TL;DR – I spent the weekend at an 18th century fort, and learned a bit about what I don’t know.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to present at one of our local 18th century forts. I had a blast, and I got wonderful feedback from the people who came to visit. I was there to do a cooking demonstration, as well as to give people a bit of an idea about what it was like to live in a fort during the French and Indian War. I was set up in the “big house,” or rather the commander’s quarters, along with my partner. We arrived early on Friday afternoon, knowing we’d need to get a good fire going before the sun went down. I wouldn’t say I went into it ignorant, but I really had no idea what I was in for. I had prepared myself mentally for being cold, as the fort is not only without electricity, heat, or running water, it’s also drafty and has a standard 18th century chimney with the flue that yanks all the hot air out. Intellectually, I knew what it was going to be like, and I was more than aware that the night was going to be down to 11F. Intellect does not prepare you for reality, let me just say.

What did I bring with me? Well, I didn’t skimp when it came to modern underpinnings. I had on modern, good quality waffle weave long underwear, and merino wool socks. I had felt slippers that I wore while inside the house, and my modern hiking boots when outside (I don’t yet have appropriate period-accurate footwear for winter use). For at night, I enjoyed snuggling into my military sleep system. I use a British style military folding cot (like this one) which I cover with sheepskins. Over those, I lay a doubled woolen blanket, then my sleep system, and then a nice, thick woolen US Army blanket, regulation green. The temperature inside the house hovered around freezing overnight, possibly a bit below, but not enough to freeze our water jugs through. Outside, it was well below the freezing point, something I was keenly aware of when I had to take the long, brisk walk to the outhouse. I had a cloak to toss over myself, though by mid-day Saturday, I had acclimated to the temperature and didn’t need it.

I was wearing several layers of period correct kit during the day. Over my modern long underwear, I had on a wool chemise with long sleeves, a long sleeve linen dress, a very large kerchief that covered most of my upper body (it’s the black and white check thing you can see at my neck in the picture), and then my bedgown (the red “blouse” I have on). I also had on a thick woolen petticoat and a warm cotton one over top, and then my red checked apron. I enjoyed wearing my fingerless gloves to keep my hands from getting overly cold (though I did a poor job of that). On my head, I wore either my cap (see picture), or a woolen hat, depending on whether I was inside or out. We very carefully closed the kitchen off and stayed there the entire weekend. We set up our cots at night, and stashed them away in a staff-only area during the day. It’s easier to heat a single room. That house would have been impossible to keep warm. As it was, with the fire blazing all day (a totally “white man’s fire” as my partner says), we managed to keep the kitchen in the 40s. Livable, but chilly. Luckily, the fort provides the firewood for us. We went through about a half cord of wood, I’m guessing, just in the three days we were there. We didn’t skimp. Unlike our 18th century ancestors, we do not have brown fat to keep us warm on cold winter nights. My partner has almost no fat at all, and I just have the regular kind. LOL!

Read More

TCK, one of the responders on my post about Democratic Candidates for President, made this comment:

The only thing Trump did wrong was not marching soulless inhuman demonrat filth into mass graves where it belongs.

My response was a simple, “Not cool.” I felt that anything I had said in response would put me in danger of being seen as “the dick” that we mostly try to avoid. I want to talk about why this comment bothers me so much.

My kneejerk response was of this:

There are lots of ways for us to express ourselves. Some I find distasteful, and I just walk away. You guys like to swear a lot more than I do, and use invectives that I think are inappropriate. They do not, however, come even close to the line of, “Don’t be a dick.” Whether TCK intended it or not, the words they used immediately brought images to mind of people being marched into mass graves… or into ovens. With current political climes being what they are, the thought seized my brain. Hence, not cool. So very not cool.

But WHY is it not cool? Why isn’t that statement one I just walk away from, like so many others? After all, I didn’t even flinch over “demorats,” which is something that normally makes me cringe (as you regulars know so well). It’s because I have come to love this place. I talk here about things I can’t talk about anywhere else. I learn from you, and I get the impression that you all learn from me, even when (or perhaps especially when) we disagree.

I worry that this type of comment, quoted in a public forum elsewhere, is enough to get GFZ tossed on the burn pile, banned on places like Google, and avoided even by good quality Right folk. The implication of killing off the competition, the innuendo that leads one to think of concentration camps and death to everything Not Us, is a big deal in the States right now. I will be very honest, and say that I really don’t want to be associated with a site that doesn’t find that kind of implication offensive.

It’s a random comment, probably made off the cuff. I doubt TCK intended to give the impression that they wanted to actually murder anyone not of their belief. But I don’t KNOW. Their follow up response didn’t make it any more clear, to me at least. And so I’m left wondering. Is TCK actually suggesting that we should commit genocide against people who don’t agree with the Right? Are they saying that we should kill those who label themselves Left or Democrat? Or was it a figure of speech, done to evoke an emotional response?

Why does it matter? For some who come to this site, it really doesn’t. This is one of a handful of places you visit, and what people on the outside think doesn’t matter at all. While I don’t care if people think I’m posting to an alt-right site (hell, maybe I am… the definition is so shifty that one can barely tell), I DO care if people think I’m posting to a pro-Nazi site, or a place that advocates for unnecessary violence against any who disagree with a political view.

I don’t even care so much for myself, per se. I care because it’s the kind of thing that gets you banned in so many other places. I do go to FB and TikTok and Instagram and those other sites, for a variety of reasons. I sometimes carry out messages and quotes from GFZ because they are so insightful that I feel like they must be shared (with proper attribution of course). If I can’t do that, if this becomes another insular community with no ability to interact with the rest of the internet, then it loses so much of what makes it special.

Does this mean I think we need to cowtow to the public? Not entirely. I try not to get my panties in a wad over too much. The few times I’ve had issues, I’ve walked away. Until this one. This one I brought up to AWA because I thought it had gone over the line, and I was looking for guidance. What he said is between he and I, but he suggested I write about it, and so I have.

I don’t want to kill those who don’t believe as I do. I don’t want to associate with those who do believe that. I don’t want to censure those who believe differently. I want, in fact, to learn from people of differing beliefs. It’s the only way for me to grow. When I talk to most of you, I feel a door is opened. I may or may not like what’s on the other side, but it’s an open door, and you graciously allow me to learn from you. TCK slammed a door in my face, figuratively speaking, and denied me (or anyone else) a view of what lay beyond. What was left was … well, the picture I posted above, quite frankly. An open door would have been much better, because it would have left space for questioning, for learning, for expanding knowledge. Now, though, I’m left muttering to myself.

It’s the kind of commentary that makes me want to walk away. That puts me in a crap position, because I really don’t WANT to walk away. But I find myself questioning whether it’s safe. If that makes any sense. sigh

Hagar the Frustrated

One of the topics that was suggested I write about was the idea of who was running on the Left. Here’s what I found out.

Joe Biden

He’s the sitting president. I’m not a fan. I firmly and sincerely believe that he has some form of dementia, and that his current use by others as a puppet amounts to elder abuse. I’m not joking, and it’s not snickering. While I didn’t like him before, I thought he was relatively well spoken and somewhat amusing. Today, I am concerned that having him as a sitting president makes me an abuser. For real. Whatever platform he’s running on, Biden is not actually actively a part of it. He’s a figurehead, and at this point, not even really that. I could outline that platform, but I don’t feel the need. It’s more of the same that we’ve already had, and we all know it’s not a good plan.

Marianne Williamson

She ran in 2020, but didn’t get far. She’s far Left in her words. She specifically wants “free” college, “free” healthcare, “free” childcare. She also wants a “living” minimum wage. I know that’s a lot of quotation marks, but I really don’t think she understands what the word “free” means. None of those things are OR CAN be free. The people providing the services have to be paid. That money has to come from somewhere. And a minimum wage that is country wide will never work because of the economic disparity between the various states (for instance, $9 an hour is enough to live on in many parts of the South, but isn’t even enough to get a nice box for under the motorway in New York). She talks much about “…ending the unjust system…” (from her video on her website). She does have a handful of decent ideas, such as giving corporations less power, but they’re so scattered that they simply are not viable.

Dean Phillips

He appears to be Biden Mark II. His big statement is he agrees with most of Biden’s policies, but Biden said he’d be a “transitional president” and step down after one term. Since Biden hasn’t done that, he’s standing up. He spends most of his videos talking about how other Dems don’t like him for rocking the boat or challenging Biden. Like all Dems, he wants universal health care and a minimum wage that pays well. He wants to “fix” the cost of living (but has no definitive plan on how to actually do that). He wants to cut military overreach, though I’m not really sure what that means. Basically he wants to audit them, and says that fixing the military is “simple.” He wants to reform education, but thinks that doing so is achieved by paying more to teachers. He doesn’t talk about any other ideas for reforming education; it’s all just because teachers are underpaid.

That’s it. That’s the whole Democratic field. Biden, who we already have ample experience with to know he’s bad for the country. Williamson, who is even more Left than Biden, and is also 74 years old. And Phillips, who is all pumped up and younger (54), but really has no idea about things. If I had to vote for someone on the Left, I’d vote for Phillips, only because he’s not as extreme as Williamson, and hopefully his handlers would be able to talk some sense into him.

I wish there was a strong Left candidate. I really do. I am firmly of the opinion that Trump, while not the demon the Dems would paint him as, would do more harm than good to the country if he were re-elected. I don’t think it’s the right thing to do for the United States of America, even if my beliefs aligned perfectly with his. He’s too polarizing, and I fear that it would cause an even larger schism. Because of the cult of personality that’s developed around him (both positive AND negative, btw), he cannot effectively lead. He would be stymied at every turn. When I look at the Left field, though, there is no one who could carry the country right now.

It’s been a while since I looked at Left runners for President. The last decent runner was Hilary Clinton. Not because I like her, because I do not, but because she’d at least have been effective. That’s part of what scared me so much about her, quite frankly. She would have made a difference, and it probably would have been a horrendously bad difference. But she’d at least have done it on purpose, and with her intellect intact. Biden doesn’t have that. If he wins, it’ll be only a micron less divisive than if Trump won, and the country will go down the shitter.

So there you have it. A “more left” view of the Left candidates.

TLDR: They all suck.

Hi everyone!

I want to apologize for not being on in the past… (looks at the editor, swears softly)… month. I’ve been ill, and during the last 2.5 weeks, I’ve pretty much been unable to see to type thanks to a sinus infection. I’m much better now (thank you, modern medicine!), and hope to get posting some juicy stuff in the near future.

Is there anything that you’d like commentary on? I can think of several topics I could touch on… Presidential candidates, current TikTok/Social Media bull cookies going around, education in America, the war in the Ukraine, the war in Gaza, etc. Are there any topics you’d like a more left-leaning point of view about?

Blessings of the season to all of you, and may you have quiet and peaceful holidays and holy days.

Hagar

There’s so much going on with kids right now. I’ve had numerous conversations at the dinner and breakfast table, with friends, when out and about, about the state of children, and what’s going on in schools.

Kids are being insane at schools. There are children who are so badly behaved that they are holding entire schools hostage because of that behavior. Be it throwing rocks at cars and breaking windshields, wrecking classrooms by tossing around desks, or biting teachers and swearing incessantly, it’s 100% out of control. I often comment that these brats could use a good beating, but of course I don’t mean it the way it comes out. Unfortunately, I’m also very strongly of the opinion that I’m right.

Teachers are no longer allowed to touch students. They have to get permission slips to hug kids or hold their hands in the hallways. Recently, a teacher got written up by HR because she walked her (IEP “low” intelligence/skill) kids to the bathroom and waited for them to take them back to class. Never mind that at least two of her students had that very accommodation in their IEPs. I know of a teacher who, in a fit of absolute desperation, took a picture of a child doing something bad and threatened to tell the parents about it. The TEACHER was written up, and had to go to a mandatory meeting with her union rep, and all that stuff. It was seen only as “threatening the child”, and not as anything positive. I kid you not. There’s a reason that teachers are leaving the classrooms en masse. At this point, our school district has unlicensed people in doing teaching, because they cannot find the staff.

Read More

A long time ago, AWA and I were talking about gun rights. Keeping in mind that I am originally from Canada, and therefore have some canalized thinking about firearms that harken back to those days, I was shocked to hear that he was okay with people getting back their guns coming out of jail.

I want to unpack this, because being a convert to 2A stuff, I think I have an interesting view on it. Perhaps my process will help you understand the Left a little more.

I grew up in a place where guns were considered terrifying. Only the police had guns, and guns were considered something only criminals would have. While there were hunters up north, where I lived in the suburban areas it was considered “odd” to own a gun, even if you had some need for one. This was pushed onto us, brainwashed into us from an early age.

To give you an idea of how much it messes with you, I’ll share a story. When I was a young adult, I went to live with my Hungarian grandparents to help take care of them. I had a kid at the time, and a boyfriend. I took care of them until they became unable to function at all, and were a danger to themselves and others, at which point I found a wonderful home for them where many of their friends were, and the kitchen staff allowed my grandmother to continue cooking. As I was cleaning the house up and out after they left, I ran across my grandfather’s gun. My boyfriend (who was from Michigan originally) told me it was a 22, but I honestly have no idea. It was packed in this dense, icky stuff which I now am pretty sure was cosmoline or something similar. It was behind the washer and dryer, in a spot where no one would have ever found it had I not been moving furniture around.

Read More

Every once in a while, AWA and I, and sometimes others, get into conversations about charity. On Sunday, I went to pick up a (lightly) used recumbent bike for my hubby, and the person we got it from was obviously well off. The grounds were fenced in tasteful stone, with carvings of animals romping on top, and the land itself was meticulously well kept. The gentleman was older, and he’d apparently purchased the bike for his wife, who was now disabled and unable to use it. He wanted it to go to someone who would get good use of it. We took it, very thankful because it was much needed, and we can’t afford such luxuries.

This is the way the Right handles charity. They give personally. They give to people they can see for themselves are needy in some way. They tend to give to specific people, and to registered charities that they know are doing good in areas that they care about. Think Salvation Army and various church groups.

The Left often accuses the Right of not caring, and not giving. That’s never been my understanding. I see those on the Right (even the ones I consider to be “far right wing nuts”) consistently giving to those in need. They give at a community level, so they can see their dollars at work. They give it during disasters, en masse.

The Left does give to charity, it’s true. Most will help a close friend in need, if pressed. But mostly, they want to give in very anonymous ways. They give to charities directly off their payroll, so they don’t see it or feel it. They give at the government level, so they don’t have to hand it over out of their cash on hand. It’s impersonal.

Obviously this is an over generalization of the situation, but it’s something I see time and again. The Left get SO upset over what they see as the Right “not giving and not caring” and I’ve never understood that. They do give, lots. Americans as a whole tend to give a lot, and the mix of the impersonal Left and the very personal Right seems to work.

The only part that I have real issues with is when charity becomes something more, something not just accepted when necessary, but demanded. The Right is very good at giving a “hand up” most of the time, and a lot of that (IMO) comes from the fact that they want to see and interact with the people who are getting the money or goods. The Left, being more hands-off in their approach, seem to see it all as “someone else’s money” and therefore easy to throw away.

I remember going to an LDS cannery to pick up some canned long-term storage items some years ago. When we were there, their minister (not the right term but I don’t actually know the right one) was there to meet with a young couple. It seems the young couple had come in for help (which is fine… that’s why they have their internal charity), but then hadn’t moved to get OFF the help. The hand up had turned into a hand out, and the minister wasn’t having any of it.

That is how charity should work. No one at an upper government level has even the faintest clue whether I actually need money or not. But Bob down the street has at least a clue, because he sees me at the store, counting change to put gas in my car. Bob knows I volunteer and do things for the town, to make up for what I take. (This is hypothetical, by the by; I am not on the dole at this point in my life, but I have been.)

I don’t think that it’s wrong to want your charity donations to just disappear out of your check. If that’s how you want to give, go for it. I’m glad you’re giving. Me, I want to see the people I’m giving it to. That’s just me. I like to know that my money isn’t being used to pay someone’s overhead salary instead of for food for the widowed mother down the road. But there’s room for both types of giving. Giving is good, for body and soul.