z1d Tools of Engagement

Originally published Feb 27, 2026 for our weekly Issue of Mindful Intelligence Advisor.  Subscribe to get weekly issues. A. A…

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Originally published Nov 26, 2025 for our weekly Issue of Mindful Intelligence Advisor.  Subscribe to get weekly issues.

A. THE DNC IS NOT DEAD YET

1. THE NEED FOR SELF-CONTROL – In our previous issue, we covered the victory of the Democrat Party in the 2025 election. Here, Paul Gordon Collier gives us what might be the essential takeaway of that result from a self-stewarded perspective:

Esther faced death to enter the King’s court unsolicited, but fortunately for her the King, Ahasuerus, welcomed her, leading to her turning the tables on the man who plotted to kill her people, Haman (who hung on a gallows he had built for her Uncle).

So here we are, ready to be good stewards of whatever nation God calls us into, through exile or liberation, whichever it might be. Do all we can, without violence, to stop the progressive nation from conquering us from within but accept their role as an instrument of God’s judgment, should they be victorious.

And yes, risk death, but don’t take it, like Esther did, until they had civic authority to do so (which she did through the King’s edicts he declared for her).

Scripture tells us in multiple places how essential self-control is to any person:

“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” – Proverbs 16:32

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” – Proverbs 25:28

2. HOW TO GAIN SELF-CONTROL – Here are resources to get you started on the path of gaining self-control over your unrighteous anger, should this be an issue for you. In these times, it is tempting for us all to fall down the path of un-redemptive, hopeless anger.

• Control anger before it controls you – American Psychological Association
• Anger Management: 10 tips to tame your temper – Mayo Clinic
• Anger Management – Cleveland Clinic

B. READING PLENUM TEA LEAVES

1. CHINA’S BUSINESS MODEL – China shows us that dependence on large-scale nation-states for sustainably flourishing products and services could be a futile effort. But today, we have resources that empower individuals and small-scall associations to increasingly provide higher quality, sustainably flourishing products and services. Here, Michael Cessna shows how government policy is all-but crippling the world’s manufacturer, China:

Xi’s commitment to 4% annual growth through 2035 faces structural headwinds that no amount of political will can overcome. China’s working-age population is shrinking by roughly 5 million people per year. Local government debt exceeds 60 trillion yuan (approximately US$8.4 trillion).

The property sector – which drove Mainland Chinese growth for two decades – has collapsed. And Xi’s emphasis on “self-reliance” means cutting China off from the very technological exchange that fueled its previous rise…that also undermines his vaunted “Belt and Road Initiative”.

When authoritarian regimes face this combination of slowing growth and disappointed expectations, they historically reach for the nationalist playbook. A Taiwan adventure offers Xi a way to rally domestic support, distract from economic failure, and fulfill his “great rejuvenation” promises (rather like Leopoldo Galtieri in 1982) – all while the window of American distraction or weakness might be open.

2. SELF-STEWARDED BUSINESS MODEL – Prepare our lives, especially our immediate communities, for the potential necessity of being, at the very least, self-sustaining, for uncertain times where resource re-supply might be disrupted now and again.

Here are some resources to help you learn the principles of business, of manufacturing business, and 3D printing. The development of 3d manufacturing has the potential to be the chief source for local manufacturing sustainable flourishing in the very near future.

• 10 steps to start your business – SBA
• How to Start a Manufacturing Business: Essential Steps for Success – Small Biz Trends
• How to Start a 3D Printing Business (With Checklist) – Step by Step Business
• How to Start a 3D Printing Business: Guide (2025) – Shopify

C. DETAINING THE DONKEY – CONCLUSION

In the conclusion of our Detaining the Donkey series, Paul Gordon Collier claims there are two nations in this land, Progmerica and America, and they are entangled with one another so that a clean divorce is likely not possible. Collier proposes a long-term strategy to defeat the DNC through education and news dissemination:

We are moving past the point of making the case to detain the donkey. At this point, if I’ve done my job, you’re with me, you realize the donkey must be detained. But how does one detain an enemy that is so integral, so enmeshed with our own? And furthermore, does the Trump administration recognize the DNC as being an insurrectionist party representing America’s enemy, Progmerica?

… My ability to destroy the DNC’s information terrorist machine, their corporate media producers, is not within my capacity, so I must strengthen alternative media to the point where they too have a corporate media presence that captures at least half the country.

Based on the facts on the ground, I would seek to encourage Americanists of means to buy interest in these corporate outlets. Where sales are being made, I would do whatever I can as President to encourage Americanists to buy those properties. If we can’t prosecute them, maybe we can buy them out.

The long-term stronghold of the DNC is education. Here, with more information, I am sure I can find flaws in how Trump is attempting to eliminate DNC power in education, but mostly I agree with how he’s used his power to at least make it more difficult for the Progmericans to indoctrinate our children with a systemic hatred of Americanism, Christ, and, for some reason, white people.

Read the full report on pg. 2.

1. BE THE NEWSWATCHER – If you have the capacity and resources, and you haven’t thought about it before, consider becoming a citizen journalist yourself. Here are some resources to help you get started:

Understanding Digital Journalism – Alison

Today’s journalists make extensive use of the internet to both research and publish their stories. This journalism training course covers the methods, procedures, guidelines relevant to the professional. We then provide professional advice and examine the regulations and ethics governing digital journalism. We describe the impact of the internet on the news industry and describe the skills, tools and applications that today’s reporters need.

Citizen Journalism 1010 – Independent Media

This series includes several 20–30-minute recorded presentations on topics that are relevant to both individual citizen journalists and grassroots media organizations. Here, learn (or get a quick refresher) about how to report in a way that centers lived experience, important points about press law, live coverage, social media engagement and grassroots fundraising models for independent media.

2. BE THE EDUCATOR – On the education front, if you are a parent, or even grandparents, consider becoming a homeschooling parent/grandparent. Grandparents especially remain a mostly untapped source for homeschooling solutions for parents who otherwise wouldn’t have the option (as at least one parent has to be home for the home part of the child’s schooling to happen).

Here is a great starting resource for Homeschooling Education Supplies and more from education.com:

Homeschooling Education Resources

There are many approaches to homeschooling. One method is called Unschooling, which our editor, Paul Gordon Collier, mostly used for his daughter’s homeschooling program. The greatest proponent of this method is a former NY City Public School Teacher, John Taylor Gatto.

You can read how he implemented his version of “unschooling” in the NY public schools, earning him teacher of the year before he felt pressured to resign from teaching as the system was beginning to try to constrain him:

A Different Kind of Teacher – John Taylor Gatto

1. FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE POTHEADS

If the hemp ban provision passed in the recent CR is not struck down or altered, many Americans suffering from chronic pain will lose access to the relief these products deliver for them.

From our report about this passage:

One such victim of the therapeutic user group was featured by CNN. They documented the case of a 14-year-old who has found that only CBD effectively keeps her crippling seizures at bay. The very CBDs she needs appear to be on the ban list.

The girl’s daughter, Lisa Smith, told CNN, “She just basically existed. She didn’t really live. And after our first dose of CBD, she was able to stay awake. She started to learn… But prior to that, there was just no hope for us.”

After 10 years of using the drug, Haley’s seizures are down from multiple times a day to two to four times a month. Her family told CNN they fear what they will do if they have to face a world without that therapeutic aid.

Read the full report on pg. xx.

1. ALTERNATIVES – If you suffer from chronic pain or epilepsy and need these reliefs, lobby your congressman to fix the provision. Here is a link to the list of efforts already planned for 2026 to fix this hasty action.

The Main Alternatives to CBD and THC – Grok

Prepare for a world without that relief and stockpile to extend the time you have to find alternatives to what these products provide for you.

2. STOCK UP – One source for THCA and CBD products offered at reasonable prices is JK Distro.

For most of you already using some form of these products, go to your current source and stock up. Depending on the product, remember these products have effective shelf lives, so take that into account when anticipating how much you can realistically stockpile.

ED.NOTE: Know of some tools of engagement we might have missed connecting to these stories? Let us know at MIAMAILROOM@gmail.com.