HOW TO TREAT DEMOCRAT CHILDREN PROPERLY AT A SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING
One Democratic senator resorted to “toxic masculinity”—a cardinal sin on the left—by repeatedly talking over Bondi and mansplaining his partisan talking points.
But Bondi wasn’t having it. She clapped back at Senator Alex Padilla (D-California), leaving him looking like a… pic.twitter.com/apkOiQ7wKU— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) January 15, 2025
Now that is how a BOSS treats unruly children. Pam Bondi deftly handled all the Dem nincompoops as she did Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA).
Several of Donald Trump’s most important cabinet nominees have now undergone confirmation hearings. I have watched them live in bits and pieces as I have been able, and have seen many clips posted here and elsewhere. Some obvious common threads emerge.
First, Trump’s nominees have uniformly done well. Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio, Chris Wright, Scott Bessent, and Doug Bergum have all come across as competent and likable, in contrast to most of their Democrat interlocutors, who have been shrill at best, and often dim-witted. Very often.
My favorite moment so far might be when the bizarre Mazie Hirono asked Pam Bondi whether she had ever made any unwanted sexual advances. Bondi’s puzzlement was understandable.
HOW TRUMP TAKES ADVANTAGE OF RUSSIAN WEAKNESS AND EXHAUSTION
Putin Death Skull Banner across from Russian Embassy in Riga, Latvia
Putin Death Skull Banner across from Russian Embassy in Riga, Latvia
The Russian offensive in Donbas has stalled in the last few weeks to a crawl, and in the Kursk oblast, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to expel the Ukrainian forces remains a failure.
This at the cost of up to 2,000 dead or badly wounded Russians and North Koreans a day could create a favorable situation for an inaugurated Trump opening peace negotiations with Putin. Yet the Kremlin is signaling its full commitment to its maximalist demands of Ukraine’s capitulation (Rossiiskaya Gazeta, January 10).
The working assumption in Moscow appears to be that Washington D.C. must produce attractive incentives for Russia to agree on a pause in hostilities because Trump’s ability to generate pressure is limited (Svoboda.org, January 10). This confidence amounts to self-deception because Trump has at least four heavy-impact levers for compelling Putin to shift from ultimatums to reasonable flexibility and beyond.
YOUR NEIGHBORS IN BORNEO
Live on a private houseboat exploring the jungles of Borneo by river and families of Orang Utans will be your neighbors.
To get here, you fly from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta to a small town in southern Borneo, Pangkalan Bun, on the Sekonyer River. You hire your own houseboat called a klotok (shower, nice bed, good warm food and cold beer) and English-speaking guide to take you up river through the jungles of the Tanjung Putting Orang Utan reserve. You’ll see proboscis monkeys, hornbills – and more wild orang utans than any other place on earth.
Spend time among them and you’ll understand how smart and human-like these gentle giants are. It’s an endearing experience never to be forgotten. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #72 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
BASIC MAKE-READY FOR URBAN UNREST: PART TWO
For the first part of this series, click here.
We are going more into tactics, techniques, and procedures here.
Know when to “dial up” and “dial down” when bad people disturb your peace. First, there is the rowdy street protest where occasional assaults and vandalism might occur, and then the other end of the spectrum, such as an October 7th style terror attack.
Just recently, people were celebrating the murder of a healthcare CEO and calling for the murder of Daniel Penny following his acquittal by a jury. Every situation is different—risks, opportunities, and what happens when/if you get caught; either by the authorities or others.
I know the recent election of Donald Trump may have, in the minds of some, limited the chances of this going as badly as I am writing about. Just remember the enemy has had decades to load their people into the system that we are trying to reform, and we hope Trump can fix this—but it’s not yet proven. We missed four years of Kamala and gigantic rear ends being shaken in our faces by less than five percent of the vote!
To be clear, I do not advise you to break any laws, nor condone your doing so; you have places like Texas and places like Taxachussetts, and what is a felony in one state may be innocent fun in another. You will have to decide what you ought/need to do and can do to stay alive. There are consequences for every choice.
JANUARY 20, 2025 – INDEPENDENCE DAY II
America’s Independence Day, observed annually on July 4, is a national holiday that honors the ratification of the Declaration of Independence. This pivotal document marked the founding of the United States of America and its liberation from British tyranny and oppression.
In the mid-1990s, a song with the same title was awarded Country Music Song of the Year. Performed by Martina McBride, it celebrates a woman’s liberation from her abusive husband.
What are the commonalities? Oppression and abuse. Is anyone else sensing a strong stench of these in America, what used to be a shining city on a hill?
Could January 20, which is less than a week away, become Independence Day II for Americans who strive for freedom against a tyrannical federal government? The answer is Yes.
What would an Independence Day II in America look like? Eight years ago, the appetizer was served, but the main course begins next week.
THE WORLD’S REMOTEST INHABITED ISLAND
That would be Tristan da Cunha in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. Some 260 Tristanians live here, all British citizens as the island is a UK Territory, in the island’s only community of Edinburgh-of-the-Seven-Seas. There’s no way to fly here – you have to take a boat for at least a week from Cape Town (and then a week back).
Tristanians are among the world’s most special people. Since the island was first settled in 1810, there has never been a single murder, abortion, or divorce among them. They are at peace with themselves, unfailingly cheerful, hospitable, and contented. If you are lucky enough to reach here, you may not want to ever leave. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #42 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
WOKE DEI + GREEN NIHILISM = DRESDEN IN CALIFORNIA
Today’s cover January 14, 2025
Firebombing on the Pacific
Over 25,000 acres are ablaze in Los Angeles in the Pacific Palisades fire, a veritable living hell.
Some 12,000-plus structures were incinerated. More than 250,000 souls have been evacuated and are in need of shelter.
No one has really taken charge yet. And now even the woke culprits for the catastrophe are blame-gaming each other to determine who was the more incompetent, which in this case translates to the most woke.
No one knows how many have died; all know the number will escalate in the next few days. The eventual price tag of the ruin will exceed $200-300 billion. And there are still some fires that are completely uncontained.
The Los Angeles apocalypse was a multisystem, green-woke collapse—and a disastrous reminder that when Soviet-style, anti-meritocratic ideology permeates all aspects of modern life in California, disaster is inevitable.
First, note that the culprit of the catastrophe is not climate change; it is not Donald Trump. Those are excuses for arrogant incompetency and disdain for the public. And it is not racism or homophobia to fault those who paraded and virtue signaled their tribal identities so extraneous to their actual responsibilities for public safety.
PETE HEGSETH OPENING STATEMENT
Thank you Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and all members of this Committee for the opportunity today. I am grateful for, and learned a great deal from, this "advise and consent" process. Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with this Committee — Senators from both parties — to secure our nation…
It is an honor to come before this Committee as President Donald Trump's nominee for the office of Secretary of Defense. Two months ago, 77 million Americans gave President Trump a powerful mandate for change. To put America First — at home and abroad.
I want to thank President Trump for his faith in me, and his selfless leadership of our great Republic. The troops could have no better Commander-in-Chief than Donald Trump.
As I've said to many of you in our private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was — to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That's it. That is my job.
To that end, if confirmed, I'm going to work with President Trump — and this committee — to:
PORTUGAL — SO MUCH MORE THAN GLIMPSES
In scanning for a Glimpse today, it surprised me to see how many Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World I have posted on TTP are of Portugal.
Then I realized it’s not surprising as there’s so much to see and experience in this small country it blows you away. Yet the Glimpses you’ve seen on TTP – such as the Portuguese Riviera or the Rigaleira Initiation Well -- barely scratches the surface of how joyously cool Portugal is. For Portugal has got everything. Fabulous climate, beaches, food, wine, history, charm up the ying-yang, and the sweetest, nicest people in Europe. That’s what my wife loves about the place. Scenery and history is wonderful, but what really counts for her are people.
Here’s what you and I can do about this.
NO FEAR OF THE EVIL EYE: KEY TO FREEDOM, PEACE, AND PROSPERITY
[Out with the old, in with the new! Instead of Archives on Mondays, we are restarting my book No Fear of the Evil Eye. The chapters that were up on TTP are no longer as they were written years ago. Frankly, I faltered in not completing this book, and now certainly is the time to finish it. Chapters have to be updated, so we begin with the opening Dedication, Epigraph, Preface, and Introduction. Every Monday from now on until this book is done will have at least two succeeding chapters. There are currently 24 chapters so have to double up. I will really appreciate any feedback you have. Off we go!]
DEDICATION
To Rebel – mother of my two sons, my wife, my best friend, my life-partner
EPIGRAPH
“There is not one kind of Strife alone, but all over the earth there are two. As for the one, a man would praise her when he came to understand her; but the other is blameworthy: and they are wholly different in nature. For one fosters evil war and battle, being cruel: her no man loves; but perforce, through the will of the deathless gods, men pay harsh Strife her honor due.
But the other is the elder daughter of dark Night, and the son of Cronos who sits above and dwells in the aether, set her in the roots of the earth: and she is far kinder to men. She stirs up even the shiftless to toil; for a man grows eager to work when he considers his neighbor, a rich man who hastens to plough and plant and put his house in good order; and neighbor vies with his neighbor as he hurries after wealth. This Strife is wholesome for men.” –Hesiod, “Works and Days,” ca. 700 BC
“Emulation (zelos) makes us take steps to secure good things. Envy (pthonos) makes us take steps to stop our neighbor from having them.” Aristotle, Rhetoric, II, 10 (1138a35), ca. 330 BC.
PREFACE
I have been planning to write this book for many years. Now is the time.