Who among us could have guessed a few years back that today gender ideology would be the clearest, most divisive matter of contention separating the American left from the right? To those reasonably grounded in reality, the notion that gender is fluid, that a Supreme Court Justice would be unable to define the word “woman,” that men can give birth, and that children can and should be mutilated if they are confused about their own gender identity is not only sheer lunacy, it is barbaric.
But the left’s commitment to those ideas is total; it’s the hill on which they are willing to die. Those who disagree with them are vilified as transphobic, haters or terrorists. Trans activists may well be the least tolerant “community” in the country.
Recently, a young trans girl/boy posted a video of what five years of testosterone have done to her; she regrets her transition. The comments posted below her video are vicious. There are probably hundreds of similar regret videos but there are many more videos that promote gender transitions, even for the very young. Planned Parenthood promotes cross sex transition and has become a giant of the industry.
Matt Walsh, who made the film that asks “What is a Woman,” began taking the film to college campuses this past week, and shockingly, is filling auditoriums. But the events draw angry protesters, some of them Antifa, who scream and chant their profanities in their attempt to disrupt the screenings. They have not been successful.
Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine will be studied for centuries by military historians — as a master class in how not to fight. His latest tactic — bombing Ukrainian cities — is yet another desperate and despicable gambit that is likely to backfire.
There’s a vow that, if taken by romantic couples, would go a long way toward establishing safety and trust, and limiting much of the pain that couples commonly experience - much of the pain that couples commonly inflict upon one another.
There will be pain in any relationship, we hurt each other without even trying. There’s plenty of conflict in the very best of relationships. John Gottman has found in his research that in successful marriages about 69% of conflicts never get resolved. So a happy marriage isn’t about the absence of conflict, or an absence of hurt.
It all comes down to how we treat each other given that there is conflict, and that there are times we unintentionally hurt each other.
In other words, it’s what we do or do not do intentionally that makes the difference.
The vow that I suggest to make between the two of you is this:
August 1977. High in the mountains above the source of the April River, a tributary of the Sepik in Papua New Guinea, I had a First Contact with an undiscovered tribe calling themselves the Wali-ali-fo. They ate “man long pig,” cooked human meat and lived in thatch dwelling built up in trees. Here I am in one with my Sepik guide Peter who got me here.
Peter translated a description of their practice: “When a man dies, we take a pig to his wife and exchange it for the body of the man. We take the body out into the forest and…cook ‘im eat ‘im. We do this so the man will continue to live in the bodies of his friends.”
Not something we’ll do but something we can understand, yes? These are people we could laugh and joke with, tell stories with, enjoy being with. A very different culture, but human all the same. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #148 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
This is the Rock of Aphrodite – where Greek mythology says the Goddess of Love was born fully formed from the sea-foam surging around it – and makes Cyprus the Island of Love. It is south of Paphos on the island’s west coast.
Adjacent is the Temple Sanctuary of Aphrodite, where pilgrims came from every Greek city and kingdom for 2,000 years to worship her. The ancient Greeks prayed to Aphrodite more than any of their other gods, for she was the apotheosis of love, desire, and fertility or having children. Which explains why today couples travel from all over the world to get married here.
Folks have been living in Cyprus for a really long time. So long that they were the first people in the world to domesticate cats over 9,000 years ago. A Neolithic village has been unearthed called Choirokoitia that’s surprisingly sophisticated for being 8,000 years old. In Roman times, after Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead, he went to Cyprus -- there is a beautiful church, the Agios Lazaros, built over his tomb.
The Painted Churches of Troodos are adorned with magnificent medieval art. The ruins of a Crusaders’ fortress inspired the fairy tale castle of Walt Disney’s Snow White. I hope Cyprus’ inspirational history will inspire you to explore it someday. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #101 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
Built as the summer residence of the Portuguese Royal family almost 200 years ago, Pena Palace stands atop the highest hill of the Sintra mountains with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean far below.
Today a museum showpiece and World Heritage Site, it is one of the most spectacular castles in all Europe. I am here with your fellow TTPers completing another marvelous exploration of the wondrous land of Portugal. We’ll be here again next Spring - hope you’ll be with us. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #231 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
This is the Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto, Portugal where I am right now. Built in 1906, its Neo-Gothic/Art Noveau architecture and design make it the world’s most beautiful place to buy books. Not only was J.K. Rowling inspired to write her Harry Potter books here, but she based the dramatic staircase at Hogwarts on the work of art staircase at “The Lello” that you see above. Porto oozes with such beauty, charm, and entrancement. You deserve to experience it for yourself. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #230 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
This is where The Colossus of Rhodes once stood, at the entrance to the Old Harbor of Rhodes. Standing as high as today’s Statue of Liberty – 108 feet from feet to crown – it was of the Greek god of the Sun, Helios. Completed in 280 BC, travelers from all over the Mediterranean flocked to see it – as they did all Seven Wonders of their world.
They marveled at the Great Pyramid of Cheops and the Lighthouse of Pharos at the entrance to Alexandria, both in Ptolemaic Egypt; the massive Tomb of King Mausolus or Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, on the Ionian (western) coast of present-day Turkey; the giant Temple of Zeus at Olympia in mainland Greece; and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon – in addition to The Colossus on the Greek island of Rhodes, now still Greek right off the coast of Turkey.
The Colossus only stood for sixty years, and was then toppled by a great earthquake. One by one, the others were destroyed by earthquakes, floods, fires and other disasters, until only one of the Seven is left – the Great Pyramid, already over 2,000 years old when the other six were built.
All seven sites where the wonders stood are worth visiting today. We’ll be organizing such an exploration soon. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #132 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
Early this morning (10/14), the lead headline story was: New Video Shows Pelosi Threatened To 'Punch Out' Trump On January 6.
That would be "he's sliding into an ever-deeper legal hole." Oh. "The walls are closing in" mantra the Lying Swine media have been repeating ad nauseam for years, which brings us to the dog that's not barking 25 days before November 8.
On this day, October 10th, 1,290 years ago in central France a few miles north of the town of Poitiers, two armies met with the fate of Western Civilization at stake.
On a forested hill stood 30,000 Christian knights led by their king Charles Martel awaiting the onslaught of an invading horde of 60,000 Islamic Jihadis determined to extinguish Christianity from all of Europe and replace it with their Religion of the Sword.
For the last hundred years, they had exploded out of the wasteland of Arabia to conquer the Christian Middle East, Zoroastrian Persia, and all of Christian North Africa from Egypt to Morocco. For the last twenty years after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar in 711, they had swept through the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal in Islamic conquest of the ruling Christian Visigothic Kingdom.
In just six years (711-717), Islamic armies had reached the Pyrenees, the mountainous border between Spain and France. Pouring through them, for the last 15 years they had been steadily seizing more and more of Christian France – old Roman Gaul. Now Gaul was ruled by the Franks, who had been fervent Christians ever since their Founder King, Clovis (466-511), was baptized in 496.
Thus it was that on this day almost 13 centuries ago, all that stood between the Islamic horde and conquering all of Europe was this infidel army half their size that didn’t even have any cavalry – most all of their soldiers fought on foot. Surely the infidels would be annihilated as all their enemies had from Persia to the Pyrenees.
TODAY, October 12, is the 530th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' landing on Guanahani (now known as San Salvador or Watlings) island in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492.
We commemorate this as a true discovery in contrast to all the claims of Vikings, Chinese, Irish, and others who supposedly came earlier – for once and only after Columbus discovered America, it stayed discovered.
Unfortunately, Columbus Day is for most Americans just an excuse for a three-day weekend, which is why it fell ereyesterday, Monday, October 10.
What it should be is a commemoration and celebration of Western Civilization – which is why the Left hates Columbus and his holiday.
If it's your misfortune to run into any of these folk bemoaning the nightmare and tragedy of our coming here, you might suggest to them that they abandon their myths about it. Start reeducating them by explaining why there were no Indians in America when Columbus discovered it.
The Truth is Emerging, and what was first hidden in the darkness is being uncovered by the light.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Please look at Skye’s links this week, where we learn the results of sworn testimony about the lack of ANY Covid transmission testing before the jabs were forced on the world.
The midterms are coming, and dirty tricks are emerging. The FBI was caught red-handed, repeatedly tipping the scales for the Democrats. What’s to come of this?
Here is a hint, in the end, Freedom wins.
For much of the Trump presidency, leftist opponents sought to remove him by the 25th Amendment. A Yale psychiatrist diagnosed Trump in absentia and declared him deserving of a straitjacket forced intervention. Partisan charges grew so intense that Trump voluntarily took — and aced — the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.
Strangely, the same Left arm-chair psychiatrists offer no such worries about Biden’s clear mental decline. Needless to say, Biden refuses to take any cognitive assessment test.
One reason Biden enjoys immunity from removal is that his 57-year-old vice president, Kamala Harris, is seen to be even more incoherent and ill-informed. Then there’s Nancy Pelosi, 82. Here’s a scary thought. As House Speaker, she’s third in line for the presidency.
America’s Democrat Party is beyond redemption, and with increasing momentum, Americans are recognizing this. Can Republicans offer a serious alternative?
How does the Republican Party reunify, project a shared vision that attracts independent voters (and libertarians), cut through the media bias, and start winning by landslides all over America?
Why hasn’t the GOP attracted tens of millions of independent voters? Estimates vary, but according to Pew Research, in 2020 independents were 34 percent of registered voters nationwide—more than Democrats at 33 percent, or Republicans at 29 percent.
With that in mind, it’s time for Republican candidates to quit hedging on the big issues. Here are some soundbites that ought to be coming out of the mouths of every GOP candidate in America:
