This man, making Christmas calls from the White House, believes the world is a sphere. And he has even flown around it! So has our beautiful FLOTUS, who happens to be his wife!
Truth and common sense must be valued by us, as individuals, in order to lastingly disempower the authoritarian fake news media. This includes the perniciously smarmy science media, which never answers for its errors and lies. I believe that the media has been responsible not only for leftist pathologies like scientism, medical fascism, and radical gender ideology, but also for reactionary movements like modern flat Earth, rejection of all medicine, and Biblical geological literalism.
Just as Wheatie’s Stormwatch Monday Open Thread was created as a place for people to openly express their thoughts and opinions, so, too, is this Thank God Thursday Open Thread, where honest but civil discussion of all topics is encouraged. This thread is also to be known as Theistic Evolution Thursdays, due to the author’s expected “pontification” about his scientific, religious, and political opinions. You are welcome to pontificate back! Free speech matters!
Please label all AI-generated content as being such, unless it is patently obvious (e.g., humorous AI images). It is important that we as individuals not begin to pretend that socially derived artificial intelligence is actually our own, as this form of stealthy social information averaging and feedback would be one more pretense and deception between people, in service of stupid Marxist socialism, and of those who wish to substitute their communally protected lies for actual truth.
The source of alleged truth matters, not for the truth itself, but for validation.
And yes, it’s THURSDAY…again.
And that’s it. We’re done stealing from Wheatie.
OK – maybe her rules need to be posted.
- No food fights.
- No running with scissors.
- If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Other rules may be derivable from these, and that conjecture is left for discussion.
If there is nothing beyond the “W” below, then this is a placeholder. For health reasons, I can’t always post a timely opinion before each Thursday, but I will try. Otherwise, you have this placeholder post, where YOU provide the content. Enjoy!
First on Day Two.
Where’s my prize/trophy?
All you get is fool’s gold my friend.
Peace is the prize?
Price is the pizza?
This is looking promising.
David Clements
@theprofsrecord
Apr 1
Wrong.
The Elections Clause gives states the initial role to set time, place and manner, but expressly authorizes Congress to enact nationwide rules for federal elections (House and Senate races), including voter registration, list maintenance, fraud prevention, and ballot procedures.
The Supreme Court has interpreted “manner” broadly to include “notices, registration, supervision of voting, protection of voters, prevention of fraud and corrupt practices,” etc.
The Help America Vote Act imposes mandatory minimum federal standards on states (e.g., statewide computerized voter registration lists, provisional ballots, and election administration improvements) and provides federal grants (“requirements payments”) explicitly conditioned on compliance. States must submit plans showing how they meet these standards to receive funding.
The National Voter Registration was also enacted under the Elections Clause. It mandates that states maintain accurate voter rolls (“list maintenance”), offer registration at certain agencies, and accept a federal mail-registration form. Courts have upheld NVRA provisions as valid under the Elections Clause precisely because they target voter eligibility verification and roll accuracy.
Trump’s EO explicitly cites both HAVA and NVRA as authority. It does not create new substantive rules from scratch; it directs federal agencies to implement and enhance existing federal statutory requirements using federal databases (SSA records, DHS’s SAVE program).
Moreover, Congress’s power under Article I, Section 8 to tax and spend for the general welfare includes the ability to attach conditions to federal grants to states. This is classic conditional spending, upheld in South Dakota v. Dole (1987): conditions must be unambiguous, related to the federal interest (here, integrity of federal elections), and not coercive.
– HAVA already does exactly this—grants are withheld or conditioned on states meeting federal election-administration standards.
– The EO (Section 5) authorizes withholding “federal funds from noncompliant states/localities where authorized by law.” This is not a new commandeering of state legislatures; states can decline the funds (and the attached conditions) if they wish. Precedent confirms Congress (and the executive administering congressional appropriations) can use the purse to encourage compliance without directly dictating state election codes.
Finally, Trump’s EO’s core mechanisms operate through federal entities like the post office, not state legislatures:
– USPS rulemaking directs the Postmaster General to require barcoded, trackable “Official Election Mail” envelopes and to transmit ballots only to voters on the federal/state-verified Mail-In/Absentee Participation Lists. USPS is a federal agency; the President may direct its operations via executive order. States are not forced to change their own mailing processes—they simply cannot use federal postal service for non-compliant ballots if they want the service.
This avoids the anti-commandeering doctrine (Printz v. United States, 1997), which prohibits the federal government from forcing state officials to enforce federal law. Here, the federal government is regulating its own property (mail) and funds.
Once Congress has acted (via HAVA/NVRA), federal requirements preempt conflicting state practices for federal elections.
The democrats are toast.
All mail going via USPS has been tracked. Photos of the outside of the envelopes, etc. Up until 2020 when the records were somehow dumped. Am I remembering that right?
Don’t remember the exceptions, but certainly most mail is being photographed and has been for a while.
I would guess since anthrax.
Castle Anthrax?
If it’s a very tiny castle.
Just watched it, I forgot about that scene 😂
Check it out. The system “went dark” essentially right when it mattered for the election.
Mail Isolation Control and Tracking (MICT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_Isolation_Control_and_Tracking
(local, 30 day retention only)
Mail Cover is the LE program.
It all seems so benign.
https://www.techdirt.com/2024/07/08/for-whatever-reason-the-us-post-office-is-still-running-its-mail-cover-surveillance-program/
Perhaps I’m misremembering what I read at the time?
Katherine Clark, SCHOOLED again! 😂
Harrumph!!!
Well, aren’t Senators supposed to be appointed by each state house?-
I think that was before the 17th Amendment, iirc, when they were now to be popularly elected, & the balance of powers as the Founders & Framers envisioned, was diluted 🙁
New Schlichter —
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2026/04/02/our-own-ruling-class-desperately-wants-to-lose-this-war-n2673789
One of Schlichter’s best. (And I generally do not like him.)
“…America has a significant moron problem.”
That’s the nutshell, right there.
People are uneducated, uninterested, and unstable. What a mess we have become.
And if we don’t somehow rid ourselves of the “elitist” class, we are doomed. They contribute literally nothing worthwhile to America. All they do is destroy.
“Elitist” is just another word for
People Without A Conscience.
That was excellent. This sentence is an example of how Schlichter perfectly describes them, how they think, and what their goals are.
VERY COOL!!!
It is cool, but we’re never going to live on the Moon or Mars. And I wish people would stop fantasizing about it, and focus on taking care of the beautiful planet God gave us. Because the Moon and Mars are an “out,” a way to romanticize a way of killing the Earth while humanity survives. And it’s nonsense. Nobody sane wants to live in a “pod” on a sterile rock in space. Not when fern-lined creeks, dappled forests, teeming oceans, snowy peaks, grassy plains, and flowery gardens exist.
Which means, yes, Elon Musk, while a lovely human, is also crazy.
I don’t think Elon Musk is crazy. Perhaps there is an explanation for the focus on expansion that has more to do with inspiration for innovation than anything else.
Every truly brilliant person I’ve ever known was a little bit crazy.
It’s part of the charm.
Ditto.
Like
And now for something completely different!
Interesting. Since English is a Germanic language and not a Romance language, and since I want to keep what I’m familiar with (“that with which I’m familiar”), I’ll keep it as is, thank you very much. 😂
People around the world seem able to learn English as is. I wonder if it would be much easier in the guise of a Romance language.
English is the language you get when you let one lure other languages into dark alleys, cosh them over the head, and riffle through their clothes for valuable vocabulary…..
And Welsh is what you get when the Finns and Icelanders come over in the dark of night and nick all of your vowels to feed their insatiable need for double-umlauted vowels and other constructions of a devious nature 🙂
From a travel blog:
I first thought that was double-urinated vowels. Couldn’t figure out what that was so I went and read it again.
How to pronounce kääntääjää:
https://www.quickpronounce.site/
You have to paste the word in the text box, but it is free.
This looks useful.
Thanks!
You’re welcome, Gudthots. I know how to spell some words but not at all how to pronounce them, so it’s useful to me too.
I have never seen such long street signs save for Wales. They defy the brain.
Anyone ever been to Llangollen?
Pronounced Thangothen.
Whatever.
Lovely place.
And here’s the full interview, with some comments from Dick Cavett years later recalling it… two hours total, but captivating…
My Mum’s Dad was from Wales, and my cousins live there off an on (alternating between Wales and Spain… talk about a contrast). Beautiful albeit unpronounceable country 🙂
I read somewhere that the Basque people are somehow connected to the Welsh (linguistics, perhaps)…
I did not know this. Wow!
Here’s a great interview of Richard Burton by Dick Cavett, where he speaks of his upbringing in Wales, the poverty there, and his coal-miner family. Wonderful stuff. What a mellifluous voice Burton had… and perfect diction…
Fascinating how he describes his father’s work and skill as a coal miner… an altogether different picture of the man, and much deeper and more interesting than “just an actor”… Dick Cavett also deserves much credit as an artful and skilled interviewer…
Marvelous. Taller Half saw Burton on stage many years ago.
Said his head was much larger than his entire frame.
Is it possible the play was Camelot? 1978. King Arthur.
Yep… that would be right… he died in 1984…
I was thinking of getting some CDs/DVDs of him reciting poetry to help my son who is hard of hearing (and now uses CIs)… but the poems (e.g. Dylan Thomas) that I find Burton reading are beyond depressing…. despite being Welsh wonders… 🙂
You are better off getting a recording of his Camelot.
Yep… where he recites the lines to the young knight explaining about Camelot, his diction is so clear and so perfect… (makes me proud to be ‘alf English [and ¼ Welsh 🙂 ] despite what Chuckles, et. al. are doing to Auld Blighty)…
The language, diction, and sounds are musical, even if, as he admitted, he doesn’t sing quite so well 🙂 (the Dick Cavett interviews were great)…..
Burton is wonderful in that movie.
My parents had some friends where the husband was an electronics/gadgets fan, and the Stereo LP of Camelot had just come out.
He bought a fancy headphone set to go with his Heathkit AR-15 and nice turntable, and the sound was just indescribable… The AR-3 speakers he had weren’t exactly chopped liver, but the headphones (Koss?) were in a different league entirely…
All of the sounds, the sibilants, the overtones, etc. were all there… sigh…
OMG. My father built the Heathkit colored TV. Ha! Two minds!
LOL!
Yep.
Making Englisch into a Romance language would take all the romance out of it 🙂
Plus, it would allow folks to talk more through their now-elevated noses, becoming what the English call “toffs”, i.e. toffee-nosed-snots… Sacre Bleu!
I wonder how you pronounce “unalienable” in Anglese, lol.
LOL!!!
No speaka d’Anglese… 😆
(Anglese? Anglese? We don’t need no stinkin’ Anglese 🙂 )…..
Fabulous!
Fascinating thread – worth a look if you can.
Wow!
How many Ayatollahs are left? How many IRGC? How many Basij?
We have no quarrel with the people of Iran and wish them well, but they have already suffered tens of thousands of casualties this year at the hands of the evil regime. At some point, the people of Iran will have to clean up the remnant — but we don’t want to blow the whistle too soon and bring on a terrible slaughter.
They have to get guns.
They can’t fight AK-47s with their fists. This is exactly why practically every nation on earth takes firearms away from the People.
They also need the skill of having one gun and getting two, or having two guns and getting five. Once that happens, it’s off to the races.
Couldn’t we just replicate the Obama ‘Cars for Clunkers’ where we loaded weapons into used cars?
The US could make a fortune.
Much of the army (not the IRGC, who are separate) has defected. There are reports of 70% and even up to 90%. This has been actually going on since the 12 Day war last year. Many have registered with Transition Team under Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and were vetted
How many weapons these defectors managed to bring their weapons is unclear, but I guess there are probably also many smuggled into Iran, since the first defections
.
The plan from the beging was to use these defectors as protection for the protestors on the ground, with Isreal and US drones as protection from the sky, once the regime is so weekend so that the people could come out.
I’m not worried about the army. The IRGC and Basij are pure corruption and should probably be liquidated.
Posted one up / down.
Betting they ARE actively being liquidated. Not force On Force.
I’d bank on this.
And if this is happening, it makes total sense for the US to stand back while Iranians make soup.
There is no other way, for Iranians to prevail.
IRGC is akin to stage 4 cancer.
“Ivermectin” in this case, bullet(s) taking out IRGC.
Blunt reality.
Regular army combining forces with civilians to eliminate Islamists fascists they both hate.
👍 👍
Hence, the continued bombing them into the stone age for a couple more weeks. Gives more time.
Agree.
I hope for good news for the People of Iran. I don’t think DJT intends to leave them under islamic tyranny. I hope they will finally be free.
And I can’t imagine a circumstance where the islamic regime could be trusted, meaning if they are left in power, it will only be a matter of time before they have to be blown up again.
And besides all that, apparently the islamic regime has murdered thousands of people (I heard up to 45,000).
A minority government (apparently islamics were only 30% of the population before the military action) that murders tens of thousands of the 70% majority cannot be allowed to remain in power.
IRGC / islamics will be shredded.
No one trusts them. 47 years of murdering Iranians, for No Good Reason. Pure Evil.
President Trump said 45,000 killed in his speach last night. More likely 70-100 thousand, but nobody knows for sure
Iran Army defectors should be, I’d bet ARE, liquidating IRGC.
Picking them off. Pure opportunity moments. NOT as an “Army”. As Iranian Patriots. Rebels for Iran.
Each time they do, access to weapons, adds to their capability.
It’s not hard to envision.
Wishing them good hunting.
Swamp Fox...
I guess that’s a book.
About Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox.
The guy Mel Gibson’s character in The Patriot was partially based on, iirc.
Francis Marion. True patriot.
Like
Your voice-to-text app seems to be suffering from a malady.
😂
AND why Canada is trying gun confiscation.
Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program – Canada.ca
Canada is Showing America What Government Gun Confiscation is Like
Goes into details.
Canada Says They Will Send Police Door To Door After Failed Gun Buy Back
10 minutes. Clips of parliament starts at 1 minute. Sending of-duty cops door-to-door to grab the guns.
The dude in the picture, Gary Anandasangaree “is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has been Minister of Public Safety since 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, Anandasangaree was elected to the House of Commons in 2015.”
So he is NOT EVEN A CANADIAN!
I think if we get Alberta, we should stop there. Let the rest of the fool country fester in its whatever.
As far as British Columbia goes, it would make a nice country all by itself.
Agreed. All I want is Alberta. We do not need any more libertards.
After that how about we pack up the looneys in CA, WA and elsewhere and ship the to Canada in exchange for the rest of the Conservative Canadians.
Won’t the rest of the country fold? They have no money.
I could tell he wasn’t a Canadian by his beach tan and by his accent.
Just using my eyes and ears.
No hands 😂
Drole.
Like
Another foreigner with a foreign accent, presuming to rule over Canadian white men.
He deserves to have all the rifles, barrel first.
Excellent point.
Good to see you! 🙂
Thank you, scott.
Have been lurking a lot. Lost my Taller Half on Valentine’s Day after being in the Mount Sinai system since Halloween night.
Has been very tough, but some nights I feel like writing.
Have been mostly over to Sylvia’s place.
But I love reading here as usual.
I heard, someone mentioned it here or maybe over at Marica’s. I’m very sorry for your loss, WSB.
You have been in my prayers each night since I found out.
I’m glad you felt like writing tonight 🙂
Thank you, scott.
When it rains, it pours. Have been nursing a hemorrhage in my left retina for five weeks as well, so no car driving…cloistered in my home!
Alas, I skip between my three favorite blogs and listen to my rather lengthy play list that ranges from Albinoni, Mozart, Gershwin, Jim Croce to Emerson,Lake and Palmer.
I am hopeful that all will work out.
Sylvia posted this for me lately.
https://bourbonstreet506745279.wordpress.com/2026/03/26/taller-halfs-grand-day-out/
It was a rather hysterical day! Hope you like the story.
That sounds like quite an ordeal, and carrying anything so heavy for any significant distance must have been difficult, I’m glad you made it home safe and sound.
I hope you have some good news from the doctor about your retina.
As for driving, hopefully you won’t need this, or at least not anytime soon, but Elon has been making some amazing progress on the FSD (Full Self Driving).
The current software update is supposed to be nearly perfect, giving passengers a sense that a person is actually driving.
The latest update is due out any day now, and is supposed to be an order of magnitude better, which current users find hard to believe, considering how good it is now.
Someone recently completed a cross country drive in a Tesla using FSD, without ever touching the steering wheel.
Another owner just clocked over 50,000 miles using FSD only.
I have never been in a Tesla or experienced FSD, but I have watched videos and it does look amazing.
Elon has been promising FSD for years, and the last couple years it has been available with new updates and further improvements every couple months or so.
I suppose it will never be ‘finished’ because over-the-air updates will continue as further improvements are made, BUT it is at the point now where they are about to scale the Cybercab nationwide, and the Cybercab has no steering wheel or gas pedal or brake pedal.
They should be able to produce one new Cybercab every 10 seconds off the assembly line, or 259,200 per month.
Which sounds insane 😂
It won’t start out at that rate, but that’s where they expect to be by sometime next year.
If the FSD wasn’t already many times better than a human (based on accidents per miles traveled), they would never be ramping up production of a car that required FSD (i.e., no steering wheel or pedals, so it can’t be used without FSD).
This will be a great thing for millions of people who may be disabled in one way or another which prevents them from driving, giving them back their freedom of movement to go anywhere they please, without actually having to drive, and without having to get in a car with a stranger driving, like with Uber.
Elon figures that once hundreds of thousands of Cybercabs are on the road all over America, so that the wait time to be picked up is under 5 minutes almost anywhere besides rural areas, many people will choose not to have a car at all, and just use Cybercabs as their daily transport.
Interesting times!
Wow!
But I REALLY want a B2 Bomber!
Taller Half actually bought me one, but it is only about 8” wide.
I love it anyway.
“But I REALLY want a B2 Bomber!”
___________
I’m not sure if B2s have FSD. Or if they’re even street legal… 😁
But I would train, and I live near Stewart Air Force Base. One of the longest landing strips.
I would park it there.
LOL!
PS My B2 is 10”. I just measured it.
Dies that make a difference?
“PS My B2 is 10”. I just measured it.
Dies that make a difference?”
______________
It depends.
Are you taller (or wider) than 10″?
No comment.
😁
B2 or not B2. That is the question…
(ducks and covers)….
I’m gonna come after you anyway!
PS You are the best blog buddy in the world!!!!
Not trying to guess a girl’s weight!
PPS Listening to Sequentia of Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor.
You did not ask about the thickness/ depth… about 3/4 inch.
So, that would also be a problem.
I would need a real one to board.
“You did not ask about the thickness/ depth… about 3/4 inch.
So, that would also be a problem.
I would need a real one to board.”
__________
Well, before we invest more time trying to resolve fitment issues, let’s jump ahead a little.
Once we get you in there, can you actually fly it?
😁
How do the current pilots get trained?
Just give me a simulator at Stewart. Cake.
“How do the current pilots get trained?”
___________
The same way as the old pilots did.
So first, suit up?
“So first, suit up?”
__________
Probably a little classroom instruction first, before take off.
If I remember correctly, there was 8 hours of classroom instruction before we could get a temporary permit to drive a car, so I would expect at least that much before flying a B2 😁
Maybe. Do you ever remember seeing the drunk driving death film clips?
“Maybe. Do you ever remember seeing the drunk driving death film clips?”
____________
Not in B2 flying school 😁
Of course not. That would be really bad. I mean REALLY bad.
❤️
“Of course not. That would be really bad. I mean REALLY bad.”
_______
😁
Thank you so much for making me laugh!
I could adopt you, or I could take you hostage!
Listening to Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto Allegro, so I am not in the cockpit at the moment, nor watching crash films.
“Thank you so much for making me laugh!”
__________
YW! I love to make people laugh, since I figured out how to do it, when I was little 😁
.
“I could adopt you, or I could take you hostage!”
__________
Hostage sounds exciting! 😂
OK.
LOL!
Scott-ish humor.
Oh, and what is your preference?
Adoptee or hostage?
oh, s/.
PS
Hostage does not require much legal paperwork.
s/
“Hostage does not require much legal paperwork.”
____________
Exactly!
You are perfect!
BTW Let me know the best B2 flying school. In the Midwest somewhere?
Meanwhile, I have Handle’s ‘Solomon’ playing.
“BTW Let me know the best B2 flying school.”
____________
Best B2 flying school has to be Top Bomb.
.
“In the Midwest somewhere?”
___________
Sorry, that’s classified 🤣
LOLOLOLOL!!!!!
😁
I can’t believe I used that terminology…drunk driving death film clips. Right at ya!
“I can’t believe I used that terminology…drunk driving death film clips. Right at ya!”
👍😂
I am having far too much fun with you this afternoon!
“I am having far too much fun with you this afternoon!”
___________
That sounds like just the right amount 😁
No popcorn needed!
Does…auto correct.Dang.
“…and listen to my rather lengthy play list that ranges from Albinoni, Mozart, Gershwin, Jim Croce to Emerson,Lake and Palmer.”
______________
I just got a new Jim Croce album in the mail today, and haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet.
It’s called “Lost Time in a Bottle“, here is the link to the Discogs listing:
https://www.discogs.com/release/19851367-Jim-Croce-Lost-Time-In-A-Bottle
The link to the CD listing (above) doesn’t include much detail, but the LP listing for the same album does include information about what’s on the album.
I converted the LP sides (A, B, C & D, it’s a double LP) to a numbered listing for CD, I’m looking forward to hearing some of these for the first time 😁
Tracks 1-4, 6, 11-15: Live at Harper College, 2/5/1973
1) Next Time, This Time
2) New York’s Not My Home
3) You Don’t Mess Around With Jim
4) Careful Man
6) Tractor Trailer Story Intro
11) It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way
12) Bar Story Intro
13) Roller Derby Queen
14) One Less Set Of Footsteps
15) Dreamin’ Again
.
Tracks 5, 7-10, 16-17: Demos
5) A Good Time Man Like Me
7) Speedball Tucker
8) Operator
9) Hard Time Losin’ Man
10) Seems Like Such A Long Time Ago
16) Bad Bad Leroy Brown
17) Time In A Bottle
.
Track 18: Live 1973 (location unknown)
18) I Got A Name
.
Tracks 19-24: Live at Cazenovia College, 1964 (he was just 21 years old in 1964)
19) Charley Green, Play That Slide Trombone
20) San Francisco Bay Blues
21) Washington At Valley Forge
22) La Bamba
23) Seek And You Shall Find
24) Woke Up This Morning
scott, I have had all of these in my play list for decades. You will enjoy all of these.
I have so many others.
Gipsy Kings, Three Dog Night, Earth Wind and Fire, Cat Stevens, Handle, Chopin, Ottmar Liebert, Julian Bream, Manhattan Transfer…I have an extensive list.
Keep at it. I have an old iPod. I am not even certain I can add to, so it does not even include my musical theater favorites. Mostly Rogers and Hammerstein. But others. Jesus Christ Super Star. Webber and Rice.
But my favorite piece is Tomaso Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor by the Cologne Chamber Orchestra.
Really difficult to find on line.
‘My other favorite is anything by Rick Wakeman. Anything.
“scott, I have had all of these in my play list for decades. You will enjoy all of these.”
__________
Looks like I’m a little late to the party on these recordings 😂
He didn’t have that much output during his far too short career, so I’ve only had a couple Jim Croce albums in my collection:
1) Gold in a Bottle (24K gold CD on the DCC label, 1994, all tracks remastered by Steve Hoffman from original tapes)
2) Words and Music (24K gold CD, also on DCC label and remastered from the original tapes by Steve Hoffman)
And just recently:
3) Jim Croce Live: The Final Tour
I have been listening to my playlist a lot and am really enjoying Jim’s balladeer style and how easily he can roll his voice up and down.
He also did not have what I would call a ‘pretty’ voice but he crafted his voice for the type of ballad he composed.
Jim had a clear simple tone for tender songs and also a rough tone for his other works. He had an extraordinary range of emotion in his singing.
If you listen a few times, you will understand.
He was quite a balladeer.
Too bad we lost him in a plane crash.
I have seen younger people on yootoob doing reactions to Jim Croce’s songs recently, listening to his songs for the first time.
It’s amazing how fun it is to see other people hear music for the first time that you have known and liked for years.
Sort of like what we used to do as kids, having friends over to play an album we bought recently and really liked, but our friends hadn’t heard it yet.
Another great storyteller from the same era who I’ve always liked is Harry Chapin.
I had Harry’s “Greatest Stories Live” double LP when I was a kid, and I’ve had it on CD since whenever it came out on CD 😁
So true.
We would go to Sear’s for the 45’s on Saturdays.
And I was at a Harry Chapin concert in Connecticut. Was he in a car crash?
I also have a lot of Gordon Lightfoot.
Yes, I think Harry was only 38 when he was in the car crash.
The official ‘Cats in the Cradle’ video has an introduction where his wife and son are interviewed briefly, before the song starts.
Lots of reaction videos on yootoob for Cats in the Cradle 👍🙂
I’ve had Gord’s Gold (double LP and then CD) since I was a kid, because my parents played it since I was little, along with John Denver, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary (a lot!), and a little Kingston Trio, so that’s the music I’ve known since before I can remember 😁
One thing you should do is find the soundtrack to Gods and Generals.
Now, there is a Dylan piece in there in which he sounds so bad, I deleted it from my playlist, but the rest of the music is sensational.
Honestly, beautiful.
Oh, did I mention my full array of Chicago’s list?
“Oh, did I mention my full array of Chicago’s list?”
___________
I have had Chicago’s Greatest Hits since I was a kid.
When CDs came out in the early 80s, they were expensive (at least on a paper boy’s wages), so I ended up buying a lot of greatest hits albums (to get all the songs I knew from the radio), until I was older.
Some of their music is kind of odd. But they had wonderful hits.
Glad you appreciate them.
Let’s now try Julian Bream.
I know…really different.
I’m not familiar with Julian Bream. You stumped me 😁
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53777949
Here’s Mandy Patinkin doing “Cats In The Cradle” (after a brief warmup)… [not a fan of his politics, but he’s a Lionel Trains Fan, so there’s that… plus I only care about the music… just think if politicians sang… barf]
(the first little ditty is kind of charming, btw…)…..
I saw Patinkin on Broadway.
Dud not know about the Lionel part.
My father has a plethora of Lionel but somehow he converted them. So they may not be worth anything.
Yet, houses, tunnels etc.
Here’s Mandy at a rehearsal back in 1986… (reminds me of some rehearsals I’ve been in…)….
You have been in a lot of rehearsals? What sort? Voice? So have I. It’s a lot of work and team effort. Diplomacy.
Musicals (pit), orchestras, solos (in Uni) as a cellist and pianist. Lots of chamber music (string trios, quartets, quintets, sextetts, etc.). Founding member of the HP (yes, that HP 🙂 ) string quartet… there were a lot of great musicians there who ended up going to the engineering side for one reason or another…
I was in a group that did the first performance of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil (Vespers) in English in the Western Hemisphere at St. Sophia’s Cathedral in LA… that was impressive… I was a first bass (effectively a baritone, though I could do tenor if they needed it), but they had second and THIRD basses… who were mostly Orthodox priests who could go wayyyyyy down. I was rehearsal pianist for the basses, and they wound me up by walking all the way down the low end of the keyboard until I ran out of notes… but they didn’t.
SSSAAATTTBBB has a depth and richness of texture and sonority that is incredible. How Rachmaninov could keep that all going, while preserving his long, overarching melodic lines is almost hard to believe. And the inner parts never got lost…
Wonderful, wonderful work by Rachmaninov, based on chants and IIRC folk melodies, with a lot of work done by our conductor (and Russian music expert) Alex Ruggieri… It was recorded on Melodiya/Angel but I don’t think it broke the top 1000 of the classical music category 🙂 Still, it was a great experience…
I have links to a really good performance in Russian (if I can find them 🙂 )…
Oh my goodness! Have you ever shared your history on this site before?
It is breathtaking.
I have alto voice, piano, harpsichord, musical theater, acting, and interior architecture behind me…but none of your expertise.
My hands were never large enough to play Rachmaninov. I had to cheat it. Not good.
And I love Russian mens’ choirs.
My parents met in summer stock. Baritone and soprano.
My father was chief engineer of GTE, 19 patents…he always said to me, “ Math and music, same thing.”
My mother will be 87 this year…still has a most gorgeous soprano voice. Kathryn Grayson without the heavy vibrato.
Thank you for sharing.
I just looked up Alex’s obits. He sounds like a marvelous man.
So sad that he passed so young.
Please try to find them. I would love to hear them.
PS I would consider Mandy a counter tenor.
Thing is, he has quite a wide range… the bit with “Japanese Sandman” starts out in a high head register, then he goes directly into “Cat’s In The Cradle” down in the Baritone range… OK, many counter tenors are pushed-up baritones, so yep… his head register is effortless, so it’s great to hear him.
Funny too, how many, many people don’t even realize he was a Broadway star for years, after all of the success he’s had on TV…
There are some really neat vids out there just about Mandy as a person (as well as a Lionel Trains fan)…
Here’s one about his latest anniversary, entitled 15,695 days…
One of his Lionel videos talks about the tradeoffs he had to make in order to be “allowed” to buy more train stuff 😀
Fun!
Oh, and I LOVE Harry Chapin!
“Oh, and I LOVE Harry Chapin!”
__________
Me too 😁
For some reason, I have a short interview with Jim about his early days playing in bars. He said the third set was the martini set and he stopped using a guitar strap because people would be hopping all over the bar where he was playing and he did not want his guitar or him damaged.
It is a very funny short interview.
“‘My other favorite is anything by Rick Wakeman. Anything.”
___________
I have a good amount of Yes albums, with Rick Wakeman on keyboards.
Most of them have had deluxe box set reissues over the last few years, where they have been remastering the original tapes for stereo, making multi-channel remixes for blu-ray, and digging out old unreleased material from the vaults and including them as bonus tracks and live concerts in the box sets.
Lots of good stuff! 😁
Yes – Yes Album
Blu-ray, stereo, 5.1, and Atmos
4 CDs
1 LP
Original album release date: 1971
Box set release:
2023 Atlantic / Rhino R2 725175
UPC: 603497831715
Discogs link
.
Yes – Fragile
Blu-ray, stereo, 5.1, Atmos
4 CDs
1 LP
Original album release date: 1971
Box set release:
2024 Atlantic / Rhino R2 726068
UPC: 603497827770
Discogs Link
.
Yes – Close to the Edge
Blu-ray, stereo, 5.1, Atmos
5 CDs
1 LP
Original album release date: 1972
Box set release:
2025 Atlantic / Rhino R2 727100
UPC: 603497820689
Discogs Link
Do you know Rick’s Wives of Henry VIII? Massively genius.
If you look at a YouTube of his performances, he has six keyboards.
Nat King Cole is another favorite. Listen to Penthouse Suite.
Nat was a magnificent pianist as well as a singer. In this work, I do not believe he is using his left hand at all.
I only have a couple Nat King Cole albums.
After Midnight (CD/SACD) Live, small night club setting, no big string section, just guitar, stand up bass, drummer and Nat on the piano.
1) Just You, Just Me 3:04
2) Sweet Lorraine 4:38
3) Sometimes I’m Happy 4:13
4) Caravan 2:46
5) It’s Only A Paper Moon 3:10
6) You’re Looking At Me 4:16
7) Lonely One 3:49
8) Don’t Let It Go To Your Head 3:14
9) I Know That You Know 2:31
10) Blame It On My Youth 4:13
11) When I Grow Too Old To Dream 3:34
12) Route 66 3:50
13) I Was A Little Too Lonely (And You Were A Little Too Late) 3:02
14) You Can Depend On Me 3:56
15) What Is There To Say? 3:37
16) Two Loves Have I 2:48
17) Candy 4:12
18) Just You, Just Me (Take One) 3:04
19) It’s Only A Paper Moon (Take One Breakdown) 0:51
Release notes: “Recorded in Hollywood in August and September 1956. Tracks 13-19 are bonus tracks from the original recording sessions.”
.
And I just got this one recently, but haven’t listened to it yet:
Live at the Blue Note, Chicago (2 CDs)
Release notes: “Record Store Day Exclusive release (2024). Limited to 2000 copies in thick cardboard gatefold mini-LP style sleeve. Includes a booklet with extensive liner notes and a folded reproduction of “The Blue Note News” Vol. 2, No. 12 from August 28, 1953.
Recorded live at the Blue Note, Chicago, over the course of more than a week starting August 28, 1953.
Four nights and one matinee were recorded, from which this release was edited and compiled.
On track 2-7, both Jimmy Van Heusen and Kurt Adams are credited as songwriters. Adams is a pseudonym that Van Heusen used.”
Find The Penthouse Serenade , though.
It is sublime.
Beautiful!
Isn’t it? He has a quartet behind him, but he just tinkles the upper octaves on his right hand, from what I can make out.
scott, I did not know you were such a music fiend.
We need to discuss Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor.
“scott, I did not know you were such a music fiend.”
___________
I’m generation X, but my favorite music is all 1960s and 1970s classic rock, with the term ‘classic rock’ used in the broadest sense, basically everything besides disco or punk.
So blues rock, folk rock, hard rock, soft rock, singer/songwriter, psychedelic rock, pop rock, prog rock, etc.
Nothing very obscure, basically everyone from the 1960s and 1970s who should be in the rock ‘n roll Hall of Fame.
That music is what I knew from early childhood. When it came time to begin formulating my own taste in music, MTV launched, and it was such a radical departure from everything that came before, I just rejected it outright.
Not to mention all the trans (e.g., Boy George) and gay stuff MTV was pushing with all their might.
So my friends and I just went back to what we knew, the 60s and 70s music we heard since we were born, and since there was a huge back catalog of music from the 60s and 70s to explore, we never ran out new ‘classics’ to discover.
So we basically skipped the 1980s as far as music was concerned.
That’s the music that should have been ‘my’ generation of music, but I can’t stand it 😂
.
.
“We need to discuss Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor.”
____________
Unfortunately I don’t know very much classical.
I only have a few. I have Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture on CD (Erich Kunzel with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) the cannons were fun to demonstrate with big speakers.
I have one called Bachbusters (1985), that one is also a good demonstration CD.
I think the last one I have is Janos Starker, Bach – Suites For Solo Cello (Complete); Sonatas In G & D Major For Cello And Piano
I found that one because of the first track, “Bach Cello Suite No.1 in G, Praeludium”, which I heard in an episode of House, M.D., where a woman was in a mental institution (sort of like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which was probably by design), and she was practically catatonic, but she was a celloist, and she would play Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G, Praeludium.
I had no idea what that was (or the title of the piece), but I really liked it, so I looked up the House, M.D. episode online and found out the title of the musical piece, if that’s the right term.
I checked several different performances, I think Yo-Yo Ma does it too, but the version performed by Janos Starker in the early 1960s sounded like the version used in the House, M.D. episode. Either that, or the Janos Starker performance is the one that resonated with me the most, I forget now. So that’s the one I bought.
Naturally it was out of print and cost a ridiculous amount for a CD/SACD 😁
Such an unusual combo you have. Had no idea you are gen X.
I am currently listening to Blood, Sweat and Tears. Do you have any of their work?
I have to look all of this up, or we will need to have a music post.
Now listening to Ottmar Liebert.
“I am currently listening to Blood, Sweat and Tears. Do you have any of their work?”
____________
That’s definitely ‘classic rock’ from my perspective 👍
Another case where Greatest Hits is most of my exposure, so I’m very familiar with:
You’ve Made Me So Very Happy 3:26
And When I Die 3:26
Spinning Wheel 2:39
But the song by BS&T that I like the most, since the very first time I heard it, is I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know (5:58)
Just amazing 😁
.
.
Just found it live on The Midnight Special, 1975!
.
Was not familiar with this one.
Thanks for posting!
“Do you know Rick’s Wives of Henry VIII? Massively genius.”
_________
I have heard of it, it’s on the live triple LP “Yessongs” (1973), so I’m sure I’ve heard it, but it would have been a long time ago.
I bet Coothie knows it 😁
I am right now listening to Rick’s ‘Seasons Of Change’.
Nothing like it.
Try to find the studio versions if you can. They are very clear.
Also, the Eagles and old Bee Gees.
“Also, the Eagles and old Bee Gees.”
___________
Eagles are one of my favorites.
One of my first record LPs was the double LP of Eagles Live (1980).
Eagles Live is basically a live Greatest Hits album.
So those live performances are all my favorite versions of their best songs 😁
Desperado must be one of the best songs ever.
“Desperado must be one of the best songs ever.”
👍😁
😉 ❤️
Oh, we also need to review Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto.
PS I probably know every lyric.
I am so surprised he is popular again. A very odd duck with such a particular talent.
I’m so sorry for your loss. May God provide you with His comfort & peace that passes understanding 😪
Thank you so much, Valerie. 43 years losing a protecter and a knight in shining armor is traumatic.
I truly cannot imagine…just wow…
Next month will be a year since my mom passed, exactly 2 weeks after she turned 85 & less than a month after my parents hit their 63rd anniversary. Dad is still adjusting to such a significant loss. God is good & helps us all get through Whatever it is we face…
Valerie, I can walk past the coffee maker and have a traumatic reaction.
And I have always been a very independent strong person.
I studied psychology as a minor in architecture school. I have realized that even if your brain understands the pitfalls, it will not conquer the pitfalls.
It is a very peculiar event.
Last week would have been 39 years for my late wife and me… a couple of songs come to mind, maybe more because of the lyrics than anything else, but years removed from each other…
The first “Always something there to remind me” (self-descriptive) I first heard in England in 1964 when it first came out, and it was so popular that different covers of it were playing simultaneously on different radio stations! I was tired of it, to say the least, and never would have thought that “always something there to remind me” would express my life now…
The second, also from England, from the pen of Andrew Lloyd Webber, is from the musical
“Phantom of the Opera”, where Christine is singing ” Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again”… the song doesn’t quite fit, but the title does… and it was a wonderful tune and vehicle for Sarah Brightman’s voice…
Having said that, she’s better off.
My son and I were saying that after having celebrated Christmas in Heaven, she’ll get to celebrate Easter in Heaven too… (OK, in Heaven every day, in a sense, is Christmas and Easter and GLORY beyond anything we could possible imagine… still, we look forward to being together with her again, in HEAVEN!)…..
Here’s “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again”…
What a lovely tribute.
May you be mightily comforted in this season of sorrows & remembrance.
Yes grief is its own unique journey with really no rhythm or rhyme.
A couple months back Hubby heard a sermon that put him into a tailspin. It loosely touched on “name it & claim it” faulty theology & he was right back to the trauma surrounding his mom’s death in the 80s. She’d had cancer for years but refused to get help because she needed to prove she had enough faith to get healed or something. He even lost sleep & missed work as he wrestled with deep, unexpected anxieties that his perception of that sermon triggered.
We were discussing my own hit or miss grief journey when he mentioned the trauma of discovering a cardboard box in a closet with his dad’s ashes in it. He had no frame of reference for it, he was a teen at the time, & didn’t even know how to process it all. When his mom went to spread his dad’s ashes in a beautiful place he’d never even visited Michael chose to stay home because none of it made any sense to him.
I would guess reminders of your hubby are all around you & most especially within you. These can be bittersweet blessings best left in the Master’s hands. God be with you in deep healing, grace, comfort, & even joy in the midst of sorrows.
So sad to see this.
Oh duh but I still can”t like. LIKE
I think I’ve figured out what’s going on.
You used to sign in with your username in ALL LOWER CASE. “notasmidgeon”. More recently, when you have come in as a guest, you’ve capitalized it. “Notasmidgeon”.
Try logging in with all lower case on “notasmidgeon”, and your password in whatever exact spelling it is (i.e., the all lower case ONLY applies to your user name.). If that doesn’t work, I’ll send you a password reset FOR THIS SITE. Not for WordPress.com sites.
Actually, this is not an isolated assessment.
There are many indications of the collapse of the regime.
Recently one of the contributors from inside Iran to ‘Iran Revolution Live’ talked about this.
He, was arrested by the regime, and he noticed that the Basij did not have the manpower for prosecting the people, which was completely different from his previous arrest. They didn’t even have any information about that, which helped him.
During the court hearing the judges where extremely nervous and scattered once they heard any bombing by Isreal.
He does not say how he escaped, because that would reveal his identity.
He, also notice that many of the official were pretending to help the prisoners so that they will have favorable testimony once the regime falls.
This is the testimony of his experience, after he managed to contact Goldie Ghamarie of ‘Iran Revolution Live’ a few days ago (set up the at 3:19 of the live stream)
Excellent. The collapse is well underway it appears.
I’ve been fairly certain that Iran’s tyrannical government was collapsing for a while, no matter what we hear.
Because no country without nuclear capability could withstand a full-on assault by a determined U.S. military under serious command. Not one.
G R E A T news.
Have wondered how common Starlink may be in Iran. How many Starlink have been delivered since Epic Fury started.
Maybe we’ll read about that, after Epic Fury ends.
Starlink only needs terminals right now because Elon has not ‘turned on’ the cell tower capability of the system. But it is already capable of acting as a cell tower and that might be turned on only for Iran – we don’t know and it would be stupid to announce it [if so].
Word-of-mouth spreading would keep the system from being overloaded yet allow outside-the-country communications. Not to mention VERY CAREFUL inside-the-country comms.
Agree
Persian is not a language. Persians speak Farsi.
Well…🤔
Why Study Persian (Farsi)? | World Languages & Literatures
Well … I had my statement confirmed via my third wife who is half Persian. Her father could trace his lineage all the way back to the time of Mo-ham-head. She is about as Persian as possible despite having a white mother.
Everybody’s mileage varies. 🙃
😍
Very informative.
OMGosh!!!!! I got to post!
Have you been having trouble posting?
The replies that just kill me are the ones where the guy says yes the internet is down but we are using Starlink and VPN’s, and some idiot says “he’s not in Iran, he’s tweeting from Austria.”
Seriously, learn what a VPN is and what it does, dipstick.
Let’s be clear – a dipstick has a use and it does that job well. Just saying.
This is true. I insulted dipsticks, for which I sincerely apologize!
Violet Purple Network??? 🍆 🍆 🍆 😀
That’s the name of my band.
The Dipsticks? 😆
(Rosco, Enos, Cletus, and Boss 🙂 )…..
Lol.
Neuralink is really coming along!
Incredible, and touching.
Very cool!
How technology is SUPPOSED to be used.
I know people worry about “transhumanism,” but this really is a legitimate use of technology for the good of humanity.
POTATUS ERROR…..
Time to remove that judge. And all of his communist, traitorous ilk.
Agree
I don’t think these judges realize the inevitable trajectory they are putting America on, if they continue this way.
Imagine that Americans discovered, sometime down the road, that there was a “rape gang” operating, a la what happened in Britain. Because with unfettered, unvetted immigration, that could happen.
Americans are not a neutered, disarmed populace like the British. There would be mass killing if something like that happened here. These judges, whatever their reasoning, are sending America down a very dangerous path. It leads to nothing good.
Seriously, if their widespread biased rulings aren’t stopped the country will be limping along ‘sometime down the road’ . They’re crippling so much progress AND favoring the lawless to the point that it’s like one step forward and 2 steps back.
Dang is that FUNNY.
Everybody knows that geisha girls don’t show negative emotions like that.
😎
LOL! Having been to the Air Japan lounge at Narita, I can concur!
What about the cat?
Except in Tran Francisco, where the gei sha girls 😆 💃
Wolf, that is hysterical! A keeper. Add to openings.
The story on the meme is great, too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_yelling_at_a_cat
What a riot!
Smudge Saturdays.
And BTW…cats don’t give a shit if they are being yelled at.
YIKES!!! There’s a LOT of it right now!
We had to memorize that in 7th grade English class.
Couldn’t understand hardly a word of it.
If you speak it aloud, it almost makes sense on first reading.
When that April with its showers soothe,
The drought of March that hath pierced to the root,
And bathed every vein in such liquor
Of which virtue engendered is the flower;
When Zephyrs make with its sweet breath
Inspiration in every hold and heath
The tender crops, and the young sun
Has in the Ram [Aries] his half-course run,
And small fowls make melody,
That sleep all the night with open eye,
So pricketh them Nature in their courage,
For various folk to go on pilgrimage,
And Palmers for to seek strange strands,
To verdant halls in sundry lands;
And specially, from every shire’s end
To England, to Canterbury they wend,
The holy blissful martyr for to seek,
That may help them for what they seek.
******************************************
Mind you, there is a whole lot of associated information that helps to set this up…..as an example, the association of the Palmers with beaches (strands) and seashells — or perhaps the marking of the seasons by signs of the zodiac.
But that was the intended lesson back in the day, wasn’t it? We were speaking mostly the same language, and the Tales were a gateway into an older world with a slightly different worldview.
I always liked the Canterbury Tales.
That’s rather demented. IMO.
Okay, demented is too strong. But weird fits right in.
Then again, there’s Homer Price and the Centerburg Tales 🙂
That’s the only way I can understand it, is by hearing it. But I do it silently. I just “hear it” in my head.
We did, too; although, it was 9th grade for us!
Now that I think about it, it was Mrs. Lee’s class, so that was 8th grade, not 7th.
Reminds me of watching all the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo launches when I were a wee bairn (OK, not so wee, but much younger than now 🙂 )…..
Those were the “gee, whiz” days… Also interesting is that books, etc., up to Apollo 11 always spoke about travel to the moon as being in the future…. Boomers are the last generation that saw and read that…
On KTVU Channel 2 in the SF Bay Area we had a childrens’ cartoon show called “Captain Satellite”… space and science, etc., was all the rage… looking upward and forward as opposed to sitting around and bitching and complaining…
The good’ol days. KTVU 2 unaffiliated.
Bay Area, big three: 4 NBC, 5 CBS, and 7 ABC. IIRC.
Dennis Richmond and Elaine Corral (crush!) were on KTVU in its glory years. I think channel 11 was KNTV (NBC) in the south bay, and channel 8 was KSBW (ABC). And then, if you had a Yagi and a good mast and a rotator, you could pick up KRCA (3) and Channel 13 from Sacto… also channel 6 IIRC…
Cable made all of that fancy kit (and risky installation) unnecessary 🙂
And then there was UHF… KEMO (20), ? (44), KTEH (54, PBS) and that crazy fellow on channel 40 who seemed to be on the air 24/7…
Speaking of Captain Satellite (Bob March):
And the Wackypaedia (sorry) entry about him:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Satellite
NBC & ABC are the same in Detroit but CBS is 62, Fox is 2, & CBC is 9 🙂
It all came to a screeching halt in the 1970s with Kissinger & the Club of Rome and MANAGED DECLINE…
THE TREASONOUS SADISTIC SONS OF SATAN!
When NASA gets to the moon, they’ll be able to commute from Muskburgh to Musk City through the Musk Transit Tube.
And in the Musk Lunar Port, spaceships will land on tailfins like God and Robert A. Heinlein meant them to.
In a few days, we’ll finally get pictures from the “dark side” of the moon!
The Trump administration is accomplishing so much.
I think we just had a minor earthquake.
Probably this one
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc75337442/executive
A 4.9 pretty close. Power didn’t go off.
A nothingburger if the state wasn’t such a pain in so many other ways.
Have read AND Verified.
There is a 100% Cure For California FUBAR ways.
North Carolina, in your case
100% believe, with the will, it will happen. Cheering section, hopes soon.
This!
Time… Past time to move to North Carolina!
I normally like to post in threes, but I just have this —
Congress could not be more dysfunctional.
BREAKING: The Senate just gaveled in and Leader John Thune has SENT BACK the bill to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP to the House
Now the House must past the Senate bill — the same one passed initially — and send it to President Trump
Reconciliation, which only needs 50+1 votes, will soon begin to fund the rest of ICE and CBP by June 1
HURRY UP!
What brought them back? The prospect of free food? (VSGPDJT providing Easter Dinner) (Hmmm… probably the squad will declare that Haram 😀 )…..
“They will not be able to walk the streets….”
DumRats Have Nothing To Counter Trump.
JUST IN:
Weekly jobless claims: better than expected
February U.S. trade balance: better than expected
The trade deficit in 2026 is down 55% relative to the first two months of 2025.
FOR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND ALL IN NEED OF PRAYER
PRAISE AND WORSHIP
PEACE – Relaxing Christian Instrumental Worship Music for Prayer, Meditation and Deep Rest
______________________________________
EACH DAY WE TAKE UP THE OFFENSIVE WEAPON OF THE WORD OF GOD – THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT – ONE VERSE OPENS THE DOOR TO THE CONTEXT OF THE CHAPTER MESSAGE
Verse of the Day for Thursday, April 2, 2026
✟
“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:”
1 Peter 1:8 (KJV)
COMMENTARY FOR 1 PETER 1:8
The same great doctrines, as in St. Paul’s epistles, are here applied to same practical purposes. And this epistle is remarkable for the sweetness, gentleness, and humble love, with which it is written. It gives a short, and yet a very clear summary, both of the consolations and the instructions needful for the encouragement and direction of a Christian in his journey to heaven, raising his thoughts and desires to that happiness, and strengthening him against all opposition in the way, both from corruption within, and temptations and afflictions without.The apostle blesses God for his special benefits through Christ. (1-9) Salvation by Christ foretold in ancient prophecy. (10-12) All are exhorted to holy conversation. (13-16) Such as is suitable to their principles, privileges, and obligations. (17-25)
1-9 This epistle is addressed to believers in general, who are strangers in every city or country where they live, and are scattered through the nations. These are to ascribe their salvation to the electing love of the Father, the redemption of the Son, and the sanctification of the Holy Ghost; and so to give glory to one God in three Persons, into whose name they had been baptized. Hope, in the world’s phrase, refers only to an uncertain good, for all worldly hopes are tottering, built upon sand, and the worldling’s hopes of heaven are blind and groundless conjectures. But the hope of the sons of the living God is a living hope; not only as to its object, but as to its effect also. It enlivens and comforts in all distresses, enables to meet and get over all difficulties. Mercy is the spring of all this; yea, great mercy and manifold mercy. And this well-grounded hope of salvation, is an active and living principle of obedience in the soul of the believer. The matter of a Christian’s joy, is the remembrance of the happiness laid up for him. It is incorruptible, it cannot come to nothing, it is an estate that cannot be spent. Also undefiled; this signifies its purity and perfection. And it fadeth not; is not sometimes more or less pleasant, but ever the same, still like itself. All possessions here are stained with defects and failings; still something is wanting: fair houses have sad cares flying about the gilded and ceiled roofs; soft beds and full tables, are often with sick bodies and uneasy stomachs. All possessions are stained with sin, either in getting or in using them. How ready we are to turn the things we possess into occasions and instruments of sin, and to think there is no liberty or delight in their use, without abusing them! Worldly possessions are uncertain and soon pass away, like the flowers and plants of the field. That must be of the greatest worth, which is laid up in the highest and best place, in heaven. Happy are those whose hearts the Holy Spirit sets on this inheritance. God not only gives his people grace, but preserves them unto glory. Every believer has always something wherein he may greatly rejoice; it should show itself in the countenance and conduct. The Lord does not willingly afflict, yet his wise love often appoints sharp trials, to show his people their hearts, and to do them good at the latter end. Gold does not increase by trial in the fire, it becomes less; but faith is made firm, and multiplied, by troubles and afflictions. Gold must perish at last, and can only purchase perishing things, while the trial of faith will be found to praise, and honour, and glory. Let this reconcile us to present afflictions. Seek then to believe Christ’s excellence in himself, and his love to us; this will kindle such a fire in the heart as will make it rise up in a sacrifice of love to him. And the glory of God and our own happiness are so united, that if we sincerely seek the one now, we shall attain the other when the soul shall no more be subject to evil. The certainty of this hope is as if believers had already received it.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.
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Verse of the Day – April 2, 2026 (Morning Prayer)
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Thank You, Jesus, for blessings received and prayers answered !!!
WE ARE FIGHTING A SPIRITUAL WAR OF GOOD VERSUS EVIL
PRAYING ON THE ARMOR OF GOD
Father God, I now follow your command to put on the full armor of God, because my battle is not against flesh and blood but against rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the unseen world.
I first pray on the Belt of Truth that it may be buckled around my waist, may I be centered and encircled by your truth dear Lord. Hem me inside all that is true and right, and may I be protected and held up by the truth of your living word, in my Lord Jesus name.
I pray on the Breastplate of righteousness, please protect my vital organs and my inner man, cover my integrity, my spirit, and my soul. Guard my heart for it is the wellspring of life, please strengthen and guard the most vulnerable places in my life with that which is right, good, and noble that I might not receive a fatal blow from the enemy, in my Lord Jesus name.
I pray on the Gospel Shoes of Peace. I choose to stand in the shoes of your good news, and on the firm foundation of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the solid eternal rock. All other ground is sinking sand, I pray that I will not slip or fall, but that my feet would be firmly fitted on your lordship, my Lord Jesus. I choose to stand on you, so that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus, the eternal Rock of Ages. I receive your holy peace now my Lord, from the sole of my feet to the crown of my head, in my Lord Jesus name.
I pray the Shield of Faith into my hand now. As I take up the shield of faith, I ask that you might extinguish every dart and arrow that is launched from the enemy to take me down spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, and every attempt of the enemy to destroy my joy. I ask that my faith in you would make it flame out. Extinguish every flaming arrow that would come against me, my life, my family, my home, or my ministry. May my faith always be out in front of me like a shield. Give me the courage to “faith my fears” by choosing to walk by faith and not by sight, in my Lord Jesus name.
I pray on the Helmet of Salvation, that you might protect my mind from the thoughts that can lead me astray. I choose to take every thought captive, and arrest all intentioned ideas and motives that would harm others, or distract me from your holy will for me. I submit every captured thought to the Lordship of my Lord Jesus Christ, and ask that you would imprison those thoughts that are not of you my Lord. Transform my mind and renew my thinking that I may think God thoughts, and have a sober mind that is focused on your glory. Please protect me from being double minded that I may allow my mind, I reject to live an earthly life, because I choose to live a holy one, governed by you My Lord Jesus, the prince of peace, please have my mind to be saturated with the holy mind of Christ, in my Lord Jesus name.
Finally, I take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the holy word of God, I pray this powerful offensive weapon into my hand, and ask that your holy word would be fitting for every encounter I face. As the enemy gets close to me, please give me the insight, wisdom, and skill to wield the word of God to drive away the enemy, in my Lord Jesus name.
May the enemy and his team flee from me, upon hearing the word of God spoken by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit. Give me the sword of the spirit to cut through the wiles of the devil, so that I may discern the schemes of the enemy when he is near.
With all kinds of prayers, supplication, and intercession I pray to you my Lord God as the one who fights my battles. Now that I’m in your holy powerful armor, I walk away covered and ready to face my day as you go before me, and please protect me in the midst of the spiritual warfare in this unseen world, in my Lord Jesus name.
Thank you my Lord, for the spiritual weapons of armor and prayer that you have given me. It is written no weapon formed against me shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses me.
Thank you Father God, my Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, that I am more than a conqueror in my Lord Jesus. I pray all of this in the mighty name of my Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ABUSED, MISSING, AND TRAFFICKED CHILDREN
BE MY VOICE
CHILD NOT CHOICE
JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
PLEASE PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER
MAPA = MAKE AMERICA PRAY AGAIN
That was my late wife’s confirmation verse… 🙏
(Philippians 4:4)
God bless & comfort you & your son Cuppa. Next month one year since my mom died, not an anniversary I want to celebrate. Last Easter was the last time she was with my whole gang so thankfully we got some good memories then…
ONE DAY, SOMEDAY
Have you been abandoned and left aloneIs the pain so unbearable you’re thrownIt comes not from the body or the headIt comes spiritually inside instead
One day, someday you’ll discover that HeWill reveal more than imagined to beQuit waiting for man to make it alrightQuit sitting on your bum get in the fight
Armor up daily and please pray pray prayThere really is no other possible wayWe fight an enemy fierce and unseenAn enemy in plain sight ever been
Blind to the peril under which we surviveUnable to progress or even thriveTwas not what God wanted or even plannedThis surreptitious slavery under man
Some have claimed God could really care lessDespite her gifts ‘Merica is a messLook at what we accepted without a peepHow did we manage to get in so deep
The web the enemy cleverly weavedHas cause devastation so bereaved We’ve lost what we valued so dear to our heartsBroken to pieces and left without parts
When will God move as He promised of oldWhen will He free us from bondage foretoldWhen will the fruits of the wicked be tornWhen will our nation be no more forlorn
Someday soon you will see His Almighty HandSpread worldwide over the sky sea and landThe Trumpet will sound everyone will hearThere’ll be joy everywhere not a single tear
D01: 07/17/2023
ONE DAY, SOMEDAY
Have you been abandoned and left alone
Is the pain so unbearable you’re thrown
It comes not from the body or the head
It comes spiritually inside instead
One day, someday you’ll discover that He
Will reveal more than imagined to be
Quit waiting for man to make it alright
Quit sitting on your bum get in the fight
Armor up daily and please pray pray pray
There really is no other possible way
We fight an enemy fierce and unseen
An enemy in plain sight ever been
Blind to the peril under which we survive
Unable to progress or even thrive
Twas not what God wanted or even planned
This surreptitious slavery under man
Some have claimed God could really care less
Despite her gifts ‘Merica is a mess
Look at what we accepted without a peep
How did we manage to get in so deep
The web the enemy cleverly weaved
Has cause devastation so bereaved
We’ve lost what we valued so dear to our hearts
Broken to pieces and left without parts
When will God move as He promised of old
When will He free us from bondage foretold
When will the fruits of the wicked be torn
When will our nation be no more forlorn
Someday soon you will see His Almighty Hand
Spread worldwide over the sky sea and land
The Trumpet will sound everyone will hear
There’ll be joy everywhere not a single tear
D01: 07/17/2023
Mix – Justin Hayward – One Day,
Mix – Justin Hayward – One Day, Someday (Spirits Live)
Psalm 91. The most powerful prayer from the Bible. God’s protection, healing
#psalm91 #psalms #prayer
Pray Everyday
https://rumble.com/v57jz8d-psalm-91.the-most-powerful-prayer-from-the-bible.-gods-protection-healing-p.html
Sleep Well with Psalms. Psalm 91, Psalm 121, Psalm 3, Psalm 4, Psalm 139.
#faith #god #psalms
prayeveryday777
https://rumble.com/v57jvfg-sleep-well-with-psalms.-psalm-91-psalm-121-psalm-3-psalm-4-psalm-139.faith-.html
______________________________
HAVE A VERY BLESSED DAY !!! ❤️❤️❤️
https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/reformulated-thursday-april-2-2026
Good morning, C&C, it’s Thursday! Your roundup includes: America goes back to the Moon — for the first time in 54 years (or maybe ever) — and nobody in my circle even knew about it, because the Times was too busy writing about a $23-million space toilet; Hershey confesses to selling fake chocolate and promises to stop, while the entire American food industry undergoes what the trade press is calling ‘The Great Reformulation’ (and none of them want to say why); and the New York Times publishes political fan fiction about Pam Bondi sourced entirely from four anonymous people, while the only person quoted on the record says she’s doing great. Welcome to modern trad-journalism.
Snatched from Chiefio.
With the Straits of Hormuz closed in mind. Talking heads thoughts on difficulties ahead for Europe, Asia and Australia.
16:16
21:16
Here are a couple of links from his site, first a recent article about prepping:
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2026/04/01/of-panic-prepping-fuel-food-how-bad
Next, some links:
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/category/emergency-preparation-and-risks
Crisis is coming
The gas is running out
Please to put a Euro in the gas pump’s spout
If you haven’t got a Euro,
Fifty cents will do
If you haven’t even got that,
Then God Bless You…
https://joannenova.com.au/2026/04/australia-wakes-up-to-brown-coal-bonanza-1000-years-of-energy-if-only-we-didnt-hate-it/
The comments reflect a lot of people who haven’t circled the drain in climate/(not) science lies
BREAKING UPDATE: Colorado Court Affirms Tina Peters’ Convictions But Reverses Sentencing Back to Trial Court, Ignores Trump’s Pardon and Supremacy Clause of Constitution
More at the link.
For Heaven’s sake, send Federal Marshals to that prison and walk Tina Peters out!
Jared Polis KNOWS that Tina Peters is the crucial link to proving that there was rampant voter fraud in Colorado in the 2020 Federal election. That’s why he’s trying to do all he can to kill Ms. Peters without actually executing her by firing squad.
AGREED.
Enough already. The woman is old, she is a patriot, and a freaking hero to the country.
This makes me too mad to think about it much.
Like
Agree
Send in special forces to rescue her, and arrest the AG, the prosecutor, the Governor and the judges.
And lock THEM up, and throw away the key…
Agree
Like
Try logging in without the capital letter in your user name (“notasmidgeon”).
TINA PETERS CLEMENCY HEARING
9 AM MT
https://www.kkco11news.com/2026/04/02/clemency-decision-tina-peters-be-given-thursday-morning/
Nike on its last legs as stock price plummets after woke push blows up in its face
All together now: Get woke, go broke.
That there is great news.
Rumors…
BREAKING REPORT: Trump Considering Firing Bondi
President Trump Now Reportedly Considering Firing DNI Tulsi Gabbard in Addition to Pam Bondi – White House Responds
The WH response was not instructive, just “confidence” and “talent.”
Is this speculation another way to try to divide MAGA, or is there some “there,” there?
Donald J Trump, Truth Social
Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served a my Attorney General over the past year. Pam did a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in Crime across our Country, with Murders plummeting to their lowest level since 1900. We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future, and our Deputy
Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve a Acting Attorney General. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J TRUMP
Another nomination circus inbound.
Considering that Matt Whittaker is the US ambassador to NATO, and VSGPDJT is looking at leaving NATO, Matt might be looking for something to do pretty soon… IIRC he was slinging fire when he was temp US AG…
That was quick. Now I wonder about Tulsi.
Read C&C
4.2.26: War comms, The STORM, Initial WAVES meaningful, Hussein Exposed to WORLD, PRAY!
And We Know
https://rumble.com/v77ywxs-4.2.26-war-comms-the-storm-initial-waves-meaningful-hussein-exposed-to-worl.html?e9s=src_v1_cbl%2Csrc_v1_ucp_a
Annnnd, it appears that POTUS47 Trump has just fired Pam Bondi.
Annnd, it appears, per Wikipedia, that Todd Blanche was a Democrat until he was hired to help defend President Trump45 in the Mar-a-Lago “retaining classified documents” case against him. At that point, Mr. Blanche changed his registration to Republican.
Here’s the new acting AG…
Rubiondi…
(crossed the Rubiondi???)…..
Lol.
I hope and pray Trump doesn’t nominate another pretty, thirsty, attention-seeking woman for any Cabinet position.
We need rough, gnarly old guys like Tom Homan, not Barbie dolls who want to be on the tee-vee.
We’re 14 months in, and Blondi wasted most of it.
Exactly!
Speaking of WINNING!
BREAKING: Hyundai just announced a stunning $26 BILLION DOLLAR investment into the United States over the next 2 years
25,000 direct jobs created, and over 80% PERCENT of their vehicles will be made in the USA
HUGE win for President Trump, experts proven wrong again
“HUGE win for President Trump, experts proven wrong again”
_______________
One of the things experts do best is being proven wrong 😂
Well —
Starmer waved the White Flag a ways back.
Chuckles surrenders, waving the White Flag. UFB.
Can’t imagine happy discussions between trump AND Chuckels during the State visit later this month.
It’s a demoralization psy-op against the public.
A test of provocation, to see if the public will do anything at all, to see if there is anything the public won’t tolerate, or whether the public is totally defeated.
He adds some injury to the insult~~
Buckingham Palace’s decision not to release an Easter message will likely ruffle some feathers among Christians, given that in February, the King and Queen’s social media account faced backlash for issuing Muslims a “blessed and peaceful Ramadan” on Shrove Tuesday.
The message was accompanied by a graphic reading “Ramadan Mubarak”, an Arabic phrase meaning “Blessed Ramadan”.
In a post shared on X by the Royal Family’s official account, Buckingham Palace said: “Wishing all Muslims in the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world a blessed and peaceful Ramadan.”
from GB News
AntiChrist and a Cup Of Tea…
https://www.prophecyhouse.com/#ACTBook
They keep leaving out the second half of the name of the observance, Ramadan Bomb-a-Thon.
The bombers won’t appreciate that.
They’ve managed to gain so much ground in the UK that it’s like home ground. They don’t need to do as much bombing. They get away with being feral animals, they’re represented in govt..hell, Chuck the emir of England is capitulating…that’s a win
Surprised he didn’t tell the serfs to address him as Mullah Charles from now on 😂
So sad. Just terrible, really. What are the poor British supposed to do? Unbelievable.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” – Declaration of Independence
Those are the Brits who didn’t break away from their tyrannical overlords, so…
EXACTLY.
The independent-minded ones left in the 1600-1700s. The ones that stayed are the institutionally-trained peasant/serf kind. And the true elitist upper-class kind who rule them.
100% Learned helplessness…sickening!
The Cabal Satanists are playing hardball!
They’re still weak, fake and gay.
And not necessarily in that order! 😂
👍😁
I thought he was the supposed head of the Anglican Church, which was allegedly Christian…
IF true, WTF would Blondi tip off Swallwell.
Difficult to believe. Something is Missing, Off big time.
Pam Bondi begged Trump not to fire her during dramatic White House showdown as insider reveals his final straw
Attorney General Pam Bondi begged Donald Trump not to fire her in an explosive showdown at the White House after he accused her of an unforgivable offense.
Trump fired Bondi on Thursday, the second cabinet casualty in less than a month, after months of controversy, including the botched handling of the Epstein files.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve as acting attorney general until a permanent nominee is picked.
Trump informed her of the decision shortly before his prime-time Iran war address to the nation, a senior administration source told the Daily Mail.
Bondi responded by pleading for the President to give her more time in the role, but Trump remained firm that her time leading the agency was over, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.
‘She was unhappy and tried to change his mind,’ the source said.
However, the President told her she was fired and that an announcement would be made shortly. The announcement had been due to be made on Friday but has been rushed out after rampant media speculation erupted overnight.
Trump’s reasoning for the sudden dismissal comes in part because the President believes Bondi tipped off Eric Swalwell about the FBI‘s efforts to release investigative documents related to his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15701769/Trump-told-Pam-Bondi-YOURE-FIRED-Epstein-cabinet-bloodbath-rumor-sends-shockwaves-Washington.html
EDIT…From above artice.
The FBI was preparing a cache of documents on Swalwell’s relationship with Christine Fang.
‘She’s intervening in those matters. The White House wasn’t pleased she was intervening due to her personal friendship with Swalwell,’ the source added.
It is unclear why Bondi would have intervened, but it is believed that Bondi and Swalwell have a friendly relationship.
Swalwell has openly criticized her since she took the AG position after failing to prosecute multiple death threats against him and his family.
NOW, 100% Believable AND Ignorant of Blondi. Low life dog dung status, going forward.
I’m going to let the dust settle before drawing conclusions, but I don’t know whether we’ll ever know the whole truth.
The story says Pres. Trump believes she tipped off Swallwell, not that there is evidence that she actually did. Of course she might have done so, but I can’t make sense of it. This could be a cover story for something else. Anyone in this administration with a functioning brain knows that Pres. Trump expects complete loyalty (and rightfully so.)
I can only imagine how their meeting would have gone, with him accusing her. Did she deny it and give an excuse for whatever happened? The buck at the DOJ stops with her.
As is often the case, this was probably the last straw. I’ve seen several Truth Social posts by Pres. Trump calling for prosecutions. But there is a legitimate problem with getting someone indicted and either having a judge dismiss the case or having a leftist jury nullify it.
At any rate, I trust Pres. Trump and hope for the best.
As do I trust Trump.
Someone tipped off Swalwell. There was rumble, FIBees were not happy with releasing Swalwell / Fang Fang investigation.
Could be smoke, “canning” Blondi. We’ll see.
From OT:
No, Bondi Was Not Fired for Leaking to Swalwell
April 2, 2026
SD: “The Daily Mail has written a rather explosive story saying Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired because she leaked or gave a heads up to Eric Swalwell about the FBI re-reviewing the investigative files about him [STORY HERE].
.
Without discussing the motive or background, the story itself just doesn’t make sense.
What most people probably don’t know is that former FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division, Joseph Pientka III, currently works for Congressman Swalwell [CITATION].
FBI Agent Peter Strzok’s former partner, Joe Pientka, works for Eric Swalwell. Now, remember Joe Pientka’s very high security job inside the FBI Counterintelligence office? [REMINDER]
Because of his former role, Joe Pientka has deep ties to senior agents inside the current FBI, the type of agents who would know the inside details of any Swalwell investigative activity.
[SIDENOTE: Following the ridiculous Russiagate, and after the hand-off to Robert Mueller, Joe Pientka was transferred to the FBI San Francisco field office; hence, the regional alignment with Swalwell [CITATION]. Sometime in mid 2019, Joseph Pientka was promoted by FBI Director Christopher Wray and transferred to the San Francisco FBI Field Office where he showed up on their web page. END SIDENOTE]
Bondi wouldn’t need to tip off Swalwell. Pientka, currently working for Swalwell, would already know the ins/outs of every detail therein. [It’s a red herring]
FBI Director Kash Patel couldn’t start to review (or re-review) Swalwell activity without triggering one of those inside contacts aligned with Pientka.
If Trump was shaped to think Bondi had something to do with an FBI leak about Swalwell, (which I doubt), the shaping would be an intel operation to manufacture that narrative, (which I still doubt).
Learn the networks, then see with clear eyes.
The same intel networks which would, if accurate, stimulate such shaping, are the same intel networks who would posit shaping with The Guardian, using allies in GCHQ to create plausible deniability for a domestic narrative engineering effort, to remove DNI Tulsi Gabbard. That’s how they roll.
Don’t worry. DNI Tulsi Gabbard has an angel on her shoulder.
The Guardian is to the British GCHQ (Govt Communication Headquarters) as the Washington Post is to the CIA.
So, in summary: With Joe Pientka currently working for Eric Swalwell, there’s a direct FBI pipeline through Pientka to Swalwell, and subsequently no need for Bondi to leak or share anything.
FBI Director Kash Patel still doesn’t have his arms around this agency.
Moving on….”
Swallwell doesn’t actually smile, he just bares his teeth. There’s definitely a difference.
partial to fangs 😉
👍😁
Whether that’s accurate or not, it is as I said: the buck at the DOJ stops with Bondi. If someone was in a position to undermine the agency and that wasn’t taken care of, resulting in leaks, then she has to answer for it.
Lee Zeldin lead candidate for AG of DOJ. Gets things done on Trump time. Knows his way around Congress and the swamp.
Funny, somehow I read that as Led Zeppelin…
Yep, Lee Zeldin looks good… Matt Whittaker might be looking for something to do if we pull out of NATO…
I want a hard ass with a hard on for the jerks in the government who have abused Americans, including President Trump and his people and family.
I want a guy (NOT a woman) who doesn’t care how he looks on camera, or if he even IS on camera. I want someone who DOES THE JOB. Period.
No more women who spend more time primping for the cameras than they do prosecuting criminals.
https://kirschsubstack.com/p/how-the-aap-could-easily-prove-the
How the AAP could easily prove the CDC childhood vaccine schedule is safeThere are 60,000 pediatricians in the US. Oddly, not a single one will take the entire CDC vaccination schedule in one sitting. It is legal and ethical. And we KNOW it is safe because experts say so.
https://www.malone.news/p/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-the
What They Don’t Tell You About the Shingles Vaccine
The headline number is 97% effective. The number that actually matters to you is closer to 3%. Both are true. Here’s what’s going on — and why the distinction matters.
IIRC the shingles vaccine can be Ototoxic, to the point of causing tinnitus and deafness… Not worth the risk.
Ain’t gonna be any more vaccines in my life. Just not happening.
Just say no – again.
Got the shingles, went to the doc and got the meds within 24 hours. They contained the rash and stopped the pin prick type pain. Healed and left no scars or after affects.
That is good to know.
EVENING PRAYERS
A Powerful Evening Prayer for Peace and Serenity
Dear Lord,
As the day gradually transitions into the comforting embrace of night, I humbly come before you, seeking the precious gifts of peace and serenity. Please, dear God, enfold me in your tranquil presence, and help me find respite from the storms that may be raging within my heart and mind. Grant me the serenity to gracefully accept the things I cannot change and the courage to change what I can. May your divine light shine upon me as I seek rest and tranquility, knowing that your unwavering love and guidance are my constant companions.
Amen.
_________________________
A Powerful Evening Prayer for Strength and Guidance
Dear God,
In these twilight hours, I turn to you, my unwavering source of strength and guidance. As I reflect upon the day’s challenges and triumphs, I seek your divine intervention. Grant me the courage to face the uncertainties of tomorrow and the wisdom to make sound decisions along the way. I earnestly request that your radiant light illuminate my path through the darkness, and may your steadfast strength be my refuge in moments of doubt and weakness. Lord, help me navigate life’s complexities with unwavering faith in your unwavering presence.
Amen.
__________________________
A Powerful Evening Prayer for Gratitude and Thankfulness
Heavenly Father,
As I pause to contemplate the events of this day, my heart brims with profound gratitude for the countless blessings you have graciously bestowed upon me. I thank you, dear Lord, for the boundless love of my family and friends, for the opportunities that have enriched my journey, and for the valuable lessons I’ve gleaned from life’s experiences. As I lay down to rest, may my heart overflow with thankfulness, recognizing that your grace continually sustains me and that even in the challenges, your love remains unwavering.
Amen.
____________________
https://strengthinprayer.com/powerful-evening-prayers/
Tulsi is safe, maybe.
Jennifer Jacobs:
Trump Makes HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT That SHOCKS The WORLD!!!
Iran’s Generals BRAG “WE BROKE TRUMP”… GET ERASED by B-2’s
Some people did some things 😃
YES THEY DID – LOL
That image doesn’t remind anyone of Hitler and the Nazis, no, not at all… perish the thought.
So long, Nazis…
ANYONE IN A MADE-FOR-THE-MOVIES UNIFORM WITH ARM RAISED UP IS A NAZI – GRAPHICS DEPARTMENT NO BETTER THAN NASA !!! TEEHEE – 🙃
From CTH… Bondi did not leak to swalwell.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/04/02/no-bondi-was-not-fired-for-leaking-to-swalwell/
Without discussing the motive or background, the story itself just doesn’t make sense.
What most people probably don’t know is that former FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division, Joseph Pientka III, currently works for Congressman Swalwell [CITATION].
FBI Agent Peter Strzok’s former partner, Joe Pientka, works for Eric Swalwell. Now, remember Joe Pientka’s very high security job inside the FBI Counterintelligence office? [REMINDER]
Because of his former role, Joe Pientka has deep ties to senior agents inside the current FBI, the type of agents who would know the inside details of any Swalwell investigative activity.
[SIDENOTE: Following the ridiculous Russiagate, and after the hand-off to Robert Mueller, Joe Pientka was transferred to the FBI San Francisco field office; hence, the regional alignment with Swalwell [CITATION] Sometime in mid 2019 Joseph Pientka was promoted by FBI Director Christopher Wray and transferred to the San Francisco FBI Field Office where he showed up on their web page. END SIDENOTE]
Bondi wouldn’t need to tip off Swalwell. Pientka currently working for Swalwell would already know the ins/outs of every detail therein. [It’s a red herring]
FBI Director Kash Patel couldn’t start to review (or re-review) Swalwell activity without triggering one of those inside contacts aligned with Pientka.
If Trump was shaped to think Bondi had something to do with an FBI leak about Swalwell (which I doubt), the shaping would be an intel operation to manufacture that narrative (which I still doubt).
Learn the networks, then see with clear eyes.
The same intel networks which would, if accurate, stimulate such shaping, are the same intel networks who would posit shaping with The Guardian using allies in GCHQ to create plausible deniability for a domestic narrative engineering effort, to remove DNI Tulsi Gabbard. That’s how they roll.
Don’t worry. DNI Tulsi Gabbard has an angel on her shoulder.
The Guardian is to the British GCHQ (Govt Communication Headquarters) as the Washington Post is to the CIA.
So, in summary: With Joe Pientka currently working for Eric Swalwell, there’s a direct FBI pipeline through Pientka to Swalwell, and subsequently no need for Bondi to leak or share anything.
FBI Director Kash Patel still doesn’t have his arms around this agency.
Moving on….
Thanks Barb for the write-up in the spoiler, didn’t even have to click over to CTH
You’re welcome, Molly. hehehe… stealing clicks from CTH without thinking about it.
Money for nothing and the clicks for free 😆
Chicks for free… hua hua
Hillbillies, too 😀 (courtesy of Weird Al and Mark Knopfler):
LOL, I don’t mind going over there but it’s easier if I don’t have to. A lot of good info gets shared in the comments.
HMMM…
Pam Bondi FIRED! Polygraph FREAKOUT! Tina Peters WINS!
Do not rest until anything Democrat is gone.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/04/02/nyt-democrats-actblue-may-have-misled-congress-on-donor-vetting-process/
2A rights being restored for service members. How long before a judge intervenes?
Step in the right direction. Still requires, “mother may I”.
Not a word about Retirees. We cannot carry OR have a weapon in our vehicles.
How long? IMO, between 24 – 48 hours?
Yep
“How long before a judge intervenes?”
_______________
How long before a judge gets dragged out of the courtroom, gets his ass kicked, gets hot tar and feathers poured over him, and gets prosecuted for corruption?
How do we deport 1 million illegal aliens in 2026?
@Phase2Deport just released a playbook to help do just that. I hope my Senate colleagues read this one.
Let’s break it down.
https://massdeportationcoalition.org/playbook/
One Great Idea: DHS and DOL should work more closely with employers to identify fraud in our employment system and crack down on those who abuse it.
Under 8 U.S.C. § 1324a, it is unlawful to employ an alien who is not authorized to work in the United States.
Another highlight: Assigning Special Assistant United States Attorneys to prosecute criminal immigration charges by designating DHS lawyers to serve as SAUSAs in every federal district.
@Phase2Deport
should consider recommending State AGs have Asst. AGs deputized as SAUSAs.
https://.ctwitterom/SenEricSchmitt/status/2039802487645901143
This Playbook provides the clear, actionable steps to reverse the invasion and put the safety of American families above all else.
A nation cannot survive for long if its government continues to put foreigners ahead of its own citizens. The time for real enforcement is now.
One million. Number quoted above.
Should be ten million, then increased from there.
“How do we deport 1 million illegal aliens in 2026?”
______________
Easy.
Deport 20 million.
That way you’ve definitely covered 1 million, no matter how you slice it.
When there’s at least FIFTY million alien invaders in the country, removing one million isn’t even a credible start, it’s nothing, you clowns.
I don’t believe these people are serious at all, I think they’re pranking us.
One million?
Why do it at all, if one million is the objective?
It’s like getting an action committee together to pay off $10,000 of the national debt.
Never mind the other $39 trillion.
A million is about 19 million too few, if we want the problem solved during Trump’s term.
So good!
“Our Country Is Being Scammed.” — Trump Responds to Doocy on Birthright Citizenship at SCOTUS
MAJOR UPDATE at the United Nations
I love how the U.N. is simply no longer relevant, to anything that is happening in the world.
After Trump trashes, removes the US from NATO, UN is next. Bubye UN. Lots of kicking and screaming from Congress and Worthless, Allies..
NO LOSS FROM REMOVAL OF BOTH – SAVE US A LOT OF $ 2 !!!
NEVER DID LIVE UP TO INTENDED PURPOSE BECAUSE IT IS A GLOBALIST INSTITUTION CONTRIVED TO CONTROL – NOT SERVE !!!
JMHO
Interesting read. Interesting perspective. Long read. Truly needed spoiler.
How To Reopen Hormuz – An American Story
By Captain John Konrad (@gCaptain) I left DC with 1% battery. The car, not me. After four weeks covering the Iran war, this ship captain and maritime journalist was already running on fumes.
Three days later a teenager in Newburgh, New York, tied a knot behind his back that most sailors can’t tie with two hands, and I understood what it will take to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Getting from one to the other requires a seven-hour drive, a ruined day in Washington, a conversation about suicide, and a McFlurry during Lent. If that sounds ridiculous, you’re not wrong.
Stay with me…
(Or don’t, if you’re European. Anti-American. Enjoy blaming Trump. Prefer to remain righteous while your country starts running out of fuel.
—-
At 16:30 on Monday, I got notice Hegseth and General Caine were holding a press conference about the Iran war.
Seven hours to drive to Washington on a Monday night. I also had five meetings lined up, any one of which could change the trajectory of what I’ve been building for a decade. A sit-down with Hegseth. A new Pentagon office. A major advertiser. A coalition I can’t talk about yet. A dinner with my friends @DataRepublican and @CynicalPublius.
I got to the hotel at 1:30 a.m. It was the shortest drive to DC in a year. I couldn’t sleep.
My head was buzzing with the kind of energy you get when the current finally shifts and everything you’ve been pushing against starts to move. The room was one of those Pentagon City boxes with blackout curtains that don’t quite meet in the middle. Orange streetlight cutting across the ceiling. I lay there running scenarios until my eyes burned.
I couldn’t get to sleep, then I overslept, then I moved like a zombie as the time ticked away.
I blew the press conference and Hegseth before breakfast. The next three collapsed for reasons that had nothing to do with me. By early afternoon I was standing in a hotel lobby with a pounding headache and nowhere to be, watching the day I’d driven seven hours for dissolve into nothing. The lobby was full of people in lanyards moving with purpose. I had none.
This is Washington. The city runs on your willingness to show up, and it punishes you for showing up.
A ton of people wanted to meet with me to understand my Hormuz Hypothesis article. But
I was in no shape to see anyone.
—–
I did the Hidden Forces podcast at 10Am. @kofinas had me on to discuss my @gCaptain article The Hormuz Hypothesis: the argument I published two weeks ago that the US Navy is not failing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That the strait is being kept closed deliberately. That Trump is slow-rolling the reopening to gain leverage over Europe.
The first hour went very well. Demetri is sharp but fair, and I’ve defended this thesis in print and on air enough times to hold the line under pressure. But ere had to do audio only because the hotel room has the kind of lighting that makes everyone look like they’re being interrogated, which, looking back, was appropriate.
Then came the second hour. Premium subscribers only. He dialed the intensity to a place I wasn’t ready for.
How, he kept asking. How? How could the Navy reopen the strait?
I told him. Land Marines on the islands. Surge destroyer groups. Force South Korea and Japan to participate. And more I won’t print here.
He wasn’t convinced.
Nobody on earth has been a bigger pain in the ass to admirals than me. Nobody a bigger critic of Navy readiness. But I know, the way you know the feel of a deck under your feet after thirty years at sea, that we could reopen that strait. At great cost. With casualties.
But we could.
And he kept pressing. Kept probing. Kept questioning the thing I hold as bedrock. I was tired. Exhausted. Angry at myself for missing the press conference.
So I dropped a nuke.
“We could nuke the entire strait,” I said. “Nothing would be alive to shoot back.”
His eyes went wide. He leaned back in his chair like I’d shoved him. “Certainly you aren’t suggesting that!?”
“Of course we shouldn’t,” I said. ”But we could. And it would work.”
The room went quiet. I could hear the hum of his equipment.
Then he asked about my childhood in the war-torn Bronx.
I started choking up. A few tears. I thought: this guy is good. He got past every defense I had and found the soft ground underneath.
What he’d found was the real question. Not whether we could reopen the strait. Whether we should. And at what price. And for whom.
You’ll have to subscribe to his premium feed for the rest of that conversation. He accepted that we could at great cost. He seemed to accept my Hypothesis (which, late last night, Trump confirmed at his press conference). I had nothing left when he asked his final question:
What is Trump trying to leverage? What does he want from Europe that’s worth this?
I didn’t have the answer .
“Demetri,” I said “I don’t know.
—–
Todd Wood, fellow new Pentagon press journalist and former Black Hawk pilot, invited me to lunch downtown. I put on a suit and went. Muscle memory. You show up. That’s the job.
Todd has DEEP knowledge and connections and insight you just don’t pass up.
It was a steakhouse, dark wood and brass fixtures, the kind of place where lobbyists expense $60 porterhouses at noon. I’d given up meat for Lent. I ordered clam chowder and sat there starving, craving a steak, while Todd introduced me to his son: a young
Army infantry officer, sharp and certain in the way that only people with a clear mission can be. Crisp. Direct eye contact. Firm handshake.
His son was, assigned to Arlington.
The only thing that drains me faster than anything else is thinking about my father. He was a Vietnam veteran. He’s buried in Arlington.
I didn’t think I had it in me to continue. I wanted to run away.
But Todd’s son had that vitality, that sense of purpose, that I remember from my first years at sea. The unshakeable belief that what you’re doing matters and that the people around you depend on you to do it well. I spent my last reserves of energy encouraging it.
By the time I stood up from that table I was running on nothing but a bowl of chowder and fumes.
When I got back to the garage, my Tesla was beeping. One percent. Move the car to a charger immediately or call a tow truck.
I hit autodrive and it brought me to a charger in Georgetown. The dashboard was flashing warnings I’d never seen before. I backed into the charging spot, plugged in, and passed out in the driver’s seat with the windows cracked. Georgetown traffic buzzing past. The smell of exhaust and cherry blossoms.
Forty-five minutes later someone knocked on my window. Battery full. Time to leave.
The District was gridlocked. Rush hour plus construction plus the cherry blossoms plus hordes of college students and whatever else conspires to make this city feel like it’s designed to trap you. Gridlock. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t find a route out. I pulled into a spot on some side street and sat there. No metro nearby. A dozen people I was supposed to meet while I was in DC. No way to reach any of them. The engine was off and I could hear someone’s car stereo three vehicles back, playing something I couldn’t quite make out.
I was stuck in every sense of the word.
—–
Then my phone rang.
I won’t use his name. I won’t say his title or his history, because you wouldn’t believe the resume and I can’t prove it without burning him. What I can tell you is this: he is one of the most consequential military officers of the last half decade. He was at the center of things that shaped the strategic direction of the country. He had the ear of the President.
He had negotiated with several important European Presidents.
Then SignalGate happened. Through no fault of his own, he lost his position, his clearance, his influence. He was reassigned to a desk job in a building outside Washington. He was now a commuter. Admirals who knew he was friends with me made sure the punishment stuck. His marriage had ended a few years before that. And there were other losses I can’t discuss.
He lost almost everything expectp his beautiful Georgetown townhouse so, late February, I’d pulled serious strings to get him a dream job. We had the green light from people at the tippy top of the Department of War. Then Iran happened and nobody, myself included, had time to close the deal.
I figured he’d be furious At me for dropping the ball.
He asked where I was.
“A few blocks from you, actually.”
“Meet me at this bar.”
“I can’t. I’m done. I can barely move. Worst day ever. I’ll come crash on your couch in a fetal position.”
“No. Meet me at the bar.”
The bar was one of those narrow Georgetown places with exposed brick and bad lighting and a TV in the corner playing the news on mute. He was already there when I walked in, sitting at the end of the bar with his coat still on. He looked thinner than the last time I’d seen him, in fact, he told me, he had gained weight after losing his job and clearance.
He told me he’d just totaled his car. First time in his life. I sat across from a man who’d gone from meetings in the Oval Office to no car, no clearance, no position, and more. No wife to console him anymore.
I loved the guy but I could barely hold myself together. I didn’t have the capacity to be anyone’s emotional crutch. But this guy is one of the deepest Christians I know. So maybe, just maybe, he sees the spiritual life and doesn’t need my help, only that of the Trinity.
We went bar to bar until almost ten. Not really drinking. I had three. He had a few more.
We talked about everything. The kind of conversation that goes so deep it becomes hard to describe afterward because the words were only part of it. At one point we were standing on a sidewalk outside the second place, the cold air sobering, and he told me something I’ll never repeat that made me understand the full scale of what had been done to him and what was really happening with the plans I had worked on.
But he wasn’t depressed at all. He felt invigorated. He was boiling over with energy that filled my cup too.
He’d found a young woman, and they’d traveled the Eastern Seaboard together, living fully, refusing to disappear. A knockout. Literally half his age.
So much for the moral high ground. So much for my brother in Christ.
“Except that’s the thing, John. Jesus loves us. And suicide is not an option.”
We argued that point for hours. Divorce because you worked too hard for your nation in hellholes overseas followed by depression and PTSD followed by. BOOM.
“I could either hang myself or grab life by the balls. There was no third option.”
He chose the latter with a violence that was almost frightening to witness.
“You gotta meet her. She’s brimming with love and happiness.”
What I didn’t understand until that night is that my friend had done in his personal life exactly what I was arguing the country needed to do on the world stage. He’d been stripped of position, clearance, influence, marriage, and vehicle. Every external marker of his worth had been removed by forces he couldn’t control. And instead of letting those losses define him, he contained the despair. Patiently. Stubbornly. Without any guarantee that the situation would improve. He simply refused to let the people who sidelined him determine whether his life had meaning.
That is containment in the original sense. Not a military posture. A posture of the soul.
I went back to the hotel and slept until ten. Then I started the long drive home.
—–
The first hour was easy. I was coasting. Decompressing. Thinking about what my friend had said. Maybe he was right. Maybe the answer was to walk away from all of it. I’m happily married and have absolutely no desire to follow his path, but I can certainly get on my yacht and grab life by the balls. I’m almost fifty. My youngest just turned eighteen. I have money. I have a life I haven’t been living. Spring was just starting to show on the Maryland side of I-95, the trees still skeletal but with that faint green haze at the tips that means the season is about to turn.
All these trips to DC to help my nation. To help my President. To help save America and build more ships. Now we can’t even keep a strait open. WTF was the point?
I didn’t miss my meeting with Hegseth because I’m lazy or a bad journalist or anything else. I missed it because I was pushing too hard with nothing in return but grief.
There is a saying aboard merchant ships that many captains say when you are exhausted and ready to quite, “The reward for good work is more work.”
Except I wasn’t sure my work was good. Influential, yes, but what wasn’t scoffed at and tossed was taken up and screwed up. Those of us working on Making Maritime Great
Again, we doing a LOT of work for very little gain.
I could have stayed another day to meet the great @DataRepublican (a true hero IMHO) but I had to get home and work a few things out.
Typically my car ride home from DC goes fast because a litany of people call wanting my fresh insights. Typically the drive goes quick talking to them all. But I had things to work out so I put my phone on silent. Should I drop everything and go sail for a year?
Then I hit traffic in Baltimore and the voicemails started.
My friend had been thinking too. His message said he’d love to keep living the passionate life, but that I’d inspired him to get back to work.
“We got a nation to save.”
He told me I had motivated him to get back to work and continue fighting for the project he was told to drop. I messaged him “Funny, I had the opposite revelation.”
HE SAID – THIS IS IMPORTANT – “The swamp is full of people who want to be in DC.
Want influence. Want money. Want power and fame,” he said. “But the nation NEEDS people who don’t want anything. Men who would rather be left alone. Guys like you and me.”
That started the most miserable stretch of driving I’ve had in years. Eight hours total.
Traffic through Baltimore, traffic through New Jersey, pounding headache, too much Advil, nauseous. The sun was in my eyes the whole way through Delaware. And the whole time, this loop in my head: I don’t want to help anymore. I don’t want an appointment. I don’t want another drive to DC. I don’t want another award to hang in my office. I don’t want anything.
I felt a ray of sunshine in today’s dark dungeon of maritime policy when he told me to forget DC and go grab life by the balls. Then that hope crashed when he left the message saying I was right, he was wrong.
The things I take responsibility for launching get screwed up and misinterpreted. The analysis I publish either gets ignored or turned into MSM hit pieces. The podcasts and the plane rides with officials just fuel attacks on my credibility. I benefit from none of it.
But that’s exactly the point, he said. And I didn’t see it yet.
—–
I needed wifi for a security clearance onboarding call on a special project I can’t talk about. Nothing available on I-84. I deeply considered dropping the whole thing and pulling myself off the project. But I pulled off at a McDonald’s in Newburgh, New York. The call was another bureaucratic delay. I was not approved. I was not onboarded. I might get pulled from the project. I was starving, still observing Lent, still drooling for a burger but I just ordered fries, a McFlurry, and a Diet Coke, and sat down at a booth by the window.
The parking lot was half full. Late afternoon light coming through the glass.
The place was packed with high school kids. Every one of them wearing a t-shirt that said DEAN’S DREAM TEAM.
They were behind the counter. Working. Working what some liberals want you to believe is the worst job in America… corporate fast food. All of them. Smiling, laughing, two of them dancing. One kid was doing a little shuffle step while filling a drink order, and the girl next to him was cracking up. Different backgrounds, different body types, different skin colors. All of them radiating something I hadn’t felt in days.
They loved their job. They loved their team. They obviously loved working for whoever Dean was.
My first thought was the cynical one: ignorance is bliss.
Then one of the young men put on a McDonald’s apron and, one-handed, behind his back, tied a double carrick bend.
I need to explain why that matters. I’m a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers.
I’ve studied this for years. Advanced knot tying is correlated with spatial intelligence and IQ. A double carrick bend is difficult to tie with two hands and your eyes open. It’s a load-bearing knot used in rigging and rescue. Most of my crew when I worked aboard ship couldn’t do it cleanly on a good day.
This kid did it one-handed. Behind his back. While getting ready to work a fryer. He did it fast too.
This is a SMART kid.
I broke down. Full tears, right there in the dining room of a McDonald’s in Newburgh. The McFlurry melting in front of me, the fluorescent lights humming overhead, and me: a 49-year-old ship captain who’s testified before Congress and stood on the bridge of billion-dollar vessels, crying because a teenager tied a knot.
“WTF is wrong with me?” I asked myself. It was a long week, I am exhausted and have to go back to the grind publishing maritime news because that Fn strait halfway around the world still ain’t open. But this is ridiculous.
Why the breakdown?
Because I was looking at everything I’d been arguing about for a month. I was thinking of all my friends had sacrificed to advance American Maritime policy only for someone in the admin to push it aside and start a war in Iran instead. I though of the sacrifices my dad made. The years of cancer medication that ended in Arlington National Cemetery. The horrors he faced in Vietnam. Everything I couldn’t articulate to Demetri. Everything my friend had been trying to tell me in that bar.
But there were not tears of pain or sorrow or frustration. They were tears of joy.
These kids had a mission. A team. A leader. No ambiguity about what they were supposed to do. No one had told them their work was beneath them. No one had convinced them that flipping burgers was a failure. They had what every platoon has, what every ship’s crew has, what every functional unit in human history has had: a reason to show up and people who need you to show up well.
The manager came over and asked if I was okay. Asked if I wanted a team to come over and give me hug.
A hug.
A team hug,
WTF?
I said no, even though my heart was screaming YES.
”No,” I said, “But please thank your crew for me. They are awesome.”
—–
I drove the last two hours home with the answer. The sun was setting behind the
Berkshires when I crossed into Massachusetts, the hills going purple and gold, and for the first time in weeks my head wasn’t pounding.
The question Demetri asked, the one I couldn’t answer on the podcast: What is Trump leveraging? What does he want from Europe that’s worth keeping the strait closed?
Nothing.
Trump wants nothing.
He doesn’t want Europes’ weak warships. Doesn’t want their negotiation teams. Doesn’t want a team hug.
That’s the leverage. That’s what makes it so disorienting to European leaders and defense analysts and everyone in Washington who assumes every negotiation is transactional. Trump is not holding the strait closed to extract a trade deal or a NATO spending commitment or a specific policy concession.
He is holding it closed until the people who depend on American power to keep the global economy running stop treating American service as something to be ashamed of.
I understand the counterargument. I’ve heard it in Brussels, in London, on panels at Chatham House and RUSI. Europeans will say, correctly, that they have legitimate reasons to distrust unilateral American military action. They lived through two world wars on their own soil. They watched the United States invade Iraq on false premises. They have earned, through bitter experience, the right to question how American power is exercised. And domestically, critics will point out that celebrating the dignity of fast food work is easy when you’re not the one working the fryer for $12 an hour. These are not frivolous objections.
But here is what the critics miss: the question is not whether American power has been exercised perfectly. It hasn’t. The question is what happens when the people who exercise it stop showing up. European skepticism of American power is a luxury underwritten by American power. The freedom to critique the global security architecture from a seminar room in Brussels exists because an American destroyer is on station in the Gulf and an American merchant mariner is standing a midnight watch so that the oil keeps flowing. Questioning the exercise of that power is legitimate. Treating the people who provide it as morally deficient is suicidal.
Stop telling our kids ( whether they are 18 in the military or on a fry line in McDonalds) that working hard at a job, any job, is beneath them. Stop treating American military power as imperialism. Stop treating the merchant mariners and the sailors and the soldiers and the McDonald’s workers and the roughnecks and the truckers as the embarrassing underclass that keeps the lights on while polite society pretends they don’t exist.
Stop being arrogant. America isn’t the pro-NATO thinnk tankers, it ain’t the GOFOs, it ain‘t the congressional staffers and certainly not the talking head journalists or pro-EU lobbyiests.
Dean’s team in Newburgh doesn’t need Europe’s permission to dance behind the counter.
They don’t need anyone’s approval to find meaning in the work. But they need to not be told, by their own institutions and their own cultural gatekeepers, that what they’re doing is worthless.
That’s what Trump wants. Allies to stop telling our kids they can’t have joy because
America is and imperialist shitshow, the planet will burn because of climate change, and their president is a pedo. STOP THE LIES.
America will do the hard work. We will keep the strait open. We will stop Iran from building nuclear weapons. We will maintain the GIUK gap. We will support NATO and continue Pax Americana: the greatest uplifting of peace and prosperity the world has ever seen. We will do the dangerous, ugly, thankless work at the geopolitical equivalent of the grease fryer.
We have done it before. We have been doing it for decades. Celaning out the grease traps ain’t pretty but we do it. We are capable of doing it again. Our Navy, for all its problems, which I have documented more thoroughly than anyone alive, can fight.
But here is what Trump understands, and what Demetri’s question forced me to confront:
The people who do this work, the ones who actually stand the watch, are running out of reasons to volunteer.
Not because the mission isn’t clear. Because the culture, stoked hard by European liberal-world-order rhetoric, has told them, over and over, that their service is either irrelevant or evil. That’s American is evil, that Trump is horrible. That they are killing everyone who eats at McDonalds. And a nation that tells its workers and warriors that their labor has no dignity will eventually find itself standing in front of a closed strait with no one willing to reopen it.
What’s killing this nation the most is the cynicism of the people – especially the swamp people – with a terrible attitude and negativity they inject into our youth.
“No Kings” is not a happy event. It’s a march of hate that they encourage out kids to attend.
Here’s the thing. Both me and my friend were right and so was Jesus. What his “grab life by the balls” and my “push yourself to exhaustion trying to help” and Jesus’ love all have in common is love. Love of life. Love of Nation. Love of god.
Our biggest problem is not capability. It is fraud. Congress is broken by people who want things: they want to be re-elected, they want donations, they want recognition, they want to leave a legacy, they want vast wealth and glory. All I want is to go back to Newburgh after Lent and eat a triple cheeseburger and say thank you to Dean’s team for bringing a touch of joy to a young single mother grabbing dinner after work, and to an old man ready to quit helping his nation after a very difficult few weeks.
All Dean’s Team wants is to work with smile son their faces.
We need Americans in Congress, in appointed positions, in NATO, who do not want anything. Nothing but love and joy. People who actively don’t want any job in the swamp but accept them anyway, because this is what the work requires.
American has an attitude problem and its being fanned by forteign vitriuol and hate.
That’s the leverage Trump has over the strait. That’s the cost of reopening it.
Not a demand. A mirror. Look at what you’ve done to the people who protect you, and ask yourself why they’d keep doing it.
You don’t have to like the fries we’re cooking. You don’t have to eat them. Just stop getting in our way.
Because if you don’t, Dean’s team will walk away. And you’ll have to starve, or get behind that counter and cook those fries yourself.
Dean’s team hasn’t quit yet. They’re still smiling. Still dancing. Still tying knots that most people can’t tie with two hands.
The question is how long you expect them to keep it up while you tell them it doesn’t matter.
Dear Europe, if you want the strait reopened. If you want to avoid an energy crisis and famine spreading around the world. You don’t have to do anything, not even thank us, nothing except the easiest thing in the work…
Sit down at your table. Smile and…
“The question Demetri asked, the one I couldn’t answer on the podcast: What is Trump leveraging? What does he want from Europe that’s worth keeping the strait closed?”
_____________
Several of the financial market, Tesla, Bitcoin and gold & silver yootoobers I watch are in Europe or Australia, and it is very clear that they are fundamentally out of step with my perception of world events.
Not like the devilrats, but like people who are getting their news from MSM — even though they claim to not be getting their information from MSM.
It varies in degree, but generally, they seem to think DJT is making a big mistake in Iran, that he received bad information, now he’s trying to bow out without looking weak, he’s under pressure from all sides, and if he doesn’t get out soon it will be very bad news for DJT and America.
And if boots ever touch the ground, it will be disaster.
I point out that DJT is calling the shots, he’s not under pressure, he’s applying all the pressure. He’s the last person who wants boots on the ground (and he opposed the long drawn out Gulf War 1, Gulf War 2, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.) so he doesn’t need advice on that.
I also point out that DJT is not a politician, he never ran for public office before he ran for (and won) the presidency, he wasn’t groomed for career political corruption & control at Harvard or Yale, etc.
I also point out that those who are trying to destroy DJT have no blackmail dirt on him, because if they did, they would have used it long before now. And he’s a multi-billionaire, so he can’t be bribed. And he actually loves America. So he’s everything their leaders aren’t.
Then I point out that he wouldn’t have begun the military action if he didn’t intend to finish it, and it won’t be finished until his objectives are achieved, contrary to what the MSM narrative engineers are saying.
And if boots on the ground are necessary, then he will do it, because leaving an islamic regime in power defeats the whole point and purpose of initiating military action in the first place.
They were mostly convinced that DJT was going to announce we were cutting and running last night. What they call TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out).
Then I saw this video, by someone who seems to be in the UK, and he is painting a much bleaker picture than SD did in his article yesterday titled “EU Leaders Utterly Bewildered at Energy Vulnerabilities Now Evident“.
NOTE: There is a self-promotion advertisement for some program he offers at around the 12:20 mark, the discussion picks up again at the 14:00 mark.
.
He says the E.U. leaders are already advising people to stay home from work due to the fuel shortage, and that he expects it to be much worse than Covid because at least during Covid they had fuel.
Apparently fertilizer ships have been delayed, which means crops won’t be planted in time, and many farmers are talking about not planting crops this year, if I heard him right (I was listening while cooking a late dinner last night).
He says airports will be shut down for lack of jet fuel. He says it’s already too late to do anything about it, the last gas or oil ship has arrived and the others that were on the way have been diverted to Asia.
He thinks Meloni is trying to cut a deal with Iran for oil, which is why she refused the U.S. to use bases there, and probably all of the other E.U. leaders are doing the same.
So it sounds like things could be a lot worse in europe than is being widely talked about, and it’s happening fast, in around 10 days or less.
So it occurred to me that maybe this is part of DJT’s plan all along, to force the insane Left of europe (who appear to be indistinguishable from the insane Left in America) into a crisis that forces reality to intrude on their strong delusions.
I have no idea what it might take to get the europeans to rise up.
But if the power starts going out all over europe, and there’s no food on the shelves, I’m positive the millions of islamic invaders will rise up in no time.
And if that happens, it’s going to force some BIG issues out of the closet and into the open.
So that’s what I think DJT is doing.
If he keeps the conflict going another 10 days (or less), europe runs out of fuel, which leads to an islamic uprising, which begins the new Crusade to drive islam out of europe.
Because once the islamic invaders go into full rampage mode, the criminal political-class won’t have any choice but to drive them out, or be driven out themselves.
This is how DJT saves Western civilization, on the other side of the Atlantic.
Posted two similar Chiefio videos, somewhere today.
Bit of a ramble…
Fundamentally, EU, UK, and Australia are screwed, if they cannot get oil from ME.
Oil dries up, business, farming, economies freeze up. FAIL.
It is mind boggling for me, to witness Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy and prolly more, Refuse to act in Their National Interest.
Perhaps it is all the next logical move after caving to Global Warming, Climate Change, allowing mussie invasion, allowing muzzies to take over their countries / culture.
Those countries may, likely are blaming Trump. Except, Trump did not start this problem, which has been festering for 47 years. Past time to end it.
If Trump sends boots in, it’ll be AFTER:
No idea what unimproved runways are in the area. IIRC, C-17 does not require concrete runways. Dunno about Osprey.
1,000 lbs is Not a heavy load for many military helicopters.
My guess is SEALS or Army Special Forces are already scouting the Uranium sight(s). Along with drones.
Military Planners can be pretty devious in their craft.
“It is mind boggling for me, to witness Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy and prolly more, Refuse to act in Their National Interest.”
______________
Same thing here, witnessing the leadership of Oregon, California, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey, Minnesota, etc., refuse to act in their own interests.
The government of every blue state, running an internal demolition on their own states.
There’s an idjiot from Norway on the European Commission (unelected, yet in control) who wants to have energy lockdowns a la COVID, rationing, SEVERELY LIMITED travel, both domestic and international, etc., etc., etc. Sounds like they’re going after complete control…
Funny (not) how these little two-bit countries think they can tell the rest of the world what to do… Just like Estonia and Kaja Kallas…
“There’s an idjiot from Norway on the European Commission (unelected, yet in control) who wants to have energy lockdowns a la COVID, rationing, SEVERELY LIMITED travel, both domestic and international, etc., etc., etc.”
____________
He (or she) is a Nazi, a tyrannical human, probably a psychopath, gone rogue, threatening the livelihoods and the very lives of all the People.
Ideally, he (or she) would be kidnapped, put somewhere until the insanity is over, and then prosecuted.
In reality, he (or she) and everyone like them need the Mussolini treatment, as quickly as possible, for the same reasons (of self defense) that Mussolini did, and Hitler did, as soon as his insatiable thirst for total power was demonstrated.
No different than the leadership of the islamic regime in Iran, because they are Hitlerians.
When people in power have no fear of being strung up like Mussolini for tyranny is exactly why their inner Hitler comes out to say hello, introduces itself, and exerts total dictatorial power and authority over your life.
This is why the 2nd Amendment exists. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth just acknowledged this in the video posted here yesterday.
When Hitlerians are in power, the only way to remove them is by force.
I don’t make the rules. I just observe history, and going by history, that is the only solution that actually works.
This is what leads to the conundrum:
……………………..
“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
……………………..
.
Psychopaths, who invariably gravitate toward government power like a moth to a flame, know this. They know People will endure almost anything, before they will actually rise up and do anything to stop the psychopaths.
So the psychopaths relentlessly test, to see how far they can go, before the People finally snap and kill them all.
And then the cycle repeats.
That is the nightmare world humanity has been trapped in, from practically the beginning.
Psychopaths are the predators.
Everyone else is prey.
Wow, very well said!!!
Trump Is Playing Chicken With The [DS],Trump Is Using The [DS] System Against Them – Ep. 3875
April 2, 2026 x22report
https://x22report.com/trump-is-playing-chicken-with-the-dstrump-is-using-the-ds-system-against-them-ep-3875/
California is in a tough position, they have no money and instead of going into people’s bank accounts they are now going into their bitcoin accounts. Trump tax cuts are helping the lower and middle class people. Did Trump send a message of Taft letting us know that he going after the [CB]. The [DS] is panicking, Trump is dismantling their system they established back in the 70’s. Trump is now playing chicken with the EU/[DS]/[CB], who will swerve first, I believe it will be the [DS] players. Trump is using the [DS] election system against them, he has now trapped them where he can use their databases to cheat to confirm that people are citizens. Trump has now changed up the administration, Bondi is now being transitioned into a new position. The [DS] will not know what hit them.
Ep 3875a – Did Scavino/Trump Send A Message About The 16th Amendment & The Federal Reserve?
https://x22report.com/aiovg_videos/ep-3875a-did-scavino-trump-send-a-message-about-the-16th-amendment-the-federal-reserve/
Ep 3875b – Trump Is Playing Chicken With The [DS],Trump Is Using The [DS] System Against Them
https://x22report.com/aiovg_videos/ep-3875b-trump-is-playing-chicken-with-the-dstrump-is-using-the-ds-system-against-them/
Mass FIRINGS!
Here’s The REAL REASON Why Trump FIRED Pam Bondi as AG!!!
This is a REALLY great explanation of why Bondi is out.
Amazing analysis. I think this guy is right!
OMG – not only Lee Zeldin – Ken Paxton is IN PLAY for AG.
If Paxton is under consideration, then Texas and America are guaranteed another six years of a RINO senator. That guy needs to be put into retirement not given another 6 years to throw sand in the gears. Paxton can be a viable candidate if he loses the run off election on May 26. There is no need to announce a permanent candidate for the AG job before that..
ZELDEN IS NOT A LAWYER – HE IS A BUSINESSMAN – IF H HADN’T CHEATED – HE WOULD HAVE BEEN GOVERNOR OF NY RIGHT NOW !!!
PAXTON IS WELL-QUALIFIED BUT HE CANNOT BE EVERYWHERE – TOO MANY PLACES HE COULD SERVE – SO WHERE SHOULD HE BE IS THE QUESTION !!!
JMHO
Cracking up.
LMFAO! Karoline Leavitt just dropped this hilarious line
“You always want to be the most well-read person in the room, and I try to be every day. But Donald Trump always is!”
Seems Trump has given Todd Blanche some direction.
.@DAGToddBlanche : “You’re going to see this Department of Justice pour all of our heart and soul into fraud cases all over this country for the foreseeable future.”
BREAKING MAGA – Tina Peters’ case REVERSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last I read, Tina is still not free.
NOT YET – FIRST SENTENCE COULD BE TRASHED – RE-SENTENCING COULD BE TRASHED WITH 2020 TRUTH – AND SHE COULD BE FREE WITH TIME SERVED, TOO !!!
POSSIBILITIES ONLY – JMHO
Agree.
Abrupt, no explanation so far.
Army chief of staff ordered to step down immediately after Hegseth directive
“We are now learning that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly asked the Army’s top uniformed officer to step down.
The Pentagon made the announcement on Thursday without giving an initial reason for the departure. Gen. Randy George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman.
LiveNOW’s Andy Mac is speaking with Konstantin Toropin from the Associated Press as the move comes as the United States continues to wage war against Iran.”
.
Whoa!
Three generals in two days.
Almost like they discovered a conspiracy.
From OT… 😂
One Picture to Personify American Media
April 3, 2026
SD: “They say pictures are worth a thousand words. Well, beyond that level, what does a picture of a headline say?
Think about how many actual people had to be involved in printing this?
.
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NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
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Whoops, posted on the wrong daily!