When I was a little girl, my dad used to get me up with the Marines to do exercises. We would then go into the kitchen where I would stand on a little stool and prepare us breakfast. I remember flinching the first time some of the bacon grease splattered on me. My father used it as an opportunity to tell me how to do it right the next time. In other words, he didn’t baby me. He raised me to be a “chip off the old block,” as he used to say, which I needed to be to survive.
Our country also needs to be able to survive. I have been watching a lot military videos lately to reassure myself that our armed forces and allies haven’t been completely “Milleyerized” like our failed policies.
Thankfully, there are still some very well-trained soldiers out there, due to the efforts of some very tough drill sergeants whose sole purpose is to train them to survive while defending their countries.
One such soldier from the UK, Christian Craighead, was a SAS Operator (perhaps still is) and was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for the bravery he showed when Al Shabaab militants besieged the DusitD2 Hotel complex in Nairobi back in January, 2019. He ran toward the gunfire to evacuate hundreds of trapped civilians. In all, he pulled 700 people to safety. In a more recent interview, he said he went on auto pilot (my characterization). He said he could “see better, hear better, and felt like he had super human strength.” He was in the zone to such a degree that in looking back over video coverage of the event, he didn’t recognize himself and apparently still has difficulty accepting it was him.
This sort of performance comes from a neurological process known as muscle memory, I’m told, and it can happen in all contexts, not just the military.
I remember in 7th grade being assigned to a English teacher named Mrs. Lewis, who literally terrorized me or so it seemed at the time. She had assignments on the board that we were supposed to have completed even before the bell rang. She would then call on us, in front of the class, for the answers. I was so afraid of her, I begged my school councilor to let me be reassigned to another class. He refused and said one day I would thank him.
She had us doing the hardest things, too. She’d make us write reports every week on articles from Newsweek and the NYT. I was 12! I couldn’t even understand a sentence in those publications. She was so mean. I don’t know how this was possible, but I got Bs in her class, although I felt like I knew nothing. As luck would have it, I was reassigned to her in 8th grade and her expectations were even greater. By the time summer rolled around, however, I was finally getting more right answers than wrong answers. I might have even gotten an A as a final grade. I don’t remember. But I do remember this: When I left her charge, I knew infinitely more about speaking and writing correctly than when I started. I also knew how to find answers to difficult questions.
On the last day of school she surprised me. She asked me about a friend of mine and what I planned to do over the summer. She was so nice! Her drill sergeant voice was gone. She was lovely to me.
I have since talked with other women who were in her class. One became a judge and another a best selling author. The three of us remember her as the BEST teacher we ever had. I swear, if I hadn’t been in her class I would not know the first thing about writing or how to look for answers.
Brett Johnson, CEO of Chicago-based SwitchedOn Training Inc., who has a degree in neuroscience describes it like this:
“Through continued repetition of certain movements, your brain and spinal cord — working both in tandem and independently — create strong and efficient neural pathways to transmit the appropriate signals to whatever body part needs to be activated.
This type of muscle memory also means your brain no longer has to think so much about the movement.
When you’re initially learning a new movement or skill, you are in the cognitive stage where your movements are slow and inefficient and there’s high activation in the prefrontal cortex, which is your brain’s thinking region.
From there you progress to the associative stage, during which your brain is still working hard, but your movements are becoming more fluid and consistent.
Muscle memory is achieved when you reach the autonomous stage. Your performance is now smooth and accurate, and your brain’s main activity has switched to the basal ganglia, the region involved with automatic functioning.”
The need for muscle memory goes a long way toward understanding why the training of Marine recruits involves a lot of screaming and yelling to get things right. As Marines, these young men and women have to be able to perform in high stress situations and it only gets tougher as time goes on.
They’ve got to be able to take it.
Recently, I was invited to the FB page of SSGT Nichols, the Senior Drill Instructor in a movie called Black Friday Dark Dawn about the training of Marine recruits, which I found fascinating.
Trailer: “Now you can experience the creation of the world’s finest fighting force from the moment raw recruits get off the bus to the day they graduate Boot Camp as United States Marines. Filmed in 2002-2003 and still relevant today, you get the INSIDER view of Marine Corps Boot Camp. Black Friday: Dark Dawn was filmed on-location at Recruit Depot San Diego.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA8UVOqvxgU
If this is what Marines go through, our brightest and best are ready to defend this country. As responsible citizens, we have to do our part to keep them out of wars, but I sure am glad they’re ready to fight if they have to and even more grateful to the men who trained them.
Ever wonder what a Marine means when he says, ‘’Semper Fi?’’ It is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase meaning ‘’Semper Fidelis,’’ which means ‘’Always Faithful…” I’m told it expresses a Marine’s commitment to “honor, and their devotion to country.”
It’s got to take a lot of honor and devotion to be those drill instructors of the Marines. I bet the recruits who make it never forget them. . . Just like I’ll never forget Mrs. Lewis.
“Rest in peace, Mrs. Lewis and thank you. Thank you for everything.”
http://www.darkdawnmovie.com/
Brendan says
“Israel is offering Jews “boat tours” to see the destruction in Gaza”
https://x.com/DrLoupis/status/1838079239163199988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1838079239163199988%7Ctwgr%5Ecb8cb6bc16c79d1969f20dbd41910224f0711d43%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhalturnerradioshow.com%2Findex.php%2Fnews-selections%2Fworld-news%2Fflash-israeli-jets-landing-on-cyprus-after-lebanon-bombings
Any further comment from me would be superfluous…
Gail Sheppard says
Reminds me of when I was in Hawaii and visited the USS Arizona Memorial. There were all these Japanese people chatting it up and laughing. I remember thinking I wouldn’t be doing that at Hiroshima or Nagasaki. – Israel is full of many kinds of Jews, some of whom aren’t Jewish at all. Just like Hamas, who are yucking it up in Qatar, aren’t Palestinian. – They’re probably looking at “property.”
CalCon says
When I was at the Arizona Memorial the Japanese were very respectful. This was circa 2003.
Gail Sheppard says
In 1975, that was not the case. Maybe we’re earning a little more respect around the world.
Antiochene Son says
I appreciated the strongly worded condemnation of Israel by the Antiochian Patriarchate.
https://orthochristian.com/163556.html
George Michalopulos says
I too, am appalled by what the Israelis did. If this is not a war crime, nothing is. (I can say the same for what is happening in Gaza: if that’s not genocide, nothing is.)
Antiochene Son says
I’ve never personally met a former member of the military who recommends military service. Most have emphatically warned against it, including my cousin (Army Ranger, did 4 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan) who desperately talked my brother out of it.
If our military was actually used to defend threats of invasion to US territory (which is all the military is supposed to be for) that might be a different story, but servicemen are mere pawns in a global game of chess. Life is infinitely precious and “strategic interests” like the continued existence of the state of Israel or the democracy of Taiwan is not worth it.
For that reason, I cringe whenever I see military propaganda like this video.
Interestingly, after years of diversity and falling recruitment numbers, it’s interesting they’re promoting a tough, white, male image in their efforts again. Don’t fall for it. If you want to be a strong, tough man, go to church, pray, fast, get married, have a family, and raise them in the faith. Don’t die for Raytheon’s bottom line.
George Michalopulos says
Regrettably, you paint an accurate picture of our “defense forces.”
That said, I’m somewhat torn about whether young American men should join the military. There may come a time if and when things turn around, where there will be a need for well-trained, patriotic men.
Of course, the military will have to return to the traditional ethos. By this I mean no homosexuals, trannies, illegal aliens, etc. (Women can serve in the services in the bureaucracy but nowhere near combat or on naval vessels.)
Gail Sheppard says
Yes, by all means, no one should serve this country because you “personally” met someone who doesn’t recommend it!!!
I will acknowledge the military is not for many, many, many people, including your cousin. But it is truly shortsighted, given your virtually non-existent experience with the Marines, let alone a Drill Instructor, to call anything you see in that regard “propaganda.” The honest thing to say would be you don’t anything about it.
But you, and others, WILL benefit from their efforts. Which seems off to me. I think people who don’t support the military should be allowed to remove themselves from their protection. Don’t accept any help from anyone in uniform. If food is dropped from the sky and you’re hungry, don’t take it. If someone in unform stands between you and someone paid to burn down your home, let them go serve someone else who appreciates them and let your own house burn.
Of course, you won’t do this. You’ll accept their help after you trashed them all because of what “someone” and your “cousin” said. I cringe when I see ignorant comments but I can’t avoid them. You, however, can avoid this blog because on our platform, we do and will continue to support our country’s armed services.
I learned how to ride horses from a colonel when I was young (we have military on this blog), more recently had the opportunity to speak to a general, was taught by the blessed Mr. Lewis, who as I recall, was a sergeant major in the army, and knew the woman who was part of the mission in the movie Black Hawk Down.
Antiochene Son says
Gail, you have taken my words far beyond what I said. And I am not sure why you put my “cousin” in scare quotes? I’m also not going to avoid this platform just because I disagree with one post. I’m happy to engage here in the comments.
I understand that most of the rank and file members of the military mean well. They are not bad people. However, when they are out of basic training they will be used by bad people, for bad missions. This country has a terrible track record of using the military for ill — I would argue the last just war was in 1812.
So when we have a track record of 100, or 50, or even 20 years of change on that front, I would be happy to reconsider. But even Trump could not resist shooting some missiles into Syria, and he did little to draw back our entrenched deployments in places where they are not needed, such as Germany, Japan, Korea, and a hundred other countries.
Nowhere did I say I oppose uniformed service. But every example you gave were (or should be) civilian in nature.
A true military man, President Eisenhower, warned us of the military industrial complex. One way to stop it is to starve it of young lives to throw into the meat grinder.
Another perspective says
I don’t think it’s fair to make an across-the-board statement that no young men should look at military service.
There are plenty of decent military servicemembers trying to save what’s left of our country from within the military system. Some think the only reason we haven’t yet gone into full-fledged suicidal invasion of Russia (the kind that the cucked Brits are trying to cajole us into….) is because of many level-headed thinkers behind the scenes in our military who are pushing the “stop” button.
For many young guys without good social support at home, the military offers a stable foundational structure from which they can do well and thrive.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes from Thee, the Father of lights”……. as we read in the Epistle of James and as is said at every Divine Liturgy. Even some of those good gifts remain in the US military.
No situation is perfect – working for a soulless corporation in the United States is not like it’s any more virtuous than working in the US military. Yeah, many guys dream of homesteading somewhere in Montana or of being self-employed at age 20, but that’s not a reality for most of us if you don’t have deep financial resources behind you.
My perspective is a little biased – I was with the Army for more than 25 years, got out just as the COVID nonsense was starting a few years ago. Thank God I avoided the mRNA shots. For me, the military formed me more than I usually like to admit and taught me some important lessons about obedience, diligence, discipline, selflessness, and humility.
Maybe I didn’t reflect hard enough at the time…. but I can honestly say for the more than 25 years I was affiliated with the Army, I never felt a conflict between it and my Orthodox Christian faith.
I had some well-meaning women ask me from time to time “how can you be both an Orthodox Christian and be in the military?” Check out St Alexander Nevsky.
Yeah, no one wants Kamala or Joey Dementia as their CinC, but these clown leaders are only transitory…. take a few blinks and *poof* – someone new is in charge. Our system is still better than the Soviet system.
Gail Sheppard says
Well said, AP. And you probably know the answer to this question. The question about why this particular moment is not typical for the military and hasn’t been for the last several years. You probably also know why Trump was able to nationalize the National Guard on his way out of office and what special powers Executive Order 13848 gave him through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code).
These powers will remain in effect as long as Executive Order 13848 remains in effect which it is to this day. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/09/09/message-to-the-congress-on-the-continuation-of-the-national-emergency-with-respect-to-foreign-interference-in-or-undermining-public-confidence-in-united-states-elections/
As I keep telling George, that we’ve survived these last 4 years is due in great part to the success of our military, which Trump has frankly reshaped for this particular moment in time.
The movie I posted is what bootcamp is like for the Marines. It’s not propaganda. If anything, one would take one look at IT and say, “If that’s the way it’s going to be, it’s not for me.” But thank God there are still a few good men who are up for the challenge and the ones who make it are heroes in my mind and I’m glad they are protecting our country and not the men wearing high heels that Milley supported.
The military is stationed around the world not to start WWIII, but to prevent it.
That includes in the middle east where I said that October 7 may have been a rescue mission. I’m talking about a rescue mission of the Israeli people and the Palestinians from their real enemies, Netanyahu AND Hamas, who, together, have held both in a perpetual state of war. I also said Iran would NOT get involved. Why? Because of BRICS and the necessity of stopping the waring parties so the middle east can form a peaceful bloc. Neither faction will pull back without intervention and that’s what I think we’re doing over there. Intervening. Intervening by undermining Netanyahu and Hamas so the people caught in the middle of this mess have a chance to live in peace.
That’s my best guess.
People who say it’s just “business as usual” in the military aren’t aware of the many changes that have taken place. There are a lot of people resigning, being retired, or just going away. According to military.com, Lisa Costa, the first chief technology and innovation officer (CTIO) for the U.S. Space Force is gone. Gina Ortiz Jones, who was under Secretary of the Air Force, stepped down. Gen. Jay Raymond, chief of space operations, left. Defense Secretary Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, is no longer there. Ted Colbert, the president of Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security Arm just stepped down. (Given what Boeing has done, he should be brought up on charges.)
Veterans Affairs Chief of Staff, Kimberly Jackson, stepped down. Dr. Richard Thomas, president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a retired Army two-star general submitted his resignation. General Mark A. Milley retired. Brigadier Generals Stewart A. Hammons (Airborne Intelligence) and Andrew P. Hansen (NATO) retired. General Jeffrey L Harrigian (Airforce Commander Europe) retired. Major General Hubert C. Hegtvedt (Airforce Reserves) retired. Stephen Herrera resigned and came back 12 years later as Executive Director of Air Force Special Operations Command! Major Patrick Higby (Dev Ops and Lethality) retired. Brigadier General Christopher D. Hill, Major General Eric T. Hill, Brigadier General Jeffery F. Hill. . . all retired.
And I just got to the “Hs.” There are many, many more. https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Alphabetical-Biography-Index/Indexlastname/H/?Page=13
Maybe this many people leaving their military post isn’t unusual for a 5 year period, but it seems to me like this is a LOT of changes. To think the military hasn’t changed since we went to Iraq, which one blogger tried to tell me just this evening, is ridiculous. While I didn’t support that war (he did), I do support what’s going on now and so does President Trump. If I didn’t support the military, how could I say I support President Trump?
We are in the midst of a military operation. It is not business as usual. We don’t have a bunch of yahoos running things. If that were the case, the globalists and 3-letter agencies would have implemented Agenda 21 and it would have been “Good Night Nancy” for the U.S. Military and the rest of us.
We’re in a global war. Read General Flynn’s book called, Introduction to 5GW (The Citizen’s Guide to Fifth Generation Warfare). This is a different kind of war. Not one you fight in trenches (unless you’re talking about tunnels and DUMBs). To a great extent, we’re all part of this war and we’re using our keyboards! This isn’t just about the U.S. either. It is a WW like none other and it’s going to change us as a country. God willing, for the better.
So, if I sound harsh defending this country, I’m not going to apologize. I’ve done my homework and I know what I am talking about. We just went through an extinction event and we aren’t out of the woods just yet. This is a war to beat all other wars and for once, our military is on the right side of this, though I cannot say the same for our leadership. 2020 isn’t over yet, as a popular podcaster is known to say. Trump says we’re going to have a celebration to top all celebrations come May. If at the end of all this, if I have to eat my words I will, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Until then, I will sing the praises of our military and our country. If you all can’t see why now, you will.
Gail Sheppard says
This illustrates my point about how it’s not just “business as usual” out there. Take a look at this endorsement for Kamala Harris. These people bill themselves as “former public servants who swore an oath to the Constitution.”
And yet where are they now?
They say they are “are trained to make sober, rational decisions” and that is “how they know Vice President Harris would make an excellent Commander-in-Chief. . .” They know this how, exactly? They say she “has proven she is an effective leader able to advance American national security interests.” Are you kidding me? I don’t feel safer. There are millions of unvetted people out there!
On March 24, 2021, Biden tasked Kamala with addressing the root causes that drive migration from Central America to the U.S. The Border Patrol union says Harris did not deliver on any of her immigration-related assignments. This is the MSM telling you this! https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/kamala-harris-border-policy-rcna163317
In the interest of being fair, there is one recurring theme throughout this entire document that is completely legitimate and it is this: They’re terrified of Trump, as they should be. They either quit their oath to the constitution or they were fired and they have the audacity to tell YOU how to vote. The quitters and the rejects.
https://www.nsl4a.org/nsl4a-announcements/nsl4a-endorsement-harris
Click on FIND. Look at the number of (Ret) (400+) and the number of (Frm) or Former (450+). Or just highlight the words. It will jump out at you. It’s all of them. In public service, “Former” and “Retired” are often euphemisms for being fired.
Now, try to tell me things aren’t changing and who is responsible for that change. It must be Trump, ’cause the people who signed this document sure hate him.
Americans are living so far below an acceptable level, I literally have to beg vendors for their $5 bills so I have something to give to the homeless when I pass by them. There are women out there fending for themselves! We have got to do the opposite of what we did that got us here. We have got to go back to go forward by putting our full support behind the people who are actually doing something to help THIS country. Not Ukraine. Not Venezuela. Not the Middle East. A-M-E-R-I-C-A. Otherwise, we’ll go under and we won’t be able to help anybody.
Brendan says
“the kind that the cucked Brits are trying to cajole us into….”
Prime Minister Starmer prefers Davos and the WEF
to Westminster and Parliament. See:
“A video has emerged which places Starmer beyond anti-democratic,
and towards technocratic fascism | Starmer has launched a war
on the limited democracy we have in the UK”
https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2024/06/18/starmer-davos-interview/
..and: ‘ “Davos or Westminster?” Starmer: “Davos” ‘
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qI0xQSn8Y0
[Video – 0027]
Forbye all that, Starmer is also a member of the Trilateral Commission;
for which, see:
“Sir Keir Starmer: The Trilateral Commission and Jeffrey Epstein”
https://labourheartlands.com/sir-keir-starmer-the-establishment-candidate-the-labour-leadership-race-and-the-trilateral-commission/
The UK is no longer a limited democracy/limited monarchy.
It is a fascist (in the Italian sense) state;
and Starmer is its Duce.
Gail Sheppard says
It is my hope that our countries can walk side by side in turning things around. NATO is essentially through, thanks to Russia who has been an ally to the U.S. for centuries, which I hope George is going to write about soon. Right, my dear?
The Soviet Union, which we associate with Russia, were their captors. The country of Russia cannot be judged during the cold war period. People often talk about how Ukraine starved. So did Russia. In addition, her Churches were destroyed, her clergy assassinated, her beautiful buildings that looked like wedding cakes in St. Petersburg and her magnificent cathedrals in Moscow were replaced by orange and brown fortresses, prisons of the soul, some of which you can still see dot the landscape. What they did during those years were done to them; not because of them.
On October 22, 2022, China unceremoniously got rid of the CCP. Hu Jintao, former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, was hauled up out of his seat and escorted out of the hall at the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party by two men following the incumbent General Secretary Xi Jinping’s instructions. You’ve got to see this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtpGkgabpcU
The British monarchy has been dismantled. There will continue to be a royal family but the queen is gone. Prior to her death (some say was a murder), she capitulated to Trump with respect to whatever role she was playing on the public stage. (Watch her hand at :45) https://www.google.com/search?q=trump+with+the+queen+on+the+capitulation+tour&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1038US1038&oq=trump+with+the+queen+on+the+capitulation+tour&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTE4MTk4ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ffba55f2,vid:tyBKS-rV4eE,st:0
Philip, who said he wanted to come back as a virus to kill off the population, looked like he wasn’t going anywhere too pleasant on his last drive. https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/prince-philip-leaves-hospital-after-treatment-20210316-p57bc0.html
There have been bloody, riderless, horses running amuck which some speculate indicate the demise of the Royal Family in terms of status if not in actuality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcmHGH40KXs Prior to that, three days after Jacob Rothschild died, two black horses were spotted with a ‘captured’ white horse and a Black Flag outside Buckingham Palace. That usually means the king is dead. That this followed Rothschild’s death shows you who was really the head of the family. . . or so it is said. https://x.com/CilComLFC/status/1762128027473805482
Charles is seen for the satanist he is at the unveiling of his official portrait which looks like it was painted in blood with some kind of monarch butterfly flying around. https://www.google.com/search=charles+unveiling+portrait&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1038US1038&oq=charles+unvieling+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCQgBEAAYDRiABDIGCAAQRRg5MgkIARAAGA0YgAQyCQgCEAAYDRiABDIJCAMQABgNGIAEMggIBBAAGBYYHjIICAUQABgWGB4yCAgGEAAYFhgeMggIBxAAGBYYHjIICAgQABgWGB4yCAgJEAAYFhge0gEJMTA0OTlqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:fd4cb8fe,vid:O2yEDVBuL2g,st:0
And Camilla, the Queen Consort, is seen for the bitch that she is. Do you know the first thing she did? She decreed that the women in the royal family could no longer wear their tierras. She, of course, was the exception. She also sold the queen’s beautiful horses which I believe Princess Anne was able to buy back.
Andrew forfeited whatever credibility he had at Epstein Island.
Australia is depending on us to help them out of the pickle they got themselves into. Unlike the U.S., they got rid of their guns. Australia, as well as New Zealand, were holed up in FEMA type camps if they were suspected of having COVID. The U.S. currently has an alliance with the two.
Few Americans understand that the guns we have are not so we can go hunting. They are to discourage aggression against the American people on the part of our GOVERNMENT. In places like Australia, where they don’t have this protection, fighting back is virtually prohibited. I cried when I saw them linking arms and running at the police because they could do nothing else. They only had one another.
My point is this, the world is changing, We have one another to depend on, and fortunately, we have what’s shaping up to be the Trump team headed toward the White House. Trump loves the military and the feeling is mutual. The military is changing for the better. I suspect if Trump is elected the transformation will go very quickly as it’s already begun.
Brendan says
Here is an interview with Andrew Bridgen (ex-) MP,
who lost his seat in Parliament at the last election:
“EXPLOSIVE: Andrew Bridgen on Starmer, Trump & War with Russia”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQx3AARRXEs
[Video – 44:41]
He opposes war because it “benefits the rich and buries the poor.”
Because he opposed the COVID ‘vaccination’ of children,
the BBC dropped him as an interviewee.
BBC Reporter: “Why are you willing to sacrifice
your career on the hill of vaccination?”
Andrew Bridgen: “Because that is the hill
on which they are killing my people.”
Like Trump, his election loss was accompanied by irregularities,
which irregularities are the subject of current legal action.
He has six cases on the go and is being attacked by lawfare,
He has much to say on the current state of geopolitical affairs,
particularly concerning the forthcoming presidential election.
He is an honourable man, who deserves a hearing.
Gail Sheppard says
He sounds like one of us!
He is talking about how they took the death penalty out of treason and why that would be the case and also how quickly all this seemed to be coming. I think he said something about the last 4 years. It just goes to show there is a concerted effort around the globe to usurp the people for the few who are in cahoots with one another. He uses terms like “authoritarian Marxists” and how the leadership are just puppets and will push us into a WWIII to win.
BUT, we now have BRICS. We’ve seen their influence over Iran. And there are people, white hats, if you will, working around the world and they are taking control of our military.
I had heard about how close we came to a nuclear war over those long range missals they were going to give Zelensky, but it didn’t happen. That’s a victory.
We’re playing a huge game of Jenga, where players are taking turns pulling out wooden blocks from a tower and placing them on the top. We’ve got to win this game. I think we can do it. We have to do it.
I hope this guy, Andrew Bridgen, makes some headway. Here, someone like him would really have to watch his back. They’re outright trying to kill Trump.
I have a theory about NATO. In it’s weakened state (which will probably weaken even more if they don’t give up Ukraine), Turkey is going to take it out. Russia is going to end up protecting Europe long term. Sound crazy? I know it does, but that’s what I think is going to happen. Putin won’t “invade Europe.” Like Bridgen says, Putin doesn’t want the responsibility but he’ll push back on the WOKE and migrant thing.
Trump will win. Trump has won. Our biggest hurtle was the MSM. I think we’ve won that battle. And the military, of course. I think we’re winning that battle, as well. Of course, the last battle, and probably the hardest, are the courts. We’ve seen a few victories there, too. As far as the American people are concerned, I think we’re going to come into some money after we hit bottom due to the tanking of the dollar. The Federal Reserve is going to be abolished. I think we’re going to pay no more than 14% on new items that don’t include necessitates and I think it will be such a relief to the American people, they will put it all on the line to keep it going. They will look the other way and allow what has to be done, be done. We are a captured nation and we have to throw off our captors whom we’re finding are very compromised people which is how we got into this mess in the first place.
We won’t mind getting rid of traffickers, pedophiles, and the kind of corruption that’s been launched against our country. Look at how we are treating our Hollywood elites. P. Diddy? Fine. Take him. Take Oprah, too. Leonardo DiCaprio? Who cares? Take them all. The American people have shown we can do without football, without bear, without Target, without it all, if we have to. Most are looking forward to seeing these sick people put out of their misery.
If that makes us cold and uncaring in some people’s eyes, I just say, “You’re welcome.” If you’re too weak to do the right thing, just get out of the way.
I know I sound harsh. But I’m not the one who needs to change. I will do what I can to save this country. End of story.
George Michalopulos says
I am indeed in the process of writing something, my dear. I must admit that things are bewildering, something new every day.
Be patient.
Brendan, whenever I get depressed at the state of our leadership, I look over across the Pond and realize that your ruling class is even worse than ours.
One reason I suppose is because as far as America goes, we are the most heavily-armed civilian populace on the planet.
Brendan says
“Brendan, whenever I get depressed at the state of our leadership, I look over across the Pond and realize that your ruling class is even worse than ours.”
Ours has had many more centuries of practice,
though in their persecution of (eg) Alex Jones,
yours is catching up fast…
“INFOWARS FINAL DAYS: Alex Jones shall OVERCOME
the satanic assault on truth, freedom and liberty”
https://www.brighteon.com/b9aafa64-2b08-4d2f-924d-9a83b0dca1ae
[Video – 36:12]
Mike Adams: “Alex Jones has a plan.
I don’t know what it is, but he has a plan.”
Gail Sheppard says
. . . AND no one is trying to kill your candidates at rallies and golf courses or putting bombs in public places to kill their supporters! That’s something to be grateful for! But the reality is, we’re being suppressed by the same people. Just a handful of them.
Brendan says
“. . . AND no one is trying to kill your candidates at rallies and golf courses or putting bombs in public places to kill their supporters! ”
See:
“Nurse who treated Willie McRae: It wasn’t suicide, he was shot”
https://www.thenational.scot/news/17096658.nurse-treated-willie-mcrae-wasnt-suicide-shot/
SNP Vice-President Willie McRae commited suicide
in his car by shooting himself through the right temple
with a bullet which entered his brain stem
through a hole in the back of his neck,
He then managed to throw away the gun
through the open driver’s window so it landed
some distance away on the other side of the car.
There were, of course, no suspicious circumstances.
Gail Sheppard says
Good grief! The whole world has gone crazy.
Brendan says
It gets worse.He committed ‘suicide’ twice:
in two different red Volvo saloon cars
in two different places on the same road
in two different legal jurisdictions.
Two different recovery trucks coming from
two different Highland towns recovered
two different vehicles, from which there are
two different radiator grilles now extant
(as at the time of making the film). See:
“The Mysterious Death of Willie MacRae”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKqWj3emm08
[Video – 14:43]
There were no suspicious circumstances.
PS: The Scottish Liberation Army ‘Terrorist’
Adam Busby (who appears in the film
claiming McRae was himself a terrorist)
was perhaps an MI5/Special Branch plant
working to discredit Scottish Independence.
See:
“Real-life world of a fantasist”
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12334125.real-life-world-of-a-fantasist/
‘ Whatever happens ultimately in the Adam Busby affair, a major question will always hang unanswered in the air like a persistent stink, and that is why Busby was allowed to remain at large in Dublin for 13 years, plotting, and fomenting trouble for the British state.
The answer, according to his former cohorts in the Scottish Republican movement, was that he was deliberately left there, watched but unharmed, because his antics were damaging to the image of Scottish nationalism.
This is not a new charge. A parallel is the persistent allegation, much more than a mere suspicion, that agents provocateur were widely used in the sixties, seventies and eighties by the Special Branch and the Security Service first to infiltrate extreme Scottish republican organisations and then to give evidence against individuals when their conspiracies unravelled. In Busby’s case, time and again he gave interviews to journalists not so much admitting but proudly proclaiming his activities over the years, yet the authorities in both countries seemed to turn blind eye and the letter bombs continued. … ‘
George Michalopulos says
Brendan, I wonder if the Clintons have any cousins in Scotland.
Brendan says
Hahahaha…
The De Clintons were Anglo-Normans
(barons or bandits, as you may prefer)
whose ancestors crossed the Channel
with the army of the Tanner’s Bastard
(William the Conqueror, if you like) in 1066.
Given that the Bruces and the Stewarts
crossed the water in the same service,
I would not be surprised if they have…
Brendan says
I agree that military service can offer many benefits,
particularly in providing a stable background
to those from broken families.
Unfortunately it’s often poor at helping the troops transition
back into civilian life when their service ends.
The proof sleeps under bridges.
Gail Sheppard says
It HAS been poor. No question. My point is it’s changing. It’s leadership is changing. It’s missions are changing. Not overtly, because they’re still in charge. But that’s changing, too. There are enough of us on the no war side to warrant a second look.
Is Trump a war monger? Not one war did he get us into. Rodger Stone, General Flynn, Vance, Vivek, RFK Jr, Donald Junior, . . . . are these men war mongers?
What do militaries do besides fight? They protect the vulnerable. They rescue, They transport. They feed. They educate. They build things. They make friends. They change expectations and look for possibilities.
Gail Sheppard says
Don’t be mad at me. We’re family. Keep remembering that.
Ronda Wintheiser says
Antiochene Son…
Your comments remind me of a recent conversation I had with several of my young male Orthodox friends on Facebook. I have not friended any of them and since I tend to be seen as abrasive on Facebook (I think I’m direct and speak my mind, and nowadays that doesn’t go over well), I was pleasantly surprised when they each friended me.
But I digress. I mention that because the fact that they initiated friendship with me makes me feel even more comfortable being myself.
They were complaining about how the Republicans have “wimped out” on a couple of very important issues. I asked them if any of them had ever been to any of their local, grass roots meetings in their respective state Republican parties.
Only one of them responded. He said he was busy working several jobs to make ends meet in order to feed his family, which you can hardly argue with under this administration. But then he said something else that I found chilling, and more to the point, despicable: he said he didn’t want to sell his soul.
And then, as is often the case in some conversations, the post suddenly disappeared.
The last evangelical Christian book I read before I became Orthodox happened to be the last book Franky Schaeffer wrote before he was chrismated himself. The title is SHAM PEARLS FOR REAL SWINE. In the book, Schaeffer criticized evangelical Christians who have, for decades, been preoccupied with what his father Francis Schaeffer called personal peace, and affluence. So preoccupied and so diligent to preserve their own personal “holiness” that they exited the very fields in our society that now roll over us like a juggernaut — political science, journalism, medicine, government, the arts. He talked about “Christian art” — the kind of pressed muck, he called it, with a Bible verse inscribed on it somewhere.
THAT is what what you said sounds like, unfortunately. I’ll say the thing to that young man that I couldn’t since he removed the post before I could respond: if Christians had bothered to be willing to get their hands dirty in the nitty gritty of American society long before now, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this pickle.
In 1988 I went to Atlanta, Georgia with my dad to participate in a rescue that Randall Terry and Operation Rescue had called for. Hundreds, maybe more, evangelical and Roman Catholic Christians traveled to Atlanta and for three days he directed us to get on our knees and repent. He cited II Chronicles :14 as the verse he wanted us to consider as we prepared to attempt rescues at abortuaries all over Atlanta: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
When we got up from our knees after three days of fasting and praying, he cited Proverbs 24:11 as the verse he wanted us to focus on as we prepared to get on Marta, the public transit system in Atlanta, to travel to various abortuaries where certain unborn children were already scheduled to die: “Rescue those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, O hold them back…”
I wonder now where all the Orthodox Christians are. Perhaps some were there; I wouldn’t have known. But in the present i never see them outside abortion clinics here in the Twin Cities. I don’t see them at any of the pro-life events that I have attended over the years, although I have invited many since I became Orthodox in 1991.
While I absolutely agree with you that young men need to go to church, pray, fast, get married, have a family and raise them in the faith, I think it is reprehensible to sit at home and watch this country crumble. If you love your children, I believe you will be willing to get your hands dirty to save this country for THEM. Believing that you are selling your soul or dying for Raytheon’s bottom line sounds like you just think you are too holy to help.
Brendan says
Excellent Ronda. Let us hope that this
is not a lesson too late for the learning.
Brendan says
Here is a short article on the US Marines occupation of Haiti
(and attempts to suppress Voodoo) between 1915 and 1934.
“Stability or Disruption – The U.S. Marine Occupation
and the Voodoo Trails in Haiti, 1926-30”
https://www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Marine-Corps-University-Press/MCH/Marine-Corps-History-Winter-2019/Stability-or-Disruption-The-US-Marine-Occupation-and-the-Voodoo-Trials-in-Haiti-192630/
Abstract: The Marine occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934 presented unique challenges due to social, political, economic, and religious factors. All these threads came together in the Marines’ attempts to curtail the practice of Voodoo. The religion’s hold on Haitians proved to be so strong that no analysis of the Marine occupation can be thorough without paying careful attention to Voodoo. Institutional histories of the Marine Corps and studies of the Marine occupation of Haiti tend to sidestep analyzing Voodoo in detail or to misconstrue its significance. Conversely, cultural histories of Haiti rarely incorporate sufficient explanations of the operational aspects of the occupations, nor do they dig deeply into the Corps’ archival sources. This article helps to fill the void by using the Marine activities and the Voodoo trials in the late 1920s as touchstones, analyzing several criminal prosecutions against Haitians for allegedly practicing Voodoo in that period. These cases underscore the rationale behind the Marines’ attempts to “stamp out” this religion as part of their mission to transform Haiti into a modern, democratic, civilized nation and illustrate how Marines too often failed to grasp that Voodoo could support stability rather than rallying the Haitian people against the American presence and disrupting the modernization process.
George Michalopulos says
Although I am an America-firster, I also subscribe to the Monroe Doctrine. Hence, the Marines should have never left Haiti and forcibly Christianized it.
That island is run by demons. And now, our demonic Oligarchy wants to plant them here on our homeland. They know what they’re doing. To bad, we don’t.
Michael Bauman says
My mother was a pioneer modern dancer in Martha Graham’s Company about 80 years ago with her twin sister. They began to dance in their early teens when they were in boarding schools sent there by their mother so she did not have to raise them. They were always in some sort of dance movement. In their classes they taught the fundamental language of dance with all kinds of drills and repetition. “…and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4..” all the basics, over and over, beauty and joy gradually being added.
Life in the Church is much the same. Learning various ways to pray and repent–the Jesus Prayer, the Divine Liturgy, etc.
Being able to give glory to God for all things is the outcome
CAS says
That is wonderful that your mother was one of the pioneer dancers with the MGC. My niece, a rising HS senior, auditioned for ballet based modern programs this last summer. Spent time in Austin, Oklahoma and finally was accepted this year to Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre. She’s home schooling to finish her HS degree by Dec. Her ultimate goal would be to end up somewhere like the Martha Graham Company.
Brendan says
Christian Craighead?
With a Christian name like that,
he’d likely be refused entry now.