LAKE BLED
First Lady Melania Trump would instantly recognize Lake Bled, for it is considered the most beautiful place in her home country of Slovenia. It’s a glacial lake up in the Julian Alps near the border with Austria. The small lush island you see has been a pilgrimage site for millennia – first to the Temple of Ziva, the Slovene goddess of love and fertility, then until now to the Church of the Mother of God. For all that time, Slovene couples came here to get married.
There are 99 steps from the rowboat landing to the church, and from ancient times to today, the tradition is that for a happy and long-lasting marriage, the groom must carry his bride up all 99 steps while she must remain silent while he does.
Lake Bled is a place of deep serenity and joyous calm. Come here to experience both. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #178 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
WOKENESS IN THE US MILITARY IS PICKING UP STEAM
For centuries, America has had that politically neutral military, but the Biden administration is accelerating a process begun under Obama, which is to weaken military readiness while ensuring that both officers and troops hew to a specific political ideology.
In the first five years of his presidency, Obama fired almost 200 military officers, some of whom felt very strongly that there was an ideological purge taking place. Certainly, the Pentagon class’s willing embrace of leftist ideologies (DEI, CRT and, especially, LGBTQ+++) indicates that those in charge of the military’s strange new destiny are on board with all of this.
As you can see above, the wokeness insanity is getting worse with LtGen DeAnna Burt feeling “compelled” to promote less qualified personnel in her hiring and promotion decisions due to “anti-LGBTQ+” laws in various states.
OUR NEXT PRESIDENT MUST FIX OUR MILITARY FIRST
This has to STOP on January 20, 2025!
The federal bureaucracy is a smoldering smorgasbord of corruption, incompetence, and pride flag-waving wokeness, and the big questions for the next Republican president are where to start fixing it and how.
There are a few things that need to happen day one to begin imposing our iron discipline upon the out-of-control deep state – pardons for every persecuted victim of the two-tiered “justice” system, orders to comply with all GOP investigatory subpoenas immediately, and firing Chris Wray.
But defeating the unofficial fourth branch of government requires focus and intensity. You cannot take it down overnight because it will fight back with support from the regime media. So, you need a quick and critical win.
That’s why the first thing you fix is the military. Here’s what to do.
MAYA RUINS AND STAR WARS
This is Temple IV at the ancient Mayan capital of Tikal, now in northern Guatemala. It was from the top of Temple IV that the shot in the original 1977 Star Wars movie was filmed of the Millennium Falcon landing (at 44 seconds) near jungle temples (Temples II and III) at the Rebel Base on the moon of Yavin 4.
Built in 740 AD, at 230 feet it is the tallest pre-Columbian structure in all the Americas. While Tikal’s earliest buildings date to the 4th century BC, it was from 300 to 800 AD that Tikal flourished as one of the Mayan Empires most powerful kingdoms.
Then decline set in, with drought, deforestation, overpopulation, and constant warfare with rival kingdoms. With Tikal abandoned by the end of the 900s, it remained covered by rainforest jungle for over a thousand years. American archaeologists began excavations in the 1950s. Today with its major temples restored, Tikal is the most impressive example you can visit of Mayan civilization. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #118 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
PLATONIC CONSERVATIVES
Plato 427-347 BC
[This Monday’s Archive, “Platonic Conservatives,” was originally published on October 1, 2003. To what extent do you think it applies to those conservatives today who are rooting for the dollar and the American economy to crash, for Russian barbarism to win and Western Civilization to lose? They were among us twenty years ago – are they among us for the same reasons today? Your thoughts, please!]
TTP, October 1, 2003
There is an organization of conservatives which has met in private thrice annually since 1981. As a member for over 20 years, I am obliged not to mention its name or membership. Suffice it to say that virtually every major conservative figure in America belongs.Its meetings are the only place where all the leaders of the entire conservative movement can get together to socialize and strategize. During the Reagan Presidency, the organization played a principal role in creating popular support for the “Reagan Doctrine” which successfully eliminated the Soviet Union.
My wife and I have formed many close friendships with its members and always look forward to attending its meetings. Having just returned from its latest at the end of September, I regret having to report to you that it was the most disappointing in two decades.
THE NATURAL INFINITY POOL OF SOCOTRA
National Geographic calls the remote island of Socotra off the coast of Yemen in the Indian Ocean “the most alien-looking place on our planet,” because of its incredibly weird and bizarre plant life like the Dragon’s Blood Tree.
Yet it is safely far away from anarchic Yemen, peaceful and serene in its isolation. And it contains places of mesmerizing beauty – like this natural infinity pool on a cliff edge high above the ocean in full view. Socotra is spectacularly exotic, like nowhere else in our world. It is truly life-memorable to experience it. Wheeler Expeditions was there in the Spring of 2014 – and we’ll be there again in the Spring of ’23. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #129 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
BIDEN VOWS TO ELIMINATE ALL JUNK FEES EXCEPT THE ‘10% FOR THE BIG GUY’
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of his administration's top priority, President Joe Biden has vowed to eliminate all junk fees, though he clarified that his customary "10% for the Big Guy" fee will remain in place for all bribes and kickbacks.
"Listen here, folks," Biden slurred as the announcement was made, "We're going to get rid of all these junk fees! The biggest problem facing the American people every day is being gouged by hotel and resort junk fees. I'm telling these places charging junk fees — stop it!"
When asked by a reporter if the reduction of fees includes waiving the "10% for the Big Guy" fee, Biden was quick to clarify. "Absolutely not," he said. "My fee will stay in effect for all illegal transactions. Weakening national security and doing favors for foreign interests comes at a price, and that includes 10% for the Big Guy. Nargonnindargit!"
Questions have arisen about whether there are more important issues facing the nation than junk fees. "I'm having trouble buying groceries for my family," said frustrated citizen Phil Brooks. "Going on a vacation or staying in a hotel isn't even an option at this point. What do I care about junk fees?"
The administration remains committed to making this the centerpiece of its platform. "The President knows all Americans are focused on junk fees," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who is a woman of color who is also a lesbian. "He will not stop until junk fees are a thing of the past, no matter how many other horrible things happen in the country."
FLASHBACK FRIDAY – RETRACING HANNIBAL OVER THE ALPS WITH ELEPHANTS
September 1979 – my Hannibal Expedition took two elephants over the same pass Hannibal used in 218 BC across the Alps to attack Rome. There is only one pass that fits the contemporary descriptions of both Greek historian Polybius and Roman historian Livy: The Col du Clapier on what is now the French-Italian border.
Unrecognized as Hannibal’s Pass in 1979, it is still a roadless trail today crossed only on foot or mountain bike. But since our expedition, there are now signs proclaiming it La Route d’Hannibal, and even a life-size statue of an elephant at the French village of Bramans where the track over the pass begins.
The photo you see is us climbing high above Bramans (I’m the one in front with the red backpack). It took us five days to carefully guide our elephants (from an Italian circus) over Clapier and down to the Italian village of Susa. First time in 2,197 years and never repeated 41 years since.
Hannibal’s crossing the Alps with elephants is one of the most epic events of world history. To retrace it yourself with elephants is to make that famous history a part of your life in the most uniquely powerful way. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #15 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
HALF-FULL REPORT 06/16/23
You all know that I once worked for Ronald Reagan, and now often wonder what he would say about this Woke State supporting Ukraine while destroying their own country – and about some conservatives rooting for Russian Nazi barbarism to win and America Western Civilization to lose. Everyday, you see in places like ZeroHedge rooting for the destruction of the dollar and ruination of the US economy while cheering Russia on.
One thing I’m quite sure of – that if our greatest president were in the White House today, there would be a Reagan Doctrine for freedom in Ukraine and for doing to Russia what he did to the Soviet Union – and for freedom in America by dismembering the corrupt institutions of woke fascism that are its enemies.
Please take the time to watch President Reagan’s speech more than once – then ask yourself, is there anyone running for president today who could come remotely close to his moral brilliance, clarity, and courage?
Yet, that is perhaps not the right question. For in 1980, we Americans proved worthy of electing such a president. Are we now today? When do normal Americans start taking responsibility for the moral and corrupt degradation of our country? We must prove ourselves worthy of having the president we need before we can have him. It is us to whom Ronald Reagan is giving the solution for saving our country: WE MUST FIGHT!
THE UNKNOWN RIVIERA
In the Mediterranean, experienced travelers know the French Riviera from St. Tropez to Menton, and the Italian Riviera from Ventimiglia to Cinque Terre. There is one Riviera in the Med they may not know – Albania’s. The Med has many beautiful coastlines, and just about all of them have been “discovered” by jet-setters to backpackers. Not yet, however, for Albania from Saranda in the south across from Greece’s Corfu to Vlora across from the tip of Italy’s Boot Heel.
Here you find an abundance of gorgeous coves and pocket beaches tucked away with hardly a soul there. The one pictured above isn’t even named on a map – there’s just a tiny wharf for local fishermen. Yes, the Albanian Riviera is getting discovered, with boutique hotels and nightclubs sprouting up here and there. But as for now, it’s still the Unknown Riviera, gorgeous with so much untouched. You might want to experience it before it’s overrun. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #82 photo ©Jack Wheeler)