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SKYE’S LINKS 10/12/23

iron-musk Is Elon Musk a Superhero or Supervillain?  He could be either depending on the issue.  But here’s once case where no doubt he’s the former. The Federalies have declared war on Elon Musk, and Elon has declared war back.  This is a war all freedom advocates want Elon to win!

SEC Sues Elon To Compel Him To Testify; Musk Responds It's Time For Punitive Action Against Regulators Who "Abuse Power For Political Gain"

incompetent-stasi

That sums it up doesn’t it? Yet, while there’s plenty more evidence of Federalie perfidy this week, there’s plenty of good uplifting news as well.  And we’ll close with something special to celebrate on this day.  So come on, jump right in, the water’s fine!

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ISRAEL NEEDS ROWDY YATES

[This Monday’s Archive was written 20 years ago on August 22, 2003.  It is particularly apt to re-publish it this week given the proto-hominid barbarism of Hamas upon Israel two days ago on October 7.  Given this, the conclusion may seem Pollyannic, yet nonetheless, let’s hope Bibi Netanyahu is the Rowdy Yates that Israel needs now.] 

TTP, August 22, 2003

You know I’m not Jewish.  And I’m not a supporter of Israel for Millennial Christian reasons (e.g., Jews have to get the Holy Land back before there can be a Second Coming).  I support Israel because I support Western Civilization, of which Israel is a part and because of which she is under attack.

And also because I think proto-hominids who slaughter women and babies on purpose have no right to exist.

Rowdy Yates was the character played by Clint Eastwood in the 1960s television series “Rawhide in which he played second-in-command of a Texas cattle drive in the 1870s.  It was Rowdy Yates’ job to implement the orders of the Trail Boss, Gill Faber, to “Head ’em up, move ’em out” — keep the cattle moving out of Texas and to the railhead in Kansas, fighting off Indians, rustlers, and assorted bad guys in the process.

The Rowdy Yates Solution for the Survival of Israel has three components:

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THE IRAN GAZA WAR

Israeli civilian taken hostage to Gaza
Israeli civilian taken hostage to Gaza

It is a rampage of unspeakable cruelty, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. It is also a security catastrophe of unprecedented proportions for Israel’s military and political class. Much time will be spent figuring out the causes and responsibility. For now, some broader observations:

First, call it the Iran-Gaza War. To be sure, Hamas bears responsibility, and any serious Israeli response will involve its total, unconditional defeat. But Hamas is an ally and instrument of Iran. An operation of such scale and complexity is unlike anything Hamas has previously attempted and strongly shows significant Iranian involvement. Hamas has publicly thanked Iran for its support, and Iran’s supreme leader applauded the invasion.

This is the war with Israel that it wants—on Israeli soil, through once-removed marauding militias. Thus: Any serious response must go through Tehran.

If the U.S. and the international community are truly outraged by the scenes of senior citizens gunned down on the street and women and children abducted, they must not only refrain from limiting Israel’s operation in Gaza but resolve to oust the genocidal regime in Tehran.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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.

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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!

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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.

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