HALF-FULL REPORT 03/08/24
The State of the President Address
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The State of the Union Address occurred last night and can be summed up as red meat for the left's constituent blocks. Biden arrived 25 minutes late for various unconvincing reasons. However, watching it, one must wonder what it feels like to be 82 years old and hopped up on amphetamines. The drugs seemed to kick in fully 40 minutes into the speech, at 11 minutes past 10, Washington time, with the speech devolving into me, Tarzan, you Jane ranting.
Core leftist constituencies are peeling away from the dems, and the speech sought to bring them back in line with massive giveaways to black, Muslim, and Israeli lobbies. These were matched with browbeating and threats to pro-life Christians, homeschoolers, and rule-of-law conservatives. The usual suspects wore white suits and dresses in support of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing free abortions on demand (or forced abortions for social policy adjustments).
The Supreme Court was mocked and threatened for supporting the radical idea that allowing Americans to vote for their preferred candidate is somehow a threat to democracy. They were also bullied for returning Roe v Wade to the States. It is no coincidence that over-the-counter abortion pills are being released for sale this week, as well as being supplied to school guidance counselors and school nurses in blue states. Chemical abortions are now available from Amazon with same-day delivery in many locations.
HAWAII IN EUROPE
Equivalent to the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific are the Azores in the European Atlantic. You’re looking at Lagoa das Sete Cidades (Lagoon of the Seven Cities), an example of the Azores’ astounding beauty. As Hawaii is a part of the US, the Azores are a part of Portugal – since the 1430s first discovered uninhabited.
Everything grows here, cedar forest to giant tropical tree ferns, fruit from citrus to tropical, plants from corn to taro. Flowers are riotously everywhere. The sea swarms with fish being on the main Atlantic migration route for whales and dolphins. The islands are immaculately cared for by Azoreans, no pollution, air sparkling clear, weather in the 60s in winter, 70s in summer, so peaceful they are virtually crime-free.
Azoreans love drinking parties, cheerful festivals, and bright colors – with their charming homes painted the color of key lime pie, raspberry mousse, or oceanic blue. They love liberty so much they’ve had this motto emblazoned on their coat of arms for centuries: “Antes morrer livres que em paz sujeitos”—" Rather die free than live in peaceful subjugation.”
This is one of our planet’s truly magical places. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #11 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
SKYE’S LINKS 03/07/24
NOTE: Important info for investors was inadvertently left out and has now been put back in at the end.
The University of Florida says good-bye to DEI
Google is desperate to fix its ludicrously woke AI
A must read; artificial reality is pandemic...
Communist propaganda has come a very long way from the days of Radio Moscow...
The CCP's WWIII against us isn't just about fentanyl, meth, and TikTok
While WWIII is being waged against us on many fronts, including our schools, our southern border, and the Ukraine, check out how the Pentagon is protecting us...
The doodoo gets deeper in Fani’s Georgia Trump case. The rabbit hole now leads directly to the White House
All this and more in this edition of SKYE'S LINKS!.. Here we Go!THE GREAT BLACK OF MAKALU
The 5th highest mountain on earth at 8,463 meters/27,765ft, Makalu is Sanskrit for “Great Black” – a name for Shiva, the Hindu god of creative destruction, as here is one of his homes. You’re looking face on the Southeast Ridge (the right side in sun, the left side in shade), which is the primary climbing route.
You’re seeing the entire south side of Makalu in Nepal, while the north side is in Tibet with the border running along the horizon crestline. Makalu Base Camp lies below the bottom right corner of the photo. This was taken at over 20,000 feet on our approach from Everest and Lhotse – 12 miles away – during our Himalaya Helicopter Expedition, or “HHE.”
Everyone is understandably entranced with Everest – yet the other 8,000 meter Himalayan giants are breathtakingly magnificent in their own right, and you can see why with Makalu. On our HHE, we went to them all! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #37 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
AMERICAN PARALYSIS AND DECLINE
"We can bear neither our diseases nor their remedies."
So shrugged the ancient historian Livy (59 B.C.-17 A.D.) of the long decline of Roman national character that, in his age, finally ended the Roman Republic.
Like a patient whose medicine proves worse than the disease, Livy lamented that the Romans knew that they had become corrupt and lawless.
But the very contemplation of the hard medicine needed for restoration -- and the furious reaction that would meet the remedy -- made it impossible to save the patient.
America is nearing such an impasse.
AN EXTRAORDINARY CONTRAST – TRUMP AND BIDEN’S BORDER SPEECHES
President Donald Trump and Joe Biden offered dueling speeches at the nation’s southern border on Thursday, but geography proved all they had in common. Standing on Texas soil a mere 325 miles apart, their policies came from different political universes.
President Trump promised the supportive people and Border Patrol agents of Eagle Pass he would reinstate the policies that undeniably gave the U.S. the most secure border in generations.
Meanwhile in Brownsville, Biden and a collection of Democratic politicians sought to shift the blame for our open border to his Republican rivals.
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)
TRUMP’S PROMISE – RETRIBUTION OR REVENGE?
Former President Donald Trump is cruising toward the GOP nomination.
In the general election, Trump has a 2 point lead over President Joe Biden in the RealClearPolitics average, with most polls showing Trump ahead by anywhere from 1 to 6 points.
Throw in other candidates like RFK, Jr, Cornell West, or Joe Manchin, and Trump’s lead grows to 4-5 points. Meanwhile Biden’s mental state is declining, as are his poll numbers and the overall state of America.
Corporate media, Democrats, and Never-Trump Republicans are realizing the inevitability of a Trump second term, barring imprisonment or worse, and their panic is manifest.
An NBC News headline last week revealed palpable fear: Fight or Flight: Fearful Trump critics weigh the risk of retribution if he’s reelected.
THE RUSSIANS AREN’T THE ONLY ONES WITH OLIGARCHS
Many of us have experienced people in our lives who build a certain narrative which we accept despite evidence before our eyes. Sometimes it’s easier to accept the narrative, sometimes the benefit of the relationship outweighs the cost of facing the facts.
Very often, there comes a time when the dam we built to hold the facts away from our consciousness breaks. That is usually a critical moment.
The same holds for our relationship with government. We all have accepted a certain narrative about our government. The less informed talk about a “democracy.” Those who paid attention in civics class think of it as a “representative republic.”
As a member of the second group, I revere the genius of our Founders and the remarkable system they put in place resting on the Constitution.
Recently, I had an experience that broke my dam.
THE KASBAH OF AÏT BENHADDOU
Aït Benhaddou is a thousand year-old kasbah or fortified village on the ancient trade route from the Sahara to Marrakech in Morocco. It’s constructed entirely of rammed earth, adobe, and wood.
Remember the famous scene in Gladiator where Maximus shouts “Are you not entertained?!” to the bloodthirsty crowd? It was filmed here, as were scenes in many other movies such as “The Jewel of the Nile,” and “The Mummy,” or the series ”The Game of Thrones.”
Yet this is no location set – people live here, scores of families, as they have for a millennium. You’re welcome to come here to see how they live for real – as here Hollywood is far, far away. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #181 photo ©Jack Wheeler)