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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A reminder for a friend…

Steadfast doesn’t mean when it’s easy; the term has no meaning when things are working according to our own convenient interests. Steadfast means standing strong when it’s challenging, difficult and unnerving. Just as courage is not the absence of fear, rather it is taking action despite being fearful; so too is steadfast a decision.

Often when things are disconcerting, we retreat to the place where we are comfortable. However, steadfast is unwavering despite the obstacles and difficulties. When we don’t hold the words to comfort the grieved, yet we show up and sit quietly just to eliminate loneliness, that is a steadfast commitment. When we see adversity on the face of another, and we choose to engage with our time and comfort, that is a steadfast decision.

When CTH was formed, it was a small assembly of misfits who were not fearless, but brave enough to be comfortable within our discomfort.  We knew we had to look deeply at the issues which face us. We remind ourselves that ‘truth has no agenda‘ & truth exists despite our feelings of the subject matter. The core elements of CTH are based on this principle of remaining steadfast amid the face of adversity, national, political or even personal.

The CTH armory is insightful, wise and often purposeful; but this assembly is foremost a fellowship. A steadfast decision to stand together and figure out how all of these intense subjects, issues and events interact, influence and ultimately impact our lives.

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Over the past several weeks the tech team behind CTH 2.0 has been working on a test site to optimize the battle-tank known as The Last Refuge.  This is phase-3 of the CTH anti-fragile system, know as the optimization phase.

The goal of optimization is to take the decades-old weight of our site, lighten the server load, increase the response time and simultaneously generate a site that optimizes based on the type of hardware being used by reader: desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

When CTH originally launched over a decade ago the theme was responsive to desktop and laptop computer users.  Mobile platforms were in their infancy.  Now more than half of website users are coming to sites from tablets or phones.  The optimization phase will make those user experiences easier and more responsive.

The landing page of CTH will not change too much (example image on left). However, each of the top links “About Us”, “guidelines” etc will generate a different impression for the user.  The right margin will be streamlined on the Main landing page, and we will be introducing an alliance of allies to replace the old-school blogroll.

Most of the decisions for the layout, font and navigability have been worked out; and now the coding is underway to generate the final product.  Once that is established we will run it through the paces on the test site before switching over; much like the process we used when we switched from WordPress/Automattic to our own server network.

Several website operators have reached out asking us to provide details on the infrastructure being used to stay “anti-fragile”, meaning outside the reach of big tech.  There may come a day when that information is possible to share, but it will not be in the near future.  CTH is operating with an abundance of caution in the era of deplatforming and targeting.

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