” in condemning this atrocious behavior and demanding these nations adhere to strict codes of behavior and right the wrongs they committed; standing by watching the world built post-WWII come apart brick by brick.

Please note, I am not war-mongering, rumor-mongering, or trying to scare anyone. If you think I am wrong, gather your evidence, sift the data, and bring your conclusions. I will be more than happy to discuss these issues with you. It is not nationalistic to mention that China continues to suffer from, and likes suffering from, “Middle-Kingdom Syndrom.” Many people smarter than I have made this connection and written eloquently upon this topic as the underpinning for the actions taken since Nixon and Clinton did what they did. Look carefully at the events in Crimea and Ukraine, the downing of a passenger plane by a Russian surface-to-air missile, and Iran’s continued hostility. If we do not reach the same conclusions, we will reach a lot of similarly worrisome conclusions.

Have we learned, remembered, and taught the lessons of Nazi-Germany to avoid having to repeat living those lessons? You decide; when you decide, ask yourself why. A friend introduced to me a lesson: I was proclaiming ignorance of a rule, for I wanted to avoid nasty consequences and thought I could escape the consequences if I could be ignorant. My friend helped me understand, “Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.” The lesson was painful, the consequences were not enjoyable, and I felt used and abused by the system for a long time. Then I got mad; why didn’t anyone ever teach me the law? Slowly, events and teachers taught me that it is my role to be the learner to teach and help others avoid the mistakes I made. Sometimes teaching is simply bringing someone to a knowledge chasm and helping them discover they need to immerse themselves in the knowledge to begin learning. Where WWII and the post-WWII are concerned and the consequences and the current events spawned from WWII, all I can do is bring you to the chasm and point out the path you’re going to have to walk the path of discovering knowledge yourself. At best, I can guide and ask the question to spur interest, but the best learning and discovering you will have to do yourself, for therein you will genuinely learn the personal lesson you need.

Money, Wants and Needs, Goals – This One is Mental Therapy

Bobblehead Doll Dear reader, you might want to skip this article. I write this mainly to organize some thoughts for myself. I am not preaching; I am not trying to teach anyone but myself; if you find something that helps you, you are welcome to the words and lessons. I have been struggling with learning a couple of things surrounding a couple of topics, and I want to take a minute and jot down some thoughts that have come to me. I will return to weightier matters another day. Please excuse me.

Money

My best friend, traveling companion, and spouse, once said something that stuck in my mental processes, “Money is sacred! [emphasis in original]” She continued over time to add words to the effect that, since money requires effort and sweat to earn, money should be considered sacred and spent with purpose. When spending money with a sacred purpose, we would necessarily change our spending habits to reflect the sacred nature of money, and in doing so, honor our sacrifice in earning money, respecting ourselves more.

Working Dollar Since 2000 the software industry has undergone a very subtle shift; no longer do you purchase software, you rent it. You make a monthly purchase for that software, which becomes more than the price you would ever have paid for the software previously. Now, some argue this is due to the cost of upgrading software. Some argue this is due to the price of intellectual property. Some argue this is to reduce the cost of piracy of software. Regardless, does this shift honor your sacrifice in earning money?

Games, especially phone games, are really expensive. I have an addiction problem to phone games. I quickly get hooked, then I justify making a dollar purchase here, a two-dollar purchase there, and then at the end of the month, look at the bill and see I spent $400 on a phone game. True story. I turn on the passwords; I turn on the purchase blockers, I try hard to avoid making purchases. I can only succeed when I delete the games, put down my phone, and stop playing games. I have tried playing games without making purchases and would argue that it is nearly impossible to play any game without making purchases. The games are not designed to be played; they are intended to be cash machines for the game manufacturers. Maybe I am jaded, but I have yet to find any game that does not require regular cash infusions; believe me, I have tried to find a game that can be played without spending money, and I quit looking.

I am thoroughly embarrassed, shocked, dismayed, and disgusted by how much I have spent on games. I lost my head some time ago, and it is past time I got myself back together again. I turned off the last game this morning and will begin the slow addiction recovery process this morning; if I am grumpy, edgy, and bearish to be around, my apologies. For the last couple of months, I have been overcoming sugar addictions that I think will kill me, gluten addictions that are harder than chocolate and tobacco combined, and I thought chocolate would kill me. In the quest to lose weight and clean up my life to improve my diabetes, I am left with many questions about addictions and crutches.

I was speaking to a medical professional a month or two back and jokingly said:

“Food for too long has been my comfort zone; I wonder what will take its place now that diabetes has ended food being the comfort blanket.”

Me and my big mouth!

For those going through addiction recovery for the more common drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sex, etc., know you are not alone. I have been there for tobacco, now for sugar, chocolate, gluten, money, and food! It never ceases to amaze me what humans will become addicted to, what we will use to find comfort in, what we wrap ourselves up in to find security and peace to silence the voices in our heads and a good night’s sleep. I offer you the same hope I cling to, “We were born to succeed; we can do this!”

Wants and Needs

Robert Fulghum explained this one so well in one of his early books. I will summarize his story but take the time to look up his story; you will laugh, HARD! He is staffing a reception desk at a Dude Ranch Hotel on a night shift where he gets his meals included, but he has to pay for them from his salary. The employee meals have been sauerkraut and sausages for a couple of weeks. He is frustrated; he is mad; he wants to quit. He reaches a boiling point. He unloads one night on his relief an older gentleman, a WWII POW camp survivor (I think if I remember the story right). Anyway, after listening to the rantings and ravings of a childish teenager, this older gentleman gives Mr. Fulghum a piece of advice, “you have to learn the difference between wants and needs.”

Gears I fully appreciate I struggle with this lesson. I keep getting wants and needs confused. Do I need a chocolate bar? Do I want something to eat? Do I want food? Do I need food? Much of my weight problem is trying to figure out wants versus needs. Much of my mental state is wants versus needs and the confusion between what I want and what I need. Going back to the games, do I really need a bucket of gems, or that shiny bottle of vitality?

While writing this section, the Grammarly word choices reminded me of another aspect of this conversation, words that confuse the wants versus needs selection cycle. The English language continues to be a double-edged sword, sufficient to describe and to confuse in the same stroke. Trying to figure out what I want and distinguishing between what I need has become clouded. Why? How? I have learned that it does not matter when or where the clouding occurred, these happened, it is done; the job is to get them unclouded and get moving forward!

Goals

I do not know the original source. I have heard several people make similar statements; I am not the initial source of the following thought.

“If you have a dream, write it down. Now you have an action item. With that action item, give it a date you want to have it accomplished by. Now you have a goal. With that goal, set specific steps to achieve and milestones. Now you have a plan.”

I would add a final thought. Upon completion of each milestone and especially upon completion of the goal, CELEBRATE! Celebrate failure, celebrate success. Then the day after, hold an “After Action Review (AAR)” and review what was learned, pain points, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Start anew! Too often, we miss the celebrations, and we forget to hold the self-reflections, and in doing so, we do not bring a goal to a close, and we do not write down lessons learned. Failure to learn lessons means we relive those lessons. How very tragic! Exclamation Mark

To answer the inevitable question, yes. I have a list of goals for the coming year. No, I will not be sharing this list publicly. Yes, the goals are written down. Yes, I have an end date. Yes, I look to have the goals completed in 365-days. Mental therapy is useless if I do not apply the lessons in my own life!

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot: The Illinois Edition

Exclamation Mark The story is linked in case you missed the news on 09 July 2021; Illinois has become the first state in AMERICA to mandate ASIAN History be taught in K-12 education. Let that sink in for a moment. AMERICAN History has been abused, twisted, contorted, and NOT taught in AMERICAN schools in ANY of the 50-US States. But Illinois wants students to learn Asian History. Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot Illinois!

What is the reported reasoning for this move?

According to a statement from Governor JB Pritzker, the reason for this move is as follows:

“With the recent rise in acts of violence and bigotry against the Asian American community, teaching students about the rich culture and important contributions of the Asian American community throughout history will help combat false stereotypes” [emphasis mine].

For your information, the legislation is called the “Teaching Equitable Asian American History Act,” and the special interest group pushing this legislative nightmare is Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago. The website includes a Los Angeles branch, the Asian Law Caucus, AAJC, and an Atlanta branch. Another special interest group involved in this legislation is PAVE (Pan Asian Voter Empowerment). My first question about this legislation comes from the name, “What is equitable Asian American History, especially when American History is not being taught?” Lemmings 5

What is in the curriculum?

The curriculum declares it is compliant with Common Core standards, which doesn’t mean anything as teaching masturbation to first graders is compliant with Common Core Standards. However, PBS Learning media has a website dedicated to the curriculum plan for teaching Asian American History, even though the curriculum does not describe “equitable.” PBS Learning media claims to be “pleased to present over 30-lesson plans based on a fiver hour documentary Asian Americans in American History. While the Illinois legislation claims that K-12 will begin learning about Asian History, the reality on the PBS Learning media is that the published lesson plans only go from third grade to twelfth grade. Leading to my next question, “Where is this push for historical teaching coming from?”

Plato 2 I have not viewed the series; I have barely scraped the surface of the curriculum offered. What I have seen of the curriculum worries me. I call it “whitewashing” history, to glance over the actions of one group to reflect how other groups were treated, with the intent of stirring the racial divides and creating more chasms based on race alone. What I see in this curriculum does nothing to “ … teach students about the rich culture and important contributions of the Asian American community throughout history” or to “combat false stereotypes.” I ran a search engine using the string, “Violent migrant worker strikes, involving Asian people,” and the first item on the list returned originates with the Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project, sponsored by the University of Washington.

The context, labor union organizing, which everyone should know, includes the growth and development of Marxist ideology in America. How did the labor unions create a space for themselves? They drove wedges between groups of people based solely upon race, creating contention, becoming violent, and hiding behind equity and fairness to escape responsibility and accountability for laws they sundered.

Let me be clear!

Knowledge Check! Let me be clear; every group across the skin color spectrum has historically had problems in American society. Any time race separates, chaos, confusion, and violence are bred! I am proud that America has grown out of oppressing people based on the color of their skin and do not judge American history as racist just because historically, people acted out of fear when treating their fellow men fairly. History is full of people who made terrible choices, and teaching that these choices were poorly made is important, but race, religion, handicap, etc., should NOT be the focus on the content in history. The focus of history should be on what grew out of specific actions in specific epochs of time.

America IS better for the Civil War, even though the US Government continues to hinder economically and is biased against the states that formed the Confederate States. A dumb historical decision that has kept many states from achieving greatness is due to President Lincoln’s death and the hostility in the US House of Representatives, the US Senate, and President Andrew Johnson. All of whom believed that the Confederate States needed to be mightily punished. In contrast, President Lincoln was pushing for national forgiveness. Thus, we need to focus on the events, not the race, color, lines of separation and division, but on the outcomes and the fruits from those decisions when teaching history! The Duty of Americans

State’s Rights

I affirm in clear language that a state has the right to set the curriculum of government-mandated schools. I support state’s rights to the fullest and would see each state prepare their students to meet the world and win! Paradoxically, I also affirm in language clear that this legislation will do NOTHING to “combat false stereotypes” but will only increase racial division and disharmony in Illinois and any other state who refuses to learn the lessons from history.

History and Racial Focus

Content of their Character Think about this quote for a moment, who are the biggest race hustlers in America? History has taught that when race is the only concern worth knowing people care only about race, to their demise. Focusing on race is the sole reason why I have questioned, and continue to question, the validity of the arguments for National “Name your Favorite Minority” Month celebrations. There are absolutes in this world; focusing solely upon race as a choice, will breed racial tensions as a consequence, is an absolute. Recent history under President Obama reflected this exact issue to the Nth degree, yet nobody wants to have that discussion. Why; because of race!

Bob Marley When your focus is solely upon an individual’s race, race will be the only thing learned, the only lesson absorbed, and the fruit of that lesson are bitter. Have people from various races achieved great things; absolutely, but why should their achievements be diminished by focusing solely upon their race? Why should their achievements only be mentioned during “Name your Favorite Minority” monthly celebrations? Has the 1960s taught us nothing about the character, knowledge, talents, curious minds, and the work performed where race was NEVER an issue? I have books galore in my home; I continue to collect books about famous people of great accomplishment; I have never cared a whit about that person’s sex or gender. Why; because their sex and gender, race, skin color, religion, handicap, or heritage have never been a factor. As a kid, a thrill ran through me when I read the preamble to the US Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” [emphasis mine].

Even today, these words continue to guide me. Show me; where in the Declaration of Independence does it discuss sex, race, heritage, religion, handicap, etc.? NOWHERE! A lesson America needs to relearn if she is to survive. What hinders the pursuit of happiness, capturing inalienable rights, and stops liberty; focusing upon that which divides instead of that which unites!

Patriotism From the National Archives website, we find the following regarding the Declaration of Independence:

“The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based. Unlike the other founding documents, the Declaration of Independence is not legally binding, but it is powerful. Abraham Lincoln called it “a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression.” It continues to inspire people around the world to fight for freedom and equality” [emphasis in original].

Think about this for a moment. The American Identity, the bedrock principles upon which America was built, the power cell for liberty and freedom across the world, begins with a simple truth:

A document that is not legally binding holds power to inspire actions that unite people, provided our focus is not on those things which separate us. Cementing the lesson discussed herein, focus on race and racial division is the only lesson learned, and the resulting fruit is bitter, chaos ensues, and problems abound in violence. Why have we not learned these lessons from the 1960s, the Watt’s Riots, the death toll in Chicago that makes war zones safer than the streets of Chicago; the focus is on race, not the potential. The focus is on the sex, the invented genders, the handicaps, the religions, the heritages, etc., not on what is essential, character and potential, freedom, liberty, and equality under the law.

Knowledge Check! We need to get back to teaching history, where the focus is on how the decisions and actions from the past hinder or help the present so that the future can be better. Failing that, we desperately need to cease focusing upon race, gender, sex, religion, handicap, and heritage as these things only matter to the individual and not to historical records. Failing that, America fails, and the light of liberty and freedom will be lost to the annals of history forever. So, gather the fruit you choose, focus on race if you prefer, focus on gender, sex, handicap, veterans status, and every other line of separation. Your fruit gathered will be most bitter indeed, for you will miss the rich tapestry of human interaction, for the dirt caught in the fabric.

Powering my third and final question to the legislative and executive branches of Illinois, “Knowing all this, why are you focused on race and forcing students to focus solely upon race?”

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

Respect – The Key Missing Ingredient

In Tom Clancy’s book, John Clark, “Rainbow Six” discusses the predictability of terrorists and how terrorism has rules. However, the terrorism witnessed since May 2020 is refusing the old rules, as if they were not written in the blood of dead terrorists, and the main ingredient missing is respect. Respect for the consequences, respect for death, respect for the need to have a functioning society to build your Marxist utopias in when the current government folds. Throughout history, respect has been a tool, a weapon, and entirely missing from societies at various times and seasons.

Ask yourself, what was the difference between the Hong Kong riots and the George Floyd riots? The difference is respect. Sure, both riots had stupid people who resorted to violence. Absolutely, both riots involved governments who acted in the most dysfunctional manner possible. But, the Hong Kong rioters (terrorists) never gave up respect for themselves and their cause. In contrast, their American counterparts never had respect for themselves, their cause, or their communities and just wanted to destroy things!

What is respect?

Aretha Franklin is famous for one of her songs, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” and all she wants is some respect for the loving she is willing to give. Yet, from the lyrics, one is left wondering if she ever got her respect from the one she loved. Aretha Franklin was reflecting to the world that love is not everything needed in a relationship, Sorry Beatles, and must be accompanied by respect!

Webster clarifies respect, claiming that respect involves providing special attention to, or regard for, another person or thing. However, that definition does not encapsulate the essence of respect. Other descriptions for respect include higher regard or esteem for something or someone. Finally, we have suggestions that esteem and special consideration for someone or something are needed to fulfill the requirements to provide proper respect. Thus, one must return to the etymology of the word respect to gain further insight.

Respect was originally used between 1300 and 1350, derived as a middle English Noun, from Old French, or directly from Latin Respectus, “action of looking back, consideration, and regard.” Therein lies the key quality in respect, action, and history. Proper respect is shown when history is considered, and action is taken to regard that history. Taking us back to the terrorists in Tom Clancy’s book “Rainbow Six.” By not properly regarding the lessons learned by previous dead terrorists, respect was lacking, and the terrorist’s mission was a failure before they boarded the plane.

Action

When discussing action in respect, we refer to deeds or the process of taking action to understand the deed mentally before physically moving. Consider the rioters in Hong Kong; they knew that by taking action, they ran the risk of death, had to come to terms with receiving physical violence of state enforcers, and had to respect the violence potential, and felt compelled to act. Whereas, in America, there was no respect for activities done by state enforcers in previous riot situations, as the state enforcers have been shackled and hamstrung by laws to protect the terrorist rioter’s rights and liberties.

Which party reflected proper respect; honestly, both did. Why; because they both knew the potential and showed the government’s problems in their respective societies. This is where America has been since the Los Angeles, California (1992) riots. Law and order are actively shunned due to both disrespect for law and society and respect for the knowledge that police are hamstrung and neutered in response to large-scale public rioting (terrorism). Why did Ferguson, Missouri last as long as it did; a lack of respect for the individual and respect for the knowledge that the rioters (terrorists) could do anything they wanted and escape without responsibility. Follow the pattern in riots since 1992, and you will find disrespect for actions taken being the sole variable in the equation linking all the riots together.

History

History and respect remain intertwined to the point that if a person does not understand their own history, they will not respect themselves, their cause, or even their society. Again, using Hong Kong and America as examples, we see the history of Hong Kong respected by the protestors. Hong Kong has always been a separate entity, never a “Chinese” possession. Always separate from the mainland physically, mentally, emotionally, and governmentally. China promised that if Britain gave China to the Chinese, Hong Kong could retain its liberty, individualism, and separate status. Guess how long that lasted, not even long enough for the ink to dry on the treaty documents.

China is in direct violation of the treaty documents where Hong Kong is concerned, but China does not care. Why; disrespect for the west, the United Kingdom, and the people that make societies and cultures. Why is China able to disrespect the treaty on Hong Kong? They do not recognize the history of Hong Kong, they pervert history to their purposes, and Chinese government leaders disrespect themselves, like all good communists. Hence, we can see a direct result of what happens when a nation disrespects its own history.

But, does America understand the lesson being taught by the riots in Hong Kong; nope! Not only did America’s rioters (terrorists) tear down visible reminders of history, they refuse to learn history as an active rebellion, considering history to be useless. Thus, the ignorance of the terrorists is their Achilles’ heel and how to beat them forever at their own game.

Suggestions for winning the moral high-ground back!

The following are suggestions for launching a legal counter-attack to the stupidity and disrespect of those who continue to disrespect America.

1. 1. Learn history! Not the rants from school, not the lies and the tortured history from K—12, I mean real history. Sourced from multiple sources where research was conducted and then supported by published references. History is amazing; take the learning plunge!
  2. Respect yourself! You are unique, special, and deserve a society free from terrorism and terrorists masquerading as “peaceful rioters.” A community free from terrorism starts with respecting yourself.
  3. Respect your actions by knowing why you are taking the actions being taken. Some of the summer of peaceful rioting videos included a black person stomping (jumping up and down) on another black person in support of George Floyd. It made no sense then; it makes less sense now.
  4. Respect your community. Respecting your community includes voting, staying interested in how the elected official is doing, and raising your voices legally to correct the behavior of wayward politicians. Respect for your community does not include burning businesses to the ground, looting, or smashing public property.
  5. Even when you disagree with authority, respect that authority enough to handle your concerns appropriately.

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

The Proper and Improper Role of Government: Chapter 4 – Tax Freedom Day – Do you know why this is important?

Working Dollar In 2019, Tax Freedom Day was 16 April 2019. For those not in the loop, Tax Freedom Day is the day all Federal, State, County, and Local taxes are paid from your paycheck. This date gets further into the new year every year, and with the amount of inflation seen since 16 April 2019, you can bet that Tax Freedom Day will shortly be in the middle of May or July.

What is Paper Money?

Dr. Clarence Carson wrote an article about paper money and the US Constitution, quoted heavily below. Paper Money, “… Paper that was intended to circulate as money but was not redeemable in gold and silver was technically described as bills of credit at the time of the Continental Congress and writing of the US Constitution and US Bill of Rights. The description was (and is) apt. Such Paper is a device for expanding the credit of the issuer.” The credit of the issuer is improved, not the benefit of those forced to use the Paper as credit. Hence, the US Government, to improve its credit, began printing money, and the problems in American Economics took off like a rocket sled on greased rails! Plato 2

Paper Money only has value when the person holding that Paper has confidence in the government printing that money. In every nation across the globe, the only thing keeping value in the paper currency is confidence in the government by citizens paying taxes. Hence, the problems with depressions, the confidence in value are shaken, and the holders of Paper Money become restless and lack confidence that their money is valuable. Bills of credit, Paper Money conveying the value of debt have been around for a long time, as discussed in a previous article on money. Why did the USSR fall; the currency had been worthless for years, and when the citizens had finally had enough, the government fell apart. A fitting tribute and pattern to be heeded from history if we, the government owners, cannot get the government to cease and desist forthwith!

Government and Paper Money

The US Constitution, as originally written, forbids the US Government from printing paper money why; because of how fast the government abuses this power, creating inflation. The Continental Congress was well aware of government abuses with Paper Money, thus restricting the Federal Government to coinage and tying the value to the gold standard. Inflation is nothing more than a hidden tax, where the government controls how much value your money is worth. Every person using US Dollars to make a purchase pays this tax. Thus, by the time a consumable product has been paid for in a store, that tax, inflation, has been paid multiple times, and the consumer is always worse for every point of inflation the government allows.

Irony Did you know that the Federal Government allows 2% inflation every year as a “target?” Consider this for a moment; the government wants your money and calls this tax a “good thing” for the economy. Thus, your prices for everything increase 2% or $.02 every year because the government wants it to. The 2% devaluation of your money is part of the Federal Reserves’ “Dual-Mandate” to achieve 100% employment and price stability. Do you see any logic in making money less valuable as a means to improve employment and stabilize prices? I don’t! Now, consider this, inflation has hit a this year (2021) and has not stopped climbing. Worse, inflation is expected to continue to grow as the government prints more Paper Money, which will eventually end in a depression preceded by massive deflation of the value of the US Dollar. Keep in mind; inflation has become a global problem, as the majority of governments spent money they did not have during the pandemic. Imagine lemmings racing for a fiscal cliff.

Lemmings 5 Josiah Quincy wrote George Washington “that there never was a paper pound, a paper dollar, or a paper promise of any kind, that ever yet obtained a general currency but by force or fraud, generally by both.” Yet, Congress still refuses to learn the lessons taught during the Continental Currency. Debts, runaway inflation, legal enforcement to demand paper money be accepted, all of these lessons were experienced by the Founding Fathers, with Rhode Island being the Continental equivalent of California for bad fiscal policy and idiotic fiscal enforcement. Tax Scheme 2

The founding fathers met during an economic period of deflation, which quickly became a severe depression caused by states issuing paper money that was useless. The founders “hoped to erect a system that would endure, and to do that, they wished to guard against the kind of fiscal adventures that produced both unpleasant economic consequences and political turmoil. Paper Money was reckoned to be one of these.” Paper Money, without the backing of silver and gold, has led to speculation, inflation, deflation, cycles of economic depression, and Congress essentially stole the right to print paper money and borrow from the citizens unconstitutionally! This cannot be stressed enough; there is a direct causal relationship between Congressional action, Executive Orders, and the economic problems America is suffering, including the bondage of debts insurmountable and the abuse of tax schemes! All of which were powers strictly limited in the US Constitution because the founders knew the government would abuse the power of Paper Money! Bait & Switch 2

History shows that when paper money was discussed, the states overwhelming voted to remove the power to print money from the US Government, seeing this as the best method for long-term economic success in America. “The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of removing the authority of the United States to emit bills of credit. The delegates voted by state, and 9 states voted in favor of the motion while only 2 opposed it. (New York delegates were not in attendance, and Rhode Island, of course, sent none.) It is a reasonable inference from the discussion that the delegates believed that by voting to strike out the words, (from the Articles of Confederation, which made up the bulk of the US Constitution), they had removed the power from the government to emit bills of credit.” It is important to note that allowing states to issue bills of credit, print their own money, or stamp coinage was also forbidden. To avoid the economic crisis, the founding fathers were in the middle of when framing the US Constitution and the US Bill of Rights from the Articles of Confederation. How many problems, and how much lower would your taxes be if the Federal and State governments had simply followed the law instead of stealing rights and powers from the governed?

Facts About Tax Freedom Day

IRS Please note, the federal deficit, state deficits, pension crisis, student loan debt crisis, and interest are not included in the numbers quoted below. The following information comes directly from the Tax Foundation (linked above):

- - Tax Freedom Day is a significant date for taxpayers and lawmakers because it represents how long Americans as a whole have to work to pay the nation’s tax burden.
  - This year, Tax Freedom Day falls on 16 April or 105 days into the year.
  - In 2019, Americans will pay $3.4 trillion in federal taxes and $1.8 trillion in state and local taxes for a total bill of over $5.2 trillion, or 29 percent of the nation’s income.
  - Americans will collectively spend more on taxes in 2019 than they will on food, clothing, and housing combined.
  - If you include annual federal borrowing, representing future taxes owed (interest on the debt), Tax Freedom Day would occur 22 days later, 8 May.
  - Tax Freedom Day in 2018 and 2019 was five days earlier than it was in 2017, primarily due to the recent federal tax law, the Tax Cuts, and Jobs Act.
  - From 1930 to at least 1995, Tax Freedom Day has taken 1.27 days longer per year to reach. – I do not have an updated reference for this information since 1995.
  - In 2019, on average, it took:
    - - 42 days to pay the income taxes
        
        26 days to pay payroll taxes
        
        15 days to pay sales and excise taxes, not including surcharges and government fees for services
        
        11 days for property taxes – states control this, some municipalities, it took a lot longer
        
        5 days for Corporate Income Taxes
        
        6 Days for other taxes that always get passed along to the consumer.

Tax Burden I have read economic reports from noted minds in economics that claim had the dollar not been loosed from the ties to the gold standard, America could not have produced the tools needed to win WWII. To which I continue to claim, as Colonel Potter from M*A*S*H so aptly stated, “HORSE HOCKEY! and BULL COOKIES!” Having Congress issuing massive letters of credit, borrowing tremendous sums of money, and the economic fallout remains a millstone about the financial neck of this country. How much longer will Americans pay for debts created during WWII? What about the ever-increasing debt burden and interest that is driving prices and taxes ever upwards?

Knowledge Check! The US Government has acted improperly since establishing the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Not just improperly but illegally under the US Constitution as drafted. Illegally, immorally, and unethically towards the founders, and distorted the intent of the US Constitution to protect America from runaway government debt and inflation/deflation/depression cycles common when issuing Paper Money. This is the utter truth, and until this problem is rectified, removing paper money is the right thing to do, even if it means some financial hardship! America can survive financial difficulty; we cannot survive the bondage of runaway debt, interest that sucks all the GDP, and the socialism projects being paid for by tax dollars to buy votes from envious people looking for “equality and fairness.”

Let’s Stop Being Afraid of Language – Communication and Freedom Lessons From Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Communication presentation is the careful and concise logic behind selecting words to communicate an idea—the rules of grammar and punctuation aid in communicating correctly to enhance the sense and communicate the vision. Language is a grand and glorious tool for sharing ideas, empowering motivation, and building ideas into action items. Yet, for some reason, words have become cheapened by political positions, and I would see this trend cease forthwith. Presenting the first and second principles of language and communication:

“A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“The best of a book is not the thought which it contains, but the thought which it suggests; just as the charm of music dwells not in the tones but in the echoes of our hearts.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Consider two emails; the content is identical, the first is titled:

“How To Learn and Master Things Faster – Five Tips”

The second email was received later in the day and is titled:

“How To Learn and Excel At Things Faster – Five Tips”

The second email also came with an apology:

“Apologies for churn. The original email today used a non-inclusive word in the header. We apologize for this error and are re-sending with the corrected content.”

The content of the email did not change at all, only the titles changed, and the apology suggests that there is a “non-inclusive” word in the original title. Some people will erroneously claim that the term master is automatically a negative term and base that assumption upon slavery, especially with Juneteenth celebrations abounding this weekend. Except, master and mastery are not negative terms.

As a point of reference, a male teacher is a master. There are master degrees; master also appears in religious texts as an honorific. A master can be a highly accomplished person in a trade or craft, or a role model from history. One having authority over another to force compulsion is much lower in the definition lists. Hence, the wordsmithing for “inclusion” is a myth; yet the fear of potentially appearing to be exclusive forced the title change in this email and was 100% wrong!

We must never forget the following:

“My right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. [emphasis mine].

The fear of thought police drives a lot of other problems in society. Choose the wrong word on an advertisement, and college children (thought terrorists) have been known to storm the business, ruin patronage, anger the entire community, and force the business closure. All because they presume the mantle of “Master of Thought Police.” Who gave them this authority? Where are their charter, endowment, and power originating from? Who granted permission; this last one is easy; the license to become a terrorist was self-assumed! Necessitating the following principle:

“The history of intellectual growth and discovery clearly demonstrates the need for unfettered freedom, the right to think the unthinkable, discuss the unmentionable, and challenge the unchallengeable. To curtail free expression strikes twice at intellectual freedom, for whoever deprives another of the right to state unpopular views necessarily also deprives others of the right to listen to those views.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Please note, I am not against wordsmithing to increase the potential power of communication to reach an audience. Nor am I against the careful selection of words to provide clear context and empower a collective message through editing. I will certainly not be upset because someone chooses one word in a message that I might not have used had I been in their shoes. Why have we, the adults in society, allowed the children in the community to act like spoiled brats and create fear and division over word selection and placement in a message?

The following two quotes contain more than simple support for the principles of communicating but reflect how those principles of freedom and communication operate in society.

“If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other, it is the principle of free thought, not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“Certitude leads to violence. This is a proposition that has an easy application and a difficult one. The easy application is to ideologues, dogmatists, and bullies–people who think that their rightness justifies them in imposing on anyone who does not happen to subscribe to their particular ideology, dogma, or notion of turf. If the conviction of rightness is powerful enough, resistance to it will be met, sooner or later by force. There are people like this in every sphere of life, and it is natural to feel that the world would be a better place without them!” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. [emphasis mine]

Is the fear of the mob so significant that even without a mob, fear is spread, risks must be avoided proactively, and thoughts curtailed? I say NO! I defy the entire argument that word selection can cause exclusion. Why; because understanding is a choice! The only person who can choose to be insulted over a word is you! You own the emotions of the moment, and your emotional choices are not my concern! Do we understand this concept?

Audience selection is the first job in designing communication. Identifying the primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences is the job of the communication initiator. After drafting that message and sending the ideas out, the audience is left to choose what they do moving forward. How you choose is your power, and I am not responsible for your choices. The communication initiator is not accountable for your preferences and selections.

But what about those messages specifically designed to inflame, insult, denigrate, and deride? What changed? Nothing! The communication initiator desired to rile the primary audience, deny them this power over you, choose different emotions, and retain the moral high ground. The best response to a communication initiator who wants to rule your emotions is to deny them that power, and then that person goes away as irrelevant.

Opposing thoughts expand our minds with both experience and the force to make a decision. If all we ever experienced were ideas and thoughts we agreed with, change, growth, opinion, all the spice of life would be lost. Worse, envy would overcome logic, and the world would undoubtedly be a more violent place as a result.

“I have no respect for the passion of equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy – I don’t disparage envy, but I don’t accept it as legitimately my master.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Is the ability to choose emotional reasoning supported sufficiently to empower you? One of the great tragedies of life, since the 1960s, has been the call for “equality” when the worship of envy was the actual message. Worse, these ideas have been planted and carefully tended, and the fruit is poison. When I moved to the western US as a kid, I was introduced to cedar trees for the first time. A cedar tree is the place of choice for pregnant animals to have their offspring, as the cedar slowly transforms the ground under it into a sterile environment. The air is affected, the earth is involved, and the grove of cedar trees holds tremendous power for generations inside the forest of cedar trees. The cedar tree is an excellent example of the power of envy worship. Call envy equality if you prefer, but the fruit will kill and poison the minds of those choosing to plant the seeds for generations.

Taking the concepts into the final thought:

“Liberty is often a heavy burden on a man. It involves the necessity for perpetual choice, which is the kind of labor men have always dreaded.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. [emphasis mine].

Like the expanded mind, choice leads to decisions, decision spurs action, and action will result in consequences. How you perceive the effects will drive the next series of choices, decisions, activities, and consequences. Liberty and freedom allow us the glory and the horror of choice and consequence. Thus, I plead with you, stop allowing your emotional decisions to be controlled by others! Cease the turmoil over language, speak simply, communicate clearly, and then rest knowing you have not intentionally caused harm. The audience is left to choose, and if they choose to be offended, those are not your consequences to suffer!

“Reason may be the lever, but sentiment gives you the fulcrum and the place to stand on if you want to move the world.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Juneteenth and Critical Race Theory: A Head Scratching Conundrum!

Question I fully admit, every time “Juneteenth” comes around, I have to look up the word and the history to make sure someone is not pulling my leg. For those like me, Juneteenth is the celebration of the emancipation of slaves in Texas from 19 June 1865. Apparently, President Biden just made the day an Official U.S. Holiday, the first since Martin Luther King Day in the early 1980s. There are times I feel like, for all the work I invest in knowing what is happening, I am still living under a rock.

Included at the bottom of this article are references to the source materials and knowledge gleaned. Unless explicitly linked, the references below can support both my questions and my conclusions. Feel free to expand your mind and read; be warned, though, once your mind expands, it can never go back!

The historical celebrations of Juneteenth included prayer, new clothes, hymn singing, and expressions of gratitude regarding being made free. A celebration of freedom by slaves in America also included food. I have never seen race; plain and simple truth! Your choice of race is your business; how you act and live is more important than race, culture, creed, religion, handicap, and gender to me. While working on my MBA degree, I was introduced to two concepts, critical race theory and the fact that the United Nations claims race and culture are a conscious choice.

Why If the United Nations can claim that a person’s race is a choice, then I am an American. I am not distinguished by color, several colors, or even my history. As a point of reference, America was set up that way for a reason; it releases people from bondage to not be judged by their family, their financial circumstances, historical tribal connections, color, or any other line of separation. When America as a “Melting Pot” was described to me in school, I cheered because it meant I am not the sum of my family’s actions!

Then along comes Critical Race Theory, and my mind took a sudden jolt. Critical Race Theory is a loosely organized intellectual movement based upon a shaky legal framework and premise claiming that race is not a natural, biological, or physical distinction separating subgroups of humans. The intellectualists embrace Critical Race Theory and attempt to make race a sociological invention to oppress other people. They further adhere to an almost religious belief that America is inherently racist, especially to African Americans.

Question 3 Here is where my brain disconnects, the questions asked are honest, and I would appreciate dialog without emotion to attempt to answer the following questions:

1. If the United Nations is correct, and race is a choice, how does Critical Race Theory have any followers and adherents?
  - - Since race is my personal choice, I can be any race I choose, regardless of skin tones, speech, mannerisms, etc. How can anyone claim to be oppressed by another race?
    - How can race be an issue if race is a sociological construct?
    - Under the Rule of Law, there is no distinction of race. The lady of law has a blindfold for a reason, so she cannot judge by sight, only by hearing, and weigh the results on the scale. Where is the legal justification for Critical Race Theory?
2. Is Juneteenth a celebration just for black people? If so, doesn’t this upend the Critical Race Theorists? If not, then what is Juneteenth historically?
  - - If Juneteenth is a celebration of liberty, why did we need another holiday when the 4^th of July celebrates freedom?
    - When considering people’s kept as slaves across history, race becomes an interesting variable if race is not a choice but a biological, physical, and method of sub-grouping humans. Africa has seen a lot of periods where one tribe conquers another, and the conquered became slaves. The same pattern has been witnessed across all the different tribes, countries, and human species throughout world history. Does this mean that Critical Race Theory was just proven invalid as a concept?
3. If Juneteenth is a holiday only for those emancipated from slavery, does this mean others cannot celebrate humans ending forced servitude?
4. Why is Critical Race Theory all about black oppression? Didn’t the American Indians have it much worse than black people in early-American history? Where is the holiday for the American Indians being freed from reservations, empowered, and promoted as a distinct culture worthy of respect and study?
  - - Wait, if the United Nations’ supposition is true, that culture and race are a choice, does this mean that the laws against and for American Indians are now in question and under doubt?
    - What about other indigenous tribes across the world facing brutal oppression? Are those laws invalid due to the United Nations or due to Critical Race Theory?
    - Which minority groups are “more equal” and “deserving” than other minority groups under the Critical Race Theory? Why the distinction if race is a choice and not a biological, physical, or cultural tribal distinction in human sub-groups?
5. Since the American Indians owned slaves, why are the Critical Race Theorists attacking white people only?
  - - If the United Nations is correct, then those purporting to be Critical Race Theorists are broadcasting their ignorance by adhering to a group that pushes a lie about race being a factor, right?

I need to understand something, and history, as well as archeology, supports the following:

“White slavery pre-dates black slavery in America. This fact has been verified by forensic evidence from archaeological digs and historical documents uncovered by contemporary scholars, including Don Jordan and Michael Walsh in White Cargo (New York University Press: 2009).”

The stories behind white slavery, indentured servitude, and other means of conveying the purchase and abuse of people are incredibly heartbreaking. What man has done to their fellow man through all of recorded history is appalling. Trying to further that oppression through Critical Race Theory is despicable on a level I can not describe. Yet, what do we see, Critical Race Theorists doing precisely that, getting a person to choose a race, then choose to allow themselves to be victimized and oppressed because of their choice to join a culture, tribe, or race.

Knowledge Check! Hence, my conundrum! If we accept that race, culture, creed, and religion are choices made by humans without compulsory means, what is Critical Race Theory talking about and preaching? If we refuse the belief that race, tribe, and culture are not choices, then we still have a logical disconnect between Critical Race Theorists and the history of civilization. The Critical Race Theorists seem to be missing the forest for the bark they are stuck seeing. Unfortunately, I still do not understand most holidays, since I prefer to work than rest, I do not need to know to understand the holiday, just save me some food.

Slavery References

Davis, J.B. “Slavery in the Cherokee Nation.”
Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. 11, No. 4. December 1993.

Gates Jr., Henry Louis. “Did Black People Own Slaves?”
The Root. 4 March 2013.

Gates Jr., Henry Louis. “How Many Slaves Landed in the U.S.?”
The Root. 6 January 2014.

Hall, Kermit L. The Oxford Companion to American Law.
New York: Oxford University Press USA, 2002. ISBN 0-195-08878-6.

Halliburton Jr., R. “Free Black Owners of Slaves: A Reappraisal of the Woodson Thesis.”
The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 76, No. 3. July 1975.

Johnson, Michael P., and Roark, James L. Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South.
New York: W. W. Norton, 1986. ISBN 0-393-30314-4.

Mintz, Steven. African-American Voices: A Documentary Reader, 1619-1877.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. ISBN 1-444-31077-1.

Rodriguez, Junius P. The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery.
Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1997. ISBN 0-874-36885-5.

Russell, John Henderson. The Free Negro in Virginia, 1619-1865.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1913. ISBN 1-480-03049-X.

Walton, Hanes and Smith, Robert C. American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom.
London: Routledge, 2015. ISBN 1-317-35045-6.

Critical Race Theory Reference

Crenshaw, K., Gotanda, N., Peller, G., & Thomas, K. (1995). Critical race theory. The Key Writings that Formed the Movement. New York, 276-291.

Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2017). Critical race theory: An introduction (3^rd ed.). NYU Press.

Juneteenth References

Donovan, A., & De Bres, K. (2006). Foods of freedom: Juneteenth as a culinary tourist attraction. Tourism Review International, 9(4), 379-389.

Ellison, R. (2021). Juneteenth. Modern Library.

Taylor, C. A. (2002). Juneteenth: A celebration of freedom. Open Hand Publishing, LLC.

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