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Dear Friend,
I am reaching out to you today because I need your immediate help to fight against a dangerous and deeply disturbing mockery of religion that is targeting the unborn.
The Satanic Temple in New Mexico claims its aborting babies are "religious ceremonies," thus exempting them from any state or federal restriction. Already, They are planning to expand their facilities through multiple States in a calculated attempt to circumvent restrictions on abortion.
Modern day child sacrifice. But with your help we can put a stop to it.
This is not just an attack on the unborn, but also an affront to religious freedom, a gross exploitation of the US Constitution, and a twisted anti-life experiment. We cannot allow this desecration of human life to continue.
My name is Ignacio Arsuaga, and when I founded CitizenGO, I was determined to stop the worldwide tide of Radical Leftism I saw targeting my children.
Now, CitizenGO represents millions of members and supporters fighting back against the radical anti-family and pro-abortion ideology that has swept through our culture, targeting scared and vulnerable women.
Will you join with millions of pro-life Citizens to defend unborn children from the Radical Left?
Satanism has long ties to child sacrifice, which is why abortion fits their agenda perfectly.
Now, in light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Satanic Temple hopes to expand its depraved operations to foster free abortion and provide abortion drugs by mail to those who wish to perform The Satanic Temple's religious abortion ritual.
There has been a recent uptick of satanic news and activity, as they have erected demonic statues in big cities like New York supporting abortion and recently partied at their so-called SatanCon 2023 at a swanky Boston Marriott.
By signing this petition, you will be joining thousands of others in sending a clear message to elected officials, starting with New Mexico's governor Michelle Grisham, that we will not stand idly by while the Satanic Temple and anyone who would support their cause make a mockery of our values and beliefs.
Governor Grisham is especially vulnerable to grass-roots pressure as she has national ambition, perhaps even to be President or Vice President.
We will fight back against this assault on life and religious freedom, and we will be victorious.
But we cannot do it without your support … starting with your signed petition.
By recruiting more supporters, our petitions will make a bigger impact in the fight against abortion.
Once you have signed, I ask that you make a contribution of $10 or $25 to CitizenGO, or perhaps an even more generous gift of $50 or $100, to help expand our recruitment to fight The Satanic Temple nationwide and keep them from spreading their disgusting facilities any further.
Thank you for standing up for life and religious freedom.
CitizenGO is a community of active citizens that works to ensure that human life, the family and our freedoms are respected worldwide. CitizenGO members live in every nation of the world. Our team is spread across 16 countries on 5 continents and operates in 12 languages. Learn about CitizenGO here or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
LA neighborhood under quarantine amid invasive fruit fly infestation
LI COHEN
Dozens of miles of a Los Angeles County neighborhood are under quarantine after an invasive species was found flying through the area. It's the first ever quarantine caused by the species, the Tau fruit fly, in the Western hemisphere, state officials said.
The lockdown covers 79 square miles of the Stevenson Ranch area near Santa Clarita. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, more than 20 Tau fruit flies were discovered in the area.
"The fly is native to Asia and is a serious pest for agriculture and natural resources, with a very wide host range, including numerous fruits and vegetables as well as a select range of native plants in California," the department said in a press release. "It's believed the fly was introduced by travelers bringing uninspected produce into the state — a common pathway for invasive species."
A Los Angeles neighborhood has been placed under quarantine after the invasive adult Tau fruit fly was detected. / Credit: California Department of Food and Agriculture
Those living in the area have been urged not to transport fruits and vegetables from their property, as female flies will lay eggs under the skin of fruits – with more than 400 eggs at a time. The eggs will typically hatch in just a couple days, and within a week, larvae will tunnel through the fruit, eating as it goes and shedding its skin twice. Among the produce potentially impacted are melons, okras, peppers, papayas, citrus, cucumbers, pumpkins, avocados, tomatoes and gourds.
If no presence of the flies is detected on the produce, they can still be consumed or processed where they were picked. If not consumed, officials said they should be double bagged and placed in a garbage bin.
This map shows the quarantine boundary of a Los Angeles neighborhood after invasive Tau fruit flies were discovered. / Credit: California Department of Food and Agriculture
Adult Tau flies are tiny – roughly 7 millimeters in length – with yellow bodies and black markings. According to the state, they have clear wings with a dark stripe along their front that ends in a dark spot, and another stripe that's about half as long and runs diagonal from the fly's wing base. Tau fly eggs are white, about a millimeter long and about 4 millimeters wide.
While this is the first time the insects have caused a quarantine in California, it isn't the first time they've been found in the state.
The state's Department of Food and Agriculture says that they were discovered in San Bernardino County in 2016. Since then, they have been found and "successfully eradicated" three separate times.
Summer of Smoke: Inside Canada's hub of operations battling wildfires
JONAH KAPLAN
WINNIPEG, MB, CANADA -- The country known as "The Great White North" is also known for being green, as Canada is home to nearly 10% of the world's forests.
Those same forests, however, are now the fuel to what is perhaps the most intense wildfire season in the nation's history, if not the most significant wildfire crisis around the globe. More than 5,000 fires have raged since May across Canada, tearing through at least 29 million acres of land – and counting.
Tens of thousands of Canadians have been displaced from their homes because of the flames, while the mountainous plumes of smoke continue to pollute large swaths of North America, including Minnesota and Wisconsin.
WCCO News travels to Canada
To help bring answers to what's happening – and why – WCCO News traveled to Canada to spend several days north of the border and was among the very first American news operations to get inside access to firefighting operations.
"Typically we deal with five to 10 to 25 to 50 new fires a day," Ontario Wildfire Officer Chris Marchand explained to WCCO News. "That's the grind of the summer fire season, to knock those fires off the list and to respond to the new ones that come up."
Indeed, every Canadian province and territory has been affected, from Newfoundland in the east to British Columbia in the west to the prairies in between.
"I was born and raised in Alberta, and I have been here for most of my life. I have to say we haven't seen a season like this," Alberta Wildlife Officer Christie Tucker lamented to WCCO News. "Our last record for area burned was set 40 years ago, and we've broken that already and it's not even the end of the season yet."
Mike Westwick, Northwest Territories Wildfire officer, said the province has ordered more evacuations this year than it had for decades.
"This is a really severe fire season," Westwick said.
In Quebec, Deborah Beard is one of the more than 2,000 American firefighters who have crossed the border to join the lifesaving effort.
"We've been told that these are fires they have not had even recorded in anybody's lifetime. It's historically dry for them," Beard said. "It is nothing but a contiguous forest of fuel."
/ Credit: WCCO
Inside CIFFC: "You work with where you can be successful"
WCCO News worked with multiple government ministries, in addition to the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. According to officials, all firefighting operations are led by each province and territory, including strategizing how, where and when to direct resources to specific fires within their provincial lines.
Established in 1982, CIFFC is a federally-supported not-for-profit organization whose specific mandate is to "improve Canadian wildland fire management," and it's a mission now that has perhaps as much urgency as any time in its history.
"We're active everywhere, and all agencies are actively involved in suppressing fires in their own backyards," Dave Bokovay, CIFFC director of operations, told WCCO News. "We've reached out to right around the globe. We have firefighters and representatives on the ground from almost all continents except Antarctica. We've all got all continents providing resources to help support the situation."
The office itself is underwhelming, located in a Winnipeg strip mall only minutes from the city's airport.
"I hope this is not the new normal. I think we have to be prepared for these seasons in the future and that we may see more of this significant activity in the future," Bokovay said.
In addition to an operations room, there are several makeshift offices inside the complex, many of which are adorned with flags of the 12 nations that have provided both firefighters and firefighting apparatus to Canada.
"We did bring Chile in, we brought Portugal, Spain, Korea, Brazil. All brand-new countries that we have not had a pre-established relationship, and made interim plans to bring those folks in," Bokovay said. "Our longest relationship is with the United States. We've had an agreement with the U.S. since 1982 and we've exchanged resources either from the U.S. to Canada or from Canada to the U.S. or both every year except for three since 1982. Our biggest collaborator has been the United States."
As to how those resources are allocated, Bokovay said each province makes a request to CIFFC, which then coordinates that request with the corresponding country.
"We're planning for a marathon versus a sprint, and I think that's the way we've had to look at it the last couple of months," he said. "This is what we do. Our challenge is to support our fire management agencies and provide them with as many resources as we can possibly find. We find it a challenge, but we find it rewarding when we're able to do that."
And they'll have to do it without ever knowing when this will end.
Leprosy could be endemic in Central Florida, CDC says. Here's what to know.
SARA MONIUSZKO
Updated
Leprosy — also known as Hansen's disease — is becoming endemic in the southeastern United States, rising evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
A recently published research letter from the CDC says Central Florida accounted for 81% of cases reported in Florida and almost one-fifth of cases reported across the U.S. According to the National Hansen's Disease Program, 159 new cases were reported in the U.S. in 2020.
"Leprosy has been historically uncommon in the United States; incidence peaked around 1983, and a drastic reduction in the annual number of documented cases occurred from the 1980s through 2000," the letter's authors wrote. "However, since then, reports demonstrate a gradual increase in the incidence of leprosy in the United States. The number of reported cases has more than doubled in the southeastern states over the last decade."
This isn't the first time we've seen Florida make headlines for leprosy cases. In 2015, experts blamed armadillos, which are common in the state and can carry the diseasae, for spreading infections.
Here's what to know about the disease amid new numbers:
What is leprosy?
Leprosy, now known as Hansen's disease, is an age-old bacterial disease that affects the skin and nerves.
It occurs when bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae attacks the nerves, which can become swollen under the skin.
Leprosy is a bacterial disease that attacks the skin and nerves / Credit: / Getty Images
"This can cause the affected areas to lose the ability to sense touch and pain, which can lead to injuries, like cuts and burns. Usually, the affected skin changes color," the CDC's website explains. In advanced cases, people can become disfigured and lose fingers and toes to the disease.
Long feared as a highly contagious, devastating condition — and the subject of biblical stories depicting it as a curse from God — knowledge around leprosy has grown and we now know it's treatable.
Still, stigma around the disease remains.
"Those suffering from it are isolated and discriminated against in many places where the disease is seen," the CDC notes.
The World Health Organization says more than 200,000 new cases are reported every year in more than 120 countries, with the largest numbers in Brazil, India and Indonesia. In the United States, about 150 people get infected annually, according to the CDC.
What causes leprosy?
Leprosy is typically spread through extended close contact with an untreated infected person.
Casual contact does not lead to infection — you can't catch leprosy from shaking hands, hugging or sitting next to someone during a meal or on the bus, the CDC states.
"It is not known exactly how Hansen's disease spreads between people. Scientists currently think it may happen when a person with Hansen's disease coughs or sneezes, and a healthy person breathes in the droplets containing the bacteria," the organization's website reads. "Prolonged, close contact with someone with untreated leprosy over many months is needed to catch the disease."
Fortunately, about 90% of people "tend to be naturally immune," Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious diseases specialist at Florida International University, told CBS Miami.
"It's only about 10% of people who can get leprosy, and it's a whole spectrum of how the disease may manifest," she said.
She also said there are several reasons cases appear to be on the rise.
"The problem here in the United States is partly people with leprosy coming here from other places," Marty said. She also pointed to the role of the armadillos.
"The problem is the armadillos that acquired leprosy many, may years ago back when we had a leprosy colony in Carville, Louisiana, and those armadillos have slowly moved — well, they've spread all over Texas and Louisiana, and then they've come over to Central Florida, so we're seeing cases there as well."
Leprosy symptoms
It takes time to develop signs of the disease due to the slow-growing nature of the bacteria. The CDC says symptoms of leprosy to the skin include:
Discolored skin patchesSkin growthsThick, stiff or dry skinPainless ulcers on the soles of feetPainless swelling or lumps on the face or earlobesLoss of eyebrows or eyelashes
Symptoms to the nerves include:
Numbness of affected areas of the skinMuscle weakness or paralysisEnlarged nervesEye problems that may lead to blindness
If left untreated, advcanced signs may develop, including:
Paralysis and crippling of hands and feetShortening of toes and fingers due to reabsorptionUlcers on the bottoms of the feetBlindnessNose disfigurementIs there a treatment for leprosy?
Hansen's disease can be treated with a combination of typically two to three antibiotics.
"Treatment usually lasts between one to two years," the CDC says. "The illness can be cured if treatment is completed as prescribed."
Early diagnosis is also key, since treatment can cure the disease and prevent it from getting worse, but treatment does not reverse nerve damage that may have already occurred, the organization notes.
Father, May the Holy Spirit help us, lead us, empower us, enable us, prompt us, comfort us, counsel us and enrich our lives each moment of the day in Christ! AMEN!
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know I am a sinner. I pray that you will forgive me for all of my sins, that you will come into my heart and be my Lord, the savior of my life. I confess that you died on the cross to save me from my sins and I am committed to turning away from those sins. I ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I can be born again. I ask that you give me the strength and abundant faith to overcome any and all attacks by the enemy, including my desire to sin so that I may serve you completely. I pray that you will give me discernment so that I may know all things that are truth, and the knowledge acquired from reading your Word. Use me this day as I am a willing vessel Lord, in leading others to your kingdom. Wash me as white as snow. Put a hedge of protection around me as I go forth in doing your will. Thank you Jesus for saving me, as I know that only through my faith in you that all this is possible. Amen
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