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“You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what
I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you
think you could not do before.”
– Rahm Emanuel,
former Mayor Chicago and
former Chief of Staff to the 44th U.S. President Barack H. Obama,
source per BrainyQuote.
Since the COVID19 outbreak, interest in several things have increased. Besides the obvious concern about the disease itself, there has been surge in searches for information on the quotation above by Emanuel. Numerous sources say he was influenced in that thinking by progressive activist Saul Alinsky. The viral pandemic has also sparked curiosity if the coronavirus is a message from God and a call to repentance. Still others wonder what is occurring under the cover of this massive distraction from years of societal norms. Who is benefiting politically, financially or in other ways during this crisis?
For those who don’t use the news aggregator site, the Drudge Report employs a single headline that links to a story someone else in media wrote. For years they have routinely sourced news articles across the left right media divide. Millions including this writer and thousands of others in news – follow Drudge daily. To no surprise, the headlines on that site currently are largely related to the many different kinds of stories playing out in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Using 5 time Emmy award-winning and former CBS News reporter turned independent journalist Sharyl Attkisson’s left-right media tilt guide below, selecting sources on both sides of that illustration is useful in discerning how features in various media outlets are handling reports about COVID19 or other news.
That snapshot sets the stage for understanding the interest in the author of “Rules for Radicals” Saul Alinsky, alongside senior citizen and mobile home owner Millie Francis. The two are opposites in many ways.
Starting with Alinsky, he was a “community organizer” and his tactics, talks and writings – right or wrong – inspired numerous others to follow in his wake. Among them was college student Hillary Rodham before she became the wife of William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton. Barack Hussein Obama was another community organizer for years before he ran for public office. The former president studied the Alinsky model of advocating for minorities and the disadvantaged and using it as a basis for creating a committed voting block for political power.
Not every Alinsky devotee was or is a self-proclaimed disciple of Lucifer. While leftists or progressives have used elements of the Alinsky model for decades, there are also self-described conservatives who have flipped the script and begun using his methods too. The videos posted shed light on aspects of that subject. Per left-or-center Snopes, in the dedication page to Rules for Radicals, Alinsky’s book is dedicated to Lucifer – also known as Satan or “the devil” – as the original radical who gained a kingdom, using the words that follow.
“Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins — or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.”
— SAUL ALINSKY
These were shocking words then and would still be stunning to millions now. The Rules for Radicals have been summarized as follows.
Alinsky’s methods have been discussed, used, and debated across the left-right political and media spectrum for decades. One might say Alinsky used shock tactics, organizing and protesting for specific intents. The activist made his living doing these things.
Earlier in his life, Wikipedia says of the author/activist,
- “Although he had “not personally” encountered “much antisemitism as a child”, Alinsky recalled that “it was so pervasive . . . you just accepted it as a fact of life.” He at times claimed to be Jewish, but at others times to be an agnostic.
- “The scope of influence for Rules for Radicals is a far-reaching one as it is a compilation of the tactics of Alinsky. It has been influential for policymaking and organization for various communities and agency groups, and has influenced politicians and activists educated by Alinsky and the IAF, and other grassroots movements. After Alinsky died in California in 1972, his influence helped spawn other organizations and policy changes.”
- The National Review noted that he had relations “with gangsters, thugs, and the organized-crime syndicates.”
- There are those who assert that Alinsky was a clever con man who merely brushed up his methods and transformed himself into more sophisticated schemes. Conservative author, filmmaker and speaker Dinesh D’Souza noted that “Saul Alinsky confessed that he learned his political tactics from the Mafia.”
With that backdrop, Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals hailed the first radical who earned the biblical “kingdom” of hell.
Alinsky has inspired the political left for decades. But in more recent years, some conservative groups have picked up some of his methods and “Christianized” them.
In contrast to the professional activist Alinsky is the now 86 year old retired Florida resident Millie Francis.
Heaven vs Hell?
A widowed senior citizen lived quietly praying in a pre-HUD Code mobile home in a resident owned cooperative (ROC), the Bradenton Tropical Palms. She became famous by proclaiming her devotion to Jesus Christ and “our Lord’s” mother Mary. In a drama that played out in 2018 through 2019, Francis felt that God had inspired her to have a painting made for the front of her home. Once up, the community’s management insisted that it be removed, and the battle was on.
The video once started is of Millie Francis.
Interest in the mother of Jesus is no longer limited to hundreds of millions of Catholics and Orthodox believers. Mary’s example as a faithful disciple of Jesus has grown among other Christians since the song “Mary Did You Know” became a viral hit, with over 234 million views of the version posted below.
But Francis isn’t an online person, for media content, she listens to the radio or watches TV. While informed, experienced and quick witted, she has little interest in the internet. As the videos above reflect, in 2018, the manger at her community reportedly tried to pressure Francis into removing the image of the Madonna. Francis refused, saying she would die first. The episode drew national attention, getting linked by the ubiquitous Drudge Report and was referred to in regional and national headlines.
The manager of the Bradenton Palms 55 plus community’s name is Janet Nowakowski. Francis contended that Nowakowski lack of faith in God led her to targeting the her painting of Mary.
More about the details of Millie Francis’ conflict in 2018-2019 with her community’s management is told at the link below. In brief, she placed on the front end of her mobile home a professionally painted image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of several reported apparitions of the Madonna over the centuries.
Attorneys engaged by the community’s management threatened legal action. Francis had informal advocates, but no lawyer. After months of battle that played out in the news, prior to legal action, the parties settled the issue. Apparently using a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), the specific terms are not known. But Francis’ painting of our Lady of Guadalupe remains. The complaints and demands against Francis were dropped.
However, per Francis, 6 months ago Nowakowski said “I’m not through with you.”
After Francis heard the story of an elderly man hospitalized by the COVID19 virus gave up his respirator – sacrificing his chance to save someone else’s life – Millie was inspired to pray by her room addition outdoors under her carport.
Just days ago, Francis was given a letter by management again, this time for playing her radio outdoors. Francis told MHLivingNews she was tuned into Relevant Radio, a Catholic network broadcast on a local station. Francis explained that her and sometimes a neighbor listen and pray the rosary. Francis strongly contends that she is being targeted for the exercise of her faith and denied that her radio is loud.
“If there are more rosaries recited than the number of deaths for coronavirus, there will be a miracle,” said Millie Francis, who said she “felt” that message.
Garbage collectors stopped out front of her home recently. They couldn’t hear her radio, but saw Francis raising her rosary up that she was praying. The garbage men reportedly honked their horn and gave the prayer a thumbs up. “They were saluting Our Lady,” with that horn honk, she said.
The blessed Virgin is working, explained Francis. Believers were not at the foot of the cross, but Mary was.
“My heart aches for the people that don’t believe,” stated Francis. “I’m going to keep on with the rosary until they arrest me, and I don’t think they will.”
Francis asserts that Mary wants her message known and has thrown her mantle over America, just as the mother of Jesus did her brothers during World War II. Francis’ five brothers fought in that global conflict, and all of them came home safe. Her brother Vincent Stricker was shot in the chest during the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. He was wearing the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and the cloth scapular stopped the bullet, Francis said.
If anyone wants to say the rosary with Francis, Catholic or not, she invited them to come and join her. “They can all say the rosary with me and get a plenary indulgence recently promised by Pope Francis,” the widower explained. “Pray period. Pray, Jesus you are my Savior.”
“God bless those who don’t believe,” she said, but stressed that “they have to pray.”
What Bradenton Tropical Palms Management Said
When this writer asked Janet Nowokoski about it the controversy by phone, after identifying myself as manufactured home industry news media the manager said, “I have nothing to say to you,” and promptly hung up. That call occurred with Nowakowski in Francis’s mobile home. Per Francis, the manager held up her smart phone and told her that everything she was saying was being recorded. Nowakowski left.
MHLivingNews contacted the community’s attorneys and Nowakowski and a local reporter by email.
Reporter Mark Young had previously covered the story for the Bradenton Herald, which had gained fame by being spotlighted by Drudge. Our publication’s message and inquiry, which questioned the constitutionality of Nowakowski’s purported attempt to stop Francis from the practice of her faith. Young promptly hit reply all, and wrote the following.
“I would be interested to know if the complainant is the same neighbor that routinely harasses Mrs. Francis on other issues? And what management is doing about that neighbor? Are there rules in place governing neighbor vs. neighbor harassment? Has anyone bothered to take a decibel reading with a certified machine to determine if there is a violation and what exactly are park rules when it comes to noise? Are they routinely enforced? Is there documentation? “The Community” Sent a letter to Mrs. Francis? Who signed the letter? Who is directly responsible for the complaint?”
Mark Young
Urban Affairs Reporter
Bradenton Herald
There has been no responses to our emailed follow ups to the attorney or Bradenton Tropical Palm’s manager. MHLivingNews will monitor the developments, as Francis is a senior in her mid-80s with a heart condition.
As the COVID19 pandemic spreads across Florida, the other 49 states and some 190 nations and territories around the earth, for whatever reasons, Nowakowski seemingly opted to ignore other possible issues in that same community, and focused on Francis’ outdoor prayers instead. Was it faith that Nowakowski was rebelling against? Was she using the distracting crisis of the coronavirus pandemic as cover for her targeting Francis’ outdoor prayer on her own mobile homes lot?
Lessons Learned?
The struggle between good and evil play out in all lives.
Biblically, the forces of heaven and hell have collided since the dawn of humanity as described in the book of Genesis.
There are those around the world who believe that this pandemic is a social chastisement. In Argentina, reports Drudge, there was a photo taken of a fuzzy image that appears to by the image of the Madonna. That picture has spread around the world, as the example of the report in the U.K. Daily Mail is shown below.
In other parts of the world, locust swarms, bats dying, or events considered to be possible signs of biblical chastisements occurring.
COVID19 reportedly targets the elderly and those with underlying health conditions more than the young. The Trump Administration’s 15 days to stop the spread specifically cites that and more in the points below.
Someone like Francis is per those Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines more at risk. To protect the greatest possible numbers of those over 60 – to save our seniors from a premature death – millions are turning to prayer. Francis’ faith is different than others, but she enjoys the same constitutional protections as those who practice other creeds do.
“SOS” is a Morse code distress signal associated with phrases such as “Save Our Souls” and “Save Our Ship.” There are radicals across the political, religious and economic spectrums. Some are using the pandemic to pray, while others are pushing a different agenda. It is a recurring theme of the drama that has been going on for thousands of years. It isn’t only Saul Alinsky or Millie Francis playing their roles. The case can be made that at various points of our lives, each soul picks sides in that back and forth struggle of good vs. evil. During this global pandemic, isn’t it possible that more might think of Francis’ solution of prayer? “We Provide, You Decide.” © (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, lifestyle news, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.)
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By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHLivingNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
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