Who Are The Minnesota Lemmings?

Sorry to say, the Minnesota Lemmings are not a new sports franchise, at least not in the traditional sense. I’ll give you a hint though, by citing this definition

lemmings: (2.) a person who follows the will of others, especially in a mass movement, and heads straight into a situation or circumstance that is dangerous, stupid, or destructive.

These lemmings that eat up conspiracy theories are so blinded by lies, they don’t even see the cliff they’re about to plummet over.
www.dictionary.com/browse/lemmings>

Still can’t guess? “The Minnesota Lemmings” I speak of are the organized mobs of both local and imported, paid and unpaid, waves of humanity drawn to Minneapolis to either gawk, chant, carry signs, record videos, scream, taunt, push, kick, throw objects, physically threaten, and/or otherwise obstruct Federal Officers from doing their jobs in any and every way possible. Sadly, the majority of these mobs apparently truly believe what their Leaders have declared (i.e. that they are acting as the “Protectors of democracy, freedom, and human rights” on behalf of innocent migrants and citizens allegedly targeted to become slaves, deportees, prisoners, and for death by the big, bad Trump Administration. The fact that these mostly well-meaning followers do not see how they’ve been lied to and manipulated by the self-righteous politicians, media, activist groups, and those funding them is as tragic as as it is terrifying. And while it is nothing new for people to act as lemmings and sheep, more than ever before, with today’s technology, the consequences are quickly becoming within a hair’s breadth of catastrophic for of us.

Cartoon image of Lemmings jumping off a cliff.The German text translates to:
“Turn back!? Now that we’ve come this far!?!”

My goal is to COOL and not fan the flames of division, by providing context that has been sorely missing from most reports and opinion pieces elsewhere.

As a former die-heart liberal Democrat, I do not believe the current gulf between Americans is as wide as legacy Media, left-wing Politicians and Activists try to portray it. Most people, (regardless of their politics, skin-color, gender, religion, financial status, or ethnic background) simply want the ability to earn enough to keep themselves and their families adequately fed, physically safe, comfortably housed, free to express themselves as individuals, afforded the right to pursue whatever personal goals they have without artificial obstruction, to feel certain that they will be treated with the level of respect they’ve earned, and to know that they will be judged here on earth by an unbiased legal/judicial system that cannot be bought or manipulated by anyone. The Founders of our Country, an extremely diverse group of individuals, following years of research, practical observation and experience, debate, and experiment, devised a brilliantly planned framework for governing the USA that could guarantee the desired result for every Citizen, as long as each one of us steadfastly upheld our own responsibilities under that adopted Federal Constitution, including faithfully holding true to its’ underlying principles.

Amazingly, our Founder’s wisdom has held us together for 250 years. Together, we’ve witnessed periods of tremendous growth in population, territorial expansion, scientific and social progress, economic strength and world-wide influence. And while that path has faced tremendous challenges from both without and within, we have always managed to work through the difficulties and our differences, by subverting our personal egos to find a way to work together lest we risk destroying our common dream for “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. So why has our future suddenly seem to have changed direction?

In my humble opinion, based on history and objective facts, it is our own very success in improving the quality of life for nearly every single person in our Country combined with a loss of focus on where those blessings came from and the gratefulness due, that has lead us to have entirely unreasonable expectations. We have failed increasingly over the generations to fully recognize the value of hard work, patience, self-sacrifice, and self-reliance that made the abundance we’ve enjoyed possible. And most of all, we have increasingly failed to recognize the vital importance of moral principles, personal integrity, and inter-personal ethics. The result is that we have made ourselves ripe as a nation for manipulation by the relatively small set of people (I call them “The Users”) who feed off of a large population willing to follow their lead, without much more than an overt firey appeal to their target’s immediate emotions and desires. The Users know just which buttons to push, while The Lemmings, thrill to partake in the rewards of having one’s endorphines surge each time their ire and rage gets activated and shared, thus having little interest into questioning their favored Leader’s ultimate intent.

The issues raised by the above are many and each deserves further examination and discussion, but for the purpose of this immediate post I’d like to bring it back specifically to what is happening in Minneapolis, Minnisota under the guise of “Righteous Protests” against the presence and operations of Federal ICE Agents. Essentially, ALL of the chaos, turmoil, fear and outrage being portrayed by the Leftist Leaders rests on the necessity of you buying into an “Us versus Them” mindset. They accomplish this by framing every word, every scene, with high energy and the sense of urgency, using absolutes in terms of oppressors and victims, using strident and shocking images and pushing predetermined conclusions. They do their best to leave no room for you to think, consider, question, or decide; wanting only for you to react in lockstep in the direction of their lead.

Over many years, Leftist Leaders have trained us to blindly accept who are the “Good Guys” and who are the “Bad Guys” based only upon the direction their fingers are pointed. The “Wealthy” are always to be considered “bad” – but only it’s not one of their own. Gun Owners are always evil – but only if it’s not one of their own. Laws are always oppressive and unfair – but only if they are enforced against themselves. Those who break the law should always be allowed to get away with it and even cheered – but only as long as they don’t harm (or vote against, God forbid!) one of The Users designated “Good Guys”. In essence, according to the Left, all ethics are “situational” and the law only applies to everyone but them. Yet despite that mindset, the fact is that ICE Agents are in Minnesota for the sole purpose of doing their legal duty of enforcing U.S. Federal Immigration Laws by taking into custody persons who are in this Country illegally (a felony) and whom have engaged in further criminal activity. The Agents have performed these exact same duties thousands of times in almost every single other state of our Union, without any significant notice or disruption, much less a single fatal incident. The only difference has been solely due to the total lack of cooperation by Minnesota’s Democratic Politicians, local police, and the surge of both local and out-of-state and mainly paid professional “Protesters” who have not only been welcomed by that state’s leaders, but actively encouraged to engage in violent action against Federal Law Enforcement. There is no honest way to deny this fact given the plethora of unedited recorded and documented evidence freely available for anyone with an open-mind to examine.

So what does this all mean?

The most important take-a-way is that if you truly care about people, about protecting human rights, about ensuring equal justice, about ensuring the freedom and liberty guaranteed under our Constitution, and about ensuring the continued existence of the United States of America as the one stable beacon of hope as it has been seen for two and a half centuries across the world, then it is time to:

  • Stop being a lemming.
  • Stop following the crowd.
  • Stop believing the Haters.
  • Stop believing anyone promising free tickets to paradise.
  • Stop expecting to get anything you’re unwilling to work for or to give to others.
  • Stop expecting to be safe from those you attack.
  • Stop expecting to be protected by those you treat with disdain and disrespect.
  • Stop expecting to get away scot-free for your own bad acts against those you have pre-judged and condemned.

Beyond that, I believe we can all benefit by re-reading and taking to heart the Ten Commandments, a non-denominational treatise universally respected, and which is at the very core of our Federal Constitution. I’ll leave for another day to discuss more about that latter document: how it was developed, what it means, why, how and by whom it is being actively threatened, and what we can do about it. Until then,

…Be True and May God Bless You!

Evolution of ‘IconDoIt.Blog’ a.k.a. ‘The Art of Survival’

Back in 2009, I began this blog during a dire time in my life when I was battling a multi-front war against the demons of uterine cancer, hepatitis-C, non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis, epilepsy, unilateral sudden-hearing-loss (due to a stroke) and the devastating side-effects of 3 separate 12-15 month rounds of the now outdated, ineffective chemotherapy comprised of Pegalated Interferon-alpha2B and Ribavirin (both of which list suicide and homicide amongst their so-called “side-effects”!)which kept me flat on my back for multiple years, while also revealing a genetic-defect that lead to full-blown hereditary hemochromatosis, a condition that causes iron to build-up in one’s major organs and brain. In the years since, colon cancer, hepatic encephalopathy, and various other serious and not so serious physically challenges heaped onto the mix. Separately, I was also engaged for the 1st 10 years of this blog in an acrimonious, depressing legal battle to obtain my deceased Mother’s medical records in the hopes of finding clues to the root cause of my physical ailments before they could ultimately kill me (in 2003 my physicians gave me a prognosis of 5-10 years at most). SO, the thinking behind the start of “IconDoIt – The Art of Survival” was to give me a coping mechanism that would distract my mind, occupy my hands, give me something to smile about and allow me to be productive in a positive way that my physical limitations could manage.

At the start, I had no idea what the future held or how a simple blog could – and would – actually serve as the psychological means for me to hold onto my sanity and resolve through seemingly impossible challenges (which continued to expand throughout the years and well beyond my own physical concerns.) Through the blog, I made friends across the USA and indeed the world that deepened my understanding, compassion and gratefulness for the many blessings I’ve had andthe shared strength of faith, validation, and forgiveness. I developed skills I never knew I had the capacity for that evolved from creating tiny 128px x 128px icons to life-size designs on hundreds of products sold around the world through 8 online stores and broadened my interests, research, knowledge, writing skills that have lead to my being able to offer practical usefullness to others in ways that I never dreamed about.

As a result of my life expanding and contracting over the years as a consequence of not only my own progress but also due to major breakthroughs in treatment options, technology, the inevitable effects of aging, and life-altering family challenges (including the loss of my live-in Mother-in-Law to dementia, devastating loss of my long-distance father, the heart-breaking loss of my life-long best friend to suicide, the earth-shattering loss of my soul-mate husband of 44 years, and the on-going roller-coaster life with my adult son who remains my everything), my involvement in keeping up this Blog has dwindled down to basically nothing since 2012 except for numerous unpublished posts, held back perhaps due to false pride over being depressed and not wanting to inflict my not-so inspiring thoughts on my Readers. I realize now I was wrong to hold back, not only for the good it might have done me but also for the potential way I perhaps could have helped others by admitting I am only human after all, and not impervious to feeling the negative effects of injustice and the type of defeat that threatened tremors at the very core of my soul.

My preferred self-image of constant optimism and moral courage at all times, while an ideal I have always strove for, has not been as effortless as I had tried to convince myself and others. This reality caused me to question my continued worth, despite all my past accomplishments and new avenues, which I then used as an excuse to pull back on my direct interactions with others (an excuse made easier for me to accept due to the fact of my subsequent complete loss of all hearing, diminished vision, and increased mobility problems.) Yet knowing in my heart that none nor all of those challenges combined could justify feeling sorry for myself, I am finally trying to live up to a new resolve to get back to trying to live up to my potential for making a positive difference in this world by sharing my experiences, both good and bad, my thoughts, my talents, and looking for new ways to engage with others and hopefully inspire at least one other person out there (along with myself) to do more than we thought we could.

I appreciate your patience.

RE-BLOG and UPDATE: The Bronze Killer and Me

POST ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 7/03/2010. I am re-blogging it along with a new section as part of the national campaign for:
HEREDITARY HEMOCHROMATOSIS AWARENESS MONTH

Posted by: • Date:

Still trying to catch up to where I left off before my trip. Too much to do but my body and mind just refuse to cooperate for more than a half-hour at a time. I am truly thankful for the fact that I don’t suffer from the huge mood-swings or periods of sudden rage that often accompanies Hereditary Hemochromatosis, at the same time though, I’m really frustrated by the increasing inability to focus both my mind – and my eyes. It’s like I’ve suddenly developed ADHD at the age of 56 and someone keeps moving my monitor closer than farther away then closer then… Well, you get the idea. HFE is such an odd disease in that it can have so many manifestations and it seems that no two people have the exact same combination of symptoms and the mix changes constantly.

Read More about Hemochromatosis Awareness Month

I’ve got great doctors – but none of them have HFE so they can’t really relate to what I’m going through, and I’ve been searching for other who have HFE to compare notes with. Through those searches, I came across a reference to the book “The Bronze Killer” by Marie Warder and on Amazon.com there were a ton of reviews of the book that were all just raving about how it’s considered the BEST book on the subject of HFE and more specifically, on the experience of the author’s husband and both children having it and how it’s affected all of them. Marie’s husband is like me in that he was not diagnosed until after he had already suffered permanent damage to his liver while her children were fortunately diagnosed before the disease had advanced that far. I ordered the book on Tuesday and received it Thursday. I used to read at least 1 book a day but those days are long gone and so I’m only on page 11. I’ll fill you in as I get farther along.

UPDATED INFO:

The importance of sharing medical records and information with your immediate family members must not be taken lightly or ignored. People rarely feel any significant symptoms of Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HFE) until it’s too late to avoid permanent, life-threatening harm. But unlike an unexpected car crash, broken spine, or burst appendix, the majority of cases of HFE CAN be predicted, tested for, and even prevented IF there is a known family history of a combination of certain risk factors (even where there’s no family history of HFE having been diagnosed). If a patient is found to have any of the genetic defects that can lead to Hereditary Hemochromatosis, from one or both of their parents, and before they have suffered any permanent damage to their organs, there are easy steps to take that can prevent most or possibly all of the debilitating and dangerous effects of the full blown disease and allow that patient to live a “normal” life and have a “normal” life-span.

Most people think that because they personally were never diagnosed with HFE then there is nothing in their medical records that could possible be of help to their family. WRONG! That’s because, despite being the most common of all genetic diseases, HFE is very rarely diagnosed. Before 1996 there wasn’t even a test that could positively identify it! But our medical records contain much more than a list of diagnosis and treatments. Doctors keep notes of symptoms you complain of, what they have tested you for, the raw results of those tests (meaning just the numbers without interpretation), and what the doctor suspected as well as ruled out as the cause of your symptoms. These are the most critical parts of your records because it is not a single number that is too high or too low that would indicate you MIGHT have Hereditary Hemochromatosis – rather it is the combination of which numbers are low, which are high, and which are “normal” – and how consistent those numbers remain or whether they steadily increase or decrease over the years and in combination with what other symptoms and diseases or conditions. So the judgment of which records are needed cannot be made by someone with either a conflict of interest and/or a lack of the specific medical training to understand the interplay of such information.

Yes, we each do have the right of privacy when it comes to our health records – but PLEASE consider the fate of your family: siblings, children, parents, grandchildren, and 1st cousins. Carefully weigh what is really more important: that none of your family ever find out you once had Herpes or an abortion or whatever else may be embarassing or even shameful – OR – that you can actually help save your loved ones lives or atleast allow them to have a better quality of life for a longer time simply by sharing your un-edited medical history?

A good way to start the dialog with your family members on the importance of being open and sharing, the Surgeon General of the United States has launched a public health campaign and has provided tools to help you create a Family Health Portrait. Access the My Family Health Portrait Web tool at https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/.

Now, back to the original blog post:

Completely off-subject but appropos for this weekend when those of us who are blessed to be Citizens of The United States celebrate our Independence Day on the 4th of July, I’ve created a few patriotic icons as well as a Desktop Picture (in 3 different screen sizes) for you. Enjoy!

Free Clip-Art / Icons & Wallpaper of the Day

The following images are either full or reduced size previews. Simply right-click (or control-click) on the preview to save the image(s) of your choice to your desktop. (Unless otherwise noted, downloads are 512px X 512px in .png format). As always, usage of any of the images offered on this blog are free for your personal use while subject to the limitations of my Creative Commons Non-Commercial – Attribution – No Derivatives 3.0 license. (See sidebar for details)

Star Spangled 1600x1200

1280×854 px 1600×1200 px 1920×1200 px

Old FlagColumbia

Freedom Flag