There was a historic debate days ago at Norfolk State University among Former Representative Abigail Spanberger and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earl Sears. Spanberger is the Democratic candidate for the next Virginia governor, and Sears is the Republican candidate for the next Virginia governor. I'm from Hampton Roads, and Norfolk State University is a historic landmark in the black community and in Hampton Roads culture in general. Both candidates debating each other in that special location certainly was inspiring. Now, the debate lived up to the current political situation in America. America is in its most politically polarized state since the 1960s and the American Civil War. That is not hyperbole. That's just reality. The debate was shown on WAVY TV 10. We lived through many governors like Robb, Northam, and Douglas Wilder (the first black Governor in American history after Reconstruction). The debate was charged and emotional. Sears, at times, didn't allow Spanberger to finish her statements. Spanberger is a moderate trying to appeal to some progressives. Sears is a Reagan conservative who refuses to criticize Trump on any issue in that debate. Spanberger's argument is that Sears is too supportive of Donald Trump's policies, and Sears' argument is that Spanberger is too out of touch on social issues involving schools. The elephant in the room relates to the comments from Jay Jones, which was talked about in the debate. Jay Jones said sick, evil, and deplorable comments about a Republican and his family. As a man, I condemn those comments. Jones was completely wrong period. Jones has apologized, and the voters can forgive him or not. I can't make that decision for all voters. Regardless of whether someone is a Republican or a Democrat, he or she doesn't deserve death for their views. The debate was charged, and each represented parts of America that have diametrically opposed views. I believe in health care for all, I believe in investments, I oppose the DOGE firing, and I want the government shutdown to end without health care subsidies being cut in the process. Trump is clearly a hypocrite by talking about insurrection, but he pardoned insurrectionists on January 6th. On the issues, Spanberger in my view won the debate.
European imperialism grew at the same time when absolutism came about. Imperialism is evil as it strips the resources from others unjustly by theft, war, colonization, and other wicked means to promote empire and domination against innocent populations in the world. European imperialism over the course of centuries stole lands in multiple continents, murdered millions of people, raped tons of human beings, and did other grotesque actions that I can't mention here. Many people, who professed to be Christian, are complicit in the atrocity of imperialism. England with the Anglican Church had members who promoted colonies overseas and used imperialism from the Americas to Africa and Asia. Spain via the Roman Church used imperialism in Africa, the Americas, and other locations for financial benefit and political power. Even many atheists were involved in such evils too along with radicals who claim to be Muslim being complicit in the slave trade in Africa. By this time of the 1600s, the French, British, and Spanish empires fought each other for global domination basically. Monopolies and monarchs controlled large portions of the world's lands and populations filled with force and wickedness.
There were many secret societies that grown during this time period like the Rosicurcians, the Freemasons, and the Hell Fire Club. The origin of the Rosicrucians are mysterious. The Rosicrucians included a spiritual and cultural movement that rose up in the early 1600s. Rosicrucianism is symbolized by the Rose Cross or Rosy Cross. There have been several Rosicrucian (or Rosicrucian-inspired) organizations since the initial movement was founded, including the Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (1750s–1790s), the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (1865–present), and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1887–1903). Between 1610 and 1615, two anonymous manifestos appeared in early modern Germany and soon after were published throughout Europe. The Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis (The Fame of the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross) was circulated in manuscript among German occultists since about 1610, and published at Cassel in 1614. Johannes Valentinus Andreae has been considered the possible author of the work. A literal reading narrates the travels and education of "Father Brother C.R.C." and his founding of a secret brotherhood of similarly prepared men. Names, numbers, and other details have Qabalistic allusions, in which the cognoscenti of that era were well-versed. The Confessio Fraternitatis (The Confession of the Brotherhood of RC), published in Frankfurt in 1615, responded to confusions and criticisms and elaborated the matter further. So, Rosicurcianism is a movement filled with occultists that wanted to merge Christian teachings with the occult to promote the "higher self" of consciousness. They want to research the physical universe, the spiritual realm, and many embraced Christian mysticism. They wanted to follow the holistic understanding of existence. They wanted spiritual alchemy, hermeticism (as above, so below, the law of correspondences, etc.), empathy towards people and the sacredness of all humanity (believing in the universal brotherhood) respected. Many Protestants allied with the Rosicurcians to oppose the Roman Catholic Church as the Catholic Church leadership back then persecuted occultists and pagans. The truth is that the Protestants are right to disagree with many of the false doctrines of Roman Catholicism, but many of them didn't have to ally with Rosicrucians to do it. Freemasonry existed since the late Middle Ages. Back then, there were the operative masons who build cathedrals and buildings in Europe. The speculative masons were builders who merged mathematics with spiritual concepts that cause modern Freemasonry to exist.
The earliest official English documents to refer to masons are written in Latin — "sculptores lapidum liberorum" (London 1212), "magister lathomus liberarum petrarum" (Oxford 1391) — or Norman French — "mestre mason de franche peer" (Statute of Labourers 1351 (25 Edw. 3. Stat. 2)). These all signify a worker in freestone, a grainless sandstone or limestone suitable for ornamental masonry. In the 17th century, building accounts of Wadham College the terms freemason and freestone mason are used interchangeably. he earliest surviving records of these are the laws and ordinances of the lodge at York Minster in 1352. These regulations were imposed by the Dean and Chapter of the Minster. The Cooke Manuscript, dating from about 1450, set the pattern for what Anderson called the "Gothic Constitutions", the older histories and regulations of the craft. By the 1400's, Masonry embraced the Solomon Temple and Boaz and Jachin imagery. Masons came from the guilds. By the 1500, Masonry spread into Scotland. Freemasonry spread into England heavily by the 1600s, and we know of the Grand Lodge of London being born in 1717. In 1719, they elected John Theophilus Desaguliers, a clergyman, an eminent scientist, and a Fellow of the Royal Society to be Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England. Desaguliers is often described as the "father" of modern freemasonry. It was Desaguliers who inscribed the dedication to Anderson's Constitutions, headed the committee which directed and approved them, and supplied the "Gothic Constitutions" from which they were formed. Although he only served one term as Grand Master, he was twice Deputy Grand Master under figurehead Grand Masters, and at other times behaved as if he was Grand Master, forming irregular lodges to conduct initiations. It seems to have been Desaguliers who insisted that ritual be remembered rather than written down, leading to a dearth of material on the development of English ritual until after the formation of United Grand Lodge. Many Protestants were Freemasons despite Freemasonry being completely in opposition to Christianity based on its doctrines and views. The Anderson Constitution of Freemasonry set a foundation for what modern day Freemasonry is. Today, Freemasonry is very diverse in the world. The Hells Fire Club was based in England. It included people ike Benjamin Franklin. It was a group when people did orgies, did rituals, and did other actions. Francis Dashwood was part of it too. Many members did activities that mock religious ceremonies, discussed politics, and had meals that mocked religion. The club motto was Fais ce que tu voudras (Do what thou wilt), a philosophy of life associated with François Rabelais's fictional abbey at Thélème and later used by Aleister Crowley.
From 1648 to 1750, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has spread globally. By 1675, the Lutheran Philipp Jakob Spener publishes Pia Desideria, which becomes a manifesto for Pietism. John Bunyan published Pilgrim's Progress. Pilgrim Progress has been very famous in English literature, and it is a work that has been translated into more than 200 language from Dutch, German, Swedish, etc. It has been shown in North America. It is a Protestant devotional literature. It is a book that has inspired both religious and secular authors like William Hogarth, C. S. Lewis, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, George Bernard Shaw, William Thackeray, Charlotte Bronte, Mark Twain, John Steinbeck and Enid Blyton." The lyrics of the hymn "To be a Pilgrim" are based on the novel. It is a book that deals with the journey of Christian in fictional story settings. John Bunyan was a nonconformists (meaning that he didn't confirm to all policies of the Church of England back then) who was arrested and spent 12 years in prison, because he refused to give up preaching. Roger Williams died in Providence, Rhode Island in 1683. Williams supported the separation of church and state. 1685 was when the Edict of Fontainebleau outlawed Protestantism in France. The Russian Orthodox Church introduced Orthodoxy to Beijing by 1685. Some religious freedom was promoted by the 1689 English Bill of Rights. The Salem witch trials took place in 1692 in Colonial America. Jakob Amman founds Amish sect in 1693 filled with Anabaptist roots. Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands splits with Roman Catholicism in 1701. Hans Egede was a missionary who arrived into Greenland in 1722. The famous and historic First Great Awakening took place from 1730 to 1749. This was when Christian revivals spread in English and America. Many people supported piety and religious devotion. Many leaders of this movement were George Whitefield, John Wesley, and Jonathan Edwards that spread across denominations. Evangelical preachers "sought to include every person in conversion, regardless of gender, race, and status." Throughout the North American colonies, especially in the South, the revival movement increased the number of African slaves and free blacks who were exposed to (and subsequently converted to) Christianity. It also inspired the founding of new missionary societies, such as the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792. The Great Awakening inspired the creation of evangelical educational institutions. In 1746, New Side Presbyterians founded what would become Princeton University. In 1754, the efforts of Eleazar Wheelock led to what would become Dartmouth College, originally established to train Native American boys for missionary work among their own people. While initially resistant, well-established Yale University came to embrace revivalism and played a leading role in American evangelicalism for the next century. George Frederick Handel performs his classic gospel oratorio "Messiah" for the first time in 1741. 1767–1815 was when we have the Suppression of the Jesuits.
In America, Christianity spread. Back in the 1600s, very few Americans were in fact Christians. Many Christians came to America to promote religious freedom as many European countries were dominated by Protestant and Catholic theocrats that wanted people to follow their doctrines or face persecution or imprisonment. That is why many Hugenonts, Puritans, and Pilgrims came to America to seek religious freedom. Many people who claimed to be Christian did in fact didn't act Christ-like by owning black African slaves and using genocide against Native Americans. Those actions were wrong and evil. That has no justification period.
Virginia has been a state that has been in constant change and movement for centuries. Virginia remains one of the most important states in America. Without Virginia, America as we know it would have never existed. For example, many founders were born and raised in Virginia from Thomas Jefferson to George Washington. Also, Virginia played a large role in the American Civil War being the state of the capital of the Confederacy and the state where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant back in 1865. The Confederacy were wrong period for their actions and agenda of promoting slavery to be clear. We, as a state, have a history of slavery revolts against the tyranny of slavery like the Nat Turner revolt and the Gabriel Prosser revolt too. We also have many people who fought for the defeat of Jim Crow apartheid in Virginia too. Virginian Evelyn Butts helped to ban the poll tax federally by March 24, 1966 when the Supreme Court ruled that the poll tax is unconstitutional. Reverend Leslie Francis Griffin was born in Norfolk, Virginia and fought Jim Crow too in opposition to the racist Mass Resistance movement. Norvel LaFallette Ray Lee fought for civil rights, and he was a boxer, military officer, and educator. Barbara Rose Johns Powell lived in Virginia and led a 1951 student walkout in the all-black Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville to promote racial justice. Later, the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Eduction overturned segregated public schools. Virginia saw massive changes to be the most progressive state of the South being strong in promoting voting rights, ending the excesses of the War on Drugs, expansion of health care resources, growth of educational investments, and growing the economy in many arenas. Now, we have the 2nd term of Trump, and Trump seeks revenge and retribution, not real solutions to our problems. We will see what will Virginia experience in 2026 when a new Governor is inaugurated.
New York City has existed in America for centuries. Before the 1600's, Native Americans have lived in New York City for millennia. New York City represents America because it includes people of every color, creed, and background working together in desiring a better future, development of families, equality, justice, and peace. New York City has been through the evil draft riots of 1863 (when innocent black men, women, and children were assaulted and murdered), the development of the Brooklyn Bridge, the growth of the Statue of Liberty, and the rise of the Harlem Renaissance. Legends have either lived in New York City or were born in NYC like Malcolm X, Spike Lee, Mary J. Blige, Yvette Clarke, Francis Ford Coppola, and other human beings. Now, there has been a 2025 historic New York City mayoral race. Mamdami and Cuomo represent 2 different visions for New York City. We shall see what the future holds in New York City, but our vision for equality, justice, and human dignity will always remained etched in our consciousness forever and ever.
My 3rd cousin Gilbert B. Monger Jr. married Isabella Fleetwood (b. 1939) on June 16, 1956 at Greensville, Virginia. Their children are Brenda Denise Monger Gardner (b. 1956), Joyce Monger Skenes (b. 1959), Frankie Eugene Monger (b. 1960), George Hermon Monger (1961-1962), Patty L. Monger Ricks (b. 1964), and Chester L. Monger. Gilbert B. Monger Jr. married Charlotte Ann Nichols (1954-2021) on November 30, 1968 at Chesapeake, Virginia. Their child is Gilbert Monger III. Joyce Monger Skenes has a daughter named Demishea N. Monger (b. 1977). Joyce Skenes went to Murfreesboro High School, Murfreesboro, North Carolina, and she is from Como, North Carolina. Joyce Skenes has a son named John Monger.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. This came after Trump had desperately sought to be the Nobel Peace Prize recipient. First, I will show what I agree with her on and what I disagree with her on. She is right to support legal elections involving people voting. She agrees with the legalization of medical cannabis, which I have no problem. Yet, on a majority of issues, she is a far-right person despite her denials. Now, there are many issues where I disagree with her. I don't agree with Maria Corina Machado praising Trump as a "visionary." I don't agree with her advocating the privatization of state-run entities in Venezuela, including the oil company PDVSA. I don't agree with her supporting international sanctions against Venezuela. Maduro is not perfect, but we can use alternatives to deal with foreign policy issues. Machado supported the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, the murder of unarmed civilians on small boats in the southern Caribbean, and promoted the NGO Sumate to promote U.S.-backed destabilization efforts (paid for by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an agency created to carry out political operations formerly executed by the CIA. She signed the reactionary document of The Madrid Forum, being supported by AfD and the Spanish party VOX. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Henry Kissinger, Begin, etc., so this prize has been given to war mongers before.
By Timothy
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