Faces of Gratitude
Jay Lucas with Howard Brodsky of CCA Global, discussing inspirational new project: ‘Faces of Gratitude’
As businesses slowly begin to re-open, it is important for us to pause and recognize the people who have helped us through this crisis. From the nurses and doctors to the police and firefighters, the store workers and delivery drivers, and the countless others who have made great sacrifices during this time, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. That is why we are proud to be supporting the ‘Faces of Gratitude’ project. This is the inspiration of our dear friends, Howard and Joan Brodsky of Manchester, and is designed to recognize the essential frontline workers who have put in the long hours and sleepless nights making sure we stay safe and healthy. I want to encourage you all to participate as well, here’s how.
Faces of Gratitude is a project where we each can personally recognize those frontline workers we each know and appreciate them by posting our ‘thanks’ on our social media profiles. Every day next week, please nominate one person you know who has been an essential worker and for whom you are grateful. Then, challenge another person to also participate and do the same!
It is critical that as we return to “normal”, we do not forget those whose lives were not only disrupted but put into danger. You can learn more about Faces of Gratitude by visiting their truly wonderful website: www.facesofgratitude.com. When you do, you will also learn about Phase II of the project, where Faces of Gratitude will play a vital role in the reopening of our economy and the reinvigoration of our local businesses. Please check it out. I look forward to seeing all the positive faces of gratitude this coming week!
‘Open for Business’ – An Initial Ray of Sunshine
Newport welcomed a new member to its community as ‘Dad’s Scoops and Dogs’ held its grand opening last week. The new take-out spot will serve hot dogs & ice cream to the many people who travel through Newport from May until Labor Day. This is great news for the ‘Sunshine Town,’ a community that has struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic like many others.
The owner, Jean Liepold, also runs a popular YouTube channel called ‘crazyjeancooking’ where she shows viewers how to cook healthy meals from scratch. Her channel has been highly successful with over 8 million views! Her expertise is a welcomed asset in the Newport community.
China – Finding the Positive – 'The Mask Has Been Ripped Off!'
It is well understood, that China poses the single greatest geopolitical threat to our national security and freedom for the next one hundred years. And, while the COVID-19 pandemic has been disastrous in so many ways, there is one small aspect of this terrible nightmare that can be seen as a sort of blessing, a ‘positive.’ A massive wake up call. The corruption and deceit of the ruling communist regime has been exposed for what it is - an evil empire bent on world domination that lies to its own people and the world. The mask has been ripped off.
COVID-19 has now focused the world on China’s deceit; the fact that the regime engaged in a massive coverup. The Chinese knew that the virus could be transmitted between humans as early as December 6th. Yet, they chose to conceal this fact from the world until January 20th. A span of more than six weeks! Meanwhile, they gathered up and hoarded medical supplies for their own use and persecuted those brave doctors who tried to warn of the danger - badly handicapping the world in responding to the virus and leading to hundreds of thousands of needless deaths.
Not surprisingly, these actions have caused us as Americans to intensify our focus on the intent and dangers posed by the Chinese regime. As a result, we are becoming increasingly alarmed by the threat that China poses – and on so many dimensions. Their military build-up, the theft of intellectual property, rampant espionage, unfair trade policies, the vulnerability of our supply chain and more.
In addition to the threat, we have also become dangerously dependent on China. As our large corporations have increasingly ‘outsourced’ our jobs to China, we have dismantled U.S. capabilities in entire industries. Take pharmaceuticals, for instance. America is just now awakening to the fact that nearly all of our generic drugs today are being manufactured in China, as well as one hundred percent of other critical medical supplies such as Vitamin C and penicillin. In fact, if China were to shut off supply of these components today, our medical system would be facing life threatening shortages in less than two weeks.
Thankfully, we are beginning to wake up. And with awareness, there is a need for action. We need to identify broad categories of critical industries and ensure that we as a nation are not dependent on China or other nations for our supply. We need to enforce standards of fair trade and prosecute those who engage in corporate espionage. We need to enforce tough sanctions on the theft of intellectual property and shut down Chinese access to our research and institutions in such critical areas as bioscience, artificial intelligence, technology, weapons systems and more.
Yet, even if we do all these things, it will not be enough. We as a nation must come to an awakening, a realization that China is not our friend. We live in a dangerous world, and the Chinese Communist regime is truly a force for evil, with a set of values that are antithetical to those that we hold sacred. We live in free society and value human life and dignity.
In contrast, China severely stamps out human freedom, dictating where people can live, what jobs they can take and if they are even allowed to travel. The government monitors all communication, restricting access as it sees fit and punishing those who dissent. Now, even creating a ‘social credit score’ system to track the extent to which citizens engage in behaviors that obey the totalitarian government and doling out rewards and punishments in accordance to their obedience.
China also persecutes its religious minorities, imprisoning more than one million people in concentration camps, including the Uyghur Muslims and followers of the Falun Gong religion. In almost unbelievable fashion, the regime also engages in ‘organ harvesting.’ They have created a whole industry devoted to the extraction of organs, such as livers and kidneys, from living individuals in these concentration camps and then uses these organs for resale and transplant. Meanwhile, leaving the donor victims to die. These are practices that shock the human conscience.
So, as we reflect on the disastrous pandemic that we are now experiencing, we can be thankful in one small way. The world is now becoming awakened to the character and intent of the Chinese regime. The utter lack of honesty and transparency and the regime’s self-interested actions during COVID-19 have caused us to focus on the greater threats and dangers posed by China writ large. And, there can be only one conclusion. A China, ruled by a corrupt totalitarian regime bent on world domination, poses a mortal threat to our national security and freedom. We must resolve to do all within our power and take all necessary actions to ensure the military, economic and moral superiority of the United States for future generations to come.
Positive Profile of the Week: Mother’s Day
This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a chance for us to give our sincere admiration and appreciation to all the mom’s out there. President Ronald Reagan said It best, “There is no love like a mother’s.” But this Mother’s Day is incredibly more significant than most - and it's important to recognize the compassion delivered by mom’s around the world, especially given the backdrop of the current pandemic. There are moms working in the medical industry. From nursing homes to hospitals, mothers are leaving their families to work the front lines to save lives, heal the sick, and console those in need of a mother’s touch. Everyday, mothers who are first responders are working the beat, heading to the next call to help those in need, and ready to make a difference by serving and protecting. Meanwhile, across the country children are learning remotely. And, mothers have stepped in to help in a myriad of ways. Right here in New Hampshire, students have adapted, have overcome and are doing their best. To those mothers who are, or who have recently become, teachers, we praise you for your endless commitment to seeing a child succeed. And to the mothers who are running businesses, managing a team, or creating jobs, we thank you. Your emotional support through these difficult times and your steadfast dedication to seeing children provided for is amazing. To all the mothers out there, you are the superheroes to every child, and to us all. Karen and I say, ‘thank you!’ You are giving it your all, and keeping our families and communities safe, as only a mother can do.
Quotes of the Week: Mother’s Day
“All that I ever am and hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”
– Abraham Lincoln
“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.”
– Rudyard Kipling
“There’s no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.”
– Jill Churchill
“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.”
– Cardinal Mermillod
“It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.”
– Dorothy, The Golden Girls