Sunday, December 31, 2023

Playlist of My Top 40 Christmas Songs

     The following is a list of my favorite Christmas, winter, New Year's, and holiday -themed songs.


     [Warning:
     This playlist consists of songs performed by adults, and songs performed by children, as well as several songs which are not suitable for children.
     Do not click on this playlist and allow it to play, without stopping, in the presence of children. This playlist is not playable for large gatherings which include families, in its entirety.
     The three songs in this playlist which are not suitable for children have been marked in italics.]





     YouTube playlist

     (featuring all songs, in no particular order):

     http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCXK0l-uGKjW50IutFGfeGPRDFuMnAwFP





     Individual songs

     (all on YouTube, in alphabetical order by song title):



1. "Angels from the Realms of Glory" by Katherine Jenkins:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xsAocfw2Vg



2. "Believe" by Jackie Evancho:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0zWdwa0bzA



3. "Bouree" by Jethro Tull:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2RNe2jwHE0


4. "Christmas in Prison" by John Prine:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQaJn11t94M


5. "Christmas All Over Again" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPoHul8ngNw


6. "Christmas Song" by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Cax99gVSA


7. "Christmas Time (Is Here Again!)" by the Beatles:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB7LX8mRRHM



8. "Christmas Was a Friend of Mine" by Fay Lovsky:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ITxuUxC-2s
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5imtY9swjOM



9. "December Will Be Magic Again" by Kate Bush:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfD7FzcjVyQ



10. "Ding Dong Merrily on High" by Jackie Evancho:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEzA7IAq_PA


11. "Fairytale of New York" by Shane MacGowan and the Pogues, featuring Kirsty MacColl [not suitable for children]:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv0hlbWpa1w



12. "Gaudete" by Steeleye Span:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbnjdVPRzRI



13. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" by Jethro Tull:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_lFoAQQ0is



14. "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" by Elmo & Patsy:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgIwLeASnkw


15. "Greensleeves / What Child is This" by Charlotte Church:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s9ghpx-b3o



16. "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flA5ndOyZbI



17. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CreWsnhQwzY


18. "Holly Jolly Christmas" by Burl Ives:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uZnbzTG1jY


19. "I Don't Intend to Spend Christmas Without You" by Margo Guryan:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hmRGiYxyJA



20. "I Saw Three Ships" by Celtic Woman:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak2xeLs8qJ4



21. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Tatiana Marie:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tGjRJsX7dM


22. "It Happened in Sun Valley" by Jo Stafford:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=820le813r2I


23. "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8UYRDsdAo0


24. "Jingle Bell Rock" by Randy Travis:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-bhnWAMGUY


25. "Last Christmas" by Wham!:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8gmARGvPlI


26. "Little Saint Nick" by the Beach Boys:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2WU2yykXM


27. "Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera" by Henrike Legner:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyJ3R0CS2fc



28. "Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera" by Amira Willighagen:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CytUl6aq-A4



29. "O Holy Night" by *NSYNC:

     Live Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXzJqRXLI08

     Studio Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KeVHwGWJUg



30. "Please Come Home for Christmas" by Jonell Mosser:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_WtjDVF64I


31. "Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDS5RAaCl3U


31. "Silent Night" by Sinead o'Connor:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uHNygqhBCs



32. "Suck on My Cock" (parody of "Jingle Bell Rock") by Matt Rogers [not suitable for children]:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDZHUNMv2h0


33. "The Coldest Night of the Year" by Twice as Much, featuring Vashti Bunyan:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB9IDd4xJMw



34. "The First Noel" by Jackie Evancho:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm6yI1OrbzM


35. "Things I Want" by Tenacious D" [not suitable for children]:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJdBm-45kcc


36. "Walking in the Air" by Jackie Evancho:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX7p8_z7rjc



37. "We Five Kings" by Jethro Tull:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgJsgYpmS4g


38. "White Christmas" by the Cactus Cuties:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9DYblqE8vI


39. "White Christmas" by the Drifters, featuring Clyde McPhatter and Bill Pinckney:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktAdddKQ-NY



40. "White Christmas" by Tatiana Marie:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YTYp2zHVR4





     Bonus Video

     Animated cartoon set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker", made in the Soviet Union in 1973:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roITOz-5NKg






Compiled on December 31st, 2023 and January 1st, 2024

Originally published under the title
"Playlist of My Favorite Christmas Songs"
on December 31st, 2023

Edited and expanded on January 1st, 2024

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Eulogy for Ethan August Winnett (1985 - 2023)

Author's Note

     The following was written as a eulogy for my dear friend, Ethan August Winnett, who passed from this life on October 19th, 2023.

     This eulogy was written with the intent that it be delivered at his funeral. However, I was unable to resolve to deliver the speech out-loud at the service; in part, because I was anxious about whether submitting the speech for the approval of Ethan's surviving family might risk causing emotional turmoil which could have compounded the difficulty which they experienced in seeing him pass.

 

     I am publishing the eulogy here, for several reasons. Among them;

     1) it is better late to do so than never.

     Additionally, while the staff at the Fort Sheridan National Military Cemetery did manage to make their speech and service "short and sweet", which suited the cold temperatures of that day, and spared Ethan's friends and family from having to endure a lengthy service, which likely would have added to the sorrow they experienced that day;

     2) I - and, I can only assume, others who were present that day, as well - did not find the military's services entirely satisfactory (for reasons into which I will not go here, aside from the fact that I feel that Ethan deserved a more personal eulogy from the one he got, and a eulogy from someone who knew him better than the military chaplain who spoke)

     Also,

     3) I hope that publishing this, will help all those who read it, to process deaths and other hardships in their own lives, in a psychologically healthy and practical manner, so that they may face reality, and face tragedies, without falling into despair. I also hope that this will provide Ethan's friends and family with better closure than what they got from the service.

     It is additionally worth noting that Stoic philosophy influenced my writing of this eulogy, and influenced my approach to grieving Ethan; in particular, the quotation by Marcus Aurelius: "To love only what happens, what was destined. No greater harmony."
     I will admit that this quotation is not only clumsily phrased, but also that it would come-off sounding indifferent, when applied in the context of lamenting the death of such a dear friend. So I choose to remember this quote, instead, as "Resolve to love, no matter what happens."

     Ethan August Winnett was buried, with full military honors, at the Fort Sheridan National Military Cemetery - in Fort Sheridan, Illinois - on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023 (which fell on the day prior to Thanksgiving, and coincidentally happened to occur on the sixtieth anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy).

     Rest In Power, Ethan.

 

 

Eulogy for Ethan August Winnett

     What can be said at a time like this? What could I say that could help comfort a family as they say goodbye to their son, at a young age, after such a sudden loss; and to help a group of friends make sense of such a senseless and sad event? 

“There’s nothing about what happened that’s OK. But in the long run, things are going to be OK… because we’re going to make things OK.

“And we’re going to do that by coming together, to give each other the same love and support that we gave to Ethan, and that would have given him from this point forward… and we’re going to live our lives in a way that would make him proud to call us his friends.”

 

     Ethan was resilient and determined, in a way that was inspiring. He lived in a way that showed he was always trying to have fun, no matter how difficult the circumstances.

     We should let Ethan’s determination, inspire us to find any little positive thing that does manage to come – not from Ethan’s passing – but from the gathering of people who have come together today, to fondly remember and lovingly celebrate his life, and his contributions to ours.

 

     We’re going to make things OK, by learning as much as we can from what happened; by making our homes safer, and the Earth cleaner; in a way that helps us protect each other’s lives more effectively, and love each other more, and love life more, in the process.

     And we will help Ethan’s legacy live on; by telling our other friends about his impact on the way we lived; guiding us to live more simply, more matter-of-fact, and hopeful, resilient, and driven, and curious.

 

     And he was funny. He was always making jokes, coming up with songs, telling us about bands… He would speak bits of poetry, free-style…

     Some of us may be wondering why Ethan wasn’t on much sleep when he passed. Ethan lived life with an intense joy, curiosity, and wonder; so much so that he didn’t want to miss a single moment of life, to the point of losing sleep. He did “not go gentle into that goodnight”, but raged “against the dying of the light”.

 

     Ethan didn’t live a long life, but he lived every moment with passion and enthusiasm – and what Socrates would have called an examined life, owing to that intense curiosity - and those are the marks of a life well-lived.

     We should let Ethan’s passion inspire us to move forward and soldier-on - with passion and hope, and curious awe – in our own lives, in fond remembrance and gratitude of Ethan’s contributions to them.

 

     Ethan was the best friend of everyone he ever met. He was the first person to call me brother and comrade. His passionate righteous indignation, towards abuse of power, was an inspiration to me, and the way he greeted me was a constant reminder that he believed in me.

     Ethan made the personal political, and made the political personal. He inspired us to learn more, to listen more, and to care more. He made it cool to care more, and to want to know more.

     He was someone who could talk to anybody, no matter their level of education, and fit right in, wherever he was. He was always ready to delve into any topic; from psychology to anthropology; from astronomy to the beyond. And above all, he was a good listener, which was because of how much he cared.

     Ethan was selfless beyond measure; dropping whatever he was doing to help his friends. He inspired us to care more; about the world, about him, and about ourselves… by showing more interest in helping us with our problems, than we thought we even deserved.

 

 

     It’s hard to contemplate the passing of such a young man, but we must remember, “It’s not the years in your life; it’s the life in your years.”

     Ethan didn’t live a long time, but he lived a lot, and he lived it up. He served in the military. He got to experience another culture; that of Korea, which he admired fondly. He helped clean-up Waukegan like it was his job. He served his community as a teacher. A few times, he even found love. Maybe not true love, maybe not enough love, but who among us can say that we’ve had enough of love?

     That’s why I don’t want anyone leaving here today wanting for affection. Let’s not go and take our eyes off each other; not today, nor tomorrow, nor any other day. Let us be Ethan’s extended family, in support of Lana and Elanna, as they go through this difficult time.

     We will honor Ethan’s memory by loving and supporting each other; by giving each other the care and support that we need, to get through this, and then move forward with our lives, with the same determination and love of life with which Ethan lived; thankful that we’d had a chance to know him, and living in a way that will show gratitude to him, for his contribution to our lives.

 

     Some of us will attempt to continue his legacy - as advocates for peace, and veterans, and the homeless and hungry, and the Earth - as Ethan was. Others will reflect fondly upon having known him, in a more personal way. Some of us will do both.

     Many of us will be grateful for the help he provided us; and many will wish that they had collaborated with him, or celebrated with him, more.

     But we can all be thankful that we were on good terms with him when he passed. He was too peaceful a person – and too at-peace with others - to hold a grudge against anybody.

 

     None of us could have predicted what, exactly, would be the problem that took our friend away from us.

     Still, some of us might wonder what more they could have done to help Ethan, or to have prevented the accident… but perhaps just as many of us are wondering whether they helped Ethan too much, or helped him the wrong way, or at the wrong time. At times, it wasn’t clear to him, who he should trust; at other times, he wasn’t sure he deserved help. But other times, it was just that he preferred to rely on himself for the time being.

     Ethan’s trust in us never subsided, nor did his willingness to accept help. And he gave back, of himself, every bit as much as we gave him, and he was happy to do so. It was evident in the way he always made sure we were fed, and that we were welcome in his presence.

     As sad as Ethan’s passing is, Ethan would want us to move forward, and proceed with the same love of life with which he lived at every moment… and to be glad that we knew him, happy to be chosen as his friends, and as the people he trusted.

 

     We’re also here today to honor the life of Ethan’s personal hero and father, Buddy Winnett; a jockey, a rodeo entertainer, and long-distance runner, whom Ethan was so proud of… and whose frankness and grit continue to serve as a source of inspiration, strength, and resilience to his daughter Elanna and his wife Lana, who steadfastly cared for him in sickness and in health during his last years.

     I’ve learned that Buddy was just as much of a “larger-than-life” person as his son was, that each of them lived life like they were multiple amazing people wrapped together in one.

     And that’s why the passing of Ethan and Buddy are so difficult. Ethan was a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, a teacher, an activist, a local hero for the hungry and homeless, and for nature. Ethan - and his father - were both so many different people to us in our lives.

     But we can all say – to Lana and Elanna – that we are so sorry for your loss, that anything we can do to help is yours; and that Buddy and Ethan loved you, and would be proud of you.

 

     There’s not much positive that we can glean from this sad event. Our friend has been taken away, and we will never see him again.

     But we must take whatever comfort we can in knowing that Ethan was not burned, did not suffer long, did not suffer much, and that his suffering is no more.

     While Ethan is lost, we must take solace in the fact that Ethan’s neighbors – as well as our beloved friends Elanna, Carol, Philip, and Robbie, who sometimes stayed over – were not among those we lost that day. We love them dearly, and are so grateful for their presence in our lives, and we must all remind each other of this every day (especially tomorrow, Thanksgiving).

     But it’s not just about what can be salvaged, from this event, that will help us to move on. It’s what we can build together, going forward - as a community - to rebound from this loss.

 

     It is difficult for men to tell their friends that they love them. I’m glad to have had the fortune of telling Ethan this before he passed (and he knew that all of you, here today, loved him). But as difficult as it is to say “I love you”, it’s even more difficult to say “I’m worried about you.”

     We will honor Ethan by making it cool to care, just as he did. By making it cool to want to be informed, and to help others, and cool to take care of yourself and the planet. And by building a world where nobody is ashamed to ask for help, or accept help.

 

     It may help, to bring us some comfort, to name the things that didn’t take our friend away; the enemies he was too strong to be defeated by.

     Homelessness and poverty? Not dangerous enough to take him. Depression? Not strong enough to take him; he loved life too much. Industrial pollution, or disease? Not strong enough to harm him. Those who make war for corrupt purposes?… Not strong enough to take him.

     Ethan never stopped trying. And neither should we. We will remember and honor Ethan every day, by never giving up; and by never being discouraged; and by loving, whatever happens.

 

     And so, in tribute to Ethan’s life well-lived, and of his overcoming all discouragement, we resolve not to succumb to sadness, but to let Ethan’s life inspire us to live with the same joy with which he lived.

     And to mourn him, and to be sad when we need to be sad; but also to be strong and confident, and take Ethan’s passing in stride – and to be appreciative to him, and to take pride in having known him, and to have enriched one-another’s lives – and in knowing that we were the ones he loved back. That was an honor, and the love and care and trust that he showed to us, was his gift to us, and nothing can ever take that away.

     We will miss him dearly, while cherishing and taking solace in the fact that we knew him, in fond remembrance of the time we got to spend with him; beloved son of Buddy and Lana, and of this community; brother of Elanna and Buddy Jr. and others - giving of himself beyond measure, inspiring and awe-inspired at every turn – our dear Ethan August Winnett.

 

      May we live a way that would make Ethan proud of us – and help us to remain worthy to have had his friendship – by showing each other the same care that he gave us, and that we gave him.

     May we remember that many of the same things we loved about Ethan, are things we love about each other, and about ourselves. And all the kindnesses we would have shown Ethan from this point forward, let us share them with one another, and be kind to ourselves as well.

     Let us spend tomorrow being thankful, and grateful that we were the ones who Ethan loved back, and let us show our gratitude to Ethan – for honoring us with his love and friendship; not by feeling bad that Ethan isn’t around to enjoy life with us, but by loving and enjoying life twice as much; for ourselves and for him.

 

     We now return Ethan to nature, and to the Earth; and bid farewell to our fair Ethan August Winnett; cherished son, brother, friend, and comrade; our brave warrior for eternal peace.

     No one is gone who is remembered.

     Goodbye, Ethan; may you live always, through never being forgotten; may comfort and peace be upon your family; and may hostility lay its last weapon at your feet.

 

 

End Note

     I have previously written and published two memoriams about Ethan, which can be read at the following links:

     1. "In Memoriam: Green Party of Lake Cunty, Illinois Announces Passing of Chairman Ethan Winnett", published on October 20th, 2023:
     http://aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2023/10/green-party-of-lake-county-illinois.html

      2. "In Memoriam: General-Purpose Obituary for Ethan August Winnett (for Release and Publication)", published on November 3rd, 2023:
     http://aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2023/11/in-memoriam-general-purpose-obituary.html

 

 

Author's Note and End Note written on December 28th, 2023

Eulogy written between mid-November and November 22nd, 2023

Published on December 28th, 2023

Why Political Science Students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison Should Consider Dropping Out

 Author’s Note / Introduction


     The full title of this article is “Why Political Science Students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison Should Consider Dropping Out (Or at Least Changing Their Major)”.


     The following letter was written for the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s “Political Science at Work” event.

     That event took place at Great Hall at Memorial Union, and was organized by SuccessWorks Alumni Relations Team (at the College of Letters and Science Center for Personal and Professional Development), on October 23rd, 2023.

     The purpose of the event was to introduce students to alumni working in professions which theoretically might be available to contemporary students, when they complete their studies, graduate, and enter the work-force.

 

     This letter was provided – before editing was complete – to students who were in attendance.

     This article has been edited and expanded since it was delivered to the two students who chose to speak to me at that event.





The Letter


Dear Students:


     I suppose that I am here to tell you how to use your degree to help yourselves get a job. But the truth is that I have never used my degree to help myself get a job.
     In fact, I told my parents repeatedly that I suspected that I would never use my degree for that purpose, and that I had no intention of doing so.

     While I changed my mind about my intentions at times – working for the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution (a lobbying organization founded by former Jill Stein presidential campaign manager Ben Manski), and by running for the U.S. House of Representatives four times – I am still struggling to use my degree in order to get a job.

     It has been thirteen years since I graduated. I currently drive the cheapest car I can afford, live in the cheapest apartment I can afford, and still have to work 48 hours per week, at fifteen dollars an hour. I even struggled with drug addiction and homelessness after leaving college.

 

     For one thing, this is because the economy (by which I mean the job market) was terrible when I enrolled at U.W. (in 2005). I spent years thinking, “I won’t have a good job until these Baby Boomers start retiring, and some spaces for me open up, and they’re too greedy to do that until decades from now.” And I was right.

      For another thing, I chose Political Science as my major, after at least five years of knowing that our government is so irredeemably corrupt, that a person like me would never belong as part of it. Granted, my home state (Illinois) is more corrupt than Wisconsin is. But neither state truly embraces freedom.

     Additionally, I have difficulty getting a high-paying job – and using my degree to do so – because I ended up with a 2.3 G.P.A.. [Notes: 1) G.P.A. stands for "Grade Point Average". 2) A 2.3 G.P.A. is the equivalent of a D+.]


     You might assume, from this fact, that my low grades were entirely my own fault. But the truth is that my grades had been steadily slipping since early-on in high school.

     And the reason why my grades had been slipping, was because I was depressed. And the reason why I was depressed, was because of my father (whose controlling nature and failure to help me plan, caused me to miss an opportunity to graduate high school a full year early).

     My father also sexually abused and assaulted me as a child. Not that I was aware of this fact; you see, I suffered from repressed memories of sexual abuse between the ages of 13 and 28 (2000 to 2015).


     For most of you, this will (hopefully) be a difficult thing to relate to. But it needs to be brought up; even if only one person can be helped by it.

     Who among you can honestly say that you are here at college solely due to your own choices? Now, maybe none of you were forced to go to college by your abusive parents in order to help cover-up and distract from the fact that they abused you as children (in fact, Jeffrey Epstein paid for the college tuition of several of his own victims, in order to assuage them, and to legitimize his own abuses). And I hope that none of you were.

     But who among you can say, additionally, that you are not here at college simply because you were expected to do so? That you were told, and expected, to go to some college, because your high school had high rates of students who went on to college, and because not going to college would make you “the odd man out”?

     Is that really a good-enough reason to go to college? Does that reflect the kind of independent thinking that this university thinks can be taught? You should at least understand what you’re getting yourself into, and you should consent to it, right?

 

     The fact is, I was never asked, even once – during my entire four years at U.W.-Madison – whether I was here of my own volition. Not in freshman orientation, not by my guidance counselors (who were more focused on helping me navigate the frustratingly slow course registration programs, which would often require a commitment of days and days waiting to register for a simple set of four or five classes).

     If you are not here of your own volition, then it logically follows that you are here as a hostage (most likely, of your parents).

     In my opinion, it seems that this happened because U.W.-Madison does not value consent; or if it does, then it is only for sexual purposes, and not for economic, social, political, nor contractual purposes.

     You see, when I first enrolled at U.W.-Madison, it was 2005. This was a full six years before almost anybody had ever read headlines indicating that Jeffrey Epstein was friends with Prince Andrew (which was only in British tabloids at the time), six years before it became acceptable to question whether governments could be complicit in child trafficking, and fourteen years before Epstein was finally caught (and the full corruption of the system began to be revealed).

     In 2011 – while in a haze, having forgotten the abuse I suffered at the hands of my father, due to being repeatedly re-traumatized, and forced to depend on my abuser for survival – I knew, somewhere deep within myself, that there were people associated with the government (even people not directly employed by it, such as my attorney father, whose clients include people accused of rape) who abused children. Therefore, I was nearly afraid to discuss the possibility that people who seek political power often do so because they want to abuse children.

 

     One major fact demonstrating that U.W.-Madison does not value consent, is that it preys upon impressionable young 18-year-olds, who are either making decisions using their parents’ money, or else are dependent and nearly helpless due to having to depend on the university and its career advice while working their way through college at low wages.

     Another fact – although I was scarcely aware of it at the time - is that U.W.’s Sociology Department employed a professor named John DeLaMater. This man, who has since passed away, after my time here, served as the instructor of the university’s Human Sexuality courses in sociology.

     Once, while offering interested students an extra-credit opportunity, Professor DeLaMater held up a prize to students who won a contest related to researching human sexuality. That prize was a red T-shirt that read, “Teach your children about sex, or I will”.

     We snickered when we saw that shirt, and heard what it said on it. But I only understood the problematic nature of this prize, and this statement, years later, when I put some things together. You see, another optional assignment that we were afforded in that course, was to view the film Kinsey, starring Kevin Kline. That film depicts sex researcher Alfred Kinsey interviewing a man who had confessed to raping children and animals.

     Since leaving college, I have discovered several disturbing things about Kinsey. First, that he thought it was normal and healthy and beneficial for children to engage in sexual activity. Second, that his inordinate focus on sex criminals, in his research, has been described as unethical, and skewed the results of his research in favor of the perverted and the criminal. Third, that he has been accused by his biographers of attempting to solicit a former Nazi for photographic evidence of sex crimes against children. Fourth, that a statue of Mr. Kinsey has been erected in his home state of Indiana, at its university.

 

     The University of Wisconsin is not telling you this, however; because they want your money. According to financialaid.wisc.edu, the cost of a four-year degree, for in-state students, is currently about $45,000 for tuition for in-state students, plus $54,000 for meals and housing; amounting to a whopping $99,000. And for out-of-state students, this figure rises to a total of $214,000.

     The university is teaching students to choose a major, and then to become graduate students and then professors of that major, in order to set up what basically amounts to an Amway-style, “divide-and-conquer”-oriented Ponzi scheme, to teach people to teach how to teach useless subjects which students could not possibly help the world, or themselves, by learning. The objective of this is to burden students with more and more student debt (through F.A.F.S.A.), and trick students into thinking that – if they vote for the right control-freak for president – he will forgive all the student debt. But this, too, is a scam; as Joe Biden’s debt forgiveness plan only amounts to a total debt forgiveness for students who attended college at particular times, had less than a certain amount of debt, and have no criminal records whatsoever. Another objective of this cycle is to grow the government, and its cost, until the public sector eats-up the entire economy, eventually swallowing the private sector whole, until there are no unlicensed or lightly-regulated businesses left in this country.

 

     Speaking of the problem of high expenses of attending college: One of the things that we were sold in 2005, as part of our required purchases in order to attend classes, was an expensive digital surveying device, which allowed us to remotely submit answers to questions asked in class. Strangely, I don’t remember any class, aside from Human Sexuality, in which I used this expensive device. And one of the things I was asked – at age 18 or 19 – was how often I was engaging in sexual activity. I was asked this, without any hint of caution as to how or why it may be unethical for professors to ask such questions.

     I repeat: this university does not care about your consent, in economic, social, political, or contractual contexts. It only wants you to consent to sex enthusiastically, so it can normalize the fraternity and sorority systems (and the sometimes sexual hazing which they practice), and so that they can take thousands upon thousands of dollars of your (or your parents’) hard-earned money.

     What is the point of spending between $100,000 and $214,000 on a Big Ten University education, when the internet exists; that is, when most books are already in PDF form, which you can download for free online? Why would they need to take so much of your money, when they can simply teach you how to use a library, a card catalog, and the internet? I don’t know what things are like now, but far too little emphasis was placed on these skills when I was attending.


     When I told a friend that I was about to attend this SuccessWorks event today, he told me that I was supposed to use my degree - and the fact that I had chosen a Legal Studies or Political Science major – to get an internship with a local politician. I was supposed to volunteer my time; which, for students who were strapped for cash, simply amounted to unpaid labor, free for those politicians, which is not much different from pressuring a person into involuntary servitude.

     But then, of course, these opportunities supposedly offered us “exposure”. But the university never told us this, and they certainly never told us that you can die of exposure.

     This university wants you to be utterly reliant on its guidance counselors (whom, in my time here, were rarely available) for career advice.


     But alas, here you are at college. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself “What is the purpose of education”? I bet you haven’t.

     If you must know, the purpose of higher education is supposed to be to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to get high-paying jobs, so they can compete in a modern, interconnected, global economy.

     The problem is, however; we never stop to ask ourselves, “Why is competition necessary?” Couldn’t we be cooperating instead? Competition is only justifiable in lifeboat scenarios involving scarcity, but even then, competition is only tolerable; it is still not preferable, nor equitable.

     Additionally: “Why aren’t they teaching us to help other students learn the material?” Just as fifth-grade students are not expected to be able to teach everything they learned last year to the fourth-grade students, you will not be expected to teach younger students unless and until you become a graduate student. But why should things be that way?


     Nevermind the issue of “What do you do if you can’t find a politician to volunteer for, who shares your values and morality”, and what to do if you are disillusioned by that politician’s lack of scruples, or by their commitment to towing the party line to the detriment of the freedom and equality of the people. Nevermind the issue of which politician to volunteer for, if you are a libertarian, a progressive, or a communist.

     As a matter of fact, during my time, a teacher’s assistant told us, point-blank, that “communism doesn’t work”. He said this without supplying evidence, without disclosing that there are literally dozens of formulations of communism which have never been tried, and without entertaining the possibility that the actions of the U.S. military are among the chief reasons why regimes that attempt communism are forced into collapse.

     Nevermind the issue of why your professors won’t tell you that what’s “necessary and proper” (see McCulloch v. Marlyand) for the government to do, is largely a matter of opinion, until it occurs to you that you need to ask them that question, ten or fifteen years after graduating.

     Put all that to the side.

     Instead of “How am I going to use my degree to get a job”, you should be saying to yourself “I don’t even know what I don’t know”, and asking “What do I need to find out about, that I need to find out about?"


     Do you really think that your professors are going to tell you that there were fourteen people who held the post of “president” before George Washington and before the Constitution was signed?

     Do you really think your professors are going to tell you that there are two asteroid belts in our solar system instead of one? Or that the debate about how many planets we have, is not between eight vs. nine (because of Pluto), but rather, eight vs. thirteen (because other dwarf planet exist)? Of course not. Why would they offer you free information up-front, when they could, instead, simply take your money, and teach you nothing?


     Most people enter politics for one reason: because they want power. And sadly, it seems that many people are entering education for the same reason.

     Have you realized yet that the state wields legitimate violence, and, in so doing, legitimizes violence (the use of which is always unethical)?

     Have you realized yet that a government is nothing more than a criminal gang – a mafia – which has legalized the use of violence when it is exercised by itself, but which criminalizes the use of defensive force when it is used by the people without begging and paying their government for the right to do so beforehand?

     Have you realized yet that the public employees who police our street are only obligated to protect and serve people who have private property and private contracts with said police (due to the decision in Warren v. District of Columbia, 1981), while so-called private security guards (which happens to be my profession) are, bizarrely, trained to believe that their purpose is to protect individual members of the public, instead of the private properties which they patrol?

     The world is upside-down. That is why you need people like me, asking you the difficult questions; to shake things up, to get the world right-side up again.


     If you care about getting health care to people who need it, then don’t study political science or try to learn how to write legislation; go to medical school and become a doctor.

     If you are more interested in how to distribute resources to people who sorely need them, then you should be an economist, not a political scientist.

     If you care about expanding the private sector, then don’t get into political science in order to figure out ways to get the government support the private sector. That defeats the purpose, and is antithetical to free-market ideals. Instead, go to business school, or study economics.

     If you are more interested in current events than politics, then you should be a journalist, not a political scientist.

     If you care about other peoples in the world, then don’t study political science. Study languages or linguistics or communication.

     If you are worried about the lack of opportunities which young Americans face (for example, in comparison to people in Germany and China) in acquiring marketable technical skills (rather than simply writing articles that nobody will ever read), then don’t advocate for more student loans, and access to tech courses, through legislation; you should, instead, simply drop out of this college and go to a technical school.

     I never did go to a technical school, and I regret it all the time, because I don’t have any marketable skills. I would have liked to go to school for music production, woodworking, or electrical engineering, but my rapist father said I could only do so after graduating. I did graduate, but he stopped supporting me after that, so I never went back to school. I started educating myself, which was always – and always will be – an option available to you.


     Now, this is all very different from saying that you should drop out of college because young people who are pressured into performing child labor have an edge at getting and staying employed, compared to people who go to college and choose useless majors.

     Not that that isn't true.

     But the result is the same, because your professors are not going to tell you that there are plenty of businesses that post job offers of $12 or $15 an hour, while expecting people to have Masters’ Degrees (which theoretically entitle them to teach college).


     The point that I’m driving at, here, is that - if you stay in college - then you are probably going to get scammed. Do you really want to dedicate four years of your life regurgitating what is said by people who last had to look for a job forty years ago? Do you really value grades and “money” (whatever that is; really, it is Mammon) more than your own integrity? To paraphrase Mark Twain, “Never let your schooling interfere with your education”.

     And why do we need jobs anyway, or money? It’s not like if you run out of money, or stop using money, you die, anyway. Look up a man named Daniel Suelo; he lives without using money. We are being indoctrinated into thinking that man will die if he does not use money, and it is simply not true.

     We are led to assume that it is necessary to pull as much legal tender out of the economy as possible, because there is scarcity. But is there really? We are being led to assume that scarcity, limitedness, fixedness, and finitude are all the same thing, but they aren’t.

     Water falls from the sky for free, and government sometimes makes it illegal for us to collect it. We are told “nothing is free”, yet the air we breathe is free.

     Most of the things that cost money, only cost money because they legally have to cost money. We will not die without money; we will die without resources.

     We are told that we need money to buy food; yet 1/3 of all the food in the world is thrown away. Does this sound like scarcity (a situation in which we have less than we need) to you?

     So if we don’t have scarcity, then we have abundance. Resources which are abundant, rather than scarce, do not need to be distributed. Not through government, nor through competition, nor even through economic science, nor even economizing itself. Such resources are simply not necessary to distribute; people should just be able to come and collect them, because there are enough to go around. So why do we need politics and government, and economics, to distribute resources which are abundant and therefore don’t need to be distributed in the first place? Nobody at this university is asking this question or thinking this way.

     And a university which fails to impel you to ask important questions like these, is only doing one thing: It is committing widespread education fraud, whether passively or actively and intentionally.

     And if you come out of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, with bad grades, finding difficulty getting a job, then it is not necessarily solely your fault. It is the fault of your professors, who indoctrinated you with propaganda, and led you to assume things that are simply not true; contributing to your forced dependence upon whomever tells you lies the most confidently.


     Get out while you still can. RUN. And never look back.

     Get a low-stress job. Start reading whatever you want in your spare time. Learn how to do something productive like building a table, for your own sake.

     Invest in yourself, and in your own ethics and integrity; not in this university. I beg of you. You don’t want to be like me; sad and ignored, and begging for help and attention that I know I will never receive.

     Do you want to be a real person, or do you want to be a piece of paper? Do you want to be so smart that people can’t understand you? Do you want to be so smart, that you’ll end up wishing you weren’t so smart that you can’t relate to ordinary people? Do you want to view everything through the lens of politics, such that you can’t relate to any problem in the world except through how people and resources can be controlled? Do you want to fail to become the well-rounded person that this university falsely promises that you will be, when you get enough “breadth and depth” in various topics, through your coursework? Do you want to be – as Ronald Reagan said about Democrats – so smart that the things you think you know, just aren’t so?

     If the answer to all of these is “yes”, then you do belong here, but you also probably need therapy.

     Speaking of which, the school psychologist (if he or she exists) should probably try harder to make him- or herself better-known. During my first month studying here, a young woman jumped off a parking garage and killed herself; possibly because she was homesick, was pressured to attend college, or both. Perhaps she had been sexually assaulted; I don’t know. Either way, psychologists and grief counselors need to make themselves more available – or available at all – to help counsel students after such sad events.

     Additional complaints that I have about this university are that: 1) it didn’t teach me time-management skills, and I still have a problem leaving everything – including this letter – to the last minute; 2) I had nightmares about missing classes and tests for years after graduating; 3) nobody here ever told me that, if I wanted to get into Harvard or Yale law schools, it would help if I knew Latin, Greek, or Hebrew; and 4) this university has failed to produce any politician capable of defeating Joe Biden (who molested a child live on C-SPAN2 on January 6th, 2015) for president.


     Hopefully that will be enough to make my point: these people do not give a fuck about you, nor the facts, nor your feelings. They want your money.

     Your intellectual freedom begins today. Congratulations.


     I have so much more to say, but so little space; and it would be unfair of me to pressure you to read any more of the things I would like to say, because they are things that I may have wrongly been led to assume. As Bruce Lee once said, "A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence."

     As I said, independent thinking cannot be taught, it is certainly not taught here, and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to scam you.

     Please contact me, Joseph W. Kopsick; not if you would like to learn more, but if you would like to challenge yourself to think harder, and think more independently.

 

 

 

 

 

- Joseph W. Kopsick,

University of Wisconsin – Madison,

Graduating Class of 2009


- Private Security Officer with Howe, Security, Inc.

- Highest wages I have ever earned:

$15 per hour, working legally and taxably;

$20 per hour working a “side hustle” doing personal home organizing


 

- Only political job I have ever worked:

$9 an hour, walking door to door asking hard-working people to hand me their money,

for the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution (headed by Ben Manski),

in Madison, Wisconsin,

for one month



-          Based in Waukegan, Illinois

- E-Mail Address: jwkopsick@gmail.com

- Phone Number: 618-751-3229




Originally written on October 23rd, 2023

Edited and Expanded on November 6th and December 28, 2023

Published on December 28th, 2023

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Housing Assistance Agencies Currently Operating in Waukegan, Illinois

Housing Assistance Agencies Currently Operating in Waukegan, Illinois

Alexian Brothers Housing & Health Alliance – The Harbor
- Address: 826 North Ave., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-782-8015

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago
- Address: 671 S. Lewis Ave., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-782-4000

Community Action Partnership of Lake County
- Address: 2424 Washington St., Waukegan
- 847-249-4330

El Puente Latino (food bank, may have housing)
- Address: 2415 Butrick St., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-597-3051

Family First Center of Lake County
- Address: 2504 Washington St., Suite 300G, Waukegan &/or 2408 29th St., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 224-789-7763

Habitat for Humanity – Lake County
- Address: 315 N. M.L.K. Jr. Ave., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-623-1020

Love, Inc. – Lake County
- Address: 339 Lakewood Ave.
- Phone Number: 847-782-8630

House of Peace
- Address: 671 S. Lewis Ave., Waukegan
- 224 430-4977

Mary’s Mission
- Address: 642 S. M.L.K. Jr. Ave. , Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-623-2136

One Hope United – Rebound
- Address: N. Lewis Ave., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-662-0945

P.A.D.S. Lake County – P.A.D.S. Office (homeless outreach service)
- Address: 1800 Grand Ave., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-869-4357

P.A.D.S. Lake County – Waukegan Public Library (homeless outreach service)
- Address: 18 N. County St., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-623-2041

Salvation Army – Waukegan Corps Community Center
- Address: Green Bay Rd, Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-336-1880

Staben House (homeless shelter)
- Address: 3000 Grand Ave., Waukegan &/or 422 South Avenue, Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-244-9944 or 847-244-0805

Waukegan Main Street
- Address: 214 Washington St., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-623-6650

Y.W.C.A. – Lake County
- Address: 1537 S. Waukegan Rd., Waukegan
- Phone Number: 847-662-4247




Might Not Provide Housing (Call to Find Out)

Christian Fellowship Church
- Address: 621 Belvidere St.
- Phone Number: 847-336-1815

Greater Faith Church – Baptist
- Address: 565 Powell Ave.
- Phone Number: 847-244-4400)

Liberty Temple Full Gospel Church
- Address: 711 8th St.
- Phone Number: 847-662-3182)

Mt. Moriah Christian Center
- Address: 524 10th St.
- Phone Number: 847-662-5683

North Point Community Christian Church
- Address: 900 Lewis Ave.
- Phone Number: 847-746-5522

Truth Youth & Family Counseling Services
- Address: 2504 Washington St.
- Phone Number: 224-489-7773

Waukegan Adult Rehabilitation Center
- Address: 431 S. Genesee St.
- Phone Number: 847-662-7730








Written and Published on December 5th, 2023

Food Pantries Currently Operating in Waukegan and Libertyville, Illinois

 FOOD PANTRIES IN WAUKEGAN and LIBERTYVILLE, Illinois



(Times and other information may be subject to change.

Call ahead of time to make sure pantry is still operating,
and operating this week, and find out times,
and whether they require I.D.s or residence in town.

Call United Way, at 211, for more options.)

______________________________________________________________________________

 

MONDAYS

- 10 AM – 1:45 P.M. – C.O.O.L. (Christian Outreach of Lutherans) Food Pantry, 800 W. Glen
            Flora Ave., Waukegan (bring photo ID) (call 847-662-1230 for more info) (Can only get food                  once every 30 days)

 - 10 AM – 2 PM: Food pantry at Umma Center, 841 Grand Ave , Waukegan
            (call 847-336-6136; must go on same day of the week each time you go)
 (bring bags, not boxes)


Monday Through Friday

- Community Action Partnership of Lake County, 1200 Glen Flora Avenue. Must have
            appointment provide ID of everyone over 18 in household, and provide Social Security
            cards of everyone in household. Call 847-249-4330, extension 3324 for more
            information [213 Water St. and 224-412-8945 are not valid contacts]. Open Monday
            through Friday.

- 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM: St. Joseph’s Church
            - 112 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville IL 60048 / 847-362-2073


TUESDAYS

- 10 AM – 1:45 P.M. – C.O.O.L. (Christian Outreach of Lutherans) Food Pantry, 800 W. Glen
            Flora Ave., Waukegan (bring photo ID) (call 847-662-1230 for more info) 
(Can only get food                  once every 30 days)

- 10 AM – Noon: Mt. Moriah Christian Center, 524 10th St.. Call 847-662-5683 for more information.

- 10 AM – 2 PM: Food pantry at Umma Center, 841 Grand Ave., Waukegan
            (call 847-336-6136; must go on same day of the week each time you go)
 (bring bags, not boxes)

- 10 AM – 3 PM, at Libertyville Township Pantry, 359 Merrill Court Libertyville IL 60048 / 847-
            816-5989


WEDNESDAYS


 - 10 AM – 1:45 P.M. – C.O.O.L. (Christian Outreach of Lutherans) Food Pantry, 800 W. Glen
            Flora Ave., Waukegan (bring photo ID) (call 847-662-1230 for more info) 
(Can only get food                  once every 30 days)

- 10 AM – 2 PM: Food pantry at Umma Center, 841 Grand Ave. (location confirmed) (call 847-480-
            
4320; must go on same day of the week each time you go) (bring bags, not boxes)

- 10 AM – 3 PM: UMMA Center, 221 Washington St., Waukegan


THURSDAYS

- 10 AM – Noon: Food pantry at St. Anastasia, 624 Douglas Ave., Waukegan, bring photo ID.
            Call 847-623-5050 for more information.

- 10 AM – 1:45 P.M. – C.O.O.L. (Christian Outreach of Lutherans) Food Pantry, 800 W. Glen
            Flora Ave., Waukegan (bring photo ID) (call 847-662-1230 for more info) (Can only get food                  once every 30 days)

 - 10 AM – 2 PM: Food pantry at Umma Center, 841 Grand Ave., Waukegan
            (call 847-336-6136; must go on same day of the week each time you go)
 (bring bags, not boxes)

- 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM: St. Joseph’s Church
            - 112 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville IL 60048 / 847-362-2073


SATURDAYS


- 8:00 – 9:15 A.M.:
First Presbyterian Church (Mobile Pantry)
            - Saturday each week at 8:00 AM-9:15 AM
            - 219 W. Maple Avenue Libertyville IL 60048 / 847-362-2174 or 847-662-2174
            - Cars will pull into Brainard Parking lot across from church on Douglas St. in
                        Libertyville and check in.

 - 8 AM – 11 AM: HOPE Food Distribution Services
            - St. Lawrence Episcopal Church Community Meal (Soup Kitchen)
            - 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, or every third Saturday of the month
                        (call to find out)
            - Phone: 847-362-2110 or 847-662-7084
            - 125 W. Church St. Libertyville IL 60048

- 10 AM – Noon: Food pantry at Shiloh Baptist Church, 800 S. Genesee St., Waukegan


Day(s) of Week Unknown;
            Entities Possibly Providing Food Pantry Services (Call for More Information)

- Christian Fellowship Church, 621 Belvidere St.. Call 847-336-1815. Food on holidays only.

- El Puente Latino, 2415 North Butrick. Call 847-599-3051 for more information.

- Greater Faith Church – Baptist, 565 Powell Avenue. Call 847-244-4400 for more information.

- Liberty Temple Full Gospel Church, 711 8th St.. Call 847-662-3182 for more information.

- Most Blessed Trinity / Holy Family Parish, 914 8th Street. Call 847-623-2112 for more information.






Download a Better-Organized .PDF File of This Article by Clicking on the Link Below:

     http://drive.google.com/file/d/1B-5HWQ0tGqDxQ6XzGck-5rmdEO8d-RIf/view?usp=drive_link





Based on research gathered throughout 2023.

Completed and published on December 5th, 2023.

Edited and expanded on December 6th and 23rd, 2023,
and January 4th, 2024.

Link to PDF added on January 4th, 2024.