The Spirit of '76 Museum

The Spirit of '76 Museum, 201 North Main St., Wellington, Ohio features the work of artist Archibald Willard. You may not know the name, but you will instantly recognize his world-famous painting, "The Spirit of '76", with its drummers, fifer and flag that symbolize the spirit of the American Revolution. Southern Lorain County Historical Society board member Scott Markel calls Willard “the least famous painter who created the most famous painting in the world.”

In this video, Becky Norton, Vice President of the SLCHS, guides us on a fascinating tour of the Museum. She is a wealth of knowledge and a wonderful guide! The Spirit of '76 Museum also showcases the rich and colorful history* of Wellington and Lorain County and is operated by The Southern Lorain County Historical Society. For more information on the museum and to arrange a tour, visit https://thespiritof76museum.org/ People from Fayette County, Ohio, are likely familiar with Willards' work. His paintings adorn the courthouse and were recently restored to their original glory. They can be seen in this video, produced by The Ohio Channel at 3:30: https://www.facebook.com/TheOhioChannel/videos/1647427885273853/ The full-size original painting, (approx. 8"x10") is on display at the Marblehead Historical Commission, in Marblehead, MA. https://marbleheadhistory.org/ The thumbnail photo is from their website. * Did you know that an escaped slave was captured and held in Wellington? While awaiting a train to take him back down south, the people of Wellington and nearby Oberlin freed him from his captor, and thus he was able to escape to Canada.

Ohio Patriots Alliance - United For Freedom Rally this Saturday, Nov. 20

 

Fellow Patriots, Deck out your vehicle and join our Road Parade and Freedom Rally this Saturday, November 20, 2021 as we do a Freedom Train around our Capitol City and then meet at Alum Creek State Park for a literal Freedom Rally and Party for Patriots.

Staging Time and Location Arrive by 11:00 AM Polaris Fashion Place Mall Parking Lot (Polaris Parkway exit from I-71, west on Polaris Parkway, pass Lyra Dr., take a right at main entrance to Polaris Fashion Place, gather in parking lot in front of Macy's just to the left.) Flags and patriotic sweatshirts are available for purchase at both the staging area and rally place Road Parade Leaves at 11:15 AM Freedom Road Parade around I-270 (one loop)

Ohio Patriots Alliance - Road Train and Rally November 20 and Other Updates

 

Fellow Patriots, Thanks to all of you who have been active in local campaigns. There are many victories to celebrate. It is time for a full scale assault on the political Establishment! We have them on the run; now we must finish them off! Join us for the United For Freedom Rally

Road Train Parade around Columbus (I-270) and After-Party Rally at Alum Creek State Park Beach Saturday, November 20, 2021 11:00 AM Staging Area for Road Parade: Polaris Mall Parking Lot, I-71 and Polaris Parkway (Just West of Exit on North side of Polaris parkway) After-Party Rally: Alum Creek State Park Beech

Judicial Watch Sues HHS for Biodistribution Studies for the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson Vaccines

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch, the government watchdog group, announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for biodistribution studies and related data for the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (No. 1:21-cv-02418)).

This lawsuit was filed after the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease failed to respond to a June 8, 2021, FOIA request for:

[A]ccess to biodistribution studies and related data for the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines used to treat and/or prevent SARS-CoV-2 and/or COVID-19.

Similarly, HHS’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) failed to respond to the same request sent on July 15, 2021, after the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease advised Judicial Watch that BARDA “would be the appropriate federal agency to submit a request,” to obtain the records if they existed.

Biodistribution is a method of tracking where compounds of interest travel in an experimental animal or human subject.

“The Biden administration should follow the law and release any biodistribution studies concerning the vaccines,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Americans have a right to know as much as possible about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.”

"Justice for J6" Rally Exposed Government and Media Bias and Made the Case for the First Amendment and Equal Justice

Today, Tom Zawistowski, President of the Ohio-based TEA Party-Affiliated We the People Convention (WTPC), celebrated the success of the "Justice for J6" Rally on Saturday, September 18th and congratulated Matt Braynard from Look Ahead America, and Cara Castronuova from Citizens Against Political Persecution, for putting on a safe and effective event, despite irresponsible and baseless media claims that the event would be violent, and for their continuing efforts to get the January 6th Political Prisoners Equal Justice under the Law.

Zawistowski said, "The WTPC was proud to provide material support for the "Justice for J6" Rally which was a tremendous success on multiple levels. First and foremost, while the U.S. and World Media have intentionally killed any coverage of the plight of the January 6th Political Prisoners for the past nine months, with the exception of occasional blatant political hit pieces fed to them by their leftist handlers in and outside of government, the "Justice for J6" Rally and our organization's three front page ads in the Washington Times, goaded even the NY Times and the Washington Post and Rolling Stone into writing about the rally and thus the plight of political prisoners. Thanks to the corrupt media's unhinged need to demonize and attack Americans simply for having an opinion they don't like, and for using their First Amendment Rights to express it, they unwittingly brought the case before the U.N. Human Rights Committee to the attention of tens of millions of Americans! Just search on "Justice for J6" and see the thousands of links - few of which you would have seen two weeks ago. We did an outstanding job of using their prejudices against them. For those in the media who claim the event was "a dud" because it was attended by about 500 people, they were just clueless about of our actual goal, and we are thankful for their ignorance."

Ohio Patriots Alliance - Updates 9/13/21 and THIS WEEK'S EVENTS

 

Fellow Ohio Patriots, Last Friday, September 10 there was a meeting of the State Central Committee for the Ohio Republican Party. There were several contentious issues swirling about this meeting, and there was a protest outside the meeting as well. You can find assorted footage on social media, etc. Some of the issues were potential corruption with money questions, attempt to get an audit accomplished, funneling of money to DeWine and Yost without Committed approval, whether or not the Party should endorse in Statewide primary elections, whether or not it will endorse DeWine, and filling vacancies on the Committee. The Vacancy issue in intricately connected to the DeWine endorsement issue. To put it simply, the Establishment and DeWine are trying to pack the Committee to give DeWine the endorsement and all the money for his Campaign. The Committee is closely divided, meaning it is by no means a lock that the Establishment will have their way, and a few votes may determine the direction the Party takes. Anyway, I'm not going to go too deep into party politics. However, my wife Alicia Healy was seeking to be elected by the Committee to fill one of the vacant seats. The Establishment had their hand picked person already slated to fill the spot. They weren't expecting any competition. The seat is for the 15th District, which is the same as Ohio Senate District 15, which is entirely in Urban Franklin County (Columbus). When we heard of the vacancy through the grapevine, Alicia immediately began calling members of our County Central Committee for a recommendation. We did not hear a peep out of our County Party leadership. They did not even inform any of us of the vacancy. They wanted to quietly send a recommendation for their favored person to the State Party without any input from the rank and file of the County Party. Alicia was able to gain an endorsement from about 40 members of our County Central Committee, and was calling all the State Central Committee Members to ask for their vote. Then her opponent saw that she better get busy. She gained the endorsement of all the Party officers and a handful of current or former Republican Officeholders that are in good standing with the Old Guard of the Party Establishment, many of them Never-Trumpers, though they would hesitate to admit it in the current environment, where at least 90 percent of the Republican base are MAGA! Here is some footage from the meeting: Healy vs. Martin - ORP State Central Committee (9/10/21) - YouTube (20+) Facebook When the vote was announced, the crowd was noticeably shocked, even though there was a modest perfunctory applause from some of the Committee. Penny Martin was elected. But it was a pretty close vote: 34-26, 5 were emailed votes (4-1 for Martin), 6 members were not present and did not vote. DeWine was personally calling Committee Members lobbying for Martin (you might say arm-twisting). They will not stay in power for long. The Revolution is on!

Northeast Ohio

Join Us for The End of the Long War in Afghanistan - National September 11 Memorial Museum

 

As we approach the milestone 20th anniversary of 9/11, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s public program season will explore a range of topics reflecting on the ongoing impacts and continued resonance of the attacks, their historical context, and their aftermath. We are pleased to present The End of the Long War in Afghanistan Monday, August 30, 2 p.m. ET The post-9/11 invasion of Afghanistan became the longest war in American history. Now with the total drawdown of American troops after nearly 20 years, the Taliban has retaken control of the country. Ronald E. Neumann, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (2005–2007) and Edmund Fitton-Brown, coordinator of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban discuss the rapidly unfolding events in Afghanistan and what the future might hold for the country. Visit 911memorial.org/watch to attend this live, online event. Captioning will be provided.

Op-Ed: America’s Withdrawal From Afghanistan Will Open The Door For Sex Traffickers

 

QUICK DONATE Funds donated will go towards our efforts to end human trafficking and exploitation around the world. By Tim Ballard People are free to debate if it was right for the United States to invade Afghanistan in 2001, or if we should have maintained a presence in the country for over two decades, or even if the timing of our recent and hasty withdrawal was appropriate. However, one indisputable fact that is not open for debate is that the moment the United States entered Afghanistan, we accepted a moral, social, and arguably, legal obligation to care for and protect the country’s most vulnerable people, that being women and children. The United States’ rapid and slapdash departure from Afghanistan represents a complete abdication of that responsibility and obligation. We are failing the very people we are supposed to protect and, worse, we are doing so despite our own government’s admission that there was still so much work left undone. The U.S. Department of State reported just this year that Afghanistan “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so…”  Afghanistan was also included on a list of state-sponsored governments that had a “documented ‘policy or pattern’ of human trafficking in government-funded programs, forced labor in government-affiliated medical services or other sectors, sexual slavery in government camps, or the employment or recruitment of child soldiers.” This list, in addition to Afghanistan, includes governments from Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia to name a few.  According to the U.S. Department of State in 2001, Afghanistan under Taliban rule had one of the worst human rights records in the world. The regime systematically repressed all sectors of the population and denied even the most basic individual rights.  The 2002 Trafficking in Persons report noted that “the Taliban, a Pashtun-dominated fundamentalist Islamic movement, controlled approximately 90 percent of the country. Taliban forces were responsible for disappearances of women and children, many of whom were trafficked to Pakistan and the Gulf States.” Under Taliban control, women were forced into sex slavery, largely prevented from obtaining real employment, forbidden to walk outside alone, denied access to education, and prevented from receiving appropriate health and medical care. Children were also subjected to unspeakable atrocities, including the practice of bacha bazi, where male children are sexually abused by older men and forced into combat as child soldiers, as well as into marriage and as laborers, domestic workers and in the sex trade. In an interview with The Atlantic, Manizha Naderi, a co-founder of Women for Afghan Women, said, “Before the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, there was nothing, no infrastructure, no legal system, no educational system, nothing there. And in the last 20 years, everything was re-created in the country, from education, to the legal system, to social, to economics … Women have gained everything. Not just women, but the Afghans in general have gained a lot.” The fact is today’s resurgence of the Taliban, and the ensuing fall of the Afghan government, threatens to almost instantaneously erase the strides meant to aid women and children over the past 20 years and bring the issue to light. And for this, the international community should be disgusted and embarrassed.  According to recent report from UNICEF, over the previous decade, 2.7 million Afghans left the country in the hopes of finding a better life. We know that from our experience, many individuals, especially children, who flee their homes, communities, and counties are extremely vulnerable and become targets for those who wish to force them into being trafficked for sex or forced labor. These numbers are staggering, but they are reflective of a time when the Taliban was not in control of Afghanistan. Imagine how much those numbers will increase under the oppressive rule of the new Taliban regime. And the world will never know it, as the Taliban will keep the problem in the dark, or worse, sponsor and condone these abuses.   Already, reports of fear and uncertainty are streaming out of Afghanistan now that the Taliban are on the verge of complete control. Despite the Taliban’s shallow promises that women’s rights will be honored, women are already being forced from their jobs, girls removed from schools. Some women are even going so far as to hide or destroy any evidence of their personal or professional accomplishments such as diplomas, certificates, and other documents.  One Kabul resident wrote that men are already making fun of women and girls, seemingly delighting in their terror. “It is your last days of being out on the streets,” said one man. “I will marry four of you in one day,” said another. Sadly, it was almost a forgone conclusion that this is how things would play out if the Taliban were allowed to regain unfettered power. For example, the United Nations reported that as U.S. and other military groups began their withdrawal from Afghanistan in the first six months of 2021, more women and children were killed or wounded than during any other year since 2009.  Imagine being a woman or a child in Afghanistan now faced with one of two options, both with potentially tragic outcomes. The first, stay in a country that is ruled by a regime that was known to have one of the worst human rights records in the world. The second, attempt to flee the country and risk falling prey to those who seek to victimize the vulnerable, and force them into being trafficked for sex for forced labor. We call on the United States and other governments, non-profits, and NGOs to act immediately. At the Nazarene Fund, and at its sister organization, Operation Underground Railroad, we are prepared to do our part, but we can’t do it alone. If the international community fails to step up and respond to this situation, we will see a huge influx in the number of women and children being trafficked.  The international community should not do what it has done far too often in the past — turn a blind eye to the problem and make an already-tragic situation even worse. We must address this issue head on for the sake of saving the lives of so many women and children who might otherwise be lost.  Tim Ballard is the Founder of Operation Underground Railroad and the CEO of The Nazarene Fund. QUICK DONATE Funds donated will go towards our efforts to end human trafficking and exploitation around the world.  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌

Operation Underground Railroad | 138 E 12300 S, Suite C-149, Draper, UT 84020

Was it Real?

Last week, I had a visitor. He came into my room as I lay sleeping on my back. The visitor stood at the foot of the bed and pinched my big toes, waking me. It was my brother, Casey!

He was smiling and teasing me. We talked, though I don't remember what was said. He was happy and the whole thing seemed perfectly normal and natural. (Anyone knowing Casey would know there was little “normal” about him.)

When I realized what was happening, I said something like, "Hey, but you have been dead for four years!" (Actually, it will be five, in October.)

That realization startled me and I woke up to full consciousness. He was gone and I was alone in the room. I have no idea if that was a real vision, or just a dream.

It could have been real . . .

One evening some months after Sean died, Mom said she saw him walk down the hall and up the stairs, as she read in the living room.

When my son, Mark, was 11 or so, he woke up to see what he thought was his little brother, Christopher, playing a game on the floor. There was a cat next to him and cat poop, nearby. (They had cats.)

After telling him to go back to bed several times, Mark got down from the top bunk, stepped over the cat poop and turned on the light, only to find Chris asleep in bed; and the child, game, cat and poop, gone! It seems that a young child had died in that house, many years earlier.

When I was about four or five, we went to visit Grampy Brandt, Grandma's father. I remember him giving me and Sean peppermint candies that melted almost frothily in the mouth; his big smile, and the Mickey Mouse and Goofy wind-up toys that waddled across the table.

One morning when I was about seven or so, I looked up from brushing my teeth to see Grampy in the mirror, standing behind me! Though I had only met him that one time, there was no doubt about what I saw.

Almost sixty years later, I’ve not forgotten that smile and what a kind and loving man he was.

It was years before I told anyone about this experience. Mom and Dad were quite surprised that I remembered Grampy; they thought I was too young. Until I asked why we never went to see him anymore, no one told me he had died. (Take it to heart, parents; young children are more perceptive than you might think.)

I’m glad Casey came to visit. It is comforting to know he is happy and no longer bears the burdens he carried in life!

Thwarting China on 5G Is Greatest Untold Success Story of the Trump Administration

 AMAC Exclusive by Joshua Charles

One of the greatest success stories of the Trump administration is one you have likely never heard. It’s the story of how a former business leader turned Under Secretary of State helped prevent what many had assumed was a fait accompli: the domination of the worldwide rollout of cellular 5G wireless by Communist China.

5G represents a quantum leap forward over the current generation of cellular technology—in some cases up to ten times faster.

The implications of this transformation are far-reaching, because whatever country dominates 5G will likely dominate a host of other technologies that will depend on it—technologies like autonomous vehicles, AI, quantum computing, and many others.

In early 2019, the situation was grim for the United States and the western allies. Chinese companies like Huawei were preparing to roll out 5G networks around the world. Like many Chinese companies, Huawei is essentially a corporate arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and is subject to its National Intelligence Law, which means the government can demand Huawei hand over any data it has at any time. That means that the CCP could potentially access the personal, private, and sensitive data of people, companies, and governments around the world just like it does with its own citizens. In China, Huawei’s technology has become the backbone of the CCP’s surveillance state and “social credit system.” If they built the world’s 5G networks, they’d essentially be extending that surveillance state around the world. And yet, since the CCP was heavily subsidizing Huawei, the Chinese technology giant was able to outbid most of the competition. That’s to say nothing of the CCP’s theft of US technology and know-how. For decades, they had been using our openness against us, while restricting our access to their markets.

But then President Trump signed an executive order to crack down on Huawei equipment, empowering the federal government to block American companies from purchasing foreign made telecommunications equipment deemed to be a national security risk. In addition, President Trump nominated Keith Krach to be Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment to help carry out his policy of standing up to China. Secretary of State Pompeo gave Krach the specific charge “to develop and operationalize a global economic security strategy that drives economic growth, maximizes national security, and combats Chinese economic aggression.” Krach was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in the summer of 2019.

Read the rest of the story, here:  AMAC

Roots in Ripon - Let's Celebrate!

Roots in Ripon

Chuck Roots
6 August 2018
www.chuckroots.com

Editor's Note:  Roots in Ripon was once a regular feature, here.  Unfortunately, Chuck has not done anything new for some time and this is the last post on his blog.

           One of the prime focal points we find in the Bible is the intentional act of engaging in celebration. This means we are to participate in celebrating every aspect of life as God has ordained it.

           We often run into difficulty when life roles us up in troubles of every kind. We lose perspective on our lives and how Jesus wants us to walk with him. We focus on the problem, the fear, the loss, the pain, or any other difficulty you would like to add. I would recommend you take some time to look through the Bible and see what it says about rejoicing. It will challenge you, trust me!

           In Philippians 4 we are admonished by the Apostle Paul, who was no stranger to physical ailments, beatings, stonings, ship wreck, and the like, to, “Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice!”

           As a minister and chaplain for forty years, I have witnessed the attitudes of Christians who had failed to connect with rejoicing. It was so clear that those who made it a point of rejoicing, especially in the hard times, had a completely different temperament than those who found it difficult to live out the command to rejoice.

           This attitude of rejoicing is never more critical than when the death of a loved one, or close friend occurs. On August 27th, my mother-in-law, Alda Cabral, passed away at age 85. For the past number of years, she has been dealing with a number of physical ailments. Her body had finally given up.