Author of Be Ready for Anything and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course It’s that stuffy head, runny nose, nasty cold time of year. Viruses run amok when the temperatures drop, so it’s the season to catch a cold.  As the old saying goes, a cold lasts a week, but only 7 days if you treat it. You can’t do a whole lot to “cure” a cold, but there are quite a few ways to help make the symptoms more tolerable (and these natural cold remedies do not include a trip to the pharmacy). A collection of natural cold remedies You can get relief without diving into the chemicals. Following, find links to DIY home remedies that you can make yourself, as well as links to homeopathic and herbal pre-made remedies. We keep these remedies on hand, as well as the ingredients for making them. Viruses are normally short-lived at our home, or at least the intense part of the sickness. Try a DIY Healing Vapor Rub. This one is simple to make, and if you keep some basic essential oils on hand, you most likely have everything you need already to whip this up. (I made this for my daughter recently and it was very soothing.) A fragrant, steaming cup of herbal tea can make everything better. This article discusses the herbal teas you should have in your home arsenal, including several that will help soothe cold symptoms. ClearLungs by Ridgecrest Health contains a combination of 13 high-quality natural ingredients to support lung health, sinus health, and runny noses. Add a Eucalyptus Shower Bomb to a steamy shower. The moist, scented air will help the sufferer breathe more easily. My Honey-Thyme cough syrup will not only manage cough symptoms but also help to boost your immunity. Fire cider is a traditional remedy that has been used for centuries. Unfortunately, it usually takes a few weeks to be ready. This easy recipe provides instant gratification (and relief). Speaking of your immune system, these natural immune-boosting gummies will help make your system powerful enough to fight off illness before it happens or to battle a cold effectively if you already have one. There is also a version for kids. This is a guide to the different herbs you can use to make your own cough syrup based on your specific symptoms. Studies show that when zinc comes into contact with the rhinovirus (the virus that causes colds)it can prevent replication, shortening the amount of time that the sufferer is ill. One study recommends one lozenge every two hours. Lozenges and liquid drops, as opposed to capsules, are the recommended treatment. There are all sorts of expensive, branded lozenges out there, but you’ll get the most bang for your buck from this simple one. These immune defense nasal and throat sprays are the bomb and can help protect you from getting sick in the first place. You can also use them if you are already sick to support your system. Taking large doses of Vitamin C is a fairly common practice, and studies show that it can be effective in reducing the duration of cold symptoms. This website offers several different Vitamin C protocols you can try. It’s best to use a high-quality Vitamin C supplement like this or this when you are using it therapeutically. Elderberry extract is often used for colds, but studies show it is more effective in treating the flu. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether your illness is caused by a cold virus or a flu virus, and elderberry does have antiviral properties, so taking it certainly won’t hurt you. Sambucol is the only standardized elderberry extract that has been used in studies. You can purchase it here or make your own syrup. What is your favorite natural cold remedy? And remember, nothing tastes better when you’re sick than soup made with homemade chicken or turkey broth. I can broth to be pulled out when the bugs strike our house. Here’s the recipe we use for the basis of our homemade soup. (Hint: the more garlic you add, the more healing power your soup will have.) What do you do when a bad cold strikes a member of your family? Is there anything special you always stock up on to treat them and relieve symptoms? What always makes you feel better? About Daisy Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging author and blogger who’s traded her air miles for a screen porch, having embraced a more homebody lifestyle after a serious injury. She’s the heart and mind behind The Organic Prepper, a top-tier website where she shares what she’s learned about preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty. With 17 books under her belt, Daisy’s insights on living frugally, surviving tough times, finding some happiness in the most difficult situations, and embracing independence have touched many lives. Her work doesn’t just stay on her site; it’s shared far and wide across alternative media, making her a familiar voice in the community. Known for her adventurous spirit, she’s lived in five different countries and raised two wonderful daughters as a single mom.  Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and X. The post 12 Natural Cold Remedies to Help You Feel Better appeared first on The Organic Prepper.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is both radical and unqualified to be president. But she still has a clear path to winning the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.  On Tuesday night, socialist Zohran Mamdani will likely become the next mayor of New York City. He wants a rent freeze, city-owned grocery stores, and a $30-an-hour minimum wage.   He once expressed his support for “seizing the means of production.” In 2020, he wrote on Twitter, “The NYPD is racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety.” He wants taxpayer-funded gender-mutilation surgeries.   His extreme positions haven’t hurt him politically. Polling suggests socialism is exactly what younger liberal voters want. This is what happens when public schools and colleges spend decades indoctrinating students in anti-American ideologies, such as critical race theory. America’s most credentialed young people don’t understand basic economics. They’ve learned America is evil, not the greatest country in human history. They’re ignorant of socialism’s long record of failure.   This is where Democrat leaders should have stepped in and rebuked their left flank. Instead, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed him.  Mamdani’s rise shows Ocasio-Cortez has a clear path to the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination if she decides to run. Here’s why: Look back at the Democrats’ 2020 primary process. Pete Buttigieg won in Iowa, but Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was a close second. Sanders topped the field in New Hampshire. He dominated in Nevada, although former Vice President Joe Biden came in second. Thanks to decades of work and being then-President Barack Obama’s vice president, Biden had strong support among black voters. That powered him to victory in South Carolina. Fearing Sanders would lose to President Donald Trump, the Democratic Party establishment rallied around Biden and secured him the nomination.  Since 2020, Democrats haven’t repudiated Sanders’ socialism. They’ve sought to implement it. In 2021, Biden signed a stimulus bill that could have been written by a Sanders administration. It led to massive inflation. The party has grown more radical on issues like open borders and supporting men in women’s sports, too.   The endorsements of Mamdani are evidence that establishment Democrats have bent their knees to the socialists. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., went along with a strategically reckless government shutdown for the same reason. He fears his left flank.   And Sanders—who nearly won the 2020 nomination in a less radical party—is passing the socialist torch to AOC.  If she runs, that will likely give her at least 30% of the Democratic base once the election gets closer. Now, if she faced a single strong opponent, that wouldn’t be enough to win. But the field looks crowded. Expect California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and even Kamala Harris to test the waters.   Democrats’ 2028 presidential primary could end up like Republicans’ 2016 primary. Trump captured a sizable portion of the Republican base with his celebrity and hard-line stance on immigration.   Initially, his opponents largely went after each other. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and then-Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida seemed to think they could beat Trump one-on-one if only they could outlast the other contenders. Instead, Trump racked up victories and unstoppable momentum.  In this scenario, AOC would be like Trump, although his ideas and leadership skills far surpass hers. Newsom could probably beat her head-to-head. But it’s not just Republicans who’ve noticed how sleazy the California governor is. As Newsom faces attacks, Sanders will be busy hyping AOC. Newsom will fear going after her radicalism and inexperience, worried about offending voters he’d need in a general election.  Republicans shouldn’t be laughing too hard. As Trump himself proved in 2016, it’s a mistake to assume the nominee of a major party has no chance of winning.  COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM  We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post AOC Poised to Become Democrats’ Trump in ’28?  appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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The big economic headlines about OpenAI are unlike any in history, and so is the company's performance: Sam Altman's behemoth is eyeing a monster IPO at up to a trillion-dollar valuation, off the strength of the unprecedented circular money pump it has built with Oracle, Microsoft, Nvidia, and AMD, the tech firms at the core of America's all-in strategic bid for global AI dominance.The abstruse details can make OpenAI seem to ordinary Americans like one of several titans forging our destiny in the sky. But down here on ground level, the main touchpoint in our everyday lives — ChatGPT, on track for a billion users by year's end — is being rebuilt to extract value from billions more in the lowest of ways: pornography. In December, OpenAI will branch into erotica, allowing adults to generate sexual content through ChatGPT.We don’t need another sermon on smut. Everyone knows what porn does to a mind, a marriage, and a man. But what does this shift mean for a company that once vowed to benefit “all of humanity”? It began with talk of productivity and progress. Now it’s about pleasure on demand. The future of work has become the future of want — degraded, automated, and alienated from true human connection.Mass automation and mass lobotomization are two sides of the same silicon coin.It’s easy to call it moral decline, but it’s really market design. When automation stops astonishing, appetite becomes the next asset. When machines can’t wow us with intellect, they woo us with instinct. The shift from algorithms that think to algorithms that tease goes from detour to destination. A company built to conquer productive labor, it seems, must pivot to fruitless longing.OpenAI’s machines mastered our spreadsheets more quickly than any normal person anticipated. But the real acceleration is now aimed straight into our subconscious. The same technology that writes code can now whisper sweet nothings — or worse, learn exactly which nothings you’ll pay to hear. That debilitating kink you never knew you had is ready to become your life. Every click a confession, every prompt a prayer, the machine rapt with the attention of a priest and the greed of a pimp.For all the talk of progress, automation has mainly made life easier for corporations than for citizens. Big business can't really optimize for your liberation. Its ideal is lubrication: systems so smooth that people stop noticing they’re the raw material. Machines handle the manufacturing while humans are trained to consume, scroll, sigh, and occasionally remember to shower.The human brain, once a tool of invention, is now a target for invasion. Mass automation and mass lobotomization are two sides of the same silicon coin. The first replaces our labor; the second replaces our longing. The rise of the robots is a perfect excuse for the humans to retreat — first from work, then from will, and finally from wonder. When every craving can be coded, curiosity becomes a casualty.RELATED: FINALLY: Here's how to stop smartphone spam calls Photo by Bloomberg/Getty ImagesIn doubt? Look around. Men who once built bridges now build playlists. Women who once raised children now raise engagement metrics. The world hums with productivity, yet feels profoundly empty. This is what happens when an economy stops serving people and starts sculpting them.AI was supposed to free humanity from drudgery. Instead, it’s freeing humanity from ... humanity. OpenAI’s move into digital desire is only the latest proof. What began as an effort to improve efficiency has morphed into an enterprise to perfect escape. A machine that can mimic love makes us forget what humanity feels like. And once that happens, we're ready to surrender our very existence to the machines.Of course, the pitch will sound noble: connection, expression, inclusivity, all the buzzwords that sell bondage as belonging. The same pitches that sold social media will sell the new and "improved" synthetic intimacy. Beneath this sweet talk sits a steel trap. If you can automate labor, you can monetize loneliness. If you can predict consumption, you can prescribe desire. The human heart, the real core of who we are, becomes just another input field, our smut of choice the last echo of our identity.How long can it last? In this brave new marketplace, pleasure is both a product and a punishment. It numbs the pain it creates.Sure, it's tempting to laugh it off — what’s a little digital flirtation among consenting adults? But this isn’t really about sex. It’s about surrendering real, embodied intimacy for a shadow. The more we hand our inner lives to machines, the less we remember how to live without them.A new AI economy built on reducing us all to skin suits will not build monuments or miracles, but mirrors — endless, glowing screens that feed our urges until we forget what restraint ever was. It’s extinction by pacification: the calm convergence of technology and tranquilization.Ten years from now, the American workforce may be remembered, not relied upon. Its labor automated, its pride outsourced, its purpose repackaged as “upskilling.” Politicians will preach "resilience," corporations will promise "retraining," and millions will sit through their days bone-idle, with nothing to do and nowhere to go. They’ll be told the future is full of "opportunity," yet find themselves waiting for a purpose that never arrives. I might be wrong — I hope I am — but every sign points one way: toward a nation drifting into digital dependency, where the only thing still working is one big machine.In his prophetic book "Amusing Ourselves to Death," Neil Postman warned that societies don’t collapse under tyranny but triviality. AI offers malevolent opportunists the chance to make that death spiral a business model. It can memorize your wants, mimic your worries, and leverage them all in a blink. OpenAI’s porn pivot is the hook, line, and sinker of this new economy of control: desire the lure, data the hook, the soul the catch. As Adam and Eve remind us, what begins as curiosity ends in captivity.And this is why all Americans should care, whether or not they understand AI. Because AI doesn’t need permission to know you. It already does — your habits, your hungers, your hesitations. And in the hands of power, that knowledge becomes possession.

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