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Jews, Guns and Politics by Norm Silber

There are a number of misconceptions about Jews and, among other issues, their views on guns and politics.  As a life member of both the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America, the author is also proud to be a current and early charter member of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (“JPFO”), a group about which many, non-Jews and Jews alike, have never heard.

JPFO describes itself as “America’s most aggressive defender of gun rights.”  Founded in 1989, JPFO initially aimed at educating the Jewish community about the historical evils that Jews have suffered when they have been disarmed. JPFO has always welcomed people of all religious beliefs who share a common goal of opposing and reversing victim-disarmament policies while advancing liberty for all.

JPFO is a an educational civil-rights organization, not a lobby. JPFO’s products and programs reach out to as many segments of the American people as possible without compromise on fundamental principles.  JPFO has always welcomed people of all religious beliefs (or none) who share a common goal of opposing and reversing potentially deadly victim disarmament policies. You don’t have to be Jewish to join JPFO; you just have to love freedom.  JPFO has vigorously stated that so-called “gun control” is a deadly lie. Firearms registration lists lead governments-gone-bad straight to gun owners. Licensing and registration of guns has resulted in outright banning and confiscation over the last one hundred years of world history. The bloody results of these mass citizen disarmaments have been horrific.  For more about JPFO, see its website at https://jpfo.org/

A more recently formed group, called “Jews Can Shoot,” describes itself as a civil rights group that honors the memory of the Holocaust to preserve, protect and defend the Second Amendment and was formed for the purpose of education regarding gun laws, gun rights, legal precedent and cause-related advocacy.  It also makes available a number of interesting in-your-face advocacy products, including some with the quote from the Babylonian Talmud: “If Someone Comes to Kill You, Rise Up and Kill Him First”.  For more information, see its website at https://jewscanshoot.org/

And there are actually some gun clubs around the country that have regular shooting gatherings promoted as “Glocks & Bagels,” an obvious word play on the well-known Jewish breakfast of lox and bagels.

Guns are, in essence, inanimate tools for free people to utilize for self-defense, for food, and for recreation.

Now, on to politics . . .

A common misperception is that all, or substantially all, Jews are left wingers who vote Democrat no matter what.  While that perception may have had some validity in the distant past, it is no longer true.

In our present political climate, there are very active groups of Jews aligned with Republicans and President Trump.  See, for example, the Republican Jewish Coalition at https://www.rjchq.org/ and Jews Choose Trump at https://jewschoosetrump.com/.

Although the lefties at mainstream media actually sometime try to portray President Trump as antisemitic, that is a patently false narrative, especially considering that one of his children converted to Judaism several years ago (raising Trump’s grandchildren Jewish), and he has been a longtime stout defender of the State of Israel against Islamic terrorism and supporter of its rights of self-defense.

Furthermore, there are quite a number of prominent Jewish commentators on the right such as, for  example, Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin.

Finally, some recent polling suggests that President Trump and other Republican candidates in the upcoming general election will receive a larger percentage of Jewish votes than ever before, rejecting the entreaties of self-hating Jews like Chuck Schumer, George Soros and the current significant other of Kamala Harris.

Abut the author:  Norm Silber is a New Hampshire & Florida lawyer & political activist from Gilford.  He served 2 terms as a NH State Representative, and is an active member of numerous politically-oriented advocacy organizations, including the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition.  Like many American children, his first experience with firearms was with a single-shot bolt action .22 rifle in camp.  Later, in his 3 years of law school in New Orleans (a notoriously tough neighborhood), he carried a Colt revolver while working part-time as a private detective.  In early 1997, he successfully completed Massad Ayoob’s LFI-1 course entitled “The Judicious Use of Deadly Force.”  The author’s current tastes and preferences run to Sig Sauer pistols, many of which are made in New Hampshire, and variety of other firearms- pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns.  He is always armed when he leaves his home- he is fortunate enough to live in New Hampshire where true constitutional carry is the law.  And he is Jewish.]

Did you know BASKETBALL was invented by an instructor for the Young Men’s Christian Association.

American Minute with Bill Federer

Who invented Basketball? and Volleyball?

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Did you know BASKETBALL was invented by an instructor for the Young Men’s Christian Association.

The game was invented by James Naismith, who was born in 1861 in Ontario, Canada.

Both of his parents died of typhoid fever in 1870, when he was just nine years old.

He was taken in by his grandmother who died in 1872, leaving him with his Uncle Peter, who stressed self-reliance and reliability … continue reading …

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James worked farm chores, chopped trees, sawed logs, and drove horses. He walked five miles to and from a small school. Though he struggled academically, he learned honesty, initiative, independence, and ruggedness.

A poor student, he left school at age 15 and worked as a lumberjack. It was then that he had a life-changing encounter with Jesus.

Did you know BASKETBALL was invented by an instructor for the Young Men’s Christian Association.

The game was invented by James Naismith, who was born in 1861 in Ontario, Canada.

Both of his parents died of typhoid fever in 1870, when he was just nine years old.

He was taken in by his grandmother who died in 1872, leaving him with his Uncle Peter, who stressed self-reliance and reliability.

James worked farm chores, chopped trees, sawed logs, and drove horses. He walked five miles to and from a small school. Though he struggled academically, he learned honesty, initiative, independence, and ruggedness.

A poor student, he left school at age 15 and worked as a lumberjack. It was then that he had a life-changing encounter with Jesus.

Edwin Brit Wyckoff recorded in the book, The Man who Invented Basketball: James Naismith and His Amazing Game (Enslow Publishers, Inc, Berkeley Heights, NJ, 2008), that Naismith said:

“It was with a firm determination and a great sense of confidence that I was to enter the study for the ministry …”

He continued:

“For several years I had been wondering what I wanted to accomplish. Finally I decided that the only real satisfaction that I would ever derive from life was to help my fellow beings.”

Naismith added:

“I was lying on the bed on Sunday and thought, ‘What is this all about? What is life about? What are you going to do? What are you going to be?

What motto will you hold up before you?’ I put up on the wall, not in writing, but in my mind this thought: ‘I want to leave the world a little bit better than I found it.’ This is the motto I had then and it is the motto I have today.”

With the goal of becoming a minister, he entered McGill University in 1883, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

There he studied Philosophy and Hebrew.

McGill included athletics as part of the college life.

It was at McGill that students organized the very first hockey club in 1877, and wrote the first hockey rule book.

Naismith graduated in 1887, and enrolled to study theology at a McGill-affiliated school, Presbyterian College.

To pay his tuition, he worked at McGill as an instructor in physical education.

At Presbyterian College, he was involved in religious activities, the Missionary Society, the Literary and Philosophical Society, and was a staff member of the Presbyterian College Journal.

He was an avid athlete.

In addition to gymnastics, he played baseball, field hockey, football, rugby and lacrosse – sometimes referred to as “legalized murder.”

Dr. Ed and Janice Hird wrote in “Dr. James Naismith: An Examination of the Global Impact of the Basketball Founder” (Engage Magazine, 7/2121, engage.lightmagazine.ca) how contact sports resulted in injuries, with Naismith getting a kick to the face, a concussion, temporary memory loss, and permanently swollen cauliflower ears.

As a result, he and his future wife, Maude Shermann, designed one of football’s earliest helmets.

He was counseled by some to leave the evils of the athletic life and only devote himself to studying and Christian duties.

A simple incident, though, gave James direction.

During a rugby game in his senior year in seminary, a teammate uttered profanity.

When he looked up and saw James, he embarrassingly apologized and said “I forgot you were there.”

James began to realize that by combining both athletics and religious ministry, he could use sports to help men build godly Christian character.

At the age of 29, he went came to the United States to work as the physical education teacher at the Young Men’s Christian Association department of the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts, renamed the YMCA International Training School.

The YMCA pioneered integrating prayer and Bible study with athletics. This was part of a 19th century movement known as “Muscular Christianity,” which led to the concept of “good sportsmanship.”

During the harsh New England winter of 1891, the class of young men were bored with calisthenics, sit-ups and marching, so Naismith was asked by Dr. Luther Gulick, Jr., to devise a game which could be played indoors.

Dr. Gulick, who designed the YMCA’s triangle logo—Spirit, Mind, & Body, also founded, with his wife, Charlotte “Lottie” Emily Vetter, the Camp Fire Girls.

Alluding to Book of Ecclesiastes, Dr. Gulick told Naismith: “There is nothing new under the sun. All so-called new things are simply re-combinations of the factors of things that are now in existence.”

James took the initiative, saying: “All that we have to do is to take the factors of our known games and then recombine them, and we will have the new game we are looking for.”

He also wanted a game that would result in fewer concussions and more sportsmanship.

On December 21, 1891, drawing upon a game he played as a boy called “Duck on a Rock,” he created a new game with the goal of lopping a soccer ball into peach basket.

Naismith described in a New York radio interview:

“Something had to be done. One day I had an idea. I called the boys to the gym and divided them into two teams of nine and gave them an old soccer ball.

I showed them two peach baskets I had nailed at each end of the gym, and I told them the idea was to throw the ball into the other team’s peach basket.”

Without rules, brawls would break out on the floor, so Naismith wrote the original 13 rules of basketball, which incorporated aspects of soccer, football and hockey.

With the players not running with the ball, there would be no injuring from tackling as in rugby or football. With the basket up high, there would be less harm near the goal as in hockey.

Michael Zogry, associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas, stated:

“Naismith believed an umpire was essential in basketball … He said an umpire could enforce the rules and remind players how to behave … Naismith’s hand-written original 13 rules of basketball sold for $4.3 million in 2010. A KU alumnus, David Booth and his wife, Suzanne, purchased the rules as a gift to KU.”

Yale divinity student Amos Alonzo Stagg further developed basketball with five players.

He worked alongside James Naismith at the YMCA’s training center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Stagg later pioneered coaching and innovations for the game of football.

Naismith’s director, Dr. Gulick, explained his strict standards for players’ behavior in an 1897 article:

“The game must be kept clean. It is a perfect outrage for an institution that stands for Christian work in the community to tolerate not merely ungentlemanly treatment of guests, but slugging and that which violates the elementary principles of morals …

Excuse for the rest of the year any player who is not clean in his play.”

Naismith was an advocate of racial equality, opposing segregation in all its forms.

He believed that good coaching would produce: “initiative, agility, accuracy, alertness, co-operation, skill, reflex judgement, speed, self-confidence, self-sacrifice, self-control, and sportsmanship.”

U of K Professor Michael Zogry, further explained Naismith’s approach to sports and faith:

“His approach was to put Christianity out there in front of people and try to influence them through positive character development, but he reserved his formal preaching for when he was a guest minister at area churches.”

For Naismith, basketball was not simply a game, but an evangelization tool.

Basketball became so popular, that two years later, in 1893, the YMCA began promoting it internationally.

Zogry added:

“YMCAs began to integrate the game into their mission trips and it is recorded that many young people were brought to Christ through these missionaries and the game of basketball.”

YMCA missionaries first took the game to Canada, then overseas to Japan, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and around the globe.

Christian missionaries brought basketball to China through the YMCA, it has become one of the nation’s most popular sports.

YMCA missionary T.D. Patton took basketball to India.

In 1894, Naismith married Maude, and together they had five children.

The next year they moved to Colorado, where James took the position as Physical Education director at the Denver YMCA.

When his brother, Robbie, died suddenly from an infection, James decided to become a doctor.

In 1898, Naismith obtained a medical degree from Gross Medical College, which was merged in 1912 with the University of Colorado Medical School.

He earned four doctorate degrees before the age of 35.

As a minister, coach and medical doctor, was a holistic missionary caring for the whole person–spirit, mind, and body.

Moving to Lawrence, Kansas, he was the assistant gymnasium director, campus chaplain, and basketball coach of the Jayhawks at the University of Kansas.

Professor Michael Zogry stated:

“Naismith arrived at KU in 1898 after he had earned a medical degree while employed by the Denver YMCA.

KU hired him to be the chapel director (daily prayer services were compulsory for students then), campus physician, physical education program director and, yes, the basketball coach …

In addition to basketball and physical fitness, Naismith nurtured the study of religion at KU. In 1921, he was among those founding the Kansas School of Religion just a few steps off the university campus.

The Kansas School of Religion was a forerunner of KU’s Department of Religious Studies.”

Professor Zogry wrote a another famous KU coach:

“Forrest Clare (Phog) Allen was not only known as the father of basketball coaching but is thought to have been Naismith’s student at KU.”

Basketball continued to grow in popularity, being demonstrated at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri.

During the early 1900s, some viewed sports a distraction of the devil.

Dr. Ed and Janice Hird wrote in “Dr. James Naismith: An Examination of the Global Impact of the Basketball Founder” that his sister, Annie, was disappointed James chose sports ministry instead of being the pastor of a congregation.

Naismith wrote:

“A few years ago, on a visit to my only sister I asked her if she had ever forgiven me for leaving the ministry. She looked seriously at me, shook her head, and said, ‘No Jim, you put your hand to the plow and then turned back.’ As long as she lived, she never witnessed a basketball game, and I believe that she was a little ashamed to think that I had been the originator of the game.”

Naismith saw sports a platform to build Christian character, instill good sportsmanship, to love your neighbor, to play by the Golden Rule.

He said he “could best serve God by influencing young men’s characters, being convinced that, “he could better exemplify the Christian life through sports than in the pulpit.”

Naismith wrote:

“Self-control, the subordination of one’s feelings for a purpose. The player who permits his feelings to interfere with his reflexes is not only a hindrance to his team, but he is also occupying a place that might better be filled by another.”

He believed sports provided an opportunity to develop strength to stand in faith to fight life’s battles, strength to live a fulfilled live in accordance with the Bible, and strength to serve others, developing:

“… a willingness to place the good of the team above one’s personal ambitions … playing the game vigorously, observing the rules definitely, accepting defeat gracefully, and winning courteously.”

He added:

“I may say in conclusion: Let us all be able to lose gracefully and to win courteously; to accept criticism as well as praise; and last of all, to appreciate the attitude of the other fellow at all times.”

Naismith explained: “There is no place in basketball for the egotist.”

In 1911, Naismith published the book, A Modern College.

When World War I started in 1914, he volunteered at the age of 54.

Being a Canadian, he was able to get official ordination credentials from the Presbyterian Church and be appointed by the governor as an honorary captain and the chaplain of the nascent First Kansas Infantry.

In 1916, he was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, where two years later the Spanish Flu appeared of debated origins.

His unit was transferred to Eagle Pass, Texas, where soldiers served as guards during the Mexican Border War with Pancho Villa.

James Patton wrote in “Remembering a Veteran: Dr. James Naismith, YMCA” (Roads to the Great War, April 2, 2018):

“Naismith took his calling as the chaplain very seriously, approaching the task just like coaching a team of his young players, encouraging them to realize their potential.

He conducted church services, counseled soldiers, and advised his CO as to the spiritual needs of the unit. He was particularly concerned with efforts to keep the troops away from prostitutes, gambling, alcohol, and brawls with the locals.

To this end, and to keep them busy and physically fit, he organized basketball games, baseball games, and boxing matches involving the entire garrison at Eagle Pass.”

Patton explained Naismith emphasis on Biblical morality:

“In June 1917 Naismith was accepted as a lecturer on ‘moral conditions and sex education.’ His job was training counselors, inspiring troops and developing programs to improve morale and morality. His experience in this work formed a large part of the material for his book, Essence of a Healthy Life, 1918.

In the fall of 1918, he was sent to France as a YMCA Overseas Secretary, where his work continued as before but now in the shadow of the front. He wrote of this time, ‘I feel that I’m fitted for this work.’ With his breadth of experience, probably no one was a better choice.”

James Patton recorded a statement Naismith wrote in France:

“It is a pretty big job … go over and make the camps clean places for the boys to fight. And also get the right spirit into the men.

That involves two things. Educate the men and eliminate the evils from the camps and vicinity. Pershing is very anxious to have this done.

I go without instructions to find out the best thing to do and then get the machinery working. It is no child’s play, especially when it is among the old-fashioned type of soldier and in France where ideals are so different.

The responsibility is great but I am going into it determined. I do wish that you and the family would pray for me, for I have never felt so much in need of help as I do at this present minute.”

Of his 19 months with the YMCA in France, Naismith said he was thankful for “the knowledge that I have tried to help the people of the world to make it a little better, and that I have tried to love my neighbor as myself.”

Returning stateside as a 57-year-old war veteran, he resumed his position as director of physical education at the University of Kansas.

In 1925, he officially became an American citizen.

In 1936, three years before his death, he saw basketball recognized as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin.

Though he shunned publicity, he accepted the invitation to throw the first jump ball at the opening ceremony.

Afterwards, he was chosen to hand out the medals: U.S won gold; Canada won silver; and Mexico won bronze.

In 1937, he helped form the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball, renamed National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

In 1939, just eight months after the birth of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Basketball Championship, Dr. James Naismith died at the age of 78.

He had challenged the NCAA to “use every means to put basketball (as) a factor in the molding of character.”

One of his players remembered: “With him, questions of physical development inevitably led to questions of moral development, and vice versa.”

The Journal of Health and Physical Education praised Naismith as “a physician who encouraged healthful living through participation through vigorous activities” building “character in the hearts of young men.”

Basketball grew to be one of the biggest sports in North America, with 24 million participating in 2009 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and played by over 450 million worldwide. Only soccer is more popular.

In 2015 “March Madness” attracted 80.7 million people worldwide who watched the tournament online.

Unlike athletes today, Naismith did not profit from inventing basketball. He even lost two houses to foreclosure.

Jayson Jenks wrote in “The Rules of the Game: Bill Self, Kansas, and basketball history” (March 22, 2012):

“Naismith never cashed in on his creation. He had offers to do commercials and advertisement campaigns, but except for lending his name as endorsement for a Rawlings basketball, he declined.”

Naismith stayed committed to his mission, which was “to win men for the Master (Jesus) through the gym.”

Tuskegee professor George W. Carver wrote to YMCA official Jack Boyd in Denver, March 1, 1927:

“Keep your hand in that of the Master, walk daily by His side, so that you may lead others into the realms of true happiness, where a religion of hate, (which poisons both body and soul) will be unknown, having in its place the ‘Golden Rule’ way, which is the ‘Jesus Way’ of life, will reign supreme.”

Naismith stated:

“I am sure that no man can derive more satisfaction from money or power than I do from seeing a pair of basketball goals in some out of the way place. Deep in the Wisconsin woods … High in the Colorado mountains … halfway across the desert … all are constant reminders that I have at least partially accomplished the objective that I set up.”

Basketball nets adorn garages, walls, barns, schools and YMCAs in communities across the globe. It was the first game to requiring gymnasium’s to have high ceilings.

Naismith wrote:

“Whenever I witness games in a church league, I feel that my vision, almost half a century ago, of the time when the Christian people would recognize the true value of athletics, has become a reality.”

Two years after his death, Naismith’s book, Basketball—its Origins and Development, was published in 1941.

Jon Ackerman wrote in the article “Upward Sports is carrying out the vision of the late Dr. James Naismith” (Sports Spectrum Magazine, Winter 2017):

“Dr. James Naismith invented basketball as a way to reach young people for Jesus. That same vision is fueling Upward Sports, the world’s largest Christian youth sports organization …

James Pomeroy Naismith, now 81, is the last living grandson of Dr. Naismith. He was 3 when his famous grandfather passed away …

Speaking of his grandfather, ‘He could see a potential for an outreach, a Christian outreach to young people using competitive sports, and it is perfectly clear that he himself loved competitive sports … If you can take something you love and apply it not only to your life, but through outreach to give others a better life, now that’s a really good vision.”

Naismith is honored in eight Canadian and American Halls of Fame. He is featured on postage stamps in both Canada and the United States.

The U.S. Census Bureau statistics (2009) report that over 24 million Americans play BASKETBALL.

In 1892, William Morgan came to study at the International Young Men’s Christian Association Training School — Springfield College.

There he met Naismith.

William Morgan then became physical education director at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

It was there that Morgan invented the game of VOLLEYBALL in 1895.

Morgan wrote the original rules for volleyball and had them printed in the first edition of the Official Handbook of the Athletic League of the Young Men’s Christian Associations of North America (1897).

He needed a ball that was lighter than a basketball, so he asked A.G. Spalding & Bros. of Chicopee, Massachusetts to design one.

Volleyball spread to other countries around the world.

In 1916, the rules of volleyball at the YMCA were shared with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

In 1922, the first official national tournament in the U.S. was held by the National YMCA Physical Education Committee in New York City.

The United States Volleyball Association (USVBA) formed in 1928.

Renamed USA Volleyball (USAV), it organizes major volleyball tournaments nationwide.

The U.S. Census Bureau statistics (2009) report that over 10 million Americans play VOLLEYBALL.

KU Professor Michael Zogry stated:

“Naismith’s goals in life, as he stated on his application to the International YMCA Training School, were to try to help ‘win men for the Master,’ to build character and to be an example for the men.”

Zogry added:

“The story of Naismith’s creation of the game is widely known … Less well-known is that his game also was meant to help build Christian character and to inculcate certain values of the muscular Christian movement.”

Edwin Brit Wyckoff described how Naismith, along with Theodore Roosevelt, was an admirer of British author Thomas Hughes’ popular book, Tom Brown’s Schooldays, 1857:

“Muscular Christianity is Christianity applied to the treatment and use of our bodies. It is an enforcement of the laws of health by the solemn sanctions of the New Testament.”

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A Report on Camp Constitution’s 3rd Annual Weekend Retreat by Megan Schmitt

Camp Constitution held their 3rd annual family retreat up at Camp Sentinel in Tuftonboro, NH this past weekend and it was chock full of information, encouragement, and activities!

Friday evening, Reverend Steven Craft gave a presentation on Race Worship. He likened the race debate to the “Golden Calf of the 21st Century”, encouraging attendees to be modern day Davids up against a Goliath of racialized ideology. While some have weaponized race, we must remember that Jesus shed his blood for ALL of us, which makes us equal in the eyes of God. Kin folk, not “skin” folk!

 

We also had a Constitution 101 presentation by Camp Constitution Co-Founder, Hal Shurtleff! He recommended watching “A More Perfect Union” and reading “Christianity and the Constitution” by John Eidsmoe as well as The Federalist Papers. He reminded us that the  amendments in the Bill of Rights PROTECT our rights – not grant them.

Saturday was a full day of activities and crafts for the kids, and speeches for the adults in the morning, starting with Michael King of Massachusetts Family Institution. He shared some concerning slides and papers put out in schools, like the ‘Genderbread Person’ for elementary/middle schoolers, ‘Gender Unicorn’ for kids as young as 4, and the Trever Project for teens; since they have begun making things like this widely known, they have managed to make Sex Ed an opt-in program and more than 7000 children have chosen to skip those classes, making it a home education topic instead. They have in fact had many victories regarding this topic and others in schools, have several National partners, and are paving the way in church-based education alternatives in MA!

A link to Mr. King’s presentation:  https://youtu.be/GsP843c_6zc?si=-j3BDfEIzdwNMA73

 

 

 

     

Michael King of the Mass Family Institute                           Junior Campers taught by Mrs. Jessica Whitworth

We also got to hear some information and watch some videos from the Chandler family about the Trail Life USA and American Heritage Girls programs. They operate for boys and girls, respectively, from ages 5 to 18+ and are a Christ-based alternative to Scouts. They are both Nationwide programs that can be joined here in New England, or parents can sign up to lead a new chapter if there isn’t one nearby.

After lunch there was a break with options to do recreational activities, go apple picking or shopping, or even visit the WW2 Museum in Wolfeboro. Our family opted into the WW2 Museum which had a few interactive exhibits for the kids, a huge number of artifacts, and a great hall of ages where you got an in-depth look at the years from 1939 to 1945. It ended with an up-close look at tanks and other military vehicles from the time. Though the word “democracy” was thrown around a little too often for my taste, it was definitely a worthwhile visit – make sure to check out their used book rack in the gift shop for some hidden treasures!

The film “Monumental” was being shown when we returned to camp – a great watch for the whole family! Camp Sentinel, where this retreat was held, was very accommodating with a warm fire all day, comfortable couches, and plenty of drinks and snacks!

The evening rounded off with Representative Paul Terry sharing how to Influence Elected Officials. He provided a packet of information to each attendee full of great information, tips, and action item checklists! One of the main points made was how blessed we are to live in NH where we have the largest number of representatives in the Nation! Each member of the House only has about 2,200 citizens they represent, which makes them incredibly accessible. Those of us who wish to see change need to take advantage of this fact – not just when we want something, but also to thank them or even just get to know them. A link to Rev. Terry’s presentation:  https://youtu.be/rPXu954Q9So?si=sPY6Lc-qi7TOx8DA

 

NH State Rep Rev. Paul Terry

 

Rounding off the evening, Jack McCarthy, a representative for Tactical Civics spoke about the organization. They believe that the solution to the problems we are facing today include establishing County Grand Juries and Constitutional Militias. He also noted that learning your state constitution is just as (if not more) important as learning your US constitution.

Each morning of the retreat started with a flag raising ceremony overlooking the mountains, and every evening ended with a campfire accompanied by singing, poetry, readings, skits, and music. There were also a few tables available all weekend full of the different organizations’ information, sign-ups, books, and more.

Sunday consisted of worship led by Rev. Craft. After some singing, the children were led out for more crafts as the sermon began. This all centered somewhat around the race debate, but also dove into the division we bring on ourselves in politics and religion. Why do we focus on denominations, when we are all brothers and sisters of Christ, seeking Him in all things? We need to unify and strengthen ourselves in this fight between good and evil – because that is truly what we are facing now.

Finally, Hal spoke about his most recent book, “The Racists Roots of Planned Parenthood And Its Legacy of Death”. Did YOU know that over $500 Million in federal funds goes to Planned Parenthood? Or that Martin Luther King Junior was the first recipient of the Margaret Sanger award? Have you ever heard Sanger’s quote that seeing shrieking children in schoolyards made her feel her mission had failed? Did you know that one of Margaret Sangers collaborators was none other than Ernst Rudin, president of the International Federation of Eugenics organizations and later, Nazi director of sterilization and founder of the Nazi Society for Racial Hygiene? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, I highly suggest you purchase his book ASAP.

It was a wonderful weekend full of education, building connections, sharing God’s word, and having new experiences as a family. It’s also a great opportunity to support a good cause and check out the awesome library available through Camp Constitution. Check out their website (campconstitution.net) for more resources, and to learn how to sign up for the next Camp Constitution event!

Good News from Albania: Christianity Making Inroads

Good news form our friend Charl van Whk.

 

Albania is a nation that was once shrouded in darkness but is now experiencing a vibrant evangelical movement. Formerly declared the first atheist state in the world under its communist regime, its journey to spiritual freedom is nothing short of miraculous.

A Nation in Need of the Gospel

Albania, a small Balkan country, was closed off to other religions for decades. Under the rule of communist dictator Enver Hoxha, churches and mosques were destroyed, and religious expression—other than the state religion of Secular Humanism espoused by the communists—was criminalized.

By 1967, Albania had become the only country in the world to officially declare itself atheist, with brutal persecution for anyone found practicing religion. This left the Albanian people spiritually destitute for nearly half a century.

However, with the fall of communism in 1991, doors were opened—both literally and spiritually.

Christian missionaries and organizations began to flood into the country, bringing the light of the gospel to a land that had long been without hope. Biblical Christianity took root, and the transformation has been nothing short of remarkable.

The Christian Church Emerges

In the years following the collapse of the communist regime, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God began to impact Albania. Today, Christians are a growing percentage of the population.

Though still a minority, these believers are full of passion for sharing the gospel. With a strong focus on church planting, discipleship, and community outreach, churches are making an impact in every corner of Albania.

Many Albanians who have come to faith testify to the profound impact Jesus Christ has had on their lives, freeing them from bondage to addiction, hopelessness, and despair.

This is particularly evident among the youth, who are turning to Christ in large numbers, despite the lingering effects of atheism and secularism.

The daughter of an Albanian mafia boss has come to faith in Christ. I hope to share her dynamic testimony with you in a future newsletter.

Missionaries: Catalysts for Reformation

Missionaries from around the world have played a crucial role in Albania’s spiritual revival. From the early days of post-communism to the present, faithful men and women of God have poured into the country, proclaiming the gospel and partnering with local believers to build the Church.

They have planted local congregations, established Christian schools, and launched numerous ministry projects to meet the physical needs of Albanians, showing the love of Christ in practical ways.

I previously wrote about our daughter Anya (18), who embarked on a ministry outreach to Albania with a South African church group.

Anya and her missionary colleagues have joined an educational program that runs parallel to the academic year. Children come after school to do their homework, enjoy English classes, receive computer training, and participate in other activities designed to bring the Gospel’s influence into their lives.

This ministry was started by a pastor’s wife after her husband was murdered at their church in a counterattack due to a blood feud.

Discipling the Nation

Beyond spiritual growth, evangelical churches in Albania are addressing pressing social issues. Poverty, unemployment, and human trafficking are serious challenges in the country, and Christians have responded by setting up ministries that offer hope and help.

Through food distribution programs, job training, and rehabilitation for victims of trafficking, the Church is making a tangible difference in people’s lives.

Christians are also working to promote unity and reconciliation in a nation divided by decades of political turmoil and mistrust. In a country with a long history of ethnic and religious tensions, the gospel message of peace and reconciliation in Christ is a powerful force for healing.

A Bright Future for Albania

Although challenges remain, the future of Biblical Christianity in Albania is bright. Churches are growing, and many are being led by young, passionate Albanian believers. Local leaders are stepping up, with a strong emphasis on discipleship and equipping the next generation of pastors, evangelists, and missionaries.

The gospel continues to spread, and there is great hope that Albania will one day be known not for its atheism, but for its vibrant Christian faith.

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” — Habakkuk 2:14

Let us continue to pray for Albania. Pray for the Church to grow in strength and number, for the boldness of believers to proclaim the gospel, and for the hearts of the Albanian people to be softened to the message of Christ.

As we support Anya and her missionary friends ministering in Albania, we can take part in the transformation of a nation moving from darkness to light.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes …” — Romans 1:16

Charl van Wyk

P.S. A very big thank you to our wonderful ministry partners who have prayed for and supported Anya. Here’s the link for financial support: https://intouchmission.org/donate-to/charl-van-wyk/ – please add “Anya” in the notes!

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An Open Letter to the U.S. Supreme Court by “Bear Arms” Kang

For about 50 years, the government of Massachusetts has been unlawfully
prosecuting and incarcerating otherwise innocent people for exercising our right to
keep and bear Arms, under the color of “licensing authorities,” who “impose
occupational fees or licensing requirements on a profession,” see MGL 6 § 172N.
The state’s “license to carry firearms,” like any other professional license, is
a requirement administered and enforced by the executive branch, specifically the
Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). The EOPSS regulates
persons who carry on businesses as gunsmiths or gun dealers, and those who carry
firearms “in the performance of their duties,” such as security guards, private
detectives, and auxiliary or volunteer police. However, there is no such thing as a
“license to bear arms” for personal use.

By prosecuting people exercising a constitutionally secured private right as
if it were a public entitlement, the Massachusetts government violates the public
rights doctrine, the major questions doctrine, the separation of powers doctrine, the
state’s Administrative Procedure Act, the Declaratory Judgment Act, and multiple
constitutional prohibitions and due process guarantees. This seriously undermines
judicial independence and deprives the courts of subject matter jurisdiction, as
fully explained in the amicus curiae briefs filed by Six New Hampshire State
Representatives in the cases of Commonwealth v. Dean F. Donnell and Philip J.
Marquis:

 https://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/pdf/SJC-13561/
SJC-13561_05_Amicus_Gerhard_Brief.pdf
https://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/pdf/SJC-13562/
SJC-13562_04_Amicus_Gerhard_Et_Al_Brief.pdf

 

I humbly pray that you will help end this unconscionable injustice.

Nashua Sued in Federal Court for Viewpoint Discrimination by Steve MacDonald Managing Editor of the Granite Grok

Regular readers will know that the Donchess regime in Nashua is very selective about the flags it allows on the citizen’s pole—almost, dare I say, partisan in its rejection. Most recently, Stephen and Beth Scaer (who both write for GraniteGrok) asked the city to fly the de-trans flag. It was rejected, and an appeal to the mayor was denied.

Jim Donchess said no.

The story didn’t end with the mayor’s rejection. Beth and Stephen Scaer are suing the city in Federal court.

This is a clear case of viewpoint discrimination, one in a series of many such partisan rejections, so I’m excited to see this case take shape.

From the opening of the complaint.

The City of Nashua reserves a “Citizen Flag Pole” in front of city hall for people “to fly a flag in support of cultural heritage, [to] observe an anniversary, honor a special accomplishment, or support a worthy cause.”

Unless city leaders dislike the message. According to the city’s written flag policy, only speech which Nashua “wishes to express and endorse”—speech that is “in harmony with city policies and message” and in “the City’s best interest”—is allowed. Thus, while officials have allowed Nashua residents to fly flags celebrating causes such as Indian Independence Day, Lutheranism, Pride Month, organ donation, and women’s suffrage on the “Citizen Flag Pole,” they have forbidden Bethany Scaer from commemorating the 249th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill by raising the Pine Tree Flag, a traditional patriotic flag flown by New England troops during the American Revolution.

Likewise, officials have denied Beth’s husband, Stephen Scaer, permission to raise a Detransitioner Awareness Flag to observe Detrans Awareness Day (March 12). Stephen1 wishes to support gender detransitioners and call attention to the threats, ridicule, discrimination, and medical expenses that they often suffer, but city officials apparently do not want him to be allowed to express support for detransitioners. Nashua’s flag policy is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and it imposes an arbitrary prior restraint on use of the Citizen Flag Pole. The First Amendment does not allow municipalities to turn the government speech doctrine into a cover for favoring some private speakers and censoring others. Such viewpoint discrimination is anathema to the constitution. Plaintiffs Beth and Stephen Scaer are entitled to relief securing their fundamental right of free speech.

As we’ve written repeatedly, Hal Shurtleffs’ 9-0 free speech victory at the US Supreme Court in the Boston City flagpole case made it clear that Nashua would get sued for the same reason sooner or later. Despite that ruling, Mayor Donchess and company responded as they do to any challenge by assuming no one would ever invest the time and treasure to challenge them—and besides, it’s not their money if they lose.

And here we are.

You can follow the case history here and check back on the ‘Grok for updates.

Author

  • Steve MacDonald

    Steve is a long-time New Hampshire resident, blogger, and a member of the Board of directors of The 603 Alliance. He is the owner of Grok Media LLC and the Managing Editor of GraniteGrok.com, a former board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, and a past contributor to the Franklin Center for Public Policy.

    Editor:  The above article was reposted with permisson from Granite Grok  http://granitegrok.com/

The Weekly Sam: How to Use Education Reform Effectively as a Campaign Issue By Samuel L. Blumenfeld

All candidates for office promise to “improve education,” but when they are elected, they
haven’t the faintest idea of how to proceed from there. That’s because the whole idea of
education reform is based more on the deliberate falsehoods produced by the educators
than on the reality of why our schools are the way they are.

I have been writing critically about education for the last forty years. My books include
The New Illiterates, How to Tutor, Alpha-Phonics, NEA: Trojan Horse in American
Education, The Whole Language Fraud, Homeschooling: A Parents Guide to
Teaching Children, The Victims of Dick and Jane, and Revolution via Education.

In those books I showed that every problem we have in public education today has been
deliberately caused by the educators themselves, and that no true education reform is
possible as long as we rely on the educators to create and implement those reforms.
Here are the realities that you as a candidate or concerned citizen should be aware of:

1. The public schools were taken over in the early 20th century by a cabal of progressive
educators whose goal it was to use the schools as a means of turning children into little
socialists who would then bring about a socialist society. The plan for all of this was
outlined by John Dewey in an article entitled “The Primary-Education Fetich”
written in 1898 and published in Forum magazine, May 1898. In it, Dewey
advocated changing the way children were taught to read so that they could be
deliberately dumbed-down. High literacy was considered an obstacle to socialism
because it developed independent, individualistic intelligence not conducive to
collectivist group think.

2. The new “sight” or “look-say” method of teaching reading was put in the schools in
the 1930s, and by 1955 the reading situation had become so bad that Dr. Rudolf Flesch
was compelled to write Why Johnny Can’t Read. In it he explained, “The teaching of
reading–all over the United States, in all the schools, in all the textbooks–is totally
wrong and flies in the face of all logic and common sense.” And believe it or not, the
situation is as bad today as it was in 1955. In fact, in 2007 the National Endowment for
the Arts issued a report on America’s declining literacy, Reading at Risk. Endowment
Chairman Dana Gioia stated: “This is a massive social problem. We are losing the
majority of the new generation. They will not achieve anything close to their
potential because of poor reading.”

3. In order to implement these new socialist programs in the schools, the Progressive
Cabal decided to take over the National Education Association and turn it into a powerful
political instrument in order to pressure the Federal Government to pour billions of
dollars into the public schools. Their success has been achieved. Back in 1967, the
NEA’s executive secretary proclaimed: “NEA will become a political power second to no
other special interest group….NEA will organize this profession from top to bottom into
logical operational units that can move swiftly and effectively and with power unmatched
by any other organized group in the nation.” In short, the NEA is a political
organization attached to the radical left-wing of the Democratic party.

4. The Progressive program has been fully implemented in the public schools, paid for
by the taxpayer who is barely aware of what is going on. Thus American children are at
risk in four ways in the public schools: academically, spiritually, morally, and physically.
Academically because of the reading programs that create dyslexia and reading failure;
spiritually, because of the undermining of the children’s religious beliefs through the
philosophy of secular humanism; morally, because pornographic sex ed, drug ed, and
moral relativism; and physically, because of school shootings and massacres, violence,
and school-bus accidents.

5. So what is a conservative candidate to do or say when it comes to education? He or
she must support the idea of educational freedom, the right of parents to home-school,
and the right of entrepreneurs and religious denominations to create good private schools.
A conservative can support the idea of the charter school, which in reality is a public
school, provided that the charter issuing board will approve of schools with traditional
teaching programs.

As for the public schools, the conservative candidate should advocate the complete
reform of the primary school curriculum so that it includes intensive, systematic phonics,
cursive writing instruction, and basic arithmetic. It is in the primary school where the
greatest damage is done to the children. Therefore a detailed plan to completely revamp
the primary school curriculum should be the basic educational reform offered by a
conservative candidate. Such advocacy would be an excellent way to gain the support of
parents in the community. It would be very difficult for your opponents to argue against
such reforms.

(Editor’s Note: This article was written over 20 years ago but stands the test of time. For more articles like this, and PDF versions of most of Sam’s books, please visit the Sam Blumenfeld Archive:  http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/main.htm

The Blumenfeld Archives

The Heatwave of 1910-1911 Halley’s Comet and the Titanic by Tony Heller

 

Climate historian Tony Heller discusses the heat wave of 1910-1911 which led to icebergs melting and the sinking of the Titanic.  Temperatures in Maine got up to 112 degrees and thousands died- facts that the high priests of today’s climate cult refuse to acknowledge.

 

Mr. Heller’s; website is realclimatescience.com

Tony’s bio from his website:

My name is Tony Heller. I am a whistle blower. I am an independent thinker who is considered a heretic by the orthodoxy on both sides of the climate debate.

I live in Columbia, Maryland – an amazing city where I can ride my bicycle everywhere through the forest, and never need to get in a car.

I am a lifelong environmentalist. I testified at my first Congressional subcommittee hearing at age 15 in Kanab, Utah, in support of a wilderness area – very close to the one which President Obama recently set aside. I worked to get the Clean Air Act passed. I worked as a volunteer wilderness ranger for two summers in the Cibola and Santa Fe National Forests in New Mexico. I worked on the Safety Analysis Report for DOE’s nuclear waste disposal site in New Mexico. I probably have the smallest electricity bill in Columbia, Maryland because I am very careful not to waste. I have never turned on my heat or air conditioning.

I have degrees in Geology and Electrical Engineering and worked on the design team of many of the world’s most complex designs, including some which likely power your PC or Mac. I have worked as a contract software developer on climate and weather models for the US government.

I do not receive any funding other than small donations on my blog, which have worked out well below minimum wage. I have tried to obtain funding, but skeptics with money are terrified of political attacks directed by the White House and/or being targeted by the IRS. They openly state this to me.

We The People By Kevin Bushey Tactical Civics Aroostook County, ME Chapter

It’s the first line of our Constitution. But do we really know what it means?
Dave Zuniga, author of the 2024 book, Now When We Rise, searched for years to discover the
meaning of these 3 words handed down by our founding fathers as they created our U.S.
Constitution. Zuniga states:

“Now I have a definition of We the People; of the collective sovereign as the first chief justice of
the supreme Court, John Jay, called us in his ruling in Chisolm v. Georgia, the first important
ruling of our servant high court. We The People refers only to the subpopulation of Americans
who take responsibility to oversee our servants and to enforce the Constitution against violations
by those servants, at all levels from school boards to DC.”

This supreme Court ruling is packed with some truly revealing facts. First, Americans are a
collective sovereign that requires individuals to work “collectively” to maintain its sovereign
status. And what is the first order of business? Enforcing the supreme law of the land and that
happens to be our U.S. Constitution. Equally important is the fact that every state has a state
Constitution. When an elected official repeats their oath of office, they commit themselves to
upholding, protecting and defending the Constitution (and their state Constitution for state
offices).

Secondly, it emphasizes the term “subpopulation of Americans who take responsibility to
oversee our servants and enforce the Constitutions”. What does this mean? I believe the court is
saying, the subpopulation of “We the People” are the enforcers (the bosses) of elected officials
who are our servants, NOT the current system that federal and state governments operate by
where they do as they please in ignoring the constitutions and nobody holds them accountable
for violating their oaths. That has to change. And no Presidential election will do that. It will
require We The People, as collective sovereigns, to stand up to the cabals of DC right down to
our local towns and enforce constitutional governance.

So, how do we learn how to implement such a plan? Zuniga, along with his brain trust of
repentant men, have created a long term plan, called Tactical Civics. The goal of TACTICAL
CIVICS™ is to restore a repenting remnant of We the People to implement constitution
enforcement utilizing the two law enforcement tools stipulated in the Constitution. One of the
first objectives is to launch and build a TACTICAL CIVICS™ chapter in every county.
Aroostook County has a chapter. Learn more about the mission, goals and objectives and how
you become a chapter member by visiting https://tacticalcivics.com. You can contact us via
email at: tcaroostook@gmail.com

The Weekly Sam: Dumbed-Down Brits Victims of Progressive Education By Samuel L. Blumenfeld

Jay Leno, in his amusing Jay Walking adventures, interviews young Americans whose
appalling ignorance of history, geography, and other areas of basic knowledge, has
become the subject of great hilarity. Many of them couldn’t tell you who was buried in
Grant’s tomb.

But now we learn from across the pond that young Brits have been so dumbed-down that
23 percent of them believe that Winston Churchill was a mythical figure, and 58 percent
believe that Sherlock Holmes was a real person.

According to the Boston Herald (2/6/08), seventy-seven percent of these clucks readily
admit that they don’t read history books, and three out of five never watch historical
programs on television. Of course, the reason why they don’t read history books is
because they are functionally illiterate.

In fact, a new book, The Great Reading Disaster, has just recently been published in
England exposing the fact that young Brits are taught to read with the dyslexia-producing
Whole Language method, which has also become the present ruin of American education.
The authors, Mona McNee and Alice Coleman, write: “Forcing children to read whole
words by the look-say method is like telling young piano learners to play a piece in the
correct tempo, without being taught the individual notes or the significance of their stave
positions….It is cruel to inflict such frustration on children and the cruelty is not
restricted to childhood. It is even more cruel and humiliating when it leaves people
illiterate for life.”

Even Margaret Thatcher couldn’t get the educators to change their ways, though she
appointed a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the teaching of reading in the schools.
Apparently, the Progressives were clever enough to pay lip-service to phonics, ridiculing
their advocates, but meanwhile continuing to support the whole-word method.
We’ve experienced the same situation here in the U.S. where No Child Left Behind was
supposed to change the way reading is taught in American schools. In fact, a special
billion-dollar reading initiative was passed by Congress to get phonics back into the
schools. But the educators charged the government with a bias in reading instruction,
which was discriminatory against Whole Language educators. And from what I have
been told by teachers in the field, Whole Language is still the dominant way reading is
taught in American schools.

The two British authors write: “It took 40 years to produce the first six million adult
illiterates but only another ten to increase the total to nine million. The annual rate has
doubled.”

And the reason why nothing will change despite the alarm sounded by this new book is
because of the tight control that the Progressives have over the entire British education
system. According to the Sunday Telegraph of June 27, 1993, the controlling cabal is
called the All Souls Group, which holds its “clandestine thrice-yearly meetings” in an
oak-paneled room at Oxford University.

No minutes are kept of the meetings and no papers or public statements ever emerge.
The discussions over evening sherry or dinner are protected by Chatham House Rules
which dictate proceedings are off the record. Chatham House is the British equivalent of
our Council on Foreign Relations. Membership is by invitation and the criteria are
shrouded in mystery.

Does such a secret education establishment exist in the United States? It does. It is
called the Cleveland Conference and was organized in 1915 by Prof. Charles Judd, head
of the University of Chicago School of Education, where William Scott Gray concocted
the Dick and Jane look-say, whole word, reading program. In his book, Managers of
Virtue, David Tyack writes:

[Judd] had a vision that both the structure of the schools and the curriculum
needed radical revision but that change would take place “in the haphazard
fashion that has characterized our school history unless some group gets together
and undertakes, in a cooperative way, to coordinate reforms.”

It is easy enough to follow the machinations of the Progressives by simply reading the
annual reports of the National Society for the Study of Education, founded in 1901. This
is the gathering place of the educational elite, and their annual reports can be found in
any university library.

For American parents, the only way to free themselves from the stranglehold of the
Progressive elite is to remove their children from the government schools and either
educate them at home or place them in a private school based on traditional principles
and teaching methods. As for the Brits, we hope that the new book awakens enough of
them to break the hold of the All Souls Group. But don’t hold your breath.

(This article was written in 2008 and can be found in the Sam Blumenfeld Archives along with most of Mr. Blumenfeld’s writings–Ed)  A link to the archives http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/main.htm

The Blumenfeld Archives