ELEMENTS OF A EUROPEAN BARD

Education, Entertainment, Equine, History, Military 5 Minutes

I’ll bet you didn’t know what ‘barding’ meant either!!! I saw something on Antiques Roadshow about a headpiece for a horse and it caught my interest. In some ways, this also parallels my etymology series, after a fashion. So, without further ado…..

Barding (also spelled bard) is body armour for war horses. The practice of armoring horses was first extensively developed in antiquity in the eastern kingdoms of Parthia and Pahlava. After the conquests of Alexander the Great, it likely made its way into European military practices via the Seleucid Empire and later Byzantine Empire. Though its historical roots lie in antiquity in the regions of what was once the Persian Empire, barded horses have become a symbol of the late European Middle Ages chivalry and the era of knights.

A museum display of a 16th century knight with an armoured horse

During the Late Middle Ages, as armour protection for knights became more effective, their mounts became targets. This vulnerability was exploited by the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn in the 14th century, when horses were killed by the infantry, and by the English at the Battle of Crécy in the same century where long-bowmen shot horses and the then-dismounted French knights were killed by heavy infantry. Barding developed as a response to such events.

Examples of armour for horses could be found as far back as classical antiquity. Cataphracts, with scale armour for both rider and horse, are believed by many historians to have influenced the later European knights, via contact with the Byzantine Empire.

Example of Cataphract

There are a number of bits and pieces that make up the barding. The chanfron (also spelled chaffron, chamfron, champion, chamfron, chamfrein, champron, and shaffron) was designed to protect the horse’s face. Sometimes this included hinged cheek plates. A decorative feature common to many chanfrons is a rondel with a small spike.

A chanfron made in Italy in the early 16th century

The chanfron was known as early as ancient Greece, but vanished from use in Europe until the twelfth century when metal plates replaced boiled leather as protection for war horses. The basic design of the chanfron remained stable until it became obsolete in the seventeenth century, although late examples are often notable for engraved decoration. A chanfron extended from the horse’s ears to its muzzle. Flanges often covered the eyes. In an open chanfron, the eyes received no protection. Hinged extensions to cover the jowls were commonly used for jousting tournaments.

Torrs Pony-cap, as displayed in 2011 The enigmatic Torrs pony-cap from Scotland appears to be a bronze chanfron from about the 2nd century BC, perhaps later fitted with the bronze horns found with it.”

The criniere (also known as manefaire or crinet) was a set of segmented plates that protected the horse’s neck. In full barding this consisted of two combinations of articulated lames that pivoted on loose rivets. One set of lames covered the mane and the other covered the neck. These connected to the peytral and the chanfron.

Light barding used only the upper lames. Three straps held the crinet in place around the neck. It is thought that thin metal was used for these plates, perhaps 0.8 mm. Mail armour was often affixed to the crinet and wrapped about the horse’s neck for additional protection.

Fragments of a set of armour with a criniere (protecting neck), peytral (protecting chest), and the croupiere (protecting hind quarters). This set was created by Lorenz Helmschmied and Konrad Ssusenhoffer for Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and later also used by his son Maximilian I.

The croupiere (also crupiere bacul or crupper) protected the horse’s hind quarters. It could be made from any combination of leather, mail, or plate armour.

The flanchards, used to protect the flank, attached to the side of the saddle, then around the front or rear of the horse and back to the saddle again. These appear to have been metal plates riveted to leather or in some cases cuir bouilli armour (which is boiled or treated leather sealed with beeswax or the like).

(Boiled leather, often referred to by its French translation, cuir bouilli, was a historical material common in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period and used for various purposes. It was leather that had been treated so that it became tough and rigid, as well as able to hold a mold.)

They sometimes had openings designed to allow the rider to use spurs.

Barding was often used in conjunction with cloth covers known as caparisons. These coverings sometimes covered the entire horse from nose to tail and extended to the ground. It is unclear from period illustrations how much metal defensive covering was used in conjunction. Textile covers may also be called barding.

(This 15th-century depiction of a tournament shows fully caparisoned horses, from Le Livre des tournois by Barthelemy d’Eyck.)

Another commonly included feature of barding was protection for the reins, so they could not be cut. This could be metal plates riveted to them or chainmail linked around them.

The full bard is a “complete ensemble of horse armour,” created for Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, by master armourers from Augsburg and Innsbruck like Lorenz Helmschmied and Konrad Seusenhofer. The development of the full bard was also connected with the development of Maximilian armour and the Landsknecht (all three arose from the time Maximilian was in Burgundian Netherlands), as both human and equine combatants required more and more protection. But the full bard was expensive and only the richest knights could afford it.

(Albrecht May, Master-of-Arms, entering Namur, riding a horse wearing his master Maximilian I’s bard in 1480. The bard is crafted by Lorenz Helmschmied. The female figure is likely Mary of Burgundy, the contemporary ruler of the Burgundian State and wife of Maximilian, holding the combined heraldry of Austria and Burgundy.)

(Maximilian I on an armored horse, ca. 1575)

A cataphract was a cavalryman in full armour riding an (partially or fully) armoured horse. This type of cavalry originated from central Asia and was adopted by the eastern satrapies of the ancient Persian Empire. The Seleucid cataphract used scale armour for its flexibility and effective protection against archers and also because unlike regular metal types, it was not too heavy for the horses.

(Taq-e Bostan: equestrian statue of Khosrow II as a cataphract)

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Published by NebraskaFilly

Army veteran (1976-1979), retired with entirely too much time on my hands

Published

172 thoughts on “ELEMENTS OF A EUROPEAN BARD”

  1. Morning All!
    very interesting Filly!
    I thought a bard was a poet…lol
    i do have questions for you: are the horses okay with all these accessories? and you mentioned “war horses” –does that refer to a certain breed? or can any horse carry such armor with ease? (it seems like it would be so heavy to me)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly recommend it! The horse in Gladiator was an Andalusian.

      “I recently watched the movie “Warhorse” with my grandchildren for the tenth time, and it made me wonder about horse breeds that participated in warfare. So I decided to research some great warriors and the horse breeds they used.

      Warfare tactics evolved over the centuries, and so did horses. The breeds used to build empires range from lightweight horses like the Arabian, Barb, and Akhal-Teke to heavy horses such as the Percheron and Friesian.

      Most of us don’t think of horses as warriors, but they are. Horses’ influence in wars helped shape the world as we know it today. The breeds used in battle had characteristics that made them uniquely apt for warfare.”

      https://horseracingsense.com/horse-breeds-used-warfare/

      Liked by 1 person

      1. ok, ignoring the weight issue, are there breeds that will accept getting all dressed up–even if it’s lace and bells? better than others?
        I guess I’m not phrasing it right.
        or is it a horse by horse thing.
        like my friend could put her cat in any type of costume and the cat tolerated it. but my son’s first cat wanted no part of that and destroyed anything they tried to put on him…

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Liked by 1 person

  7. Citizen 817
    January 30, 2023 12:29 am

    First Lawsuit Filed Against FDA for Withholding Dreadful Vaccine Safety Data

    Since the start of the COVID pandemic, the FDA has acted like a proxy for Big Pharma and blocked effective treatments for the virus while at the same time approving dangerous and ineffective COVID vaccines.

    The FDA lied about Ivermectin and later lied that they lied about Ivermectin.

    The FDA ignored the thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of reported hospitalizations linked to the experimental COVID vaccines.

    The FDA did not protect the US public.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/boom-first-lawsuit-filed-fda-withholding-dreadful-vaccine-safety-analyses/

    Like

    2. 01/26/23 • COVID › NEWS

      “CHD Sues FDA to Obtain Documents Related to VAERS Reports on COVID Vaccine Injuries, Deaths — Children’s Health Defense today filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to obtain documents related to the agency’s safety monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines through the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System database.

      EXCERPT: “Children’s Health Defense (CHD) today filed a lawsuit in D.C. Federal Court against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain documents related to the agency’s safety monitoring of the COVID-19 vaccines through the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) database.

      The lawsuit alleges the FDA violated provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by refusing to provide key analysis of reports in the vaccine safety database. CHD submitted the FOIA request in July 2022. The FDA claimed the records sought are fully exempt from disclosure under FOIA because they are part of internal and intra-agency memoranda that include opinions and discussions protected by law, and because the records include discussions of legal and policy matters protected by attorney-client privilege.

      Mary Holland, CHD president and general counsel, took issue with the FDA’s position. “The public must have truthful, complete information about the risks and benefits of these drugs, and others,” Holland told The Defender.

      FDA analyzes VAERS data but doesn’t make its results public —

      The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA jointly administer VAERS, a database that allows healthcare professionals and others to file reports about vaccine-related injuries. While reports don’t prove causality, the CDC considers VAERS to be a key “early warning system” for detecting unusual or unexpected patterns of adverse event reporting that can signal safety problems with a vaccine.

      According to the co-sponsored VAERS’ “Standard Operating Procedures for COVID-19,” dated January 2021, the CDC and the FDA would coordinate monitoring for “potential new safety concerns for COVID-19 vaccines” by performing routine VAERS surveillance.”

      https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/chd-lawsuit-fda-vaers-covid-vaccine-injuries-deaths/

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Citizen 817
    January 30, 2023 12:31 am

    @DC_Draino

    11h
    George Floyd & Tyre Nichols both died in Democrat cities

    with Democrat Police Chiefs

    Democrat Mayors

    Democrat City Councils

    and Democrat Congressmen

    Yet Dems are saying this is white supremacy?!

    No, this is another tragic example of *Democrats* destroying black communities

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Lawfare – As Discussed on the Tom Renz Show

    Tom Renz
    36 min ago

    EXCERPT: “So this Substack is a bit of a cheat. It is a direct adaptation/copy of my show description from my Tom Renz Show on the America Out Loud network that posted on January 27, 2023 (listen here). I am reposting this here because I think this is one of the most important shows I’ve done. Winning the fight for American freedom requires we take a different approach. It isn’t just law, it is lawfare. That is why I am doing the show and all the other “non-lawyer” things I do (radio show, podcast, http://www.TomRenz.com, etc).

    Call me a hill-billy, ignorant, or whatever you want, the risks of losing this fight are far too high for me to take half-measures. We are already seeing the issues with people “dying suddenly,” election fraud continues, and things are moving ahead with CBDC and other issues. If we want to win, everyone needs to participate and understand how to fight. You may not like the fight but fighting is not a pleasant thing. Despite it being glorified in Hollywood, a real fight for freedom like we are undertaking is ugly and, if we lose, we lose our freedom.”

    https://tomrenz.substack.com/p/lawfare-as-discussed-on-the-tom-renz

    Liked by 1 person

  13. “AI Chatbots: A nightmare of epic proportions — I came across a Twitter ad for an “AI Chatbot” app that’s disturbing: it’s been downloaded 10M+ times already. These apps represent a new, dangerous covert vector for influence OPs and mind control.”

    CognitiveCarbon
    10 hr ago

    EXCERPT: “I’ve been wanting to write this post about AI chatbots for some time, and today is the day. Today’s post is not directly about ChatGPT, which you may have recently heard about, but about something else: something alarming that we need to become aware of, be vigilant about.

    In case you have been out of the loop, a quick overview: ChatGPT is a new AI model that is making significant strides forward—it is appearing to demonstrate signs of rudimentary “intelligence”, at least in the eyes of some observers.

    The recent chatter about ChatGPT makes today’s topic even more immediately relevant and timely, which is what prompted me to finish writing it.

    I’ll write more about what ChatGPT is really doing (and what it isn’t) in another future post; but for now, at least be aware of this: recent news headlines claim that the AI that underlies ChatGPT can potentially pass (with mediocre marks; but still pass!) licensing exams for Medical Boards, the Bar Exam, and MBA exams.”

    https://cognitivecarbon.substack.com/p/ai-chatbots-a-nightmare-of-epic-proportions

    Liked by 1 person

  21. President Trump was SOOOOOOO RIGHT! they are not sending their best…
    FTA
    OAKLAND COUNTY, MI – On Wednesday, Julian Antonio Pinedo, 18, was arrested after he reportedly stabbed a 14-year-old girl he met on social media. He attacked the young girl after she refused to have sex with him, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

    Upon responding to the victim’s home in the 6000 block of N. Bay in Springfield Township, deputies discovered the girl lying on the floor, suffering from multiple stab wounds to her back and abdomen.

    Her younger sibling was asleep in the home at the time of the attack, according to court documents.

    Pinedo fled the scene before deputies arrived, but was caught a short time after midnight.

    He traveled from Illinois to have sex with the girl.

    The victim was taken to a local hospital, where she remains in critical condition.

    https://www.illegalaliencrimereport.com/post/illegal-alien-who-stabbed-14-year-old-girl-in-michigan-met-victim-on-facebook

    Liked by 1 person

      1. just cause he traveled there to have sex with her, doesn’t mean that was HER intention. he could have said he was a 14 yr old too and wanted to meet to be friends…he could have lied about everything–who he was, where he lived, his age, his interests…
        kids are all over social media these days…

        Liked by 1 person

  22. The thread unroll app is apparently not working on Twitter – someone else put it together….this goes back to 2014, when Victoria Nuland was busy, busy, busy overthrowing Ukraine!

    1) Now that I have everyone’s attention, allow me to address why US establishment politicians are sending tanks, jets, weapons, equipment, and $100+ billion to Ukraine.

    It has nothing to do with Ukrainian citizens, and everything to do with Deep State assets/secrets in Ukraine.

    https://en.rattibha.com/thread/1619886316371726341

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Good grief! MN has gone off the fricking cliff!!!! They’ve just passed THE most extreme pro-abortion policy in the country! Abortion right up to full-term!!! Every single attempt to modify it was voted down – even requiring that late-term abortions be done in a hospital for the safety of the mother!!!! It’s now gone to the governor for signature…..

    “Minnesota Senate passes abortion bill opponents call ‘most extreme’ in nation — Abortion rights advocates said Minnesota bill is necessary to make it more difficult for a judge to erode abortion rights in the future”

    EXCERPT: “After 15 hours of contentious debate, the Minnesota Senate passed legislation early Saturday morning that guarantees the right to abortion, a bill pro-life Republicans have called the “most extreme” in the nation.

    The Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act passed the state Senate 34-33, after Republicans had unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill 35 times. The bill states that “every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual’s own reproductive health.”

    Democrats had fast-tracked the legislation in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last summer to overturn Roe v. Wade – ending federal protections for abortion. While the right to abortion was previously guaranteed in a 1995 decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court, Doe v. Gomez, abortion rights activists and Democrats said the PRO act was necessary to codify abortion rights into state law, as well as rights to contraception, fertility treatment, and pregnancy.

    “What Minnesotans are afraid of is to see, potentially, that what happened at the federal level with our U.S. Supreme Court could eventually, in some future time, happen here in Minnesota,” said bill sponsor state Sen. Jennifer McEwen, a Democrat from Duluth. “The decisions of our courts, the upholding of our fundamental human rights, are only as strong as the judges who uphold them.”

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/minnesota-senate-passes-abortion-bill-opponents-call-most-extreme-nation

    Liked by 1 person

    2. oh boy! $5Million in reparations per qualified black person in CA was NOT enough. this guy wants the gov’t to give to black people 25% of all American economic activity IN PERPTUITY!!!
      FTA
      A racist in a tablecloth suit named Dr. Umar Johnson decreed on The Breakfast Club radio show recently that the American government must carve out a full quarter of all economic activity — in perpetuity. “We get a 25% cut… every time America makes a dollar.” That would amount to approximately six trillion dollars annually. He makes sure to emphasize this is a forever arrangement.

      https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/01/more_proof_that_the_reparations_hustle_is_all_about_greed_and_inciting_race_war.html

      Liked by 1 person


  24. “There Is Far More Going on Behind the Scenes Than Most People Ever Imagined”
    by Michael Snyder January 29, 2023 in Commentary, Curated

    EXCERPT: “In secret facilities all over the planet, scientists are pushing the envelope far beyond what most of us thought was possible. They are developing technologies that are decades ahead of what the general public has access to right now, and in many cases little regard is being given to any moral or ethical lines that are being crossed.

    Unfortunately, many of these new technologies are being designed to be used on us. The “Big Brother control grid” that we see all around us is going to continue to evolve, and each new “improvement” will give the elite even more control. Ultimately, the goal is to get everyone to be completely and utterly dependent on the system that they have created, and anyone that chooses not to be a good servant of that system will be dealt with ruthlessly.

    Perhaps you think that you will be able to fight back against the system when it gets to that point. But what are you going to do when they send shapeshifting robots made out of “liquid metal” against you?…

    “Scientists have created a “liquid metal” Terminator-style robot. The human-shaped “droid” can flow through the bars of a cage before rebuilding itself – like the rogue cop cyborg in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator 2. I was quite surprised to learn that this technology had been made public.”

    In turns out that these highly advanced robots are also magnetic and “can conduct electricity”…

    “As well as shapeshifting, the engineers say their robots are magnetic and can conduct electricity. Dr Pan’s team made the new material – a “magnetoactive solid-liquid phase transitional machine” – by embedding magnetic particles in gallium, a metal with a very low melting point of 29.8C.”

    Reading that should chill you to the core. In addition to possessing extremely alarming physical characteristics, robots are also becoming extremely intelligent. The field of artificial intelligence is progressing at an exponential rate, and entire armies of super intelligent attack robots are being created that can perform synchronized tasks with a precision that is absolutely breathtaking.”

    https://discernreport.com/there-is-far-more-going-on-behind-the-scenes-than-most-people-ever-imagined/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. this is creepy shit.
      I keep hearing a line from the movie Jurassic Park. it’s something like–

      “just because we CAN, doesn’t mean we SHOULD…”

      Liked by 1 person

      1. No, that is under the control of Fairfax County police department – Fairfax is one of THE most liberal counties in VA and one of the richest counties in the country. That was where I worked briefly as an equine vet tech. These people are REALLY snobs, for the most part.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. There she is! Good morning, Lizzie, from ever-colder NE – started out at 5 degrees this morning – now it’s down to 1!!! Come on, sunrise!!! Pretty sky to the east right now – just starting to get light.

      Liked by 1 person

  32. “Ford Releases New Safety Feature Where Car Shuts Off If A Woman Gets In Driver’s Seat”
    LIFE · Jan 28, 2023 · BabylonBee.com

    “DEARBORN, MI — Ford Motor Company is set to debut an innovative safety feature for all new models, where the vehicle will instantly shut off if a woman is detected in the driver’s seat.

    “Countless garage doors will be saved,” said Ford CEO Jim Farley. “We believe this incredible technology will do more for car safety than seatbelts and airbags ever did.”

    Ford engineers have worked for decades adding countless features in a vain attempt to overcome women being awful drivers. “We made back-up cameras, bird’s eye cameras – we even made sensors to warn women when they were about to smash into the garage door. All to no avail,” said Rob Arnett, Director of Safety. “Then one day, the thought occurred to me – why have I been beating my head against the wall trying to make a car safe for women to drive, when I could just make it so women can’t drive at all? Thus, the idea for our patented ‘Woman-Lock’ technology was born.”

    According to researchers at Ford, the addition of “Woman-Lock” will allow the removal of several now-unnecessary safety features such as collision prevention. “The cost-savings will be astronomical. We have also heard from State Farm that cars with ‘Woman-Lock’ will get a ninety-percent discount on insurance premiums,” said Mr. Farley. “I personally can’t wait to get it installed on my car. There’s a curb on Jones Avenue that will be able to sleep a lot easier at night.”

    At publishing time, “Woman-Lock” was undergoing further testing after a vehicle failed to shut off when Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine got in the driver’s seat.”

    Liked by 1 person

  33. “Scholars Now Believe Pharaoh Had His Head Baker Hanged For Putting Walnuts In Brownies”
    SCRIPTURE · Jan 29, 2023 · BabylonBee.com

    “EGYPT — Scholars have uncovered new evidence showing that Pharaoh’s infamous hanging of his chief baker was a result of discovering walnuts in his brownies.

    “I’m sorry, but this is disgusting and I’m going to have to kill you,” Pharaoh is believed to have said. “I was so pumped for this brownie, and just wow – what a letdown. Get the noose!”

    Recorded in the book of Genesis, the story of the head baker’s seemingly unwarranted execution has long puzzled Bible scholars. “We have always wondered what exactly a baker could do to warrant instant hanging. It all makes sense now,” said Old Testament Studies professor Dr. Lisa Gold. “Walnuts in a brownie? He’s lucky Pharaoh didn’t feed him to the lions.”

    In the Genesis account, the baker initially asks Joseph to interpret a dream in which birds are eating baked goods out of three baskets on his head. “Yeah, he’s going to straight up kill you,” responded Joseph. “I don’t know why exactly, but it’s clear you deserved it. Anything else I can help with?”

    Scholars also say that the baker’s initial imprisonment was most likely due to an ill-fated attempt to make gluten-free pancakes.”

    Liked by 1 person

  35. “The Crisis of Meaning and Subjective Well-Being: An Existentialist Scientist’s View — Some factors that help you can withstand a Crisis of Meaning are, thank goodness, factors you can control. Knowing they are under your control is key to improving your life.”

    James Lyons-Weiler
    50 min ago

    EXCERPT: “Of late there has been much discussion on The Crisis of Meaning, which means different things to different people. Some have approached it from an ontological viewpoint. I thought I might weigh in on your personal existentialist journey from a scientific perspective.

    Meaning and Subjective Well-Being Require Resilience and Self-Control

    Individuals find meaning in their lives in myriad ways. Some defer to a higher power to trust that whatever their lot, there must be a greater reason for their disposition relative to “where” they believe they believe they should be. This can lead, for some, to lifetime fulfillment (e.g., trust in God’s plan). For others, it can lead to continuous cycles of resignment and crisis.

    Some of these people consider themselves “seekers”, or “the lost”. I see these as people who can see enough of the pieces of the puzzle to reject the supernatural explanations as ultimately sufficient for understanding – which is not the same as rejecting the supernatural. They experience cognitive disequilibrium: a necessary pre-condition that precedes learning.

    Others commune with “the universe” via meditation, which is any means for one to “check out” from the demands of the conscious stream of their lives, without supplanting it with other “content”. Meditation can take various forms, such as transcendental meditation, tantric sex, citing the Rosary, exercise, working out, or reading simple, predictable novels. Habitual quietudes like these allow the brain to sort and prioritize effortlessly – passively, without (necessarily) involving directed conscious thought.

    Some Seekers reject the supernatural, and in so doing, leave themselves at risk of seeking guidance about ultimate truths from some other authority. They might turn to “experts” – and technocracy is born. They might seek guidance from the government – and an authoritarian government is born. In an open society, we create the type of government we live under by our choices on who we choose to endow with influence and power – and by our choices on who we choose to reject. This occurs on daily basis, not merely through elections, but also through a discourse of various types, both rational and irrational.”

    Additional sections:

    Learning and Cellular Processes Beget Our States of Mind
    Both Resilience and Self-Control Affect Subjective Well-Being
    Improve Your Decision-Making by Making Deposits in Your Emotional Bank Account

    https://popularrationalism.substack.com/p/the-crisis-of-meaning-and-subjective

    Liked by 1 person

  36. CAVEAT: I do NOT agree with all of his points!

    “End the Welfare-Warfare State”
    Jacob G. Hornberger
    January 30, 2023

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “By any measure, the conversion of America to a welfare-warfare state has been a disaster. It is time to end this deadly and destructive political and economic experiment. Consider some examples:

    1. After embroiling America in forever wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and other parts of the world, the Pentagon has succeeded in getting us closer to nuclear war since 1962, when it did the same in the run-up to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

    2. America’s socialist system of immigration controls has brought nothing but death, destruction of liberty, perpetual crisis and chaos along the border, and an immigration police state to the borderlands.

    3. Social Security has destroyed traditional family values and has inculcated a sense of helpless dependency on the government among seniors.

    4. Medicare succeeded in destroying the finest healthcare system in history and is the root cause of America’s ongoing, perpetual healthcare crisis.

    5. Governmental measures to combat Covid-19 threw countless American businesses into bankruptcy and fundamentally altered life in America.

    6. The Federal Reserve has destroyed what was once the finest monetary system in history, one that was based on gold coins and silver coins, as required by the Constitution.

    7. The war on drugs has brought nothing but death, violence, corruption, and destruction of civil liberties and privacy, not to mention the fact that it is the most racially bigoted government program since segregation.

    8. The war on poverty has ended up putting more people into poverty, especially with its massive confiscation of income, savings, and productive capital and its inflationary debauchery.

    9. The regulated economy, including minimum-wage laws and occupational-licensure laws, has harmed people at all levels of society, but especially the poor.

    10. Governmental control of education has destroyed people’s natural love of learning and produced a nation of deferential citizens who swallow whatever propaganda the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA dole out.

    11. The national-security establishment has inculcated a mindset of patriotic deference to its omnipotent power and wisdom, especially with respect to foreign affairs.

    12. The “war on terrorism” racket has destroyed our rights, liberties, and privacy, in the name of keeping us “safe” from the terrorists that the federal government’s interventionist foreign policy produces.

    13. Governmental embargoes, sanctions, and trade wars have not only engendered enmity abroad for Americans, they also have destroyed the economic liberty of the American people here at home, not to mention that they have also reduced our standard of living.

    14. Americans have been inculcated with the false notion that welfare-state programs, enforced by the IRS and faceless welfare bureaucrats, show how compassionate and generous Americans are.

    15. Americans have been inculcated with the false notion that the more people the Pentagon and the CIA kill abroad, the safer American are here at home.

    16. The welfare state has produced out-of-control spending, debt, and monetary debauchery, which now threaten the nation with bankruptcy.

    17. The welfare-warfare state has brought into existence an aberrant, dysfunctional society, one characterized by daily mass killings.

    There are those who still believe that the welfare-warfare state way of life can be reformed and fixed. They are deluded. The welfare-warfare state is an inherently defective governmental system. It can never be fixed or reformed. It will continue to bring us death, impoverishment, moral decay, and the destruction of our rights, liberties, and privacy.

    It is time for the American people to do some serious soul-searching, especially before the Pentagon succeeds in getting us into a nuclear war with Russia, China, or both. It is time to acknowledge that it was a horrific mistake to adopt the welfare-warfare state way of life. It is time to restore the good, sound founding principles of our nation and get America back on the right track — toward liberty, peace, prosperity, charity, and harmony with the people of the world.”

    Liked by 1 person

  37. SATIRE

    “U.S. Founding Fathers and Early Presidents in Shock After Touring D.C”
    By Leo Hohmann, Brannon Howse, 29 January, 2023

    EXCERPT: “What would the founding fathers of America have to say if they came back and were given a tour of Washington, D.C. Radio/TV broadcaster Brannon Howse entertained that idea in a January 26 broadcast. He built his monologue on the March 4, 1837, farewell address of President Andrew Jackson, which everyone should get a copy of and read. It contains numerous warnings about the dangers of a growing centralized government that would at some point be hijacked by people with money and power beyond the American people’s ability to control.

    Jackson said:

    “It is well known that there have always been those amongst us who wish to enlarge the powers of general (federal) government, an experience that would seem to indicate that there is a tendency on the part of this government to overstep the boundaries marked out for it by the Constitution. Ah, boundaries. Legal, ethical, and constitutional boundaries to hold the size and scope of government, especially the federal government, in check.

    “Wouldn’t he be shocked if he came back today?” Howse asked his audience. “Wouldn’t so many of our presidents be shocked if they came back today and toured Washington, D.C. They wouldn’t even recognize it. What are all these buildings? Who works in these buildings?”

    Full transcript: https://www.worldviewweekend.com/news/article/us-founding-fathers-and-early-presidents-shock-after-touring-dc

    Liked by 1 person

  38. perkins coie again…the left is attacking signatures on ballot envelopes in Washington
    FTA
    A trio of left-wing organizations is suing Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, King County Elections Director Julie Wise, and two members of the King County canvassing board. The result of their lawsuit would make election theft virtually effortless, particularly for illegal immigrants or those taking advantage of the homeless.

    Before the Thanksgiving holiday, Vet Voice Foundation, Washington Bus, and El Centro de la Raza quietly filed a lawsuit challenging signature verifications on ballots. They are represented by the Perkins Coie firm, counsel to the Democratic National Committee. Three King County voters also joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.

    Signature verification, mandated by Washington law, is the only mechanism an election office has to ensure that the ballot submitted was completed by the registered voter. But plaintiffs argue that the process is arbitrary, prone to errors, and disenfranchises young voters and minority groups.
    Lawsuit angry plaintiff doesn’t know how to sign her name

    One plaintiff, Daisha Britt apparently struggles to sign her name, though not due to any medical condition outlined in the lawsuit. Her lawyers merely describe her as a “Black, Native American, and White” local who “has a self-described ‘complicated signature’”. How is it complicated? They don’t say. Her name isn’t complicated to spell, indicating she chooses to make her signature unnecessarily complex. Or perhaps she never learned how to write in cursive.

    “The Signature Matching Procedure also disproportionately disenfranchises voters of color. In the 2020 General Election, Latino, Black, and Asian voters had their ballots rejected at approximately double the rate of white voters,” the lawsuit alleges.

    https://mynorthwest.com/3782915/rantz_dem_election_security/

    Liked by 1 person

  39. “Name Redacted” Exposes Google’s Intel Community Censorship Cabal
    Why does the world’s largest search engine need 165 rabid Obama/Clinton spooks on the payroll?

    Emerald Robinson
    16 min ago
    An anonymous journalist called “NameRedacted247” posted one of the most important threads on Twitter you will ever see — exposing hundreds of former CIA and FBI and NSA and DHS agents who now work at the highest levels of Google to censor information

    Liked by 1 person

  40. so, not only did GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES scam millions of $$ from the cv small business loan program, now we find out that they got cv UNEMPLOYMENT benefits while STILL WORKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    SCAM, SCAM, SCAM!
    entire infuriating article

    While millions of jobless Americans struggled to make ends meet during devastating government-mandated lockdowns, thousands of federal employees double-dipped from taxpayer-funded pandemic unemployment funds while mostly working from home.

    Despite staying on taxpayers’ payroll during the height of the pandemic panic, greedy bureaucrats in the Internal Revenue Service, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Postal Service, Amtrak, and the Secret Service defrauded taxpayers out of millions more dollars under the guise of Covid unemployment fund and wage assistance programs.

    In the Department of Homeland Security alone, nearly 2,000 ineligible or potentially ineligible employees received lost wage assistance designated for unemployed Americans, a 2022 DHSIG report found.

    Thanks to rushed and lax standards, whereby “claimants only needed to self-certify they met eligibility requirements when they filed for [pandemic unemployment assistance] benefits,” more than $8.8 million in taxpayer funds were funneled to 638 DHS employees unlawfully. FEMA’s state workforce agencies also paid out $1.2 million in “lost wages assistance” to 935 DHS workers who were “fully employed.” At least 366 of those ineligible DHS officials were actually paid overtime during the period they were approved, receiving up to hundreds of dollars per week on top of normal unemployment benefits.

    The illegal grift by federal “fraudsters” earned the attention of Republican Sen. Joni Ernst and her January “make ‘em squeal” award, a monthly effort led by Ernst to expose government corruption and “make Washington more competent and less wasteful.”

    “Thousands of active federal employees may have falsely claimed that they lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic, in order to be paid twice by taxpayers: Once for being employed and then again for pretending to be unemployed,” Ernst explained in her squeal award announcement.

    The Department of Justice has already charged several federal employees in other agencies with fraud, but the prolific behavior could earn more taxpayer-paid public staff the scrutiny of the top government watchdog, Inspector General Michael Horowitz, whom Ernst recently urged to “identify how many federal employees applied for and received pandemic unemployment and lost wages assistance for which they were not eligible.”

    She also called on the chief IG to recover the funds and fire those “who abused the public trust.”

    “It is appalling for anyone fortunate enough to have the reliability of a government paycheck to take advantage of financial assistance intended to provide a lifeline to Americans who lost their jobs or were unable to work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ernst wrote.

    Already, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), an oversight committee within the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, determined that “tens of thousands” of federal employees applied for and received Small Business Administration loans even though their status as government-employed disqualified them from taking the handout.

    Ernst, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, noted in her letter that the PRAC’s investigation into loans is ongoing and could yield even more deception and taxpayer money wasted by government workers.

    Federal employees weren’t the only ones who wrongfully raked in millions of pandemic dollars. Hundreds of state and local government staff in Georgia, Indiana, and Louisiana also defrauded taxpayers.

    https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/30/your-taxes-paid-thousands-of-government-staff-covid-unemployment-while-they-worked-from-home/

    Liked by 1 person

  42. Issue: January 28, 2023
    “Vimeo bans documentary about parents’ concern over transgender surgery for minors — Vimeo called the documentary “hateful.”
    By Cindy Harper
    Posted 2:04 pm

    ENTIRE ARTICLE @ ReclaimTheNet: “Video-sharing platform Vimeo has removed a documentary titled “Dead Name” about parents and guardians trying to prevent their kids from getting gender-related surgeries. Vimeo claimed that the video violated its policy on “hateful conduct.” “We can confirm that Vimeo removed the video in question for violating our Terms of Service prohibiting discriminatory or hateful content,” the video platform said. “We strive to enforce these policies objectively and consistently across our platform.”

    (The documentary, deemed to be “hateful” by Vimeo, explores the stories of parents of three children facing gender surgery.)

    According to the maker of the film Taylor Reece, Dead Name is “subtly explosive but does not contain hate speech or anything hateful. “All these people talk about is how much they want to protect their children,” Reece told The Daily Signal. Reece said that transgender activists pressured Vimeo to remove the video and that it was only online for 34 days before it was removed.

    “Parents are living in the Twilight Zone, they are beside themselves and don’t know what to do about it,” Reece said. “This film is an attempt to force a conversation, not just in Republican legislatures, but around the country.”

    “In the transgender world, the name is the first thing that most of these children shed,” the filmmaker added. “The erasure of who they are, their name, their history, their identity, it erodes little by little until it becomes a physical manifestation — like double mastectomies.”

    Reece also said that “unless you are the parent of that child, you have no idea what this journey actually is.”

    Liked by 1 person

  44. EXCERPT: “Now, I want to be clear, I’m not critiquing Trump to get people to not vote for him. I’m not a DeSantis guy, as I have some concerns about his globalist ties to the Establishment GOP and the World Economic Forum. If the election were today, I would vote for Donald Trump to be the GOP nominee for President.

    However, I can critique Trump’s position while still being a part of the America First Movement. A criticism is not an attack on his entire agenda or all of his amazing accomplishments. It’s simply a critique of a particular issue that I believe he’s getting wrong. The goal is not to turn voters away, but to have an honest discussion about this vitally important issue.

    I believe that the America First Movement’s refusal to have open and honest debate is going to become its downfall. Remember that we always complain about the Left being intolerant and refusing to engage with conservatives, yet we are doing the same thing on our side. Why is our side behaving just like the bad guys?

    The America First Movement is not about Donald Trump… or at least it shouldn’t be. It’s about the principles that Trump laid out which will save America. That’s the unifying factor. When it’s about principles instead of personalities, we can have an open and honest discussion about our points of disagreement and let the truth win out.

    However, if we become so narrow-minded that we can’t tolerate criticism or demand cult-like devotion to one man, we will see the America First Movement crash and burn. We cannot allow that to happen, as the movement is the only viable collection of people motivated to save America at the moment.

    It’s time to wake up, people. Trump may be the best man for the job in 2024, but he’s not perfect. He’s not our Savior. It’s time to shift our focus from Trump the man to Trump and his political positions. That’s the only path to victory if we want to Make America Great Again.”

    https://jeffdornik.substack.com/p/the-sycophantic-behavior-of-the-america

    Liked by 1 person

    1. i dunno…this sounds like he’d endorse ANY person who repeats TRUMP’S policies. his policies are not what makes it work…it’s the MAN who makes it work.
      ron the rescuer comes to mind. he may spout SOME america first stuff, but he is bought and paid for by big $$

      Like

        1. that’s tricky imo…
          we have no idea what they had planned for us. we’re only seeing this side of it and blaming him.
          what if the theories are true and they were planning on locking us down for years…we don’t know what we don’t know.

          Liked by 1 person

  48. Liked by 1 person

  49. SunnyFlower5
    January 30, 2023 3:22 pm

    Five months ago, President Biden declared the pandemic to be over, yet his White House continues to spread misinformation, which directly refutes the President’s own words and statements regarding the end of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It’s time for a return to normalcy. I’m proud to co-sponsor and vote in favor of H.R. 382 – The Pandemic is Over Act, which ends the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19. The Joe Biden of five months ago would support this bill!
    https://truthsocial.com/users/WesleyHuntTX/statuses/109780003794389854

    Liked by 1 person

    1. gees!
      scary stuff.
      a few years ago, my son in law was using a dremmel to sand a set of deer horns for my daughter–he had on safety goggles–that’s an always with him! anyway, a tiny part of the wire wheel “brush” flew out of the dremmel and into his eye. it was Christmas Eve. they had to rush him to the Wills Eye Center in Philly–he had surgery and thankfully it just missed the iris.
      i hope there is no splinter in rodney’s eye!

      Liked by 1 person

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