Secret Numbers and Royal Betrayal: Queen Henrietta Maria’s Coded Letters to King Charles I in 1642

 

 From The Writing Desk:

How a queen’s secret correspondence helped sustain the Royalist cause as England descended into civil war.

One of the challenges in writing about the English Civil War is the number of ‘rabbit holes’ to distract me. One example is exploring the wealth of secret correspondence between the king and queen. 

In the summer of 1642, England faced catastrophe. King Charles I and Parliament reached an impasse, armies gathered, and Queen Henrietta Maria was in The Hague, working to raise money and secure the weapons her husband desperately needed. The problem was a letter could be intercepted, its contents exposed, and the information used against the Crown.

Henrietta Maria and Charles relied on secret codes or ‘ciphers’. Their letters were more than messages between husband and wife. They were full of information about money, military supplies, diplomatic negotiations and people whose loyalties might determine the outcome of the coming war.

As part of my research into this I bought a copy of the original letters from Queen Henrietta Maria to Charles I, including correspondence written in ciphers. These letters provide a fascinating glimpse into a secret world, hidden behind an apparently meaningless string of numbers. (Read more.)

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Strengthening Social Security for Future Generations

 From Stone Cold Truth:

For years, certain free-market conservatives have dismissed Social Security as a bankrupt, compulsory government Ponzi scheme. They pointed to demographics, political raiding of the trust funds, and a worker-to-beneficiary ratio that has collapsed from over 40-to-1 in the early decades to under 3-to-1 today. The actuarial math looked grim enough that those critics appeared headed for vindication.

Trustees reports have long projected the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund’s exhaustion in the early 2030s. After that point, incoming payroll taxes would cover only about 78 percent of scheduled benefits. That trajectory has shifted under President Trump.

Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano, a trustee of the system, has stated plainly that the program “will be around for another 90 years.”

“This is a long journey. It’s 90 years old, and it’ll be around for another 90 years,” he said. “The president has promised to protect and preserve and that’s what we’re doing.”

The change rests on concrete actions. These include stronger anti-fraud measures, tax relief for seniors, and—most fundamentally—a growing economy that generates the revenue any safety net requires.

President Trump eliminated federal income taxes on Social Security for the vast majority of beneficiaries through the One Big Beautiful Bill. This delivered the largest tax break for seniors in history and fulfilled a core campaign promise. Roughly 88 to 90 percent of recipients will now pay no federal tax on their benefits, keeping more of what they earned through decades of work. This is not merely relief. It reinforces the program’s legitimacy as a return on contributions rather than a pure transfer. (Read more.)

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The Cultural History of ‘The Addams Family’

 From 2019 in Smithsonian:

In the summer of 1938, a determined salesman dropped in on a haunted mansion to peddle his “vibrationless, noiseless” vacuum doubling as both a “great time and a back saver” that “no well-appointed home should without.” It was a single-panel cartoon on page nine of The New Yorker fetching the author a tidy $85 sum. It introduced the world to an unnamed brood that will, once again, be returning to the big screen on Friday.

Mysterious and spooky and all together ooky, the Addams Family is back, this time as an animated big screen version to deliver Halloween frights for young fans meeting them anew and for old-timers who remember the original cartoons hatched in the twisted mind of artist Charles Addams. Throughout their various iterations, the family has cemented itself in the mausoleum of pop horror culture history, which to some degree is strange within itself. Unlike Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, or any of the machete-wielding madmen at the multiplex, the Addamses have been both surprisingly difficult to forget but equally challenging to bring back to life. How exactly did they find themselves in this kooky situation? Let’s fire up the Packard V-12 hearse and take a spin down Memory (0001 Cemetery) Lane...(Read more.)

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Rosary of Marie-Antoinette

 From NCR:

Marie Antoinette had given the rosary to an Irish missionary priest, Father Henry Essex Edgeworth, otherwise known as Abbé Edgeworth, who was then chaplain to her husband, King Louis XVI. When the king was guillotined in January 1793, Abbé Edgeworth fled to England for safety and took refuge at the home of the Earl of Shrewsbury. Abbé Edgeworth eventually returned to France to continue his missionary work and left the rosary with the Shrewsbury family. It was then handed down through the generations, eventually ending up with Mary Fortescue-Turville, a previous owner of Bosworth Hall who died at the property in 1906. The rosary, one of several Marie Antoinette is thought to have given away, was then kept at the hall and has remained there ever since. (Read more.)

Marie-Antoinette receiving Holy Communion in prison

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Lawsuit Against Amendment #1 Moves Forward

 From Virginia Medical Freedom Alliance:

Victoria Cobb published on October 26, 2026

“Late last week, our case challenging the legality of the proposed Abortion Amendment just got a big boost. The Tazewell Circuit Court denied the Commonwealth’s motions that sought to prevent our hearing from going forward the week after the election if the Abortion Amendment passes. Now, our FFLC attorneys will be in court on November 13 fighting this Amendment.

Please be in prayer for our legal team, and consider giving to help fund our lawsuit!

On behalf of our clients, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Virginia Medical Freedom Alliance, and Meagan Kade, FFLC is asking the court for a preliminary injunction to prevent the certification of the election results. Our lawsuit alleges that the proposed amendment is procedurally defective and that the question posed to voters on the ballot is deceptive. (Learn more about the case here.) The hearing will be presided over by Judge Hurley, who made headlines earlier this year after he ruled that the redistricting amendment was unconstitutional on similar grounds.

According to Josh Hetzler, Executive Director of FFLC, “We are excited for the opportunity to get into court right after the election, if necessary. Not only would this proposed abortion amendment be a disaster for policy reasons, but it would also undermine trust in our democratic processes because of the flawed and deceptive means by which it will have passed. We cannot allow that to happen.”

And in other news, last week our legal team also filed a lawsuit in Prince William County Circuit Court challenging – on the identical procedural grounds – the lawfulness of the proposed state constitutional amendment that seeks to redefine marriage and insert gender ideology language, which is also set to be decided on the November 3 election. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Pastor Ben Purves.

You can learn more about this case on our website here.

These are exciting and trying times in our Commonwealth. Thank you for supporting us as we fight for life and marriage on your behalf!”

This is important information as we continue the fight for freedom in Virginia.

The election is next week. Tuesday, November 3rd, the polls open at 6 am and close at 7 pm. Please vote on election day and encourage your friends and neighbors to vote. (Read more.)

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The True Origins of Halloween

From The Crossroads Initiative:

We’ve all heard the allegations. Halloween is a pagan rite dating back to some pre-Christian festival among the Celtic Druids that escaped Church suppression. Even today modern pagans and witches continue to celebrate this ancient festival. If you let your kids go trick-or-treating, they will be worshiping the devil and pagan gods.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The origins of Halloween are, in fact, very Christian and rather American. Halloween falls on October 31 because of a pope, and its observances are the result of medieval Catholic piety.

It’s true that the ancient Celts of Ireland and Britain celebrated a minor festival on Oct. 31 — as they did on the last day of most other months of the year. However, Halloween falls on the last day of October because the Feast of All Saints or “All Hallows” falls on Nov. 1. The feast in honor of all the saints in heaven used to be celebrated on May 13, but Pope Gregory III (d. 741) moved it to Nov. 1, the dedication day of All Saints Chapel in St. Peter’s at Rome. Later, in the 840s, Pope Gregory IV commanded that All Saints be observed everywhere. And so the holy day spread to Ireland. The day before was the feast’s evening vigil, “All Hallows Even” or “Hallowe’en.” In those days, Halloween didn’t have any special significance for Christians or for long-dead Celtic pagans. (Read more.)

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King James VI’s Witch Trials: Heresy They Say?

 

From Discover Britain:

“The Scottish state and church wanted Scotland to be a very Godly society and so were zealous in cracking down on ‘sin’ of all kinds,” says Yeoman, “and accused witches were one of many categories of ‘sinner’.” Following the creation of the Reformation Parliament in 1560, The Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563 was passed, outlawing both the practice of witchcraft and the consulting of witches.

Into the mix, we have King James VI, who succeeded to the Scottish throne at just 13 months old, following the forced abdication of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. Baptised Catholic, but raised by regents as a Protestant, he ruled Scotland from 1567 and, after the death of Elizabeth I and the Union of the Crowns in 1603, England and Ireland as well. Among the controversies of his reign, one of his most enduring legacies was his fascination with witchcraft.

While belief in the existence of magic was common, James is remembered for his active involvement in the persecution of witches, something that, as a monarch, Goodare says, was “unusual but not unique.” Yeoman adds that for James, “it seems to have been about facing down what he saw as ‘un-Godly’ threats to his throne and dynasty and showing that he was the Lord’s anointed doing God’s work.”

Although not the worst of Scotland’s witch hunts, the North Berwick Witch Trials of 1590-91 were personal for James and marked an escalation. In 1590, the fleet carrying his bride-to-be, Anne of Denmark, across the North Sea had to turn back owing to a dangerous storm. James then set out to collect her and on their return voyage, hit another storm. This, he believed, was the work of spell-casting witches and invigorated his desire to expunge un-Godly threats to his rule while feeding public anxieties. (Read more.)

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Doomsday Bunkers?

Interesting. From Tierney's Real News:

Here is the short version of what my earlier reports established, so you don’t have to start from zero:

- Iran has already demonstrated ballistic missiles with ranges that can reach U.S. bases, Europe, and the U.S. East Coast. The next step is mating nuclear warheads to them. They have proven the delivery capability. Pretending they would never use it is the delusion.

- Iran’s leadership is driven by Twelver Shia eschatology. This is not ordinary great-power competition. Key elements of the regime view the destruction of the current world order (and the conditions that bring the return of the Mahdi) as a religious duty, not a last resort.

- The White House ballroom project is not primarily a party venue. It is a hardened military complex: multi-story underground facilities, drone-proof and missile-resistant construction, military hospital, secure command spaces, biodefense systems, and rooftop drone/air-defense capacity. Court filings and official statements have described it as essential for continuity of government and presidential protection against nuclear, missile, and drone threats. (Read more.)

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Dressing for Unpredictable Weather

 From Léonce:

1. Never Underestimate the Importance of a Good Umbrella

I realise an umbrella is hardly the most exciting place to begin a fashion conversation. But anyone who has spent an autumn in Amsterdam will understand. There is nothing quite like having your umbrella turn itself inside out in the middle of a downpour, preferably just as you’re crossing a busy street. I’ve come to believe that a good, wind-resistant umbrella is one of those rather unexciting purchases you’re eventually very grateful to have made.

2. Dress in Layers, but Don’t Overdo It

The difficulty with dressing for chilly, unpredictable weather is that the temperature outside rarely has much in common with the temperature inside. I’ve found that several lighter layers are generally much easier to live with than one particularly heavy one. A fine merino wool sweater, a cotton shirt, or a lovely cardigan worn beneath a jacket or coat allows you to adjust without too much fuss. I also tend to prefer natural fabrics that feel comfortable against the skin and are easy to layer without becoming too warm indoors.

3. Suede Is a Beautiful, Rather Impractical Love Affair

I have a particular weakness for suede. Shoes, bags, jackets, there is something about the softness of the material that makes almost everything look a little more beautiful. Unfortunately, I also happen to live in Amsterdam, where autumn and rain are practically inseparable. You would think that, after a few years here, I might have learned to stop buying suede. I haven’t. I still find myself admiring a beautiful chocolate-brown suede jacket or a pair of suede ankle boots, conveniently forgetting that there may be very few days when I can actually wear them. (Read more.)

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