Historians tell us that the predecessor of the Mother’s Day holiday was the spring festival honoring mother goddesses.

In ancient Greece, the spring festival honored Rhea, wife of Cronus and mother of the gods and goddesses.

Cybele was honored in Roman festivals. This Roman celebration, known as Hilaria, lasted for three days – from March 15 to 18, and began several hundred years before Christ was born.

England observes “Mothering Sunday”, observed on the fourth Sunday in Lent. It is possible that the ceremonies to honor Cybele were adopted by the early Church in honor of Mary, Mother of Christ.

In seventeenth century England, young men and women would bring small gifts to their mothers in observance of this day. This British holiday would not carry over to America. One explanation is that life on the American frontier was simply too harsh to take time out for this celebration. Some also believe this conflicted with rigid Puritan beliefs. It would be several centuries later before Americans redesigned their own day dedicated to the memory of their mothers. (more…)

I read a comment not too long ago, perhaps here, perhaps at Stella’s place, about why we spend so much more time with family in the fall. Speculation was that we turn more to each other as we leave warm weather behind and come inside for the cold season to come. Whatever our reasons, we do seem to spend more family time together this time of year.
Thanksgiving will be here soon. It’s our family’s epic culinary adventure. We usually have a gathering of 40-50 people, extended family, some friends, occasionally someone brings an acquaintance who is away from home for the holiday.
We have the dinner at my brother’s and sister’s  in law house out in the country. They have a large lot, and the past few years my SIL has had a bouncy house set up for the kids, which is great fun for them, and great for the adults too, as it really keeps them occupied while we are still in food stupor.
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“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”.

1.) First, please READ THIS ENTIRE THREAD – and the full context of any discussion thread you wish to participate in. Skipping to the comments to express an opinion without reading the content of the discussion is not helpful.
Often, unfortunately very often, we find many of the points injected into comments are already outlined in the construct of the thread itself. -or- Questions asked while the answers are in the primary post.
2.) STAY ON TOPIC – please do not post something unrelated to the specific matter and content of the thread subject. There is a ALWAYS a daily open thread available for any subject you feel should get attention. Never place unrelated, “O/T”, or “Off Topic” comments on a thread unrelated to the topic. It is not ok to say: “sorry, O/T but”… or any iteration therein.
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Joe Dan Gorman is back with his latest edition of Intellectual Froglegs. Enjoy:

Visit Website HERE

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There’s a great deal of interest in the solar eclipse happening today throughout the U.S.  Here’s an open discussion thread for anything pertaining to the eclipse:

NASA also has an eclipse countdown clock and Live Webcast

SEE HERE

A brief note about political violence from an observer of modern political history.
Many people are familiar with the linear political terms left and right.  Left equals Democrat world-views and Right equals Republican world-views.  On the left we discuss progressives, liberals etc.  On the right we discuss conservatives, etc.
In terms of a political continuum as you travel further left the governmental influence over the individual increases.
The further left, the larger government.  Socialism eventually gives way to totalitarianism and communism, full control by government.
On the same continuum if you travel rightward, a constitutional republic eventually gives way to the absence of government and you arrive at anarchy.  Visually it looks like this:

However, the end result of both Totalitarianism and Anarchy is conflict.  Total control by government over the individual is antithetical to freedom; the human condition has historically yearned to be free.  Additionally, within a social system lacking any governing rules and regulations, amid anarchy where only the strong can survive, natural states of human disposition lead to tribalism and therein ultimately, conflict.  (See Animal Farm)
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I am bringing this back for a third time, due to what I consider to be an assault on men in America today. How is this relevant?
Your sons are obviously going to have to be well prepared young men to deal with the increased threat from lunatic feminists who think destroying men is how you handle your objections to the politics of the day. I may later write an update, specifically addressing today’s problems. I hope this helps and encourages some of you.
Originally published in 2014. I thought it worth a re-do, in honor of more grandsons being born and joining the family. This comment was from the last update. 
Lately on Facebook, several versions of what it means to be a little boy’s mama have been circulating. They are touching, and bring a smile to your face, a touch of nostalgia, and perhaps even a tear to your eye. You are exhorted to have lots of energy, be ready to put up with bloody noses and reptiles in the house, see movies you don’t like, and various other true things.
We mamas of little boys have a tough job. We deserve a little smile as we ponder our muddy offspring. As I type this, my just recently de-mudded grandson is graciously allowing me a few minutes to recoup from a busy day of swimming, mud bogging, dump trucking, and hugging stinky dogs. His sister hung right in there with him. So, yes, we even need these moments that tell our hearts that our efforts are special moments that will unfold in a story book life for our beloved sons.
However, we also need some harder truths, and now is a good time to take a look at that. So, here’s my version, for what it’s worth.
You might think, because I write this, that I am an expert and my sons are jet setting billionaires who are in a third world country fixing the unfixable problems. Nope, they are just normal guys, who have normal lives with some really wonderful successes like those grandkids temporarily being angels, and great jobs, fun hobbies, or devotion to family and friends. Being there when family needs help, rooting for the right football team (Go Irish!), sitting by hospital beds, listening to troubles. They have tried and failed, tried and succeeded, fallen and got back up too many times to count. (more…)

We received the following email inquiry:

“I need some info. There’s a new FB page calling themselves Conservative Treehouse. Is that The last refuge Conservative Treehouse or has someone taken your name to create a page on FB? Their stories aren’t the same ones I see daily here at CT so thought I’d better check.”

Apparently an individual, or group of individuals, has established a Facebook page fraudulently claiming to be The Conservative Treehouse website (aka: The Last Refuge).
This is fraud.
The Conservative Treehouse Website is NOT on Facebook.  No member of this website has established a Facebook page to represent the content of this website; nor would we, or do we, have plans to ever establish a Facebook page.  Any claim to the contrary is 100% false.
Apparently an individual, or a group of individuals, in an effort to exploit the name and brand/site reputation for their own personal financial gain, have created a Facebook Page intended to deceive the Facebook community.
After CTH was alerted of the issue via email – the operator of the Facebook Page was politely asked to shut down the fraudulent Facebook page and to cease and desist any reference to this website.  They have refused the request.  We are reviewing legal options.
For clarity: TheConservativeTreehouse.Com is not affiliated with Facebook.  Additionally, the twitter account for CTH website is: [ @TheLastRefuge2 ] This is the only twitter account connected to content within  TheConservativeTreehouse.Com.
It is very unfortunate (and frustrating) to spend time dealing with underhanded and manipulative deception.

The Saudi people and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are very proud of what they were able to accomplish during this historic visit by President Donald Trump to the summit of a united Arab coalition. (Summit Production Video):

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The entire region should be proud.

Despite the popular western dismissive media narrative, the summit was a resounding success. Beyond the royal pageantry, we can only imagine the internal anxiety if our beloved America was defined by the abhorrent behavior of the Westboro Baptist Church.

Consider: (more…)

You can follow the updates at the Official Iditarod Website HERE – The Iditarod Trail Facebook Page is HERE

Nicolas Petit first to Yukon – By Joe Runyan
In an impressive display of raw power, Nicolas Petit took command at the lead into Tanana.  Insiders viewing the GPS tracker saw Nicolas work his team to the front, edge past  Martin Buser and arrive first at the Yukon with fifteen dogs.
The sun in the horizon turned the sky pastel pink as Petit settled his team for a rest at the Tanana community center.  First he took an extra snowhook (a pronged lightweight anchor with curved hooks)  and tied the six foot line to a loop on the main towline and stretched out the towline.  That kept the team orderly.
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