Hello, this is Stella here.

We are making note of all of the problems that you are reporting either here or via email.

It appears that WordPress continues to work on the site. At the moment, it seems that all posts made since October 2 are missing, and that some of you are having trouble accessing the site at all.

It is possible that Sundance has heard from WordPress. I am sure that he will explain what is happening/will happen as soon as he knows something and is free to make a post.

In the meantime, please do your best, as we are doing!

Most of you are aware that we have been having problems with the WordPress commenting and spam filtering system. There recently was a software update, and this may be a result of that update. We don’t know for sure.

In the meantime, your cooperation is requested to help us with moderation.

Dozens of valid comments per hour are being dumped by Akismet (the WP spam filter) into the trash bin. We must filter and restore the valid ones and delete the actual spam and trash. This means that we have to validate each comment when we don’t recognize the commenter. This is an agonizing and monotonous task. It would help if everyone did the following:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv2UdTljgAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTi_8EXwUPk

When I first watched this video, I was sitting here with tears running down my face.  That was two years ago, but it is well worth watching today.

We are all precious, each child is precious, and all they need to know is that someone cares, someone sees the good in them.

I’m keeping it simple and unsophisticated today. Sometimes it is a good thing to see the old stories and the old poems.  This one reminds me of my family, and those who I see now only in my mind’s eye.

Please share your thoughts, and your favorite poetry.

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I felt the need for poetry this morning. This was first posted in October, 2014.

Enjoy! 

What is the purpose of poetry?  Why do we write in verse, when we could say directly what we have to say much more easily?

What has been said about the subject?  I found the following quotes:

When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment. The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, “a lover’s quarrel with the world.” In pursuing his perceptions of reality he must often sail against the currents of his time …  John F Kennedy

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For more from Bill Whittle:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bill+whittle

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