FLASHBACK FRIDAY – AT THE NORTH POLE WITH MY 10 YEAR-OLD SON
April, 2003. On my 21st expedition to 90 North, the geographic North Pole, I took my son Jackson. He was nine, but handled it like a trooper. And no wonder – it was his third time! The first was when he was just six, following his brother Brandon whom I had taken to the Pole back in 1990.
We landed our ski-equipped Twin Otter on the sea ice – and as it’s featureless with the ice slowly moving on the Arctic Ocean surface, nothing stays there for long. So if you want a physical candy-stripe North Pole, you have to bring your own! It is so indescribable to actually be on the very top of our planet that it has to be experienced to be understood. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #95 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 07/26/24
When Israel’s Bibi Netanyahu addressed a Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday (7/24), he received a wildly enthusiastic reception by almost all Members, Democrat and Republican, who got a lot of exercise repeatedly rising to their feet giving him standing ovations. A collection of excerpts (see video):
While his funniest line was comparing Palestinian protestors carrying “Gays for Gaza” signs to those proclaiming “Chickens for KFC,” his most solemnly truthful assertion was, “They stand with evil.”
With that, it was clear he wasn’t just condemning the “useful idiots” rioting and burning American flags right outside the Capitol Building where he was speaking, but those inside in attendance like Dem Rashida Tlaib holding a “War Criminal” sign, or who were boycotting his speech like Ilhan Omar… and the President of the Senate.
Here we go – this is both an important and fun HFR… and you won’t believe what Trump’s new position is on Ukraine.
SCOUNDREL’S VIEW OF MOUNT EVEREST
You’re looking face on Everest’s West Ridge, the border of Tibet and Nepal. On the right is the Southwest Face in Nepal, on the left is the North Face in Tibet. Called Scoundrel’s View because this is a better view than trekkers to Everest Base Camp see (a viewpoint called Kala Patthar).
You have to make another trek up the Ngozumpa glacier (longest in the Himalayas) in the Gokyo valley, where above the fifth Gokyo lake at 16,400 feet you get to call yourself a “scoundrel” for seeing what Everest trekkers don’t.
High on the Northeast Ridge on the left horizon is the last place Mallory and Irvine were seen heading for the summit in 1924, and then disappeared. Hillary and Tenzing summited in 1953 via the Southeast Ridge over the right horizon. Everest Base Camp in Nepal is at the foot of the big snowy buttress below the West Ridge. Called the West Shoulder, it blocks any view of Everest from Base Camp.
On our Himalaya Helicopter Expeditions, we get an abundance of spectacular views of Everest, up close and personal – Scoundrel’s View is only one of many. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #29 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
SKYE’S LINKS 07/25/24
So much has happened this week. Biden finally had the towel thrown in for him…uh, quit his campaign. He shoe-horned in Heels Up as his replacement, much to Zero’s displeasure and our glee (talk about putting a fork in it). And the USSS sent their B Team (or possibly their D Team) in to protect President Trump and nearly succeeded in…uh, nearly let him be killed.
Seriously, though, we’re covering the attempt on PDJT’s life thoroughly today, and though most writers are being cautious in their speech, it is looking more and more like an inside job. Not even a DEI agency could be incompetent to that scale. The only agent who showed expertise was the sniper who silenced the assassin.
We’ll look at the campaign money that Heels Up expects to inherit, which is in question, and also look at just how much bang for the buck campaign money usually provides. The answer may surprise you. Microsoft will probably surprise you, too, with some unexpected lucidity about DEI, and then we’ll talk about the economy a bit. There’s lots to cover today; let’s get to it.
Xiden drops out. What happens to $100 million Xiden campaign bucks? That is very complicated. The current 'Crat head of the FEC says that they have to be returned to the donors:
FEC Chairman: Biden Donations 'Shall Be Either Returned or Refunded' After Drop Out
A DECADE OF CONSPIRACISTS?
Once a target is constructed as Hitlerian, almost any means necessary to quash that perceived existential threat become justified. And we have seen a lot of them in the last nine years.
Russian collusion did not work.
Christopher Steele was a fraud.
Robert Mueller came up empty.
The Alfa Bank ping caper was a myth.
The Russian laptop disinformation was a lie and ruined the reputations of the “51 former intelligence authorities” who sanctioned it.
The first Trump impeachment was a strictly partisan vote, activated when Trump lost the House and Mueller had come up empty.
Only ten Republicans impeached Trump a second time; the Senate again acquitted then-private citizen Trump.
OSCE DECLARES ‘DECOLONIZATION OF RUSSIA’ AS NECESSARY FOR PEACE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has declared that the “decolonization of the Russian Federation is a necessary condition for sustainable peace” and that Russia is pursuing a “policy of genocide” in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine did not begin “suddenly” but was the logical result of the neo-imperial evolution of post-Soviet Russia’s politics and a lack of action from the West against this expansionism.
The decolonization of Russia will be a long process and should not be reduced to an ethnic conflict of “non-Russians against Russians,” which could lead to war throughout Eurasia.
THE LAND OF THE DRAGON’S BLOOD TREE
This is the Dragon’s Blood Tree, Dracaena cinnabari. It can be found in only one place on earth, a remote island called a Lost World for its uniqueness, the “most alien-looking place on our planet.”
Although it’s known as the most alien, strangest, weirdest, and bizarre place you can go to, it’s also completely safe and incredibly beautiful. Anybody who comes here returns saying, “You have to see it to believe it.” What is this place?
It’s the World Heritage Site of the island of Socotra, the “Galapagos of the Indian Ocean,” 240 miles off the coast of Yemen and now secured by the UAE. It’s hidden, remote, and far away.
We were there in 2014, and it’s been almost impossible to get to ever since. But we’ll be back next year. Let me know if you’d like to be with us. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #34 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE WATERFALLS OF KUANG SI
In the jungles of Laos less than 20 miles from the Laotian Royal Capital of Luang Prabang, you will find the entrancing waterfalls of Kuang Si. Multi-layered cascades of emerald green pure water pour into a series of pools ideal for swimming. The warm sun filters through the dark green jungle canopy. The laughter of Laotian children combined with that of the rushing waters adds to a unique serenity. Here is a place that will wash away all your woes. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #185 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
THE DEMS’ ADMIRATION FOR BIDEN IS SINCERE
“Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it.”
That quotation comes from Macbeth.
The Thane of Cawdor had just been executed for treason, and the king’s son described his virtuous repentance on the block.
That phrase popped into my mind when I thought of all the Democrats sincerely praising Biden for pulling (or being pushed) out of the presidential race in the same way they’re now sincerely praising his presidency.
They’re not being hypocrites. Biden was great for the Democrat party and is now, by leaving, continuing to be great.
AN URGENT MESSAGE TO TTPERS FROM JACK WHEELER
My Fellow TTPers –
Tragically, the GOP is once again living up to its deserved reputation as The Stupid Party. These headlines on Fox this morning (7/23) could not be more imbecilic:
JD Vance Calls On Democrats To Invoke 25th Amendment: If Biden 'can't run... he can't serve'
'Not fit to serve': Speaker Johnson Leads GOP Demands For Biden To Resign From Presidency
How massively idiotic can you get? Nowhere in these stories do Vance or Johnson evince any awareness that if Biden resigns, Kamala automatically becomes President in the White House.
Hyper-woketard Michael Moore understands all too well. Breitbart this morning (7/23): Michael Moore Urges Biden to Resign Presidency to Help Kamala. Moore posted this open plea to FJB, after praising him for “selflessly” quitting his attempt for a second term:
“May I ask you, Mr. President, for one more brave and bold action?
Kamala Harris will be in a much stronger position to win if she can run as the President of the United States. As the incumbent President. This will give the country a chance to see her in action — as the most powerful person in the world. She will have three and a half months (as they say, ‘an eternity in politics’) to show the American people her smarts, her strengths, her heart. She is fierce, and compassionate, and unstoppable. She will have the power to issue significant executive orders that can provide help to the middle class, protect the environment, restore basic women’s rights. And to face down the man who has promised to be a dictator on Day One. For this takedown, I want a front row seat. And a large popcorn.”
Ted Cruz already understood the danger of underestimating Kamala as the incumbent Vice-President. “This is not a layup,” he warned yesterday (7/22):
“I think people are underestimating what billions of dollars of free media, of the entire corrupt corporate media complex, pitching her as a combination of Mother Teresa, Oprah and Gandhi.”
Imagine the hagiography of Kamala Worship the media will flood our country with if she is the actual President in the Oval Office.
What to do? I cannot urge you more to write or call any and all GOP House and Senate Members you can with the simple message: PLEASE STOP THIS 25TH AMENDMENT LUNACY – DON’T MAKE KAMALA THE PRESIDENT. THIS IS MADNESS, PLEASE NO.
You might also pray that Vance and Johnson regain their sanity. Pray that the Dems don’t get FJB to resign on his own. America needs your action and your prayers.