THE TERRACE OF INFINITY
Over a thousand feet on a mountain ledge above Amalfi on the Mediterranean, you’ll find the Terrazzo dell'lnfinito, considered by poets for centuries the most beautiful view in the world. It is part of the magnificent gardens of the 11th century Villa Cimbrone, in the hilltop town of Ravello, built by the Romans in the 5th century.
The Sorrentine Peninsula is a finger of land south of Naples sticking out into the Med’s Tyrrhanean Sea, off the tip of which is the legendary island of Capri. The main town of Sorrento is on the north side facing Naples and Mount Vesuvius. But it is the steep southern shore of the Amalfi Coast that is our planet’s most spectacularly scenic drive with its ancient ports of Amalfi and Positano.
Exploring this magical part of the world is an ultimate “bucket list” experience. And to top it off, on the way down from Naples, you get to visit Pompeii, the excavated Roman city buried and preserved by the ash of Vesuvius in 79 AD. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #115 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
WHEN THE CHILDREN ARE GONE
🚨 ELON MUSK: "There's a lot of things that I worry about. The birth rate is very low in almost every country and unless that changes, civilization will disappear. America had the lowest birth rate ever. That was last year. Humanity is dying." pic.twitter.com/E6XiKDwdV3
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) March 28, 2025
How do we measure the success of a civilization?
How long your civilization lasts is indeed an important measure of its success. What makes it last? More people, people who identify with and are members of the civilization. To have that, you need an environment that promotes the creation and proper socialization of new members, meaning children, women having children. This is done through cohesive family units.
And in this area, we not only see America’s challenge, but its weakness and its probable catalyst for destruction if the national ship is not righted.
THE VIRTUE OF HAPPINESS
A human life that is happy is not a trivial matter of being lucky, of getting what we want; of pleasant pastimes or the absence of responsibilities or pain. A human life that is happy is an accomplishment; a triumphant, sometimes even a heroic creation.
Some of the most deeply and genuinely happy people I’ve known have overcome tremendous physical or psychological hardships to get there. As with any big, long term project, it takes work; it’s complicated and time consuming - more like a great symphony of harmony and counterpoint than a simple catchy jingle.
To create a life that is truly happy over time takes discipline, passion, and courage. A happy moment can be a matter of luck; a happy life requires virtue.
THE EYELASH AT DAWN
The first of The Seven Pearls of Shing is called Mijnon or The Eyelash. It’s at 5,300 ft in the Fann Mountains of Western Tajikistan. At dawn, the air is still and crystal clear as is the water. The surface of the lake becomes a mesmerizing mirror with the early light reflecting the vertical cliffs above while penetrating to the translucent lake bed below. It is an epic example of the boundless beauty of our world.
Yet Tajikistan is only one of the “Stans” of Central Asia, an ultimate of the world’s mysterious, remote, and wondrous places. There are four others: Kazakhstan, Kyrghistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. A number of your fellow TTPers have been there with me and can tell you what a fabulously life-memorable adventure it is to explore all five.
We’ll be there again sometime soon. Be with us with your loved one, your children, or grandchildren and you’ll all have an experience to treasure for all of your lives. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #263 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
CANADA HAS JUST MADE A CATASTROPHIC MISTAKE
How foolish are Canadian voters? They have just kept a politically inexperienced prime minister and largely discredited Liberal minority government in power because of their frustration with a US president.
That, in a nutshell, is what happened in Monday’s election yesterday (4/28) in the Great White North.
Liberal Mark Carney barely proposed any original ideas during the campaign, preferring to maintain Trudeau-era policies and steal proposals from the Conservatives. His long-standing support for far-Left policies such as net zero climate solutions and a fixation on wealth inequality never came to the forefront during this campaign, for obvious reasons.
Conservative Pierre Poilievre, in contrast, believes in lower taxes, smaller government and more individual rights and freedoms. He wanted to tackle the affordability crisis caused by the Liberals, and to bring down the high costs of food, housing, energy and more for Canadians and their families.
Poilievre was the superior choice for Prime Minister. Now he’s not even in Parliament, having lost his seat yesterday. What happened?
77 MILLION AMERICANS VOTED FOR TRUMP — AFTER 100 DAYS ONLY 2% REGRET
I realize this may blow Democrats' minds, but 100 days into President Donald Trump’s second term, almost all of the millions of Americans who cast their vote for him are still happy they did.
And Trump has not been twiddling his thumbs in these first months back in the Oval Office.
There’s plenty to like or dislike, from his large number of executive orders to his federal cost-cutting bonanza with Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
So, it’s telling that a recent poll shows the vast majority of Trump supporters would vote for him again now, if given the opportunity for a do-over.
And significantly more people are happy with the direction of the country now than they were before Trump took office. The gap between those who think the country is on the wrong track and those who think it's on the right track has shrunk from 36 points in November to fewer than 12 now.
Trump is delivering on what he said he would do, and, for the vastly most part, his voters appreciate it.
THE MOSLEM MYTH OF JERUSALEM
Mohammed’s “Night Journey”
[This Monday’s TTP Archives feature was originally published on December 3, 2003. "From the river to the sea," the Palestinian battle cry that woke Wikipedia describes as an Arabic "focus on freedom," is based on the lie that Jerusalem is one of the holy sites of Islam. While the libs weep over Israel's "aggression" against the Palestinians "who just want peace," let's take another look at the evidence for the Moslem claim]
It is a commonplace in a story or article about the Arab-Israeli conflict that mentions Jerusalem to repeat the Moslem mantra that “Jerusalem is the third holiest city in all Islam, next to Mecca and Medina.”
You’ve heard this innumerable times — but how come? Just why is Jerusalem so important to not just Jews and Christians but Moslems as well?
The reason is one single line in the Koran. If it can be shown by Islamic scholars that it has been misinterpreted, then Jerusalem ceases to be a holy city to Islam.
BALLOONS OVER BURMA
From the 900s to the 1200s, the Pagan Empire built over 10,000 Buddhist temples. 2,200 remain on the plains of Pagan today, one of the world’s most wondrous sights – especially if you see them from above in a hot air balloon. It is truly astounding how much there is to explore and experience in Burma. Hopefully, we’ll be there once more for it all next February. I hope you will be one of your fellow TTPers to join us. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #33 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
MS-13 ADDED TO LGBTQ ACRONYM
U.S. — In yet another step toward the advancement of protections for all people groups, activists announced today that MS-13 had officially been added to the LGBTQ+ acronym to ensure that the rights of violent foreign gang members were recognized.
Civil rights groups hailed the announcement as a significant step forward in the ongoing crusade to see MS-13 gang members be given their rightful place in society among other persecuted groups after decades of mistreatment and ostracism.
"MS-13 gang members are some of the most oppressed and vulnerable in our society," said LGBTQMS-13 activist Cherise Hargrave. "For far too long, we have been forced to watch brave MS-13 gang members get shunned and shamed, with people demanding that they hide who they truly are. No more! It's time for MS-13 members to be celebrated for their valuable and important contributions to our world."
Members of the dangerous gang welcomed the news. "It's about time," said Enrique Marquez, who has eight murders on his resume. "I have lived every day of the last 10 years in fear of being arrested, deported, and held accountable for the vicious acts I commit on a regular basis. Now, I can be a proud member of the LGBTQMS-13 community."
Sources said production had begun on a new flag that would add MS-13 symbols and a black teardrop tattoo emblem to the LGBTQ banner, and that Los Angeles would host the first MS-13 Pride Parade later this year.
At publishing time, all Democrat Members of Congress who have joined the Congressional MS-13 Caucus are expected to march in the parade.
~ Babylon Bee reporting
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – WITH MBUTI PYGMIES IN THE CONGO
August, 1971. The gentle Mbuti people live in the Ituri rainforest, one of the world’s densest jungles, in northeastern DR Congo. They are among the most ancient of all human populations, with their ancestors having hunted in these forests for over 60,000 years. The tallest among them is under five feet.
It was on my first visit to Africa that I was able to spend time with them. They live in scattered bands of a few dozen each, always on the move in search of game, sleeping in small makeshift huts of branches and leaves, and far away from villages of Bantus who always try to enslave them.
Their music is hypnotic. To the beat of drums of hollowed-out logs, they sing with a polyphonic complexity that is extraordinary. I’ll never forget the performance they gave for me. Alas, no tape recorder – much less videocam back then! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #65 photo ©Jack Wheeler)