®Monomakhos

The Agent of Change

by

I have been thinking a lot about politics these days.  (And religion, culture, the future, etc.)  Who hasn’t?

Don’t blame yourself.  You ever heard of the October Surprise?  That’s a political trick that one party plays usually on the Thursday right before the election.  They do that for maximum impact.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Regardless, it causes great anxiety, of that you can be sure.

So why am I bringing up the October Surprise?  Simple, because we’ve been experiencing an October Surprise just about every other day for several weeks now.    Things like inflicting unremitting lawfare on a presidential candidate for several years –or trying to assassinate him.  Or removing a sitting President from the Oval Office (and then bragging about it).  When the real October Surprise comes, you can be sure it’ll be a doozy.

This is all Third-World, banana republic stuff; nothing constitutional about it.

So yeah, I’ve been thinking a lot about things.

And then it occurred to me, that maybe I’ve been looking this whole political campaign through the wrong prism.  Yes, I follow the RealClearPolitics polls as well as the betting markets.  I know that Trump still leads in some of the Battleground States.  I also know that in 2016, he was consistently five points down in those same polls and that he still won the election.  I know how he draws massive crowds, even in Blue States like New Jersey (his biggest one yet).

But you know what?  That’s all inside baseball.  And that’s when I came to this conclusion:  all of the metrics, polls, editorials, etc. are beside the point.

What then, is the point?

This and only this:  that Trump is nothing less than a wrecking ball to the entire corrupt electoral system.  I’ll go even further, he’s a disruptor to the Establishment.  And he has been ever since he and Melania rode down that golden escalator in 2015.

Think about it.  In 2016, the body politic was going to be given the choice between a Bush and a Clinton.  Just like in 1992.  In 2000, it was between a Bush and a Gore, two political dynasties.  Then there was a McCain and a Romney, two men who were also part of the Oligarchy.  Our political choices for national office were from a carefully selected coterie of Establishment types.  Kabuki theater or professional wrestling, take your pick.

True, in 2008, Barack Obama, an exotic novelty, was trotted out.  A biracial man of Muslim heritage, many of us on the Right feared that he would draw down our forces overseas and make peace with the Muslim world.  Others thought he would bring all the Wall Street banksters to book for the Great Recession they caused.

Silly us.  Instead, he rode in on a wave of euphoria but then went right on doing the bidding of the Establishment.  Heck, he killed more Muslims than Richard the Lionheart.

We shouldn’t be surprised.  That’s because that’s the way the Establishment has rigged the system.  That is until 2016, when Trump, a true wrecking ball, somehow short-circuited the system and became President.  As a result, he broke the system.

That said, the Deep State found ways to make sure that that mistake wouldn’t be repeated.  They “fortified” the electoral system, engineered a pandemic, rewrote the election laws of certain states (e.g. Pennsylvania) and made sure that ballots in Maricopa County didn’t fit into the voting machines.  Things like that.

And so, another Establishment crony (Joe Biden) was able to get 81 million “votes” in 2020 –more than any other candidate in history.

Unfortunately for the Establishment, the system is still broken.  Trump disrupted it back in 2016 and the ripple effects of that election are still reverberating today.

Consider:  not only did Trump destroy the Bush and Clinton dynasties in 2016, he succeeded in destroying the Obama and Biden dynasties.  And now, eight years later, the Deep State had to scramble to find a suitable candidate after they threw Biden under the bus.  They thought that they could push him over the finish line but when it became clear that that would be an impossibility they were left with Kamala Harris, his DEI hire.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.  Biden, the invincible “conqueror” of Trump, was supposed to crush him again.  Only the opposite happened:  Trump took him out, without anyone casting  single ballot.  It’s like he’s some kind of political tar baby in that everybody who goes against him is taken down instead.

As for whether the election will be rigged again or whether he will be allowed to take office is unknowable.  Honestly, I’m not even sure the election will be held.  (You read that right.)  And if things go off without a hitch, I would not be surprised if they refused to let him be inaugurated.  And if so, what will he be able to accomplish in a second term?  (Personally, I think a lot but that’s a story for another day.)  All of that is immaterial as far as I’m concerned.  What Trump has accomplished is the disruption of the entire political system.

There are many who believe that he accomplished nothing in his first term.  I’m sorry, but that’s ridiculous.  A booming economy, the cessation of TPP, closing of the border, the renegotiation of NAFTA, the Abraham Accords, actually going to North Korea, and not bringing us to the brink of World War III are not “nothing.”

Now let me be clear:  Trump is not the “MAGA Savior.”  Anybody who believes that that is what we MAGA types believe is a fool.  Thanks to cultural Marxism, America is essentially over.  Nobody who’s voting for him expects him to take us back to Mayberry.  At this point, we’d be happy if he could just commandeer the cockpit and engineer a soft landing.  If that’s the best we can hope for, we’ll take it.

On the other hand, I can see him closing the border, deporting hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, selling off thousands of acres of Federal land and (fingers crossed) closing down a couple of hundred of our overseas military bases.

Something has to be done.  Something will be done.  The ship of state is careening right into an iceberg –anybody with two active brain cells can see it.  Regardless of what the Democrats, RINOs or the Uniparty wants, the present course is unsustainable.  Don’t believe me?  We’re adding $1 trillion to the National Debt every 100 days.  That means that unless things change, we’re headed for that iceberg.

Trump the Disruptor upset the Establishment’s long-term plans once before.  He can do it again.

Regardless, he’s exposed the entire rotten edifice for what it is.  And that means we’re never going back to the good old days no matter how much the Establishment wishes it were so.

 

Comments

  2. How Bibi, the ultimate Agent of Un-Change,
    may be effecting the change he opposes…

    Chuck Baldwin | “Could the Zionist State of Israel Disappear Within a Year?”
    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2024/08/chuck-baldwin/could-the-zionist-state-of-israel-disappear-within-a-year/

    ‘ In a stunning interview with Judge Andrew Napolitano, former CIA Analyst Larry Johnson quotes high-level Israeli government officials as stating their concern that if Israel maintains its current warmongering ways, the Zionist State could disappear within one year. Johnson also describes the radical religious zealotry of many Israelis behind the nation’s infatuation with war. (A very similar zealotry exists within a majority of evangelical churches, by the way.)

    Johnson also explains why the miscreant Benjamin Netanyahu will never end Israel’s wars: He knows that as soon as the war(s) ends, he will be arrested and tried for multiple criminal acts within Israel (not counting the international war crimes of which he is accused) and probably spend the rest of his life in prison. Bottom line: Netanyahu is purposely keeping Israel’s wars alive for his own personal self-preservation. Trebing, Dr. William P Best Price: $36.69 Buy New $14.00 (as of 04:04 UTC – Details)

    Here are some of the excerpts from Judge Nap’s interview with Larry Johnson:

    Napolitano: Is Israel committing National Suicide, Larry?

    Johnson: Sure appears that way. You know when you’re in a fight, and particularly in a war, the last thing you want to do is to be fighting a civil war, be warring against each other at home.

    You’ve got the head of the military, basically the Israeli military, the IDF spokesman, coming out and opposing Netanyahu. You’ve got the head of Mossad opposing Netanyahu, and Mossad is like the Israeli version of the CIA. You have the Shin Bet, which is, I describe it as, it’s like the FBI with a CIA twist, because it’s really, it’s not so much a law enforcement outfit as it is a domestic intelligence/domestic security outfit. All of them are coming out and condemning Netanyahu. And Netanyahu in turn has been calling them cowards and weaklings.

    And then in addition to that, you’ve got some very prominent members or former members of the Israeli Defense Force. There’s General Yitzhak Brik, he put an op-ed in Haaretz over the weekend. And, boy, he didn’t pull any punches. He came out and said that Israel, if it keeps on this path, it’s going to collapse within a year, that the country will come apart at the seams. [Emphasis added]

    Napolitano: Well, some of this stuff that General Brik said is strategic, and some of it is personal. For example, he said of Prime Minister Netanyahu, “He has lost his humanity, morality, norms, values and sense of responsibility.” That’s about as harsh as you can get. He’s not talking about Netanyahu’s personality; he’s talking about his decisions to slaughter innocents and to use reservists and the IDF with which to do so.

    Johnson: Right.

    Napolitano: Does Netanyahu and his crew have an academic or theological guru, a rabbi, who preaches all of this at the same time he preaches blowing up mosques and busloads of Arabs?

    Johnson: Yeah, not Netanyahu. Netanyahu, he’s all about power and taking care of himself. But the Smotrich and the Ben-Gvir, yes, this Rabbi Dov Lior, he’s been quite influential and quite extreme. So, there’s a religious dimension to this; we can’t discount that. I think the tendency is for many Western pundits not to delve into the religious aspects of this. But they’re real as far as these people are concerned. And that’s what’s driving them. I mean, part of their premise is that they actually have a covenant with God, and that that was established 3,000 years ago, and they have a right to this land, and they have the right to do whatever they need to do to eliminate those who are not chosen of God to live there. And so, when you take a religious belief like that and then translate it into policy, of course you can kill Palestinian children, because they’re just refuse in the way that you need to clear out.

    And so that’s part of what has the head of Shin Bet so alarmed. And he said, “Look, I grew up in a family of Holocaust survivors, and, you know, we believed in never again.” But he goes, “My G-d, what I’m seeing coming out of these Jewish mouths about Jewish supremacy, and not just that, ‘Hey, we’re smarter, we’re more accomplished,’ but actually, ‘We are human beings; you are not human beings.’” He says that mindset is what alarms him, and that has taken hold among a big segment within Israel. That’s the danger.

    Napolitano: Is this a majority view, this Messianic belief? “God the Father gave us this land, and we can crush and destroy any thing or any person who stands in our way. We can establish our own morality because we are the chosen.”

    Johnson: Yeah, apparently. At least it’s over 50% now within Israel. And again, that number may go up as Israelis who were secular are leaving Israel, coming back to the United States, going to Europe, going to other places, because they don’t embrace that. As they leave, that means those who do believe that become a larger percentage of the population.

    Note: Within a few months after October 7, it was well documented that over 500,000 Israelis had left Israel out of a total population of just over 9 million. But just yesterday, Col. Douglas Macgregor suggested to Judge Andrew Napolitano that Israel’s population today is 4½ to 5 million. If that’s true, it would mean that around half of the Israeli population has fled the country since Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza began.

    The IDF are not killing guys that are decked out in body armor and carrying, you know, RPGs. They’re killing women and children by and large, and the images are appalling. They’re horrific. I mean, just in recent days, the actual pictures of babies burned. I mean it’s sickening. Babies missing chunks of their heads.

    Now we heard the Israelis after October 7th talk about, “Oh, Hamas killed 40 children.” We’ve never seen a single picture; we’ve never heard a single name. But what’s coming out of Palestine is names and pictures that are horrific. And it’s establishing a reality. And this is taking a toll on these Israeli soldiers.

    Napolitano: Netanyahu wants war! Netanyahu and his religious zealotry folks believe that this is the time God ordained for them to kill everybody that’s impeding them. …

    But my [Baldwin’s] big question is for evangelical Christians: What are they going to do when Israel ceases to exist, as the Israeli general and Israeli Shin Bet chief predict? Everything they believe the Bible teaches regarding prophecy is Israel-based. EVERYTHING!

    The “bless Israel and be blessed” doctrine. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture. The Antichrist. The Seven-Year Tribulation. The Second Coming. The Millennium. The Old Testament King David reigning again in Jerusalem. The “everlasting” Jewish nation. It’s all Israel-based. Most evangelical pulpits, most evangelical colleges and seminaries, most evangelical authors, most evangelical radio broadcasters and television broadcasters, most evangelical podcasters, and most evangelical publishers are immersed in Israel-based prophecy. DiLorenzo, Thomas J. Best Price: $9.99 Buy New $14.47 (as of 06:52 UTC – Details)

    What are they going to do when God destroys godless Zionist Israel as He destroyed the apostate Old Covenant temple? And when I say destroy Zionist Israel, I’m not talking about the Jewish people; I’m talking about the Zionist government and state. For over one thousand years—before the Zionist state was created in 1948—Jews, Muslims and Christians in Palestine lived peacefully side by side. The creation of the Zionist state has led to nothing but the ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people and has become nothing more than a breeding ground for war throughout the entire region.

    I urge readers to read renowned Israeli historian Ilan Pappe’s blockbuster book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.

    Without a Zionist state, what would evangelical pastors and professors teach about the End Times? What would millions of evangelical Christians and thousands of evangelical churches do?

    Evangelicals are going to wake up one day and realize that everything John Darby and Cyrus Scofield told them about prophecy was a lie, that everything Dallas Theological Seminary taught them about prophecy was a lie, that every prophecy book they read was a lie, that every prophecy sermon they heard was a lie. What will they do on that day?

    They will throw away Clarence Larkin’s charts. They will throw away Jerry Jenkins’ and Hal Lindsey’s books. And they will throw away John Hagee’s and Robert Jeffress’ prophecy DVDs. That’s what they will do. ‘

    Please read the whole article @
    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2024/08/chuck-baldwin/could-the-zionist-state-of-israel-disappear-within-a-year/

    • Garland Nixon, myself and others have also made a similar point. My guess is that about 2 million Israeli Jews have left the State of Israel. The economy has lost about a third of its value (comparable to our Great Depression), they want to conscript the Haredim, which violates a basic agreement between them and the state, and the Houthis are destroying commercial shipping where they can.

      The Resistance (the “Islamic Crescent”: Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah plus: Islamic Jihad in Palestine and Hamas, as well as Ansarallah; i.e., the Houthis) have put Israel in a no-win situation. They will deliver a death of a thousand cuts unless Israel grants a Palestinian State. And even then, they will use the Palestinian State to destroy the Jewish State. Hamas just launched another rocket strike on Tel Aviv the other day. A hundred thousand Israelis have evacuated the northern territories. Israel likes the military capacity to drive Hezbollah back across the Litani River in Lebanon, which the fleeing residents demand in order for them to return. Thus, the Resistance has already, effectively, seized Northern Israel and made it a no man’s land.

      Given the weapons arrayed on the Muslim side, I don’t see what Israel can do about this other than dwindle and die on the vine. It won’t be swift, but they will tire of living under siege just like anyone else would. America is not going to put an army on the ground. Aircraft carriers are sitting ducks in the age of hypersonic missiles. Nukes are out. Iran would destroy all Israeli cities with hypersonic missiles. Moreover, Pakistan has already offered to supply Turkey with nukes if need be.

      So yes, evangelical Protestant Zionism will need to update its story in the near future. For the State of Israel does not appear to be enjoying the blessing of God but only the waning largesse of the US. Personally, I find it shameful that there is such a thing as “Christian Zionism”. The Jews rejected Christ and those who have persisted in this have and will pay a price for it. Politics does make strange bedfellows, but the meshing of “Judeo-Christian” is unseemly.

      Frankly, I would rather ally with the Muslims against the Liberals so long as is necessary to destroy the latter. Then we can reassess what to do about Islam. But this is piecemeal, here and there. For example, we should obviously side with the Serbs against Albania and the Bosniaks, regardless of any arrangement with Iran against the West.

      The Grand Chess Game.

    • Anybody ever read Jeremiah and/ or Ezekiel? The land belongs to those who worship God and follow his Law. Otherwise God will take it back. He has in the past and seems as if he is doing it now. God hates the practice of worshiping other gods and injustice. At least that is what I have learned.

      The state of Israel was founded by atheists. ’nuff said.

      • I keep thinking if Nineveh could turn things around, we can too.

        It occurred to me that just when we were attempting to come together as a nation and get on the same page (when they probably realized they couldn’t start a color revolution between the blacks and whites), all these migrants were let into the country. But that has served to unite us even more which may be why the white hats, for lack of a better term, didn’t try to stop it. A lot of what we’re seeing is staged. (There are obviously some who are real bad actors.)

        If the migrants were so dangerous, why didn’t these crimes of violence surface immediately? They waited until now to take over a hotel, which upon closer examination, didn’t happen at all. They’re calling it a simulation to be followed by the real thing later. – But when you look at these people, they look like American crisis actors to me. If they were truly migrants, why would they cover their faces? – They show up in identical vehicles. They’re being dropped off as if they’re going to a set. – This is what Trump means when he says, “central casting.” A lot of the players, even in Congress, are not who they say they are (possibly) all the way up to and including the executive branch.

        I don’t think the people who want to save this country are that inept. They are showing us what it would be like if we don’t take better care of this country. At least I hope that’s what’s going on. I know these (acting) agencies have been recruiting people all over the country. You see ads for it. They pay them something like $700 (this is in Georgia) to participate in training for the role they’ll play. They’re certainly doing it in CA. If you go to Knotts Berry Farm in October, you’ll see ghouls coming out of the woodwork. They’re scary because they pop out at you. They come within inches of your face but they don’t touch you. I remember one accidentally touching me and saying in a pleasant voice, “I’m sorry! My bad.” – Maybe these people will make a lot of noise to get in the headlines without really doing anything.

        You can’t trust the MSM because they are a “captured entity” at this point. They’ll say what they’re told to say.

        Not that we shouldn’t be prepared. If the military takes over, there could be a few legitimate reasons I can think of: 1) They can finish up their “clean-up.” It’s a lot easier to arrest people if you know where they are (like in their house)! If you look at the people who have died, resigned or capitulated their positions (Zuckerberg most recently), they are the heavy hitters. They went after them first. They didn’t go after the low-hanging fruit. Why? Because it’s easier do a massive clean-up at the end. They know who the players are and where they are. And they can’t go running for protection. 2) If the Atifa characters start burning buildings and vandalizing our homes, they can shoot them! So, I’m OK with that. I’ll retreat into my home. I’ll get some extra food and water.

        There’s one other thing I should mention, sometimes the things I see on-line sort of appear when I’m looking for other things. I go to the same sites so it’s not all that hard to figure out where I am. It may be because of you and what they want you to know. The first time this happened was when the truckers were headed up to Canada. Some guy, popped up in a TikTok kind of thing, giggling when he said that the news was going to report they had bombs. But the bombs were “Hollywood style.” In other words, not real so don’t stress. That proved to be true. Another time, the same guy popped up and said we didn’t have to put our phones in the microwave! He said something about “this and this and this. . .” adding up to 17 which was our clue they had it covered. (Q is used like that. How many times has Trump said he’s been to Washington? He says 17 times when in truth, that’s not the number at all. He even makes a sign of the Q with his fingers. You may not think much of Q but a lot of people do.) – This guy popped up yet again several months ago (may have been last year) saying that we will hear of nuclear bombs going off in high-profile cities, like Paris and New York, and it would seem real. He specifically mentioned the air would look red but he said, it would all be fake. If he’s right about this, it will be 3 for 3.

        It’s important not to get too upset with what we think is happening. Putin is not going to do anything and he told the American people as much during that interview with Tucker. That was all for our benefit. He explained his position in Ukraine. He gave us a history lesson. If he were planning to wipe us off the planet, why would he bother?

        Trump IS Commander in Chief as I’ve mentioned before. He is working with Putin. Putin would gain nothing by bombing us because as screwed up as we are, it would set in motion a firestorm that none of us would survive, including Russia. – I’ve also said this from the beginning: Ukraine could not have won that war. This was an effort to dismantle NATO, which they did. Turkey has done what I said they were going to do, too, which is leave NATO for BRICS. (I also said Iran would be reluctant to get into a war with Israel and this was before their regime was wiped off the map.) Europe cannot launch a sincere fight without Turkey. Germany has made a deal with Putin to redraw the map so Russia can have back their ancestorial lands where the people often still speak Russian.

        Everything is going the way it should. Currently, I pay more attention to the demeanor of people who are in positions of authority just like I study the faces of the flight attendants in an emergency. (I’ve been in a few.) My assessment is we’re as OK as we can be at this juncture. Maybe a little farther along than we had hopped. What we’re seeing is the fruition of a plan that was a long time in the making. (That doesn’t mean there is no danger which always exists when you round up a bunch of snakes.)

        They are going to scare us into paying more attention going forward. Remember that movement called “Scared Straight?” (They may still have that.) I actually did this with my son when he was around 3. He would constantly hide from me in stores thinking it was funny. However, one day a security guard, with guns and everything, saw what he was doing and asked me if I wanted him to help me fix the problem. I nodded yes and he went over and roughly pulled my son out from under the rack of clothes where he was hiding. He picked him up like a sack of potatoes and threw him over his shoulders and pretended to walk out the store with him. My son started screaming his little head off. I took him back into my arms and explained that this is what can happen when mothers don’t know where their children are. He got the message.

        We could do with a little re-education. We have not been particularly good stewards and that’s got to change. Not just us but around the world. Everything I learned months ago has come to fruition to which George will attest. I think we’re going to be alright. Better than alright. Especially, economically. So just hunker down and get through it.

  3. “No George, I have a few years on you, not that it matters. Glad you’re not committed to the “Holy Russia” thing.

    “I first became involved with eastern Europe in 1992. I’ve just completed another long trip in western Russia. I’m on my fourth passport.

    “Since I haven’t lived in N America for years now, I get my info on how it’s going there from people I know, and from the internet and media. I trust the judgement of the people I know, and don’t put a lot of trust in the media or the internet.

    “Misha, since you obviously have obtained your impressions of Russia from the internet, and you defend your opinions from what you find on the internet, it’s plain as day you’ve never been there. Responsible people should take your remark of Russia having “a parachute for anyone that wants one” as being incredibly naive, even careless. My earlier post isn’t meant for you.

    “Brendan, you obviously have nothing to add to the topic either. My earlier post also isn’t intended for you. Because Monomakhos is a blog that Orthodox people visit, and with the many offers for resettlement the presumably Orthodox country of Russia has made over the years, my advice is only aimed at those that might be seriously entertaining resettlement. I don’t waste time with the rest.

    “My advice to potential emigres is this:

    “Russia, like any big employer, wants to cast its net as wide as possible as often as possible to gather as many applicants as possible, then choose the best. If people are willing to look a little closer, they’ll see there are tight (and very small) limits on the number of legal immigrants each oblast will allow. You can find some success stories on the internet of course, but you aren’t being given information to what happens when people afoul of the system. The system is far from being geared in your favor, sorry.

    “If you aren’t savvy to the regular terrorist shootings and attacks going on along the southern border, you’re not well enough informed. If you think these attacks are because of the war in Ukraine, you’ve been misled. Russia frequently conducts mass clearings of illegal immigrants, often near the completion of huge construction projects. You’re just not up to speed if you’re not aware of this. I don’t care how people feel about Muslims. I personally found them friendlier and more hospitable than people further north.

    “There’s lots going on in Russia outsiders don’t know, so the normal rules of thumb still apply: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true, and the easiest people you’ll find to help you emigrate are exactly the people you should avoid. There’s a huge immigration mill lying in wait for those that try.

    “To people seriously considering resettling in Russia, I say get a visa and spend the max of it traveling around, meeting people, asking questions, and getting a feel for the place before you decide to emigrate. There are loads of travel tips available to you, make use of them. Be prepared for situations like the ones I described in my first post. Don’t be afraid of broadening your horizons, and take a minute to pause when you realize Russia is very different from what you expected it to be. It will be.

    “Sam”

    • Sam, thanks for this comment. I’ll let Misha and Brendan speak for themselves (since you mentioned them by name). As for myself, I am committed to “Holy Rus'” because I am committed to Holy Orthodoxy, indeed the entire Orthodox Commonwealth. Personally, I hope that this will encompass a revived Europe and even sub-Saharan Africa. But that’s a story for another day.

      However, I must say that I was elated to hear, where you stated in your eighth paragraph, that the Russian authorities “clear out” illegal aliens.

      If I understand you correctly, you’re adding additional heft to my belief that the American Oligarchy is anti-American.

    • Let’s cut it short, shall we:

      Russia is a land flowing with milk and honey;
      but in the getting of these a migrant may be
      gored by angry bulls and stung by angry bees.

      Those not willing to integrate
      are better not to immigrate.

      • This is a YT with three immigrants to Russia discussing the new policy:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mQrXhv7RzE

        Integration is probably the operative word. The main thing this does is stretch out the period which an immigrant is given to learn Russian. Now, if you want permanent residency, you have the entire temporary resident period of three years to learn. This is actually not a tall an order in a total immersion environment.

        Again, I’m not selling it or poo-pooing it. But it’s going to gain more and more traction because there is apparently an immense interest in the program, judging from the reports of these Russian residents involved in the process.

    • Anything in this fallen world is going to be imperfect and problematic, Russia included. It was the inaccuracies to which I objected in your original post. However, I’m not really concerned about your negative attitude toward Russia. It is what it is. There is a lot of it going around in the West these days.

      Russia is defying its enemies and setting up an alternative center of political power, with the Chinese, on the other side of the world. Godspeed to the Third Rome. As the dollar is displaced and American power fades, it will matter less and less what Western critics of Eurasia have to say. Remember Baghdad Bob? All America and Americans can do at this point is give Russia waves of tongue lashings, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Sanctions failed. Military action through Ukrainian proxies involving American and NATO “advisers” has failed. And the world can see it.

      For those with eyes to see, something monumental is happening. Something that we don’t see even once in a century. There are three “revolutions” at work at present, all surrounding the same phenomena. The first is that America/West is losing global hegemony (to the extent it has held it since the end of the Cold War). That is clear from the economic and military conflict. The West has poured everything it has, and then some, into the Ukraine to no avail.

      This only occurs perhaps, as President Xi alluded, once in a century. The last time was when the US took over the leadership role from the UK. But it was not conflictual or particularly controversial then, being largely an Anglo-Saxon affair. This is different. We are not moving to “multi-polarity”. That is a fig leaf being used to cover up the movement of the Global Center eastward.

      The second revolution is that this leadership is moving from the western hemisphere to the eastern. Russia and China are stepping into the global driver’s seat, ousting America and the West. The world sees it, thus the popularity of BRICS+ and the SCO. This radical change in geographical center is unprecedented during our lifetimes. Such a thing hasn’t occurred for at least 500 years. You can see it in the state of the art cities that have emerged in the East and the economic power on display. The “golden billion” have lost their grip.

      The third revolution is sweeping Europe and will likely affect the US as well. This is an ideological change in governance. “Liberal democracy”, always a chimera, is fading and losing ground to what might be described as traditional nationalism. Governments are changing hands in Europe and old parties are rapidly losing popular support due to the effects of sanctions, immigration and Green energy policies. The wave is unstoppable and will continue. It will take time since the old parties are doing everything they can to hold it off by hook or by crook, shredding civil liberties in the process, but it will prevail.

      Thus, Russia and China, ironically if you consider the struggles of the last century, are now leading what appears to be a successful World Revolution. But this time, it is not in favor of communism, but rather a movement away from rule by Western oligarchies and toward traditional nationalism.

      Of course, the jury is still out. But the future is in the East. Take your pick, but Russian is easier to learn than Chinese. And most readers here would fit in easier in Eastern Europe.

  5. Agent of Change?

    Steve Kirsch’s Newsletter:

    “US and UK all-cause cumulative excess mortality graphs
    clearly show that our interventions were counterproductive”
    https://kirschsubstack.com/p/us-and-uk-all-cause-cumulative-excess?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=548354&post_id=148172906&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=9atnc&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

    “Summary

    This article shows you graphs which are monotonically increasing; this means all our interventions either were useless or made things worse.

    My estimate is that the COVID shots killed around 1 person per 1,000 doses. So around 650,000 Americans lost their lives to the shots.

    The cure was worse than the disease. … ”

    The article is short and the graphs are clear.
    Please read it.

  6. No public appearances from Kamala – No interviews from Kamala – No rallies from Kalama

    This tells me 1 of 2 things:

    1) They know they are going to lose so they’re saving as much face as possible

    2) More likely: They have their “October Surprise” in hand, or, they already have their plan for how to steal the election.

    It’s too late to push a pandemic barring some extreme hemorrhagic fever or catastrophic disease. My guess is that it will be one of the following:

    A) Pushing citizenship for million of illegals, or hundreds of thousands of illegals. This could potentially push Kamala over the finish line. Once she’s in expect amnesty/citizenship for the 10-20 million illegals and say goodbye to a Republican ever winning in our lifetimes.

    B) Almost as likely: War. This is the only reason that Zelensky & Netanyahu are still in office, no reason to think that this couldn’t happen in America. Who do you think is directing those two bozo’s to stay in power.

    • Petro, re an upcoming war, my gut tells me that there are some Deep Staters in the Pentagon who are holding back the neocons. I may be taking come hopium but I have my reasons. One in particular is that several months ago somebody in the Pentagon leaked the operational plans that NATO would take to get into the Ukraine.

      This included five ports that the US would send troops to in Western Europe and the paths they would travel to get there.

      Question: why would one side give away the plans of attack unless they wanted to inform the enemy? (And no, I don’t believe these were a feint as there are no viable plans to infiltrate 800,000 men from Russia’s south or east. (North would be impossible.)

      Anyway, my intuition.

      • “Deep Staters in the Pentagon who are holding back the neocons.”

        I hope you’re right about this because there seem to be quite a few signs that we are headed towards a nuclear conflict. With “Biden” wanting to go all out against China, Russia and Iran all at once. There’s been talk of nuclear conflict on-and-off so much the past 10+ years that it usually unphases me but this is the first time I feel worried.

        “(And no, I don’t believe these were a feint as there are no viable plans to infiltrate 800,000 men from Russia’s south or east. (North would be impossible.)”

        Russia would annihilate them before they would have a chance to get there as they wouldn’t show the same restraint against NATO that they have with Ukraine. Also, my guess is that a NATO army would be extraordinarily incapable of fighting against the Russians. Even they have admitted to that.

        But, if they are going to do something I’m going to assume it will be relatively soon. They’re running out of time and declaring a “national emergency” would be a good scapegoat. Maybe that’s why Kamala has been MIA, prepping her to be a wartime president in the interim before the elections.

        IDK, I could be wrong but something feels “off” about this year/election. Even more on edge than the Covid elections.

        • At this point, I should explain why all of a sudden I said something positive about “Deep Staters” (at least in this context).

          The Deep State are the permanent bureaucracies which bolix up the various Administrations and/or write their own laws. (Now that Chevron has been decided, it looks like the Congress can regain its powers back from the alphabet agencies.)

          The Oligarchy is the group that calls the shots.

          I guess the Establishment is the Oligarchy + Deep State.

          • Were it up to the neo-cons, we would not be here, there would already have been a nuclear exchange. They’re insane and deluded.

            Now, both the Deep State (the administrative apparatus including the FBI, CIA, NSA and the other agencies, etc.) and the military have a sense of self preservation. And they actually have some idea about the logistical and strategic realities so they understand that Russia could and would defeat NATO. That’s actually the point of Russia allowing NATO to pour all these weapons and “advisors” into the Ukraine. Better to call it a Ukrainian defeat in order to let NATO save face in the eyes of its public.

            But they know.

            That’s why WWIII is being fought this way and not a more open and widespread conflict. The US military and “interagency consensus” has all the information and models they need to know that they are defeated unless they can cleverly maneuver something that is not head to head.

            I’m not actually concerned about the threat of nuclear war. It is possible that there might be some use of tactical nukes if things get extraordinarily hairy, but I doubt it. And if it happened, everyone would pull back on both sides simultaneously. The money comes from the economies and the economies cannot withstand a full nuclear exchange.

            The question is whether Trump can put a leash on the oligarchy like Putin did in Russia. Six to five and you pick ’em. Landslide vs. Steal 3.0. My instinct tells me that Trump is going to prevail. With every major Democratic defector, his odds get better.

          • With the adherence of RFK Jnr to the Trump campaign,
            the rhetoric seems to have reverted from the ideology
            of a modern Left v Right dichotomy to a more classical
            Oligarchy v Demos pattern – like in Classical Athens.
            This, of course, was always the real underlying situation;
            which the Left/Right, Republican/Democrat shadow show
            served to disguise for the benefit of the Unaparty.

          • @ George

            Re: “Optimates v Populares”

            I think Trump is more of a Tiberius Gracchus type
            than a Caesar. He is trying to save the Republic…

  7. Well, Russia now has a new policy on “impatriation” where people with traditional values can get temporary status visas (3 yrs.) in the RF without learning Russian language or history. For permanent resident (after the 3 yrs, but they have classes, etc.), you still have to pass the history and language tests.

    So there’s a parachute for anyone who wants one.

    As to the election, either they will steal it or Trump will win in a landslide. The polling you are seeing is worthless and rigged. Black Hillary has about a 28% approval rating and they are looking into the abyss. I actually believe they have given up on winning and that is why they are letting her run on socialist policies in the general election. She’s an idiot and completely out of her league. Ideological fervor is her only plus, and that’s only for the base.

    Rumor is that some other prominent Democrats are going to defect and endorse Trump. I think Jill Stein and Cornell West already are dropping out. Trump is going to build it up, step by step, until it has the cultural force of a juggernaut. 538 is a distinct possibility. I know that seems facetious to some of you, but Reagan got 525 against Mondale in 1984.

    The dynamic here is similar. Black Hillary is running against the policies of her own administration. Even the MSM can’t ignore it. Other than a possible attempt to steal, which may cause a civil conflict if the juggernaut is big enough, they are just going through the motions. She’s taking one for the team. Hell, she got farther than anyone ever expected she would. She may have a short stint as president yet.

    That being said, civil unrest most certainly lies ahead. Firstly, they may try to steal it. But even before that, if it becomes a juggernaut, you may see BLM/Antifa out in the streets trying to intimidate the vote and the poll workers into fraud. Secondly, if Trump is reported as having won (read that again), the interim will be tense and the Dems will very likely try shenanigans in order to avoid the vote being certified. They feel like they have leave to do so due to the precedent in the last election. Recent comments by Jamie Raskin and Merrick Garland indicate as much.

    This, of course, is playing with fire. If it’s an obvious steal like the last time or worse, that’s one thing. But if the election is reported as won by Trump and they try tricks, it all could ignite. Furthermore, if you recall the wargame the Dems did on the 2020 election before it happened, their people actually rejected Trump’s election in the simulation and there were all sorts of banana republic maneuvers as well as secession of several states.

    So buckle up, boys and girls.

    The one thing I will say about possibilities is this: It seems like it’s so far gone that it can’t correct itself regardless. However, you’re always just aiming for a first down. That’s all you need to keep possession of the ball and continue the drive down the field. There’s an expression “third and a mile” that seems to express the current emotion in some quarters. But it is really remarkable what’s occurred so far and God is full of miracles.

    • brilliant analysis Misha. I agree. that said, civil conflict is inevitable, either way.

      the only way civil conflict (or worse) of Trump is allowed to win is if the Oligarchs permit the National Guard & the police to do their duty & bust some antifa/blm skulls.

      they actually put the lefties on notice in Chicago & the DNC went off without a hitch.

      so, yes, it can be done. which of course proves that the 2020 riots were planned by oligarchs (like Soros).

      • I wish I had more advice for believers during the coming festivities (i.e., the coming political instability). Apart from staying armed, buying gold, perhaps keeping a stash of imperishable foods, etc., I’m not sure there’s much to be done. I’m not a prepper though.

        Bannon’s precinct strategy has been somewhat successful I’m told in embedding MAGA in some of the key roles in local electoral machines. At this point, I feel like good people are looking at the mechanics of preventing a steal, but it’s hard to tell really.

        However, I would caution that all of us need to be psychologically/spiritually prepared for a fragmentation, in some form, of our federal system. It’s not inevitable but it’s more likely over the next six months or so than at any time since the Civil War. The dichotomy of worldviews is, in fact, considerably deeper than it was then. What can’t continue won’t continue.

        “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

        My guess is that the real unrest will occur in blue areas. Many “blue states” have urban agglomerations which are surrounded in a sea of red. Those, I suspect, will be the fault lines. Some number of blue states may simply declare independence and the red rural population will, of course, not be “ok” with this course of action. Could get ugly.

        It will take a statesman in the Oval Office to navigate it. One will not be available until January 20, 2025, in any case. So, Troubles before then are the most perilous since no one is at the helm presently.

        But God is in control, always. The drama will just have to play out.

        • I could be wrong but I feel like I remember Elder Ephraim speaking about the collapse of the U.S and that was his reasoning for wanting to start monasteries here.

    • “Black Hillary”

      That’s hilarious Misha. I’m going to start using that.

      If Trump is elected in a landslide/fair election then he actually needs to follow through on the 2016 promise of draining the swap or the we will be in the exact same place in 2028 that we are in now.

      I’m not black pilled on America being so far gone that it’s essentially already lost. It can be turned around. Look at Russia and the former Soviet Republics, look at China. They may have been in different circumstances but they overcame their version of the “colossus” but now are burgeoning economies.

      America is in a unique situation because we already have that infrastructure in place, it just needs to be woken up.

      Trump, if he acts more wisely than last time, is in a unique position to turn that back on. Many of the criticisms that myself and others have had about Trump’s presidency is that he did nowhere near enough. He’s in the situation he’s in now precisely because he didn’t do enough. If he STILL fills his cabinet with neocons and traitors, well, his 2nd term is a non-starter. I do not get the impression this is the case based on him partnering/speaking with Kennedy/Gabbard/Musk/Carlson. I think he has realized that he was duped in his first term and wont let that happen again. At least that’s my firm hope.

      *IF* Kamala is elected then I will actually admit defeat because she will make Biden look like an economic hero and there is an actual very real chance that America will be lost. That’s not being at all hyperbolic.

    • Russia is not holy and is not a safe refuge for most people, especially Westerners. Being Orthodox is of no benefit for immigrating unless you are a member of clergy. It is often a hindrance. You will be warned with a wag of the finger not to mention such things.

      Russia is “post-Soviet” in a manner of speaking simply because the Soviet Union no longer exists. An overwhelming amount of Soviet-style attitudes and processes still remain.

      Roughly half of Russians are neutral towards foreign immigration. A third are generally hostile and even xenophobic, around ten percent are positive.

      It boasts 140 different ethnicities and is one of the most diverse countries in the world. Unsurprisingly, it is a low-trust society. Around 73% express a high level of mistrust toward others, and the chief reasons given are crime, bribery and corruption.

      Twenty-five percent of the population of Russia are Muslims, and their numbers are growing in relation to other groups. Immigration to Russia is primarily from the Central Asian states, both legal and illegal, and are naturally assisted by Muslim “lawyers”.

      Once or twice each year the government offers free land or special programs to foreigners to settle in Russia. This does not end well for most. The “free land in the Russian Far East” program and the resettlement of thousands of farmers from South Africa to the region of Orenburg (who were eventually forced to return) are but two glaring examples.

      All of these failures are due to the corruption and inefficiency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or “MVD”, which handles all immigration issues and many bureaucratic functions for ordinary Russians. It is universally despised. It is an enormous bureaucracy and operates as a “deep state”. Despite programs the state Duma may provide or decrees issued by the President, the MVD operates with impunity and approves or rejects applicants as it sees fit. There are no immigration lawyers per se, only advocates (like go-betweens) who have established “connections” within this monolith (often offering “guaranteed” success for outrageous fees ranging from $8-12,000 per). But there are no guarantees. These “advocates” can and will drop their clients and disappear if their “connections” fail them, and few of them will even consider taking on clients from “unfriendly” countries. And there are no formal courts of appeal.

      People who opt for the “golden passports” for hundreds of thousands of dollars are as successful as they are anywhere else. Money talks.

      Professionals have a better chance through qualifying for Russia’s “preferred professions” program, but the list of the professions is very odd. They place recruiting “clowns and makeup artists” over much needed professionals such as export food quality control managers and water systems engineers and technicians. Rarely do the wages and benefits approach Western norms. The working environments can be dangerous.

      Among the various “foundations” and “immigration lawyer” traps are the expat “village” projects. Make no mistake. Many of these expats are of questionable backgrounds and are in legal trouble back home. A few are in business relationships with lawyers in order to steer unwary foreigners to overpriced real estate. Some are de-facto agents of the Russian government or are otherwise informants.

      Life in Russia is not easy, especially for newcomers. Expect to be sworn at, misdirected, stonewalled, and required to go through extensive medical exams, fingerprinting, etc through cattle-car conditions. Property owners are unwilling to rent to foreigners due to the difficulties with the MVD and with appearing unpatriotic. You should not be surprised if federal agents show up at your hotel or place of residence to transport you to a high-security facility for questioning (sometimes for hours). You can have your phone seized and returned to you with the settings changed. You can expect to have to surrender your passport for part or all of your processing. You will need to register with the police everywhere you book a room or rent an apartment. You should expect endless demands for documents and filling out forms; often they will be rejected out of hand.

      Visitors to Russia sometimes comment on the very serious attitudes of Russians in that they don’t smile. They tell the tourists it’s because they take their jobs seriously. This isn’t entirely true. You’d be more correct (in all but the smallest shops and convenience stores) that their attitude is more like,”my employer pays me (very little) to show up here each day. So, if you want me to help you, you must also pay me”. Yes, bribery is everywhere, even when dealing with government officials. Banks can make outrageous demands and the occasional swindle isn’t unknown. Overcharges for expedited service at hotels and for plane tickets, and pointless hassles at customs offices and baggage claims are very common. It’s a risky business. It is an unwritten policy that ensures you will suffer the consequences of their actions, never they themselves.

      In the 1990’s their newly-built churches were packed with penitents. Not so today. The respect we Orthodox show the presence of churches, cemeteries and holy places is largely nonexistent now. It shouldn’t surprise that an Orthodox church and a Soviet war memorial exist side-by-side in the same park, and both are ignored by passers-by. The Russian mind is on rubles and kopecks.

      Muslims have special privileges in Muslim-populated areas. Church bells do not ring and processions are prohibited. The calls from minarets however, are unimpeded. Expect to literally see the flag of Islam flying over ancient church sites and other holy places.

      When Patriarch Kyrill speaks of “holy war” it is with a nod to the Muslims. They understand it, whereas the ordinary Russian hears a call to his patriotism. Putin visited the Mosque of the Prophet Jesus (‘Isa’) in Chechnya the other day, and kissed the Koran.

      Holy Russia? Really? Priests and monastics of my acquaintance pray that Holy Russia will one day come because it does not now exist. I believe their understanding of the matter should be honored.

      Russia as an “ark” of refuge? With all due respect to the brilliant military expert Andrey Martyanov, I have reason for enormous doubt. He chooses to live in Seattle after all.

      “Forewarned is forearmed”.

      Sam

      • No country is “holy”. Some however are holier than others.

        I’ve been to Russia twice –in 2016 and 2018. I imagine I’m much older than you (65) that’s why I can make this observation of Russia: Whatever else it’s problems, it’s far more normal than anything that obtains in America today.

          • Yes, well, Russia is ranked at the top of militaries of the world. It’s economy easily survived and prospered despite the sanctions and has become largely independent of the West. They are expanding the indexing of pensions due to the revenues from oil after they have turned eastward. The subways put American subways to shame. The skyline is magnificent. The economy is humming, growth was still at 4% in Q2.

            https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-economy-shows-solid-growth-despite-ukraine-war-sanctions-2024-08-28/

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Moscow#/media/File:Business_Centre_of_Moscow_2.jpg

            And it was classified once again as a “high income country” by the World Bank:

            https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership/directors/eds23/brief/russia-was-classified-as-high-income-country

            And trust in American institutions has never been lower according to The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/jun/11/trust-us-institutions

            In Russia, people have learned over generations not to trust the government but to depend on each other. Even in relatively prosperous times, that attitude remains as a simply cultural attitude forged over generations. The Church is well trusted, in general, and people trust in family and friends.

            Russia is not really a multicultural society in the Western sense. It is over 80% Russian with no significant concentrations of any other ethnic group:

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Russia

            It has been described as a mosaic rather than a melting pot since those concentrations of non-Russians that exist are largely located in specific regions indigenous to that ethnic group. Immigration is restricted in Russia and they have no intention of making the same mistakes as the EU has with “multikulti”.

            That is why the new program is crafted the way it is. The ante is to have traditional values. Then one is allowed to apply to enter for 3 months, then for 3 years, during which the knowledge and language requirements are waived. This is essentially extending a lifeline to those in the decadent West who wish to flee. But they will only accept as many people as they feel they can absorb comfortably.

            Of course, during all of this, you can still keep your American citizenship and leave whenever you want to. That’s true even after the 3 years if you decide to learn the language and become a permanent resident.

            The only catch, if there is one, is you need a livelihood. That should be your main focus if you are considering it. But it is possible to find employment teaching English, of course.

            I’m not selling the program. Eventually, I may take advantage of it myself but it’s certainly not for everybody.

            But there has been a wave of negative propaganda about Russia in the West increasing since at least 2008 and which has reached a crescendo during the current phase of the Ukrainian War. It’s all lies, bs and distortions. They kind of propaganda you would expect in war time.

      • I don’t know, Sam, what you describe sounds an awful lot like the United States.

        Our parish has been flooded with Ukrainian and Russians emigres and refugees during the past few years. Turns out the USA isn’t the land of milk and honey that they expected.

        One mother constantly laments her current situation and said that she left the old country because she “wanted to protect her kids from chaos.”

        All of us who were present looked at each other. I patted her on the shoulder, smiled, and said, “I understand. But there’s chaos here too, and it’s…different.”

  8. Very happy to see RFK joining the “peace ticket” on Trump’s campaign. In any sane world, Trump wins in a landslide. Again.

    I have written about my skepticism around the dark forces aligning against our Republic and President Trump. While these nefarious forces continue to rally and gaslight, this surprising and welcoming news concerning Kennedy is cause for reflection. Listen to Kennedy’s recent speeches.

    One of the focuses this country desperately needs to address is the “problem” of Tech and Media Industries, apparatuses of the Globalist State. The same State feeding fentanyl and estrogen to our children, and supports Zelensky the comedian transvestite, who signed a bill banning the Church.

    One of the last Orthodox politicians in Ukraine, Artem Dmitruk, appeared in parliament on the day of the vote against our Church and proclaimed:

    “Our Faith cannot be outlawed! Faith is eternal, our Faith is glorious, our Faith is Orthodoxy!”

    After this proclamation, Artem voted against the ban on the Church. Less than 24 hours ago, he announced online that his family around Ukraine began receiving death threats, and a warrant for his arrest had been issued.

    My naïve hope is Trump that highlights these issues.

    • I wonder if RFK is allowing himself to be placed in Trump’s camp to protect the country if something were to happen to Trump. After the assassination attempt and what happened in AZ, Trump’s life could be hanging in the balance if he stays in the public eye. Interestingly, Trump and JFK Jr. were best friends and like many of us he, too, was a democrat back in the day. – They may have to jail Trump or say he died to protect him. Perhaps RFK will be filling in for him if Trump has to disappear for awhile.

      • Anything is possible at this point. We are at the point of Maximum Chaos. It is clear that the Establishment (Oligarchs + DS) are desperate to stop the election of Trump. In order to do so, they are engaging in desperate and draconian measures including lawfare, assassination and censorship.

        This tells me that the system is fragile. Which means that all it takes is for an exogenous event (failed military adventure leading to a mutiny, budget crisis, black swan event) to push it over the edge.

        Perhaps naively, I believe that there are some in the Oligarchy (e.g. Jaime Dimon) who would rather take their chances with a businessman/President who is a known quantity rather than a flake like Kamala.

        Musk is one of the wild cards that Trump had up his sleeve. RFK Jr is another one. (Think of where we would be information-wise if Musk didn’t spend $44 billion of his own money to by Twitter. The stranglehold on information by the six media conglomerates would be complete.)

  9. The only way to have positive change is for me and each of us to repent. Mt 4:17

    I have found that every sin that offends or hurts me is deep in my own heart. Plus the ones I do not yet see that only add to the mess.

    Of course it took a stroke for my brain to be disabled in the right places so that it killed the section of my brain that tended to judge and make me think I was better.

    Any and all here whom I have offended, I ask for your forgiveness and prayers for mercy.

    “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.”

    • I was standing in church one Sunday and grabbing at all the mercy, when I heard a voice say,
      “If you want mercy you must learn to be merciful.” Wow, that is a tough one, I thought. Then I realized it parallels, ” Forgive us as we forgive others.”

      Ever onward!

    • If someone with a Y chromosome is a woman, what does that make me with two XX chromosomes? Do I lose my status as a woman? Because for a man to be a woman, I have to give up my own status. With two X chromosomes, I am no longer NOT a man. My status has been redefined to accommodate the preferences of an individual. A status that has been in acceptance since time began.

      I think laws need to be passed that prohibit renaming things. Language is too important. It is a navigational tool which should take precedence over personal preference.

      No one “decided” it’s OK for people with Y chromosomes to call themselves women. That some people want to do it does not make it so. If you take fire on the aft, you can’t have some stupid sailor yelling it was the stern. Language means something, and there has to be some consensus.

      No one is going to stop some guy into pretending he’s a girl. But we should be able to expect the court to rule that though you can call yourself whatever you want, you don’t have the right to change the way other people see you.

      If someone understands that an app for women was designed for people with two XX chromosomes, why would the court rule they had a right to ignore the intent and violate it? That guy knew those women didn’t know he was genetically a man. He also knew they wouldn’t accept him if they did. He deceived them for his own personal gain. Deception is fraud. Why would the court not see this as a case of bad faith?

      The courts are filled with bad judges.

      • OK, it says Father John wrote this reply and I am responding to him, but my dear Brendan, you probably know my voice when you hear it and I was responding to you and your interesting story. Plus, no priest is going to claim he has double XX chromosomes if he wants to stay in the Church! This is too funny,

        It is I, Gail Sheppard, (which is me) the one whose name appears nowhere and the one who can’t post anything on my own blog, who wrote the above reply! Go Daddy is not too helpful with these things. They drop calls so often, I was on the phone for a total of 5 hours the other day before giving up. I made George sit there for 2 of the 5 hours just so he’d believe me.

        I see I am mentioned as Gail Michalopulos on the banner, a name I never took out of respect for George’s family. There is but one Mrs. Michalopulos and she is the mother of his children. I’m still Gail Sheppard, the mother of Jessica Sheppard, my daughter whom I love with all my being. Plus, we didn’t want people to have to pull they’re punches for fear George would step in if they found something I wrote problematic. As a grown woman, I can defend myself, although the husband part of George does surface from time to time.

        If you were to look, you’d see the trademark and LLC for Monomakhos belongs to one Gail Sheppard. There is no Michalopulos anywhere, as Mr. Michalopulos gave the entire thing to Gail Sheppard as a wedding present! He kind of likes her, I guess. 😉

        • “no priest is going to claim he has double XX chromosomes
          if he wants to stay in the Church”

          unless, perhaps, she is an Anglican?

          • Which, of course, is understandable when you see frjohn instead of GShep on something I wrote! I spend more time on the phone trying to fix things than writing. This confusion is unacceptable and you aren’t the crazy one! I sincerely apologize, Father Deacon. We’ve never run Monomakhos like this before and it’s not going to continue.

  11. For the pure of nose and hard of heart – 300,000 REASONS NOT TO VOTE:

    “Where have all the CHILDREN gone?” 300,000 MISSING in America!?!? | Redacted w Natali Morris
    https://rumble.com/v5bvwzf-where-have-all-the-children-gone-300000-missing-in-america-redacted-w-natal.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp

    ‘ A new report shows that the U.S. has lost close to 300,000 migrant children. Lost them! The report comes from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and it admits that these children are at risk for trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor. In fact, when you look closely, the numbers are far worse than that. ‘

  13. This is a great take from Charlie Hurt:

    CHICAGO — Welcome to the matriarchy.

    “In the epic battle between Mars and Venus, insanity has won. And the Cat Ladies have taken over the Democrat Party.

    The free vasectomy campaign here at the Democrat convention is bad enough. But then again, if a “man” climbs into the back of a taco truck to be sterilized for life, it is probably a win-win situation for America and humanity.”

    You can read the rest here: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/aug/22/the-crying-game-convention-childless-cat-lady-vibe/