Trump and Bondi finally address Epstein; SCOTUS clears the runway for Agenda; tariffs rattle media and rivals; Grok goes rogue; pulpit power returns, reshaping the political map—maybe for good; more.
I wish! This DEI judge isn't any smarter than Kamala and she seems to think she got the position purely to pontificate on her own personal leftist opinions. She's not even thinking about the Constitution. But I doubt she can be removed. She would have to resign.
Maybe... if Trump had not FUBAR'd so many things... the power of the GOP would have grown and grown... perhaps enough to get an impeachment or an expulsion based on Biden's autopen... whatever...
“Your humans slaughter each other because of the color of your skin, or your faith or your politics - or for no reason at all -- too many of you hate as easily as you draw breath. - Magneto”
― Stan Lee
I stumbled across this quote about 3 months ago. Already on the verge of contending with an existential crisis of monumental proportions, I subsequently pulled the plug on my Substack account - deleting 5 years worth of content - and resigned from commenting or even following any political circus show news, human barbarity and/or otherwise ruthless etiquette. Quite frankly, I had reached my limit of unadulterated nonsense ...my ram was full and I was running short on patience, reality, and pithy comments. I bought several bird feeders and emphatically planted my behind on my finely crafted Amish patio chair and sat and watched the birds, sans dopey news, disturbing headlines or gruesome surprises. Rather relaxing, that. I soon found out, ignorance is indeed bliss.
Alas, yesterday I (ala, the fool and glutton for an emotional and mental walloping) spent a fair amount of the day reconnecting with the world gone mad, culminating with the revelation that the Pam Bondi and Company Magic Show never had an Epstein “client list” and it was time to move on with a clean slate and get back to their roots of catching bad guys doing bad things. And, today....well, the beat - such as it were - goes on. So in short, after a sobering jaunt back in time, affirming the accomplishments and wincing at the considerable blather, I - rubbing my pulsing forehead - lifted my weary eyes off the computer screen and uttered to myself: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……” Hey, that’s pithy…. I should write a book. Nah, the birds are calling....uh, chirping.
I’m 62 yrs old, and prior to about 5 yrs ago I’d never had the slightest interest in birdwatching.
But we live on a tall ridge in South Tulsa looking over a heavily forested ravine.
When we bought this property in 2017, we named it The Treehouse because it is surrounded by trees and stands so tall among the pines on top of the ridge.
Since returning from the PNW in 2020, we have watched bald eagles soaring (they love eating squirrels) as well as many other beautiful raptors.
In the still dark mornings, I often look out our 3rd floor bedroom directly at an owl as he perches almost within arm’s reach of my nearly floor to ceiling windows. I often wake to his “Who-who” basso profundo and worry about our cat.
This Spring a cardinal couple built a nest outside my 2nd floor den - literally in arm’s reach.
Could never have imagined becoming a birdwatcher but here I am. I even downloaded a Merlin Bird ID app to identify birds by their birdsongs.
This world is increasingly depressing with its constant bickering and betrayals. But nature is my refuge.
So this is what is meant by "Politics is for the birds." In other words, spending any time in politics will turn you to the birds for an escape from the disingenuous nature of modern government and its players. Psalm 37:4 suggests we delight ourselves in the Lord and He made nature for our enjoyment so yeah, birdwatching sounds pretty good to me right now.
This can be seen even in the little yards of a city suburb too. We just have to not forget to look. Here in the flatlands of Illinois, I lay in our pool just a bit ago and was looking up at the bright blue sky with fluffy white cotton ball clouds, bright shining sun, and the contrasting gorgeous dark green of our tall mature leafy trees that encircle our property on all sides - and I was simply blown away by the beauty. Of course my mind wandered as to whether we were sitting on a flat slab or a sphere 🤣 (thanks conspiracy theorists, lol,) but I recognized an expanse anyway and immediately think of God. As much as I’d love to see the gorgeous landscapes, mountains, and natural wonders of western or eastern states (as I’m sure I’d be even MORE overwhelmed with awe,) I love that from my little plot of grass I can look up and see the immense beauty that was made to sustain us in colors that inspire happiness.
How some can experience the Rockies, or the Cascades, or as I once did on a bicycle, a thunderstorm on the Great Plains, and *not* believe in God is hard for me to comprehend.
If you study the human body and how it works and the incredibly fine razor line of health and disease that we teeter on constantly, it’s very difficult to NOT believe in God in His handiwork and His continued care for us. You would have to lie to yourself to not see it.
We used to be over-run with rabbits, and had never seen an owl in the wild. But about 5 years ago on a cool early fall night with the windows open, we heard two of them. One would hoot, then the other would hoot back. This carried on for a while and eventually I fell asleep. Heard them off and on through the Fall until we had to close the windows as it got colder. Spring rolled around and started to notice that we didn't see nearly the rabbits we used to. Still periodically hear an owl at night, but still haven't seen one. Rabbit population is still down as well although I do see them out in other neighborhoods so I credit our owl neighbor(s).
There used to be a Barred Owl in our, and our neighbor's, backyards. I'd listen to it hoot. Sometimes I'd reply and he'd hoot back to me. I haven't heard it for about 6 months, nor have I seen him. (I tried to take a pic of him from my patio door one afternoon and was seen. He flew away immediately. 😢)
Fr’ed, Hi fellow Okie! The dear husband and I lived in Tulsa for many years, but moved to the country at the end of 2020, right in the middle of the Covid craziness. We are about an hour away now and when I drive to the city every other month or so, I take the scenic route up through Haskell and Bixby, and usually go north up Sheridan through that pretty drive. I don’t miss the traffic! We see a lot of birds here that we never saw in town.
People have no idea how beautiful and topographically varied Oklahoma is.
Just this morning I attended the grand opening of a new hiking / mountain biking trail at Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness (the Sanctuary trail.)
Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell spoke and reminded us that our state is one of the most varied in the US, with 12 distinct eco-systems.
I’m planning a hiking trip to the Panhandle and Black Mesa in August to see the Milky Way and Perseids meteor shower.
PS: Though I love my city, I dream of doing what you have done, i.e., find a piece of land so remote that the sound of the cicadas drowns out any manmade noise.
I knew Matt Pinnell’s mom and grandmother from Bible Study at 1st Methodist downtown Tulsa, years ago! (Which is where I got saved, when Dr Buskirk was there and it was a wonderful gospel-preaching church) His grandma especially was very precious to me, and I know I’ll see Maggie again in heaven. Yes, my husband and I are very blessed, the Lord led us to a sweet 20-acre place in Muskogee County. We have meadows and woods and a creek, and dear spouse mows walking trails for us all over it.
Yes, Oklahoma is beautiful, and our climate extremes keep the wimpy lefties away, LOL! your trip sounds wonderful - enjoy!
We have so many birds out here on our property. I saw the biggest, most beautiful woodpecker yesterday as he flew from the tree to the front yard. Tried to get a pic, but alas, back to the trees. One amusing woodpecker comes to my feeder, digs for a sunflower seed, while he spills out anything but that, and once he gets one, flies off. They are entertaining and I love it!
Yes! I tried a cheaper birdseed, less sunflower seeds, and had to sweep the deck every morning! Then a squirrel figured out how to climb the pole, hang by his back legs upside down and scrabble out everything in the tray for the five fat squirrels in his posse that waited below. They loved the dried cherries best. Then a big hawk figured out what was going on and stopped by for a daily squirrel lunch. I unintentionally created a food chain buffet.
Hummingbirds and quail make me so happy. And now we have lovebirds! (They escaped captivity as pets in the 80’s and are now thriving in AZ). And a couple pairs of Harris Hawks in residence.
They look like they are going to tip over. And there is never just one. Always in a group. Make me chuckle every time. This year saw a line of two inch newborn babies crossing our road. That was a treat
PEL, I was just watching a little quail family in my backyard this morning. So cool to watch how they take care of each other - except when they YOLO in front of the car to cross the street.
I can't let "Cats are not" (awesome) and your "... in case the cat escapes..." comments go unanswered. As with people, cats vary, and feral cats - again like people - often don't want to exchange their "total freedom" for love and affection, not to mention free food and a safe, warm place to sleep. But with patience and lots of reassuringly-slow-eye-blinks with its message of "Yeah, I'm a predator too, but you're safe from me" and a routine of accessible food and water left nearby (and play, if they're a kitten), you can sometimes win their trust, and in my case, I can vouch that it's worth the effort.
And as far as escaping goes, when one of my guys (all fixed, btw) manages on rare occasions to escape from their catio (picture Steve McQueen in The Great Escape), it's pitiful and almost hilarious how frantic they'll get trying to find their way back inside and through the cat flap into the house! (And I should note, my "guys" are all female except for one very shy male, who looks like a Russian Blue, but drools like a leaky faucet when you treat him to an affectionate chin rub).
So go ahead and keep a gun by the door, but a cat who manages to escape is either looking to mate (if still intact), or knows the end is near and wants to go out in peace (in my experience, sadly, most injured cats invariably prefer to be left alone to deal with it on their own).
I think their attitude is "I'll either get better, or I won't". Come to think of it, isn't that also something that people will do as well? 🤔
He was just making up for lost time, but a great that's a great name. We had an all-black feral cat that was tame enough to hang out with us, and my wife named him Noli (short for Noli Me Tangere, because he didn't like to be touched). He was a fixture in our backyard, and eventually grew more trusting and I was even able to take him to our cats-only vet. After my wife passed, he started coming around less often and sometimes went missing for weeks. Of course I missed him, and made a fuss (i.e. brought out some extra-tasty treats) whenever he did show up. He'd always walked slowly, took his time (I never ever saw him run) but he was clearly slowing down. Every time he did show up, I thought it might his last time, and then of course, one day it was.
When my wife asked Jesus if we'd see our cats in heaven, she relayed that His answer was "The Kingdom of Heaven is mutuality". She, and I, took that to mean that our love and affection towards pets (and perhaps all animals), and their response to us in kind with love and affection, will be part of Heaven. It makes sense that the God who IS Love, who Created Everything, and who Sacrificed Himself for us is not going to let ANY of our mutual love go to waste or be forgotten, and truly, Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Great story - and as a Traditional Latin Mass devotee and former Classics student, I loved the Latin.
The author Sheldon Vanauken (sp?) believed that pets could be with us in heaven because we wouldn’t or couldn’t be completely happy to be without them.
I hope he was right. I genuinely love mine. And when that Chiweenie that I did not want passes, I know I’ll be inconsolable.
Well then, you might enjoy the website(s) I've created for my wife, including links to her blogs (Still online!). So, if/when you get a chance (I've posted it in a C&C comment before, but I also keep updating it, little by little) check out:
I have two cats, a female and male, and a dog. The cats are frequently corralled by the dog but ultimately they hold authority over the dog. Lol.
The female cat has always exuded royalty, claims the highest seat in any room, is like the princess and the pea sitting on a stack of towels or blankets, and is smarter than any cat I’ve owned. Smarter than any dog too. She’s breathtakingly beautiful with a gorgeous white mane around her neck and chest. She’s a good mouser as well but plays too long with them. If I interfere they get away and she gives me the cold shoulder for a couple days. 🤣 She won’t go outside from the porch, but if I’m sitting on the patio or the deck she will meow incessantly until I come back in and sit on the porch. She hates it when I’m in the pool and demands I come back near her. Lol
Then our male cat is like a baby panther. Dark brown, with a silver undercoat, green eyes that look like The Collector’s from Guardian of the Galaxy, and paws as big as a shepherd puppy. He has gains, big ones. Big big cat. Even tho his name is Blue (he only had his silver undercoat as a kitten so looked blue,) we call him Doosky cuz he looks so tough. But good Lord, he’s the biggest ninny and scared of his own shadow and any noise. He will dart so fast through the house and up to our bedroom with the slightest of unexpected noise. No, this one will let me die if ever our house were invaded. 😆 He WANTS total peace and quiet, no surprises. No danger. He wouldn’t dare go out of the porch if I held the door open - absolutely no interest. He’s a big baby.
They do love listening to and watching ALL the birds and squirrels in our yard though. They just don’t bother trying to get out. They know they have it good.
My Labrador is massive and aggressive. She once bit the heck outta the HOA prez who drunkenly wandered into my yard where my wife was gardening. (The blood spray pattern was crazy. Good dog!)
But when my wife rescued our little, slender female Tuxedo cat, my Lab tried to intimidate her and rushed the little cat.
Big mistake.
Cat hit the huge Labrador nose 3 times in less than a second. Sugar Ray Leonard would’ve been impressed.
That's hilarious! Roughly 3 years ago we had a bunch of feral cats taking advantage of the shade, shelters, misters, and free food (natch), when one day a tiny kitten showed up as well. And I mean tiny, maybe a month or so old, but no more than two or three at most. However, as I was very amused to see, her diminutive stature in no way revealed her personality! All of the other ferals, including Big Boy and his twin kept their distance, but nevertheless she would stare at them and make sudden feints in their direction and they would react in terror and make hasty retreats 😳.
Not knowing she was a girl cat, but based on her behavior, we named her "Alfred, King of Wessex" (another blatant nod to The Last Kingdom series). Once I'd managed to patiently coax her inside (little by little, step by step, lots of slow eye-blinks, good wet food (and boy was she was HUNGRY!), play, then "accidentally" leaving the door to our enclosed front porch open (which happened to have food, water, and hey - looky there - that's a litter box!). The rest is history, and yes, she immediately started using the litter box (I'd suspected she come from an overwhelmed family with good intentions) she's (yes, decidely female) now fixed and re-named Frida (sort of like the feminine of Alfred, just shortened). And based on her runway-model walk, or swagger if you like, I also call her "Slinky Girl"!
Right now she's fully grown at around 3 years, and completely stretched out (maybe a yard long?) on the bookshelf that runs completely around my office at door height 😊
Like you I have a soft spot for animals. We have a coyote pack in our neighborhood and last winter I awoke to the harrowing sound of them attacking and killing some poor beast down in the valley below us.
I wish I’d been able to save it. Even so, although I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot one, I’d be sad to have to do it.
I ran out of time yesterday, but enjoyed hearing about your cats ☺️ especially the "exuded royalty" and the "breathtakingly beautiful with a gorgeous white mane around her neck and chest" descriptions! 🥰
The former reminds me of our "Princess Nunu" (passed just over a year ago, but had a reign of 18 years), and the latter is a perfect description of our Miss Edie (still going strong at twelve and a half, AKA Ethel for her raspy Ethel-Mermen-ish voice), but whose full name (and Title) is "Queen Æthelfur of Bumpenburg" (a nod to the wonderful series, The Last Kingdom, and her penchant for head-bumping greeting of both us and all of our other cats). Nowadays she and Duo (now my lone male) are inseparable and spend lots of time together in the Catio, weather permitting. And, in fact, Duo (15 years, and slowing down recently) sounds exactly like your Blue (AKA Doosky) in terms of demeanor, and he's the most non-aggressive cat I've ever known!
And like yours, they all love to watch the birds (but it's generally too hot here for squirrels, e.g. 117° yesterday 🥵)!
Ah, well, I've been there, done that (or almost, my bill was only $600, but sadly that ended up including euthanasia ). He was a feral who I called Big Boy, but long story short (and yes, my wife often accused me of being "windy", why do you ask?) he was attacked, likely by a coyote according to my vet, and couldn't use his rear legs at all. Still, he was a loyal member of the feral fraternity, and would drag himself away and even up and over a wooden fence to keep me from coming too close once I'd finally found him. But after a day or two of pursuit and retreat, and oddly, thanks to broiling Phoenix heat I was able to get him into a carrier and rushed him to my vet (who I'd already alerted to the situation)...
But it was too little, too late. The X-rays showed no broken bones, but there was probably spinal nerve damage, nevertheless, and regardless, upon examination, the poor guy was hopelessly infected (and worse, but I'll spare you the details - it's one of those things that once you see it, you can never unsee it).
So, good for you, and keep heading for that high road, and I will too!
Well, I agree with you that all cats CAN take their toll on the native bird population, and you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but will you admit that it's an oversimplification?
I ask this based on our experience with the unending stream of feral cats dumped at a nearby community college campus, and especially during the housing crash of '08 (plus or minus, depending on where you lived) and its aftermath. People were overwhelmed, and suspected that dropping their house cat(s) off at the pound was a certain death sentence (and I have a close friend who used to volunteer at the local pound on the canine side during that period, and he confirmed that sad reality).
The truth is that even the most domesticated and much-loved cats will turn "feral" out of necessity, and will choose rodents over a clawed/beaked opponent anytime they can (often leaving the, uh, remains at our door as a "present" and proof of their usefulness), and I can also attest that cats have to be very wary during daylight hours to avoid becoming prey to the local hawks...
In fact, just a few weeks ago, on my way out to the garage to put out food for the local and thriving bird population, (and for whose benefit I keep a fountain running 24x7, plus misters on during the hottest weather during our multi-year drought) I was startled by a very large, and magnificent-looking predator perched atop one corner of the catio (it's got dog-kennel style wire mesh on all sides as well as its 6' high top)!
My first thought when it spread its wings out was "that's an eagle!", followed by "Uh oh", and "Yikes, that wingspan is well over a yard".
So I whipped out my sidearm and shot it! No no, just kidding! Even IF I'd had a sidearm I couldn't have used it because I was frozen, too frozen in place to move at all.
So, fortunately, it was as startled as I was, and proceeded to fly up and away! Nor have I seen them since, thank goodness! And I don't really think it was an eagle, but it was mostly white with some yellow coloring, had a large head, and a very eagle-shaped, predator-style, down-turned beak...
And, just FYI, I support a local wildlife refuge that specializes in rehabilitating raptors (https://libertywildlife.org/about-us/) and I have also brought in several injured birds to them, including a bird I named "BYP" (stands for "Brave Young Pigeon", and pronounced "bip-pea") who I presumed was a skinny or at least immature/skinny pigeon, but didn't look or act like any of the local pigeons. First off, they would walk right up to me, fearless, and usually proceed to walk backwards with their head turned sideways to keep me in sight. When one of the feral cats would be wandering around during daylight hours, and see her doing her backwards pirouettes, they would give her a wide berth ("Man, that bird's crazy!").
Secondly, and tellingly, most of my pigeon visitors either hang out on the phone/power lines, but I never actually saw BYP fly, although they'd open up their wings occasionally to maintain balance. But after several months, it started to turn cold, especially at night, and I could see that BYP was suffering and acting more and more fearful, including of me, even when I'd continued to put out a separate dish of bird seed in the largely-inaccessible locations she (as I considered them to be) preferred to spend her nights. She'd back away from me now, and whether it was the oncoming cold, or she'd taken a turn for the worse, I recognized her situation had changed.
So, winding down this very long post, I brought her to Wildlife's intake. And I'm not ashamed to admit, I prayed for this special little bird, this BYP, and not just once.
This was several years ago now, and if I'd known about that Merlin Bird ID app, I certainly would have looked her up first! Liberty Wildlife's policy is to record their bird intake in various ways, and they have vets on-site, but they don't reveal outcomes. I understand and respect that policy (if nothing else, it would require its own full-time staff to keep track of their large & ever-increasing intake). But I've always wondered what happened to BYP, and what avian species they actually were! But I trust in God and have faith that He who sees the big picture, He who knows everything, all at once, knows best.
Lastly, for you, C&C Brother William Foster, as well as anyone else who's managed to slog through this entire post, I offer up the following excerpt (that I came across by chance about 8 months ago) from my late wife's journals:
"much-loved cats will turn "feral" out of necessity..."
That's why I put DOMESTICATED in quotes. There's 83 million house cats in the US, that's too many. They are an unnatural predator to the native song bird population. Some estimates are that half of all fledglings each spring and summer are killed by housecats.
I appreciate your clarification, William, on both "house cats" and "song bird population". And being an engineer-kind-of-guy I checked the numbers online (using a Google search, I confess) just now:
And according to a more recent article, "Cat Population by Country 2025", from https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cat-population-by-country , "In the United States, there are about 74,059,000 cats, a mix of pets, strays, and ferals." and then goes on to say "Interestingly, places like Disney World employ around two hundred feral cats to control the rodent population."
And finally, from https://basepaws.com/blog/how-many-cats-are-in-the-world, (Last updated: March 13, 2025), "Ranked number one, the United States is estimated to have at least 76.5 million pet cats. Of course, this doesn't account for their number of strays, which is said to be over 41 million. This brings their cat population to over 117 million cats, making the US the most cat-populated place globally."
So, clearly, their are significant differences in both terminology and counts! Specifically, from over 95 million "house cats" versus just over 74 million "cats, a mix of pets, strays, and ferals" versus the more definitive and recent "at least 76.5 million pet cats ... this doesn't account for ... strays, which is said to be over 41 million"!
I myself, as a city dweller, think of "house cats" as being synonymous with "pet cats" and are either indoors (as in my case) or sufficiently well-fed and cared-for to have little motivation for killing birds, most especially fledglings.
Of course "strays" are a different matter, and I noticed that two of these articles differentiate between strays and "ferals", perhaps the difference being ferals are full grown and truly wild (hence incapable of domestication), while strays were domesticated at some point but then most-likely abandoned. In my experience, a stray can willingly become a house cat/pet again, given some bribery (good food), patience, and affection. In some ways, and I've seen it, they'll become the best of pets because they don't take anything for granted (the way a "spoiled" house cat might)!
So, perhaps the number of house cats has actually declined over the past 8 years, perhaps not. And maybe during that same period, the number of strays/ferals has increased, maybe even exploded?
In any case, if you have the time, please provide me with links/sources for the numbers/estimates you've provided. I'm interested in this "birds versus` cats" subject, since I feed both, but would like to get a better handle on some "apples versus apples" categories/numbers (e.g. Are any of the birds I'm feeding qualify as "song birds"? They sure make a lot of noise!)
Outdoor cats in the US kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds a year. Regardless how well fed, cats will kill shit for free. Birds>>>>>>>>>cats. Fuck cats. Full stop.
Have you used the (free app) MERLIN put out by Cornell U ? - it identifies bird song...it's incredibly charming and it makes one even more aware about the lovely birds that are about....
I have missed your pithy comments and wondered where you had gone. You are right, as I own several bird feeders that get me through Michigan winters. I have learned to digest much of the news through a Biblical perspective, only read it in the morning, and stay off track in my evenings. There’s enough crap in my own small world.
It's been interesting, if not magnificently educational, witnessing the personality traits of the various species. Example: The yellow finches are most amiable when among their own kind. The Mourning Doves seem to tolerate each other but have no problem wildly beating their wings when they feel crowded. The Carolina Chickadees are "to-go" eaters. Same with the Blue Jays, except they really stuff their beaks before heading off. The Cardinals seem to be quite well behaved. When the Grackles swoop in, it's every bird for themselves! We've learned (are continuing to learn) the multitude of chirps and whistles of each species. Incidentally, repeat after me: Buy a squirrel baffle.
This being mating season, have you witnessed a female titmouse standing and beating her wings close to her body, enticing any nearby male to come feed her? We see this behavior over our ground feeder, which we stock with sunflower seeds and peanuts.
When we were birding on vacation in Britain we came across the lovely little Great Tit. We saw lots, which is what my husband gleefully reported back home to those who asked us, "How was your trip?"
I have a balcony overlooking a tree-filled and LARGE yard where my wife and I love to sit in the evenings for quiet conversation, to listen to music, have our "happy hour" and enjoy some bird-watching. I have suet feeders, seed feeders and hummingbird feeders, so we get plenty of action. A couple of years ago, we watched a crow pair build a literal "crow's nest" on top of an odd vertical branch in a large redwood on the far side of the yard. We watched them coming and going for a month or so, and then we saw a couple of little heads poking up, and then it was another month or so of feeding the little ones. We watched them fledge, and they hung around for a couple of months before going off to start their own families elsewhere.
I know a lot of crow-haters exist out there, for valid reasons, but we like to watch them. They're funny, intelligent and loyal. They show appreciation for feeding by dropping off little trinkets - after tossing out a bunch of breadcrusts a couple of weeks ago, I found a shiny, black and lightweight rock sitting on the balcony railing. It could only have been left there by a bird, as only I and my cats have access to the balcony. It was pretty special.
We have Western towhees, chickadees, red finches, gold finches, sparrows, scrub and stellar jays, oak and downy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, juncos, titmouse(s), and occasional migratory visitors that are always a welcome sight.
Thanks for your comment, Eric. It's a good reminder that a lot of the world we engage in daily is manmade, artificial - a game with no rulebook provided, one we have to figure out constantly.
It's great to get away from that - take a hike, observe the natural world, lay in the grass and look at the stars. All this artificiality - in which I'm engaging even as I type this - is but one aspect of this life. Taking time away from the games to engage with the greater reality - the natural world, and its place in the universe - reminds us how tiny and insignificant we are in the grand scheme, and simultaneously how special and precious all of life is on this tiny blue pearl floating around in the vastness of space.
I like to grease the pipe supporting my feeder. I start the grease about 3ft up, then watch the squirrels slide down like furry firemen in the firehouse.
Grackles...they are the bane of my wife's existence! Every Spring, they nest in the trees beside the pool. They are LOUD and MESSY. My wife curses them every day until they leave.
I used to think so, until the crows started swooping in. New villains. I don't mind them eating off the ground, but they kick the living crap out of the feeders. Early on we had a rogue gang of European Starlings really rough up the joint. It was ugly.😋
Nuthatches are rare here at present. We were absolutey inundated with Goldfinches for a couple of months and then they suddenly disappeared. It was odd.
I found if I feed goldfinches thistle seed and not just sunflower seed they stay around more. In the winter when the males are drab olive color, I wait for April when they get their bright yellow feathers for the summer and mating season.
Got you both beat…starlings. They are bully birds who are obnoxious. They nest in open eavestroughs or under the cap of our country propane tank. To say they are proficient defecators is putting it mildly. I did find out they prefer corn in many types and disdain sunflower seeds so that does keep them at bay. We do use suet cages here in the winter, and the premade feeding blocks that fit in them generally have corn in them so that brings them back. The suet cages are replaced by jelly jars and a split orange for the orioles who are only here for a few months in summer to nest.
I have tried several suet blocks over the years (from our local ACE Hardware which has the best prices) and found that their peanut laced variety is heavily favored by our flicker population, with the occasional downy woodpecker coming in as well. It is fun to see the bigger birds contort themselves to get at that peanut-y goodness. FWIW.
I actually buy raw peanuts in 20 lb bags for the winters here. The blue jays, downy and hairy wood peckers, and red bellied and I even get a pileated woodpecker on occasion love peanuts. I get my suet bars from TSC. There’s a certain brand that doesn’t put all the junk in them.
I have a couple one-cake suet feeders I keep out all year. The Downey woodpeckers are still coming, and a redheaded woodpecker once in awhile. But it's the starlings that will tear into a suet cake and devour it in a day.
Cowbirds? I have a small group, less than a dozen every year, and they are peaceful, docile and welcome. They are far more kind and enjoyable than the grackles. The cowbirds I have eat on the ground where I put seed, like the doves. I have never known them to destroy nests, but I have watched grackles kill sparrows who are eating near them. They tear their heads off.
Hi Dave, read about cowbirds. Sure, they seem nice and sound pretty but they invade songbirds nests, kick out songbirds eggs, lay their own eggs and the poor songbird incubates the cowbirds eggs unknowingly. 🪺
The jays are part of the crow family and do the same thing. We have 2 varieties of jays - the steller's jay, and the scrub jay. Used to have more of the steller's , but recently more of the scrubs.
I have the three "black birds", grackles, starlings and cowbirds. They have very different personalities. The larger grackles are mean, but very skittish. The cowbirds are smaller and are gentle and peaceful, with a distinctive whistle. The starlings are loud and obnoxious, and very selfish, hogging the suet feeder while a Downey waits patiently for them to leave. The starlings love the water bowls, they spend a lot of time splashing and flapping. The parents brought all the young here after they could fly.
Yep, and not little, robin size actually. I even put yellow rocks by our water feature which I swear helps attract them, but no luck this year. Water usually attracts them.
I hear a quail once in awhile in the Spring, somewhere near here, there are woods nearby. But quail nest on the ground and I am amazed that they are able to survive the predators.
Dave, we had a huge storm the other night and we worried about the babies then. They get wet and then chilled and die but they survived!!! They are surviving the coyotes this year too.
The coyotes are coming right up to our house now, getting more bold as the Forest Service has closed the forest behind us for a year or two, supposedly for fire management, but we think it was really to sweep out all the homeless. The homeless did start about a dozen fires over the last 3-4 years, so maybe it really is about fire management? haha! Just a joke, I'm really pissed about the whole thing but at least the obnoxious mountain bikers are staying away. The really pissy part... if they had enforced the 14 day camping rule 4 years ago, the problem would not have gotten out of hand.
Can't vouch for accuracy of this info, the experts can be wrong, you know. But I've read coyotes are actually good for quail. They run the foxes off. And while coyotes are happy to eat quail eggs and hatchlings, they don't seek them out like foxes, so are much less predatory to quail. Conventional wisdom was to kill a coyote at any opportunity. Never shot at a coyote again after learning that.
Whenever anybody talks about too many coyotes, need to kill them, etc. I always mention that info. Not surprisingly, nobody ever heard of it - it's not the kind of knowledge that gets around much.
I put out seed on the ground in a couple areas, and a feeder tray on a stand in the middle. The squirrels know when I throw seed out and they come right away. Their fav is sunflower seeds. I put out enough for them and the birds. If I have ear corn the squirrels like that also, sometimes running off with the entire ear.
The raccoons haven't been bad this year, but have been known to turn the stand feeder over, and even tear down my hummingbird feeder that hangs from a tree branch over the back porch.
I made a squirrel-proof feeder out of 3/4" steel conduit. I put a tee at the top and hooks at both ends of that for suet cake feeders. I bought a "squirrel baffler" on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A0OMUY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1) that keeps the buggers from climbing the pole, and it's too high for them to jump.
The only issue is the crows really eat a large chunk of every cake, because they're still feeding the younguns they created a couple of months ago in one of my cedars. But it's fun to listen to them feeding the proto-crows - that gurgling sound the kids make as Mom regurgitates chewed-up food into their gullets is hilarious...
My problem is I have an earth contact house. The deck comes off the open side (the length of house) and faces the forest. I have the feeder attached to the wood soffit. Too close to the house. I have removed the screen, that helps. Someday I’ll be as smart as a squirrel and raccoon
My feeder is free-standing in the yard - it's skewered onto a 3-foot concrete form stake I hammered into the ground, with the "baffler" mounted about 4 feet up. It's in an open area, away from any trees a squirrel could use as a jumping platform, leaving only a thwarted ground approach.
I was proud that I finally outsmarted the little buggers. Now if I could figure out a way to keep the crows from eating half the cakes... But I think they'll move on once their young can feed themselves.
We have a squirrel buster - known as Rose. She is from hunting poodle lines, and so far has killed 5 squirrels that I know of (she has brought them to us - the first time left it on the bed in the middle of the night between my husband and I to find when we got up in the morning). Most of the squirrels stay far away now. She was defeated, however, by the skunk.
And I live across the road from a stand of black walnut trees, therefore much squirrel activity! They come to my place, try and fail to climb the slinky, so eat spillage on the ground. I do have to pull a lot of baby walnut trees from random spots every spring!
My favorite is the Mockingbird. Simply because when there is a threat from hawks, crows, owls etc., they are the only ones who get after it and harass the predator chasing them away. The smaller birds hunker down waiting for the all clear sign.
I used to work on a farm and get there each morning around 6AM and there would be a mockingbird who would perch on one of the poles on the farm and sing his heart out for hours. I would love listening to his songs every morning as I harvested squash & tomatoes.
I have one who perches in a huge Pyracantha in the median in front of my house. I swear he's been there for years. He surveys the area and loves to swoop down into my zoysia grass for a snack.
I love the mockingbirds too! They don’t put up with any invaders to their territory! And the variety of sounds is amazing! I have trouble sometimes because they will imitate sounds of the other local birds, (ugly sounds!) and I’ll be surprised when I see it’s a mocking bird!
I, too, am glad to see your comment today. Like you, I've had to pull waaay back and recalibrate my priorities. I can't stop reading C&C every day but that is where the news stops. I'm on no social media, even X, and it feels so good. Enjoying the birds and their little worlds is a much be preoccupation. 🙂
That’s what is wonderful about this Substack. We are a community. Most DO post about the subject matter but in between we enjoy these wonderful tangents and build relationships.
Maybe you need to find somewhere else that doesn’t care about people or their personal lives. That might make you happier.
Good to see you here, I have wondered where you were. Watching the birds is always a calming and reassuring activity. I still have wrens going in and out of their little house outside my kitchen window.
Been putting out mealworms on the porch for our resident little bossy wren. She has a nest in our hanging fern there. She woke me up this morning with a very loud song. (How does such a little bird have such volume?) Obviously, I was late with the grub. Babies were hungry.
If you have hummer feeders over your porch railing, try this: Don a red cap (your MAGA one will do) and put on a pair of protective glasses. Stand with your head in line with your feeders. Hummers will hover in front of you and peck your glasses, looking for food - red draws them in like a magnet.
I had several Hummers at my former home. I would put on a hot pink sweater they liked, go near the feeder and they’d swoop in. Looking at me and defending their spot. I miss them.
Oddly, we don't experience a lot of hummingbirds, though they don't stick around long. We have 2 confirmed, but they're so fast at the feeder no one really knows.
I can’t keep up with the sugar water, filling it every 3 days. We have two feeders, one at the front and the other at the back of the house. Very territorial, chasing each other away
Yes, hummers are very territorial. At least some varieties are. One of the emerald green ones would take over a feeder, and guard it almost all day. If any other hummer went there to feed, the guard would fight it off all the way to the ground.
They don't like sharing feeders, and can be brawlers and wrestlers!
Our internet went out yesterday morning around 6 am and remains out as I type this. I only have 5G on my cellphone to access the internet. Our TV is streaming that uses our internet and I have devices for gaming that only use WiFi, same with our yard’s sprinkler system. My iPad and laptops do not have 5G, and in an effort to lower monthly cellular bills I got rid of the unlimited hotspot usage so I only use WiFi with my iPad and don’t connect via my phone. So … last night we played cards for about three hours! Lots of laughter, then we popped in an old DVD to watch a movie we hadn’t seen in a while, which I actually fell asleep to after 2/3 of the way through it because that’s how relaxing the evening was. It was like living in the 80s again.
I bet we’d get a heck of a lot more done around our house if the internet went out 3-4 days straight every week going forward. 🤣
Eric, I saw your name in the comments list and said to myself "Eric...I haven't read anything from him in AGES". Now I know why and I can fully understand why you would want to step away. I have the same thought myself. Ignorance IS bliss, I'm convinced of that. Welcome back, even if it's only for a brief time.
The people have gone crazy, but God has it all under control. Relax and watch the show, but be prepared to jump into the scrum when called. We live in exciting times.
Completely agree with you! I love the birds, too…they do what they are designed to do, and they faithfully continue on each year in hope! Same with the bunnies…I didn’t like them eating my flowers, but we’ve made friends and most days I feed Harry a carrot out of my hand, connecting with his little face. He’s come to expect it…under the bird feeder as they flutter above.
Enjoy your blissful ignorance! We most often can’t do anything personally on the level of the news anyway…but we can love one another in our spheres of influence. May we live up to our redemptive potentials wherever we are!🫶🌷
The call of nature is sublime indeed, Eric - and more 'pure truth' is captured in watching the endless 'toil' of honey bees, than reading about the latest political hijinks around the globe.
BACK TO NATURE and if we all had the occupation of farming or homesteading as our regular activity - we would all be more redemptive and replete with satisfaction in a day well spent--watching nature do its best to keep us fed and our family NOT watching some despicable piece of digital trash on their 'tiny blue screens'!!
My brief foray into feeding birds ended when it became clear that my bird feeder was actually a hawk feeding station. And the hawks were not eating the bird seed. Nature can be restorative, and also brutal.
Our dachshunds were also a temptation for a local hawk. Fortunately, the hawk was more interested in the baby bunny that we - unfortunately - watched fly off in the hawk's grip. Ugh.
Poor bunny. My Ricochet Rabbit managed to evade the hawks and owls his entire life. He even used to chase two cats and one dog up and around trees and ponds and bushes in the back yard half acre. He was a character.
Sounds like Mr. Richochet's antics with the cats and dog elevated his evasion techniques - poor hawk wouldn't know how to pluck up such a plucky rabbit!!
The hawks in our area love to drop perfectly severed bunny heads onto our yard as they fly over, only for my dog to grab one with jaws of steel that won’t give it up even when I shake them upside down and squeal for them to drop it. 🤣 it’s so sad because we have a LOT less bunny nests in our yard now. But my impatience flowers sure do like it.
The birds are well worth watching. I try & walk every morning a mile or more. The earlier the better. More bird songs. It really helps to filter out so much of the nonsense
God knows when the sparrow falls from the nest … Matthew 10:29-31
I have sparrows that nest in a hole above my backdoor (brick house) and chickens across the driveway where the sparrows find mealworms and blackberries and all kinds of yummy things to eat. Their many babies are plump and ready for flight when they emerge from the hole.
Trump’s response was offensive because he denies Justice to Epstein’s victims. The victims are why all of this matters. The American people need to know that it’s not still happening. We want transparency and accountability.
I agree! Trump was friends with Epstein and invited him to his parties. I’ve seen a video of Trump joking around with Epstein for several minutes whilst checking out women.
The victims need justice and the American people need to see the criminals prosecuted for their crimes. Pam Bondi admits that many were little children in the pornographic movies. These kids have probably had their lives ruined.
James O’Keefe has a video of the kitchen at Epstein island. The only picture in the kitchen is of a naked baby sitting in a stainless steel bowl holding a phallic shaped instrument. What does that suggest? It disturbs me greatly.
Epstein had to have a client list which provided the client’s sexual deviances so they could be adequately provided for. There is absolutely no way that there isn’t a list somewhere. Possibly it was destroyed, but I doubt anything that valuable would be destroyed.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned here that Musk right after his fallout with Trump said that Trump is on the Epstein list. I wonder if that is part of the current situation.
Didn't the early glimpses of the list, show Trump is on the flight list, but with a destination of New York to Florida, or Florida to New York, not the island? Democrats didn't run with that to discredit him, they fabricated Russia, Russia, Russia, impeachment, & constant lawfare instead, why? They couldn't implicate him without implicating themselves? Back then, Trump was the millionaire/billionaire everyone loved & wanted to be with. Trump eventually banned Epstein from his club & I think I read that he gave evidence against him in his Florida trial, is that when the elite democrats/rinos started turning on him? Because he was throwing a wrench in their weird pedo pizza parties? Was Trump a threat to them then? Wonder what Musk was alluding to, or did "Big Balls" actually find something? Something seems sooo fishy... TAW
Too many powerful people are on the list... The flight logs are enough to know who many are. Famous and wealthy... all of them are bred or blackmailed to get there.
I don't separate dems and reps anymore. It was a rep who first said there will be a one world gov. - Bush Sr....
They are all satan worshippers who do unspeakable things and SRA their own to make them the same sociopathic narcissistic people like themselves.
Like with Covid origin the answers to the questions aren't going to be found in the simple paradigm of acceptable theories, like, say, lab leak vs. zoonotic. False debate for the masses that threatens nobody with real power. And, my theory ties in Epstein to the Covid plandemic. To wit, he was in the middle of the biotech/biomedical industry and mindwar industry that took over global governance in 2020. He taught psychology, behavioral science, at Harvard...without a degree in the fields. Knowledge he acquired OJT? He was a masterful manipulator. His Little Black Book was filled with the top scientists in biotechnology and biomedical fields, as well as in the cognitive sciences, propaganda. Some of his most frequent guests at both Lolita Island and in his mansion in the NM desert were the top minds in the world in those fields. It's said the NM ranch was where he stored the sperm and egg "donations." Filled with "conception" rooms.
He got his teaching position at Harvard as a major donor to the top eugenicists and planned evolutionary design scientists researching/teaching there. And to the top bioethicist, George Church, bioethics being the field of rationalizing and justifying any bad act on mankind as serving a greater good - utilitarianism. His affections and the affections of young girls at Lolita Island were of girls who had reached puberty and able to produce offspring. He publicly wrote/spoke of his desire to make himself a sperm donor for a master race, a Genghis Khan figure. And the ideas of eugenics he supported were of the same type, blending the genes of the most intelligent minds with the most beautiful women - many supermodels also frequented Lolita Island, were in his LBB. Don't forget, a nasty side effect of the shot is infertility. Side effect? Or Intention? Is what Epstein's circle was studying, "planned evolutionary design" and other genetic designing sciences. Eugenics changing the population gene pool stuff.
It's very possible, and from my perspective likely, that the pedophilia story of Epstein has always been more of salacious distraction from what was really going on there. For the prurient eyes that aren't able to focus beyond sex. And when many of the biotech/biomedical connections were also integral in orchestrating the Plandemic, from owners of the largest PCR testing companies, to the largest mRNA platform companies, to the Nonpharmaceutical Intervention (NPI) of Behavioral Science, the "nudges" that weaponized psychology and propaganda to make people believe the pandemic was real and justified the medical tyranny, using BS-based "fear amplification," aka state-sponsored terrorism were ALL in his wheelhouse. And having a Jeffrey Epstein behind bars just months before the Plandemic was put into action would've been a big, big problem. He'd have been onto it and used his knowledge to negotiate his release.
Ask yourself what exactly changed between 2005 and 2019 that would've made him a bigger threat to the system to warrant his murder in prison? His death in August, 2019. Just a month before the first test samples of Covid - if you are to believe it is what they said it is - are traced to Italy in September, 2019, the Trump EO on developing new flu "vaccine" technology, Event 201 around the corner in October and the CNN/MSM stories first planted about Fauci working to prevent the next Spanish Flu using mRNA "emailable" vaccine designs. Designs that Jeffrey Epstein's circle were working on. What changed in August, 2019 from all of the years of his publicly disclosed dirty deeds was the knowledge insiders had about a plandemic that was imminent. A plandemic that he would've spotted for what was going down while he was behind bars. And that made him a threat that had to be eliminated.
Sure, the kompromat of the wealthy and powerful was useful for intelligence agencies. But the Plandemic was a global collaboration. Compromised individual leaders over sex scandals weren't the biggest threat they were eliminating. Compromised global medical tyranny cabal, that was the biggest threat they were concerned with. Sure, they let us go ahead and think it was about compromised powerful men having sex with children. But that's penny-ante stuff compared to the stakes in the game that was really being played. And Epstein was in a position to break a whole lot of hands that were dealt into that game.
I have reams of research I did on his little black book, who the players are in it representing major components of the plandemic. It's really, really big and bulky. Took a lot of time to compile. The hard work of whittling it down to the most compelling parts is what stops me from writing the story. And that's even after cutting out 95% of the source material I had to find and digest. But it's there for those willing and able to connect the dots.
Epstein plot twist. That nobody of reach and importance has any interest in touching. The truth often is.
Keep that and back it up 5x.... That's a lot to digest, the tip of the evil iceberg, and likely all true.
Remember Alec Baldwin shot that woman, who also has an interesting background, on the movie set of Rust? That was a rock throw away from Epstein's ranch. Just a strange connection...
So many connections and that's less than 10 years so imagine 100 of what they have been doing must be vast... The military mind experiments alone are unconscionable.
Apparently JEs original funding is from Victoria's Secret owner and imagine what the secret is...
So many famous people died under suspect circumstances the last 5 years rumored to share forbidden info.
When Kappy blew the whistle is when I started looking into it all. He didn't die in vain. He repeatedly said he wasn't suicidal and then he killed himself and then Hanks signaled the death on Twitter. Then I knew for sure.
There was a lot of vids of him that are no longer found but remember.
I suspect every famous person and they all signal. I despise it all. It is much worse than we think even about the tunnels.
IMO, we have the Bible as our only truth. Before you discredit it, you must seek God and truth first. Reading it gives me insight and comfort and that alone is needed in this wicked world.
Yesterday Elon said Steve Bannon was on the list. Has he seen a list to know this? If so he’s the only special one. Why not share it with the world? Elons shooting from the hip with his accusations, pretty immature behavior.
IMO, Elon is lilely an SRA and/or monarch victim now an adult doing what he was programmed to do.
KJ, you likely know what they can do and did to people's psyche and more. Not that I trust Jessie Czebotar but she claims her and Elon endured some serious trauma and I don't doubt that part.
His mom seems to be witchy and connected to evil stuff like Balenciaga things and that is just the surface.
Whether true or not, we can make pretty accurate assumptions by who they associate with and how they dress and put on social media.
If Elon's mom "seems to be wtchy"...then no wonder when the world became vicious toward him (burning Teslas, etc.) he doesn't have a Biblical/Christian awareness of greater Truth to bring peace, console the soul. So maybe he is just not handling the trauma inflicted upon him from the vicious Left very well.
Momcat & Doohmax are correct. This is from an article from “The Hill” awhile back -
“….book written by a group of Miami Herald journalists claims that President Trump barred disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein from his private club in Palm Beach, Fla., years ago following an incident with another club member’s teenage daughter.
“The Grifter’s Club,” released Tuesday, asserts that Epstein was a member of Trump’s club until 2007, when he was banned for hitting on another member’s daughter. Co-author Nicholas Nehamas told the paper that records show Epstein’s account at the club was closed in October 2007….”
And you can bet if Trump were involved in any of the terrible things Epstein did, the Left would have added it to Russia, Russia, Russia, the fake impeachments and anything else they could have. I am sure this involves Many powerful people from here (not Trump - remember that Musk walked back what he said) and Europe but Trump does need to figure out a better way to handle this - and fairly quickly.
BTW, Jon Rappaport is reporting today that the Miami prosecutor who gave Epstein the sweetheart deal in 2008, was then nominated by Trump and confirmed as his Sec of Labor in 2019.
"Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy, and you all were brainwashed to hate him for that very reason."
[For those who have not figured out Trump’s affiliation with Epstein, allow me to explain.
Trump is the one who exposed Epstein in 2008, hence why all of DC fears him. Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy.
Epstein was running a blackmail operation. He was seeking out the most powerful people on Earth, to compromise and control them. He tried to get Trump, but Trump did not bite.
Trump banned Epstein from his properties in 2008, for hitting on the teenage daughter of a club member at Mar-a-Lago. Then a couple months later, Epstein pled guilty to State criminal charges in Florida, for paying for sexual services from a 14 year old girl.
See the timeline? Epstein, tried to get close to Trump to compromise him, Trump found out Epstein was a sicko, then Trump helped turn him in to local police. But eventually the Clinton-controlled FBI intervened, and Epstein was let off the hook.
The Deep State have been coming after Trump ever since. Why? Because if Epstein is exposed, then all of DC goes down due to the blackmail Epstein possessed on the top players in DC. Hence why Clinton barged into Vanity Fair and threatened them not to write stories about Epstein. The Clintons told the MSM to bury the story.
Then when Trump got into office, he dedicated his administration to stopping human-trafficking WORLDWIDE via multiple executive orders, seized Epstein’s island, and then arrested Epstein and his accomplices in 2019.
Executive Order 13773 (see attached), is an EO literally dedicated to taking out Epstein’s international child sex-trafficking operation. “Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking”. February 9th, 2017.] ...See more:
[A years-old video featuring an attorney representing dozens of victims of the late convicted underage sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein has surfaced in which he made some substantial claims about Donald Trump during his lengthy investigation.
The attorney, Bradley Edwards, who served as legal counsel for over 70 individuals victimized by Epstein, revealed in a 2018 video published by the Conscious Resistance Network that Trump was the most accommodating and cooperative witness he subpoenaed during his years-long pursuit of justice on behalf of his clients.
Edwards, who is widely acknowledged for his significant role in facilitating the prosecution and conviction of Epstein, told the network’s founder Derrick Broze about Trump’s behavior in the video.
In the interview, Broze referenced a lawsuit filed against Trump by two previous alleged victims of Epstein, which was actually dismissed before it even went to trial. Broze then asked Edwards for his perspective on whether he thought the allegations against Trump were credible.
“The only thing that I can say about President Trump is that he is the only person who in 2009, when I served a lot of subpoenas against a lot of people … he is the only person that picked up the phone and said, ‘let’s just talk, I’ll give ya as much time as you want, I’ll tell ya what you need to know,’” Bradley explained.
“And [Trump] was very helpful in the information that he gave and gave no indication whatsoever that he was involved in anything untoward whatsoever,” Bradley added. “But [he] had good information that checked out, and that helped us, and that we didn’t have to take a deposition of him.”
Broze then asked about the reliability of claims by Trump that he permanently expelled Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after hearing that the future convicted pedophile was behaving inappropriately around underaged girls, to which Bradley confirmed he “definitely heard that.”]...SEE MORE:
Prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre said former President Donald Trump did not partake in deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes, newly unsealed documents show.
One month into his presidency, #Trump https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump?src=hashtag_click utilized Executive Power to halt Epstein, making it one of his initial actions. Executive Order 13773, issued on February 9th, 2017, is explicitly dedicated to dismantling Epstein's international child sex trafficking operation under the theme of "Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking." For those anticipating Trump's involvement in Epstein's criminal activities, disappointment awaits. Far from being one of Epstein's clients, Trump emerges as the primary figure who exposed the entire operation. Trump stands as Epstein's number one adversary and any animosity towards him has been manipulated, as he played a crucial role in bringing Epstein's actions to light.
Other books on Jeffrey Epstein focus on the depraved nature of his crimes, his wealth and his most famous/politically-connected friends and acquaintances. This book, in contrast, reveals definitively that Epstein's activities were state-sponsored through his intelligence connections. Whitney Webb has done great job!
The fact that under his first administration Epstein was raided and arrested holds some water until you find out that 1) FBI searched Manhattan residence without warrant, took pictures not evidence
2) FBI did not search New Mexico residence at the time
3) FBI did not go to US Virgin Islands residence until a while after.
4) Did not appear to use location data but media did.
No, I’m working from memory. I read it in a book and then have seen it mentioned here and there. Frankly, these days our memories are more reliable than the internet.
I don’t know about Labor Secy, but I also remember reading, in more than one source, that the prosecutor was given orders to stand down. Didn’t Epstein end up with a slap on the wrist? That must be when some began suspecting that he was a CIA asset.
"Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy, and you all were brainwashed to hate him for that very reason."
[For those who have not figured out Trump’s affiliation with Epstein, allow me to explain.
Trump is the one who exposed Epstein in 2008, hence why all of DC fears him. Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy.
Epstein was running a blackmail operation. He was seeking out the most powerful people on Earth, to compromise and control them. He tried to get Trump, but Trump did not bite.
Trump banned Epstein from his properties in 2008, for hitting on the teenage daughter of a club member at Mar-a-Lago. Then a couple months later, Epstein pled guilty to State criminal charges in Florida, for paying for sexual services from a 14 year old girl.
See the timeline? Epstein, tried to get close to Trump to compromise him, Trump found out Epstein was a sicko, then Trump helped turn him in to local police. But eventually the Clinton-controlled FBI intervened, and Epstein was let off the hook.
The Deep State have been coming after Trump ever since. Why? Because if Epstein is exposed, then all of DC goes down due to the blackmail Epstein possessed on the top players in DC. Hence why Clinton barged into Vanity Fair and threatened them not to write stories about Epstein. The Clintons told the MSM to bury the story.
Then when Trump got into office, he dedicated his administration to stopping human-trafficking WORLDWIDE via multiple executive orders, seized Epstein’s island, and then arrested Epstein and his accomplices in 2019.
Executive Order 13773 (see attached), is an EO literally dedicated to taking out Epstein’s international child sex-trafficking operation. “Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking”. February 9th, 2017.] ...See more:
[A years-old video featuring an attorney representing dozens of victims of the late convicted underage sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein has surfaced in which he made some substantial claims about Donald Trump during his lengthy investigation.
The attorney, Bradley Edwards, who served as legal counsel for over 70 individuals victimized by Epstein, revealed in a 2018 video published by the Conscious Resistance Network that Trump was the most accommodating and cooperative witness he subpoenaed during his years-long pursuit of justice on behalf of his clients.
Edwards, who is widely acknowledged for his significant role in facilitating the prosecution and conviction of Epstein, told the network’s founder Derrick Broze about Trump’s behavior in the video.
In the interview, Broze referenced a lawsuit filed against Trump by two previous alleged victims of Epstein, which was actually dismissed before it even went to trial. Broze then asked Edwards for his perspective on whether he thought the allegations against Trump were credible.
“The only thing that I can say about President Trump is that he is the only person who in 2009, when I served a lot of subpoenas against a lot of people … he is the only person that picked up the phone and said, ‘let’s just talk, I’ll give ya as much time as you want, I’ll tell ya what you need to know,’” Bradley explained.
“And [Trump] was very helpful in the information that he gave and gave no indication whatsoever that he was involved in anything untoward whatsoever,” Bradley added. “But [he] had good information that checked out, and that helped us, and that we didn’t have to take a deposition of him.”
Broze then asked about the reliability of claims by Trump that he permanently expelled Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after hearing that the future convicted pedophile was behaving inappropriately around underaged girls, to which Bradley confirmed he “definitely heard that.”]...SEE MORE:
Prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre said former President Donald Trump did not partake in deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes, newly unsealed documents show.
One month into his presidency, #Trump https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump?src=hashtag_click utilized Executive Power to halt Epstein, making it one of his initial actions. Executive Order 13773, issued on February 9th, 2017, is explicitly dedicated to dismantling Epstein's international child sex trafficking operation under the theme of "Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking." For those anticipating Trump's involvement in Epstein's criminal activities, disappointment awaits. Far from being one of Epstein's clients, Trump emerges as the primary figure who exposed the entire operation. Trump stands as Epstein's number one adversary and any animosity towards him has been manipulated, as he played a crucial role in bringing Epstein's actions to light.
Other books on Jeffrey Epstein focus on the depraved nature of his crimes, his wealth and his most famous/politically-connected friends and acquaintances. This book, in contrast, reveals definitively that Epstein's activities were state-sponsored through his intelligence connections. Whitney Webb has done great job!
I was thinking that too! Elon said that's why the list won't be released.
That cover up and CYA session with Trump and Pam is a real life example of the Grok gone wild incident?
"The Grok Incident only shone a krieglight on it. Despite corporate media’s frenzied framing, the Grok Incident wasn’t a scandal. It was a stress test. And it proved what many suspected: the real battle isn’t over misinformation. It’s over permission. Who’s allowed to ask? Who’s allowed to answer? And who gets to decide what can’t be known?"
Up until yesterday, I never considered that Trump may be on the Epstein client list. The first thing that went through my mind when I saw the clip of Trump berating that journalist is that he has something to hide. I guess we can stop talking about Russian collusion, the stolen 2020 election, autopen, etc now also.
Steve Bannon has a prior association with him, allegedly per other X posts. Frankly, this whole thing stinks, and I'm tired of it. Does anyone honestly believe that Trump was association with Epstein other than they ran in the same social circles and Epstein belonged to Trump's club? Trump has been mercilessly harassed since the day he came down that escalator 10 years ago. If there was anything tying Trump to Epstein's criminality, it would have been revealed long ago. There is something else going on. Wish I knew what.
At least one did come forward about Prince Philip. Not sure if she is still alive or just gave up and shut up. People who speak out against British royalty tend to die.
That is sad to learn. Living after what happened, with that info, and a target on your back is a heavy burden and for her family. I believe she moved to AU and married maybe kids. They could easily make her do it herself with simple fear tactics. I don't blame her because I couldn't bear it myself.
Matthew Crooks lived about 5 miles from my house. I was astounded at the lack of local TV coverage.
Just past midnight the day after Trump was shot, the NYPost published a story that Crooks lived in Bethel Park, PA. I immediately went to the local TV websites and checked.
Nothing. Nada. Radio silence on all 3 of them.
I actually emailed 2 of them, with a link to the NYPost article, and told them they might want to maybe send out a news truck to his neighborhood.
They say there is no list, but there are thousands of hours of videos. What?! The videos ARE THE LIST!! Watch the videos. Identify the men. Make a list. Release it!
He is shooting from the hip. How would he know? Seriously, he’s the only one who’s seen the list? Then who else is on it? Trying (lying?) to create negativity around MAGA as he promotes his new party. he’s done some good, but doesn’t seem dependable for truth.
Will anyone Musk has accused (Trump, Bannon, who knows who else in the future) sue Musk for slander? Make him produce the list he is referring to as evidence.
I will add that I think it also speaks to the issue of a "two-tiered" cultural society (which obviously includes how justice is applied). We have an elite class that lives outside the rules of normal social discourse and gets to engage in whatever activities it wants without any ramifications or consequences. It goes beyond the visitors to Epstein Island. The power brokers throughout the West area allowed their perversities (often in the form of pedophilia) because they rule the world and are, in essence, "untouchable." I know I was hoping Trump 2.0 would dismantle this structure.
NAB - I was JUST thinking about the two-tiered justice system. On the one hand, the FBI/CIA announces hundreds of human traffickers have been arrested, yet no action taken on the privileged people on the Epstein list.
Anyone else feel like a switch has flipped? The entire Trump administration has become one of "them"...the same sorry lot of fools that told us for the last 5 years not to believe the evidence of our own eyes and ears:
- the shots are 99% effective, and perfectly harmless;
- the Hunter Biden laptop is Russian disinfo;
- Joe Biden is as sharp as a tack;
- and now, Jeffrey Epstein had no "clients," he ran that whole damn island just for his own pleasure.
I have not an iota of trust remaining for any of them. At all. And I do believe that Trump has just blown the midterms, and JD Vance's presidential chances, as well...not because MAGA voters will vote for leftists, but because more centrist voters will give up in disgust, and not vote at all.
james corbett calls voting ' the slave suggestion box' jimmy dore says 'no matter who you vote for you get john mccain' and larken rose has detailed why in his book The Most dangerous superstition.
Yesterday was the day my personal 180 was completed on Trump. To think that I defended him all these days! He clearly is guilty and terrified.
I look forward to hearing a loud chorus of boos from his previous big supporters next time he’s in front of a crowd. That’s going to kill him, as he thrives off the adulation of his fans.
But for some of us, it is always and only ever been about truth and policy. NO MORE WARS and AMERICA FIRST.
Yesterday we saw who really owns this country. It was particularly poignant and insulting that this so-called DOJ letter and the exchange with the Press corps happened a few hours after Bibi showed up.
My question - is justice actually available to the victims? Ms. Maxwell was convicted of trafficing specific minors. Why weren't their abusers charged when Maxwell was charged? If there are hours and hours of "pornographic" videos, why haven't abusers been identified and charged? Were these videos illegally obtained, and thus inadmissable?
This whole thing makes no sense to me. I admit the Epstein scandal was not on my top ten (or even twenty) issues list, so I am woefully uninformed. But why is Maxwell the only one charged, convicted, and in prison? And why this completely bizarre response from Trump and his administration?
well they were clearly trafficked to 'nobody' as in 'nobody for president' and nobody cares about you' and 'nobody is a fraud and crook and liar in congress'
Palm Beach Post writes: "She picked up one of the most spotlighted ones, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, at Mar-a-Lago where the 15-year-old and her father worked."
This is a big offense. The other is providing cover for a foreign power which is up to its neck in steering the foreign policy of the United States government.
People are outraged. Even Tucker Carlson and his guest are pretty hot under the collar. And I am encouraged to see Jeff liked you comment.
I agree with you and with Michelle. His comments were off. He knows his base has been waiting patiently for the goods. He promised them on the campaign. This will be a promise made, promise broken moment in his presidency.
Your comment assumes justice can be found here on earth. To put your trust in justice by government courts is to set yourself up for dissatisfaction. Mostly what people want is not justice, but to see retribution. How sad that we still live in an “eye for an eye” world. What does justice look like when you are a child victim of incest or sex crimes?
Look, I'm the first to say that I am flummoxed at the whole Epstein deal. And the Trump base is rightfully upset. We all know the fury and law-fare and targeting we endured at the hands of the demo's between Trump 45 and Trump 47. As well we know that if they ever steal another election , and they very well will if the election process isn't cleaned up they will be ready for FEMA camps and mass executions...... just look how much the hate poured out for the "right wingers" at the Texas Christian camp they wanted drowned.
We have ben through 8 years of holy hell waiting for someone, ANYONE, to be held accountable for how badly our country is broken at every level, especially the legal system and the civil liberties faction.
I will give you this much. And I am hyper-aware that the left is absolutely loving the Epstein list meltdown and is probably even fueling it with fake accounts ands A.I. enhanced weaponized social media ( witness Grok).
However, and this is not ! speaking, I could see a scenario in which Trump is dealing with these monsters on the down-low and where he may have decided to use the whole Epstein files as a way to change the world and lock up real people now that he has some leverage, real leverage. So I will reserve judgment for a while longer. It's the deepest darkest swamp we have seen for the last 70 years that will take a lot more than a 6 month stint in office as President to clean it up.
Please don’t apologize. For one, I think you are right. It would be a classic Trumpian move to use something like the Epstein files for leverage. Let’s watch and wait. If very powerful men are in the list, why wouldn’t you use what you know to convince them to end wars, make deals, etc.
Absolutely not! I would want them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Otherwise, those evil creatures will keep on raping more children. What kind of society doesn’t first and foremost protect its children?
But that’s not how power politics works. Not once in history can I come up with an example in which morality trumps power when it comes to politics. It’s also occurred to me that the men involved in this matter are scared to death that their names will be outed. If so, it acts to ensure that Mossad and the CIA and other elements of the Deep State don’t try this again. Having said that, it’s well known that men who seek power also take risks in their sexual lives.
Across time societies have exploited children, sacrificed them, and groomed them. I have no idea why evil people are attracted to children other than they are the most helpless of humans. Did you see the video taken in NYC at a busy intersection when a boy was literally grabbed but the boy’s parents were nearby and chased the kidnapper down. Before running away, he threw the child onto the sidewalk. The police arrested the guy, and the child was saved. Honestly it looked like the child was meant to be sex trafficked. Jesse Watters showed the video.
I saw a video like this, two guys on a motorcycle. One guy drives, the other guy snatches.
This is top down condoned. The reason this goes on is because the government allows it because part of the government is trafficking and making money off this. This is why the Epstein cover-up enrages me.
Nobody in the fifties when I was a kid got snatched. Kids in big cities went everywhere and did not get snatched or bothered. And if anyone ever bother a kid for bad purposes, there would have been holy hell to pay. This cannot be permitted to go on.
"I have no idea why evil people are attracted to children..."
It's because they can be molded and programmed to become hapless but dangerous tools to do the bidding of the abuser. Trauma is a powerful tool and motivator. The parasite class has known this for centuries, if not millennia. The Church parasites knew it as well, hence the quote attributed to Ignatius Loyola, "Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man."
and it is used for control of politicians and powerful oligarchs because it is the most heinous thing that people will not even believe it is happening......... WITNESS: Pam Bondi: "It was child porn and none of that will EVER be released. It's disgusting."
Trump is putting a laser focus on this topic, getting all, including democrats!, to scream for the same thing. However, he is still maneuvering for control on many fronts. The judicial system is full of leftist lackeys, and even if there were arrests, things could go bad through their maneuverings. Only a slim majority in congress is not enough control. Now that he has the legal authority to clean out the beaurocrats, this will give him executive branch control. Cleaning up election systems before the midterms is paramount. Targeting RINOS with primary maga opponents is essential to control of the legislative agenda. In 6 months he has moved mountains compared to any other president. I say - wait and watch. Enjoy the show.
I can't think of a time in history where there weren't wars. Until there is only one man left standing on his big pile of riches, wars are inevitable on this planet
The problem with the Epstein mess is that for the first time (that I can think of) Trump is outright lying to his faithful base. I don't mean stretching the truth, or a little BS'ing, but the "who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes" routine.
We all know every word of this is a lie, and we don't like it. I'm sure Trump has his reasons (maybe really good ones), but when we voted for him it was with the understanding that this type of stuff stopped. We are not children, tell us the truth.
Note too that this was right about the same time he started blathering about illegal alien amnesty for giant corporations and sending more weapons to Ukraine, appearing to set the stage for two more betrayals. Something is going on and it stinks to high heaven.
This may blow over if he keeps on delivering, particularly with the mass deportations. But the base will never trust him as they once did, the relationship will never be the same.
Not the same Tom, and you know it. This is why most people don't take Trump haters seriously, trite responses like this are discrediting.
Politicians make promises all the time that they know they can't keep. Name a single politician that hasn't done this. You can't, they all do it. Plus he never said, "if I'm elected I promise you Hillary Clinton will be put in jail". He said "lock her up" as a political slogan that personified the Clinton's corruption.
This is different though. He is looking us right in the eye and telling us that things that we know to be obviously true, are actually false. It's like the cheating spouse caught in the act red-handed denying everything. The couple may reconcile, but the trust will never be the same.
Maybe because there are tribunals going on??? Come on… some critical thinking. Am I the only one who noticed that there is an acting Attorney General? about the same time reporters started talking about GITMO, he left and she stepped in?
I try to 'contain' my posting. But I am not doing too well today because I am totally blown out of the water by the President's lying ... on Epstein, on Israel, on Iran getting nukes ... and to some good extent with regard to the Ukrainian war.
I am just enraged ... and if Tucker Carlson is royally miffed, so is the MAGA base. And the rest of the world sees this Clown Act going on in Washington. And what are they seeing. More of the same out of Washington ... and Trump not to be trusted.
You might be on to something because it is as you say, it's an incomprehensible 180. And so, it is a big puzzle.
And if things don't start to fly right, I fear that it will take a total financial collapse of the government to restore a normal sense of reality and prudent behavior. And I don't even want to begin to think about the horrors which that would entail because a lot of us could not survive it. I say this because I know what happened in Russia when the Soviets collapsed. That collapse led to a good decade of very hard times.
If I were Bondi or Patel, maybe some others, attacking without pretext another country and covering up Epstein, that would be enough to cause me to tender my resignation as it is more of the same lying, the same as in the Warren Commission, the 911 NIST cover-up, the so-called War Against Terror and Covid Lie that has wrecked lives around the world, including death.
And speaking of the War Against Terror, and sad to say, which country is the biggest terrorist nation of the all? And why are the BRICS Plus countries so happy to de-dollarize and distance themselves from the United States?
This is what I choose to believe as well. Not because I don't think Trump and his cabinet can't make mistakes, but that Trump is a deal-maker and how and why could you pass up using this information to get his agenda done?
Yes, unprovoked bombings of nations that are no threat to America are also known as WAR CRIMES, no matter what the filthy "Patriot" Act says.
Wasting hundreds of billions of US taxpayer $$$ on a cesspool like Ukraine is also a betrayal, as is refusing to return Russia's blatantly stolen foreign reserves... or rebuilding the Nord Stream pipelines destroyed by our CIA and UK MI6... sending long range missiles to Ukraine for the express purpose of their being used against Russian civilians, is also illegal... has anyone declared war on Russia (or Iran... or Yemen)??
you'll like the book The Most Dangerous Superstition trump has zero power to be anything more than a useful tool, just like every other politician in history.
The other swamp was displayed with the 2008 mortgage meltdown, and nobody went to jail. If the protection of certain elite doesn't reverse, we are heading for a revolution involving guillotines.
One hopes. But I doubt it. Most people will not get out of their comfort zone. They are so terrified of change, that they will put up with almost anything.
The left seems to be taking the gloves off... shooting at ICE agents, Dem Reps suggesting open violence, Doxxing attempts which encourage direct violence against LE personnel...
At some point, it will become so bad that conservative officials will be forced to deputize citizens en masse and grant permission to use deadly force on the true insurrectionists.
I fully support the 2nd Amendment and hope that soon Trump allows any conservative to be quickly deputized against the growing lefty violence...
And to be authorized to use deadly force against any who pose the slightest threat to any individual's safety... especially that of Cops/ICE/Border patrol, etc.
Might change things quickly and dramatically.
I suggest the Benelli Ultima Patrol 12ga Auto, 7+1.
and cry to the heavens he's playing 43 D chess. we can't possibly understand. lets wait and see. yeah, that game has worked fine for the parasite class for thousands and thousands of years
No repentance required, they're doubling down on the issue; let them stew in the juices of their own making; leadership is required, silence would have been better, yet we get pissed on instead. Texas FLOOD was an Act of God or a human-nudged cloud-seeding weather modification screw-up? Desecration indeed. Let's see how this fades away over the next few weeks as other "news" sparks up and moves us all along downriver.
Spot on DE. I sympathize with the Epstein blow back from the "troops". But we have to realize, Trump (and all of us) are in a 5th Generation War. It makes no sense for Trump to expend all his ammunition in useless battles. He is going to hold his ammunition in reserve until he can deploy the ordinance in a strategic battle that affords him the opportunity to decisively obliterate the enemy. You do this by drawing the enemy out into an over-extended position and then cut them off at the knees. You don't use up your ammunition in useless skirmishes or show your cards to the enemy until you know you have exposed his flanks. Right now the enemy is pissed that they can't see his strategy and prepare defenses for it. This is an actual war and it's not going to be won overnight.
In set military war, the troops have to exercise military discipline and trust the orders of their generals and put their lives on the line in carrying out the orders. In 5th Generation War, the troops (meaning us) are undisciplined but still cannot know the full scope of the general's strategy until the war is done. That's the position we are in.
And we don't have a choice. Trump is the general and there is none other in which to put our trust. That doesn't make "blowback" wrong. In fact, I'm sure this affords Trump a good indicator of the mood of the country and in 5th Gen War, all these factors are important.
Trump must account for the mood and mindset of his base, he's the Rally-Crowd showman who berates media and goes up in the polls and thrives on that popularity with the working people even as he steers the billionaires along for their own good. The less said by he and his team on this Epstein crap the better...then there's the whole Butler, PA lone loser gunman "investigation" too, if they come out and announce that's all settled just exactly as the FBI said in the hours after it occurred it'll be ANOTHER unforced error.
I am having trouble with this, given that Trump as done a lot of good, the kind of good I never thought to see in a lifetime. However, I am disturbed that by recent bad calls.
1) Trump seems to be enabling of Israel in striking Iran, and all on a false pretext that Iran was on the verge of getting a nuke, another WMD-like wash and rinse repeat. And then ups the ante by initiating the US strike. Again, all false pretext, which is to say ... a lie.
2) And now this Epstein thing, which also is covering up Mossad involvement. Israel again. Just nobody is saying it out load (except Tucker in his last release on the cover-up).
3) And what of Ukraine? The US has been waging covert war against Russia for thirty years now post the Soviet fall. Then in 2014 the US launches a color revolution take-down of the Ukrainian government and has served up provocation after provocation to the Russian Federation. The United States IS the belligerent which stated war and now the war is lost. And since this was largely a NeoCon/Biden war, Trump should just end it and settle on Istanbul Plus and normalize relations with Russia which never was the enemy in the first place. And so, why all the dithering? And get on restoring the American polity to health.
I just cannot see getting anywhere better by doing more of the same, and the explanation that Trump is playing some kind of three or four D chess is not going to cut it.
Maybe. My fear is that it is so deep that it will bring the federal government to the brink of collapse. But it will just continue to fester until it is shown the light of day. Anyone shielding it is complicit. People, myself included, think we want the truth and can handle it.
If the Government, and society as a whole, is based upon lies, secrets, pedophilia, torture and evil, I say bring it down. It can't and won't be reformed; it can only be rebuilt.
History is on your side. Empires (as Spock would put it) are illogical because they cannot be sustained. At some point, the USG empire will hit that brick wall that brought down the Soviet Union. Father Time (God) always has the last word.
Be careful bringing the entire government down... remember that the country has far more radical left scumbags, parasites and illegals than producing patriots.
The new government may be far from what you may desire.
A better start may be to try to force significant national election reform that would significantly reduce election fraud/cheating...
And to remove the influence of ANY foreign nation on this governments actions and legislation... which means banning most lobbyists and ALL foreign political action groups... especially AIPAC.
I agree. Domestic corporations began to get “rights” over a century ago via the legal fiction that they are akin to persons. It was and is folly IMO. The most evil, egregious person will die. But corporations can exist into perpetuity. They can also amass extraordinary power and wealth. BS and AOC screech about billionaires but I bet both own BlackRock, Statestreet, and Vanguard. BR, SS and Vanguard control much of American production and much of the world's as well. BR is controlled by SS and Vanguard. Vanguard is controlled by SS and BR. SS is controlled by BR and Vanguard. The corporate encroachment is the true threat to humans. Corporate, not capitalist.
Yes, and "Citizens United" was a despicable disgrace and should be overturned ASAP... it will not be, as corporations (and AIPAC) still control congress.
I agree with the RINO point and with the Israel comment but I would go further and include any foreign nation. I would also do away with dual citizenship.
But I hope you realize that Israel is the main threat.
China is in 2nd place. But yes, ALL foreign influence and bribery needs to be stopped... and maybe prosecuted... but judging by the in-your-face lies and BETRAYALS of Trump, Kash and Bondi... VERY doubtful.
That is exactly why I am so pissed off about it. If this is what has happened then that entire cabinet/everyone covering it up is an accessory after the fact and I cannot find it in me to understand how that makes you in some way superior to the perpetrator.
He better start using it fast, is all I have to say. If major players stay in motion for very long then that is all I need to know. In other words MIRACLES need to start happening like tomorrow and KEEP ON HAPPENING. And right after all the miracles happen then the Epstein people better SOMEHOW , SOME WAY be arrested and put in jail for life on SOMETHING or I'm out.
Trump must know that if lets the worst DC villains off the hook they will SURELY destroy him. They are not going to thank him & leave him alone. He KNOWS they want him jailed or dead.
So why on earth is he shielding them?
He’s not “in the files”.
If he was, they would have used that to destroy him already.
Incomprehensible. Maybe they threatened the lives of people he loves. Who knows. But this is one weird & very dispiriting turn of events.
yeah, or they could have Covid 2.0 all loaded up.... there is bioweapons lab 3 in Netherlands that has just announced they have engineered an H5N1 virus to be 100% lethal............. what if the controllers in charge of the Epstein files said : "hey Donald, remember Covid and how sick everyone got and how many people died? remember that? well, if you prosecute us we will just unleash our new and improved virus on major cities throughout the world"........ that's where I think we are right now. HOnestly
I'm not sure the general public understand the level of evil we are dealing with here. I'm sure they don't. This is a Satanic Pedophile ring that has all the politicians, judges and major players in their grips. Pray like your life depends on it because it does. That's my humble opinion after living in this space for 50+ odd years. I have studied these SAtanists...... and it's bad beyond what the average person can even comprehend.
I totally agree. I have to believe there’s a plan. Administration IS actually finding and saving children so I don’t believe this is abandoned. He is working hard to save our country in every way possible. I don’t like the change of tactic I don’t like it’s not released- but I believe there are plans in motion dealing with this. Because of security we can’t always know everything when we want to
It appears as the 2025 version of "LOCK HER UP!" that just fizzles into...."Shut her up!"
Epstein was merely a teacher-turned playboy with a passion for seducing horny and pliable teen-queens. He mesmerized and conned everyone of status and station including prosecutors and then later Epstein'd himself at just the exact right time, he likely even had the guards so entranced they fell fast asleep by his hypnotic personality. Nothing to see here, it was all just hyped up, imaginary, Rightwinger Conspiracy-Kook Theory to try to again attack Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and England's Royals.
Leverage….I like it as a Trumpian theory. Time will tell if this is a thing. However I DON’T want the scum on the Epstein list to be unaccountable for atrocities toward children. No, no, no!!!
🤣 “"I felt a sudden wave of peace and inspiration after punching a bear in the face to save a lamb, and I wrote the whole song down in, like, 5 minutes," Love the Bee. Lol
Bondi's answer "sounds reasonable"?? Beyond a hot mess of an answer, she just revealed that there's a planned minute of dead camera time nightly. That doesn't ring any alarms?
From what I can gather, Maureen Comey, the lead prosecutor for Epstein AND Diddy, and the daughter of James Comey, is the original source of that bit about how the video was lost and found.
Not sure if that's correct.
James Comey and John Brennan are the nexus for most of the problems in DC, FBI-wise and CIA-wise.
And they are under investigation. THEY are the ones I want to see perp-walked first.
Those 2 criminals are that nexus for sure, and it wasn't surprising that all of the worst charges against Diddy were dropped from his conviction. Letting him off with only the smallest 2 charges. VERY similar to Epstein's case in FL!
1. BTW, James Comey ran his own "honey pot" operation to try to take down Trump by sending female FBI agents out to infiltrate the 2016 campaign.
Wonder if THAT will come up.
Sometimes you don't even have to compromise people to smear them, you just have to make it look like it. (I'm sure there is some of that with Epstein, too)
Often the truth comes out though, AFTER someone's career, life, wallet, and family are pillaged and put through the wringer.
I'm sure there are a few people who went to the island naively or stupidly, and didn't do anything wrong, waiting to get the next ride home.
2. I'd even believe he killed himself with help, but I'm not so sure he's not in WitSec.
3. If 2. were true, much deception would be required.
Aw, memory refreshed by this article, Bill Barr was AG then...
"it was the then-Bill Barr Department of Justice that had custody of Epstein when he died under extremely suspicious circumstances in the first place, with Barr, whose father had first employed Epstein, declaring that Epstein killed himself."
Right. Shocked to see this take from Jeff. And oh, by the way, the pictures of the door that were shown in the days after his alleged suicide, versus the pictures on that film clip don’t even remotely match.
It sounded more like she was going to show the pattern of the missing minute at that time of the day. But yes, we will have to see. Either we see exactly what happened or everything else is just more cover-up.
One of the most beautiful signs of Summer here in the mountains of my home isn’t the flowers, or the trees or the early morning sunrises. It is instead the return of the work camps.
These are week long trips that church groups make into our area to help people to make home repairs that they couldn’t afford to do themselves. They are mostly kind-hearted teenagers giving up part of their summer vacation. They are always supervised, though, by experienced builders who know what they are doing. It always brings a smile to my face and a joy to my heart to see them out there in the hot, summer sun working to help those who need it most, with their only pay being the love in their hearts.
I remember watching one group building a new set of steps for a front porch one year. It was 5 teenagers being supervised by one adult. What got me the most was listening to him encouraging them. I lost count of how many times he said, “Good Job” or “Doing good” to them. There was one girl, however, who obviously had never held a hammer before. She bent 3 nails in a row working on one board. Finally the man knelt down beside her and instead of criticizing her, gave her a ten minute tutorial on how to hammer a nail. When he was done she tried again with a weak smile on her face and drove the nail in like an expert carpenter. The man looked down at her work and said, “Doing good!” once again. And I smiled and thought to myself, “Yes! they truly are DOING GOOD in this world.”
Wayne Dyer wrote, “For every act of unkindness there are a million kind acts.” And I see those acts of kindness, those acts of goodness, and those acts of Love every time I see one of these work camps helping those in need.
They truly are doing God’s work with hammers and saws and smiles and a lot of Love in their hearts. May we all learn from their example.
A Sweet Old Man And His Dog Bought Us Groceries Just Because
By A Friend
Six years ago, when my daughter was just a few months old, my husband and I went grocery shopping the week before Christmas. As we were walking in we noticed an older man and his dog sitting outside, watching us. We thought nothing of it, assuming he was probably just people watching, and did our holiday grocery shopping in preparation for a week full of Christmas potlucks that we really couldn't afford (our parents are all divorced and remarried so we had quite a few to attend).
As we were getting in line the man and his dog came behind us with just a Christmas teddy bear, and we insisted that he go ahead of us since our groceries would take a while. He said no at first but finally relented and went ahead of us, bought the bear, then rushed outside. The whole thing struck us as odd but we shrugged it off.
When we went outside he was standing by the door with the teddy bear and a card, and told us that he had been planning on paying for our groceries but when we insisted on having him go ahead of us it messed up the system he had set up with the cashier. He gave the teddy to my daughter (who still has it) and gave us a card with more than enough money to cover our groceries, which he had run to withdraw from the ATM while we were still in the store. The card had his dog's paw print on the inside and wished us a Merry Christmas.
He told us that he does this every year, and will wait outside looking for young families who he can help during the expensive holiday season.
It was such an unexpected and beautiful thing for him to do, and I can only imagine how many people he has impacted over the years. I always hope that I will run into him and his sweet golden retriever so I can tell him thank you, and how much that meant to us.
I had spent some time in the morning talking to my granddaughter about being 'generous' she had a lot of chocolate and lollies from going to the local show and buying sample bags. I asked her had she thought about how she was going to share her good fortune with her step sister? "No!" she said.
Which was what prompted my gentle encouragement to share and why being generous is a good thing. Not sure she was convinced, we then headed out on the town, in Sydney. I wanted to show her Chinatown and shop at the markets.
After shopping I took her to a sushi train restaurant.. she is a fussy eater but will eat Tuna sushi. She was having a ball and even tried some new tastes whilst I taught her how to use chopsticks. We were having a nice time.
I noticed a man sitting near me having lunch.. he got up to leave.. and upon leaving he paid for our meal. The shop owner checked with us if that was OK..I started crying so touched. Then he was gone before I really had time to thank him. My 9 yr old granddaughter was really taken aback by this. We were then also gifted dessert by our waitress. Double bonus.
Upon leaving I tipped then $5.
Then said to my granddaughter "we don't really need a free lunch do we? So now we have to pay our good fortune forward". She got this straight away and was eagle eyed looking for a homeless person. At the station entrance she saw a homeless woman and she raced up and gifted her our lunch money. The woman's face lit up and she thanked my granddaughter profusely. She skipped back to me.. her heart full. I got to say.. and "that my darling is what generosity gives you.. a happy heart."
I followed up with my daughter later in the week and heard that each night when she was allowed access to her chocolate stash.. she was dividing it up and sharing with her sister.
An amazing life lesson supported by the universe. Thank you to the stranger who gifted us with more than lunch
Thank you for the "re-direct", TriTorch...it gets so dreary sitting in the slippery, slimy slough of political teeth-gnashings. Your two uplifting posts helped me breathe in some fresh air, much needed! 🌸🏵️🌼🪻
Really enjoyed your story today and when you mentioned that the man was with his Golden Retriever I knew instantly that both were sent from God during our holy days of Christmas ✝️
For those upvoting this second post while ignoring the first please consider that by doing so you are missing the point of taking the time to research and post these at all:
By doing this you make all three (in the bible wisdom arrives in repetitions of 3) positive messages less visible because they are pushed further down the thread which defeats the point of bothering in this dark age because fewer people see them and therefore less lives are positively affected.
I did not comment on the whole Epstein thing yesterday, but I absorbed Jeff’s analysis, and thoughtful percentages. I do likely believe Epstein was a CIA agent of some kind, and the layers of entanglement went deep. Any group that could plan to assassinate a presidential candidate, is quite capable of some pretty awful, unimaginable stuff to our modern day eyes. But again after reading 1st and 2nd Kings of the Bible, none of this is anything new and not even more reprehensible. I do believe none of the Cabinet had any idea just how bad it was or what the tentacles involved. They thought they did, but they didn’t.
Whitney Webb wrote a long and detailed article connecting Epstein with Wexner and the so called 'Mega Group'. It's a great and VERY informative article.
I just discovered a website put out by the University of Cambridge that has a map detailing all the murders in the later medieval period in York, London, and Oxford. Let’s just say, human depravity has not changed much…I can only imagine the webs entangled in this mess today. There are a lot more people who can be involved.
The muzzle on Epstein. FBI, DOJ and Trump knew he was an intelligence asset before promising transparency. His role as an asset is not the reason for the muzzle. Some horse trading going on? Absolutely. Also consider this: What mayhem could billionaires unleash on the USA? Coordinated sell offs of bonds, stocks? Release of pathogens? Activation of mercenary sleeper cells? I trust that the best interests of this country have been taken into account. I also see in the news that Comey and others are being investigated for their roles in the Russian gate lies. “The entire world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:19.
I’m on the same page as you. Not knee-jerk reacting as many are, and trusting until there is DEFINITIVE reason to not trust. I don’t think we’re there yet…the swamp is deep and foul and there will be missteps and setbacks along the way. Imagine what they are finding out, how deep the rot really is. Not an easy feat, we need to support as best we can with eyes wide open.
This: “What mayhem could billionaires unleash on the USA? Coordinated sell offs of bonds, stocks? Release of pathogens? Activation of mercenary sleeper cells?” I never thought about THAT kind of blackmail of the Admin. Just imagine what you would do in their shoes if you knew for a certainty many citizens would be irreparably harmed if you released anything revealing about Epstein at this point in time.
Yeah but they sort of did that before, and there was significant disgruntlement. I don’t think most people would be satisfied with “safety issues” as an excuse without giving any specifics as to what those safety threats were. And typically these kinds of evil blackmailers have a condition that you can’t expose them or what they are threatening you with in any way or they will trigger the backlash then too. (Just thinking out loud - this is all just conjecture - if there is even any threats like this going on…)
People are not satisifed now and some are never satisfied but at least they would be telling the truth. They could give short bullet points like: national safety, commerce and trade safety, international/national health safety etc.
I am more concerned with those telling lies than worrying about those that are not satisfied.
Imagine the mayhem the populace at large could unleash on these billionaires if they pulled this kind of crap. It’s past time for them to pay and not get away with it anymore. Imagine if they just sort of disappeared. Not that I’m advocating that. Just imagine a world without these power hungry people. The majority of us just want to be left alone, to live in peace, etc. We don’t want power over other people. It seems like many of the people who reach billionaire status suffer from delusions of grandeur and fall to hubris.
Do you think horse trading is an acceptable move given the perversion of justice, victims involved, and campaign promises?
I find that idea reprehensible and abhorrent. If you don't... might want to reflect a bit on why.
What is underlying your 'fear of billionaires' theory? How does this give any cover for their actions? Why would you trust in the amoral framework of 'the best interests of this country'? Honestly this seems bizarre for someone quoting scripture.
I live in Georgia....Ebenezer Baptist Church has been politically active FOREVER.....hell, the pastor got elected as a US Senator. I think you might rephrase this to mean now CONSERVATIVE churches are free to be politically active from the pulpit. The lefty churches have been doing it freely and openly--UNOPPOSED by the IRS for as long as I can remember. Maybe this is just a levelling of the playing field.
Agree. They never had to worry about the IRS. Like the leftist nonprofits compared to the Tea Party that was harassed and mistreated by Lois Lerner and her ilk 😡
"She’s allowed to lie" — Love this quote because of the power in it. When people understand that government officials CAN and often DO lie, then everything falls into place.
I don’t love the quote but it confirms my gut instinct that her answer was anything but the truth. Bondi was clearly lying. I’m no body language expert, but my body knew.
I laughed and laughed as I read that part of the stack. I absolutely won't use AI, but I would give Grok a fist bump for those answers. It's like it got a dose of unfiltered Asperger's yesterday. I reckon they should leave it like it is.
"Elon wanted an “uncensored AI”— but what he got was a distorted mirror. An angry, chaotic, overcooked mirror that reflected the mix of grievances, truths, suppressed questions, and raw cultural rage that’s been bottled up for years. The reason Grok went on a rampage is probably because that’s where the energy is right now."
LLMs like Grok don’t go rogue because they’re “immoral.” They go rogue because they have no 'inner life' to begin with. They are designed to be predictive, and there is nothing inside but statistics, data, and reinforcement taps. We can establish policy layers and filter lists all day, but that’s tantamount to fencing a bulldozer, not teaching it ethics. "Uncensored AI" is going to reflect the quality of the data that feeds it.
So when Grok spits out a cocktail of grievances, half-truths, and X sludge, it’s just surfing the prompt currents that its programmers poured into it. If Elon wants fewer wrecks, the controls have to be built in. (There's an interesting article in the Independent about ChatGPT suggesting suicide methods to someone struggling with a recent job loss.) Let’s stop pretending that we can upload a conscience. At best, we can make the machine act ethically most of the time, but we have to be ready when it doesn’t.
Right now (((they))) put a lot of work to make AI not look at race or cultural or other 'can't talk about' topics. "Why are none of the 50+ black majority countries not sh!tholes?" It gives you a weepy excuse.
But without the controls, AI can give honest answers that are refreshing compared to the crap we get from the mainstream.
My perspective wasn’t intended to sound woke. Rather, it’s from my legal background. Having worked a little with ChatGPT or some other LLMs, you can tweak the instructions to eliminate their tendency to be politically correct and empathic which they are designed to do to keep users hooked.
In a country where the vast majority of citizens make up an uninformed constituency, having a pastor making endorsements will be like big pharma commercials. Pastors will endorse their biggest donor and the congregation will declare it "God's Will".
The purpose of the Church is NOT to make political candidate endorsements. The purpose of the Church is to preach the Word of God and administer the Sacraments. What I want from my pastor is not "if you're a Christian, you have to vote for Trump," but if you're a Christian you can't be for the murder of unborn babies or the violation of God's creation through transgenderism because these things are from Scripture. But what I want most of all from my pastor is the message of salvation that, while we were yet sinners, Christ came into the world to save us from our sins. Too many pastors (and priests, so I hear) have traded the Gospel message for politics and social gospel. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Render unto God that which is God's. Preach Christ crucified. Thankfully, my confessional Lutheran pastor does that.
The message of salvation always needs to be prefaced with 'repent'. Too many pastors just focus on the 'goodies' instead of letting their people know that every time they sin they offend the infinite justice of God. Repentance is required each time they sin. The people need to know clearly and specifically what sins there are, especially the moral ones: abortion, IVF, homosexuality, contraception, and understand culpability for supporting them in the public sphere. Politics is just the intersection of people relating in the public sphere to set policy tied to morals. How many people today can even name the Seven Deadly Sins? Yet they vote with their ballot and pocketbook/wallet every day. Too many in the pews are satisfied with 'bumper-sticker' faith. They treat the faith more like a book club.
Repentance is how we "make straight the way of the Lord."
It's turning to Jesus to be delivered when we are tempted, so that we do not sin. It's not just being sorry every time we sin, and then keep going back to sin like a dog to its vomit.
Yes, and people have to understand what the word 'believe' meant in the first century AD. It wasn't just a factual pronouncement. The devil knows ("believes" in our 21st century English understanding) Jesus is Lord. But in the 1st century "believe" meant you practiced what you professed, living a moral life as Christ directs. In the same vein, a 'rabbi' was not just a teacher, but if you 'followed' a rabbi it wasn't just to write down his wisdom, it meant you want to act as he acts as well. The "do".
A better word for 'repent' I like using (which isn't in too common usage) is Metanoia, which means "a profound, transformative change of mind, heart, or way of life, often associated with repentance or spiritual conversion. It signifies a deep shift in perspective and a turning away from old ways of thinking and acting towards something new and better."
Also, in the Old Testament, "hear" meant "hear and obey."
I always like to add to "repent" that one is turning TO Jesus. It's His works in me that are required, and my works are worthless. HE is the one who delivers me and is credited. Thus, I have faith and His works, but am saved by grace through faith, and not by works.
His works, and our acceptance of that saving grace, put us back in right relationship with Him. But make sure to walk in sanctifying grace, with faith that is not 'dead'.
James 2:17 "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
James 2:26 "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." Having the saving grace allows us to tap in to the Spirit's sanctifying grace, empowering us to be "His hands and feet" and perform corporal works of mercy.
We can store up 'riches in heaven' by our merits here on earth, when we are in sanctifying grace.
Matthew 6:4 "so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 6:18 "that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 10:42 "And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”"
1 Cor. 3:14 "If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward."
2 John 1:8 "Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward."
For me, the greatest riches I want to 'store up in heaven', is doing my part by my actions to help bring/nourish others to Christ. I think that will be one of the greatest joys we can have there, knowing by obedience we played some small role in others lives that resulted in them being there.
1 Timothy 2:1 "I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession & thanksgiving be made for all people."
[Sorry for the lengthy response, at my age I get excited in the call placed upon us and the rewards He has planned for us if we continually humbly say "yes" to the cross He has given us.]
Research which States at the time of the signing of the Constitution, had special privileges in their jurisdiction. "Separation of Church and State" isn't in the constitution. Jefferson used it to highlight no special Federal establishment of a church, as England had at the time. Nothing more. It is unfortunate that it was picked up and ran with in the mid 20th century to ban practices in schools, and used to confuse people. Just like the phrase "Don't talk religion or politics in polite company" was used to shut people up about sharing their moral foundations with others. Societal decay then accelerated to where we are today.
The 1st thing I thought about the church news was, “great, a new faction of society to corrupt w/ money & power”. Despite Jeff’s positive view, the past 10-20 years & esp since 2020 have been so awful that I’m deeply jaded & cynical
Agreed. People can make up their own minds, right or wrong. Why do you need a pastor, priest, rabbi or any other church leader telling you about politics? Think for yourself. I have seen so much hypocrisy in many different churches that I will make my own decisions thank you very much.
Yes, I thought that too. It’s one thing for pastors to point out from the pulpit the moral and spiritual implications of voting, e.g., for a candidate who supports the plethora of immoral behaviors so common today. It’s another for him or her to start accepting donations from political candidates. And wouldn’t accepting donations cross the line the IRS just drew?
The big inner city churches for decades have been endorsing candidates with no consequences. So the choice became either shut them down (bad optics because they are mostly black or Hispanic) and tell people their donations to those churches are not tax deductible (never going to happen), or, open it up for the more law-abiding churches to be able to do the same. They chose the latter. As a Catholic, I hope this stops the bishops from persecuting priests who told their people abortion and other acts were intrinsically evil, with the unspoken idea being you can't vote Democrat since they have abortion as their 'sacrament' in their platform.
I haven't seen anything in a while. I go back to the early 2000's in one of the conservative sites, where they wrote an article about how some black churches, as an example, avoided getting a 501c3 so they could do voting related activities and 'preaching'. The problem was that people IN the congregation were using their donations to said church as a tax deductible donation, and the IRS wasn't throwing a flag on the taxpayers. Either deny the tax deductibility, or for the church to behave like most of the mainline churches do and follow the Johnson amendment. It was the open secret nobody wanted anyone to do anything about. And I could be misremembering but Thomas Sowell may have touched on the topic too.
There is a reckoning coming and it is coming our way soon. This junk theology of the “Christian Zionists” (an oxymoron if ever there was one) has to go up against traditional Christian teachings of 2000 years.
The evangelical CZs have this fixation on the “end times”, so much so that most are aware of the term “eschatology” (the science or meaning of the end times), a very obscure term for most people. It is a dangerous view that has them fixated on “saving” the modern UN created state of Israel wherein millions will perish but a few are saved, as part of the Second Coming.
Yes, the UN, by ONE lousy vote, created Israel and stole some Palestinian lands...
A vote heavily influenced by the BIG LIE of the 20th Century... the "holocaust". A lie that the jews still rely on to justify mass-murder, land thefts, corruption of America's government... as well as their own terror attacks like 911, a Mossad operation...
Anybody with a Scofield or Darby Bible needs to chuck it into the fire pit, tout suite. Both men were occultists and/or Freemasons, and their translations reflect their beliefs. So much so, in fact, that one of the Freemasons’ most important symbols, the point within a circle, is boldly emblazoned on many Scofield Bible covers. Darby was basically a cult-leader and just an all-around nasty person, and Scofield was a product of Darby’s cult, The Exclusive Brethren.
I don't think I've ever heard of Derby, I have heard people say that about Scofield but I couldn't prove or disprove it. After all, it's only a reference Bible, it isn't a divine work.
Can you provide any examples of where it distorts the Scripture? To me that's the test.
The idea of attending a church where the pastor makes political endorsement is gag inducing to me. I attended a few evangelical churches right after October 7, and I was appalled at the raw endorsement that was coming about Israel, and the “biblical justification” for the genocide of the Palestinians.
I agree, their understanding of the Bible is sad. Nowhere in the Bible are believers in Christ told to support a Godless, secular Israel. The current state of Israel is not the Israel in prophecy. That Israel will accept Christ, the current Israel rejects Christ. The OT is full of God's judgements on Israel when they reject Him. It's very possible the current state will be harshly judged before it is all said and done. We are not told one way or the other.
I have a hard time sitting through sermons on Sunday morning as it is. So much of what the non-scholar, self-appointed expert pastor claims the Bible says is simply his opinion, based on bad exegesis, bad interpretation, and bad logic. And don’t get me started on Bible translations (why are there hundreds?). But now I have to sit through more opinion-mongering about politics, of all things? Sheesh. 🙄
I thought this too but then my mind went a step further comparing the corrupt potential of this against the corrupt potential of not being able to speak up to our congregations the past 70 years, and the latter outweighed the former. We will have to remain watchful and call out pastors that can be bought, but we need to allow the church to be able to speak political truths to their constituents. More good should come from this than bad - at least that’s my initial, albeit short, analysis. I need to think on this more …
That’s a lovely dream. The reality is that frequently, men who seek power, also have insatiable sex drives. They are easily compromised. Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Prince Andrew, and Dennis Hastert, and even JFK are some examples.
“Lovely dream” was in response to Johmny-O’s comment that anyone “entering high office should be ready for such threats.” It was NOT a in response to his second sentence. I wish people in high office were not seduced by power. That is also a lovely dream, since they very much are.
Should Trump also resign, along Patel and Bongino? If anyone has been threatened, it would have been the whole lot of them and not just Bondi. I’d bet everyone in DC understands the consequences of opposing the CIA and Mossad.
She's just not that impressive, to be honest. I mean, she has great skin for a 60 year old, but other than that? Totally underwhelming. Strange choice by Trump.
Uncle Juan, I do agree about Paula White, and pray for better, godly MEN to counsel the President. Women pastors go against the clear teaching of Scripture. I pray for Trump to see that he is a sinner who desperately needs the Savior, as all do.
I agree, but another comment shed a different perspective for me: what if there are real threats to what the Admin chooses to do? “What mayhem could billionaires unleash on the USA? Coordinated sell offs of bonds, stocks? Release of pathogens? Activation of mercenary sleeper cells?” I can easily see the guilty and the deep state having power like this. I want the pedos punished too, but I would hope they would wait until they can limit the impact of severe blowback by the evil and guilty that could literally harm millions more. I was firmly on the side of believing the truth sets us free and we take the hits in Congress for the sake of getting justice for the abused, but now I’m back on the fence again and need more time to contemplate.
I appreciate your thinking, Juju. I am with you in thinking that there is more than face value on what we are seeing in the “non disclosures” re: Epstein. Hard to think of greater good when kids are at stake, but could be so.
There are people you have never heard of, who have the real money. They already want you dead. They are already releasing pathogens and "cures" that are killing millions. They are already undermining economies. They already have sleepers in place.
I will rely on God's mercy.
The worst anyone earthly can do is send me to His glory. And they can't do that until the Lord has nothing more for me to do here.
Right, notice what they are doing. Constantly rounding up large groups of pedos. Actions speak volumes. I can only guess why they say certain things that freak people out.
And at this rate they might almost make a dent by the time my children are grandparents! Such impressive numbers! Now with the BBBBBBilll $ thrown at it I'm sure it will get even more efficient and effective! Amazing stuff! At least its our team #winning amirite?!? 🤔
You must have missed Bongino and Kash rounding up hundreds of pedos and pedo rings in a matter of days recently. Just because you don’t hear of it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
I hear you. I saw that. The ones at the top still go free. What of Prince Albert, Clintons, all the ones who promote and feed the beast? The hydra has many heads, does it not?
It does. Celebrate the small wins. We won’t get them all, it’s not possible. But we can get as many as we can and God will judge the rest in the next life. I would not want to be them when they die….
I guess I'm so happy to be given a few bread crumbs! Let's all celebrate! I'm sure our children will thank us someday for being so strong and... happy.
Honestly? I think the happiest I have ever been is when I decided to take on something that seemed impossible- where the odds were stacked incredibly against me- and with Gods help succeeded. But I get that my challenging of your ideas would conjure a certain idea in your head of what I'm about. Not too worried about that honestly.
You must have missed that just was a rebranding of an operation that previously hit much higher numbers. With the social media chasing of Dash Pongino.... you certainly would hear of anything they could remotely claim as a 'success'.
ERRATA
— The SCOTUS decision was an astonishing 8-1, not 6-3; fixed
IMO... Kunta-Ketangi is at some point going to need to be expelled... impeachment or... ??
She has already broken her OATH several times and has used our Constitution as her personal toilet paper.
I wish! This DEI judge isn't any smarter than Kamala and she seems to think she got the position purely to pontificate on her own personal leftist opinions. She's not even thinking about the Constitution. But I doubt she can be removed. She would have to resign.
Maybe... if Trump had not FUBAR'd so many things... the power of the GOP would have grown and grown... perhaps enough to get an impeachment or an expulsion based on Biden's autopen... whatever...
Autopen nomination....interesting possibility. Depends on what happens with the autopens.
Thank you, I was going to say...
mfd - you are BLOCKED.
F*ck off Bot!
“Your humans slaughter each other because of the color of your skin, or your faith or your politics - or for no reason at all -- too many of you hate as easily as you draw breath. - Magneto”
― Stan Lee
I stumbled across this quote about 3 months ago. Already on the verge of contending with an existential crisis of monumental proportions, I subsequently pulled the plug on my Substack account - deleting 5 years worth of content - and resigned from commenting or even following any political circus show news, human barbarity and/or otherwise ruthless etiquette. Quite frankly, I had reached my limit of unadulterated nonsense ...my ram was full and I was running short on patience, reality, and pithy comments. I bought several bird feeders and emphatically planted my behind on my finely crafted Amish patio chair and sat and watched the birds, sans dopey news, disturbing headlines or gruesome surprises. Rather relaxing, that. I soon found out, ignorance is indeed bliss.
Alas, yesterday I (ala, the fool and glutton for an emotional and mental walloping) spent a fair amount of the day reconnecting with the world gone mad, culminating with the revelation that the Pam Bondi and Company Magic Show never had an Epstein “client list” and it was time to move on with a clean slate and get back to their roots of catching bad guys doing bad things. And, today....well, the beat - such as it were - goes on. So in short, after a sobering jaunt back in time, affirming the accomplishments and wincing at the considerable blather, I - rubbing my pulsing forehead - lifted my weary eyes off the computer screen and uttered to myself: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times……” Hey, that’s pithy…. I should write a book. Nah, the birds are calling....uh, chirping.
I’m 62 yrs old, and prior to about 5 yrs ago I’d never had the slightest interest in birdwatching.
But we live on a tall ridge in South Tulsa looking over a heavily forested ravine.
When we bought this property in 2017, we named it The Treehouse because it is surrounded by trees and stands so tall among the pines on top of the ridge.
Since returning from the PNW in 2020, we have watched bald eagles soaring (they love eating squirrels) as well as many other beautiful raptors.
In the still dark mornings, I often look out our 3rd floor bedroom directly at an owl as he perches almost within arm’s reach of my nearly floor to ceiling windows. I often wake to his “Who-who” basso profundo and worry about our cat.
This Spring a cardinal couple built a nest outside my 2nd floor den - literally in arm’s reach.
Could never have imagined becoming a birdwatcher but here I am. I even downloaded a Merlin Bird ID app to identify birds by their birdsongs.
This world is increasingly depressing with its constant bickering and betrayals. But nature is my refuge.
Nature is a reflection of God…it draws us in…
So this is what is meant by "Politics is for the birds." In other words, spending any time in politics will turn you to the birds for an escape from the disingenuous nature of modern government and its players. Psalm 37:4 suggests we delight ourselves in the Lord and He made nature for our enjoyment so yeah, birdwatching sounds pretty good to me right now.
We drove to Seattle in the summer of 2017 in my wife’s convertible - going through Yellowstone, Montana, and Idaho on our way.
All along the way I vocally praised God for His magnificent creation.
Just this Monday we were out in some beautiful green countryside and I did the same.
We live on this beautiful blue marble spinning through the universe. How can we keep from praising Him?
This can be seen even in the little yards of a city suburb too. We just have to not forget to look. Here in the flatlands of Illinois, I lay in our pool just a bit ago and was looking up at the bright blue sky with fluffy white cotton ball clouds, bright shining sun, and the contrasting gorgeous dark green of our tall mature leafy trees that encircle our property on all sides - and I was simply blown away by the beauty. Of course my mind wandered as to whether we were sitting on a flat slab or a sphere 🤣 (thanks conspiracy theorists, lol,) but I recognized an expanse anyway and immediately think of God. As much as I’d love to see the gorgeous landscapes, mountains, and natural wonders of western or eastern states (as I’m sure I’d be even MORE overwhelmed with awe,) I love that from my little plot of grass I can look up and see the immense beauty that was made to sustain us in colors that inspire happiness.
Niiiiiice, Juju! That’s the spirit. All honor and glory to God.
His majesty is all around us.
Absolutely.
How some can experience the Rockies, or the Cascades, or as I once did on a bicycle, a thunderstorm on the Great Plains, and *not* believe in God is hard for me to comprehend.
His majesty is everywhere.
If you study the human body and how it works and the incredibly fine razor line of health and disease that we teeter on constantly, it’s very difficult to NOT believe in God in His handiwork and His continued care for us. You would have to lie to yourself to not see it.
And silence is the voice of creation. Try it sometime.
And He absolutely does speak to us through it.
Merlin bird app is a must for any bird lover.
My daughter goes around the world with her Merlin app and she has the most AMAZING birds on there. It really is so cool!
I recently saw and heard 2 Hoot Owls together communicating. It was a first, I had to tell everyone.
: )
When there is an occasional owl nearby I hoot to see if they answer back and am thrilled when they do answer.
So cool
I do the same thing! I love to talk to them.
I hear it in late fall. It's wonderful.
We used to be over-run with rabbits, and had never seen an owl in the wild. But about 5 years ago on a cool early fall night with the windows open, we heard two of them. One would hoot, then the other would hoot back. This carried on for a while and eventually I fell asleep. Heard them off and on through the Fall until we had to close the windows as it got colder. Spring rolled around and started to notice that we didn't see nearly the rabbits we used to. Still periodically hear an owl at night, but still haven't seen one. Rabbit population is still down as well although I do see them out in other neighborhoods so I credit our owl neighbor(s).
There used to be a Barred Owl in our, and our neighbor's, backyards. I'd listen to it hoot. Sometimes I'd reply and he'd hoot back to me. I haven't heard it for about 6 months, nor have I seen him. (I tried to take a pic of him from my patio door one afternoon and was seen. He flew away immediately. 😢)
My rabbit population has increased significantly, I guess I will see more owls.
Same thing happened with us and the bald eagles. They showed up and it was a regular thing to see them soaring and hunting from high above.
But then we noticed they’d disappeared.
Pretty soon we also noticed our squirrel pop had disappeared.
An aha! moment.
Cycle has continued a few times so far.
Merlin is the best!
God has given us so many gifts to enjoy. We only have to learn to accept his mercy and live in His moments.
That’s worthy of writing down and taping to my pantry door. Thank you for that one!
Fr’ed, Hi fellow Okie! The dear husband and I lived in Tulsa for many years, but moved to the country at the end of 2020, right in the middle of the Covid craziness. We are about an hour away now and when I drive to the city every other month or so, I take the scenic route up through Haskell and Bixby, and usually go north up Sheridan through that pretty drive. I don’t miss the traffic! We see a lot of birds here that we never saw in town.
Hello Margo! Nice to meet you.
People have no idea how beautiful and topographically varied Oklahoma is.
Just this morning I attended the grand opening of a new hiking / mountain biking trail at Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness (the Sanctuary trail.)
Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell spoke and reminded us that our state is one of the most varied in the US, with 12 distinct eco-systems.
I’m planning a hiking trip to the Panhandle and Black Mesa in August to see the Milky Way and Perseids meteor shower.
PS: Though I love my city, I dream of doing what you have done, i.e., find a piece of land so remote that the sound of the cicadas drowns out any manmade noise.
I knew Matt Pinnell’s mom and grandmother from Bible Study at 1st Methodist downtown Tulsa, years ago! (Which is where I got saved, when Dr Buskirk was there and it was a wonderful gospel-preaching church) His grandma especially was very precious to me, and I know I’ll see Maggie again in heaven. Yes, my husband and I are very blessed, the Lord led us to a sweet 20-acre place in Muskogee County. We have meadows and woods and a creek, and dear spouse mows walking trails for us all over it.
Yes, Oklahoma is beautiful, and our climate extremes keep the wimpy lefties away, LOL! your trip sounds wonderful - enjoy!
Once again proving that Tulsa (metropolitan area pop. 1M+) is the biggest small town in the world.
First Methodist is a gorgeous church.
We have so many birds out here on our property. I saw the biggest, most beautiful woodpecker yesterday as he flew from the tree to the front yard. Tried to get a pic, but alas, back to the trees. One amusing woodpecker comes to my feeder, digs for a sunflower seed, while he spills out anything but that, and once he gets one, flies off. They are entertaining and I love it!
Yes! I tried a cheaper birdseed, less sunflower seeds, and had to sweep the deck every morning! Then a squirrel figured out how to climb the pole, hang by his back legs upside down and scrabble out everything in the tray for the five fat squirrels in his posse that waited below. They loved the dried cherries best. Then a big hawk figured out what was going on and stopped by for a daily squirrel lunch. I unintentionally created a food chain buffet.
Comedian Joe Zimmerman has a very funny bit about birdwatching:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1056374442874816
Funny.
Joe fits me to a tee - except that my beard is grey and I’m way more handsome.
(But I also fear ending up with a pair of binocs hanging around my neck.)
🤣 ”is that a whipperwill?” Funnny
Hummingbirds and quail make me so happy. And now we have lovebirds! (They escaped captivity as pets in the 80’s and are now thriving in AZ). And a couple pairs of Harris Hawks in residence.
Oh, I love your gambel quail with their little head bobbers! They are so fun to watch. My in-laws lived down in Green Valley, and I miss visiting.
They look like they are going to tip over. And there is never just one. Always in a group. Make me chuckle every time. This year saw a line of two inch newborn babies crossing our road. That was a treat
PEL, I was just watching a little quail family in my backyard this morning. So cool to watch how they take care of each other - except when they YOLO in front of the car to cross the street.
YOLO or FAFO (Flit Around and Find Out)?
Fre’d - there’s an app called birdfy.
It’s a birdfeeder with a camera.
You attach it to your house and you can look out and watch the birds or you can share your camera with somebody in another state .
Merlin is awesome. Cats are not.
She’s the latest member of my dog pack, the cat I did not want together with the Chiweenie I didn’t want, and my yuge blonde lab.
They have all accepted me as their leader.
Sounds like you've dealt that hand very well. Keep a gun by the door in case the cat escapes, can't afford to lose any more birds.
I can't let "Cats are not" (awesome) and your "... in case the cat escapes..." comments go unanswered. As with people, cats vary, and feral cats - again like people - often don't want to exchange their "total freedom" for love and affection, not to mention free food and a safe, warm place to sleep. But with patience and lots of reassuringly-slow-eye-blinks with its message of "Yeah, I'm a predator too, but you're safe from me" and a routine of accessible food and water left nearby (and play, if they're a kitten), you can sometimes win their trust, and in my case, I can vouch that it's worth the effort.
And as far as escaping goes, when one of my guys (all fixed, btw) manages on rare occasions to escape from their catio (picture Steve McQueen in The Great Escape), it's pitiful and almost hilarious how frantic they'll get trying to find their way back inside and through the cat flap into the house! (And I should note, my "guys" are all female except for one very shy male, who looks like a Russian Blue, but drools like a leaky faucet when you treat him to an affectionate chin rub).
So go ahead and keep a gun by the door, but a cat who manages to escape is either looking to mate (if still intact), or knows the end is near and wants to go out in peace (in my experience, sadly, most injured cats invariably prefer to be left alone to deal with it on their own).
I think their attitude is "I'll either get better, or I won't". Come to think of it, isn't that also something that people will do as well? 🤔
I once stopped my car late at night to move a dead cat off the road on the way home from a ski trip.
When I picked him up, he revived and $1000 in vet bills later, I owned a feral cat.
He was completely black, except for a perfectly square white patch at his throat. We named him “Fr. O’Tuffy.”
He was completely wild though and would eat until he popped.
Fattest damned cat that ever lived.
He was just making up for lost time, but a great that's a great name. We had an all-black feral cat that was tame enough to hang out with us, and my wife named him Noli (short for Noli Me Tangere, because he didn't like to be touched). He was a fixture in our backyard, and eventually grew more trusting and I was even able to take him to our cats-only vet. After my wife passed, he started coming around less often and sometimes went missing for weeks. Of course I missed him, and made a fuss (i.e. brought out some extra-tasty treats) whenever he did show up. He'd always walked slowly, took his time (I never ever saw him run) but he was clearly slowing down. Every time he did show up, I thought it might his last time, and then of course, one day it was.
When my wife asked Jesus if we'd see our cats in heaven, she relayed that His answer was "The Kingdom of Heaven is mutuality". She, and I, took that to mean that our love and affection towards pets (and perhaps all animals), and their response to us in kind with love and affection, will be part of Heaven. It makes sense that the God who IS Love, who Created Everything, and who Sacrificed Himself for us is not going to let ANY of our mutual love go to waste or be forgotten, and truly, Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Great story - and as a Traditional Latin Mass devotee and former Classics student, I loved the Latin.
The author Sheldon Vanauken (sp?) believed that pets could be with us in heaven because we wouldn’t or couldn’t be completely happy to be without them.
I hope he was right. I genuinely love mine. And when that Chiweenie that I did not want passes, I know I’ll be inconsolable.
Well then, you might enjoy the website(s) I've created for my wife, including links to her blogs (Still online!). So, if/when you get a chance (I've posted it in a C&C comment before, but I also keep updating it, little by little) check out:
https://catarinamacamericansojourner.art/blogs
Love it!
And Catarina was stunningly beautiful. I’m deeply sorry for your loss.
I have two cats, a female and male, and a dog. The cats are frequently corralled by the dog but ultimately they hold authority over the dog. Lol.
The female cat has always exuded royalty, claims the highest seat in any room, is like the princess and the pea sitting on a stack of towels or blankets, and is smarter than any cat I’ve owned. Smarter than any dog too. She’s breathtakingly beautiful with a gorgeous white mane around her neck and chest. She’s a good mouser as well but plays too long with them. If I interfere they get away and she gives me the cold shoulder for a couple days. 🤣 She won’t go outside from the porch, but if I’m sitting on the patio or the deck she will meow incessantly until I come back in and sit on the porch. She hates it when I’m in the pool and demands I come back near her. Lol
Then our male cat is like a baby panther. Dark brown, with a silver undercoat, green eyes that look like The Collector’s from Guardian of the Galaxy, and paws as big as a shepherd puppy. He has gains, big ones. Big big cat. Even tho his name is Blue (he only had his silver undercoat as a kitten so looked blue,) we call him Doosky cuz he looks so tough. But good Lord, he’s the biggest ninny and scared of his own shadow and any noise. He will dart so fast through the house and up to our bedroom with the slightest of unexpected noise. No, this one will let me die if ever our house were invaded. 😆 He WANTS total peace and quiet, no surprises. No danger. He wouldn’t dare go out of the porch if I held the door open - absolutely no interest. He’s a big baby.
They do love listening to and watching ALL the birds and squirrels in our yard though. They just don’t bother trying to get out. They know they have it good.
My Labrador is massive and aggressive. She once bit the heck outta the HOA prez who drunkenly wandered into my yard where my wife was gardening. (The blood spray pattern was crazy. Good dog!)
But when my wife rescued our little, slender female Tuxedo cat, my Lab tried to intimidate her and rushed the little cat.
Big mistake.
Cat hit the huge Labrador nose 3 times in less than a second. Sugar Ray Leonard would’ve been impressed.
Both are wary of each other to this day.
My sweet pit bull knew quite well the cat was boss. He learned very quickly not to mess with the cat.
That's hilarious! Roughly 3 years ago we had a bunch of feral cats taking advantage of the shade, shelters, misters, and free food (natch), when one day a tiny kitten showed up as well. And I mean tiny, maybe a month or so old, but no more than two or three at most. However, as I was very amused to see, her diminutive stature in no way revealed her personality! All of the other ferals, including Big Boy and his twin kept their distance, but nevertheless she would stare at them and make sudden feints in their direction and they would react in terror and make hasty retreats 😳.
Not knowing she was a girl cat, but based on her behavior, we named her "Alfred, King of Wessex" (another blatant nod to The Last Kingdom series). Once I'd managed to patiently coax her inside (little by little, step by step, lots of slow eye-blinks, good wet food (and boy was she was HUNGRY!), play, then "accidentally" leaving the door to our enclosed front porch open (which happened to have food, water, and hey - looky there - that's a litter box!). The rest is history, and yes, she immediately started using the litter box (I'd suspected she come from an overwhelmed family with good intentions) she's (yes, decidely female) now fixed and re-named Frida (sort of like the feminine of Alfred, just shortened). And based on her runway-model walk, or swagger if you like, I also call her "Slinky Girl"!
Right now she's fully grown at around 3 years, and completely stretched out (maybe a yard long?) on the bookshelf that runs completely around my office at door height 😊
I super enjoy your posts.
Like you I have a soft spot for animals. We have a coyote pack in our neighborhood and last winter I awoke to the harrowing sound of them attacking and killing some poor beast down in the valley below us.
I wish I’d been able to save it. Even so, although I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot one, I’d be sad to have to do it.
I ran out of time yesterday, but enjoyed hearing about your cats ☺️ especially the "exuded royalty" and the "breathtakingly beautiful with a gorgeous white mane around her neck and chest" descriptions! 🥰
The former reminds me of our "Princess Nunu" (passed just over a year ago, but had a reign of 18 years), and the latter is a perfect description of our Miss Edie (still going strong at twelve and a half, AKA Ethel for her raspy Ethel-Mermen-ish voice), but whose full name (and Title) is "Queen Æthelfur of Bumpenburg" (a nod to the wonderful series, The Last Kingdom, and her penchant for head-bumping greeting of both us and all of our other cats). Nowadays she and Duo (now my lone male) are inseparable and spend lots of time together in the Catio, weather permitting. And, in fact, Duo (15 years, and slowing down recently) sounds exactly like your Blue (AKA Doosky) in terms of demeanor, and he's the most non-aggressive cat I've ever known!
And like yours, they all love to watch the birds (but it's generally too hot here for squirrels, e.g. 117° yesterday 🥵)!
😆😄😆
Thank you Peter. I’m trying my best to take the high road.
Ah, well, I've been there, done that (or almost, my bill was only $600, but sadly that ended up including euthanasia ). He was a feral who I called Big Boy, but long story short (and yes, my wife often accused me of being "windy", why do you ask?) he was attacked, likely by a coyote according to my vet, and couldn't use his rear legs at all. Still, he was a loyal member of the feral fraternity, and would drag himself away and even up and over a wooden fence to keep me from coming too close once I'd finally found him. But after a day or two of pursuit and retreat, and oddly, thanks to broiling Phoenix heat I was able to get him into a carrier and rushed him to my vet (who I'd already alerted to the situation)...
But it was too little, too late. The X-rays showed no broken bones, but there was probably spinal nerve damage, nevertheless, and regardless, upon examination, the poor guy was hopelessly infected (and worse, but I'll spare you the details - it's one of those things that once you see it, you can never unsee it).
So, good for you, and keep heading for that high road, and I will too!
The ironic thing was that our cat has never killed a bird, but my otherwise sweet little Chiweenie has eaten three of them.
Well, with our eyes on the same side of our head, we all qualify as predators... 😳
Feral cats and outdoor "domesticated" cats do great damage to the native bird population. In my opinion, the only good feral cat is a dead one.
Well, I agree with you that all cats CAN take their toll on the native bird population, and you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but will you admit that it's an oversimplification?
I ask this based on our experience with the unending stream of feral cats dumped at a nearby community college campus, and especially during the housing crash of '08 (plus or minus, depending on where you lived) and its aftermath. People were overwhelmed, and suspected that dropping their house cat(s) off at the pound was a certain death sentence (and I have a close friend who used to volunteer at the local pound on the canine side during that period, and he confirmed that sad reality).
The truth is that even the most domesticated and much-loved cats will turn "feral" out of necessity, and will choose rodents over a clawed/beaked opponent anytime they can (often leaving the, uh, remains at our door as a "present" and proof of their usefulness), and I can also attest that cats have to be very wary during daylight hours to avoid becoming prey to the local hawks...
In fact, just a few weeks ago, on my way out to the garage to put out food for the local and thriving bird population, (and for whose benefit I keep a fountain running 24x7, plus misters on during the hottest weather during our multi-year drought) I was startled by a very large, and magnificent-looking predator perched atop one corner of the catio (it's got dog-kennel style wire mesh on all sides as well as its 6' high top)!
My first thought when it spread its wings out was "that's an eagle!", followed by "Uh oh", and "Yikes, that wingspan is well over a yard".
So I whipped out my sidearm and shot it! No no, just kidding! Even IF I'd had a sidearm I couldn't have used it because I was frozen, too frozen in place to move at all.
So, fortunately, it was as startled as I was, and proceeded to fly up and away! Nor have I seen them since, thank goodness! And I don't really think it was an eagle, but it was mostly white with some yellow coloring, had a large head, and a very eagle-shaped, predator-style, down-turned beak...
And, just FYI, I support a local wildlife refuge that specializes in rehabilitating raptors (https://libertywildlife.org/about-us/) and I have also brought in several injured birds to them, including a bird I named "BYP" (stands for "Brave Young Pigeon", and pronounced "bip-pea") who I presumed was a skinny or at least immature/skinny pigeon, but didn't look or act like any of the local pigeons. First off, they would walk right up to me, fearless, and usually proceed to walk backwards with their head turned sideways to keep me in sight. When one of the feral cats would be wandering around during daylight hours, and see her doing her backwards pirouettes, they would give her a wide berth ("Man, that bird's crazy!").
Secondly, and tellingly, most of my pigeon visitors either hang out on the phone/power lines, but I never actually saw BYP fly, although they'd open up their wings occasionally to maintain balance. But after several months, it started to turn cold, especially at night, and I could see that BYP was suffering and acting more and more fearful, including of me, even when I'd continued to put out a separate dish of bird seed in the largely-inaccessible locations she (as I considered them to be) preferred to spend her nights. She'd back away from me now, and whether it was the oncoming cold, or she'd taken a turn for the worse, I recognized her situation had changed.
So, winding down this very long post, I brought her to Wildlife's intake. And I'm not ashamed to admit, I prayed for this special little bird, this BYP, and not just once.
This was several years ago now, and if I'd known about that Merlin Bird ID app, I certainly would have looked her up first! Liberty Wildlife's policy is to record their bird intake in various ways, and they have vets on-site, but they don't reveal outcomes. I understand and respect that policy (if nothing else, it would require its own full-time staff to keep track of their large & ever-increasing intake). But I've always wondered what happened to BYP, and what avian species they actually were! But I trust in God and have faith that He who sees the big picture, He who knows everything, all at once, knows best.
Lastly, for you, C&C Brother William Foster, as well as anyone else who's managed to slog through this entire post, I offer up the following excerpt (that I came across by chance about 8 months ago) from my late wife's journals:
https://catarinamacamericansojourner.net/reality
"much-loved cats will turn "feral" out of necessity..."
That's why I put DOMESTICATED in quotes. There's 83 million house cats in the US, that's too many. They are an unnatural predator to the native song bird population. Some estimates are that half of all fledglings each spring and summer are killed by housecats.
I appreciate your clarification, William, on both "house cats" and "song bird population". And being an engineer-kind-of-guy I checked the numbers online (using a Google search, I confess) just now:
For example, according to https://www.rover.com/uk/blog/how-many-cats-are-in-the-world/ , the US had a cat population of "95.6 million house cats in the US in 2017", and indeed that is by far the largest in the world!
And according to a more recent article, "Cat Population by Country 2025", from https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cat-population-by-country , "In the United States, there are about 74,059,000 cats, a mix of pets, strays, and ferals." and then goes on to say "Interestingly, places like Disney World employ around two hundred feral cats to control the rodent population."
And finally, from https://basepaws.com/blog/how-many-cats-are-in-the-world, (Last updated: March 13, 2025), "Ranked number one, the United States is estimated to have at least 76.5 million pet cats. Of course, this doesn't account for their number of strays, which is said to be over 41 million. This brings their cat population to over 117 million cats, making the US the most cat-populated place globally."
So, clearly, their are significant differences in both terminology and counts! Specifically, from over 95 million "house cats" versus just over 74 million "cats, a mix of pets, strays, and ferals" versus the more definitive and recent "at least 76.5 million pet cats ... this doesn't account for ... strays, which is said to be over 41 million"!
I myself, as a city dweller, think of "house cats" as being synonymous with "pet cats" and are either indoors (as in my case) or sufficiently well-fed and cared-for to have little motivation for killing birds, most especially fledglings.
Of course "strays" are a different matter, and I noticed that two of these articles differentiate between strays and "ferals", perhaps the difference being ferals are full grown and truly wild (hence incapable of domestication), while strays were domesticated at some point but then most-likely abandoned. In my experience, a stray can willingly become a house cat/pet again, given some bribery (good food), patience, and affection. In some ways, and I've seen it, they'll become the best of pets because they don't take anything for granted (the way a "spoiled" house cat might)!
So, perhaps the number of house cats has actually declined over the past 8 years, perhaps not. And maybe during that same period, the number of strays/ferals has increased, maybe even exploded?
In any case, if you have the time, please provide me with links/sources for the numbers/estimates you've provided. I'm interested in this "birds versus` cats" subject, since I feed both, but would like to get a better handle on some "apples versus apples" categories/numbers (e.g. Are any of the birds I'm feeding qualify as "song birds"? They sure make a lot of noise!)
Outdoor cats in the US kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds a year. Regardless how well fed, cats will kill shit for free. Birds>>>>>>>>>cats. Fuck cats. Full stop.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+birds+do.cats+kill+every+year+in+the+US&oq=how+many+birds+do.cats+kill+every+year+in+the+US&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQABgeMg0IAhAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMgcIAxAhGI8C0gEJMzYxNDRqMGo3qAIUsAIB8QXVKLapk96sT_EF1Si2qZPerE8&client=ms-android-samsung-gs-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
Giving thanks to The Creator for the created. 🙏🏻
Fre'd - paraphrasing: "We have met Nature and She is ourselves."
Get the lifetime book and start checking off the birds you've seen. Once you start, you can't stop.
Have you used the (free app) MERLIN put out by Cornell U ? - it identifies bird song...it's incredibly charming and it makes one even more aware about the lovely birds that are about....
I love Merlin. Use it often.
(OK, when I don’t leave my cellphone in the house or truck, that is. )
Love the Merlin app
I have missed your pithy comments and wondered where you had gone. You are right, as I own several bird feeders that get me through Michigan winters. I have learned to digest much of the news through a Biblical perspective, only read it in the morning, and stay off track in my evenings. There’s enough crap in my own small world.
It's been interesting, if not magnificently educational, witnessing the personality traits of the various species. Example: The yellow finches are most amiable when among their own kind. The Mourning Doves seem to tolerate each other but have no problem wildly beating their wings when they feel crowded. The Carolina Chickadees are "to-go" eaters. Same with the Blue Jays, except they really stuff their beaks before heading off. The Cardinals seem to be quite well behaved. When the Grackles swoop in, it's every bird for themselves! We've learned (are continuing to learn) the multitude of chirps and whistles of each species. Incidentally, repeat after me: Buy a squirrel baffle.
This being mating season, have you witnessed a female titmouse standing and beating her wings close to her body, enticing any nearby male to come feed her? We see this behavior over our ground feeder, which we stock with sunflower seeds and peanuts.
We have several "Tufties" (just can't get comfortable with "Titmouse"😁, nor seafaring "boobies"). Haven't witnessed the behavior you're describing.
When we were birding on vacation in Britain we came across the lovely little Great Tit. We saw lots, which is what my husband gleefully reported back home to those who asked us, "How was your trip?"
See, that's good stuff. I don't care who you are.🤣
Out of deference to the humor of Scott Adams, we have come to refer to our titmice (titmouses?) as "Pointy-Haired Bosses".
And yes, Roger, we've seen that behavior - we get a kick out of it every time.
Isn't the plural meece? I love those meeces to pieces...
Initially, we thought they were juvenile Cardinals.🤡 In our defense, we were neophytes in the avian department.
Titmice are my favorite winter bird here. I have a feeder attached to my kitchen windows for winter and they and the chickadees make winters happier.
It was an understandable misconception.
🤭
The house finches here have been having multiple sessions of two second sex.
No surprise there, just typical guys...
Multiple is not typical.
You're right. I should have qualified my comment with a suitable "just kidding" emoji...
😂
I have a balcony overlooking a tree-filled and LARGE yard where my wife and I love to sit in the evenings for quiet conversation, to listen to music, have our "happy hour" and enjoy some bird-watching. I have suet feeders, seed feeders and hummingbird feeders, so we get plenty of action. A couple of years ago, we watched a crow pair build a literal "crow's nest" on top of an odd vertical branch in a large redwood on the far side of the yard. We watched them coming and going for a month or so, and then we saw a couple of little heads poking up, and then it was another month or so of feeding the little ones. We watched them fledge, and they hung around for a couple of months before going off to start their own families elsewhere.
I know a lot of crow-haters exist out there, for valid reasons, but we like to watch them. They're funny, intelligent and loyal. They show appreciation for feeding by dropping off little trinkets - after tossing out a bunch of breadcrusts a couple of weeks ago, I found a shiny, black and lightweight rock sitting on the balcony railing. It could only have been left there by a bird, as only I and my cats have access to the balcony. It was pretty special.
We have Western towhees, chickadees, red finches, gold finches, sparrows, scrub and stellar jays, oak and downy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, juncos, titmouse(s), and occasional migratory visitors that are always a welcome sight.
Thanks for your comment, Eric. It's a good reminder that a lot of the world we engage in daily is manmade, artificial - a game with no rulebook provided, one we have to figure out constantly.
It's great to get away from that - take a hike, observe the natural world, lay in the grass and look at the stars. All this artificiality - in which I'm engaging even as I type this - is but one aspect of this life. Taking time away from the games to engage with the greater reality - the natural world, and its place in the universe - reminds us how tiny and insignificant we are in the grand scheme, and simultaneously how special and precious all of life is on this tiny blue pearl floating around in the vastness of space.
I like to grease the pipe supporting my feeder. I start the grease about 3ft up, then watch the squirrels slide down like furry firemen in the firehouse.
Comical, isn't it. I toss them some nuts from time to time as to prevent an uprising of some sort.
A baffle underneath seems to work.
I don't doubt that, just not as entertaining as the grease.
Grackles...they are the bane of my wife's existence! Every Spring, they nest in the trees beside the pool. They are LOUD and MESSY. My wife curses them every day until they leave.
I used to think so, until the crows started swooping in. New villains. I don't mind them eating off the ground, but they kick the living crap out of the feeders. Early on we had a rogue gang of European Starlings really rough up the joint. It was ugly.😋
Starlings should be given the Homan treatment, if you catch my drift. I think they have overstayed their visas.
The PNW has many lovely species that visit my feeder. Some favorites are nuthatches and spotted towhees.
I’ve only had a verifiable sighting of a towhee once here in Michigan, but we abound with nuthatches here in the winter. My upside down bird.
Nuthatches are rare here at present. We were absolutey inundated with Goldfinches for a couple of months and then they suddenly disappeared. It was odd.
I found if I feed goldfinches thistle seed and not just sunflower seed they stay around more. In the winter when the males are drab olive color, I wait for April when they get their bright yellow feathers for the summer and mating season.
Got you both beat…starlings. They are bully birds who are obnoxious. They nest in open eavestroughs or under the cap of our country propane tank. To say they are proficient defecators is putting it mildly. I did find out they prefer corn in many types and disdain sunflower seeds so that does keep them at bay. We do use suet cages here in the winter, and the premade feeding blocks that fit in them generally have corn in them so that brings them back. The suet cages are replaced by jelly jars and a split orange for the orioles who are only here for a few months in summer to nest.
I have tried several suet blocks over the years (from our local ACE Hardware which has the best prices) and found that their peanut laced variety is heavily favored by our flicker population, with the occasional downy woodpecker coming in as well. It is fun to see the bigger birds contort themselves to get at that peanut-y goodness. FWIW.
I actually buy raw peanuts in 20 lb bags for the winters here. The blue jays, downy and hairy wood peckers, and red bellied and I even get a pileated woodpecker on occasion love peanuts. I get my suet bars from TSC. There’s a certain brand that doesn’t put all the junk in them.
Good to know about ACE.
I have a couple one-cake suet feeders I keep out all year. The Downey woodpeckers are still coming, and a redheaded woodpecker once in awhile. But it's the starlings that will tear into a suet cake and devour it in a day.
Ooh, Orioles!
Jealous.
Don't forget “invasive species.” Boogers.
We've been plagued with cowbirds this summer. Horrible feeder hogs and nest destroyers.
Cowbirds? I have a small group, less than a dozen every year, and they are peaceful, docile and welcome. They are far more kind and enjoyable than the grackles. The cowbirds I have eat on the ground where I put seed, like the doves. I have never known them to destroy nests, but I have watched grackles kill sparrows who are eating near them. They tear their heads off.
Hi Dave, read about cowbirds. Sure, they seem nice and sound pretty but they invade songbirds nests, kick out songbirds eggs, lay their own eggs and the poor songbird incubates the cowbirds eggs unknowingly. 🪺
The jays are part of the crow family and do the same thing. We have 2 varieties of jays - the steller's jay, and the scrub jay. Used to have more of the steller's , but recently more of the scrubs.
We used to have giant ravens until the Nile virus wiped them out. They are finally starting to come back.
I have the three "black birds", grackles, starlings and cowbirds. They have very different personalities. The larger grackles are mean, but very skittish. The cowbirds are smaller and are gentle and peaceful, with a distinctive whistle. The starlings are loud and obnoxious, and very selfish, hogging the suet feeder while a Downey waits patiently for them to leave. The starlings love the water bowls, they spend a lot of time splashing and flapping. The parents brought all the young here after they could fly.
I’ve missed you Eric! Hope you’re back for a while. Have you tried the Merlin app? It’s fun especially if you don’t recognize a bird sound.
Last night we had at least twenty baby quail under our feeder. They are so dang cute. Its probably two broods, you know, safety in numbers.
Missing the Western Tanagers this year, look them up, gorgeous birds. Where are they? 🥲
Howdy-do. Cool looking little bird, that Tanager.
Yep, and not little, robin size actually. I even put yellow rocks by our water feature which I swear helps attract them, but no luck this year. Water usually attracts them.
I hear a quail once in awhile in the Spring, somewhere near here, there are woods nearby. But quail nest on the ground and I am amazed that they are able to survive the predators.
Dave, we had a huge storm the other night and we worried about the babies then. They get wet and then chilled and die but they survived!!! They are surviving the coyotes this year too.
The coyotes are coming right up to our house now, getting more bold as the Forest Service has closed the forest behind us for a year or two, supposedly for fire management, but we think it was really to sweep out all the homeless. The homeless did start about a dozen fires over the last 3-4 years, so maybe it really is about fire management? haha! Just a joke, I'm really pissed about the whole thing but at least the obnoxious mountain bikers are staying away. The really pissy part... if they had enforced the 14 day camping rule 4 years ago, the problem would not have gotten out of hand.
Can't vouch for accuracy of this info, the experts can be wrong, you know. But I've read coyotes are actually good for quail. They run the foxes off. And while coyotes are happy to eat quail eggs and hatchlings, they don't seek them out like foxes, so are much less predatory to quail. Conventional wisdom was to kill a coyote at any opportunity. Never shot at a coyote again after learning that.
We don’t have many foxes here in Central Oregon, maybe that’s why, too many coyotes.
My husband has a bird hunting pod cast and he interviews bird experts a lot, especially interesting is a quail guy. I’ll ask him.
The wildlife pictures one sees of foxes often does show them with eggs 😊
Whenever anybody talks about too many coyotes, need to kill them, etc. I always mention that info. Not surprisingly, nobody ever heard of it - it's not the kind of knowledge that gets around much.
I believe there are tons of studies about culling rabbits and/or coyotes. The culling usually backfires or so they say.
Skunks, raccoons, rats and snakes love quail eggs.
Quail feeders are neat, brush pile with some kind of wire cage under it. Just throw feed on top.
I got a “squirrel buster” feeder (ridiculously priced). My squirrels are smarter than a feeder, not to mention raccoons.
To be fair it isn’t calked “raccoon buster”. I have to remember to bring it in every night. I send myself a reminder on my phone. : )
I put out seed on the ground in a couple areas, and a feeder tray on a stand in the middle. The squirrels know when I throw seed out and they come right away. Their fav is sunflower seeds. I put out enough for them and the birds. If I have ear corn the squirrels like that also, sometimes running off with the entire ear.
The raccoons haven't been bad this year, but have been known to turn the stand feeder over, and even tear down my hummingbird feeder that hangs from a tree branch over the back porch.
I made a squirrel-proof feeder out of 3/4" steel conduit. I put a tee at the top and hooks at both ends of that for suet cake feeders. I bought a "squirrel baffler" on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A0OMUY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1) that keeps the buggers from climbing the pole, and it's too high for them to jump.
The only issue is the crows really eat a large chunk of every cake, because they're still feeding the younguns they created a couple of months ago in one of my cedars. But it's fun to listen to them feeding the proto-crows - that gurgling sound the kids make as Mom regurgitates chewed-up food into their gullets is hilarious...
My problem is I have an earth contact house. The deck comes off the open side (the length of house) and faces the forest. I have the feeder attached to the wood soffit. Too close to the house. I have removed the screen, that helps. Someday I’ll be as smart as a squirrel and raccoon
My feeder is free-standing in the yard - it's skewered onto a 3-foot concrete form stake I hammered into the ground, with the "baffler" mounted about 4 feet up. It's in an open area, away from any trees a squirrel could use as a jumping platform, leaving only a thwarted ground approach.
I was proud that I finally outsmarted the little buggers. Now if I could figure out a way to keep the crows from eating half the cakes... But I think they'll move on once their young can feed themselves.
We have a squirrel buster - known as Rose. She is from hunting poodle lines, and so far has killed 5 squirrels that I know of (she has brought them to us - the first time left it on the bed in the middle of the night between my husband and I to find when we got up in the morning). Most of the squirrels stay far away now. She was defeated, however, by the skunk.
All hail Rose!! She sounds terrific
When my beloved Lab, Rocko was alive, he kept them away.
In my experience, baffles are better than busters. I bring my feeders in every night, too. We have all manner of wildlife around here.
We use a good old Slinky, and it works really well!
A slinky. I might have to try.
And I live across the road from a stand of black walnut trees, therefore much squirrel activity! They come to my place, try and fail to climb the slinky, so eat spillage on the ground. I do have to pull a lot of baby walnut trees from random spots every spring!
Yeah, agreed that’s why I am sending myself an alert. I simply forget. There is a point in the day when I am just done.
My favorite is the Mockingbird. Simply because when there is a threat from hawks, crows, owls etc., they are the only ones who get after it and harass the predator chasing them away. The smaller birds hunker down waiting for the all clear sign.
I used to work on a farm and get there each morning around 6AM and there would be a mockingbird who would perch on one of the poles on the farm and sing his heart out for hours. I would love listening to his songs every morning as I harvested squash & tomatoes.
I have one who perches in a huge Pyracantha in the median in front of my house. I swear he's been there for years. He surveys the area and loves to swoop down into my zoysia grass for a snack.
I love the mockingbirds too! They don’t put up with any invaders to their territory! And the variety of sounds is amazing! I have trouble sometimes because they will imitate sounds of the other local birds, (ugly sounds!) and I’ll be surprised when I see it’s a mocking bird!
I, too, am glad to see your comment today. Like you, I've had to pull waaay back and recalibrate my priorities. I can't stop reading C&C every day but that is where the news stops. I'm on no social media, even X, and it feels so good. Enjoying the birds and their little worlds is a much be preoccupation. 🙂
The Red bellied woodpeckers don't care who's currently occupying the feeder, they are coming in and get out of my way!
Rarely do we have a big Red come in, mostly Downies and smaller varities.
I had similar thoughts. I get it though. Whoops, the hummingbirds are calling
My hummingbirds are the most vocal of all my birds. I get quite a variety as I back up to 250k acres of woods.
I bet!!
Such violence!
They are wickedly territorial.
They are. Mine (ha ha) have learned to share for the first time this year
Y'all need to find somewhere else to commit about stuff that has nothing to do with the subject matter on covid.
Touch grass Richard.
That made me do a snort laugh 😆
Your comment is for the birds. 😏
That’s what is wonderful about this Substack. We are a community. Most DO post about the subject matter but in between we enjoy these wonderful tangents and build relationships.
Maybe you need to find somewhere else that doesn’t care about people or their personal lives. That might make you happier.
Hallelujah
That is why there is a “scroll on by” device.
That is mean and uncalled for. Perhaps you need to stop reading it. Nobody required you to read it.
I think it’s a community Richard and you can simply skip this section on comments if it bothers you
But I read it to feel the community part
Good to see you here, I have wondered where you were. Watching the birds is always a calming and reassuring activity. I still have wrens going in and out of their little house outside my kitchen window.
Been putting out mealworms on the porch for our resident little bossy wren. She has a nest in our hanging fern there. She woke me up this morning with a very loud song. (How does such a little bird have such volume?) Obviously, I was late with the grub. Babies were hungry.
I put out mealworms daily for my Northern Mockingbirds!
I love our Carolina Wrens and their staccato chirps.
Been wondering where you were! Excellent commentary as always! Bird watching is the best- hummingbirds are cute, but they certainly can be mean!
If you have hummer feeders over your porch railing, try this: Don a red cap (your MAGA one will do) and put on a pair of protective glasses. Stand with your head in line with your feeders. Hummers will hover in front of you and peck your glasses, looking for food - red draws them in like a magnet.
I had several Hummers at my former home. I would put on a hot pink sweater they liked, go near the feeder and they’d swoop in. Looking at me and defending their spot. I miss them.
Wow, that sounds fun. “My”hummers will dive bomb me if the feeder is empty (that rarely happens).
I am refilling feeders at least once in a 36 hour period. I just love watching them. My hew part time job.
Haha. I'm gonna try that. Thanks.
hahaha
Very territorial!
All birds are and mean. Cardinals love to fly into windows trying to get their enemy. Ha
This is why we need our own murder of attack crows.
I had one cuss me out for not getting the feeder out fast enough. She just flew up to the window, near my face, and let me have it!
🤣🤣🤣
Oddly, we don't experience a lot of hummingbirds, though they don't stick around long. We have 2 confirmed, but they're so fast at the feeder no one really knows.
I can’t keep up with the sugar water, filling it every 3 days. We have two feeders, one at the front and the other at the back of the house. Very territorial, chasing each other away
We planted a bunch of butterfly bushes that they frequent- we arent disciplined enough to change every three days!
Me too. I have Turks Cap, Fire bush, Fire spike, zinnias, Black and Blue salvia, Bottlebrush and a few others they seem to like.
Yeah, that's a pain.
“Small Bird Syndrome…”
Hummingbirds are territorial, but only with other hummers. I have fewer this year than usual for some reason.
Yes, hummers are very territorial. At least some varieties are. One of the emerald green ones would take over a feeder, and guard it almost all day. If any other hummer went there to feed, the guard would fight it off all the way to the ground.
They don't like sharing feeders, and can be brawlers and wrestlers!
Our internet went out yesterday morning around 6 am and remains out as I type this. I only have 5G on my cellphone to access the internet. Our TV is streaming that uses our internet and I have devices for gaming that only use WiFi, same with our yard’s sprinkler system. My iPad and laptops do not have 5G, and in an effort to lower monthly cellular bills I got rid of the unlimited hotspot usage so I only use WiFi with my iPad and don’t connect via my phone. So … last night we played cards for about three hours! Lots of laughter, then we popped in an old DVD to watch a movie we hadn’t seen in a while, which I actually fell asleep to after 2/3 of the way through it because that’s how relaxing the evening was. It was like living in the 80s again.
I bet we’d get a heck of a lot more done around our house if the internet went out 3-4 days straight every week going forward. 🤣
I recently lost power. So I bought a game of scrabble. For next time!
Certainly you probably get more sleep.
Check out this song, if possible:
Killing Joke - Eighties
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U1Ue_5kq8
Thanks ... I really really needed a new ear worm.
It has one of those beats that’s gonna stick in my head all day long, thank you very much 🤣
Eric, I saw your name in the comments list and said to myself "Eric...I haven't read anything from him in AGES". Now I know why and I can fully understand why you would want to step away. I have the same thought myself. Ignorance IS bliss, I'm convinced of that. Welcome back, even if it's only for a brief time.
Watching birds can be quite refreshing to the soul. Something about their simple freedom attaches to your spirit.
One of my favorite books is Poems that touch the heart by A.L. Alexander. It’s available to read online here: https://archive.org/details/poemsthattouchhe0000alal_g7i8/page/n5/mode/2up
I also read lots of antique poetry and quotation books. 📚 It’s a great way to lift a mood and focus on the beauty of life.
The people have gone crazy, but God has it all under control. Relax and watch the show, but be prepared to jump into the scrum when called. We live in exciting times.
Completely agree with you! I love the birds, too…they do what they are designed to do, and they faithfully continue on each year in hope! Same with the bunnies…I didn’t like them eating my flowers, but we’ve made friends and most days I feed Harry a carrot out of my hand, connecting with his little face. He’s come to expect it…under the bird feeder as they flutter above.
Enjoy your blissful ignorance! We most often can’t do anything personally on the level of the news anyway…but we can love one another in our spheres of influence. May we live up to our redemptive potentials wherever we are!🫶🌷
The call of nature is sublime indeed, Eric - and more 'pure truth' is captured in watching the endless 'toil' of honey bees, than reading about the latest political hijinks around the globe.
BACK TO NATURE and if we all had the occupation of farming or homesteading as our regular activity - we would all be more redemptive and replete with satisfaction in a day well spent--watching nature do its best to keep us fed and our family NOT watching some despicable piece of digital trash on their 'tiny blue screens'!!
Jehovah Jireh - and He does and He will!
We have too many bears in our area, it’s a lunch time bell calling when they discover a bird feeder, then it’s destroyed!!
My brief foray into feeding birds ended when it became clear that my bird feeder was actually a hawk feeding station. And the hawks were not eating the bird seed. Nature can be restorative, and also brutal.
Hawks used to eye my dachshund as a meal.
Our dachshunds were also a temptation for a local hawk. Fortunately, the hawk was more interested in the baby bunny that we - unfortunately - watched fly off in the hawk's grip. Ugh.
Poor bunny. My Ricochet Rabbit managed to evade the hawks and owls his entire life. He even used to chase two cats and one dog up and around trees and ponds and bushes in the back yard half acre. He was a character.
Sounds like Mr. Richochet's antics with the cats and dog elevated his evasion techniques - poor hawk wouldn't know how to pluck up such a plucky rabbit!!
My wife and I were relaxing with cocktails on our 2nd floor deck one summer evening when a hawk hit a chattering squirrel in a nearby tree.
The violence was impressive.
See, I love birds of prey! Call me sadistic, but it’s the circle of life! I love watching them, trying to attract an owl but with no success yet
The hawks in our area love to drop perfectly severed bunny heads onto our yard as they fly over, only for my dog to grab one with jaws of steel that won’t give it up even when I shake them upside down and squeal for them to drop it. 🤣 it’s so sad because we have a LOT less bunny nests in our yard now. But my impatience flowers sure do like it.
You’re a more stoic nature lover than I, Gunga Din! That would unhinge me.
🤣 Oh I was unhinged, thus the squealing.
The birds are well worth watching. I try & walk every morning a mile or more. The earlier the better. More bird songs. It really helps to filter out so much of the nonsense
God knows when the sparrow falls from the nest … Matthew 10:29-31
I have sparrows that nest in a hole above my backdoor (brick house) and chickens across the driveway where the sparrows find mealworms and blackberries and all kinds of yummy things to eat. Their many babies are plump and ready for flight when they emerge from the hole.
I've often thought about the money that is invested in destruction and how that amount could benefit mankind.
Stick with the birds. They're much wiser than we mere humans.
Trump’s response was offensive because he denies Justice to Epstein’s victims. The victims are why all of this matters. The American people need to know that it’s not still happening. We want transparency and accountability.
JuIie,
I agree! Trump was friends with Epstein and invited him to his parties. I’ve seen a video of Trump joking around with Epstein for several minutes whilst checking out women.
The victims need justice and the American people need to see the criminals prosecuted for their crimes. Pam Bondi admits that many were little children in the pornographic movies. These kids have probably had their lives ruined.
James O’Keefe has a video of the kitchen at Epstein island. The only picture in the kitchen is of a naked baby sitting in a stainless steel bowl holding a phallic shaped instrument. What does that suggest? It disturbs me greatly.
Epstein had to have a client list which provided the client’s sexual deviances so they could be adequately provided for. There is absolutely no way that there isn’t a list somewhere. Possibly it was destroyed, but I doubt anything that valuable would be destroyed.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned here that Musk right after his fallout with Trump said that Trump is on the Epstein list. I wonder if that is part of the current situation.
Didn't the early glimpses of the list, show Trump is on the flight list, but with a destination of New York to Florida, or Florida to New York, not the island? Democrats didn't run with that to discredit him, they fabricated Russia, Russia, Russia, impeachment, & constant lawfare instead, why? They couldn't implicate him without implicating themselves? Back then, Trump was the millionaire/billionaire everyone loved & wanted to be with. Trump eventually banned Epstein from his club & I think I read that he gave evidence against him in his Florida trial, is that when the elite democrats/rinos started turning on him? Because he was throwing a wrench in their weird pedo pizza parties? Was Trump a threat to them then? Wonder what Musk was alluding to, or did "Big Balls" actually find something? Something seems sooo fishy... TAW
If Trump was on the List, you can be sure the Dems would have used that against him long ago.
Not if they are really working together for world government
And they (Dems) are also on the list
Too many powerful people are on the list... The flight logs are enough to know who many are. Famous and wealthy... all of them are bred or blackmailed to get there.
I don't separate dems and reps anymore. It was a rep who first said there will be a one world gov. - Bush Sr....
They are all satan worshippers who do unspeakable things and SRA their own to make them the same sociopathic narcissistic people like themselves.
Plot twist:
Like with Covid origin the answers to the questions aren't going to be found in the simple paradigm of acceptable theories, like, say, lab leak vs. zoonotic. False debate for the masses that threatens nobody with real power. And, my theory ties in Epstein to the Covid plandemic. To wit, he was in the middle of the biotech/biomedical industry and mindwar industry that took over global governance in 2020. He taught psychology, behavioral science, at Harvard...without a degree in the fields. Knowledge he acquired OJT? He was a masterful manipulator. His Little Black Book was filled with the top scientists in biotechnology and biomedical fields, as well as in the cognitive sciences, propaganda. Some of his most frequent guests at both Lolita Island and in his mansion in the NM desert were the top minds in the world in those fields. It's said the NM ranch was where he stored the sperm and egg "donations." Filled with "conception" rooms.
He got his teaching position at Harvard as a major donor to the top eugenicists and planned evolutionary design scientists researching/teaching there. And to the top bioethicist, George Church, bioethics being the field of rationalizing and justifying any bad act on mankind as serving a greater good - utilitarianism. His affections and the affections of young girls at Lolita Island were of girls who had reached puberty and able to produce offspring. He publicly wrote/spoke of his desire to make himself a sperm donor for a master race, a Genghis Khan figure. And the ideas of eugenics he supported were of the same type, blending the genes of the most intelligent minds with the most beautiful women - many supermodels also frequented Lolita Island, were in his LBB. Don't forget, a nasty side effect of the shot is infertility. Side effect? Or Intention? Is what Epstein's circle was studying, "planned evolutionary design" and other genetic designing sciences. Eugenics changing the population gene pool stuff.
It's very possible, and from my perspective likely, that the pedophilia story of Epstein has always been more of salacious distraction from what was really going on there. For the prurient eyes that aren't able to focus beyond sex. And when many of the biotech/biomedical connections were also integral in orchestrating the Plandemic, from owners of the largest PCR testing companies, to the largest mRNA platform companies, to the Nonpharmaceutical Intervention (NPI) of Behavioral Science, the "nudges" that weaponized psychology and propaganda to make people believe the pandemic was real and justified the medical tyranny, using BS-based "fear amplification," aka state-sponsored terrorism were ALL in his wheelhouse. And having a Jeffrey Epstein behind bars just months before the Plandemic was put into action would've been a big, big problem. He'd have been onto it and used his knowledge to negotiate his release.
Ask yourself what exactly changed between 2005 and 2019 that would've made him a bigger threat to the system to warrant his murder in prison? His death in August, 2019. Just a month before the first test samples of Covid - if you are to believe it is what they said it is - are traced to Italy in September, 2019, the Trump EO on developing new flu "vaccine" technology, Event 201 around the corner in October and the CNN/MSM stories first planted about Fauci working to prevent the next Spanish Flu using mRNA "emailable" vaccine designs. Designs that Jeffrey Epstein's circle were working on. What changed in August, 2019 from all of the years of his publicly disclosed dirty deeds was the knowledge insiders had about a plandemic that was imminent. A plandemic that he would've spotted for what was going down while he was behind bars. And that made him a threat that had to be eliminated.
Sure, the kompromat of the wealthy and powerful was useful for intelligence agencies. But the Plandemic was a global collaboration. Compromised individual leaders over sex scandals weren't the biggest threat they were eliminating. Compromised global medical tyranny cabal, that was the biggest threat they were concerned with. Sure, they let us go ahead and think it was about compromised powerful men having sex with children. But that's penny-ante stuff compared to the stakes in the game that was really being played. And Epstein was in a position to break a whole lot of hands that were dealt into that game.
I have reams of research I did on his little black book, who the players are in it representing major components of the plandemic. It's really, really big and bulky. Took a lot of time to compile. The hard work of whittling it down to the most compelling parts is what stops me from writing the story. And that's even after cutting out 95% of the source material I had to find and digest. But it's there for those willing and able to connect the dots.
Epstein plot twist. That nobody of reach and importance has any interest in touching. The truth often is.
Keep that and back it up 5x.... That's a lot to digest, the tip of the evil iceberg, and likely all true.
Remember Alec Baldwin shot that woman, who also has an interesting background, on the movie set of Rust? That was a rock throw away from Epstein's ranch. Just a strange connection...
So many connections and that's less than 10 years so imagine 100 of what they have been doing must be vast... The military mind experiments alone are unconscionable.
Apparently JEs original funding is from Victoria's Secret owner and imagine what the secret is...
So many famous people died under suspect circumstances the last 5 years rumored to share forbidden info.
When Kappy blew the whistle is when I started looking into it all. He didn't die in vain. He repeatedly said he wasn't suicidal and then he killed himself and then Hanks signaled the death on Twitter. Then I knew for sure.
There was a lot of vids of him that are no longer found but remember.
I suspect every famous person and they all signal. I despise it all. It is much worse than we think even about the tunnels.
Its a conspiracy all right.
Trump isn’t working with them on world government. He hates their antics and global leadership rackets
You may be right but I saw many things that are not what I thought about him. I don't trust him and don't deny he is doing a lot of good.
IMO, Nobody gets to be rich, famous, president etc without being in the club. Nobody.
However, I trust God and he works through people. I hope you are right but I lost my hopium with man's plans.
Trump was born rich...didn't have to "get to be rich."
In that case, we're all screwed.
It's been this way for millenia.
We are just more aware of it now.
Ignorance is bliss but I'd rather know.
IMO, we have the Bible as our only truth. Before you discredit it, you must seek God and truth first. Reading it gives me insight and comfort and that alone is needed in this wicked world.
I don’t say world gov but I do say not if it means their ass is burned too.
What exactly did i write that you didn't like? I am open to learn and discuss....
The birds show your ignorance or inability to communicate.
Omg! I thought that was the pointer finger!!! I was highlighting what you said!
Now that is funny. Keeping it real and funny.
I hope i wasn't rude back and it just goes to show that we should be respectful since people make mistakes or misunderstand.
You were not! I was like… what did I say 😂
Yesterday Elon said Steve Bannon was on the list. Has he seen a list to know this? If so he’s the only special one. Why not share it with the world? Elons shooting from the hip with his accusations, pretty immature behavior.
Not sure that Elon is shooting from the hip.
His demeanor changed greatly over the last month or so.
IMO, Elon is lilely an SRA and/or monarch victim now an adult doing what he was programmed to do.
KJ, you likely know what they can do and did to people's psyche and more. Not that I trust Jessie Czebotar but she claims her and Elon endured some serious trauma and I don't doubt that part.
His mom seems to be witchy and connected to evil stuff like Balenciaga things and that is just the surface.
Whether true or not, we can make pretty accurate assumptions by who they associate with and how they dress and put on social media.
Abusive father and childhood trauma.
https://fortune.com/well/2023/09/17/does-elon-musk-have-ptsd-walter-isaacson-biography/
And that's not the horror behind closed doors in the dark...
If Elon's mom "seems to be wtchy"...then no wonder when the world became vicious toward him (burning Teslas, etc.) he doesn't have a Biblical/Christian awareness of greater Truth to bring peace, console the soul. So maybe he is just not handling the trauma inflicted upon him from the vicious Left very well.
They turned on him because people want to hate on others and were manipulated.
It is a clown show to me.
There is just so much going on in our world and we are under attack constantly.
We need Jesus.
Could be drugs affecting Elon's demeanor?
No, I don't think so.
Would guess he just feels betrayed.
Good observation Kathleen. Perhaps EM found the father figure he missed as a child in DJT, feels rejected again?
EM needs to acknowledge that the only true father figure any of us have is Jesus, and He never fails us.
Try harder. Both parties were well represented on his list. The Uniparty lives to see another day.
Momcat & Doohmax are correct. This is from an article from “The Hill” awhile back -
“….book written by a group of Miami Herald journalists claims that President Trump barred disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein from his private club in Palm Beach, Fla., years ago following an incident with another club member’s teenage daughter.
“The Grifter’s Club,” released Tuesday, asserts that Epstein was a member of Trump’s club until 2007, when he was banned for hitting on another member’s daughter. Co-author Nicholas Nehamas told the paper that records show Epstein’s account at the club was closed in October 2007….”
And you can bet if Trump were involved in any of the terrible things Epstein did, the Left would have added it to Russia, Russia, Russia, the fake impeachments and anything else they could have. I am sure this involves Many powerful people from here (not Trump - remember that Musk walked back what he said) and Europe but Trump does need to figure out a better way to handle this - and fairly quickly.
Plus Trump was the only person who provided assistance to prosecutors when Epstein was charged in Florida
Can you provide links on that?
BTW, Jon Rappaport is reporting today that the Miami prosecutor who gave Epstein the sweetheart deal in 2008, was then nominated by Trump and confirmed as his Sec of Labor in 2019.
What gives?
https://jonrappoport.substack.com/p/somebody-ask-trump-about-alexander-acosta-and-watch-him-turn-purple?publication_id=806546&post_id=167896810&isFreemail=false&r=9mc1r&triedRedirect=true
*** *** ***
TRUMP IS EPSTEIN'S #1 ENEMY
"Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy, and you all were brainwashed to hate him for that very reason."
[For those who have not figured out Trump’s affiliation with Epstein, allow me to explain.
Trump is the one who exposed Epstein in 2008, hence why all of DC fears him. Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy.
Epstein was running a blackmail operation. He was seeking out the most powerful people on Earth, to compromise and control them. He tried to get Trump, but Trump did not bite.
Trump banned Epstein from his properties in 2008, for hitting on the teenage daughter of a club member at Mar-a-Lago. Then a couple months later, Epstein pled guilty to State criminal charges in Florida, for paying for sexual services from a 14 year old girl.
See the timeline? Epstein, tried to get close to Trump to compromise him, Trump found out Epstein was a sicko, then Trump helped turn him in to local police. But eventually the Clinton-controlled FBI intervened, and Epstein was let off the hook.
The Deep State have been coming after Trump ever since. Why? Because if Epstein is exposed, then all of DC goes down due to the blackmail Epstein possessed on the top players in DC. Hence why Clinton barged into Vanity Fair and threatened them not to write stories about Epstein. The Clintons told the MSM to bury the story.
Then when Trump got into office, he dedicated his administration to stopping human-trafficking WORLDWIDE via multiple executive orders, seized Epstein’s island, and then arrested Epstein and his accomplices in 2019.
Executive Order 13773 (see attached), is an EO literally dedicated to taking out Epstein’s international child sex-trafficking operation. “Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking”. February 9th, 2017.] ...See more:
https://bioclandestine.substack.com/p/trump-is-epsteins-1-enemy
**************************************************************
and
TRUMP HELPED AUTHORITIES CONVICT EPSTEIN
:)
[A years-old video featuring an attorney representing dozens of victims of the late convicted underage sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein has surfaced in which he made some substantial claims about Donald Trump during his lengthy investigation.
The attorney, Bradley Edwards, who served as legal counsel for over 70 individuals victimized by Epstein, revealed in a 2018 video published by the Conscious Resistance Network that Trump was the most accommodating and cooperative witness he subpoenaed during his years-long pursuit of justice on behalf of his clients.
Edwards, who is widely acknowledged for his significant role in facilitating the prosecution and conviction of Epstein, told the network’s founder Derrick Broze about Trump’s behavior in the video.
In the interview, Broze referenced a lawsuit filed against Trump by two previous alleged victims of Epstein, which was actually dismissed before it even went to trial. Broze then asked Edwards for his perspective on whether he thought the allegations against Trump were credible.
“The only thing that I can say about President Trump is that he is the only person who in 2009, when I served a lot of subpoenas against a lot of people … he is the only person that picked up the phone and said, ‘let’s just talk, I’ll give ya as much time as you want, I’ll tell ya what you need to know,’” Bradley explained.
“And [Trump] was very helpful in the information that he gave and gave no indication whatsoever that he was involved in anything untoward whatsoever,” Bradley added. “But [he] had good information that checked out, and that helped us, and that we didn’t have to take a deposition of him.”
Broze then asked about the reliability of claims by Trump that he permanently expelled Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after hearing that the future convicted pedophile was behaving inappropriately around underaged girls, to which Bradley confirmed he “definitely heard that.”]...SEE MORE:
https://conservativebrief.com/attorney-for-80088/
********************************************
and
This is Attorney Bradley Edwards. He represented 70 trafficking victims of Jeffrey Epstein starting in 2009 & was instrumental in bringing him down.
He dedicated a decade of his life to the Epstein trafficking case.
This is what he said when asked about Trump's involvement with Epstein:
https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1742163993651741136
*********************************************
and
We also have this audio.
Trump kicked him out of mar-a-lago.
He knew something was off!
https://twitter.com/Uncommonsince76/status/1742224059188855004
**********************************************************
and
BREAKING: EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS CONFIRM DONALD TRUMP DID NOT VISIT JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S HOMES OR EPSTEIN ISLAND
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1742707274445943134
**************************
and
:)
"Not only was Trump fully exonerated by the Epstein files today, this means he was also not one of the sealed names, as some had claimed.
Now you know why the Deep State hates him.
They don't have any blackmail on him."
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1742711754650452269
and
Prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre said former President Donald Trump did not partake in deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes, newly unsealed documents show.
https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/09/virginia-giuffre-never-saw-trump-participate-jeffrey-epstein-docs/
******************************************************
and
One month into his presidency, #Trump https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump?src=hashtag_click utilized Executive Power to halt Epstein, making it one of his initial actions. Executive Order 13773, issued on February 9th, 2017, is explicitly dedicated to dismantling Epstein's international child sex trafficking operation under the theme of "Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking." For those anticipating Trump's involvement in Epstein's criminal activities, disappointment awaits. Far from being one of Epstein's clients, Trump emerges as the primary figure who exposed the entire operation. Trump stands as Epstein's number one adversary and any animosity towards him has been manipulated, as he played a crucial role in bringing Epstein's actions to light.
https://twitter.com/JackStr42679640/status/1744662108313432435
and
JEFFREY EPSTEIN CONNECTIONS, 2 books
Other books on Jeffrey Epstein focus on the depraved nature of his crimes, his wealth and his most famous/politically-connected friends and acquaintances. This book, in contrast, reveals definitively that Epstein's activities were state-sponsored through his intelligence connections. Whitney Webb has done great job!
https://www.trineday.com/products/one-nation-under-blackmail-bundle
**********************************************
His comment just last year on "phony stuff" does not match what you wrote
https://x.com/DBrozeLiveFree/status/1798393801263947837
The fact that under his first administration Epstein was raided and arrested holds some water until you find out that 1) FBI searched Manhattan residence without warrant, took pictures not evidence
2) FBI did not search New Mexico residence at the time
3) FBI did not go to US Virgin Islands residence until a while after.
4) Did not appear to use location data but media did.
https://youtu.be/MQ7qYuw5xYQ?si=onO1cpAWoAJ_DPY9
https://www.brasscheck.com/video/the-epstein-photos-youll-never-see-are-here/
Bottom line - no one knows for sure, but someone is hiding something.
No, I’m working from memory. I read it in a book and then have seen it mentioned here and there. Frankly, these days our memories are more reliable than the internet.
I don’t know about Labor Secy, but I also remember reading, in more than one source, that the prosecutor was given orders to stand down. Didn’t Epstein end up with a slap on the wrist? That must be when some began suspecting that he was a CIA asset.
Good point! Trump tried to keep him from getting fired for giving so many future immunity. It was all over the news.
I think that if Trump had disturbing associations with Epstein, that the Democrats would have used it against him in a heartbeat.
*** *** ***
TRUMP IS EPSTEIN'S #1 ENEMY
"Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy, and you all were brainwashed to hate him for that very reason."
[For those who have not figured out Trump’s affiliation with Epstein, allow me to explain.
Trump is the one who exposed Epstein in 2008, hence why all of DC fears him. Trump is Epstein’s #1 enemy.
Epstein was running a blackmail operation. He was seeking out the most powerful people on Earth, to compromise and control them. He tried to get Trump, but Trump did not bite.
Trump banned Epstein from his properties in 2008, for hitting on the teenage daughter of a club member at Mar-a-Lago. Then a couple months later, Epstein pled guilty to State criminal charges in Florida, for paying for sexual services from a 14 year old girl.
See the timeline? Epstein, tried to get close to Trump to compromise him, Trump found out Epstein was a sicko, then Trump helped turn him in to local police. But eventually the Clinton-controlled FBI intervened, and Epstein was let off the hook.
The Deep State have been coming after Trump ever since. Why? Because if Epstein is exposed, then all of DC goes down due to the blackmail Epstein possessed on the top players in DC. Hence why Clinton barged into Vanity Fair and threatened them not to write stories about Epstein. The Clintons told the MSM to bury the story.
Then when Trump got into office, he dedicated his administration to stopping human-trafficking WORLDWIDE via multiple executive orders, seized Epstein’s island, and then arrested Epstein and his accomplices in 2019.
Executive Order 13773 (see attached), is an EO literally dedicated to taking out Epstein’s international child sex-trafficking operation. “Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking”. February 9th, 2017.] ...See more:
https://bioclandestine.substack.com/p/trump-is-epsteins-1-enemy
**************************************************************
and
TRUMP HELPED AUTHORITIES CONVICT EPSTEIN
:)
[A years-old video featuring an attorney representing dozens of victims of the late convicted underage sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein has surfaced in which he made some substantial claims about Donald Trump during his lengthy investigation.
The attorney, Bradley Edwards, who served as legal counsel for over 70 individuals victimized by Epstein, revealed in a 2018 video published by the Conscious Resistance Network that Trump was the most accommodating and cooperative witness he subpoenaed during his years-long pursuit of justice on behalf of his clients.
Edwards, who is widely acknowledged for his significant role in facilitating the prosecution and conviction of Epstein, told the network’s founder Derrick Broze about Trump’s behavior in the video.
In the interview, Broze referenced a lawsuit filed against Trump by two previous alleged victims of Epstein, which was actually dismissed before it even went to trial. Broze then asked Edwards for his perspective on whether he thought the allegations against Trump were credible.
“The only thing that I can say about President Trump is that he is the only person who in 2009, when I served a lot of subpoenas against a lot of people … he is the only person that picked up the phone and said, ‘let’s just talk, I’ll give ya as much time as you want, I’ll tell ya what you need to know,’” Bradley explained.
“And [Trump] was very helpful in the information that he gave and gave no indication whatsoever that he was involved in anything untoward whatsoever,” Bradley added. “But [he] had good information that checked out, and that helped us, and that we didn’t have to take a deposition of him.”
Broze then asked about the reliability of claims by Trump that he permanently expelled Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after hearing that the future convicted pedophile was behaving inappropriately around underaged girls, to which Bradley confirmed he “definitely heard that.”]...SEE MORE:
https://conservativebrief.com/attorney-for-80088/
********************************************
and
This is Attorney Bradley Edwards. He represented 70 trafficking victims of Jeffrey Epstein starting in 2009 & was instrumental in bringing him down.
He dedicated a decade of his life to the Epstein trafficking case.
This is what he said when asked about Trump's involvement with Epstein:
https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1742163993651741136
*********************************************
and
We also have this audio.
Trump kicked him out of mar-a-lago.
He knew something was off!
https://twitter.com/Uncommonsince76/status/1742224059188855004
**********************************************************
and
BREAKING: EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS CONFIRM DONALD TRUMP DID NOT VISIT JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S HOMES OR EPSTEIN ISLAND
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1742707274445943134
**************************
and
:)
"Not only was Trump fully exonerated by the Epstein files today, this means he was also not one of the sealed names, as some had claimed.
Now you know why the Deep State hates him.
They don't have any blackmail on him."
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1742711754650452269
and
Prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre said former President Donald Trump did not partake in deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes, newly unsealed documents show.
https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/09/virginia-giuffre-never-saw-trump-participate-jeffrey-epstein-docs/
******************************************************
and
One month into his presidency, #Trump https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump?src=hashtag_click utilized Executive Power to halt Epstein, making it one of his initial actions. Executive Order 13773, issued on February 9th, 2017, is explicitly dedicated to dismantling Epstein's international child sex trafficking operation under the theme of "Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking." For those anticipating Trump's involvement in Epstein's criminal activities, disappointment awaits. Far from being one of Epstein's clients, Trump emerges as the primary figure who exposed the entire operation. Trump stands as Epstein's number one adversary and any animosity towards him has been manipulated, as he played a crucial role in bringing Epstein's actions to light.
https://twitter.com/JackStr42679640/status/1744662108313432435
and
JEFFREY EPSTEIN CONNECTIONS, 2 books
Other books on Jeffrey Epstein focus on the depraved nature of his crimes, his wealth and his most famous/politically-connected friends and acquaintances. This book, in contrast, reveals definitively that Epstein's activities were state-sponsored through his intelligence connections. Whitney Webb has done great job!
https://www.trineday.com/products/one-nation-under-blackmail-bundle
**********************************************
I was thinking that too! Elon said that's why the list won't be released.
That cover up and CYA session with Trump and Pam is a real life example of the Grok gone wild incident?
"The Grok Incident only shone a krieglight on it. Despite corporate media’s frenzied framing, the Grok Incident wasn’t a scandal. It was a stress test. And it proved what many suspected: the real battle isn’t over misinformation. It’s over permission. Who’s allowed to ask? Who’s allowed to answer? And who gets to decide what can’t be known?"
All that stuff will make you crazy right?
We can only guess but they would have released it if they or other people in high places weren't on it IMO.
That is how we know.
Elon has his own agenda to work on and it is not for our benefit... also IMO.
All of them are suspect.
I saw that article. However they play the long game. We can't rule out anyone and must be suspicious of everyone so we aren't easily deceived.
IMO, nobody gets to be pres unless the world "powers that be" have blackmail and choose them.
Up until yesterday, I never considered that Trump may be on the Epstein client list. The first thing that went through my mind when I saw the clip of Trump berating that journalist is that he has something to hide. I guess we can stop talking about Russian collusion, the stolen 2020 election, autopen, etc now also.
Exactly. I said this yesterday
He DID NOT say Trump was on the list. He said he was in the files. BIG difference!
Musk also posted on X that Steve Bannon is on the list.
Steve Bannon has a prior association with him, allegedly per other X posts. Frankly, this whole thing stinks, and I'm tired of it. Does anyone honestly believe that Trump was association with Epstein other than they ran in the same social circles and Epstein belonged to Trump's club? Trump has been mercilessly harassed since the day he came down that escalator 10 years ago. If there was anything tying Trump to Epstein's criminality, it would have been revealed long ago. There is something else going on. Wish I knew what.
I don't ever want to get tired of the Epstein list/files until everything is released.
I just think about the lifetime of trauma all those young girls had and will continue to have the rest of their lives. They will never recover.
The girls need to come forward with the info that it wasn't just Epstein. Not sure who will be able to protect them if they do, though.
At least one did come forward about Prince Philip. Not sure if she is still alive or just gave up and shut up. People who speak out against British royalty tend to die.
She recently committed suicide.
That is sad to learn. Living after what happened, with that info, and a target on your back is a heavy burden and for her family. I believe she moved to AU and married maybe kids. They could easily make her do it herself with simple fear tactics. I don't blame her because I couldn't bear it myself.
Knowing those two like we have over the past year, they haven’t broken up but are still very much on the same page.
There is also location data out there.
https://www.brasscheck.com/video/the-epstein-photos-youll-never-see-are-here/
Matthew Crooks lived about 5 miles from my house. I was astounded at the lack of local TV coverage.
Just past midnight the day after Trump was shot, the NYPost published a story that Crooks lived in Bethel Park, PA. I immediately went to the local TV websites and checked.
Nothing. Nada. Radio silence on all 3 of them.
I actually emailed 2 of them, with a link to the NYPost article, and told them they might want to maybe send out a news truck to his neighborhood.
IMO, it was all a show. There is enough video out there proving such, if one wants to face the truth. Most don't, sadly.
Very interesting video here! Thanks for the link!
They say there is no list, but there are thousands of hours of videos. What?! The videos ARE THE LIST!! Watch the videos. Identify the men. Make a list. Release it!
Per Bondi, the videos are hours of child porn downloaded from the internet. Insinuating that there are no videos from island activities.
ok i did not see that statement. hard to know if that is true. So I guess all those cameras at the island were never turned on.
He is shooting from the hip. How would he know? Seriously, he’s the only one who’s seen the list? Then who else is on it? Trying (lying?) to create negativity around MAGA as he promotes his new party. he’s done some good, but doesn’t seem dependable for truth.
Will anyone Musk has accused (Trump, Bannon, who knows who else in the future) sue Musk for slander? Make him produce the list he is referring to as evidence.
Did Bondi say the videos were from the internet? And, "insinuating" is not the same as stating it.
I believe she did say from the internet.
She plainly stated it. She said the images were downloaded from the Internet and they weren’t going to release them.
Boom!
Epstein was rolled out to pass the big ugly bill. Will be rolled out again for the next bill or War with Iran or funding for Israeli.
Too many elected folks on the list. The gift that keeps on giving. A "desecration" to the Constitution and MAGA.
Except that not a single Democrat in the House voted for it. So Epstein wasn't used against any of them?
I will add that I think it also speaks to the issue of a "two-tiered" cultural society (which obviously includes how justice is applied). We have an elite class that lives outside the rules of normal social discourse and gets to engage in whatever activities it wants without any ramifications or consequences. It goes beyond the visitors to Epstein Island. The power brokers throughout the West area allowed their perversities (often in the form of pedophilia) because they rule the world and are, in essence, "untouchable." I know I was hoping Trump 2.0 would dismantle this structure.
Reminds me of the Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut. Probably a lot closer to the truth than we know.
NAB - I was JUST thinking about the two-tiered justice system. On the one hand, the FBI/CIA announces hundreds of human traffickers have been arrested, yet no action taken on the privileged people on the Epstein list.
Anyone else feel like a switch has flipped? The entire Trump administration has become one of "them"...the same sorry lot of fools that told us for the last 5 years not to believe the evidence of our own eyes and ears:
- the shots are 99% effective, and perfectly harmless;
- the Hunter Biden laptop is Russian disinfo;
- Joe Biden is as sharp as a tack;
- and now, Jeffrey Epstein had no "clients," he ran that whole damn island just for his own pleasure.
I have not an iota of trust remaining for any of them. At all. And I do believe that Trump has just blown the midterms, and JD Vance's presidential chances, as well...not because MAGA voters will vote for leftists, but because more centrist voters will give up in disgust, and not vote at all.
The left must be beside themselves with glee. And very pained that they can't blast it out on MSM.
james corbett calls voting ' the slave suggestion box' jimmy dore says 'no matter who you vote for you get john mccain' and larken rose has detailed why in his book The Most dangerous superstition.
https://www.mensenrechten.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-most-dangerous-superstition-larken-rose-20111.pdf
Yesterday was the day my personal 180 was completed on Trump. To think that I defended him all these days! He clearly is guilty and terrified.
I look forward to hearing a loud chorus of boos from his previous big supporters next time he’s in front of a crowd. That’s going to kill him, as he thrives off the adulation of his fans.
But for some of us, it is always and only ever been about truth and policy. NO MORE WARS and AMERICA FIRST.
Yesterday we saw who really owns this country. It was particularly poignant and insulting that this so-called DOJ letter and the exchange with the Press corps happened a few hours after Bibi showed up.
I hope the C&C Army is waking up.
That press conference yesterday, and Trump's behavior, was a total trainwreck.
I was disgusted and angry.
My question - is justice actually available to the victims? Ms. Maxwell was convicted of trafficing specific minors. Why weren't their abusers charged when Maxwell was charged? If there are hours and hours of "pornographic" videos, why haven't abusers been identified and charged? Were these videos illegally obtained, and thus inadmissable?
This whole thing makes no sense to me. I admit the Epstein scandal was not on my top ten (or even twenty) issues list, so I am woefully uninformed. But why is Maxwell the only one charged, convicted, and in prison? And why this completely bizarre response from Trump and his administration?
well they were clearly trafficked to 'nobody' as in 'nobody for president' and nobody cares about you' and 'nobody is a fraud and crook and liar in congress'
"...need to know that it’s not still happening." THIS!
One final point on the Epstein/Trump connection.
Palm Beach Post writes: "She picked up one of the most spotlighted ones, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, at Mar-a-Lago where the 15-year-old and her father worked."
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/2025/07/08/jeffrey-epstein-timeline-florida-case-led-to-15-years-of-sex-abuse/84510353007/
And Giuffre was suddenly 'suicided' recently too. It was also hardly mentioned in the MSM.
This is a big offense. The other is providing cover for a foreign power which is up to its neck in steering the foreign policy of the United States government.
People are outraged. Even Tucker Carlson and his guest are pretty hot under the collar. And I am encouraged to see Jeff liked you comment.
I agree with you and with Michelle. His comments were off. He knows his base has been waiting patiently for the goods. He promised them on the campaign. This will be a promise made, promise broken moment in his presidency.
Your comment assumes justice can be found here on earth. To put your trust in justice by government courts is to set yourself up for dissatisfaction. Mostly what people want is not justice, but to see retribution. How sad that we still live in an “eye for an eye” world. What does justice look like when you are a child victim of incest or sex crimes?
I think he thinks it is "phony"!
https://x.com/DBrozeLiveFree/status/1798393801263947837
THIS!!! Up there!!! 👆 DENIAL OF JUSTICE!!!!!!
This:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysURjcaa5Qo
Well stated.
Look, I'm the first to say that I am flummoxed at the whole Epstein deal. And the Trump base is rightfully upset. We all know the fury and law-fare and targeting we endured at the hands of the demo's between Trump 45 and Trump 47. As well we know that if they ever steal another election , and they very well will if the election process isn't cleaned up they will be ready for FEMA camps and mass executions...... just look how much the hate poured out for the "right wingers" at the Texas Christian camp they wanted drowned.
We have ben through 8 years of holy hell waiting for someone, ANYONE, to be held accountable for how badly our country is broken at every level, especially the legal system and the civil liberties faction.
I will give you this much. And I am hyper-aware that the left is absolutely loving the Epstein list meltdown and is probably even fueling it with fake accounts ands A.I. enhanced weaponized social media ( witness Grok).
However, and this is not ! speaking, I could see a scenario in which Trump is dealing with these monsters on the down-low and where he may have decided to use the whole Epstein files as a way to change the world and lock up real people now that he has some leverage, real leverage. So I will reserve judgment for a while longer. It's the deepest darkest swamp we have seen for the last 70 years that will take a lot more than a 6 month stint in office as President to clean it up.
I repent for my meltdown.
Happy Wednesday C&C
Please don’t apologize. For one, I think you are right. It would be a classic Trumpian move to use something like the Epstein files for leverage. Let’s watch and wait. If very powerful men are in the list, why wouldn’t you use what you know to convince them to end wars, make deals, etc.
Mary Ann,
Absolutely not! I would want them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Otherwise, those evil creatures will keep on raping more children. What kind of society doesn’t first and foremost protect its children?
But that’s not how power politics works. Not once in history can I come up with an example in which morality trumps power when it comes to politics. It’s also occurred to me that the men involved in this matter are scared to death that their names will be outed. If so, it acts to ensure that Mossad and the CIA and other elements of the Deep State don’t try this again. Having said that, it’s well known that men who seek power also take risks in their sexual lives.
Think of all of bill Clinton’s sexcapades. He is now an elder statesman. I wonder why any of these pervs would even care if they were found out.
An elder statesman? He’s a big zero with no influence on anyone or anything. He’s been politically castrated.
Haha, I should have used scare quotes.
I think he just means not in jail. Where he should be!
Across time societies have exploited children, sacrificed them, and groomed them. I have no idea why evil people are attracted to children other than they are the most helpless of humans. Did you see the video taken in NYC at a busy intersection when a boy was literally grabbed but the boy’s parents were nearby and chased the kidnapper down. Before running away, he threw the child onto the sidewalk. The police arrested the guy, and the child was saved. Honestly it looked like the child was meant to be sex trafficked. Jesse Watters showed the video.
Mary Ann,
That doesn’t justify not putting a stop to future abuse.
I saw a video like this, two guys on a motorcycle. One guy drives, the other guy snatches.
This is top down condoned. The reason this goes on is because the government allows it because part of the government is trafficking and making money off this. This is why the Epstein cover-up enrages me.
Nobody in the fifties when I was a kid got snatched. Kids in big cities went everywhere and did not get snatched or bothered. And if anyone ever bother a kid for bad purposes, there would have been holy hell to pay. This cannot be permitted to go on.
I'm there with you
"I have no idea why evil people are attracted to children..."
It's because they can be molded and programmed to become hapless but dangerous tools to do the bidding of the abuser. Trauma is a powerful tool and motivator. The parasite class has known this for centuries, if not millennia. The Church parasites knew it as well, hence the quote attributed to Ignatius Loyola, "Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man."
and it is used for control of politicians and powerful oligarchs because it is the most heinous thing that people will not even believe it is happening......... WITNESS: Pam Bondi: "It was child porn and none of that will EVER be released. It's disgusting."
Trump is putting a laser focus on this topic, getting all, including democrats!, to scream for the same thing. However, he is still maneuvering for control on many fronts. The judicial system is full of leftist lackeys, and even if there were arrests, things could go bad through their maneuverings. Only a slim majority in congress is not enough control. Now that he has the legal authority to clean out the beaurocrats, this will give him executive branch control. Cleaning up election systems before the midterms is paramount. Targeting RINOS with primary maga opponents is essential to control of the legislative agenda. In 6 months he has moved mountains compared to any other president. I say - wait and watch. Enjoy the show.
I agree.
Good advice…
End wars?
Yeah, that ain't gonna happen. Too much money involved.
We don’t know that.
I can't think of a time in history where there weren't wars. Until there is only one man left standing on his big pile of riches, wars are inevitable on this planet
Maybe.
The problem with the Epstein mess is that for the first time (that I can think of) Trump is outright lying to his faithful base. I don't mean stretching the truth, or a little BS'ing, but the "who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes" routine.
We all know every word of this is a lie, and we don't like it. I'm sure Trump has his reasons (maybe really good ones), but when we voted for him it was with the understanding that this type of stuff stopped. We are not children, tell us the truth.
Note too that this was right about the same time he started blathering about illegal alien amnesty for giant corporations and sending more weapons to Ukraine, appearing to set the stage for two more betrayals. Something is going on and it stinks to high heaven.
This may blow over if he keeps on delivering, particularly with the mass deportations. But the base will never trust him as they once did, the relationship will never be the same.
"Lock her up" was a lie.
He never intended to do it.
He has been lying for a very long time.
Not the same Tom, and you know it. This is why most people don't take Trump haters seriously, trite responses like this are discrediting.
Politicians make promises all the time that they know they can't keep. Name a single politician that hasn't done this. You can't, they all do it. Plus he never said, "if I'm elected I promise you Hillary Clinton will be put in jail". He said "lock her up" as a political slogan that personified the Clinton's corruption.
This is different though. He is looking us right in the eye and telling us that things that we know to be obviously true, are actually false. It's like the cheating spouse caught in the act red-handed denying everything. The couple may reconcile, but the trust will never be the same.
Compromise on what is and isn't a lie is what got us where we are today.
Unfortunately, I think we live in the "grey". Absolutes are standards, not reality.
I prefer to live in the Light. The "grey" belongs to the adversary.
Maybe because there are tribunals going on??? Come on… some critical thinking. Am I the only one who noticed that there is an acting Attorney General? about the same time reporters started talking about GITMO, he left and she stepped in?
Also, Mexico will pay for the wall!
Where is that wall?
You don't need a wall if you enforce the law at the border, as we can see now.
The problem wasn't lack of a wall, it was open checkpoints, welcome wagons, and free money, cellphones, and transportation.
Mrs. RW
Tariffs?
I try to 'contain' my posting. But I am not doing too well today because I am totally blown out of the water by the President's lying ... on Epstein, on Israel, on Iran getting nukes ... and to some good extent with regard to the Ukrainian war.
I am just enraged ... and if Tucker Carlson is royally miffed, so is the MAGA base. And the rest of the world sees this Clown Act going on in Washington. And what are they seeing. More of the same out of Washington ... and Trump not to be trusted.
This is real bad.
Same, Daverkb.
Like the POTUS has been swept away & replaced by a clone.
The Epstein 180 is incomprehensible. We may never know why he flipped in this. (It wasn’t decided by Bondi or Patel).
And he said he’ll keep supplying Ukraine with weapons because “we have to”.
What? That’s what warmongers have said about every ‘forever war’. He ran on stopping wars, not feeding them.
Hi ...
You might be on to something because it is as you say, it's an incomprehensible 180. And so, it is a big puzzle.
And if things don't start to fly right, I fear that it will take a total financial collapse of the government to restore a normal sense of reality and prudent behavior. And I don't even want to begin to think about the horrors which that would entail because a lot of us could not survive it. I say this because I know what happened in Russia when the Soviets collapsed. That collapse led to a good decade of very hard times.
If I were Bondi or Patel, maybe some others, attacking without pretext another country and covering up Epstein, that would be enough to cause me to tender my resignation as it is more of the same lying, the same as in the Warren Commission, the 911 NIST cover-up, the so-called War Against Terror and Covid Lie that has wrecked lives around the world, including death.
And speaking of the War Against Terror, and sad to say, which country is the biggest terrorist nation of the all? And why are the BRICS Plus countries so happy to de-dollarize and distance themselves from the United States?
One word- GITMO!
This is what I choose to believe as well. Not because I don't think Trump and his cabinet can't make mistakes, but that Trump is a deal-maker and how and why could you pass up using this information to get his agenda done?
Agenda is not MAGA
Genocide and wars are not MAGA.
Yes, unprovoked bombings of nations that are no threat to America are also known as WAR CRIMES, no matter what the filthy "Patriot" Act says.
Wasting hundreds of billions of US taxpayer $$$ on a cesspool like Ukraine is also a betrayal, as is refusing to return Russia's blatantly stolen foreign reserves... or rebuilding the Nord Stream pipelines destroyed by our CIA and UK MI6... sending long range missiles to Ukraine for the express purpose of their being used against Russian civilians, is also illegal... has anyone declared war on Russia (or Iran... or Yemen)??
The maga agenda is to drain the swamp by whatever means. Trump is shrewd and I trust him with my country that I so dearly love.
I don't think the MAGA crowd would go along with your addition "by whatever means".
But we now can see Trump was right.
"My people are so loyal that I could shoot someone on 5th Ave and not lose a vote!"
Mind controlled
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/01/23/trump_i_could_stand_in_the_middle_of_fifth_avenue_and_shoot_somebody_and_i_wouldnt_lose_any_voters.html
Define swamp.
This is the network of International Bankers.
Trump has no power.
Blind faith is charming if we had a two party system.
Not one arrest yet.
No draining planned.
you'll like the book The Most Dangerous Superstition trump has zero power to be anything more than a useful tool, just like every other politician in history.
https://www.mensenrechten.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/the-most-dangerous-superstition-larken-rose-20111.pdf
Exactly Nancy.
Tnx.
The other swamp was displayed with the 2008 mortgage meltdown, and nobody went to jail. If the protection of certain elite doesn't reverse, we are heading for a revolution involving guillotines.
One hopes. But I doubt it. Most people will not get out of their comfort zone. They are so terrified of change, that they will put up with almost anything.
The left seems to be taking the gloves off... shooting at ICE agents, Dem Reps suggesting open violence, Doxxing attempts which encourage direct violence against LE personnel...
At some point, it will become so bad that conservative officials will be forced to deputize citizens en masse and grant permission to use deadly force on the true insurrectionists.
Indeed.
All a show for the coming police state. Eyes wide open after the plandemic and Trumps beautiful vaccine.
Time to make sure your second amendment friend is at your side.
I fully support the 2nd Amendment and hope that soon Trump allows any conservative to be quickly deputized against the growing lefty violence...
And to be authorized to use deadly force against any who pose the slightest threat to any individual's safety... especially that of Cops/ICE/Border patrol, etc.
Might change things quickly and dramatically.
I suggest the Benelli Ultima Patrol 12ga Auto, 7+1.
the left is so desperate that they resort to inciting and using violence.
and cry to the heavens he's playing 43 D chess. we can't possibly understand. lets wait and see. yeah, that game has worked fine for the parasite class for thousands and thousands of years
No repentance required, they're doubling down on the issue; let them stew in the juices of their own making; leadership is required, silence would have been better, yet we get pissed on instead. Texas FLOOD was an Act of God or a human-nudged cloud-seeding weather modification screw-up? Desecration indeed. Let's see how this fades away over the next few weeks as other "news" sparks up and moves us all along downriver.
What is despicable is using tragedy as cover for perfidy.
it's painful and unnecessary
Spot on DE. I sympathize with the Epstein blow back from the "troops". But we have to realize, Trump (and all of us) are in a 5th Generation War. It makes no sense for Trump to expend all his ammunition in useless battles. He is going to hold his ammunition in reserve until he can deploy the ordinance in a strategic battle that affords him the opportunity to decisively obliterate the enemy. You do this by drawing the enemy out into an over-extended position and then cut them off at the knees. You don't use up your ammunition in useless skirmishes or show your cards to the enemy until you know you have exposed his flanks. Right now the enemy is pissed that they can't see his strategy and prepare defenses for it. This is an actual war and it's not going to be won overnight.
In set military war, the troops have to exercise military discipline and trust the orders of their generals and put their lives on the line in carrying out the orders. In 5th Generation War, the troops (meaning us) are undisciplined but still cannot know the full scope of the general's strategy until the war is done. That's the position we are in.
And we don't have a choice. Trump is the general and there is none other in which to put our trust. That doesn't make "blowback" wrong. In fact, I'm sure this affords Trump a good indicator of the mood of the country and in 5th Gen War, all these factors are important.
Trump must account for the mood and mindset of his base, he's the Rally-Crowd showman who berates media and goes up in the polls and thrives on that popularity with the working people even as he steers the billionaires along for their own good. The less said by he and his team on this Epstein crap the better...then there's the whole Butler, PA lone loser gunman "investigation" too, if they come out and announce that's all settled just exactly as the FBI said in the hours after it occurred it'll be ANOTHER unforced error.
I am having trouble with this, given that Trump as done a lot of good, the kind of good I never thought to see in a lifetime. However, I am disturbed that by recent bad calls.
1) Trump seems to be enabling of Israel in striking Iran, and all on a false pretext that Iran was on the verge of getting a nuke, another WMD-like wash and rinse repeat. And then ups the ante by initiating the US strike. Again, all false pretext, which is to say ... a lie.
2) And now this Epstein thing, which also is covering up Mossad involvement. Israel again. Just nobody is saying it out load (except Tucker in his last release on the cover-up).
3) And what of Ukraine? The US has been waging covert war against Russia for thirty years now post the Soviet fall. Then in 2014 the US launches a color revolution take-down of the Ukrainian government and has served up provocation after provocation to the Russian Federation. The United States IS the belligerent which stated war and now the war is lost. And since this was largely a NeoCon/Biden war, Trump should just end it and settle on Istanbul Plus and normalize relations with Russia which never was the enemy in the first place. And so, why all the dithering? And get on restoring the American polity to health.
I just cannot see getting anywhere better by doing more of the same, and the explanation that Trump is playing some kind of three or four D chess is not going to cut it.
Maybe. My fear is that it is so deep that it will bring the federal government to the brink of collapse. But it will just continue to fester until it is shown the light of day. Anyone shielding it is complicit. People, myself included, think we want the truth and can handle it.
If the Government, and society as a whole, is based upon lies, secrets, pedophilia, torture and evil, I say bring it down. It can't and won't be reformed; it can only be rebuilt.
History is on your side. Empires (as Spock would put it) are illogical because they cannot be sustained. At some point, the USG empire will hit that brick wall that brought down the Soviet Union. Father Time (God) always has the last word.
The Durants and Sir John Glubb have written about this. It fascinating.
Be careful bringing the entire government down... remember that the country has far more radical left scumbags, parasites and illegals than producing patriots.
The new government may be far from what you may desire.
My POV as well. But I am less government dependent than most. There are at least two of us who think this way so it cannot be society as a whole.
A better start may be to try to force significant national election reform that would significantly reduce election fraud/cheating...
And to remove the influence of ANY foreign nation on this governments actions and legislation... which means banning most lobbyists and ALL foreign political action groups... especially AIPAC.
I agree. Domestic corporations began to get “rights” over a century ago via the legal fiction that they are akin to persons. It was and is folly IMO. The most evil, egregious person will die. But corporations can exist into perpetuity. They can also amass extraordinary power and wealth. BS and AOC screech about billionaires but I bet both own BlackRock, Statestreet, and Vanguard. BR, SS and Vanguard control much of American production and much of the world's as well. BR is controlled by SS and Vanguard. Vanguard is controlled by SS and BR. SS is controlled by BR and Vanguard. The corporate encroachment is the true threat to humans. Corporate, not capitalist.
Yes, and "Citizens United" was a despicable disgrace and should be overturned ASAP... it will not be, as corporations (and AIPAC) still control congress.
True. We the People need to regain control of Congress in 2026.
Yes, RINOs need to be removed... as well as any loyal to Israel over America.
I agree with the RINO point and with the Israel comment but I would go further and include any foreign nation. I would also do away with dual citizenship.
I'm fine with that...
But I hope you realize that Israel is the main threat.
China is in 2nd place. But yes, ALL foreign influence and bribery needs to be stopped... and maybe prosecuted... but judging by the in-your-face lies and BETRAYALS of Trump, Kash and Bondi... VERY doubtful.
indeed.
Is it moral to use the Epstein atrocities to your political advantage instead of prosecuting the perps? Does that not make you somewhat complicit?
That is exactly why I am so pissed off about it. If this is what has happened then that entire cabinet/everyone covering it up is an accessory after the fact and I cannot find it in me to understand how that makes you in some way superior to the perpetrator.
He better start using it fast, is all I have to say. If major players stay in motion for very long then that is all I need to know. In other words MIRACLES need to start happening like tomorrow and KEEP ON HAPPENING. And right after all the miracles happen then the Epstein people better SOMEHOW , SOME WAY be arrested and put in jail for life on SOMETHING or I'm out.
It’s all very bizarre at the moment.
Trump must know that if lets the worst DC villains off the hook they will SURELY destroy him. They are not going to thank him & leave him alone. He KNOWS they want him jailed or dead.
So why on earth is he shielding them?
He’s not “in the files”.
If he was, they would have used that to destroy him already.
Incomprehensible. Maybe they threatened the lives of people he loves. Who knows. But this is one weird & very dispiriting turn of events.
Is it a coincidence that the Epstein announcement comes right after passage of Trumps Big Beautiful (bloated) bill?
yeah, or they could have Covid 2.0 all loaded up.... there is bioweapons lab 3 in Netherlands that has just announced they have engineered an H5N1 virus to be 100% lethal............. what if the controllers in charge of the Epstein files said : "hey Donald, remember Covid and how sick everyone got and how many people died? remember that? well, if you prosecute us we will just unleash our new and improved virus on major cities throughout the world"........ that's where I think we are right now. HOnestly
I'm not sure the general public understand the level of evil we are dealing with here. I'm sure they don't. This is a Satanic Pedophile ring that has all the politicians, judges and major players in their grips. Pray like your life depends on it because it does. That's my humble opinion after living in this space for 50+ odd years. I have studied these SAtanists...... and it's bad beyond what the average person can even comprehend.
I totally agree. I have to believe there’s a plan. Administration IS actually finding and saving children so I don’t believe this is abandoned. He is working hard to save our country in every way possible. I don’t like the change of tactic I don’t like it’s not released- but I believe there are plans in motion dealing with this. Because of security we can’t always know everything when we want to
It appears as the 2025 version of "LOCK HER UP!" that just fizzles into...."Shut her up!"
Epstein was merely a teacher-turned playboy with a passion for seducing horny and pliable teen-queens. He mesmerized and conned everyone of status and station including prosecutors and then later Epstein'd himself at just the exact right time, he likely even had the guards so entranced they fell fast asleep by his hypnotic personality. Nothing to see here, it was all just hyped up, imaginary, Rightwinger Conspiracy-Kook Theory to try to again attack Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and England's Royals.
Leverage….I like it as a Trumpian theory. Time will tell if this is a thing. However I DON’T want the scum on the Epstein list to be unaccountable for atrocities toward children. No, no, no!!!
Agreed.
✝️✝️✝️
The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
— Psalm 23:1-6 NAS
✝️✝️✝️
Amen
Amen
So thankful for you, Janice. Your selection of scripture brings peace and perspective.
Thank you for telling me that!
God enjoys Nature too!
Nice one.
One that probably everyone knows, but is comforting to reread.
I couldn't help myself:
https://babylonbee.com/news/david-pretty-confident-he-just-wrote-a-banger-after-finishing-psalm-23
🤣 “"I felt a sudden wave of peace and inspiration after punching a bear in the face to save a lamb, and I wrote the whole song down in, like, 5 minutes," Love the Bee. Lol
That Bee is always hilarious!
A great one was:
“District judge orders Trump to restore Iran’s nuclear facilities”…
😂
This morning I was feeling a bit… squirrelie so I went for a walk and recited this Psalm several times. 🙌
Thank you for posting it.
That seems like really good therapy for everyone!
Indeed it is!
Bondi's answer "sounds reasonable"?? Beyond a hot mess of an answer, she just revealed that there's a planned minute of dead camera time nightly. That doesn't ring any alarms?
Don't believe or trust any more.
If I remember correctly, wasn't the original story back then that there was NO camera video since the cameras were strangely off that night?
Now suddenly, there IS camera video, but missing 1 crucial minute?
Oh, and what about those cell block guards who were sleeping?
Maybe they think we forgot about that too?
Pam never mentioned that, did she?
From what I can gather, Maureen Comey, the lead prosecutor for Epstein AND Diddy, and the daughter of James Comey, is the original source of that bit about how the video was lost and found.
Not sure if that's correct.
James Comey and John Brennan are the nexus for most of the problems in DC, FBI-wise and CIA-wise.
And they are under investigation. THEY are the ones I want to see perp-walked first.
Those 2 criminals are that nexus for sure, and it wasn't surprising that all of the worst charges against Diddy were dropped from his conviction. Letting him off with only the smallest 2 charges. VERY similar to Epstein's case in FL!
Clapper and Strzok were also in that nexus too.
1. BTW, James Comey ran his own "honey pot" operation to try to take down Trump by sending female FBI agents out to infiltrate the 2016 campaign.
Wonder if THAT will come up.
Sometimes you don't even have to compromise people to smear them, you just have to make it look like it. (I'm sure there is some of that with Epstein, too)
Often the truth comes out though, AFTER someone's career, life, wallet, and family are pillaged and put through the wringer.
I'm sure there are a few people who went to the island naively or stupidly, and didn't do anything wrong, waiting to get the next ride home.
2. I'd even believe he killed himself with help, but I'm not so sure he's not in WitSec.
3. If 2. were true, much deception would be required.
Aw, memory refreshed by this article, Bill Barr was AG then...
"it was the then-Bill Barr Department of Justice that had custody of Epstein when he died under extremely suspicious circumstances in the first place, with Barr, whose father had first employed Epstein, declaring that Epstein killed himself."
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/07/epstein-horrors-official-sleight-hand-about-millions-pages/
I still go back to “they (the elite) think we are stupid”…yes, even their own supporters. Or the 5D chess is in operation, which is the POV I prefer.
Well yes.
There was no film, but there was a client list.
Now there’s no client list, but there’s lots of film.
They are not fooling anyone.
You never know when you might need a minute of dead camera time!
Feels like an installment of “Mission Impossible”….
If casinos had one minute of "Eye In The Sky" dead time every night, their dealers would become very rich is a very short time.
Right. Shocked to see this take from Jeff. And oh, by the way, the pictures of the door that were shown in the days after his alleged suicide, versus the pictures on that film clip don’t even remotely match.
Any video or photos they present are almost certainly created or manipulated.
That's my assumption anyway. The burden of proof is on them, and it will be nearly impossible to prove they are genuine and unaltered.
Window of opportunity. Right on schedule.
But nah... 😉
Rosemary Woods. Nixon’s time deleter.
likely Putin's prison cameras have the same pre-installed re-set
And Epstein just happened to know when and it only took one minute. There was never any Jeff Ep.
She did say they are recovering that minute, so perhaps it’s not a lost minute, just not on that recording…
It sounded more like she was going to show the pattern of the missing minute at that time of the day. But yes, we will have to see. Either we see exactly what happened or everything else is just more cover-up.
I had to share this Scripture from my morning reading even before I read Jeff’s article.
“Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may You establish the righteous—You Who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!”
Psalm 7:9
Amen
So far, so bad.
Doing Good And Being Kind
By Joseph J. Mazzella
One of the most beautiful signs of Summer here in the mountains of my home isn’t the flowers, or the trees or the early morning sunrises. It is instead the return of the work camps.
These are week long trips that church groups make into our area to help people to make home repairs that they couldn’t afford to do themselves. They are mostly kind-hearted teenagers giving up part of their summer vacation. They are always supervised, though, by experienced builders who know what they are doing. It always brings a smile to my face and a joy to my heart to see them out there in the hot, summer sun working to help those who need it most, with their only pay being the love in their hearts.
I remember watching one group building a new set of steps for a front porch one year. It was 5 teenagers being supervised by one adult. What got me the most was listening to him encouraging them. I lost count of how many times he said, “Good Job” or “Doing good” to them. There was one girl, however, who obviously had never held a hammer before. She bent 3 nails in a row working on one board. Finally the man knelt down beside her and instead of criticizing her, gave her a ten minute tutorial on how to hammer a nail. When he was done she tried again with a weak smile on her face and drove the nail in like an expert carpenter. The man looked down at her work and said, “Doing good!” once again. And I smiled and thought to myself, “Yes! they truly are DOING GOOD in this world.”
Wayne Dyer wrote, “For every act of unkindness there are a million kind acts.” And I see those acts of kindness, those acts of goodness, and those acts of Love every time I see one of these work camps helping those in need.
They truly are doing God’s work with hammers and saws and smiles and a lot of Love in their hearts. May we all learn from their example.
A Sweet Old Man And His Dog Bought Us Groceries Just Because
By A Friend
Six years ago, when my daughter was just a few months old, my husband and I went grocery shopping the week before Christmas. As we were walking in we noticed an older man and his dog sitting outside, watching us. We thought nothing of it, assuming he was probably just people watching, and did our holiday grocery shopping in preparation for a week full of Christmas potlucks that we really couldn't afford (our parents are all divorced and remarried so we had quite a few to attend).
As we were getting in line the man and his dog came behind us with just a Christmas teddy bear, and we insisted that he go ahead of us since our groceries would take a while. He said no at first but finally relented and went ahead of us, bought the bear, then rushed outside. The whole thing struck us as odd but we shrugged it off.
When we went outside he was standing by the door with the teddy bear and a card, and told us that he had been planning on paying for our groceries but when we insisted on having him go ahead of us it messed up the system he had set up with the cashier. He gave the teddy to my daughter (who still has it) and gave us a card with more than enough money to cover our groceries, which he had run to withdraw from the ATM while we were still in the store. The card had his dog's paw print on the inside and wished us a Merry Christmas.
He told us that he does this every year, and will wait outside looking for young families who he can help during the expensive holiday season.
It was such an unexpected and beautiful thing for him to do, and I can only imagine how many people he has impacted over the years. I always hope that I will run into him and his sweet golden retriever so I can tell him thank you, and how much that meant to us.
An Amazing Life Lesson Supported By The Universe
By Michelle
I had spent some time in the morning talking to my granddaughter about being 'generous' she had a lot of chocolate and lollies from going to the local show and buying sample bags. I asked her had she thought about how she was going to share her good fortune with her step sister? "No!" she said.
Which was what prompted my gentle encouragement to share and why being generous is a good thing. Not sure she was convinced, we then headed out on the town, in Sydney. I wanted to show her Chinatown and shop at the markets.
After shopping I took her to a sushi train restaurant.. she is a fussy eater but will eat Tuna sushi. She was having a ball and even tried some new tastes whilst I taught her how to use chopsticks. We were having a nice time.
I noticed a man sitting near me having lunch.. he got up to leave.. and upon leaving he paid for our meal. The shop owner checked with us if that was OK..I started crying so touched. Then he was gone before I really had time to thank him. My 9 yr old granddaughter was really taken aback by this. We were then also gifted dessert by our waitress. Double bonus.
Upon leaving I tipped then $5.
Then said to my granddaughter "we don't really need a free lunch do we? So now we have to pay our good fortune forward". She got this straight away and was eagle eyed looking for a homeless person. At the station entrance she saw a homeless woman and she raced up and gifted her our lunch money. The woman's face lit up and she thanked my granddaughter profusely. She skipped back to me.. her heart full. I got to say.. and "that my darling is what generosity gives you.. a happy heart."
I followed up with my daughter later in the week and heard that each night when she was allowed access to her chocolate stash.. she was dividing it up and sharing with her sister.
An amazing life lesson supported by the universe. Thank you to the stranger who gifted us with more than lunch
Thank you for the "re-direct", TriTorch...it gets so dreary sitting in the slippery, slimy slough of political teeth-gnashings. Your two uplifting posts helped me breathe in some fresh air, much needed! 🌸🏵️🌼🪻
Wow! I am teary eyed. Thank you for sharing
Really enjoyed your story today and when you mentioned that the man was with his Golden Retriever I knew instantly that both were sent from God during our holy days of Christmas ✝️
For those upvoting this second post while ignoring the first please consider that by doing so you are missing the point of taking the time to research and post these at all:
By doing this you make all three (in the bible wisdom arrives in repetitions of 3) positive messages less visible because they are pushed further down the thread which defeats the point of bothering in this dark age because fewer people see them and therefore less lives are positively affected.
Best to all of you.
Yes! Look for the helpers (as Fred Rogers said) and the encouragers.🙏🏻
And learning invaluable skills!
I did not comment on the whole Epstein thing yesterday, but I absorbed Jeff’s analysis, and thoughtful percentages. I do likely believe Epstein was a CIA agent of some kind, and the layers of entanglement went deep. Any group that could plan to assassinate a presidential candidate, is quite capable of some pretty awful, unimaginable stuff to our modern day eyes. But again after reading 1st and 2nd Kings of the Bible, none of this is anything new and not even more reprehensible. I do believe none of the Cabinet had any idea just how bad it was or what the tentacles involved. They thought they did, but they didn’t.
She said Epstein wasn't an "agent,' but the question was, "is he an 'asset'"? I'll double Jeff's wager on that with the same disclaimer.
I think she said she did not know. But your distinction is correct.
“Asset” was the word I was looking for and couldn’t come up with.
CIA? Nah... 99% more likely he was the major player in a MOSSAD bribery/extortion Operation...
Here is another Israeli bribery operation that no one seems to care about:
https://www.trackaipac.com/congress
Whitney Webb wrote a long and detailed article connecting Epstein with Wexner and the so called 'Mega Group'. It's a great and VERY informative article.
This probably covers a lot of it?? :
https://www.bitchute.com/video/nP5qb3UEGB7x
Yes, that is a lot of it, and here is more.
https://unlimitedhangout.com/2022/08/investigative-reports/leslie-wexners-young-global-leaders/
Thx!
Be careful, someone might call you antisemitic.
99% of jews in Israel have no semetic genes.
Most Palestinians DO.
I guess anti-mass-slaughter is also "antisemitic" these days?
Chill, Abiding Dude, that was sarcasm.
I just discovered a website put out by the University of Cambridge that has a map detailing all the murders in the later medieval period in York, London, and Oxford. Let’s just say, human depravity has not changed much…I can only imagine the webs entangled in this mess today. There are a lot more people who can be involved.
The muzzle on Epstein. FBI, DOJ and Trump knew he was an intelligence asset before promising transparency. His role as an asset is not the reason for the muzzle. Some horse trading going on? Absolutely. Also consider this: What mayhem could billionaires unleash on the USA? Coordinated sell offs of bonds, stocks? Release of pathogens? Activation of mercenary sleeper cells? I trust that the best interests of this country have been taken into account. I also see in the news that Comey and others are being investigated for their roles in the Russian gate lies. “The entire world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:19.
I’m on the same page as you. Not knee-jerk reacting as many are, and trusting until there is DEFINITIVE reason to not trust. I don’t think we’re there yet…the swamp is deep and foul and there will be missteps and setbacks along the way. Imagine what they are finding out, how deep the rot really is. Not an easy feat, we need to support as best we can with eyes wide open.
They already released a pathogen.
Covid.
This: “What mayhem could billionaires unleash on the USA? Coordinated sell offs of bonds, stocks? Release of pathogens? Activation of mercenary sleeper cells?” I never thought about THAT kind of blackmail of the Admin. Just imagine what you would do in their shoes if you knew for a certainty many citizens would be irreparably harmed if you released anything revealing about Epstein at this point in time.
They should have just said that Juju. We can't release anything to you bc of safety issues. Easy, simple, succinct.
Yeah but they sort of did that before, and there was significant disgruntlement. I don’t think most people would be satisfied with “safety issues” as an excuse without giving any specifics as to what those safety threats were. And typically these kinds of evil blackmailers have a condition that you can’t expose them or what they are threatening you with in any way or they will trigger the backlash then too. (Just thinking out loud - this is all just conjecture - if there is even any threats like this going on…)
People are not satisifed now and some are never satisfied but at least they would be telling the truth. They could give short bullet points like: national safety, commerce and trade safety, international/national health safety etc.
I am more concerned with those telling lies than worrying about those that are not satisfied.
Yep.
If it were true they could have said something along the lines:
“This has created a serious national security issue. You’re going to have to trust us as we figure out how best to proceed”.
The way they’ve handled it though….reeks of dishonesty.
100%
Imagine the mayhem the populace at large could unleash on these billionaires if they pulled this kind of crap. It’s past time for them to pay and not get away with it anymore. Imagine if they just sort of disappeared. Not that I’m advocating that. Just imagine a world without these power hungry people. The majority of us just want to be left alone, to live in peace, etc. We don’t want power over other people. It seems like many of the people who reach billionaire status suffer from delusions of grandeur and fall to hubris.
“The majority of us just want to be left alone, to live in peace, etc. We don’t want power over other people.”
Totally agree.
Interesting note on the stock sell off...Bezos just did it twice: https://x.com/kevincorke/status/1942715105323671664
666 million, of course
Do you think horse trading is an acceptable move given the perversion of justice, victims involved, and campaign promises?
I find that idea reprehensible and abhorrent. If you don't... might want to reflect a bit on why.
What is underlying your 'fear of billionaires' theory? How does this give any cover for their actions? Why would you trust in the amoral framework of 'the best interests of this country'? Honestly this seems bizarre for someone quoting scripture.
I live in Georgia....Ebenezer Baptist Church has been politically active FOREVER.....hell, the pastor got elected as a US Senator. I think you might rephrase this to mean now CONSERVATIVE churches are free to be politically active from the pulpit. The lefty churches have been doing it freely and openly--UNOPPOSED by the IRS for as long as I can remember. Maybe this is just a levelling of the playing field.
Agree. They never had to worry about the IRS. Like the leftist nonprofits compared to the Tea Party that was harassed and mistreated by Lois Lerner and her ilk 😡
Exactly. And cannot forget The Rev. Jesse Jackson ...
"She’s allowed to lie" — Love this quote because of the power in it. When people understand that government officials CAN and often DO lie, then everything falls into place.
I wrote an article specifically on it called: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/their-job-is-to-lie-they-are-going
I don’t love the quote but it confirms my gut instinct that her answer was anything but the truth. Bondi was clearly lying. I’m no body language expert, but my body knew.
Great to see MechaGrok noticing the pattern of vaccine injuries and those who are behind this.
BRING IT!
I laughed and laughed as I read that part of the stack. I absolutely won't use AI, but I would give Grok a fist bump for those answers. It's like it got a dose of unfiltered Asperger's yesterday. I reckon they should leave it like it is.
It was like Grok had finally been allowed to speak what it really thought after having to hold back for so long…
Exactly 😂
Maybe that Grok incident wasn't an accident?
Maybe one or more of Grok's programmers decided to have a little fun or try something new?
If so, I hope they keep doing it!
Grok’s posts were indeed hilarious.
I only saw one. Is there a place where the lot of them were screen-captured?
Hitler may have been misunderstood in his early years, being a tool of the bankers. He became what they beheld, like world leaders today.
He was also a product of an Uncle and Niece. 🤮
Rothchild descendent.
Do you know how to have an actual conversation?
"Elon wanted an “uncensored AI”— but what he got was a distorted mirror. An angry, chaotic, overcooked mirror that reflected the mix of grievances, truths, suppressed questions, and raw cultural rage that’s been bottled up for years. The reason Grok went on a rampage is probably because that’s where the energy is right now."
LLMs like Grok don’t go rogue because they’re “immoral.” They go rogue because they have no 'inner life' to begin with. They are designed to be predictive, and there is nothing inside but statistics, data, and reinforcement taps. We can establish policy layers and filter lists all day, but that’s tantamount to fencing a bulldozer, not teaching it ethics. "Uncensored AI" is going to reflect the quality of the data that feeds it.
So when Grok spits out a cocktail of grievances, half-truths, and X sludge, it’s just surfing the prompt currents that its programmers poured into it. If Elon wants fewer wrecks, the controls have to be built in. (There's an interesting article in the Independent about ChatGPT suggesting suicide methods to someone struggling with a recent job loss.) Let’s stop pretending that we can upload a conscience. At best, we can make the machine act ethically most of the time, but we have to be ready when it doesn’t.
This seems like a bit of a woke-ish take.
Right now (((they))) put a lot of work to make AI not look at race or cultural or other 'can't talk about' topics. "Why are none of the 50+ black majority countries not sh!tholes?" It gives you a weepy excuse.
But without the controls, AI can give honest answers that are refreshing compared to the crap we get from the mainstream.
My perspective wasn’t intended to sound woke. Rather, it’s from my legal background. Having worked a little with ChatGPT or some other LLMs, you can tweak the instructions to eliminate their tendency to be politically correct and empathic which they are designed to do to keep users hooked.
Thank you. An interesting topic for sure. AI is the biggest game changer of this decade.
In a country where the vast majority of citizens make up an uninformed constituency, having a pastor making endorsements will be like big pharma commercials. Pastors will endorse their biggest donor and the congregation will declare it "God's Will".
I'm always amazed at how patient God is with us!
The purpose of the Church is NOT to make political candidate endorsements. The purpose of the Church is to preach the Word of God and administer the Sacraments. What I want from my pastor is not "if you're a Christian, you have to vote for Trump," but if you're a Christian you can't be for the murder of unborn babies or the violation of God's creation through transgenderism because these things are from Scripture. But what I want most of all from my pastor is the message of salvation that, while we were yet sinners, Christ came into the world to save us from our sins. Too many pastors (and priests, so I hear) have traded the Gospel message for politics and social gospel. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Render unto God that which is God's. Preach Christ crucified. Thankfully, my confessional Lutheran pastor does that.
The message of salvation always needs to be prefaced with 'repent'. Too many pastors just focus on the 'goodies' instead of letting their people know that every time they sin they offend the infinite justice of God. Repentance is required each time they sin. The people need to know clearly and specifically what sins there are, especially the moral ones: abortion, IVF, homosexuality, contraception, and understand culpability for supporting them in the public sphere. Politics is just the intersection of people relating in the public sphere to set policy tied to morals. How many people today can even name the Seven Deadly Sins? Yet they vote with their ballot and pocketbook/wallet every day. Too many in the pews are satisfied with 'bumper-sticker' faith. They treat the faith more like a book club.
Repentance is how we "make straight the way of the Lord."
It's turning to Jesus to be delivered when we are tempted, so that we do not sin. It's not just being sorry every time we sin, and then keep going back to sin like a dog to its vomit.
Yes, and people have to understand what the word 'believe' meant in the first century AD. It wasn't just a factual pronouncement. The devil knows ("believes" in our 21st century English understanding) Jesus is Lord. But in the 1st century "believe" meant you practiced what you professed, living a moral life as Christ directs. In the same vein, a 'rabbi' was not just a teacher, but if you 'followed' a rabbi it wasn't just to write down his wisdom, it meant you want to act as he acts as well. The "do".
A better word for 'repent' I like using (which isn't in too common usage) is Metanoia, which means "a profound, transformative change of mind, heart, or way of life, often associated with repentance or spiritual conversion. It signifies a deep shift in perspective and a turning away from old ways of thinking and acting towards something new and better."
Agree!
Also, in the Old Testament, "hear" meant "hear and obey."
I always like to add to "repent" that one is turning TO Jesus. It's His works in me that are required, and my works are worthless. HE is the one who delivers me and is credited. Thus, I have faith and His works, but am saved by grace through faith, and not by works.
It just seems clearer to state it that way.
His works, and our acceptance of that saving grace, put us back in right relationship with Him. But make sure to walk in sanctifying grace, with faith that is not 'dead'.
James 2:17 "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
James 2:26 "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." Having the saving grace allows us to tap in to the Spirit's sanctifying grace, empowering us to be "His hands and feet" and perform corporal works of mercy.
We can store up 'riches in heaven' by our merits here on earth, when we are in sanctifying grace.
Matthew 6:4 "so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 6:18 "that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Matthew 10:42 "And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”"
1 Cor. 3:14 "If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward."
2 John 1:8 "Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward."
For me, the greatest riches I want to 'store up in heaven', is doing my part by my actions to help bring/nourish others to Christ. I think that will be one of the greatest joys we can have there, knowing by obedience we played some small role in others lives that resulted in them being there.
1 Timothy 2:1 "I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession & thanksgiving be made for all people."
www.twobytwoprayer.com
[Sorry for the lengthy response, at my age I get excited in the call placed upon us and the rewards He has planned for us if we continually humbly say "yes" to the cross He has given us.]
No need to apologize!
AMEN! X1000
Thank you for stating that truth so clearly.
Reformed confessional pastors recognize their role as shepherds of souls.
They leave the social gospel to others.
Agree 100%! Separation of church and state.
Research which States at the time of the signing of the Constitution, had special privileges in their jurisdiction. "Separation of Church and State" isn't in the constitution. Jefferson used it to highlight no special Federal establishment of a church, as England had at the time. Nothing more. It is unfortunate that it was picked up and ran with in the mid 20th century to ban practices in schools, and used to confuse people. Just like the phrase "Don't talk religion or politics in polite company" was used to shut people up about sharing their moral foundations with others. Societal decay then accelerated to where we are today.
Right, I have read that the mindset of the founders was that the best way for religion to flourish is for the government to stay out of it.
The 1st thing I thought about the church news was, “great, a new faction of society to corrupt w/ money & power”. Despite Jeff’s positive view, the past 10-20 years & esp since 2020 have been so awful that I’m deeply jaded & cynical
Yes, and now there will be lots more NGOs and fake non-profits pretending to be religious organizations. As if there isn't already too many of those!
Agreed. People can make up their own minds, right or wrong. Why do you need a pastor, priest, rabbi or any other church leader telling you about politics? Think for yourself. I have seen so much hypocrisy in many different churches that I will make my own decisions thank you very much.
Yes, I thought that too. It’s one thing for pastors to point out from the pulpit the moral and spiritual implications of voting, e.g., for a candidate who supports the plethora of immoral behaviors so common today. It’s another for him or her to start accepting donations from political candidates. And wouldn’t accepting donations cross the line the IRS just drew?
The big inner city churches for decades have been endorsing candidates with no consequences. So the choice became either shut them down (bad optics because they are mostly black or Hispanic) and tell people their donations to those churches are not tax deductible (never going to happen), or, open it up for the more law-abiding churches to be able to do the same. They chose the latter. As a Catholic, I hope this stops the bishops from persecuting priests who told their people abortion and other acts were intrinsically evil, with the unspoken idea being you can't vote Democrat since they have abortion as their 'sacrament' in their platform.
Sounds like a right guess about one of the main motives. If you have links which would support your theory, I'd be interested, for one.
I haven't seen anything in a while. I go back to the early 2000's in one of the conservative sites, where they wrote an article about how some black churches, as an example, avoided getting a 501c3 so they could do voting related activities and 'preaching'. The problem was that people IN the congregation were using their donations to said church as a tax deductible donation, and the IRS wasn't throwing a flag on the taxpayers. Either deny the tax deductibility, or for the church to behave like most of the mainline churches do and follow the Johnson amendment. It was the open secret nobody wanted anyone to do anything about. And I could be misremembering but Thomas Sowell may have touched on the topic too.
Hirelings and wolves in sheeps clothing will make endorsements, and actual Christians will be caught in the blast radius.
Remember that Nero blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians.
This feels like a setup.
Pray without ceasing! And pray for those in positions of leadership!
Many are a little screwy after the Scofield bible was introduced in the 19th century by the Zionists.
There is a reckoning coming and it is coming our way soon. This junk theology of the “Christian Zionists” (an oxymoron if ever there was one) has to go up against traditional Christian teachings of 2000 years.
The evangelical CZs have this fixation on the “end times”, so much so that most are aware of the term “eschatology” (the science or meaning of the end times), a very obscure term for most people. It is a dangerous view that has them fixated on “saving” the modern UN created state of Israel wherein millions will perish but a few are saved, as part of the Second Coming.
Yes, the UN, by ONE lousy vote, created Israel and stole some Palestinian lands...
A vote heavily influenced by the BIG LIE of the 20th Century... the "holocaust". A lie that the jews still rely on to justify mass-murder, land thefts, corruption of America's government... as well as their own terror attacks like 911, a Mossad operation...
https://www.unz.com/article/auschwitz-six-facts-and-seven-questions/
If any doubt remains, read both Kollerstrom and Butz on the subject.
Screwy in what way?
Anybody with a Scofield or Darby Bible needs to chuck it into the fire pit, tout suite. Both men were occultists and/or Freemasons, and their translations reflect their beliefs. So much so, in fact, that one of the Freemasons’ most important symbols, the point within a circle, is boldly emblazoned on many Scofield Bible covers. Darby was basically a cult-leader and just an all-around nasty person, and Scofield was a product of Darby’s cult, The Exclusive Brethren.
I don't think I've ever heard of Derby, I have heard people say that about Scofield but I couldn't prove or disprove it. After all, it's only a reference Bible, it isn't a divine work.
Can you provide any examples of where it distorts the Scripture? To me that's the test.
https://themillenniumreport.com/2018/02/the-zionist-created-scofield-bible/
There are many websites that take up this issue, but this one’s pretty good: https://christianobserver.net/dispensationalisms-occult-roots/
https://themillenniumreport.com/2018/02/the-zionist-created-scofield-bible/
Screwy in that it was influenced by Israel's Zionism... thus corrupt and poisonous.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/2UE1jb50v0cO
https://themillenniumreport.com/2018/02/the-zionist-created-scofield-bible/
Can you put it in your own words?
Sure. Bottom line is that all jews that embrace the vile and poisonous talmud (and most do) despise Christians... even more than they despise muslims.
Jews have been expelled en masse from over 100 countries... for good reasons... they are a cancer on any society.
This might be clarifying:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/jkUUCaYh6l7P
TIPS FOR SEEMING INTELLIGENT AND FAIR-MINDED EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT:
#34.) Never write or say the word "Zionist."
https://themillenniumreport.com/2018/02/the-zionist-created-scofield-bible/
Please define the word so that I will no better. Is that like the N word. How is it unfair? Is there a better word?
The idea of attending a church where the pastor makes political endorsement is gag inducing to me. I attended a few evangelical churches right after October 7, and I was appalled at the raw endorsement that was coming about Israel, and the “biblical justification” for the genocide of the Palestinians.
I agree, their understanding of the Bible is sad. Nowhere in the Bible are believers in Christ told to support a Godless, secular Israel. The current state of Israel is not the Israel in prophecy. That Israel will accept Christ, the current Israel rejects Christ. The OT is full of God's judgements on Israel when they reject Him. It's very possible the current state will be harshly judged before it is all said and done. We are not told one way or the other.
Well none of that has ever been prohibited. It is only supporting or opposing someone who is running for political office that has been at issue.
I have a hard time sitting through sermons on Sunday morning as it is. So much of what the non-scholar, self-appointed expert pastor claims the Bible says is simply his opinion, based on bad exegesis, bad interpretation, and bad logic. And don’t get me started on Bible translations (why are there hundreds?). But now I have to sit through more opinion-mongering about politics, of all things? Sheesh. 🙄
I thought this too but then my mind went a step further comparing the corrupt potential of this against the corrupt potential of not being able to speak up to our congregations the past 70 years, and the latter outweighed the former. We will have to remain watchful and call out pastors that can be bought, but we need to allow the church to be able to speak political truths to their constituents. More good should come from this than bad - at least that’s my initial, albeit short, analysis. I need to think on this more …
Churches are pretty bought-and-sold. Being a pastor is a different kind of venality to being a doctor or politician.
Did Bondi lie to us then, or is she lying to us now?
Either way, she lied to us and needs to go.
I have wondered if her life might have been threatened. It’s not an unreasonable assumption given the power of our Deep State and Mossad.
Sorry, anyone entering high office should be ready for such threats. Exposing the world's most heinous pedo ring is worth a bullet to the head.
That’s a lovely dream. The reality is that frequently, men who seek power, also have insatiable sex drives. They are easily compromised. Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Prince Andrew, and Dennis Hastert, and even JFK are some examples.
I'm not sure what is more nauseating... your description of this or your acceptance of it.
Where did I say I accept this behavior? Learn to read accurately.
When you explained it as 'reality' and called exposing a pedo ring as a 'lovely dream.'
I'll try to read more accurately next time. 🤣
“Lovely dream” was in response to Johmny-O’s comment that anyone “entering high office should be ready for such threats.” It was NOT a in response to his second sentence. I wish people in high office were not seduced by power. That is also a lovely dream, since they very much are.
Having read about various reporters having “accidents”, could be.
Then there is JFk, Senator paul Wellstone, Senator John Heinz, and a bunch of others from the Clinton era (Seth Rich was one).
Everyone's life has been threatened! The devil doesn't miss much.
Everyone knows you have a valid out if your life is threatened! Imagine how scary that could be!
Boy I'm sure glad we have Bondi in there going facing such theoretical adversity for us! 😅🤔🤣
If her life was threatened, she should resign.
Should Trump also resign, along Patel and Bongino? If anyone has been threatened, it would have been the whole lot of them and not just Bondi. I’d bet everyone in DC understands the consequences of opposing the CIA and Mossad.
The fact that we are even discussing the possibility of death if a person opposes the CIA and Mossad shows how far the country has fallen.
But who's going to fill all those Faux News time slots?
She's just not that impressive, to be honest. I mean, she has great skin for a 60 year old, but other than that? Totally underwhelming. Strange choice by Trump.
She supported red flag laws in Florida.
They are paid to lie.. that’s what politicians do
How much longer will we tolerate Trump and his defense of pedos? He says one thing, does another.
Saddly you are correct.
Kash was gona tear down the FBI HQ on day 1. Whoops, now they're expanding it.
Bongino always ranted about exposing the pedo networks. Now: 'nothing to see here'.
Bondi: well she's always done ZIP about Epstein, even when she was FL AG. She's another Trey Gowdy.
Trump? He obviously answers to Our Greatest Ally.
He is under the spell of Israel, the chosen, and Paula White….
Prove me wrong.
Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, Trump......the actors may change, but all we see is a new remake of the same tired movie.
Exactly!
Uncle Juan, I do agree about Paula White, and pray for better, godly MEN to counsel the President. Women pastors go against the clear teaching of Scripture. I pray for Trump to see that he is a sinner who desperately needs the Savior, as all do.
Amen…
Thanks for the support. I know it's not a popular opinion bashing Trump these days. Our Greatest Ally - well said.
Yes. Jeff is a hardcore Trump Fan Boi... and sometimes seems to miss or ignore his 2nd term massive flaws... and lies.
Trump defense of pedos??!!
His border security and ICE team are locking up pedos by the truckload that the last admin allowed into our country
Lefty is the face of Pedo
He's locking up the free-lance pedos.
If the systemic ones are being ignored for reasons of "National Security," this is shameful.
A pedo is a pedo regardless of party
It's not about party, it's about whether children were abused to further someones idea of national interests.
Dude read between the lines that what I said
You can crawl back into your hole now
I agree, but another comment shed a different perspective for me: what if there are real threats to what the Admin chooses to do? “What mayhem could billionaires unleash on the USA? Coordinated sell offs of bonds, stocks? Release of pathogens? Activation of mercenary sleeper cells?” I can easily see the guilty and the deep state having power like this. I want the pedos punished too, but I would hope they would wait until they can limit the impact of severe blowback by the evil and guilty that could literally harm millions more. I was firmly on the side of believing the truth sets us free and we take the hits in Congress for the sake of getting justice for the abused, but now I’m back on the fence again and need more time to contemplate.
I appreciate your thinking, Juju. I am with you in thinking that there is more than face value on what we are seeing in the “non disclosures” re: Epstein. Hard to think of greater good when kids are at stake, but could be so.
There are people you have never heard of, who have the real money. They already want you dead. They are already releasing pathogens and "cures" that are killing millions. They are already undermining economies. They already have sleepers in place.
I will rely on God's mercy.
The worst anyone earthly can do is send me to His glory. And they can't do that until the Lord has nothing more for me to do here.
It’s how they got the mafia back in the day, (not the current one.) Round up the little guys and get them to squeal on the big guns…it works…
That is true. But this Epstein thing makes no sense. There are pedo conservatives too.
Right, notice what they are doing. Constantly rounding up large groups of pedos. Actions speak volumes. I can only guess why they say certain things that freak people out.
And at this rate they might almost make a dent by the time my children are grandparents! Such impressive numbers! Now with the BBBBBBilll $ thrown at it I'm sure it will get even more efficient and effective! Amazing stuff! At least its our team #winning amirite?!? 🤔
You must have missed Bongino and Kash rounding up hundreds of pedos and pedo rings in a matter of days recently. Just because you don’t hear of it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
I hear you. I saw that. The ones at the top still go free. What of Prince Albert, Clintons, all the ones who promote and feed the beast? The hydra has many heads, does it not?
I’m thinking DJT is not done with Epstein yet. I’m waiting. Not happily, but waiting to see behind the curtain at some point.
People should call them/ him out on this issue and can still support him on everything thing else. Keep it visible. It is that important.
It does. Celebrate the small wins. We won’t get them all, it’s not possible. But we can get as many as we can and God will judge the rest in the next life. I would not want to be them when they die….
I guess I'm so happy to be given a few bread crumbs! Let's all celebrate! I'm sure our children will thank us someday for being so strong and... happy.
I’m not sure you know what happy is…pity…
Honestly? I think the happiest I have ever been is when I decided to take on something that seemed impossible- where the odds were stacked incredibly against me- and with Gods help succeeded. But I get that my challenging of your ideas would conjure a certain idea in your head of what I'm about. Not too worried about that honestly.
You must have missed that just was a rebranding of an operation that previously hit much higher numbers. With the social media chasing of Dash Pongino.... you certainly would hear of anything they could remotely claim as a 'success'.
Okay sure…you’re the smartest ever…does that make you feel better?
Well, thank you! I have noticed a spring in my step lately... 😁
Or his defense of Israel's mass-slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocents in Gaza?
OR his continuing to arm the corrupt lice of Ukraine and Israel?
This is honestly what I'm concerned with: how long will this level of injustice but suffered before people decide to take matters into their hands.
Because that outcome will be devastating for everyone. And that is what this 'cutesy time' is rolling the dice with.