… “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

~ Robert Frost

2021 has again been a tumultuous year for most of us.  As the eve winds down, we are given to considering everything that has taken place.

Perhaps we have new challenges, perhaps our center is askew, perhaps our faith holds a new perspective, or perhaps our exhaustion weighs heavy as we rush turning to the next chapter…. hoping, praying for a better tomorrow.

It is easy to lose our sense of optimism.  Retaining a joyful perspective while everything around us seems mad isn’t easy.  However, if you accept that you can create something just a little bit better by making a choice, then you have accomplished a great deal.  Regardless of what tomorrow brings, we always have choices.  A new year’s perspective:

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Unfortunately, we really cannot rely on BLS data, Commerce data or general information from the mainstream media to get a pulse on what’s really going on with products and prices on Main Street USA.  Factually, your ground reports have consistently been the accurate reflection of what’s happening in the various states and regions around the country.

With that in mind, what’s the latest situation in your area with COVID rules, prices on stuff you buy every day, and the availability of products and/or services in your community?

Specifically, people would be interested to know what the climate is toward the COVID rules, regulations, masks etc. in your city, town, hamlet or local community?   How are things overall?

What’s the impact of inflation and supply chain disruptions like around you?  Gas prices, grocery prices, home heating or energy prices etc.?  Also, if you are having any difficulties finding products that you normally purchase?  What are your family, friends and neighbors saying about it.

In short, how are things around you this holiday season?   Use the comment section to provide an update on your general area.   Your ground reports are always insightful and provide a good & accurate sense of how things are going on Main Street.

#FJB

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Yesterday afternoon, in an effort to patch a WordPress security vulnerability, the server network (not us) installed an update.  Unfortunately, that update took down the website for a short period around 4:30pm ET Friday and continues to be problematic.

In an effort to get the website back online, the quick fix was to reinstall an older theme of CTH to provide the server engineers time to troubleshoot the problem on their end.  The issue was not created by us, and we sincerely apologize for the disruption as this is corrected.

Our website is currently running on the older WordPress theme that existed prior to the optimization that took place early in 2021 when we relaunched CTH 2.0.

This is the reason why the site looks and feels different, and why the mobile device responses are not as compatible.

Essentially, right now CTH is running on the old theme that was designed specifically for desktop/laptop users.  I am told that engineers are working on resolving the issue, returning server compatibility and returning the website to the optimized CTH 2.0 theme.

I do not know how long it will take them to correct the issue.  Again, my sincere apologies for the site issues you may be experiencing right now, and I appreciate your patience.

~ Sundance

**BUMPED x2**

As the impacts of the various vaccination mandates take shape, it is worth a review of the current status as it impacts you and your family on a local basis.

As noted by a reader in Washington state, the cleaving of society on vaccinated status is having an unusual impact on many regions even within individual states.

As one anecdotal report is told, the eastern side of Washington state is essentially functioning as before the vaccination mandate; while the western side is seeing a substantial breakdown in local civic society.

Mandates by local officials are creating issues for local services.  Local police, fire and first responders are leaving their jobs, creating issues for those in the leftist side of Washington state. Meanwhile the eastern, or more conservative side of the state, is relatively not impacted.

In another cleaving anecdote one business owner in southern California has told a rebel alliance member to discontinue the use of services from a vendor who does not share the leftist political perspectives of the owner; while other right-minded business owners (in the same industry) are looking specifically to gain advantage by seeking out vendors who are skilled, stable and independent.

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When my three sons were little this was my least favorite time of the year. School supply time. I bought the basics all summer for awhile, but then I had to stop because the lists became so specific that I was wasting my money. Back then we didn’t get the lists until right before school started, when you pre registered your kids.

So, a week or two before school I was frantically trying to find specific brands of pencils, pens, notebooks, binders, glues, folders  (and those had to be specific colors too), crayons, dictionaries, calculators, and on and on. Sometimes teachers had items on the list not even made by manufacturers listed.

And I, who learned how to prove theorems and construct pentagrams and calculate sines, cosines, and tangents all without ever owning a calculator by the time I graduated high school, I resented those calculators. I knew then that they weren’t aids that helped my young sons think and learn, at that age they were crutches. (more…)

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”

1.) First, please READ THIS ENTIRE THREAD – and the full text 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 quite often, we find many of the points injected into comments are already outlined in the construct of the thread itself; 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, it is actually quite rude.

The Treehouse operates on the ‘old school‘ standards and practices of civil discourse amid the original blogging community.

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Tropical Storm Elsa is anticipated to make landfall along the western coastline of Florida later today. With Elsa moving through warm water in the southern Gulf of Mexico it is possible Elsa will gain hurricane strength prior to landfall. Residents along the Western coastal area of Florida should be prepared. As long-time readers are aware, depending on events later today, my CERT responsibilities will likely limit my posting (tool boxes loaded).

Elsa’s winds extend outward to 70 miles as it travels through the gulf coast area. However, this system is pushing a lot of water on the southeast quadrant. Moderate storm surge and flooding is an issue for the coastal areas due to the amount of rain predicted.  This is a very wet system.  Treepers in the Sarasota/Tampa Bay area northward to the bend should pay particular attention tonight.  Power outages will be more sporadic as they result from wind strength/duration.

National Hurricane Center – […] “At 1100 AM EDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Elsa was located near latitude 24.9 North, longitude 82.8 West. Elsa is moving toward the north-northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h) and a generally northward motion is expected today and tonight. A turn toward the north-northeast is expected on Wednesday, followed by a faster northeastward by late Thursday.

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Cousin Joe Dan Gorman has produced another video message to the Rebel Alliance. “Freedom -vs- Liberty!”

‘We The People’ are all dissidents right now…. and smiling.

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Visit and Support Your Cousin Here

A solid reminder from Joe Dan…. Keep up the boycotts, do not relent.

We assemble upon a great digital battlefield in the fight for our republic. It is critical to reflect upon the values that form the foundation of our national assembly…. Remember, “isolation starts with a rebellion against God“, we must be conscious about the need to stay connected; first to God, then to eachother.

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The original post was an assembly of thoughts from the fantastic team helping to keep CTH level and steady.  It was accidentally published prior to my review.. /SD.

The Treehouse previously operated on the WordPress/Automattic platform without a lot of fanfare; a genuine labor of love. At first it was just a blogging platform, but as technology became more sophisticated, things got better for you, the loyal reader and the admin team.  Specifically, CTH was able to monetize the site with advertising, which allowed me to spend more time doing research, writing articles and managing the direct concerns of the readers.  Running ads was a checkbox, we turned it on and it just worked.

It’s safe to say that we were unaware of the amount of technical value, managing day to day technical issues, that blogging platforms like WordPress.com delivered. That all changed when CTH was deplatformed by Matt Mullenweg’s WordPress.com.

Fortunately, the software that operated the site was “open-source,” which means we had the option of moving the whole site to new servers without a lot of TECHNICAL issues.  It was was really the scale of content and the goal to preserve the decades-long  library (w/internal citations) that provided the greatest challenge.  However, keeping the machines running is a different game when every page view now comes at a cost.

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Hope springs eternal.   President Trump had dinner last night with MAGA Governor Ron DeSantis….

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CTH pointed out something a few weeks ago that bears repeating.  There is a video which some have watched below; however, I would challenge readers and supporters of the America First agenda to re-watch the video with the sound “off”.

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