

An article I updated, written in 2014.
https://conservativeweasel.blogspot.com/2020/11/mon-16th-november-2020-current-affairs.html
Salem Witch hunt and Ergot poisoning
The disease of wheat that can lead to effects similar to LSD is caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which results in a condition known as ergotism. Ergotism arises from consuming grains contaminated with ergot, which contains alkaloids like lysergic acid, the precursor to LSD.
A theory doing the rounds regarding the Salem Witch trials is that a substantial role was played by ergot poisoning. The LSD like effects of the mould found in uncooked affected wheat has been said to have substantially explained other events too, like when a French Village went mad shortly after WW2 after a popular bakery distributed some affected wheat. The theory is attractive to the writer because it positions Arthur Miller's The Crucible as a polemic which was more propaganda than reality. Although the late unlamented Senator Joseph McCarthy went about his witch hunt the wrong way, he had investigated communists, many of them, while it is arguable that none of the women accused at Salem was really a witch. But sometimes witch hunts take on a life of their own.
So, consider Miller’s account of the Crucible. Jealousy within a farmstead led to accusations of witchcraft. A specialist is brought in and in a series of errors and compromise, people are hanged. This was said to be similar to the late unlamented Joseph McCarthy’s communist trials.
The reality is more telling.
An account of witchcraft was reported and a judge was summoned. Affected people had been dancing in the forest together. In 1478, the Spanish Inquisition had begun, initially into backsliding of Muslim or Jewish converts to Christianity. People like Christopher Columbus escaped their murderous practice. A practice of witch burning began to take shape in Europe and the colonies. Today, we are confident that witchcraft was not real. In Salem, in 1692, a mere fifty years after George Spencer was executed for fathering piglets, mere accusations were not enough to execute someone.
The tests employed by inquisition were not perfect. Witnesses were required. Facts had to be established. In the Connecticut case of Spencer, an injustice occurred after piglets were born resembling Spencer. He was promised clemency if he confessed. He confessed. Then he was told God would forgive him after he was executed. He recanted his confession. The existence of the piglets were considered witnesses, and the Sow was put to the sword. Modern science assures us that George had not fathered the piglets, but the tests applied did not, and Spencer was not liked.
In Salem, there were tests too. One test had a dog drinking the urine of one of the girls affected. The dog was affected too and began biting rocks and snarling and had to be put down. It is doubtful, but not certain to modern scientists the dog had caught COVID. But, the testimony of affected females with the dog test was damning. Rather than the judges wanting to kill, as Miller writes, the judges had no choice.
Miller got his Salem account wrong. But was he wrong about McCarthy? It is worth noting that McCarthy did identify communists. Maybe Nixon’s prosecution was better, but McCarthy was also aiming at politicising the trials, and we now know significant Democrat figures of the day were ensnared. Again, Miller was wrong to suggest modern communists did not exist and only by chasing modern ‘witches’ were people unfairly found guilty.
One explanation for Salem and a few other witch trials is ergot poisoning. The behaviour of the dog suggests something similar. The kidneys would not have filtered it out and the dog would have been affected by it.
So how do schools present these topics today? Are students aware of these details? Or is Miller’s presentation of a world where Democrats are unfairly called out by Republicans, jealous of their popularity, more prevalent?
But what of the French Village, post WW2? It may have been affected wheat in poorly baked bread. Or, it may have been an experiment by a Paperclip CIA scientist into the effects of LSD in an unsanctified experiment that went wrong. And, maybe, that scientist suicided soon after. But, that is a story for another time.
https://x.com/ddball67/status/1864184592338755940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1864184592338755940%7Ctwgr%5E022938824713db2eb1c29300967c3338fbe0ed3d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fddball67%2Fstatus%2F1864184592338755940
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air
What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell rock
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bell chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air
What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle...
David Daniel Ball calls himself the Conservative Voice.
I'm a teacher with three decades experience teaching math to high school kids.I also work with first graders and kids in between first grade and high school. I know the legends of why Hypatia's dad is remembered through his contribution to Math theory. And I know the legend of why followers of Godel had thought he had disproved God's existence.
I'm not a preacher, but I am a Christian who has written over 28 books all of which include some reference to my faith. Twelve blog books on world history and current affairs, detailing world events , births and marriages on each day of the year, organised by month. Twelve books on the background to and history of Bible Quotes. One Bible quote per day for a year. An intro to a science fiction series I'm planning, post apocalyptic cyber punk. An autobiography with short story collections.
I'm known in Australia for my failure as a whistleblower over the negligence death of a school boy. ...
https://suno.com/s/YNGTe539O3rdixRF
(Verse 1)
I was born in the heartland, where the prairies meet the sky,
With a fire in my soul, and a truth that won’t die.
Loved my God up above, with a faith strong and true,
My wife and my children, they’re my anchor, my crew.
(Chorus)
Oh, Charlie Kirk, singin’ the blues,
Fightin’ for freedom, with nothin’ to lose.
In the halls of the angry, where the shouts never end,
I stood with my facts, and I’d do it again.
(Verse 2)
I walked them college roads, where the crowds would scream and yell,
Debatin’ in the fire, where the strident censors dwell.
With a table and a sign, I’d call ‘em out to fight,
Used facts and steady reason, to cut through the dark of night.
(Chorus)
Oh, Charlie Kirk, singin’ the blues,
Fightin’ for freedom, with nothin’ to lose.
Against the mob’s ...
(Verse 1 - Spoken intro like an old field holler, then into 12-bar blues)
Oh Lord, in these hard times, dust blowin' 'cross the plain,
I hear the Master's voice callin' through the pourin' rain.
He say, "All authority in heaven and earth is mine,"
Yeah, all that power given to me, gonna ease your troubled mind.
(Chorus - AAB pattern)
Go and make disciples, from the city to the shore,
Go and make disciples, from the city to the shore,
Baptize 'em in the name of Father, Son, and Spirit evermore.
(Verse 2)
Brother lost his job, sister cryin' in the night,
Ain't no bread on the table, future out of sight.
But Jesus say, "Teach 'em all I ...
Do you agree with France, UK and, Australia that the Iranian planned invasion of Israel by Hamas, siezing hostages and killing and raping innocent civilians, is worthy of statehood? Israel has for over seventy years offered peace, even offering land for security. But, now, Israel is resolved to provide security, and police, Gaza, ensuring Hamas has no role.
Make a song in ancient Jewish tradition of their Gaza objective. Include how they repeatedly offered peace to Hamas, but were spurned. Trump warned Hamas of what would happen if they failed to return the hostages. They refused. Include how UN and Europe have emboldened Hamas to not return the hostages. Include how Hamas has deliberately starved her own people to blame Israel.
Ode to Resolve: A Lament in the Style of Ancient Psalms
(In the tradition of biblical Hebrew poetry, such as the Psalms of David or the Song of Moses, this song employs parallelism, rhythmic repetition, and themes of divine justice, oppressed people, and unyielding foes. It is structured with verses (stanzas) and a...