60.34 Howe Enterprise January 2, 2023

Grayson Publishing, LLC

© 2023 The Howe Enterprise

Monday, January 2, 2023

Volume 60, Edition 34

Happy New Year I’m convinced there are John Adams and Patrick Henry types all over the country. However, they are all too distracted with the NFL, NBA, and the Yellowstone series to understand our current ‘Stamp Act’ or ‘Tea Tax’.

The Patriots versus the Loyalists of yesteryear has now turned into the Patriots versus the Globalists. ***** The biggest case of our lifetime will reach the Supreme Court this week on January 6. It is Raland J. Brunson v. Alma S. Adams which states 129 members of the United States House of Representatives, 94 United States Senators, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Vice President Mike Pence. This case was expedited to the Supreme Court due to a national emergency clause which bypassed the Tenth circuit court. If the Supreme Court decides to hear the case and then rules in favor for Brunson, it would create the most chaotic situation in United States history by removing from office all defendants in the case as well as not allowing them to hold any government office again. However, I would temper expectations as no court and no judge seems courageous enough to stand up for the people of the United States—only their immediate well-being.

We wrote a detailed article of this case in the Vol. 60, Ed. 31 in this column.

EDITOR’S NOTE—This column is reserved as an editorial column and may not necessarily reflect the policy of this publication.

Bulk Trash Pickup 2nd Friday of each month in Howe.

What will happen of Howe in 2023? Much could depend on the fate of the Supreme Court this coming week but let’s say things march on as normal. January 19 is the first date for citizens to file for two city council seats and the mayor seat. Those that are up for re-election are Mayor Bill French and Councilmen Rod Gross and Dale Rideout. The election isn’t held until May, however.

Both the boys and girls varsity basketball teams should compete for playoff spots. The eighth

grade track team should haul in all kinds of honors in relays. The varsity baseball team will make the playoffs and hopes are high for advancing past the first round.

Ryleigh Craven will strike out 100 batters if healthy and the Lady Bulldogs softball team will be much improved from last season. The May election will determine the future of Howe in 2023. But it’s most likely there won’t be an election because there hasn’t been a race for mayor in nearly 20 years and all council members and mayor have been

appointed or run unopposed, or both in some situations. We could see our final graduation at the gymnasium as discussions have been made to move to Bulldog Stadium. The city looks on track to hopefully make a major announcement in 2023 regarding the most needed target for citizens.

In football, the Dogs should light it up again and compete for a playoff berth, but perhaps with a different look than in 2022. Volleyball will improve yet again and the band will make another run at a state title.

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Howe Chamber hosting first Howe Hump Day this week

The Howe Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the first Howe Hump Day Wednesday and invite all local chamber members and local businesses to participate in what will be a monthly event to network with other businesses.

dens (which is also the home of the chamber and economic development).

Sponsors for subsequent months are February— Lacey Tucker of Fairway Mortgage; March— open; April—Benefits Explorer; May—open; June—Legend Bank; The Howe Area ChamJuly—open; August— ber of Commerce will Independent Financial; host and sponsor the first September –December one and provide breakare open and available fast burritos and beverag- for sponsorship. Spones. They will also recog- sors must be current nize Quick Check in chamber members and Howe as the first 2023 provide breakfast for the Business of the Month. networking group.

There is no charge to attend the event which For more information, will last from 8 am to 9 contact Monte Walker at am Wednesday, January 903-532-6080 or in4, 2023, at Summit Gar- fo@howechamber.com.

Lady Bulldogs reverse season by winning 8-of-11 The Howe Lady Bulldogs (8-12, 1-1) have all of a sudden turned around a season that at one point was headed in a long, painful direction. However, sparked by energetic Head Coach Ashley Anderson and her mantra of “chop wood-carry water,” the girls have completely reversed an 0-8 start to win eight of their last 11 games.

Those three losses have come to sixthranked Pottsboro (20-3) in 3A, number 25 ranked Muenster (16-6) in 2A, and Slidell (17-3) who is ranked number three in Class 1A. The Lady Bulldogs entered the First State Bank Tournament that the schedule read was in Lindsay, however, it actually was held in Callisburg. Howe opened the tournament against Callisburg and jumped out to a quick 19-8 lead after the (Continued on page 4)

First State Bank Tournament Results: Howe 41, Callisburg 30 Howe 38, Muenster JV 12 Howe 26, Muenster 39 Howe 45, S&S 43

INSIDE

Home Buyer Happy Hour, pg. 2 Denison arson, pg. 2 Bulldogs Basketball, pg. 3 Paxton v. Twitter, pg. 5 Basketball schedules, pg. 7 Christian, pg. 9 History/Parenting, pg. 10 Hot Jobs, pg. 11 Chamber members, pg. 12 Past front pages, pg. 14-21

READERSHIP

Jordan Brunner fights for the ball Friday in Callisburg against S&S in the First State Bank Tournament.

Staff photo.

Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2022 Sessions: 81,754 Pageviews: 1,246,887 Users: 48,313

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Local business leaders hosting ‘Home Buyer Happy Hour’ Two local business leaders have announced an event at Summit Gardens on Jan. 20 from 4:30—6:30 pm called ‘Home Buyer Happy Hour’ which is open to all interested.

Lacey Tucker of Fairway Mortgage and Dana Thornhill of The Llama Realty Group are partnering together to give a short presentation for the path of home ownership and will host a mix and mingle happy hour after the presentation.

Both companies are members of the Howe Area Chamber of Commerce and Tucker even serves on the board of the chamber.

Summit Gardens is located at 100 E. O’Connell Street in Howe and also serves as the home of the Howe Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Howe’s Economic Development office.

Denison man sentenced to 22 years for arson, heads back to the penitentiary David Darling, 32, of Denison, was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Darling pleaded guilty to the offense of Arson Intending to damage a Habitation in November. The Honorable 15TH District Court Judge Jim Fallon conducted the sentencing.

On June 28, 2022, Denison Police and Fire responded to a call about a structure fire near the intersection of Day and Fannin Street. Fire responded to a house that appeared to be almost fully engulfed. After two hours battling the flames, the fire was extinguished.

Denison police along with independent Fire investigators were able to review the scene and determine that the fire was intentionally set.

After securing the scene, officers spoke to the victim who stated that she had received messages from Darling threatening to burn the house down prior to the incident. She told officers that she thought he was responsible for the fire. Officers were also able to view a video of Darling burning personal items of the victim in the backyard of the home approximately one week prior to the fire.

A Denison PD Detective was able to review camera footage that showed

© 2023 The Howe Enterprise

Darling both walking toward the property and leaving the property around the time the fire was set. During his interview, Darling admitted to being the one who started the fire.

Evidence presented to the Judge at sentencing illustrated Darling as a repeat offender who, among other cases, had previously been to the penitentiary – after being revoked on probation – for Aggravated Assault causing serious bodily injury and Burglary of a Building.

“Sometimes the only way we can truly protect our community from repeat violent offenders such as this is by locking them up,” said Assistant District Attorney Vanessa Vice. District Attorney Brett Smith added, “This offender committed a heinous act that could have led to serious injury of multiple people including the victim, Fire or Police personnel, or innocent members of the community. We are satisfied that this defendant will have to serve significant time for this offense.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Vanessa Vice with assistance from Investigator Mike Ditto, and Legal Assistant April Butner.

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Bulldogs struggle to get into groove at Celina

Howe’s Jacob Campbell drives the lane at Celina on Friday.

Staff photo.

The Howe Bulldogs (8-6, 0-1) hit the court for the first time in 10 days with a game at and against Class 4A Celina.

The result was a 54-35 loss and Howe now has back-to-back losses for the first time since losing to Sam Rayburn and Farmersville to open December.

It was a display of long bombs in the first quarter by Celina as they hit four –pointers to take a 13-12 lead over Howe after the first period. Jacob Campbell’s nine points and Austin Haley’s three successful foul shots kept the Dogs close before the Bobcats defense allowed Howe only four points in the second period. Howe also had their best defensive period by only allowing eight to Celina, but the Bobcats entered intermission with a 21-16 advantage.

Celina’s Kasey Ollison added eight

points on field goals while teammate Ethan Brownell hit two of his four 3pointers in the period. Celina stretched their lead to 40-31 entering the final stanza.

But the Bobcats went on a 14-4 run to finish out the game and Howe now puts that game in the rearview mirror and looks ahead to hosting Bells tomorrow for the second district game and the first one at home.

Campbell led Howe with 21 points at Celina with Kaleb Taylor adding six and Haley five. Ryan Hough added two points to round out the scoring.

The Bulldogs are scoring 43.14 points per game so far this season while allowing 42.36 to opponents. Howe’s only district game to date is a 45-40 loss at Pottsboro.

Howe’s Kaleb Taylor (13) turns around a Celina attempted shot.

Staff photo.

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January 2, 2023

Lady Bulldogs

Presley Shockey (5) in defense against S&S on Friday in Callisburg.

Staff photo.

(Continued from page 1)

first period thanks to Kendall Griffin’s 10 points to open the game. Griffin would later be named to the First State Bank All-Tournament Team. Howe was able to hold a 32-19 lead at the half thanks in part to Teagan Stubblefield’s second 3-pointer of the half.

The game was slowed down considerably in the second half and Howe took home a 41-30 win.

Griffin ended up leading Howe with 16 points with Stubblefield’s three 3pointers totaling nine. Presley Shockey added eight points.

Following the win, Howe played Muenster’s JV and won commandingly 38-12 which Griffin dropped in 19 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs. The

game was actually close after the first period with Howe holding a 4-2 lead, but Jentrie Doty hit her first of three 3pointers to help stretch the lead to 12-9 at intermission. The halftime adjustment put the ball into Griffin’s hands to put 10 of her points on the board in the third period which took the air out of the Muenster’s JV and Howe took a 27-11 lead into the final frame.

Behind Griffin’s 19 points was Doty’s nine, Shockey’s three, and Emery Snapp’s three points.

Howe then danced to the semifinals of the tournament but faced a large challenge with Muenster and were turned away by a score of 39-26. The Lady Bulldog trailed after the first period, 11 -7, but the Lady Hornets dominated in

(Continued on page 5)

Jentrie Doty (24) looks to pass against S&S on Friday. Staff photo.

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Lady Bulldogs

Kendall Griffin prepares for a foul shot against S&S on Friday in Callisburg.

She was named to the First State Bank All-Tournament Team. Staff photo.

(Continued from page 4)

Shockey (4), Reece Smith (3), West (2), Emery Snapp (2), and Stubblefield (2).

the second period by outpacing Howe 12-2 to take a 23-9 lead into the half.

Howe was able to stay toe-to-toe with Muenster in the third thanks to Brynn Riley’s two free throws, and field goals from Emery Snapp and Aubrielle West. The Lady Bulldogs outscored Muenster in the third, 9-8, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit.

The Lady Bulldogs then defeated S&S 45-43 as they led most of the first half but trailed at halftime due to a lastsecond buzzer beater. But the Lady Bulldogs rallied for the win against a team they were defeated 46-18 by in the season’s second game of the year.

Griffin was again the leading scorer with five points. Others were Riley (4),

Howe will host Bells Tuesday for their third district game of the season.

Howe’s Teagan Stubblefield (11) drives against S&S on Friday.

Staff photo.

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Paxton wins legal battle against Twitter in fight for free speech and transparency AUSTIN – Attorney General Paxton has defeated Twitter in court once again after the San Francisco-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused to reconsider its decision throwing out Twitter’s lawsuit against Attorney General Paxton.

In January 2021, Attorney General Paxton issued civil investigative demands (“CIDs”) to Twitter to determine whether Twitter’s widespread content moderation and censorship policies violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Rather than cooperate with the investigation, Twitter attempted to avoid transparency by suing Attorney General Paxton and alleging, baselessly, that the investigation chilled its free speech and even by asserting that its publicly-stated content moderation policies were mere puffery.

After a district court dismissed Twitter’s lawsuit, and Twitter appealed, a threejudge appellate panel ruled that the lawsuit was not prudentially ripe. Twitter next sought reconsideration by the full court. That request was rejected without even a vote, and the panel amended its decision to hold that Twitter’s lawsuit was not just prudentially unripe but constitutionally unripe.

From the beginning, Twitter’s lawsuit has been nothing more than a thinlyveiled distraction. And recently reported details contained within the “Twitter Files” have confirmed that Twitter’s censorship policies were just as bad, if

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton not worse, than what Attorney General Paxton was seeking to investigate and as many free speech advocates have been saying all along.

“I’ve been asking Twitter for years to answer questions about its content moderation and large-scale censorship, but Twitter’s only response has been to try and hide behind its bogus lawsuits against me,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Now that yet another court has ruled in our favor and more details surrounding Twitter’s censorship have come to light, I look forward to helping get to the bottom of any actions that the company took to mislead consumers.”

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City of Howe SECONDS COUNT IN AN EMERGENCY! That's why the City of Howe has instituted the CodeRED Emergency Notification System - an ultra high-speed telephone communication service for emergency notifications. This system allows us to telephone all or targeted areas in case of an emergency situation that requires immediate action (such as a boil-water notice, missing child or evacuation notices). The system is capable of dialing 60,000 phone numbers per hour. It then delivers a pre-recorded message describing the situations to a live person or an answering machine in the affected area possibly including instructions requiring action on the part of the recipient.

Once the situation is remedied, another call will be placed to the area signaling that the issue has been addressed and that normal activities can be resumed.

The following information is required to add a telephone number into the "CodeRED" database: first and last name; address (physical address, no P.O. boxes); city; state; Zip Code; and primary phone number. The system works with cellular phones but requires a valid street address. When entering information, please fill out all of the screens because the newest data entered will replace the old data. Sign up by visiting http://www.co.grayson.tx.us/page/ oem.cred

2022-23 Local taxation State Sales Tax General Revenue Sales Tax Ad valorem reduction Sales Tax Economic Development (Type B) Sales Tax Total

6.25 % 1.00 % 0.50 % 0.50 % 8.25 %

City of Howe Tax Rate Howe I.S.D Tax Rate Grayson County Tax Rate Grayson College Tax Rate Total (per $100 valuation)

$0.54 $1.27 $0.31 $0.15 $2.27

Cityofhowe.org City Hall 116 E. Haning St., 903-532-5571 Mayor: Bill French City Administrator: Jeff Stanley City Secretary: Regina Harris Utility Billing and Municipal Court 116 E. Haning St. 903-532-5571 Utility Clerk: Beccy Roberts Court Clerk: Kristie Tatar (After hours night drop available) Public Works 317 S. Hughes St. Public Works Director: Mickey Phillips Code Enforcement 317 S. Hughes St. Code Enforcement Officer: Benjamin Fuhr Howe Fire Department 118 E. Haning 903-532-6888 (nonemergency) Fire Chief: Robert Maniet Howe Police Department 700 W. Haning St. 903-532-9971 (non-emergency) Dispatch 903813-4411 Police Chief: Carl Hudman Police Sergeant: Keith Milks Economic Development 100 E. O’Connell St. 903-532-6080 EDC Director: Monte Walker City Council meets third Tuesday at 700 W. Haning St. at 6 pm.

Planning & Zoning Commission Meets third Monday as needed Howe Community Facilities Development Corporation Meets as needed For more information visit the city website www.cityofhowe.org

2021-22 City of Howe Water, Sewer, Refuse collection rates - one bill WATER RATES Base (Minimum) Rate: $28.51 (uniform rate) Volume (Gallons): 1,000 Volume Charge: $7.82 p/ 1,000 gal. for 1,001-4,000 gallons $8.77 p/ 1,000 gal. for 4,001-20,000 gallons $9.76 p/ 1,000 gal. for 20,001-45,000 gallons $10.40 p/ 1,000 gal. for all consumption over 45,000 gallons CONNECTION, WATER TAP & METER INSTALLATION FEES Deposit: $150.00 Service Charge: $10.00 Connection: $20.00 Reconnect: $50.00 Tap Fees: (3/4” – 1”) = $900.00 (2” – 6”) = $1,500.00 Impact Fee: N/A New Meter Installations: 3/4” = $2,060.00 (Tap Fee, Meter Installation, Deposit) 1” = $2,110.00 (Tap Fee, Meter Installation, Deposit) 2” = $4,475.00 (Tap Fee, Meter Installation, Deposit) 4” = $4,550.00 (Tap Fee, Meter Installation, Deposit) 6” = $6,110.00 (Tap Fee, Meter Installation, Deposit) Hydrant Meter Deposit: $2,000.00 SEWER RATES & TAP FEES Base (Minimum) Rate: $35.28 (uniform rate) Volume (Gallons): 1,000 Volume Charge: $5.51 p/ 1,000 gallons Tap Fee: $900.00 Impact Fee: N/A OUTSIDE OF CITY LIMITS WATER RATES Base (Minimum) Rate: $42.76 (uniform rate) Volume (Gallons): 1,000 Volume Charge: $11.74 p/ 1,000 gal. for next 4,000 gallons $13.16 p/ 1,000 gal. for next 20,000 gallons $14.65 p/ 1,000 gal. for next 20,000 gallons $15.59 p/ 1,000 gal. for all over 45,000 gallons CONNECTION, WATER TAP & METER INSTALLATION FEES **SAME AS INSIDE CITY LIMITS** SEWER RATES N/A

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Christ our hope for the New Year We are at the end of another year and it always brings thoughts of starting fresh and having hope for the future. Most of us have Dr. Billy Holland watched the ball drop on New Year’s Eve which officially declares, “out with the old and in with the new.” At midnight, people from all over the world will celebrate the turning of the next page of their lives. Over the years, the “time -ball” has undergone several changes in design, and the most recent was created for the Millennial celebration in the year 2000 by Waterford Crystal.

It’s a geodesic sphere, six feet in diameter, and weighing approximately 1,070 pounds. It’s covered with a total of 504 crystal triangles that vary in size and each piece has a special designation: Hope for Love, Peace, Wisdom, Unity, Courage, Healing, etc.

The Name of the ball itself? “The Star of Hope.”

mal. We are indeed distracted, but much of our stress is our own fault. No one is making us watch television, play games, or be absorbed in social media. We should understand that living a holy and obedient life before God is difficult enough without us refusing to take our responsibility to stay focused seriously. Scanning the headlines we know there is a lot of strange things going on in the world. I’m often asked about my thoughts pertaining to Biblical prophecy including the topics of rapture and tribulation? I realize that most everyone has speculations and interpretations, but let’s just say that God is in control and everything is moving according to His perfect will.

The wise decision would be to make sure we are as close to God as possible. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” When we think about New Year resolutions, this passage defines how we are to allow God to be the Master and King of who we are and everything we say and do.

The foundation of being a Christian is to invite God to control and possess us.

It’s wonderful to have hope as it’s a positive and optimistic attitude to believe that everything is going to be alright. However, there is a difference between wishing and knowing. The time ball might be called the star of hope, but Jesus Christ the Son of God not only came to bring hope, He is literally our only hope. This means that unless He is our Lord and Savior, we do not have a hope of becoming what Jesus died for us to be or the promise of eternal life. When we are born-again and become a child of God we are given a type of hope that allows us to rest in the reality that He is the absolute truth and everything He has guaranteed will come to pass.

When He declares that He can can not only redeem us, but we can spend eternity in Heaven with Him, we have a blessed assurance that means more than any dream or aspiration the world can offer. Christ in us is the hope of glory as we surrender out will to God in the reality of knowing Him as our eternal spiritual Father.

There are many individuals and families that are going through all types of difficulties. Whatever the crisis, disappointments, worries, and fears, there is no higher priority than to consider our spiritual relationship with the Lord.

Our creator has given every person an open invitation to come to Him as He longs to be your best friend. This coming year is filled with unlimited possibilities and He is waiting for you to embrace Him as the Lord and Master of your life! January means “beginning” and is a wonderful time to receive His forgiveness. He loves you more than anything and there is so much He is waiting to reveal to you. II Corinthians chapter six reminds us, “Behold now is the accepted time: behold now is the day of salvation.”

As a messenger, I will never say anything more important than today is the perfect time to embrace the grace and mercy of God and sincerely give your life to Him.

If you have been stressed lately and your prayer life has recognized more negative resistance than usual, then congratulations, you are perfectly nor-

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Dr. Holland is an ordained minister, community chaplain, and Christian author. We invite you to read more about God and the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com

Local church calendar A Christian Fellowship 150 Fellowship Ln, Sherman, TX 75090 (903) 815-1333 Wednesday 6:30 pm – Potluck Meal 7:00 pm – Worship Service 7:00 pm – Jr & Sr High Youth Sunday 9:30 am – Sunday School (all ages) 10:30 am – Worship Service 10:30 am – KidZone Children’s Service (5yr – 12 yr.)

Community Bible Fellowship 415 S Collins Fwy, Howe, TX 75459 Wednesday 6:30 pm - Food and Fellowship 7:00 pm - Community Kids (ages 3 6th grade, nursery available) 7:00 pm - Youth and Adult Bible Study Sunday 10:30 am - Worship Service First Baptist Church Dorchester 11831 FM 902, Dorchester, TX 75459 903-476-5525 Wednesday 6:00 pm - Meal (Donations for adults and kids eat free) 6:30 pm - Praise service 7:00 pm - Youth Bible Study 7:00 pm - Adult Bible Study 7:00 pm - RA's/GA's/children's group Sunday 9:00 am - Men's Prayer Time 9:45 am - Sunday School 10:45 am - A.M. Worship Service 5:00 pm - Adult Choir Practice 6:00 pm - Evening Worship First Baptist Church Howe 100 E. Davis St., Howe, TX 903-5325504 Wednesday 6:30 pm - Team Kid 6:30 pm - Youth Ministry 6:30 pm - Adult Bible Fellowship Sunday 9:15 am - Bible Fellowship 10:30am - Worship Service 6:00 pm—Potluck Fellowship and Bible Study

First United Methodist Church of Howe 810 N Denny St, Howe, TX 75459 903-532-6718 Monday 9:30 am - Care Team Meeting 10:30 am - Pastor's Bible Study Tuesday 9:30 am - Women's Bible Study 11:30 am - Out and About with Pastor Stephen 6:30 pm Boy Scouts Wednesday 9:00 am - Wednesday Workers 6:30 pm - Jr. High and Sr. High Youth Saturday 9:00 am - Feed My Sheep (1st and 3rd Sat each month) Sunday 8:40 am - Fellowship and Donuts 9:00 am - Sunday School 10:00 am - Worship service 3:00 pm - Cub Scouts Howe Church of Christ 1205 N Collins Fwy, Howe, TX 75459 903-532-6441 Wednesday 7:00 pm - Bible Classes (all ages) Sunday 9:00 am - Bible Classes (all ages) 10:00 am - Worship Service 5:00 pm - Worship Service Howe Church of the Square 100 E. O’Connell St., Howe, TX 75459 Sunday 10:00 am—Worship Service Summit View Church 910 S Denny St, Howe, TX 75459 903-532-6828 Wednesday 7:00 pm - Radiate Youth 7:00 pm - Sanctuary of for prayer Sunday 9:30 am - Sunday School (kids, youth, women, men) 10:30 am - Worship Service 10:30 am - Kids Church

Times are subject to change.

Please check with each church for any possible changes

Psalm 33:3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

© 2022 The Howe Enterprise

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Texas History Minute

Many Texas musicians have become legendary figures for not only their great talents as musicians but also for their colorful lives. Huddie Ken Bridges Ledbetter, known to his fans as “Leadbelly,” was a pioneer blues musician starting in East Texas in the early 1900s, just as rhythm and blues was starting to develop its own musical identity. His own life was one of many tragedies, which he incorporated into his music.

Ledbetter’s music would far outlast his 1949 death, influencing performers from country to rock for decades afterward.

Huddie William Ledbetter was born in a tiny Louisiana community just northwest of Shreveport. The family moved often, and within a couple of years moved across the state line into Bowie County. He showed a great love of music from an early age, but his music training was sporadic. His first musical gift was an accordion given to him by an uncle. He soon mastered it and picked up other instruments, such as the harmonica, fiddle, and what became his favorite, the 12-string guitar.

By the time he was 15, Ledbetter was performing at clubs and parties across the area.

Around 1910, Ledbetter was living in Harrison County when he took to the road to pursue a music career, leaving behind his wife and two children.

Though he became increasingly popular with his early blues sound, he often found himself in trouble with the law.

Increasing problems with alcohol only compounded his problems. Some time in the late 1910s, he picked up the nickname “Leadbelly,” but its origins are uncertain.

It was also in the 1910s that he began singing one of his most popular songs, “Good Night, Irene.” He went on to write hundreds of songs, some gospel but mostly blues. “Black Betty,” “Black Snake Moan,” and “Cotton Fields” were among many songs he wrote and performed by the 1920s.

Many of his songs were never recorded or were lost over time.

In 1915, he was jailed in Harrison County on an illegal gun charge but soon escaped. Three years later, he was imprisoned after another fight turned deadly. He was sentenced to 35 years.

However, Gov. Pat Neff, who once promised not to pardon any prisoners, pardoned Ledbetter in 1925 after hearing him sing for his release. Ledbetter resumed his performances, but he still had legal problems. He was convicted in 1930 in Louisiana following a knife fight and another conviction in New York in 1939. His time in prison became an inspiration for many of his songs.

He promoted himself as the “King of the 12-String Guitar,” but he was only able to begin recording his songs in the 1930s. John Lomax, co-founder of the Texas Folklore Society and a former administrator at the University of Texas, recorded dozens of Ledbetter’s songs through a Works Progress Administration program to record oral histories and folk music across the nation. On a tour of the Northeast, Ledbetter found an appreciative circle of musicians in the growing folk music community. He would record several songs with Woody Guthrie.

In the early 1940s, he was a regular radio performer on a nationwide folk music program, hosted by John Lomax’s son, Alan. By 1949, Ledbetter had his own radio show in New York, Folk Songs of America. That year, just as his career and life were back on track, he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a degenerative neuromuscular disorder. The condition progressed rapidly, but he was able to perform one last concert, a memorial concert for John Lomax at the University of Texas that summer.

He died quietly in New York City in December 1949 at the age of 61. His life was one of hard luck and little respect save for fellow musicians and a handful of blues fans who saw brilliance in his performances.

As the years passed, fellow musicians kept his memory alive trough his music. Within a few years, his influences became much more pronounced as rock and roll saw its introduction by the mid-1950s and blues reached a new level of artistry. In the 1950s, folk musician Pete Seeger wrote a book on playing guitar that praised Ledbetter’s technique. By the 1960s, a flood of popular musicians began recording Ledbetter’s songs. “Good Night, Irene” was a favorite of country stars such as Ernest Tubb and Willie Nelson. Tubb’s version topped the charts in 1950. Creedence Clearwater Revival made Ledbetter’s “Midnight Special” one of their most famous songs when they recorded it in 1969. It was also covered by Gene Autry, Johnny Cash, Nat King Cole, and the Grateful Dead. Ledbetter was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

In 1976, a movie was made about his life called simply Leadbelly. In 1988, in the centennial year of his birth, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, honored as one of the early major influences. The popular grunge-rock band Nirvana introduced Ledbetter to a new generation with Kurt Cobain’s rendition of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” in a televised performance in 1994. Many of his surviving recordings from the 1940s from the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution were released as albums in the 1990s.

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Living with children

Q: Getting my daughters, fifteen and thirteen, to pick up their clothes from the floors of their rooms requires John Rosemond constant nagging from me. I’m at my wit’s end.

Please help me out with this. It’s driving me slowly insane.

A: Speaking as your therapist du jour, it is my responsibility to inform you that you may already have crossed the line. Remember, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over even though you keep getting the same result.

You have nagged at your kids about this issue for—what? Five, six years?

And if you nag excitedly enough, like you’re about to go full la-la, they decide it’s not worth the risk and they pick up their clothes and keep them picked up for—what? Two days?

Okay, I’m going to solve this problem for you. Well, actually, I can’t solve your problem for you, but I can give you the solution. Whether you muster the mojo needed to carry it through is another matter.

I have immaculate confidence in the solution because it worked for me and it’s worked for lots of parents (who mustered the aforementioned mojo).

Simply, do not ever again so much as politely request that your kids pick up their clothes. Don’t ever again mention it, even. Got that? Then, the next time even one item of clothing needs picking up, pick it up and put it precisely where it belongs. That’s right! YOU do it!

And then, simply wait for a golden opportunity to bring them face to face with Reality, in the form of Bad Karma. Bad Karma is sorely lacking in the lives of many if not most of today’s pampered, enabled, indulged, mi-

cromanaged children, which explains why so much of the behavior of so many of today’s kids is so underdisciplined, not to mention the negative effect a LACK of Bad Karma has on mental health.

Speaking proverbially, if an adult “leaves his clothes lying all over the floor” in the workplace, his employer will most certainly not nag. The employer will make his expectations clear and make sure the employer understands the expectations. If violations continue, the employee may receive one more warning, and then, in all likelihood, he will be fired, thus being forced to suffer a lower standard of living.

Parents cannot fire a child, but they can lower a child’s standard of living.

Along that line, the next time either of the kids asks for freedom to leave the house and socialize with friends, say, “Oh, I’m so sorry, but I am forced to inform you that in the Real World, which I am obligated to acquaint you with, you cannot do what you want to do until you have done what you are supposed to do. In this case, you do not pick up your clothes, thus requiring me to do so, which I’ve discovered is so much easier than nagging. Nonetheless, I am not able to grant your request. Sorry.” And walk away.

Yes, that is definitely easier said than done. Accountability is never easy for a parent to dispense because it’s the hardest pill for a child to swallow. But a child gains much from learning to swallow it, early.

Family psychologist John Rosemond: parentguru.com, johnrosemond. com.

John Rosemond has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971 in the field of family psychology.

In 1971, John earned his masters in psychology from Western Illinois University and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.

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January 2, 2023

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13

The Patriot Pony 'PfizerandModerna bettergetthis clarified':Studyfinds worseantibodies aftermRNAboosters

Musk slams Jan. 6 Supreme Court Meet Ray Epps, Part 2: 'corporate committee hands border Damning new details states big win, journalism' formally ordersTitle 42 emerge exposing in blistering to remain in massive web ff withdraws place during series of Trump legal challenge unindicted operators at tweets

By Ben Whedon

By Just the News staff

By Greg Piper A new peer-reviewed study is raising concerns that a third dose of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may actually worsen immune response against COVID-19, creating waves in both mainstream and heterodox COVID circles.

Published in Science Immunology last week, the study by German researchers found that mRNA boosting induced a high level of so-called IgG4 antibodies, a subclass known for prompting a mild immune response, in two cohorts of several dozen healthcare workers.

The "shift" to this IgG subclass was "not seen with adenovirus vector vaccines" in the study, Scripps Research Translational Institute Director Eric Topol, who was not involved in the research, tweeted while cautioning that "clinical significance is not known."

"Pfizer and Moderna better get this clarified," California gastroenterologist Farid Jalali, who once pressured the FDA to fast-track COVID vaccines for infants, wrote in response to Topol before marking his account private.

The research is just the latest to prompt scrutiny of federal vaccine recommendations and ongoing professional and educational mandates, particularly for college students, a demographic with low COVID risks but elevated risks of post-jab heart inflammation.

The CDC still recommends everyone 6 (Continued…)

the heart of January 6

subpoena

Twitter CEO and increasingly contentious cultural critic Elon Musk this week slammed mainstream media for what he indicated was a lackluster response to the bombshell "Twitter files" his company has released over the last several weeks.

Those files have revealed a wide-ranging and at times conspiratorial effort

by Twitter moderators to censor and restrict huge portions of speech on the platform, particularly those surrounding COVID-19 and President Joe Biden's family.

On Tuesday, responding to a writer's Substack post regarding "the extent to which the corporate media has become the propaganda arm of the state," Musk wrote on Twitter: "Why is corporate journalism rushing to defend the state instead of the people?"

"Why would anyone trust corpo journalism?" he wrote later.

Elsewhere, following a CNBC commentator's claim that Musk's "reputation with Twitter is impacting his reputation when it comes to all of his companies," Musk himself responded: "The legacy media should worry about its reputation. We have only just begun."

The business tycoon at one point indicated his willingness to consider Twitter's purchase of Substack, a popular online writing platform, in order to bring about "massive competition for obsolete legacy corporate media."

"I’m open to the idea," he said.

By Ben Whedon The House select committee investigating the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has informed former President Donald Trump that it would no longer seek his testimony and formally revoked its subpoena.

"In light of the imminent end of our investigation, the Select Committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena," wrote committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., to Trump's lawyers, according to CNN. "Therefore, through this letter, I hereby formally withdraw the subpoena issued to former President Trump, and notify you that he is no longer obligated to comply or produce records in response to said subpoena."

The committee has already published its final report and referred Trump to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution. It further faces certain dissolution upon the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives next week. Many GOP lawmakers have derided the committee as a partisan farce.

Trump celebrated the subpoena's cancellation on Truth Social, saying "[w]as just advised that the Unselect Committee of political Thugs has withdrawn the Subpoena of me concerning the January 6th Protest of the CROOKED 2020 Presidential Election."

"They probably did so because they knew I did nothing wrong, or they were about to lose in Court. Perhaps the FBI's (Continued…)

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that a COVID-19 era immigration order remain in place.

Title 42 is an order allowing border authorities to swiftly deport migrants if they hail from a country known to host a communicable disease such as COVID-19. Border officials have deported an estimated 2.5 million migrants under the order since its implementation.

Many detractors of the Biden administration's approach fear that its end could prompt an even greater surge.

Oral arguments have been set for the February 2023 session, meaning the order is likely to remain in place for several months, until the court returns a ruling.

File SCOTUS Title 42 ruling "The States contend that they face an immigration crisis at the border and policymakers have failed to agree on adequate measures to address it," the ruling reads. "The only means left to mitigate the crisis, the States suggest, is an order from this Court directing the federal government to continue its COVID-era Title 42 policies as long as possible— at the very least during the pendency of our review. Today, the Court supplies just such an order."

Border state officials (Continued…)

Revolver.news December 18, 2021 Six weeks ago, Revolver News published a blockbuster investigative report on Ray Epps — a man who, more than any other individual, appears to be the key unlocking the question of active federal involvement in the so-called “Capitol Siege” of January 6th.

Out of all of the thousands of January 6’s protesters, and the thousands of hours of publicly available footage from that fateful day, Ray Epps has turned out to be perhaps the only person nailed dead to rights confessing on camera to plotting a pre-planned attack on the Capitol. On both January 5 and January 6, Epps announced multiple times, at multiple locations, his upcoming plot to breach the US Capitol. He then spent hours attempting to recruit hundreds of others to join him. On top of it all, Epps was seen leading key people and managing key aspects of the

initial breach of the Capitol grounds himself.

It would be one thing if Epps’s repeated calls on January 5 to “go into the Capitol” had simply amounted to bluster. But Epps followed through on his stated mission to shepherd others inside. In clips 4-6 of the above compilation, we see Epps actively orchestrate elements of the very first breach of the Capitol barricades at 12:50 p.m, while Trump still had 20 minutes left in his rally speech.

It is noteworthy that this Ray Epps breach occurs just one minute after Capitol Police began responding to reports of two “pipe bombs” located at DNC and GOP headquarters, respectively. Rather conveniently, the already-handicapped Capitol Police thus had still-fewer resources with which to respond to the barricade breach in question.

While the “pipe bombs” turned out to be a dud,

(Continued on page 14)

14

The Patriot Pony Ray Epps (part two) (Continued from page 13)

the Ray Epps breach proved fateful. Today, the official stories told by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the US Justice Department all depict the apparent Ray Eppsorchestrated 12:50 p.m. initial breach of metal barricades as the “Big Bang” event of January 6.

In large part, this description is hardly an exaggeration. Indeed, it was the 12:50 p.m. breach of the Capitol grounds, in conjunction with a handful of suspicious individuals ripping down fencing and signage, that set in motion the conditions allowing for 1/6 to turn from a rally into a riot.

In this report, we will blow open this network of still-unindicted key operators who appear to have been at work either with or around Ray Epps during the initial Capitol grounds breach. You, dear reader, will be scandalized — though perhaps unsurprised — to learn that none of the actors covered in this report have received attention in the mainstream press, despite their active and indispensable roles in the events of 1/6.

der why this publicly identified man on the Most Wanted List still had no charges filed against him.

The FBI responded to these important media stories the very next day.

But their response was to quietly purge all online Ray Epps files from their website, then switch to a posture of “What? Who? Ray Epps? Never heard of him.”

Agents of the FBI Field Office in Phoenix (where Epps lives) have gone so far as to explicitly deny knowledge that Ray Epps even exists. Instead of pursuing Epps, FBI agents have instead pursued journalists who had the temerity to ask Epps in person if he was a government operative. “I understand that, but I can’t say anything,” is all Epps would tell them.

The sham Congressional January 6 Commission seems to be going along with the charade of Ray Epps denialism. For all of its recent gesticulations about Mark Meadows’s benign text messages, the Commission has yet to express even a basic interest in Ray Epps or his communications leading up to and on January 6.

As we explained in detail in our previous report, the FBI originally put Ray Epps’s face on its Capitol Violence “Most Wanted List” on January 8, 2021, just two days after 1/6. They offered a cash reward for information leading to his arrest. In fact, rank-andfile FBI agents initially deemed Epps’s role as an apparent riot organizer so important that they named him Suspect #16—one of the first 20 high-profile FBI targets in a database now packed with more than 500 suspects.

But the specter of Ray Epps, and the ominous questions his immunity raises, loom too large to be memory-holed by poorly coordinated efforts of government denial. In light of the above, it is both amusing and symbolically appropriate that despite the FBI’s attempt to purge Epps’s face from its “Wanted” database (and public denials of his existence from authorized agents), the FBI DC Field Office still features Ray Epps as a “Wanted” man in its current pinned Twitter image (look closely and you’ll find it).

Then, six months later on June 30, 2021, both Revolver News and The New York Times published inconvenient stories that encouraged a more aggressive interrogation of the “Ray Epps third rail,” leading reasonable people to won-

If Epps turns out to have been some kind of government operative, which at present is the only clean and simple explanation for his immunity, it is game over for the official “MAGA insurrection” narrative of 1/6.

Epps was the day’s loud-

est riot recruiter, and its apparent leader of the very first breach of Capitol grounds. If Ray Epps is a Fed, the “Insurrection” becomes the “Fedsurrection” in one fell swoop.

These are the stakes at play in unraveling the Ray Epps enigma.

But it is imperative to note that if Epps was just a cog in a much larger federal operation, he would not have been deployed alone. Historically speaking, when Feds have orchestrated fake mobs of fake protesters, or contrived fake conspiratorial plots, the Feds’ own assets have commonly comprised between 16% to 25% of the plot’s participants, at least in its key respects.

Indeed, the FBI once flew in 1,600 rowdy spooks to infiltrate a single convention with just 10,000 protesters.

In recent times, attacks blamed on right-wing militias have blown past the 16% mark on the Fed Saturation Index and have been clocking in at a whopping 25-50%. As Revolver has previously noted: Students of FBI history should quickly absorb the lesson that infiltrating Feds are like roaches: whenever you spot one, it is guaranteed there are dozens of others nearby.

Feds simply never, ever, operate alone. This is how you end up with at least 12 FBI informants in a tiny “right-wing” Michigan militia plot from October 2020 (that’s just informants, not even agents), 15 informants in the “rightwing” 2016 Malheur plot, dozens in the 2014 Bundy Ranch affair — including six FBI undercover agents posing as fake documentarians shooting a fake documentary — and the list goes on.

So if Ray Epps was instructed by the government to play his part in various recruiting, breaching and crowd control efforts that day, we would expect many other informants to be set up around him.

To test this hypothesis, Revolver spent the past

six weeks comprehensively mapping Ray Epps’s network of interactions on January 6, and profiling the key people around him who complemented his efforts. We did a deep dive into other key figures involved in the initial breach of the Capitol grounds, as well as figures who played an instrumental role in fence removal and crowd control. In short, we investigated key players whose early actions on 1/6 turned the rally into a riot.

The bad news for Fedsurrection Deniers is the results are in, and they look even worse for the FBI than Revolver’s already low expectations.

For brevity, we profile five of the most egregious cases in this report, and tell the story of how they crossed paths and interacted with, and in some cases coordinated with Ray Epps to make 1/6 possible. Some of these cases are so wild as to constitute Epps-sized scandals unto themselves.

But first, it important to note that Feds at the mere informant level are seldom told by their handlers of the presence of other government informants around them.

From each individual informant’s perspective, the agitators around them would look as lawless to them as they did to the crowd.

This exact strange situation played out in the climax of the Whitmer Kidnapping Plot. The car that prosecutors say “cased” the Governor’s house had five passengers—two homeless patsies, and three secret Feds. But only the agentlevel Fed in the car had total operational awareness. Each of the two informants in the car probably thought the other was a legitimate insurrectionist.

So it is not necessary for all or any of the individuals covered in this report to know each other or to have affirmatively “worked together” to have formed a “team” through collective effort.

A simple text message from a federal handler to “Be at the Peace Monument at 12:45 p.m. and

flush out the crazies” would be all that’s needed for a large ring of provocateurs to simultaneously be in the same place, at the same time, contributing to the same breach.

So now, without further ado, we will tell the true, documented story of 1/6 that the Regime doesn’t want you to hear, involving key unindicted figures the Regime would prefer that you never heard of.

If there were such a thing as an unbiased January 6 Commission that sought to piece together the accurate timeline and narrative of events on 1/6, the following study would be the sort of thing it would publish.

Revolver makes no facial allegation about any of the individuals below.

However, some very serious, shocking and time-sensitive questions are raised by this report.

To that extent, our accusations and demands are aimed squarely at the US Justice Department.

FBI Director Chris Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland have an awful lot of explaining to do.

The Booby Trap that Turned a Rally into a Riot Before we get acquainted with the key unindicted players operating around Ray Epps, let’s quickly touch upon the basic facts of the initial breach of the Capitol grounds.

The “Big Bang” moment that kicked off the riot was when a small “breach team” of just a few dozen people violently knocked over the first set of metal barricades between 12:5012:53 p.m. They forced back the police, and therefore opened a clean walkway entrance to the crowd behind them.

We will hereafter refer to this location of barriers as the “Ray Epps breach site,” and the collection of individuals responsible for this critical initial breach as the “Ray Epps breach team.” Clips from that breach scene, with Ray Epps standing front and center giving out

directions, are republished below for convenience.

This same breach team then proceeded to haul the metal police barricades off to the side, tear down “Restricted Area” signage, and systematically remove protective fencing from the Capitol lawn. Ordinarily, with no barriers in place, this entire area is open to the public.

To get a geographical sense of the Ray Epps crime scene, the below image shows where the Capitol’s rear barricades and fencing were first attacked. This area is also known as the Peace Monument.

The tactical importance of this breached location is that it was the very first walkway entrance into the Capitol grounds that every Trump supporter would arrive at first as they walked from the Trump rally to the Capitol.

The Ray Epps Breach Team had the amazing foresight to pry open the one walkway entrance that no one could avoid.

As you can see from the above, both the Pennsylvania Ave and the Constitution Ave exits from the Trump speech intersect at the exact Peace Monument barricade targeted in advance by the Ray Epps Breach Team. If any of the eight other walkway entrances into the Capitol grounds had been toppled instead, tens of thousands of marchers would have been met by police and metal barricades, instead of an open gate.

The Ray Epps breach team thus set up a booby trap by pushing back the police, then hauling away the “restricted area” signage, the chain fencing, and the metal barricades—all while tens of thousands were still at the Trump rally. Without police present or “do not enter” signs prominently visible, people leaving Trump’s speech and arriving at the Capitol entrance would have no idea it was illegal to walk through the gate, or onto the lawn, or up to the Capitol steps. After all, (Full article here…)

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