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 My son has narrated the
last book I wrote.
World &
NationPlease consider listening to it and encouraging others to do so too. (Click on Book Cover) House passes bill forcing Biden to arm Israel, catches Democrats in political crossfire  House Republicans tried to drive a wedge between Democrats and President Biden on Thursday in passing legislation that would compel the White House to arm Israel in its war against Hamas terrorists. Democrats were forced to either side with Mr. Biden or side with ally Israel and Jewish voters who have long been loyal Democrats. They chose Mr. Biden. The House passed the Israel Security Assistance Support Act 224 to 187, with just 16 Democrats joining the Republican majority in support of the bill. The bill would force the administration to send weapons to Israel and to send any arms that have been withheld. Mr. Biden has paused the shipment of thousands of bombs. The bill also put Democrats on record on their stance on Israel, an issue that has split the party between its historic support for Israel and the left-wing’s increasingly anti-Israel fervor.
Christian Leaders Urge Biden to Support Israel: Deeply Disappointed One hundred fifty-seven Christian leaders representing different streams of Christianity in the United States, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden, under the banner of American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI), to express their disappointment with recent actions by his administration toward Israel. In the letter, the leaders warned that these actions would embolden the mutual enemies of both Israel and the United States and encouraged Biden to make “a course correction.” Trump team wears down Michael Cohen’s credibility in front of jury Memory of phone call with Trump called into question in tough cross-examination  Attorneys for former President Donald Trump, using cross-examination to portray Michael Cohen on Thursday as a man who lies about anything and everything, sought to eviscerate the credibility of the prosecution’s main witness to a 2016 hush payment and alleged crimes to cover it up. For hours, defense attorney Todd Blanche jabbed Mr. Cohen over his history of falsehoods and conflicting statements, including misleading Congress about his efforts to seek a pardon and claims that he felt pressured to plead guilty to tax crimes in 2018 despite taking responsibility in front of a judge. Mr. Blanche also attacked Mr. Cohen’s claim that he told Mr. Trump that he was finalizing a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and wiring $130,000 to her attorney. Oddly, the call included Mr. Cohen’s complaints to Mr. Trump’s bodyguard, Keith Schiller, that a prankster identifying himself as a 14-year-old was calling him too much. ‘Dirty end of the stick’: Nuts and bolts of Special Forces missions on display at Tampa gathering  Guns, bombs, drones and artificial intelligence tend to steal today’s headlines. But there’s another side — albeit a much less sexy one — to the world of U.S. Special Forces, one that’s central to accomplishing missions quickly, effectively and safely. From trailer-mounted shelters to flashlights, from mobile command centers to data-protection apps, the technology on display here at the recent Special Operations Forces Week convention forms the backbone of the capabilities that America’s most elite fighting forces depend on. Across the sprawling convention center floor were examples of cutting-edge products that may not necessarily appear all that exciting to an outside observer, but military officials say they represent the kind of nuts-and-bolts innovation that has kept U.S. Special Forces and their private industry partners a step ahead of their adversaries. Vladimir Putin's gamble backfires as Ukraine vigorously hits back after Russian advance Kremlin troops attacked the north-eastern region of Kharkiv this week, with many experts fearing the war could be swinging in Moscow's favour. Vladimir Putin's gamble has backfired after Ukraine launched a significant drone offensive targeting the occupied Crimean Peninsula and various regions across Russia. This escalation comes as Russian forces extend their frontline attack in the north-east Ukrainian region of Kharkiv. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that air defenses intercepted 51 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, 44 over the Krasnodar region, and six over the Belgorod region. Bizarre moment Xi and Putin go in for TWO HUGS in unprecedented touchy-feely embrace during despots’ love-in talks
As Russia Advances, NATO Considers Sending Trainers Into Ukraine Trump files notice of appeal to disqualify DA Fani Willis from Georgia case The earliest the court could hear this appeal would be August, and the latest would be spring 2025  Former President Trump on Thursday filed a notice of appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals formalizing his bid to overturn a court decision and disqualify Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis from the case against him. Last week, the appeals court said it would hear the case raised by Trump and several co-defendants that Willis should be disqualified because she had an "improper" affair with special counsel Nathan Wade, whom she hired. Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Cathy Latham and Michael Roman all filed their notices of appeal Monday in the case, joining former Georgia GOP head David Shafer in kicking off the briefing processes before the court. President Trump's lawyers filed the 45th president's notice of appeal Thursday. The Fulton County Superior Court Clerk now has to prepare the official record in the case and send it to the Court of Appeals. Trump attends son’s graduation in Florida, plans to campaign in Minnesota on trial off day  Former President Donald Trump is making the most of Friday’s rare day off from his hush money trial in New York, attending his son’s high school graduation in Florida before jetting to Minnesota for a GOP dinner. Mr. Trump, writing on Truth Social, said he was looking forward to Barron Trump’s commencement from Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach. “Going to Barron’s High School Graduation. Great student, wonderful boy! Very exciting!!!” he wrote on Truth Social, signing it with his initials to indicate he, not an aide, wrote the message. Mr. Trump has been trapped in a Manhattan courtroom four days a week since mid-April as he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records. He has denied the charges. Justices Thomas and Alito — typically in agreement — split in major CFPB ruling The Supreme Court’s decision this week upholding the funding structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau surprised some court watchers since it pinned Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. against each other — with Justice Thomas authoring the majority opinion and Justice Alito authoring the dissent. Both are viewed as the high court’s most conservative justices who are originalists, and in the past, they’ve typically been on the same side in most cases. In the 2021 term, for example, the two were in agreement 73% of the time, according to SCOTUSBlog, which appears to have stopped tracking justices’ agreement data in recent years. World's top golfer Scottie Scheffler arrested on charges of assaulting officer at PGA championship event Scottie Scheffler, the top golfer in the world, was arrested Friday and charged with felony assault on a police officer and reckless driving outside of a PGA championship event in Louisville, Kentucky. Scheffler, 27, was detained after he was seen driving on a median toward the entrance to Valhalla Golf Club, the site of the event, and initially failing to heed an officer's order for him to stop, according to an ESPN reporter who witnessed the incident. At the time, traffic outside the entrance was being rerouted after a man was hit and killed by a shuttle bus earlier that day. Shortly before his scheduled tee-off time Friday morning, Scheffler in a statement described the incident as the result of a "big misunderstanding." 2A Sneak Attack: New York Senate Bill Hides Gun Control Measures in Environmental Law A proposed bill in the New York Senate, disguised as an environmental law, is raising alarms among Second Amendment advocates. Schuyler County Clerk Theresa Philbin has warned that the “Sporting Range Good Neighbor Act,” currently pending in the New York State Senate, would impose severe restrictions on shooting ranges based on their proximity to wetlands and open water sources. This could potentially lead to the closure of existing ranges, posing a significant threat to gun owners and shooting sports enthusiasts. According to Philbin, the bill is essentially a gun control measure masked as an environmental regulation. “This bill would place heavy restrictions on shooting ranges due to their proximity to wetlands and open water sources, potentially forcing existing ranges to close,” she explained. The implications of such closures are far-reaching, affecting not only gun owners seeking pistol permits but also local school shooting leagues that rely on these facilities for practice. The closure of shooting ranges would have a direct impact on individuals seeking to obtain pistol permits in New York. “If you wish to apply for a concealed carry license, you need to complete the Concealed Carry Firearm Safety Training Course,” noted Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman. “Often, those classes are held at the local ranges. Forcing those ranges to close would effectively prevent many New Yorkers from exercising their Second Amendment rights.” Speaker Johnson offers a lesson in the power of intellectual honesty And the dangers of predisposed bias Training in clandestine operations in the earliest days of my CIA career was a formative experience, and not just because I learned how to recruit spies and steal secrets. Equally important, my fellow trainees and I were imbued with the preeminent importance the agency places on intellectual honesty. It all began when my CIA instructors called me out when my performance was lacking. I had to demonstrate that I could listen to their constructive feedback and incorporate it into ensuing training exercises. Otherwise, I would have washed out. I learned early on to appreciate honest feedback — even if it was not pleasant to hear. Why? Because someday, our sources’ lives might depend on it. Democrats confounded by swimmers, border walls and presidential debates New York Mayor Eric Adams just returned from Rome for a field trip to learn how to deal with the exploding Biden migrant population residing illegally in his city. He met with the pope. There is no telling what Pope Francis told the mayor, but the answer should have been pretty clear. Since about the 840s, the Vatican has protected itself by erecting massive stone walls surrounding the city — welcoming all, but requiring all visitors to enter through big beautiful gates controlled by the pope himself. Elegant, simple and pretty smart, if you think about it. No word yet if Mr. Adams learned the right lesson. Medal of Honor
THOMAS
JEROME HUDNER JR.
RANK: LIEUTENANT, J.G. CONFLICT/ERA: KOREAN WAR MILITARY SERVICE BRANCH: U.S. NAVY MEDAL OF HONOR ACTION DATE: DECEMBER 4, 1950 MEDAL OF HONOR ACTION PLACE: CHOSIN RESERVOIR, KOREA CITATION
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a pilot in Fighter Squadron 32, while attempting to rescue a squadron mate whose plane, struck by antiaircraft fire and trailing smoke, was forced down behind enemy lines. Quickly maneuvering to circle the downed pilot and protect him from enemy troops infesting the area, Lt. (j.g.) Hudner risked his life to save the injured flier who was trapped alive in the burning wreckage. Fully aware of the extreme danger in landing on the rough mountainous terrain, and the scant hope of escape or survival in subzero temperature, he put his plane down skillfully in a deliberate wheels-up landing in the presence of enemy troops. With his bare hands, he packed the fuselage with snow to keep the flames away from the pilot and struggled to pull him free. Unsuccessful in this he returned to his crashed aircraft and radioed other airborne planes, requesting that a helicopter be dispatched with an ax and fire extinguisher. He then remained on the spot despite the continuing danger from enemy action and, with the assistance of the rescue pilot, renewed a desperate but unavailing battle against time, cold, and flames. Lt. (j.g.) Hudner's exceptionally valiant action and selfless devotion to a shipmate sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. From the Archive....
TO
KILL OR FEED A MOCKINGBIRD By Geoff Metcalf July 29, 2002 Two mutually exclusive and under reported stories have been troubling me. * The apparent penchant for political operatives to leak classified information that jeopardizes national security. * The generational control of information dissemination by powerful controllers. So we have another ‘Catch-22’. The complicity of the mainstream media to spin, cover, and obfuscate government abuse of power under the color of authority was not unique to the Clinton administration. It may have been more ubiquitous, and at times even clumsy, but it was not unique. It has been reported that in June 1991 David Rockefeller allegedly told a Bilderberg meeting in Baden Baden German, "We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years." He went on to explain: "It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supernational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national autodetermination practiced in past centuries." Some argue that quote is apocryphal urban legend. However, although I have never been able to find three corroborating independent sources for it, it IS consistent in content and tone with other Bilderberg quotes I HAVE been able to confirm. “If we had been subjected to the light of publicity….” Indicates the one world, globalist, wannabe controllers were/are successful in managing the message. Operation ‘Mockingbird’ was a program supposedly conceived by a brilliant Machiavellian State Department official, Frank Wisner. Wisner selected Philip Graham, then publisher of the Washington Post to manage the program. According to Deborah Davis, author of ‘Katharine the Great’, "By the early 1950s, Wisner 'owned' respected members of the New York Times, Newsweek, CBS and other communications vehicles, plus stringers, four to six hundred in all, according to a former CIA analyst." Over twenty five major newspapers and wire services became willing house organs for the CIA media manipulation. Investigators digging into MOCKINGBIRD have been flabbergasted to discover FOIA documents in which agents boast (in CIA office memos) of pride in having placed "important assets" inside every major news publication in the country. I know, this is the stuff of Ludlum novels conspiracy wackos, but not until 1982 did the ‘Company’ finally concede that reporters on the CIA payroll have been case officers to field agents. I have too often observed, “Some people don’t like to be confused with facts that contradict their preconceived opinions.” I have also noted (and struggle to maintain) “It is not WHO is right or wrong…but WHAT is right or wrong.” Anyone with almost ‘any’ military experience has no doubt seen the once ubiquitous posters cautioning “Loose Lips Sink Ships”. It is a left over phrase from WWII and among “lessons learned”. In the complex world of intelligence loose lips can and have cost lives. Once upon a time, not so long ago, Senator Patrick Leahy (currently the Senate Judiciary committee’s lead obstructionist) used to be the Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in the mid 80s. Leahy allegedly ‘inadvertently’ exposed a top-secret intercept of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak that led to the capture of the Achille Lauro terrorists. That supposed slip of the tongue “cost the life of at least one Egyptian operative.” http://www.newsmax.com/showinside.shtml?a=2001/1/31/85757 Loose Lip Leahy was forced to resign in disgrace 14 years ago in the wake of having to acknowledge he leaked secret intelligence to the press. However today he lords his power over the Senate Judiciary committee. Congress’ institutional memory must be as short as some of Jennifer Flowers former paramours. In our contemporary environment in which whistleblowers have become in many cases heroes it is important to make the distinctions between the appropriateness of corporate and political whistleblowers and the idiot or miscreant who leaks information with genuine national security implications. Currently the FBI is investigating national security leaks from specifically the House and Senate Select Intelligence committees. This is serious stuff. Defenders of the indefensible will argue it is a political witch-hunt by politicians in a heavy C.Y.A. mode. That is not true but a convenient political spin job. Sure it is true the white house is p.o.-ed over media reports that the National Security Agency had received but not acted on two early warning messages to 9/11. Dick Cheney reportedly went ballistic and ripped congressional leaders. Both House and Senate Select Intelligence committees asked the Attorney General to conduct an investigation (and no doubt quietly prayed it would be botched). Justice said in a statement, “…the appropriate department officials will expeditiously review this matter and take any appropriate action.” Not if congress has anything to say about it. Don’t expect anything fast. Remember Leahy resigned in disgrace 14 years ago and today has the chutzpah to pontificate ad nauseum to the Judiciary committee and stall any and all Bush judicial appointments. More on Operation Mockingbird http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/ |
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