WANT TO ENJOY LEARNING MORE ABOUT JACK?
Jack will be the first to tell you, as his wife of so many years, I am his most honest critic. Recently, he was interviewed by Justin Huff on his YouTube show Smart Aspirations. I found it so entertaining – so Jack being himself – that I told him, “TTPers need to see this!” I hope you enjoy watching Jack explain this amazing life of his – and let us know what you think on the Forum. Have fun! - Rebel
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
In these trying times, it’s important to appreciate the beauty of America – both the physical beauty like here at the McWay Waterfall in California’s Big Sur, and the moral beauty of America’s founding principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
Driving through all 50 US states as I have done with my sons gives you an awareness of the astounding beauty you discover, together with the cheerful friendliness you’re met with, in every state. They overwhelm whatever ugliness and unfriendliness you may chance upon.
Studying American history in an unjaundiced way gives you an awareness of how a moral foundation of every individual American’s inalienable right to their own personal life and liberty and the pursuit of their own personal happiness has enabled the creation of the most successful nation ever to exist – a success of widespread freedom and prosperity that overwhelms the multitude of imperfections afflicting our country.
Earth is not Heaven, humans are no angels, America is far from perfect – and we must never let the perfect be the enemy of the good. It is only with love and respect can we help America strive towards what Aristotle called the Kalon, the morally beautiful. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #8, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
UNHINGED DEMOCRATS SAY TRUMP WILL STEAL THE ELECTION
“It’s my greatest concern. My single greatest concern. This president is going to try to steal this election.”The Democrat Party just can’t come to grips with the fact that they can’t beat Trump. They are destroying this country. They’re destroying the economy. They’re destroying everything, simply because they cannot accept that they lost. They cannot accept that they were rejected.--Joe Biden, June 10, 2020
They are literally destroying everything they can to make you pay the price for rejecting them. So what we have here is a montage of the Democrats and the Drive-Bys talking about Trump preparing to steal the next election using federal troops.
DEMOCRAT MELTDOWN
She knows the end is nigh
What accounts for the frenzied shift to hysterical language among Leftists when attempting to demean the president every time they open their mouths? That is an easy question; they know that Biden is a pathetic loser and that Trump is going to defeat him handily in November.
Thus, we hear terms like "storm troopers," "militia," "private troops," and other nonsensical language to describe Trump's light-touch attempts at rescuing those Democrat-run cities that are under siege by violent Marxist groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter.
They don't seem to grasp the fact that much of America is laughing at them for their misplaced arrogance and crying for the residents of those cities being destroyed by Leftist officials and the well-organized, well-funded anarchist groups that have turned them into war zones.
ELEPHANTS IN THE SAHARA
10,000 years ago, the Sahara was green, with lakes, rivers, and such an abundance of animals it was a hunting paradise for people who lived here. You’ll find their petroglyphs carved on to rock outcroppings like this that my son Jackson and I found on a Trans-Sahara Expedition in 2003.
The Milankovitch astronomical cycles that drive Earth’s climate produced a West African monsoon that greened the Sahara back then. When the cycles shifted ending the monsoon, the Sahara turned dry desert as it remains today. Political cycles that permitted a peaceful crossing of the world’s greatest desert have also shifted, making this too dangerous now.
A Trans-Sahara Expedition is one of the world’s great adventures. Hopefully, one will be possible again in the not-too-distant future. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #7 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE WISDOM OF JOHN HOSPERS – A PERSONAL MEMORY
[Last year I was asked to contribute a chapter for a Festschrift -- a collection of writings published in honor of a scholar – as a memorial to Professor John Hospers (1918-2011), my mentor under whom I gained my doctorate in philosophy, and the first presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party in 1972. As publication has been delayed due to the current flu bug panic, I thought TTPers might find it interesting. Too long for a single article, it will be presented in three parts on Mondays. Feel free to comment on the Forum!]
PART ONE
It began on a beach in Malibu. It was the spring of 1966. I was in a crummy mood, reading this beat up paperback book only because a friend insisted. I wasn’t paying much attention for it was a beautiful sunny day and the waves were perfect for body surfing. Also, the book was massive, over a thousand pages long, and after slogging my inattentive way for over 300 pages I was about to give up.
Then I read these words: “So you think that money is the root of all evil?” said Francisco d’Aconia. “Have you ever asked what is the root of money?”
THE MYSTERY OF THE REEF OF HEAVEN
In a remote corner of the Pacific Ocean, off the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia lies one of the world’s great archaeological mysteries: the only ancient stone city built on a coral reef. No one knows who built it or how.
Micronesians say their ancestors called it Soun Nan-leng, The Reef of Heaven. Their name for it today is Nan Madol, the City of Ghosts.
On artificial islets connected by a series of canals are massive walls up to 25 feet high enclosing temples, tombs, ritual centers, and platforms for thatch homes – all made of giant columnar basalt stone. Eons ago, lava flows on Pohnpei cooled into vertical pillars. Over a thousand years ago, ancient Micronesians began hauling these basalt logs miles away to build this stone city. With an average weight of 5 tons, 10,000 pounds – and some up to 25 tons, 50,000 pounds each – how they did this remains unexplained. It lies deserted today, abandoned and lost for centuries.
Paddling a kayak through the canal maze of Nan Madol to clamber over these monumental stone complexes in solitary silence – for visitors are rarely here – leaves you in a state of unforgettable awe. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #6 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE DUNCES
Wednesday night (7/22) on the Communist News Network, Don Lemon – “The dumbest man on television” as accurately described by POTUS – and Chris Cuomo – known to all as “Fredo,” the dumb brother in The Godfather – tried to mock the President over an acuity test.
They ended up having a massive Acuity Fail, not being able to tell the difference between a rhino, a hippo, and an elephant. Now that’s dumb! Enjoy…
HALF-FULL REPORT 07/24/20
The Left’s current Hate America mantra is to accuse our country of “systematic racism” – the cosmic irony being that it’s true.
For decades, America’s laws, hiring practices, college acceptances, portrayals of villains in movies, on and on, have been systematically racist: towards Whites, White heterosexual men in particular. Today we have reached the culmination of this pathology: systematic auto-racism.
The most insane thing about the most thoroughly insane period in our lifetimes is the majority of people condemning “white privilege” are whites themselves. But the backlash has finally begun. Here we go with another amazing HFR!
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – GUINNESS AT THE NORTH POLE
April 15, 1981 – this is the exact moment when I landed on the sea-ice at 90 North latitude, the North Pole, to set a Guinness World Record for “The Northernmost Parachute Jump.”
On a Wheeler Expedition to the top of the world, we landed our ski-equipped Twin Otter on a configuration of ice called an “old frozen-over lead” precisely at 90N. My clients got out, we took the fuel drums out, rear door off, took off again with me, the pilot and co-pilot. I had pilot Rocky Parsons go up to 8,000 feet for a mile of freefall, directed him to the spot – tiny black dots of our people on the ice – told him when to cut the engines, and I was out the door.
OMG what a rush, falling straight down on the very top of our planet, a world of ice below – meadows of rubble ice, rivers of open water called leads snaking through the ice, lakes of water called polynyas, pressure ridges of turquoise ice, terminal velocity, back flips, somersaults, fun in the sky. Altimeter shows 2,500 feet, time to go – pull out the hand deploy, see the canopy furl out in full, grab the hand toggles, spin around for more fun, line it up to come in next to everyone, stand-up landing, Guinness Book. Totally cool. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #5 photo ©Jack Wheeler)