Two big companies getting rid of their DEI policies.
1/ John Deere rolls back DEI policies
having come under fire from conservatives, saying it won’t take part in events like Pride or have a pronoun policy
It said that it would audit its company-mandated training materials to “ensure the absence of socially-motivated messages” and that its business resource groups would “exclusively” focus on professional development, networking, mentoring, and supporting talent recruitment.
Microsoft joins a number of tech companies in walking back DEI commitments that were made in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, including Google, Meta and Zoom.
Amazing Polly (around 7:30 and 30min mark) on connection to cross-promotional network of “trusted voices”…
Who are the voices that we can trust? Without our own research and a desire to seek the truth, it is easy to be deceived by the so-called Alt Media.
Thanks, Esme, for making the decision to join our blog as a regular commenter. Taking part and posting comments gets quite easy once you get used to it. There is so much to post on, and it’s good to sometimes take a break from the serious news and share some light stuff.
There seemed to be some glitches with your initial comments. We’ve had a few bugs on the blog since this site was set up – problems and time delays in comments appearing. I’ve had some comments disappear over the past few years on this blog. When I was posting comments on the Israel-Palestine thread, in the same week, I had two (long) comments that vanished, and my screen showed some WordPress error message that made no sense.
I worked out the cause, later. My comment contained one of the words that WordPress doesn’t like – the word is em-bed (if typed as one word is not ok; with the hyphen it is ok). The other case, it was a web link it decided was not okay, and I worked around that using TinyURL.
Since the announcement that Trump’s VP is Vance, there has been much focus on Peter Thiel. And with good reason. We’ve had a few comments on the previous page. Con Inc Media will not talk about this, but it is very important. There is a network of influential people linked to Vance.
While J.D. Vance has his own controversies, his close connection to billionaire Peter Thiel, who is poised to have unprecedented influence in a new Trump administration, should deeply unsettle every American who cares about freedom, privacy and reigning in the surveillance state.
Both Vance and Harari coalesce on an ultimate point: that more and more ordinary people are becoming useless, living meaningless lives made bearable only by substances and distractions (Harari has concluded the best-case scenario for the future of many ordinary people is “drugs and computer games”).
Vance will therefore use his Hollywood credentials and the power of propaganda – ably aided and abetted by actor Trump – to gain increased support for a demonisation of this “useless class”, who are, ultimately, targeted for extinction.
Following the shooting, Donald Trump’s supporters claim he’s a “threat to the US deep state”. But in reality, he is a warmonger who appointed CIA officials & neocons to run his foreign policy.
I documented Trump’s support for Israel & Ukraine and aggression against China, Russia, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba.
Today’s Liturgy of the Word is about shepherds – the bad ones and the Good Shepherd. It is a timely message for those looking for worldly saviours to lead them and save them.
Re-posting this one, with part of the blurb below the video.
Even when we cannot see what will come, we can trust Him to lead us. Perspective is also important in this life, because we often wonder if we have a Shepherd at all. So many things happen that we don’t understand. But, the Bible tells us that He is leading us as a Good Shepherd. If it doesn’t make sense now, it will in the future – in eternity. May we all trust our Shepherd to lead us to everlasting life.
The irony is thick, given that some of those doing the cancelling are known for their prior staunch efforts to protect free speech, raising questions about whether some wish protect free speech in principle, or just the speech they agree with.
mh, you’ve said that you don’t have a twitter account.
Are you able to click open the twitter links that I post, read the info and view the videos in them?
Or do you get blocked from viewing parts of the tweet/post?
1/
The Real President Of The United States
Arrives in the US
.
2/ A video from CBS (10 mins)
Supporters of Israel and Zionists can justify this with But October 7 and But Hamas and But hostages. Or insist that IDF is telling the truth about not targeting civilians and that the doctors are lying.
.
3/
Drs Mark Perlmutter and Feroze Sidhwa We Volunteered at a Gaza Hospital. What We Saw Was Unspeakable.
Mark Perlmutter is an orthopedic and hand surgeon who practices in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
Feroze Sidhwa is a trauma and critical care surgeon who practices in Northern California.
Normally I cannot see what the poster on x is responding too.
But sometimes I believe I can.
But if they have linked a video I can watch that, ie when Tucker used to post his latest episodes on x.
After posting, I usually test links to make sure that readers can view what I have posted. But as I have an account I can view everything so I can’t be sure about what happens when readers click on the links. As long as you can read the post and view any videos in it, that should be okay.
I did not want to get on social media but when Elon started restricting access, I decided to join up. It is not quite the absolute Free Speech that Elon promised. Right now, with all its limitations, it is still the best source of the real news.
I have no interest in the Premium features or making money from posting comments, links and info. Through a process of trial and error, I have been able to find good sources of news and info which helps keep me informed on current events. I have seen the bias in the MSM and the Alt MSM and cannot rely on them.
When I have the time, I spend a short while checking through the good accounts for news content. I don’t let myself get caught up in useless stuff. There is plenty of matter on twitter that is useful and worthwhile. What I learn there, I come over here and share. That is why I have so much matter to post, and not enough time for it.
The “new and improved” big tent of the Republican Party is run by the Trump family. It is reshaping itself to include everyone – that is everyone but social conservatives.
Migadonians agree with this new GOP because they think that it is about getting votes and winning elections. That it is necessary to embrace everything and think that you will get the votes with that strategy.
3/ Eric Trump, on behalf of his father, considers the issues that are important to conservatives as “worrying about spots on the wall in the basement.”
So how will social conservatives respond to being treated like mere spots on the basement wall?
Some of them are so naïve that they are either not aware of how they are being dismissed by this new GOP, or they think that the lesser of two evils is good enough for them.
A brief memo to social conservatives worried that criticism of the GOP will cost it votes, and who claim that the critics are politically naïve:
First, yes, criticism could cost the party votes. That’s precisely the point. The party could lose votes IF, in the months remaining before the election, it does not try seriously to meet the concerns of social conservatives. In particular, the GOP must be made to see that it cannot take their votes for granted. And the party must do something to make up for the appalling injustice that was done to social conservatives during the platform process, as recounted in the First Things article linked to below.
Second, it is not the critics, but those who urge their fellow social conservatives to keep their mouths shut, who are politically naïve. The only thing politicians can be relied on to respond to is the prospect of losing votes or losing money. If the GOP fears that it might lose the votes or financial contributions of a critical mass of social conservatives, it will have to take their concerns seriously. If, instead, social conservatives acquiesce to what has happened rather than fighting back, the party will have no incentive to try to address their concerns in the future – and every incentive not to do so, given the unpopularity of social conservatism in the culture at large.
The stakes are high, and that is precisely why social conservatives must raise the alarm NOW, while they might still influence the direction of the party, not in some fantasy post-election future. The actual political reality is that if the GOP wins, having thrown social conservatives under the bus without any pushback from them, the party will draw the lesson that it no longer needs to worry about them or their concerns.
What good is “winning” if we lose our identity in the process? Conservatism isn’t just a political strategy; it’s a worldview rooted in timeless principles like individual liberty, limited government, promoting a moral order and respect for tradition. These are not bargaining chips to be traded away for a few more votes.
No, but I can read the links you post. I’ve been happy to limit my social media presence knowing even the little I do about the people behind all the platforms. But understand, as you say, it seems to be the best source for real news. Maybe I’ll open an account!
I do wonder how much news we really need, or is healthy for us to consume all the time. Thinking of previous generations, and along the lines of MiriAF’s piece about there having been no ‘entertainment deficit’ before the introduction of the TV and so on. (Remember the simple, sweet anticipation, the practised patience, of letter-writing?) And that more of that time and energy might be better directed to doing something practical. How much of it is just torturing ourselves with fruitless awareness of all the evil goings-on?
Do you know how many people check this site? It seems to be predominantly you and mh posting/commenting? Which is a shame yet perhaps not surprising given the level of discernment compared with noisier local sites.
Anyway, I’ll look into opening a Twitter account, kaysee.
That’s when I turned up on Catallaxy to lend my support to the Orange Man.
I know. Dr Jane Ruby: “This is not the Trump of 2016.” But maybe the Trump of 2016 was never the Trump of 2016. A lot seems to indicate he was never in any position to “drain the swamp”, even if he ever really meant to.
Esme, you’ve brought up some very good points. I have been thinking about some of them for a while. I made a few passing references in my long rants, last month.
I will respond in detail to your comment but, before that, two questions. You don’t have to answer them if you don’t want to.
You must have been reading this blog for a while (months?) because you understand the kind of content we post and discuss here.
– Why did you decide to shift from a “lurking” mode and finally post a comment?
– And you are now taking part by posting on a regular basis?
The US Election, it is filled with high drama – on both sides of the UniParty. Those living in the land of Migadonia cannot handle any criticism of their god, Trump. So they will react by calling the poster a Dem/Biden supporter, a leftie, a Rino and so on.
But there are people who are looking at the wider picture and they understand what is taking place and are expressing their views and opinions. Such as this one posted last week:
You must have been reading this blog for a while (months?) because you understand the kind of content we post and discuss here.
– Why did you decide to shift from a “lurking” mode and finally post a comment?
– And you are now taking part by posting on a regular basis?
This site is one of several I’ve looked in at for some time. I can’t say I’ve read everything posted here, or that what interests me aligns exactly with what interests anyone who posts here or vice versa, but, as I said when I first commented, I appreciate the critical thinking I’ve seen here, the discernment. It’s not as busy as other sites are with mindless chatter and bickering; it’s like stepping out of a dining hall and into a tute room. The commentary isn’t blindly partisan; it sees beyond the artificial left/right divide they use to control us. And I appreciate the Christian influence in some posts, understanding we’re in a spiritual war.
It’s easier to stay a ‘lurker’ due to the time and effort involved in posting, and because we don’t live in a free country, and because other posters are strangers and relatively few. But, in short, I posted because I appreciate the good I see in the site and you seemed to be questioning whether support was out there. I could relate. The last four years have had many of us sending out a ‘cooee’ for kindred spirits in all sorts of places.
I do struggle with balancing awareness of what’s going on with ensuring I’m not letting my focus stray too much from the good. News feeds are overwhelmingly negative. And time might be better spent doing practical things with real people in the real world, while we still can. But if it’s a good thing for me to contribute something here, I’d like to.
Kamala not bending the knee to foreign war-criminal.
Republicans outraged!
WASHINGTON – Republicans attacked Vice President Kamala Harris for skipping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint Congressional address on Wednesday, to campaign in Indiana.
“You want to be the leader of the free world, and yet you can’t bring yourself to sit behind our most important and strategic ally in this moment. That is not a good look for you,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said, “it’s not a good look for America and it’s not a good look for her party, that she aims to lead,” adding that it was her duty as the Vice President to oversee joint sessions of Congress.
“It’s outrageous,” he said, about the fact that she would not attend.
… Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) noted that, in addition, Harris had not greeted Netanyahu on the tarmac when his plane landed.
If you aren’t disturbed by a foreign leader receiving dozens of standing ovations from our Congress as he demands more of our money, you are not a Loyal American.
Thank you, Esme, for your reply to my questions. I know what it takes to write out a long, well-thought-out comment, so I appreciate the detailed response.
Last month, I wrote out a series of long comments. It came about as a result of my pondering on some points, including the ones you’ve mentioned:
– the time we spend in reading the news and blogging vs the practical things we can be doing.
– balancing the negativity/evil taking place in some quarters vs the good and the positive in other areas
– the value of having a platform where we can have our say (free speech) vs living in a society where freedoms are suppressed
– the reasons why I have been spending my time on the blog
– the values of the world and the spiritual war vs the need for Christians to defend their faith
– the blog audience: who is reading this blog – was it just mh and me?
We can take up some of the points above, for discussion, at a later stage.
I don’t spend all day hooked on to the internet. I have worked out a quick way to spend some time reading what’s happening, from different sources. So it is quite easy for me to get my daily fix of news and move on to other things.
But having learnt from the efforts of others, on other sites, to help me get Awake and Aware, I think it would be selfish to keep it to myself. Since we have this free speech platform, I come here and share what I have learnt elsewhere. However, there is a problem with this. I don’t get all the info for a topic nicely laid out on a platter in one place. It is spread across different accounts or even media sites.
We are all busy people. To help readers here, I try to place items connected to the same topic together. I spend some time in compiling the info, or summarising the events or putting them together in a context. Then I post them with a bit of info and the links to make it easy for those reading the comments. I don’t like click bait – sometimes someone on social media will post just a link and I click on it. It turns out to be unrelated to the topic and a waste of my time. So as far as possible – unless they are memes or toons – I try to provide some explanation with the links.
Do you know how many people check this site? It seems to be predominantly you and mh posting/commenting? Which is a shame yet perhaps not surprising given the level of discernment compared with noisier local sites.
Months ago, Adam said that there were hundreds of regular visitors to this blog – those are readers who come here not once or twice but regularly. I don’t know if that is still true.
So it seems that we have lurkers but not many willing to post. mh and I have been doing our best to keep it running. We get occasional posters but not those who are committed to helping to keep this site going. I was pleased when you joined us this month. It has been really hard for just the two of us to keep posting.
I asked you the questions about your decision to post here because, it may be that, like you, there are 1 or 2 or 3 others who also understand and value the kind of content we post here. And share the same desire for critical thinking, analysis, intelligent discussions and debates. Those who are aware of the undercurrents in our society and our world. If they follow your lead and step in here, it would add to the voices. Maybe they would like to take part but are reluctant. You joined in and have already posted over 40 comments in your first month, as a serious contributor.
My method has been to come in when I can, read what is posted, post what I have, and respond to other comments if time permits. Then I go off to do my other stuff. It is not as if becoming a regular commenter requires one to commit hours to the blog.
If we have a small serious group of intelligent contributors, it would be ideal. Like a tute room. We can share and discuss, each at a time that is convenient for us. If others – tens or hundreds or thousands – want to stop by and read (as lurkers), they can do so.
Two big companies getting rid of their DEI policies.
1/
John Deere rolls back DEI policies
having come under fire from conservatives, saying it won’t take part in events like Pride or have a pronoun policy
2/
Microsoft lays off its DEI team as ex staff slam company
Report comment
Who are the voices that we can trust? Without our own research and a desire to seek the truth, it is easy to be deceived by the so-called Alt Media.
Thanks, Esme, for making the decision to join our blog as a regular commenter. Taking part and posting comments gets quite easy once you get used to it. There is so much to post on, and it’s good to sometimes take a break from the serious news and share some light stuff.
There seemed to be some glitches with your initial comments. We’ve had a few bugs on the blog since this site was set up – problems and time delays in comments appearing. I’ve had some comments disappear over the past few years on this blog. When I was posting comments on the Israel-Palestine thread, in the same week, I had two (long) comments that vanished, and my screen showed some WordPress error message that made no sense.
I worked out the cause, later. My comment contained one of the words that WordPress doesn’t like – the word is em-bed (if typed as one word is not ok; with the hyphen it is ok). The other case, it was a web link it decided was not okay, and I worked around that using TinyURL.
Report comment
Since the announcement that Trump’s VP is Vance, there has been much focus on Peter Thiel. And with good reason. We’ve had a few comments on the previous page. Con Inc Media will not talk about this, but it is very important. There is a network of influential people linked to Vance.
Whitney Webb
1/
Short clip
.
2/
Full Video
“The Deep State Mafia is running both political parties”
Journalist Whitney Webb reveals | Redacted
3/
Article
The Man Behind Trump’s VP Pick: It’s Worse Than You Think
Report comment
Dr Jane Ruby
1/
2/
3/
Ron Paul
Off To A Bad Start — J.D. Vance’s Bombastic Threats Against Iran
Report comment
‘Hillbilly’. ‘Elegy’.
Report comment
Maybe someone well-versed in the subject of wars can check this out and debunk what Ben Norton has posted in his video?
Ben Norton
.
The full video
Report comment
Israel bombs Yemen, then AIPAC demands the USA defend Israel.
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🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕
And for this Sunday….
Today’s Liturgy of the Word is about shepherds – the bad ones and the Good Shepherd. It is a timely message for those looking for worldly saviours to lead them and save them.
Re-posting this one, with part of the blurb below the video.
The Lord’s My Shepherd
.
A Ponderable
Report comment
Footage From 1896 Shows Palestine Before Israeli Occupation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Uqtz2ccJw
Report comment
The assassin’s bullet grazed Trump, killed Biden
Report comment
Chris Comeau
@ChrisComeau13
So #Kamala Harris is crazy angry about porn and nudity. But, as a public figure she can pose like this… no doubt she gets a “shwing”… but, come on.
https://x.com/ChrisComeau13/status/1296697004337311744
Report comment
The Bizarre Way It All Ended
Paul Joseph Watson
1.99M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PqkDoRfeYU
Report comment
Cancelling the cancellers
Report comment
I have some questions
Report comment
mh, you’ve said that you don’t have a twitter account.
Are you able to click open the twitter links that I post, read the info and view the videos in them?
Or do you get blocked from viewing parts of the tweet/post?
Report comment
Benjamin Netanyahu arriving in America to tell them who their next President will be.
Report comment
Normally I cannot see what the poster on x is responding too.
But sometimes I believe I can.
But if they have linked a video I can watch that, ie when Tucker used to post his latest episodes on x.
Report comment
Yes KC.
I can watch the Ron Paul vid.
Report comment
Putin is back
Report comment
1/
The Real President Of The United States
Arrives in the US
.
2/
A video from CBS (10 mins)
Supporters of Israel and Zionists can justify this with But October 7 and But Hamas and But hostages. Or insist that IDF is telling the truth about not targeting civilians and that the doctors are lying.
.
3/
Drs Mark Perlmutter and Feroze Sidhwa
We Volunteered at a Gaza Hospital. What We Saw Was Unspeakable.
Report comment
After posting, I usually test links to make sure that readers can view what I have posted. But as I have an account I can view everything so I can’t be sure about what happens when readers click on the links. As long as you can read the post and view any videos in it, that should be okay.
I did not want to get on social media but when Elon started restricting access, I decided to join up. It is not quite the absolute Free Speech that Elon promised. Right now, with all its limitations, it is still the best source of the real news.
I have no interest in the Premium features or making money from posting comments, links and info. Through a process of trial and error, I have been able to find good sources of news and info which helps keep me informed on current events. I have seen the bias in the MSM and the Alt MSM and cannot rely on them.
When I have the time, I spend a short while checking through the good accounts for news content. I don’t let myself get caught up in useless stuff. There is plenty of matter on twitter that is useful and worthwhile. What I learn there, I come over here and share. That is why I have so much matter to post, and not enough time for it.
Esme, do you have a twitter account?
Report comment
The Guardian
But if President Biden is mentally and physically unwell, which is what the US establishment have told us, who is running the show? The Chosen Ones?
Report comment
The “new and improved” big tent of the Republican Party is run by the Trump family. It is reshaping itself to include everyone – that is everyone but social conservatives.
Migadonians agree with this new GOP because they think that it is about getting votes and winning elections. That it is necessary to embrace everything and think that you will get the votes with that strategy.
1/
Trump’s 2024 platform
.
2/
Is the Republican Party Becoming Pro-Choice?
.
3/
Eric Trump, on behalf of his father, considers the issues that are important to conservatives as “worrying about spots on the wall in the basement.”
Report comment
So how will social conservatives respond to being treated like mere spots on the basement wall?
Some of them are so naïve that they are either not aware of how they are being dismissed by this new GOP, or they think that the lesser of two evils is good enough for them.
Others who know better:
1/
Edward Fesser
2/
Croaky Caiman
Report comment
I support the 2015 Trump.
That’s when I turned up on Catallaxy to lend my support to the Orange Man.
It wasn’t about about abortion, although Trump said some good things.
As one scribe wrote in 2016, Trump voters wanted to deliver a bomb to DC.
It turned out to be a damp firework that failed to go off.
Report comment
No, but I can read the links you post. I’ve been happy to limit my social media presence knowing even the little I do about the people behind all the platforms. But understand, as you say, it seems to be the best source for real news. Maybe I’ll open an account!
I do wonder how much news we really need, or is healthy for us to consume all the time. Thinking of previous generations, and along the lines of MiriAF’s piece about there having been no ‘entertainment deficit’ before the introduction of the TV and so on. (Remember the simple, sweet anticipation, the practised patience, of letter-writing?) And that more of that time and energy might be better directed to doing something practical. How much of it is just torturing ourselves with fruitless awareness of all the evil goings-on?
Do you know how many people check this site? It seems to be predominantly you and mh posting/commenting? Which is a shame yet perhaps not surprising given the level of discernment compared with noisier local sites.
Anyway, I’ll look into opening a Twitter account, kaysee.
Report comment
I know. Dr Jane Ruby: “This is not the Trump of 2016.” But maybe the Trump of 2016 was never the Trump of 2016. A lot seems to indicate he was never in any position to “drain the swamp”, even if he ever really meant to.
Report comment
The Age
Report comment
Esme, you’ve brought up some very good points. I have been thinking about some of them for a while. I made a few passing references in my long rants, last month.
I will respond in detail to your comment but, before that, two questions. You don’t have to answer them if you don’t want to.
You must have been reading this blog for a while (months?) because you understand the kind of content we post and discuss here.
– Why did you decide to shift from a “lurking” mode and finally post a comment?
– And you are now taking part by posting on a regular basis?
Report comment
KING NETANYAHU ARRIVES??? MASS PROTEST Planned For Netanyahu Speech | America First Ep. 1358
Nicholas J. Fuentes
89.2K followers
https://rumble.com/v586zf9-america-first-ep.-1358.html
Report comment
Ian Carroll
Report comment
The US Election, it is filled with high drama – on both sides of the UniParty. Those living in the land of Migadonia cannot handle any criticism of their god, Trump. So they will react by calling the poster a Dem/Biden supporter, a leftie, a Rino and so on.
But there are people who are looking at the wider picture and they understand what is taking place and are expressing their views and opinions. Such as this one posted last week:
vanessa beeley
Report comment
IDF Track Record
They kill and destroy deliberately or “by mistake” not just Palestinians but Israelis as well.
1948
Documents Reveal Israeli Army Poisoned Water Wells
in Palestinian Towns During 1948 War
1970s
Israel Poisoned Palestinian Land to Build West Bank Settlement
in 1970s, Documents Reveal
2024
Hostages Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtab confirmed dead,
IDF likely at fault
Report comment
Bob toon
Report comment
Nick Fuentes will be live-streaming the Netanyahu speech to Congress tomorrow.
Congressmen will clapping like trained seals, otherwise they can expect a visit from their AIPAC babysitter.
Report comment
This site is one of several I’ve looked in at for some time. I can’t say I’ve read everything posted here, or that what interests me aligns exactly with what interests anyone who posts here or vice versa, but, as I said when I first commented, I appreciate the critical thinking I’ve seen here, the discernment. It’s not as busy as other sites are with mindless chatter and bickering; it’s like stepping out of a dining hall and into a tute room. The commentary isn’t blindly partisan; it sees beyond the artificial left/right divide they use to control us. And I appreciate the Christian influence in some posts, understanding we’re in a spiritual war.
It’s easier to stay a ‘lurker’ due to the time and effort involved in posting, and because we don’t live in a free country, and because other posters are strangers and relatively few. But, in short, I posted because I appreciate the good I see in the site and you seemed to be questioning whether support was out there. I could relate. The last four years have had many of us sending out a ‘cooee’ for kindred spirits in all sorts of places.
I do struggle with balancing awareness of what’s going on with ensuring I’m not letting my focus stray too much from the good. News feeds are overwhelmingly negative. And time might be better spent doing practical things with real people in the real world, while we still can. But if it’s a good thing for me to contribute something here, I’d like to.
Report comment
Kamala not bending the knee to foreign war-criminal.
Republicans outraged!
Report comment
Report comment
He seems a rare good one
Report comment
Report comment
NETANYAHU’S DISGUSTING LIE FILLED SPEECH
Secular Talk
1.22M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWURSipcY5M
Report comment
Biden Boasts “The U.S. is Not at War Anywhere in the World” Just Hours After Bombing Yemen
Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation
Jul. 25, 2024
https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64564
Report comment
‘We Did It—Congratulations’: David Schweikert Decries US Reaching $35 Trillion In National Debt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7lOcJqZEl4
Report comment
Thank you, Esme, for your reply to my questions. I know what it takes to write out a long, well-thought-out comment, so I appreciate the detailed response.
Last month, I wrote out a series of long comments. It came about as a result of my pondering on some points, including the ones you’ve mentioned:
– the time we spend in reading the news and blogging vs the practical things we can be doing.
– balancing the negativity/evil taking place in some quarters vs the good and the positive in other areas
– the value of having a platform where we can have our say (free speech) vs living in a society where freedoms are suppressed
– the reasons why I have been spending my time on the blog
– the values of the world and the spiritual war vs the need for Christians to defend their faith
– the blog audience: who is reading this blog – was it just mh and me?
We can take up some of the points above, for discussion, at a later stage.
I don’t spend all day hooked on to the internet. I have worked out a quick way to spend some time reading what’s happening, from different sources. So it is quite easy for me to get my daily fix of news and move on to other things.
But having learnt from the efforts of others, on other sites, to help me get Awake and Aware, I think it would be selfish to keep it to myself. Since we have this free speech platform, I come here and share what I have learnt elsewhere. However, there is a problem with this. I don’t get all the info for a topic nicely laid out on a platter in one place. It is spread across different accounts or even media sites.
We are all busy people. To help readers here, I try to place items connected to the same topic together. I spend some time in compiling the info, or summarising the events or putting them together in a context. Then I post them with a bit of info and the links to make it easy for those reading the comments. I don’t like click bait – sometimes someone on social media will post just a link and I click on it. It turns out to be unrelated to the topic and a waste of my time. So as far as possible – unless they are memes or toons – I try to provide some explanation with the links.
But all this takes up Time and Effort.
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Months ago, Adam said that there were hundreds of regular visitors to this blog – those are readers who come here not once or twice but regularly. I don’t know if that is still true.
So it seems that we have lurkers but not many willing to post. mh and I have been doing our best to keep it running. We get occasional posters but not those who are committed to helping to keep this site going. I was pleased when you joined us this month. It has been really hard for just the two of us to keep posting.
I asked you the questions about your decision to post here because, it may be that, like you, there are 1 or 2 or 3 others who also understand and value the kind of content we post here. And share the same desire for critical thinking, analysis, intelligent discussions and debates. Those who are aware of the undercurrents in our society and our world. If they follow your lead and step in here, it would add to the voices. Maybe they would like to take part but are reluctant. You joined in and have already posted over 40 comments in your first month, as a serious contributor.
My method has been to come in when I can, read what is posted, post what I have, and respond to other comments if time permits. Then I go off to do my other stuff. It is not as if becoming a regular commenter requires one to commit hours to the blog.
If we have a small serious group of intelligent contributors, it would be ideal. Like a tute room. We can share and discuss, each at a time that is convenient for us. If others – tens or hundreds or thousands – want to stop by and read (as lurkers), they can do so.
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