https://runrepeat.com/benefits-of-sprinting
https://www.eatingwell.com/5-habits-that-may-speed-up-aging-per-a-cardiologist-11951067
Monday, April 20, 2026
Fitness Facts.
Late April 2026 Updates.
One of the major parts of American culture has been music. It has spread all across America and in the entire world. Much of the music of America was formed in America, and some came from other nations. Hip Hop, country, rock, gospel, jazz, pop, techno, soul, blues, and other music can be heard here plus globally. Music in America is extremely diverse. America has the largest music market with a total retail value of $4.9 billion in 2014. Without us African Americans, there is no modern American music today as we know it. The rhythmic and lyrical styles of black American music have been fundamental to American culture from the vocals of Aretha Franklin, the self reflection of Otis Redding, the creativity of Amerie, the emotional power of Whitney Houston, the elegance of Brandy, and to the songwriting genius of Stevie Wonder. Back in the day, many black people played banjos which came from the Motherland of Africa. The musical genres of jazz and blues represent the power of American music because the jazz and blues are ancestors of rock and roll and rhythm and blues (which was created in the 1940s). Country music developed in the 1920s. Jazz innovators like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington were icons of music in general. We know that pioneers of rock and roll were Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley, and other people in the 1950s. We know about how rock revolved into Metallica, the Eagles, Aerosmith, REM, etc. By the 1960s, Bob Dylan was a folk singer with songwriting skills. Pop music grown from Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, etc. to Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, and Whitney Houston. R&B music has been some of the greatest genres of music to describe the complex nature of love and relationships filled with Toni Braxton, Anita Baker, Brandy, Monica, SWV, Boyz II Men, H.E.R., Ella Mai, Co Co Jones, etc. The sounds from Motown, Stax Records, etc. has inspired the world showing American music at its finest. Hip Hop music has been some of the resilient genres in human history with musicians like Nas, Common, Jay Z, Megan Thee Stallion, Eminem, Lauryn Hill, Tupac, the Notorious B.I.G., and other artists like Arrested Development. We have pop superstars in the 2020s like Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, etc. The annual Coachella music festival in California is one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festival in the United States and the world.
Cinema in America has been a huge cultural expression. The movie industry is not just based in the northern district of Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Movie culture in the 21st century has been decentralized in many other cities from Atlanta, New York City, D.C., Chicago, Austin, Miami, etc. with independent projects, film festivals, and other programs to present cinema. The old school Hollywood cinema era was from 1913 to 1969. Also, early black American movie directors existed like Oscar Micheaux who funded and directed groundbreaking movies about race, economics, family, and other aspects of human existence. Frenchmen Auguste and Lousi Lumiere were involved in the birth of modern cinema. We know about movies like Orson Welles' Citizen Kane in 1941, Malcolm X in 1992, the Godfather in 1972, and Avatar in 2009. Today, since COVID-19 and the decline of theater attendance, we have more independent films in internet channels and other digital spaces that allow more actors and actresses to have access in means to express their talents to the world. Broadcasting is power in America has household ownership of television device in America is about 96.7 percent. The majority of all households in America have more than one set. There are media, channels, and ways where people can get information or just be entertained. People know and watch news from channels like ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Newsnation, MS NOW, and other corporate channels. Today, podcasts, digital news channels, and other grassroots media services are very commonplace in our generation. There has been a high level of critically acclaimed television series in recent years. Americans also celebrate many holidays based on American history, Christian and other religions' traditions, and national celebrations like New Year's Day, the Dr. King holiday, President's Day, Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Juneteenth (to celebrate freedom of black people from the evil of slavery), Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Fashion has always been part of the motif of the United States' tradition. Creativity is always part of American fashion styles. The blue jeans were popularized by the merchant Levi Strauss, a German Jewish immigrant in San Francisco. American teenagers and adults wear jeans today. They are worn by people of every age, social class, and race. They remain an American staple, and I wear jeans all of the time. Modern American fashion has been hybrid system from European, Asian, African, and other influences. Back in the colonial days, many colonists wore colonial clothes. As time went on, American fashion has been eclectic and influenced by sportswear too involving shirts, shoes, bras, sweaters, jersey, and other items. Athleisure is very commonplace because it can be comfortable, stylish, and functional. There has been more formal wear with conservative dresses, hats, pants, suits with ties, and other clothes. Designers like Ralph Lauren, Clavin Klein, Alexander Wang, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, Dapper Dan, Oscar de La Renta, Donna Karan, Diane von Furtsenberg, and other people like made brands popular form Abercombie and Fitch, Ecko, etc. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is famous for being a fashion style icon. The annual Met Gala ceremony in Manhattan, NYC has been a world prestigious fashion event that shows experimentation, unique fashion trends, and a lively atmosphere where celebrities and unsung people enjoy themselves. Fashion staples are found in Los Angles, New York City, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Nashville, etc. The late Virgil Abloh and Pharrell Williams have innovated fashion too. The family structure in America in complicated. Contemporary American society has changed. The old school nuclear family (or a man and woman united in marriage with one or more biological children) has been in America back then and today. Yet, there are mixed families, single families, and other different types of family structures. There are single people too. Back in 1970, the nuclear family was 40.3 percent of Americans and in 2000, that percent is 24.1 percent. Single people rose from 5.2 percent to 9.9 percent. Between 40 and 60 percent of new marriages will eventually end in divorce. There has been a wide variety of housing prices too. Many upper middle-class people have moved into the suburbs. Some previous middle class neighborhoods have become upper middle class neighborhoods. Americans embrace volunteerism and philanthropy heavily. Involving drugs and alcohol, by the 19th century, alcohol was readily consumed with little to no laws in regulating them. Today, most Americans don't agree with banning alcohol outright but embrace legitimate regulations like banning children from drinking hardcore alcohol and dangerous drugs. There are debates on the regulation of drugs to this very day. There are many cultural institutions in America like the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Endowment of the Arts, and other historic places like The Grand Canyon, etc.
Much of the literature of America has been influenced by Enlightenment philosophers like John Locke including the political writings of Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson. Also, American literature is diverse filled with authors who are black Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, and people of diverse backgrounds and cultures. We know of the late icon Toni Morrison who wrote about family, community, the black experience, and lessons about life in general. Mark Twain didn't just write stories about satire. He shown complex stories about American life back over a century ago in an honest, cogent fashion. Herman Melville and Ernest Hemingway has shown works about many subjects. Fiction and non-fictions have been shown by Harper Lee, J.D. Salinger, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. From Edgar Allan Poe and Harriet Becher Stowe of the past and Donald Bogle, Ta-Naehisi Coates, Colson Whitehead, Jasmy Ward, and Roxane Gay of the present, American literature can be kind, provocative, and make us think about the philosophies of life.
A lot of people are confused about the concepts of race, ethnicity, and nationality. Back many years ago, we were taught about such things in sociology class or geography class. The term of race is a social construct that categorizes people by physical traits (like skin color, hair texture, face features, other types of phenotypes, etc.). In the United States of America by 2020, we have 12.4 percent black people, 61.6 percent white people, 6 percent Asian people, 1.1 percent Native Americans, 0.2 percent Pacific Islanders, 18.7 person Hispanic or Latinos. 10.2 percent of Americans are biracial or multiracial, and 8.4 percent are other races in America. The term of ethnicity is about a shared cultural heritage (like language, ancestry, etc.). That refers to a shared cultural heritage dealing with language, religion, traditions, and ancestry along with shared cultural experiences. The term of nationality is a legally assigned designation (either by birth or by naturalization) that you belong to a nation state being total citizenship. In America, we have a long history of a complex relationship among race, ethnicity, and nationality. In fact, my black ancestors were deprived of basic citizenship rights when they helped to build up America along with other people. As for me, my race is Black, my ethnicity is African American or Black American, and my nationality is American. Race is often imposed by society, ethnicity is often self-identified, and nationality is bestowed by a government. Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality are very diverse concepts. America has the most diverse cultural traditions in human history. For example, the Apollo in Harlem highlights some of the greatest African American cultural excellence in the world, we know about great black American STEM scholars, there is Chinese American contributions in America, we know of the historic contributions of other people (from the Irish Americans, Native Americans, Jewish Americans, Italian Americans, Latino Americans, Arabic Americans, and other people). We should treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of one's background. That is part of the Golden Rule which I believe in wholeheartedly. One final point is to be made. All humans came from Africa, so I will always honor my black African heritage period.
The ionosphere is an electrified, shifting region of the Earth's upper atmosphere (being about 30-600 miles up) filled with charged particles created by solar radiation. It is important for long range radio communication by acting as a waveguide, while protecting the Earth by interacting with space weather. Solar activity massively changes the ionosphere's density and shape. Solar activity creates the D, E, and F layers that can disrupt GPS and satellites. The ionosphere is formed by extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray radiation from the Sun breaking apart atoms and molecules, a process called photoionization. The ionosphere is heavily dependent on the sun. During the day, it is much denser and more developed. At night, the density decreases. During solar flares and magnetic storms, the density can change rapidly, disrupting communication signals and radio propagation. The ionosphere enables long distance shortwave radio communication. Radio signals can bounce off the ionized layers, traveling over the horizon. The ionosphere exists in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The temperature varies, generally increasing with altitude, often reaching over 932 degrees Fahrenheit in the uppermost sections. The ionosphere serves as the edge of space, acting as a buffer that interacts with solar winds and protects the lower atmosphere. It is also home to the Aurora Borealis/Australis. It's a plasma region embedded within the upper atmosphere. The D Region is the lowest, the E Region is the middle layer, and the F Region is the highest. North of the ionosphere is the exosphere.
The religion of Mormonism has tons of connections to Freemasonry. Many members of Mormons are Freemasons like the founder of the Letter Day Saint movement Joseph Smith. Brigham Young was a Freemason. Also, there are many similarities between Mormon and Masonic rituals like the elements of the endowment ceremony and the stories of recovered ancient records. Smith was claimed to have stated that Mormonism had "true Masonry"; other leaders like Brigham Young said Masonic rituals were an "apostate endowment" corrupted from the rites given in Solomon's Temple that Smith had restored to its original form. Smith's older brother Hyrum joined Masonry in the 1820s, and his father, Joseph, Sr., may have been one as well while the family lived near Palmyra, New York. In the late 1820s, the western New York region was swept with anti-Masonic views after the murder of former Freemason William Morgan. The Anti-Masonic Party outlined dissent with Freemasonry too back in the 19th century. By the 1840s, Smith and most Latter Day Saints (including but not limited to many in Church leadership) had become Freemasons and joined the Masonic lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois. Soon after joining Freemasonry in March 1842, Smith introduced the temple ceremony referred to as the endowment which included a number of symbolic elements that were very similar to those in Freemasonry. Smith remained a Freemason until his death. In modern times, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has stated that its members may become Freemasons, and Freemasonry allows them to join. Early Mormons like Heber C. Kimball and John C. Bennett were Masons.
On October 15, 1841, Abraham Jonas (then the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of Illinois) issued a dispensation empowering a Lodge in Nauvoo and appointing the following Latter Day Saints to be its officers: George Miller as its first Worshipful Master, John Parker as its first Senior Warden, and Lucius Scovil as its first Junior Warden. The Lodge met on December 29, 1841, and accepted this dispensation. Officers were elected and appointed, and bylaws written and adopted. On February 17, 1842, the Lodge voted to hold off on installing its officers until March 15; a request was also sent to Grand Master Jonas for him to preside over that Installation, which he accepted. Joseph Smith Jr (who was not yet a Mason) was appointed to serve in a pro-tempore position as Grand Installing Chaplain for this Installation. He and Sidney Rigdon were initiated as Entered Apprentices in the evening after the Installation, thereby becoming members of the newly-formed Nauvoo lodge; Abraham Jonas presided over that degree ceremony. John C. Bennett helped to spread Freemasonry among the Mormons. There were over 300 Masons in the Nauvoo Lodge. Later, over 1,500 Mormon men in the city of Nauvoo were participating Masons. The Relief Society had Mormon women in it with degrees and rituals. Mormonism became so Masonic that Brigham Young, the 2nd President of the LDS Church was pictured with a Masonic Square and Compasses stickpin in the middle of his shirt. At least the first five presidents of the LDS Church have gone through the first three degrees of Freemasonry being the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason.
LDS Church temple worship shares a number of symbols with Freemasonry, including concepts of aprons, tokens, ritualistic raising of the arms, etc. Many of these symbols have been adopted and adapted from Masonry to illustrate the principles taught in the movement. For example, whereas Masons exchange secret tokens to identify fellow Freemasons, the church has taught that these tokens must be given to sentinel angels so that disciples of Jesus Christ may be exalted to the highest glory of the kingdom of heaven. The LDS Church's temple garments also bear the symbols adopted and adapted from Masonry: those of the Square and Compass; although the movement has imbued these symbols with religious meaning that wholly differs from the meaning of the symbols as used in Freemasonry. The Square and Compasses were a part of the first Angel Moroni statue, hanging above a horizontal Moroni (which doubled as a weather vane). Additionally, the symbols of the square and compasses exist in other ancient traditions far older than Masonry such as in Christian art and the Chinese legend Fuxi and Nüwa. According to historian Richard Lyman Bushman, "Portions of the temple ritual resembled Masonic rites that Joseph had observed when a Nauvoo lodge was organized in March 1842 and that he may have heard about from Hyrum, a Mason from New York days. The Nauvoo endowment was first bestowed just six weeks after Joseph's induction. The similarities were marked enough for Heber Kimball to quote Joseph saying that Freemasonry 'was taken from the priesthood but has become degen[e]rated. but many things are perfect.'"
Brigham Young is quoted as describing the origin of the temple rituals in a fashion that directly relates to the story of Hiram Abiff from Masonic folklore. Although Young changed some of the key Masonic aspects about Abiff to fit better with the view of LDS Church temples, the story is the same. The LDS Church allows Mormons to be Masons if they desire. People who are Christians and disagree with Mormonism and Freemasonry are Ed Decker, part of the Saints Alive Ministries, William Schnoebelen, and other people. William Schnoebelen's Masonry: Beyond the Light in 1991 conclusively prove that Masonry is not compatible with Christianity.
In recent years, many people have found many links between Mormonism and the Kabbalah. The Kabblah is an occult philosophical movement that believes that 10 emanations from God (to Kabbalists, God is called Ein Sof or the infinite with a number of divine forms or gods that emanated from Ein Sof. The Ein Sof is part of the Sefiroth of the faces of God in the Kabbalic Tree of Life) were involved in creating the physical Universe as we know it. The Kabbalah is a mystical interpretation of the religion of Judaism. They have other tenets too. Such information has been found in articles like "Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection" by Lance S. Owens. This work was originally published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 27, No. 3, Fall 1994, pp. 117-194. The paper received considerable notice, and in 1995 the Mormon History Association recognized Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection with its annual award for the best article in Mormon studies. The paper now has an extensive citation history. Joseph Smith knew of the Kabbalah and his sermon "King Follett Discourse" had theosophic themes. In Kabbalah, God has dual form of male and female allied Hokmah and Binah (God's first emanated forms). In Gnosticism, Kabbalah, Rosicrucianism, etc., there is the concept of the sacred wedding between the masculine and feminine energies. There is a Christian Kabbalah during the Renaissance era of history. Freemasonry has long praised the Kabbalah too from Albert Pike to Manly P. Hall. Occultist Arthur Edward Waite wrote in his 1923 Encyclopedia of Freemasonry that much of the heart of Masonry came from Kabbalah. Mormon author Joe Sampson believed that Joseph Smith's writings is similar to the structure of the Kabbalistic Tree of Sefiroth. He believed that Smith's Book of Abraham translation from Egyptian papyrus was a Kabbalistic work. Joseph Smith's friend and convert to Mormonism Alexander Neibaur had Kabbalistic writings.
Geography is always an important subject to comprehend. Geography is the study of the Earth's physical features, atmosphere, and human-environmental interactions. It is the science of space and place. It analyzes where things are, why they are there, and how they change. There are many branches of geography. Many of the main branches are physical geography (natural systems), human geography (or social/Cultural systems), and other types of geography. Many of the themes of geography are location (being absolute and relatives), place, human environment interaction, movement (of people, goods, and ideas), and region. To know space, place, time, and scale is to understand much of geographic concepts in general. With physical geography, people study the natural environment, including climate, landforms, soils, and water (like geomorphology, hydrology, and climatology). Human geography deals with human activities and their impact including economic, political, cultural, and urban systems. Technical/geospatial geography deals with tools to map and analyze date like GIS (Geographic Information Systems), remote sensing, and cartography. Many careers in geography deals with a cartographer or GIS analyst, an urban or regional planner, environmental scientist and manager, intelligence analyst, an educator, etc. Many famous geographers are Eratosthenes who calculated the Earth's circumference, Alexander von Humboldt (the founder of modern geography who studied the interconnection of nature), and Carl Sauer (a key person involved in cultural geography). Geography is different than geology. Geography studies the surface of the Earth and interactions in it, and geology studies the Earth's internal content and composition.
During this era of time, more and more people about Trump. We tried to warn people since 2015 that Trump is a deranged cult leader. Now, the handwriting is on the wall. It is no secret that Donald Trump is the leader of the MAGA movement. The far-right movement in the Earth have many racist white nationalists who desire America to be expansionist so much that Trump desires to conquer Greenland. The behind the scenes actions of the Trump regime have been deplorable like Trump cutting USAID from giving lifesaving work and help to mostly black people in Africa (and other persons of color worldwide), Trump once trying to downplay the Epstein files (that exposes the wickedness of Epstein plus other super wealthy sick people who abused kids), and he once posted an AI image portraying himself as Jesus Christ (that he deleted as that was extremely blasphemous). The biggest irony in the world is that Trump claims to love America, but many of his policies like the Iran war, cuts to health care, and gutting legitimate environmental regulations are destroying America. Trump eliminating safety measures that protect the public from diseases and cancers will harm human lives plainly speaking. Trump hates America by seeking to destroy American institutions and ruin American society. We know that many ICE agents have terrorized communities by slamming a girl's face to the ground (in Massachusetts), beating people, and caught abusing the rights of U.S. citizens too, not just undocumented immigrants. The same billionaire oligarchs who pay little to no federal taxes are fleecing the working class, the poor, and the middle class for financial plus political gain. Trump, Vance, and Elon are influenced by the Claremont Institute, and many in the far right embraced the evil agenda of Accelerationism. The wicked spirit of racism and xenophobia consume MAGA (as proven by the Politico story exposing private Telegram chat among many Young Republican leaders promoting racism, Nazism, and other evils) which is why Trump wants birthright citizenship gone (when birthright citizenship is explicitly mentioned in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution).
By Timothy
Friday, April 17, 2026
Political News in April of 2026.
Robert Kennedy Jr. had a contentious health hearing. He had a rare rebuke from a Republican lawmaker. Robert Kennedy Jr. defended Trump's handling of the agency. Robert Kennedy Jr. is the Health and Human Services Secretary. He testified to the House Ways and Means Committee on Capitol Hill on April 16, 2026. Trump and RFK Jr. made the false claim that autism was caused by women taking Tylenol while pregnant. Trump has cut the HHS budget, and RFK Jr. have had a massively chaotic leadership. Robert Kennedy Jr. defended his gutting of HHS agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This comes after the massive DOGE cuts to legitimate health programs and staff. This goes on while we have an epidemic of measles outbreaks all across America. The hatred of legitimate vaccinations is also fueling the measles outbreaks too. Kennedy Jr. wants to end pro-vaccine campaigns. Robert Kennedy Jr. made the racist remark that black boys who take antidepressants must be send to wellness farms where they could be "reparented." RFK Jr. wants to limit the recommendation of the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. He falsely claims that the disease posed no threat to babies whose mothers were not infected (and lied saying that the vaccines had not been tested for safety). Robert Kennedy Jr. is not his father. His father fought for civil rights, but Robert Kennedy Jr. supports Trump who wants to end DEI programs and whitewash black museums. His father supported investments in vaccination, but he wants skepticism to reign supreme. His father opposed the Vietnam War, but he supports Trump who promotes unjust wars like in Iran. We need health protections and environmental justice in our society.
There are many news today. New York state Attorney General Letitia James secured $250,000 from a Brooklyn furniture store for cheating consumers. She wants to sue the Trump administration over voting rights issues. Democratic Representative Sherman from California wants a ban of an exports of oil and gasoline. This has banned from 1975 to 2015. Yet, Trump rejects a ban, because he wants his Big Oil supporters to ship crude to highest price markets overseas. The continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will cause more economic harm to Americans. Trump made a choice to attack Iran, and that attack has increased the price of gas prices. Now, Americans are paying money for this war. When Trump is out of office by January 2029, we have to promote policies to rebuild America. Hungary's incoming Prime Minister Peter Magyar said that it will drop its opposition to the EU's 90 million euros loan to Ukraine. We reject the concept of an oligarchy that uses financial globalization and parasitical speculation. We must have a regulated and dirigistic economy that has worked wonders for American society.
There has been people thinking about Trump's mental and emotional state. Many in the media aren't reporting on this issue. Trump said that drug prices will go down 400% or 600% as prices can't go down more than 100% as math doesn't work like that. Many psychologists and scholars found his statements very disturbing. Trump claiming that the Epstein files was a hoax when these files were extremely real. Epstein was Trump's close friend. There is a video of him not knowing who Hakeem Jeffries is after having a meeting with him. Trump's White House website has deleted some of Trump's statements. The loss of impulse control, unnecessary anger, paranoia, and other symptoms are some of the symptoms of dementia. His behavior is part of his second term. Trump has pressured TV networks members to try to fire those individuals who use comedy against him. His cabinet can invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. This reality is sad, but we have to show the truth regardless.
The Justice Department wants to toss out conspiracy convictions for the January 6th terrorists. This act is not only wrong. It's treason. The DOJ involved in this action are traitors to America, because the January 6th terrorists not only invaded the U.S. Capitol like a group of unhinged thugs. Their goal was to overthrow the American government using violence, lies, racism, and bigotry. Many of these terrorists were members of the reactionary Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. These groups are known for violence against protesters and supporting Trump in a disturbing fashion. The Justice Department wanted a federal appeals court to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, who were sentenced to prison terms for leading terrorists to attack officers and tried to attack Congressional leaders. Trump commuted the prison sentences of many several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. The previous Biden administration upheld convictions of these thuggish criminals. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is a disgrace to whitewash the real history of January 6th, because she follows conservativism unconditionally instead of morality and justice for all. January 6th, 2021, was a date that will live in infamy when MAGA terrorists waved neo-Nazi and Confederate flags on Capitol grounds, stole property, destroyed windows, tried to hang former Vice President Mike Pence, and called black officers the n word. God doesn't condone the acts of cowardly insurrectionists and traitors to America. Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was dragged by the January 6th cowards told the truth that, "I would remind Americans that these were traitors to our country...They planed, indited, and carried out an insurrection."
It is very important to recognize how Ancestry.com helped many human beings to find their family tree. Their website helped me to find out how people related to the Claud family (like Israel Claud, Gwendolyn Gurley, Kyle Claud, Rosa Barnes, etc.) are related to me genetically. Their DNA results prove that I'm related to many people of the Claud family, the Beech family, the Spencer family, the Tillery family, and other families genetically and genealogically. This reality shows many lessons about life. One lesson is to take risks in life. Life will never be all comfortable all of the time. Taking risks and being able to overcome challenges strengthens our emotions, builds our minds, and grows our empathy. We know about the valuable lesson of treating people right. History and experience dictate to us that being humble, having strength (real strength is not about embracing nefarious brutality but following competent determination, establishing boundaries, standing up for yourself and others legitimately, and having real principles embraced), and following the truth cause manifold blessings in anyone's life. Another lesson is that the value of family is priceless. We are all a product of the miracle of fertilization and being born. We are born with trillions of cells and tons of organs filled with nutrients, amino acids, and other powerful chemicals that fire up our imaginations. That is a product of the miracle of life.
By Timoth
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Mid-April 2026 News.
A lot of news has existed. The Trump administration wants to automatically register for the military draft every American man between the ages of 18 and 26, starting on December 2026. This plan lays the foundation for a possible future real draft. It is no secret that the American oligarchy wants more people to support its illegal and expanding wars of aggression. This automatic registration of millions of young people is part of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), being a step close toward conscription. Now, 46 states automatically register men via their driver's license systems. That is about 81 percent of people eligible. The new law federalizes and the universalizes this process using Social Security Administration Records to enroll the rest. This data is tied to federal databases that track every citizen from birth. We reject conscription as it is morally wrong to force people against their wills to fight if they don't desire to. The Strait of Hormuz having a blockade continues. Also, the Netanyahu government has suppressed Israel's anti-Netanyahu government protests against the illegal U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and in Lebanon. There is the repression of rights in Gaza and the West Bank too. The army has limited gatherings in public areas to 150 people and refused protests in Tel Aviv, citing Iranian missile threats.
All eyes will be on my state of Virginia on April 21, 2025, when a referendum will be voted upon. This amendment is on the ballot in Virginia. It took me some time to understand what the YES and NO choices mean. First, this ballot is about allowing the state legislature to temporarily regain the power to draw the state's congressional districts, which are currently drawn by a bipartisan commission. The state legislative is more representative of the people of Virginia than a bipartisan commission, because the people directly voted for the legislature. This is what voting YES will entail. Then, the authority to draw congressional districts would revert to the commission after the 2030 census. People who will vote NO or oppose the amendment believe that it will dilute rural voters and Virginian voters already decided on the issue in 2020, approving a bipartisan commission. Most people who agree with the ballot voting YES are mostly Democrats and those who oppose it are mostly Republicans. I am a Virginian, and I encourage all Virginian voters to look at the facts, do your research, and vote your conscience. Since this is a temporary measure to counteract Trump's aims to manipulate voting representation and it gives the state legislature power to deal with this issue (as this legislature is representative of the people of Virginia), then I plan on Voting YES on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.
Some breaking news is that Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales will resign from Congress after serious allegations have been placed against them. Swalwell said that he is innocent, but many women had said that he sexually assaulted him. Like always, we reject sexual assault as no human should have their autonomy violated. More and more Democrats and Republicans wanted him to resign from the governor's race in California and the Congress. It was too much for him, because him staying would cause a distraction, and Swalwell should resign so the issue of sexual assault can be thoroughly investigated. The House Ethics Committee said that it was launching a probe into the Democratic lawmaker Swalwell. Gonzales is a Republican who was also accused of sexual misconduct (of cheating with a staff member and other inappropriate activities too).
Trump has promoted his blockade of Iranian waters. Trump has threatened to blow up Iranian boats approaching the U.S. blockade. Recently, voters rejected Hungary's autocratic leader. This a victory for democracy and refutes the authoritarian propaganda shown by Putin and Trump. JD Vance campaigned for Orban because both people are far right extremists. Peter Magyar of Hungary wins after Viktor Orban conceded in a landmark defeat. The election as a parliamentary election that ended on Sunday. Orban ends his 16 years in power. He congratulated Peter Magyar. Magyar is the leader of the center-right opposition Tisza Party. Magyar campaigned on fighting corruption and trying to improve Hungary's stagnant economy and poor health care. Magyar wants a better relationship with the European Union. This doesn't mean that Magyar is the savior as he isn't. He has imperfections (as some of his political views are reactionary), but the chapter of Orban politically is over.
Trump posted an A.I. showing him as a Jesus like figure healing the sick. Later, Trump deleted it and claimed that he was acting as a doctor. The image is blasphemous to many Christians. It's blasphemous to me too. Many Christian people condemned him. Trump has shown anti-Christ behavior for years like cursing out peaceful protesters, going about to seek destruction of the Iranian civilization, he mocked communion as "some cookie," he led illegal invasions of sovereign nations, and he said that he doesn't ask God forgiveness for anything. One tenet of spiritual Christians is to ask God for forgiveness. There is a news story that many people are not talking about in public. Yet, this story is very important. There is an asteroid called 99942 Apophis that is heading to the Earth, and it will pass the Earth at about 19,600 miles above the surface of the Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. That is exactly 3 years away. NASA says that it will not strike the Earth. Yet, this is very serious news as a large asteroid that is 1,480 feet by 560 feet in size is heading across our planet. There has been speculation about what this will entail. It was discovered by Roy A. Tucker, David J. Tholen, and Fabrizio Bernardi on June 19, 2004. Such an asteroid is expected to actually hit Earth once in about 80,000 years. NASA has ruled out any impact in 2029 and 2036. Yet, it will be close enough to be seen by the human eye. This comes in the midst of NASA desiring its future plans to send man to the Moon and Mars. Humans are the only species on Earth that has traveled into space and the Moon and came back to Earth safely.
By Timothy
Monday, April 13, 2026
Our History and Our Culture.
By the year of 1741, George Frederick Handel performed his classical gospel oratorio "Messiah" for the first time. Isaac Newton promoted his heresies by 1754. Sir Isaac Newton was involved in mysticism, he didn't believe in the Trinity, and he believed that a code in the Bible shown secrets and mysteries. The historic suppression of the Jesuits existed from 1767 to 1815. This was done by the Pope in 1773, because many European Catholic monarchs in Portugal, France, and Spain accused the Jesuits as being a threat to state sovereignty (as the Jesuits by that time had large wealth, influence, independence, and direct loyalty to the Pope). The Jesuits were accused of financial scandals, opposing colonial treating, and inciting popular uprising like the Motin de Esquilache in Spain. The Greek Orthodox colony of 1768 in New Smyrna, Florida was founded. We saw the growth of mysticism and deism from Reimarus. There was the first Catholic mission in California by 1769 by the Mission San Diego de Alcala. We have a growing criticism of Christianity by authors like Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire from 1776 to 1788. There was the Catholic Mission Dolores formed in San Francisco. There was the 1779 Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom mentioning the following words: Jesus never coerced anyone to follow him, and the imposition of a religion by government officials is impious." We see the First Amendment of the United States Constitution of 1791 mentioning that: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The First Great Awakening lasted from the 1730s to 1770s. It was massive wave of Evangelical Protestant revivalism in the American colonies. Many people preached and promoted personal emotional conversion over formal, intellectual dogma. It was led by preachers like George Whitefield, Theodore Frelinghuysen and The Tennent Family, and Jonathan Edwards. It challenged religious authority and split established denominations like Old Lights vs. New Lights. It grown Baptists and Methodists in America and worldwide. The First Great Awakening dealt with people being born again rather than relying on clergy for salvation, it promoted equality before God regardless of race, gender, or status. It promoted heartfelt piety. It was caused by religious fervor and a response of the Enlightenment being too cold in the eyes of many people. It helped to democratize church structure and helped to promote the independent spirit of the American Revolution. It included women and black people in religious life. It caused the creation of new universities like Princeton, Rutgers, and Dartmouth.
The Second Great Awakening was another religious revival that spread from 1790 to the early 19th century. It dealt with personal salvation among the Protestant moved. It dealt with massive outdoor revivals which is commonplace in our time. Preachers like Charles G. Finney, who were involved in the Second Great Awakening stepped away from strict predestination to promote free will and the ability of every person to choose salvation. Western New York state had many revivals. Methodists and Baptists grew. The 2nd Great Awakening inspired new groups to exists like the Adventists, Mormons, and Christian Restorationist movements. Many people in the Second Great Awakening followed abolition or ending slavery, temperance (to reduce or not drink alcohol), and promote education and women's rights. Many women were leaders of the awakening. Also, Many African Americans were part of the Second Great Awakening like the African American Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church which played a large role in the anti-slavery movement. This movement came after the murder of former Mason William Morgan. Scholars believe that Masons murdered William Morgan for revealing Masonic secrets. Many members of the 2nd Great Awakening disagreed with Freemasonry and formed the Anti-Masonic Party which was popular in American society for years. The Second Awakening helped to promote social change.
Brigham Young was the famous religious and political leader of Mormonism. He was the 2nd President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the LDS church) from 1847 until his passing in 1877. He also was the first governor of Utah Territory from 1851 until his resignation in 1858. He was born on June 1, 1801, in Whitingham, Vermont. He was the 9th child of John Young and Abigail "Nabby" Howe. His father was a farmer, and the family moved into upstate New York at Chenango County. Young had little formal education. His mother taught him how to read and write. When Brigham Young was 12-year-old, his parents moved to the township of Genoa, close to Cayuga Lake. His mother died of Tuberculosis in June 1815. After her death, he moved with his father to Tyrone, New York. His father remarried a widow named Hannah Brown. Brigham Young learned a trade to be a carpenter, glazier, and a painter. He worked all over the place. Later, he experienced the Panic of 1819 and lived to Port Byron, which was Bucksville back then. Brigham Young married Miriam Angline Works, whom he had met in Port Byron in October 1824. They lived in a small house. They had a daughter, Elizabeth, who was born on September 26, 1825. He was a Reformed Methodist member at first. He studied the Bible and was baptized by immersion instead of sprinkling (as the NT never mentions sprinkling for baptism). His family lived in Oswego, New York in 1828. Later, he heard teachings from LDS leader Heber C. Kimball. Young worked as a carpenter and joined. He built and operated a saw mill. Later, he learned about the Book of Mormon by 1830. Young listened to Mormon missionaries and joined the Church of Christ or Mormons on April 9, 1832, after meeting Joseph Smith. Brigham Young preached the Book of Mormon all over the North and New England regions of America. Brigham Young was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at a conference on February 14, 1835.
Language has a great deal to do with American culture. There are more than 300 languages spoken nationwide on a regular basis, and up to 800 languages spoken in New York City (besides English). English is spoken by most Americans, but other languages are spoken including languages spoken by indigenous peoples (with 150 living languages) Many xenophobes and bigots forget that the first people who came to America never spoke a syllable of English originally. There is no official language in American society. According to the 2000 census, there were nearly 30 million native speakers of Spanish in the United States. Spanish has official status in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, where it is the primary language spoken, and the state of New Mexico; numerous Spanish enclaves exist around the country as well. By 2017, 78.2 percent of Americans spoke English only, 13.4 Americans speak Spanish, 1.1 percent of Americans speak Chinese, and 7.3 percent of Americans speak other languages. There are regional differences in American culture. There are the Appalachia region stretches in the mountains from Georgia to West Virginia and parts of Pennsylvania. We know of the major regions of the South, the Deep South, the Southwest, the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, the Northeast, New England, the Mountain West, the Pacific West, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, other Caribbean places, and other regions with diverse cultures and traditions.
Sports represent a massive part of American culture. When the Super Bowl, MLB World Series, and the NBA Finals comes on televisions, millions of Americans and people worldwide watch these sporting events (they witness them in arenas too). By the 1800s, colleges were encouraged to focus on intramural sports, particularly track and field, and, in the late 1800s, American football. Physical education was incorporated into primary school curriculums in the 20th century. A typical baseball diamond as seen from the stadium in baseball stadiums constantly. Baseball is the oldest of the major American team sports. Professional baseball dates from 1869 and had no close rivals in popularity until the 1960s. Though baseball is no longer the most popular sport, it is still referred to as "the national pastime. "Ice hockey is the fourth-leading professional team sport. Always a mainstay of Great Lakes and New England-area culture, the sport gained tenuous footholds in regions like the American South since the early 1990s, as the National Hockey League pursued a policy of expansion. Soccer is very popular as a participation sport, particularly among youth, and the US national teams are competitive internationally. A twenty-six-team (with four more confirmed to be added within the next few years) professional league, Major League Soccer, plays from March to October, but its television audience and overall popularity lag behind other American professional sports. We, who are Americans, have been inspired by Hank Aaron hitting homeruns decades ago, Sam Darnold throwing passing in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks, Chloe Kim being involved in the Winter Olympics, Trinity Rodman playing soccer for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL, Jalen Hurts being a great NFL quarterback, Naphessa Collier playing excellent basketball, LeBron James showing great longevity in the NBA, the late Muhammad Ali being a champion of social causes, and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden being a track and field legend show us the power of American sports excellence. Relative to other parts of the world, the United States is unusually competitive in women's sports, a fact usually attributed to the Title IX anti-discrimination law, which requires most American colleges to give equal funding to men's and women's sports.
In dealing with space, you have to know what the exosphere is. The exosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth's atmosphere. It goes from 375 to 500 km up to 10,000 km, acting as a transition zone to space. The exosphere is mostly made up of sparse hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. It is made up of by "collison-less" particles following ballistic trajectories. The exosphere protects the Earth by absorbing solar radiation being a home for satellite orbits (and its studied using satellite data and ultraviolet cameras). The exosphere is above the thermosphere which goes 6,200 miles into space. Atoms in the exosphere are far apart and rarely collide, allowing them to follow ballistic paths or escape into space. Exo meaning that it is the outermost shell of the atmosphere. Because the exosphere's air is so thin, conventional thermometers won't work. Yet, the particle kinetic temperatures are very high (being thousands of degrees) due to absorption of intense solar radiation. Yet, it feels extremely cold because of a lack of molecular collision. The exosphere is the final barrier between the Earth's atmosphere and the vacuum of space. Science study the region to see how the atmosphere interacts with solar winds. Scientists also study the geocorona (or a glowing part of the exosphere) by observing the scattered UV light with space telescopes and instruments mentioned by the UCAR Center for Science Education. Therefore, we live in the troposphere, then there is the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, the exosphere, and space.
By Timothy
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Friday, April 10, 2026
Early April 2026 News.
Melanie Trump, who is the First Lady, said that she had no dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, as we all know, abused many girls and women in disgusting ways. Melanie wanted to have all of the Epstein victims have public hearings in Congress under oath. Melanie Trump gave this call-in public in a press conference. At the end of the day, we need public hearings, listen to survivors, and make sure that the total truth is known. If anyone is involved in the abuse of people, that person should have a trial and go to prison. Many people have accused Donald Trump of sexually abusing people. Donald Trump has denied this. We shall see what the complete truth is. The people of America had to fight for millions of files from the Epstein files to be released into public. Still, some files haven't been released to the public yet. January 2026 was when the Justice Department released an email Melania sent to Maxell. This is part of millions of pages of correspondence released about the DOJ's investigation of Epstein. Therefore, we have to continue to endorse transparency, legal procedures, and ultimately justice.
We live in a new era of the Iranian war. The ceasefire time has started, and Iran has accused America of infractions. America has accused Iran of the same. An Iranian news outlet reports that the Strait of Hormuz is closed. There have been a lot of disputes if that claim is true or not. Netanyahu said that the ceasefire doesn't have to do with the nation of Lebanon. That is why Israel is continuing to attack Lebanon. Israel has used it military to devastate much of the city of Beirut, which is the capital of Lebanon. The price of oil has declined, too. The White House said that Trump's threat of Iranian civilization being gone if Iran doesn't comply with its demands was not an empty threat. There are questions of the endgame of this new Iranian war, what deal can be reached, and how this war can finally end completely. The mediator of the ceasefire is the nation of Pakistan. Pakistan has been an ally of Iran and America for years. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims that Operation Epic Fury has decimated Iran's military and caused it to be ineffective combat-wise. We know that Hegseth is speaking a fiction. Therefore, we have to hope that a peaceful resolution exists in the midst of an authoritarian in the White House.
Trump's Department of Justice is investigating Cassidy Hutchinson. Hutchinson testified to Congress, under oath, about the January 6th insurrection and how Trump has been related to such events. Cassidy Hutchinson is an innocent woman. The only reason why the DOJ is investigating her is that Trump wants revenge against his "enemies" for criticizing him, involving January 6th and other issues. Cassidy Hutchinson didn't commit a crime, and she just did her duty by testifying in the legal Congressional hearing. We have a system in which Trump's DOJ seeks unwarranted investigations and possible indictments that target dissent against Trumpism. That plainly has no justification at all. We don't want unfair political retribution from the White House via Todd Blanche. Now, the DOJ has prevented Pam Bondi from testifying to Congress about the Epstein files. That is just plainly without merit, and it's wrong. Bondi has much valuable information on many Epstein files and how they were organized by the federal government.
There are continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon straining on U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Benjamin Netanyahu is so far right that he planned on attacking Iran for years, long before 2026. He doesn't even want a moderate 2 state solution. The Iranian war negotiations are planned to take place in Pakistan between America and Iran. Most Americans oppose the war in Iran. J.D. Vance, who is the Vice President currently, is set to lead talks with Iran in Pakistan. Now, the Strait of Hormuz is in limbo as a limited number of ships cross it. The Iranian regime said that it would never agree to a limited ceasefire, but it did. The Iranian regime said that it would never open up the Strait of Hormuz, but it partially did. There will come with its first U.S. inflation report since the start of the Iranian war. The question is what concessions both sides will accept as a product of negotiations in trying to end this war. Iowa farmers are hit hard by the Iran War and tariffs.
Yesterday was the Birthday of Sister Bianca Belair, and she is now 37 years old. I have to mention this. She is one of the greatest and most talented professional wrestlers in history. She is that talented. The icon Jazz praised her, and that alone shows how talented Bianca Belair is. She is also a fitness and figure competitor. She was born in the South in Knoxville, Tennessee. She attended Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she excelled in many sports like track. She was a track and field athlete who competed in the hurdles. She attended three universities: the University of South Carolina, Texas A&M University, and the University of Tennessee. At the University of Tennessee, she became All-SEC and All-American as well as being named to the SEC's academic honor roll in 2011 and 2012. Blair was also a CrossFit competitor and powerlifter, having appeared in RX magazine, Femme Rouge magazine, and CrossFit (dot) com. Blair went into professional wrestling after suffering intercostal chondritis in CrossFit. Bianca Belair has been in the WWE since 2016 to the present. Mark Henry helped her get a tryout. After 2 official tryouts, she was in the WWE by April 12, 2016. She went to the WWE Performance Center and NXT. She called herself the EST of NXT, being the prettiest, baddest, and strongest. She fought hard and won many matches at NXT. By 2020, things had changed. She became the SmackDown Women's Champion. Later, Belair worked hard to win the Raw Women's Championship by 2022. By 2024, Biana Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi became the Big Three to defeat Damage CTRL (at WrestleMania XL). Belair had the longest reign of an African American world champion and the longest reigning African American for any singles championship. She was a WWE Women's Tag Team Champion with Jade Cargill by May 2024. Recently, she was recovering from a knuckle injury. She is doing light training now in April of 2026. She may be back in WrestleMania or SummerSlam. Bianca Belair is very strong with great agility, too. By August 25, 2022, Belair signed with the Hollywood agency WME. She loves her husband and fellow professional wrestler Montez Ford. She won tons of awards and accomplishments. She has a down-to-earth personality.
I wish Sister Bianca Belair a Great Birthday.
By Timothy
Wednesday, April 08, 2026
More Updates on the War in Iran.
During this time, it is not about us saying we told you so. It is about acknowledging that we warned people that this would happen. For over 10 years, many of us have told people that Trump is a far-right extremist with a cold heart and a vicious mentality filled with greed, racism, extremism, division, hatred, xenophobia, and war mongering. Trump's use of social media to threaten to wipe out Iranian civilization is totally wicked, as such an act is threatening a war crime. The Geneva Convention bans threats of violence to attack civilian populations. There is absolutely no excuse for Trump to outline such horrendous rhetoric. This doesn't mean that the Iranian regime was completely holy. The Iranian regime executed dissidents for years and suppressed human rights. Yet, wiping out Iranian civilization will harm innocent Iranians who desire their rightful freedom from authoritarianism. There is no excuse for the Iranian war, constitutionally and morally. Destroying civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law. We should hope that Trump doesn't fulfill his plans. When you have people that I don't agree with on many issues (like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Candace Owens) saying that Trump is insane and must be sent out of office via the 25th Amendment, then you know that Trump has completely gone through the deep end. Tucker Carlson has criticized Trump on the Iran issue along with Alex Jones. Trump is completely wrong to threaten war crimes and genocide in Iran. Many Iranians have formed human chains around bridges and power plants to protest Trump's plans. This is why voting matters. If more people voting the right way, Trump would not be in office, and a black woman would be in office. This is bigger than Trump. Project 2025 and many MAGA leaders planned this agenda for years. Some breaking news is that Trump is delaying such an attack for 2 weeks and is looking at the Pakistan ceasefire proposal. Trump has backed down from threats of devastation in Iran.
Now, JD Vance is supporting Putin's ally, Viktor Orbán. Orban is a complete pro-MAGA extremist. Orban has harmed Hungary, and Hungary is the poorest nation in the E.U. Hungary is an example of how corrupt politicians have failed a nation. Orban's son-in-law is the richest person in Hungary because he gains corporate power in investments, etc. Vance has campaigned for Hungarian Prime Minister Orban in Budapest. Hungary is a mostly homogeneous nation, and America is the most heterogeneous nation in human history. Diversity is part of our strength as Americans, which also means our cultural diversity. Many MAGA people view America as solely a white Christian nation. The truth is that America is made up of people of all creeds, colors, and convictions. Many of the Framers were not Christians. Christians and non-Christians alike in America have establish great contributions to American society historically. I believe in Jesus Christ, but I won't use my religious views as an excuse to dehumanize people who don't subscribe to my spiritual beliefs.
As we get older, learning more wisdom remains a preeminent necessity. I learned a lot of things involving my family tree spanning many years. It has been since 2018 when I learned about my genealogy at a higher level. It has been a long journey, and the reality is that I uncovered many mysteries about my ancestry. I have learned that my paternal side came from Cape Charles, Virginia, and Halifax, North Carolina. I have also learned that my maternal side came from Southampton County, Virginia. I have written about my origins for years, and tons of people know of my works. I will continue to describe my family history in a myriad of unique ways. When I started this journey, I was in my thirties. Today, I am a few years away from being 50 years old. Yes, in a little more than 7 years into the future, I will be 50. That feels surreal to me, because in 2001, I was 18 years old. Time flies. It is also important to know one lesson in life. That lesson is that everything in life won't be perfect, but we should seek improvement as time goes on. That means that self-control, problem solving, curiosity, research, building friendships or positive relationships with human beings, and other positive deeds will make a real difference in building a more blessed life in general. I reject vengeance, hatred, and divisiveness. I believe in righteousness, hope, love, liberty, and justice for all. My relatives back then and now are upper middle class, working class, teachers, celebrities, athletes, religious leaders, activists, and other unsung human beings who have made outstanding contributions to the human family. We live in a very precarious times (with new technologies, wars, social media, political debates, Trumpism, and new inventions), but at the end good will always prevail.
The Artemis II aircraft, with its four-member astronaut crew, has broken Apollo's distance record in its recent Moon flyby. So, the crew went farther from Earth than any other humans in human history. They will spend almost seven hours making observations and capturing images of the Moon's surface. They are circling the Moon in their Orion spacecraft. The crew is set to fly within 4,070 miles of the moon's surface. They are observing the Moon. They will see never-before-seen parts of the moon's surface. The areas on the far side are not visible from Earth. Even the Apollo astronauts couldn't view much of the moon's far side because of the paths and timing of their flights. They are about 252,000 miles away from the Earth. They left Earth on Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. They spent 25 hours circling the Earth. Orion left Earth orbit Thursday evening and entered the sphere of influence. The pull of the moon's gravity is stronger than Earth's. The crew is expected to return to Earth on Friday evening with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
There has been a bizarre Press Conference involving Trump on April 6, 2026, in which he continued to threaten to commit war crimes in Iran (by desiring to bomb power plants and other civilian infrastructure if a deal isn't achieved by Tuesday). Trump has used the war in Iran as an excuse to try to explain his power as he believes in a unitary executive (which is not constitutional, as we have three coequal branches of government which are: the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government). Trump wants to centralize as much power as possible to control voting, control the functions of the media, and curtail dissent against him. This is a precarious time in our history. We have international law and rules of engagement to protect other nations and our soldiers, too. Trump, in an interview, disregarded the importance of following the international rule of law, regardless of what Pete Hegseth has said. Trump said that 21 aircraft came to help rescue airmen who crashed in Iran. He said that the aircraft came under heavy military fire from Iran. One U.S. helicopter has many bullets in it. Trump has threatened to jail a journalist who first reported on the downed airman if the journalist didn't reveal their sources. Trump lashed out about how Australia, Japan, and South Korea didn't help fight Iran (which are Pacific allies). The reason is that those Pacific nations knew that the Iranian war was futile, filled with vanity and massive destruction.
By Timothy
Tuesday, April 07, 2026
Monday, April 06, 2026
The Culture of Us.
The culture of the United States of America has been around for centuries, being the most diverse culture in all of human history. That is just the plain truth. First, it is important to describe cuisine as a very vital part of American culture. How we eat food and the diversity of food ingredients has changed the world in a myriad of positive ways. American cuisine has always been a mixture of foods found in American indigenously and foods from other continents. For example, foods like corn, beans, wild rice, sunflower, seeds, pecans cranberries, blueberries, corn, maple syrup, turkey, and pumpkins are found in North America. They are all found in our backyard. There are other foods that existed originally overseas, like apples, peaches, wheat, rice, onions, carrots, tea park, coffee, and tea. Tons of us love apple pie, sweet potato pie, and lemon pie. We enjoy oatmeal and other items like okra, jumbo, pizza, spaghetti, and other types of foods from different cultures globally. There have been television shows and movies that focus on food culture too, including those found on the Food Network. American culture readily embraces self-reliance, individualism, and independence. That means that many of us believe in using self-determination to achieve profound greatness. Also, this doesn't mean we should embrace or advance a form of selfish individualism, greed, and wicked behavior. There is also a role for community and collective power in enhancing society's general welfare. No one is an island. Religion plays a large role in American society. About 81-83% of all Americans believe in God or a universal Spirit. Religion or spirituality shaped American society for centuries via social activists, the many Great Awakening, and more grassroots churches of the 21st century. Believers in God have always invoked God to stand up against slavery, to promote racial justice, to fight for voting rights, to agree with economic justice, to stand with immigrants, and support other social improvements in society. The largest religious group of people in America is Christians. There are agnostics, atheists, and other followers of various creeds that exist in America too.
My late 4th cousin was David Lee Claud Sr., who lived from February 11, 1966, to December 17, 2025. He was born and raised in Southampton County, Virginia. Her parents are Thomas Lee Claud and Dotsie Ann Barnes Claud. He attended Southampton High School and graduated from the high school in 1984. He served in the United States Army from August 1984 and served this country with distinction and courage. On January 1, 1994, he married his wife Robin Denise Wingo, and their son is David Robert-Lee Claud Jr. The couple has a daughter named Ashley Shanielle Johnson, and their grandson is Jaylen Tyshaun Scott. After his military service, David Lee Claud Sr. was in the Newport News Shipyard and was a correctional officer with the Greenfield, Deerfield, and Southampton Centers, where he retired after 26 years of services on March 1, 2016. David was baptized and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and joined Bryants Baptist Church in Capron, Virginia. He was the youngest child of seven siblings. David loved to play with his siblings and cousins, especially on Sundays at his grandparents' home. He loved learning from elderly human beings to understand their knowledge. He was a friend and spiritual friend to his Aunt Bea Gary. David supported the Washington Commanders football team. He did gardening, fishing, played cards, watched his westerns, and did traveling. His brothers are Zachary T. Claud of Chesterfield, Virginia and Michael Claud of Capron, Virginis. His sisters are Dotsie Claud and Jacqueline Claud Allen (her husband is Luther Allen) of Norfolk, Virginia, Janeifer Claud Smith (her husband is Anthony Smith Sr.) of Fairfax, Virginia, and Tracy Claud Barksdale of Woodridge, Virginia. His godchildren are Cameron Fields and Tiana Parker. His aunts are Elsie Gary and Elizabeth Taylor. The parents of my 3rd cousin Thomas Lee Claud were Thomas Jefferson Claud (1907-1997) and Elsie Elizabeth Owens (1912-2003). The parents of Thomas Jefferson Claud were Richard Washington Claud (1874-1945) and Ann Elizabeth Claud (1876-1960). The parents of my 1st cousin Richard Washington Claud were George Washington Claud (1849-1923) and Martha Velvin Furgeson (b. 1830). The mother of my 4th great-granduncle George Washington Claud was my 5th great-grandmother Zilphy Claud (1820-1893).
Joseph Smith dictated by using the same chocolate-colored seer stone he had used previously for treasure hunting placed in a hat. Dictation was completed about July 1, 1829. The completed work, titled the Book of Mormon, was published in Palmyra and first advertised for sale on March 26, 1830. Less than two weeks later, on April 6, 1830, Smith and his followers formally organized the Church of Christ, and small branches were established in Manchester, Fayette, and Colesville, New York. As in 1826, he was arrested and charged with being a "disorderly person." Although he was acquitted, he was again arrested, this time transported to Broome County, where he was again acquitted by a three-judge panel. He and Cowdery fled to escape a gathering mob. Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and others traveled west on mission to proselytize to the Native Americans. The era of 1831 to 1837 changed Mormonism forever. Church co-founder Oliver Cowdery and others left New York for Ohio. There they encountered the hugely-popular Campbellite minister Sidney Rigdon. Rigdon, who had long preached a Restoration of the true church, converted to the new movement, bring along over a hundred followers. Rigdon's conversion dramatically swelled the ranks of the new organization. Rigdon visited New York, where he had extensive personal conversations with Smith. With growing opposition in New York, Smith announced a revelation that his followers should gather at Kirtland, Ohio.
Smith moved to Kirtland in January 1831. There, many of Rigdon's followers practiced Christian communism by sharing "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." In 1831, Smith began to privately teach the practice of polygamy, according to a variety of sources, including apostles Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, and Lyman E. Johnson. Levi Lewis, Emma's cousin, who had known Smith and Harris in Harmony, accused Smith of trying to seduce local girl Eliza Winters. According to Lewis, he had heard both Smith and Harris say that "adultery is no crime." That year, Smith told twelve-year-old Mary Rollins that God had commanded him to take her as a wife (which is a perversion done by Joseph Smith, as God Almighty never told that man to do such an act, period); she would later be recognized by the church as one of Smith's plural wives in February 1842 at the age of 23. The John Johnson family was baptized into Smith's church, including fifteen-year-old Marinda Johnson. For seven months, Smith and Rigdon lived at the Johnson farm. On March 24, 1832, a mob dragged Smith and Rigdon from their beds, beat them badly, and then tarred and feathered them. Simonds Ryder, writing in the 1860s, argued the attack was precipitated by recent converts having learned their property was to be placed under the church's control, a motivation corroborated in by S.F. Whitney.
Unlike Rigdon, Smith was tied to a board and stripped naked so a doctor could perform a castration. When the doctor refused to go through with the procedure, the mob tried to force poison down Smith's throat, chipping a tooth in the process. Despite the attack, Smith preached to his congregation the following morning and performed baptisms. His infant adopted son Joseph Murdock died of measles, the fourth child the Smiths had lost; his family linked his death to him being exposed to the cold during the attack. In the 1880s, minister Clark Braden repeated a rumor that claimed Smith practiced polygamy in Kirtland and was intimate with Marinda, a claim later popularized by Fawn Brodie in her psychobiography of Smith. Though the theory has largely been rejected by later scholarship, Mormon polygamy historian Todd Compton speculates on the timing of the 1832 attack: "The castration attempt might be taken as evidence that the mob felt that Joseph had committed a sexual impropriety... they had planned the operation in advance, as they brought along a doctor to perform it. The first revelations on polygamy had been received in 1831... Also, Joseph Smith did tend to marry women who had stayed at his house or in whose house he had stayed..:" In 1842, Marinda, age 26, became one of Smith's wives. Joseph Smith drew up a comprehensive city plan for Zion (Independence), calling for 24 Mormon temples and a grid of streets along with cardinal directions.
Converts poured into Kirtland. By the summer of 1835, there were fifteen hundred to two thousand members in the vicinity, many expecting Smith to lead them shortly to the Millennial kingdom. In July 1831, Smith visited Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, and announced a revelation that the frontier hamlet was the "center place" of Zion. Smith again visited Missouri again in early 1832 to prevent a rebellion of prominent church members who believed the church in Missouri was being neglected. In Jackson County, existing Missouri residents resented the Latter-Day Saint newcomers for both political and religious reasons. Additionally, their rapid growth aroused fears that they would soon constitute a majority in local elections, and thus "rule the county." Tension increased until July 1833, when non-Mormons forcibly evicted the Mormons and destroyed their property. Smith advised his followers to bear the violence patiently until after they had been attacked multiple times, after which they could fight back. Armed bands exchanged fire, killing one Mormon and two non-Mormons, until the old settlers forcibly expelled the Mormons from the county. After petitions to the Missouri governor were unsuccessful, in May 1834 Smith organized and led a 200-man paramilitary expedition, called Zion's Camp, to aid church members in Jackson County, Missouri. As a military endeavor, the expedition was a failure. The men of the expedition were disorganized, a cholera outbreak killed 14, and they were severely outnumbered. By the end of June, Smith deescalated the confrontation, sought peace with Jackson County's residents, and disbanded Zion's Camp. Nevertheless, Zion's Camp transformed Latter Day Saint leadership because many future church leaders came from among the participants.
After the Camp returned to Ohio, Smith drew heavily from its participants to establish various governing bodies in the church. He gave a revelation announcing that in order to redeem Zion, his followers would have to receive an endowment in the Kirtland Temple, which he and his followers constructed. In March 1836, at the temple's dedication, many who received the endowment reported seeing visions of angels and engaged in prophesying and speaking in tongues. In 1836, Smith traveled to Salem, Massachusetts, to search for a trove of coins there. Smith announced a revelation that God had "much treasure in this city." After a month, he and his companions returned to Kirtland empty-handed. In 1837, a series of internal disputes led to the demise of the Kirtland community. In 1836, church apostle Orson Hyde was sent to the Ohio legislature to request a bank charter, while Oliver Cowdery went to Philadelphia and acquired plates to print notes for the proposed bank. On January 2, Hyde returned to Kirtland empty-handed, unable to persuade any legislator to sponsor a bill for a bank charter; Smith and other bank leaders proceeded with their plans, calling their organization an 'anti-banking society' and issuing bank notes. "Anti" and "ing" were engraved before and after "Bank"—in smaller typeface—on the printing plates Cowdery had previously purchased in Philadelphia. Smith encouraged his followers to buy the notes, in which he invested heavily himself. The bank failed within a month.
As a result of the bank failure, Mormons in Kirtland suffered losses and intense pressure from debt collectors. Smith was held responsible for the failure, and there were widespread defections from the church, including many of Smith's closest advisers. Construction of the Kirtland Temple had only added to the church's debt, and Smith was hounded by creditors. Smith and Rigdon were charged with illegally operating a bank; both were found guilty and fined. In June 1837, Smith was arrested on a charge that he had conspired to have critic Grandison Newell murdered. Solomon Denton and Orson Hyde testified for the prosecution. Smith was acquitted.
Also in 1837, Oliver Cowdrey, who was then assistant president of the church, accused Smith of engaging in a sexual relationship with a teenage servant in his home, Fanny Alger. Smith, who was married to Emma at the time, said little of the relationship, but he did specifically deny being guilty of adultery. Indeed, contemporaries of Smith agree that he had likely married Alger as a polygamous wife. Cowdrey was subject to excommunication proceedings for "seeking to destroy the character of President Joseph Smith, Jun., by falsely insinuating that he was guilty of adultery", but in 2014, the LDS church admitted Smith had had a marital relationship with Alger. By 1838, Smith was facing widespread dissension from high-profile church leaders, accusing him of being a fallen prophet, as well as mounting lawsuits. That night, he and Sidney Rigdon fled Kirtland to join up with the Mormons in Far West, Missouri. Smith's critics in Kirtland took control of the temple, but many Kirtland Mormons eventually followed Smith to Missouri. By 1838, Smith had abandoned plans to reclaim the city of Independence and instead declared the town of Far West as the new "Zion." In Missouri, the church also took the name "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints", and construction began on a new temple. In the weeks and months after Smith and Rigdon arrived at Far West, thousands of Latter-Day Saints followed them from Kirtland. Smith encouraged the settlement of land outside Caldwell County, instituting a settlement in Adam-ondi-Ahman, in Daviess County.
Later, Joseph Smith and his followers claimed to see visions and worked in Missouri. There were more tensions between Mormons and non-Mormons in Missouri. There was an event on August 6, 1838, when non-Mormons in Gallatin, Missouri, tried to prevent Mormons from voting, and a brawl ensued. The election day scuffles initiated the 1838 Mormon War. Non-Mormon vigilantes raided and burned Mormon farms, while Danites and other Mormons pillaged non-Mormon towns. In the Battle of Crooked River, a group of Mormons attacked the Missouri state militia, mistaking them for anti-Mormon vigilantes. Governor Lilburn Boggs then ordered that the Mormons be "exterminated or driven from the state." On October 30, a party of Missourians surprised and killed seventeen Mormons in the Haun's Mill massacre.
The following day, the Mormons surrendered to 2,500 state troops and agreed to forfeit their property and leave the state. Smith was immediately brought before a military court, accused of treason, and sentenced to be executed the next morning, but Alexander Doniphan, who was Smith's former attorney and a brigadier general in the Missouri militia, refused to carry out the order. Smith was then sent to a state court for a preliminary hearing, where several of his former allies testified against him. Smith and five others, including Rigdon, were charged with treason, and transferred to the jail at Liberty, Missouri, to await trial. During his imprisonment, Smith wrote a personal defense and an apology for the activities of his followers. Though he directed his followers to collect and publish their stories of persecution, he also urged them to moderate their antagonism toward non-Mormons. On April 6, 1839, after a grand jury hearing in Daviess County, Smith and his companions escaped custody, almost certainly with the connivance of the sheriff and guards. Later, Joseph Smith lived in Nauvoo, Illinois. The state of Illinois accepted Mormon refugees who gathered along the banks of Mississippi River, where Joseph Smith purchased high-priced, swampy woodland in the hamlet of Commerce. He attempted to portray the Mormons as an oppressed minority and unsuccessfully petitioned the federal government for help in obtaining reparations. He had many rich allies like John C. Bennett, the Illinois quartermaster general. Joseph Smith lived in a city named Nauvoo. The city had religious liberty. The charter also authorized the Nauvoo Legion, a militia whose actions were limited only by state and federal constitutions. Bennett and Smith became its commanders and were styled Major General and Lieutenant General respectively. As such, they controlled by far the largest body of armed men in Illinois. Smith appointed Bennett as Assistant President of the Church, and Bennett was elected Nauvoo's first mayor. Joseph Smith promoted baptism for the dead in 1840 and started the building on the Nauvoo Temple as a place of recovering lost ancient knowledge in 1841.
An 1841 revelation promised the restoration of the "fullness of the priesthood"; and in May 1842, Smith inaugurated a revised endowment or "first anointing." The endowment resembled the rites of Freemasonry that Smith had observed two months earlier when he had been initiated "at sight" into the Nauvoo Masonic lodge. At first, the endowment was open only to men, who were initiated into a special group called the Anointed Quorum. For women, Smith introduced the Relief Society, a service club and sorority within which Smith predicted women would receive "the keys of the kingdom." Smith also elaborated on his plan for a Millennial kingdom; no longer envisioning the building of Zion in Nauvoo, he viewed Zion as encompassing all of North and South America, with Mormon settlements being "stakes" of Zion's metaphorical tent. Zion also became less a refuge from an impending tribulation than a great building project. In the summer of 1842, Smith revealed a plan to establish the millennial Kingdom of God, which would eventually establish theocratic rule over the whole Earth. In Nauvoo, Smith secretly practiced plural marriage. He introduced the doctrine to a few of his closest associates, including Bennett. When rumors of polygamy (called "spiritual wifery" by Bennett) got abroad, Smith forced Bennett's resignation as Nauvoo mayor. In retaliation, Bennett left Nauvoo and began publishing sensational accusations against Smith and his followers. Many people turned against Mormons in Illinois by mdi 1842.
After one unknown assailant shot and wounded former Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs in May 1842, anti-Mormons promoted rumors that Smith's bodyguard, Peter Rockwell, was the gunman. In July, the recently excommunicated John C. Bennett published a letter claiming Smith had admitted sending Rockwell to 'fulfill prophecy' by killing Boggs; Bennett's claims were widely viewed as an attempt at vengeance for his recent excommunication, with even Gov. Ford later wrote that Bennett "everywhere accounted the same debauched, unprincipled and profligate character." Though the evidence was circumstantial, the new governor of Missouri petitioned Illinois for Smith's extradition, and Illinois Governor Carlin issued an arrest warrant. Certain he would be killed if he ever returned to Missouri, Smith went into hiding twice during the next five months, until the U.S. Attorney for Illinois argued that his extradition would be unconstitutional. Rockwell was later freed after a Missouri grand jury declined to indict him for the shooting. In May 1843, Smith married Helen Mar Kimball, age 14, the daughter of apostle Heber C. Kimball, who himself had two wives at that time and had encouraged his daughter to accept the marriage. In June 1843, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford issued a warrant to extradite Smith to Missouri on the outstanding charge of treason. Two law officers arrested Smith but were intercepted by a party of Mormons before they could reach Missouri. Smith was then released on a writ of habeas corpus from the Nauvoo municipal court. The events caused significant political fallout in Illinois.
On July 12, 1843, Joseph Smith dictated a revelation about polygamy; Hyrum read the revelation to the High Council on August 12, dividing the hierarchy into polygamist and anti-polygamist factions. On August 1, Smith assaulted County assessor Walter Bagby; Smith pleaded guilty, a fine was imposed, and it was paid. In September, Smith was charged with assault and battery against a Warsaw resident by the name of Bennett [not John C. Bennett]; arriving in Nauvoo with a warrant for Smith's arrest, Constable James Charles was informed that Smith had been tried and acquitted by the Nauvoo municipal court. On November 5, Smith became ill and suspected he had been poisoned, perhaps by wife Emma. In December 1843, Smith petitioned Congress to make Nauvoo an independent territory with the right to call out federal troops in its defense. Smith then wrote to the leading presidential candidates, asking what they would do to protect the Mormons. After receiving noncommittal or negative responses, he announced his own independent candidacy for president of the United States, suspended regular proselytizing, and sent out the Quorum of the Twelve and hundreds of other political missionaries. Smith launched a presidential campaign in 1844 on a platform which proposed gradually ending slavery, protecting the liberties of Latter Day Saints and other minorities, reducing the size of Congress, reestablishing a national bank, reforming prisons, and annexing Texas, California, and Oregon.
By early 1844, a rift developed between Smith and a half dozen of his closest associates. Robert D. Foster, a physician and general in the Nauvoo Legion, returned home to find Smith with his wife Sarah; She later confessed that Smith had preached polygamy and attempted to seduce her. After Joseph Smith made similar proposals to William Law's wife Jane, Law threatened to expose Smith unless he went before the High Council to confess and repent. On January 8, 1844, Smith removed Law from the First Presidency.
In March 1844, Smith secretly organized the Council of Fifty and tasked it with deciding which national or state laws Mormons should obey, establishing its own government, and finding a site where Mormons could live under theocratic law beyond the control of other governments—perhaps in Texas, Oregon, or Mexican-controlled California. On March 9, Smith preached a sermon on the plurality of gods—a doctrine the dissenters regarded as polytheistic blasphemy. On April 18, the Council unanimously elected Smith as "Prophet, Priest, and King"—a common description of Jesus Christ's offices.
Also on April 18, Smith excommunicated the dissenters from the church, alleging they were plotting to kill him. In response, Law and others formed the True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which taught that Smith was once a true prophet but had since fallen into sin. On May 23, Law and Foster testified before the grand jury in Carthage, which issued indictments against Smith for "adultery, fornication, and perjury." On May 26, Smith responded with another public denial.
On June 7, the dissidents published the first issue of the Nauvoo Expositor, a four-page tract which "exposed" Smith's secret practice of polygamy and his intention to establish a theocracy. The paper similarly decried Smith's recent doctrine of "many Gods." Arguing the Expositor would provoke a new round of violence against the Mormons, the Nauvoo City Council declared the newspaper a public nuisance, and Smith ordered the Nauvoo Legion to assist the police force in destroying its printing press. During the council debate, Smith vigorously urged the council to order the press destroyed, not realizing that destroying a newspaper was more likely to incite an attack than any of the newspaper's accusations. On June 11, a warrant was issued for Smith's arrest on the charge of inciting a riot resulting in the destruction of the Expositor. Destruction of the newspaper provoked a strident call to arms from Thomas C. Sharp, editor of the Warsaw Signal and longtime critic of Smith.
On June 12, Constable David Bettisworth arrived in Nauvoo to place Joseph Smith under arrest and convey him to Carthage, but Smith was again freed by the municipal court. Bettisworth left but promised to return. Fearing further arrest attempts and mob violence, Smith mobilized the Nauvoo Legion on June 18 and declared martial law. Officials in Carthage responded by mobilizing a small detachment of the state militia, and Governor Ford intervened, threatening to raise a larger militia unless Smith and the Nauvoo City Council surrendered themselves. Smith initially fled across the Mississippi River to avoid arrest, but shortly returned and surrendered to Ford after he was given assurances of his safety. On June 25, Smith and his brother Hyrum arrived in Carthage to stand trial for inciting a riot. Once the Smiths were in custody, the charges were increased to treason, preventing them from posting bail. John Taylor, Willard Richards, and Dan Jones voluntarily joined the Smiths in the Carthage Jail. John S. Fullmer and Cyrus H. Wheelock visited the prisoners in jail, smuggling two pistols to Joseph in the process.
On June 27, 1844, Smith and the other prisoners were staying in the jailer's bedroom, which did not have bars on the windows. Although Smith both faced death threats and had a history of successful jailbreaks, he and the other prisoners were left guarded by only six men. Upon learning that Smith was relatively unguarded, an armed mob with blackened faces stormed the jail. Smith, mistaking the mob for the Nauvoo Legion, initially told a jailer: "Don't trouble yourself ... they've come to rescue me." The guards reportedly feigned defense of the jail by firing shots or blanks over the attackers' heads, and some of the Greys even reportedly joined the mob, who rushed up the stairs. The mob first attempted to push the door open to fire into the room, though Smith and the other prisoners pushed back and prevented this. Hyrum, who was trying to secure the door, was killed instantly with a shot to the face. Smith fired three shots from the smuggled pepper-box pistol, wounding three men, before he sprang for the window. He was shot multiple times before falling out of the window, crying, "Oh Lord my God!" He died shortly after hitting the ground, but was shot several more times by an improvised firing squad before the mob dispersed. Smith was the first U.S. presidential candidate to be assassinated. Immediately following Smith's death, non-Mormon newspapers were nearly unanimous in portraying Smith as a religious fanatic. Conversely, within the Latter Day Saint community, Smith was viewed as a martyred prophet.
After a public funeral and viewing of the deceased brothers, Smith's widow—who feared hostile non-Mormons might try to desecrate the bodies—had their remains buried at night in a secret location, with substitute coffins filled with sandbags interred in the publicly attested grave. The bodies were later moved and reburied under an outbuilding on the Smith property off the Mississippi River. Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church), under the direction of then-RLDS Church president Frederick M. Smith (Smith's grandson), searched for, located, and disinterred the Smith brothers' remains in 1928 and reinterred them, along with Smith's wife, in Nauvoo at the Smith Family Cemetery. These are the events of the controversial life of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism.
By Timothy
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