2026.01.20 Daily Thread: The World According To Trade(Bait)

We start the day with Philippians 3:18:

“Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.” (NKJV)

Sound familiar? Yup, the same now as it was 2000 years ago.

Them Versus US(A)

I interrupt our self induced panic attacks with BREAKING NEWS!!! that came out Sunday on X. If you have not seen it, you need to.

Tried to paste in the text, but because of links it would not work correctly. So you will need X or another source.

I recommend reading it all, but in summary; election security is well underway, the steal ran through Serbia and VE as we have long suspected and been told, they have the evidence, related VE officials/engineers gave testimony and are in government protection, the courts have been a slog but headed in the right direction, and you will need lots and lots of 🍿.

Never lose sight of the big picture despite all the focus of fear porn purveyors with the negativity. Yes, be vigilant and keep the pressure on elected officials. Just do not despair over what has not happened yet. As a recent example, Don Lemon and his merry band of rabble rousers in blue, beta, AWFL Minneapolis is not the norm across America. The left has been reduced to little games and empty talk.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. The situation…

Chi-com/Soros paid, organized protestors comprised of nasty derelicts, thugs and do nothings who refuse to work in real jobs doing things that are truly valued in American society as well as to improve their own miserable lives; go about their insanity with the enemy fake news media providing the cover and pushing it along. The seditionists are then extolled as virtuous citizens doing their patriotic duty by Democrat politicians and leaders who take cash from the same commie (and other anti-American foreign powers) operatives and NGOs who plunder the national treasury in doing so.

Until Elon/DOGE. Until Bessent/Treasury. Until Rubio/State Department. Until Hegseth/Military. Until Noem/Homan/DHS. Well, actually, until the entire PDT admin took over. We the People want all of the anti-American scumbags to hit the proverbial brick wall pronto. What will actually happen is different in the real world. That makes it frustrating. But if we believe, “Nothing can stop what is coming.”; we should accept that a grand plan is being executed that will prove big time beneficial along the way as well as in the end. If there is not one, why has PDT won on every major issue or crisis since his return? Just lucky? 😂

As an example, who in their right minds worships at the altars of illegals, LBGTQ+, drag queens, pedophiles and George Floyd? The correct answer is nobody in their right minds. So the beta males of the left have no problem with militant white Karens – AWFLS – doing the job of being the idiot margin attacking federal officers. As a result you know Democrat politicians and related funders of same who incite their criminality are insane and/or manipulators of the mentally ill for personal gain. That should tell you to believe nothing they say or their seditionist media cronies report.

Never forget that ALL media, even the alleged MAGA supporting media, depends upon eyes for income. Real and imagined chaos are good for business.

The only real question left to answer is how many of “them” are there? What are we up against, exactly? How many people have fallen victim to the indoctrination and brainwashing of commie clowns, Chi-coms, nazi fascists, perverts and such with the help of the media and entertainment industry over the years? The media desperately wants you to believe it is the majority or at least half of the American population. The polls say…

I have the current estimated number at 20% certifiable lunatic with about another 20% easily manipulated to believe the left’s lunacy. Nothing specifically tells me that other than observation of people around me, the more legit polls as well as the losing margin of Dems in actual elections in the growing number of red and swing states. I also have that overall number in decline with the removal of illegals, slowing of drug trafficking, and arrests/imprisonment of domestic criminals. Contributing to the decline is open disclosure of billions in fraud in blue states with much more exposure to come. Combine that with major positive economic news and cash in the pockets of a growing number of We the People households.

That puts the cheat factor at about 15% to swing otherwise reasonably close elections in the direction of the lunatics. Harmeet Dhillon and patriots have been hard at work on that.

The swing is the largest segent of Independent voters, of which the large majority are pro America and families. Many of them hate Dems and are equally pizzed at RINO GOP. A minority segment of the others have been easily swayed by BS in the past. As an example, many of them voted for Mr. Hope and Change in the first term. Then shit happened and they began to wisen up. All the election steal did with Brandon was confirm their suspicions as it has all played out in the years afterward. They learn from bad experiences, not their own due diligence. So the patriots had to allow some of it for them to feel it. You hear it in their conversations about our world. Which has pushed my observation that somewhere between 60 – 65% of actual voting American public strongly want the path on which PDT has steered us.

That means deporting and arresting the illegals and other assorted criminals involved in election steals to insure continued victories for We the People. All of them, not just the criminals. It also means we have to endure the Kabuki theater of politicians and other assorted wackos while it is underway.

It is getting easier to predict the demise of the Democrat Party as a legitimate enemy force because fewer people are going to willingly vote to cut their own throats or act against law enforcement in their daily lives for some commie and Soros $$$. The Dems, and as a result the RINO’s, literally have nothing left to run on other than Trump hate and pro criminals. That will not put gas in the tank, food on the table, or protect their children as legitimate Constitution based law and order is reintroduced into the American way of life.

Fortunately, we have a POTUS who understands all of that and dedicates his every day to winning for America. A strong, dominant America lifts all boats who align with her as the majority of world leaders know. Those who deceive, corrupt, steal and murder all hate #47 with a passion. That would include not only the left in America, but the commies and the Crown who are interconnected. They call him terrible names, lie about him, plot his murder as well as urge others to take violent actions against his supporters, attack his policies and so on. Doesn’t matter. After being falsely charged, booked, shot at, and wounded he stares them down and keep conducting the America First MAGA train down the track with the full support of We the People. He has our backs, we have his.

Heads down, eyes on the prize.

We just need to continue to take our cues, help and educate where we can, vote and bring others with us. That does not mean we have to agree with everything. However, it does mean we need to do our own due diligence before casting stones and stop parroting the opinions of others as our own, such as from fake news and pundits of every sort. Nobody that is truly on the growing America First MAGA side buys that BS anymore and our number is increasing rapidly. Remember where the battle “action” is currently. The battles are being waged in the enemy’s camp and territory because we are on offense now. Keep your perspective.

The rats are on the run. Let’s finish them off. Stand together. Remember – WWG1WGA. Wear your “QAnon Conpiracist” label proudly. Meanwhile, get the jackhammers and chisels ready for Mount Rushmore.

Memphis Music Corner

I bring you this one because Memphis represents what American cities and urban areas can become now that America First rules.

I am happy folks will get to enjoy the music scene similar to the videos I link below on and around Beale Street in Memphis again now that the thugs and illegals are being removed. To explain what is happening, the following has been my favorite quote. It came from a leftist media rag in the city. “I’ve Never Seen So Many Police Cars!” was its opening quote. I did not link it because it is stupid drivel, but It caused me to laugh hysterically at their paranoia and fear.

👍 🤣 🍿 🇺🇸

That quote sounds like the title to a great blues song on Beale Street, though.

See the links below for current clean up stats,

https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/press-release/memphis-safe-task-force-significant-arrests-jan-15-39-criminal-arrests-4-illegal

However, this one made my heart flutter a bit. 😀

https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/twenty-military-lawyers-assigned-to-memphis-u-s-attorneys-office-says/article_77ebb61b-aa94-44df-93e9-2d9db8777b33.html

Over 1700 federal agency officers to go with local and state law enforcement have already hit the city and surrounding burbs hard. Over 5000 arrests so far and now there are 20 JAG’s to assist the Memphis Safe Task Force.

The Democrat Memphis city mayor actually likes what is going on. I guess he got tired of Vice Lords and rival gangs to go with the illegals setting up shop and controlling the city. The Democrat county mayor doesn’t like it. My guess with him is that his wallet took a hit and that he lives in an unaffected burb. The law abiding citizens are loving and celebrating it. Even the legal hispanic population is laying low and afraid. Since some have been harboring the invaders that is probably a good idea. The city should be a model for the rest of the country after being a drug and murder infested crime capital for decades. That tends to happen where Democrats and their cronies accumulate. Once Marsha steps into the governor’s office after the election later this year, she will continue the Trump agenda throughout the state. I would imagine that Nashville and Davidson County are on deck for more law enforcement activity as a result.

I am going to briefly revisit the national importance. This Memphis policing activity is a total disruption of the drug and human trafficking as well as the money laundering pipeline from New Orleans and Houston to Chitcago and other blue shizholes in that region that has been going on for over a century. Which makes it an elections clean up at the same time. There are less illegal bodies and criminals to throw at fake ID’s with more FIB presence in the election system. Hopefully, they are patriot FIB doing the roles. Since the US. Marshals are leading the charge, I suspect they are.

If you really want to know what Illinois Fatty and his dimwitted conman mayor are so upset about, it is that. The major Federal led clean up like in Memphis is also underway in New Orleans and is planned for St. Louis. The latter was flooded with a larger FIB presence months ago in preparation for future events.

Memphis and St. Louis are the distribution centers and at strategic points between Chitcago and the Gulf of America. Their “product” can go east/west from those two points. With the patriots killing the flow from the gulf, Memphis and St. Louis are diminishing as only land routes have access. It helps that both states are strongly in the red MAGA column. So cars, trucking and railroads become the primary carriers. Trucking remains the big dog for land trafficking. Now, what was it they are doing about those CDL’s of illegals again?

😂

All of it has been killing the business of the drug lords in Memphis and the union thugs in St. Louis. Now Chitcago has to depend primarily on northern routes through Canada and neighboring blue states. I probably do not need to post the Carney/Xi photo here for you to get the picture of their connection and intentions courtesy of the Crown.

Who called out that drug trafficking was also coming from the north after they nabbed Maduro? Who will be renegotiating a bilateral trade pact to finish killing the USMCA? That should provide some context about what PDT has been saying about and planning to do with Canada. Alberta will likely be the first domino to fall around mid-year.

😂

Bidness is not good for the left, uniparty and the now, old New World Order. Dey big time mad. There is so much for America First and MAGA to enjoy and celebrate. But it could be better. About those perp walks, Blondi…

It feels good to most Memphians who now go most anywhere they want without fear of getting carjacked, robbed, attacked, murdered or raped. The American delta cultural heritage of the city is once again going on display after decades of deterioration. To finish this off today, let’s celebrate Beale Street from back in the day along with its potentially glorious return! Afterwards we can stroll down the alley to Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous for some of their famous smoked barbecue ribs followed by a night cap at the Peabody Hotel where we can take in the duck walk.

Going back in time…

Nearly a century ago, the queen of Beale, Memphis Minnie…

The following Tutwiler, MS son of a share cropping preacher moved to Memphis at age 14 and was well known for many years on Beale Street. Love this version with Slow Hand Clapton and the Stones.

Then there was the the King himself, no, the other king. The Beale Street King who cut his music teeth on the street in the 1940s and 1950’s, open his own place there, and toured the world with Lucille. None better.

One of my all time faves that brings back the Memphis spirit of the Delta Blues…

And to think, I did not post one Elvis song. Nothing from Nutbush, TN’s Tina Turner about rolling on the river either. Or Jerry Lee Lewis’ bringing rockabilly from Sun Records along with his own club on Beale. Well, you get my point.

Remember Wolf’s site rules. Note and label all AI. Please be kind to one another, we are all in this together. May God richly bless America and all of you.

Trust Trump and the plan.

Dear MAGA: 202618 Open Topic

This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.

It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.

In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts, and not by agenda-driven accusations and pronouncements.

We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.

Please show respect and consideration for our fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure your opinion addresses the issue only, and does not confront or denigrate the poster. Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, insults, baiting, and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.

In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.

Please also consider the Guidelines for posting and discussion printed here: 
https://www.theqtree.com/2019/01/01/dear-maga-open-topic-20190101/


On this day and every day –

God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up


Hopefully, every Sunday, we can find something here that will build us up a little . . . give us a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.

“This day is holy to the Lord your God;
do not mourn nor weep.” . . .
“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared;
for this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not sorrow,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”


Justice

Justice is a term used for what is right or “as it should be.” Justice is one of God’s attributes and flows out of His holiness. Justice and righteousness are often used synonymously in the Bible. Since righteousness is the quality or character of being right or just, it is another attribute of God and incorporates both His justice and holiness.

We cannot begin to understand God’s justice unless we first understand sin. Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4) and iniquity (Daniel 9:4-5; Micah 2:1; James 3:6). It embodies everything contrary to God’s holy nature and is offensive to Him. Thus, sin is a crime against God, and justice demands a penalty of death and separation from Him for it (Romans 1:18-32; 2:5; 3:23). But God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to pay that penalty for us (Romans 5:8-11; 6:23) and made salvation available to all who believe in His name (John 1:12; 3:15-17; 20:31).

God’s own righteousness is provided as a gift to sinners who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and is based upon His grace and mercy in response to our faith (Romans 3:23-26; Ephesians 2:3-7). His mercy and grace are not in spite of His justice, but because of it. He loved us so much that, despite the fact that our sin demands our death, He sent His Son to be our substitute upon the cross, demonstrating that His justice was not violated, but instead satisfied (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9).

Having been made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), we humans long for moral justice to prevail upon the earth and are outraged when we see injustice happening around us. Why do we seek justice for crimes? It’s in our DNA. King David’s outrage when the poor man’s lamb was taken away by the rich man resonates within us (2 Samuel 12:1-14). That is why Nathan told the story to David in the first place because it revealed David’s own injustice in taking Uriah’s wife from him. David’s immediate repentant prayer was effective because by admitting his sin against God, he acknowledged the righteousness of God. The Lord told David through the prophet Nathan that even though his sin was forgiven, the child resulting from the adulterous affair would die, demonstrating the fact that his sin still had to be judged.

As for the future, the book of Revelation reveals the justice of God in all its glory during the end times. When the saints watch the destruction of the earth, their song will be of God’s righteous judgment upon the inhabitants for their ultimate sin of rejecting Him (Revelation 11:16-18; 15:3-4; 16:7; 19:1-4). And as 2 Peter 3:13 says, we are promised that someday, when Christ physically reigns on earth, God’s righteous justice will finally be on full display.
xhttps://www.gotquestions.org/God-of-justice.html


For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.


Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

2026-01-17, Simply Saturday.

Administrivia.

Wheatie’s Wisdom. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.  No running with scissors.  No food fights.

AI stuff posted, requires a link. Please use spoiler, for longer posts.

Wolf Speak.  No obnoxious behavior towards fellow QTreeper(s). Freedom of Speech is honored here QTree.  But Do Know, every poster, IS personally responsible for what they post. 

America, needs to embrace the following TRUTH…

Speaking of embracing…

If nothing follows, KK below, Night Crew, you are on your own.

KK

Fresh Stuff.  May be worth a read, listen, watch or scroll on by. 

— 

APMEX https://www.apmex.com   Bitcoin https://www.bitcoin.com/

Prices pulled last evening.  Gold $4,612.10.  Silver $90.86.   Bitcoin $95,316.

American Stories.  (A series)

The White House Salute to America 250 Task Force has partnered with Hillsdale College to provide a history series that tells the remarkable story of American Independence.

It will highlight the stories of the crucial characters and events that resulted in a small rag-tag army defeating the mightiest empire in the world and establishing the greatest republic ever to exist.

This is the story of America. This is our shared heritage and our proud destiny that will continue to lead us to unimaginable achievements in the centuries to come.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/america250

The Story of America: The Culper Spy Ring

13:53

Articles, Xs, YT…

Speechless at the moment… Edging closer to Insurrection Act declaration?

BREAKING: Biden Judge Blocks ICE From Arresting Protestors or Using Crowd Dispersal Tools in Minnesota

The judge ruled:

Covered Federal Agents are hereby enjoined from:

a. Retaliating against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity, including observing the activities of Operation Metro Surge.

b. Arresting or detaining persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity, including observing the activities of Operation Metro Surge, in retaliation for their protected conduct and absent a showing of probable cause or reasonable suspicion that the person has committed a crime or is obstructing or interfering with the activities of Covered Federal Officers.

c. Using pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity, including observing the activities of Operation Metro Surge, in retaliation for their protected conduct.

d. Stopping or detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles where there is no reasonable articulable suspicion that they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with Covered Federal Agents, or otherwise violating 18 U.S.C. § 111. The act of safely following Covered Federal Agents at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop.


This could get very, very interesting. Major earthquakes incoming OR click bait? Leaning to clickbait. Likely will stop listening to this guy.

They Won’t Tell You But I WILL 💥 BIG EARTHQUAKES COMING

Mobile Starlink ought to be able to work around this.

Iran uses electronic warfare to disrupt Starlink — NYT

Iranian authorities deployed military-grade electronic equipment to disrupt Starlink satellite internet services during last week’s communications blackout, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

Activists and engineers were able to stay online using thousands of smuggled Starlink terminals, allowing images of security forces firing on protesters and families searching for bodies to reach the outside world, the report said.

Their actions forced Iranian authorities to respond, the report said, with the deployment of military-grade electronic weaponry designed to disrupt the GPS signals Starlink systems rely on. Activists and civil society groups said the move was rarely seen outside active battlefields, such as in Ukraine.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202601165377

In search of my sad face. AND pleased it not Christian churches. burning.

Iranians Burn Down Mosques

Iranian demonstrators set mosques ablaze during heated protests against the country’s Islamic government, according to local video and reports this weekend.

Protesters in Iran have set numerous fires since the riots broke out Dec. 28, with Tehran’s fire department claiming as many as 34 mosques were burned, according to multiple outlets. One video verified by NBC News showed a crowd cheering Friday night while a Tehran mosque became engulfed in flames. (RELATED: ‘Death To America’ Radical Complains She Got Detained By Customs After Iran Trip)

The mass uprising reportedly began in response to economic woes but follows months of instances of women shedding their mandatory headwear in a statement against the country’s forced Islamic norms. Another video posted by Reuters showed a mob vandalizing the Abuzar Mosque in Tehran on Thursday, scattering furniture and laying incendiary devices.

The Iranian regime has massacred hundreds while clamping down on the disorder, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists in Iran reports, according to The New York Post.

President Donald Trump on Jan. 2 hinted at possible military action if Iran kills protesters, leading to a social media duel with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over the following days that involved the ayatollah posting an image of Trump in a coffin. Trump previously bombed multiple Iranian nuclear facilities amid conflict with Israel, marking the most overt U.S. military operation against the regime in years.

Donald Trump to attend Miami Hurricanes vs Indiana Hoosiers college football final on Monday

Donald Trump is attending the college football championship final in Miami on Monday night, where the Hurricanes meet the Indiana Hoosiers at the Hard Rock Stadium.

More…

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/college-football/article-15466523/donald-trump-miami-hurricanes-indiana-hoosiers.html

Would guess this has far reaching affect, beyond energy. Reign in “State” driven lunacy in the courts.

Supreme Court Case Will Set Major Precedent For American Energy

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday in a case determining whether companies acting under federal orders can shift state lawsuits to federal court — with many concerned parties arguing that American energy is at stake.

The case addresses whether Chevron and other energy companies can move a Louisiana state lawsuit

to federal court under the federal-officer removal statute, based on actions taken on behalf of the federal government during World War II. Roughly 40 lawsuits have been filed since 2013 over oil and gas companies’ alleged role in Louisiana’s coastal erosion, and the Supreme Court’s upcoming review of Chevron U.S.A. v. Plaquemines Parish  decides whether those cases can be moved from state to federal court.

“At the end of the day, this is about federal supremacy… that means that those doing the work of the federal government can’t be hauled into some state or local court to face judgment for the work they’re doing for the federal government,” Mike Fragoso a partner at Torridon Law PLLC, said in a statement.

More…

Guessing we are expecting SC to rule of tariffs soon.

BREAKING: After listening to the oral arguments, the White House confirms the Supreme Court is likely to UPHOLD President Trump’s sweeping tariffs that helped bring $18T in investments and end wars

GREAT! Do the right thing, SCOTUS!

“We’re highly confident that they’re going to side with us, that the legal analysis is on our side.”

“We also have a backup plan that’s really solid. We can put a 10% tariff on right away to make up most of the room and then use things like the 301 authorities, the 232 authorities to backfill the things that we’ve already achieved with these great deals with the countries.”

“I expect that the Supreme Court is going to be really, really supportive of the president’s plan…I think that the Supreme Court wouldn’t want to upend all of that great success either.”

There is a reason Trump ordered five ice breakers.

China and Russia have built more icebreakers in one year than the United States has built in the history of our country. They aren’t just building them for fun. It is vital that America secures Greenland and reinforces the Monroe Doctrine for the future of national security. Luckily for us, we have the ultimate deal maker on our team in President @realDonaldTrump!

Then there is Judas Pence (S P I T)

Turncoat Mike Pence Says He Hates Many Trump’s Policies — Urges Supreme Court to Strike Down Tariffs (VIDEO)


Greenland: The U.S. may be in for the real estate deal of the century

Denmark would be smart to take Trump’s deal.

After a huge round of huffing and puffing, Denmark has finally agreed to come to the negotiating table for the sale of Greenland. If a sale, reportedly for $700 billion cash, goes through, welcome to the real estate deal of the year.

Here is how the White House announced it:

BREAKING: The White House comments on the meeting between Denmark and the US:

“The two sides agreed to establish a working group for technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland.”

“President Trump has made it clear, he wants to acquire Greenland,” she adds. pic.twitter.com/Srd0eu6nbu— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) January 15, 2026

Which is quite a change from all the reflexive ‘Greenland is not for sale’ talk coming from Denmark.

Meetings are being held, and the Danes, out there in the Washington, D.C. cold smoking their cigarettes afterward as news photos showed, do seem to be feeling the pressure. Their statements have gone the Fully Delcy, in that they seem to be saying the opposite of what the Trump administration is announcing, as the New York Times reports:

NEW: The Danish foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, told The New York Times that a US takeover of Greenland was a red line. He said Vance and Rubio had agreed to a working group on solutions. But the White House said the group will discuss the US acquisition of Greenland. pic.twitter.com/8zSJ7GWlTW

— Edward Wong (@ewong) January 16, 2026

But the fact that they agreed to the meetings at all suggests a potential deal in the works. If they really would never change their position, they wouldn’t talk at all.

More…

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/01/greenland_the_u_s_may_be_in_for_the_real_estate_deal_of_the_century.html

Yea, I gotta get one of these with the arrow pointing to 2026.

Queen Saturday

Bohemian Rhapsody

Don’t Stop Me Now.

Crazy little thing called love.

Night crew, your nickel.

KK

Health Friday 1.16.2026 Open Thread: The Baric Files, Part Five: United States Department of Defense (now Department of War); 18 U.S.C. 2339; 18 U.S.C. 1001; and,15 U.S.C. 1-3

The header image for today’s offering of a vintage cover page of the United States Code (U.S.C.) is courtesy of Highline College Library and Google Images.

Health Friday is series devoted to information about Big Pharma, vaccines, general health, and associated topics. As today’s offering speaks of the disaster of COVID-19 (the bioweapon virus itself, and the bioweapon “vaccines”), Yours Truly dedicates it to all persons, of whatever age or location, who have suffered (or still suffer) from injuries, illnesses, or disabilities induced from either an infection of the COVID-19 virus itself, or induced from “vaccination” by COVID-19 “vaccines”; or, who have passed away from the negative effects of an infection by the COVID-19 virus itself, or from the negative effects of the COVID-19 “vaccines” they had in their body.

There are Important Notifications from our host, Wolf Moon; the Rules of our late, good Wheatie;, and, certain caveats from Yours Truly, of which readers should be aware. They are linke here. Note: Yours Truly has checked today’s offering for AI-generated content. To the best of her knowledge and belief, there is none, except for AI-generated content within linked URLs. If readers wish to post AI-generated content to today’s discussion thread, they must cite their source. Thank you.

Special Note regarding today’s offering: In no way is the following, or The Baric Files series in general in Health Friday posts, to be construed as a “character assassination”, or as an “indictment”, or as any other type of attack or smear on Ralph S. Baric, PhD, of the UNC GIllings School of Global Public Health of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, or of his lab at the university. The linked scientific papers, images therefrom, and other information about Dr. Baric (such as his Curriculum Vitae [1]) are all available on the internet. The ideas and conclusions of today’s offering are by Yours Truly. There is a plethora of items related to Dr. Baric; Yours Truly will focus on some of them in each part of The Baric Files.

Part One through Part Four of The Baric Files are linked here: https://www.theqtree.com/2025/12/05/health-friday-12-5-2025-open-thread-the-baric-files-part-one/; https://theqtree.com/2025/12/12/health-friday-12-12-2025-open-thread-the-baric-files-part-two-of-mice-rabbits-and-ai-23946/; https://www.theqtree.com/2026/01/02/health-friday-1-2-2026-open-thread-the-baric-files-part-three-patents-dr-anthony-fauci/; https://www.theqtree.com/2026/01/09/health-friday-1-9-2026-open-thread-the-baric-files-part-four-ecohealth-alliance-wuhan-institute-of-virology-dr-zheng-li-shi-the-template-patent/.

Thus far, in the research journey of Dr. Ralph Baric, PhD, of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, it has been seen that Dr. Baric progressed from the study of a certain virus (the Sindbid virus) carried by a certain mosquito — to the study of coronaviruses in other animals (mice, rabbits, pigs) — to the study of the SARS-CoV virus — to the inventions of, and applications of, methods to lab-create chimeric coronaviruses — to the invention of the “template virus” for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, for which Dr. Baric was granted the Patent in 2016.

However, there are other aspects in the research journey of Dr. Baric, one of which is: his involvement with the United States Defense Department.

Today’s offering is Part Five of six.

United States Department of Defense:

It appears that Dr. Baric has been involved with the United States Defense Department since at least 2018, if not before. The DEFUSE Proposal document that was presented to the Defense Department by Dr. Peter Daszak, then-CEO of EcoHealth Alliance, was written, in part, by Dr. Baric. Yours Truly covered this proposal in Part Four of The Baric Files (see above URL); and, is indebted to Jon Fleetwood for the linked article in today’s offering. Please see screenshots from his article [2], below:

From the DEFUSE Proposal document (top); and, from emails by Dr. Daszak regarding the proposal:

Again, from the DEFUSE Proposal document, below; this, about the furin cleavage sites in the potential SARS-CoV sequence that would be developed by Dr. Baric at his lab:

As Yours Truly wrote in Part Four of The Baric Files, the Defense Department did not pursue the DEFUSE Proposal. However, other entities did fund Gain-of-Function research that would result in the lab-creation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These other entities include NIH / NIAID. These other entities also include DTRA (Defense Threat Reduction Agency), a division within the Defense Department. Two examples are: first, grant HDTRA11710064, which helped to fund a September 2020 paper co-authored by Dr. Baric [3]. Please see the screenshots from this paper, below: first, the Funding statement; then, the Conclusion:

A second example is HDTRA1-1C-C-0072, the grant which funded the development (invention) of the antiviral drug, EIDD-2801 (now known as molnupiravir [LAGEVRIO], a treatment for SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19] infection.) [4]. Emory University and Dr. Ralph Baric collaborated on this work. Molnupiravir is theoretically supposed to “mimic” natural Uridine, thus supposedly assisting in fighting a COVID-19 infection. The problem is that molnupiravir is a dangerous drug intervention; one that must be administered only under strict conditions and only for a limited number of days. Please see the screenshots from the Emory University press release regarding EIDD-2801, below:

The FDA Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers for molnupiravir (LAGEVRIO) [5] lists the following required instructions for administration of the drug:

**** Yours Truly will not comment on, but simply mention, the irony that Dr. Ralph Baric, by September 2020, had already invented and Patented the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Patent Number US9884895B2, presented in Part Four of The Baric Files); that the Patent describes “methods for treatment” for an infection of this virus; and, that it appears that Emory University either did not know about said Patent, or ignored it.

**** Yours Truly will also comment on, but simply mention, the irony that molnupiravir (LAGEVRIO) attempts to “mimic” the Uridine in the body of a person “vaccinated” with a modRNA COVID-19 BIOWEAPON “vaccine” (such as, BNT162b2 / COMIRNATY by Pfizer-BioNTech, which contains the lab-created compound N1-Methylpseudouridine, a compound that DESTROYS the natural Uridine RNA in the “vaccinated” person’s body.)

Fort Detrick involvement with Dr. Baric (including USAMRIID):

Fort Detrick, located at Frederick, Maryland, is a United States Army military base and biological laboratory; it is also the location of the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) [6].

An article in the People’s Daily (Communist China) in September 2021 drew attention to Dr. Baric’s involvement with Fort Detrick [7]. Granted, the CCP was doing / is likely still doing, all it can to deflect attention to the activities at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the lab-creation of the COVID-19 virus; however, it confirms that Dr. Baric was involved, not only with the WIV, but also with the United States Defense Department, in the lab-creation of the virus. Please see the screenshot, below, from the People’s Daily article:

The People’s Daily article mentions two papers. The first, from 2006, [8], regards the Cynomolgus Macaque as a “model” for SARS infection. Please see the screenshot from this paper, below:

Yours Truly notes that, except for two co-authors associated with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and for the co-author Dr. Ralph Baric, every other co-author of this 2006 paper is associated with the United States military — Fort Detrick; Walter Reed Army Hospital; and, other Defense Department facilities. In addition, it appears that Gain-of-Function techniques were used in the work.

The other paper mentioned in the People’s Daily article, from 2003 [9], regards the use of reverse genetics to create a full-length cDNA SARS code (in other words, Gain-of-Function research.) Please see the Abstract from this paper, below:

Yours Truly will note the following that are also listed in the October 2003 paper: first, the top of the Affliations list in the sidebar linked from the Authors Info & Affiliations hyperlink in the paper; and, second, the Affiliations entry regarding Dr. Ralph Baric from that list, which states that he is affiliated with USAMRIID:

Another item linking Dr. Baric to USAMRIID: the talk that he gave at the USAMRIID annual research conference in 2023 [10]. Please see the screenshot from the article on this event, below:

(By the way, another speaker at this event in 2023 was Dr. Deborah Birx, herself a 29-year Army veteran.)

18 U.S.C. 2339; 18 U.S.C. 1001; and, 15 U.S.C. 1-3:

Yours Truly now turns to the work of Dr. David E. Martin, PhD. Dr. Martin is founder and CEO of M-CAM, Inc., a company that specializes in intellectual property risk management. A screenshot of a portion of his biography, from a conference in 2006 [11], is below:

In 2021, Dr. Martin wrote and published The Fauci/COVID-19 Dossier [12]. The following screenshots are from this Dossier.

Page 2, Background, regarding Patents granted to Dr. Baric and to UNC:

Page 8, Dr. Baric and Dr. Shi: Related to 18 U.S.C. 2339 — Funding and Conspiring to Commit Acts of Terror:

Page 12, DARPA and NIH funding of biomedical research: related to 18 U.S.C. 1001 –Lying to Congress:

The following three portions of the Dossier are related to 15 U.S.C. 1-3 — Conspiring to Criminal Commercial Activity:

Page 16, NIH and biodefense Gain-of-Function funding for Dr. Baric:

Page 17, more on Dr. Baric:

Page 18: Dr. Baric: DARPA involvement; biodefense awards to Dr. Baric / UNC (funneled via NIAID):

The Biodefense Grants to Dr. Baric / UNC are “officially” from the “Southeast Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases”, headquartered at UNC Chapel Hill. However, this entity (one of several such Regional Centers located in various areas of the United States) is funded by NIAID. NIAID, in turn, is in a “cooperative program” with USAMRIID (https://www.niaid.nih.gov/sites/default/files/category_a_progress_report.pdf, “NIAID Biodefense Research Agenda for CDC Category A Agents Progress Report”, August 2003, Page 6.)

Summary: In Part Five of The Baric Files, it can be seen that the research journey of Dr. Ralph Baric, PhD, has progressed from the study of a certain mosquito that carries a certain virus (the Sindbid virus) — to the study of coronaviruses in other animals (mice and rabbits) — to the study of a certain coronavirus that occurs in pigs (the TGEV coronavirus) — to the study and application of methods to lab-create coronaviruses and the injection of such chimeric viruses into lab animals to study the effects of said injections — to the granting of Patents to Dr. Baric for this work — to the study of the SARS-line of coronaviruses — to the invention of the “template virus” for SARS-CoV-2 by Dr. Baric and the granting of the Patent to him for this invention — to Dr. Baric’s involvement with various divisions of the United States Defense Department in the lab-creation of coronaviruses. Along the way in his research journey, Dr. Baric was involved with the Dr. Zheng-li Shi of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Along the way in his research journey, some of the funding for Dr. Baric’s work was provided by the United States Defense Department (and some of which funding was “relayed” through NIAID.)

Questions that arise: Is Dr. Ralph Baric still affiliated with USAMRIID? Who exactly at NIAID accepted the funding from the United States Defense Department? Who exactly at NIAID signed the approval to send these funds to Dr. Baric? How much, if any, of the work performed by Dr. Baric with funding by the United States Defense Department was shared with Pfizer-BioNTech, or with Moderna, or with both companies?

To be continued in Part Six.

THE COVID-19 BIOWEAPON “VACCINES” — ALL OF THEM — MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE MARKET AND FROM ALL USE IN THE UNITED STATES. NOW. PERIOD.

THERE. MUST. BE. ACCOUNTABILITY.

THERE. MUST. BE. JUSTICE.

THERE. MUST. BE. TRUTH.

Peace, Good Energy, Respect: PAVACA

(Intellectual Property Disclaimer and Notice: With the exception of linked scientific papers and other items available on the Internet in today’s offering, the ideas and conclusions in today’s offering are by PAVACA. Proper credit must be given to PAVACA if the ideas and conclusions of today’s offering are used by other blog writers, by podcasters, in social media, or in print media.)

References:

[1]: “Curriculum Vitae Ralph Baric.” https://sph.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/112/2016/09/CV_Ralph_Baric.pdf. 2016.

[2]: “SARS-CoV-2 Furin Cleavage Site Sits at Exact Amino Acid Residue Location Designated By 2018 DEFUSE Document.” Jon Fleetwood. https://jonfleetwood.substack.com/p/sars-cov-2-furin-cleavage-site-sits?utm_source=publication-search. 8 December 2025.

[3]: “Possibility for reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to free-ranging wildlife: A case study of bats.” Ralph S.. Baric, et al. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008758. 3 September 2020.

[4]: “Emory, collaborators testing antiviral drug as potential treatment for coronaviruses.” https://news.emory.edu/stories/2020/02/coronavirus_eidd/index.html. February 2020.

[5]: “molnupiravir (LAGEVRIO) Package Insert.” https://www.fda.gov/media/155054/download.

[6]: “Fort Detrick.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Detrick.

[7]: “What are behind Ralph Baric’s deep ties with Fort Detrick?” Zhou Fujing. https://en.people.cn/n3/2021/0907/9000-9892964.html. 7 September 2021.

[8]: “Cynomolgus Macaque as an Animal Model for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.” Ralph Baric, et al. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030149. 18 April 2006.

[9]: “Reverse genetics in full-length infectious cDNA of severe acute respiratory coronavirus.” Ralph Baric, Mark R. Denison, Lisa E. Hensley, et al. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1735582100. 20 October 2003.

[10]: “Birx, Baric Headline Annual Research Festival.” Ramin A. Khalili, USAMRDC Public Affairs Office. https://mrdc.health.mil/index.cfm/media/articles/2021/birx_bari_headline_annual_research_festival. “Last Modified Date: 23 May 2023.”

[11]: “WIPO Open Forum on the Draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty Speakers: David E. Martin, PhD.” https://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2006/csp_of_ge_06/speakers/martin.html. 2006.

[12]: “The Fauci/COVID-19 Dossier.” David E. Martin, PhD. https://www.gospanews.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/The_Fauci_COVID-19_Dossier.pdf. August 2021.

2026.01.13 Daily Thread: The World According To Trade(Bait)

It is time to kick off the next American series with a name change and an off ramp from pure American history. There are too many “American Stories” out there now with far better authors than me to keep that in play. We have closed out the Declaration signers and discussed the Articles of Confederation while lightly touching on the Constitution previously. Each one of the posts of this series is intended to be less than a 10 minute read. The attached videos may add to that total time allocated.

The series image at the top is my personal vision of America. More folks ought to try hiking in the Smokies or their favorite national and state parks. Their perspectives about life in America might change for the better.

Today’s scripture is from Matthew 7:24-27;

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Take that to the bank.

Series Intent

Unfortunately, YT will continue to play a part in this series due to their command of music and movie videos that Rumble cannot seem to duplicate yet. Since we are in a simulation anyway, who cares?! 😂

I will never stray far from the theme of AMERICA FIRST with the serious stuff.

These short stories will not be overly complicated. They will be based simply on observations, personal experiences, and publicly available evidence and documentation as in the past. To be sure I will continue with parallels, interconnections and inflection points that are baked into our American Experience. I seek to lighten these stories up to help readers have fun as well as inform. The heavy lifting was done with the Declaration of Independence series.

So let the fun begin.

My series title is a steal from the great, or insane, or pysop (your choice) movie from Robin Williams, The World According to Garp. Here is the trailer for those too young or did not see it. Note the year of release – 1982.

Also note the obvious CIA psyops in the movie that have surfaced (imagine that), have increased in scope and are ingrained into society today. Which brings us to who was Director of that renegade organization during those years? This guy – William “Bill” Casey from 1981-1987 during the Reagan years when all of us were focused on The Cold War and its end as well as recovery from the horrible economy and Iran hostages fiasco of the peanut farmer.

Fine, happy lookin’ feller. 😀 He also brought us a mixed bag of the Iran-Contra affair. Dude was CIA through and through for decades even without official titles. He was in the OSS after WW II before it became the CIA. So what was going on in Central and South America during his time in the saddle besides the Contras? Well, coke up the nose in America became king and the nation of Columbia was its capital for production and distribution. He was a practicing attorney who spent time as SEC Chair, under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, and Chair of the Exim Bank in the 1970’s. However, he also served on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board at the end of President Ford’s term.

For those who want a snapshot of Casey, there is a short read from a 1987 Time article below.

https://time.com/archive/6709197/death-of-an-expert-witness-william-joseph-casey-1913-1987

This one made my eyes bleed, but was interesting perspective on him in spots. He was very hard to pin down.

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00965r000807500037-5

But this February 1981 quote was his most famous, “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”

So, Bill, you said the government does disinformation programs to deceive the American public? I am so disappointed to read that. 😂 Notice it was said in 1981 and had obviously been done as a normal CIA practice for many years before that.

Again, no wonder the current DS corruptocrats hate POTUS so much. We know his agenda matches what We the People want, not what the DS wants you to believe.

Remember the Casey name, he reappears in the Conclusion today.

So back to this story, yes, in my opinion Robin and the movie about Garp was clearly a psyop of epic proportions and a precursor for more to come.

I promise not to be quite that insane in my own psyop versions, but being that my alter ego is Goober Gump, the fictitious brother of this guy, well…

Welcome to my world…

Your View Matters

For this first series and story we will stay with American history to set the stage and it is a really important concept if you seriously want to understand your life and government in America. When it comes to how you read and understand the Constitution, assuming you have, your viewpoint of its intent and content matters. As an example, if you were a Federalist back in those days you thought differently about it than an Anti-Federalist. So, let’s establish the two primary ways to interpret it that are still used today. I am going to keep this short and simple as I promised.

The two primary legal, political, and moral approaches to the Constitution are:

Strict ConstructionistLiteral and narrow reading (interpretation) of the document that limits the powers of the federal government to what it provides.

Loose ConstructionistViews it as a “living document” that is interpreted broadly that adapts to society as it evolves and its needs change.

Then there are the true rebels who use whichever is expedient to their cause of the moment.

Note the immediate stress and contention between the two. Strict supporters point to the 10th amendment; that powers not delegated to the U. S. by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. Seems rather straight forward, doesn’t it? If the issue is not covered under the powers of the feds or specifically prohibited; it was up to the states and We the People to handle.

Au contraire.

The Loose folks said the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article 1, Section 8) supported their theory that feds had powers not listed, including any powers needed to accomplish the powers that are listed through Congressional action. They do not call it the Elastic Clause without good reasons.

You decide for yourself if that stress on Constitutional interpretation was intentionally introduced or a consequence of disagreement of the parties involved in the Constitution’s creation. I have my own opinion and will not influence yours – yet.

Then There Is The Judiciary

The judiciary is designed in the Constitution and subsequent case law to be the arbiters of truth and justice of that document and related laws. How can the judiciary truly be that non-partial when their justices and judges are nominated, confirmed, and appointed in political processes? Human nature tends to influence how one sees the world and performs one’s role in it. You are not going to appoint or confirm a sworn enemy or ideologue you oppose if you have the power. In understanding the subject Constitution and laws along with their application; it all eventually leads us back to had control of Club Senate back in their day (BITD) as well as today because that is where the judiciary confirmation process exists.

Which is why it was of monumental importance when Harry Reid nuked the filibuster for non-SCOTUS judicial confirmations with Turtle answering when the GOP took over by nuking them on SCOTUS nominations. Harry got his leftist, loose constructionist federal judges. Turtle got the conservative, strict constructionist justices.

The historical political battle in our nation has always been between strict and loose constructionism. The rules of the game are set, then one group or another starts trying to change or reinterpret them to fit their goals. It has seesawed back and forth over the entire time period. The one consistency is that the Federalists of the past and Democrats after Jackson have tended to be loose constructionists while the Jeffersonian Republicans and GOP from Lincoln on have tended to be strict constructionists. This has polarized the general population over the years as one group or another became dominant.

Historically, it started as the post Revolutionary War patriots dealt with the process of isolating the loyalists and Tories along with building a country that could stand on its own accord. It took time and great effort to put down insurrections and mischief their enemies initiated to protect their personal interests. Over time the patriots rooted out their opponents, at least enough to insure America’s survival and progress. Many of those losers returned to Great Britain. Others converted and assimilated into society. It took a couple of generations and some funerals. This led to the Federalist Party’s demise as the Jeffersonian Republicans represented the vast majority of commoner patriots who actually fought in both wars.

However, even with the success there remained embedded operatives indebted and working for the ruling class and the Crown of Great Britain. As an example the southern plantation class along with the northern mercantilist and banker class sold “Cotton is King” to the nation to continue national slavery operations despite prohibiting the foreign slave trade operations decades before. They wanted to keep the money flowing from trade relations in Europe going, primarily with Great Britain, as they were becoming wealthier by the day.

Enter the Civil War.

If any of that intrigue sounds like it may still be going on today, you may be paying attention.

With this understanding you may be able to better understand why all of this current day retribution demanded by We the People seems to be taking so long. Every day it seems a loose constructionist and/or corrupt federal judge oversteps their authority. The depth of corruption and depravity in America has been breathtaking as well as disconcerting to discover. The amount of work that has to be done to fix things is daunting. The war rages on. Just always remember the definitions of strict and loose constructionists because there is a constant struggle within our government and people based on which interpretation rules on every issue.

There will be more applications of these two principles to consider that will be the focus of future threads, however, they will not always reference government related activities and conditions.

Conclusion

I cannot leave without a blast from the past. Does anybody remember the UPI press service of yore? It was formerly AP and UP at the forefront of what we now affectionately call the fake news. UP hit the skids long ago having gone through bankruptcy a couple of times and currently exists as a small disseminator of quirky stuff. But while they were still trying to remain a viable news source, they did political hit pieces. The fun in looking back on the declarations of idgits from the past is really, really hard to pass up. So below you will see a pre 2016 election article from UP.

Need a teaser? How about,

With Hillary Clinton threatening to rack up the biggest electoral victory since George H. W. Bush obliterated Michael Dukakis in 1988, the scenarios for a comeback by the bilious billionaire are becoming increasingly far-fetched.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Opinion/2016/08/17/From-Russia-with-love-an-October-surprise/7531471424582

Another mention of ole Happy, Bill Casey, above. Notice the article writer’s name? Walter Shapiro. He was a Dem operative. He was good at being wrong, a lot. Including about COVID from which he developed complications and cancer before dying last summer without getting a chance to see the “bilious billionaire” win his second election against a female Democrat candidate from hell. It was either that or TDS that caused his demise, not sure which.

So let’s look at the bio of the not so dearly departed who uttered that phrase.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Shapiro

Actually that was the first time I have ever seen the word “bilious” written or said. Seems it relates to a colorful fluid in the liver. I think it would make a good Wheatie word for Wolf to use in a daily.

😀

Oh, the irony. The Trump curse struck yet again.

Remember Wolf’s site rules. Note and label all AI. Please be kind to one another, we are all in this together. May God richly bless America and all of you.

Dear MAGA: 20260111 Open Topic

This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.

It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.

In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts, and not by agenda-driven accusations and pronouncements.

We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.

Please show respect and consideration for our fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure your opinion addresses the issue only, and does not confront or denigrate the poster. Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, insults, baiting, and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.

In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.

Please also consider the Guidelines for posting and discussion printed here: 
https://www.theqtree.com/2019/01/01/dear-maga-open-topic-20190101/


On this day and every day –

God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up


Hopefully, every Sunday, we can find something here that will build us up a little . . . give us a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.

“This day is holy to the Lord your God;
do not mourn nor weep.” . . .
“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared;
for this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not sorrow,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”


Sons of Abraham

In Galatians 3:7, Paul, writing to Gentiles, says, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (ESV). Here Paul advances the idea of a spiritual family in contrast to a physical family—a family sharing faith rather than a bloodline.

Obviously, Abraham had literal, physical descendants. It was they, through Isaac and Jacob, who became the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. However, many in Israel did not follow God the way that they should have. At the same time, there were some Gentiles in the Old Testament, like Rahab and Ruth, who were adopted into the family of Israel. In the New Testament, many Gentiles are “grafted” into the tree of Israel through their faith in Jesus, the Messiah of Israel (Romans 11:17–20).

Throughout the New Testament, we see that being physical descendants of Abraham, although culturally important, counts nothing for eternity. When John the Baptist was preaching to the Jews, he warned, “Do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:9). John’s point was that more important than their physical lineage was their spiritual lineage.

In John 8:32–41, Jesus is speaking to some Israelites who were by definition descendants of Abraham. However, Jesus says that their physical lineage is overshadowed by their negative spiritual lineage:

[Jesus said] “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

“They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

“Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”

Twice, Jesus agrees that they are Abraham’s children but implies they really have another father. In verse 44 He states it plainly: “You are of your father the devil.” Their spiritual lineage trumped their physical lineage. Whatever blessings they counted on as physical “sons of Abraham” were negated by their condition as spiritual “sons of the devil.” Entrance to the kingdom will not be based on physical DNA but on faith in the Son of God.

In Romans 9:6–7 Paul explains, “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children.” In other words, there are some people who are descendants of Israel (Jacob), but they are not part of the blessing of Israel. Likewise, there are some who are descended from Abraham but not “sons of Abraham” in a spiritual sense. Being a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob is not enough. One must also now be a “descendant” of Christ. Of course, Christ had no physical descendants, but, at the end of Romans 9, Paul explains that those who have faith like Abraham had are made righteous before God, just as Abraham was. Those without faith in Christ, even if they are physical descendants of Abraham, are excluded; those with faith in Christ, even if they are Gentiles, are included as spiritual “sons of Abraham.”

In Galatians 3, Paul states it all plainly: “So also Abraham ‘believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. . . . So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:6–9). To be a “son” of someone is to have that person’s traits. To be the “Son of God” is to have God’s traits. To be a “son of Abraham” is to display a character quality of Abraham, namely, faith. Everyone who evinces faith is showing himself to be like Abraham in the sense that Abraham, too, had faith (Genesis 15:6).

Abraham heard from God and believed. Abraham’s faith caused him to leave everything behind and live the rest of his life as a stranger in a strange land. Abraham’s faith trusted that he and Sarah would have a child, even though that seemed impossible. Abraham’s faith was even willing to sacrifice the promised son, believing that God would raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:9). Because of Abraham’s example of faith, the Bible points to him as the father of faith, as it were. All who similarly trust in the Lord are “sons of Abraham.” As Paul writes, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile . . . for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26–29).

God had promised Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). One way this prophecy is fulfilled is through the salvation that God grants to us, by grace through faith: “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:7–9, ESV).

A children’s Sunday school song has the line “Father Abraham had many sons; many sons had Father Abraham.” It’s a truth of Scripture expressed simply in those lyrics and stated clearly in Galatians 3:29, “Now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you” (NLT).
xhttps://www.gotquestions.org/sons-of-Abraham.html

2026-01-10, Simply Saturday.

Administrivia.

Wheatie Wisdom. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.  No running with scissors.  No food fights. 

AI stuff posted, requires a link. Please use spoiler, for longer posts.

Wolf Speak.  No obnoxious behavior towards fellow QTreeper(s). Freedom of Speech is honored here QTree.  But Do Know, every poster, IS personally responsible for what they post. 

America, needs to embrace the following TRUTH…

Speaking of embracing…

If nothing follows, KK below, Night Crew, you are on your own.

KK

Apologies.

Abbreviated post today. Likely worthwhile nuggets included. 🙂

On the move today, during what are normally my primary post preparation hours.

Later, time permitting I’ll post more stuff.

Fresh Stuff.  That may be worth a read, listen, watch or scroll on by.  🙂

— 

APMEX https://www.apmex.com   Bitcoin https://www.bitcoin.com/

Prices pulled last evening.  Gold $4,526.50.  Silver ~$80.63.   Bitcoin $90,556.

American Stories.  (A series)

The White House Salute to America 250 Task Force has partnered with Hillsdale College to provide a history series that tells the remarkable story of American Independence.

It will highlight the stories of the crucial characters and events that resulted in a small rag-tag army defeating the mightiest empire in the world and establishing the greatest republic ever to exist.

This is the story of America. This is our shared heritage and our proud destiny that will continue to lead us to unimaginable achievements in the centuries to come.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/america250

The Story of America: Story of the American Soldier


Articles, Xs…

Several nuggets worth paying attention to. Some, may be helpful in our future.

Iran stuff interesting.

Iran: Coms “down” & Military Shooting Population

But… “You can’t stop the Signal, Mal…”

So here’s the revolution, being streamed.

The “officials” have shut down all communications channels they control. Mobile Phones, Cellular Data, the internet, etc. Yet with Starlink running, Satellite telephones, undoubtedly some folks with HAM Radio gear and others with Meshtastic (and similar Mesh Networks), the signal is still getting out…

And this, boys and girls, is WHY you want to learn, set up, and use something like Meshtastic (or HAM Packet Radio if licensed) AND learn how to set up “WiFi Repeaters” AND for some of you, buy a StarLink Roaming system (even if you don’t activate it with more than the $5/mo standby account).

Because TPTB WILL Shut down your regular communications in any event they don’t like, or if the local Natural Disaster (be it hurricane or earthquake or fire or flood or…) is bad enough, nature may do it for them.

So here we have Tousi TV showing ongoing “People in the Streets” all around Iran, even as “Comms are down” officially. Plus he knows that his reporting is getting back into Iran (my guess would be via StarLink but even “sneaker net” delivering USB drives or “Pirate Boxes” with hard drive copies and local open Wifi can do it…). Even one person with a Satellite phone can download it, and them share it via Mesh Networks…

You just can’t stop the signal anymore.

Slow it. Make it harder. Only get it via “diffusion” from the Tech Nerds to their Inner Circle to the ROW…Sure. But it WILL flow.

Key Points from the video:

Massive people in the streets still.
IRGC has called out the Military to shoot their own citizens.
The Regime is in full panic now.
People are fighting back with what they have. Rocks, Fire, Cars…
There are pleas for Israel & USA (Trump) to help.
Trump has said if they start killing civilians they will be “hit hard”.
Video of it all IS getting out, here.
MSM is still hard in the dark about all this, or hiding the truth.

My “takeaways” from all this?

As noted above, have a Starlink Roam system AND other ways to do communications.
Governments (all of them) WILL attack their own people to save themselves.
In a real crisis, the Police & Military may, OR may NOT, be on “your side”.
Prepare BEFORE you need it.
“weapons Restrictions” are futile. ANYTHING can be a weapon, even a Toyota.
The USA is likely to end up in another “adventure” in Iran this time.
The Revolution will not be Televised, but it will be streamed.

Is this a CIA / TLA “assisted” “color revolution”? No way to tell… yet.

But it does look like “someone” is going after the weaker and oil rich BRICS+ members what with Venezuela in the bag. I’m not liking the way the USA is starting to act a whole lot like a Global Bully. OTOH, not keen on Communist Dictators and Religious Dictators either, so maybe it’s the only way to fix it.

https://chiefio.wordpress.com

BTW. For the likes of myself, perhaps a few others.

Meshtastic

An open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on affordable, low-power devices

I’ll look into this. Along with Wi-Fi repeaters. Dunno if they make sense for me. Gotta understand them first.

At this point, unlikely. Had Kakala won, or a like moron in the future, we could have serious challenges.

We “Dodged The Bullet,” with Elon buying X AND Trump winning.

Did I mention, abbreviated post today?


Yea, I gotta get one of these with the arrow pointing to 2026.

Boston Saturday

More Than a Feeling

Don’t Look Back

Smokin’

Night crew, your nickel.

KK

Health Friday 1.9.2026 Open Thread: The Baric Files, Part Four: EcoHealth Alliance; Wuhan Institute of Virology; Dr. Zheng-li Shi; the “Template Patent”

The vintage image of laundering for the featured image today is courtesy of Google Images.

Health Friday is a series devoted to Big Pharma, vaccines, general health, and associated topics. As today’s offering (as are all the posts of The Baric Files) is related to the lab-creation of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus, Yours Truly dedicates it all persons, of whatever age or location, who have suffered an infection of this virus and recovered (with or without post-infection-induced complications); or, who have died from complications resulting from, or associated with, a COVID-19 virus infection.

There are Important Notifications from our host, Wolf Moon; the Rules of our late, good Wheatie; and, certain caveats from Yours Truly, of which readers should be aware. They are linked here. Note: Yours Truly has checked today’s offering for AI-generated content. To the best of her knowledge and belief, there is none, except perhaps for AI-generated images and/or text within linked URLs.

Special Note regarding today’s offering: In no way is the following, or The Baric Files series in general in Health Friday posts, to be construed as a “character assassination”, or as an “indictment”, or as any other type of attack or smear on Ralph S. Baric, PhD, of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, or of his lab at the university. The linked scientific papers, images therefrom, and other information about Dr. Baric (such as his Curriculum Vitae [1]) are all available on the internet. The ideas and conclusions of today’s offering are by Yours Truly. There is a plethora of items related to Dr. Baric; Yours Truly will focus on some of them in each part of The Baric Files.

Special Note regarding Part Four through Part Six of The Baric Files: Starting with Part Four, the research journey of Dr. Ralph Baric, PhD, becomes more complex. What began in Part One with research into the Sindbis virus becomes more like an “octopus with many tentacles” by Part Four. Yours Truly will present some of the more important aspects of the now-augmented research journey of Dr. Baric. Please bear with me. Thank you.

Today’s offering is Part Four of six.

The Baric Files, Part Four: EcoHealth Alliance; Wuhan Institute of Virology; Dr. Zheng-li Shi; the “Template Patent”

To “lay the groundwork” for The Baric Files, Part Four, it is necessary to first make a slight “detour” regarding two things: the ACE2 receptor cells of the human body; and, the increasing focus of Dr. Baric’s experiments with SARS-CoV coronaviruses after the year 2002. Both are important components in his research journey.

The ACE2 receptor cells of the human body: The following article by Sriram, et al., from May 2020 discusses these cells [2]. Please see the screenshots from this article, below:

In his research journey, Dr. Baric performed experiments with ACE2 cells, and also produced review / analysis papers regarding ACE2 cells. One example is a 2009 paper by Baric and Graham [3] which discusses recombination experiments (which may be otherwise known as Gain-of-Function experiments) of the spike protein of coronaviruses and “cross-species transmission.” Please see the screenshots from this paper, below:

An example of the increasing work with SARS-CoV viruses: In his research journey, Dr. Baric also performed Gain-of-Function experiments with lung cells (which also included mention of shedding of the SARS-CoV virus via infected lung ciliated cells). An example of this work is a 2004 paper from Baric, et al. [4]. This paper was funded by the NIH. Please see the screenshots from this paper, below:

Ciliated cells in the lungs are cells that have tiny “hair-like” protrusions (cilia) that, among other functions, help to remove mucus.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now, on to EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology:

These entities were funded, in part, by NIH / NIAID: either, to disperse funds to other research entities (via EcoHealth Alliance); or, direct funding to other research entities for Gain-of-Function work (Wuhan Institute of Virology; the Baric lab at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.) These funds were to be used for performing Gain-of-Function experiments on coronaviruses. In 2018, the DEFUSE proposal by EcoHealth Alliance, which was presented to the United States Defense Department, specifically mentions the roles that Dr. Ralph Baric (at UNC) and that Dr. Zheng-li Shi (of the Wuhan Institute of Virology) would play [5]. Please see the screenshots below from the proposal; first, the Title page:

From Page one:

From Page two:

From Page four:

From Pages five and six:

One more item needs to be mentioned: SHC014. This “SARS-like coronavirus” infects horseshoe bats. It was discovered in Yunnan Province in Communist China. Please keep WIV1 and SHC014 in mind while reading on.

In Yours Truly’s opinion, the DEFUSE proposal reads like a “blueprint” for a kind of elaborate “grant funds-laundering plus experiment-laundering” scheme under the aegis of EcoHealth Alliance. The Defense Department did not pursue the proposal. Instead, it appears that NIH / NIAID stepped in and provided funding for both Dr. Baric and for Dr. Shi via EcoHealth Alliance. For example, the NIAID issued a statement in October 2021 regarding that agency’s awarding grant R01AI110964 for experiments leading to the lab-creation of SARS-CoV-2 to the Wuhan Institute of Virology [6]. Please see the screenshot from this statement, below:

Both the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) and USA Spending have documented the R01AI110964 award grant by NIAID to EcoHealth Alliance to be dispersed to the Wuhan Institute of Virology {7}, [8]. Notwithstanding the NIAID statement above, the agency used taxpayer money to help fund the lab-creation of SARS-CoV-2 via experiments performed at the Wuhan Institute of Virology — and used what appears to be a “grant funding-laundering” scheme to do this. Please see the screenshots below; the first, from the GAO report; the second, from the USA Spending report:

After the NIH / NIAID was caught funding Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the NIH grant R01AI110964 was terminated in 2022, with NIH citing “non-compliance” by the WIV in certain reporting areas [9].

However, it appears that Dr. Ralph Baric was one of the United States-based persons also using funds from R01AI110964. He, along with his co-authors (United States-based and overseas-based) collaborated on a paper, published on 3 September 2020, regarding the potential for SARS-CoV-2 “spillover” to wildlife [10].

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dr. Zheng-li Shi

It appears that Dr. Ralph Baric had an exchange with Dr. Zheng-li Shi in 2013 at a conference [11]. It may be assumed that he had already known about her experiments with the SHC014 bat coronavirus. He asked her to send him some samples of this virus, which she did. Please the screenshots below from the above article:

It was after the 2013 exchange between Dr. Baric and Dr. Shi that the R01AI110964 grant was authorized in 2014 for SARS-CoV research at multiple facilities, including the Baric lab at UNC and at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (see above in today’s offering.)

It is interesting to note that EcoHealth Alliance (with, it appears, the consent and/or knowledge of Dr. Baric) was misleading the United States Defense Department regarding the DEFUSE Proposal that EcoHealth Alliance presented in 2018 [12]. It appears that EcoHealth was going to “emphasize” the United States portion of the SARS-CoV research that DEFUSE would fund, and “minimize” the involvement of Dr. Shi and the Wuhan institute of Virology. Please see the screenshots below from this article:

Dr. Zheng-li Shi denies ever actually working with Dr. Baric at his lab at UNC; instead, she sent the SHC014 samples and collaborated with Dr. Baric via other means (possibly, emails; written documents; and so on.) However, since Dr. Shi works at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which itself is under the aegis of the Communist Chinese Peoples Liberation Army), it can perhaps be mentioned that “the truth is up for grabs” in this situation. These questions also arise: Were the students or others working at Dr. Baric’s lab who were from Communist China? If there were, is it possible that they were “information conduits” to persons working at the Wuhan Institute of Virology? Please see the screenshot from the True Story Award article by Jane Qiu [13] in February 2022, below:

Nonetheless, Dr. Shi and Dr. Baric were co-authors of the 2015 paper [14] which describes a “SARS-like cluster” of bat coronaviruses that could infect humans through zoonotic “leap “. This paper is sometimes cited as the “start of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.” Please see the screenshots from this paper, below; first, the Abstract; followed by two portions of the Main section; and, ending with the Acknowledgements:

The above 2015 Baric, Shi, et al., paper is Gain-of-Function on the SHC014 CoV bat coronavirus in order to render this virus possible to infect humans.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The “Template Patent”

The 2015 Baric, Shi, et al., paper above was published on 9 November 2015. This would assume at least six months of work, data collection and analysis, writing the paper and submitting it for peer-review, and so on, prior to publication. The paper was submitted on 12 June 2015 and accepted on 8 October 2015.

The following are screenshots from US Patent 9884895B2 granted to Ralph Baric, et al., via the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on 18 October 2016. This Patent was applied for by Dr. Baric, et al., on 20 March 2015.[15] Please see the screenshots from the Patent document, below: first, the Patent Title and US Patent Number listing; second, the Invention and timeline section; third, the general Description; fourth, from the Detailed Description of the Invention (examples: the continuous mention of the use of the 2b subdivision of SARS-CoV viruses in the lab-creation (chimeric creation) of the possible SARS-CoV-2 virus “template”, including SHC014 and WIV1; the use of the Venezuela Equine Encephalitis virus in the lab-creation of the possible SARS-CoV-2 virus “template”; the use of Virus-like Particles in the lab-creation of the possible SARS-CoV-2 virus “template”; fifth, descriptions of methods to treat, prevent, and/or protect against an infection by this lab-created chimeric virus; sixth, from the Examples section regarding the development of a “vaccine” against an infection of such a virus; and, several figures from the Patent document.

It is interesting to note in the above screenshot the language regarding the lab-creation of a potentially lethal virus under BSL2 laboratory conditions.

Fig. 2 from the Patent: the S1/S2 site:

Fig. 6 from the Patent: graphic of the chimeric spike:

Fig. 10 from the Patent: the chimeric spike with the Venezuela Equine Encephalitis added:

Yours Truly: the above last screenshot regarding “methods” for treatment / prevention / protection against, an infection by this possible SARS-CoV-2 “template virus”, reads like a possible “list of basic ingredients” for products such as the modRNA COVID-19 “vaccines” [by Pfizer-BioNTech and by Moderna]; and also the “inactivated protein subunit” COVID-19 “vaccine” [by Novavax].

Several questions arise: First, did Dr. Ralph Baric share with Dr. Zheng-li Shi any of the work involved leading up to the application for US Patent 9884895B2? Second, did NIH share any information from US Patent 9884895B2 with Pfizer-BioNTech, or Moderna, or the United States Defense Department, or all of these, after the Patent was assigned to NIH in May 2017? Third, exactly to whom at NIH was the Patent assigned in May 2017? Fourth, exactly who at NIH holds the Patent assignment currently,especially since the Patent is in force until the year 2035? Fifth, was any information that Dr. Baric may have shared with Dr. Shi involved in the “lab leak”/ intentional release, of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab in late 2019?

Thus far, it appears that the research journey of Dr. Ralph Baric, PhD, has progressed from the study of a mosquito-borne virus, to experiments with swine coronaviruses, to experiments with SARS-coronaviruses of various types, to the lab-creation of the “template virus” for SARS-CoV-2, to the Patent for the “Template Virus” for SARS-CoV-2; a Patent which also describes “methods” to treat, prevent, or to protect against infection, of such virus. It is Yours Truly’s opinion that, while the SARS-CoV-2 virus that was released into the world in late 2019 emanated from the lab of Dr. Zheng-li Shi at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the “template” for this virus was very likely constructed in the lab of Dr. Ralph Baric, PhD, at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and a United States Patent for this “template virus” was issued to Dr. Baric in 2016..

To be continued in Part Five.

THE COVID-19 “VACCINES” — ALL OF THEM — MUST BE REMOVED FROM THE MARKET AND FROM USE IN THE UNITED STATES. NOW.

THERE. MUST. BE. ACCOUNTABILITY.

THERE. MUST. BE. JUSTICE.

THERE. MUST. BE. TRUTH.

Peace, Good Energy, Respect: PAVACA

(Intellectual Property Notice and Disclaimer: With the exception of items above in today’s offering that are available online, the ideas and conclusions of today’s offering are by PAVACA. Proper credit must be given to PAVACA if ideas and conclusions of today’s offering are used by other blog writers, by podcasters, on social media, or in print media.)

References:

[1]: “Curriculum Vitae Ralph Baric.” https://sph.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/112/2016/09/CV_Ralph_Baric.pdf. 2016.

[2]: “What is the ACE2 receptor?” Krishna Sriram, Paul Insel, Rohit Loomba. https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/science/051620/what-is-the-ace-2-receptor. 16 May 2020.

[3]: “Recombination, Reservoirs, and the Modular Spike: Mechanisms of Coronavirus Cross-Species Transmission.” Rachel L Graham, Ralph S Baric. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2838128/. 11 November 2009.

[4]: “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection of Human Ciliated Airway Epithelia: Role of Ciliated Cells in Viral Spread in the Conducting Airways of the Lungs.” Amy C. Sims, Ralph S. Baric, Boyd Yount, Susan E. Burkett, Peter L. Collins, Raymond J. Pickles. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1316022/. December 2005.

[5]: “Project DEFUSE: Defusing the Thread of Bat-borne Coronaviruses.” Peter Daszak, Ralph Baric, et al. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21066966-defuse-proposal/. 2018.

[6]: SARS-CoV-2 and NIAID-supported Bat Coronavirus Research.” https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/coronavirus-bat-research. “Content last reviewed on October 20, 2021.” “EXP. DATE: 07/31/2028.”

[7]: “FEDERAL RESEARCH: NIH Could Take Additional Actions to Manage Risks Involving Foreign Subrecipients.” https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106119.pdf. 14 June 2023.

[8]: “R01AI110964.” https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_R01AI110964_7529.

[9]: Letter from Department of Health and Human Services to EcoHealth Alliance, Inc. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NIH-EHA-Production-8.19.22.pdf. 19 August 2022.

[10]: “Possibility for reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to free-ranging wildlife: A case study of bats.” Ralph S. Baric, Peter Daszak, Lin-Fa Wang, et al. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008758. 3 September 2020.

[11]: “Inside the risky bat-virus engineering that links America to Wuhan.” Rowan Jacobsen. https://www.congress.gov/117/meeting/house/114658/documents/HHRG-117-IF14-2022042. 29 June 2021.

[12]: “American scientists misled Pentagon on research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.” Emily Kopp. https://usrtk.org/covid-19-origins/american-scientists-misled-pentagon-on-wuhan-research/. 18 December 2023.

[13]: “Meet the Scientist at the Center of the COVID Lab Leak Controversy.” https://truestoryaward.org/story/313. Jane Qiu. 9 February 2022.

[14]: “A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence.” Ralph S. Baric, Zheng-li Shi, et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3985. Published 9 November 2015.

[15]: “Methods and compositions for chimeric coronavirus spike proteins.” Ralph Baric, Sudhakar Agnihothram, Boyd Yount. https://patents.google.com/patent/US9884895B2. Patent Application submitted, 3 March 2015. Patent Assigned to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 18 October 2016.

KMAG DAILY THREAD 20260107 & VENEZUELA

Site rules stolen from our good friend PAVACA

There are Important Notifications from our host, Wolf Moon; the Rules of our late, good Wheatie; and, certain caveats from Yours Truly, of which readers should be aware. They are linked here. Note: Yours Truly has checked today’s post for any AI-generated content. To the best of her knowledge and belief, there is none. If readers wish to post any AI-generated content in the discussion thread for today’s post, they must cite their source. Thank you.


Do not forget to LABEL AI articles, video and such.

Given the significance of Trump’s extraction of Maduro, I thought I would gather information we have not yet looked at.I am not going to try and do transcriptions since my back said NO! (An arthritic back and cold do not mix, darn it!)

I am not going to try and put much order in the offering either, although I am going to put the information I think most important first as well as the new material I snatched from the comments at the Badlands Media substack

I am going to start with “Susan Kokinda from Promethean Action” (H/T Scott)

scott467  January 5, 2026 15:24

While You Watched Venezuela, Trump Quietly Put Canada On Notice

While mainstream media focuses on regime change in Venezuela, this video reveals Donald Trump’s covert battle against the British Empire’s financial backbone.

Susan Kokinda from Promethean Action breaks down how Trump’s actions extend beyond traditional geopolitics, targeting the nexus of narcotics trafficking, terrorism, and offshore banking systems.

Discover the deeper implications of this fight, the role of Canada, and why even the British intelligence and John Bolton see this as a significant shift.”

I lied, here is a partial transcript:

3:20 …listen to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He told us exactly what this is…

Is the United States now at war with Venezuela?

…It’s not a war against Venezuela. You cannot continue to have the largest oil reserves, in the world under the control of adversaries of the United States. Not benefiting the people of Venezuela, stolen by a handful of oligarchs around the world, including inside of Venezuela, but not benefiting the people of that country.

Did you catch that? He didn’t blame socialism. He didn’t blame communism. He blamed oligarchs and drug trafficking organizations. [Remember the CIA always used Communism as the excuse for regime change according to Colonel Towner. Changes that benefited the oligarchs and NOT the people.– GC]

Now, that takes us back to Trump and his targeting of Canada, which no one seems to want to talk about. Because when you put the words oligarchs and drug trafficking organizations in the same context, you aren’t just talking about the cartels in Mexico or Colombia. You’re talking about key characteristics of the British Empire, which is the epitome of oligarchy. Or to put it another way, the rule of the few, which is what oligarchy means… [Remember The Network of Global Corporate Control — GC]

The British Empire has been the most notorious entity in the world when it comes to making money off of drug trafficking, going back over 200 years, including the notorious opium wars of the 19th century. This has never stopped. It’s just taken a new form….

4:56

…It is run by the empire’s favorite central banker, Mark Carney, and it is the major political outpost for the crown in North America, used for drug trafficking, as the president mentioned, illegal immigration, and terrorism.

…Carney has actually facilitated the financing arm of the cartels in his former role as the head of the Bank of England…

8:49

If this is a war on drug trafficking organizations and oligarchs, as Rubio says, then it is automatically a war on the global banking system because you can’t separate the two. The target isn’t just jungle labs and drug boats. It’s the city of London.

Let’s remember where Venezuela is. It borders the Caribbean. What else is in the Caribbean? The origin point for the infamous system of offshore banking established directly by the British. Back in 1960, the largest banking houses in London, working in partnership with the government and the ex-checker, established 14 completely separate secret jurisdictions. These are the offshore banking centers that now hold between 50 and 75 trillion dollars with all 50 of the world’s largest banks operating within them. These offshore centers exist outside the control of sovereign governments. They’re secret, they’re unregulated, and they facilitate illegal activity. What we once had, a legitimate regulated banking system, has been transformed into a criminal enterprise.

Interestingly, the Russians have known this for years and have been more vociferous about it than any Western government. In a 2014 speech, Viktor Ivanov, then Russia’s top drug enforcement official, laid it out clearly in a Moscow conference. He said,

“This allows us to confidently assert that narco money is the foundation of the modern financial system. It is not surprising that during the first peak of the financial crisis of 2008 2009, Antonio Costa from the UN announced that the top banks in the world dumped in around $352 billion of narco dollars to use for interbank borrowing to address the critical shortage of liquidity. And he goes on to make clear that the global financial system needs drug money to survive. The very existence of the global financial bubble, he said, is based on precisely this opportunity for banks to attract liquid narco money. In fact,this garbage fertilizes the present economic system…

…Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant recently commented that 50% of his job involves issues of national security. Now, think about it. Since we started targeting drug boats and lighting up the communications channels of the cartels and their financiers, I bet Treasury Secretary Bessant has been just as busy as Pete Hegseth…

END TRANSCRIPT

At 12:40, she mentions CryptoRich and Tom Luongo so let’s see what they have to say.

Trump vs Venezuela – What We Are Not Being Told! | With EM Burlingame & Blaine Holt

In that substack Tom posts the full video + transcript .Tom also highlights the most important part and I will reproduce it here.

As Dr Burlingame explains:

We need to understand is that, just like Russia prior, 20-some odd years ago and China, now over the last 10 years – 10, 11, 12 years – we have now gone to war with the financialists and their Kill Chain

But you know, the point is is that the drug- and human trafficking trade and the flooding of South and Central Americans into our country, in the tens of millions is an intelligence operation on behalf of the financialists, headquartered out of Wall Street, London, Amsterdam, Venice, Rome, Switzerland…

Roughly $2 trillion a year in cash – cash – floods into the banking systems in the United Kingdom and the US and Continental Europe and is what’s been keeping the banks afloat since 1971, increasingly, since we went to fiat…

How do you keep the whole thing having the appearance that it’s working? You need a ever-larger amount of illicit funding. Human trafficking is taken off in the last 20 years to an unbelievable, unprecedented-in-history rate. Why? Because humans beings – and 19% of that’s for sex – the rest is still labor or organs, right?

Over 50% of it is still for labor slavery all over the world, including in Europe, including here, in its various forms. Humans, as Illicit commodity have the highest return, the highest margins of any illicit product in the world, even way above drugs, including fentanyl…”

Here is the Youtube: (27 minutes)

So who are CrypoRich’s guests?

General Blaine Holt is a retired one star General with numerous recent appearances on John Michael Chambers’ “Eyes on Gitmo” series:

WHY ISN’T TRUMP ARRESTING THE CLINTONS? Gitmo Panel Breaks Down Bondi, DOJ & Military Tribunals (1 hr 30 min)

First 25 minutes is about the Wiener laptop & then Tina Peters. There is a brief discussion of Venezula since the extraction of Maduro had not yet occurred. They then get into elections.

39 minutes. —  Ret. Lt. Col. Matt Mack: “You can make a change locally. Hand count ballots one day election. …I talked to some folks at DOJ yesterday, the CIA is the BANE of all of this. They have been thwarting Tulsi Gabbard, trying to stop all of this. John Ratcliffe what the hell are you doing!” You are not helping the president, you are being controlled by John Brennan’s people…” And he goes off on a rightous rant against the CIA.

41 minutes — Ret. Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt

We have the only President in history that has not been anointed by the RIIA, the Royal Institute of International Affairs — Chatham house? The point is, this is the war. A 5th generation war and it is about to go kinetic.
Because what happens is, and you saw this in Tahrir Square when you had Egyptians, who could not feed their kids any more and they watched them die. Then they went and grabbed a gun… they are pushing us to that place. If you do not believe me, that’s fine, Go to Ireland. Go to the UK. Go to France, Go to Spain. Ireland is on the leading edge of complete society break down. Because it wasn’t just election integrity that was the problem.

You have to go to the WHY! Why is there an election integrity problem. Why don’t our politicians want to see one paper ballot one vote. Why do our politicians want to protect illegal invaders that come to our country to destroy our culture…

Our government, the Swamp, all of its tentacles, the Congress, all of the lobbyists, industry, the corporatists, the private equity bankers, everybody who profits off this system. They are ALL in on it They are the Swamp and have no desire to solve any of Americas problems. BUT they will suck the crap out of them with their taxes and resources and in some cases steal their land and their money.

So here are the battle lines. It is We the People vs the Swamp and there is a global edition of this. It is we the people vs the globalists, the city of London kids the ones that make Elon Musk’s wealth look like middle class wealth…. If you want to solve this problem, you had damn well better know who your enemy is.

EM Burlingame – Rich says he was enlisted in the green berets, special forces and stuff like that. https://emburlingame.substack.com


A recent article from EM Burlingame just for Scott:

Make No Mistake: They Fear Tulsi Most of All

or: How the Estrogenic Empire Finally Met a Matriarch Who Remembers the Old Ways and Won’t Kneel

…She’s our compass from the World of Woman. Our surety. The unseen hand that ensures our wrath isn’t wasted.

And they, women, have left her exposed.
One woman.
One true matriarch of the old patterns against the massive festering swarm.
Where are her peers from the World of Woman?
We men can kill till the end of time, and never truly protect her.
Only women engaged in the wars of women, that ruthless all or nothing blood feud has waged since the beginning of time, can.

And that swarm… you feel it, don’t you? The estrogenic tide. The inverted, the resentful, the hollow men and their shrieking harlots and harpies. They sense her and they convulse. Because she’s the restoration. The return of the healthy, the whole, the fierce guardian of the hearth. The Matriarch. Her strength’s a mirror, and in it they see their own withered, poisoned, worthless souls.

They can’t bear it.

Their time’s ending. You hear me? Your time of poisoning the well, of sterilizing the spirit, of trading our children’s future for your comfort… it’s over!

We need more of her. A legion of such women. A sisterhood of shadows, rising not to be like men, but to be the unbreakable wall around the creche that men can’t form. The final line….

Guess, EM Burlingame does not know about us. 😂

Tom’s next article & Video:

Patrick Byrne: Venezuelan Intelligence Has Penetrated the White House at the Highest Levels

At the bottom it includes an open letter to Trump & the American People From: Major General Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, retired Major General of the Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela.

…Patrick Byrne is so frustrated about the Color Revolution being waged against America that he made the rounds on three shows yesterday and dropped a lot of bombs and he burned his cover, finally admitting that he’d been a CIA asset since the early 2000s, telling Emerald Robinson that he’d had a non-standard relationship with them until he started working for John Brennan around 2006 to become a “Tier One Intelligence Asset”.

Around 2010 or 2011, Barack Obama elevated him to a “National Intelligence Asset” and in 2016, he was handled by Peter Strzok and James Comey to bribe Hillary Clinton for $18 million, during the early phase of the Russia Hoax….


As one of the guys at Badlands said. “Once CIA ALWAYS CIA…. OR YOU ARE DEAD.” How much of what Byne says is truth, I do not know. A Limited Hangout will put out maybe 80% truth so they can wrap it around the poison pill they are delivering. Given that, I think the crap about Marco Rubio & Ric Grenell is just that CRAP!

I also think ‘they’ are trying to poison the well in regard to election fraud. Because without election fraud they are in DEEP kimchi.

An alternate view:

The REAL Reason Behind Why The United States Just Took Over Venezuela?

…Here’s what I think this move was all about….

ONE: You may not know this, but dating back to the Bushes, Venezuela became a huge CIA hub.

Literally a large chunk of what ails the world probably originated or had some times to our CIA in Venezuela…

TWO: It has long been rumored that a large part of the election rigging was “outsourced” to companies with operations in Venezuela.

Here are the 14 minutes that got Lou Dobbs kicked off Fox News because he dared to cover it:

How about President Trump himself telling you the same thing point blank?

….


One commenters under the CryptoRich video, points to this info on the processing of light versus heavy crude oil to say the video is incorrect.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4753767-why-the-u-s-cannot-use-its-own-oil


Seems that is Bull Schiff according to this from The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers. (I wanted to correct it now since it looks like it may become a talking point.)

Heavy vs. light crude oil: U.S. refiners process it all

The global crude oil market provides refiners and crude oil producers the opportunity to buy and sell the many different qualities of crude oils produced around the world.

Two of the most important crude oil qualities are sulfur content and viscosity. Some crude oils are “heavy” or viscous, while some are “light” or more free-flowing. Some crude oils have high sulfur content, known in the industry as “sour” crude oil, and some contain much less sulfur and are considered “sweet” crudes. Heavy sour crude oil is more complicated to refine into lower-sulfur fuel and requires investment in additional process units. Many refineries in the United States have made the investment needed to process heavy sour crude oil into low-sulfur fuels but also have the flexibility to process light sweet crude oil.

“U.S. refineries can take in pretty much any kind of crude oil in the world and turn it into the cleanest-burning fuel that you can find on the planet,” says Stephen Fisher, a refining strategy advisor for BP….


Tore was also mentioned. Here is her current substack.

WHO was Buying Venezuela?

Her Name Was INGA: Venezuela and the War You Were Never Shown (that is everywhere)

“She” is everywhere and nowhere. “She” never signs her name, never takes the podium, never runs for office. “She” doesn’t overthrow governments—“She” reorganizes them.

Chaos is not the breakdown of the system. Chaos is the system operating as designed. What you are watching—across governments, economies, wars, elections, and institutions—is not failure, incompetence, or decay. It is coordination masquerading as disorder. At this scale, chaos does not emerge spontaneously; it is engineered, routed, financed, narrated, and maintained. Once you learn to read its patterns instead of its headlines, the illusion collapses, and a single truth becomes unavoidable: none of this is accidental.

I’ve watched this pattern long enough to know it isn’t theory. It’s method. My handle on X is Chaos Coordinator, and I wear it deliberately. I don’t pretend chaos isn’t happening—I map it, track it, and connect its patterns. I pride myself on coordinating chaos in the only way that matters: by observing how it is manufactured, routed, financed, justified, and repeated across borders. That is precisely why I’m qualified to speak about the global disorder we’re living through, because once you follow the money, the narratives, and the timing, it becomes impossible to believe any of this is accidental. Chaos at this scale requires planning, alignment, and maintenance—and I’ve spent enough time watching the machinery turn to know the difference between failure and design…

“She” is patient. “She” doesn’t need you to believe in “her”. “She” only needs you to keep arguing with your neighbor while she rearranges the board.

This is why the chaos feels synchronized. Why crises stack instead of resolve. Why accountability dissolves the moment you reach for it. Because the problem isn’t left versus right, war versus peace, or spending versus saving. The problem is that INGA has learned how to govern without ever appearing to govern at all….

This parallels what I have been thinking for years.

….

A few comments from Badlanders


🇫🇷 TRUMPist de La Fayette 🇺🇸 (He is in France & his substack is https://substack.com/@trumpistdelafayette )

It seems President Donald Trump needed to meet rapidly Nicolas Maduro and his wife

He just said they had been exited from Caracas by US Special Forces…

I wonder what triggered this action at the worst moment (full moon) for the maximum efficiency of Special Forces, which do prefer NO MOON !

It resembles a powerful SHOW of power, very well staged…

Some useful links:

Official: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115830428767897167

https://www.twz.com/news-features/explosions-ring-out-across-caracas-as-u-s-special-ops-helicopters-fly-over-city

REUTERS has scenic pictures !

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/loud-noises-heard-venezuela-capital-southern-area-without-electricity-2026-01-03

The MSM and legacy conservatives News outlets (Breitbart…) are very late or fully absent to cover this matter!

H/T to Badlands Team for having told us this exiting of Maduro was pending since a few weeks !


[NOTE: Rybar is a Russian media organization previously funded by the deceased Russian mogul Yevgeniy Viktorovich. –GC]

Kristina Camp 

…This is translation from Rybar, “ misinformation” channel.

Here is a faithful English translation, keeping the original structure, tone, and emphasis:

📝 Who Will Get Venezuela’s Oil? 📝

On the main beneficiaries of the U.S. Armed Forces operation

The U.S. operation in Venezuela immediately sparked debate about the economic objectives of Trump’s team. Many even, for some reason, began calculating Venezuela’s oil reserves.

But the story is somewhat more complex than a simple “they attacked to seize the oil” narrative. It is rather about the redistribution of assets that are already under American control, [Actually City of London control -GC] primarily through JP Morgan, which we have written about in detail before.

🔻 What assets are we talking about?

▪️ The strikes were preceded by a wave of court hearings concerning one of the most important assets — CITGO, which is formally a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA.

▪️ CITGO is an oil-refining company headquartered in Houston, Texas. 100% of its shares belonged to PDVSA. It owned three refineries, as well as dozens of other facilities and retail outlets.

▪️ For Venezuela, this structure ensured the refining of heavy oil extracted in Venezuela. Through the CITGO network, Venezuela had access to a supply channel and the largest U.S. market, could attract investment into the country, and mitigate the effects of sanctions.

▪️ After Venezuela and PDVSA defaulted, creditors began demanding repayment of debts, using CITGO shares as collateral. In 2018–2019, creditor lawsuits began, and in 2023, a court decision launched hearings on the sale of CITGO to repay debts.

At the same time, the company’s debts and the deal to sell it are fully controlled by JP Morgan.

The process remained stuck, as the acquisition of the assets faced potential legal consequences and overlapped with a personal conflict between JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Donald Trump.

Therefore, with the arrival of a new U.S. president, the struggle for the asset intensified. Dalinar Energy, which was supposed to buy CITGO and whose deal was overseen by JP Morgan, began losing ground, while the court supported an alternative bid from Amber Energy — a company linked to one of Trump’s allies.

🔻 How did this happen?

▪️ At the beginning of 2025, new auction rules were established. The court now evaluates the winner not only by price, but also by the probability of closing the deal, including approval from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and settlement of competing claims to the asset.

▪️ By spring–summer, everything seemed nearly decided: Dalinar Energy (created by Gold Reserve to acquire CITGO) was considered the favorite, having offered over $7.3 billion. By August, the process was said to be nearing completion.

▪️ But then, after Trump’s team intensified its activity on the Venezuela track, Amber Energy entered the scene (another company created specifically to acquire CITGO by Elliott Investment).

▪️ What was surprising was that Amber Energy offered only $5.9 billion, and after lengthy hearings the court ultimately approved the deal in favor of Elliott Investment’s subsidiary due to guarantees presented to OFAC that the transaction would be completed without costs or lawsuits.

🖍 Why are these events important?

The beneficiary of Amber Energy, which is claiming the assets, is Paul Singer — a major donor to the U.S. Republican Party and one of Donald Trump’s key sponsors in his presidential campaign. Given their ties, it would be entirely in Trump’s style to secure control over strategic assets and strike at competitors.

🚩 As a result, the White House moved to action: after losing CITGO, Venezuela is left with resources without distribution channels and oil without refining capacity, while the U.S. applies pressure on the “shadow fleet.” In the long run, this will lead Venezuela toward economic degradation and a weakening of its political position.

❗️ Amber Energy still has many legal issues to resolve, but today’s events in Venezuela will at least weaken the negotiating positions of Trump’s opponents at JP Morgan and corporations linked to the bank. Venezuelans, meanwhile, will simply be presented with the fact of revised agreements.

Now isn’t that an interesting Factoid? JP Morgan (well connected to the Rothschilds) was trying to grab CITGO and Trump seems to have snatched the prize out of their hands. 😂

….

Moon of Alabama:

Trump Abducted Maduro But Did Gain Nothing

Or maybe the point was just to show off what the Trump administration might do to others:

In 1992, American conservative writer Michael Ledeen reportedly said: “Every 10 years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business.”

Actually, such gratuitous demonstrations of might betray the fear that American world power is slipping. Beating up a weaker opponent to prove your strength is the action of an insecure bully.

Venezuela is likely to welcome U.S. oil companies which are willing to invest in the country. But it will be nothing like the bonanza Trump seems to envision. Venezuelan oil is heavy and costly to retrieve. One needs dilution fluids or steam to bring it to surface and to transport it to markets. With global oil prices expected to stay around $50 per barrel there is little incentive for the necessary multi-billion investment.

I expect that after this weekend’s action nothing will change. The U.S. does not want to govern Venezuela. It doesn’t want to put boots on the ground. The blockade, an act of war, will continue for a while but at some point the ships will have to go back to their harbors. As there is nothing to win from this the Trump administration will move towards its next target.

Meanwhile Israel is getting ready for another strike on Iran. The U.S. is repositioning troops to the Middle East while Iran prepares to hit back with all its might.

In a week from now Venezuela will likely be out of the headlines while business as usual continues.


I think he missed the election theft part of the story not to mention the money laundering and human trafficking.

….

CRAP!!!
H/T patfrederick


However on second thought, has Maduro already made a deal and that is why he is being let off the hook via NY southern district? How machiavellian, keep your word with Maduro AND smear NY southern District, all in one act.

How US used 40,000-ton warship named after famous WWII battle to transfer Maduro


…Maduro was detained in Caracas along with his wife, Cilia Flores, and flown by helicopter to the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima before being transferred to the United States, according to a statement posted on X by US Attorney General Pam Bondi… 


Catching Maduro outside his ‘safe room’ and a trip on the open seas (not a plane) seems to indicate that Maduro was interrogated and records were recovered.

What a bang of a start to the New Year!

2026.01.06 Daily Thread – American Stories: When in the Course of human events – Finale

I begin by going back to the opening Part of this series that was posted almost one year ago today. I had no plan to time this out in the way it has, in fact, when I started this series it was being done on random days, not as a Daily Opener. Then Gail suggested I do so to pick up the author slack and Wolf gave the approval. So here we are.

This series started because it was clear to me along the way that God was delivering We the People from evil once again. That understanding crystalized at Butler, PA. Then on November 5, 2024, Donald J. Trump and JD Vance won the election in convincing fashion even with the commies cheating their azzes off.

At various points in American history there have been inflection points when God’s hand has pulled us back from the brink of total destruction while using committed American patriots equipped for the task to do so. I have no doubts that He did it again that day in Butler as well as election day. Since that latter point the transformation that began and remains on-going has been a whirlwind that is tightly orchestrated. In my opinion this did not happen by good fortune; it was predetermined by God while being guided, planned and implemented by His instruments and servants.

As I finish this series I have grown to realize that I do not agree with all of the words and actions of any one patriot in our entire history. There is always something they did or said that I wish was different. I know I am not alone in that realization. I know I am not alone in the realization that there are many things I wish I had said or done differently as well. All of the giants from our founding forward were simply flawed men and women who gave their all to the cause of freedom and liberty. They did their best and that is all anybody could ask of them… or of us today.

I am also struck by a simple introspective question we all should ask. Am I part of the solution or the problem?

Thinking things through before speaking or acting would eliminate a lot of issues. Which is what our founding fathers did in the final Declaration of Independence document. They literally kept all of the windows and doors closed in the middle of summer in the assembly room of Independence Hall to insure secrecy. To be sure there were many disagreements, much pompousness, misunderstandings and so on within the human condition of those involved. However, they came together in consensus agreement on the final content of the document and signed their names affirmatively; while knowing they were committing treason and were subject to death. They knew they were not only endangering themselves, they were doing so to their families, communities, and the colonies themselves.

They knew the new nation would be totally dependent upon God’s protection. When you study their letters and statements they say it openly. At minimum 50 of the 56 were professing Christians with the others being deists or drifting between the two beliefs, but who also believed in a Creator as the Declaration document stated.

That is the context for the colonists’ words and actions. God or a Creator was their source of authority to do and say what they did in the Declaration of Independence. The British believed that the Crown and Parliament were the established authority of the colonies.

I guess we know who won that question of authority. A higher calling than one of man tends to do that.

As a result of the passionate engagement of patriots then as well as similar commitments down through the years; it is still true today. When you hear or see anything to the contrary you know it is false and intentionally misleading. That should alert you to a possible seditionist or traitor if not proven to be just an ignorant statement.

The founders took courage and did what had to be done to be free, but not before they invited God/Creator into their process and acknowledged their dependence upon His providence and will. They made a one way, front loaded covenant with God/Creator. So what has God/Creator done in response?

We are still here and the most powerful, influential nation on earth despite our missteps and sins. We just need to refocus, clean the decks, and get better at our mission. A reminder…

A Look Back

From my first January 5, 2025 post:

…I contend that it is that same American spirit that charges through the words of the Declaration of Independence that led to the greatest, ongoing experiment in national governance in world history. It is a spirit that is very much alive and expressed by the massive America First MAGA movement today, whose spirit is spreading like wildfire worldwide.

Not all of the 56 signers were present during the discussions and negotiations that surrounded the production of the document. They signed on anyway. They knew what was at stake and agreed in principle with the contents of the document. In this series we are going to dig down into understanding their roles and who many of them were as human beings. We need to personally identify with their commitment such that we may be emboldened to go and do likewise. This series will focus on many of these brave patriots.

Hint: They acted a lot like many America First MAGA patriots do today. Quite a few were from wealth and dignified. A handful were truly messed up people. Others were heroic and inspirational. Some were bombastic and others were pensive. A large number were highly educated and accomplished. Others were less educated, yet enlightened and committed to the cause. Blended together they gave us the foundational start for a truly blessed nation.

At the time I wrote that statement I had no way of knowing how applicable it would be now that we have arrived at the end. Simply, my heart had been stirred to tell these stories here on the Qtree, where patriots are many.

Have you noticed what has happened internationally with the MAGA movement in the year since I wrote those words above? It became a worldwide movement that has resulted in America gaining great respect, $18 trillion in investments, and world peace breaking out in unheard of places between long term enemies. The old order is being destroyed before our eyes. They fight back harshly because their self constructed evil world is being attacked. When we sift past the propaganda and fear porn we realize their takedown is all being handled systematically and with truth, which is further evidence of God’s hand guiding our nation.

I brought this forward again because when we read the signers’ stories, we see that our MAGA elected officials are similar in so many respects. None of the current version are perfect, but there is little doubt they are giving their all for We the People as the patriots did then. There were counter operations and enemies of state acting as black hats back in their day just as there are today. Nothing was easy then, nothing is easy now.

We need to take time to celebrate the wins and patriots who brought them, discuss the parallels between then and now as well as identify the sometimes hidden black hats and seditious activities that undermine the American Experiment. We already know most of the traitors.

7th/8th Grade American History – A Lesson Learned

I have posted previously that I homeschool a couple of subjects with our Grandson #1 who is a 6th grader. We share a love for history. His focus and intensity rises when we study the assigned material and he asks really thoughtful questions. Before this Series on the signers I would not have been able to answer some of them. A handful of the answers to those questions are different and contrary to what the course curriculum and even some alleged historical accounts provide. We do not shy away from discussing those differences.

An example from a past subject of a Series I did on here is the Great Chicago Fire accounts from over 150 years ago in 1871. Nearly all current historical accounts of the event still say that bad ole Elsie the cow caused it by kicking over a lantern in the O’Leary’s barn as I discussed in the Fire! series. However, even AI calls that a myth now. Yet, the authorities of that day made the O’Leary’s the scapegoats without ever charging them. That continued to be the story for over a century until they were absolved by city leadership three decades ago long after the couple was dead. Yet, virtually none of the current historical accounts we reviewed noted the owners and cow were absolved from the accusation. The curriculum we used still showed it the former way. Since that curriculum is used by over a million kids, well, you get the picture. Ridiculous.

Shifting back; with the subject course curriculum provider regarding the Boston Massacre they gave a stock answer that did not rock the boat. Instead of accepting on face value we researched and discussed the actual documentation and evidence to base our own conclusions. When we do this sometimes they are different, sometimes they are similar. But the point I am teaching #1 is to do the work himself with adult assistance as needed and never accept anything of substance at face value. It teaches him critical thinking in all things.

As an example as it applies to this Finale of the series, some founding fathers, especially those in the Sons of Liberty, used the awful event of the Boston Massacre to grow the discontent and move the people more toward the independence movement (thankfully). However, many of the independence supporting descriptions in print, art and verbally left out the violent mob aspect that threatened the British soldiers. In our study the curriculum portrayed these subject colonist depictions as patriot “propaganda” and provided a definition of what propaganda is.

This was an unfortunate illustration. The curriculum providers either do not know or do not want to present the truth. To call the depictions propaganda is over the top. In reality, we only know what others from the period and soon after have provided. The truth is what it is and there is no consensus, just narratives about the actual events subject to perception of the presenters and perspectives of the readers. There were dozens of eye witness statements in the trials and even they could not get their stories straight. Some of the “witnesses” could have been operatives on either side as there were over 400 people present in the chaotic event. There is no way to know for sure and examine deeper because they are dead.

As a developer of curriculum, historian or teacher you should never call historical representations as being propaganda without proven evidence. It reveals a bias when you do. In the real world of education in America we know great bias exists, so I was not the least bit surprised. Most folks realize that the leftists love to rewrite history. They make sure they hire and appoint people of their political and cultural persuasions into roles that influence school text. When proven wrong most shrug it off as being not important. If there is one thing we all have learned together on the QTree; schools and education sources are filled with their own propaganda, outright lies, and agendas.

They were not done. The only victim of the shooting mentioned in the curriculum account was a man of color, Crispus Attucks, who was the first person shot for throwing projectiles at the soldiers. Apparently Attucks was a freed man, a mulatto. He was one of eight people shot, five of whom died from their wounds. None of the other names of victims were listed in the curriculum’s account. The objective of the curriculum writer for noting the name and skin color of the person is totally out of context with the historical account, but reveals their bias. I informed #1 that none or all of the victims names should have been listed without skin color because the color of one’s skin was not relevant to the event. Mr. Attucks was not shot for having a different skin color than others; he was shot for throwing crap at British soldiers who did not obey orders and military protocol. It was good they asked no questions about Attucks on the quiz/test.

The propaganda discussion in the curriculum turned into the opening I needed to explain how #1 should “think things through” and come to his own conclusions, even if he needed to answer any quiz/test questions as the material had been presented fo scoring purposes. This taught him to become more discerning about what he read or heard. He could then be content knowing the truth even if the material misrepresented or outright lied. The smirk on #1’s face told me he got what I meant. Yes, a child with my genes in him. 😂

Which is what all of us patriots have learned over the past decade that Donald J. Trump has been trying to lead our country. Take NOTHING at face value. Research and test it. Quit accepting other viewpoints who try to influence as fact without verification and evidence. instead, look for the motives of the presenters and influencers first.

The actual results of the Boston Massacre trials are documented. The commanding officer of the soldiers was ruled not guilty and it seems to be a correct verdict. Many in the crowd testified to not hearing him give a command to fire and they also observed him standing in front of the soldiers, which he would never do if he wanted them to shoot. These witnesses were generally not loyalists, they were part of the mob that generally did not like the British military at all. Six of the eight soldiers were also found not guilty, which seemed unlikely since 8 colonists were hit and 5 eventually died from the musket fire. But there was insufficient proof to convict. Two were found guilty of manslaughter due to overwhelming witness testimony and evidence they fired their muskets. However, their punishments were only a brand on one thumb of each person’s hand. The curriculum portrayed them guilty of only causing accidental deaths. Nope. They had to know better than that since the convictions are in court documentation and first person accounts. That was intentional misinformation. So I corrected it with #1 and fortunately there were no questions on the quiz/test.

However, their very real propaganda will be accepted by thousands of home schooled students and their parents who did not do the work to check it closer. But as for me and my house…

As those knowledgeable of the event would know, John Adams, was the lead lawyer who represented the British soldiers. He was excellent at his craft. He accepted the case when all others were reluctant to do so. The royal Governor Hutchison was trying to defuse the heated emotions and independence movement. So, Hutchison delayed the trial and encouraged Adams to take the case as they had a good relationship. John Hancock urged Adams to accept as well to calm the patriot waves. Adams agreed and the result we now know. The curriculum portrayed it as Adams having sterling, personal moral reasons of not wanting anybody to go without legal council and doing the right thing no matter the consequences.

Yeah, OK.

The truth is that Hutchison could have used loyalist lawyers to defend or not even charged the soldiers. But he knew the situation was a powder keg ready to explode. So convincing a respected colonist lawyer with both loyalist and independence minded connections and clients to take the case that softened the blowback made more sense. Hutchison accomplished his goal by using Adams.

Adams accomplished his of keeping the British from using even more violence to quell the unrest than the colonists were prepared to experience. Based on his comments afterwards he knew the verdicts would not reflect the complete truth that the British soldiers murdered 5 and wounded 3 other unarmed colonists indiscriminately. Incited to do so or not, the British soldiers’ responses were way over the top. Two being convicted of lesser charges was at least something to offer while buying time for his cousin, Samuel Adams, and the other patriots of the Sons of Liberty like Paul Revere to gather more support for the movement.

John Adams was not in that hell raising patriot group. He preferred to work on the independence issues he supported through the law and politics. He really was not a man of the people anyway, he felt more comfortable with the elites and aristocrats. His success in the defense of the defenseless kept his hands clean with the British authorities and military. That would prove useful for his continued acceptance in their circles for intel as the events unfolded.

When the Boston Tea Party subsequently took place, we know that a large number of well armed and capable British soldiers were there and observing, yet, took no action against the fake Indians dumping 342 valuable crates of tea from three British ships into the Boston Harbor. The troops wanted no part with the even larger hostile crowds who were present like those that had been faced with the Boston Massacre. Their lack of response also reflects Hutchison having already developed a plan for addressing future unrest that did not include violence if it could be avoided. That plan hit the colonists in the wallet and involved recovery of lost taxes, making the mercantilists whole for the damages, and even more oppression from Parliament against them.

All of these historical characters had a part to play. Only they would know the truth of what they did and they are not talking because they stopped breathing long ago. We just know the narrative taught in schools and in various curriculum is often shallow and sometimes manipulated. That makes them susceptible to fake or incomplete narratives. The documents and evidence from first hand accounts combined with critical thinking works better.

The MAGA movement will be written about one day as the shot heard around the world for our period in American history as well as world history. At least it will in the reports and stories of honest authors. After that the propaganda and lies may be used to deflect from its true value and effect. However, the trajectory of world and human history made a marked turn that cannot be hidden and the truth will be known to those who choose to pursue it. You know it from the huge international investment into America and the major changes in dozens of aligned nations around the world. That cannot be hidden – it is a parting of the sea type change.

Just like the long term effects of the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party. Once again, history becomes our guide.

Something About Those Words…

I hope your heart quickens as mine does when you read the following words once again;

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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...

That part in bold stands out to me. What Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers saw in those days 250 years ago is what We the People of the MAGA movement see today. It is our moral and legal authorization to do what we have been doing.

Exciting times. As Thomas Jefferson said in my two favorites quotes from him,

“I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.”

“Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”

And so both will continue. God bless America.

Please remember Wolf’s rules for our community. In general that means to be respectful to each other and to pull no shenanigans that your mom might find offensive or otherwise cause jail time. That said, free speech is honored here.

Please note a name change for this series next week. Although it started as “American Stories: When in the Course of human eventswith an emphasis on the signers of the Declaration of Independence. it is now time to move on. There are many more stories to tell.

Be blessed and go make something good happen!