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Without the Second Amendment‚ we will lose all the others. Keeping Informed is essential. Here are gun facts you should know. Do you need gun facts or ammo? Go to ammo.com. Gun Ownership by State (2023 Statistics) Where does your state rank in gun ownership? We analyzed all 50 states‚ gun ownership rates‚ and ownership […] The post Gun Ownership by State (2023) with Surprises appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Author of How to Prep When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course The word “insurgence” means a large increase. What with TikTok providing basically everyone a platform to spout their deepest thoughts in 30-second to 2-minute intervals‚ the insurgence I’m seeing is one of complete idiots. The newest trend on the social media outlet is a bunch of stunned young people making shocked faces at the camera and talking about the brilliance of… Osama Bin Laden. I could not make this up. Here is a glimpse inside the minds of TikTokers who are now certain Bin Laden was a benevolent genius. Do you remember the phrase‚ “Useful Idiots?” Observe Exhibit A below. TikTok has now rehabilitated Osama Bin Laden. 9/11 was justified and an act of resistance‚ they say. Decolonization is a death cult. pic.twitter.com/germOD11IL — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 16‚ 2023   We’re all passionate and naive about life at this age. I remember being in my late teens and early 20s. I was certain at the time that I knew everything and that if the world would just listen to me‚ I could make it a better place. I was pretty liberal (of course‚ this was in the late 80s and early 90s‚ when liberal was an entirely different animal than it is today)‚ and I was utterly convinced that I knew more about the world than my dad. In his wisdom‚ he challenged me with interesting questions and made me defend my stances with facts‚ not feelings. And so I evolved to realize that I didn’t know diddly squat. I guess these kids don’t have a dad like mine‚ because they can’t compose an argument worth beans. Let’s put aside for a moment all our doubts about what occurred on 9/11 and the actual culprit because that isn’t the topic of this conversation. In this conversation‚ these young people believe‚ lock‚ stock‚ and barrel‚ that Bin Laden was the mastermind of an attack on American soil that took out more than 3000 innocent people. And they think he’s awesome. What’s in this letter? It’s hard to find Bin Laden’s Letter to America online now‚ but here’s a copy on the web archive. After The UK Guardian pulled it‚ every other location I could find followed suit. I remember reading it back when it was first published‚ and my reaction was certainly not one of‚ “Ohhhh….this dude really understands life.” The letter is Osama Bin Laden’s ravings about “why” they attacked America. No sources are cited. He simply goes on and on about the evils of America and Israel through the lens of his religious beliefs. Bin Laden hated Jews‚ Americans‚ and gay people‚ just to name a few on his hit list. He believed that anyone who died on 9/11 deserved it and wasn’t innocent because they paid taxes to a country that committed the acts against which he had grievances. He was filled with hate. But because the first segment of his manifesto mentions the Palestinians‚ these kids with no critical thinking skills suddenly see him as a beacon of truth. The letter goes on to demand that everyone convert to Islam. It discusses how we’ve separated Church and State in America and says that’s a bad thing. Bin Laden cites such things as usury‚ gambling‚ intoxicants‚ incest‚ sexuality‚ homosexuality‚ and disease as uniquely American issues. It concludes: If the Americans refuse to listen to our advice and the goodness‚ guidance and righteousness that we call them to‚ then be aware that you will lose this Crusade Bush began‚ just like the other previous Crusades in which you were humiliated by the hands of the Mujahideen‚ fleeing to your home in great silence and disgrace. If the Americans do not respond‚ then their fate will be that of the Soviets who fled from Afghanistan to deal with their military defeat‚ political breakup‚ ideological downfall‚ and economic bankruptcy. This is our message to the Americans‚ as an answer to theirs. Do they now know why we fight them and over which form of ignorance‚ by the permission of Allah‚ we shall be victorious? This is just so dumb. Mark my words‚ at this rate‚ it won’t be long before some of these crazy Bin Laden fan-girls convert to Islam. They truly don’t seem to grasp that if they were to follow the mandates laid out by this letter that all their gay and trans friends would be put to death‚ brutally executed. They don’t understand they’d be owned by men from the cradle to the grave. They wouldn’t be allowed to be educated (though we can’t say formal education has done much for these folks)‚ and they certainly wouldn’t be airing their views on social media. There would be no more mimosa-fueled brunches‚ no freedom of movement‚ and no choices about what to do with their lives. They just don’t understand. Ignorance is bliss until it gets you a big fat dose of Shariah law. A few words about Bin Laden's "Letter to America"#lettertoamerica #Islam #HamasisISIS #IsraelAtWar pic.twitter.com/YPYucCnD6H — Dani Buller (@askdani__real) November 16‚ 2023 TikTok is cracking down. TikTok is cracking down on this and says it isn’t really “viral.” While TikTok said reports of it trending were inaccurate‚ the #lettertoamerica hashtag on TikTok had 13.7 million views as of Thursday afternoon. “Letter to America” also trended on X‚ the platform formally known as Twitter‚ where there were more than 82‚000 posts. “Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism‚” TikTok said in a statement on Thursday. “We are proactively and aggressively removing this content and investigating how it got onto our platform. The number of videos on TikTok is small and reports of it trending on our platform are inaccurate. This is not unique to TikTok and has appeared across multiple platforms and the media.” I think the genie is out of the bottle‚ though. Our young people have been radicalized‚ which is something I’ve written about before. They’ve been taught by our education system and our media to hate America. Look at all the radicalized professors we see in the news saying shocking things lately. And they really don’t have a clue how the real world works. But the problem here is not that some dumb kids don’t understand the world. The problem here is that they have been brainwashed to hate their own country. And how will people who hate America ever defend her? We’re watching the destruction of our culture in real time. Not all Gen Z kids are this ignorant. I’m not here to say every person of Gen Z age is horrible. There are notable exceptions. And most of those exceptions come from households like mine‚ who taught their kids actual critical thinking and the real difference between right and wrong. We challenged our kids to defend their ideas with facts‚ and if they didn’t have enough facts‚ we made them go look up more facts until they had a better grasp on the topic. Cherry-picking a few comments out of an eight-page letter and waxing poetic about the ravings of a terrorist is not critical thinking. It’s not edgy or cool. It’s idiotic. Perhaps these fans of Bin Laden need to go live amongst the Taliban for a while and then get back to us with some videos. What are your thoughts? Did you know that young people are big fans of Osama Bin Laden? Do you find this shocking? Do you think they’re confused or radicalized? Share your thoughts in the comments section. About Daisy Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging‚ adventure-seeking‚ globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper‚ which is about current events‚ preparedness‚ self-reliance‚ and the pursuit of liberty; 2)  The Frugalite‚ a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com‚ an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews. 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‚ Gab‚ MeWe‚ Parler‚ Instagram‚ and Twitter. The post An Insurgence of Idiots appeared first on The Organic Prepper.

The New Hotness: Flying Palestinian Flag

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer‚ send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.Why does Swiss cheese have holes? – Owen F.‚ age 13‚ Belmont‚ MassachusettsThere are thousands of kinds of cheese‚ each with its own color‚ shape‚ nutritional value‚ flavor and texture.Since cheese is made from milk‚ cheese types tend to vary based on the source of milk. Some of the most popular cheeses are made from the milk of cows‚ goats and sheep. But there are also cheeses made from camel milk‚ water buffalo milk – even moose milk.To make cheese‚ you need to add bacteria to the milk. These create chemical reactions that cause it to change into a combination of solid “curds” and liquid “whey.” The whey is generally drained off‚ concentrated and dried into a powder.Variations in the amount and type of bacteria influence the taste and texture of the final product. Other aspects factor into the type of cheese that’s produced: the salting method‚ its temperature and how long cheesemakers age it‚ which refers to the amount of time it is left alone to ripen and form. Some cheeses are aged for as long as 18 years.Like many other cheeses‚ Swiss cheese is made with cow’s milk and contains bacteria that help convert the milk into a solid.So why does Swiss cheese have holes? Also called “eyes‚” they’re so essential to Swiss cheese that when they’re missing‚ the cheesemakers say the batch is “blind.”What makes Swiss cheese “holey” is additional bacteria called Propionibacterium freudenrichii subspecies shermanii – P. shermanii for short. Under the specific conditions that Swiss cheese is made‚ the P. shermanii produce a gas: carbon dioxide.Because Swiss cheese is made at a warm temperature – around 70 degrees Fahrenheit – the cheese is soft and malleable. So as the bacteria grow‚ the gases they emit end up creating round openings. Think of blowing a bubble with chewing gum: As you blow air from your lungs‚ the pressure forces the gum into a circle. The bubble eventually pops‚ due to air pressure from your lungs or the atmosphere.But when a bubble has formed inside a hunk of warm cheese – and then that cheese is cooled to around 40°F – the hole stays in place. The cheese now has its eyes.It takes about four weeks at 70°F for the eyes to form. In total‚ it takes about six weeks to make Swiss cheese‚ and then it is aged two additional months before it is sold.Swiss cheese was first made in Switzerland in the 15th century. But there‚ it’s known as “emmental” or “emmentaller.”Other countries are also known for cheeses that are similar to Swiss cheese. France has Gruyere‚ while Italy has Fontina. In the U.S.‚ cheesemakers concoct a modified version‚ called Baby Swiss‚ which tends to have smaller eyes. Gouda cheese – which originated in the Netherlands – is sometimes intentionally made with cultures that produce a little bit of gas and tiny eyes.Fontina cheese also has ‘eyes.’ Brian Yarvin/Shutterstock.comBut in most cases‚ cheesemakers actually try to prevent the formation of gas in their cheeses. Especially in harder cheeses‚ gas doesn’t lead to nice‚ round eyes; instead‚ it forms unsightly crevices‚ cracks and splits.[Like what you’ve read? Want more? Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter.]Stephanie Clark‚ Virginia M. Gladney Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition‚ Iowa State UniversityThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.