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THE PRESS IS FREE; THE MEDIA IS FOR SALE

Michael Smith April 29, 2026

The bulwark of a free, moral, civil society is a free press.

I want to make it clear that I believe there is a sharp, black line between the free press and “media,” and that distinction between a constitutionally protected free press and modern “media” is not semantic but structural.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the act of publishing itself, not the quality, intent, or civic value of what is published. In that sense, the press is a function open to anyone, from the pamphleteers of the founding era like Thomas Paine to today’s institutional newsrooms.

What we now call “media” is an industry, and like any industry, it responds to incentives — chief among them attention, engagement, and revenue.

That shift has blurred the line between information and entertainment, producing content that often prioritizes emotional reaction over factual clarity or public utility.

The result is a system in which material designed to provoke or entertain is afforded the same constitutional protection as serious investigative reporting, despite serving a very different purpose.

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THE HIGH DRAMA BIASES OF POLITICS

Joel Wade April 30, 2026

As this political season heats up, and all the arguments, indignation and accusations that go with it come to a rolling boil, I thought it would be worth having a look at some of the deeper biases that we all can get immersed in, regardless of ideology or political sentiments.

I write this, not because I think you should be apathetic about politics, or choose a particular side that I might like. I write this because the bombardment of manipulations we are subject to can cause us to lose focus on the meaningful details of our own lives; and the biases which politics are teeming with can throw off our judgment about what’s most important.

By politics, I mean the process by which we – politicians and media most strongly, but individuals as well – persuade, cajole, manipulate, trick, argue, deceive, and otherwise do everything we can to empower those we want to empower, and disempower those we want to disempower.

This is an equal opportunity inquiry. We all have our personal beliefs, and, regardless of what they are, every single one of us gets seduced by our biases.

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FLASHBACK FRIDAY: THE FAIRY TALE CASTLE OF SEGOVIA

Dr. Jack Wheeler May 1, 2026

This is Spain’s most famous and beloved castle, high on a rocky promontory above the city of Segovia some 60 miles northwest of Madrid. The site of a Celtic settlement, Roman trading post, and Arab wooden fort, when the Reconquista of the Christian knights removed the Islamic invaders from their land in the early 1200s, the building of the idyllic fairy tale castle you see began.

For centuries it was the palace residence of the Kings and Queens of Castille. It was here, on December 13, 1474, that Isabella, daughter of King John II, was enthroned as the Queen of Castille. When her husband Ferdinand, whom she married in 1469, became King of Aragon in 1475, they jointly ruled a unified Spain. As we learned in our early school years, it was Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille who sponsored Columbus’ discovery of the Americas in 1492.

Today, the Castle of Segovia is a World Heritage Site, serving as a museum of the history of Castille and National Archive of Spain. Immaculately preserved and maintained, it’s a thrilling experience to explore. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #266 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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AMERICA AT MOUNT RUSHMORE

Dr. Jack Wheeler April 30, 2026

I took this photo of Mount Rushmore looking straight on from a helicopter – so it may be from an angle you have not seen before. This coming election in November and on Veterans Day (11/11), it may be worthwhile to think of these four heroic Americans from a different perspective, to reflect on the almost unimaginable -- in the light of our comfortable lives we live today – challenges they faced and triumphed over to create and sustain our America.

It is worth asking what would they say to us today, what advice and counsel would they give us on how to face and triumph over what unimaginable – to them during their lives – challenges of ours as Americans today.

Look into their eyes. What are they saying to you? Election week and Veterans Day is a time of deep reflection on the meaning of being American. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #173 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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THE TREASURY OF PETRA

Dr. Jack Wheeler April 29, 2026

The 2,000 year-old Rose Red City of Petra was the religious center of an ancient Arab tribe named Nabataeans. They didn’t build huge temples such as this – they carved them out of cliffs of rose-red sandstone in their hidden mountain sanctuary east of the Dead Sea in present-day Jordan.

The most famous carved temple is called The Treasury (Al-Khazneh in Arabic), 128 feet high, hand-carved into the vertical rock face. You’ve seen it in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusades and other movies.

One interesting feature of Nabataean culture was the prominence of women. The two principal deities worshipped by them was the male god Dushara, god of the sun and sky whom the ancient Greeks associated with Zeus, and Al-Uzza, the goddess of fertility whom the Greeks associated with Aphrodite.

Al-Uzza was accompanied by Al-lat, the goddess of wisdom, and Manat, the goddess of destiny, as a triad devoutly worshipped by the Nabataeans and throughout all pre-Islamic Arabia. Together, they are the “forbidden goddesses” of Koranic Islam. Which is why their images, along with that of Dushara have been defaced and etched out of their carvings in the upper niches of The Treasury.

Experiencing Petra is on most people’s travel bucket list. Being here, it’s easy to see why. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #292, photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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MOROCCO’S DADES GORGE

Dr. Jack Wheeler April 28, 2026

This astounding road is how you traverse the Dades Gorge on the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs in Morocco. Kasbahs are fortified villages of the Berbers, who have lived here since the end of the Ice Ages 12,000 years ago (related to the Lapps of the Scandinavian Arctic, both descending from Cro-Magnon hunters in Cantabria of northern Spain).

The road is rated as one of the most scenic drives in the world. It is in the High Atlas Mountains (once higher than the Himalayas and joined to the Appalachians in the northeast US before splitting apart to form the Atlantic Ocean 200 million years ago). Here you go from the sand dunes of the Sahara to the fabulous kasbahs of Skoura, Ouarzazate, and Ait Benhaddou. The drive is one of the many life-memorable experiences we have in our exploration of Moroccan Magic. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #110 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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HEAVEN ON HERM

Dr. Jack Wheeler April 27, 2026

Belvoir Beach, Herm, Channel Islands. Could there be a more idyllic lunch—grilled lobster, fresh garden salad, chilled Chardonnay – here on Herm, the smallest of the five main Channel Islands. There’s Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, Alderney – and tiny Herm. Less than one square mile, but overflowing with charm and hospitality – from the Victorian White House Hotel to the Mermaid Pub to lobsters at Belvoir Beach. Coming here is a true escape from the worries of the world. At Herm they are a long ways away. Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #177 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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DEMOCRATS DENY INCITING VIOLENCE AND SAY ANYONE WHO THINKS THEY DO MUST BE ELIMINATED BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY

Babylon Bee May 1, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Less than a week after yet another assassination attempt against President Donald Trump, leaders of the Democratic Party pushed back against claims that they are guilty of inciting violence and said anyone who thinks they are should be eliminated by any means necessary.

Following accusations that their rhetoric stirred up supporters to commit violent acts against conservatives, prominent Democrats denied engaging in any incitement of political violence and stressed the importance of doing whatever is needed to take out anyone who thinks otherwise.

"People who think we incite violence must be taken down," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "It's unconscionable to make allegations that our party is somehow guilty of calling for political violence against our opposition. Anyone who makes claims to the contrary should get what's coming to them, if you know what I mean."

Despite numerous acts of violence against Republicans and conservatives in recent years, Democrats maintained that they are in no way responsible and urged anyone who disagrees with them to be quiet if they value their lives. "We have never threatened anyone," said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. "And you don't want to find out what will happen to the next person who tries to say we have."

Democrats clarified that anyone who accuses them of inciting violence was "literally Hitler" and should never be allowed to hold political office, no matter the cost.

At publishing time, Democrats had pre-emptively distanced themselves from the next assassination attempt against President Trump.

~ Babylon Bee reporting.

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HALF-FULL REPORT 04/24/26

Dr. Jack Wheeler April 24, 2026

I dearly hope you read in TTP yesterday Marco Kotrotsos’ The Biggest Job Creation Event Since The Internet – or will soon.

It was sent to me by my long time buddy Rod Martin who now regularly writes for us on TTP. Along with the graphic above, here’s his explanation of why this is so important for you to understand:

“I have long maintained that AI can’t replace you. But depending on what you do, it may very well replace your job.

That sounds like a contradiction. It isn’t. We’re entering a world where AI replaces tasks… but makes human accountability more valuable than ever.

To put that another way, AI has made me about five times more productive than I was two years ago. What it hasn’t done is replace me. It can’t. What I add is not just piecework, or even information: I add judgment. I’m creative in a way the software cannot be, because though it can execute, I must provide vision and direction. And at the end, I sign my name to the work, just as I would if I were assisted by human employees.

And in fact, now that I have these AI tools, I need to hire more humans to use them!

When farm automation began, we faced the same challenge. Legions of sharecroppers could be replaced with a few tractors. So where did the sharecroppers go? They learned new skills and got higher-paying jobs in tractor plants. Their kids went to college and became doctors and professors. The old world ended, yes. It was replaced by a far better one.

That’s happening again. There will be disruption. There will also be opportunity — for everyone — to a degree it’s difficult even to imagine today.”

Thanks, Rod! Oh, FYI, thanks also for showing how ludicrously insane Elon’s proposal is: Elon Musk Proposes ‘Universal High Income’ Payments to Address AI-Driven Job Displacement.

There’s so much more in this HFR – let’s go!

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MIRACLE MAX IN EUROPE

Dr. Jack Wheeler April 20, 2026

[This Monday’s Archive was originally in TTP on April 21, 2005. It is one of the most relevant-to-today Archives ever. I think you will find it revelatory – especially in the context of Obama and Soros combining to force Benedict to resign his papacy and install a Marxist Pope Francis in his place. And that now there is a gutless Leo in the Vatican, whom Trump justifiably scorns. Trump would have worked well and admired Benedict.]

TTP, April 21, 2005

There was a very funny movie made back in 1987 called The Princess Bride. Imagine an Errol Flynn swashbuckler with a Monty Python script.

One of my favorite scenes is when the hero, Westley (played by Cary Elwes) is wounded and his friends drag his limp body to a Yiddish Wizard named Miracle Max (played by Billy Crystal) in hopes of saving him. But it’s too late. “He’s dead,” they tell Max.

“Look who knows so much,” Max replies after examining Westley. “It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There is a VERY BIG DIFFERENCE between mostly dead and all dead.”

It turns out there was an adaptive replay of this scene in the Sistine Chapel this week. The College of Cardinals dragged in the limp body of European Christianity – which means of European civilization and culture – and placed it at Josef Ratzinger’s feet. Can you save him? they asked, because we are afraid he’s dead.

Their Dean and Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith replied that yes, he is mostly dead – but not all dead, so there is hope for his revival. That hope is what elected Cardinal Ratzinger to the papacy.

It takes both heroic optimism and heroic faith to attempt a revival of Europe now at death’s door. For many astute observers, Europe is doomed by a “perfect storm” of inescapably negative demographics, welfare state bankruptcy, and the creeping seizure of its cities by Moslem immigrants.

Yet the cause of all three is Europeans’ willful abandonment of their cultural souls. Restore that to them and all three of the clouds creating this perfect storm start to clear. Such restoration can only be done with and cannot be done without Christianity.

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THE BIGGEST JOB CREATION EVENT SINCE THE INTERNET

Marco Kotrotsos April 23, 2026

So last week, Anthropic published its labor market impact study and the internet did what the internet does. Headlines about a “Great Recession for white-collar workers.” Lists of the ten most exposed occupations. Think pieces about whether your CS degree was a waste of money.

I wrote one of those pieces myself. It’s easy to get caught up in the flow of opinion if you don’t stop and really think about the other side of the messaging.

There’s a thing about the Anthropic data that got buried under all the alarm: the same numbers that measure displacement also measure opportunity.

And the opportunity side of the ledger is potentially enormous, if you know how to read it.

Anthropic’s key finding was the distance between what AI can theoretically do and what people are actually using it for. In computer and math occupations, theoretical capability sits at 94 percent. Observed usage is 33 percent. That’s a 61-percentage-point gap.

The doom reading: that gap is closing, and when it does, jobs disappear.

The other reading: that gap represents trillions of dollars in unrealized productivity. And closing it requires people. Lots of them, doing work that mostly didn’t exist three years ago.

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TRADE OVER AID – TRUMP’S NEXT FOREIGN POLICY RESET

Rod D. Martin April 21, 2026

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened a new front in that revolution, with a sweeping reset of America’s approach to foreign aid: “Trade Over Aid.”

Rubio ordered U.S. diplomats to line up foreign signatures for a formal end-of-April UN declaration.

The document commits aid-recipient governments to making themselves investable: freer markets, lighter regulation, lower taxes, stronger property rights, enforceable contracts, reliable courts, and real engagement with private capital.

Bottom line: no reform, no more money.

The point is so obvious only a Harvard professor could miss it. Real aid should make itself unnecessary. Just as there should be no more “Forever Wars,” there should be no more “Forever Aid.”

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ACTBLUE IS TOAST

Matt Margolis April 21, 2026

House Republicans have spent months digging into ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s premier fundraising machine, and what they’ve found so far is so incredible that it’s hard to see how the fundraising platform survives.

A damning interim staff report from the House Administration, Oversight, and Judiciary Committees paints a damning picture of widespread illegal foreign donations flowing through the platform with the full knowledge of ActBlue's leadership, followed by a massive cover-up in the hopes of preventing Congress from finding out.

Two ActBlue officials — including former Vice President of Customer Service Alyssa Twomey, who oversaw the fraud-prevention team during the 2024 election cycle — and three former lawyers refused to answer a single substantive question from investigators. Combined, ActBlue employees invoked the Fifth Amendment at least 146 times across depositions with the three committees between July and December 2025.

The right to remain silent is constitutionally protected, of course. But it's worth asking: if there was nothing to hide, why invoke the Fifth — repeatedly, collectively, and across an entire chain of command?

Then there's the legal and compliance team.

By March 2025, every member of it was gone….

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DEMS ATTACK HEGSETH TO ADVANCE A COUP AGAINST TRUMP

Andrea Widburg April 22, 2026

On April 15, thirteen radical House Democrats introduced six articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth, accusing him of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” The charges are spurious, alleging that he violated the War Powers Act (which didn’t apply), that he committed war crimes because Iran claimed that girls were in a building on an IRGC base that the U.S. struck, and managing the military in ways they disliked.

Those articles may have been the acts of radicals, but the fact is that the Democrats have relentlessly sought to undermine Pete Hegseth at every turn. Some of it is purely policy-driven: They want mentally ill people in the military, low recruitment, a focus on social justice, not winning wars, and the triumph of overt enemies.

However, DataRepublican has a more shocking contention. She says the continued efforts to destroy Pete Hegseth are the prelude to an actual coup. I particularly noted this because Democrats are engaged in a stealth revolution against our Constitution and the Founders’ vision. DataRepublican, however, a more kinetic coup, which requires disposing of Hegseth.

I’ve pasted DataRepublican’s full thread at the end of this post. This is a summary, with some added information:

Here’s the premise:

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WHEN PROGRESS ISN’T PROGRESS

Mark Deuce April 22, 2026

I started as an officer in Nowheresville, Texas over twenty-five years ago, and have as a consequence seen the “evolution” of policing and criminal justice down here over that time.

I have done so from the perspective of the guy-on-point up to what I would describeas mid-level management. You can see a lot from there, and also how it plays into what has been happening in the world of security, law, and order.

Today, Nowheresville’s standard patrol unit has about four computers or pieces of digital equipment inside, not counting the radio.

Dominating the arrangement is a large, removable Toughbook military-grade laptop in a docking station that is the digital heart and soul of the effort. You can do everything from check people’s identification and fingerprints to writing reports on it.

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