“The greatest battles are not fought on bloodstained fields, but within the silence of our own hearts. A true warrior does not seek conflict with others, nor does he measure his strength by the enemies he defeats. Instead, he turns inward, confronting fear, anger, doubt, and pride—the dragons that dwell within his own mind.
To master others is strength. To master oneself is true power. Every moment of patience over anger, wisdom over impulse, and peace over chaos is a victory greater than any won by the sword.
The warrior who conquers his own mind becomes unshakable, for no external enemy can defeat a person who has already defeated himself.
‘The best warrior has nothing to do with war, nor with fighting against others; his struggle must be internal, because his worst enemy is his own mind.’ — Sun Tzu
Caption: To stand in a line against fearful odds, for something that is greater than yourself, is to fire a shot heard round the world.
America 250
It’s time for a genuine Pride Month in the USA. Welcome to Independence Month! July has arrived.
Bullet Points:
** The threat of an oil glut and prices crashing seems to be a real thing. Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note to clients that they counted 35 oil tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, close to the typical daily average seen before the war. “Yet the ‘twin solvers’ of high US exports and low Chinese imports remain in place,” raising the risk of a return to structural oversupply. To balance the market next year, flows through the strait need only recover to 65% of their pre-conflict level. With the market suddenly awash with oil, price estimates are being pared across the board. Goldman Sachs lowered its Brent crude forecasts, cutting its fourth-quarter 2026 forecast and its 2027 average. Morgan Stanley sees prices going even lower. “Strip away the narrative for a moment and read only the prices,” the latter wrote. “They describe a market that has weakened across the board.” Angry democrats are clutching their pearls at the thought of $2.00/gallon gasoline in the USA. Of course, the highly taxed bi-coastal elite strongholds will still see $5.00/gallon gasoline because it’s very woke.
** Two Indian nationals attempted to smuggle 109 kilos of cocaine across the border at Montana’s Sweetgrass port of entry. ICE HSI Great Falls special agents seized the drugs and launched a criminal investigation in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Keep the narcotics in Canada.
** The UAE, Iraq, and Syria are discussing a new logistics corridor linking the Mediterranean to the Gulf, one of several efforts to redraw regional trade flows after the disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The route would allow goods to move overland from Syria’s coast to Iraq’s Port of Umm Qasr on the Gulf, from where they can be shipped to Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port. Syria has emerged as a key node in the Gulf’s efforts to reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq began moving oil products by truck through Syria this year, helping make Syria the Middle East’s third-largest bunker fuel exporter in June, according to Reuters.
** Katie Hopkins updates you on drama in the UK.
** On January 15, 2010, Obama granted Haitians Temporary Protected Status after an earthquake. That was 197 months ago. The law says TPS lasts 18 months. My arithmetic skills are not what they used to be, but I still know 197 is more than 10 times 18. USAID spent $2.3 billion on Haiti following the disaster, and the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Haiti Action Network generated over $500 million in commitments and pledges from members for long-term development projects. If Haiti has not recovered by now, it never will. Send the Haitians home. What makes Haiti a shithole? The people who live there. And we don’t want them in the USA. Maybe they can go to England or Canada?
** The thin-skinned Obama was the first communist president. No one cared that he was half-black. What mattered was that he was red.
** Birth Tourism – remains a viable industry in the US. The Supreme Court voted 𝟔-𝟑 to strike down President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens — with Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump’s own appointees Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joining the three neo-Marxists in the majority. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented in a blistering 91-page opinion joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch (NPR). Ok, next question: if a woman has a baby at Olive Garden, is the baby automatically an Italian citizen? (The Bee suggests that to be the case)
** VDH on the Patton trade-offs. What do YOU think of when you think of General Patton?
** California’s fuel supply challenges stem primarily from refinery closures. Four refinery closures have removed roughly one-quarter of the state’s refining capacity, contributing to higher imports into the West Coast fuel market.
** (The Hill) The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to take up whether possessing AR-15s and similar assault-style rifles is protected by the Second Amendment, a major gun rights case that is set to impact bans passed in roughly 10 states. The justices said they would hear challenges to bans enacted in Connecticut and the Chicago area. The case is set to be heard next term. At the center of the battle is whether AR-15s and similar weapons are entitled to the Second Amendment’s protections. In defending their restrictions, the states argue they don’t qualify as “arms” that people have the constitutional right to bear. The Supreme Court is now set to provide a nationwide resolution. Oral arguments are expected after the court’s next term kicks off in October, with a ruling likely by next year.
** The CIA Museum in Havana, Cuba (across the street from the Tunisian Embassy) is discussed. Billy Waugh’s name also came up. Here’s his Wikipedia link, FYI.
** Warner Bros. DCU summer superhero tentpole ‘Supergirl’ is shaping up to be a super bomb and is now on track to lose at least $100 million.
** The Kremlin continues to set unrealistic deadlines for the Russian military to complete the seizure of Donetsk Oblast that do not align with battlefield realities. The Russian domestic population appears increasingly interested in the prospect of the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Ukrainian forces continued their long-range strike campaign against Russian military assets in Russia on the night of June 29 to 30. Russian forces launched 154 drones against Ukraine overnight.
** While the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens yesterday, Florida already acted on a related front — and its answer goes into effect today, July 1. Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 905 into law in May, prohibiting pre-planned surrogacy and adoption contracts with citizens of 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧: 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚, 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚, 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧, 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐚, 𝐂𝐮𝐛𝐚, 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐳𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚. Effective tomorrow. DeSantis cut to the point at the signing: “𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.” Under the new statute, any pre-planned surrogacy or adoption agreement involving a citizen or resident of any of the designated countries is void and unenforceable. Criminal penalties apply to contracts executed in violation of the law. This isn’t a resolution or a policy preference — it’s a binding statute. The national security dimension is direct. China has been documented as running 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 where Chinese nationals travel to the U.S. specifically to deliver children who become automatic American citizens. Those children return to China, grow up in the CCP system, and later have full right of entry as U.S. citizens. Florida’s law targets the contractual infrastructure that makes those operations possible.
Identify the Aircraft (and nationality of the livery)
1
2
3
End
IDA
1. Afghan Mil Mi-17
2. Afghan Mi-35 Hind E
3. Polish Navy PZL M28B-1RM Bis Bryza
Outstanding!
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Afghan Mi-17 Hip
2. Afghan Mi-25 Hind
3. Polish PZL M28 Skytruck
Yes on one and three. #2 is an Mi-35 Hind.
There’s a glitch in the Matrix.
There’s always a disturbance in the Force…
Patton had some very skilled officers who greatly assisted him. Plus he understood the tactics of maneuver and blitzkrieg rather than just broad front assault. It would be interesting to know what he’d do if assigned as the new Ruski commander in the Donetsk Oblast with the military cards available. Attack is his one word answer of course, but where and how.
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Knew the Hind in Afghan. Knew the Skytruck, the Polish writing helped know who…
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Top artwork for the Revolutionary War was fitting for today.
No general does it alone. No officer does it alone. Patton was old enough and experienced enough to know the game and to recognize talent, and he used that to very good advantage.
I remember him for asking for prayer at the Bulge.
He needed it. He kept the chaplain close.
In the civilian world, I’ve had Bradley-type bosses and Patton-type bosses. Bradleys are all nice but the business sucks and will either barely maintain or fail. Being shouted at by a Patton isn’t bad because you know the business will succeed.
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Same with warriors and leaders. In the SCA, I’ve fought under Pattons and Bradleys. Pattons win, Bradleys lose. Under Pattons, your feelings might get hurt, but winning makes everything better. Under Bradleys, your feelings are fine but losing sure does hurt bad.
H/T for posting the Florida counter to the SCOTUS ruling.
The other free states need to line up behind Florida. Of course, states like California, with a booming anchor baby and birthing center trade, are the core of the problem, and it won’t go away without more leverage being applied.
The money flowing into the clinton coffers didn’t ever leave to help haiti. But it did make the clintons wealthier.
To quote Greta Thunberg – HOW DARE you suggest that a Clinton diverted lucre for personal gain. (haha)
Patton. My first mental image is always George C. Scott. IIRC, there is an episode on the History Channel’s “Dangerous Missions” about the B-17 ball turret. In it, an interviewed vet tells the story of their making a belly landing in France, not far from Patton’s HQ. Patton got word and had them brought over. Patton loved the Air Corps.
They were wined and dined, and then Patton awarded each of them a Bronze Star. Problem was, the Bronze Star was not an authorized decoration for the Air Corps. On the QT, Patton’s staff advised the air crew to always keep a copy of their orders on them.
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Wanted to post a link to the episode, but I’ll be dipped if I can find it. Google Fu mus be weak today.
We need more Pattons today. BTW—watched Citizen Vigilante last night while wifey was away. Crappy movie , but good premise. We could use some of that here in the USA.
Don’t own a boat, but if the Supremes rule against AR’s guess what’s happening. Can’t imagine them catering to the dems on this one.
>Citizen Vigilante […] Crappy movie , but good premise
I watched it last week on X when it was free [thanks, Elon].
For some reason CV (I will refer to both the movie and Armie Hammer’s character by these initials; should be clear from context) seems to scare the “authorities”, which is its main redeeming feature. In other words, I agree it was a crappy movie. Being personally unfamiliar with Uwe Boll’s movies, I can’t say if this is uncharacteristically crappy, but it was pretty bad. And I don’t just mean the bad script and miserable opsec and moronic planning on the part of CV the character. In fact, it was so bad I wonder if CV the movie is a psyop against, well, us.
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Without spoilers, CV had no discernable character arc. We don’t even get anything about his motivation, personal motivation that is. (CV is so bland and cartoonish that I cant’ remember if the character even HAD a name. I think so, but he’s a cardboard cutout who plays with guns in a room with newspapers taped over the windows.) Nothing is learned; he’s not a better, or worse, man after the events of the movie. Even an amateur like me would have better opsec and better persec. His “plans” wholly depend on the authorities being idiots. (Okay, admittedly this may be a reasonable thing on his part. Example #1: Cote des Neiges shooting in Montreal.) CV monologues to his “victims” like a bad movie villain (or like the “hero” of an Ayn Rand novel). In short, although CV kills some people who need killing, he’s a weirdo, possibly autistic, and certainly a dick. He also seems to need affirmation from the real victims (women raped) and is willing to force them to re-live their trauma to get it. In short, CV is not the reflection of the heroic Western man who does what is right simply because it is Right, regardless of what anyone else thinks. He does what he does out of psychological broken-ness [this would require a bit of a spoiler to explain], essentially for “likes” in the social media sense.
There are some people so enthralled with the premise, they will brook no criticism of the film and even attack you for pointing out it’s weaknesses. Which are many, as you’ve demonstrated. A table of loosely strewn weapons? I thought it wass to make him look like a gun nut.
Staring at the black mold on the ceiling while getting hummed?
That when I shut it off.
Also as a courtesy to my wife.
I haven’t seen the film. I think I’ll take a pass.
Watched the film via YouTube at work, in a small window. Streaming didn’t trip the Internet Nannies during the more risque parts and when I realized what was happening at that point, fast-forwarded. FYI, my job requires me to be present and available for students to use the systems. No students, private time.
As a movie, yeah, not worth the time. Lots of plot holes, unanswered questions, no character development.
As a political statement, very strong.
>it was to make him look like a gun nut.
Exactly.
> Staring at the black mold on the ceiling
Yep, that’s why I called him autistic. I suppose someone will say that his obsession with the mold (and the damage to the facades of the buildings he owns) is symbolic of the decay of Europa. “Don’t you get it? It’s a call back to the Broken Windows Theory of Crime!!!” Maybe so, but for some reason I doubt it.
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I feel the character was deliberately written to make anti-immigrant-crime people look weak and flawed: Apparently CV was a West Point graduate. (From the scene where he is bitchily snarking at the people who work for him in the realty office.) And CV has daddy/abandonment issues. Sure we all have issues. But only a loser (a man not in control of himself) whines about it to persons he clearly despises. You hold it in 99% of the time; you can let it out with the [few] people you truly trust. But you don’t air your psychological dirty laundry to the world.
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I could have written better monologuing, BTW. [spoilers — people who want to see this movie and care about spoilers stop now]
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CV was wasting his time monologuing on the bus to the punks he eventually stomps in the park (and I think their poor innocent victim [seriously, so far as I know; not sarcasm] in the park was “coded Jewish” by the way). Monologuing to the judge he kidnapped (idiotically) was stupid as well since the judge was narcked out by the injection. And CV killed, or at the least caused to be burned badly, the innocents in the yellow car. If he was to monologue AT anyone, it should have been the gang rapists as he was torturing-to-death the last of them. One sentence on how I would have written it: “Hair curling iron up anus, while force-fed pork.” Second sentence would be chatty monologue about how CV wasn’t sure if you could cook meat within a body with a curling iron, so he tested it out on a 10kg pork roast. But I digress. Plus, that would have required CV the character having a sense of humor and irony. Oh yeah, I would have expected CV to force the gang rapists to rape the sister and/or mother of their fellow gang rapist. (Keep your hair on, folks, the sister and mother had zero sympathy for the White victims, rather saying that the 14-yo victim deserved it. And mom and sister dressed in Western garb. That was one Boll choice I approve of, BTW. The message is that just because people dress (or even physically look) like you doesn’t mean they share ANY of your values. Q.v. “crypsis”.)
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The brothel scene should have been omitted, period. But if Boll HAD to have a brothel scene, it should have been Nordic/Germanic women, either clearly drugged out (a la the scene in Taken) or beaten and bruised. With a big buck negro or bearded MENA-type pimp the girls were obviously terrified of. But no, sassy mystery-meat girls demanding their extra $30 for “more than one position”.
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@LL IMHO you SHOULD see the movie. If for no other reason to boost the viewing numbers because it seems to scare the Best People. (Assuming it’s not a psyop against us, which as noted previously, I kind of doubt. It has the hallmarks of an op.)
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I may have missed some stuff because I watched it only once, after three days of being “on” for >12h each on a business trip. And I didn’t take notes but rather drank half a bottle of mediocre (but not bad) Lake County cabernet while watching. Don’t feel the need to watch it again.
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TL;DR. It’s a pretty bad movie. Its main merit is that it apparently discomfits the bad people. But I have the sneaking suspicions of:
1. It’s an op to make “our side” look like nutters.
2. It’s a pressure relief valve of “revenge porn” to keep us sitting fat and inactive on our sofas.
Well, the portion I watched counts as “boosting the signal”.
Oil Glut: First the Chicken Little’s screamed about rising oil/pump prices, now they will scream over any ‘predicted’ (projection anyone?) oil glut prices dropping like a rock. Can’t win with the ‘hue n criers’ so the best remedy is to ignore them altogether.
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BRC: Already spoke (vented) my angst on this galactically stupid concept that I have been force-fed to hear my entire adult life, and some as wayback as High School. Only a cheater, moron, or subversive would envision this was the case The Writers intended, which it wasn’t. Then again, Colorado elected another Socialist Manchurian who said we deserved 9/11. Oh well, sucks to be them…and good riddance. The state is toast unless the 85% tar and feather those at the statehouse wrecking a once beautiful state.
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Sweet Grass county does not mess around, even if it’s at an I90 port of entry. ‘Rural’ in this state, as with many states, does mean stupid or easily fooled, means the exact opposite. Likely just get deported instead of sending them to the backcountry in Glacier NP in a periwinkle shade jumpsuit, which, incidentally, the grizzlies are attracted to like chocolate.
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Yes! July is America Pride Month, fly your proper flag…let the fruits and nuts know what country they reside.
***
Copied your opening salvo…beyond truth, brilliant.
Oy…’rural does NOT mean stupid…’ (figured it out, dry callused fingertips are worthless when typing on an older iPad)
>Two Indian nationals attempted to smuggle 109 kilos of cocaine […] Keep the narcotics in Canada.
Here’s a radical idea. How about keeping the Indians in India? They will be a worse scourge upon the West than the sub-Saharan Africans (and no, I don’t mean Elon Musk). Hell, we already see the results. South Asians (SA) have multiple traits that predict this: high verbal dexterity, this goes along with the incessant logic chopping and barracks lawyering; resentment of the West, and specifically whites, born from claims (some actual, some self-invented) of oppression; nepotism in hiring and promotion. Those are just a few of the traits that have been demonstrated to be successful in the undermining of the US and the West generally. Now imagine this being done by not a million or so, but by tens if not hundreds of millions. Now the 100 million are on average considerably less intelligent than the million, true. But given the sheer quantity, there will be enough very very smart ones. Look at who are the latest group to be rising in the political sphere and in positions of corporate power. It ain’t East Asians (who are socially awkward by Western standards despite higher mean IQ than SAs) this is not to say that EAs are “better” somehow, it’s they just don’t have the traits/skills that let persons rise in this latter-day morally weak and generally corrupt West.
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>Maybe [the Haitians] can go to England or Canada?
What have England and Canada done to you? Maybe the Haitians should stay in Haiti. Or they can go to some ethnostate that will desperately need some Sacred Diversity after their genocidal ethnic (religious) cleansing(s). I might be talking about China and the Uyghurs. Yeah, probably China.
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>Patton
I think that Noticing is forbidden. Noticing out loud, when you have status and [perceived] power, is fatal. I’d like to think Patton’s hoisting a beer with Forrestal in the afterlife.
The deep state had to assassinate Patton. It’s amazing that Pres. Trump is still alive.
James Forrestal, the first U.S. Secretary of Defense, was not officially assassinated. He died from a fall on May 22, 1949, from the sixteenth floor of the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. Russians will recognize the M.O. The Willcutts Report (the Navy’s official investigation) did not use the word suicide, concluding only that the fall caused his death. Sic transit gloria mundi.
The only connection I have with the Patton family is very indirect. General George S. Patton IV (his son) was married to Joanne Holbrook Patton. My daughter’s father-in-law worked on their farm in Massachusetts and spoke of Mrs. Patton’s great kindness and fierce warrior’s heart. When my father-in-law faced a family crisis, Mrs. Patton weighed in to support the humble painter who worked on the farm, throwing her considerable political weight on his behalf. She didn’t have to do it, but justice was very important to Mrs. Patton.
> justice was very important to Mrs. Patton.
However Justice and Honor are transmitted (genetically, culturally, or otherwise) it’s good to hear of people like that.
We could use some more Pattons, or those like Patton, in these fallen times.
They exist in small numbers. Those with value were suppressed and didn’t make flag rank under Obama/Biden. During Trump 45, they were also kept down by the poltroons who crept into the executive branch. Most of them are either superannuated and retired or have just left to do something else.
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Federal retirement amounts are calculated differently based on when you were in the military and when you retired. For some, it made sense to punch out because the retirement amounts changed. On January 1, 2018, the military introduced the Blended Retirement System (BRS). This changed the retirement structure by combining a smaller traditional pension with a government-matched Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and mid-career continuation pay.
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The CIA, a non-uniformed military agency, has two retirement programs. Operational personnel covered under the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System (CIARDS) is 70% of their “high-5” average salary. This represents 35 years of creditable service calculated at a 2% multiplier per year. For officers under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), the maximum limit is 80% of their “high-3” average salary. This requires over 41 years of service, as FERS calculates the first 20 years at 1% per year and the remaining years at 1.1%. Officers under CIARDS can retire at age 50 with 20 years of federal service (including 10 years of Agency service) without the early-retirement penalties found in standard civil service plans.
” The UAE, Iraq, and Syria are discussing a new logistics corridor linking the Mediterranean to the Gulf,”
This reminds me of Mexico’s train line competition to the Panama Canal.
The Mexican train line makes less sense. It’s more of a mechanism for mordida than a genuine plan.
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Syria wants pipelines from Iraq to the Med, and I think that is more likely to happen first. Iraq is trucking every thimbleful of oil that they can fit on trucks on the road from Iraq to the Baniyas Oil Terminal in Syria – today. Pipelines that would bypass Turkey (however you wish to spell it) could also split into a spur line to Israel with new refineries there. I know you’re saying “When pigs fly, LL” – but you heard it here first. If Israel benefits, they won’t bomb it…
It’s a whole new Middle East, EdB. New politics, new bedfellows, and the Russians and Chinese don’t have a horse in the race. I know that it will upset those who wish the Messiah to come and wipe things out (pick your Messiah), and I’m not saying that it won’t happen. But timelines don’t always run to personal wishes.
👍
I brought this (something quite similar anyway) up a couple months ago.
I was also thinking a multitude of refineries in Saudi, pipelines leading to any comfortable Red Sea coast – and should the Bab al-Mandab Strait (or associated Hanish Islands) become clogged, pipelines up to the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba – or ship from Haql to Taba and then either Rafah or Suez.
Yes! a lot of exposed pipeline, but a lot of jobs.
X2
Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the gate:
‘To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods?
Horatius, Lord Macaulay, Lays of Ancient Rome, 1842
The very best of ancient Rome. Is it any wonder they lasted as long as they did?
Indeed
“Ok, next question: if a woman has a baby at Olive Garden, is the baby automatically an Italian citizen? (The Bee suggests that to be the case)”
Better question: If a pregnant woman broke into John Roberts’ house and gave birth in his living room, is the child now a member of the Roberts family, with the right to make claims on his estate?
just hit the nail on the head
👍
Badaboom!
Slap!
(Caprine) “Caption”
That’s precisely what the Democrat/Marxist sheep in our country are being told by their Judas goats.
Perfect. Should be a law.
** Two Indian nationals attempted to smuggle 109 kilos of cocaine across the border at Montana’s Sweetgrass port of entry.
Has the time come to force regime change in Canada? The Liberals are turning a blind eye towards drug running and large scale illegal drug labs. They are allowing our mortal enemy, China, to set up operations on their soil. The friend of my enemy is my enemy. F**k their sovereignty; little difference than Castro’s Cuba.