Image: Public domain.
This is my favorite winter image this year. It's from The Public Domain Review's "Snowball Fights in Art (1400 - 1946)". Check it out.
There they are again. Sakura blossoms. Coming out again this year just like they did last year and the year before... and hundreds, maybe even thousands of years before that.
Taking over a small mountain village, a well-worn pathway... or all of Tokyo.
And that was what was so magical about them. Yes, visiting a place like Kyoto or Nara that is filled with sakura blossoms is a beautiful experience.
But there's something completely magical about seeing your own city transformed into something else. Witnessing it become bathed in a pink haze, and littered with tiny pinkish-white flecks everywhere. To see all of the different shades of grey you are so used to, the slick dark pavements, the trim, tidy grey suits of the salary men... to see all of that suddenly speckled in pink, to have a sudden shower of tiny blossoms floating down from the sky, getting on everything - the windshield of your taxi, the shoulder of your trim and tidy suit as you're hurrying to get to a meeting. Your hair, your briefcase, your lunch...
The sakura don't care about all of that. It's time for them to blossom, and so they do. With abandon and joy.
I imagine the blossoms don't care much for things like Covid-19 restrictions either, and when I think about Tokyo now, I imagine lots of delicate, tissue-paper-thin petals making a mockery of the face masks they land on.
There is something very important about an old society, a culture that has withstood millenia, and that carries with it knowledge of how things have been for a very long time.
I sometimes wonder how much of American stupidity is simply the result of our being a very young country and culture. That we are like a brazen teenager stumbling out into the world with too much confidence and too little information.
I suspect that in some of the older cultures, there is a knowledge that is passed down, or contained in parts of the culture itself, a knowledge about how the world was long before the current members of society were in it. And if that is true, then I imagine that that knowledge must give some comfort.
Sakura season is what I'm talking about. Each year, it gives us some very important information:
1. That we, humans, are part of nature. And that nature is bigger than us. That no matter how important that meeting is that you are rushing to, those little pink blossoms are still going to stick to your shoulder;
2. That if we choose to live with nature, and not to fight it - if instead of chopping down all the cherry trees because their blossoms are messy and might get on our suits and our windshields, we choose to fill our cities with them - the results can be more overwhelmingly beautiful than anyone could have ever imagined;
3. Nature endures. Beauty endures. Life endures.
This past year has been an unprecedented assault on life, on humanity, on human beings, by some very very dark forces. But those forces have not stopped the sakura from blooming.
The masks, the lockdowns, even the vaccines and the whole twisted pharmaceutical paradigm that seems so omnipotent... it's all temporary.
Sakura is here to stay.
(Affiliate link.)
Don't bother searching for this on YouTube. You already know that independent voices on health freedom and especially on the topic of vaccine safety, have been largely kicked off of that platform. (It's why I post the videos of my podcast episodes on Bitchute.)
Speakers at the Health Freedom Summit will be covering a wide range of issues, from Covid-19 vaccines, to chronic illness and what to do about it, tools for strengthening your immune system that are being censored in the mainstream, to finding and building community and creating solutions to the medical authoritarianism we find ourselves living under.
I'm especially interested in the solutions part, and in hearing from people like Reiner Fuellmich about practical ways to hold tyrants accountable for their actions, and from Dolores Cahill, about her newly launched Freedom Airway and Freedom Travel Alliance , and about "how to transform your community by wisely choosing who to influence when you have limited time."
For the next three days (starting today, although you can pay extra for lifetime on-demand access), you can hear from more than 30 of these voices – some of whom have appeared on my show, and all of whom are worth listening to – including:
Andy Wakefield
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Dr. Sherri Tenpenny
Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi
Del Bigtree
JP Sears
Dr. Paul Thomas
Sayer Ji
Mary Holland Esq
Professor Dolores Cahill
Reiner Fuellmich
Polly Tommey
Dr. Stephanie Seneff
...and many more.
You can sign up to watch, and to support the folks who are putting this on, and who are fighting for everyone's right to make their own decisions over their health and their families' health... by going here. (This is an affiliate link, so I will get a little something back for purchases made through this link. But you don't need to purchase anything in order to view the Summit today or through the 17th.)
Image: Public domain.
UPDATE: I'm changing the headline, because technically, the judge didn't rule on Newsom's "lockdown orders," but on the vote-by-mail order that Kiley and Gallagher sued him over. As I mentioned below, the point of that was to establish a ruling that would then apply to other orders. With her injunction, the judge has made it clear that she is applying the ruling to any future such orders (orders that amend statutory law), but what remains unclear is what will happen with the existing orders that she has said are unconstitutional.
From the judge's ruling:
"Injunctive relief is proper in this case for the following reasons: The Governor has issued a multitude of executive orders under the purported authority of the CESA, many of which have amended statutory law."
So the question is: Will these other orders Newsom has already issued-orders that she is saying are unconstitutional–also be voided? And if so, when?
Last week, CA legislator Kevin Kiley was a guest on my show, talking about his (and fellow legislator James Gallagher's) lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom, over his authoritarian lockdown orders. (Although, just to be clear, the one order that they went after in their suit had to do with voting by mail–their hope being that the precedent established there would apply to his other orders. Which it looks like it has.)
Today, the judge ruled in that case–in Kevin and James' favor. According to Kevin:
Today, a California Superior Court ruled in favor of me and fellow legislator James Gallagher in our lawsuit challenging Gavin Newsom’s abuse of power.
The Judge ruled Newsom violated the Constitution. She also issued an injunction restraining the Governor from issuing any more unconstitutional orders. You can read the ruling here.
This marks an end to Gavin Newsom’s one-man rule. It makes clear that the laws of the State of California do not countenance an autocracy under any circumstances – not for a single day, and certainly not for eight months with no end in sight.
The Court rejected Newsom’s extraordinary claim that a State of Emergency “centralizes the state’s powers in the hands of the Governor.” This is the unlawful basis on which Newsom has collapsed California’s system of checks and balances, issuing 57 Executive Orders and changing over 400 laws unilaterally.
The ruling is “tentative,” meaning Newsom has a few days to try to persuade the Judge to change her mind, but it’s rare for a tentative ruling to change. While Newsom can appeal, we are confident the decision is on solid legal ground and will stand.
I have been trying to read the ruling itself, but am unable to access the site–I imagine everyone is trying to read it right now. Once I get it, I will post an update.
But here is what Kevin had written earlier, about expectations for a ruling. Without having seen the ruling itself, it sounds to me like Outcome 3 is what they got:
I see four possibilities.
Outcome 1: Newsom wins. Obviously, this is the worst outcome, although we could appeal. He could prevail either on the merits or on a technicality.
Outcome 2: We win a narrow victory. This is where Newsom has started to place all his chips. In his Trial Brief, he barely even tries to defend the legality of his conduct. Instead, he implores the Court to limit its ruling to one Executive Order – in a word, damage control.
In our view, that’s insanity. Our Complaint clearly asks for a permanent injunction against all such unlawful orders. While this outcome would still have value, affirming that the Governor isn’t above the law, it is not what we are hoping for.
Outcome 3: We win a full victory. This would “enjoin the Governor from further exercising legislative powers in violation of the California Constitution.” Newsom would be legally restrained – the only antidote to his historic lack of self-restraint.
A number of his previous orders would immediately be exposed as unlawful, while others may become newly vulnerable. As a matter of law, our republican form of government would be vindicated.
Outcome 4: The Emergency Services Act is ruled unconstitutional. At the last hearing, Newsom’s lawyer himself said this is “one of the possible outcomes of the case.” It would result in the immediate termination of the State of Emergency and all emergency orders.
While this is not the most probable initial result, if it did happen, Newsom would seek an immediate stay of the ruling while he appealed.
The constitutionality of the Emergency Services Act is a question that would inevitably be decided by the California Supreme Court – which may be where this case ends up, one way or the other
What happens next? Since the ruling is "tentative", Newsom's team has a few days to try to convince the judge to change her ruling. Kiley thinks it is unlikely that she will. We will see. And if she doesn't?
That's what I'm hoping to get Kevin to come back on my show to discuss.
Finally: The last time I donated to any election campaign was when Ron Paul was running for president. So, for me, it's kind of a huge departure to say: Please go and donate to Kevin's campaign.
You can do that here:
This photo is actually from a year ago yesterday. My dad had gone into ER because (we later found out) he had a stress fracture in his knee. He was able to stand, and even walk, so they sent him home, but the next day–a year ago today–he couldn't stand, and went into the hospital. We didn't know it then, but he was leaving his home for the last time. From the hospital, he went into rehab, to build his strength while his knee healed.
What we didn't know was that his cancer was progressing very fast. And on Christmas night, he was taken from rehab back to the hospital. Four days later he passed away, with all of us with him.
I hate that my dad is gone. I wish we could have had him for many more years. But given that he is gone, there are some things I am grateful for about his passing:
1. I am grateful that we didn't know how bad his cancer was, or that he was dying. That's a weird thing for me to say, because normally I want all the information I can get and I am deeply opposed to deception. (And I don't mean that anyone deceived us here, just that we didn't know.) But this time... I'm glad we didn't know. I'm glad that we were able to honestly sit there with him and tell him that the plan was to get him stronger so we could bring him home;
2. I'm beyond grateful that my family lives here, in the same town as my parents, and that I was able to visit him nearly every day that he was in rehab. I am so grateful for the time I had with him, even though I still kick myself for not spending more time with him;
3. I am grateful that I told him, after he had been in rehab for well over a month, and was getting very tired of being there, that nobody could force him to stay there and if he really wanted to come home we would make that happen. He said no, that he thought the best plan was to stay there and work with the therapists to get stronger. But I am so glad I got to tell him that–it would have haunted me forever if I hadn't;
4. I am grateful that we were able to resolve all of our shit well before he died, and that there was nothing left unsaid between us;
5. And I am grateful that he told me how much he appreciated my being there for him those last few months. I didn't think he needed to say it at the time, and was almost offended that he thought he did. But it matters now and I'm so glad he said it.
When we took my dad into ER, a year ago yesterday, my mom started doing her qi gong in the hospital–to hold herself together, I'm sure. I got some pictures of her, and this is one of them. I love these pictures. They say so much about their relationship, and about each of them as individuals. About how they were each very different from each other, on different paths and with very different focuses in life, yet still so deeply connected.
Losing my dad was really hard. It is still really hard. It wasn't long after he left us that "it" all started "coming down"–just like he'd spent our whole lives telling us it would. And if he had gone into the hospital, and into rehab, only a few months later than he did, our experience would have been very very different.
I get that the elderly are the most at risk from Covid-19. Just as they are from a host of other infectious pathogens that entire economies haven't been destroyed over. And I get that that risk–for them, not for the rest of us–seems to be worse than for flu and other corona viruses. But none of that justifies how this has been handled. None of that justifies shutting people away and not allowing them to see their loved ones in their last months, weeks, or days of life.
I agree that measures should be taken to protect the elderly from Covid-19 (and from other things that might kill them, including loneliness and despair). But if isolating them in that way is the best that the people making these decisions could come up with, then they have failed so miserably that they should never again be allowed to have responsibility for anything beyond–possibly–dressing themselves. Everyone involved in coming up with, and enforcing, these decisions should be so deeply ashamed as to be placed on suicide watch for a good long time.
I can't even imagine, and don't want to, what our last two months with our dad would have been like had he gone into the hospital today instead of a year ago today. He hated being in that place. He chose it, because he thought it was the best way for him to build up his strength, but he did not like being there. The only thing that kept him going was being able to see his people every day. I don't even want to think about what a nightmare it would have been for him, and for us, knowing how miserable and alone he was every day, or the guilt and pain we would have to live with forever after he died.
What has been committed here is a crime. Call it a crime against humanity, or call it a crime against a whole lot of people, but it is a crime and we need to call it that. And one day, the people responsible for this crime will be held accountable.
If you're in need of a boost–and who isn't?–take a listen to this wonderful interview with Larken and Amanda Rose, and soak up some of the reasons they are both so optimistic about the future.
...and then go share it with others.
This is from Sufey Chen, on Facebook, who seems to be both brutally honest and brutally optimistic. We need so much of both now:
this morning, at the park. two young girls, maybe 7 or 8, one pushing the other on the swings. i look over in surprise. they climbed over the tape. i feel my heart surge, yes! they did it.
a park ranger pulls over. on his microphone. ‘the playground is closed. you are trespassing.’ his drone dull and robotic. ‘leave the premise immediately.’ my heart sinks. is this really what i’m witnessing?
the ranger stays put. parks his vehicle beside the playground. watches for any other ‘dangerous citizens’ dissenting.
the children leave.
i want to shout out to them.
i am sorry.
i am sorry this is happening.
maybe one day my heart will be big enough to tenderly hold all the fear and sorrow of the world. but right now? i’m not there yet. i am angry. furious. that this is reality.
seeing the new school regulations popping up makes me sick. even if we are unschooling and will never participate in that system - why is it that ANY child should be subject to such insanity?
desks six feet apart.
constant sanitizing.
no sharing of supplies.
plastic barriers installed.
no communal lunch halls.
masks covering their face.
no hugs, no holding of hands, no touching.
does any of this sound physically or psychologically healthy to you?
or does it sound like the kids of this generation have become guinea pigs in a seriously fucked up experiment?
how much do we have to see before we rise up and say ‘no fucking WAY’ - this doesn’t cut it for me. instead of complying and regurgitating the crap we are fed: ‘what’s the big deal? it’s a minor inconvenience.’
after all, we’re ‘saving lives’.
how many have to die or live their life in tatters before enough lives have been saved?
who gets to decide who lives and who dies as a result of these ‘responsible’ ‘selfless’ ‘life saving’ policies?
the things i’ve seen and heard over the past two months are gut-wrenching - far more horrifying than a virus to me.
***
a mother, posting on facebook: ‘how do i get my 4-year-old to wear a mask?’
one response: ‘say that if she doesn’t wear a mask an evil virus will come kill her grandparents in their sleep.’
oh, holy hell.
***
i see parents freaking out about their children social distancing and losing their shit on a kid, being a kid.
so many confessionals of hitting children coming out in the mom groups i am privy to.
i don’t blame the parents but i do see the hellhole (ahem *new normal*) so many are accepting.
while everyone is out here ‘saving lives’ ...
can you see what else is crumbling?
can we take off our blinders?
can we put away the politics?
can you come off your high ‘health hero’ horse to see?
what this is doing to our children.
and by that, i mean collectively.
what our children around the world are facing.
some, that have actually been locked in isolation, nary another child to play with in months.
others, in famine.
260 million worldwide.
‘marching towards starvation.’
can we open our eyes?
whether death of body or death of spirit it is alarmingly clear that this is unacceptable.
***
i see some parents reassuring each other.
from all day screen time to child abuse to whatever behavioral issue they’re going through.
‘we’re all in this together.’
as if sacrificing them was actually worth it.
‘they’ll be fine - we all turned out fine’
... but did you really?
or is that just what you tell yourself so you don’t have to sit with the enormity of your grief?
we don’t have to pass our chains down onto our children. they don’t have to carry the burdens we bore. we do not need to make them as small as we were once made to be.
we have a choice in the matter.
there is a chorus of voices.
the mothers, we care.
the future - we are raising.
no one will rob the freedom of our children.
to touch, to be kissed by the warmth of skin
to connect, to feel and be felt by the world
to breathe, to receive Her vital life force
the mothers, we are weeping.
the mothers, we are gathering.
the mothers, we are awakening - to all of it now.
we are standing up - speaking up - rising up now.