In January of 2023, 15-year-old Sydnie Quimby’s life was cut way too short when she was involved in a skiing accident at Gunstock.
Sydnie was a shining light in the communi ty, according to those who knew her best.
Her grandmother, Judy Ellis of Gilford, remembers her beloved granddaughter as “kind, gritty, hardworking and dedicated.”
Sydnie was also an avid
equestrian who, along with her beloved horse, Mercy, excelled at the sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting where the two worked together to earn Championship titles in the events.
“Sydnie was also quick to jump off Mercy and together run beside a young child so they could win a ribbon,” recalled Ellis. “Syd was very humble, always thinking of others as well
Monthly Community Dinner In Meredith
The Meredith Altrusa Club is offering their next Community Dinner at the Meredith Community Center on Wednesday, October 16th.
Dinner is served at 5:30 p.m. and guests may start to come in at 5 p.m.. They will be serving meatloaf, tater tots, broccoli, rolls and angel food cake with chocolate sauce.
The meal is free, though donations are gratefully accepted and will be used to help fund future dinners.
Questions on the dinner can be emailed to: altrusadinner@gmail.com
Sydnie Quimby lost her life in a skiing accident in 2023. The “Be A Syd Project” was created to honor her memory as well as her love for horses and to create a safe space for horses and humans to experience kindness, hope and healing.
Won’t Get Fooled Again
To The Editor:
The Democrat Party appears to have gone so far to the left that they now are acting like Marxist revolutionaries. It would also appear that they have joined forces with the global elitists to foment hate and chaos, even if unofficially and in a clandestine manner.. “Dazed and Confused”, Led Zeppelin - “you hurt and abuse, tellin’ all your lies”. That is how much of the country feels about the current administration. From high interest rates, to economic misery, to multiple wars with no exit plan, to weaponizing government agencies, to the silencing of free speech to wide open borders, the Democrat Party seems to be attempting to commit national suicide. Adding $11 trillion to our national debt in less than four years is Weimar Republic madness. Charles Payne notes that for the first time ever in a fiscal year we just spent a trillion dollars in interest.
Under a Harris/Walz administration we can look forward to California-style mismanagement with brownouts, blackouts, businesses closing and shared misery. Shared misery being the inevitable outcome of socialist, Marxist policies where the elites and globalists live high and mighty while the rest of us dine on “bread and circuses” as the Roman poet, Juvenal noted, until we end
up owning nothing while our betters tell us we better like it.
The Democrat Party and their media acolytes apparently haven’t screamed fire in a crowded theatre quite loud enough just yet. They now cry out that Donald Trump will be Julius Caesar, dictator for life.
The Ides of March revisited can’t happen soon enough it would appear for the Democrats.Horrifically, they will be today’s version of Brutus if successful by stabbing our republic in the back during their relentless long slog through our institutions as the Communists continue to prevail. I know, oxymoronic as Brutus wanted to end a dictatorship while the Democrat Party must stop the man who would give his all to stop the Deep State from continuing its own mission of complete control over our lives as they join forces with the Word Economic Forum’s leaders and the Islamic Republic.
It isn’t enough for Democrats to leave our borders wide open to unvetted humanity, offering the promise of economic collapse and terrorist attacks. Encounters of Chinese nationals surpass all fiscal year 2023 at our southwest border according to Customs and Border Protection statistics. Yes, politics flows down from culture. James Lindsey explains how Maoism has come to America in a Prager U video in the form of Wokism or Maoism with American characteristics. From the inside and
out, America is having its own cultural revolution, or is it devolution in reverse?. The neoMarxist globalists are taking over our borders, language and culture. “We’ll be fighting in the streets with our children at our feet. And the morals that they worship will be gone. And the men who spurred us on, sit in judgment of all wrong. They decide and the shotgun sings the song.” “The Who” goes on to lament, “then I’ll get on my knees and pray we don’t get fooled again.” We must all pray and vote MAGA.
Russ Wiles Tilton, NH.
The CCP And Organ Transplants
To The Editor:
Of the innumerable Satanic evils the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has perpetrated on humanity, the murder of members of Falon Gong (and I suspect Christians) for purposes of organ transplantation to prolong the life of the CCP rulingelite is horrific. Apparently, the CCP has struck a Faustian deal with Mephistopheles: “All the organs you want if you give your souls when your time is up.” Human history is riddled with mass murderers: Idi Amin, Hitler, Stalin and the parade goes on. However, the CCP has introduced an insanely inhumane element: mass murder for the purpose of prolonging the
This newspaper was first published in 1883 by Mathew H. Calvert as Calvert’s Weirs Times and Tourists’ Gazette and continued until Mr. Calvert’s death in 1902. The new Weirs Times was reestablished in 1992 and strives to maintain the patriotic spirit of its predecessor as well as his devotion to the interests of Lake Winnipesaukee. Our newspaper’s masthead and the map of Lake Winnipesaukee in the center spread are elements in today’s paper which are taken from Calvert’s historic publication. Locally owned for 30 years, this publication is devoted to printing the stories of the people and places that make New Hampshire the best place in the world to live. No, none of the daily grind news will be found in these pages, just the good stuff.
Published year round on Thursdays, we distribute 24,000 copies of the Weirs Times every week to the Lakes Region/Concord/ Seacoast area and the mountains and have an estimated 60,000 people reading this newspaper.
To find out how your business or service can benefit from advertising with us please call 603-366-8463.
PAul HudSon
July 6, 1931 - SePt. 22, 2024
Paul A. Hudson, 93, of Chichester, passed away on Sunday, September 22, 2024 at Concord Hospital with his daughters by his side. He was born in Lyndonville (Mt Hunger), VT, on July 6, 1931, to the late Harold Hudson and Katherine (Burrington) Reid Norton; he was raised by his mother and beloved step-father Alfred Reid.
After spending some time in Atlanta, GA, the family then settled in Bethlehem, NH, where Paul graduated with the Class of 1951. Paul played basketball, loved to dance. He was an avid traveler, ready to go at a moment’s notice, and for several years he worked at luxury hotels in New Hampshire, Arizona & Florida. This is where he met many wonderful people, including the Duke of Windsor (whom he called “Dukey”) as well as the future mother of his children.
After a stint at Pacific Southwest Airlines in California, Paul returned to
Paul Hudson was a big part of The Weirs Times family for many years. He drove each week from Bethlehem, NH. to the Weirs Times to pick up papers to deliver up north. We will miss his unyielding enthusiasm, his love of life and his wonderful knowledge of history.
tory” and enjoyed visiting antique stores wherever he was, and shared these adventures with his daughters whenever possible. He also was a courier for Franklin Savings Bank, which allowed him to travel the roads and visit with people, two of his passions.
In his later years he could be considered the “oldest paperboy” delivering the Weirs Times all over the North Country. Upon retirement, he returned to his childhood home of Bethlehem and soon began gathering the history of his home. He could tell you who and when each and every hotel in town was built, closed or lost to fire. He knew who lived in all the wonderful sites in town, the history of the stage coaches, railway stations, the famous visitors and hometown heroes. This love of Bethlehem’s history led to him co-founding the Bethlehem Historical Society with the role New Hampshire. He worked as a barber in Lancaster then relocated to Franklin where he worked at, and retired from, Oak Industries. Paul was an artist who loved
to paint with mixed media, and his paintings hang in countless homes in New England and beyond. He was also a licensed antiques dealer, as he loved all things “his -
See HUDSON on 34
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra Starts 49th Season With “Romantic Revelations”
The Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra (LRSO) is thrilled to announce its highly anticipated first concert of the 2024-2025 season, taking place on November 2nd at Hanaway Theatre, Plymouth State University at 7pm.
This concert, titled “Romantic Revelations”, features three masterful compositions – Mendelssohn’s haunting “Hebrides Overture”, Dvorak’s glorious “Cello Concerto in B minor” (1st mvt), and the beautiful but lesser known “Symphony No. 2” by Vasily Kalinnikov.
The featured soloist for Dvorak’s Cello Concerto is outstanding cellist Ian Jang, winner of LRSO’s 2024 concerto competition. Ian’s track record is remarkable, winning accolades in prestigious competitions such as the Taiwan International Music Competition and the Charleston International Music Competition. His stunning performances have consistently mesmerized audiences, earning him top honors at the Swiss Concours and the AMIS International School Honors Orchestra Concerto Competition. Ian is also recognized for his innovative blend of music and technology, producing virtual concerts that showcase his multifaceted talents.
Also on the program are Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, a vivid musical depiction of the Scottish coastline’s rugged beauty, crashing waves, and dramatic landscape; and Symphony No. 2 by Vasily Kalinnikov, a hidden gem of Russian Romanticism that combines folk melodies with lush, orchestral splendor, blending lively rhythms and pastoral themes that culminate in a triumphant conclusion.
Tickets are FREE for PSU students, $5 for non-PSU students, and $20-$30 for adults. Tickets can be purchased at www.LRSO.org or at the Silver Center box office (603-535-2787).
Harvest Happenings At Cold Spring Farm
Cold Spring Farm in Alton will be having their annual Harvest Happenings Sunday, October 20th from 12:00 - 4:30 P.M.
This is a fall family fun event with a Harvest Vendor Market, Food Trucks/Vendors, a Seasonal Cocktails, a Harvest “Hootenanny” (kids-related activities, yard games, costume contest, etc.), Live Music, Raffles + more! This is a FREE event.
Vendors include: Food Trucks | Crafts | Home Goods | Baked Goods | & More! Camp Constitution | She’s Sew Pink | Mom-Mom Made It! | Velvet Flats Farm | Rayne Refillery | Tresa Leigh Originals | Raise Your Glass Bartending | McCormack’s Farm LLC | Hope 4 Livi | Inspirations by Anne | Todd’s Sugarworks | Good Eatz 603 | Sweet Caroline Bakery | Stir Crazy Baking | Bella Winni Salon and Spa | Ken Payette | Alton Business Association | Alton Youth League | Garden Club Of Alton | Cottage Crafter.
Cold Spring Farm is located at 74 David Road, Alton Bay, NH.
Covered Bridges Near Ashland, Past & Present
Kim Varney Chandler will present an illustrated talk on “Covered Bridges Near Ashland, Past & Present” at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 10, in the Booster Clubhouse. Chandler is the author of COVERED BRIDGES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, a well regarded, comprehensive book on the existing covered bridges of the state. The program will include the existing covered bridges in Ashland, Plymouth and Campton, as well as other covered bridges in the area that no longer exist. Following the program, she will be available to sign and sell copies of her book.
The program is largely funded by New Hampshire Humanties, with the local match donated by Patty Stewart & Associates. This free public program is sponsored by the Ashland Historical Society, which will also serve refreshments. The Booster Clubhouse is located at 99 Main Street, on Routes 3 and 25 in Ashland village, next to the town playground and ballfields.
by Brendan Smith Weirs Times Editor
F OOL
NEW HAMPSHIRE
JuSt A reminder
It is only about four weeks until election day and I once again have to remind folks about something very important. I do it every two years and I apologize if you find this redundant, but it does have a very real impact on what is to happen.
As you may or may not know, I am once again running for governor as the candidate for the Flatlander Party. I have been the candidate every year since 2000 and you would think, after dozens of failed campaigns that people would know who I am (or I’d give up).
And they do (and I’m not giving up yet).
If you have been paying attention, you may have noticed that I haven’t had many campaign ads on radio or television in my run for governor, In fact, I’ve had none. I don’t have enough funds in my war chest to produce one, let alone have it replay hundreds of times a day repeating ad nausem how awful the other candidates are since I don’t want to potential voters to focus on my own shortcomings.
The best I can do is to approach people on the street and ask them to vote for me.
A lot of folks even come up to me and ask me if I am running again and when I tell them I am, some say they are voting for me. (As I write this it is up to a dozen.)
But that isn’t enough. Even if they had already planned to do so, there is still a possibility that they may not actually vote for me even though they think they did.
Let me explain once again like I have done in the past.
I tell folks, even though you won’t see my name on the bal-
lot, I am running as a write-in candidate, and they will have to write my name on the ballot in order to vote for me. (Of course, it has to be in the box designated for write-in candidates.
Just anywhere on the ballot won’t fly.)
For those of you who plan to do so, I do appreciate your vote. So, even though it seems an easy task to write my name in, I just ask that you make sure to spell my name correctly.
If you have been with me all of this time and are now ready to see this real Flatlander sitting on the big chair in the State House, just remember that all of our hard work will be for nothing and our message lost if you screw up and spell my name wrong.
Please remember that it is Brenda with an “N.” (I know, I know I have gone over this before, but it is important.)
A lot of people get my name wrong and spell it “Brandon” or even “Brendon.” I am not saying that there is anything wrong with these names; it’s just that I know, through minutes of research, that there are a few people named Brandon Smith and even Brandon Smith living in New Hampshire. I would hate to have one of them, or all of them for that matter, wake up on November 6th and find out that they have been elected governor of New Hampshire.
After all, not everyone wants the job.
I am doing my best to get the message out there but, as I mentioned, I have limited funds and I have to come up with unique methods for getting voters to remember how to spell my name correctly.
I do have volunteers willing to stand at traffic intersections, holding signs for me and waving at passing motorists. Since I can’t afford signs they just stand there and yell: “It’s Brenda with an ‘N.’” Being October, not many people are
driving with their car windows open so the message isn’t quite getting out there as much as I had hoped. Still, I do appreciate the effort.
We have been using the phone call method. Perhaps you have received one of our phone calls just as you were preparing to sit down to a nice family dinner.
“Good evening sir/madam, are you planning on voting in the upcoming election for governor?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me what is the most important issue to you in this election? Is it taxes, jobs or social issues?”
“Taxes.”
“Do you know how to spell Brendan?”
“Yes. B-R-A-N-D-O-N.”
“Actually, it is Brenda with an ‘N.’”
“Good. Thank you for clarifying that. It is good to know.”
I have found that door to door campaigning can be very effective when you don’t have money to mail out those giant postcards.
“Hello, I am Brendan Smith and I am running for governor.”
“Of New Hampshire?’
“Yes.”
“Hmmm…I thought everyone running had a woman’s name.”
“Well, I’d appreciate your write-in vote. I just ask that you spell my name correctly. It’s Brenda with an ‘N.’”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“I would have gotten that wrong. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
Will any of this work? Who knows? I just keep my fingers crossed and hope people get the message.
Thanks in advance for your vote and for spelling my name correctly.
Now In 5th Printing! The Flatlander Chronicles
Weirs Times F.O.O.L columnist, Brendan Smith’s first book with over 30 of the best of his original Flatlander Columns.
From learning to Rake The Roof to Going To The Dump to Buying Firewood for the first time and everything in between, Brendan recounts the humorous tales of his learning to fit into New Hampshire life as a Flatlander from New York.
Order your autographed copy today for $13.99 plus $3 for shipping. (Please include any inscription you would like the author to personalize your copy with.)
Make out checks or money orders for $16.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: The Flatlander Chronicles, c/o The Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247. Order online at www.BrendanTSmith.com (Pickup autographed copies at the Weirs Times)
How we CoPe SHowS men & women Are diFFerent
by Star Parker Syndicated Columnist
I reported last week about the decided move of young women to the political left and away from the religious affiliation of their childhood.
But these measures, at least in the short run, do not appear to be relevant to the success young women are having in dayto-day living in America. By measures such as work and academic achievement, young women are doing much better than young men.
Regarding work, as recently reported in The Wall Street Journal, more young women are now working than ever. The workforce participation rate of women ages 25-34, the percentage working or actively seeking work, stood at 78.5%, up nearly 6 percentage points from where it stood 10 years ago.
The picture regarding young men in this age range is far different. The workforce participation rate of young men ages 25-34 stood at 89.1%, down several points from where it stood 20 years ago. At the rate of 2004, another 700, 000 men in this age range today would be working.
The article reports that, per the Census Bureau, 20% of these young men are living with their parents, compared to 12% of women.
If we look at education, we get a similar picture.
As reported recently in Forbes Magazine, per data from the Chronicle of Higher Education, the gap between the number of women and the number of men enrolled in college has grown markedly over the years.
In 2021, there were 3.1 million more women enrolled in college than men. In 1979, this gap stood at 200,000.
Regarding high school graduation rates, in 2021, for 30 states that break out their data by gender, the graduation rate of women exceeded that of men by 6.2 percentage points.
Among those ages 16-24 who graduated high school from January to October 2023, the percentage of girls going on to enroll in college was 8 points higher than the percentage of boys.
Graduation rates of women from college exceeded that of men in 2022 by 6 percentage points.
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rate in the United States increased almost 37% from 2000 to 2022. However,
tHe Power oF ViCtory
by Ben Shapiro Syndicated Columnist
On Oct. 1, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched some 181 ballistic missiles at the state of Israel. Most were shot down; those that weren’t fell largely in uninhabited areas. Thanks to the technological and intelligence superiority of Israel and her allies, the Iranian attack -- the second such attack in six months -- was foiled. As of this writing, the world waits for Israel’s promised response.
The reason for Iran’s attack is obvious: Israel is currently thoroughly destroying Iran’s terror proxies in the region. Since Hamas’ brutal mass terror assault of Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has devastated the terrorist group: some 23 of its 24 battalions have been destroyed; its leadership caste has been wiped out, from political leader Ismail Haniyeh (assassinated with pinpoint accuracy in Tehran) to military leader Mohammed Deif (killed in a targeted airstrike) to the missing Yahya Sinwar, Oct. 7 mastermind. Israel has established working military control over virtually all of the Gaza Strip, including the border between Gaza and Egypt, which had been used as a resupply thoroughfare by Hamas. Hamas has been degraded to fighting a low-level insurgency against IDF forces.
Meanwhile, after nearly a year of taking thousands of incoming rockets in its north from the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, Israel finally responded with overwhelming force and competence. First, in a feat of espionage that beggars the imagination, Israel simultaneously exploded the beepers of Hezbollah’s terrorists, wounding or killing thousands of them and wrecking Hezbollah’s methods of communication; then, when Hezbollah attempted to reestablish communications via walkietalkies, Israel blew those up as well; after that, Israel proceeded to unleash
the Israeli Air Force on targets across southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut, wiping out the vast majority of Hezbollah’s long-range munitions; finally, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the thoroughly vile United Nations and warned that Israel would no longer be crossed, the IAF dropped a series of bunker busters on the head of Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, killing him and more of his top lieutenants. All Hezbollah could do in response was uselessly fire rockets into empty areas of Israel’s north.
Even the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, who have been firing cruise missiles at Israel, have felt Israel’s wrath: Israel has issued multiple direct strikes at Houthi-controlled ports in a country some 1,800 kilometers away.
Iran’s proxies are on the ropes. This means that the forward operating arm of the Iranian regime has been amputated. And that’s what necessitated Iran’s attempts to strike Israel directly.
This was a major miscalculation. Israel in the post-Oct. 7 era is not the Israel of before. It is a state unwilling to risk its future on the bet that its enemies will act with reasonable caution. It can no longer afford such bets. And so Israel has set about a mission the West has not pursued in decades: victory. Israel will not back down and cut deals that merely delay the inevitable, buying time for her enemies to arm up. Israel has struck at its enemies and will continue to do so. And it is working.
The Abraham Accords, negotiated by President Donald Trump’s team, have remained durable. The Sunni Gulf states see that Israel remains the region’s most powerful military and economic force, and will act accordingly to ally with it. Iran has been forced into a defensive crouch, lashing out ineffectually at Israel and America while blustering about its larger-scale ambitions.
But, in an utter inversion of Iran’s ambitions since Oct. 7, Israel has grown stronger. Iran
by John Stossel Syndicated Columnist
Sometimes politicians steal people’s homes. Really. If homeowners miss property tax payments, even if they never received the bills, some towns grab the whole house and keep the proceeds. All the proceeds. Even if the total is much more than the property tax owed.
I reported on this (mal)practice a couple years ago. Since then, there’s been good news from the Supreme Court.
by John J. Metzler Syndicated Columnist
PolitiCiAnS SteAl HomeS
But as my new video points out, some towns still steal homes. Tawanda Hall was behind on her property taxes. For that, she lost her family’s $308,000 house -- $286,000 more than what she owed.
When Hall first learned that Oakland County, Michigan, bureaucrats were seizing her home, she went to the mayor’s office to try to pay off her debt.
But “they didn’t want our money,” Hall tells me, “They wanted the house. ... They stole our home.”
She didn’t even know she was behind on taxes: “We did not receive anything other than, ‘Get out.’”
Christina Martin, a lawyer at the Pacific Legal Foundation, says government officials routinely notify people in legalese so dense that the homeowner doesn’t understand what the town demands. “They have an incentive not to work with people who are honestly trying to pay.”
Martin took Hall’s case to court, claiming the county violated the “Takings Clause” of the Fifth Amendment, which ensures that private property can’t be taken for public use without just compensation.
But a Michigan judge dismissed her case because the government
itself didn’t make a profit. Instead, the county gave her home to the Southfield Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, a private company. It then sold her house and kept most of the money.
“The government shouldn’t be able to steal from its own people and then give it to their friends,” says Martin.
“How do you know that they’re ‘friends’?” I ask.
“The company is run by the mayor and the city administrator.”
It’s true. The Southfield Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative made $10 million selling foreclosed
tHe yeAr tHe world CHAnged; AgAin
On October 7th, 2023, the world changed yet again. The powerful but seemingly contained Hamas terrorist group carried out coordinated rocket and ground attacks from Gaza on Israel in a stunning surprise attack. As with the Al Qaida terrorist attacks on America September 11th, 2001, the Grim Reaper had arrived unannounced.
The singular horrors which befell Israel, this modern-day pogrom, with widespread and barbaric civilian murders, as well as the mass hostage taking were but the first
step in what would evolve into a wider Middle East conflict. All the pieces were in place but most observers, including in Israel, were caught unaware, when the Islamic jihadi f orces attacked.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres remarked powerfully on the anniversary, “Today marks one year since the horrific events of October 7th when Hamas launched a large scale terror attack in Israel killing over 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals, including children and women. More than 250 people were abducted and taken to Gaza.”
He called on “the global community to repeat in the loudest voice our utter condemnation of the abhorrent acts of Hamas, including the taking of hostages.”
But this attack did not recall
Israel’s past conventional wars facing massed Arab states such as in 1956, 1967 or 1973; those were the days when a spunky and tough Israel could do no wrong; when its armored columns crisscrossed the Sinai, its jets vanquished the Syrians in the skies and its ground forces entered the Holy city of Jerusalem.
This was a different form of conflict with non-state actors using lethal means but the doctrine of asymmetrical warfare. Today we live with a new narrative; the era when Bibi Netanyahu’s Israel can do no right. The new Leftist policy mantra echoed even in many European capitals is that of an aggressive Israel using what the mainstream media calls disproportionate force, causing heavy civilian
causalities and collateral damage while fighting Hamas.
For both sides the conflict has emerged as a long-running morality play.
While the war and the incessant fighting in Gaza continues, as expected the political reverberations have spread to the streets of London, Paris, and New York. On some U.S. College campuses proPalestinian demonstrations have often radicalized into pro-Hamas groupies giving a sordid Western benediction to the jihadi murderers.
The Islamic Republic of Iran proudly stands as the paymaster of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis who have taken the fight to a new level. This in turn has
Letters From God
QUESTION
Are We At A Tipping Point With Respect To Prosperity As A Nation?
and Audits Remedies for Missing Tax Documents Are My Social Security Benefits Taxable? Records You Need to Keep
If by this question, you mean the point of no return to the prosperity you have enjoyed over the few centuries of your existence as a nation, the answer is YES! I have spoken of this critical point often in previous letters, but it appears as though you and your leaders have done little to avoid this reality. You are so enamored with politics and human leaders to solve your massive problems, you have neglected to consider me and your responsibilities toward me for continued blessings and prosperity. You have forgotten that you are created, and that I am God (Psalm 100:12). As your creator, I have established laws and designs for “life.” These laws and designs must be followed if you hope to prosper (Deuteronomy 32:46-47). No human leadership or effort can avoid the consequences of violating my will and rejecting my design for prosperity. As I said through my servant, Solomon, in the book of Proverbs that I asked him to write, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.” (Proverbs 21:30).
Years ago, you threw me out of your schools where, since your inception, you prayed and even read from my Book, the Bible, in virtually every school. It was your primer for learning to read for over 150 years. You then stopped relying on my
Book altogether, which recorded my will, laws and designs for “life.” You began to make and use your own fallen wisdom in a host of political, social and moral standards. As a result of rejecting me and my laws and standards, you also began to reject your own legal standards and laws, contained in your Constitution and various federal and state laws. Now, even your political leaders openly violate those laws, even though they pledge with an oath, to uphold and defend them. No wonder, many now choose not to make those vows over my Bible. As a result, you are experiencing both my judgments and consequences for rejecting me and violating my commands but also natural consequences for enacting and allowing foolish behavior that destroys your nation.
Letters From God
Open your eyes and see, that your nation is already experiencing symptoms of death in so many ways. Your economy is in debt to the point of 35 trillion dollars so that you have become a slave to your masters, many of whom are your actual enemies and who vow to destroy you. Your monetary system is in shambles. It is no longer backed by tangible assets like gold or silver but paper money that is increasingly worthless. This is especially true, due to the outrageous printing of money, escalating deadly inflation. You have illegally allowed millions into your country without vetting them and you have already begun to experience devastating consequences that are
producing death and mayhem among you. Imagine when millions more flood your country, leading to unsustainable catastrophic conditions. Many of your own citizens are suffering for lack of resources due to the billions that are being given to unvetted, illegal immigrants, whose intentions are unknown and for many are selfserving at best and malicious at worst. Many of your states and cities are financially bankrupt following the lead of your federal government. Your schools are failing compared to most industrialized nations. Your drug problems, especially now that your borders are open and your political leaders even provide drugs, while removing penalties for possession, is literally killing you. Your Presidential candidate is hiding her true values, policies and intents because she is aware, that if fully disclosed, she will not be elected.
If you doubt me, listen to the statements made by one of your most liberal politicians, Bernie Sanders. Despite this incredibly deceptive approach, nearly half your country will vote for a candidate who is foisting this ruse on your country. Deadly crime is rampant on the streets of your country and your liberal legal authorities and judges are not prosecuting criminal behavior and returning dangerous men and women to continue to assault your law-abiding citizens. You are trying to take weapons, granted in your Constitution to law abiding citizens to protect themselves, so that the only ones who
will have weapons will be the criminals among you. All the while your politicians, who are well protected with your tax money, as the participants of the DNC convention were protected, to the tune of 75 million dollars, want to leave you unprotected. Imagine if they also defund police as they are attempting. All of these practices contravene my wisdom and will and prove my words, “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:22). I, who can see everything, have only given you a small sample of the current decaying condition of your country. What lies ahead, as a result of your defection from me and your Constitutional Republic, will bring you to your knees. I haven’t even mentioned the judgements I am bringing, in response to your lawlessness and defiance of my authority and will, as your creator God. Read my book, the Bible, and particularly the last chapter called Revelation, to see what is coming to the entire world, which is moving headlong to pervasive rejection of me and as a result, to the end of human history. At this tipping point, how you respond to me and my will, will determine which way you “tip.” Start by electing wise leaders who honor me and my laws as well as those established in your Constitution. I love you enough to “speak the truth in love.”
(Ephesians 4:15) God
These letters are written by Rev. Dr. Sam Hollo of Alton, NH
winniwetA FAllS
Bria and I continued on her White Mountain Guide redlining adventure starting and ending in Jackson. From Carter Notch we hiked the Wildcat River Trail to the Wild River Trail and then up and down the Eagle Link Trail before doing an out and back to the Black Angel Trail intersection. After hiking 18 miles we slept soundly in our tents.
The next morning we had a much shorter hike out the East Branch Trail to our waiting car that we spotted. All these trails are notorious for making feet wet but since there has been so little rain lately we were able to keep our socks dry. Good thing because we wore the same clothes we had hiked in the day before.
It is a long dusty drive up Slippery Brook Road & the East Branch of the Saco River Road and Bria suggested I drive back to Jackson while she hiked the Bald Land Trail; you know, so she could do one more thing, just about a mile and a half. It was only 10:30 am and for Bria she’d hike the shortcut back to Jackson so she wouldn’t have to make this drive again.
By the time I drove 45 minutes to reach the end of Black Mountain Road in Jackson she was already bouncing down the old gravel road towards me. We drove back up to the end of Carter Notch Road to pick up her car. On the way we discussed that it
Bria crossing the Ellis River at the beginning of the Winniweta Falls Trail in Jackson. At times at high water the Ellis River can be difficult to ford but that also means the cascading water over the falls would be more impressive. We enjoyed an easy and safe crossing. The trail is 9/10ths of a miles to reach the falls. It is a lovely walk in the woods.
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PlAtFormS oF PolitiCAl PArtieS
by Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr. Contributing Writer
Platform for a political party means a policy statement that is supposed to represent the views of the party and be the positions of their candidates who are running for public office. In these modern days, however, one wonders if the candidates ever even read the platform, or, if there are many of the voters who ever read the platforms of the parties, or pay much attention to them if they do.
There are national party platforms and there are state party platforms which are apt to say that the state party agrees with the national party. After looking at the 2024 party platforms for the Democratic, Liberterian, and Republican parties of New Hampshire for 2024, I suggest that you do the same before you vote in this election year. On second thought, it might not help because it might not accurately reflect the positions of the candidates, but media commercials may not either, because in
of other parties.
them the candidate is more apt to tell you, and maybe not accurately, what their opponents supposed positions are instead of their own.
Platforms of the past let us know how the thinking of the major political parties compare with the thoughts of the same parties today. I went back to the year 1914. I found the platforms for four political parties in New Hampshire - Republican, Democrat, Progressive, and Socialist. Platforms can support a lot of stuff, including the conceived baggage
So the Granite State Republicans in 1914, while admitting that divisions among themselves brought the Democrats to power, insisted that the promise of that other party to reduce the cost of living by abolishing the protective tariff principle had failed and that the cost of living was as high or higher than before. So the Republicans promised to reintroduce a tariff law. The situation in Europe prompted a call to have an American merchant marine force. On the state level the Republican party proposed an investigation into the
adjustment of railroad rates, an amendment to fish and game laws to make sure that the revenue from fishing and hunting licenses would not be diverted from the fish and game department, the establishment of a state highway department to oversee highways built with state funds and the maintenance of the same, and the perfection of worker’s compensation laws. The Republican party of 1914 also pledged to reduce the evils of the liquor traffic and to enforce the prohibition of the same in towns that didn’t issue liquor licenses. They promised to stop governor’s council members from appointing themselves to positions they would profit from.
The New Hampshire Democratic party had their own priorities for the year 1914. They praised their party for establishing the federal reserve board while blaming the lack
Progressive Party Cartoon - 1912.
See SMITH on 30
BIRDS For The
New England’s Wild Birds & Their Habitats
BirdS And BerrieS
by Chris Bosak Contributing Writer
One of my favorite parts of birdwatching in the fall is trying to find birds eating berries. Many New England plants, bushes and trees bear fruit in the fall, and birds fuel up on this vital food source.
The only skill involved in finding birds eating berries is either knowing where the berries are and keeping an eye on that area or getting out there and discovering the plants with berries while exploring. The rest is timing — in other words, luck. There’s no telling exactly when a bird will land on a bush and start eating the berries. You just have to be looking at the right time.
The odds of coming across a bird eating berries are fairly low, but fall is when the chances are greatest. Berries are all over the place in the fall. Even plants such as poison ivy, which are rightfully vilified for the most part, produce berries that birds love. Not by coincidence, the fall berry season is timed perfectly with the southward migration of songbirds.
I was on the lookout for birds eating berries while I was on a walk last week. For the first hour or so, there was nothing. Many of the bushes along the trail were bursting with
A male scarlet tanager in fall plumage eats berries from a burning bush last week in New England.
bright red berries, but no birds were feasting. Man, if I were a bird, I’d be all over those berries, I grumbled to myself as I walked past the bounty.
Eventually, I reached a crossroads on my walk. I could take a left and check out a field, or I could remain in the woods and continue straight. I caught a glimpse of yellow in the field out of the corner of my eye. A female common yellowthroat had scurried out from among the tall grasses,
throat and two song sparrows. I walked across to the other edge of the field and noticed movement in a burning bush that grew along the brushy area buffering the field and woods. I could immediately see that the bush was covered in small, red berries.
Just a gray catbird, I said to myself when I spotted the source of the movement. Not that I have anything against catbirds. In fact, I love catbirds and appreciate that they stay
weeds and flowers and took a perch on a goldenrod stalk.
She left her flimsy perch and alighted on a much sturdier branch of a dogwood tree that grows in the middle of the field. A few other birds flitted among the branches of the dogwood, but I could not tell what they were from my vantage point. I guess I’m going through the field, I told myself as I walked toward the dogwood. The other birds in the tree turned out to be another female yellow-
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Watch Out For Investment Scams
When you invest, you’ll find that knowledge is power. The more you know about your investment choices, and who is offering them, the better prepared you’ll be to make good decisions. And this diligence can also help protect you against investment scams.
How widespread is this activity? Consider this: Investment fraud losses totaled more than $4.5 billion in 2023, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report.
Here are some common types of scams:
• Cryptocurrency – Not all cryptocurrency offers are scams, but many are. The scammers will contact you via social media, claiming they’ve made a lot of money in crypto and are willing to help you do the same. They may direct you to a website or app to invest, but the “company” taking your money may not even exist, and, after taking your money, may disappear.
• Investment programs – These programs claim to have “proven” strategies that can enable you to get rich by investing in financial products. But these strategies are dubious at best and can cost you thousands of dollars that could otherwise go into an investment plan based on your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon.
• Real estate – Typically, a real estate scam tries to get you to invest in a “world-class” or “luxury” property development, but these properties may take years to build, if they’re built at all. Also, various real estate “seminars” claim they can teach you how to get wealthy by buying and selling real estate, but these programs are expensive and usually worthless.
• Gold and other precious metals – Scammers who call themselves “rare coins” merchants may try to sell you gold coins, bullion or other types of precious metals, claiming that these assets will always go up in value (which isn’t true) and that “now is the best time to act.” You
can find legitimate ways to invest in precious metals, possibly through mutual funds, but you’ll need to determine whether these assets can be an appropriate part of your investment portfolio.
So, how can you avoid these scams? Here are some suggestions from the Federal Trade Commission:
• Don’t be pushed into snap decisions. Scammers will pressure you to act quickly because “space is limited” in an investment offering or a “special deal” won’t last long. If someone won’t give you time to consider an offer, it’s not worth considering.
• Be suspicious of “risk-free” claims. All investments carry risk, and no variable investments can claim to provide “guaranteed returns.” If an individual or organization downplays the risk of an investment and doesn’t want to provide risk disclosures, just walk away.
• Ask about licensing or registration. Legitimate investment professionals must be registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and be licensed by your state’s securities regulator before they can sell you any investment product. You can check the status of an individual or firm by using FINRA’s BrokerCheck tool at brokercheck.fina.org.
• Do some research. You can search online for the name of the company or individual offering you an investment opportunity. By entering terms such as “review,” “scam,” “fraud” or “complaint,” you may well find that other people have experienced problems or been victimized.
To achieve your financial goals, you’ll likely need to invest for decades — so, be wary of scammers who claim to offer a shortcut to success.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor. Edward Jones, Member SIPC.
Investing is about more than money.
At Edward Jones, we stop to ask you the question: “What’s important to you?” Without that insight and a real understanding of your goals, investing holds little meaning. Contact your Edward Jones financial advisor for a one-on-one appointment to discuss what’s really important: your goals.
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512 Whittier Highway, Suite 1 Moultonborough, NH
by Mike Moffett Contributing Writer
Real New England college football fans know about quarterback Matt Sluka, who starred at Holy Cross for four seasons. An NCAA ruling prompted by the COVID pandemic gave him an extra year of eligibility and via the NCAA’s transfer portal he ended up at Nevada-Las Vegas, where he just led UNLV to a 3-0 start. But last week Sluka left the team over a $100,000 payment dispute and is now a free agent looking to play at yet another college.
Welcome to the brave new college football world of 2024. Because Sluka played less than half the team’s schedule, he’s apparently eligible for a sixth season at a third school.
According to the Associated Press, Sluka, his father, and his agent claim that UNLV reneged on verbally promised payments.
“This is unprecedented sign of the times,” said Blake Lawrence, whose company Opendorse works with dozens of schools and more than 40 boosterbacked collectives on athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation. Sluka, by playing in fewer than five games, preserves his final season of eligibility and can play
mAtt SlukA, PlAying For PAy, And me!
elsewhere in 2025. NIL legislation certainly transformed our college sportscape. But what is NIL? The Supreme Court, NCAA, and student-athletes all played roles in creating the new compensation rules. University players can now be paid for their autographs! And they’re actually starting their own personal sports businesses, endorsing products, and develping their own brands. And small college Division III athletes are also eligible to engage in NIL activities! What?
As a former Division III basketball player, that got my attention!
Many years ago, as a UNH freshman—and total basketball guy—I tried out for the Wildcat sub-varsity hoop team. The coaching staff clearly missed the great potential in this skinny kid from Groveton and I didn’t make the final cut. My sports career
was over, and I decided to become a hippie.
That mindset lasted about one day.
I was a jock!
I transferred to Plymouth State and sat out a year, but the Panthers took me into their den, and I had a wonderful multi-year college basketball experience. I was all-conference as a senior and graduated as Plymouth’s all-time leading rebounder and fifth all-time leading scorer.
Which brings us back to NIL.
What might I have done as a college hoopster with the freedom to market myself, the way all college athletes can today?
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Granted, I was a small fish in a small pond, but still. I’m sure a college fraternity brother majoring in business would have offered to be my agent. He’d have lined up endorsement deals. With the
auto
Mike Moffett, circa 1976, and Matt Sluka, circa 2022.
The Simple Feast
by Eric N Gibson Contributing Writer
The senses of smell and taste are forever intermingled and with them often comes a deluge of memories.
While a majority of people take food at face value, I have always found it fascinating how food (in general) and something as simple as a cookie (in particular) can act as the key that opens the floodgates of the mind. With certain foods our mental capacity becomes awash in recollections: a person, a time, a place, or perhaps even just a fleeting moment of deja vu, that feeling of having experienced something before.
In this instance it was a White Chip Macadamia Nut Cookie, for me they were just cookies, a new recipe to try, a Thank You gift to a neighbor for helping me in a recent project. For my sister however, the smell of these cookies beguiled the senses. They were a trigger that brought her to a place and time of our youth. Taking up a cookie she brought it to her mouth and stopped short of taking a bite.
She breathed deep of its unmistakable aroma. She caught herself again to take another whiff before taking a bite, “These smell like Gramma’s house! Don’t they?”
“They smell like Jean Nate and mothballs?” It was the only thing I could think of in reply.
“Noooo! Seriously, don’t you think these cookies smell like Gramma’s house?”
“I honestly don’t remember what her house smelled like.”
But the memories came flooding back to both of us. The kitchen counter’s yellow formica laminate top with its little blue and brown “boomerang”
pattern. The light honey stained pine cabinets with the black handles. The dining table of wrought iron with its large glass top artfully accented with a centerpiece of plastic fruit in what appeared to be a brandy snifter big enough for Hagrid the Giant.
“What’s in these cookies?”, she questioned as she continued to smell the cookie rather than eat it.
I could tell she was lost in her own childhood memories. Being older than me by a number of years her memories of our grandmother are not the same as mine. While she speaks of
Peanut Butter and Jelly or Tuna sandwiches shared with our grandmother I remember a different person. I recall a more reserved, stately, dour, almost formal, elderly woman who lived in a stale museum-like environment. A place for everything and everything in its place. I can barely remember sharing a table with all of us at it let alone my grandmother ever making anything just for me. In fact, one of my most vivid recollections is of a woman who, between pauses in the patter of conversation with my mother, would scold me as I
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** Tap listings subject to change!
Strange But True
by Lucie Winborne Syndicated Columnist
FROG ROCK TAVERN
* Obituary writers have their own awards, which are called The Grimmys.
* During World War II, the term “security blanket” was slang for measures meant to keep military information secret, or covered up.
* Future Martians might marvel at the Valles Marineris (a.k.a. Mariner Valley) the same way Earthlings marvel at the Grand
Canyon. The huge rift is more than eight times the length of the Grand Canyon, and four times as deep.
* The Eiffel Tower leans slightly toward the shade on sunny days
* Forbes estimates that Barbie’s Dream House would be worth around $16 million if it were real. The threestory house has seven rooms, an elevator, a garage and a pool.
* In 1897, Indiana state legislators tried to pass a bill that would have legally redefined the value of pi as 3.2.
* A game show in Japan featured one item in a room that was replaced with a look-alike item made of chocolate or other candy. Contestants would try to find it by biting into various objects.
* The ancient Greeks believed that pearls were the hardened tears of joy from Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
* Elton John has pianos named after Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone and Diana Krall.
* There’s a five-story, blood-red waterfall in Antarctica.
***
Thought for the Day: “The greatness of a man lies not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” -- Bob Marley
by JoAnn Derson Syndicated Columnist
* Fill your salt and pepper shakers a fourth of the way with uncooked white rice. Dry rice will allow the salt or pepper to flow more freely from the shaker. If your shaker is opaque, you can tell when it’s time to add more salt or pepper when the shaker starts to rattle.
* Mark old toothbrushes with masking tape so you can tell the difference between cleaning brushes and those you use for your
teeth. You can clean a toothbrush in the dishwasher. Put it with the silverware.
* Because fabric softeners can leave residue in the dryer’s lint trap, clean yours out at least every other month. Just scrub with plain old soap and water.
* “Add this to the list of wonderful cleaners for wood floors: tea. Just brew a couple of cups and use the tea as you would your regular wood floor cleaner. It’s nice and shiny
afterward.” -- P.L. in Oregon
* Use a turkey baster to “squirt” pancake batter into your frying pan. Mix the batter as normal and unscrew the top of the baster to load. You can use it to make letters for fun kids’ breakfasts. No drips!
* If you have trouble opening the lid on glass jars, try using a
pair of standard dishwashing gloves. They work to grip both the lid and the jar. They work especially well if your hands are the least bit moist. -- D.Y. in Pennsylvania
Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803. (c) 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.
Members of the Lakes Region Builders & Remodelers Association have worked together to present the latest in home building techniques and designs at the 2024 Lakes Region Parade of Homes. “We are proud to show off the local building industry to the community each year during the Parade. Our premier builders and supporting trade professionals are the key to the success of this popular event, “ said Brenda Richards, LRBRA, Ex-
ecutive Officer. Featuring the latest in quality home construction, the Parade of Homes will offer a walk-through experience of eight homes scattered around the beautiful Lakes Region, New Hampshire. Each home boasts open-air living spaces, and state of the art home technology, appliances, lighting, plumbing, textures, and colors. Premier builders, designers, trade professionals will be on-site to an -
HOMES
ENJOY VIEWING THE LATEST IN HOME INNOVATIONS, STYLES AND DECOR!
Whether you are in the market to build, remodel, buy or just want something fun to do, we invite you to be our guest at the Lakes Region Parade of Homes.
(*Be
home tour
wide audience from
uSe FreSH HerBS to FlAVor HolidAy meAlS
by Melinda Myers
Grow, harvest and season your holiday meals with fresh herbs grown indoors in a windowsill garden. Add to the experience by using potted herbs and a few holiday adornments to dress up the table. You and your family will enjoy snipping a few fresh herbal sprigs to season your meal to your own taste. Include herbs your family likes, those that complement your menu and are easy to grow indoors like basil, oregano, parsley, chives, thyme, and sage. Purchase plants so they will be ready to harvest for the holidays. Many garden centers now carry herb plants year-round; some grocery stores sell them in their produce department.
Grow plants in individual containers or plant several in one larger decorative pot. Select a container with drainage holes and one that complements your table setting. Use a quality, well-draining potting mix when transplanting herbs into another container. Place a saucer or tray under pots with drainage holes to protect your furniture. Or double pot plants when using a decorative container that lacks drainage holes. Plant herbs in a smaller pot with drainage holes or set several pots in a larger container. Place pebbles in the bottom of
Grow herbs that complement your family’s favorite recipes and are easy to grow indoors
the decorative pot. This elevates the inner pots above any excess water that collects in the bottom of the decorative pot, helping avoid root rot and the need to empty the water in the saucer.
Dress up any meal by creating an edible centerpiece with your herb plants. Set them on a decorative placemat to protect the ta-
bletop and add a few seasonal items to complete your display. Grow herbs in a sunny window such as an unobstructed south-, east-, or west-facing window when they are not decorating the table. Consider adding artificial lights if sunlight is limited and the plants have leggy stems and pale leaves. Keep the lights about
6 to 12” above the tops of the plants and leave them on for six to eight hours if supplementing the natural light. Leave them on for 14 hours a day, if this is the only light source. Set the plants on a reflective surface to help shine light back up into the bottom of the plants. Avoid drafts of hot and cold air and water thoroughly as needed. Some herbs like basil, oregano, parsley, and marjoram like soil to be slightly moist but not soggy while chives, thyme, and sage like it a bit drier.
Grow basil to dress up a pizza, salad, or soup with a few leaves. Add some oregano to season any tomatobased dishes such as pizza and pasta. Use fresh thyme to flavor cheese, eggs, tomatoes, and lentils. Chives’
MYERS from 23 mild onion flavor is great on potatoes, but consider adding it to soups, dips, seafood dishes, and omelets. Just snip a few leaves and cut them into smaller pieces before adding them to your dish.
Parsley is high in vitamin C and is often added to soups, pasta, salads, and dressings. Harvest a sprig at the end of the meal to freshen your breath. Add several pairs of snips and let everyone add their favorite herbal seasonings to their meal. You may need to show your guests how to harvest and use the herbs to get them started. Let them know that harvesting the herbs encourages new growth for future use.
Make this year’s holiday meals memorable. Invite your guest to enjoy the fresh flavor and fun of seasoning their meals right at the table.
HOME from 22
swer questions and offer insights.
“Whether you are in the market for a new home, getting ideas to remodel your existing home, or just want something fun to do, we invite you to be our guest at the 2024 Parade of Homes.”
Parade visitors will discover unique homes and floor plans, beautiful communities, the latest in interior design trends and home technology, exterior finishes and outdoor living, and landscaping that will inspire. The tour attracts hundreds of visitors from all around New England, it is couple friendly, and a special way to enjoy the scenic foliage in the Lakes Region.
The Lakes Region Parade of Homes is set for Columbus Day weekend, October 12 & 13th, 2024th, 9-5PM daily. The 2-day “self guided tour” will showcase 8 beautifully crafted homes and a
chance for the public to talk with builders about their building needs. Only one of the homes are for sale, this is not primarily a real estate event but rather an event to educate, entertain and make important connections for homeowners seeking to find a builder for their new home down the road or future remodel projects.
VISITORS
PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS
• ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Be sure to ask the builders to give you details on home energy options including: appliances, insulation, lighting, space heating & cooling, water heating and windows and doors.
•EXTERIOR SID -
ING: Be prepared for a variety of exterior finishes to check out including, horizontal lap siding, board and batten putting emphases on the vertical, creat-
See HOME on 26
One Full
SMITH from 25
•KITCHENS: Kitchens are a favorite with paradegoers. Be prepared to be “wowed” with this year’s homes earthy colors, integrated cabinetry, walk-in pantries, statement lighting, sink work stations and smart appliances.
•SMART TECHNOLOGY:
When many people think technology, they think entertainment. But work extends much further than audio and video. Other important elements like central vacuums and home security can help protect
the health and safety of your family. Even if a homeowner isn’t going to install home automation technology as a part of their new home construction, planning for those needs down the road helps ensure that the proper wiring and systems are in place behind the drywall.
•RICH COLORS THROUGHOUT THE HOME: While blues, greens, and cool gray shades are trending, but also, classic neutrals and timeless warm tones can be found in many off the home.Warm grays paired with camel, rust, and brown- blacks,” as well as earthy reds and yellows.
•KITCHEN SINKS: The modern Farmhouse style will continues to flourish and homeowners are getting creative with “more concrete, stone, copper and granite composite sinks in darker hues of gray, bronze or black.”
•LIGHTING: Light fixtures, including sconces, lanterns, pendants and chandeliers, are making a comeback as crafty home do-it-yourselfers outfit retro fixtures with new technology for one-of-a-kind look. Remarkably, one in five homeowners are choosing “smart” lighting that can be controlled via a mobile
device or computer.
•CUSTOM MILLWORK: Specialty millwork and reclaimed wood walls and detailing will be showcased in many of the homes to create a beautiful ambiance.
Visiting a parade home is a great way to get a first hand look of how you envision your new or renovated home will look and feel. Whether you see yourself having cookouts on the back deck, a maintenancefree exterior, or a kitchen that becomes the gathering place at every party, exploring one of the eight featured homes on this year’s tour is a great way to see into your future and possibly meet
your new builder to make your dream home vision become a reality.
• Parade-goers will have 38 bedrooms to explore and over 30 bathrooms to view on this year’s tour! According to a recent 2024 U.S. Houzz & Home Study on Renovation trends, Kitchens and Bathrooms Lead in Project Activity: Kitchens continue to lead as the most commonly renovated interior room (29%), followed closely by guest bathrooms and primary bathrooms (27% and 25%, respectively). Living room projects also are popular, with 1 in 5
HOME from 26 homeowners (21%) undertaking them.
• TINY HOUSE FOR SALE! As a bonus, there will be a ninth home for visitors to tour, the “Student Built House” will be open for viewing both days. The Tiny House is part of a collaboration between the Lakes Region Builders and the Huot Tech Center to excite students about careers in the trades. Students from Construction and Plumbing classes spend the entire school year learning all aspects of building a home from scratch. “We are very excited to welcome the public to see the most re -
cent home completed by the students, all 432 sq.ft., noted Bob Glassett, who serves on the builder’s workforce development committee. “This is the first time we have been able to showcase the finished home in person and an ideal opportunity for the community to learn more about what the students are learning at the Huot Technical Center’s Building Construction & HVAC programs,” said Glassett. There is no ticket required or cost to view the Tiny House and is open to the public. The proceeds from the sale along with ticket sales from the Parade of Homes benefit LRBRA’s workforce
development initiative efforts of inspiring the next generation of building trade professionals.
Tickets cost $25/ pp and can be purchased online or at the first home you visit. One ticket is good both days and you can start at any home. To begin your home tour adventure, go to www.lakesregionParadeofHomes. com for a map and directions OR for a more interactive experience, download the Parade “App” and search for Lakes Region Parade of Homes. The “app” includes turn-by-turn directions to all the homes, photos of the homes, information about the builders information.
Thank you to our presenting sponsors Meredith Village Savings Bank, Lake Life Realty and Cyr Lumber. Please be sure to check out all of this years parade partners. The Lakes Region Builders & Remodelers Association (LRBRA) is a not-for-profit, professional trade association chartered by the National Association of Home Builders. Our volunteer members are dedicated to promoting, protecting and improving the Building Industry throughout the Lakes Region.
2 miles East of 1-93
Mon. -Fri. 10-6 Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10-5
Enjoy the holidays with the family around a new table
We have many table sets in stock and many more to order. Choose between woods and finishes
George Farrand, 1914 Democrat State Committee Chairman from Concord.
SMITH from 11
of greater prosperity to the war in Europe, and expressed their strong confidence in President Wilson. At the state level they expressed support for a new dormitory at the state college, a law about the inspection of factories, and a fifty hour week law. They also had in their plat-
form support for liberal appropriations for the propagation of fish and game, and reasonable but not excessive revenue for the railroads. Their platform included repeated criticism of Republicans while endorsing the candidacy of their party’s nominee for governor, Albert W. Noone.
Then, in 1914 on the
New Hampshire Progressive Party platform they listed the things they re-affirmed their support for their national party and their dissatisfaction with the Republican and Democratic parties. “The heart and fibre of the Republican party,” they wrote, “ has not changed...” The Democratic party, they said, didn’t offer any hope to someone who was
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looking for a party that was “..united, free and vibrant with a great and lofty purpose.”
The State Progressive party of 1914 proposed setting a limit on the amount a political candidate could spend and a limit on the amount an individual could contribute to political candidates. “Realizing that agriculture is the basis of the prosperity of our state,” they favored the establishment of agricultural courses in secondary schools. They also felt that the school buildings should become more and more the places for social and civic activities. The Progressives laid on their platform a long list of things they favored or believed in, including, that workman’s compensation should include all employees engaged in dangerous occupations except domestic servants and agricultural laborers, a 54 hour law for day labor, old age pensions, legislation to protect small timber from de-
struction, minimum wage standards including a ‘living wage’ for women, a system of insurance against sickness, irregular employment and old age, one day’s rest in seven for all wage workers, abolition of the governor’s council, keeping the railroad from dominating politics, and increasing the jurisdiction of the governor over state departments.
A fourth party in the State of New Hampshire in the year 1914 with a platform was the Socialist Party. This party pledged its fidelity to the international and national socialistic parties.
“Ten million people in this country,” according to their platform, “are habitually undersupplied in the bare necessities of life, and, as a consequence, graft, crime, insanity, and vice are increasing faster than population.” Socialists voiced their opposition to capitalism, a position, they noted, that was contrary to all the other political parties. The ultimate aim of the New Hampshire Socialist party, as stated in their 1914 platform, was that of “educating and orga-
nizing the workers to take over and administer the government and industries in the interests of all who perform useful work.” With the emphasis on the working class their aim was to convince that class to support socialism and to do what they could to better the conditions of the workers.
The New Hampshire Socialist party of 1914 put some demands on its platform which included “The initiative, referendum, and right of recall, the latter to apply to every public officer., Equal economic and political rights, regardless of sex, Reduction of the hours of labor and the abolition of the employment of children under sixteen years of age,” and, “Social ownership and democratic management of public utilities.”
Another item stated:
“Socialism is not concerned with matters of belief or unbelief in religion. It welcomes the working class, as such to its support without regard to nationality or creed.”
So platforms come and platforms go, how many are read, nobody knows.
“The name of the Project came to be when I heard the story of how three of Syd’s friends were chatting and two began to disagree,” said Ellis. “One turned to the other and said ‘Quit It! Be a Syd.’ There were so many other stories about Syd, but that one really stayed with me.”
The first fundraiser in the “Be A Syd Project” will be held on Saturday, October 19th, from 11am-3pm at 26 Young Road, Gilford. Called “Be A Syd Farm Day” it will include equine demonstrations. The schedule includes:
Noon- Western Riding 1pm- Barrel and Poles
2pm- Cowboy Mounted Shooting.
Also there will also be be a climbing wall and bungee, 80-foot Obstacle course, giant slide, bounce house and axe throwing provided by Vertical Entertainment of Gilford. There will be a $10 minimum donation (under 6 years is free).
A tasty lunch will be available at the grill including Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, chips and a drink for a $5 donation.
A raffle for a $200 Bank Of NH Gift Card will also be held with tickets available at 3 for $5.
There will also be Tshirts and animals.
One of the highlights of the afternoon will be a demonstration by the New England Six Shooters, which Syd used to be part of, from 2-3pm. Using their riding skills and shooting 45-caliber blanks, their expertise is thrilling to watch. Also riding with the New England Six Shooters will be
Jayd who will be riding Syd’s beloved Mercy as well as Syd’s grandfather, Scott Ellis, who will be riding “Jewel.”
“Our goal is to provide opportunities for those in the community to experience the magic of equines,” said Ellis. “I believe it was Winston Churchill who said “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a person.”
Everyone is encouraged to attend what will hopefully become a yearly event to raise money to support horses and those who love them.
“She was my granddaughter and she spent a great deal of time with us, making our lives better every day,” said Ellis. You can find more information about the “Be A Syd Project” on Facebook where you will also find a link to the “Be A Syd Farm Day.”
SYD from 1
Sydnie Quimby during a New England Six-Shooter event.
Bria standing near the middle of the Winniweta Falls. Surrounding the small stream of water were pretty green moss and the bare ledges.
The Winniweta Falls Trailhead on Route 16, 3.2 miles north of Jackson’s red covered bridge.
PATENAUDE
from 9
still wasn’t quite lunchtime.
How about another one-more-thing? There would never be a better time to do Winniweta Falls. The Ellis River might not be this low again anytime soon if ever.
The Winniweta Falls Trailhead is right on Route 16, 3.2 miles north of Jackson’s famous red covered bridge. There is a wide shoulder on the west side and it is marked by a hiker symbol sign on top of a post shared with the forest service trail sign “Winniweta Falls Trail.”
the road to the bank of the Ellis River. The last time I did this trail the water was up to my knees. I couldn’t believe what I saw. The water was so low that it appeared that the river’s rocks were in a position to allow us to rock hop across without getting our feet wet.
We gleefully picked our way across and at the far bank where rocks were missing someone had laid a couple of logs to bridge the gap. Fantastic! Hikers on their way back waited for us to cross and cheered for our successful crossing. I would have never guessed that it would be possible to cross without getting wet.
There were a couple cars already parked there when we arrived. The Falls are just 9/10th of a mile away but there is a catch. You have to ford the Ellis River. The River is wide and it is often shallow enough to wade across. The water is always cold too. It is a short walk from
We passed over the JacksonXC’s Ellis River cross country ski trail, it had been recently mowed and on the ski trail sign there was another sign pointing straight ahead to the Falls.
The Trail along Miles
Jackson Ski Touring Foundation’s Pumpkin People are busy making White Pumpkin Snow! They’re reminding us ski season is right around the corner and Nordic Ski Passes are on sale now. Jackson is welcoming their 40th Annual Return of the Pumpkin People. More than 60 participating properties are hosting Pumpkin People displays during the month of October. Be sure to cast your vote for “People’s Choice” after visiting the displays.
Brook is an old logging road/ski trail. Thanks to the trail maintainer the trail was clear and some water bars/ditches were cleared to help keep the path dry. It is a gentle uphill walk and when the trail is nearer the Brook we saw a little sign for the Falls pointing down a path to the brook below. The effort to take the path down to the bottom of the Falls in order to see the Winniweta Falls is worth it. This little important sign is a welcomed addition because in the past it was sometimes tricky to find the falls.
Water fell down the 30+ foot rock wall surrounded by green moss into a deep clear pool at the foot of the falls. The downfall of visiting waterfalls during near drought conditions is that the loud cascading exciting display of water just isn’t happen-
ing. It was still pretty and the foliage was just starting to brighten. It was a pleasant walk. We enjoyed seeing the ledgy bed below the falls and, also, another fork of the brook enters just below the falls that was an open area full of large round boulders with no water running down on this day.
The path/ski trail does continue along the brook past the falls for another mile until it intersects with the Hall xc-ski trail. We decided it was best for us to head back for lunch instead of exploring the cascades any further.
We made it back across the Ellis River and we still marveled that this was possible to do and still keep our feet dry. We were glad that we did just one more thing. Have Fun.
The previous day we backpacked into the Wild River Wilderness to complete the Wild River Trail, to hike the Eagle Link to Eagle Crag and back. We hiked completed our backpack exiting the Wild River Wilderness via the East Branch Trail. Hiking to Winniwetta Falls was just one more thing for us during this redline adventure.
PATENAUDE from 32
Home Improvement
BOSAK from 13
MOFFETT from 15
at 11am. Roan Family Funeral Home in Pembroke assisted the family with arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to Bethlehem Historical Society, Attn: Claire Brown, 2182 Main St, Bethlehem, NH 03570 or online at https://bethlehemhistoricalnh.org/ donate/. Donations may also be made to Calvary Bible Church, 6 St James St, Meredith, NH 03253.
To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.roanfamilyfuneral.com
dealer. With the local sporting goods store. With a favored sorority. With a preferred local restaurant. And best of all, with a local tavern or pub.
(The drinking age was 18 at the time.)
I’m sure my agent would have generated posters of me with a basketball in one hand and a beer in the other. I’d have autographed the posters for only $5 with a portion going to charity. The autographed posters would surely have adorned many female dormitory rooms.
racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1974).
Sports Quote
“Show me the money!” football star Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) to sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire.
Sports Quiz Answer
Mark McCormack
Many homeowners can undoubtedly take a stroll through their homes and find at least one space that could be repurposed to provide more functionality. Real estate professionals know that such sentiments are not uncommon, and many point to formal dining rooms as spaces that have fallen out of favor in recent years.
HUDSON from 3 of town historian. He cherished this role and could be found researching archives in libraries, town clerks’ offices, newspapers, auctions, etc. He was also a great source of information for folks with family ties to Bethlehem, receiving phone calls and letters requesting information. The “Ghost Walks” were an annual highlight for him as he was able to share with everyone the stories of the properties along the route. This past August he was honored, along with dear friend Patsy Bonardi, to be a Grand Marshall of Bethlehem’s 250th celebration parade. Paul is survived by his daughters: Kimberly Nadeau and her husband Steve of Chichester, NH, Ta -
mara Paré and her husband Eric of Morgan, VT; his brother Ralph H. Hudson of Phoenix AZ and Stark NH; three grandchildren: Emilia Paré and her husband Cole Moser, Julia Nadeau, Sean Paré and his wife Darby; great-grandchildren, Nixon, Elijah, Kyde, Elliott and Isabelle; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his step-father: Al Reid; his mother: Katherine Norton; his sister: Eleinor Fournier; and sister-in-law: Wanda Hudson. A graveside service will be held at Maple Street Cemetery in Bethlehem on Friday, October 11, 2024 at 10am. A church service will be held at Calvary Bible Church, 6 St. James Street in Meredith on Saturday, October 12, 2024
Or maybe not. (I know my mom would have bought one!)
Dining room conversion ideas to consider
Formal dining rooms were once common in newly built homes, but the pivot toward open concept floor plans left it up to homeowners to decide if such spaces were for them. In a 2017 book published by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, authors used cameras to monitor life in many people’s homes, including how they used each room. The authors concluded that formal dining rooms were rarely used for eating. If that sounds a lot like home to many current homeowners, then it might be time to consider some ideas to convert formal dining rooms to make these spaces more functional.
• Home office: Though the percentage of professionals working remotely has dipped considerably
Hopefully all my endorsement deals wouldn’t be a distraction to the team. But if the coach benched me, I could have organized a players’ union, as recently occurred at Dartmouth.
Solidarity, ahoy!
But, alas and alack, I was born too soon, and played in what many consider a purer, more innocent era. Still, I have no regrets.
State Representative Mike Moffett was a Sports Management Professor for Plymouth State University and NHTI-Concord. He co-authored the award-winning “Fahim Speaks: Between Two Worlds: A Hollywood Actor’s Journey as a U.S. Marine Translator through Afghanistan” which is available on Amazon.com. His e-mail address is mchlmoffett@yahoo.com.
since the end of the pandemic, hybrid working is perhaps among the more lasting work-related byproducts of COVID-19. In its Global State of Remote and Hybrid study published in early 2024, the career networking resource LinkedIn noted that 13 percent of jobs posted to the platform were for hybrid positions. That means millions of workers can still utilize an accommodating home office space. A formal dining room can be converted to provide such a space, and the good news is that such a conversion need not require extensive renovations. A fresh coat of paint, an additional outlet or two and perhaps a new overhead lighting fixture can instantly transform the space at minimal cost.
And it occurs to me that there is an old photo of me with both a basketball and a beer. I wonder if it’s too late to do that poster.
• Reading room/library: Homeowners who dream of having a designated space for quiet reading can convert a little-used formal dining room into a space to curl up with a good book. Some comfortable armchairs, built-in bookshelves and perhaps an expanded floor-to-ceiling window overlooking a side or backyard can help homeowners create a home library that will be the envy of any avid reader.
WWMSD?
(What Would Matt Sluka Do?)
Sports agents should feel free to contact me.
Cheers!
Sports Quiz
with us deep into fall, but I had seen dozens of catbirds already on this walk and was hoping for something different. I turned to walk back into the woods when I noticed more movement at the top of the same burning bush. What do we have here? I asked myself as I noticed a more colorful and slightly smaller bird picking berries.
The leaves and branches finally parted enough to show a fallplumaged scarlet tanager. Awesomely bright red and jet black in the spring and summer, male scarlet tanagers molt into a more subdued, but still awesome, yellow and black plumage in the fall. After the breeding season, male scarlet tanagers resemble the females but with black wings and tail.
I must have watched this bird for a good half hour and saw him eat berry after berry. Burning bush is invasive and not native, and I wouldn’t recommend planting it, but this particular plant was busy that day with the tanager picking away at the top branches and at least two catbirds working the bottom branches.
• Studio space: If there’s a resident yogi and/or artist living under the roof, then converting a dining room into a yoga or art studio, or perhaps even a hybrid space for those who enjoy both activities, is a no-brainer. A yoga studio conversion may not require as much investment as a kitchen overhaul or bathroom renovation, but an ideal home yoga space requires more than a mat and room to stretch. The Yogapreneur Collective notes that flooring in a yoga studio should be non-slip, easily cleaned, durable, sound-absorbing, and low maintenance. The Yogapreneur Collective asserts that different flooring materials may be ideal for certain types of yoga, noting that cork flooring is a go-to choice for professional studios that offer hot yoga. Similarly, the right flooring for an art studio may depend on the artist’s preferred medium, whether it’s oil painting, arts and crafts or another artistic pursuit. But any artist knows that a floor that’s easy to clean is perhaps best for a home art studio.
Who was Arnold Palmer’s sports agent, who is credited with ushering in the modern sports agent era? (Answer follows)
Born Today
• Additional ideas: Some additional ways to repurpose a dining room include a gaming room for avid gamers, a memorabilia showcase for collectors or a pantry for foodies who love to cook but need some extra space to store ingredients and tools of the trade. If a formal dining room is only utilized on occasion, homeowners may want to consider the many ways to convert such spaces into areas that are more usable every day.
That is to say, sports standouts born on October 10 include NFL quarterback Brett Favre (1969) and auto
The scarlet tanager will migrate out of New England soon and eventually end up in South America for the winter. The catbirds will stick around a little longer. While many songbirds have already left the region, many more will be seen over the next few weeks, and they will need the berries that grow in abundance in our woods and fields. Here’s hoping you are lucky enough to catch them in action.
WHITE CHIP MACADAMIA NUT COOKIS
YIELD: 72-80 COOKIES TIME:ABOUT 75 MINUTS
The following recipe base was found online at Allrecipes.com but has been slightly modified and doubled from the original.
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups of Butter (room temp. soft)
1 ½ Cups Brown Sugar
1 ½ Cups White Sugar
4 Eggs
1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
1 tsp. Almond Extract
5 Cups AP Flour 2 tsp. Baking Soda ½ tsp. Salt (using salted butter)
1 11.5oz. Bag White Chips
1 Can Macadamia Nuts (about 3 plus cups crushed)
PREPARATION
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Beat butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time
- Add Vanilla and Almond Extracts and continue to mix.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, soda, and salt and whisk together.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until all is incorporated.
- Mix in the nuts and chips
- Drop dough by the scoop or spoonful (about the size of a pingpong ball (plus or minus) 12 to a cookie sheet about 1 ½ to 2 inches apart.
- Bake for about 9 to 10 minutes. Place dough in the refrigerator between cooking sets for thicker cookies, room temperature dough will allow the cookies to spread more. Allow finished cookies to rest on the sheet pan for two minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
FEAST from 17 laid on the living room floor idly petting her pair of large Staffordshire ceramic Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Our grandfather passed away sometime in the mid 1950’s when my mother was in her mid teens.
Gramma, being the frugal NewEnglander, sold their beautiful, stately, well preserved but aging colonial with several outbuildings in Hampton Falls. Mother and daughter moved to a much more modest and modern ranch style home in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Exeter. With the sale of the home and much of the period furnishings executed, the two of them settled into their new home and a new way of life.
Being the wife of a
prominent businessman who kept a tight rein on the finances, both at work and at home, my grandmother, the dutiful homemaker, was no stranger to having to pinch pennies and make due between allowances. Her formative years were spent in a time and place where money was tight. She met a man who was set to inherit the family monument business, and as the 20’s roared, we are told, so did their lifestyle. But all good times must come to an end and by the 1930’s the life of these two thirty-somethings was no longer all “Champagne and Roses” hence the tight fist on the finances. How fortunate the only two absolutes in this life are death and taxes, making the monument
most time with her. My brother did nothing to increase his odds on favor when, at the tender age of four, according to my father (no great fan of my grandmother), “your brother sank his fangs into the right cheek of your grandmother’s posterior while she was bent over to retrieve something out of a cupboard.” The details as to why such a heinous infraction of etiquette was breached are left to speculation as it was before my time. There was no questioning of the accused as there were plenty of witnesses for the prosecution. And, all parties have long since departed from this realm.
Fast forward some fifty years and we find ourselves reminiscing over White Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies, a delicious combina -
tion indeed. Not sure if it is the white chips and nuts alone? Or perhaps it is the combination of Vanilla and Almond extracts that stand out or at least lend themselves handily to the mix? Or maybe it is just the whole kit and kaboodle when mixed together that combines into a winner of a cookie. Regardless of what it is that sets this cookie apart, what I can tell you is that at first I was a skeptic with a hot cookie right off the pan. I could not
see what the author of the initial recipe saw in these cookies. But once cooled, these White Chip Macadamia Nut cookies took on a different flavor. A flavor that only intensified over the next twenty-four hours to become a key in unlocking a cerebral Simple Feast. Enjoy!
business a necessity for all but those buried in a potter’s field. Life as a widow with a young daughter in a new house came with more change for my grandmother. Soon, she went to work as a secretary for several years before reaching the age of mandatory retirement. Through proper management of her finances and modest investments she was able to provide a comfortable life for her and her daughter, keep a spotless home, and still, from time to time, indulge in some of her hobbies: gardening, painting, and cooking among them. Eventually she became a grandmother to three, my sister, the middle child and only girl, was by far my grandmother’s favorite and spent the
houses. Between 2016 and 2019, the company sold 138 homes. They didn’t give any money back to the original homeowners.
Uri Rafaeli, a retired engineer, accidentally underpaid his property taxes because he didn’t add interest on his debt. His math was off by just $8.41.
But Oakland County bureaucrats didn’t care. They foreclosed and sold his house for $24,500. The county kept all that money, not just $8.41.
“You think if he knew he owed $8, he would have paid it?” Martin says. “Of course. He didn’t know. There wasn’t the proper incentive to let him know.”
Sixty-seven-yearold Deborah Foss fell behind on property taxes. She owed New Bedford, Massachusetts $9,626. Bureaucrats sold her house for $242,000 and kept the difference. Foss resorted to living in her car.
The Pacific Legal Foundation appealed these home thefts and finally won at the Supreme Court. The court ruled 9-0 that the practice is unconstitutional.
“You only take what you’re owed,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Finally. Justice.
Except the county that stole Tawanda Hall’s house still won’t return the excess mon-
ey. They’re spending more taxpayer money on legal fees, demanding that Hall prove the house’s value in court.
At least the woman living in her car got $85,000 back. She is no longer homeless.
I wish I could say such abuses are over, but a handful of states still use loopholes to get around the Supreme Court ruling.
The Pacific Legal Foundation says they will continue to sue until towns end this practice for good.
Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom.
has grown far weaker The Iranian regime is unpopular; its military has proved itself ineffectual in anything but quashing its own citizenry and facilitating the death of civilians in Iraq and Syria; its terror proxies have f--ed around and found out. And the region will be better off for it. All of which should remind the West of a simple principle: there is no substitute for victory. Peace results from the credible threat of use of overwhelming force, not from empty words around glossy tables. A strong and more confident West makes for a better and more prosperous world.
Ben Shapiro’s new collection, “Facts and Furious: The Facts About America and Why They Make Leftists Furious,” is available now. Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a threetime New York Times bestselling author. To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com
THE CLASSIFIEDS
created Armageddon type predictions for a wider Middle East war which would directly include Iran.
In a rare but significant sermon, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Iran’s Supreme Leader stressed that his country’s missile strikes on Israel were “correct, logical, and lawful.” He told a vast crowd gathered in Tehran, these were the “minimum punishment” for what he called Israel’s “astonishing crimes.”
Yet the aging Ayatollah sits on a domestic powder keg in his own teetering Islamic Republic.
Brilliant surgical Israeli attacks on Hezbollah have decapitated its leadership and decimated the fighters but have predictably spilled over into neighboring Lebanon, a nominally independent once prosperous land shared by Christians and Muslims, since politically hijacked by Hezbollah.
But after Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s elusive kingpin Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, the conflict entered a new phase. Lebanon exploded. Israeli ground forces went into southern Lebanon while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps attacked Israel with 200 ballistic missiles.
Western states have pressed for de-escalation. The UN Security Council called for an “immediate end” to hostilities, but to little avail.
The UN Security Council has become immersed in the Mideast crisis, and deadlocked along predictably political lines. Yet the enduring Palestine political conflict has placed the United States on the diplo -
matic back foot as widening global sympathy for the “Palestinian cause” has gone beyond the usual suspects and now encompasses both the Global South, and even many close American allies such as France, Japan, Ireland and Spain who backed a nonbinding General Assembly resolution demanding Israel end its “unlawful presence” in the “Occupied Palestinian territory.”
Currently there are major conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and the ongoing strife in Syria.
Now Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on Israel have upped the ante and taken the crisis closer to the brink. Secretary General Guterres condemned the “massive missile attacks by Iran on Israel. These attacks paradoxically do nothing to support the cause of the Palestinian people or reduce their suffering.”
Beyond its notable humanitarian roles, UN policies seem marginalized as too does the lame duck Biden Administration.
The world is beset by a swirl of crises and calamities, many of which we have yet to discover.
John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of Divided Dynamics
The Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China.
in 2022, the suicide rate among men was four times higher than among women. However, an apparent counterfactual to all this is the rate of incidence of depression, as reported by Gallup.
Per Gallup, the incidence of reported depression in the United States is at an all-time high. In 2023, 17.8% of Americans reported currently being depressed or being treated for depression. This compared to 10.5% in 2015. Twenty-nine percent reported having been treated for depression at some time in their life. This compared to 19.6% in 2015.
However, the percentage of women reporting in 2023 to be depressed or being treated for depression, 23.8%, is double that of men, 11.3%. Further, the percent of women reporting depression or being treated for depression was 6.2 points higher in 2023 than in 2017, compared to an increase among men of 2 points.
What conclusions might be drawn from all of this?
Americans, overall, are stressed out in increasing numbers. Even though women are doing better than men coping materially in our country’s increasingly hedonistic society, it’s not working for them spiritually.
Women are hardwired, at least in the short run, to materially cope better than men in a spiritual vacuum. Men need the responsibility that comes with meaning, and most often, the source of meaning is marriage, family and religion. The declining appreciation for the impor-
tance of faith is taking a disproportionate toll among men.
But beyond all this, the data points to one important conclusion, simple and obvious, but increasingly obfuscated in our very confused, politically correct society of today.
Men and woman are different.
Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” Her recent book, “What Is the CURE for America?” is available now. To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
dastardly, dismal and demonic lives of their ruling class!
Most appallingly and ghastly, the Western medical, corporate and political establishments remain cowardly silent in the face of this unparalleled, heinous religious persecution. The silence from these elites is deafening and complicit, just as the media tolerated Hitler’s extermination of the Jews, Gypsies and Christians. While the House of Representatives passed the “Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act”, the cowardly Senate has failed to consider this Bill.
The CCP denies murdering Falon Gong and Christians for organ transplantation. China accepts no questions. The CCP openly intimidates professionals who raise the issue, and the records of Chinese prisons and hospitals are completely closed off. The CCP undermines the appearance of “Doctors Against Forced
Organ Harvesting” and “China Organ Harvest Research Center” in the United States by financially blackmailing seminar sponsors. Unfortunately, “The American Transplant Congress” kowtows to the CCP organ harvesting.
Do not take my word for this horrendous CCP conduct!
The Epoch Times has published numerous articles detailing the CCP’s slaughter of Falon Gong members to harvest their organs for the CCP elite. CCP money silenced our Media and the U S Senate.
