http://danielusmc.blogspot.com/

because I think I'm tired of LJ. Yes, I came back before... but I'm not enamored with this forum.

Driving home from work... saw this guy bouncing in his lane. Then he drives off the shoulder and tags someones mailbox. I note the address, grab his make/model, license plate, even get a description of the driver. Then, spend twenty minutes calling it in. "If the police need you... they'll call you"... spoken to me in that "Thanks, come again" tone of voice.

I hate large cities. Can't wait to get back to small town, population 700.

We could go a generation without doctors, and make it.
We could go a generation without educators, and make it.
We could go a generation without farmers, lawyers, judges, and make it.
If went a generation without warriors, we'd be lost.

I've been thinking about when the proper time would be to set a Wita. Right now we have a theod of eight; but I'm thinking that we need a minimum of 13-16 folks. At least 3-4 folks per Wita... it just doesn't seem right with any less than that. There's also my belief that I don't know if a Carl should sit on a Wita and I'm not going to 'rush' any arrungs... anyone else have an opinion on that?

That said, our primary focus is just looking inward and solidifying things. We're lucky in that all of us are within 2 hours of each other and we can easily meet. Two hours being an acceptable driving distance for a good beer in Texas.

On the hedonistic front... I'm getting primed for a 5 day motorcycle ride out in West Texas; as we're doing a Big Bend run. I'm looking forward to some riding time on my fathers Buel Lighting, and my Uncles Fat-Boy.

After that, Shelly is pulling the folk together for a camping excursion before the temperature gets really hot. I'm thinking of renting a cabin at Sam Houston State Park for everyone. My joy is watching everyone, especially the kiddoes, canoe and swim and come together. Hehe, course the druct can laugh at me for tipping my canoe last year... in hindsight... it was funny as hell watching me climb back into my canoe in the middle of the water.

Daniel

Hreþe went extremely well this past weekend. Œþelland assembled, and we even had some new faces show up, which was a pleasant surprise. I purchased a New Braunfels Smoker last week and had the chance to put it to the test this weekend… I’m very happy. I smoked (oak and mesquite –I’m a wood guy) 10 pound brisket, 4 pounds sausage, 20 chicken legs, 12 ears of corn, and mixed vegetables… it’s not quite the 55 gallon smoker I grew up with… but we probably won’t outgrow it anytime soon. The proof is always in the pudding… and there was only a pound of brisket and a couple veggies left over. The social aspect was a clear success that was crowned with the sumble.

I’m damn happy of the religious aspect as well. The ritual was done completely by memory as regards the land-taking/hallowing… but all the bedes were spoken from the heart without faltering. While compliments on your ritual style are a great booster; the best booster was the boon granted to us. I asked Hreþe for rain and it sprinkled slightly… but it rained when the last item was pulled off the smoker. Thanks.

Well, it was a great weekend. Œþelland came together and we lounged around and had some great discussion over where we are and where we want to be and when.  Operational planning is a critical must, I don't care if it's a book club, a college course, a kindred, or a theod...  if you do not meet and periodically engage everyone in the operational planning... you're not going to make it.

Saturday was nice because the druct went down to the rifle/pistol range for a few hours.  It was nice because out of two guys who just came back from Iraq (Marine and Army)... and were Infantryman... I am still the best shot.  Though my rifle skills need some more attention to the fundamentals-- more time snapping in and learning how to 'dope' the Garand I was shooting.

Because this asshole needs to go.  Watch the video of the shooting... un-fucking-believable.

I am curious how such an overwhelming vote of support by the legislature, and by extension the people themselves, can be construed as:

"Proof positive" that the governor "cares more about politics than about the health and safety of women." -Planned Parenthood

My opinion is that women planning to get an abortion move out of South Dakota. I would likewise, and have advocated such, that I would never live in a state hostile to my Second Amendment rights.

However, of interest to me is how this will play out in the Courts.

Governor Signs Law Banning Most Abortions in South Dakota

Abound at every turn.  

That's why it tickles me pink that the Supreme Court has given a few of them a nice fat shiner.

Court upholds campus military recruiting law.

"In the sand he drew a line, with his army saber
Out of a hundred and eighty-five, not a soul to cross the line"

I will also begin with a bit from that great Marty Robbins tune... except that I would like to point out that one did cross the line; a single frenchman.

I find I don't have much to say regarding the Alamo. I have made many pilgrimages there, have studied the lay of the ground, can reconstruct in my head the events as they unfolded.

I hold those Texians, they may have come as foreigners... but they died Texian, as the model for us all. By all that I hold sacred and holy... I'm awe struck that life was breathed into me here.

There will be no livejournal cut for this.

"All new states are invested, more or less, by a class of noisy,
second-rate men who are always in favor of rash and extreme measures, but
Texas was absolutely overrun by such men." -- Sam Houston

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Unanimous Declaration of Independence made by the Delegates of the People of Texas in General Convention at the town of Washington on the 2nd day of March 1836.

When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression.

When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country, which they have sworn to support, no longer has a substantial existence, and the whole nature of their government has been forcibly changed, without their consent, from a restricted federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a consolidated central military despotism, in which every interest is disregarded but that of the army and the priesthood, both the eternal enemies of civil liberty, the everready minions of power, and the usual instruments of tyrants.

When, long after the spirit of the constitution has departed, moderation is at length so far lost by those in power, that even the semblance of freedom is removed, and the forms themselves of the constitution discontinued, and so far from their petitions and remonstrances being regarded, the agents who bear them are thrown into dungeons, and mercenary armies sent forth to force a new government upon them at the point of the bayonet.

When, in consequence of such acts of malfeasance and abdication on the part of the government, anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original elements. In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation, the inherent and inalienable rights of the people to appeal to first principles, and take their political affairs into their own hands in extreme cases, enjoins it as a right towards themselves, and a sacred obligation to their posterity, to abolish such government, and create another in its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happiness.

Nations, as well as individuals, are amenable for their acts to the public opinion of mankind. A statement of a part of our grievances is therefore submitted to an impartial world, in justification of the hazardous but unavoidable step now taken, of severing our political connection with the Mexican people, and assuming an independent attitude among the nations of the earth.

The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited and induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to colonize its wilderness under the pledged faith of a written constitution, that they should continue to enjoy that constitutional liberty and republican government to which they had been habituated in the land of their birth, the United States of America.

In this expectation they have been cruelly disappointed, inasmuch as the Mexican nation has acquiesced in the late changes made in the government by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who having overturned the constitution of his country, now offers us the cruel alternative, either to abandon our homes, acquired by so many privations, or submit to the most intolerable of all tyranny, the combined despotism of the sword and the priesthood.

It has sacrificed our welfare to the state of Coahuila, by which our interests have been continually depressed through a jealous and partial course of legislation, carried on at a far distant seat of government, by a hostile majority, in an unknown tongue, and this too, notwithstanding we have petitioned in the humblest terms for the establishment of a separate state government, and have, in accordance with the provisions of the national constitution, presented to the general Congress a republican constitution, which was, without just cause, contemptuously rejected.

It incarcerated in a dungeon, for a long time, one of our citizens, for no other cause but a zealous endeavor to procure the acceptance of our constitution, and the establishment of a state government.

It has failed and refused to secure, on a firm basis, the right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen.
It has failed to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources, (the public domain,) and although it is an axiom in political science, that unless a people are educated and enlightened, it is idle to expect the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for self government.

It has suffered the military commandants, stationed among us, to exercise arbitrary acts of oppression and tyrrany, thus trampling upon the most sacred rights of the citizens, and rendering the military superior to the civil power.
It has dissolved, by force of arms, the state Congress of Coahuila and Texas, and obliged our representatives to fly for their lives from the seat of government, thus depriving us of the fundamental political right of representation.

It has demanded the surrender of a number of our citizens, and ordered military detachments to seize and carry them into the Interior for trial, in contempt of the civil authorities, and in defiance of the laws and the constitution.

It has made piratical attacks upon our commerce, by commissioning foreign desperadoes, and authorizing them to seize our vessels, and convey the property of our citizens to far distant ports for confiscation.

It denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty according to the dictates of our own conscience, by the support of a national religion, calculated to promote the temporal interest of its human functionaries, rather than the glory of the true and living God.

It has demanded us to deliver up our arms, which are essential to our defence, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable only to tyrannical governments.

It has invaded our country both by sea and by land, with intent to lay waste our territory, and drive us from our homes; and has now a large mercenary army advancing, to carry on against us a war of extermination.

It has, through its emissaries, incited the merciless savage, with the tomahawk and scalping knife, to massacre the inhabitants of our defenseless frontiers.

It hath been, during the whole time of our connection with it, the contemptible sport and victim of successive military revolutions, and hath continually exhibited every characteristic of a weak, corrupt, and tyrranical government.

These, and other grievances, were patiently borne by the people of Texas, untill they reached that point at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. We then took up arms in defence of the national constitution. We appealed to our Mexican brethren for assistance. Our appeal has been made in vain. Though months have elapsed, no sympathetic response has yet been heard from the Interior. We are, therefore, forced to the melancholy conclusion, that the Mexican people have acquiesced in the destruction of their liberty, and the substitution therfor of a military government; that they are unfit to be free, and incapable of self government.

The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now decrees our eternal political separation.
We, therefore, the delegates with plenary powers of the people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare, that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended, and that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, Sovereign, and independent republic, and are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which properly belong to independent nations; and, conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue to the decision of the Supreme arbiter of the destinies of nations.

Richard Ellis,
Presidentof the Convention and Delegatefrom Red River.

Charles B. Stewart

Tho. Barnett
John S. D. Byrom

Francis Ruis

J. Antonio Navarro

Jesse B. Badgett

Wm D. Lacy

William Menifee

Jn. Fisher

Matthew Caldwell

William Motley

Lorenzo de Zavala

Stephen H. Everett

George W. Smyth

Elijah Stapp

Claiborne West

Wm. B. Scates

M. B. Menard

A. B. Hardin

J. W. Burton

Thos. J. Gazley

R. M. Coleman

Sterling C. Robertson

James Collinsworth

Edwin Waller

Asa Brigham

Geo. C. Childress

Bailey Hardeman

Rob. Potter

Thomas Jefferson Rusk

Chas. S. Taylor

John S. Roberts

Robert Hamilton

Collin McKinney

Albert H. Latimer

James Power

Sam Houston

David Thomas

Edwd. Conrad

Martin Palmer

Edwin O. Legrand

Stephen W. Blount

Jms. Gaines

Wm. Clark, Jr.

Sydney O. Pennington

Wm. Carrol Crawford

Jno. Turner

Benj. Briggs Goodrich

G. W. Barnett

James G. Swisher

Jesse Grimes

S. Rhoads Fisher

John W. Moore

John W. Bower

Saml. A. Maverick (from Bejar)

Sam P. Carson

A. Briscoe

J. B. Woods


H. S. Kimble, Secretary

Land that should just be nuked! (after I move my aunt out)

Seriously... what a horrible place!! Here's the background:

I went to Phoenix to take a Finance Fundamentals course put on by Duke University, sponsored by Honeywell. Besides the usual "danger will robinson danger" head explosion stuff (those three days would have given a CPA 24 hours of professional continuing education- and my a.s was in Computer Science & Criminal Justice... no where close to finance); I got to see Phoenix at its finest.

Now the one thing I learned in Six Sigma Training is this: there are Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics... but what are the chances of the following:

Day 1: Five car pile-up
Day 2: Major accident on opposite side of highway, then the motorcycle in front of me hits the median rubber-necking & Family of Five murdered in home.
Day 3: Double homicide (two women shot to death operating a 'roach coach')
Day 4: Gunmen takes hostages in a business High-Rise.

I'm surprised I made it home in one piece.

Remember that whatever may be said by a lady or her friends, it is not part of conduct of a gallant or generous man to take up arms against a woman.
Sam Houston

Folcwald recently had a post about Combat ready Christians, gearing up for battle against 'evil'.  On the Texatru bbs, boars_heart, recently linked to a good rant about the Left Behind Series and the gleeful way that -some- Christians took the bloody deaths of the unbelievers.  Having read the first three books myself, I recommend them to get a feel for the popular depiction of Apocolyptic Christianity.  These folks ain't our friends.

Add in some of last years examples of humanities finest while under adverse conditions, take into the fact that bad things can happen anywhere... and being prepared just makes good common sense.

Hopefully the case is pretty solid that everyone *needs*, at a minimum a damn good rifle.  Pistols suck.  I say that again, pistols suck.  I would never bet my families life on a pistol.  I've been trained in some of the most advanced close-quarters-battle tactics known on this continent, before that I was initially trained as an infantryman in the Corps.  I speak from a position of knowledge and experience; and there is a reason that the pistol is a back-up weapon.  Average Police officers 'make-do' so as not to worry the general populace by carrying semi/full-automatic rifles around; though they often have access to a shotgun or AR-variant in their cruisers.

Finally, the Second Amendment is around to enable us to throw off tyranny.  Tyranny is NOT the hoodlum down the road with the Berretta 92FS or the Glock 22.  Tyranny is the Government... and they have much better tools.  

I love antique weapons... old bolt-actions, breech-loaders, black-powder, etc.  But if you trust your families lives to one... you are a fool.  You need a military grade, semi-automatic firearm.  DSA makes a fine, affordable, FAL.  The Civilian Marksmanship Program -CMP- has affordable M1 Garand's (the most archaic weapon I would trust- personally), though Springfield Armory is making M1A's (M14s) that are affordable, heck-- you can even get affordable AK-47's for around $600-700 each- remade here in Houston, Texas to much better specs (ergonomics are inferior-- but its still a .30 caliber).

I urge folks to buy Boston's Gun Bible for a damn fine review of proper weapons.

If you live someplace this is all illegal-- MOVE OUTTA THE FUCKED UP PLACE YOU CURRENTLY RESIDE!!  Cause they obviously don't give a fuck about your freedom or your safety.

Then get some serious training and regularly put rounds down range!  You'd be surprised how much fun it is-- even my girls love it.

walkyrja had a post asking how President Bush was still President since he cut all these health and human services.  My response:

I was tickled pink to see that pork cut. Let people take care of themselves... let them rely on family, friends, and faith... and if they don't have anything... then maybe it's wyrd trying to get a point across.

Do you know how many times I have heard: "I didn't work in New Orleans... why should I work here in Houston?" Guess what... you're getting evicted from the government teat.

I'm likewise glad you're willing to do food-drives for your locale. I likewise help in my areas of concern... I detest the fact that I'm forced, through government appropriations of my funds, to do so where I would normally not choose to...

I do have an option: Keep those programs running-- but allow the citizenry to dictate (per their tax returns) what percentage of their money they want to go to the various government programs.

So, to pony up... here is where I would ask that my tax dollars be spent:

Military: I don't want to wake up one day speaking Spanish or Canadian... so I have a vested interest in Military Spending. 

Transportation: I think roads, specifically interstates, are vital to the national defense.  Their creation stemming from needs to rapidly move the American war-machine, would back up that ideal.  So I have an expectation for a Federal agency to be funded to continue planning and work on them.

Veterans Affairs: I'm a vet and its my money.

Corps of Engineers:  They fund the engineering projects which secure our borders, in addition to other endeavors.

EPA: I think the government has an interest in the environment.

Executive Office-Judicial Branch-Legislative Branch: I feel this is all I care to give to support the Feds.

NASA: 5% is what they get too.

There you have it.

Was the anniversary of the Challenger explosion.  I find it hard to get sentimental about isolated incidents such as this... and I fill up with resentment at the coverage they receive.

I mean, how many folks knew about this?

I did... I watched it happen.  I was on the ground securing the TLZ (tactical landing zone) while the helos were working under blackout conditions using NVG's  (night vision) for approach.  That's when the Cobra rammed the CH46.  Men from my unit.

Didn't even make the front page locally.

"I would like to thank you Daniel, and the other normans for that matter, for proving the stereotype that most Heathens see Theodism as nothing more than SCA style Heathenry of a Wiccan flavor... This takes us back to those days of old, 20 years or so, where it wasn't uncommon to see a person challenge someone to holmgang for some supposed insult or offense... Boy O Boy, Back to the "Wannabe Viking" days...

You list a couple of pieces of the lore above to prove your case. Problem is, I'm sure someone could come up with plenty of things from the lore to prove just the opposite... That's one thing about the lore, there is plenty there to make ones case no matter what side you take...

There was more to this post, but I decided not to fan the flames any more than necessary... "

Lonnie brings up a good point, but not one that I think he intends to...

I responded, briefly, that the above was 'bullshit' and what I really offended was his 'modern sensibilities'.

20 years ago... I was fighting Gordon Sheldon in a pasture because he insulted my mother. I wasn't a "wannabe Viking", I wasn't a "wannabe" anything except a wannabe Marine. What I was, was a 13yr old country boy from South East Texas who knew that when somebody insulted your Mother... they needed a good ass-whipping. And it worked, no one ever insulted my mother again. Not because I was bad Leroy Brown... but because it was just too much trouble to insult me and mine... I'd throw the first punch.

I suppose what bothers people is that this offends their modern sensibilities. American's are generally taught that violence is not the answer. We're taught that assholes like Swain are: "just that way", "let it go", "It was said in a heated moment" and other excuses. People who let this type of shit go are part of the problem. They empower and excuse and then let themselves get run over by the assholes of society.

I don't often quote Steve Hewette (formerly Bodvar), he's generally off-base and a bag of hot air, but he said something in his heathen days that is very appropriate: "Wrake is a sacrament for the Teutonic folks".

Now, I ask anyone to show me where insult and physical threat to kin and tribe was just sloughed off and ignored? You need to hit that Groenbech study group a little harder partner.

Now, one may take the approach that I'm being a bully because, lets face facts, I'd wipe the floor with Swain without breaking much of a sweat; and we see conduct like that often enough in the 'bully berserkers' of the Sagas... I'm younger, faster, stronger, trained, hel.. I've killed men in combat before.

However, I ask anyone to demonstrate where I don't have recht on my side here. My Lord and kinsman insulted, my frith attacked. To quote Senior Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Dickerson: "You don't throw bricks when you live a glass house"; in other words... he should have thought about the ramifications before he opened up his pie-hole.

*UPDATE* The more I think about it... I don't give a rats ass if you find Lore out the ass that this is an improper challenge. I'm a Texan... and there's plenty of Texas precedent to justify my actions: Chauncey Goodrich and Levy L. Laurens; Captain Graham and Captain Stanley; Maj. Stiles Leroy and Maj. James W. Tinsley; Col. Lysander Wells and Capt. William D. Redd; and the list goes on.

I, Daniel Herros Flores, Hláfward of Œþelland, Heoh Wita of the Normannii Reik and Orletta of his Lord Dan Eorl, do hereby accuse Swain Wodening (AKA Berry Canote) of the following:


1) Numerous insults against my Lord, Dan Eorl,


2) Insult against my kinswoman and subsequent threat of physical challenge against her, and

3) Being a cowardly niðing with no ár.


Therefore I do hereby call Swain Wodening to meet me in Holmgang at a time and place mutually agreed upon by our seconds not to exceed 1 year from today. I name Mike þegn Hauk as my second, and give his contact information (above).

As was the way of our ancestors Holmgang is a way for men to resolve issues of personal conflict. As we are a folk of secular law as well as Tribal Thew this Holmgang shall abide by the rules adopted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. These rules are the standard by which other states have modeled their own rules. As this is not a sanctioned professional or amateur bout but rather a sparring session in the eyes of any state athletic commission or boxing authority weight classes are waived. I will however voluntarily weigh in at, or under, the 265 pound weight limit. The rules may be found at http://www.ufc.tv/learnUFC/rulesUfc.asp.

The referee shall be a Theodsmen of good ár chosen by Swain Wodening and approved by Daniel Herros.

If this call to Holmgang is not answered and accepted by Swain Wodening within 9 days of it’s posting he is to be known from this date forward as Swain Niþling. He will forever be know as a coward and wretch to all those who have any dealings with him.

While you have struck your wife, issued challenges to non-theodsman, and threatened physical challenge against my kinswoman; I have no doubt you will try to crawfish yourself out of this challenge.

While I am the Hláfward of my own tribe, I point you towards the Heimskringla:

Chapt 33

In her territory there was a man called Alfvine, who
was a great champion and single-combat man. He had paid his
addresses to her; but she gave for answer, that she herself would
choose whom of the men in her dominions she would take in
marriage; and on that account the Thing was assembled, that she
might choose a husband.

34. KING OLAF AND ALFVINE'S DUEL.

Alfvine was very ill pleased with this. It was the custom then
in England, if two strove for anything, to settle the matter by
single combat (1); and now Alfvine challenges Olaf Trygvason to
fight about this business. The time and place for the combat
were settled, and that each should have twelve men with him.
When they met, Olaf told his men to do exactly as they saw him
do. He had a large axe; and when Alfvine was going to cut at him
with his sword he hewed away the sword out of his hand, and with
the next blow struck down Alfvine himself. He then bound him
fast. It went in the same way with all Alfvine's men. They were
beaten down, bound, and carried to Olaf's lodging. Thereupon he
ordered Alfvine to quit the country, and never appear in it
again; and Olaf took all his property. Olaf in this way got Gyda
in marriage, and lived sometimes in England, and sometimes in
Ireland.

The pertinent reference in this case comes from Olaf Trygvasson Saga (in Heimskringla). The introduction of Alfvine in Chapter 33 demonstrates his non Lordly status. He challenged a King who accepted the English Thew of combat to settle differences. In this way I refute any craven attempt of yours to hide behind sacrality and champions.

You have also balked at unarmed combat as a ‘traditional Germanic’ means of resolution. I point you towards The Histories of Ammianus Marcellinus. In it are citations that in various Germanic tribes unarmed combat was the highest form of manly challenge as noted by Ammianus Marcellinus in his Histories.

If this call to Holmgang is not answered and accepted by Swain Wodening within 9 days of it’s posting he is to be known from this date forward as Swain Niþling. He will forever be known as a coward and wretch to all those who have any dealings with him.

From the Witasgedryth of Normandy, unto Swain Wodening, beware!



We do agree with the abanning of the Miercinga Rice; the Vinfengi, which we held dear to our hearts, has indeed been severed. It is hard for us to keep Troth with those who break frith when mouths spout both lie and insult where none are due; sowise be it known that it was Mercia not Normandy who breached the frith here.



To wit, our Lord, and by and through him, we his men, have endured the petty jealousies of Swain when he first interfered in the sovereign affairs of Normandy. As men in hold to Brian, and Brian to Dan Lord, the Anglian issue bore no issue to the Miercinga Rice, which in turn had no business whatsoever in “deeming” in anywise on it. As Mercia has time and again pled, “each tribe has its own thews”, and while Brian bore hold to Dan Lord, the only reach that pertained was Normandy’s, and therefore her Thiu. Out of love for our Lord, and his faetterscip with Swain, we endured this over reach. Then however, Mercia, by her lord, engaged in an attack on our thew directly; calling it “Wiccatru”.



While he has since made some rudimentary apology on this, the inference of that apology is that we mistook his 'hypothetical' words- that he did no wrong. His insult was plain to see and the lack of a forthright apology even more so. This too was endured, all the while the Mercians barely have a folk- at best count there are 4 holds- let alone a thew which binds them; and as admitted time and again, the Mercians only returned to Theodism from a loose-democratic state without Theodish thew, but two years ago, and hold oaths were unknown save as an exception, while Normandy has born its troth wholecloth since Lammas of 1997. Yet, overmuch, they attempt to rewrite history to feign a longstanding thew and web of oaths. Who are these Mercians? Name them and lets be done- each and everyone of the 24 Holds in Normandy (and their 60 or so family members) are real persons, each of whom can stand up and be counted. Our Who's Who are not full of straw men and goodfolk, nor mere names on an email list, they are real folk, who's oaths have been witnessed by real Theodsmen in real halls.



In that same tirade, Swain deliberately broke frith with his Cousins when he upheld and lent credence to the words of the oathbreakers within Neowanglia. Accepting the word of anyone, let alone oathbreakers over that of his dear kin, who is himself an Atheling, is unheard of and violative of kinship obligations and trust and all elder thew. In Germanic weltanschauung, to accept the words of utlandr over one's kin and sworn Vinfengi shoulder companions is an unrecht act and shameful in and of itself. But, Dan Lord did provide Swain with his sworn word that the Witan of Anglia pledged to him in October of 2005 not to further discuss the end of the fosterage except that he be included in such dialogue- and by their own admission, they did not forevolve him whatsoever, and none have denied that such a pledge was made. Beyond his word as cousin, and Atheling, Dan can name 7 oath helpers who witnessed the promise –inclusive of the Anglian Witan themselves. Yet Swain, in contradiction of this proof – more than required at Thing under elder precedent- sided with the renegade Witangemot of Anglia publicly, while acknowledging privately that the Anglian Witangemot overstepped their authority.





Further Swain has insulted Dan Eorl when claiming Dan is "filling Brian's head with Christian notions of a lord's rule"; for no where has Swain demonstrated this by any reasonable measure- and in fact Swain himself in defense of his position in debate with Lou Thain has only attempted to use Christian precedent to prove his position. Heathen rulership comes through the size and reach of a leader’s Mannerbund, the manifest luck of that lord, and the wealth and renown won by his folk. Such do every Saga, account, and ethno-historical study undeniably prove. On all counts Mercia pales to Normandy on these counts and would fall in such a Heathen vein.



But the Witasgedryth of Normandy are not surprised in the full view of Orlay. It is apparent in the poor understanding of eldritch Ãr; as evidenced by Swain’s response to our folk, which still smacks of a Christian worldview, displaced from reality and pragmatism, let alone any conception of the causalities of Wyrd. Despite Swain’s protestation to the contrary, Wealth and Reach were indeed the quintessential measures for luck in heroic leaders of the Germanic past from Tacitus’s writings through Beowulf, to the Battle of Maldon; and it is understandable that a mere bagging-associate at the local Dollar General convenience store would feel inadequacies when striving to achieve a state of peerage besides a Lord whose professional acumen as a trial attorney in New York City regularly impacts case-law and precedent, let alone the fact Dan Lord has earned doctoral and post-doctoral degrees and studied our culture from a rigorous academic perspective, even spending half a year on an archaeological expedition in Ireland in relation to those degrees; can Swain say as much? While yes it is true in the Heathen community Dan and Swain have both been published in Theod Magazine, Idunna, and the like, and conceding Swain has self-published a heathen book- only Dan Lord has been published in the REAL academic world- in such places as the New York State Bar Journal, on the Germanic Origins of the Common Law, and in the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association, on the implications of the Miranda decision after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dickerson. Only Dan Lord has truly impacted the common law by setting precedent in the Courts of the State of New York on Search and Seizure law in the People of the State of New York vs. Gutierrez, 2005 NY Slip Op 51063. He is an attorney who is of counsel to both the New York City Police Department’s Patrolman’s Benevolent Association, and JP MorganChase, and sits on the felony panel of the 18B Program of New York City, and on the republican caucus of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and has been named to Swarthmore’s Who’s Who of Professionals in Law in the United States.



Our ancestors did not look inward on such matters of Ãr and Gefrain in an era of fist-law, a man's prowess, wealth, and retainers marked his measure and his well-birth. Our only surprise is that Swain has lasted this long, but it must be said that our dear Lord has helped him considerably.



Swain has mentioned threats, indeed he has made use of that lie twice and Tee has done so once as well. In truth, Swain, in the private email quoted below, clearly acknowledged that any perceptions of a threat were clearly just that – perceptions:





> Milord,



> I am going to start over with this as it seems the easiest way.

> Threats of any sort may as well be physical threats when you are in my position.



AND



> Onto other matters, I see how we may have misconstrued it, but I feel you owe Teresa > Hláfdige a personal explanation… regardless of whether it was simply to warn us of

> what your thegns might do, hurt her very deeply



Furthermore as is clear from the TOTAL email, which of course he did not reproduce, a PRIVATE email, the message was a simple and straightforward one- not a threat.





From: Daniel J. Halloran, Esq. [mailto:omisson@nyc.rr.com]

Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2006 5:16 PM

To: swain

Subject: RE



>Milord and dearest kinsman,

>I have patiently refrained from further comment - however should you

>not

>withdraw this comment IMMEDIATELY- you will obviously have broken

>our

>Vinfengi, and I will be unable to prevent my thanes from acting

>accordingly.

>Furthermore, you will risk the escalation of this into areas no one

>wants

>this to go into- and I am sure it will only serve to undermine all

>of the

>Theodish movement.

>Should you wish to call and speak with me, I will be available by

>cell at

>your disposal.

>Dan-O



The little boy who cried Wolf. unsubstantiated and baseless. Make of this what you will; but the duplicity shown in public vs. private again marks his poor measure.



The final Mercian communication address several points that we feel must be clarified:



I. " Broke the grith by interfering in the hold oath between Brian Hlaford and Swain Atheling Wodening, then Ealdor of the Ealdriht ”



The lies thicken. Brian sought release from his hold oath from Swain as Swain was attempting to railroad a kingship through his Witan. Brian was released from his hold, honorably and Dan Eorl ONLY offered to purchase his hold oath from Swain to help Swain save some face and redeem his Ãr- Brian had already left, the question was in what manner the departure would be presented. Swain was not only very grateful to receive the payment as he in turn gave the sumptuary goods to his men, but he also formally negotiated the price- to now claim interference is an attempt to re-write Wyrd to suit and agenda.



In fact at the Harrowmoot after such “interference” Swain and Dan Eorl performed a ritual acknowledgement of their Faetterscip and later Miercinga and the Normannii Reik ratified their Vinfengi. These are hardly the actions of a man who was so wronged.



II. " Further broke the grith by raising voice against Swain Atheling Wodening by saying his luck had failed in numerous ways”.



The fact that Swain's cousins stood by him even as the Ealdriht crumbled- is a testament to this falsehood. It is also a strange thing that this has never been pursued by him or his in the past. Perhaps any hints of failed luck have the ring of truth. In fact by not making issue any such suggestions have already become truth; but nonetheless Dan Lord has made NO such allegations, and in fact, as is seen time and again, has attempted to cull a relationship between our two Theods and treat Swain as his peer.





III. " Failed to keep to ancient thew as agreed upon by all Theodas.”



There is, to date, no single agreed upon pact by all Theods to uphold ancient thew. Normandy does however follow this ideal, as stated in the Affirmation of Thew. In Swain's debate with Lou Thain on the subject it is quite apparent Swain's idea of "ancient thew" does not match that of our heathen ancestors' view. It was Lord Normandy who proposed the Affirmation of Thew to remedy this and set a baseline, however few wanted to be held to such rigorous standards of Germanic ethical behavior. So it is not Normandy, but other aetts who refuse to be bound by the strictures of our ancestors’ worldview.



IV. " Falsely accused the Neowanglian Witangemot of being oath breakers.”



Fact is fact. In October of 2005, Lord Anglia and his Witangemot gave their words in council not to discuss leaving their fosterage in secret- and it was no secret that at some point it would end. They pledged to include Dan Eorl in their discussions, as is proper. That the whisperings of wretched men, who have broken their words is taken above a kinsmen's word is further proof of Swain's lack of Ãr.



Swain continues to his shame and degradation to side with oathbreakers as opposed to his kin.









Groenbech speaks of this thusly:



"When frith is broken, so that kinsmen forget themselves towards one another, the fault lies in luck; either it has in some way suffered scathe, or it is by nature inadequate, leaving men helpless and without bearing."



And, quite simply, as Granmar said to Sinfjotli in Volsungasaga ch 4.:



"unlucky was the hand wherewith thou slewest thy brethren making for thyself an exceeding evil name."



V. " Threatened the Ealdorman and Hláfdige Miercinga following the abanning from the Miercinga Rice defending the right of Neowanglian Witangemot to remove Brian Hlaford as their lord based on ancient Precedent”.



I give you Swain's own word, sent to Lord Dan in private communication. This is clearly deception to garner public support at the expense of his cousin:



Milord,

I am going to start over with this as it seems the easiest way.

Threats of any sort may as well be physical threats when you are in my position.



AND



Onto other matters, I see how we may have misconstrued it, but I feel you owe Teresa Hláfdige a personal explanation… regardless [sic] of whether it was simply to warn us of what your thegns might do, hurt her very deeply …



AND



>a) In October of 2005 by telephone conference the Anglian Witan all

>verbally agreed at a specially called thingtide to discuss the idea of

>ending the fosterage- that such a matter would need open dialogue WITH

>me prior to the undertaking of ANY FURTHER action- specifically it

>required including having me and Brian participate in a dialogue, and

>critique of the ins and outs of it and how it was to be accomplished.



I would need to see the exact wording of the agreement to go any further, however, yes, I would think that they needed to include you in their discussions. Again this may be a lead taken from their lord, recalling what was done when they left my holdings. The two events parallel each other very well: a. meeting in secret b. failure to involve the paramount lord in discussions c. setting of deadlines that cannot realistically be met.



>c) They declared MY oath with Brian annulled- violating MY Reach and

>interfering in men's holds- a clear violation of thew.



This, I think we can agree on. It is one thing to demand Brian ask to be released, it is another to declare the hold annulled. Never the less, they may have felt Brian broke his oath to you by raising voice against you. However, they should have mentioned that to you, and have given you the information I have seen to show they had grounds.



Even then, they could not have declared it annulled, but only state they had information that showed the oath to be broken. Of course, the easy out for them would have been simply to remove him as their lord and therefore out of your reach, again giving his treasonous behavior as the cause.



>d) When asked for time to wade through this by both THEIR direct lord,

>and ME they refused, violating their obligations under their Holds.



I think we are both agreed on this.



>Now, as to Tee, I will be happy to go further in discussing the

>matter- at whatever depth she would like and offer her whatever further

>apology she requires. However, NOWHERE in my email SENT PRIVATELY to

>you, did I address ANYONE but you. I will be more than glad to speak

>with her and assuage any misimpressions.





Milord, we both know that she has been acting regeant [sic.] for some time now. You know that even sent privately she would see the email before I ever would. It is only natural she would take offense. By all means discuss the matter with her, but for now, I think only a heart felt apology would be the better part of valor. Women can be a mean spirited and evil lot, and sometimes it is easiest to appease them in the most honorabally [sic] way one can.



We shall further say that no Norman freeman would ever threaten a woman, unlike Swain who has done so in the past, with Daniel Herros' kinswoman Jennifer Culver and further, when he physically hit his wife Tee on at least two occasions-meriting her calling upon help from without Mercia, to Anglia and Normandy, as well as others. That is TRULY the act of the craven and cowardly- yet our Lord is insulted as if HE took actions against a woman- the hypocrisy knows no bounds. Normannii men will deal only with men in matters of honor and restitution. However the hyper exaggerated inferences read into Dan Lord’s simple statement demonstrate the length that the craven will go to in seeking to besmirch the Honor of better men. What truth cannot win, guile and deceit will try.









Even Swain’s own Witan member, Jon Thegn has called out this deception by his lord:



> >This is not a

> >veiled threat of violence against anyone, it is simply a statement

> >that if there is no longer a Vinfengi, Normanni's men will no longer

> >act in accordance with it. In short, they will no longer be required

> >to stand with us should we need them and they will not do so. Much

> >the same as our thanes will surely act accordingly. Ending the

> >Vinfengi did indeed risk the escalation of all of this to places none

> >of us would want to go, namely that without a guarantee of frith



VI. " Sent an email to the Normanni-Freondas list in which they made numerous false statements that were insulting not just to the Miercinga Rice, its lord and lady, and its folk; but the whole of Theodisic Gelafe.”



Again, the public appeal knows neither bounds nor shame. The ever ubiquitous “they” was one person, Kasidy Thygen, who merely sought to defend her Lord’s Gefrain and stated only the facts. Dan Lord has never leveled such criticisms publicly, and has always refrained from making any overt statements debasing his cousin.



But we shall take a better look at these facts-



Swain claims to be Dan's equal – and claims further that his (Swain’s) lack of material wealth means nothing. We suppose this is a tactic that a man who is in a shelf stocking position that pays approximately $7.50 an hour would have to make when trying to compare himself to an attorney who makes around $200,000.00 a year.



According to George F. Jones in Honor Bright (Honor in Western Literature):



"Wealth was necessary to enjoy honor; its lack indicated lack of virtue. In an age of fis! tlaw, when every man had a right to take another man's property if only he had the night to do so, lack of wealth was proof of cowardice, weakness, or shiftlessness, and poverty rightfully merited scorn and shame. When a man's wealth diminished, so did his esteem and honor, for the Teutons knew neither pity nor compassion. In the sagas it was considered better for impoverished warriors to go into voluntary exile than to remain at home and bring shame upon their kinsmen."



Of course having wealth is simply not enough. A Lord must not be stingy with that wealth- he must be a ring-giver, a patron of his men.



As a man of nearly no means to speak of, Swain has never gifted generously with his own purchased or won goods before he saw the example of Dan Lord. In fact when he wished to gift his men swords most recently, it was to Dan Eorl that he went hat in hand begging him for boon of such weaponry to dole out to his men as an added price on the purchase of Brian’s hold. Swain's gift larder did not contain any real amount of silver or amber until Dan offered him a generous sum for Brian's hold- which Dan need not have done, as the Hold between them was already released- another act by Dan to bolster his cousin’s Gefrain and save Swain’s Ãr. Swain greedily accepted the gifts that were valued at close to a month's salary for a stock boy at the Dollar General and now gripes about his measure in it.



Also when Swain's wife required airfare to attend the Anglian Litha (which Dan Lord underwrote to the tune of several hundred dollars) to escape her husband’s violence, Dan paid for the ticket himself, as he has done for his men countless times, and even foreign lord’s men, Like Jeff Runokivi, and Brian before he was Dan’s gesith. There were no others adding to the amount- no matter what Swain thinks. It was purchased on Dan's Travelocity account with his credit card. Swain did not reimbursed Dan for said ticket. The only ‘contributions” to it were an offer to do so from the Frankish Leod, by its lord and lady, an upright folk seeking to promote frith, and concealing Dan’s generosity so as to make none embarrassed that Dan had to foot yet another bill for foreign folks when their lords could not. Dan's generosity is well known and frankly unmatched, from Harrowmoot to Trothmoot, Theodish gatherings to pan-Heathen ones, he is a renown ring-giver in the elder tradition.



Dan was also the lord who set about attempting to bring all Theods together in common cause, reviving old Theodish aetts, and speeding his friends along- only to have that work undermined by the self-serving ratatosks like Ermund (or Travis or Earl Rezner -whatever guise he uses in his Machiavellian schemes) of the Sahsiks (or whatever they call themselves this week) who infiltrates email lists with false names and false personas- and yet is so computer illiterate as to use the same ISP network and give away his deceptions and who boasts wildly in secret yet cowers and skulks away from challenges in the light of day. And these are the types of folks Swain now looks to as friends while turning his back on his sworn allies, the shameful acts know no end.



As far as the land "owned and paid for" in Swain's possession it must be pointed out that he truly owns no land and never paid for it either. His wife Tee owns their land ob initio, and as precedent in Germanic heathen society a wife's property before a marriage is kept when a marriage ends, and is acknowledged as hers throughout. As they also live in Texas which is not a community property state said property is also hers in secular eyes. So simply, there was not worth won by Swain in that land, merely the bedding of a bride, quite the distinction to be drawn. The Othal land left of the Canote/Wodening estate is also not in Swain’s possession as it belongs to the head of the Wodening household Eric, where he still resides.



Dan Lord has recently purchased a home worth just over $750,000 in New York City- for which he put down nearly $200,000.00- all his OWN money, except for his wife’s contribution from their wedding celebration of some $20,000.00. Hardly the same scale as a double wide-trailer put on an empty lot in Texas, which we suspect will not appraise anywhere near that figure, Swain's residence is at the mercy and whim of others. If his wife and kin do not afford him the charity of a roof he has none.



Further, we ask about Swain’s commentary of the luck of his surviving his car accident? Is that a measure of luck, such a horrendous accident? Is Swain off the pain killers and anti depressants from that yet? Also what type of car is Swain now driving? Or could it be that he is too poor to replace the beat up old Volvo he was driving? Just to make it clear Dan drives a new Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas. But we surmise it is no sign of his success in Swain’s world of eldritch Luck.



Finally,



VII. "After Swain Atheling Wodening clarified his statements they persisted with the false accusations to the affect that Swain Atheling Wodening had insulted Dan Lord”.



The very fact things have progressed this far belies the descriptor 'mock insult'. That he took it to his witan to gain justification was the final act of falsification- It is apparent that in Swain's Abanning he did not consult with his Wita as claimed. He falsely put Jon Thegn, his Heoh Geraefa's name to the document- who has publicly STATED that he did NOT consent to the abanning, nor even participate in its crafting. Swain has proven now to be a liar, oathbreaker, and thus a man of no honor:



> >Most importantly, no actual time was allowed the Miercingian

> >Witangemot to debate, discuss and think through what was requested

> >of us. My Lord's request was put to the Witan at 10pm, and the

> >abanning released by Lady Tee was first thing the next morning with

> >no discussion whatsoever to be found on the official channel for

> >having done so-- our Witangemot list. My Lord Swain had also stated

> >to the Normans through one of their lists that even though he had

> >requested from us that we act upon this, it did not matter because it

> >was a done deal-- which is his right to do so. (see the letter above

> >to someone named 'Daniel' on the Normannii Friends list)

> >

> >What is not his, nor Lady Tee's, nor any other's right to do is sign

> >my name to a document that I neither support nor agree with. It is

> >against my conscience to support the actions of the New Anglian

> >Witangemot as right and good. It is against my conscience to damn

> >Brian Wodening Smith for doing the only honorable thing that he

> >could-- and did not even have to do with regard to releasing his men

> >from their Oaths, and I will not sit upon a Witan side by side with

> >an Outlaw and an Oathbreaker, that being Jeffrey Runokviki.

> >

> >I did not add my name to this document, I was not consulted on this

> >document, apparently what I may or may not have thought on the matter

> >was not important to my Lord and Lady, and I cannot support it and

> >call myself Honorable.



False pride and misplaced vanity have lead Swain to expose himself as an honorless, lying wretch without the integrity, strength of will or strength of arm to support himself or his men. It is sad to see a man that the Normannii and her Lord Atheling considered close ally and friend fall into such craven depths. However a man's station cannot be made what it is not; a man in his forties that beats his wife, begs from his betters, feigns the support of throngs when none exist, and lives at the mercy of others because he has the same job as a high school student isn't a Lord. He is at best a churl; however Swain's recent actions have proven his actions to be less than churlish.



And now the Mercians are attempting to Outlaw Jon Pressley for coming out against the Deeming that his name was wrongfully attached to- without benefit of Thing on the issue and clearly in violation of his rights under the Theodish Doctrine of Freedom of Conscience. Jon has dutifully rendered a true accounting of the “railroad” in Mercia of the abanning they posted- and has objected to the Mercian deeming in substance, finding (as Swain did privately) that the Neowanglian Witengemot DID violate Dan Lord’s reach. Moreover- Jon's name was wrongfully subscribed to the document-proof positive of the falsity of the Mercian Rice's words.



Now they seek to outlaw him, despite his request for release, publicly requested- as the Mercian’s with double speak pundit that the Anglian’s were free to do:



> This being so, the time has come to do what
> Lord Dan was too weak to do with

> Brian, former lord of Néowanglia, when he raised

> voice against him and the whole of

> the Normanii Þéod . We must consider outlawing Jon

> Pressley. The evidence I think

> all of the Witan has seen as it was posted to our

> Outer Hall, this list, and the

> Normanni-Freonds list. The proposed abanning

> composed by the Hláfdige Miercinga

> and myself is as follows:

>

> "On Sæterdæg, se nigonteóða dæg Æfterra Geolas, 1557

> wintra siððan Englan

> tocyme; Jon þegn Pressley, Héah Geréfa of the

> Middelfolc did raise voice against

> Teresa Hláfdige Miercinga and Swain Æþeling Wódening

> Ealdorman Miercinga.

>

> To wit, he did attempt to use information found to

> be false backing the Norman

> position on Néowanglia releasing its lord, Brian

> Smith of his duties and obligations

> to them on grounds that given the evidence seem self

> evident.

>

> To wit, he raised voice against Teresa Hláfdige

> Miercinga and Swain Æþeling

> Wódening Ealdorman Miercinga, and the Witanagemót

> Miercinga by stating the

> threat made against Swain Æþeling Wódening, his

> hláford, Teresa Hláfdige

> Miercinga, and his family was not a threat at all.

>

> To wit, he referred to Wulfgæst Héah Blótere as an

> an Outlaw and an Oathbreaker,

> although, we do not consider the outlawries of the

> Winland Ríce to be binding to

> anyone but themselves, just as we do not consider

> the outlawry of Dan Lord by the

> Winland Ríce to be binding to anyone but the Winland

> Ríce. Nor do we consider the

> rash abanning of Dan Lord stating the Witanagemót of

> Néowanglia were oath

> breakers, and based on a lack of evidence, to be

> sufficent to call Wulfgæst Héah

> Blótere, an Oath Breaker.

>

> To wit, we strongly feel Jon þegn Pressley Héah

> Geréfa Middelfolces may be

> consorting with oathbreakers in the form of Brian

> Smith, kinsman of Swain Æþeling

> Wódening, and therefore endangering the luck of his

> own folk.

> Therefore let it be known that from this day forth,

> Jon Pressley is considerd

> wulfhéofod, and outlawed from all of the Miercinga

> Ríces holdings. May he roam

> with the wretches and beasts of the field, given no

> shelter or sanctuary from the

> weather or the wilds. We beseach the Ése and Wen to

> turn their backs on him, and

> offer gifts so that they may do so. He is now

> without folk, to be trusted by no man.

>

> 'dead bid sella eorla gehwylcum þone edwitlif' "

>

> I feel we should give Jon three days to answer these

> charges. What feels the

> Witanagemót?

>

> Gódspéd!

> Swain Æþeling Wódening

> Ealdorman Miercinga

>

> Tee Hláfdige Wodening Canote

> Hláfdige Miercinga

> Hláfdige Middlefolces

>



They have already drafted the deeming of outlawry – without Thing, response, or even perfunctory process. Of course they cannot hold Thing- as the Truth is that Jon is right and would therefore win before the eyes of our Gods. The Mercian cry of “elder thew” rings hollow and is no more than a sham in the light of their true action- clearly laid bare here in their attempt to outlaw an honorable man in the dark- when Thing by our ancestors was a public matter held under the open Skies to be witnessed by our Gods. Can anyone’s duplicity be more obvious and overt?



Normandy takes the revitalization of the Germanic worldview as an integral part of the reconstruction of our religion. Without all the attendant perspective on life that our ancestors bore it is not Theodish belief. However, bearing this in mind, our Witan will of course encourage our Lord to accept weregeld offered to right these wrongs only if they are accompanied by the appropriate admissions by their bearers and full acknowledgement of their specifics. The Gods themselves are witness to all in Middle Earth, and none should tempt their doom with such blatant and cowardly acts as those of Mercia. If one wants to cry havoc, one should be prepared to go to war; words alone are meaningless, for we are our deeds.



We in Normandy, of course, would likewise accept Thing-trial by einvigi or holmgang in lieu of such Scylds, and let the Gods themselves measure the sooth of this by champion combat, in accordance with whatever secular laws may appertain. Our understanding is that the great State of Texas, has an excellent common-law history as a Duelist state.



Godssward or Reik and Thiud, and Gods save our Atheling Lord!



May Tiu see and Vara hear,


Daniel Herros Flores

High Wita



William Thain McNamara

Wita



Lou Thain Sancio

Wita