Still Paying Attention

When big news happens over and over, it starts to seem less big, just by comparison. One of these days maybe I’ll cover the whole list of things we weren’t allowed to talk about during the previous administration that we were right about all along. But just one of those “we told you so” things today.

Last week we had a report come out about election integrity issues. The President gave a speech. He did not say the 2020 election was stolen; he said China and other nations had the ability to do it, and there was quite a lot else, but nothing that could tag him as an election denier and therefore dismissible.

Let’s be clear on one thing, though: laws have been broken, and vulnerabilities are extraordinary—so that we have more reason to doubt election integrity than to trust in it.

The main piece is that China had stolen the personal data of some 220 million voter registrations. Note: As of April 2026 there are 204.6 million registered voters. I don’t know if that means China has all records, or all or almost all plus a whole lot of invalid ones. But they shouldn’t have the data required to, say, request a ballot by mail for every voter in America, if they happen to feel like it.

Another piece is that, while our IC (Intelligence Community) knew this in 2020, they purposely withheld the info from the President’s daily intelligence briefings.

To read the full article, FOLLOW LINK TO SUBSTACK.

Acting Locally Against Worldwide Evil

We live in troubled times. If you read Revelation (which I do), you might think, you haven’t seen anything yet. Just wait. But, while we face a mostly non-kinetic war, it is a war nevertheless. It is raging in our country and worldwide. We know how it turns out in the long run; that’s the point of Revelation. But it’s how to live now, and what to expend our energy doing, that is the question—or at least the question I’m looking at today.

This isn’t really a post about election integrity; that is just the story behind the point. So, here we go.

On Monday nights I frequently listen to Catherine Engelbrecht’s podcast on Locals.com (also found a couple of other places). Election integrity has been a big issue of mine since at least 2010. That was when her organization True the Vote started—locally, here in Houston, Texas. This week she told her story of how they got started.

Catherine Engelbrecht on her weekly podcast.
screenshot from here

She and a handful of friends (I don’t know all the names, but I have gotten to know some of them) met at a pub and talked about what they could do to make things better in the community. This was around 2008. One of the first things they decided to do was work an election, something she and others hadn’t done before. Then they got back together and talked about their experiences. Some of them had had a good experience, doing their civic duty, in and around people of different political beliefs, but all trying to do a good job.

But others had a different experience. This was a primary election (so I’m assuming around March 2008, a presidential election year). Our friends were working the Republican polls right next to the Democrat polls. Often such places are separated, placed in different rooms, or maybe different hallways of a school. But sometimes circumstances put them in the same room; I’ve experienced both.

There were a number of people who came in and confided to their Democrat clerk or judge, “I don’t remember who I’m supposed to vote for,” and the Democrat poll worker would tell them. In the open. Clearly illegal.

This would affect the Democrat voters, but not the Republicans, so why worry? Because, if that is what they were doing while they were being watched, who knows what they were doing where they weren’t being watched.

Anyway, by 2010 Engelbrecht and friends had formed True the Vote, a 501(c)3, to recruit and train poll watchers—not workers, but observers. I think it was within their first year, 2010, the first time I was a poll watcher, trained by True the Vote. 

True the Vote flyer, from 2011. Image first used here.

I had previously worked as a clerk at the polls a couple of times. I had also been a delegate to the district and state conventions multiple times by then—in multiple states I had lived in. I had taken my homeschooled kids to the state capitol to do citizen lobbying many times. I had been an active citizen. But clearly the election integrity problems needed to be addressed. They were serious. So I stepped up, with an army of volunteers.

I was a poll watcher for several elections. Then, in 2014 I became a precinct chair and have worked the polls ever since. Typically I have someone else (lately it has been my husband) be the Presiding Judge, and I am a clerk, because I can’t handle the 17-hour day arriving at 5:30 AM to get the polls open at 7:00, so I come in later and stay through take-down and return of equipment and ballots.

Since the Democrats took over Harris County elections in 2018, we have had one disastrous election after another. After their elected county clerk stepped down in 2020 (worries about COVID, she claimed, but there was a lot of suspicion of fraud), the county commissioners court (democrat majority) took elections out of the hands of the elected county clerk and gave it to an appointed elections administrator. The ones they chose were disastrously awful—incompetent to the point of it looking deliberate. As Alan Vera used to say, “Incompetence is the perfect camouflage for malfeasance.” In our 2022 election they failed to provide ballot paper to a number of polling locations—coincidentally in high Republican areas. Ours would have run out of paper along with the many others, but our tech support happened to have an extra couple of boxes in his vehicle, and he gave us one. Without it, we would have run out long before the county elections people delivered another box just an hour before closing. 

The map, built by Russ Long, showing that polls without
enough paper coincided with Republican voting locations. 
Screenshot from here. 

from an HCRP meeting February 13, 2023, showing where voters were
turned away from polling places for lack of ballot paper

The state legislature got rid of the elections administrator for counties of our size (specifically, really, just our county) and returned our elections to the county clerk this year. The clerk is still a Democrat, because we haven’t won a county-wide election since they took over the elections, coincidentally. For this November’s election, we got notified that my husband is assigned as the AJ (alternate judge) at our usual polling location. We have always been the PJ (presiding judge). This privilege is based on who the precinct voted for as governor; my precinct voted for Governor Abbott, the Republican, so we are entitled to be the PJ, which means running the polling location and hiring the workers. The AJ is there to provide oversight from the opposing party, and typically gets to bring along a clerk if we are allowed to hire enough people. This privilege is according to state law, so the County is breaking the law. By depriving us of our entitled PJ status, it means I and the others who regularly run our polls—and we do it better than most, because of our experience—will not get hired. I gather we’re not the only precinct they’ve done this to.

There’s an HCRP (Harris County Republican Party) meeting on Monday; I’m hoping they’re going to deal with this problem, which I and others have reported. Who knows what other fires need to be put out, a mere month before election day.

This is a long way of saying—after a couple of decades of doing my civic duty—and more than a decade of doing a whole lot more than most—our situation is still dire, probably worse than when we started. This is even though we, as the public, are more aware than we have ever been. We can be censored and labeled as domestic terrorists for saying so, however. The Biden administration is pushing for even more censorship of messages they do not approve of.

Engelbrecht was telling her story Monday to get people to see that they don’t need to set out to create a national organization or movement. They just need to act locally. That is what she did. And the Lord led her and others, one step after another, to do more—until they became a target on the national stage in this fight for free and fair elections.

Yes, act locally. Do what you can.

But we are in the midst of the book of Revelation. Do not expect that your efforts will be what it takes to bring back our constitutional republic, as much as we want that.

La Bête de la Mer, a medieval tapestry depicting John the Revelator
seeing the dragon and the sea beast from Rev. 13,
used previously in this post

My purpose in this post today is to encourage—myself and others—to do what we can, regardless. We’re not living in times that allow us to be comfortable. But we also do not live in times where our all-out effort will win the day. The Savior alone will win the day. Our part is to make sure we are fighting the war on His side. We do not want to be on the wrong side, nor can we be on the sidelines, as though we don’t care which side wins.

We’re not talking about political sides here. We are talking about choosing good over evil.

Election illegalities are a small part—with sometimes a large outcome, as we saw in the 2020 presidential election—of the overall war against evil. We’re seeing unprecedented things: the indictment on specious charges of a former president/current presidential candidate. The current office holder shows obvious signs of dementia but is insisting he’s running again, while an impeachment inquiry is open—because of the obvious, large, tangled web of influence peddling, which I would term treason, if I had a say.

The UN just met this past month, attempting to give large and sweeping powers—giving up our sovereignty—to the very World Health Organization that lied and failed us (purposely?) during the COVID pandemic. Who in their right might would think it’s a good idea to give more power to a worldwide entity that has already proven themselves untrustworthy?

These issues are all national or global. We can give our opinions to lawmakers, but that’s about the limit of our power on that level. So, locally is where we can have the biggest impact. And there’s plenty to deal with at the state and local level. Besides election integrity, there’s:

·        Education

·        Parental rights

·        Child trafficking

·        Drug trafficking

·        Border security (in a border state where the federal government has purposely failed us)

·        Crime and punishment

There’s plenty more. Very locally, there’s the school board and the HOA board. I talked about our school board race in my last post. Tonight was a work session of the school board, ahead of Monday’s official public meeting. I tuned into the livestream for a while, but my attention wandered. (This post wasn’t done, for one thing.) Paying the needed attention to school issues could be a full-time endeavor.

Today, while I was walking my dog, I had a conversation with an HOA board member, about the two board races up for election this year. She’s a nice, retired lady, a year into being on the board, willing to hear what neighbors have to say, but also a bit frustrated that more people don’t step up to make things better in our very local community. I live in a “newer” section of the neighborhood, where we’ve been for 24 years. She is in an older section, been there 32 years. While I feel safe walking our streets, even in the dark, she no longer feels that way at her end of the subdivision. There’s a house on her street where they’re pretty sure drug deals are going on. People are wondering if not just drug trafficking, but also human trafficking is happening there. We’ve heard about a lot of catalytic converter thefts in the neighborhood, as well as tire thefts. As the neighborhood ages, more of it turns into rentals, with less upkeep of the property and, unfortunately, more propensity for crime. Homeownership doesn’t always prevent crime, but it’s a signal of more care for the property, and a lot of good goes along with that (which is just one reason the idea that by 2030 you will own nothing is disturbing). There are discussions between the HOA and the MUD (municipal utilities district) about whose money should be used for what projects. Money is involved—our very local money.

But there is only so much a person can give their attention to. The more local, the more it is likely to affect your daily life, so you might want to focus there. But, as Catherine Engelbrecht was suggesting, you probably do need to look around and ask God, “What would you have me do?” Then take a step, connect with others, inform others, work together for the good of the community. If you accomplish something good in your community, it might stave off the influx of evil from a less local source.

In the community circles where I’ve served, I’ve met a lot of really good, committed Christians, giving tirelessly to make things better. They are an example and inspiration to me. I am “not weary in well doing” (Galatians 6:9), but I am often physically weary, facing limitations of age and health. So I have to ask more judiciously what the Lord would have me do. Writing and sharing information here is just one thing, and it’s very small. I’m continuing to participate in various ways when I can, within my limits.

I trust that, while what I do will never be enough to change the world, it makes me a little better. And all of us making ourselves a little better—that will sustain enough good in the world to help us survive until Babylon falls and our Savior reigns.

Our tools of defense during that great fall will be faith, patience, and courage[i]. That is what we are strengthening in ourselves during this time when doing our little part is never enough to bring Babylon down. That will happen. What we’re doing is protecting ourselves from falling with those evil forces.

Simply, look around you and do daily the good the Lord leads you to do.

 

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[i] Richard Draper and Michael D. Rhodes, The Revelation of John the Apostle, © 2016, p. 941. This is an excellent commentary on Revelation, carefully explaining translation from the Greek, done by Brigham Young University professors, with added insight from other Latter-day Saint scriptures and writings. It is nevertheless their opinion and not necessarily the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The book is long and detailed, and I do not understand the Greek, but the commentary is enjoyable to read, and I would appreciate such a commentary on a great many other books of the Bible.

Righteous Warrior

I had planned to sit down and write about something altogether different this Thursday morning. But, first thing, I heard of the death of a friend, Alan Vera. I have written about him frequently. He was the go-to guy on election integrity in the state of Texas, and particularly here in Harris County. I had his number in my phone and called him personally when I had election day questions. (If everybody did that, it’s no wonder HCRP finally got a help line for those issues.)

Alan Vera, speaking at the Cypress Texas Tea Party, November 21, 2022
screenshot from here

Alan passed away this morning, in the state capitol building, just before he was scheduled to testify on several election integrity bills. He was a fixture there during the legislative session. His knowledge and understanding on these matters is unparalleled. People across the state and the nation have been trained and educated by him. He is likely the main reason Texas didn’t allow Dominion voting machines; he showed them to be unreliable. And any good election integrity legislation on the books in Texas likely saw his hand in writing it and getting it passed.

All who knew him are stunned. They had a moment of silence in his honor in today’s hearing.

I have a number of his speeches, long and short, on my phone. I would record him, in case I wanted to quote him later, which I have often done. (See the list of times I’ve written about him below.)

Alan Vera was one of the original founders of True the Vote, along with Catherine Engelbrecht. The first time I met him was when I attended a True the Vote poll watcher training class, and he was my teacher. Hundreds, maybe thousands (I may be vastly underestimating the number), have received poll watcher training from Alan. He stayed with True the Vote until 2014, when he became the Ballot Security committee chair for the Harris County Republican Party. True the Vote is a 501(c)3, which means nonpartisan. He saw that the party needed his particular help more, and he has given that help tirelessly.

There’s a quote that I think fits Alan:

“My life is like my shoes—to be worn out in service.”[i]

I’ve worked with Alan Vera for years on the Senatorial District 7 and Texas platform committees. We didn’t hang out at each other’s houses, but I considered him, along with his wife, Colleen, to be friends. I’ve sat with them at various meetings and candidate forums, and always enjoyed our conversations. I know them to be true righteous warriors.

I will personally miss him. I have followed him on Facebook where it is not all political. He was an Army Ranger, and, as he put it, once you take the oath to protect and defend, you never stop. Almost daily he would put up a quote from Winston Churchill: "We sleep safely because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us," and below that a meme about soldiers doing their work. Here’s one he posted Tuesday.

a post on Alan Vera's Facebook page, Tuesday, May 2, 2023

One of the Vera's foster puppies
from Alan's FB page

Another main feature of his social media was letting us know the progress on their puppy rescue. He and Colleen would foster puppies who would otherwise likely be euthanized. They got them healthy and groomed and somewhat socialized, and then they would see them off on their journeys to be adopted by their “furever families.” He would post photos of them in the process, and about to leave—and on their way and at their new homes when photos got sent to him. We had a dog problem in our neighborhood a few months back; two dogs got loose and attacked our dog. This had happened multiple times recently to other families. We talked to the owner later, and they needed advice on what to do with these dogs. I called Alan, expert on dog rescues as well as election integrity. He gave advice on rescues and who to contact, which I was able to pass along.

This is something he posted last Friday, which seems so appropriate now.

a post passed along on Alan Vera's Facebook page a week ago

He also had a great, and slightly warped, sense of humor. And some of his social media posts showed that side, which was always good for a daily laugh. 

Whenever he had an important talk or training to give, he would ask for our prayers. I would stop what I was doing and pray for him.

The last time he spoke at our Cypress Texas Tea Party meeting, he said something that has stuck with me, and has maybe more meaning now. The words in quotes are his, as I quoted them here: 

“Plan A for election integrity in Texas is that 99% of all adult Texans live their lives according to traditional Judeo-Christian principles.” But the reality is, “Thousands of people across the state have consented to being human agents of powers and principalities of darkness, and are working to undermine the state and this country, which God himself founded.” So his Plan B continues to be: Deterrence, Prevention, and Real-time Intervention.

He was a warrior against those powers and principalities of darkness; he has been doing yeoman’s work here on earth in the fight. The grand story is reaching a climax. We know from scripture how the story turns out. Still, there are battles yet to be waged. Here on earth we will somehow have to continue without him, which feels daunting. But this life here is not the only place where a spiritual battle is waged. I can only assume that, at such a time as this, he was tagged for fighting in the spiritual realm, where such a man as he can be even more effective. After our eventual victory, I look forward to hearing his battle stories of how he helped us win.

 Some of My Posts that Include Wisdom from Alan Vera

·        “Election Debacle Report”—November 21, 2022 

·        “Deterrence, Prevention, and Real-Time Intervention”—July 28, 2022 

·        “Chain-of-Custody Issues"—May 12, 2022” 

·        “When Does Incompetence Become Cover for Intentional Wrongdoing?”—March 7, 2022

·        “Boring Is Good”—November 1, 2011 

·        “Being There”—September 29, 2011 

 

Videos

·        Alan Vera at Cypress Texas Tea Party November 19, 2022 

·        Alan Vera at Cypress Texas Tea Party July 23, 2022 

 

Media Stories Today

·        Harris County GOP Statement on the Passing of Longtime Activist and Ballot Security Chairman Alan Vera—May 4, 2023 

·        “Well Done, Soldier: Remembering Alan Vera” by Erin Anderson for Texas Scorecard, May 4, 2023. 

·        “Longtime Harris County GOP activist Alan Veradies before testifying at Texas Capitol” by Taylor Goldenstein for the Houston Chronicle, May 4, 2023. 

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[i] The quote is from Spencer W. Kimball, former Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as recounted by Gordon B. Hinckley, “He Is at Peace,” Ensign, December 1985, p. 41. 

What a Year This Has Been!

Remember back in 2020 how we kept commenting on how weird things were in the world? People put up memes about apocalypse bingo. We still think of that as a landmark weird year. But we never got fully back to normal. Things just keep reeling out of control.

But what we could say is that 2022 is the year of “I told you so.” Of course we wouldn’t actually say that, because it’s considered bad form. But there are some stories we had absolutely right in 2020 that were marked, banned, and censored as “misinformation,” as though putting out an opinion on social media was a dangerous thing. Then this year, one after another, those stories we knew were true in 2020 but that were squelched are now admitted as true. Here’s a brief list:

·       The Hunter Biden laptop is real—it’s authentic, it shows the corruption of the Biden family—as we first mentioned in 2019, and the laptop verified in 2020, well ahead of the election, if only the public had been allowed to see it. So far no investigations or arrests are underway.

·       The COVID-19 “vaccines” were neither safe nor effective—nor qualified as vaccines. Now even the public is aware of the dangers, particularly to young people, through myocarditis, blood clots, lowered immune function, and more. So far the government continues to fearmonger and pretend we don't know what we know. And, suddenly China is suffering high death rates despite low death rates elsewhere worldwide.

·       Meanwhile, care such as increasing Vitamin D, zinc, and other supplements can be helpful, as can early treatment with formerly widely available and safe drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, if you can get them now. But best of all is natural immunity, which most people now have—with the nonvaccinated benefitting more than the vaccinated. Oh, and masks never did work.

·       Elections in 2020 were corrupt beyond belief. Elections since then, even under closer scrutiny, continue to be corrupt. So far lawsuits are thwarted, and evidence is ignored.

There are plenty of other similar and related stories that we knew all along were true, even though we could be cancelled for saying so.

I wrote fewer posts this year. Most years, writing twice weekly, I would produce around 100 posts. This year I was down to around 60. Some posts were so long, it still added up; my apologies. But schedule changes in my life leave me struggling to get in one day a week dedicated to this blog. However, that means it was a bit easier to look at everything I wrote this year and catalog it into categories, some of which I’ll share today as a summary of the year at the Spherical Model.

I spent a lot of time this year actively involved in good citizenship. I worked at the polls during four elections. I worked on a primary campaign. Then I worked several months straight on district platform and then state platform. About a quarter of this year’s blog posts were related to those local and state political activities; I’m leaving those out of the list below, but they’re still available of course in the archives. 

Some posts cover more than one category. That’s the nature of interrelated ideas. But I do feel like this was a good body of work for such a weird year. The first two categories, Constitution vs. Tyranny and Philosophy and Culture, are related to political philosophy, which is what the Spherical Model is. The others, which also relate to the Spherical Model—because everything political, economic or cultural does—are more topical.

There was good news related to abortion, freeing us from being a total nation under condemnation, although that fight at the state level is now just underway. And there was disturbing news of a war in Ukraine, still ongoing. I have found it confusing from the beginning, because of unreliable news sources, and have mostly stayed out of the discussion. But I have not approved of the many billions of taxpayer dollars spent there, in a corrupt country with known corrupt ties to the Biden family. And this week it was announced that Ukraine President Zelensky is closely tied to the World Economic Forum—the ones who want to collapse the world economy to start over, using a model that allows them to control all the people, in admiration of the China model. I feel bad for the people in Ukraine, as I do any people suffering under corrupt and/or tyrannical leadership.

Election Integrity is a bigger story. So is censorship, with some of the collusion between government and Big Tech coming out in the Twitter files, after the purchase by Elon Musk. “Woke” policies being pushed on our children continues to be a big story.

I think people are waking up to what has been going on. What is not clear is whether waking up and finding themselves in a post-constitutional tyranny allows the suddenly awakened to do anything about their plight. But I do believe that, if good people have their free will taken away, that’s not something God will long tolerate. I hope we are good enough to merit His rescue. As I occasionally repeat, “Hosanna!” which means “come and rescue.”

I hope you’ll enjoy the year-end review.

 

Constitution vs. Tyranny

Howard Chandler Christy's "Scene at the Signing of
the Constitution of the United States"
image found on Wikipedia

·        June 6, 2022: People Really Mean It: No More Tyranny

·        July 21, 2022: Famine by Design

·        August 11, 2022: We Agree; We Don't Want Authoritarian Rule

·        September 5, 2022: The Existential Threat

·        September 12, 2022: Who Should Have the Helm

·        September 15, 2022: Our Miraculous Constitution

·        October 13, 2022: Our Constitutional Republic Has Suddenly Become a Fascist Tyranny

·        October 25, 2022: Public Speaking [video presentation explaining the Spherical Model]

Joe Biden gives anti-Republican speech,
September 2, 2022
image found as screenshot here

 

Philosophy and Culture

·        January 3, 2022: Be It Resolved

·        April 7, 2022: Nihilism Is Not a Life Plan

·        April 14, 2022: All Things Testify of Him

·        July 28, 2022: Changing the World One Job at a Time

·        December 12, 2022: Anticipating the Messiah

 

Election Integrity

·        March 7, 2022: When Does Incompetence Become Cover for Intentional Wrongdoing

illustration of someone mailing multiple ballots,
found in this August 29, 2020, New York Post article

·        May 12, 2022: Chain-of-Custody Issues

·        July 19, 2022: No One Sits at Home on Election Day

·        July 25, 2022: Deterrence, Prevention, and Real-Time Intervention

·        November 11, 2022: We Are at War

·        November 21, 2022: Election Debacle Report

 

Abortion

March for Life 2022
Getty image 

·        January 24, 2022: Maybe This Will Be the Year

·        May 5, 2022: Abomination in Our Nation

·        July 7, 2022: SCOTUS Has Ended Life as We Know It—For the Better

·        August 4, 2022: Pregnancy Resource Centers Aren’t the Ones Faking Care

·        September 29, 2022: Words of the Unwise

 

Censorship and News

image is a screenshot from this Facts Matter video

·        April 29, 2022: Of Course They Want to Control Our Speech

·        May 3, 2022: Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation—and Censorship

·        June 9, 2022: Two Movies You Couldn’t Make Again

·        July 15, 2022: Power Mongering

·        August 8, 2022: Good News among the Bad

·        August 15, 2022: Unprecedented

·        August 25, 2022: Let Me Put You on Hold

·        December 1, 2022: The Threat

 

COVID-19

strange clots found by embalmers
screenshot from here

·        January 10, 2022: So Many Things They Know That Aren’t So [also updates on January 6]

·        January 28, 2022: Charts and Other Info

·        February 3, 2022: Evil Enough for You

·        July 12, 2022: Putting the Pieces Together

·        September 8, 2022: News from the Front Lines

·        December 15, 2022: It’s Over

 

Schools—CRT and LGBTQ Agendas

Matt Walsh speaks with Masai tribesmen to ask them,
"What is a woman?" screenshot from here

·        January 14, 2022: Hearing They Hear Not, Neither Do They Understand

·        January 17, 2022: Oppression Is Evil

·        April 4, 2022: Take the Money and Run—Or Just Run

·        April 18, 2022: Local School-Related Irreconcilable Differences

·        April 21, 2022: Schools Are Not Families

 

War in Ukraine—Geopolitics

map found here

·        March 3, 2022: Fools Rush In

·        March 10, 2022: What’s Going On?

 

Economics and Public Policy

·        August 29, 2022: Stopping Crime

·        October 6, 2022: How Much Is $31 Trillion