A(nother) Very ThoughtFul Chat

As previously stated (and as will be repeatedly stated hereafter), far more now than any information or perspective I’m ever exposed to, I increasingly trust the tone of the interactions I hear and witness; the civility, reciprocity, thoughtfulness, humor and open-mindedness of those interacting, or the lack thereof, and which are, especially taken together, I find, easy and highly reliable gauges of the sincerity of the speakers, and of whether the information or perspective being shared is potentially worthwhile, or not.

This is one such conversation between people (Greg Reese and Celia Farber) displaying the above traits, one of many I regularly hear and seek out, and this and conversations like it, the tone of it, is one reason I don’t despair for the state of the world, as one might easily and justifiably do.

Neither of these two people believe, with very good and well considered reason, I think, that almost anything at all we are presented with as the news of the day or the events of the moment are actually as or what they seem, and both would be, and are – by the kind of people not exhibiting the above traits, especially those that work in the kinds of influential jobs and in the kinds of influential places where the above traits are hugely frowned upon and heavily penalized – derided, disingenously and cynically, as ‘conspiracy theorists’ or alt-right extremists, but they are neither, and I find their discussion here, and others like it, to be among the most hopeful indicators for the future, one I hope and expect could look very unlike our present.

A Casual Conversation with Celia Farber

The Sunday afternoon podcast with Greg Reese

Sticking His Neck Out (again)

He’s probably not all the way down the rabbit hole, but I have to admire ol’ Slowhand for putting himself in the crosshairs about the shots (and his own adverse effect), and now his support of the vilified Mr. Kennedy.

I find it notably self-corroborating as to being, at least energetically, if not informationally, on the right track, that all truth seeking roads seem to converge, and not even all that gradually, that partisanship falls immediately away, and, also, that courtesy and civility between and among most, or maybe all, of the people sincerely following these converging paths is usually present, and rancor absent. 

Not unlike the difference between a dog instinctively wagging its tail or growling at someone, that’s my real barometer now, and I never ignore it.

DEC. ’23 UPDATE: Mr Kennedy’s head scratching support for Israel under apparently any circumstances has since (I originally posted this) cast a cloud over his public office venture and his character, alas, particularly considering his family’s past (which is possibly the explanation for it, as well), but Clapton’s gesture is not diminished by that.

Eric Clapton helps raise $1 million for RFK Jr. campaign

Eric Clapton helped raise $1 million for Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign at a private fundraiser on Monday night, Kennedy’s campaign announced Tuesday. Clapton and his band performed at an event, which raised a total of $2.2 million, including $1 million for Kennedy’s campaign and $1.2 million for a political action committee…

Some Food Freedom Gains (sort of)

Big Year for Raw Milk in State Houses

Graphic: Real Milk Legal Map Click here to view the updated Raw Milk Legal Map, color index, and state-by-state status Over the past decade or so, a growing number of states have passed laws to either legalize the sale of raw milk and raw milk products or increase access to raw dairy; no year has been as productive as 2023.

Freedom, and ultimately this is about freedom of association, will never be attained by voting, or the proxy voting of already or always about to be captured representatives that we plead our cases to, make our preferences known to, beg for different, better treatment from, but the more local and more diffuse these occurrences, the better.

Teeth & Gums Home Remedies

No root canal, no problem: how I’ve treated a very painful, problem tooth for 13 years without getting a root canal; and the healthiest drink everyone needs to know how to make – The COVID Blog™

by Brian A. Wilkins Editor-in-Chief October 27, 2022 SOMEWHERE IN THE BOONDOCKS – It almost happened this time. I was about an hour away from pulling a Tom Hanks from the 2000 film “Cast Away.” Instead I went to sleep, and the pain finally started to subside after days of hardcore treatment.

I have had, myself, definite success tamping down, and heading off at the pass, semi-regular and ever potential infections that want to develop around a loose rear molar I have, by using a few drops of Oreganol (concentrated oregano oil) along with a half-dropper full of something called Gum Guardian, an herbal mouth rinse. Good combo, and Oreganol is pretty impressive. Like the garlic effect description in the linked article, it burns and seems to kill everything, and I have learned that I need to pull the fluid mixture around in my mouth very aggressively to get the concoction below/above the gum line, where the infection is.

When already ‘horse has left the barn’ infected, I also have done sea or himalayan salt water rinses (I hear sea is better for this), and c. silver (separately). The salt clearly helps, not sure about the silver, but the oreganol seems most potent of all. I just rinse my mouth aggressively most days now, and so far, have kept the tooth in my mouth, and most new infections at bay.

Am going to try the garlic remedy in this article, and the tea to see about its systemic effect.

A Side Bet Win

Sweden-Once Mocked for Its COVID Strategy-Now Has One of the Lowest COVID Mortality Rates in Europe | Jon Miltimore

Early in the coronavirus pandemic, I asked a simple question. Could Sweden’s laissez-faire approach to the coronavirus actually work? Unlike its European neighbors and virtually all US states, the Swedes had opted to not shut down the economy. The country of 10 million people took what was at first described as “a lighter touch.”

Like someone at a craps table betting the come line mid-game after the shooter has already established his pass line ‘point’, the Swedish narrative since the covid social experiment phenomenon began is a side-bet, a game within a game. In this case, it’s a come line bet won for those that esteem the liberty of individuals and fear and reject the collective will. It won’t affect the main game, and no matter how good the news, or how relevant the tale or information, it will be deemed fact-checked, debunked and mis-information by the majority, who will never take on board and factor in what happened in Sweden this whole time. Still, though, a minor win.

That said, Scandinavia, the Nordic countries, in general, are highly socialized & collectivized, the men long ago emasculated, so this is not a libertarian story. I’m not sure why Sweden swam upstream on this, while Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland did not, but it did buck the orthodoxy about covid from the very start, and while freedom as a basic, overriding principle may not have been its lighthouse, reason did seem to prevail about this issue.