I hope everyone is living their best life despite the created chaos intended to destabilize us. Several people have inquired about my not writing extensive research articles lately. Here’s what’s up…
There is actually a confluence of merging events that requires me to pause and think long and hard about whether the next step is correct for our CTH community in general, and specifically for me personally. It’s also very hard to write about this stuff without sounding like a braggadocious nut.
Here’s the problem that 360 million+ people do not comprehend.
♦ I need you to think about the person you are familiar with who you believe has a solid grasp of the scale of the problem in DC. This person doesn’t need to solve it, they just need to understand how massive the problem is. Who is the person you would say understands the root and essential core problem that creates the corruption in DC? Does that person in your mind, the person who really understands at a granular level what this corrupt enterprise is really all about and how it works, does that person look like Donald Trump, or Devin Nunes, or Kash Patel, or Ric Grenell?
Who would you assign that competency skillset to? Seriously, no joke – honest question, who understands the scale of the problem?
Here’s the hard pill to swallow, it doesn’t matter what name you put down, you are wrong. None of the aforementioned names, or any others, have a total picture of the problem from both a macro and micro view. None of them do.
The silo system in DC creates impenetrable barriers. I have not found a single person who knows how it all works and connects as a corrosive cancer buried deep inside our U.S. political system.
Factually, and I mean this with no joke at all, if you have been reading here for a while you have a better grasp on the problem than any elected politician. This is not a disposable line. I’m deadly serious. I have not found a single person inside the system who understands the dynamic that creates what they claim to stand against, not a single person.
So how can they fix it? Short answer, they can’t.
The only people qualified to fix this mess are the people who understand it.
Again, do you know who that is?
It’s YOU!
♦ After 12 years of stewardship over our conversation, literally 24/7/365, I also admitted I was not following my own advice. As Dr. Stephen Covey would say, “I was not sharpening the saw.”
I did not write for 3 days over the Memorial Day holiday of 2011, but other than that (and time spent in Hurricane recovery) every day I have researched, written and worked on this labor of love we call the Treehouse.
As time continued, the network of the Treehouse resources grew. We now have the ability to contact and review just about every facet of that previously described corrupt system.
I spend more time in contact with those resources now, answering their questions and raising a few more nuanced points for my own inquires. This, along with travel to educate myself, is how I can assert with confidence that no one understands the problem better than, well, us.
However, when you spend time facing down this corrupt system, it starts to gnaw at you… bigly. I am a person with strong central disposition, not easily knocked off mission and certainly not ever destabilized by the professional liars. But dealing with them, writing about their schemes, putting the sunlight on them (not what they would have us see) while constantly monitoring their moves, is exhausting.
♦ At the same time as the above came into clarity, I was also planning for the 2024 election year. Y’all know it’s going to be ugly… the scale of government institutions that are going to align against Donald Trump is going to make 2016 seem like a stroll in the park.
Part of that planning included the potential to launch a twice weekly recap podcast. Literally a mechanism to distill CTH articles and analysis into 30-minute, no extra words, straight talk about events. Twice a week (Sat/Wed). Self-hosted and only viewed here on CTH as the originating platform.
Everything at CTH stays the same, but every Saturday and Wednesday there would be a recap video on the more challenging stuff. Many people have asked, but there are a lot of issues that need to be worked out before such an endeavor is considered.
I discussed the technical issues with our server and data processing group, they feel confident they could handle the traffic. However, that’s the same thing they said right before the unique CTH issue of ‘simultaneous users’ surprised them.
Put it all together and I decided to sit still and pray about the next steps.
It is true that something has to change, something or someone needs to break through the nonsense and pretending. It is also true that continuing to do the same thing while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.
I made a promise to pause, think, study, learn and pray before making any decision. And I needed the break.
I’m right here with you.
Love to all, steadfast!
~ Sundance

Sundance, more sunlight please! ☀️
Your “simultaneous users” remark made me lol. It was a bumpy ride, but damn those guys did a great job smoothing the road. If they say they can do it, believe them. We’ve done bumpy–it’s not that bad and didn’t last long–and the end result was worth it.
I think of those silos as a cabinet level departments. More than electing Trump, it needs to be his cabinet that begins to turn the ship.
And who controls Cabinet Appointments?!?!?
THE SENATE THE SENATE THE SENATE.
WHERE ARE THE LIST OF MAGA ENDORSED SENATE CANDIDATES FOR ALL THE IMPORTANT SENATE RACES IN 2024?!?
Just so you know – here are the WINNABLE SENATE RACES I am referring to.
(Ok, there may be some exceptions – Kari Lake in Arizona – but that is more by happenstance than any great plan).
ARIZONA (Kari Lake)
FLORIDA (Rick Scott)
HAWAII (Why not after Maui?)
INDIANA (?)
MAINE (?)
MARYLAND (?)
MICHIGAN (?)
MINNESOTA (?)
MONTANA (?)
NEVADA (?)
NEW JERSEY (?)
NEW MEXICO (?)
OHIO (?)
PENNSYLVANIA (?)
UTAH (?)
VIRGINIA (?)
WEST VIRGINIA (?)
WISCONSIN (?)
All winnable in my view with the right candidates – who are the right candidates and why aren’t they standing?!?!
1….they simply don’t exist
2….the republican party is suppressing maga
3….you’re a dreamer of dreams
there’s 3 answers.
Especially point number 2.
I’m afraid you’re right. The Republican Party should be embracing MAGA. In fact, it should be MAGA. Time for a new Chairman and Board!
Why do we care what the RNC cares or says?
There are enough people and small dollar donations to overcome them if everyone steps up!
I have sincere doubt any Republican could win in Maryland, the corruption and entrenchment of Globalists is second only to D.C. Utah is winnable if the Mormon Church is behind them. West Virginia should be winnable and thank goodness that horrible Capito is leaving. Langley has decided to get back control of Virginia, they are running Spanberger for Governor.
Agree, being a lifelong (minus 5 years in a midwest state during the 1950s) resident of my native state.
I “affectionately” refer to The Old Line State as the DPRM (a play on DPRK), the Democratic Peoples Republic of Maryland. 12 years ago the DemoCommies gerrymandered the state’s Republicans into irrelevance…
We rarely win the primaries. Mitch pays millions to RINO / Neocon / UniParty candidates.
You can add Wyoming to your list. Reid Rasner is running as an America First candidate against decepticon John Barrasso.
Correct. Beside the Russia Hoax, Republican Establishmentarians & their personnel recommendations to new to Sewer, DC Trump hurt us badly. That Trump succeeded on the level he did was truly amazing. Saw Kash & others on RAV several times & it appears the team they are putting together will be sans GOPe do nothings. One thing Trump needs to do now is push Ronna Romney out of the RNC along with the rest of her garbage team.
I man confident Donald Trump is doing everything he humanly can and trust him to do THE right thing .
THERE is no way he could possibly do any more. He is under constant coordinated assault 24/7.
Sundance ,I think that if it would be possible to identify an issue ,person ,group or organization out to undermine and mislead the public coordinating an effort to expose and undermine that target thus its goals would be very effective.
You can start with the RNC.
We can start with the GOPe.
Yes, Pierre Delecto’s niece & her team of babbling idiots must be excised from the RNC now.
Exorcised
RNC has been demonstrating how right Sundance is about it.
Next opportunity to prove the RNC cares more about money than it does winning elections comes in 12 months.
Consider the this Jim.
The RNC is in the business of consuming and misappropriating our political contributions intended to support Maga candidates thus undermining efforts to throw the bums out.
Supporting the RNC is far worse he then sending money to the DNC
Where are the millions desperately raised for “Stop the Steal” in the intense months of Nov / Dec ’20? Oh right… stolen! Was a single dime of it spent on the Steal?
Yes, my best life in fellowship with the Creator. Thank you, Sundance. Thank you.
I understand a individual can live a contented life yet suffer greatly. It’s a choice each of us can choose to live, the apostle Paul I give for example.
Philippians 4:1-13
Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Amen ✝️🙏❤️
“the network of the Treehouse resources grew. We now have the ability to contact and review just about every facet of that previously described corrupt system.”
How does one connect and contribute ideas to this network? There is a way to fix the problem but it will not come from government.
You are doing it.
Sundance
Take all the time and rest. We, also are right here with you. There will never be that One person . I feel that it is a Group of people. working together. Our Government agencies are so corrupt, People are seeing what can happen with any opposition to theme.
I am living each day as my Best and giving back whenever I can.
Remember You are my Gatekeeper……..My Rock
Love to You
Always
tea
Agreed.
Earlier this year I took my first true vacation in more than a decade.
You have no idea how worn down you’ve gotten until you’re out of the stream that is your daily life for a time. The difference was night and day.
Even God rested on the seventh day and we are made in His image.
If Sundance needs to take a much needed vacation, we’ll manage until he returns.
Whew, so thankful to hear from you. God bless you and this treehouse posse. I have learned and continue to learn so much in these last seven years. Much gratitude and appreciation for your patriotic work.
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong” 1 Corinthians 16:13
Sundance, what you do is remarkable I read the CTH regularly every morning – first thing – with my first cup of coffee. I’m always amazed at how you can cover such an informational wide area at such depths. It made me reaiize I must continue to try and take another step up to a higher level of comprehension. To try to grasp the enormity of it all is certainly taxing my 78 YO brain. Keep up the good work, I and many others worldwide stand with you. I sometimes wonder if I’m living in a world of Robots. If there are any politicians that do see what’s happening it’s time for them to step up to the plate. Thank You for you dedication.
Amen
I’m 69 years of age and I’ve been coming here for just about every post since 2014 and I feel just as you do, Clifton. We’re in this together. This treehouse makes it all possible for us to even have access to this information. I’m praying for Sundance. Sundance has gotten us this far. I really like the idea of what’s been laid out. I think a video that lays things out is a great idea!
Thank you Sundance for your words, your wisdom, and your hard work. I have been coming to this site for years just never commenting. A few months ago after my husband passed away I was welcomed with open arms.
What truly sets this site apart from all others is the uplifting mention of God at all times. It has helped pull me out of the darkness and into the light. I’m not living my best life everyday, yet. Thanks to the good people here I’m getting closer than I would have without all of you.
Today is the 3rd anniversary of my 24 year old son’s passing. I didn’t want to get out bed. I’m glad I did, and am happy to read a message from Sundance.
Take care my friends!
🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼
Minnie is my mom’s nickname. She just missed making it to 100! So bless you Minnie for reminding me of my Minnie this good morning! 🙏💕🙏
I agree with you.
It is nearly 2024.
WHERE ARE THE LIST OF MAGA ENDORSED SENATE CANDIDATES FOR ALL THE IMPORTANT SENATE RACES IN 2024?!?
I see NONE.
I said the same thing in 2018 for that matter (the same Senate cycle full of potential)- and guess what happened? NOTHING.
None of the MAGA PEOPLE had a strategy to turn the Senate into a MAGA Chamber.
And so what happened?
NOTHING.
If I can see this – why can’t the political strategists see this – and what are they doing about?
Well, they are doing NOTHING.
Just so you know – here are the WINNABLE SENATE RACES I am referring to.
(Ok, there may be some exceptions – Kari Lake in Arizona – but that is more by happenstance than any great plan).
ARIZONA (Kari Lake)
FLORIDA (Rick Scott)
HAWAII (Why not after Maui?)
INDIANA (?)
MAINE (?)
MARYLAND (?)
MICHIGAN (?)
MINNESOTA (?)
MONTANA (?)
NEVADA (?)
NEW JERSEY (?)
NEW MEXICO (?)
OHIO (?)
PENNSYLVANIA (?)
UTAH (?)
VIRGINIA (?)
WEST VIRGINIA (?)
WISCONSIN (?)
All winnable in my view with the right candidates – who are the right candidates and why aren’t they standing?!?!
I would even take Larry Hogan in Maryland & Glenn Youngkin in Virginia if it meant they could both win.
Can they?
Tulsi Gabbard (I) in Hawaii? Why not? Who has tapped her on the shoulder to get rid of that Stain on the Senate known as Mazie.
There are plenty of opportunities there with the right candidates.
Pete Hegseth (Minnesota)
Sean Duffy/Rachel Campos Duffy (Wisconsin)
Eric Brakey (Maine)
Mike Kennedy (Utah)
Jack Ciattarelli (New Jersey)
Who are the right candidates.
If another 10 MAGA Candidates were injected into the Senate McConnell would soon be gone as well for example.
MI has a few newcomers and some retreads running for Senate.
Forget about the retreads, they are GOPe.
Peter Meijer former Congress critter- voted to Impeach PDJT
Mike Rogers- former congresscritter
James Craig-I’m not sure about this cat. Former police chief of Detroit. Talks good, but didn’ do nuffin as chief.
Newcomers of note that need to be vetted thoroughly are:
J.D. Wilson
Alexandria Taylor
Nikki Snyder
Sherry O’Donnell
Michael Hoover
And if you are from MI, be aware of Elissa Slotkin, D (and I mean big D). currect Congresscritter, former CIA. She is slick, slippery, and you all get it!
Thanks bugs… I am in MI.
I will look up sherry o’d, as I think she ran against tim walberg and unfort, lost. If she’s who I think she is (an MD), she might be ok. But i’ll doublecheck if that’s her.
as for james craig, I agree he’s hard to tell at this point.
I find it amazing this post of mine is THE FIRST to mention the SENATE.
If you don’t control the SENATE you have no hope of controlling the country.
Just for a few, it looks they (congress) are looking for an official uniparty.
Example: the kill switch in the new cars. Made van possible by The Republicans….
Another example: during the Trump Administration there was never a true recess so our President could make appointments.
We have to get rid of all of them.
Sundance thank you.
With utmost gratitude. 🙏🏻
Even the “good” senators.. even “Rand” didn’t request a recess, only takes one. What leverage does leadership hold over every last one of them?
Having read a post about the Senate above, I had to go back and look.
It was you. And it was a reply not an initiating post. And yes, you posted it after you posted the two immediately above.
I’ve never seen somebody claim something and then make it look that they were wrong like that.
Though I have seen lots of people comment on early posts, mixing up the timeline.
But, what you say is even more true. Nobody except you is focusing on the Senate in response to Sundance’s thinking about doing a podcast.
Half true. Only the House (the “lower chamber”) can introduce spending legislation or begin impeachments.
Senate (the “upper chamber”) has approval authority for presidential nominations and treaties.
But Senate cannot introduce spending bills, so, since most new programs require funding, that puts that control in the House.
The House is far more responsive to voters – witness people like Gaetz and many others in the House.
That’s probably because they only have two-year terms. Can’t ignore the voters very long or they’ll shop elsewhere on the primary ballot.
Yeah and it takes years of focused effort to change it substantially, and at this point we simply don’t have years.
we need more posts like this! This is actionable and those in the areas mentions can get to work getting folks on the ballots and getting others to step up and get the word out, door knock, fundraise,etc.
Important? Which state is not important?
Every state is important – obviously – the most important is the state you live in – whatever one that is drip, drip.
Because they don’t want to change it. We do. Time to promote some candidates on our own. If someone is in a state that has an open or very vulnerable Dem seat, get busy. The biggest mistake we have seen is not getting rid of the establishment RNC leadership. I always wondered why PTrump gave his support to Ronna. If there’s any chance of bouncing her out before we get too far along in the 2024 campaigns then it should be done. They are driving the direction of who they promote in the races for Senate and everything else and it sure won’t be MAGA candidates they back.
Big missed opportunity by not making a big change there. Think they will back KLake if she gets the nomination? Highly doubtful. Let’s get to work people.
It’s all about the money. Look what happened in Virginia. The MSM pushes the “abortion” theory. Actually it was the “Green Energy” agenda. Collectively Clean Virginia (hedge fund manager) and Dominion Energy.
“Virginia’s anything goes campaign finance environment allowed its dominant electric utility and a green energy political action committee to jointly bankroll the November 8 Democratic steamroller in the state. The amounts they spent amounted to a six-fold increase compared to four years ago, the last time the House of Delegates and State Senate were both on the ballot.”= Watts Up with That
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/11/12/green-energy-buys-itself-a-legislature/
Right here with you too, Sundance. I often wonder how you go longer than the Energizer Bunny day in and day out when some days I’m too tired or overwhelmed to read your posts, far less write them. I’ll join you in prayer for your clarity and purpose for next steps for our Treehouse community.
Sundance you have my trust, trust not easily given this day and time. I am with you and thank you for all you give.
We are your soldiers. I know I am. The information you give is passed on to my family and friends.
A podcast would be easy to share. Really easier ..
I pray all the time and it works.
Big hug.
Great analogy BE.
We are the soldiers.
We have a general to keep an eye on the overall strategy.
We need tacticians- lots of them (we have a bunch who post regularly)
Cooks to feed this armies soul (thinking of you menagerie!!)
Logisticians to garner resources to those tactical points of impact.
and recruiters- thats all of us. Find that 1 or 2 or 3 people to share the message with, mentor them, help them understand the situation as you do.
Trust is a hard thing to earn these days.
Sundance had earned mine in spades..
I can’t imagine the pressure and heartache of all you do, the mental and emotional sweat, knowing so many of us out here are relying on you for the info and detailed explanations. How do you ever really take a break? You have a very special gift and we are all blessed to benefit from it. I pray for your strength and perseverance. Grateful. 🙏🏼
I watch.
I read.
I study.
If it doesn’t make sense I want to know why.
You are the best resource for our time. I don’t know how you do it. You are a lifeline to so many of us on this clump of land (USA) on this earthly realm. God bless you, Sundance! God bless you!
Sundance,thank you for all you do.
There have been some that had a great influence on my way of thinking…from early on…William F. Buckley,Jr.,Ronald Reagan…then later on …Pat Buchanan,Rush Limbaugh…and then YOU.
You are definitely one of a kind TO ME,and I sincerely hope you will continue on your journey of enlightening and informing people with your wisdom and understanding.
All my best to you and your family in all your endeavors. Casco 🙂
Ayuh!
🙂
Do what you need to do as you see it, Sundance. And may the Holy Spirit enlighten and strengthen you.
Government does not do anything effectively.
The solution is drain the swamp. Defund 90% of DC. Silos do not matter if they are empty.
The emperor has no clothes. He is garbed in evil.
Most of the Departments should be shuttered.
Exactly. The beast needs to shrink. Fewer agencies — less personnel — not centered in DC.
Shrink and scatter it.
Eradicate the oligarch beasts.
Congress has to take back its Constitutional duty to write laws, not let third parties (e.g. agencies like CMS, EPA, etc.) do it. It’s simple in principle—”the Devil is in the details.”
Not centered anywhere. Closed. They are not worth moving.
Tennessee’s state government is bloated too. Most of it needs to be reduced in size. Close Department of Education. Health promoted masks, vaccines, and were against Ivermectin. Close it. What we spend on the TN Dept of Health would probably cover all the insurance we would ever need in Tennessee.
God sees and understands it all. I listened to this sermon last night and it seems pertinent, especially towards the end, after reading your post this morning. God bless!
excellent! Thanks for posting that.
Wonderful!
Thank you for the link!! This is the one of best sermons for our times that I have heard.He speaks very clearly about what has happened to our culture today most importantly WHY. He speaks about going into spiritual battle against fortresses using divinely powerful weapons to bring them down. His final words are a question to all those who love Jesus Christ.
When our pastor speaks hard biblical truth,the congregation becomes very still and silent b/c the Holy Spirit is speaking through him. Same thing in that church!
What if this question were asked before Jesus was crucified?
Video Clip
And, the answer was, we came to his rescue.
Does Sundance need, outweigh our own?
Peeling this dysfunctional onion called DC stings the mind and eyes. Pray constantly for strength in spirit, ask for prayers when feeling weak.
Evil has a short playbook, it recycles what has always worked for it. And evil knows only one thing; that it must commit evil.
With that said a cohesive group will always be much stronger. Taking breaks is wise, in order to re center. Go back to right and wrong if necessary.
God will be there in the details. Find a verse or many, that gives personal strength, use God’s Word constantly, it has incredible power.
Romans 8:28-29: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Strong knowledge and leadership are what we need Sundance. This is the site to get it. Truth isn’t easy sometimes and steps on the unsuspecting toes. Peace and the Holy Spirits guidance to you and yours.
Sundance,
Thank you for your prayerful stewardship.
To summarize the first part of your post: “The screwedupedness is epic, and they don’t comprehend it.”
Chilling article in Breitbart today: “EXPOSED: Klaus Schwab & WEF’s Secret Blueprint to Control Every Aspect of Your Life”. Its a review of Seamus Bruner’s book “Controligarchs”
This is what we’re up against, folks.
…and I think many in DC are in this cabal.
And they have spent Billions of dollars to make sure they stay in control. Being wise in how to approach this battle is important. Thank you for asking God to inspire your next steps. Help us follow your example..
I may have something/someone that can help in a significant way in your efforts on the technology and content production side.
I suggest emailing SD in case he missed seeing your post. Email address is in the top right corner of site.
I’ve been thinking about the big picture too lately. What needs to happen is the alphabet soup agencies need to be dissolved. All of them. They are the people who are really running things and whoever it is that controls them. The agencies are the tools that these people use to attack us. If they didn’t have these tools our government wouldn’t be able to attack us. The other thing that needs to happen is fiat currency needs to be done away with. Fiat currency is what they use to spend us into oblivion and what gives us massive inflation and the need for massive taxes. Otherwise it may get better for four years if trump gets back in but then it will go right back to being a disaster as soon as another uniparty candidate gets back in. I have no idea how something like this could be done or if it’s even possible but that has what needs to be done
A national strike by a majority of us. Poland did it kicking out the commies, why can’t we? Cut off their money and power, and creature comforts. A striking plumber, electrician, truck driver, construction people, factory workers, healthcare workers, tech services, delivery people, beauticians, manicurists, clothing manufacturing, dock workers to keep out the China stuff, energy workers, will cripple these silos perhaps leading to implosion of the silo. But we like our creature comforts and not willing to make sacrifices to get the country back from these evil power hungry idealogues. Just endless commenting with solutions that will never be used.
Our Founding Fathers sacrificed everything to make this country, an experiment in governance never seen before.
Defund.
Defund govt & academia & NGOs.
There is no substitute for the written word.
A podcast would be a big plus but it should not be deferred to over the written word.
God’s speed and many blessings.
Both. People learn in different ways.
Thanks for the update SD. Whatever path you choose to take, our support is with you in this fight. Prayers for you and all treepers that we find our way to the light at the end following your lead. Take as much time as you need and please, in your planning put in some much needed breaks once in awhile. Restore and refresh time to continue the battles against a relentless enemy. This next 12 months will be the toughest we all have faced yet, even though we have said that before. We are indeed down to the twelfth hour for saving this nation. Again, thank you for not just wrapping it up and walking away.
Somewhere in the bowels of Langley, banks of computer screens reflect the faces of those who monitor websites like CTH. The person reading my post (at this moment) has been sifted/vetted, and programmed to parse, every word shared here. I wonder if they even realize who or what they have become.
A CTH podcast is job security.
That person should watch that movie about a STASI. I think it was ‘The Lives of Others.’ Quite an empty life.
The Lives of Others. A great, and terrifying movie—almost a documentary.
a person can moralize very bad decisions in life if they are influenced by people indoctrinated in the dark arts.
make NO MISTAKE…the secret police spy state IS an organ of satan. cold, calculating, immoral, unethical, mechanical actions of people who are totally convinced that they are protecting some “higher” principle and power.
it’s just not true…they are protecting evil…
some will realize this only after they see cause and effect.
and THAT helps to explain why silos are so important to construct in corrupt evil agencies of power.
if you are not allowed to see the consequences of your actions…it’s easier to assume there are none.
God Bless America
This is a brilliant idea.
I understand what you are saying but can’t articulate it very well to others.
Podcasts are the young people’s source of information.
Brilliant!
I totally agree. Most people do not want to read or think they have the time to read. The idea sounds very good.
Prayers are answered that you are safe! You are not just someone that we read what you write, you are a part of us, you are a member of our family. You are one of the few people that I truly trust!
Sundance I am relieved to hear that you are physically well. My first thought was oh no…, first Rush and now Sundance.
We Treepers are behind you and waiting for the Call to Action.
I am reminded of someone that walked this earth many years ago
and was asked by his followers ‘Why do you speak in parables’ ?
Mat 13:11 ¶ He answered and said unto them,
Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
I truly believe that you have been called to be the ‘voice’ that is leading us in the right direction.
My eyes can still see, but there is darkness ahead and a podcast would be a wonderful tool available to me 😛
These little text that appear on devices have limited my ability to explore the forum.
It takes alot longer to scan through, and my fingers arent as nimble to the keyboard as they once were.
For the naysayers, remember the technology/accessibility is here now to transcribe the audible sound into words.
I would also suggest ‘the circle that surrounds you’ guest host with/without you being there…I’ve observed alot of wisdom that supports you. Besides that ‘who’ in their right mind devotes 24hr/7day/12mo/years to a blog as you and your crew have… 😛
I enjoy YouTube videos that don’t need watching such Bible teachings. I use cordless Bluetooth headphones attached to my laptop to listen to these videos or podcasts as I do my chores around the house such as servicing the cat boxes, watering the houseplants, housekeeping chores, and of course meal prep.
Audio podcasts, maybe. Video takes too much time. And Sundance would lose his anonymity.
Many videos on YouTube are podcasts put on YouTube with no image of podcaster, just a logo sometimes.
“It is true that something has to change, something or someone needs to break through the nonsense and pretending.”
I agree wholeheartedly. Something or someone needs to break through the surface to thoroughly expose the ugly, pervasive evil of the current system to the blind and fooled 360 million people in this country.
I agree that there is nobody prominent in the world who understands the full granular level of the corruption of US institutions of government and corporate/banking tentacles invading it. However, I do believe that critical international views of the United States understand that there is rot and growing totalitarianism from the inside out, even if they don’t know the specific processes. The Chinese and the Russian leadership seem to understand more about the US than the average US citizen.
they understand human nature, and they understand their own end goal.
At least most if not all understand and agree that something is very very wrong.
Whatever you decide after prayer and consultation with those with whom you have available to you and trust their insights and judgment, I know you will come to the correct conclusion on your next steps.
Not once have you let me down, not once. You have not just swirled around the target, you have constantly stood in the bullseye and reported to those of us here to learn from your reporting of what’s there.
There are so many out there in the ether that would love to hear what you have been exposing. They simply don’t know where the truth is located, but they know there are answers to their wonderings.
I don’t have any idea of how to help other than what I have been doing already, which is trying to get people to see the issues and guide people to this site. I do know I am willing to assist monetarily. I only need to have a way other than PayPal to get funds to the keeper of the treehouse.
I too think long and hard about what actions could promote systemic change in our government. And I only come up with two things. Halt immigration. Is the single most destabilizing factor. A country overrun by people who are not our fellow countrymen is chaos. And second, and probably just as important as the first, is restore the rule of law. Stop looking to Washington to solve that problem. A Trump campaign and administration needs to be scouring the country right now for solid local prosecutors and judges. They exist. They exist in droves. And their mindset tends to be ultra protective of their community, and country. They are the bedrock of law & order in our society. Soros figured that out. And used it against us. That game can be played the other way as well. Give them the jobs. Run the Department of Justice from the white house. Don’t worry about what the media cries. Prosecute them too. Imagine Grady Judd running the FBI. Imagine Abe Hamadeh running the Department of Justice. Stop being Mitch’s b****. Nominate these kind of people. Call out the people blocking them by name every day. Look what Vivek did at the debate. Have not been a fan of his. That’s changing rapidly. He showed us the way. Don’t play nice with sociopaths and traitors. Call them out by name and behavior. Every chance you get. Claw back everything, every time. Make them fight to try to retain anything. Have those fights. And realize that you can’t have those fights unless you have fighters on your side. Make that the single most important thing when evaluating personnel. Are they ready to fight? Stop thinking those in the system are going to work with you. Fight every step of the way. Make every arrest. Prosecute every case. Make antitrust the linchpin of the administration. Stop charging companies. Stop fining companies. Hold the individuals making the decisions accountable with criminal prosecutions every single time. I’m not talking lawfare. I’m talking using the existing law of the land to restore accountability and order. Prosecutors, prosecutors, prosecutors. That’s the way to do it. An army of hardcore prosecutors. President Trump went soft in his fourth year. We have paid a heavy price as a country because of that. Look at 2020. Covid. Blm. Election fraud. Who were the people around him? Who are they now? Why couldn’t he sense what was happening? I like to think he knows better now, and then I see him endorsing people like Ronna McDaniel and Kevin McCarthy. Stop with the b*******. They’re not going to play nice with you. Ever. You need stone cold killers. And they are out there. Personnel is policy.
L
Thank you for everything you do Sundance! It IS remarkable that you have been able to deconstruct the “silo’s” for all who read to understand.
For me, it was eye-opening to learn about the connections of the corrupt so-called media to the deeply corrupt government…most folks do NOT know this. Connecting the dots in the cesspool of DC would open a lot of people’s eyes, however, the dots also have to be connected on how all of this affects them personally down the road. Many people live their lives in a silo…until they feel pain or something knocks that silo, they won’t be interested in learning anything.
It is exhausting: physically, mentally, and most of all spiritually. It is infuriating to deal daily with intelligent people who are simultaneously utterly uninformed –often by choice. It is overwhelming to stifle the scream,”This is YOUR life — engage!” They put their hands over their ears and trill, “la -la–la!”
The few that I work with that are truly aware look into my eyes as we pass in the hallway. We silently acknowledge that this is the land of Stepford Wives.
The people moving among us are already robots. Elon hasn’t even begun to insert his chip in their brains.
So…I get it. We here at the Treehouse get it. God bless you!
Simply said, you are the best Sundance. I look forward to your posts every day and fully understand the need for research, recovery and relaxation. I am also looking forward to the podcasts.
I believe it all started with just a handful of like minded men. That grew into the greatest upset of all time. They found the farmers they collared up. They won. We can win too
I feel your pain and frustration, Sundance. I believe that President Trump and General Flynn do understand – finally – the nature and the depth of the corrupt apparatus that is focused on their destruction. Once you’ve been placed on the Inquisitor’s rack, everything becomes clear. My concern is that both leaders are commanding a flock of sheep and that won’t win any battles or the war to save our nation. I’ve commented on this before to muted response here and elsewhere. I don’t see readers dropping the handles, they hide behind. The problem is pretty much us so to speak. We’ve let the country slip away. Not Trump or the few who have sacrificed so much with him. When have we rallied to free the Jan6th prisoners? We haven’t. When have we loaded up our pickups and driven to the Southern border to stop the invasion? We haven’t. When have we confronted our family members who condone the collapse of our country and disowned them? Most have not. Until everyone looks square in the mirror and gets right with themselves and God and country, the army of sheep will remain … ready for the coming slaughter.
My battle with myself exactly. Plus in my situation what exactly am I good to do?
God bless you for being honest. We need that.
Thank you thank you thank you. You are wise to step back. I pray you receive Divine guidance and Divine protection.
I do not see a way forward for this country other than firing every last single person in Washington, D.C. and starting over.
The government’s only job should be to protect the homeland from outside threats. All the rest of the agencies are just control centers who tax us to death, send our money elsewhere, make onerous laws not fashioned for our benefit, and punishing anyone who disagrees. Truly fascist. The politicians get rich while in office. They get greedy, then they are easily compromised. And when they are compromised they are easily manipulated. Satan just running the show.
The states should be responsible for their own governments without federal interference. And should the states choose to partner with one another (the dreaded balkanization), that could be a good thing. But, We the People, would have the last word. Like it should be.
Imagine living in a state where BLM/Antifa/ETC. could be jailed and put on trial for their destructive behavior?
Imagine living in a state where criminals are actually prosecuted for their crimes?
Imagine living in a state where there was zero tolerance for breaking the laws?
Imagine living in a state where self-defense is honored and accepted?
…
I don’t know if that’s the answer. I don’t know what the answer is. I just know that our Federal government actively participates in crimes against humanity, here and abroad, and it needs to stop. We need to throw off the government as our Constitution allows for. I do not know how it can be done, other than active non-compliance.
Godspeed Sundance
Here, here! Great post.
Achieving a clean slate to reset our Constitutional Republic is the frightening part of the equation as it most likely requires an internal civil war to rid our great nation of the rot at all levels. We have a bankrupt monetary system, we have a corrupt political system, and we have amoral institutions from sports to entertainment to healthcare and even to religious organizations. We literally have planted terrorists on terra firma that need to be ferreted out from the shadows and removed. Sundance is prepping us for the disruptions that are coming our way (e.g., Slowly At First, Then All At Once).
It’s an overwhelming prospect to consider the amount of upheaval and loss of life required to make the necessary change we need. That said, I am optimistic for this change to happen and look forward to being useful somehow.
I think a podcast would be a great option — a dynamic audio version — of the written content already available on CTH. Blessings of energy to Sundance and to the technical and content teams who are deciding if the business case is viable. Sundance, please let us know if you need us to contribute in support, financing, or content.
There is Someone Who knows….knows everything, everybody, every scheme, every lie! If you look at the military complex in a biblical way, say like Pharoah and his evil kingdom, then what we need is a man sent by God to deliver us from evil.
A Moses! A Joshua! A David!
I can’t help but believe that God has something in the works. We need help from the Sanctuary! We the people that believe in Truth and Justice, would be empowered by the Holy arm of God.
Sundance and those striving for Truth, would be led in a greater light to expose the evil that has seemed to make itself permanent.
God Bless each soul that looks up to heaven for the Answer!
The “2024 Constitutional Republic Mandate” for President Trump presented by the American We-The-People.
It is time to thing BIG, out of the box and at the same time Constitutional. To save the country, we can’t keep doing the same DC-Two-Step with the democrats / GOPe” and their unconstitutional rules.
Americans won WWII, fighting both the nazis and the japs, in less than 4 years…..so don’t sell Americans short when it comes to getting something done about the unconstitutional-administrative-state being used to destroy America’s Constitutional Republic ……. especially with the G.O.A.T. leader, President Trump.
President Trump, with the power of his oath of office, to….. “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” ….. gives him the ability to make “null” the unconstitutional administrative-state processes within or aimed at the Executive Branch. The Constitution isn’t a suicide-pact.
Thomas Jefferson wrote:
“A strict observance of the written law is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to the written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the ends to the means.” 1,2
footnotes:
^ Jefferson, Writings (Washington Ed. of 1853), vol. 5, p. 542.^ Brest, Paul; Sanford Levinson; Jack M. Balkin; Akhil Reed Amar; Reva B. Seigel (2006). Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking: Cases and Materials (Print) (6th ed.). New York: Aspen. pp. 65–67. ISBN 978-0735550629.
The President can not be part of, in any way shape or form, an unconstitutional act while in office and under his oath, therefore processes or departments not in the Constitution + amendments for the Executive Branch, become acts-non-grata. As such, they are not funded nor staffed.
Thomas Jefferson knew that at some point in the future, traitors would take over the functions of the federal government. Their faux legal actions/rulings/laws don’t require a strict adherence to them, but there must be strict adherence to the original Constitution + amendments, aka The “2024 Constitutional Republic Mandate.”
Not only can the removal of the administrative-state be done in less than 4 years, it is only fair to America and Americans, who have been harmed by the communist biden administration, that it be accomplished as quick as possible.
“Let’s go Brandon and the democrats and GOPe!”
“…who understands the scale of the problem?…”
This is a generalization, which is something libertarians are really good at, but nonetheless…here goes.
The Framers understood the problem, that is why the Constitution specifically states the powers of the central government, leaving everything else to the states or to the people themselves.
So “commerce clause” “findings” of “interstate commerce” get turned aside, as they are almost never valid, and 70% of federal departments disappear. “Go get real jobs in the productive economy, bringing useful products to market at a competitive price.”
“Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people”
What could be clearer than that?
I appreciate all the articles written here and honestly say it’s my first and often only daily visit for real news with actual deep analysis and investigation. I think a podcast could be a great idea. I’ve shared CTH with a decent amount of people and almost every time they read the one article (if that) and never take a deeper dive. I personally think it’s just the challenge of actually going deep and learning the names and schemes of the many contributing to the corruption. A podcast could be a good way to ease them into weeds or just a good catch all for those so busy in life to read every post.
We are with you
Thank you for your continued efforts. For many years I had this gnawing feeling that the entire system was either corrupt or just apathetic. My accidentally landing on CTH several years ago was incredibly fortunate, and this is the first site I turn to daily. Sincerely, thank you.
On a different note, one of my most liberal friends hated Trump and loves Biden. She has a rather lucrative marketing job at a large insurance company. Well, had. She had a lucrative job. Not that I take any pleasure in her current struggle, but don’t they see?
I would pay a subscription for pod casts.
How about make a donation, receive a one time password to download a podcast. Next time make another donation, receive another one time pass word.
Hi there Sundance!
First and foremost thank you for all you do! I guess you could say I am a “newbie”! I started following you during covid and boy I am so happy I found you. I have learned so much from you and have enlightened others! No doubt I have missed you and your incredible insight! Sending prayers your way! Keep the faith!
I know you are busy. But would love an article or podcast with an education in the electors vs. alternate electors and popular vote. I feel this subject could be of great importance going fwd. Even in a corrupt system, we need a solid understanding of how it is “suppose” to work. This is an area I think many could use a refresher course on. As we learn, we can spread the info out. But this is an area I often do not see discussed in detail here or through other alternative media sources.
I believe Julie Kelly is versed in this subject…along with everything there is to know about election fraud and what really happened on Jan 6.
What’s missing in the podcast spectrum? Voices of factual integrity who can unite freedom lovers who are coming from the Left with freedom lovers who are coming from the Right.
Like many, I’m sure, I strive to maintain a balanced informational diet. I read or listen to people coming from the Left and Libertarian vantage who recognize that our freedoms are in the target. CTH holds down my Right flank.
Two things I’m realizing are that we, the American public, have been separated intentionally by the powers that be. As a lifelong conservative, I’m realizing now that the left was correct all along about a lot of things I pooh-poohed back in the day: huge corporations driving military and political policy, the rogue arrogance and unaccountability of the CIA, the dangers of the Patriot Act, etc.
What I’m looking for now are voices of integrity capable of reaching across that long-standing divide between Liberal freedom lovers and Conservative freedom lovers. Often the only political differences between us are the phrases we use, and the presuppositions that inform our polemics. For sure, there will remain a diversity of disagreement on social issues, some of which are not secondary–but the necessary debate over those issues is chronologically secondary to first retaining the freedom to speak our conscience.
But to engage this, to reunite what government has torn asunder, will mean not relying on familiar shorthand phrases, or using people–candidates, authors, celebrities, etc.–as symbols or totems for the values we are fighting to reclaim for our nation. On both sides, we have to understand what we really mean, and articulate those things accurately without resorting to our echo chamber barbs and rhetoric.
Sundance, I don’t know if that is your calling, or if there is someone from the liberal side whom you respect and could do some podcasts together to model what that process of coaligning might look like. But someone needs to do it, and it needs to be people with more veracity than sentimentality, people who can disagree intelligently while still standing shoulder-to-shoulder against the forces of tyranny.
I’ve heard the Whitney Webbs, the Glen Greewalds, the Tucker Carlsons, the Catherine Austin Fitts, and others mention Sundance at CTH with high regard for the integrity of your research. Yet I’m not sure if any of those would cast a confident vote for Donald Trump, though they might admit to seeing no alternative. But there might be greater agreement on choosing sheriffs, state legislators, and Supreme Court judges.
There are investigators and voices on the Left who also care about freedom, who despise government corruption, who spotlight the private-public partnerships that threaten our political and personal sovereignty, and who fear tyrannical technocracy. They are our allies in this fight. We need to learn how to work side-by-side despite the spectrum of our differences.
It’s a process. I grew up in the Old South. Over the course of my childhood I watched as my elders changed from always using the n-word (and not as a pejorative!) to a softer (but still get you in trouble with the Klan) nigra… to negro… and eventually to black.
It’s time to learn how to speak–how to communicate–with our brothers of another political color.
The American story has many precedents for people who disagree fighting shoulder-to-shoulder for the freedom to renew their disagreements. We need all hands on deck for this battle. I’ll be praying for you, Sundance, that you will have clarity of direction and faith-filled courage to take His next step for you–even if the ultimate destination remains unclear.
I’m not even sure that Trump is legit. Recall that the whole pandemic and Operation Warp Speed occurred while he was president. The continued law fare waged against him could just be another psyop theater designed to whip up voters to put him in office and let HIM be the one to turn on the digital prison, bc letting a Democrat do it would be too intolerable and there would be push back, more than if a Republican was the warden. And look at what happened to the budget under Trump. It too added to the inflation we have today.
Yeah…. no.
President Trump is legit, he is REAL. People always complain about the money spent but don’t forget
our income while he was President. We took in more money (i.e. Chyna tariffs Trump gave to farmers) than
the 3 previous, maybe all previous, administrations.
So much to say.
I agree 100%. This whole navigation of the current situation is crazy difficult and I can’t imagine being SD.
I need to step up my prayers for sure, I agree about PJDT, and the rest of the people on “our side”.
I also think that the regulars here are some of the smartest people on the planet.
Agree about liberals, even though I am a believer that liberalism is a mental disease. The liberals that I call friends and family believe in freedom (albeit limited to their paradigm) and the right of the individual. They just are completely brainwashed and can not see the forest…I don’t even know where to start on that one. The government types, the politicians, are all self serving monsters imo. The might not enter that way but it doesn’t take long. Starts locally all the way up.
The Catholic Church is a mess (the fired bishop is known to me), our government is a mess and evil is on the march.
I am confident in one thing and that is with prayer, reflection and support SD will make the right move.
One more thing, I understand fully what you are saying, SD. I, too, have something that has consumed me 24/7 and it is not what I picked, it picked me. You are doing the right thing, even when you are at a crossroads.
Fear is a constant but it gets pushed down daily and the forward push continues.
Do the next right thing, and if you are unsure what that is, wait.
A light-filled conversation can start with you confessing to a “liberal” friend how in retrospect, you now believe your good faith values were manipulated to support a cause or policy that was actually corrupt and not what you were told it was.
That opens the door for them to admit the things standard on the left that they now question. We’ve all just got to have the courage to step out of our tribal Red/Blue identity and be an honest, truth-seeking individual, without the protection of our familiar echo chamber. It’s uncomfortable to be vulnerable, but it’s worth it to convert people to join the fight against the corruption and tyranny that leaders in both political parties support.
These are questions that have to be asked. Our enemies are very smart people who have been gaming every move and countermove for decades. They aren’t omniscient, but I personally believe they are benefitting from spiritual entities who are aligned against humanity, whether they know it or not.
For now, I’m holding the hopeful opinion that Trump’s errors on COVID were a combination of naivite about trusting the medical community, the lack of counter-intel on the disease, and entrusting the details of the task force to Pence. And I can see where he might be legally unable to speak frankly about his errors, since he only needs to sneeze to pick up another indictment.
But when everything is on the line in a war–whether of ideas, politics, or survival–we need the benefit of multiple perspectives, not just the ones that confirm our biases.
Nevertheless, we can always do more to preserve freedom by filling our state legislatures with people committed to preserving state sovereignty against an intruding, intimidating federal government.
Tennessee’s legislature seems to be doing worthwhile things that other state legislatures could follow. Right now, they are working to see what it would take to stop taking any federal money for education. That’s a bold move that has to be done responsibly and with great fiscal forethought–not like DeSantis’ headline grabbing moves. But it would keep the feds from mandating what we teach our kids, about gender, sex, science, etc..
The point is, our resistance does not rest entirely on the Presidential election. Go with the best available candidate, but strengthen the bulwarks closest to home, in your community, county, and state–where you have the opportunity to know the person you’re voting for, not just their campaign promises.
And if we sat down together, I’ll bet every “damned liberal” that you would identify, I would agree with you about. That’s what I mean.
If I said “conservative” to someone coming from the left, they might start cussing because they’re thinking “conservatives” like the Bushes and Mitch and Hannity. Until we sit down and have a real conversation, they don’t know that I agree–we reject those “conservatives” too!
But I’m telling you–there are people who self-identify as liberal who are actually only classic liberals–people who also question climate change, who reject the Clintons, Obamas, Pelosi, and the Squad as extremists or corrupt money grabbers.
Just like we do candidates, we have to vet people individually. And we can’t do that by tossing out “coded test questions” to determine who is for the constitution or against it. A MAGA hat is not a sufficient IFF in this conflict.
We have ALL been manipulated. We on the right have supported our military, but into wars that wasted people, created more enemies, and served only the financial interests of giant corporations and global banking. People on the left have supported the environment, but into accepting anti-global warming policies that bankrupt nations and are driving us all into poverty.
Take a liberal like Naomi Wolf. I disagree with her on dozens of secondary issues–but on freedom and what is happening in this country to drive us into tyranny… she and I are on the same side. And that liberal lady is a warrior!
Left vs Right is as antiquated as Union vs Confederacy. The battle lines today are about control vs freedom. Don’t be a voice that makes it harder for someone to move from one camp into another for freedom’s sake.
“Don’t be a voice that makes it harder for someone to move from one camp into another for freedom’s sake.”
Yo, if by 11/13/23, a person isn’t a full blown MAGA / America First President Trump supporter…….. then they are the enemy.
JUST AS…
After 12/7/1941, if a person wasn’t a full blown American Patriot fighting the japs…….. then they were the enemy and were treated as such.
“Let’s go Brandon and the democrats and the GOPe!”
If you grew up seeing Republicans as “the rich supporters of big business and global corporations” (as most Democrats have–unaware that such support is actually a UniParty trait) and you remember President Trump taking credit for Operation Warp Speed, and then watched Big Pharma fleece (and harm) the world’s population with their mRNA jabs, while raking in billions of dollars…
people with that understandable perspective are going to need some tall-order convincing to believe Trump is actually not that kind of Republican!
We can remain in our comfortable echo chambers, or we can get out there and do the hard work, engaging people who think they disagree with us, establishing that we’re also against the global bankers, Big Pharma, Big Ag, and high tech private-public agreements that are herding us toward tyranny…
and win some allies in this battle. I’m amazed to discover how many people are deeply aware of what’s happening to our freedoms. And not all of them are MAGA supporters. Yet.
Please remember, Donald Trump was loved and adored by the NY Democrats for decades before he ran in 2016 as a Republican.
Many of his social views are classic Liberal (not the new perverted extremist views of today’s Left), and he was never a fan of big corporate involvement with government, or big spending.
He is a moderate conservative by today’s standards, and until a plurality of the population agrees with the strict conservative social positions of the Religious Right component of MAGA, we won’t make progress getting more conservatives elected by only supporting candidates who are aligned with those stricter positions.
President Trump is pragmatic. He knows how to win in every state, since so many states’ majority populations are NOT aligned with the solid right policies of the faith-based contingent of MAGA. I think and pray that more people are awakening to the benefits of faith and corresponding policies, but I don’t expect that to happen to 75% of the country anytime soon.
As one who fits the ideological profile of faith-based conservative on social issues, I’d much rather have the freedom to make my case in the public square to convert hearts and minds, than to have all my convictions legislated.
But that ship has sailed, as the social issues today have zoomed far past “prayer in school” or “support for abortion.” We’ve gone past anti-God and are embracing dozens of “rights” that are anti-human!
The epithet religious fanatic has been replaced with speciesist, as we’re now so free from objectivity that “reality” is considered a patriarchal social construct.
Just reestablishing the XX/XY reality of genders, and parental consent to what’s done to their children’s bodies, would be a significant victory. But would even those issues eliminate support for Trump? After Ohio… I just don’t know any more.
👍🙂
Excellent commentary Bruzed Orange. Your post is well-written and relatively easy to absorb, even despite my tired eyes and brain. I suspect you write/wrote professionally in whatever career you are or were engaged….?
Thank you, GB! Your encouragement is timely and much appreciated as I’m not–but am working on a first book right now.
I’m probably guilty of using CTH as my escape from more difficult writing… and the real challenge, editing!
🙂
Can you share the topic of your first book?
Gulp! You’ve made me realize I don’t yet have an elevator pitch! I guess this will be my stairway pitch:
My best friends, who have 7 children and started an excellent Christian Classical School, had been impressed by Cheri Blomquist’s “Before Austen Comes Aesop: The Children’s Great Books and How to Experience Them.”
The mom came up to me recently at a friend’s concert, poked me in the chest with her index finger, and said, “Write that book! The one on classic movies. Now. Families need it!” I guess I know a burning bush when I encounter one.
The working title is: “Mom, Can We Watch A Movie?” Introduce your family to a less pernicious supply of secular entertainment, as a means of equipping your children and teens to actively discern whatever comes before their eyes.
For years I’ve been giving families “a movie night,” introducing them to classic movies as a way to teach the habit of watching visual media actively rather than passively, observing the screen rather than immersing in its alternate reality, exploring the multiple layers of meaning in the best movies, while becoming aware of the techniques by which passive viewers can be influenced or manipulated.
It works with classic movies because films from before the mid-’60s are so obviously from a different time, with different values, mores, and historical concerns, that today’s viewers are not immediately drawn in. They reflexively engage them at arm’s length. From that ideal mental predisposition, it is much easier to introduce them to the language (and tricks) of cinema.
Most intentional parents are initially just looking for wholesome video fare. With a few exceptions, movies from the 1930s up to the early 1950s are “more Christian”—not theologically and not always in their message—but because of the underlying presuppositions of their intended market. US audiences broadly accepted Judeo-Christian values as normative, so depictions of good and evil, temptation and virtue, were seldom tainted by moral relativism.
But classic screenings are also educational. The original audience always knew more than we do. We have to apply some historical knowledge to understand the audience for whom each movie was made. For home schoolers, that can become a research & presentation project that precedes a family screening event.
For example, how would you enjoy “Singin’ in the Rain” without knowing something about silent movies, vaudeville, the studio system, and the star system? With that understanding, this 1952 movie becomes a very contemporary story of how one technological development changed the market, people’s values, and destroyed careers–in a comedy, of course! As an aside, this approach also becomes a model for personal Bible study—how am I going to apply what I read to my life, if I don’t know what it meant to its original hearers?
Because I worked at an all-boys prep school, I have a special concern for young males, whose underdeveloped prefrontal cortex typically leaves them far behind their female high school classmates in literature appreciation. But being visually-oriented, once a boy sees the various literary devices being used in a movie, he picks up on them more naturally when reading serious works.
——-
Thanks for asking, GB, and forcing me to see how much work I’ve yet to do. I guess that stairway was in the Empire State Building.