At the beginning of September, I told you how French President Emmanuel Macron was on the hunt for Prime Minister Number Four after yet another French government went le poof like a deflated soufflé.

It's always entertaining to watch the turgid burps of the excitable Gallic political process as they go about trying to form and reform governments, with cranky citizens (and others) taking to the streets in rowdy, car-b-quing mobs expressing either their delight or disgust.

Public unions often join the fray in generally making things even more difficult by striking various aspects of the national service industries.

Macron settled on a fellow named Lecornu as his Prime Minister, and things seemed to settle down, which made those watching more than merely the political upheaval breathe a small sigh of relief.

Stability in France has many in Brussels and beyond very concerned right now, as the French are in quite possibly one of the worst financial pickles they have been in decades - some say since the founding of this latest iteration of government in the early 1950s. Without a settled government, they are paralyzed as far as taking any action to correct it.

Hopes of breaking the impasse and moving on to restoring some fiscal sanity were dashed when No.4, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, resigned twenty-seven days after accepting the office and about fourteen hours after Macron finally named his new cabinet.

YOU ALL ARE CRAZY AND I'M OUT OF HERE

[On Sept. 30, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered an address at Marine Corps Base Quantico to an unprecedented gathering of hundreds of admirals, generals, and senior military leaders. This is the transcript in full. This is a turning point in America’s modern military history. TTP feels strongly that TTPers should consider reading it entire. The video of SecWar Hegseth’s 6,000 word/45 minute speech is here.]

Mr. Chairman, the Joint Chiefs, generals, admirals, commanders, officers, senior enlisted, NCOs, enlisted and every member of our American military, good morning. Good morning, and welcome to the War Department, because the era of the Department of Defense is over.

You see, the motto of my first platoon was, “Those who long for peace must prepare for war.” This is, of course, not a new idea. This crowd knows that. The origin dates to the fourth century Rome and has been repeated ever since, including by our first commander-in-chief, George Washington, the first leader of the War Department. It captures a simple yet profound truth; to ensure peace, we must prepare for war.

From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: warfighting, preparing for war and preparing to win, unrelenting and uncompromising in that pursuit. Not because we want war. No one here wants war. But it’s because we love peace. We love peace for our fellow citizens. They deserve peace, and they rightfully expect us to deliver it.

Our number one job, of course, is to be strong so that we can prevent war in the first place. The President talks about it all the time. It’s called “peace through strength,” and as history teaches us, the only people who actually deserve peace are those who are willing to wage war to defend it.

That’s why pacifism is so naïve and dangerous. It ignores human nature and it ignores human history. Either you protect your people and your sovereignty, or you will be subservient to something or someone. It’s a truth as old as time. And since waging war is so costly in blood and treasure, we owe our republic a military that will win any war we choose, or any war that is thrust upon us. Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision, and ferocity of the War Department.

In other words, to our enemies, FAFO. If necessary, our troops can translate that for you.

[Note: 20-point Trump Gaza Plan appended in full below]

The Trump plan represents the best hope so far for ending the war in Gaza, giving some prospect of normality and prosperity for the people of Gaza and of developing a sustainable peace in the wider Middle East.

It has also completely turned the tables on Hamas. With Israel and Arab countries on board, the ball is now entirely in Hamas’s court and their response will show the world what many of us have long known: it is not Israel that has kept this war going but Hamas. War or peace is in their hands as it has been from the start.

We will have to see which path they take. But if anything, now is the time not just for Arab countries but for Western nations to step up to the mark. Those that are in a position to do so need to pile the pressure on to Hamas and give them no quarter. We need to hear no more encouragement of Hamas, no more rewarding them by recognizing a Palestinian state and no more unjust lashing out against Israel.

Instead Hamas need to be forced to understand they are isolated and no longer have any friends. If that kind of action had been taken from the beginning we might have been where we are long before now with many lives saved.

We have no idea whether the current DOJ indictments will lead to a conviction of James Comey, namely that he authorized FBI subordinates to leak to the media and then lied about it, obstructing Congress in the process.

It may come down to the word of Comey, a known fabricator, against the testimony of his former subordinate, Andrew McCabe, an admitted liar. Take your pick.

We know, however, that Comey is not facing a Trumpian $500 million in potential fines, nor 93 indictments, nor the scrutiny of five different local, state, and federal prosecutors. Nor, like some of the J6 arrested, will he be sent to solitary confinement to await a trial in a year or two or be charged with “illegal parading.”

We also know of the crimes or unethical conduct for which James Comey is not currently being indicted or investigated. Here’s a baker’s dozen of them.

This week, federal officials made an astounding announcement: Nearly half of all immigrants in greater Minneapolis were found to have committed some form of immigration fraud.

The fraud, uncovered in a September sweep, came in all kinds — sham marriages, fake death certificates and “other bizarre schemes,” as US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edley put it.

But the revelation was no great surprise to those of us who have followed the settlement of some 100,000 Somali immigrants in Minnesota over the past three decades. As far back as 2008, the State Department temporarily suspended one of the family reunification programs used by Somali immigrants when DNA testing of applicants found that 80% of all its claimed family relationships were fake.

Immigration fraud in this community has been the norm.

And when it comes to “bizarre schemes,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) serves as Exhibit A.