بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا وعظيمنا وحبيب قلوبنا وشفيع نفوسنا أب القاس محمد وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين واصحابه الغر الميامين الحمد لله الذي جعلنا من المتمسكين بولاية سيد ومولاية علي ابن أبي طالب الله سبحانه وتعالى الحمد لله الذي هدانا لهذا وما كنا لنهتد يا لو لا انهدان الله أما بعد يقول الله في كتابه الكريم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم قل لا أسألكم عليه أجرا إلا المودة في القربة The first of our salawat is in honour of the Messenger of Allah وحمس الله عليه وسلم الله مسلها الله The second is in honour of theā the Mu'minīn The third with your loudest voices is in honour of the Imam of Awatām, Imam صاحب العصر والزمان وحمس الله عليه وسلم Respect to scholars brothers and sisters بركاته صلوات الله وسلامه عليه was born on the 15th of Ramadan in the third year after Hijra and died in the month of Safar in the 50th year after Hijra A man from whose life many a lesson may be learnt and many an example may be derived And a man whose life has to be examined in depth for his life affects each and every one of our lives today Unfortunately, however, he continues to be a man whose depiction is extremely negative both in Muslim as well as in non-Muslim circles Arguably the most misunderstood of the Imam of Al-Muhammad is this Imam In the idea that until today he is not given the credit that he deserves for the amount of sacrifices, bravery, and acts of wisdom that he performed in his life Until today many question the bravery of Imam Al-Hasan, many question the wisdom of his decisions, many question his lifestyle And you find that in the academic world as well as within the Muslim world there are many who portray him in a very negative tone If you look for example in the academic world you'll find that many books which discuss the life of Imam Al-Hasan discuss him in a very negative tone Will Frishora for example in his book on the Agha Khans speaks of Imam Al-Hasan as a man who all he did in his life was marry and divorce They used to call him the habitual divorcee because they used to say all he used to enjoy was marrying women and divorcing them You find likewise this is echoed by Reverend Henri Lamon and further than this Amir Ali in his book The Spirit of Islam Talks about how Imam Al-Hasan was a man who was fond of the easy and quiet life He was not interested in the religion of Islam all he was interested in was being with woman and divorcing woman This negative portrayal of Imam Al-Hasan is a portrayal which exists until today At the same time you find that Imam Al-Hasan one of the other negative depictions about him was that they placed Imam Al-Hasan alongside personalities who did not build the religion of Islam Rather saw to destroy the religion of Islam until today people always say and you will find recently a documentary or a series has been made where people talk about Imam Al-Hasan and Muawiya as the great restorers of the religion of Islam The two of them bought unity to the religion and it really is sad that Imam Al-Hasan is compared with personalities whose only aim was to come and build a power base in the kingdom Not a caliphate in the religion of Islam Therefore you find that one of the accusations that exist until today about Imam Al-Hasan was that he sold his caliphate for 7 million derhams There is a book which discusses Imam Al-Hasan which says that Imam Al-Hasan sold his caliphate for 7 million derhams He sold it for 7 million, gave 2 million to Imam Al-Hasan He kept 5 million for himself and allowed Muawiya to continue ruling All of these accusations have to be replied back to And do not be surprised Imam Al-Hasan's grandfather is accused of similar things until today That the holy prophet until today people say was a man of woman and nothing more The holy prophet until today people say was a man who signed treaties more than showed bravery And therefore you find that there are many similarities when you analyze the biography of Imam Al-Hasan with his grandfather the holy prophet Let's examine his life and see what are the myths that were created about Imam Al-Hasan And how do we reply back to these myths Because in our communities unfortunately many of us know more about Imam Al-Hasan than about Imam Al-Hasan Some will say why is that unfortunate because Imam Al-Hasan himself used to look up to Imam Al-Hasan Further than this some of us believe Imam Al-Hasan was braver than Imam Al-Hasan You will find some people in the community will say Imam Al-Hasan was a weak man whereas Imam Al-Hasan was a brave man What they do not realize is if you swap their positions they would have acted in exactly the same way Let's examine this and dissect his biography in depth As we said the Imam was born on the 15th of Ramadan in the third year after Hijrah His parents were married the year before and therefore you found that he was the first child in the household of the family of the prophet As you know being the first child this board delight It board delight to the household of the prophet In which way in the idea that Rasool Allah's first grandson was Imam Al-Hasan And if you look at the reaction of Rasool Allah when he hears that Imam Al-Hasan was born The reaction is a wonderful reaction with Imam Al-Hasan there was more sadness when he was born Rasool Allah the hadith tell us when Imam Al-Hasan was born his steps were very heavy When he walked to the house of Fatima al-Zahra but with Imam Al-Hasan he was overjoyed He came to the house and there was straight away a connection between himself and Imam Al-Hasan And you find that the narration tell us that Imam Amir al-Mu'minin is asked what are you going to name this boy Imam replies with something which is interesting which not many people pay attention to Imam Ali replies the naming of my son is with Rasool Allah not with me When Rasool Allah has then asked what are you going to name your grandson He replies the naming of my grandson is with Allah سبحانه وتعالى Now this point is a delicate point normally people gloss over it Why is it a delicate point When a name is to be given by Allah سبحانه وتعالى That's an indication that this person wherever he goes in his life is being guided by Allah سبحانه وتعالى Isn't it As in now if I say that there is a rightly guided Khalifa Many of the rightly guided caliphs their names were given to them by mushrik fathers Isn't that true As in many of the caliphs we say are rightly guided their fathers were mushrik they were polytheists And they named them and at the end we said they are rightly guided How can we reach a conclusion That if someone whose father is mushrik and names him At the end of the day this person is rightly guided but the one who Allah سبحانه وتعالى Names we are not sure whether to call him rightly guided Because today in the world when you ask people how many rightly guided caliphs are there They say to you number one, number two, number three, number four You say how about Imam Al-Hasan they say we are not sure about Imam Al-Hasan Him and Mu'awiya are on the same level but we are not sure which one of them is right The reply that we give is Imam Al-Hasan when Rasool Allah says I await Jibril's command before I name him Isn't this an indication that Imam Al-Hasan is always guided by Allah سبحانه وتعالى So then Rasool Allah tells the family Jibril has just come to me and said to me name him Al-Hasan Al-Hasan was a name never given to anyone before him There was a mountain in Arabia There was a mountain called the Hasan Mountain But there was never a human being by the name of Hasan Therefore you found the first to be given this name Was Imam Al-Hasan And I tell you this name Hasan Al-Hasan Later on in Islamic history People would pride themselves on sacrificing anyone with this name People would come and kill anyone who had the name Hasan One person narrates I went to Sham I went to see one of my friends one of my cousins I entered the house I had noticed in Sham No one is called Hasan No one is called Hussein I was disappointed I entered my friend's house As soon as I entered he called his son I said Hasan Hussein come here I said to him Masha Allah You have named your sons Hasan and Hussein After the grand sons of Rasool Allah He said to me what do you mean Masha Allah He said it's an honor that you've named your sons after this He said no I named them this so that when I get angry I'll send my curse on Hasan And my curse on Hussein It's reached that level That these names of the flowers of the life of Rasool Allah Reached the level where people were embarrassed to give these names Embarrassed You find therefore that Rasool Allah Names him And there is no relationship like Imam Al-Hasan Imam Hussein with Rasool Allah To the extent that Rasool Allah He uses them as an intermediary For giving children their rights in the religion Because you know the Arabs The Arabs used to be embarrassed of showing affection to their kids To an Arab if you hug your child Or if you kiss your child It wasn't a sign of a masculine man in front of you No You were able to be proud of your children Yes They are a zina in your life But for you to kiss them this was unheard of Rasool Allah with Imam Al-Hasan Would perform many acts Not only out of his love for Imam Al-Hasan But so that others would see him And take as an example For example Whenever he'd walk past the house of his daughter He'd stop near the house And he'd say Oh family of the Prophet Where is the flower of my heart Al-Hasan Imam Al-Hasan would run out of the house Rasool Allah would hug him In front of all his companions And he'd say I love him And Allah loves the one who loves him You would find on another occasion That Rasool Allah would even Let Imam Al-Hasan sit on his shoulders And he'd walk around You know sometimes they call it piggy bank You put that child on your shoulder And he would walk around with the child You would find that the companions would come They would see Rasool Allah doing this Do you know what they'd say to Imam Al-Hasan Not to Rasool Allah They'd say to the young Imam Al-Hasan Oh son How blessed you are with the steed that you are riding Rasool Allah would reply No How blessed I am with the rider This was an indication All of these are indications You're telling the boy How blessed he is on my shoulder On the contrary How blessed I am with the rider That I'm honored that this boy Rides on my shoulder On top of this You would find Rasool Allah He would lengthen it for Imam Al-Hasan To be on the back And you would find Rasool Allah Telling the people That this is the master of the youth of Paradise This is the flower of my life One day one of the Arabs By the name of Al-Aggra Al-Aggra means the bold headed one May Allah bless the mother Who is so creative with that name Al-Aggra Called the bold headed one Al-Aggra on one occasion Comes to Rasool Allah I saw you kiss Imam Al-Hasan today He said yes He said I've got ten sons I've never kissed any of them He said why He said they are my sons What am I doing kissing them I want them to be men Rasool Allah would reply With a beautiful answer He'd say whoever doesn't have mercy Will not receive mercy From Allah سبحانه وتعالى Have mercy towards these children Hasan and Hussein I showed them mercy So you follow this example Therefore the first influence On the life of Imam Al-Hasan Was Rasool Allah The second influence Was the spirituality Of his mother Fatima I tell you People do not realize How much of a relation Imam Hasan had With his mother Fatima Do you know Every lesson Imam Al-Hasan Had in his life The origin Of the lesson Was his mother Fatima And that's why Imam Al-Asqari Salawat Allah And peace be upon him Imam Al-Asqari Has a phenomenal line Imam Al-Asqari says We the imams Are a hujja over the people And Fatima Is a hujja over us We Are a hujja Are a proof on the people But our grandmother Fatima Is a proof over us In which way Imam Al-Hasan Would show us A mother With spirituality Can build a household Napoleon Used to say Give me good mothers I'll give you a strong nation Imam Al-Hasan On many occasions Would talk about The lessons He learned from his mother And that's why Do you know No Imam of Ahl al-Bayt Had spirituality Like Imam Al-Hasan When it came to Hajj Imam Al-Hasan 25 occasions He walked to Hajj By foot Today If the flight is late You always have that one Naggy person in the group Isn't it The headache I call him Or some call him the virus You find that There's always one person In the group Who gives you a headache Because of a flight Being late Habibi Why are you coming with us Hajj Stay at home Go on holiday Somewhere else The Hajj Was meant to be a struggle You find that Imam Al-Hasan Learned the spirituality This love for worship From his mother In which way In the middle of the night I was only a child I'd wake up I'd see my mother In the middle of the night I'd go and sit next to her While she's supplicating While she's supplicating I'd go and sit next to her And while I'd be next to her I'd want to listen to her Du'a Her supplication And I'd hear her Supplication Saying Ya Allah Forgive the members Of the community And then forgive us Ya Allah And forgive us And forgive us And forgive us And forgive us And forgive us And forgive us Ya Allah Bless the members Of the community And bless us Ya Allah Be generous To the members of the community And be generous to us Say mother In the middle of the night I see you Praying for everybody else How about for your household She replied to him With an exquisite line Oh my son Hasan First the neighbors Then the house One of the conditions Of Du'a being accepted Which many of us Don't understand Is that first We have to ask For our friends Then ourselves Many of us Are very selfish Straight away I want this, I want that I want this, I want that Okay How about the other community members One day a person Came to Rasool Allah In this issue He said Ya Rasool Allah My Du'a Is not being accepted Rasool Allah You prayed for others First then yourself He said No He said Very well Pray for others Rasool Allah Bless me Bless Muhammad And don't bless anyone else He said No, no, no You don't need to be The Du'a like that I mean That you prayed for everybody And for yourself That have this lack Of remove this selfishness From you Imam Al-Hasan Would say In the middle of the night The world is asleep My mother Fatima I would see her read Du'a Supplicate to others He'd say Then My mother Fatima What would I see He'd say In the daytime I'd see my mother Fatima Answering the questions Of religion For the woman Of Arabia This is a mother This is a mother There is spirituality And a service For Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala Today You find some of the mothers There is a lack Of spirituality sometimes There's more concern With the image of the child The schooling of the child The degree of the child So I can show off to the community Fatima Said these things are good Having a degree Having education No problem But where's the spirituality Where you as a role model For your daughter Or your son Fatima A lady would come Imam Al-Hasan would say Ladies would come to my mother's house My mother's cooking My mother's cleaning My mother's looking after all of us Yet a lady would come And say to her Oh my dear lady Fatima My mother is ill I have come to ask her questions On her behalf I want you to answer them Fatima Would say What are the questions The reply would be They are questions concerning Salah Fatima Would tell her Go ahead Ask That lady would ask And ask And ask And ask Until at the end She said to Fatima Or lady of light I may have troubled you Too much with my questions Forgive me Maybe it's better That I don't ask anymore Listen to Fatima The reply would be Imam Al-Hasan Imam Al-Hasan is so young at this time You know Imam Al-Hasan Was eight years of age When his mother died All of this that I'm telling you He saw from a young age He said My mother looked at her and said If a person Was asked to carry something From the ground to the roof Of a building For a thousand dinar Would they say they are tired The lady said no She said I when I answer your questions Allah has promised The reward of pearls Between the heavens And the earth Why would I be tired When it's a service To Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala That generosity From Fatima And then another influence On his young days Was his father Amir Al-Mu'mineen His father Had a major impact on him Do you know why Because his father Imam would see The sacrifices His father And mother Would make us a couple Remember a child Looks at the relationship Of their parents Is it healthy Is it softly spoken Are there arguments And shouting at home Constantly Many a child psychologically Is damaged When they see their parents Fighting all the time At home Sometimes as parents There is a role to play Where if I have a difference With my wife Why do I take it out In front of the whole Of the children Of the house When my aunt And my wife Sit somewhere else In the house And talk In Muslim communities today If I have a problem With my wife I'll bring her down In front of her children A little bait Never taught us like this A little bait Tort us Even if there's a difference Of opinion There's another room You can go to Talk between yourselves Fighting in front Of your children That child psychologically Is damaged That child psychologically Is hurt She would say I would see My mother The most beautiful Combination of a marriage And subhanallah He would say That night When me and Hassan and Hussein Were ill And my parents Were worried about us And they asked Rasoolallah Ya Rasoolallah What is it that we should do Hassan and Hussein Are ill He said fast Make a vow That if they get better You will fast For three nights He said the first night I saw that as we Were about to break Our fast Someone knocked at our door He said I saw my mother And my father Speak to each other And they said Whoever it is Whatever they need We will give them Imagine you're about To break your افطار Imagine now tonight In شهر رمضان You're about to break your افطار Someone knocks at the door Say Do you mind giving me something You'll say Listen I've been fasting For 12 hours Leave this house Oh if he's lucky What will we do We might give him A loaf of something Some small piece of meat And let them go He said I saw my father And my mother When the person Answered the door Oh family of the prophet We are ill We are prisoner And often a captive On each of the nights I saw them Go to sleep without any food This family I tell you This family Their sacrifice cannot be counted You can't count the sacrifice If it's in terms of food If it's in terms of wealth If it's in terms of their own life You can't count it And he said That was when the verse و يطعمون الطعام على حبه مسكين و يتيمن و أسيرا They would give Towards the prisoner And the wolf and the captive And what did they want They didn't want جزاء They didn't want شكر They didn't want the community to thank them Rather it was from their hearts He saw their sacrifices And that's why إمام الحسن's first grand occasion at a young age was when his grandfather رسول الله took him on the occasion of مباهلة When he went to meet the Christians of نجران these Christians were amazed Do you know why they were amazed إمام الحسن was six years old إمام الحسن was five years old They could not believe that رسول الله had bought a six and a five year old on an event where Allah was going to send down a curse on the disbelievers But do you know what was so beautiful about that event رسول الله was telling the Muslims It was a year and a half before he died مباهلة was one and a half years before رسول الله died And exactly one year before the day of غدير When رسول الله went to the event of مباهلة Many companions thought he'd take them with him When رسول الله took his family Do you know what he was saying He was saying when it comes to sacrificing the religion on a day like مباهلة or any day after مباهلة these are the five all of you have to look up to It was an indication that after I die when the Quran says فمن حاجك فيه من بعد ما جاك من العلم فقل تعالوا ندعو أبناءنا وابناءكم ونساءنا ونساءكم ونفوسنا ونفوسكم The Quran Allah tells him take your sons He takes Hassan and Hussein and therefore when you look at Imam those first eight years were eight years of glory all of a sudden then the trials of life begin to it his grandfather رسول الله dies and when his grandfather رسول الله dies the narration says to us that when his grandfather رسول الله dies on his deathbed his grandfather is narrated to have said when Imam Ali came to remove Imam حسن his grandfather said now let me smell more of him and let him smell more of me then only a few months later Imam الحسن sees his mother فاعتمت الزهراء killed in front of him eight years of age so why can't these children sit down only Allah knows eight years of age you find Imam الحسن sees his grandmother فاعتمت his mother فاعتمت الزهراء killed in front of him and he becomes really the father of the house he becomes the father of the house that he's got a younger brother حسين and he's got a younger sister زيناب and he's got another younger sister كلثوم and Imam الحسن saw certain things with his mother I don't want to mention from the منبار Imam الحسن saw the way his mother was treated and it stayed with him for years you see your mother the way she was hit that stays with you when your mother was angry with certain personalities who come outside her house every book of حديث says that when she said this is the house of the daughter of Rasool Allah and the reply was so what so what will come and burn the house read read the book of حديث who was فاعتمت angry with when she died yet the responsibility therefore came for Imam الحسن to act as a father figure for his brother and his younger sisters and that's why I'll tell you something one of the biggest myths created about Imam الحسن which I always hear and I tell you it's a great myth that people say Imam الحسن was not as strong as Imam الحسن he didn't have Imam الحسن's bravery Imam الحسن was very brave we saw it at Karbala they say Imam الحسن had no bravery Imam الحسن was someone who was fond of the easy life Imam الحسن was someone who enjoyed staying away from the battlefield do you know at Jamal and Safin there was no one as important as Imam الحسن on the battlefield at Jamal and Safin there was no one as important as Imam الحسن on the battlefield I ask all of you as followers of Imam الحسن how many of us have read about Imam الحسن in Jamal how many of us have read about Imam الحسن at Safin how many of us do you know before the battle of Jamal do you know who made people come and fight with Imam Ali alongside Imam Ali Imam الحسن gave a خطبة before the battle of Jamal I tell you this was one of the most powerful lectures ever given in Islamic history Imam الحسن أبو موسى الأشعري when he was in Kufa was telling people don't go and fight with Ali ibn Abi Talib stay in Kufa Imam الحسن turned around and his father said حسن go with Ammar ibn Yasir go and give a speech to them and tell them who I am I tell you when you read that speech you should go away and read the speech of Imam الحسن he gave a speech where he told the people of Kufa have you forgotten the day of Ghadir when my father was chosen did you forget what my father gave the religion of Islam when he was younger at Badr and at Ohud and at Khandakh and at Khaybar and Hunain and now people come out to fight my father and you are sitting here he rallied the troops on the day of Jamal all of them came on the front line on the day of Jamal حسن ibn Ali مالك الأشتر محمد ibn Ababak محمد ibn Hanafiyah all of them were standing on the front line on the day of Jamal Imam أمير المؤمنين tells محمد ibn Hanafiyah his son from another wife from خولة بن جعفار Imam sage to Muhammad or Muhammad you see those soldiers even if their arrows are coming towards you remain firm like the mountains محمد ibn Hanafiyah was a valiant warrior he came out he came back surely to his dad he said dad I can't continue he said to him why he said because their arrows are sharp and they are showering on us his father looked at him and he said that is the difference between all sons and the sons of Fatamat he said to him why he said look at my son حسن if I let him out on that battle he will annihilate their army when Imam Ali says annihilate an army Imam Ali knows the soldier Imam الحسن if he went out in the battle of Jamal by himself Imam Ali was confident Imam الحسن would have annihilated them by himself but Imam الحسن kept calling him back and when he'd say father what is it he kept on telling him حسن stay back you are the Imam after me stay back I don't want you to be in the middle because I know you in the middle I know how brave you are none will come near you but stay back and then even at صفين even at صفين Imam الحسن at صفين had a fantastic effect on the battle to the extent أبيض الله ابن عمر ابن الخطاب أبيض الله tried to bribe Imam الحسن at صفين أبيض الله at صفين comes to Imam الحسن on behalf of معاوية he says to him الحسن knowing how brave Imam الحسن is they used to say at صفين if you can break Imam Ali Imam الحسن and you can win he came to Imam الحسن at صفين he said حسن listen your father the Arabs hate him because when he was younger he killed many of their fathers take this envelope and join our side we will look after you in a way we will والله Imam الحسن looked at him he said a man like me joins a man like you and a man like me leaves a father like my father he said you'll die shortly and Subhan Allah it was only shortly after that that عبيض الله ابن عمر died at صفين when Imam Ali when Sulayman الخزاع came to Imam Ali at صفين and Imam Ali looked at him and he said Sulayman I expected you to be loyal to us but I don't see any loyalty Sulayman now Imam said but I thought you'll be alongside me Sulayman went to Imam الحسن at صفين he said حسن look at the way your dad talks to me why is your dad so angry with me and Imam الحسن would say when my dad loves someone he's disappointed when he doesn't see his loyalty calm down do not be angry he had that calming influence in the battle of صفين that people would look up to him when the times got tough they'd see حسن ابن علي they'd stand alongside him and that's why when صفين finished Imam was disappointed why because Imam الحسن looked at the people at صفين Ali on one side محاوي on the other the man who sacrificed everything for the religion they leave him and they join the man whose father virtually wanted to destroy the religion and that's why the arbitration at صفين Imam looked at أبو موسى الأشعار and looked at the people and he said clearly to the people he said أبو موسى الأشعار you choose him if عمار ابن الخطاب thought أبو موسى الأشعار is good he would have put him in the not only this he said and أبو موسى wants to choose عبد الله بن عمر if عبد الله بن عمر was worthy then his father would have elected him then he said and asked for you خوارج who have left the army of my father because you know نهروان was after صفين the خوارج who were from the army and Imam Ali they fought him he said as for you who say there shouldn't be arbitration you don't just be brave with your sword sometimes you have to be brave with your tongue as well he looked at them and he said as for you who say there shouldn't be arbitration did رسول الله not choose سعاد بن معاد and his arbitration with بن القريضة then why are you talking about no arbitration when سعاد بن معاد was used for بن القريضة by the prophet these people unfortunately left the side of his father and that's why in the 40th year after hijra إمام الحسن sees his father killed in the mosque of kufa by عبد الرحمن بن ملجمان and I tell you إمام الحسن was deeply affected by his father's death for a number of reasons the first reason was that natural sentimental value as son has with the father and can you have a father like Ali بن أبي ضالي honestly can a human have a father like امير المؤمنين it's impossible that anyone can come near Ali بن أبي طالب in terms of his warmth in terms of his generosity in terms of his justice none could come near the son of Abu Talib and remember إمام علي بوتب إمام الحسن حسن انسان بن قلثوم إمام علي بوت بوت سمس their mother فاطمة died and do you know what hurt إمام الحسن secondly عبد الرحمن بن ملجم is thirsty then make sure you give him water and if عبد الرحمن بن ملجم needs food give him the best food and if عبد الرحمن بن ملجم needs clothing clothing and if عبد الرحمن بن ملجم one strike kills me then strike him with one don't mutilate his body because رسول الله said don't even let my father like this can you live and do you know what made it worse for him he said when I went to bury my father on my way back I saw a man crying he said on the way back when I saw this man crying I looked at him I said oh man what's wrong he looked at me and he said and according to some narrations this man couldn't even see he looked towards me and he said for three nights for every night in this holy month there used to be a man who would come and feed me but for three nights I haven't seen any man I don't know who the man was I'm crying because I was used to him coming to feed me and Imam began to cry he said that was my father so he looked at me he said where's he been for these three nights he said even ملجم struck him and I just buried him now it's difficult after that but he had to take the responsibility of Imam at the age of what at the age of 37 he took the responsibility of Imam when he stood up in kufa he told the people last night the best of Allah's creation after Rasool Allah has died a man who was the man of piety the man of justice the man of honor now I take over the position of succeeding my father and I'm telling you I am surprised that a Muslim that says there are only four rightly guided so you are saying Imam Al-Hassan Imam Al-Hassan not rightly guided so Imam Al-Hassan now alongside Muawiyah that's what Islam came to sometimes a Muslim needs to sit back and ask themselves what did we do in our history who wrote the books Imam Al-Hassan when he came into power Muawiyah had already fought his father now Muawiyah was in control of four countries Palestine Lebanon Jordan Syria in those days Sham doesn't mean Sham today Sham today is just Syria Sham in those days Palestine Lebanon Jordan Syria four countries and Muawiyah began an onslaught against Imam Al-Hassan Muawiyah was sending spy after spy find out what's he saying what's he doing when Imam Al-Hassan called these spies this is now an important moment when Imam Al-Hassan called these spies Imam Al-Hassan said what is it that he wants he wants a war let's have a war does he know whose son I am I'm not worried about him let's have a war there's one problem your father's just had three wars and his soldiers don't want to fight anymore that's the problem that he faced and that's the problem many did not understand Jamal Safreen one three wars in four years Imam Al-Hassan wanted to finish Muawiyah but when he turned around in the mosque in Kuwait he said oh soldiers get ready let's us go out and fight Muawiyah many of them turned around and said we are tired of fighting he said but there is blood there's injustice there's oppression what do you mean you're tired we all have to stand up عدي بالحاتم عدي صنب حاتم الطائي عدي صداب he said what's wrong with you is this not the grandson of Rasool Allah telling you to come and all of them are like we are tired Imam managed to mobilize 20,000 of them you know how many Muawiyah had 76,000 even then 76,000 against 20,000 you think Imam gave up Imam didn't give up Imam said to his soldiers let's fight but do you know the first problem soldiers are tired second problem the soldiers who are turning up give them a million dinar and an envelope they're willing now to change their religion it's hard to find 72 72 is hard Karbala 61AH 10th of Muaharram how many how many 72 it's hard to find more than that honestly in this world it's hard if he had more he would have gone ahead his own cousin عبايد الله ابن عباست his cousin had 8,000 soldiers under him Imam sent them to the front Muawiyah sent 1,000,000 درهم عبايد الله that's its websites soldiers money Muawiyah the promises he was giving because you remember Muawiyah his government was huge Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan all under Muawiyah all of them under Muawiyah Muawiyah was promising some soldiers if you want my daughters or my nieces you can marry them others he was saying millions palaces, horses whatever you want I'll give you others he was offering them positions and posts Imam Al-Hasan ended up with 8,000 soldiers Muawiyah 76,000 and even then Imam Al-Hasan after that was still saying let's fight if you're ready to fight I'll go but then Muawiyah did the cleverest thing spread a rumor amongst Imam Ali that Imam Al-Hasan Imam Al-Hasan doesn't want to fight when the rumor was spread who were there the khawarij khawarij where like we hear Imam Al-Hasan doesn't want to fight Imam Al-Hasan wanted to fight Imam Al-Hasan actually had the confidence that if you give me that battlefield even if there are 10 times more than me I can finish them even if there are 10 times more I can finish them I have the bravery leave it to me and I've got I've got I've got others أمر بالحمق الخزاعي these soldiers with me I can finish but Muawiyah played the clever game spread a rumor that Hasan wants peace صل خوارج and ran to him and said we hear that you want peace and they came and they stabbed Imam Al-Hasan in his thigh and Imam Al-Hasan at this moment do you know this Imam is an oppressed Imam people do not realize this Imam didn't want peace Imam wanted to finish Muawiyah but now he thought to himself if I've got soldiers who are going to stab me in the back and Muawiyah wants to stab me in the front who can I trust so he did what his grandfather رسول الله did at Hudaibiyah sometimes Imam's of Ahlul Bayt when they base a decision they base it on what their grandfather did in his life his soldiers were saying fight Muawiyah even there's a few of us left Imam calculated he thought no I swear that if we fight there will not be a single Shi'a living on this earth so they said to Muawiyah what are you going to do he said we'll do what my grandfather did at Hudaibiyah we'll sign a treaty but through the treaty we'll expose the other side you know if Muawiyah and Imam Al-Hasan fought and Muawiyah killed Imam Al-Hasan people would have still like today said سيدنا Muawiyah سيدنا Al-Hasan there was a bad problem between them so you know what Imam did رسول الله when he signed the Hudaibiyah treaty and he said why let's kill them رسول الله said no no no if you fight people will still not know who's right and who's wrong let's have a peace treaty but in the treaty we make a condition when the other side break it then the people will know who's on the right and who's on the wrong Imam Al-Hasan when the people said to him who are you basing your decision on a peace treaty with Muawiyah he said my grandfather did the same at Hudaibiyah and do you know what the terms of the treaty do you know why Imam Al-Hasan signed that treaty Imam Al-Hasan signed it because the terms would expose Muawiyah's behavior Muawiyah and Yazid are two different people Yazid publicly not religious privately not religious Muawiyah publicly unbelievably religious Imam Al-Hasan has to fight Yazid because Yazid's blatant moral corruption Imam Al-Hasan has to be clever and now with Muawiyah so Imam Al-Hasan what does he do he signs the treaty with Muawiyah he sets these terms term number one you will stop the cursing of my father in the Friday prayer term number two you will not change the Sunnah of my grandfather term number three you will stop the killing of the Shi'a of my father term number four the blood money of Jamal and Safin is to be returned back to the owners term number five when you die you will give this leadership to me or my brother Hussein did Muawiyah honor any of those none of them term number one you stop the cursing of my father Ali ibn Abi Talib 60 years every Friday prayer every single Friday prayer for 60 years begins may God curse Ali ibn Abi Talib every Friday prayer for 60 years term number one broken term number two you will not change the Sunnah of my grandfather the holy prophet and you find Salat al Juma'a was prayed on a Wednesday Salat al Juma'a when is Juma'a Friday so why are we praying on a Wednesday Muawiyah pray Juma'a on a Wednesday Muawiyah gives a khutbah the idea of a khutbah is the joint to be standing when you give a khutbah isn't it you find that Muawiyah would sit when you give a khutbah and other changes to the Sunnah and others and others killed حجر بن عدي الكندي عمر بن حمق الخزاعي رشاد الحجري all of these were killed by Muawiyah number four the blood money of those who died at jeminal safini you return it they didn't return any money but the fifth was the worst you return the leadership back to us did he return it back or who did he give it to he gave it back to his son Yazid بن Muawiyah he gave it to Yazid but what did he مام الحسن اجيب from that peace treaty امام الحسن اجيبت two things number one I've exposed his character now now you see clearly what he's about tell me a man who curses the fourth Khalifa am I meant to say رضي الله عنه I don't understand what type of mind am I using سو علي رضي الله عن عن معاوية رضي الله عن والله that's going to be some jannah we're going to go to I tell you and then on top of that he made sure that the followers of عن محمد's life would be saved because had امام الحسن not used the wisdom of his grandfather in signing that treaty there wouldn't be a follow of عن محمد today they would have annihilated them but امام الحسن looked at those around him he said the best option is signing a treaty and that treaty would lead to them for the tenth of محران therefore those who say حسن ابن علي was not brave I tell you حسن ابن علي if he had it his way and if he had his brothers companions he would have finished of that army right in front of him then they made a myth about his personal life what did they say they said امام الحسن all he does is get married divorced married divorced married divorced the first to make up this myth was who was أبو الحسن المداعني أبو الحسن المداعني was the first to make up this myth when أبو الحسن المداعني said امام الحسن married and divorced seventy women in his life how many seventy and so one wife is enough for you to keep in your house seventy you have time for seventy marriages and seventy divorces the son of Rasool Allah has nothing else to do but then when you study أبو الحسن المداعني nobody love Benny Omeya like أبو الحسن I wouldn't be surprised I wouldn't be surprised then you had الشبلنجي in نور الأفصار says أمام الحسن married ninety women and divorced all ninety of them and then you had arguably the worst was أبو طالب المكي أبو طالب المكي has a book called قوة القلوب it's still available until today it's a fourth century book أبو طالب المكي says أمام الحسن married three hundred women and divorced three hundred do you have time as mathematically is that possible as a human or no I honestly I don't know if you were to calculate mathematically can we marry and divorce three hundred times with that idea and revocables and all these things can you maybe someone can do a bit of research on this even mathematically speaking if we were to think about it mathematically أمام الحسن they say he married three hundred women between the time of his dad's خلافة until his death his dad became 36 AH isn't it أمام الحسن died 50 AH how many years is that 14 أمام الحسن was already married to three women خول الفزارية that was number one and he was married to and he was married to who would later on kill him yes so how many is he married to at the time of his dad's خلافة 3 they say 14 year period he married three hundred yes if we say he marries a fourth in that 14 years that would come to a conclusion that if he marries a fourth but keeps divorcing and marries a fourth and divorces and you've got an ادى period someone says but I'd does for the woman well if she's your fourth wife you have to wait for the revocable period because she can still come back to you isn't it so say 14 times 4 what's 14 times 4 56 so where did 300 come from if we're saying four wives every year 14 times 4 that comes to about 56 let's say so إمام الحسن if he did nothing else in Islam but get married he married 26 women well this is ridiculous I tell you and this عبطالب المكي when you study his life عبطالب المكي the one who made this حديث عبطالب المكي the حديث specialist say in the last days of his life he went so insane that he used to look up to the skies and say oh people beware of him because he causes all the trouble in his life do I listen to someone like this this man is insane but he amongst others used to say إمام الحسن all he does is marry and divorce nothing else do you know who started this rumor إمام الحسن's cousin المنصور الدوانيقي عباسد خليفة do you know why المنصور began this rumor إمام الحسن we know that the sayids all from إمام الحسن's line إمام زين عبدين إمام البعض إمام الحسن's grandchildren all of them were fighting against بني عباس محمد نفس الزكية عبد الله ابن يحي بن الحسن حسين بن علي الخير all of these were the grand sons or great grand sons of إمام الحسن from حسن المثنة from his from عبد الله from يحيا all of them were fighting بني عباس so do you know what بني عباس decided to do let's destroy the character of these people's great grandfather let's say the man all he did was divorce his whole life nothing more nothing less and you find this myth until today I swear recently on the television channel there was a scholar a so called Islamic scholar they said to him how great is إمام الحسن he said he's good but he can't be compared to Muawiyah so they said to him why he said because Muawiyah was not foolish enough to divorce like إمام الحسن used to always divorce myth number one lack of bravery myth number two his divorces رسول الله by the way destroyed all of these myths even in his lifetime because there's one حديث of رسول الله which is the most important حديث which proves إمام الحسن what was it my sons حسن and حسين are imams whether they are sitting or standing that's it my sons حسن and حسين are imams whether they are sitting or standing standing means حسين كربلا sitting means حسن إمام does he mean my son حسن is an imam does he mean إمام of صلاة جماعة no everybody can be إمام صلاة جماعة does he mean إمام of the government no every Tom Dick and Harry can be an imam of a government إمام means إمام for the soul of the human being إمام as a source of guidance for the human being my son حسن is an imam my son حسن is an imam be they sitting or standing if حسن sits he's your imam if حسن stands he's your imam whoever fights them fights me whoever fights me fights Allah سبحانه وتعالى whoever angers them angers me whoever angers me angers Allah yet with all of these accusations إمام الحسن maintained managed to the highest level I tell you they used to call him a man of morals a man who was as noble as رسول الله people used to say what has حسن inherited from you he used to say my manners and my nobility إمام الحسن one day is walking I tell you إمام الحسن one day his manners when people were angry with him a man came to him and said to me God curse you and curse your father علي ابنة بيطال you know what he replied to him he said oh man you seem like a stranger in Medina if you do not have a house come and live in my house if you do not have food let me give you food if you don't have clothes let me give you clothes oh man welcome to our house maybe they told you the wrong information about me and my father and the man looked at him and he said no no no I have never seen morals like your morals I abuse your dad and you come back to me softheartedly truly Allah knows where to place his manners He knows where to place his message you would find on another occasion إمام الحسن used to be known as the generous one a man says I entered Medina I was hungry I saw this man walking I said excuse me oh man do you mind if I come and eat some food at your house I don't have anywhere to eat the man said you're more than welcome but I have a son who lives down there why don't you go to him he said well now that I've seen you never to eat at your house he said I entered his house to eat with him but this man all he was eating was dry bread you know who it is all he was eating was dry dry bread and I'm getting this bread I'm trying to break it without showing him and I can't break it he said to excuse me oh man where was your son's house again he said oh it's the one there he went he had a brilliant meal at إمام الحسن's house then إمام الحسن looked at him he said I don't know this man he lives down the road from you he said what does his house look like he said like this he said what does he look like he explained he said what was he eating he said he has dry bread doesn't eat anymore he said so why did he send you here he said you will not find anyone as generous as my son he said what a father I have what a father like إمام الحسن جنرسة إمام الحسن موارلز إمام الحسن معرفة إمام أمير المؤمنين يجب أن يقول لا أحد يجب أن يكون معرفة like my son إمام الحسن يجب أن يكون معرفة يجب أن يسأل لك many questions and that's why one day a group of Romans came to Muawiyah and when these Romans came to Muawiyah they said you claimed to be the caliph of God he said yes I am أمير المؤمنين even though the treaty it said you can't call yourself أمير المؤمنين he called himself they said we have some questions to ask you he said what are they they said what is the distance between the heavens and the earth and what's the distance between right and wrong and what is a new agenda and which existence came without a mother and father and which ten things one is harder than the other Muawiyah looked at them he said I have not got a clue what you're talking about go to Hassan and ask him the Romans went to Imam Hassan they said we have some questions he said go ahead said what is the distance between the heavens and the earth Imam Hassan said the cry of an oppressed person in دعاء so what's the distance between right and wrong Imam Hassan said four fingers between the ears and the eyes what you see what you hear in the ears must be verified by the eyes what's the neutral agenda Imam says a child if you cannot tell their agenda you will wait for seminal emission if there is no seminal emission you will wait for the urine depending on the shape of a urine you will know if it's a male or female if still after that then they are known as a neutral agenda said which animals were born without a mother and father or which humans were born without a mother and father as well animals and humans he said Adam Eve the sheep in the story of Ibrahim the snake in the story of Musa the crow who buried Adam who buried Habil and Qabeel he said these were all born without a mother and father and the camel of Prophet Saleh no mother nor father they said in which ten things one is harder than the other he said stone is hard iron breaks the stone fire melts the iron water extinguishes fire the clouds carry water the wind blows the clouds and angel controls the wind the angel of death overpowers the angel who controls wind death overpowers the angel of death and Allah overpowers death because he is the living that does not die and these Romans all came towards the religion of Islam in terms of his knowledge his generosity his morals there is none like الحسن بن علي none and that's why he left a legacy behind you know what Karbala he had more sons than Imam الحسين to give away at Karbala and look at those valued sons he gave away when you look at each of those sons if I was just to mention two of them one of them his son Abdullah I tell you that Abdullah who he gave away that Abdullah who he gave away say the Zainab says I saw Hussain lying on the ground with arrows surrounding his body and Omar bin Sa'ad saying to him and Omar bin Sa'ad saying to Harmal bin Kahil shoot an arrow on his chest as he was about to shoot I saw the young son of Imam الحسن run and shout out how dare you strike my uncle first strike me and he sat on his his uncle and he put his hand out and he said my uncle I'm never allowed them to kill you while I'm alive that son Abdullah there is none like him and is there a son like Al Qasim is there or not that Qasim I tell you that Qasim how did our mother survive seeing the pieces of bodies spread around the ground in Karbala and that's why Imam الحسن one memorable thing he tells Imam الحسن before he dies you know there is some really stupid narrations about how Imam الحسن died one narration which this historian Donaldson says Imam الحسن died from tuberculosis and another says a stick fell in his foot and another says someone stabbed him no Imam الحسن معاوية said to جعدة the wife of Imam الحسن he said to her if you poison الحسن I'll let you marry a seed she poisoned Imam الحسن she said now let me marry a seed he said you just poisoned the grandson of the man who bought this religion you think I'm going to allow you to marry a seed he said أبا عبد الله I can hear your sisters coming cover the ball cover the ball because I can't bear to let Zaynab see what's in that bowl I said to him Imam الحسن if you couldn't bear to let Zaynab see what was in that bowl then how did you think about Zaynab when she saw your brother's head in a bowl in Sham you find that Imam الحسن had this magnanimous nature about him and therefore it is vital that we honor him like we honor Imam الحسن in our communities we have one night for the Shahada of Imam الحسن and ten nights for the Shahada of Imam الحسن maybe it's about time we started thinking about ten nights for the both of them we pray to Allah to raise us with Imam الحسن to allow us to be amongst this companions in this world and the hereafter allow us to receive his intercession


the looming crisis of teacher shortages. And I use that word purposefully. I was speaking with a well-resourced suburban superintendent a few days ago, and he said, you know, teacher shortages used to be a problem because they happen to other people. Now they're a crisis because they're happening to me. And I think he's exactly right, because what he was saying was, for many years we had gaps and shortages in some places in Virginia. Today I can tell you we have gaps and shortages in every place in Virginia. We do a survey each October, simply asking local divisions, there are 132 school divisions in Virginia. And we say, how many funded positions do you have that are unfilled as of this time? Last October there were 1,000 in Virginia, which means there were 1,000 long-term substitutes serving in classrooms, teaching children. What we know is the problem is not equitably distributed, and that's what my colleague in the suburban area was saying. All of a sudden, we're seeing gaps and shortages everywhere, but it is much more pronounced in our highly challenged, less-resourced divisions.


Hey guys today, we're going to be sharing the tips for you the restaurant manager so then that way you can rent a successful and Profitable restaurant make sure you guys stay to learn hey It's Wilson here today We'll be sharing the tips you need to know before you start your restaurant business before you start this whole crazy journey because We're gonna save you a lot of time a lot of headache and most importantly a lot of money along the way without further ado Let's dive right in the number one tip is the ace formula if you do not know what the ace formula is I'm really really upset because I've been talking about it for throughout the last year two years Check out in the description below ace formula is basically alignment alignment with your why Understand and demand put the stake down of what you stand for and that's the only reason why people buy from you That's the only reason why people pay 30 dollars for your burger versus Somewhere else five dollars per burger because there's this alignment. They're supporting your cause second is to connect with your customers Understand your customers to the T understand what bothers them what understands what troubles them What what is it that they're upset about? What is it that they want? Okay, and what is it that they're looking for are they looking for a quick grab-and-go bite? Or are they looking for wine and dining their friends and their family you need to make sure you understand that understand Where they hang out understand the languages that they use and then use those language to communicate with them to deliver Value to them and to connect with them. That's the second pillar. Okay, E stands for explode explode and revenue This is the only time we start doing Promotions because without aligning your why I without them supporting you as a brand without connecting with them without them understanding you Without you understanding them. There's really no point of running any promotions. That's when we were on the promotions explosive promotional Marketing campaigns that's when we do it ace formula is what you need to know in order for you to be able to run a successful and profitable business because These are the principles that I've used to build my seven figure businesses and my ice cream chain which got recently acquired The second tip is to build your a team all-star team Why is this super important to have an amazing team? It is because ultimately the end goal why you're creating this machine is for it to self-sustain For it to be able to generate cash for your month after month after month Which is the reason why you need to make sure you have to write people in place in order for this machine to run without You that's the ideal case and that's the ideal outcome that we all want to be able to achieve Which is the reason why you need a players in your in your team You need to be able to have them aligned with your vision aligned with what you believe in That's when you can have everyone rolling in sync and when you everyone is rolling in sync You can be sipping on that pina colada on the beach while that machine continues to generate revenue for you Tip number three is to know your numbers I cannot stress this enough because everyone that I mentor my consult consulting clients a lot of them Don't know all their numbers. You need to know all your numbers and what that means is you need to understand your cogs You need to understand your theft rate. You need to understand your spoilage rate You need to understand how much you put on labor. You need to understand Your marketing costs your build-out costs basically all the different line items on your profit and loss statements I know it's dry. I know it's boring. I know it's difficult But if you can keep an eye on these if you understand these now You would understand which levers to pull in order for you to have more profits in your pocket a lot of your Profits are Hidden in the details are hidden in the the devils of the details because for example If you're losing 10% of revenue every single month on spoilage on not being able to order your Pro your your cogs your ingredients on time because they're just right then Unfortunately that 10% are the profits that you're gonna be able to make to put in your pocket these 10% Is what you're gonna be able to enjoy to reap the rewards from this machine But because you don't know your numbers you don't know which levers to pull you don't know and Unfortunately, if you don't know you're gonna suffer from it tip number four is to know your community When we talked about ace formula we talked about connecting with your customers now We're talking about knowing your community knowing exactly what they're looking for and being able to connect with your community as a Whole when they all come together to support you when you address them by first-name basis when you know exactly what they come in as A regular and what they order that's your community That's when you have this booming community that will always come for your food versus that new restaurant That just opened around the block and is running a buy one get one free promotion This is how you can have brand loyalty and this is how you're gonna be able to charge a premium on your products Tip number five is to have a procedure procedure that allows you to walk away from your business Be on a beach while the machine continues to run for you without any hiccup And why is that the case? It is because we need to be able to document every single process from the probe from the process of someone walking in The proper process of them being shuffled along to their seat to the moment that they're being served and to the moment that they walk Out all these things need to be processed and put into manual and trained for your front of the house staff Same thing goes on with your back of the house staff all your chefs and so on so forth Everything needs to be having a process treat this process like a franchise because one day you're gonna be able to replicate this to multiple stores So start now take away that ambiguity between you and your staff so then that way the Expectations set outright up front Set out in a way that is fair because at the end of the day we're looking at the same operating procedures So at the end of the day there won't be any bad blood amongst the team Which will save you time save you money and allows you to be able to travel as you wish So there you go the five tips in operating a successful and profitable business right from the get-go number one is to understand The ace formula if you don't understand it make sure you download it from the description below It is something that I've used to build my multiple businesses Step number two is to have your a team make sure that you start compiling all the a listed people around you Take away the seeds take away the bees and only hire people that believe in what you believe in and are is able to actually Have the same culture as you tip number three is to know your numbers as dry as it is This is the underlying principle and underlying secret in running a successful business is to know your numbers This way we understand which levers to pull in order for us to have more money in our pockets Step number four is to create and know your community Knowing your community and creating community allows you to be sheltered away from your competitors So then that way you don't need to run promotions all the time and losing the profit margins You can have a loyal fan base that supports your restaurants Tip number five is to have processes systems everything in place So then that way you have a well-oiled machine that allows you to run in at max capacity and Efficiency which allows you to save money and allows you to travel as you wish and you don't need to be there So there you go the five tips awesome rise for you I really hope you enjoyed this video if you find any value at all make sure you smash the like button because That's how I know to create more of these videos for you Otherwise make sure you guys subscribe along the journey if you haven't done so already make sure you guys download the resources and Links below. I'll see you guys in the next video


I'm just simply saying, truly loving another person. You know, when I think of when two people say, I love you to each other, this is what they should mean. I'm here, you matter, we are important, I've got your back, I'm not going anywhere, and I only want you. Think about that, when you say that to another person, I'd like to think that's what it means. And what's gonna get a person to that place we're gonna talk about in a few seconds, we're gonna talk about these qualities, but let's dive into this. I'm here, that means I'm present. Not in the future, I'm not in the past, I'm not stuck in the past, I'm not hung up on past relationships. I cleared my childhood wounds, I cleared my adult traumas.


I'd like to call the order of the Tuesday April 28th meeting of the Sheboygan County Board of Supervisors for a side of a business compliance with the open meeting. The agenda was posted on the 24th at 2 p.m. Do you please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? The Pledge of Allegiance is to the right of the United States of America and to the republic of the United States, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Next item is roll call. Supervisor Smith. Supervisor Gruber. Supervisor Schneider. Supervisor. Supervisor Montemayor. Here. Supervisor Clark. Here. Supervisor Nelson. Here. Supervisor Broadjack. Here. Supervisor Kacz. Here. Supervisor Schobert. Here. Supervisor Brower. Here. Supervisor Jorgensen. Here. Supervisor Zugelbauer. Here. Supervisor Nenig. Here. Supervisor Abler. Here. Supervisor Kulo. Here. Supervisor Dan. Here. Supervisor Wagner. Here. Supervisor Emel. Here. Supervisor Ojay. Here. Supervisor Hoffman. Here. Supervisor Hilflink. Here. Supervisor Hillbillink, here, Supervisor Boseman, here. Supervisor Veldman, here. Supervisor Garry, here, Supervisor Tostrui, here. 25 Supervisors present. Thank you. Next item of business is approval of the April 21st, 2020 Journal. Supervisor Brauer. I'll show you approval. Thank you, Supervisor Brauer. Supervisor Hillbillink. Second. Thank you, Supervisor Hillbillink. Is there any discussion? Okay, then all those in favor of approval of the journal say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carried. Next item is the appointments by the executive committee. Do we have a motion? Supervisor Wagner. I move for approval. Thank you, Supervisor Wagner. Is there a second? Supervisor Adler. Thank you, Supervisor Adler. Any discussion? If we're given the target to see the lights are kind of in the eyes. All those in favor of the County Board Committee appointments say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carried. Locations. Finance. The Lower East Theater down here. Health and Human Services upper west theater up in this corner. Health Care Center down the hallway and down the stairs like you're leaving the building. It's the first room on your right. Room 7001. Human Resources down here. Law and Art Gallery past the entrance here where you came in. Planning Resources, Agriculture and Extension down that same far hallway down the stairs and to the left room 7006. Right next door to that is Property Room 70010 and the upper east theater by that white board is Transportation. Okay, and with that we'll recess to Organizer Committees. Okay, we'll reconvene tonight's meeting. Roll call, please. Supervisor Smith. What is it? Supervisor Gruber. Here. Supervisor Schneider. Here. Supervisor Montagnier. Here. Supervisor Clark. Here. Supervisor Nelson. Here. Supervisor Projack. In attendance. Supervisor Kach. Here. Supervisor Schover. Here. Supervisor Brower. Here. Supervisor Jorgensen. Here. Supervisor Ziegelbauer. Here. Supervisor Nennig. Here. Supervisor Abler. Here. Supervisor Cullo. Here. Supervisor Gamm. Here. Supervisor Wagner. Here. Supervisor Emel. Here. Supervisor OJ. Here. Supervisor Hoffman. Here. Supervisor Hibbling. Here. Supervisor Bosman. Here. supervisor Belvin, supervisor Gehring, and supervisor Tostridi, all 25 are present. All right, next is public address. There are none. Letters, communications, and announcements. We have none. Okay, how many administrators report? Thank you Mr. Chairman, I am going to remove my mask for this report so if the chair wants to move to the side a little bit more, or Cheryl does that some of you, otherwise I think we've got ample distance, isn't this something? Well, I hope everything went well tonight, it appeared to do so, I think this is a compliment all involved with how this is working at the theater, so well done. I wanted to share a couple of things, first, if you feel your committee assignment is not going to keep you busy enough, and you're looking to do more, and as you know as a newly elected county board supervisor, as a county board supervisor, you can attend any committee meeting you wish, and listen and learn and participate in that discussion with the committee chair's prerogative, but you're encouraged, especially as a new board member, to go around and visit other committees and go to different departments and don't hesitate to reach out to me or any department head for insight, you know you can do that, but if you're looking to do more, you want to get more engaged, in your email today, my executive assistant Elaine Bosman sent out a memorandum, sharing that there are literally 75 advisory committee appointments available, 75, so again if you're someone who is looking for a little bit more or want to be directly engaged, please look at that email attachment, if you didn't receive it, it was again distributed today, and look at all the different advisory committees that you can participate on, many of them, in fact most of them the chair will make those appointments as an elected official, if it's a citizen member, I generally do, and then some, in some instances the committee actually makes the appointment, but please follow up with Chairman Bernkacz, either through email or phone call, whatever you prefer, but let him know if you're interested, Elaine will coordinate and she does an excellent job with that, but a lot of opportunity to get more involved if you're so inclined. I want to thank Marilyn Montemayor, because at the last meeting we were sitting here, and as the elections were proceeding, she whispers to me, you got to take some photos, this is historic, and I thank you, thank you for that prompting, Supervisor Montemayor, Emmett Feldner was here, and I know he took a picture and was kind enough to put it on the front of the Plymouth Review, so thank you Emmett, and we got some shots of Elaine and Greg and the sheriff getting everyone's votes, but I was able to take a few snapshots while I was up here and we shared that with you as well. Marilyn just shared with me before I came up here that, you know, with all this going on with the coronavirus, we really should be documenting this as well, because again, historic times, many of us will look back years from now and hopefully go, wow, we got through it and we did the best we could, and to her credit, I not only appreciated that comment, but being old school myself, I have a binder now. All of six inches thick with all of the daily updates from our public health staff, all of our news releases, every order that came from the governor or from state public health, and it's very helpful to me, because as I pull things together I can quickly look at that rather than trying to find it as a younger person would do on the on the internet. So I wanted to briefly give you an overview of just where we've been in just the last six weeks. For many of us it feels much much longer than that, but we we've gone through a lot in a short period of time. You know, it was just on March 11th, March 11th that Wisconsin had six confirmed cases in the entire state. I was at your March 17th County Board meeting, the last one we had in the County Board chambers, and that night I reported to you that on March 17th we had 72 confirmed cases across the state. 72, 4 in Sheboyton County. April 28th, we now have 6,289 Wisconsin confirmed cases. 48 in Sheboyton County. That number has increased dramatically, but the silver lining is thanks to the wonderful job particularly people have done in Sheboyton County with social distancing and all the sacrifices that have been made, whether you're essential or non-essential, as it stands today we have five active cases. So if you look at that daily update that our public health staff provide and the dashboard that was just included, it really quickly gives you a quick snapshot of where we've been, how we're doing, and what's happening with the curve, and fortunately the recovered cases continue to go up and the active cases continue to go down. We certainly hope that that trend continues. That historical quick snapshot, December of 2019 coronavirus is detected. December of 2019 is throughout numerous countries around the world. On January 30th, 2020 the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a public health emergency month later. On March 12th, Governor Tony Evers declared a public health emergency. On March 13th, President Donald Trump proclaimed a national emergency. On March 13th, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services ordered statewide school closures. I can remember that week real vividly because all of the state superintendents or school superintendents rather were like, okay the governor has ordered the closure but it doesn't have to happen today. They had until March 18th to implement it but of course some school districts were feeling, gee should we do it sooner rather than later? They were seeking input from our public health staff. A lot of uncertainty that week but ultimately all the schools as you know were closed. Guidance at the state and federal level was changing daily if not hourly. I mean it was really difficult to respond to the information and share it with our citizens in a unified manner because as soon as you got something ready to send out literally we got different guidance from the state or federal government. For example, we received guidance limiting non-essential gatherings to over 1,000, to 250, to 50, to 10 and less than one week. It was difficult to keep up and respond to it and communicate it and then have to change it the next day or have information ready to send out and literally minutes before you hit the send button you needed to update it. On March 16th, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services ordered that all public and private mass gatherings of 50 or more people were prohibited. So very quickly early March those numbers continued to go down. On the 17th just the next day the Sheboygan County Board you declared a state of emergency in Sheboygan County to empower the county administrator to undertake whatever is necessary and expedient for the health safety welfare in good order for our citizens. That was a 60-day authorization that's good through May 16th and that's all the time I have. I'm hoping that we won't need to extend that beyond May 16th. Obviously that'll be your decision and we'll see what is in the best interest of our community. On March 17th that same day the last day we held our County Board meeting in the County Board chambers, non-essential businesses and gatherings were reduced to 10 with some exemptions. For example those exemptions included health care providers, grocery stores, gas stations, auto repair centers, manufacturing, processing, distribution and production, utility and transportation services and of course state local government. I mean this is just so rapidly unfolding. Three days later on March 20th the Wisconsin Department of Health Services updated its mass gathering ban again and provided further clarity and more exemptions including exempting commercial and non-profit entities, childcare facilities, construction sites and projects including public works and remodeling projects, financial institutions and services, food production and distribution, hotels, lodging and laundromats. So a lot of activity about essential non-essential what's exempt what's not. All activities that were exempt require and continue to require social distancing, use of personal protective equipment and other safeguards. I think for many people now it's just becoming common sense. Businesses are taking action, we're all taking action to protect one another. On March 24th the Wisconsin Department of Health Services took further action and the safer at home order was made. We're hearing a lot more about that in the media, the safer at home order. This order further defined essential activities, essential government functions, essential travel, non-essential operations. What's prohibited, what's not and extended the governor's order or at the state public health order depending on how you want to look at it through May 26th. That's what we're currently under. Those last few orders really didn't change a whole heck of a lot other than further define and clarify what the original order was setting out to do. Republican leadership has since filed the lawsuit challenging the governor's authority on extending it to May 26th. We're all aware of that, we're reading about that. There may be some outcome to that here within the next week but what's rather interesting about that process and the time and resources that are going into that challenge is that regardless of the outcome the state Wisconsin Department of Health Services already has the statutory authority to act in the best interest of citizens health and well-being. So I'm not so clear how much that's going to change if it goes through. The legislature could come in and remove or eliminate the state Wisconsin Department of Health Services statutory authority that's already there they could change that but right now public health has a lot of authority to take actions and put orders in place that are the best entrance of citizens health and safety. So there you have it. That was just four weeks. Remarkable it's all played out. Sheboygan County government plans and preparations I share your pride with the teamwork that's being exhibited here. It's been a remarkable thing to be a part of. Our Health and Human Services Director Matt Stripmoder who I see here today, our Division of Public Health Star Grossman, Libby Jacobs our public information officer you heard from some of them at that March meeting. They continue to do just stellar work really sharp professional dedicated our emergency management director Steve Steiner. Steve reports directly to the sheriff they do good work but Steve Steiner he's all in and thankfully his 20 years of experience does good work. They're providing key timely critical information to the public and I've heard Senator Devin Lemieux and a number of people share that when they look at our Sheboygan County website that they get to see another county that has a better one and again that's a reflection on our team and the people I just mentioned. Bernie Romer our purchasing agent that we share with the city of Sheboygan. He's been around now for 20 years as well. This gentleman I mean he can find things and to his credit in early March even before orders were coming down or emergencies were being proclaimed we were working he was working to find personal protective equipment. We knew we were going to have to get what we could because of course we're at the first county that this was happening and we're learning from county south of us and other states and other countries to Bernie's credit he was able to acquire a stockpile it's a minor one adequate one but we have been able to help people as needed and certainly one of the first things we wanted to do is get PPE to our own and operated nursing home Rocky Noel. Every Monday morning at 7 30 we have a pandemic administrative panel. It's key community leaders that come together and talk about what they're doing and how they're preparing and what actions or steps they've taken. It includes representatives of the hospitals and clinics, health care providers, emergency responders, obviously public health, sheriff's department. I mean the schools Jamie Schramm who helps set this up for us today thank you Jamie he's always on those calls they give updates and it's an effective way for us to share and work in collaboration and sometimes the level of information shared feels a little light but without question the passion of everyone involved the commitment to work together and help one another it's there it's real and I'll share an example in a moment. Rocky Noel we were the first county in the area to close the visitors on March 12th we took decisive action right away and it contributed to protecting our residents and staff so I compliment Kayla and her team for the work they've been doing the contingency plans they have in place I think Rocky Noel continues to be a leader in Sheboy and Coney and throughout the region. Our new HR director Dennis Miller. Dennis with a Saturday he had to head out Dennis is down here in front if you haven't had a chance to meet Dennis please take the time to do so he's been here six or seven weeks now and talk about getting thrown in to the fire but Dennis immediately was engaged with policy development how does how do we provide employees with emergency sick leave FMLA vacation what does that look like what if they can't take vacation what adjustments do we make all of that needs to be charted and written very effectively and communicated and Dennis has been doing a great job and then just giving our staff some comfort they're scared they're essential employees and people are coming and going and depending on your age your health conditions what have you there's different angst throughout our 800 plus employees and to the credit of HR we now have 180 employees who voluntarily are working from home so that created a safer work environment we limited public access right away on March 24th to our county administration building in all the buildings when I say limited please call ahead make an appointment go to the website use good judgment you don't have to come in to do your family tree now is not the time to do it right on April 2nd we up the ante and we required the public to come in appointment only shut down the second and third floor of the administration building we've taken steps to protect our staff and to protect the public and the secured entrance that you supported we have at the courthouse thanks to your support your leadership and the good work of Corey staff and the Sheriff's Department has that made a difference and protecting not only our staff but the public so that's worked out well and Jim to be bus his heart building services staff and cleaning and doing deep cleaning more so than ever before as you can imagine just like all businesses and and anybody should be doing if they want people to come and be a customer employees to be safe but in addition to the deeper cleaning Jim took the lead to work with the staff to put plexiglass and other safeguards in place so if you go to the county clerk's office now and most of you probably haven't right but if you do walk in there if you make an appointment and you go in there Cheryl and John are protected because there's a big sheet of plexiglass across their entire counter and now when people come in based on appointment the register of deans or HR or whoever it may be they can go down to the court to the county clerk's office meet with the person there based on an appointment be behind protective plexiglass so the employee and the customers are safer if they need to go to a conference room they can do so and have social distancing wear masks we really haven't seen a lot of people come in I mean the traffic's gone down significantly but if someone has to come in for a birth certificate or whatever it may be they can do so and they can be served safely I mentioned the teamwork earlier and you've some of you have heard me say this before but you learn a lot about your team during a crisis you really do and when COVID-19 was detected and sadly we had our first death associated with COVID-19 at Sonny Ridge did we learn a lot about one another ultimately there were 19 individuals there between staff and residents that were positive for the coronavirus it was essentially the largest outbreak we've had in Shmoyden County to date hopefully we won't see another and it could happen to any nursing home any nursing home this could happen they had 90 residents and a lot of more family members that were obviously scared or concerned 150 employees half of which who weren't sure if they should come to work or not whether they thought they potentially had COVID-19 or we're just scared significant staffing needs it was a crisis and within 48 hours I participated in teleconferences led by our public health team people I mentioned earlier getting the state on the line getting the Army Corps not the Army Corps the National Guard on the line getting our hospital providers on the line I mean it was all hands-on deck and what was really noteworthy for me and I'll never forget this I'll just never forget how everyone pulled together but unlike a fire where everyone will just run to that fire do what they have to do and get that fire out and help that family need and go home everyone together but it was a cautious what do we do next how do we make sure we're set safe our staff are safe our families are safe when we go home it was a more guarded approach to how we respond to emergency I'd never experienced that in my career St. Nick's and Aurora stepped up immediately provided staffing support to bring some immediate need to that facility and they needed it and what a difference that made sunny Ridge employees I can't say enough about them they're like any nursing home a lot of hard-working dedicated caring staff and for those that felt healthy or perhaps weren't as scared or didn't have other sensitivities did they work hard to take care of those residents and protect those residents and ultimately at the end of the day we avoided a broader spreading of the coronavirus the numbers stayed at 19 and so far so good but it really taught me a lot about I knew we had good people but to see how they all came together and on a Friday teleconference on a Saturday morning teleconference National Guard is there Sunday everyone was tested all employees and residents it was really well done so finally next steps ahead we're all getting tired of this the levels of angst and trepidation stress are all over the board some of our staff are so consumed with this I mean they're tired fortunately we've been able to bring some additional staff resources to bear especially for public health other staff probably tired of working at home but we're working there's a lot of people in our community that are stuck at home and wondering how they're gonna put food on the table or if they're gonna have a job to return to there are others who are so concerned about their own health they dare not come close to anyone else or go to a grocery store it would whatever it may be the angst is all across the board I've shared with some of you my wife's nurse and my two daughters are in the healthcare field they are in the front lines it's just amazing to see the different levels of stress and angst that everyone feels but I do think that I think Sheboygan County hopefully has seen the worst of it I hope so when we've seen our numbers continue to go down with the active cases and that's happened now for a couple of weeks that's very encouraging none of us in this room know knows what's going to happen next and none of us have the answer but it's why all of us need to pull together and work it through and that's what's been happening at the state level we're following the guides of state public health trying to be as consistent as we can provide ideas suggestions the White House came out with guidance and CDC came out with guidelines for opening up America again came out I think two three weeks ago governor Tony Evers in the wisconsin department of health services came out with badger bounce back plan doesn't roll up the tongue the badger bounce back plan it is very consistent with the guidance that the White House our president CDC has been sharing very consistent that's a good thing because there's so much uncertainty already the more we can be consistent in messaging the better no plan is perfect yet to see the perfect plan yet to see anything that's come out of the door and it's just perfect no doubt there's room for improvement so 18 members of the Wisconsin legislature wrote a letter to governor Evers with a four-week plan demanding that it be implemented immediately and that reminded me of dr. Fauci saying we won't be necessarily establishing the timetable the coronavirus will be establishing the timetable so I thought that was an interesting approach but feedback was provided by the legislature by these 18 members and then just this week the Wisconsin manufacturing commerce commerce came out with a back-to-business plan I read all of them this week went through every single one of them and believe it or not it doesn't take that long you can get through all of these in about an hour the Wisconsin manufacturing and commerce back-to-business plan I think has some good ideas in it I think there's some good thoughts in there so what we need our state leaders who are willing to sit down at the table and talk just like we do at the county level just like every successful business does we need state leaders who can sit down and put their egos aside and focus on the health of our state and our citizens and talk and the fact that we don't have that is a stronger expectation in this state blows me away just blows me away we're wasting time and resources when that doesn't happen so all of you have people that you know at the state level Republican Democrat independent I don't care we should expect them to talk I got a call from a supervisor Jerry Jorgensen yesterday and he asked me some good questions and I wanted to end on that essentially was asking well how are we looking here in Shevoi County because this Badger bounce back plan involves a number of milestones or steps that need to be met before we would potentially open for business and I mean fully open because there is a lot of business going on we just need to keep turning that dial but if we're going to fully open by May 26th the Badger bounce back plan involves downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases reported unfortunately we're not seeing a downward trajectory necessarily in Shevoi County we're seeing more cases but the trajectory of positive cases are active cases is trapped like a rock and that's the key one to focus on and that is really encouraging we must have robust lab capacity and testing and that's where supervisor Jorgensen called me and said what's going on with testing you know I get that question a lot so I appreciated him raising it yesterday how are we doing with testing the answer is not that good we're not doing that good in Shevoi County with testing we're still just testing people that show significant symptoms or if the National Guard comes in because there's a crisis and tests every resident every staff person we're not testing to the extent we should be it is encouraging that lab capacity appears to be improving it is encouraging that there's more tests available including the swabs and the things you need to do the test but it's not where it needs to be and we have to continue to put more resources in that area because if there's a big spike if we turn the dial and there's a big surge we've got to have the ability to do adequate testing and I think I think the public is going to demand more testing to feel safer going back to work or being a customer strong capability to do contact tracing that was another key in this plan we're fortunate there we have eight individuals in our health and human services public health division who do tracing and we've just added four more LTE's and some of these LTE's were prior nurses and public health officers and really sharp people so we're we're in good shape there and we could we could take more capacity there so I'm feeling like we've checked that box reasonably well for Shevoi County increased health care capacity I think we've checked that box as well in fact if you talked to anybody from the hospitals they're very quiet very quiet emergency rooms elected surgery it hasn't been happening why because they were preparing for the surge that they ramp up preparing their contingency plans they took appropriate steps but because the social distancing and the other steps we've taken it works so well and good fortune they're quiet but we are prepared now with our hospitals and clinics to really be able to take on a surge and do more so I feel like we've checked that box for Shevoi and County and then finally procurement of PPE it is maddening to me when I hear about anyone in the direct care field direct care professionals that don't have PPE and it's personal for me because I mentioned my family but it should be personal for anybody's family if your loved ones are in the front lines and they don't have adequate PPE by now something is wrong and the feedback we're getting is that right now in Shevoi County what we have at all of our nursing homes and hospitals hospitals is adequate it's kind of a soft well we're doing better than we were four six weeks ago and that's for sure we're getting good reports that it's better and our stockpile is better we have a state stockpile we have the county stockpile that's all coordinated now through Steve Steinert our emergency management director that's better than it was four six weeks ago so overall with the Badger bounce back plan initiatives I think Shevoi County is in pretty good shape but this is not a county by county plan it's a statewide plan and that clearly will be one of the ongoing discussions I think at the state level will continue to be looked at from a statewide perspective or will they treat Bayfield different than they do Milwaukee personally I think there might be some room for some give-and-take there but we got but the data has to drive it the science has to drive it and obviously we need to keep people safe so there is a high-end overview on where we've been where we're at and what we're looking at and overall I'm encouraged I'm feeling hopeful and I feel like things have eased back a little bit for our team the angst the stress isn't quite what it was four weeks ago I mean it's people are maybe getting more used to it I hope it doesn't last long term I hope we're not meeting in this theater all year but I want to compliment all of you for the changes you've made to keep on another safe and the leadership for how we continue to meet and get the the citizens business done so be well thank you report on elections and meetings alright finance committee chair is supervisor Gary vice-chair to student secretary supervisor obler and the remaining members supervisor Wagner and Ziegelbar meeting the admin building room 119 302 when needed second and fourth Wednesdays at 3 30 health and human services committee chairperson and supervisor Hoffman vice chair supervisor Brower secretary supervisor Gary additional members supervisors Schobert Schneider and Montemayor meeting location and health human services first and third Tuesdays at 8 a.m. health care center chairperson and supervisor Beltman vice chair supervisor Brower secretary supervisor Bosman additional members supervisors damp and Montemayor will be meeting rock you know a west conference room second Wednesdays at 9 a.m. HR committee chairperson is supervisor damp vice chair is supervisor to sturdy secretary supervisor project with supervisor Schneider and knitting meeting location as the admin building room 302 fourth Thursday second Thursday when necessary at 3 30 the law committee chairperson supervisor Nenek vice chair supervisor Jorgensen secretary supervisor Hoffman additional members supervisor Schobert meeting at the LEC West conference room first Thursday of the month first third Thursday if necessary at 4 15 planning resources and an extension committee chairperson supervisor obler vice chair supervisor OJ secretary supervisor Clark additional members supervisors meeting at UW extension room 5024 3 30 on the second and fourth Tuesdays property committee chairperson supervisor Nelson vice chair supervisor hobling secretary supervisor Imel additional members supervisors cool and Smith admin building room 119 first and third Tuesdays at 4 30 and finally the transportation committee chairperson supervisor to sturdy vice chair supervisor Wagner secretary supervisor Boseman additional members development and Zegel Bauer meeting location either the highway complex or airport first Monday of the month at 9 a.m. thank you next item of businesses adjournment supervisor to sturdy supervisor thank you all in favor of adjournment say aye