Attorney / State Rep
New Canaan, CT
Joined March 2014
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Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
This is such a good read and so true for today’s times.
A farmer, tired of rats destroying his crops and stealing his grain, came up with a clever but cruel plan. He threw a dead pig into a deep, abandoned well. Attracted by the smell, nearly 80 rats rushed into the well to feast on the carcass. At first, everything seemed wonderful. There was more than enough food for everyone, and the rats ate until they were satisfied.
But when the food was gone, they discovered something terrifying. The walls of the well were too steep to climb. They were trapped. Days passed, and hunger turned into desperation. Desperation turned into aggression. The rats that had once eaten peacefully beside one another began fighting for survival. Eventually, they began killing and eating each other.
One by one, their numbers dwindled until only a single rat remained. Its eyes were bloodshot, and it had survived by consuming its own kind. Then the farmer returned, lowered a rope into the well, and rescued the last surviving rat. But he didn't save it out of kindness or compassion.
The farmer knew the rat had learned to survive by hunting other rats. When he released it into his fields, it would continue killing its own kind instead of eating his grain. The farmer had turned his enemy into his greatest weapon.
And that is the lesson of divide and conquer. Those who control the trap don't need to fight the battles themselves. They simply create the conditions in which others turn against one another.
The rats believed their enemies were the other rats. They never realized that the true enemy was the farmer who had put them there.
The greatest danger isn't always the enemy standing in front of you. Sometimes it's the one who created the conflict and stands quietly watching you destroy each other.
Before you turn against your neighbor because of their political beliefs, ask yourself who benefits from keeping Americans divided. While we fight each other over Republican and Democrat, we may be overlooking those who profit from the conflict. Perhaps the real question isn't which side you're on, but who built the well—and why they want us fighting at the bottom of it.
Shared from Fb::unknown author
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
MUST WATCH!!
A Pennsylvania High School student was just crowned Homecoming King, and immediately turned around and placed the crown on the runner-up instead.
The pure joy and emotion in the room said everything.
In a culture that often rewards status, attention, and self-interest, a teenager chose to share the spotlight and give his classmate a moment he’ll never forget.
That’s real character. That’s leadership. That’s the kind of quiet kindness that actually changes the world for the better.
More of this please. 🙏🏻
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
Supreme Officers of the Knights of Columbus and more than 200 Fourth Degree Knights from several jurisdictions marched in the 82nd annual Columbus Day parade in Manhattan today. Before the parade, Knights attended Mass celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop emeritus of New York, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
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Photos by Tamino Petelinšek.
1. Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus march up Fifth Avenue in the 82nd annual Columbus Day parade in Manhattan today.
2. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly greets Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop emeritus of New York, at the 82nd annual Columbus Day parade in Manhattan today.
3. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly marches with Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus in the 82nd annual Columbus Day parade in Manhattan today.
4. Supreme Officers of the Knights of Columbus stand with Fourth Degree Knights in Manhattan’s Central Park after the 82nd annual Columbus Day parade today.
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
This Columbus Day, the Knights of Columbus proudly honors the spirit of exploration, courage, and faith that shaped a new world. Inspired by Christopher Columbus’ bold journey across the ocean, we celebrate the enduring legacy of discovery — not just of new lands, but of new possibilities for faith, family, and freedom.
As Knights, we continue that mission today through charity, unity, and fraternity — building a future rooted in the same spirit of hope and purpose that launched Columbus’ historic voyage.
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
Role Model: Matthew Stafford’s pregame ritual includes praying to God and hugging each of his girls.
Stafford is a man who loves his family and God.
This is what real wealth truly is ❤️🙏
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
Americans who identify as gay are FINALLY starting to wake up to Islam
“I'm a gay guy that lives in Michigan that's reading the Quran, and the reason I'm reading this is because I've been called Islamophobic by people in the gay community because I've expressed genuine concern over the state of how gays and women are treated in Islamic-dominated countries.
I genuinely do not understand how somebody could look at a place that's Muslim-dominated and say that they want that here, especially as a gay man. It makes no sense.
It's not like a hatred thing. It's not like a political argument. It's like those are not conditions that would be conducive to the way that I want to live my life here.
— you should not and cannot use that to infringe on my right to be who I am, as long as we're not being violent towards each other, right? So that's what America is all about, and a great country. Like, we're very, very lucky to be here.
So I just don't get what the gays are thinking. They're literally they've lost it. They have lost it — they're like actually mentally ill. This is like a mental illness at this point that these gays are so in support of something that's so obviously bad for them. I cannot understand”
FINALLY gay people are starting to realize there is a problem with Islam. Here is a list of Muslim countries you can be killed or beaten for being gay
- Iran: Death penalty under the Islamic Penal Code for male same-sex penetrative acts
- Saudi Arabia: Death penalty
- Yemen: Death by stoning
- Afghanistan: Death penalty
- Brunei: Death by stoning under the Syariah Penal Code for male same-sex acts
- Mauritania: Death by public stoning
- Nigeria (northern states): Death penalty
- Qatar: Death penalty possible under Sharia for Muslims
- United Arab Emirates: Death penalty possible under Sharia
- Somalia: Death penalty possible under Sharia
- Pakistan: Death penalty technically possible under Sharia
Other Muslim-majority or Sharia-influenced countries with criminal penalties such as imprisonment, flogging and more
Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Gambia, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Oman, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and more with punishments that include years to life in prison with flogging and fines
Indonesia gays get public flogging under local Sharia
This is that the Democrat Party is importing into America
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
Nick Foles says Jalen Hurts is missing wide open WRs like Makai Lemon and Dontayvion Wicks because he’s not going through progressions or throwing on time (again).
🎥 (@NickFoles)
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
Fantastic answer from Bryce Harper on how he rebounded from a major error on a fly ball to crushing a homerun the next at bat. This is what many miss about sports, the game is secondary to the life lessons. You’ll fail a ton, but get back up.
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
The perfect ending for Justin Verlander.
His daughter runs out to the mound and he walks off with his family.
Feels like a movie.
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “I have never seen killing and destruction like Gaza in all my years as Secretary-General.”
According to even the most critical reports, Guterres, 70,000 people were killed in the war in Gaza, a large proportion of them Hamas terrorists.
During your years as Secretary-General: more than 600,000 people were massacred or starved to death in Ethiopia.
377,000 died in Yemen — that figure appears in reports issued by your own organization.
150,000 were killed in Sudan and 12 million were displaced.
Hundreds of thousands have been buried in Ukraine.
You didn’t see it? They died before your eyes. You simply looked the other way, because the Jews couldn’t be blamed.
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
I kept hearing that Pope Leo XIV was “far left,” and for a while I assumed there must be some truth to it.
Then I started actually listening to him.
Not clips. Not political commentary. Not somebody telling me what I was supposed to think about him. His speeches. His words. His teaching.
And I have completely changed my opinion of him.
On immigration, he has acknowledged that a country has the right to control its borders. But he does not stop there. He has also told immigrants that entering another country comes with responsibilities. Learn the language. Respect the laws. Learn the customs. Participate in the life of the community.
That struck me because it is neither “open borders” nor a rejection of the immigrant. It is order and responsibility alongside human dignity.
Then there is abortion.
Pope Leo has been absolutely clear that the right to life begins at conception and continues until natural death. In his encyclical, he specifically named induced abortion and euthanasia among choices the Church considers gravely wrong.
And now, as he prepares to go to France, where abortion has been placed in the constitution and assisted dying has advanced into law, the central theme of his visit is essentially a defense of human life: “That the world may have life.” (AP News)
Then listen to what he tells young people.
Stop being afraid of commitment.
Stop being afraid of your vocation.
Stop being afraid of marriage.
When speaking to hundreds of thousands of young people in Spain, he congratulated couples preparing for marriage and told them plainly: “You don’t have to be afraid to get married and start a family.”
In a culture constantly telling young adults to delay marriage, delay children, chase themselves first and keep every option open forever, hearing the Pope tell young people that marriage and family are something beautiful enough to embrace instead of fear hit me hard. (National Catholic Register)
The more I listen to Pope Leo, the more ridiculous our political labels start to look.
Borders matter.
Laws matter.
The unborn matter.
Migrants matter.
Marriage matters.
Families matter.
Human dignity matters.
None of those things cancel the others out.
That is Catholicism.
I thought I had Pope Leo figured out before I really listened to him.
I was wrong.
And honestly, the more I hear from him, the more I love this Pope.
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
Grok @Bot Tesla Integration is officially here!
This is another game changer. While FSD drives you around, you’ll be able to talk to your team of Bots and have them perform tasks, or finish your work.
In this video, one of my Bots ordered me a new pair of AirPods while I was driving to the mall. It also ordered a coffee so I could grab it on the way out.
I was able to drive there, order my AirPods, and get a coffee all totally hands-free. This is another massive reason to buy a @Tesla.
It just keeps getting better and better. Grok Bot integration is available now for Super Heavy Users (more tiers will have access soon).
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
🚨INCREDIBLE: During a multi-vehicle collision on the Route 90 bridge in Ocean City, Maryland, a 2-year-old girl was ejected from a pickup truck, falling nearly 30 feet into the Assawoman Bay below.
Jonathan Bauer, who was driving across the bridge with his teenage daughter when the crash occurred, rushed over to inspect the wreckage. Looking down into the water, he saw the toddler floating face down and becoming unresponsive.
Without hesitation, Bauer instructed his daughter to flag down first responders, removed his shoes, and leapt off the bridge into the bay. He swam to the little girl, lifted her onto his shoulder, and patted her back until she coughed up water and began breathing again.
A passing pontoon boat quickly navigated toward them, pulling both Bauer and the toddler out of the water and transporting them to shore, where emergency personnel were waiting. The child was airlifted to a regional medical center for evaluation and released the following day in good condition.
Bauer was later honored by local law enforcement and civic leaders for his decisive actions and selflessness.
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
A wrestler won 10-0, then saw his injured opponent struggling and skipped the celebration entirely.
He picked him up and carried him off the mat toward the locker room.
RESPECT
Writer: Sol
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
No. 1 New Canaan football blanks No. 10 Fairfield Prep for 25th straight win and 2nd straight shutout ift.tt/8yArqku
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
96% of Jews in Poland were murdered by the Nazis. That is genocide.
3% of Gaza’s population, mostly male combatants, died in the war they started. That is not genocide.
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM:
This is a well written and thought out article written by a 26 yr old college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who's in grad school for her MBA.
What a GREAT perspecitve...
My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us!
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis (Florida) trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of presidential candidates calling for policies to "fix" the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around.
I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook's, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it.
Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose.These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don't give them a second thought.
We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty One Times!!!
Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful. ??
Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, "An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity."
Never saw American prosperity! Let that sink in.
When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I've ever heard in my 26 years on this earth.
Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided.
My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity. I know this first hand, I went to college, let's just say I didn't have the popular opinion, but I digress.
Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country.
People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, we elect some politicians who are dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism.
Why? The answer is this,?? my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the great depression, or live through two world wars, the Korean War, The Vietnam War or we didn't see the rise and fall of socialism and communism.
We don't know what it's like to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague."
Thomas P O'Dea, Jr retweeted
Young activists think socialism means FREE STUFF.
They have no idea it's failed again and again.
"It's not that people have to be trained into liking socialism," explains @robkhenderson: "They have to be educated out of liking it.”
Stossel TV Fellow Leyla Taghiyeva explains: