The Oasis for
Rational Conservatives

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Member Menu

The Amazon's Pantanal

Serengeti Birthing Safari

Wheeler Expeditions

Member Discussions

Article Archives

Archives

L i k e U s ! ! !

PURE EVIL PAID FOR BY JOE BIDEN

NY Post 10/10 & 10/11
NY Post 10/10 & 10/11

On Saturday (10/07), Hamas attacked Israel, making it the bloodiest day in the country's history and resulting in more Jews dead since the end of the Holocaust. Meanwhile, the Biden administration's response was less than ideal in many ways.

This is especially with regards to the $6 billion that the United States released to Iran as part of a prisoner exchange, a move that was announced on the anniversary of September 11, no less. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in his Monday edition of "The Verdict," was among those calling out the administration for this, but also other, moves.

"This attack this massacre, this horrific assault on Israel, was funded by Iran. Hamas and Hezbollah are Iranian proxies. They work for Iran. They work under the direction of Iran. They are funded by Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported this weekend that these attacks were planned, were signed off on by the Iranian government," Cruz shared.

The role that the Biden administration played does not merely have to do with that $6 billion payment, though.

"The $6 billion is just a fraction of the cash that Joe Biden has flooded into Iran. Because a few weeks before the $6 billion, the Biden administration allowed $10 billion from Iraq to flow into Iran. That brings it up to $16 billion in cash that directly flowed into Iran. But that doesn't cover it all. 

Read more...

DID BIDEN WITHHOLD INTEL FROM ISRAEL?

Biden and Ayatollah Khamenei
Biden and Ayatollah Khamenei

Hamas terrorists in Gaza launched a massive and highly coordinated attack on Israel with incursions by land, air and sea. From a thousand miles away, Iran was funding and coordinating it. There had to be a lot of cyber chatter preceding the attack.

Yet Israel was apparently caught by complete surprise.

The question being rightly asked is, how could Israel’s intel operations – one of the most sophisticated in the world – have been caught so off-guard?

The answer may be in Washington. The Biden administration has never gotten along with the Israeli government, nor did the Obama administration where Biden was Vice President. Biden and Obama have both seemed determined to let Iran – a terrorist state that has vowed to destroy Israel – get a nuclear bomb, and experts think that at any given moment they could have one in a matter of months.

And as is well known, Biden just gave Iran six billion dollars in exchange for American hostages that Iran had taken.

Read more...

THE ESTABLISHMENT’S ALTERNATE REALITIES

bidens-economic-insecurityOne common denominator that explains why previously successful societies implode is their descent into fantasies. A collective denial prevents even discussion of existential threats and their solutions.

Something like that is happening in the United States. Eight million illegal immigrants have entered the United States by the deliberate erasure of the southern border.

Apparently, the Biden administration sees some unstated advantage in destroying U.S. immigration law and welcoming in would-be new constituents.

Yet, the more the millions arrive, the more Joe Biden and his Homeland Security director Alejandro Mayorkas flat out lie that “the border is secure.”

They both live in a world of make-believe, passed off to the American people as reality.

Read more...

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: THE LOST CITY OF KUELAP

rh-at-kuelap10,000 feet high in the Amazon cloud forests of northern Peru is a mysterious lost city built by an unknown people many centuries before the Incas existed. Known as Kuelap by villagers in the lowlands below, the Incas called the people who built it Chachapoyas, “Cloud Warriors.” I led an expedition here in 1994, climbing high up into the Amazon Andes to come upon gigantic stone walls 60 feet high surrounding hundreds of stone structures. Here you see Rebel among them. We’ll be here again in a year or two in another exploration of Peru. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #153, photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Read more...

CARAVAGGIO’S MEDUSA

caravaggios-medusaThis masterpiece, of Rennaisance painter Caravaggio (1571-1610) was completed in 1597 and hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence where I took this picture. It is a genius portrayal of one of the most legendary Greek myths, the demigod hero Perseus slaying the gorgon monster Medusa.  She was thought unconquerable with her head of snakes, for anyone who gazed upon her was turned to stone. Yet Perseus chose to battle her with a shield that was a bronze mirror on the outside.  Thus when they fought, she saw herself in the shield’s reflection, turning herself into stone.  The painting depicts the moment of horror she realizes what has happened, which Caravaggio painted on a simulated shield.

A visit to the Uffizi is an absolute must should you ever visit Florence. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #279 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Read more...

A FATHER IN CHAD

chadThis is the most anti-Marxist picture I have ever taken. I am a White American. He is a Black African in N’Djamena, Chad. And those differences mean nothing compared to our both being fathers.

Look into his soul through his eyes. Look at the tranquility and peaceful joy his soul feels in being the father of his two beautiful children. It is the same with me.

The Left’s purpose is to divide us into tribal differences of hate – white vs. “people of color,” rich vs. poor, employers vs. workers, exploiters vs. exploited, victimizers vs. victims, the anti-white racist hate of Critical Race Theory. Always, always, they focus exclusively on differences, to separate people apart, to hate other different than them. All in the ancient “divide and conquer” scheme to control people’s lives.

Yet the differences between us are so unimportant compared to what we all have in common, our basic humanity. The bond that I have with this man from Chad is so much greater than anything that separates us. Focusing on what we all have in common with our fellow human beings is the way to rid the world of the anti-human hate of the Marxist Left. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #157, photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Read more...

THE PARADISE OF ZIHUATANEJO

zihuatanejo-paradiseOnce a small Mexican fishing village far from everything, Zihuatanejo (zee-wah-tan-ay-ho) – Zee-wat to locals – has become a paradisical escape hatch for many seeking refuge from our pressure-cooker world. 150 miles up the northwest coast of Acapulco, Zee-wat is its own world of peace and serenity.

Stroll on the beach or along the Paseo del Pescador (Fisherman’s Path) with its shops, bars, and restaurants unbothered. Just relax surrounded by flowers, warm water, and blue sky. All the worries elsewhere in Mexico, much less in the US or anywhere else are not here.

The time to come is now, the dry season November-May. Prices are a bargain with the dollar way up on the peso. Non-stop flights from multiple cities in the US and Canada. Just a few days here will do wonders for your soul. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #182 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Read more...

THE PAINTED CHURCHES OF THE TROODOS MOUNTAINS

church-of-kykkos-monasteryFor 500 years, from Ca. 1000 to 1500 AD, the Byzantine Christians on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus labored with love to decorate the interior of their humble churches tucked away in hidden valleys of the Troodos Mountains.

There are a total of 10 such churches which are today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The one you see here is the church of the Kykkos Monastery, with its extravagantly painted vaulted ceiling preserved immaculately for centuries.  Christianity remains very much alive in these mountains. Come here to be awed yourself. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #235 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

Read more...

HALF-FULL REPORT 10/06/23

theo-wheelerUbud, Bali. I’d like to introduce to you Theo Holiday Wheeler, born September 2 at 8.8 pounds, Rebel’s and my first grandchild. We are here at the home of his parents, our son Jackson and his wife Raya.

Theo is the 17th generation of Wheeler sons, starting (as far as our ancestral records show) with Henry Wheeler, born 1503 in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England.  This is a thrillingly happy occasion.  And frankly, one of R&R for September was, ah, hectic.

The first three weeks we were operating our exploration of the Heart of Central Asia with a wonderful group of exceptional clients. Rebel and I were supposed to get to Bali immediately after, only to learn that the clinic in Lisbon that treats my prostate cancer insisted on a PET scan to locate a growing tumor.

So it was off from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan to Lisbon – they found the tumor, zapped it with precisely targeted radiation, and by last weekend, we made it here to meet Theo at last.  Whew.  Now I can look forward to being around for at least his formative years (as I’ll be 80 in a month).

So here we go for the HFR – a high hill to climb after Mike Ryan’s astounding last five, especially his series on the Left’s program of Beautiful Trouble.

Read more...

SKYE’S LINKS 10/05/23

virtual-girlfriendShe’s not real.  She’s a “virtual girlfriend,” AI designed to provide every fantasy a man could dream of. Enter “virtual girlfriend” in DuckDuckGo or Google and you’ll discover there are an uncountable number of them.  Yet another example of the danger of AI replacing reality with fantasy, with real world consequences: AI girlfriends and the subsequent lack of children who would otherwise grow up and pay the bills:

Washington U. Prof: AI Girlfriends Are Ruining a Generation of Men

Welcome to another stirring edition of Skye’s Links!  We have news that’s exhilarating, alarming, and informative.  Learn what joke’s on Elon! We have to end on a sad note, however, but it’s important for you to know.  Jump right on in!

Read more...

THE REVOLUTION WE NEED

The 2013 Federal Register (note the small stack on top)
The 2013 Federal Register (note the small stack on top)

[This Monday’s Archive was originally published on July 17, 2014. Please read it in tandem with the “First Amendment and Chevron” section in Skye’s Links last Thursday.  We have a majority of Supremes that want to get rid of as much of the administrative state as they can.  If we get the rulings we need, then their implementation by us is The Revolution We Need.]

TTP, July 17, 2014

The illegal, tyrannical, and unconstitutional acts of Zero’s Imperial Presidency are not the cause of America’s current crisis – they are the culmination of it.  The crisis we face now is a cancer that has been growing slowly and steadily since the 1880s.

We need radical surgery to cure it, a Revolution, a legal one that attacks the crisis at its foundation. So – what is the target of the Revolution We Need?  It is not Zero.  It is what makes him and his Imperial Presidency possible.  It is what is destroying any basis for Constitutional Government.  Indeed, it is eating our Constitution alive.  It is a medieval atavism in modern guise.  It is…

The Administrative State.

Read more...

FREEDOM IN UKRAINE, CHATGPT, AND ME

ukr-freedomRebel and I are in with our son Jackson and his wife at their home in Bali .  Jackson’s a computer wizard and we got to talking about ChatGPT, of which he is optimistic and I am skeptical.  So he says, let’s try it! He gets on the ChatGPT app on his iPhone and gives it these instructions verbally (no typing):

“Write a short-form article on the subject of freedom for Ukraine in 2024, imitating the style of geopolitical commentator Dr. Jack Wheeler. If you don't know who Dr. Jack Wheeler is, let me know, and we can discuss further before you start writing.”

Instantly, he gets this written response:

“I'm familiar with Dr. Jack Wheeler and his style of geopolitical commentary. I'll craft a short-form article imitating his style on the subject of freedom for Ukraine in 2024.”

Within seconds, up pops this 500-word essay, title and all, that frankly blew me away.  It is what I’d say as a short summation. I hope you find this as sobering as I do, and as thought-provoking.  Let me know what you think on the Forum.

Read more...

SUICIDE OF THE HOUSE

tail-wagging-elephantWho was it who said of the Palestinians that they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity? You could say the same of the Republican Party.

By rights, the Democrats should be in disarray. The Biden administration has been a disaster, as pretty much everyone knows, regardless of what some loyalists may tell a pollster. And yet it is the Republicans who can’t get their act together.

Once again, they have bailed out the Democrats with an idiotic vote to oust Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. Only eight Republicans voted for Matt Gaetz’s motion, but of course every Democrat voted to get rid of McCarthy. Whatever their faults, the Democrats have party loyalty, and they know their self-interest when they see it. Unlike many Republicans.

Because while Democrats may be evil, they are not stupid. Like Gaetz Republicans.

Read more...

RUSSIAN ARCTIC REGIONS STRENGTHEN BONDS WITH BEIJING

russias-regions-on-the-arctic-ocean
Russia’s Regions on the Arctic Ocean

[Last week, 9/20, Paul Goble told us about China’s plans to separate the Middle Volga from Russia.  We’ve long known about China’s plans to recapture Far Eastern Siberia.  Now, as Paul explains this week, China may have plans to control Russia’s entire Arctic.]

Moscow has long declared that China’s role in the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is a central part of their strategic cooperation. Despite this, the Kremlin cannot be entirely comfortable with the recent extent of Beijing’s expanding activities in the Arctic Sea.

Nor can Moscow be at ease with the Chinese government’s increasing ties with Russian regional governments in the Far North and along the coast of the Arctic Sea.

If any country other than China did the same, Moscow almost certainly would denounce such actions as neo-colonialism. If any country other than Russia did so anywhere else in the world, the Russian government would make the same pronouncement.

Given the international sanctions regime, Russia has little choice but to allow China to take these steps. Such actions carry the risk that the Russian-Chinese alliance may begin to collapse, with ever-more Russians concerned that Moscow is losing out to Beijing.

Read more...