The Helix Staircase of the Loretto Chapel

Education, History, Mysteries, Religious 4 Minutes

In the center of Sante Fe, NM stands a former Roman Catholic Church, known as the Loretto chapel, that was constructed in the popular Gothic Revival style by French architect Antoine Mouly. To Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy’s dismay, Mouly didn’t live to see the chapel completed. The renowned architect passed away when the chapel was nearly done, leaving the chapel unfinished.

Despite the beauty and craftsmanship of the chapel, it lacked a critical component, a staircase. As the story goes, the chapel was completed in 1878, but there was no way to get to the choir loft, which is 20 feet off the ground. The Sisters believed this to be a test of faith and set out to find a new carpenter to finish the work promptly.

Legend of the Loretto Chapel Staircase Miracle

According to legend, which has since been made into a movie called “The Staircase” (1998), the nuns didn’t want the staircase to be big because it would take up too much space, so they went to get advice from the local carpenters.

Unfortunately, they met with many carpenters, none of whom could provide a solution that worked for the Sisters. Some said it couldn’t be done, while others quoted an outrageous price. The only option was to use a ladder, which was deemed inappropriate due to the sister’s attire.

In 1880, the Sisters started praying to the patron saint of carpenters, St. Joseph. They asked for a solution to their dilemma and prayed for over a week. According to the historical account, on the 9th day, a man arrived on his mule with some tools. He revealed to the Sisters that he was a carpenter by trade, and they eagerly invited him in.

This carpenter was unlike any who had come before him, and shortly after viewing the problem, he admitted that putting a staircase in was possible, even ones that wouldn’t take up too much space or be an eyesore.

But he asked to be alone in the chapel for three months and, with only simple tools including a saw, T-square, and a hammer, he built the ‘miraculous’ staircase. It is a spiral staircase making two complete 360 degrees rotations but without using a central pole and without using any nails, only wooden pegs.

The bannister of the staircase is perfectly curved, a remarkable accomplishment considering the basic tools that were used. The shape of the helix is not a stable weight-supporting structure, and without the middle column it shouldn’t be able to withstand the weight of people using the staircase.

When the man finished the staircase, he left without asking for a cent. The nuns tried to find him but they could not. They did not know who he was or where he got the wood. Ten years later the railing was added to the staircase by Phillip August Heasch for safety reasons.

The order decided to honor the carpenter’s deed with a banquet, but when it was time to feast, they could not find him. He had disappeared without a trace; he did not identify himself during his time there or ask for payment. Because his identity remains a secret, the Sisters believed him to be St. Joseph, answering their prayers. The number of steps is of religious significance because it was Jesus’ age during his crucifixion. This realization only further convinced the Sisters and fueled the story that St. Joseph had come to their rescue.

With the staircase finished, the chapel was finally complete, but the mystery of its construction was impossible to ignore, and many pondered how the carpenter accomplished the job. The manager of the privately owned chapel (1991-2006), Richard Lindsley, took a piece of wood from the staircase and sent it for analysis. When the results came back, they showed that it was spruce, but of an unknown subspecies. This specific wood was very strong with dense and square molecules – which is something that you usually find in trees that grow very slowly in very cold places like Alaska.

However, there was no such wood in the area and no local trees grow in the Alpine tundra in the surrounding area. The closest place that he would find this density in trees was in Alaska, but of course back then transport was not the same as it is now and wood was not transported over such long distances.

Were the Stairs Created by a Man from a French Secret Society?

Santa Fe New Mexican offers an alternative explanation for the amazing staircase. It’s said that when historian Mary J. Straw Cook researched the stairs for a book she was writing, she “found information in an 1881 nun’s daybook that a man named Rochas was paid for wood.” Francois-Jean Rochas, an alleged “member of a French secret society of highly skilled craftsmen and artisans called the Compagnons, which had existed since the Middle Ages” has been named as the skilled woodworker who apparently “came to the U.S. with the purpose of building the staircase with wood shipped from France.”

When a group of stair-building professionals convened at the Loretto Chapel a few years ago to see the staircase they were shocked at the beauty, design, and engineering of the stairs. A couple of their comments on the workmanship after analyzing the stairs are:

“We all like to think we create creative stair designs and nice curved staircases, but to think how they did it that long ago and still attain the same quality is breathtaking” and

Later, Cook found a newspaper article mentioning Mr. Rochas and that he was a skilled woodworker who built the staircase. Rochas was a member of a secret French society of skilled artisans known as the Compagnons and had come to the U.S. to design the Santa Fe staircase specifically; the wood came from France.

Even with all the advances in technology and engineering, no one can determine how the staircase was built. The stairs are a beautiful and mysterious element of the Loretto Chapel, regardless of the facts around its construction.

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Published by NebraskaFilly

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

Published

202 thoughts on “The Helix Staircase of the Loretto Chapel”

  1. Morning All!
    fascinating open Filly!!
    how wonderful it was to sleep in our bed last night! Mom’s house is always too hot–even in the winter, lol. And the bed is a family heirloom–an old brass bed–painted–can you imagine? But i think the mattress is original…LOL (OLD!!!)

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Like

  8. TheseTruths
    TheseTruths(@thesetruths)Offline
    Wolf
    April 24, 2023 00:25

    HUGE WIN: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey Boots Education Director Over “Woke” Teacher’s Guide
    https://100percentfedup.com/huge-win-alabama-governor-kay-ivey-boots-education-director-over-woke-teachers-guide/

    On Friday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey gave a statement rejecting a woke pre-k educator resource book distributed to Alabama teachers which aims to teach four years olds about lgbtq+ sexual behavior and that they are inherently racist.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 😡😡😡 Heard about this yesterday. The back story is a 13 & a 17 year old were the perps. Shouldn’t the perp’s parents be held to accounts?
      Prayers for the baby’s family…
      When the state has become the embodiment of evil, God is the only relief.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Morning Pat ☀️
          One more bit of demoralization for us to chew on…death by 1000 cuts brought to us by those who hate America.

          Liked by 2 people

  13. TheseTruths
    TheseTruths(@thesetruths)Offline
    Wolf
    April 24, 2023 01:24

    Car and Driver:
    EVs Fall Short of EPA Estimates by a Much Larger Margin Than Gas Cars in Our Real-World Highway Testing

    ● SAE International has just published a paper co-authored by Car and Driver‘s testing director, Dave VanderWerp, showing that, in our testing, EVs are far worse at matching EPA estimates than gas-powered vehicles.

    ● The paper compares EPA fuel-economy and range estimates to the results of C/D‘s real-world highway tests, with EVs failing to meet the EPA’s range figures on average.

    ● The authors propose solutions like more standardized testing procedures and the inclusion of both city and highway range figures on new vehicles’ Monroney price stickers.

    Wait…don’t tell me the EPA has been fudging data. 😮

    Liked by 2 people

        1. no, you’re right—it’s trying to make it seem like an organic need for him to run…which of course it ISN’T.
          we want DONALD TRUMP!!!

          Liked by 2 people

  16. Citizen 817
    April 24, 2023 12:45 am

    Chile Stuns Markets And EV Makers By Nationalizing Lithium Industry Overnight

    Chile’s President Gabriel Boric stunned the world on Thursday when he said he would nationalize the country’s lithium industry, the world’s second largest producer of the metal essential in electric vehicle batteries, to boost its economy and protect its environment.

    The nationalization poses a fresh challenge to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers scrambling to secure battery materials, as more countries look to protect their natural resources. Mexico nationalized its lithium deposits last year, and Indonesia banned exports of nickel ore, a key battery material, in 2020.

    comment image

    Liked by 2 people

          1. oh…I agree on THAT part. what i think is weird is cutting out the tongues–who does that? is there a significance to that? (like a horse head in the bed type thing?) that’s the weird part imo

            Liked by 1 person

              2. She may not have even known what part of the cow she was eating. Kids don’t question that shit….farmers used every bit of the cow that was possible to use. Brains are yummy rich.

                Liked by 1 person

          2. i just read an article on american thinker that had more details–no footprints or tire marks left in the surrounding grass; 2 of them had their genitalia and anuses removed; no predators (coyotes, scavengers, birds of prey) would touch the carcasses.
            sounds like someone is definitely trying to distract the country with ufo shit for whatever reason. (let’s be honest, with the shit storm that is this administration they need all the distractions they can manufacture.)

            Liked by 1 person

  19. Hey Pat, Filly, & the Gang

    Here’s a copy of an update I shared at the Q-Tree about my granddaughter’s birth.

    Love & Blessings & thanks for your prayers for my family!!!

    Hello cyber warrior friends & family. Thank you so much for your prayers, well wishes, & encouraging words as my family has been immersed in another New Life Scenario…so here’s an update:

    My daughter Clarissa was past her due date, last Monday, iirc, saw the OB on Tuesday & was scheduled for This evening for an induction if she didn’t go on her own beforehand. C woke up at 4am on Saturday for the restroom & her water broke on the way so they went to the hospital later that morning. Unfortunately there was meconium (baby pooped in the womb) staining, which is an increased risk of infection & perhaps other complications.

    At the hospital, the same one where our first grandchild was born last year, they set C up on a Pitocin drip to accelerate the labor process. When I arrived there in the afternoon C’s cervix was only at 4cm & it needed to be 10cm for delivery…

    There were various ups & downs & some concerns about the baby’s heartrate decelerating during contractions so that they implemented a number of approaches to rectify the situation, which worked. Ultimately they turned off the Pitocin & C delivered her baby daughter, Lillian Ellsworth, at 6:37pm on Saturday. She was the 2nd fastest labor of the day on that unit, & the fastest labor wasn’t a first time mom. 🙂

    Ellsworth aside: Both sides of our family have E as a middle name. In fact when Michael & I were getting to know each other he told me his middle name started with an E & he wanted me to guess it. I’m like Edward? Eugene? & then I pause & do this one eye squint look & say “it wouldn’t be Ellsworth would it?” His jaw about hit the floor for No one had Ever guessed that name. Well both our dads & both their granddads were named William Ellsworth & his grandpa was Clarence E so we have an unbroken line of Ellsworth going back to the 1860’s. We gave the E to our firstborn Nathaniel & believe that N & his wife May pass the E down to their firstborn son, should one materialize some day.

    I saw an Antiques Roadshow episode that discussed on old commemorative pitcher that referred to a significant historical death, the supposed first death in the Civil War, of a man named William Ellsworth, who was killed when having climbed the staircase of a church steeple to remove a Confederate flag that had been hung there & coming back down the stairs was bayonetted to death, iirc, by Confederate sympathizers. So I Think that both of our great-grandfathers were named for this martyr to the cause of preserving the Union since these men were born in the early 1860’s when that event was likely freshly on the minds of pro-Union Americans. That’s a genealogical theory that I developed as to how the Ellsworth name started in both our families, absence other evidence, but it doesn’t explain why so many generations have chosen to keep passing Ellsworth along. That C & M gave their Daughter the Ellsworth adds a whole new twist to the equation but is so fitting since Clarissa largely broke the sex barrier at hunting camp too!

    Baby was very alert & quite cute as she didn’t even get the typically misshapen head from natural delivery, having moved down & out so quickly (-2 to born in less than 3 hours). C had minimal tearing (Stage 1, compared to my Stage 4 for the first baby & bathroom complexities ever since) & was in just minor discomfort in the hours after delivery, pain of 1 on a scale of 1-10. She was pain 5-6 when I got there & thought she got to 8.5-9 at the peak of pain in labor delivery, in retrospect. She’s a trooper!

    Settling into breastfeeding & family life in the hospital was going pretty well over all…

    One frustration has been the “covid protocols” that are still in place at this hospital. Thankfully they relaxed the mask naziism that was present last year for our oldest son & daughter-in-law when Lilah was born. They still only allowed one additional visitor for the duration of the stay besides the dad. I am that designated visitor, as my daughter-in-law’s mother was last year.

    When our 1st grandchild was born we were not even “allowed” to go to the hospital to be part of that process because of the protocols. She was in the hospital for nearly a week due to jaundice issues so we didn’t meet face-to-face until she’d come home 😦

    Now our son-in-law’s father is in the same boat as we were last year with the birth of His first grandchild. He was able to come to the waiting room outside the unit, as did my husband, & so he got some face to face info from his son & later from me after Lilian was born. This man was quite distraught & even angry that he was being denied access to his new grandchild. The hospital doesn’t even have a mechanism where you can view the baby from behind glass, like you see in the movies, or like we experienced with our twins in the NICU when there was a window that their brother could view them even if he couldn’t be directly with them in their birth hospital.

    Our son-in-law’s & his father’s situation was further emotionally laden because yesterday was the anniversary of his mother’s death. Marshall was literally praying “please God don’t let the baby be born on that day” & she was born the day before so her birthday & mom’s death date are a day apart. Marshall’s mom’s mom just died earlier this month after losing her own battle with cancer when it had been hoped that she would have been able to hold on long enough to see her deceased daughter’s first grandchild in this life, but we trust that grandma & great-grandma are both celebrating in heaven over this precious new life.

    Marshall’s mom birthed 4 sons, one stillborn, & Marshall might be the only one to marry or have kids. His mom’s family & her widower attached great significance to her deep desire for a daughter that was never granted in this life. When Clarissa married into the family her status as the daughter-in-law of her late mother-in-law held great significance to many in M’s family. To say that his family are overjoyed at the birth of a Baby Girl is basically an understatement. This birth is a very big deal to an extended, bereaved family.

    M’s cousin from California called while I was present in the room & over speaker I could tell the deep love & emotion that was verbalized & evidenced beyond words. He confessed his tears & joy over this baby’s birth & it was so precious. This child is healing the breach in a number of lives & relationships & this is beautiful & God-glorifying.

    Watching these new parents learn how to care for their daughter & care for each other in this transitional phase is also a humbling privilege. My daughter’s beauty was fully evident in her suffering to bring forth her child & now in how she tenderly cares for her needs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that near “Madonna & child” (no offence intended here) type of interaction before, I mean she practically glows with a gentle softness & tender, loving ministry to whatever her new daughter’s needs might be…so precious.

    Anyway, yesterday various events had to happen for Lillian at roughly 12 hours & roughly 24 hours after birth. One was a hearing test that was failed the first time but passed when reattempted hours later–a relief. There are also cardiac checks, & I don’t know those results yet & since Josiah is a congenital heart baby it will be great to get an all-clear in that domain, if that’s the case. Another was the bilirubin level that based on the baby’s skin color changes overnight I wondered if it might become an issue…& it has. As of when I had to leave last night they were beginning a treatment protocol adding supplemental nutrition following breast-feeding so that BF & milk production isn’t thwarted. They will be checking Lillian’s bilirubin levels sometime this morning & they assessing where they go from there. The Best Case scenario is that she might be able to come home some time today…Prayers would be appreciated here for the jaundice to quickly abate w/ no further complications!

    Clarissa said that when she declined to have the Hep B shot for Lillian she got some pushback from staff, who even claimed that “no pediatrician would be willing to see an unvaccinated child.” She contacted her sister-in-law because they also declined vax’s for Lilah, & got the name of her pediatrician & low & behold that doctor is even on the list that the hospital provides so there should be no issue in getting Lillian seen there!

    Clarissa pointed out that she & I have Never done the hospital thing together, where she is the patient. For 2 dozen surgeries between her 3 brothers, nearly 20 are Josiah’s, the bulk of which were also in-patient, I learned how to do the patient advocate thing & how to be (relatively) comfortable in a hospital setting. So this was a new layer in our relationship & overall that is going quite well! But I’ve got to say that spending the bulk of the day at the hospital is incredibly fatiguing. I don’t really notice it when there since there are so many things to attend to that sometimes I barely get to sit down (or use the tablet to check The Q-Tree) so the exhaustion really hits me when I leave…the old gray mare ain’t what she used to be 😉 Thankfully this hospitalization, though still marred by covidiocy, is a significant improvement over the way things were Summer 2020 when Josiah was in-patient w/ Liver Transplant Rejection issues…sigh…

    On another front C & M bought a house at the end of 2022 & have been proceeding with various C of O repairs, plus their own preparations of painting & renovations, & they have not Yet moved in. Their C of O inspection was scheduled for tomorrow & IF they pass then they can legally occupy their home. Well yesterday my oldest son borrowed a box truck from his work that Hubby had to drive having a CDL, our middle son, & Marshall all gathered at Marshall’s dad’s home to collect Most of C & M’s stuff to move it into their home. Michael had to be straw boss in several ways & did some clean up in the home as it still has that “under renovation” vibe going on so when Mom & Baby are finally allowed to leave the hospital they should be able to get into their home…& I thought I was a bad procrastinator–these 2 kick my butt bigtime LOL

    So it’s been a pretty involved family affair, which is a good thing, since many hands make light work! It will be interesting to see what today might bring.

    So far SCORE TWO for the Kingdom of God in Live Births to Strong Christian parents who plan to homeschool & raise their daughters in the fear & admonition of the Lord. Genocide Gamers aren’t getting their grubby mitts on these precious little ones!

    In Jesus’ Love,

    Valerie

    Like

  20. Here we go…..

    “NEVER BACK DOWN
    Every election is about the future.
    Ron DeSantis is the FUTURE and he will NEVER BACK DOWN.
    “We call on Governor DeSantis to run for President in 2024. Sign the petition and join us to chart the future!” -Ken Cuccinelli, Founder, Never Back Down.
    DESANTIS 2024! Run, Ron, Run!

    https://neverbackdown.org/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. did you read (i think) sundance’s article about why the Florida Repub delegation is NOT endorsing or voting for Rhonda? they say in the 5 yrs he’s been gov, he never reached out to them at all…except now when he’s seeking endorsements for a campaign he hasn’t declared yet…

      https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/04/23/sunday-talks-florida-congressman-steube-explains-why-the-congressional-delegation-will-not-support-desantis/

      Liked by 1 person

  21. “No Going Back”
    PEPE LIVES MATTER
    APR 23, 2023

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “I don’t think any of us really expected the long suffering we’d have to endure back in 2017. It’s been a roller coaster of intense emotional tidal wave after another. For many, it’s been incredibly difficult and stressful, knowing just how monumental the stakes are. Even though it feels like a lull period, this gives us time to take a breath and prepare for the inevitable happenings. We really have no where else to go but forward and we’re in it together.

    Each plot twist hasn’t gone the way we may have always wanted and it certainly hasn’t been comfortable. But I’ve got to believe that it will be more than worth it in the end. To the best of my ability, I refuse to complain. It is easy to follow in the footsteps of so many who doubted, in Exodus, but a badge of honor to do the more difficult thing: Trust and fight with faith.

    I don’t want to be one who would say they lived awake during the unprecedented Great Awakening yet wallowed in bitterness. I’m in it for the long haul. I’m proud of how so many of the frens have kept their heads up during such bleak moments. We did that together.

    WWG1WGA. There is no going back. So we might as well embrace the trials, chaos, and storms and show the world what we are made of.”

    Liked by 2 people

  22. EXCERPT: “Another country has collapsed right under Biden’s nose. On Sunday, the US military launched an emergency mission to evacuate over 70 U.S. personnel stationed in Sudan. The US personnel were picked up from the US embassy in Khartoum. The evacuation comes as Sudan’s army and the paramilitary group RSF have staged several attacks against each other.

    Here’s what CBS reported: “Amid ongoing violence in Sudan that has left hundreds of people dead, the U.S. military has successfully evacuated American government employees from the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, the White House announced late Saturday night. In a statement following the evacuation, President Joe Biden confirmed that the U.S. was “temporarily suspending operations” at the embassy.

    Mr. Biden disclosed that he ordered the extraction operation and was “grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought” the U.S. diplomatic workers “to safety.” The State Department also confirmed the U.S. Embassy’s temporary closure, adding that “the U.S. government cannot provide routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Sudan, due to the current security situation.”

    In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called the evacuation a “successful operation,” and thanking “our allies and partners, including Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia.”

    In a State Department and Pentagon briefing overnight, officials said just over 100 U.S. troops, all special operations forces, executed the evacuation. Fewer than 100 people were evacuated from the embassy, including Marines who had been attached to the embassy and some foreign diplomatic professionals who were at the embassy. Troops were on the ground for less than an hour in what was described as a “fast and clean” operation. U.S. forces did not take any small arms fire heading in our out of Khartoum, U.S. officials said.”

    https://wltreport.com/2023/04/23/utter-chaos-erupts-in-sudan-70-us-personnel-evacuate-from-embassy/

    Liked by 1 person

  23. “US Tries To Blame Russia For Sudan “Deep State” War”
    BY TYLER DURDEN
    SATURDAY, APR 22, 2023 – 08:30 PM

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via The Automatic Earth blog,

    EXCERPT: “Debunking The Latest Fake News Narrative —

    CNN published an exclusive piece on Thursday alleging that “Evidence emerges of Russia’s Wagner arming militia leader battling Sudan’s army”. They claim that satellite imagery shows increased Russian military transport activity between Libya and Syria in the run-up to Sudan’s “deep state” war. According to CNN, this confirms rumors that General Haftar is supplying Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hamedti”) with surface-to-air missiles (SAM) on behalf of Wagner.

    The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published their own exclusive piece the day prior on Wednesday alleging that “Libyan Militia and Egypt’s Military Back Opposite Sides in Sudan Conflict”, so these two stories complement one another. Both Hamedti and Wagner have denied these claims, however. The Sudanese Ambassador to Russia also confirmed that “Russia is a friendly country to us so we have been in direct contact with [the] Russian Foreign Ministry since the very beginning of those events last Saturday.”

    That diplomat’s reaffirmation of Sudan’s close ties with Russia is especially important since he represents the government that’s internationally recognized as being led by Chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, who commands the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and is one of the two figures vying for power. At present, Khartoum therefore doesn’t extend credence to the emerging US-led Western Mainstream Media (MSM) narrative that Russia is arming the RSF via Haftar-Wagner, but that could soon change.”

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-tries-blame-russia-sudan-deep-state-war

    Liked by 1 person

  25. “The US Is Heavily Involved In Sudan’s Renewed Turmoil, Western Media Omits This”
    Posted on April 22, 2023
    Author Robert Inlakesh

    EXCERPT: “The armed clashes in Sudan, that began last week, are being presented by Western corporate media as a shock from a country that was heading towards democracy. These attempts to absolve the West of any accountability for the militarized confrontation that could spark civil war, and to even blame Russia, are leaving out the key context to understanding this conflict.

    Days of chaos have again left the Sudanese population without any sense of security and in fear for their lives. The Sudanese military head and de-facto leader of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, ordered strikes against targets belonging to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, colloquially known as Hemedti, claiming that they were plotting a military coup. The RSF were set up under former Sudanese dictator Omar Bashir, in 2013, as a militia force that combined forces of the infamous Janjaweed and was used to crush his political rivals.

    The RSF head, Hemedti, grew in the ranks over the years as a power militia leader and was given free rein to seize lucrative gold mines in Darfur that belonged to a rival tribal leader, eventually making him one of the wealthiest men in Sudan. After the RSF gained its horrifying reputation through mass killings, rape, and other atrocities, the militia leader, who was empowered by President Omar Bashir, turned against him in 2019. The RSF and the Sudanese army, together, decided to participate in a coup to officially oust Bashir and end his 30 year rein, taking advantage of a civilian-led uprising that demanded the fall of dictatorship in Sudan.

    A Transitional Military Council (TMC) was then set up, which was created with the stated aim of catapulting Sudan towards civilian rule. The TMC was formally headed by Sudan’s army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, with the deputy head of the TMC being Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). A Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) was later set up and was overthrown in another coup in October of 2021, before being reinstated later that year. The recent power sharing balance had been maintained between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia of Hemedti, with a deal having been struck on the implementation of civil rule last December.”

    https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/us-heavily-involved-sudans-renewed-turmoil-western-media-omits-this/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Final paragraph: “As discussed above, if the Sudanese conflict causes a knock-on effect, initiating an Ethiopia-Egypt conflict, Washington would certainly benefit, whether hot or cold war, however, this theory is a stretch at this point. Yet with the outlandish, counterfactual allegations that are being leveled at Russia right now, it is important to look at counter-arguments that may also be a stretch, but in this case actually make sense. To conclude, there are strong Israeli, US, Saudi, and most prominently, UAE influences in both sides of the fight in Sudan and this conflict is being fought, at least publicly, over the refusal of the RSF to integrate into the Sudanese military. The RSF knows that its power would be greatly curtailed if they make that transition and a civilian government is installed, this is something that Hemedti especially does not want. Both sides here are led by war criminals, both deeply involved with Western governments and intelligence agencies, which is something that the corporate media does not want you to know.”

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Happy Birthday to Filly’s Grandson!
    ( tried to find a grandson cake–but they were all geared towards 8 year olds)
    and the generic ones mostly looked fru-fru

    Liked by 1 person

  29. “The EARN IT Bill Is Back, Seeking To Scan Our Messages and Photos”
    BY JOE MULLIN, APRIL 20, 2023

    EXCERPT: “In a free society, people should not have their private correspondence constantly examined. U.S. lawmakers, we would hope, understand that individuals have the right to a private conversation without the government looking over their shoulder.

    So it’s dismaying to see a group of U.S. Senators attempting for a third time to pass the EARN IT Act (S. 1207)—a law that could lead to suspicionless scans of every online message, photo, and hosted file. In the name of fighting crime, the EARN IT Act treats all internet users like we should be in a permanent criminal lineup, under suspicion for child abuse.
    https://act.eff.org/action/the-earn-it-act-is-back-seeking-to-scan-us-all/
    What The New “EARN IT” Does

    The EARN IT Act creates an unelected government commission, stacks it with law enforcement personnel, and then tasks it with creating “best practices” for running an internet website or app. The act then removes nearly 30-year-old legal protections for users and website owners, allowing state legislatures to encourage civil lawsuits and prosecutions against those who don’t follow the government’s “best practices.”

    As long as they somehow tie changes in law to child sexual abuse, state lawmakers will be able to avoid longstanding legal protections, and pass new rules that allow for criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits against websites that don’t give police special access to user messages and photos. Websites and apps that use end-to-end encryption to protect user privacy will be pressured to remove or compromise the security of their services, or they’ll face prosecutions and lawsuits.

    If EARN IT passes, we’re likely to see state lawmakers step in and mandate scanning of messages and other files similar to the plan that Apple wisely walked away from last year.

    There’s no doubt the sponsors intend this bill to scan user messages, photos, and files, and they wrote it with that goal in mind. They even suggested specific scanning software that could be used on users in a document published last year. The bill also makes specific allowances to allow the use of encryption to constitute evidence in court against service providers.”

    https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/earn-it-bill-back-again-seeking-scan-our-messages-and-photos

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I get that on line porn and crap needs to be eradicated. but you can’t treat all like criminals–and criminals like kings.
      this is too twisted!

      Liked by 1 person

  30. “Oklahoma county officials caught on secret audio recording talking about torturing, murdering local reporters”
    By Arsenio Toledo -April 22, 2023

    EXCERPT: “(Natural News) Several county officials in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, including the sheriff, were caught on secret audio recordings plotting the murder of several local reporters. The local newspaper, McCurtain Gazette-News, recently published a story of secret audio recordings in which the county commissioner, the sheriff and two of the sheriff’s employees were caught talking about torturing, murdering and then hiding the bodies of a father and son team of local reporters.

    The people caught on the recording are McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, County Commissioner Mark Jennings, Investigator Alice Manning and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix. The relevant part of the recording began with a conversation involving Manning talking about how her late father would have beaten McCurtain Gazette-News reporter Chris Willingham.

    “My papaw would have whipped his ass, would have wiped him and used him for toilet paper,” said Manning. “If my daddy hadn’t been run over by a vehicle, he would have been down there.”

    Jennings then added to the conversation by talking about how he had “two big, deep holes” to bury Willingham and his father Bruce, who was the editor of the paper. Clardy then chimed in by offering his excavator to cover up the holes. Jennings also said he knew “two or three hit men” affiliated with the Louisiana mafia who could murder the father and son reporting team.”

    https://www.dcclothesline.com/2023/04/22/oklahoma-county-officials-caught-on-secret-audio-recording-talking-about-torturing-murdering-local-reporters/

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      1. she used to babysit him 2 nights a week when i went to college in the evenings. He called her GiGi (Great Grammy) which she adored because it made her feel younger she said…LOL

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        1. Ha! That’s what the GG’s called my Mom – in fact, she had labels printed up that she sews into their clothes she makes for them, or used to anyway. I don’t think she’s sewing much these days: “Made by GiGi”

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      1. they were either spotted together or rumored to be back together or something like that…i didn’t pay much attention to the headline when i saw it yesterday

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