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Business

“It’s going to be OK!” Sweet message of hope from one small business to all the others

Published

5 years ago

5 minute read

This message from the owner/operator of “Sweet Capone’s” has started to circulate in Central Alberta.  

It captures the essence of the struggle facing all small businesses today.  

It’s worth sharing with all those you know who are fighting to keep their business alive when they may not be able to flip the sign from “closed” to “open”.

I have often wondered what it was like for my grandparents and great grandparents. To have lived through, and endured the struggles that a world war presented. It couldn’t have been easy – to navigate the waves of fear and to not succumb to the panic that creeps in when uncertainty hits. They had to ration food and other goods. Here in Canada and living in the middle class of society no less, I am beyond fortunate. Emergency rationing of food and other items is not something I have ever had to do.

I also have not had to experience the painful dread of knowing that one, or all of my sons would be drafted and shipped off to fight in a war – when they are barely old enough to shave…. and never knowing if it would be the last time I would get to hold them close.

I also have not known a society where most of the male figures are away fighting or deceased, and women are left to keep things going on the homefront – both in and out of the home.

I have not known the terror of a dictatorship, and with it, have had all of my rights and freedoms completely stripped away. I have not known annihilating persecution, segregation and the many unspeakable horrors that many cultures have experienced in the face of war. Even to this day.

I have not lived through obliteration where my home and everything I valued has been demolished and torn apart.

I have not known these things. But what I do know is this: previous generations survived all of these things and went on to create a society in which they thrived. Expanded. Flourished. They must have, or else you and I would not be here otherwise. Our previous generations have shown us that weathering adversity produces good fruit. Opportunities open up where they once did not exist. Weaknesses are identified and stronger solutions are put in place. New inventions and ideas sprout fourth and become endearing to our way of life. We identify what we can live with – and conversely, what we can live without. We develop a deeper sense of appreciation through loss, and draw closer to one another in times of strife.

A dear friend of mine said today, “history is like a pond. Ripples only exist on the surface and get harder to detect with distance.” I think he is so right. We forget what previous generations went through and did for us when we allow fear to send us running in the opposite direction.

That pond? Those ripples? They didn’t just start on their own. Our grandparents and the generations before them, they jumped into the water. They dove into it, perhaps even head first! And when they did that, they sent out ripples of resilience, determination and strength that would one day reach us. If we stop running in fear and instead turn around and dip a toe in those calming waters, something amazing will happen. We will be refreshed, renewed and repurposed. And even greater still, we will create ripples of our own that will serve as messages of hope for all the generations to come after us.

As for us here at Sweet Capone’s, we will stay open and are happy to serve you in any capacity until we are unable. We love you, believe in you, and can’t wait to see the ripples that we will produce together when all is said and done!

Stay safe and see you soon!

Love Carina and Joel Moran (owners)

I understand panic – Dr. Abdu Sharkawy

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After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Rand Paul Releases Report Detailing $1,000,000,000,000 In Gov’t Waste. Here Are The Worst Offenders

Published on December 24, 2024

By

 

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Ireland Owens

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul released a report on Monday outlining more than $1 trillion in government waste from the past year.

The 2024 “Festivus” report highlighted various instances of wasteful government spending from the federal government, including a pickleball complex in Las Vegas and a cabaret show on ice. This year marks Paul’s 10th annual report.

“This year, I am highlighting a whopping $1,008,313,329,626.12,” Paul wrote in the report. “That’s over $1 trillion in government waste, including things like ice-skating drag queens, a $12 Million Las Vegas pickleball complex, $4,840,082 on Ukrainian influencers, and more! No matter how much money the government has wasted, politicians keep demanding even more.”

The Department of the Interior (DOI) spent $12 million on a Las Vegas Pickleball Complex, according to the report. The DOI also spent $720,479 on wetland conservation projects for ducks in Mexico.

“I have a lot of problems with federal spending, and now it’s time to hear all about them,” Paul wrote in the report.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded the Bearded Ladies Cabaret a $10,000 grant to support a cabaret show on ice skates focused on climate change, according to the report. The NEA also spent $365,000 to promote circuses in city parks, the report states.

The State Department spent $500,000 to expand the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia’s #USInvestsInEthiopians social media campaign to a larger national public relations campaign, according to the report. The State Department also sent $253,653 to Bosnia to fight “misinformation,” spent $2.1 million for Paraguayan Border Security, and spent $3 million for ‘Girl-Centered Climate Action’ in Brazil, according to the report.

The Department of Health and Human Services spent $419,470 to determine if lonely rats seek cocaine more than happy rats, the report states.

The National Science Foundation spent $288,563 to ensure bird watching groups have safe spaces, also known as “Affinity Groups,” according to the report.

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Nov. 12 that he had picked Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to co-chair a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at cutting down on wasteful government spending.

“As always, taking the path to fiscal responsibility is often a lonely journey, but I’ve been fighting government waste like DOGE before DOGE was cool, Paul wrote in the report. “And I will continue my fight against government waste this holiday season.”

Many Americans have faced steep costs amid high inflation throughout President Joe Biden’s term, with inflation hitting a peak of 9.1% in June 2022. While inflation rates have eased some since June 2022, prices still remain high, with the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of the price of everyday goods, experiencing a year-over-year increase of 2.7% in November, according to a Dec. 11 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some experts have attributed massive government spending under the Biden-Harris administration to fueling inflation rates. The national debt was at $36.16 trillion as of Tuesday, according to U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data.

A spokesperson for Rand Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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armed forces

Canadian military deployed ‘gender advisors’ to Ukraine, Haiti  at taxpayers’ expense

Published on December 24, 2024

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The Canadian Armed Forces has been pushing a radical LGBT agenda under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with the latest example being ‘Task Force Gender Advisors’ deployed in war-hit nations, such as Haiti and Ukraine.

Canada’s military has been actively pushing a woke pro-LGBT agenda on the world stage, with the latest example being its deployment of “task force gender advisors” internationally in war-hit nations, such as Haiti and Ukraine.

The “gender advisors” initiative is noted in the 2024 Departmental Report of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). This has resulted in it drawing a sharp rebuke from veterans who wonder why the military is spending money on pushing the LGBT agenda abroad.

The CAF report notes how in Poland, for instance, the “Task Force Gender Advisor was involved in all aspects of this training mission and supported the local Defence Attaché in connecting with local and Ukraine-based non-governmental organizations and interested parties.”

The report noted how the “gender advisor” as well as “gender focal points” were sent to military missions in Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, Poland, and Latvia throughout 2023.

In war-torn Haiti, “intersectional factors (were) being applied towards stabilization and humanitarian efforts,” via an “Operations HORIZON and PROJECTION” initiative.

This initiative is part of the third “National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security for 2023-2029.” This is a program that looks to advance pro-LGBT ideology, such as concepts of different “genders,” in all military operations.

Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the CAF, as well as all government departments, have pushed an ever-increasing woke agenda, as well as a host of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in place.

The military’s action plan notes how there are no less than three full-time “gender advisors” who are in the CAF at all levels.

The president of Veterans for Freedom, Andrew MacGillivray, blasted the woke DEI policies, saying the program has morphed into a “useless overbearing policy that has infiltrated every aspect of the Canadian Armed Forces.”

He noted that war-torn nations most likely don’t care “about gender nonsense being pushed by Canada when they are struggling to keep people alive.”

Since Trudeau became PM, the CAF has become increasingly woke and has been forcing LGBT ideology on many of its personnel. It has also seen recruitment plummet to all-time lows.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, earlier this year, Canada’s first “transgender” military chaplain was suspended for alleged sexual harassment, after he reportedly sought to grope a male soldier at the Royal Military College while drunk.

Canada’s military has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on pro-DEI polls, along with guest speakers, presentations, and workshops, as well as LGBT flags. The workshops covered topics including “the gendered nature of security,” while one talk discussed “integrating gender and diversity perspectives.”

In 2021, the defence department revealed that it has two separate committees and eight programs that worked to appoint homosexual advisors to “innovate” religious instruction and gender-neutral uniforms.

In June of 2023, the Canadian military was criticized for “raising the pride flag” in honor of the so-called “2SLGBTQI+ communities.”

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