The Oasis for
Rational Conservatives
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Time to ROCK AND ROLL, boys and girls. Time for the most fun HFR ever. The countdown to the demise of America’s Bad Biden Dream is down to hours now -- about 64 or so if you’re reading this Friday evening Jan17.This is woww pic.twitter.com/sNTJQEgLiP
— The King (@xxxxTheKing) January 16, 2025
We’ll start the festivities in Schadenfreude City. We can have a chuckle over the Daily Mail’s gossip this morning (1/17): What IS Going On With The Obamas’ Marriage? But then again, why should we care? They’re Old News history.
Still, it is fun to enjoy how bitter the losers are like Michelle and Pelosi Galore that they won’t attend T47’s Inauguration.
So here’s the real belly laugh: Brain-dead-to reality James Clyburn (D-SC) proclaiming on MSNBC yesterday (1/16): Joe Biden Will Go Down In History as “One of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had.”
That’s right up there with his Dem colleague Hank Johnson (D-GA) worried that overpopulation would cause the island of Guam to “tip over and capsize.”
[Out with the old, in with the new! Instead of Archives on Mondays, we are restarting my book No Fear of the Evil Eye. The chapters that were up on TTP are no longer as they were written years ago. Frankly, I faltered in not completing this book, and now certainly is the time to finish it. Chapters have to be updated, so we begin with the opening Dedication, Epigraph, Preface, and Introduction. Every Monday from now on until this book is done will have at least two succeeding chapters. There are currently 24 chapters so have to double up. I will really appreciate any feedback you have. Off we go!]
DEDICATION
To Rebel – mother of my two sons, my wife, my best friend, my life-partner
EPIGRAPH
“There is not one kind of Strife alone, but all over the earth there are two. As for the one, a man would praise her when he came to understand her; but the other is blameworthy: and they are wholly different in nature. For one fosters evil war and battle, being cruel: her no man loves; but perforce, through the will of the deathless gods, men pay harsh Strife her honor due.
But the other is the elder daughter of dark Night, and the son of Cronos who sits above and dwells in the aether, set her in the roots of the earth: and she is far kinder to men. She stirs up even the shiftless to toil; for a man grows eager to work when he considers his neighbor, a rich man who hastens to plough and plant and put his house in good order; and neighbor vies with his neighbor as he hurries after wealth. This Strife is wholesome for men.” –Hesiod, “Works and Days,” ca. 700 BC
“Emulation (zelos) makes us take steps to secure good things. Envy (pthonos) makes us take steps to stop our neighbor from having them.” Aristotle, Rhetoric, II, 10 (1138a35), ca. 330 BC.
PREFACE
I have been planning to write this book for many years. Now is the time.
Firebombing on the Pacific
Over 25,000 acres are ablaze in Los Angeles in the Pacific Palisades fire, a veritable living hell.
Some 12,000-plus structures were incinerated. More than 250,000 souls have been evacuated and are in need of shelter.
No one has really taken charge yet. And now even the woke culprits for the catastrophe are blame-gaming each other to determine who was the more incompetent, which in this case translates to the most woke.
No one knows how many have died; all know the number will escalate in the next few days. The eventual price tag of the ruin will exceed $200-300 billion. And there are still some fires that are completely uncontained.
The Los Angeles apocalypse was a multisystem, green-woke collapse—and a disastrous reminder that when Soviet-style, anti-meritocratic ideology permeates all aspects of modern life in California, disaster is inevitable.
First, note that the culprit of the catastrophe is not climate change; it is not Donald Trump. Those are excuses for arrogant incompetency and disdain for the public. And it is not racism or homophobia to fault those who paraded and virtue signaled their tribal identities so extraneous to their actual responsibilities for public safety.
One Democratic senator resorted to “toxic masculinity”—a cardinal sin on the left—by repeatedly talking over Bondi and mansplaining his partisan talking points.
But Bondi wasn’t having it. She clapped back at Senator Alex Padilla (D-California), leaving him looking like a… pic.twitter.com/apkOiQ7wKU— The Vigilant Fox ? (@VigilantFox) January 15, 2025
Now that is how a BOSS treats unruly children. Pam Bondi deftly handled all the Dem nincompoops as she did Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA).
Several of Donald Trump’s most important cabinet nominees have now undergone confirmation hearings. I have watched them live in bits and pieces as I have been able, and have seen many clips posted here and elsewhere. Some obvious common threads emerge.
First, Trump’s nominees have uniformly done well. Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio, Chris Wright, Scott Bessent, and Doug Bergum have all come across as competent and likable, in contrast to most of their Democrat interlocutors, who have been shrill at best, and often dim-witted. Very often.
My favorite moment so far might be when the bizarre Mazie Hirono asked Pam Bondi whether she had ever made any unwanted sexual advances. Bondi’s puzzlement was understandable.
America’s Independence Day, observed annually on July 4, is a national holiday that honors the ratification of the Declaration of Independence. This pivotal document marked the founding of the United States of America and its liberation from British tyranny and oppression.
In the mid-1990s, a song with the same title was awarded Country Music Song of the Year. Performed by Martina McBride, it celebrates a woman’s liberation from her abusive husband.
What are the commonalities? Oppression and abuse. Is anyone else sensing a strong stench of these in America, what used to be a shining city on a hill?
Could January 20, which is less than a week away, become Independence Day II for Americans who strive for freedom against a tyrannical federal government? The answer is Yes.
What would an Independence Day II in America look like? Eight years ago, the appetizer was served, but the main course begins next week.
Thank you Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and all members of this Committee for the opportunity today. I am grateful for, and learned a great deal from, this "advise and consent" process. Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with this Committee — Senators from both parties — to secure our nation…
It is an honor to come before this Committee as President Donald Trump's nominee for the office of Secretary of Defense. Two months ago, 77 million Americans gave President Trump a powerful mandate for change. To put America First — at home and abroad.
I want to thank President Trump for his faith in me, and his selfless leadership of our great Republic. The troops could have no better Commander-in-Chief than Donald Trump.
As I've said to many of you in our private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was — to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That's it. That is my job.
To that end, if confirmed, I'm going to work with President Trump — and this committee — to:
Putin Death Skull Banner across from Russian Embassy in Riga, Latvia
The Russian offensive in Donbas has stalled in the last few weeks to a crawl, and in the Kursk oblast, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to expel the Ukrainian forces remains a failure.
This at the cost of up to 2,000 dead or badly wounded Russians and North Koreans a day could create a favorable situation for an inaugurated Trump opening peace negotiations with Putin. Yet the Kremlin is signaling its full commitment to its maximalist demands of Ukraine’s capitulation (Rossiiskaya Gazeta, January 10).
The working assumption in Moscow appears to be that Washington D.C. must produce attractive incentives for Russia to agree on a pause in hostilities because Trump’s ability to generate pressure is limited (Svoboda.org, January 10). This confidence amounts to self-deception because Trump has at least four heavy-impact levers for compelling Putin to shift from ultimatums to reasonable flexibility and beyond.
For the first part of this series, click here.
We are going more into tactics, techniques, and procedures here.
Know when to “dial up” and “dial down” when bad people disturb your peace. First, there is the rowdy street protest where occasional assaults and vandalism might occur, and then the other end of the spectrum, such as an October 7th style terror attack.
Just recently, people were celebrating the murder of a healthcare CEO and calling for the murder of Daniel Penny following his acquittal by a jury. Every situation is different—risks, opportunities, and what happens when/if you get caught; either by the authorities or others.
I know the recent election of Donald Trump may have, in the minds of some, limited the chances of this going as badly as I am writing about. Just remember the enemy has had decades to load their people into the system that we are trying to reform, and we hope Trump can fix this—but it’s not yet proven. We missed four years of Kamala and gigantic rear ends being shaken in our faces by less than five percent of the vote!
To be clear, I do not advise you to break any laws, nor condone your doing so; you have places like Texas and places like Taxachussetts, and what is a felony in one state may be innocent fun in another. You will have to decide what you ought/need to do and can do to stay alive. There are consequences for every choice.
In scanning for a Glimpse today, it surprised me to see how many Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World I have posted on TTP are of Portugal.
Then I realized it’s not surprising as there’s so much to see and experience in this small country it blows you away. Yet the Glimpses you’ve seen on TTP – such as the Portuguese Riviera or the Rigaleira Initiation Well -- barely scratches the surface of how joyously cool Portugal is. For Portugal has got everything. Fabulous climate, beaches, food, wine, history, charm up the ying-yang, and the sweetest, nicest people in Europe. That’s what my wife loves about the place. Scenery and history is wonderful, but what really counts for her are people.
Here’s what you and I can do about this.
In the remotest center of the Sahara Desert lies an unknown, unexcavated mysterious lost city known as Djado. No one knows who built it or when. Lying on the ancient Roman trade route from the Saharan salt mines of Fachi and Bilma to the Mediterranean, the Djado oasis flourished for a thousand years (the 1st Millennium AD), but has been forgotten and abandoned for many centuries.
The only people who live near Djado in the vast desert wasteland where Algeria, Libya, Chad, and Niger come together, are the wandering Toubu nomads with no permanent settlements. It is an indescribable experience to explore such a wondrous lost city right out of an Indiana Jones movie that you have all to yourself. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #17, photo ©Jack Wheeler)
Mulafassur waterfall below the village of Gasadalur is only one example of the serenity of the Faroe Islands. They’re a self-governing Danish possession in the North Atlantic halfway between Norway and Iceland. You won’t find a place of more captivating serene and peaceful charm.
Warmed by the Gulf Stream, in the summer it’s so strewn with wildflowers the roads are known as “buttercup highways.” At every turn along them you’re stunned by the incredible scenery. The capital of Torshavn is so laid back the Prime Minister’s Office – the Løgmansskristovan – is a wood cabin with a green grass sod roof. Great beer from the Faroes’ two breweries is always flowing in the pubs, where the Faroese islanders welcome you like an old friend.
You can easily fly here from Edinburgh, London, Copenhagen, or Reykjavik, Iceland . A few days here will do wonders for your soul. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #18 photo ©Jack Wheeler)
Live on a private houseboat exploring the jungles of Borneo by river and families of Orang Utans will be your neighbors.
To get here, you fly from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta to a small town in southern Borneo, Pangkalan Bun, on the Sekonyer River. You hire your own houseboat called a klotok (shower, nice bed, good warm food and cold beer) and English-speaking guide to take you up river through the jungles of the Tanjung Putting Orang Utan reserve. You’ll see proboscis monkeys, hornbills – and more wild orang utans than any other place on earth.
Spend time among them and you’ll understand how smart and human-like these gentle giants are. It’s an endearing experience never to be forgotten. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #72 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
That would be Tristan da Cunha in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. Some 260 Tristanians live here, all British citizens as the island is a UK Territory, in the island’s only community of Edinburgh-of-the-Seven-Seas. There’s no way to fly here – you have to take a boat for at least a week from Cape Town (and then a week back).
Tristanians are among the world’s most special people. Since the island was first settled in 1810, there has never been a single murder, abortion, or divorce among them. They are at peace with themselves, unfailingly cheerful, hospitable, and contented. If you are lucky enough to reach here, you may not want to ever leave. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #42 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)
U.S. — After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ban on the Chinese social media platform TikTok, Gen Z managed to stay upset about the ban for a full 4.3 seconds, which is the maximum amount of time they can focus on anything thanks to TikTok. The nation braced for a groundswell of outrage from millions of TikTok users, but the outrage died out almost as soon as it began.
"I'm furious. I'm outraged about this. I'm — hey look! Nintendo Switch 2 is coming out!" said Mavryyck Dixon, a former Gen Z TikTok user. "I can't believe they would — yoooooooooo look at this Instagram baddie! This violates my freedom of — BRO these cargo jeans are bussin, no cap. What were we talking about again? Oh well."
Dixon then released some nervous energy by making weird noises and doing a dance he made up for the hot new Chinese app Red Book."Yeah, it seems like Gen Z has already moved on to the next thing," said millennial social media expert Ryan Tharknerb. "I asked 10 kids about it this morning, and they couldn't even remember what TikTok was. Frankly, I'm starting to forget myself. Ohhhh CRAP! Elon just caught another rocket booster out of the air! Sweeeet!"
At publishing time, Gen Z had found themselves outraged by something else, but no one can remember what it was.
