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HALF-FULL REPORT 02/06/26

This is getting Kafkaesque ridiculous, fast approaching traitorously ridiculous.  Early next week, Speaker Johnson has promised a House vote on the revised Save America Act. The link is to the Bill itself.

Updated version includes - Voter ID - Requires proof of US citizenship to register to vote - Mandates states to verify citizenship of voters - Requires removal of non-citizens from voter rolls - Requires states to use available federal and state databases (such as those from DHS, SSA, or others) to verify citizenship status - Imposes penalties (including criminal penalties) for election officials who register individuals without the required proof of citizenship.

Once the Save America Act passes, as Johnson assures us it will, it goes to the 53R-47D Senate with Fetterman expected to bolt and vote Yes.  Ah, but Majority Leader Thune is in the way, continuing to refuse eliminating the filibuster blocking a simple majority to pass. Why?  You’re invited to give your theory in the Comments.  Somebody owns this guy. Who do you think?  Let us know!

OK, off we go on an amazingly interesting, informative, fun and totally worthwhile HFR – jump on board for the ride!

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THE TWO ROBIN HOODS

 

[This Monday’s Archive was originally posted in TTP on November 30, 2006, little more than three weeks after the Dems gained 31 House seats to seize the majority with Pelosi the Speaker.  The stakes this November are much higher, which is why the Dems are so violently desperate to keep their illegal alien vote and cheat-to-win.  The Two Robin Hoods will be in play now as they were 20 years ago. Comments are welcome!]

TTP, November 30, 2006

In our new post-11/7 world, it’s important to understand that there are two Robin Hoods:  the legend and the myth of the legend.  The first is a conservative-libertarian.  The second is a liberal thug.

The legend was best played by Errol Flynn in the 1938 movie classic, The Adventures of Robin Hood, with Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marion. The myth of the legend is currently being played by Teddy Kennedy with Nancy Pelosi as his understudy in drag.

In the traditional legend, it is the government that is the thief stealing from the poor, calling such thievery "taxes."  Robin Hood is a folk hero because he confiscates the booty from the government thieves and returns it to the peasants from whom it was stolen.

Thus the politically correct myth of "robbing the rich to give to the poor" is a 180-degree perversion of the original legend.  On purpose:  so that Democrats can portray themselves as Robin Hood folk heroes coming to the rescue of the poor "little guy" by "soaking the rich."

The two different versions of Robin Hood should be kept in mind as we see emerging the basic theme of Democrats over the next two years of their control of Congress.  That theme will have two buzzwords.  Get used to them, as you will hear and see them endlessly and robotically repeated:  Inequality and Fairness.

They are the Democrat code words for the theft of your money and control of your life.

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SLOUCHING TOWARDS FORT SUMTER?

In the months before the April 12, 1861, firing on Fort Sumter, there were lots of sharp divisions in the North about the proper reaction to the first seven Confederate states that had already left the Union.

Not all Unionists believed that war was inevitable. Some, in fact, were happy to be done with the departing South and thus see their stain of slavery gone from the Union.

Similarly, others agreed that the emerging Confederacy was not worth the trouble and costs of war, and the secessionists could just form their own nation and stew in their own backward, servile juice.

But after Fort Sumter, Lincoln — who was hated as much by the Confederates as Trump is by the woke and socialist left — gained a consensus that the Constitution had no clauses about any lawful departure from the union.

But it did operate under a clear supremacy clause that made state obstruction of federal law and occupation of federal property veritable sedition.

Lincoln and the preservationists felt that they easily had the moral high ground of abolition versus the continuance of slavery.

Nor did they want a North America of fragmenting, warring nations in the manner of Europe.

Something similar is emerging over Minnesota, the South Carolina of our age.

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13 RULES FOR RATIONALS

On and off this week, I have been thinking about the differences between the 59-day temper tantrums of the Occupy Wall Street “protests” back in 2011 and what we are witnessing on the Minneapolis streets today, and it struck me how much more aggressively “Alinsky” they have become.

Left-wing activist Saul Alinsky published 13 Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals in 1971.

It was an instruction manual for “community organizers” conceived amid the political turbulence of the late 1960s and early 1970s, addressing a new generation of activists.

But no matter what you think about Alinsky, his rules were logical.

What we are seeing today is not.

Ronald Reagan’s famous joke comes to mind: “The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.” I firmly believe this is true.

They invent things. They take a factual event, add irrational emotion, and come up with the most horrific explanation possible to keep the fear, adrenaline, and anger flowing.

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THE ELECTION COUP THEY EXPECT YOU TO FORGET

They tell you to move on. They tell you to accept it. They sneer that you are undermining democracy merely by demanding that democracy prove it is real.

Let us state the obvious with crystalline clarity. A republic does not endure on liturgical incantations recited by news anchors and bureaucrats.

It endures on evidence, transparency, and the immutable right of the citizen to inspect the machinery by which power is conferred.

In 2020, when tens of millions of Americans watched a presidential election mutate into an un-auditable, procedurally elastic, statistically grotesque spectacle, the response from the political class was not inquiry but suppression.Not review but reprisal. Not investigation but excommunication.

One can scarcely imagine a more brazen inversion of democratic legitimacy. Those who asked the questions were declared the enemy, while those who demanded silence were celebrated as defenders of democracy. This was not merely an election. This was a confidence heist.

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THE PRINCE OF NIGERIA GREW UP – AI AND PHISHING SCAMS

Once upon a time, it was relatively easy to spot an email scam.

They were flawed. Bad grammar, broken formatting, poor spelling and typos, and a sort of odd cadence often referred to as "Engrish" exposed them for what they were: attempts to extract money from "rich" Americans, most commonly by people outside America.

Often the scams seemed reasonable, except when they weren't, as with the famous Prince of Nigeria scam: send me a couple thousand dollars so I can release my $1.7 million account, and I'll split it with you.

And for a little while they worked, until people's reason caught up with their greed.

They were profitable for scammers, who could send an email to thousands of people in hopes that maybe ten would fall for the scam. And they did. But more scammers got into the business, and as the market grew crowded, the suckers grew scarcer. The scams had to get better in order to turn a profit.

So they did.

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AN EXTRAORDINARY FORCE IN VENEZUELA?

deuce-wildNot too long ago I wrote a somewhat tongue-in-cheek article about a fictional weapon that, if I possibly could find or hijack, I would fire at America’s leftists.

This was the “Brown Note” system that was supposedly commissioned to disrupt riots and large gatherings of people by causing them to involuntarily evacuate their bowels, but Internet searches indicated that, while possibly plausible to a degree, it hadn’t made an actual appearance outside of South Park cartoons.

Fast forward to today.

A report in the New York Post that hasn’t gotten much press at all described the U.S. attack from the perspective of some Venezuelan guards during the recent U.S. special operation down there.

There’s a lot to unpack, of which a “Brown Note” system is the least significant.

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FROM SICK CARE TO SELF-CARE: WHY LIFE EXTENSION WAS WRITTEN

1Dedicated to the memory of Skye who was Durk Pearson
Dedicated to the memory of Skye who was Durk Pearson

In today’s America, declining health has quietly become a growth industry.

The worse chronic conditions become, the larger the markets that form around managing symptoms rather than restoring health. Modern healthcare excels at intervention, crisis response, and pharmaceutical dependence—but far less at prevention, nutrition, and long-term vitality.

This didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t happen by accident.

 

Over the last century, medicine in the United States shifted toward a drug-centric, allopathic model—one that prioritizes patentable treatments and standardized protocols over individualized care, nutrition, and lifestyle.

As this system expanded, non-drug approaches were gradually marginalized, and the public was conditioned to believe that health comes primarily from prescriptions rather than daily choices.

Most people are never taught the history of how this system developed, how medical education was shaped, or why nutrition was pushed to the sidelines. As a result, many assume the current model is the only one possible—and that declining health is inevitable with age.

 

Where Durk Pearson & Sandy Shaw Enter the Story

Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw wrote Life Extension because they fundamentally rejected that assumption.

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FLASHBACK FRIDAY: AFGHAN MUJAHADDIN?

jw-the-mujahaddinWhen my son Brandon was a cadet at Virginia Military Academy, his professor teaching Modern Military History gave a lecture on the 1980s War in Afghanistan fought by Afghan Mujahaddin against the Soviet Red Army occupation of their country. One of the pictures he showed was the one above of “three typical Mujahaddin fighters.”

Brandon raised his hand. “Yes, Cadet Wheeler,” the professor called on him. “Actually, Professor,” Brandon said, “only the man in the center with the white beard is one. The man on the right is United States Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, while the man on the left is my father.”

The professor was stunned while the rest of the class stifled laughter. “Are you quite sure of that, Cadet Wheeler?” stammered the professor. “Oh, yes sir,” Brandon replied. “I recognize my own father. That photo is framed in my father’s study. It was taken in November 1988. The Afghan Commander’s name is Moli Shakur. I have known Congressman Rohrabacher all my life.”

The cadets all applauded in appreciation. To this day, this remains one of Brandon’s fondest college memories. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #145 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE BLUE CITY OF CHEFCHAOUEN

blue-city-of-chefchaouenMy wife Rebel and I love this uniquely picturesque ancient Berber village in Morocco where everything is painted in shades of blue. Suffused in soothing blue, there’s no more relaxed place than just about anywhere. Everyone is welcome from the wealthy staying in sumptuous boutique hotels to backpackers in hostels. There are no “tourist spots,” for every café and bar is where the locals go themselves. (It’s pronounced shef-shah-win, by the way.)

Berbers – “Amazigh” (Unconquered) in their language, are the original people of Morocco having lived there for over 12,000 years. They are directly related to the reindeer-herding Lapps of Lapland in northern Scandinavia (they share the same mitochondrial DNA haplogroup U5b1b). Both are descended from the same stock of Cro-Magnon Ice Age hunters in Western Europe that split in two 15,000 years ago – one moving far north, the other south crossing the Gibraltar Strait to Africa.

One more reason why Morocco is so magical. Would you like to experience the Magic of Morocco with us next year? (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #21 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE FLATTEST PLACE ON EARTH

salar-de-uyuni-768x578_edtThe Salar de Uyuni, 12,000 feet high in the Altiplano of Bolivia, is a 4,000 square mile expanse of salt so flat it is used to calibrate the altimeters of NASA observation satellites of the earth. After a rain, it becomes the world’s largest mirror, 80 miles across. The incredible reflective surface extends to the horizon in every direction – it is both hallucinatingly disorienting and makes for amazing mirror-to-horizon photos (especially at sunrise/sunset).

The brine underneath the salt crust contains 70% of the world’s lithium – critical to our battery-fueled global economy – produced in evaporation pools that are a kaleidoscope of colors.

You can stay here in relative luxury at one of the world’s most unique hotels – the Palacio de Sal, built entirely of salt: walls, floors, ceilings, furniture, sculptures. Being here is one of South America’s more astounding experiences. Let me know if you want a Wheeler Expedition to take you there! (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #39 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE MYSTERY OF THE REEF OF HEAVEN

reef-of-heavenIn a remote corner of the Pacific Ocean, off the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia lies one of the world’s great archaeological mysteries: the only ancient stone city built on a coral reef. No one knows who built it or how.

Micronesians say their ancestors called it Soun Nan-leng, The Reef of Heaven. Their name for it today is Nan Madol, the City of Ghosts.

On artificial islets connected by a series of canals are massive walls up to 25 feet high enclosing temples, tombs, ritual centers, and platforms for thatch homes – all made of giant columnar basalt stone. Eons ago, lava flows on Pohnpei cooled into vertical pillars. Over a thousand years ago, ancient Micronesians began hauling these basalt logs miles away to build this stone city. With an average weight of 5 tons, 10,000 pounds – and some up to 25 tons, 50,000 pounds each – how they did this remains unexplained. It lies deserted today, abandoned and lost for centuries.

Paddling a kayak through the canal maze of Nan Madol to clamber over these monumental stone complexes in solitary silence – for visitors are rarely here – leaves you in a state of unforgettable awe. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #6 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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BEYOND EXOTIC

beyond-exoticThe Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan is sandwiched between India and Chinese-Occupied Tibet, with a culture so unique it is beyond exotic, almost surrealistically so.  Smaller than West Virginia with only three-quarters of a million people, it has managed to avoid getting swallowed up by its giant neighbors and preserve its sovereignty, freedom, and culture, remaining true to its ancient identity.  There is no place like Bhutan anywhere else on our planet.  Rebel and I will be there again this coming November.  Let me know if you’d like to be with us: jack@wheelerexpeditions.com. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #314 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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DEMOCRATS PUSH FOR DEATH CERTIFICATES TO BE ACCEPTED AS VOTER ID

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With President Trump and Republicans campaigning hard to shore up election integrity in the U.S., congressional Democrats agreed to negotiate on the issue on the condition that death certificates be added to the list of acceptable forms of voter ID.

Though initially opposed to any form of legislation mandating voter ID, Democrats surprisingly came forward with a proposal to compromise by guaranteeing that presenting a current death certificate would be accepted as valid identification to vote in elections.

"It's our base's most widely used form of documentation," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "We didn't want to open any kind of discussion with Republicans about requiring voter ID unless it included death certificates. If they're not willing to consider granting us that request, then it's a no-go. How would our voters be expected to contribute to democracy if their death certificates aren't accepted as identification?"

Democrats stressed that including death certificates on the list of valid forms of identification was vital to any potential agreement on the issue. "This is about making sure our voters aren't disenfranchised," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. "While it's often challenging for our supporters to obtain drivers' licenses and other forms of official ID, we have millions and millions of registered Democrats who have valid death certificates. Their voices must continue to be heard."

At publishing time, Democrats had updated their demand to allow documentation from every other country in the world be acceptable to vote in the United States.

~ Babylon Bee reporting.

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HALF-FULL REPORT 01/30/26

Reagan and Gorabchev, Reykjavik, Iceland October 1986
Reagan and Gorabchev, Reykjavik, Iceland October 1986

President Reagan is famous for his many jokes about Russia’s Soviet Union, but here’s a story about the time his speechwriters and I told him a joke.

The President had just returned from his Reykjavik Summit with Gorbachev, the first time they ever met.  After the briefing, we asked, “Mr. President, we’d like to know if a certain exchange between you and Mr. Gorbachev really took place.”

He instantly knew we were putting him on, but he ran with it:  “What exchange? Tell me about it.” I was chosen to explain…

When you get the President of the United States to laugh so hard it just about brings tears to his eyes, you know the gag worked.  It would most likely work with our POTUS today, given what we saw last night (1/29) when asked about Britain’s Keir Starmer and Canada’s Mark Carney kissing up to the ChiComs of Beijing:

So let’s talk about what’s going on in China this week as it’s a doozy.  We’ll start with what a brainless twerp Starmer is.

This is a great HFR!  Come on in!

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