Advent is a season of preparation that has a twofold purpose. Advent begins with Evening Prayer I of the Sunday falling on or closest to 30 November and ends before evening prayer I of Christmas. We prepare ourselves not only for the coming joy of our celebration of the birth of the Christ child; we also prepare ourselves for the Second Coming of Christ.

For Catholics, Advent is the beginning of the new liturgical year. The seasons of that year have always led me on a journey with Christ each year, and I gain so much in the consistency of the seasons and readings. We begin with Advent, awaiting the birth of Christ, then celebrate the Christmas Octave and season, Epiphany, and then soon begins Lent, in preparation for Easter. Then, after the Easter season ends with Pentecost, we have the bulk of Ordinary Time until the end of the liturgical year, and Advent again.

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Sometimes I am required by disposition to drop to my knees in thankful and appreciative prayer for the intellectual and honest fellowship on these pages; this is one of those times.

When I describe the nature of our affiliation to those in similar networks, some of those you would likely call familiar, I am often asked why I spend so much time reviewing the commenting section of our diverse conversation on the porch. My answer is the same as the repeated emphasis I provided to those who rescued us from the Big Tech deplatforming effort… “the conversation is the point.”

You are the absolute best group of online people assembled. PERIOD. You are what makes me smile, feel optimistic, feel encouraged and positive about the future amid the whirlwind of chaos generated by the professional political class. Quite simply, you.. that’s right, YOU, are the modern WE THE PEOPLE. Feel good about that as you look at the person you see in the mirror when you brush your teeth. Give yourself credit, you are awesome.

An incredible conversation starts with one simple and profoundly interesting point from Lorrie…

“I teach humanities in a public middle school. The history portion of the curriculum is the study of ancient civilizations. I NEVER espouse either my personal religious or political views — ever!

Yesterday I asked my students to write down — as a quick write– what they knew about our current government– who is in charge… how does it work…

NADA. Zilch.

These kids write every single day in my class.

Many left the paper blank.

Most said, “I don’t know anything about our government.” A few mentioned who the president is.

Hmmmm…..

Ten years ago, I had students yammering their opinions on all sorts of political topics. I realize that usually they were parroting what they hear from family members.

Today, silence.”

Big wisdom follows from Paul:

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Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon have an interesting conversation about what happens within “Democratic” nations when the process of voting no longer generates the changes that are demanded by the citizens.

When elected officials put themselves in a position to stand above the citizens of the country, things start to get very unsustainable.  The recent events in Ireland show what happens when the citizens finally say enough is enough.  Direct Rumble Link – WATCH:

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It should serve as a source of inspiration to know there is a great deal of work taking place in the background of the U.S. political system by people and groups outside the DC network.

For several years CTH has been discussing the futility of expecting elected political officials to deconstruct the corrupt administrative state, and the support network therein, from the inside.   In the past several weeks the alignment of activity outside the beltway -independent state and private sector pushback- is starting to deliver results.   Be of good cheer, live your very best life and keep faith in a loving God who shields the righteous.

…”This is a difficult time for our country, but do not lose heart or lose hope because by the time we celebrate next Thanksgiving, our nation will be well on its way to being stronger, safer, more prosperous and greater than ever before.”

~Donald J Trump

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Thank you to all readers and members of the Conservative Treehouse fellowship for your continued support.  Without your help this little corner of the research and discussion internet just could not exist. I will always work earnestly to be deserving of that support and fellowship.

We are fortunate, blessed and protected by a loving God, who has abundant confidence in our stewardship.

As new visitors attest every day, the fellowship in this commenting community is unique, insightful, articulate, intelligent and funny.  I love you guys.

As we cycle through the third anniversary of our original deplatforming, we have just learned that our server fees will be increasing 25% as we enter year four of CTH 2.0.  Inflation is hitting everywhere, I guess.

Due to direct targeting, without your support we could not exist. Retaining our ability to research, share and discuss ongoing events is my #1 priority.  Thank you again for your friendship and support.

There are currently two methods to support CTH 2.0, our ongoing mission and discussion. However, depending on your browser settings (and ad blocker software) the second option may not be visible.  There is a screengrab below showing what I am talking about.

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It might, heck, -check that- it does seem overwhelming at times. But that is the nature of this collectivist strategy. That is the purpose of this “great reset” bombardment. We must hold strong; you must hold strong.

If you look closely at the attacks that unnerve us, most of them are weak, and almost all of them are targeting your psychology. Do not fall into the trap of despair. Step outside of your home right now; look around, do you see any threat – or is the sense of fear and foreboding created by a dark imagining?  If the latter, ask yourself, is the psychological attack working simply because you are allowing it?

You have purpose. If you walk into a room, and the people within it respond negatively to your presence, it’s likely because your disposition unnerves their demons. The need for control is a reaction to fear, and you have stopped pretending.  As a consequence, you create fear amid those who maintain pretending as a survival mechanism.

When I share the message, “Live your best life”, it is not without purpose. Every moment that we allow the onslaught to deter us from living our dreams, is a moment those who oppose our nation view as us taking a knee. Do not allow this effort to succeed. You might ask yourself how I can, one person, a flea looking into a furnace, retain an optimistic disposition while all around me seems chaotic and mad?

Ultimately, the collective weight of leftism is putting us in isolation. There are many historic references to this disconcerting sentiment to review with hindsight. However, ultimately the feeling of isolation first begins with a rejection of God. Defeat dark imaginings by embracing Him. Stand in the light of a loving and purposeful God. Hold faith, and evil manifest will run away because the dark whispers will fall on impenetrable ears.

Yes, it is true; I will not deny it; all around us is this great sense of foreboding, ugh, and it’s not just connected to you – it’s everywhere. Everything being created by the constructs of those in power is weird; everything created around us is less comfortable; everything created around us is intended to project less joy – and as a consequence, it requires an intensity of thought just to carry on ordinary events. It’s exhausting at times.

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Tucker Carlson and Nigel Farage discuss the increasingly loud voices who are saying western democracies need to accept Hamas sympathetic refugees from Gaza. WATCH: 

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Sometimes I just sit and shake my head.  Why these guys keep appearing with Sean Hannity is beyond my understanding.  That said, the platform and host is the first warning sign, the content of the interview is another.

Speaker Mike Johnson, who is a significant upgrade from Speaker Kevin McCarthy, sits down for an extensive discussion on current political events where Sean Hannity can tell Johnson his role and responsibility as Speaker. WATCH:

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Everything, and I do mean e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g, that comes from the mouth of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obaida, should be viewed through the prism of extremist propaganda.  Hamas is doing and saying everything possible to manipulate media and create pressure on Israel in advance of the ground invasion.

That said, Abu Obaida is claiming that “at least” 250 hostages were taken during the terrorist attack on October 7th, yet some of the hostages were not taken by official Hamas groups, but by other members of the Palestinian resistance who crossed the border behind Hamas to retrieve hostages “for their own purposes.”

The number of non-Hamas hostages is claimed to be around 50, possibly more, and they were likely abducted for pathological purposes, ie. torture for fun and Palestinian enjoyment, community abuse to be recorded for celebratory purposes, public rape and sex slavery, along with other forms of horrific human degradation. [If any of these people are factually still alive, they would likely be better off dead.]

Abu Obaida is claiming that Hamas officially has 200 hostages, and “some” of them are foreign nationals. They are willing to release the “foreign nationals” unconditionally when passage is safe.   This “foreign nationals” part of the claim appears intended to target the international community of public opinion – to put pressure on Israel to back off.

Richard Engel (MSNBC) has a video report here.  Although, I would caution you to review this narrative with extreme cynicism.  Time Magazine has also reviewed the Abu Obaida video statement, and their review/analysis is below:

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Interesting development….

(Via Wall Street Journal) – The U.S. military has selected roughly 2,000 troops to prepare for a potential deployment to support Israel, U.S. defense officials said.

The troops are tasked with missions like advising and medical support, the officials said, and they are from across the U.S. armed services. They aren’t intended to serve in a combat role, the officials said. No infantry have been put on prepare-to-deploy order.

The troops are currently stationed both inside the Middle East and outside, including Europe, the officials said. It isn’t clear under what circumstances the U.S. could deploy the troops or to where, but the Pentagon decision signaled it is preparing to support Israeli troops should Israel launch a ground incursion into Gaza.

It is unclear how many of those troops, should they be deployed, would go into Israel. But the officials said that at least some of them could enter the country to support Israeli forces. A predeployment order doesn’t mean the troops will certainly deploy but rather shortens the time troops need to be ready to move. (more)

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