The Worst Party Ever…The Donner Party

History 7 Minutes

8 Things You Didn’t Know About the Donner Party

The specter of cannibalism overshadows many other fascinating facts about the emigrants.

In May 1846, the last wagon train of the season left Independence, Missouri for the Mexican territory of Alta California. Led by two men from Springfield, Illinois—farmer George Donner and furniture manufacturer James F. Reed—the Donner Party followed the well-established California Trail as far as the Little Sandy River in Wyoming. It’s there that they made the fateful decision to take a new, more direct route over the Wasatch Mountains and across the Great Salt Lake Desert. The determination was made despite the warnings from accomplished mountain man James Clyman.

The Donner Party followed a path set out for them by adventurer and guidebook author Lansford Hastings. The Hastings Cutoff was meant to save time by shortening the journey more than 300 miles. Instead, the rugged terrain, lack of natural water sources, and extreme weather conditions proved disastrous for the pioneers. The Donner Party was delayed by three weeks, all while much of their cattle was stolen or killed in raids by Paiute Indians. It wasn’t until early November that they finally began to climb the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Despite multiple setbacks and mistakes, the group arrived at Sutter’s Fort, only 90 miles from their final destination. If they’d made it over the pass and out of the mountains, the Donner Party might have been lost in the pages of history. They would have just been one of the hundreds of wagon trains in the first wave of westward migration. Instead, an early snowfall trapped 81 men, women, and children in makeshift tents and cabins at Truckee Lake and in the Alder Creek Valley some seven miles east.

Conditions took a grim and immediate turn. Once they ate the few remaining oxen and horses, the snowbound travelers relied on mice, tree bark, pine cones, and strips of leather for food. They also boiled ox hides to make a foul smelling, glue-like substance.

In mid-December, a group of 15 people that would later be known as the “Forlorn Hope” left the Truckee Lake camp to find help. Weak with hunger and carrying few provisions, they were caught in the open by a blizzard. They wandered lost and confused in the mountains for more than a month. Eight members of the troop died, but two men and five women eventually made it to a small farming community on the Bear River.

It took four rescue attempts to bring the last surviving member of the Donner Party to safety in April 1847. Unfortunately, nearly half of the emigrants had perished during one of the most brutal winters on record. Many of those who lived admitted that some members of the party had to resort to eating the dead, and the gruesome specter of cannibalism has hung over the episode ever since. But this morbid detail has obscured some of the most intriguing facts about this remarkable chapter in American history.

 Abraham Lincoln was almost a member of the Donner Party.

As a young lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln often helped his friend James F. Reed in business matters. The two had been messmates during the Blackhawk War, and Lincoln counseled Reed through bankruptcy proceedings shortly before the latter left for California. According to one historian, Lincoln considered joining the Donner Party, but his wife Mary Todd was strongly opposed to the idea. American history might look very different if the future president and his family had made the ill-fated voyage. 

An intercepted letter may have sealed the Donner Party’s fate.

Most historians agree that the Donner Party’s fatal mistake was taking the Hastings Cutoff. It put them almost a month behind schedule and severely depleted their resources before the critical last stage of their journey. But the emigrants might have returned to the main trail if they’d received a letter left for them at the southwestern Wyoming trading post of mountain man Jim Bridger.

The letter was written by journalist Edwin Bryant and addressed to James F. Reed. It warned that the Hastings Cutoff was too rough for the Donner Party’s wagons. But as the trading post stood to profit enormously if the new route proved popular, Reed never received the letter. Both Reed and Bryant later suspected that Bridger had concealed it in order to improve his business prospects.

At least four people were deliberately killed during the trip.

One: Tensions were running high well before the Donner Party was trapped. Around the time they rejoined the California Trail near modern-day Elko, Nevada, a fight broke out between two teamsters over tangled wagons. When James F. Reed intervened, he was whipped for his efforts. He pulled a knife in self-defense, killing his attacker, John Snyder.

Two: Shortly afterwards, a German immigrant named Karl Wolfinger stopped to cache one of his wagons and never rejoined the wagon train. Two men who went with him claimed that he had been killed by Paiute raiders. Months later, as one of the men was starving to death, he confessed to murdering Wolfinger for his gold.

Three and Four: In December 1846, the members of the Forlorn Hope were forced to resort to cannibalism to survive their brutal ordeal. First, they consumed the flesh of five emigrants who had died from starvation and exposure. However, the group had joined with two Miwok men who had refused to eat the dead party members. Still starving, the Forlorn Hope group shot and killed the two outsiders before eating their bodies.

Five: In April 1847, Lewis Keseberg was the last survivor to be rescued. In his cabin he had pistols, jewelry, and gold belonging to George Donner. He also had a pot of human flesh.

Keseberg claimed that George’s wife, Tamsen, had given him the valuables for safekeeping shortly before she died. However, his rescuers accused him of murder and nearly lynched him. For the rest of his life, a cloud of suspicion hung over Keseberg. Rumors circulated that he preferred human flesh to beef, and that he had once claimed that Tamsen Donner’s liver was the “sweetest morsel” he’d ever tasted.

The Mexican-American War delayed rescue efforts for the Donner Party.

After James Reed killed a man in self-defense, he was banished from the wagon train. Forced to leave his wife and four children behind, he rode ahead on horseback. He made it down the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in late October and organized a party to bring food and supplies to the emigrants. Unfortunately, he was turned back by deep snow.

At this point, most of the able-bodied men in Alta California were caught up in the Mexican-American War. Reed traveled to San Jose to try to raise another rescue party, but volunteers were hard to find. Beyond that, communication lines were down and roads throughout the region were blocked. It wasn’t until February 1847 that he was able to round up enough men and provisions to head back into the mountains. 

Most of the snowbound emigrants were children.

One of the saddest facts of the Donner Party’s story is that more than half of the 81 people trapped in the camps were younger than 18 years old. Six of them were infants. Mothers, fathers, and older siblings were forced to make terrible choices to protect their youngest family members.

In the most famous case, Margaret Reed made the agonizing decision to leave behind two of her four children when they proved too weak to make it down the mountain with the first rescue team. Eight-year-old Patty said, “Well, mother, if you never see me again, do the best you can.”

Thankfully, the second relief effort, led by Patty’s father James Reed, arrived shortly thereafter. All four Reed children were lucky enough to survive. The doll that Patty brought with her to California is currently on display at the Emigrant Trail Museum at Donner Memorial State Park in Truckee.

One determined savior went through a grueling process to rescue children.

John Stark was a stout and sturdy settler from California who went along with the third relief party in the March of 1847. Accompanied by two other rescuers, he found a small group of emigrants who had been left behind in the mountains by the last relief effort. Two of these emigrants were adults, while the other nine had been children.

While his fellow rescuers each grabbed a single child, Stark wasn’t going to leave anyone behind again. As the children were too weak to walk, Stark would haul up two children in his arms and trek a few yards before returning for the next pair. He traveled back and forth again and again under the weight of multiple children and his already heavy provisions. He did this heroic and exhausting task until he led the group all the way back to safety.

There were far more male casualties than female in the Donner Party.

Of the 35 members of the Donner Party who perished in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 25 were male and 10 were female. The discrepancy can be attributed to numerous factors. First of all, women generally have higher levels of stored body fat and lower metabolism rates. The men were also in a weakened physical condition after performing backbreaking labor during the trek along the Hastings Cutoff.

It should also be noted that the mothers and wives of the Donner Party fought ferociously to protect their families. In one particular act of incredible sacrifice, George Donner’s wife Tamsen sent her children off with rescuers while she refused to leave her dying husband’s side.

Nearly all of the solo travelers perished.

The Donner Party was made up of 12 families and 21 individuals. Only six of the solo travelers—many of whom worked for the families—are known to have survived the frozen pass. Two families escaped the adventure fully unscathed, while the other 10 lost a combined 23 loved ones. Although that number is much higher, only 25% of the members who were a part of a family on the trail were lost, while over 70% of those on their own were killed by cold, starvation, or violence.

SOURCE: history

By Dave Adams | Updated Feb 11, 2020 | Published Jan 17, 2019

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Published by pat frederick

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125 thoughts on “The Worst Party Ever…The Donner Party”

  1. Morning All!
    the bright full moon woke me several times last night shining thru the window, but it’s now obscured by clouds. hubby says rain this morning so we’ll see. we had plans to brush hog the one section of the driveway that we let go except for twice a year.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Morning, Pat! What a coincidence – have to go back and read the whole thing yet but….I’m reading a book…now and then, I pick it up again when I’m bored…by Preston & Childs called “Old Bones” about an expedition to find the Donner Party and the different sites connected to it; ostensibly, there is also a load of gold somewhere in those hills….but it IS fiction soooo…..

      28 here this morning, no snow yet and it’s still too dark to see the sky but presumably cloudy since I also can’t see any stars; Wheezer was sleeping in the chair and woke up when I stepped outside – he didn’t budge when I turned the light on. As soon as I stepped out, he jumped down and came over to rub against my legs. Grabbed his food dish to refill it and, when I came back out and set it down, he was rubbing against my legs again so I reached down and picked him up. Legs scrambled for a few seconds, then he settled against my shoulder and started rubbing his cheek against mine. Success! He ate a bit, then re-settled himself in the chair. Waaay too cold for me to stay out there for long!

      Liked by 2 people

  3. “Maine Mass Murderer Found Dead With TWO Gunshot Wounds to the Head… But the Story Has Now Changed — Pretty suspicious across the board.”
    JD RUCKER
    OCT 27, 2023

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Robert Card, the man accused of mass murder in Maine, has been found dead in the woods. Initial reports indicated he was found with TWO gunshot wounds to the head, which would indicate he was killed by someone else. But within minutes the original story was changed from two to one “self-inflicted” wound.

    Whether it was a mistake or a Deep State coverup, we’ll never know because both scenarios would play out exactly the same in corporate media. Here’s the original Tweet, though the story that it links to has changed:

    We are attempting to find a cached version of the original story but so far it seems to have been completely scrubbed. According to the newest version of the article:
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12682155/Maine-mass-shooter-dead-woods-two-gunshot-wounds-head-sources-say.html

    “Maine mass shooter Robert Card has been found dead in the woods with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head – ending a 48-hour manhunt involving over 300 members of law enforcement. Androscoggin sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook: ‘The suspect in Wednesday nights shootings has been located and is deceased.’ Card, 40, was found near Lisbon, where his car was abandoned shortly after Wednesday’s massacre. His body was reportedly located near a recycling plant from where he was recently fired.”

    This is a breaking story and we will update as more is known.”

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Citizen 817
    Citizen 817
    October 28, 2023 12:26 am

    @realDonaldTrump

    7h
    “On Thursday, talk radio host and GOP presidential candidate Larry Elder formally suspended his presidential campaign and announced his endorsement for leading Republican candidate and 45th President Donald Trump…”

    “‘We Must Unite Behind Donald Trump’: GOP Presidential Candidate Suspends Campaign”

    https://dcenquirer.com/we-must-unite-behind-donald-trump-gop-presidential-candidate-suspends-campaign

    Like

  8. Sometimes it’s wise to read what the “other” side is saying…as usual, taking the “humanitarian” approach and ignoring a LOT! Re: “…Israel has accused…supposedly points out…” about the tunnels under the main hospital – it is well known, and has been for many years, that this is true!!!

    From RT, 27 Oct, 2023 23:47
    “Gaza suffers near-total information blackout. Humanitarian organizations and international media have lost contact with their colleagues amid intensified Israeli bombardment”

    (The Israeli army conducts airstrikes in Gaza, October 28, 2023 © Ali Jadallah / Anadolu via Getty Images)

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Internet and cell phone services stopped working in Gaza on Friday night, after Israel “expanded” its military operation against Hamas militants in the Palestinian enclave. The largest telecommunications provider in Gaza, Paltel, has announced “a complete severance of all communications and Internet services” due to intensified Israeli strikes. “The intense bombing in the last hour caused the destruction of all remaining international routes linking Gaza to the outside world,” the company said.

    Netblocks, a company that tracks internet connectivity globally, confirmed the information blackout, calling it “the largest single disruption to internet connectivity in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict and will be perceived by many as a total or near-total internet blackout.”

    International media outlets, including RT, have partially lost contact with their crews and stringers on the ground. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told news organizations that Israel “cannot guarantee your employees’ safety, and strongly urge you to take all necessary measures for their safety,” according to a letter sent to Reuters and AFP.

    The head of RT Arabic, Maya Manna, said there was no contact with correspondents and photographers operating in the Palestinian enclave as of Friday evening. The sole message came from an RT stringer in the area, describing a “very violent bombing.” “I don’t know what to do with my children and my family. Everyone is afraid, everyone is terrified, and there is screaming everywhere in the Gaza Strip,” Masoud Abu Jarash, a local reporter, told RT.

    According to an NBC News crew member, who was also able to message colleagues, “all internet, electricity and everything” has been cut off. “The situation we’re in is difficult, so difficult and very dangerous. We’re being extensively shelled by artillery and by air,” the unnamed staffer said.

    The UN children’s agency also lost contact with their colleagues in Gaza, with UNICEF chief Catherine Russel saying she was “extremely concerned about their safety and another night of unspeakable horror for 1 million children in Gaza.” The international healthcare charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said there was no contact with some of their Palestinian colleagues. “We are particularly worried for the patients, medical staff and thousands of families taking shelter at Al Shifa hospital and other health facilities,” MSF said, expressing deep concern over the situation regarding one of Gaza’s biggest medical centers.

    Israel has accused Hamas of turning hospitals into “headquarters for their terror,” referring specifically to Al Shifa, and even published an “illustrative video” which supposedly points out the “different locations in and under the hospital which are being used to plan and implement terrorist activities.”

    Hamas claims that by cutting off communications from Gaza, Israel is attempting to “cover up the crimes of the occupation without any oversight or accountability,” and tries to “create an image of victory,” a senior official, Osama Hamdan, told Al Jazeera.”

    Liked by 1 person

  9. suddenly wp is acting up again. not getting any notifications of new comments or anything…sigh
    so if i fail to respond or like something, my apologies.
    i will have to scroll thru the entire blog to see if there’s anything new

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Pat, send THIS to your son!!!

    BATTERY BOTHER: Disaster for EV drivers as their cars risk becoming ‘uninsurable’ due to battery repair costs, experts warn”
    Holly Hales
    Published: 18:40, 21 Oct 2023 Updated: 1:17, 22 Oct 2023

    “ELECTRIC cars risk becoming effectively uninsurable due to costs involved in repairing their batteries, industry experts have warned. Chief executive of Thatcham Research, the motor insurers’ automotive research centre, Jonathan Hewett, said analysts often have trouble accurately putting a figure on the repair price. He said lack of “insight and understanding” about the cost of repairing damaged batteries was pushing up premiums. Mr. Hewett added: “The challenge is that we have no way of understanding whether the battery has been compromised or damaged in any way.”

    This has resulted in some providers declining to provide cover altogether, according to Mr. Hewett. Electric cars can be expensive to repair, costing around a quarter more to fix, on average, than petrol or diesel vehicles. They are routinely being written off after minor collisions because of the cost and complexity of fixing their batteries.

    “The threat of thermal runaway means that a catastrophic fire could take place if the cells of the battery have been damaged in a collision,” Mr. Hewitt said. “What we’re struggling to understand at the moment is how we approach that diagnostic technique. It’s like a doctor trying to understand what’s wrong with you without any notes or an X-ray.”

    John Lewis Financial Services stopped providing new and existing customers insurance for electric cars last month to give its underwriter, Covéa, time to analyse risks and costs. Aviva removed insurance products for the Tesla Model Y earlier this year but restored them several months later. Vehicle repair costs rose 33 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year. This helped to push annual premiums to record highs, according to the Association of British Insurers. Average electric car insurance costs rose 72 per cent in the year to September, compared to 29 per cent for petrol and diesel models, according to Confused.com.
    —————-
    The steep rise in the cost of repairing electric cars stems from recommendations that they should be kept 50ft apart in repair yards over fears they may explode. Government guidelines suggest electric vehicles with damaged batteries should be “quarantined” to prevent battery fires, which are typically harder to put out than fires in petrol or diesel cars.

    The London Fire Brigade has warned that blazes involving lithium batteries are the fastest growing fire risk in London. It attended 87 e-bike and 29 e-scooter fires in 2022. Paris’s transport operator shelved 149 electric buses last year after two caught fire on separate occasions. The website Tesla-Fire.com lists 25 reports of Teslas catching fire globally since the beginning of this year.

    Thatcham Research said insurers would have to spend an additional £900million a year on quarantine facilities for damaged cars to meet the required safety measures by 2035….”

    https://www.thesun.ie/motors/11526085/ev-cars-becoming-uninsurable-due-batter-repair-costs/

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Now, THIS is what everyone’s State rep should do!!!!

    “Oklahoma lawmaker wants grand jury to investigate ATF raid of constituent—State Rep says ATF committed felonies and multiple civil rights violations.”
    LEE WILLIAMS
    OCT 27, 2023

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “If Oklahoma State Representative Justin “JJ” Humphrey gets his way, the ATF agents who raided his constituent’s home last June will all be arrested and charged with multiple state crimes as well as civil rights violations. Humphrey, who has served as a law enforcement officer for more than 30 years, prepared a probable cause affidavit that he presented to the Oklahoma Attorney General, which outlines the crimes and civil rights violations he believes ATF agents committed when they sent a 12-man SWAT team to the Tuskahoma, Oklahoma home of Russell Fincher, a federal firearm licensee who also teaches high school and serves as a Baptist pastor.

    “The Oklahoma Attorney General referred it to the U.S. Attorney General, but we want to get it to a state grand jury,” Humphrey said. “We don’t want the feds investigating the feds. Let’s get it before an Oklahoma grand jury.”

    On June 16, more than a dozen ATF SWAT team members clad in tactical gear and bearing automatic weapons raided Fincher’s home, handcuffed him on his porch in front of his 13-year-old son even though Fincher fully complied with the agents’ orders, and then coerced him into relinquishing his Federal Firearm License. Fincher’s ordeal was chronicled in a story published in July.

    “You tell all your FFL buddies we are coming for them,” ATF Special Agent Theodore Mongell told Fincher during the raid. Humphrey considers this a terroristic threat — a felony in Oklahoma. ATF Agents disabled Fincher’s security cameras and then seized more than 50 of his firearms, which were valued at more than $60,000. They later offered to pay him $10 per gun. To date, Fincher has not been charged with any crime.

    “I struggle with seeking charges against fellow police officers. However, it appears ATF is abusing their police powers and violating their oaths of office. I believe the ATF has committed crimes and violated Fincher’s civil rights and due process of law,” Humphrey wrote in the probable cause affidavit, which he also submitted to Pushmataha County Sheriff B.J. Hedgecock. When he first began looking into the raid, Humphrey asked ATF for a copy of the search warrant. “They refused,” he said. “I’ve been an officer for 30-plus years. They were supposed to leave a copy of the search warrant at Russell’s home. It spells out their probable cause.”

    Contacted on his cell Thursday, Agent Mongell wasn’t willing to discuss the raid or his probable cause. “Sir, it’s gonna be the same info I’ve given you each time; I can’t give out any information on an ongoing federal investigation. I will forward it to my superiors.” Mongell terminated the conversation after he was asked to comment about the likelihood he could face criminal charges. “This is the end of the interview,” he said.

    (Russell Fincher. (Photo courtesy Russell Fincher.)

    According to his affidavit, Humphrey believes the ATF agents violated the following state statutes:

    §21-1483. Extortion or attempted extortion.
    §21-1485. Obtaining signature by extortion.
    §21-1484. Extortion under color of official right.
    §21-1268. Making Terroristic Threats.
    §21-1993.Tampering with or disabling security or surveillance camera or security systems.

    He also believes the agents violated Fincher’s civil rights, specifically the Second, Fourth, Fifth and Tenth Amendments. “I may follow up by adding theft, since they took his guns and never filed a charge,” Humphrey said. “How do you seize his guns and then maybe charge him later, and then offer him $10 per gun? Talk about extortion. What gave them the authority to take all his guns?”

    Humphrey has spoken with ATF supervisors several times about the raid. “They were just cocky,” he said. “They told me I don’t understand the federal system. I told them I do understand it. Y’all can’t break the law.”

    https://thegunwriter.substack.com/p/oklahoma-lawmaker-wants-grand-jury

    Liked by 3 people

  14. Liked by 2 people

    1. Using the lie that it is helping America because it continues to fund the DCI!!! Raytheon, Boeing, etc., etc., etc. are slobbering at that trough!!!

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Well, I’ve begun my winter prepping…blankets down on the floor, towels rolled up against the baseboards in the kitchen, afghan hung up over one patio door, etc., etc. Temp has dropped to 27 now and cloudy, with a mist in the air. At least the wind isn’t too bad yet…

    Liked by 1 person

        1. I had an imaginary convo with someone who is gay about that…they throw gays off of buildings, hang them, torture them…..smdh. The younger generation is sooooo ignorant of the real world!!!

          Liked by 1 person

          1. i think it’s less about “palestine” itself and more about being in the IN crowd type of thing–going against the flow–like most teens-20 yr olds are. they think they’re being cool and stuff but they never delve into things deeply.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. As you know, the roots of this were planted years ago; I became aware of it in 2013/2014 – the Muslim Brotherhood’s long-term plan included in Civilization Jihad. As you say, they only look at the surface and don’t study the history. One of their biggest priorities was their Muslim Students’ Association (MSA), among others, and they tapped into the NGO’s as well, like Soros.

              Liked by 1 person

  26. I finally bit the bullet and ordered some Muk-Luk slippers. I need slippers that cover my ankles, mid-calf. I tried the cheap WM ones but those lasted one winter – the next year, the glued-on sole popped off. I looked at Lindell’s slippers and they were all too low on the ankle. These are directly from Muk-Luk and faux suede with knitted tops and stitched-on soles. Free shipping and less than $40. I’ve got at least 5 pairs of slipper socks but I’ve worn thru the heels on all of them! LOL – wood floors, ya’ know, and my tendency to suddenly see something that draws me outside….now I’ll wear the thinner ones inside my slippers. My feet are always cold, 24/7, 7 days a week, 12 months of the year!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I have very tender feet and because i’m diabetic, i never walk around barefoot. as soon as I get out of the bathtub, I’m putting vaseline on my feet and cotton socks and shoes. I have ballerina slippers i wear at night but i am never barefoot.
      hubby, on the other hand, RARELY wears shoes…LOL

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh, I’m usually barefoot in the summer but I understand the diabetes/foot connection. I think I’ve mentioned before that I had a diabetic shipping clerk who worked for me who had issues with his feet. When I go outside, I just slip into my rubber sandals…the $6 ones from the feed store that my niece gave me in 2009! I’ve also been using them for a couple of years as my slippers in the winter with slipper socks for when I go out on the deck or a quick run to the back/front yard for a picture.

        Liked by 1 person

          1. Yeah, I run into that sometimes and often on the same page. Depending on the site, sometimes I also have to backspace/delete a bunch of stuff at the end of the picture link, back to where the ending is either jpg, gif, or png. I always have to do that with anything coming from Bing. It all depends on where the pic was first created.

            Liked by 1 person

      1. I think so…I hope so….Wheezer just now showed up – he took a break from eating to stare at me for about 45 seconds! LOL

        Liked by 1 person

  45. We’re on a roll….Wheezer returned and was eating; after a few minutes, I went outside and sat down in my chair. He came over and rubbed while I was scratching his head and back; after a few minutes, I picked him up and put him on my lap, then continued scratching around his ears. He stayed on my lap for a good 3-4 minutes, rubbing and purring, kneading with his paws, turning around to rub his head against my hand. He calmly jumped down and went back to eating.

    Liked by 1 person

  47. we needed to get the mail and stuff, so i called my mom while we out.
    details tomorrow.
    but the little town we drove thru? they had adults in costumes collecting items for the needy–wish I had known ahead of time!

    Like

  48. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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