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Babylon Bee

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DEMOCRATS SOMBERLY REMOVE SOMBREROS SIGNALING END OF SHUTDOWN

This is the latest, and sadly the last of the Schumer Shutdown Dems doing their Sombrero Dance.

With the Senate and House approving a new funding bill and sending it to the White House for President Trump’s signature, a group of top Democrats somberly removed their sombreros to signal the end of the government shutdown.

After holding the country hostage for 43 days and wreaking havoc on the travel industry and other areas of the public sector before caving for no discernible gain for their agenda, Democrats marked the pending reopening of the government by ceremonially taking off their Mexican hats.

"This is indeed a mucho, mucho sad day," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "We held out as long as we could, and would have been perfectly fine holding out even longer to teach the Republicans a lesson about… something or other… but some of the members of our party decided to break ranks and vote to reopen the government. So, as a way of honoring our great shutdown, we now remove our beautiful sombreros. Farewell, government shutdown! Adios!"

Though he remained under heavy criticism from others within his party for failing to prevent the shutdown from ending, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer showed his solidarity by joining Jeffries in removing his own sombrero.

"I know my colleagues are not happy with me," Schumer said. "But I am still a proud Democrat. Proud to have presided over the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Proud to have stood up to the Republicans and President Trump. And now, proud to honor what we did by removing this fabulous sombrero."

At publishing time, congressional Democrats were reportedly preparing to introduce a resolution to build a bronze sombrero statue outside the Capitol to commemorate the shutdown.

~ Babylon Bee reporting.

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GIVE MAMDANI WHAT HE WANTS

free-buses-nyNew Yorkers have handed America’s biggest and most famous city- the financial capital of the world- to a radical Muslim communist, who pals around with Jihadi terrorists, supports “global intifada,” wants to tax whites higher than minorities, and has never held a real job in his life.

New York City is now officially “Kabul on the Hudson.”

Or

“North Korea meets Sharia.”

Aren’t New Yorkers proud? What an achievement. All because the city that used to be known as “the greatest city on the planet” is now filled with a poisonous mixture of young jobless communists angry at living in their parents’ basement, and foreigners who hate the country they invaded, and want to turn us into the failed third world s***tholes they just escaped from.

So, I have an idea. “If you can’t beat them, give ‘em what they want.”

Here is how President Trump can win this battle for the soul of America. Stop fighting the communists and Muslim terrorist appeasers. Give them what they want….

President Trump should declare New York City is now a “ILLEGAL ALIEN FREE ZONE.”

Now many of you are probably thinking I’m planning a trap. Once gathered there, we can send ICE in and arrest them all. After they’ve all gathered in one place, it would be like rounding up and deporting fish in a barrel.

But no, that’s not my plan. Because…

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THAT LINGERING STENCH OF FRAUD FROM TUESDAY’S ELECTION

You'd think Democrats, like terrorists, would up their game once revelations of their tactics became widely known.

But apparently they haven't -- the same old fraud reports are showing up again, in scattered reports from the wake of this week's elections in California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania:

BREAKING - Conservatives are now pointing to inconsistencies in the New Jersey gubernatorial race after nearly 500,000 new voters appeared from 2021 to 2025, more than double the state’s population growth over four years, with almost all of them going to Democrats. pic.twitter.com/TR9qxRePv0

— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) November 6, 2025

This report, in Pennsylvania:

When it comes to blue-state voting foulups, never attribute to stupidity what can be explained by malice. https://t.co/i4igaeGZ7A

— @instapundit (@instapundit) November 4, 2025

Here's another report from both of them:

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THE HEALING POWER OF PLAYFULNESS

Einstein being playful

Einstein being playful

[I cannot recommend Joel’s advice here more highly. After over 40 years, the sort of playfulness he describes continues to make my marriage with Rebel stronger and so much fun. Further, today, Nov 12, happens to be Joel’s birthday... (you can greet him at [email protected]) Joel has been with us since the inception of TTP in 2003. Happy Birthday, Joel!]

A relationship can have complex and unique needs at any given time, so there isn’t really a one size fits all panacea for troubles. But of all the specific actions we can take to improve our relationships, I have found none that apply as often or as effectively as this:

Be playful.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But it’s more challenging than meets the eye, and there are clear guidelines for it to work:

We have to approach play as allies, as a member of the same team; we have to be for our spouse, our child, our friend, our co-worker; and the play must have a spirit of love, kindness and optimism, as opposed to cynicism or sarcasm. There cannot be bitterness or resentment clouding the play; it’s the combination of creative, interactive flow and positive emotions that elevates us.

If you’re up for the challenge, you’re in for some pleasant surprises.

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THE RACE FOR THE TRUMP ECONOMY

The current economic indicators, at least those attributable to the 10-month Trump administration, are strong.

Fourth-quarter GDP is estimated to grow between 2.7 and 4 percent, the robust latter figure according to the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank.

Inflation from June to August ranged from 2.7 to 2.9 percent, significantly lower than the 5 percent annual average during Biden’s 2021-2025 term.

Gas prices now average $2.98 per gallon, compared to $3.46, the average cost during Biden’s four years.

In less than a year, Trump has increased oil production by one million barrels per day.

Unemployment in the second quarter of 2025 stayed steady at 4.2 percent, roughly the same as the 4.1 percent during the final month of Biden’s tenure.

The stock market has reached an all-time high. Foreign investment is pegged at record levels. Tariff revenue could reach $400 billion by the end of the year—vastly outpacing the $77 billion in all of last year, 2024.

In other words, the economy is rolling along.

To the extent the Trump administration has a problem with the economy, however, it is threefold.

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VETERANS DAY, ARMISTICE DAY, ST. MARTIN’S DAY

November 11th, a single square on the calendar, carries three names and three lessons for the modern West.

Veterans Day, honoring those who fought for our Republic.

Armistice Day, marking the end of the First World War, so cataclysmic its survivors called it simply The Great War.

And St. Martin’s Day (or Martinmas), an ancient Christian feast commemorating Martin of Tours — the Roman soldier who laid down his sword for Christ and spent the rest of his life fighting a greater battle for souls.

Three observances. One date. One truth: civilization survives because virtuous men step forward to bear its burdens.

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THE END IS NEAR – IN TEHRAN

Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.

— Deuteronomy 11:17

Mother Nature may accomplish something that neither the U.S. nor Israel could ever have contemplated: the evacuation of Tehran's 9.7 million inhabitants.

Iran is currently experiencing its fifth consecutive year of drought, and the autumnal rainfall is about a quarter of that in 2024, that would be two millimeters.

In short, Tehran is facing a “Day Zero” catastrophe.

“Zero day” is probably shortly after January 1.

“Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, warned on Thursday that if the drought persisted more than a month longer, “we’ll have to evacuate Tehran.” Mr. Pezeshkian has not explained how such an evacuation would be managed.

Mr. Pezeshkian has warned about Tehran’s water crisis for months, and has even promoted moving the capital south, closer to the Persian Gulf, where there is “access to open waters.’”

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SQUARE PEGS AND SUCH: A TTP BULLETIN

technical-debtTTPers,

The TTP Forum has been offline for several days due to what software engineers call technical debt. This means the slow accumulation of outdated software that eventually stops working when the world around it upgrades. Our site runs on WordPress 4.6.1, which is a content management system (CMS) that handles everything from publishing articles to running the discussion forum.

WordPress is built on a programming language called PHP, which is short for Hypertext Preprocessor. PHP runs on the web server and generates the pages you see in your browser.

Here’s the issue: the version of WordPress we’re using was written to work with PHP 4.6.1, a version released almost a decade ago. Our hosting company recently upgraded to a newer PHP environment for speed and security reasons. That’s good for the modern internet, but bad for older websites.

Many of the WordPress plug-ins (small software modules that add features like logins, forums, and security filters) depend on PHP functions that no longer exist in the latest releases. When the server runs the new code, these old plug-ins simply break.

Fixing it takes time. Each plug-in and custom script has to be reviewed, rewritten, or replaced with something compatible. Once that is done...

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HALF-FULL REPORT 11/07/25

Mamdani's Triumph, Tariffs on Trial, and Cheney's Shadow

Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral win pits Islamic anti-usury principles against New York’s capitalist core. His base may push regulatory sabotage such as disclosure burdens, pension shifts to sukuk, and usury investigations, risking capital flight to Miami or Texas. Liberals like Schumer urge coexistence and positioning New York as a dual-finance hub while implementing sukuk banking reforms and Shariah options to tap Islamic sovereign wealth funds (for the Democrats).

Morris Katz of Fight.Agency ran Mamdani’s campaign using a political OODA Loop, syncing narrative, moral, and logistical energy. Targeting Gen Z women (81% of Mamdani voters), he built a decentralized “starfish” model utilizing TikTok dopamine feedback strategies that turned politics into social validation. Volunteers amplified content; door-knocking became performance art. CAIR funding fueled this globalist push.

In early 2025, President Trump imposed sweeping tariffs via IEEPA executive orders with 10% on most imports, up to 145% on Chinese goods, to counter IP theft and fentanyl. The policy raised $151 billion in six months but triggered lawsuits from businesses and states, claiming unconstitutional taxation without Congressional approval. The Supreme Court heard Learning Resources v. Trump on November 5, debating whether IEEPA allows tariffs as regulatory tools or if legislative approval is required under Article I of the Constitution.

Dick Cheney, dead at 84 on November 3, 2025, has long been suspected of waging Iraq 2003 for Israel’s benefit by fabricating WMD intelligence to neutralize Saddam. Critics cite The Israel Lobby, AIPAC speeches, and Iran strikes as Zionist-driven, costing 4,400 U.S. lives and trillions of dollars.

In his later years, his anti-Trump stance, endorsement of Kamala Harris, and calling Trump a "threat to the republic" positioned him as a defender of traditional GOP global engagement. His support of Kamala Harris only amplified populist views of him as a key "globalist establishment" figure and proponent of a borderless world.

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THE FREEDOM TO FAIL

dc_policecapThe Nowheresville Texas Police Station:  A long time ago.

[Some details altered to protect the innocent and guilty.]

I was in a police lieutenant’s office, watching a video taken from the body camera of one of our officers.  The call had been a welfare check, where two of our people had approached a residence, heard nothing, and proceeded to make warrantless entry.

In Texas, and in the United States at large, warrantless entry of a residence by law enforcement is limited to a handful of justifications falling under “exigent circumstances.”

Basically, it needs to be an emergency that justifies breaching the curtilage [Editor:  google it – a very interesting word for citizens], and the Supreme Court has been getting tighter and tighter on applying it.  The officers had gone into this house for a situation…. not really meeting that threshold.

She looked up at me.  “This is bad.”

Clearly, the officers—both relatively new, had overstepped.  Perhaps in good faith, but they had still overstepped.

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WHAT EVERYONE MISSES ABOUT NICK FUENTES

The racialist influencer Nick Fuentes has caused an uproar with his appearance on Tucker Carlson’s podcast.

Fuentes, a 27-year-old live-streamer, has built a reputation as the most controversial voice on the right. He’s embraced seemingly every taboo: praising Hitler, disputing the Holocaust’s death toll, calling himself a “white nationalist,” musing about domestic violence, and opposing interracial marriage.

Carlson’s invitation has divided conservatives. Some suggest that Fuentes’s appearance on the podcast represented an unacceptable mainstreaming of his views. Others, most notably Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, argue that Fuentes must be debated instead of “canceled.”

Both sides fail to understand the Nick Fuentes phenomenon.

They take his statements seriously and engage with them in good faith. But Fuentes’s stated beliefs, while abhorrent, are not best parried by taking them at face value.

Instead, the Right should consider him an actor in what postmodern theorist Jean Baudrillard called “hyperreality” – a system in which the simulation of reality comes to replace reality itself.

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CRITICAL THINKING HAS BEEN HIJACKED

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory,’” Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. “Of course you don’t—till I tell you. I meant ‘there’s a nice knock-down argument for you!’”

“But ‘glory’ doesn’t mean ‘a nice knock-down argument,’” Alice objected.

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.”

~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

In the past, I’ve talked about the left's deliberate shift of language, but I’ve never mentioned the foundational shift I’m going to talk about now. This one is different. It doesn’t just twist one word or one idea — it changes the ground we stand on.

This shift attacks logic itself. It strikes at the roots of reasoning, the process by which we decide what is true. It happened quietly and almost no one saw it occur.

The term critical thinking has been redefined.

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THIS JUST IN – BLUE STATES VOTE DEMOCRAT

Blue States Vote DemocratOn the one hand, last night was a terrible night for the GOP. There’s no sugarcoating double-digit election losses when there was anticipation of real competition.

There’s little silver lining when the party was wiped out in numerous state elections.

On the other hand, Democrats won in very blue states and cities. Who didn’t expect that, and what will it really change?

Democrats certainly hope that winning governorships in Virginia and New Jersey is a harbinger of success in next year’s midterm elections….HOWEVER, there could be a “bright side.”

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THE EROSION OF SELF-RELIANCE

In the shadow of every government shutdown, a deeper crisis emerges, one not of policy, but of identity.

The headlines may focus on delayed paychecks, frozen programs, and political gridlock, but beneath the surface lies a more troubling revelation: millions of Americans, including the middle class and federal employees, have become so conditioned to government assistance that they no longer know how to navigate hardship without it.

This is not merely an economic issue; it is a cultural and spiritual unraveling.

The American ethos of personal responsibility, once the bedrock of national pride and familial strength, is being quietly replaced by a subconscious belief that survival itself depends on the state.

 

A Nation Built on Self-Reliance

Fifty years ago, the average American understood that life was unpredictable and often unforgiving. Families saved for emergencies, churches and communities formed safety nets, and personal pride was tied to one’s ability to provide and persevere.

Government programs existed, but they were limited in scope and seen as temporary bridges, not permanent lifelines.

The middle class, in particular, took pride in its independence. To rely on government aid was not a badge of shame, but it was certainly not a default expectation.

In those days, when hardship struck, a job loss, a medical emergency, a cold winter without heating oil, people turned first to family, then to community, and finally to their own ingenuity.

They bartered, budgeted, and leaned on one another. Churches organized food drives, neighbors shared firewood, and civic organizations offered support.

The government was a last resort, not a first response.

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BRITAIN IN THE BALANCE

For centuries, Britain — and England in particular — has represented a civilizational ideal for much of the modern world.

The birthplace of parliamentary democracy, the common law system, and global standards of governance, Britain has exported its political and cultural values far beyond its shores. At home, it once epitomized social cohesion, stability, and civic pride.

Yet, in the 21st century, many Britons — particularly in working-class communities — report a growing sense of cultural alienation. Towns like Bradford, Luton, and Rotherham now evoke, for some, a sense of displacement rather than belonging.

This perception of a “de-Anglification” of England, whereby traditional English culture appears to be losing ground in its own homeland, reflects a deeper civilizational unease.

There is a need to explore the causes and consequences of this transformation, including the policies of the New Labour government, the fragmentation of national identity, the failure of integration, and the erosion of trust in public institutions.

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TEACHERS AND COACHES

[This Monday’s Archive was originally published on November 17, 2005. The best teachers forge character through discipline, competition, and the earned confidence that comes only from mastery.]

The difference of commitment to sports versus academics by students and parents is striking, but don't believe for a minute that the same bias is not institutional as well. I have taught now at every level of American academia and I have yet to give a test or assign a project that was so important that it caused a game to be canceled or missed.

However, from elementary school to college, I regularly have had class time canceled, projects excused and test times altered to cater to athletics. In fact, it seems any academic activity humbly bows before the holy incantation, “Uh, I'm going to be gone; we've got a game that day.”

This explanation is not the bitter ranting of an egghead who was always picked last in gym class. Rather, I'm a former collegiate athlete and high school coach who is intrigued by what could be accomplished if we would bring our athletic commitment into the classroom.

And, because attitude is not enough, we should also contrast coaching to teaching, so that we might re-learn some valuable lessons about instructional methods. To this end, I see three prime areas for consideration.

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DEMOCRATS VOW TO STARVE AS MANY FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS AS IT TAKES TO GET FREE HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Cory “Let ‘Em Starve” Booker

Cory “Let ‘Em Starve” Booker

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democrats have taken a bold stand by vowing to starve as many food stamp recipients as it takes to get free healthcare for illegal immigrants.

According to prominent Democrat leaders, starving a couple million kids is a small price to pay to ensure that blue states continue to provide free healthcare to illegal immigrants.

"If you're going to make an omelet, you've got to crack a few eggs. And if you're going to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants, you've got to let some children go hungry," said Senator Cory Booker. "Honestly, who cares? Kids can't vote. Plus, they're very resilient, they can dig around in some dumpsters, or forage for berries or whatever. Cry harder."

Booker's statement was echoed by other intellectual pillars of the Democrat Party.

"It's, like, not hard for kids to find food. There are stores literally filled with food," said Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "Some food even grows in the ground, and the ground is everywhere, so technically, they can get food from anywhere. You just, like, dig the food out of the ground or whatever."

At publishing time, Democrats had vowed to personally go to grocery stores to filibuster poor people attempting to buy food.

~ Babylon Bee reporting

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HALF-FULL REPORT 10/31/25

All Treats, No Tricks

 

Happy Halloween. Meet the Skittles Rebellion In an unexpected twist, trick-or-treat in my town took place a night early this year to avoid a clash with Friday night football. The streets were full of polite kids, most in homemade costumes, proof that American neighborhoods still hum with decency beneath the noise. But a subtle cultural shift was hiding in plain sight. Three separate groups of girls 10 to 12 years old, turned down Skittles for chocolate, explaining, “Synthetic dyes aren’t healthy. Mr. Kennedy says so.” That moment, repeated three times, said more about the next generation than a thousand polls: Generation Alpha and their mothers are quietly choosing RFK over Red Dye 40.

Meanwhile, north on the Hudson, New York is watching a generational revolt of its own. Zohran Mamdani leads the city’s mayoral race, powered by youth, ideology, and viral energy that bypass traditional media channels. Cuomo’s experience and Sliwa’s populism can’t counter a movement that runs on online momentum instead of institutional blessing. Mamdani’s rise marks the old Progressive class fighting to preserve its relevance as digital-age executors we know as builders, coders, and operators supplant the credentialed elites. Like the girls rejecting candy, Mamdani’s voters are rejecting the establishment’s diet, though what they’ll swallow next may be harder to digest.

Across the world, the same tension is visible. Russia clings to fossil-fueled power while America, under Trump’s Pacific realignment, rebuilds alliances grounded in production and execution. Canada throws tantrums while Washington moves steel, energy, and manufacturing back home. The global pattern is clear: symbolic capital is dying; operational mastery is ascendant. From costumed kids to collapsing empires, the message echoes that the age of performance is over; the age of execution has begun.

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PUTIN’S ENERGY WEAPON HAS NOW COME BACK TO BITE HIM

[I have known Ambrose since the early i990s, when he was the London Telegraph’s US correspondent based in DC. Now he is the Telegraph’s World Economy Editor. Ambrose is at the top of his game in this analysis. –JW]

Vladimir Putin’s predicament is deteriorating fast across every front of the global energy war.  Western sanctions are at last going for the jugular, and Donald Trump has finally thrown American power behind the blockade.

The Saudis are flooding the world oil market in a ruthless drive to regain lost share. A glut of historic proportions is building and is likely to last deep into 2027. Goldman Sachs has told clients that Brent crude prices could drop to the low $40s.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has drastically revised its global supply and demand forecasts. China has filled its strategic petroleum reserve to near bursting point and can no longer keep mopping up the surplus. Excess crude is now being stored on water in a giant global armada of floating tankers.

The math is brutal. The IEA expects a jumbo global surplus of four million b/d in 2026. “It is increasingly clear that something has to give,” said Toril Bosoni, head of the agency’s oil and markets division.

That something is the Russian war economy.

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ARCTIC FROST: “100 TIMES WORSE THAN WATERGATE”

sleazebag-caughtSenate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley revealed Wednesday (10/29) that former President Joe Biden’s corrupt Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) compiled what’s being described as an “enemies list” of Republicans to target, including through wiretapping the phones of several high-ranking Republicans as part of their “get-Trump” lawfare.

Grassley revealed more than 1,700 pages of documents provided by whistleblowers, shining further light on the “Arctic-Frost” inquiry. Arctic Frost was an investigation led by the Biden administration to, as The Federalist’s Margot Cleveland explained, “target Republicans in key battleground states.”

Then FBI Director Christopher Wray sent a memorandum to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland claiming that “fraudulent certificates of electors’ votes were submitted to the Archivist of the United States” for Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Wray also asserted that these votes were part of a grand conspiracy to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election.

Jack Smith relied on this investigation as the basis for his anti-Trump lawfare, through which he attempted to both put the then-former president in jail and spy on the entire Republican political apparatus. Grassley made public the 197 subpoenas sought by Smith.

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WHAT LYING DOES TO US

Lying takes a huge toll on our relationships, our physical health, and our mental health. But sometimes we’re not so clear about what it means to be honest. Does it mean we say everything that we think or feel?

There are very strong benefits to honesty; and also some common sense guidelines as to what’s appropriate to express.

This is common sense, but here’s where this can get tricky: I have known people who believe that if we don’t express every feeling or impulse, we’re being dishonest. I’ve watched these folks say the most awful, hurtful, vile things to each other, calling each other the most insulting names in the process. Their impulse is sometimes to hurt the other, and so they do it.

It doesn’t really work very well for them.

By this philosophy, the whole concept of honesty and authenticity becomes nebulous. By this way of thinking, if we don’t express literally everything that goes through our mind, we can’t be honest.

This is of course ridiculous. To be honest is not to be brainless. To be honest does not mean that we let fly anything that comes to mind.

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THE WORLD SHOULD CHEER IF TRUMP RIDS IT OF VENEZUELA’S MADURO

USS Gerald R Ford on its way to Venezuela

USS Gerald R Ford on its way to Venezuela

Donald Trump is preparing for a military intervention in Venezuela. You don’t send a dozen warships, including a nuclear submarine and an aircraft carrier, to interdict a few drug traffickers. You don’t deploy 10,000 troops to deter smugglers.

Many, especially in the Global South, will fall hungrily on the parallel with Russia. So much, they will say, for the pretense that Western countries uphold the international order. The US, they will aver, is no different from Russia, acting from self-interest, and then coating its Machtpolitik in cant about freedom and democracy.

The comparison is false, the opposite of the truth.

Trump has no interest in annexing Venezuelan territory. Whatever happens next, whether we end up with shots fired in anger or whether Maduro’s rotten regime agrees to free elections, no one can credibly claim that the US is commandeering Venezuelan resources.

Putin’s objective in Ukraine was to remove a freely elected government and replace it with a Russian client regime. Trump’s objective in Venezuela is to remove a Russian client regime and replace it with a freely elected government. That difference is categorical.

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WHY THE DEMS ARE IN MELTDOWN OVER TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM

The new White House Ballroom with new First Lady’s East Wing in foreground

The new White House Ballroom with new First Lady’s East Wing in foreground

Donald Trump has demolished an old office wing attached to the White House and begun building a large new ballroom, big enough to accommodate state dinners and other major events. Currently, those have to be held outdoors, under a temporary tent, because the White House lacks a large, permanent space.

Democrats are outraged by Trump’s move. They have filled social media with pictures of the demolition. Oh, the humanity. Tearing down any part of the White House is a travesty, they say, and an assault on one of our cherished national landmarks. They are so enraged that at least one Democrat lawmaker has made tearing down the new ballroom – after it is built and paid for – a litmus test for his party’s 2028 presidential candidates.

Call it  BDS – Ballroom Derangement Syndrome.  To explain it, we’re going to take a look at Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack.

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WHERE IS TRUMP’S DOJ ON DENATURALIZING ZOHRAN MAMDANI?

When a man seeks to lead the largest city in America, his citizenship should be beyond question. Yet the candidacy of Zohran Mamdani, an avowed Radical Muslim Communist Democrat and recently naturalized U.S. citizen, has raised a troubling question: Did he obtain his citizenship under false pretenses?

That question became official on June 26, when Congressman Andy Ogles, Republican of Tennessee, formally asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether Mamdani’s 2018 naturalization should be revoked under 8 U.S.C. §1451(a) for “willful misrepresentation or concealment of material support for terrorism.”

The request, addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, was not a partisan stunt. It was a carefully structured one-page letter that laid out specific evidence, cited public sources, and explained why Mamdani’s own words may point to something more serious than youthful rebellion or artistic expression.

By early autumn, the issue had escalated far beyond a single letter. On October 8, Florida Congressman Randy Fine, a Republican, reignited national debate by denouncing Mamdani as “little more than a Muslim terrorist” and demanding his deportation to Uganda. Fine’s comments reflected genuine anger among voters who believe the system too often protects destroyers rather than creators.

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TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM IS NOT ABOUT VANITY, IT’S ABOUT AMERICAN GRANDEUR

[youtube id="HGTYC0-RMFg"]
The Democrats, or socialists, or whatever they are these days, are hopping mad over President Donald Trump’s construction of a ballroom in the East Wing of the White House, and while it may be their silliest freakout of the entire Trump era, it is also quite telling.

The ladies on ABC's "The View" were apoplectic when they saw images of demolition, a fairly ordinary way to begin renovations, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. They echoed one-time resident Hillary Clinton’s complaint that Trump doesn’t own the White House, even taking to song about it.

What makes this argument so absurd, is that Trump is not building this ballroom for his personal use or glory. It’s not a vanity project. It is a long-considered addition to an executive home that lacked the capacity to hold large indoor events.

Trump, as has always been his wont, is looking to create grandeur, and that seems to be something to which leftists reflexively object.  The ballroom he is constructing will  survive as a symbol of American power long after we are all gone. It will be, in a sense, our generation’s contribution to the people’s home.

Trump wants this venue, this symbol of America, to be grand and classically inspired, a timeless marble monument to a United States that emerged from the 20th century as the world’s only super power.

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THE RIGHT WAY TO APOLOGIZE

[youtube id="JFvujknrBuE"]
In 399 BC, Socrates defended himself in the court of Athens against charges that he had corrupted the young and did not believe in the gods of the city.

Though his attempt was unsuccessful, and he was shortly put to death, Plato recorded his great teacher’s performance that day as his Apology.

The title of this account uses the original definition of the word apology: the Greek apologia (apo – away from or off; logia from logos, words or speech), that is, “A defense especially of one’s opinions, position, or actions.”

Though the modern definition of the word apology is quite different, “an expression of regret for having done or said something wrong;” in some ways, I think we have culturally reverted to this older definition of apology – at least when it comes to politicians and other public figures.

We rarely hear publicly a genuine acceptance of responsibility for hurtful acts. It’s more common to hear either a defense of one’s actions, a displacement of responsibility onto the listener such as, “I’m sorry you feel badly about this,” or a diffusion of responsibility into the ether through the use of the passive voice such as, “I’m sorry that happened.”

Fortunately, we don’t have to behave like these public dissimulators…

We all make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes let other people down, or hurt them. The first step in repairing the mistakes we’ve made is to acknowledge that we’ve done something hurtful. Then the question becomes: “What’s the best way to apologize to the people we’ve disappointed or hurt?”

For it matters how you apologize, and Heidi Grant Halverson, author of Focus, has some great advice about this.

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DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE’S DEATH GRIP ON THE DOJ

Todd Blanche

Todd Blanche

Florida Attorney Peter Ticktin has known Donald Trump personally since grade 10 of their high school days in 1961, when both attended New York Military Academy. Ticktin has publicly described Trump as a classmate and friend from that period and has often recounted their interactions as cadets.

They have remained friends for over 60 years. I had this conversation this week with Ticktin regarding his concerns about the Department of Justice and Todd Blanche’s role in running the DOJ and what it means for Trump’s second-term agenda.

 

What is Todd Blanche’s role at the Department of Justice?

Todd Blanche is the Deputy Attorney General, which makes him the second-highest-ranking official in the DOJ, serving under Attorney General Pam Bondi. My assessment is that he handles the day-to-day operations of the DOJ, like a COO of a private company. The DOJ has 115,000 employees; it’s not something that Pam Bondi necessarily knows how to manage.

 

What’s your biggest concern about Todd Blanche?

My biggest concern is that he may be ideologically opposed to Donald Trump’s agenda and see his role as stopping Donald Trump’s agenda in its tracks.

I do not know this man personally, and I am not involved with the decisions in the DOJ. All I know is that I see complete failure with pardons, compensation to J6ers, investigations into Dominion machines, the release of Tina Peters, and other matters under that guy. I am not seeing movement.

My opinion is that everything that needs to be done at the DOJ to make Donald Trump’s presidency work is being stalled by Todd Blanche. He’s intentionally doing things opposite of what needs to be done. As a result, morale in the Department of Justice is way down. He is supposed to make the goals of Donald Trump get realized.

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CONSERVATIVE TRIUMPHS WORLDWIDE

Called “ultraconservative” by the liberal media, Japan’s new prime minister is its first woman ever in that position. But a Japanese feminist author told NBC News that Japan attaining its first female prime minister “doesn’t make me happy.”

Sanae Takaichi takes the reins of power in Japan with strongly conservative positions on gender and marriage. She’s much more like Margaret Thatcher than Hillary Clinton or Kamala Harris.

Takaichi opposes same-sex marriage. She doesn’t support DEI. She will strengthen the Japanese military, which would help us by creating a buffer against Communist China, and she’ll meet next week with President Trump during his Asia trip.

Takaichi’s election is part of a trend worldwide which also recently resulted in the first conservative president of Bolivia in 20 years. Rodrigo Paz Pereira won a stunning upset against Leftist control of that South American country, and he vows to establish a better relationship with the United States.

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THE ‘NO KINGS’ JOKE FLOP

The Saturday protests were a joke. Why did so many of them dissipate after an hour? Why all the animal costumes? Why did MSNBC have to use years-old pictures of alleged crowds? What do they have to do with “no kings”?

Perhaps the most mysterious, creepy aspect of the whole movement is their willingness to call for violence and the murder of those whom they hate so vehemently. These are demented people. They have been hopelessly inculcated with the anti-American, anti-Trump propaganda that the Marxist left is so good at propagating.

Our old hippies and the college students who have been so thoroughly indoctrinated by their Marxist professors are sitting ducks for George Soros and his ilk. These are the useful idiots, as Lenin called such people, who can be successfully relied upon to mindlessly further his ends.

That pretty much sums up who all those aging, blinkered “no kings” marchers were. Apparently, none of them know that the successful American Revolution rid the new nation of kings for all time.

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THE MYTH OF PUTIN’S STRENGTH IS CRUMBLING

Trump has finally ditched the Cold War notion that Russia is so formidable that we must, to avoid World War Three, accept that it can bully its neighbors into vassalage.

Russia is a weakish, brittle power in rapid decline, with a sphere of influence that has been steadily shrinking for decades. The invasion of Ukraine was meant to arrest the decay; it accelerated it. The land seized at vast cost does not begin to compensate for the collapse of Russian clout in Central Asia, the Middle East and the rest of Europe.

The crucial moment came in late September, when Trump publicly embraced the proposition that Ukraine can recover all its territory. That was not just rhetorical flourish; it marked a clean break with the “both sides must yield” mush that undermined the heroic Ukrainian fight and flattered Kremlin mythology.

Words from a US president matter. Treat Russia as strong and stakeholders default to caution. Treat it as fragile and initiative is unlocked.

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CLARENCE THOMAS GENTLY EXPLAINS TO KBJ THAT NOT ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE MENTALLY DISABLED, JUST HER

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson claimed in court today that all black people are mentally disabled, Justice Clarence Thomas gently informed her that it's actually just her.

Not wanting to embarrass Jackson in front of the rest of the court, Justice Thomas waited for a brief recess to explain.

"I don't know how to say this best, Ketanji, but not all black people are mentally disabled. It's just you," said Thomas. "You having an exceptionally low IQ has absolutely nothing to do with your skin color, Ketanji. You're just an idiot. I know this is hard for you to understand... I mean, of course it is, you're mentally handicapped."

Onlookers reported Jackson was stunned by the news, shocked to learn that not all black people are mentally disabled. She sullenly closed the Leapfrog tablet she had been playing Sesame Street puzzles on, before hurling it at the wall in rage. Justice Thomas, however, managed to lift her spirits with a brief game of peek-a-boo.

At publishing time, Justice Thomas had been forced to have the same conversation with Justice Sotomayor about Hispanics.

~ Babylon Bee reporting

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WHY DEMS FACE ANNIHILATION IN THE SOUTH

 

This graphic is from the New York Times story yesterday (10/15): A Supreme Court Case Could Hand The House to Republicans.

The Supreme Court is considering whether to gut a key provision in the Voting Rights Act. Democrats are nervous because, if the Court strikes it down, coupled with Republican governors redrawing maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, they could be wiped out in the South.

Of course, the Times tries to lessen the impact, adding that the full effect of the upcoming ruling, should it go against liberals, might not be fully felt until after 2026, but it’s still going to be a sledgehammer to the face.  The provision centers on whether race should be considered when drawing legislative districts.

From the NYT story:

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RUSSIA’S WEAKNESS IS TRUMP’S OPPORTUNITY

putin-looks-at-trumpHaving just commemorated two years since Oct. 7, 2023, we’re now approaching another grim anniversary—Feb. 24, four years since Russia invaded Ukraine.

President Trump deserves credit for recognizing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was vulnerable after having overreached by bombing Qatar. The president leveraged Bibi’s weakness to force a cease-fire.

Russia is in a similarly vulnerable position after the failure of its third offensive against Ukraine, yet Mr. Trump has failed to exploit this weakness. This raises the question: When is  Mr. Trump  to take advantage of Vladimir Putin’s helplessness?

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HEY, BARRACK! YOU CAN GO AWAY NOW!

Barack Obama really should follow the lead of old-time presidents and, instead of seeking the limelight, opt for a rocking chair on his front porch. In that way, he could spare himself the embarrassment of saying really stupid things.

During a podcast with Marc Maron, Obama made a comment about using the National Guard that was meant to attack Trump, but merely made Obama look ignorant and partisan.

Before even getting to the substance of what Obama said, what’s notable about the interview is how Obama looks. He’s wound up as tightly as an angry suburban leftist woman explaining to her psychiatrist why her husband was completely wrong in the recent fight they had. His legs are crossed, his arms are crossed, and his shoulders are hunched over. He looks lost in the comfy white armchair in which he sits.

Looking at this effete, defensive little man, it’s almost incomprehensible that he was the leader of the free world for eight years.

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WHAT SORT OF WORLD WILL YOUR GRANDCHILDREN LIVE IN?

Advances in technology have often been sudden and unexpected.  Their speed and acceleration are exemplified by the fact that in one lifetime, people born before airplanes were invented saw, on television, men landing on the moon with 1960s technology.  Unpredicted was the invention and wide use of desktop computers, which not even the writers of science fiction had foreseen.

I have a memory of watching a television show as a child, hearing my parents remark that I had no idea of what life had been like before there were any televisions to watch.  I do remember a time before microwave ovens and pocket transistor radios.

As I was playing with my grandchildren, watching them use gadgets that did not exist when I was their age, it occurred to me that they had been born into an era where technology was influencing their lives, their attitudes, and their expectations in ways that we might scarcely imagine.

What’s next for them?

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EXPLAINING TRUMP’S GENIUS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

President Trump addresses Israel’s Knesset, October 13, 2025

What did Donald Trump do differently to obtain at least temporary calm in the Middle East compared to the failed efforts of past administrations, foreign powers, and the United Nations? Let us count ten different approaches.
  1. Trump curtailed a considerable amount of Iranian oil income and its dispersal. He stopped, for the near future, the Iranian effort to build a bomb. Trump also allowed Israel to destroy Tehran’s air defenses, humiliate it militarily, and eliminate many of its top military officers and nuclear physicists. Thus, Israel’s half-century-long worries about Iranian nukes were addressed. At the same time, its stature as a military power soared to an all-time high—even if it became more isolated politically. Israel became more confident but also more sensitive to past, current, and future American military and political support—or pressure.
  2. Trump allowed Netanyahu to destroy Hamas, cripple Hezbollah, and retaliate at will against the Houthis. That liberation led to general dejection among Israel’s enemies and a resurgence in Netanyahu’s own political fortunes. And that rise of Israel and the collapse of the Iranian terrorist network—the “ring of fire”— explain the greater chances for a ceasefire and possibly a peace. Trump allowed no daylight between Israel and the U.S., which, under the Biden administration, may have sent the wrong signals to Hamas prior to October 7.

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WHAT HAPPENS TO IRAN WHEN KHAMENEI IS GONE

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 86 years old and in ill health. Western intelligence believes he had prostate cancer in 2014 and, most recently, a severe bowel obstruction in 2022. In public, he has appeared to be weak and tired at times. Health rumors were flying after Khamenei didn't appear in public in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. attacks on Iran in June.

It doesn't take much to get tongues wagging in Iran about the mental and physical state of their Supreme Leader.

Regardless of when he dies, sooner or later, the shape of a post-Khamenei Iran is of intense interest to the U.S. and the world.

The last two years have seen the breaking of Ayatollah Khamenei's power and the weakening of the regime he leads. The events that have transpired during the Gaza War will have an enormous bearing on what Iran will look like after Khamenei dies.

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HALF-FULL REPORT 10/10/25

Rebuilding Order

The price of gold, government shutdowns, and global conflicts are signals of a deeper struggle between order and disorder.

From yesterday’s collapse of the USSR to this morning’s  Gaza ceasefire, from Trump’s battle against bureaucratic chaos to Japan’s “Iron Lady” restoring confidence, the world is at a turning point.

Truth is reclaiming the field while both citizens and leaders are driving out the agents of disorder. Systems are being repaired, virtue is being rewarded, and civilization is standing firm.

Chaos is losing, truth is winning, and the world is reclaiming its order and vibrancy.

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BUILD A GROWTH MINDSET

When you think of what you do in your life, how do you think of yourself?

If you think thoughts such as, “I’m intelligent,” or “I’m talented,” or “I’m a failure,” you’re thinking of yourself in terms of traits. Traits are fixed qualities that do not change much, if at all.

There is a big problem with thinking of yourself – or other people – in terms of traits; it makes it very difficult to learn, grow, and change.

In research done by Carol Dweck and others, they found that kids who thought of themselves in terms of traits would give up easily, and had a hard time bouncing back from adversity or defeat.

If you’re told how smart you are, how talented you are, how gifted you are, and such traits are the main focus of praise for you, then what happens when you fail a test?

You shouldn’t fail a test; in fact you should never do anything but great on a test. After all, you’re brilliant and talented; a real natural at these things!

When a child is evaluated in terms of such positive traits, there isn’t much room for improvement.

You either do well and live up to your evaluation, or if you fail, that failure undermines the positive evaluation of your traits.

How can you be brilliant and do poorly? There must’ve been a mistake in the positive evaluation.

When there is failure, there isn’t much room for improvement, either.

Failing is not a verb to a trait-oriented person. Failure is something that you are.

A child with a trait-oriented mindset who has a setback or failure does not experience it as a failure of action, he experiences it as a failure of character – an overwhelming defeat at a fundamental level.

A trait-oriented mindset is a helpless mindset.  But there is an alternative…

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BARI: THE ANTI-WOKE SUPERSTAR SHAKING UP AMERICAN JOURNALISM

As America’s political and media elite partied in Washington, DC, following Donald Trump’s inauguration at the start of the year, one event in particular drew the great and the good.

The Free Press, an online news publication founded by outspoken US journalist Bari Weiss, teamed up with Uber and Elon Musk’s X for a party that played host to famous faces, including the Republican senator Ted Cruz, controversial Irish UFC star Conor McGregor and former prime minister Liz Truss.

The star-studded bash was a coup for Weiss, the former New York Times journalist who in recent years has become one of the hottest names in US media.

Now, though, her star – and her fortune – have risen further after Hollywood giant Paramount inked a deal to buy The Free Press for a reported $150m price tag.

The takeover embeds a news startup at the heart of one of America’s largest media empires.

More controversially, however, the deal will also see Weiss take up the role of editor-in-chief of CBS News in a move that could herald the biggest overhaul in the Paramount-owned network’s near-100-year history.

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