DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, Help every person on Earth to know and love You. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
AMERICAN HISTORY: On February 2, 1925, much-needed diphtheria antitoxin arrived in Nome, Alaska. Diphtheria is a contagious upper respiratory illness that can only be treated with an antitoxin or prevented with a vaccine. The closest large supply was in Anchorage, hundreds of miles away and, in winter, reachable only by dog sled via the Iditarod Trail. Alaska’s territorial governor approved a relay in which the 20 best mail carrier mushers and 150 dogs would make the 674-mile journey at record speed through blizzards and -50-degree temperatures. The journey, which usually took 15 to 20 days, was completed in five days and seven hours, saving countless lives. In 1973, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was introduced to preserve this chapter of Alaska’s heritage. The 1,049-mile race features competitors from around the world.
Graphic: This depiction of Nome, Alaska’s diphtheria crisis and the delivery of serum via dog sled ran in papers in 1925, as readers tracked the progress of the life-saving serum.
On a personal note, my mother (born 1914) had diptheria as a child. One of the symptoms is “a thick gray coating in the throat that can make breathing and swallowing difficult.” Mom had a long scar on her neck from where they cut her open to clear out the gunk so she wouldn’t suffocate to death.
CANDLEMAS: Officially known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, Candlemas commemorates the events recounted in Luke 2:22–40, when the Holy Family fulfilled the obligations described in Leviticus 12. The feast, which falls on February 2, concludes the Christmas–Epiphany season.
DAY IN THE LIFE: Damani Bryant Felder posted “Day in the life of a crazed liberal.” It says, “Tonight we will go to the ‘Nobody is Above the Law’ protest and then tomorrow we’ll go Protect people that are here by Breaking the Law. After that, we’ll go to the ‘ICE needs to show their identity’ protest and then go to the ‘You don’t need an Identity to Vote’ protest.”
EDUCATION: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1228397165901124 [2:58] to watch a Washington grizzly mama take a bold stand to protect her young ‘un.
EVERYDAY HEROES: In 2007, the monks of St. Joseph Abbey in Covington, Louisiana, began selling simple handcrafted cypress caskets to the public to help support their monastery’s needs. Louisiana law at the time required anyone selling “funeral merchandise” (including caskets) to be a licensed funeral director operating out of a licensed funeral home—with requirements like embalming facilities and apprenticeship—which the monks did not meet.
The Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors issued a cease-and-desist order, threatening fines and jail time, arguing it protected consumers. With help from the Institute for Justice, the monks sued in federal court in 2010, claiming the restriction violated their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection, because it served no real health/safety purpose and protected funeral industry profits.
In 2011, a U.S. District Court ruled in the monks’ favor, striking down the law as applied to them. The state board appealed, but in March 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously affirmed the ruling, calling the restriction “irrational” and protectionist. The board petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, but in October 2013, the Supreme Court declined to review the case (denying certiorari), letting the Fifth Circuit’s decision stand as final.
The monks still sell their caskets @ their website linked below.
FAKE NEWS: CLICK https://x.com/mazemoore/status/2017384348392022194 [:45] to watch Don Lemon use deceptive editing to push his preferred narrative that Donald Trump is a racist.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: The Left Stream Media is outraged that Don Lemon, an independent journalist, was arrested for having reported on an illegal protest. Their concern for their constitutional rights rings hollow, given that they didn’t give a toot about Steve Baker’s arrest. Despite the fact that all Baker did was record and comment on the events going on inside the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, the Biden administration arrested and charged him with four misdemeanors, including trespassing and disorderly conduct. Unsurprisingly, it seems the only difference between them is that Baker is an independent conservative journalist while Lemon is an independent liberal journalist.
I googled for what the Left Stream Media had to say about Baker’s vs. Lemon’s arrests. Their bias is blatantly obvious.
- AP: Writer for conservative media outlet surrenders
- AP: Journalist Don Lemon charged for covering protest at Minnesota church
- ABC: Nothing
- ABC: Former CNN journalist Don Lemon arrested in connection with protest
- CBS: Nothing
- CBS: Former CNN anchor Don Lemon taken into custody after protest
- Los Angeles Times: Nothing
- Los Angeles Times: Don Lemon’s arrest escalates Trump’s clashes with journalists
- MSN: Nothing
- MSN: Former CNN anchor Don Lemon arrested after Minnesota church protest
- NBC: Musician and libertarian writer who works for ‘The Blaze’ arrested
- NBC: Don Lemon arrested after covering protest at Minnesota church
- New York Times: Nothing
- New York Times: Don Lemon Released Without Bond Over Minnesota Church Protest
- Newsweek: FBI Arresting Reporter Sparks MAGA Outrage
- Newsweek: Don Lemon’s Arrest by Trump DOJ Sparks Alarm
- Yahoo: Writer for conservative media outlet surrenders
- Yahoo: Former CNN anchor Don Lemon taken into custody
PRAYER for OUR NATION: Dear Lord, Grant us the graces we need to be well informed and discerning in all our opinions. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
SO MUCH STUPID: CLICK https://x.com/ianmSC/status/2017665733199859781 [1:22] to hear Ana Navarro, a woman that CNN pays hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to appear as a “senior political commentator” display how utterly clueless she is. In addition to what others said about detainers, an X commenter made a good foolish statement. “She’s not wrong that ICE could just camp out at the door of the County and City jails – where she’s wrong is thinking that this would be more peaceful – if ICE is encamped somewhere, the protestors will flock there, and it will be mayhem.”
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? If you only have time for one thing, watch this. It’s only 3 minutes. – CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1345381987618171 [2:53].
GRAMMY NOTES: Big brag today! I absolutely blazed through this puzzle! LOL
SHORTS:
CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/U-_FBESS1LA to see a child’s beautiful faith in action.
CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1412416986895677 to see a handy and very inexpensive way to make a laptop or tablet rest.