Yesterday, after visiting the Spring market at Audley Farm, English and I went to The Locke Store in Millwood. While there, we purchased a lovely treat–a maple glazed rolled pastry stuffed with sausage, and garnished with sage leaves. Oh, my goodness! It was absolutely delicious. Thankfully, we only bought 1. Because this thing is addictive. Addictive in the way that Krispy Kreme original glazed donuts are addictive. You just cannot stop eating them.

We did vote. We voted “No”. We visited with friends at the Spring Market, and bought some wonderful fresh asparagus and apples from MacIntosh Farms. And we purchased a few surprises for Gram and Rufe. They will have to wait until English visits later this week to learn what they are.

“As long as there are final exams, there will always be prayer in the schools.”

–President Ronald Reagan.

This Sunday, Easter II, is also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The Gospel is from S. John, Our Lord’s discourse on His role as the Good Shepherd. The theme is also found in the Epistle from First S. Peter: For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 

We may recall that S. Peter wrote this epistle to Christians living throughout northern Asia Minor (now southern Turkey) who were beginning to experience rising persecution. As well as the danger of apostatizing, many were feeling discouraged in their daily lives. Writing from Rome, where he himself was undergoing the persecution that would culminate in his martyrdom, S. Peter attempts to encourage his readers by invoking the example of their Lord, who was persecuted to the point of death though completely innocent of any offense. 

Persecution is difficult, especially when rights are being taken away, such as participating in the workplace or in the marketplace. When one can no longer provide for himself or his family because of his beliefs, it becomes challenging in the extreme to hold on to one’s faith. In the first serious wave of persecution under Nero, Christians lost their means of livelihood and were stripped of their property. The incentive to recant and burn incense to the emperor was intense. This was the backdrop to S. Peter’s first epistle.

S. Peter makes several points: the first is that all suffering is in accordance with God’s will for us, for it tests our character. In the case of Our Lord, when tested, He revealed even more profoundly God’s love for us. Although He could have responded by cursing those who abused Him, instead He accepted the abuse silently and unhesitatingly. 

Secondly, when we are tested, it is important to remember that it is not because we are cursed. Instead, we are blessed to be able to share in the same mistreatment Our Lord experienced. We are able, as members of His body, to walk that same Way of the Cross. Following His example, we are then privileged to take up our cross to our own Calvary.

Finally, suffering not only tests our character and allows us to participate more fully in the life of Christ, but also builds our character. Each trial and time of testing has the potential to make us stronger in our resolve. By looking through the suffering towards our ultimate end, we can endure with patience each trial, knowing the glory that awaits us.

Christians in our present culture are being tested in ways that are similar to the waves of persecution that swept over first centuries of Christianity. Tenets of the Catholic faith are being challenged in the courts of “progressive” states, and those of strong conviction have had to relinquish their livelihoods. Those who uphold the notion that marriage is “instituted of God” for procreation and the establishing of families are held up to public scorn. Articles in “prestigious” newspapers and magazines ridicule marriage and childbearing for women. “Tradwives” are despised.

But we are not left alone to weather these challenges. Our Lord has gone before us and shows us the way: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. No, we have the Good Shepherd, who does not abandon us to the wolves, but rather stops at nothing to carry His sheep to the safety of the sheepfold, His Church.

____________________________________________________________________

America Needs a New Class of Leaders

Division is also opportunity.

BY:          J.B. Shurk, The American Thinker (March 8, 2026).

In the United States — and the civilizational “West” more broadly — we are a society divided by slogans, propaganda, and social media memes.  It is an unfortunate part of our present reality that we no longer engage in honest “public debate.”  We haven’t done so for a very long time.  

The Founding Fathers wrote essays and pamphlets and delivered hours-long speeches during which they articulated the reasons for their beliefs.  We get pink-hatted people — who may or may not identify as women — “shouting their abortions.”  We get automatons screaming, “Black lives matter,” “Free Palestine,” “Trump is Hitler,” “Hands off Iran,” and whatever other mindless chants billionaire-funded NGOs churn out.  

If you approach people yelling these things and ask them why they believe what they believe, they have no idea.  They can’t explain why “all human lives,” more generally, shouldn’t matter just as much as those with dark skin.  They don’t know anything about Israel’s ancient history, the United Kingdom and France’s colonial carving of the Middle East, the Soviet Union’s promotion of a “Palestinian” identity to cause the United States and its allies problems during the Cold War, any of the multitude of ways that the international community has broken its promises to the Israeli government for the last century, or how the United Nations has spent most of its existence targeting Israel for alleged “human rights” abuses while ignoring unspeakable evils committed by far too many regimes in power today.  They can’t explain why illegal aliens are breaking into America if “Trump is Hitler” or why the president’s determination to protect American citizens from foreign nationals by paying for those foreigners’ return to their own countries is somehow equivalent to Nazi atrocities that included the mass murder of six million Jews and millions of Soviets, Poles, Romani, disabled people, and other so-called “undesirables.”  They don’t have any idea why Iran’s theocratic tyrants and Islamic terrorists deserve to be protected when those tyrants and terrorists have killed, maimed, and kidnapped Americans, Europeans, and Jews around the world for nearly fifty years.  

Our ancestors benefited from Thomas Paine’s polemical pamphlets in favor of American independence.  They listened to Sam Adams’s fiery arguments for revolution.  They attended church services where they heard political exhortations from learned men delivering passionate sermons.  They read newspaper editorials and political essays aloud while drinking ale in local taverns.  Common people heard and debated uncommon ideas that birthed a new nation and altered the historic trajectory of the world.  

We, on the other hand, get hypocrites such as Senator Chuck Schumer, who was last year telling Americans that President Trump was “chickening out” on holding Iran’s Islamic regime accountable for nuclear saber-rattling before telling Americans this year that Trump has no business holding Iran’s Islamic regime accountable for its nuclear saber-rattling.  We get Democrats calling federal law enforcement agents “Trump’s Gestapo” because those agents put their lives on the line arresting criminal illegal aliens — including murderers, rapists, and other violent felons.  We get apocalyptic doomsayers such as Al Gore and Barack Obama who have told us that the “science” of “climate change” is “settled,” even though nothing those frauds have predicted has ever come true.  We get public school teachers indoctrinating students with ridiculously false ideas, such as (1) biological sex isn’t real; (2) the January 6, 2021 protest for election integrity was worse than the 9/11 Islamic terror attacks, the Pearl Harbor attack, and the Civil War all wrapped up together; (3) Muslims built America; and (4) America has never been more racist, fascist, or authoritarian than it is today.  We get a left-wing corporate news media establishment pushing the ludicrous argument that requiring voter identification (a basic electoral safeguard enforced around the world) is both racist and an impossible burden for legal voters to surmount (even though Americans must present valid ID to board planes, buy liquor, and enter government buildings).  

Notice that these sources of misinformation never advance anything that remotely resembles a rational argument.  Democrats don’t explain why they used to consider Iran a major national security threat but no longer do.  They don’t explain why it’s perfectly reasonable to attack federal law enforcement officers arresting criminal illegal aliens, even though they’ve spent five years calling the January 6 election protest an unacceptable “attack” on cops.  Barack Obama and other wealthy “global warming” fanatics can’t explain why they own expensive beachfront homes if those homes will soon be under water.  Democrats can’t explain why it’s too difficult for their voters to get photo IDs, or why boys should undress in girls’ locker rooms, or why white men are a “viral disease,” or why all of their political opponents are “racist, fascist Nazis.”  

All of these false statements are simply represented as undisputed “facts” that cannot be questioned.  As a kind of “political correctness” tripwire meant to ensure that these false ideas are never questioned, Democrats further insist that anyone asking questions must be a “racist, fascist Nazi,” too.  Rational argument no longer exists.  In its place, Democrats give us name-calling, self-censorship, circular reasoning, and empty tautology.

America is very divided today.  For most of its two-hundred-and-fifty-year history, though, America has been divided.  It was birthed in revolution.  It survived numerous attacks from foreign powers while still in its infancy.  It grew up through radical social change, profound technological innovation, and endless waves of immigration.  It has gone to war against itself, and it has gone to war against the world.  It has endured hardships that have destroyed other nations.  Nevertheless, its people have persevered, united, settled the wild frontier, built a continent, and prospered.  We look over our shoulders and applaud American achievement without reflecting on our near escapes from American disaster.

Division does not signal disaster.  Division is also opportunity.  When societies are forced to confront great change, some wilt, while others rise to the occasion.  America has been blessed with rare resilience.  Our nation is unique in human history because it is predicated on the still revolutionary principle that legitimate political power originates with the people.  We do not look to kings to tell us what we may or may not do.  As our rights come directly from God, aristocrats just get in the way.  Our institutions matter not because they are invested with power over us, but rather because we have lent those institutions some of our inherent powers so that they can properly defend our inherent rights.  Neither presidents nor congresses nor corporations can grant us what is already ours.

It is with this understanding of our natural rights in mind that I encourage everyone to protect those rights personally.  Read, learn, debate, and most importantly don’t give up just because giving up is in fashion these days.  This country has been through far worse and survived.  People who tell you that this is the end for America have a vested interest in seeing America end.  Those stubborn enough to resist will ensure that our country lives.

To be sure, we deserve more than slogans, propaganda, and memes.  We deserve civic leaders who can speak in complete sentences.  We deserve members of Congress who can introduce cogent arguments — supported by salient facts and not calumnies, falsehoods, or red herrings.  We deserve a new generation of leaders who remind us of Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, and George Washington.  Perhaps they already move among us.

Do not mistake division for disease.  Division is the engine that often spawns greatness.  What we require is discernment.  We require wisdom.  We require courage.  We require leadership.  We require renewed faith in God’s grace.  These are not always in abundant supply.  But they are very American things.

GFK

Last evening English and I attended the Clarke County Historical Association’s semi-annual “Art At The Mill”. It is an art show held at the Burwell-Morgan grist mill, which was constructed by Revolutionary War hero Daniel Morgan. The opening night is a reception for the Mill’s patrons, and is always a festive event.

Though built in the 1700s, the mill is still an operating grist mill. Flours, corn meal, and grits are still ground there, using the same methods as were used in Colonial Virginia. The raw materials are provided by local farmers, and the finished product is sold, at the Mill, or at local stores. Some of the grain is also sold to local breweries to make craft beer.

Today we are going to run our usual Saturday routine errands. And then we are going to vote. We detest early voting, but in case something arises on Tuesday, we want to register our objection to being ruled by Fairfax County, as Democrats have designed through their tyrannical redistricting move.

In fact, ever since taking power in January, Democrats have worked overtime to neuter Virginians. Most elected Democrats, including our Governor, are damn Yankees. They come from other places, and rather than embracing the Commonwealth’s history and traditions, they try to remake it in the image of those s**tholes from whence they came. Robert E. Lee must be banned because of . . . The Late Unpleasantness (Yankees incorrectly call it a civil war). Guns must be banned because inanimate objects are scary looking and dangerous. Hunting with dogs must be regulated because hunting is sooooo barbaric. Taxes must be raised, because government can spend your money better than can we. Illegal aliens must be sheltered because they are so much better than our old, white, European heritage citizens (damn white folks!). After all, diversity is our strength! And Democrats must be given free reign to govern without opposition, because . . . Orange Man Bad.

If the redistricting referendum passes, then rural Virginia–the vast majority of Virginia–will no longer have a voice in how we are governed. Coupled with the General Assembly’s embrace of the unconstitutional law awarding of the Commonwealth’s electoral votes to whomever large Democrat majority urban areas vote for, almost 50% of Virginia’s voters will be neutered. We will have no say in our government. Fairfax County will rule. That is 1 party rule. That is tyranny. And it is a path to ruin. It will not be “fair”. And it will not be “temporary”. For those short sighted voters, if you believe that the Democrats are going to willingly turn over power in 2030, I have some farmland located in The Great Dismal Swamp you might be interested in purchasing.

English and I are proud Saltine Americans. We are both going to vote “NO” on redistricting. We urge our fellow Virginians to do the same.

Six (6) Republicans joined all Democrats to force the United States House of Representatives to advance a bill directing the President to grant Haitian aliens another 3 years of “temporary protective status”, allowing them to remain in the United States. Why? Just, why?

One spaghetti spined Republican representative claimed that Haitians deserved to stay for another 3 years, because they are so “hard working” and “contribute to our culture’s diversity”. HORSE HOCKEY! Sixty-five percent (65%) of Haitian aliens are on welfare. They are draining our resources, contributing nothing.

As for cultural diversity, “They are eating the dogs. They are eating the cats. Eat the cats, eat, eat the cats!”

More than 350,000 Haitian aliens are scheduled for deportation. Send them all back to their sh**hole country where they belong.

“I’m completely biased as it relates to what my dad did for me.  I fully understand how uniquely situated I am in being privileged enough to have received a pardon from my father.  I don’t think that the founders ever imagined Donald Trump.  I don’t think they ever imagined the Trump family.”

–Hunter Biden, expressing his gratitude for the corrupt pardon granted by his father, China Joe, and then criticizing President Trump’s use of the pardon power.

Of all the unmitigated gall!  My goodness!

What is Hunter Biden doing nowadays? Other than being sued? Because China Joe’s son will not pay his legal bills. And currently his former law firm cannot find him as it seems that Hunter Biden has fled the United States and is residing overseas . . . somewhere. Like father, like son. Deadbeats to the end.

New Jersey Transit is charging commuters who wish to travel from Manhattan’s Penn Station to MetLife Stadium to attend World Cup soccer games, $100.00. The fare is normally $12.90. Well, Governor Mikie Sherrill (D. N.J.) is outraged by this 775% increase in fares, calling it “price gouging”, and demanding that the governing soccer body pick up the tab for commuters’ transportation to the games. Senator Charles Schumer (D. N.Y.) also called it “price gouging”, terming the fare increase “outrageous”.

Here is what Governor Sherrill and Senator Schumer are not telling you. New Jersey Transit is “public transportation”, owned by the State of New Jersey. The State of New Jersey is raising transportation rates by 775%–not the governing world soccer body. If Senator Schumer and Governor Sherrill do not want consumers to be “price gouged”, then Governor Sherrill should direct New Jersey Transit to keep fares at normal levels.

But Governor Sherrill will not do that. Because Governor Sherrill wants the prices high, so she can demand that the World Cup pay her government billions of dollars. This is a government shakedown. And it is despicable.

New York State Democrats are going to enact an annual surcharge on New Yorkers’ second homes. That is in addition to all the other taxes–property, utility, etc.–that owners already pay on their second homes.

Former Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax (D.) murdered his wife, and then committed suicide rather than facing the legal consequences of his action. The couple’s 2 children were present in the home at the time of the murder/suicide. My God! An unspeakable tragedy, and the reporting about the downfall of this man and his family reveals unimaginable details. May God Bless his young children, and may they somehow find the peace in this world that has so far eluded them.

Tennessee’s legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a resolution declaring June to be celebrated as “Nuclear Family Month”, commemorating the traditional American family. GLAD, the largest LGBTQ++ advocacy group in America, is livid.

If you are a Tennessee homosexual, you can still fly your “Pride” flag in June. But this year, the government will not be celebrating sodomy with you.

Chick-Fil-A released its seasonal strawberry-hibiscus drinks–with Sprite, lemonade, frosted lemonade, and Sunjoy. Get one today!

“The U.S. war in Iran is unjust.  It’s a violation of international law and the rule-based order.   It’s an affront to the way of the prince of peace.”

–Kyle Lambelet, an associate professor of ethics at Virginia Theological Seminary.

Professor Lambelet is a professed pacifist. If a mushroom cloud rose above the horizon in New York City, Professor Lambelet would still insist that only diplomacy could resolve tensions with Iran.

The goal of Epic Fury is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, which it came quite close to doing. The chances of success are high; indeed, we have already achieved great successes. War was a last resort. The Left claims Iran was not an “imminent threat”. Really? Define imminent. Did the United States have to wait until a nuclear bomb was already built, ready for deployment? By then it would be too late. Iran has been killing Americans since 1979. I think we have been patient long enough.

The United States and Israel are engaged in war with Iran to end evil, and to prevent an even greater evil. Diplomacy has failed, time and again, because Iran does not engage in diplomacy. Its leaders lie. They do not keep their agreements. And Iran fully intends to gain nuclear weapons, and, ultimately to destroy Israel and the United States.

Professor Lambelet, The Episcopal Church USA’s leadership, and Pope Leo XIV preach peace. Fine. But these folks would rather live on their knees than stand in freedom. That is not what the Lord teaches. It is a perversion of God’s Word.

The United States is not engaged in “a war of choice”. The United States is engaged in a war to secure a greater peace. The hostilities with Iran will not cause unintended consequences that will cause a greater evil. Frankly, it is hard to imagine a greater evil than a murderous regime hell bent on destroying Israel and the United States. The war with Iran is, indeed, a “just war”. It should be fought to a final conclusion.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10 day ceasefire. Hezbollah has purportedly agreed to the ceasefire. Hmmmm.

The Gulf countries in the Middle East are angry at Iran for bombing them. So mad, in fact, that they are providing information to the United States Treasury Department about Iranian accounts. The United States is leveling additional sanctions, and issuing account freezes. Sigh. That is such as shame!

Former Dallas Cowboys center John Fitzgerald has died at age 77. R. I. P.

GFK

The United States Navy imposed a blockade on naval traffic through the Straits of Hormuz. Iran is likely to starve to death, for lack of money.

“I’m not going to speak for the President, I’m speaking for myself, a lifelong Catholic.  I would say [to the Catholic Church], stay out of immigration.  They don’t know what they’re talking about.  Because if they wore my shoes for 40 years, and talked to a nine-year-old girl that got raped multiple times, or stood in the back of a tractor-trailer with 19 dead aliens at my feet including a five-year-old boy that baked to death, if they understood the atrocities that happen on the open border, I think their opinion would change.”

–United States Border Czar Tom Homan.

Declassified documents reveal what has long been suspected; the 2019 impeachment of President Trump over his dealing with Ukraine was manufactured by Democrat operatives within the intelligence agencies. These Democrat operatives not only manufactured evidence, but coordinated clandestinely with Democrat members of Congress. Shocking! Not.

“As a chief enabler of this illegal war, Pete Hegseth is responsible for directing this insane military action against Iran, which has already killed thousands of civilians, led to the unnecessary deaths of American service members, and displaced over a million people in the region.  That’s why I’m introducing articles of impeachment against Hegseth for repeatedly violating his oath of office and the Constitution, including the disregard of Congress and willful targeting of civilian infrastructure in Iran.”

–Representative Yassamin Asouri (D. Az.).

Sigh. These are not serious people.

Representative Ro Khanna (D. Ca.) is blaming President Trump for the high gasoline prices at the pump. He is calling for the war to end, to stop all exports of American oil, and for the enactment of a “windfall profits tax”. Huh.

California drivers pay nearly double the national average in state taxes, plus cap-and-trade, Low Carbon Fuel Standard, unique reformulated gasoline, refinery limits, and geographic isolation that blocks cheap imports.  That adds $1.00–$1.78+ over the U.S. average.

And do you remember the last “windfalls profit tax” under President Carter? How did that work out? Not too good!

If Representative Khanna wants lower gasoline prices in California, he needs to speak with his fellow Democrats in Sacramento. Because it is their fault, not President Trump’s.

Well Representative Eric Swalwell (D. Ca.) is out of the California Governor race. Now if he only would leave Congress . . . oh wait; he did. What a scumbag!

“The last thing I would want in a Space Shuttle crew would be seven white-guy U.S. navy test pilots like me.” 

–Senator Mark Kelly (D. Az.).

He must have been very miserable in space with his white crewmates.  Just a bunch of white supremacists keeping women and minorities down on Earth.

Washington, D.C. District Court Judge James Boasberg got slapped down. Again.

Former United States Senator Scott Brown (R. Ma.) is running again for the United States Senate, this time from New Hampshire. Mr. Brown is running as a “fiscal conservative”. Sigh. Scott Brown is many things, but a “fiscal conservative” is not one of them.

Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner (D. Me.) has a new explanation for his Nazi tattoo and views. The United States Army made him do it. Oh, my!

Congressional candidate and Scranton, Pennsylvania Mayor Paige Cognetti (D.) worked overtime to discourage Church attendance during the former Current Unpleasantness. The Observations commented on that more than a week ago. But now we have learned that Mayor Cognetti also dislikes fireworks on Independence Day. She finds fireworks displays to be “annoying” and “terrifying”. Huh. Funny; she did nothing to suppress the riots following the death of George Floyd, where fires were set, and businesses destroyed. Was that not “terrifying”?

Mayor Cognetti hates Christians and Americans. She has no place in Congress.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is severely conflicted. While he is no fan of Iran’s mullahs, he really, really, really does not want President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu get any credit for bringing down the mullahs and freeing the Iranian people. Hmmm. So Tom Friedman is cheering for Iran? Not a surprise.

California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer (D.) wants to abolish ICE, put all ICE agents in prison, and bring back to the United States all previously deported aliens. WOW!

California is on the verge of enacting a law to protect the privacy of immigration support providers. The law classifies investigative journalism into claims of fraud by these immigration support providers as “harassment”, and imposes monetary damages on those who engage in such investigative journalism, or “harassment”. Good-bye First Amendment!

In celebration of Independence Day, and our nation’s 250th birthday, there will be a patriotic ball drop in Times Square, in New York City, reminiscent of what happens on New Year’s Eve. EXCEPT, there will be no cheering throngs of Americans in Times Square. Comrade Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D. N.Y.) has decreed that Times Square will be off limits to celebrating, patriotic Americans. Of course he did.

There is an exception, however, to Comrade Mayor’s decree. Leftist protestors and agitators will be issued permits to protest America on that day. Again, no surprise here. It is wholly despicable, and so in character with this anti-Semitic, anti-American Islamic commie Mayor.

Comrade Mayor Mamdani announced that he will spend more than $30 million on the 1st city owned grocery store, to be located in East Harlem. And Comrade Mayor will spend more than $70 million to establish 4 more city owned grocery stores. Wow. “Free” groceries are really, really expensive.

Comrade Mayor Mamdani is also spending $10 million to renovate a public space into the city’s 1st “free” child care center. The center will cost more than $2.5 million per year to operate. This breaks down to $57,000 per child in the “free” child care center. By contrast, private child care in New York City costs less than 1/2 that sum, per child.

Isn’t socialism grand?!?!

New York State Democrats want to ban air rifles and BB guns. Seriously.

Olivia Troye, a former advisor to former Vice-President Mike Pence, and a national security staffer during the 1st Trump Administration, is running for Congress in Virginia. As a Democrat. Sigh. What kind of vetting was done of this woman? Do you have an answer, Mr. Pence? Do you?

Virginia General Assembly Democrats passed, and Governor Abigail Spanberger (D.) signed, a law awarding Virginia’s presidential electors to the candidate who wins “the national popular vote”. So, for example, if President Trump wins the election in Virginia, but Hillary Clinton wins a greater number of popular votes across the nation, then Virginia’s electors would be awarded to Hillary Clinton. This is absurd.

The law is absurd because it disenfranchises Virginia’s voters, and gives preference to larger, urban Democrat States such as California, Illinois, and New York. This makes no sense.

The law is absurd because there is NO national popular vote. There is not, because that is not how presidents are elected. In fact, not all States votes are tabulated or confirmed, once the Electoral College count is established.

And the law is unconstitutional. This law has Virginia join a multistate compact. But multistate compacts must have Congress’s consent. Congress has not consented. Furthermore, the law is unconstitutional because it violates the Electoral College’s operations.

This is more about a Democrat power grab, looking to take advantage of urban areas dominated by Democrats, and permitting them to dictate to, and dominate, rural areas favoring Republicans. This is tyranny.

The Council on American Islamic Relations and related groups are demanding that The Alamo be designated an Islamic site, and that its Islamic origins be taught in Texas public schools. One problem. The Alamos has no Islamic origins. It was a Catholic mission in what was then part of Mexico.

Sara McGee is a Democrat running for the Texas House of Representatives, but before voters cast a ballot for her, they may want to know that McGee doesn’t understand the Constitution.  The Department of Homeland Security posted a quote from the Psalms and an image that read “One Homeland Under God” yesterday.  The posting read:

“‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people who he hath chosen for his own inheritance.’ —Psalm 33:12.  May God continue to shed his grace on our great nation.”

Sara McGee responded by posting on social media that “This is literally illegal.”  Hmmmm.  No.  No it is not.  The Constitution’s First Amendment forbids the government from establishing a particular religion.  It does not prohibit the government from religious expression.

Texans, vote no.  No to Sara McGee, and no to constitutional illiteracy.

The Miss America pageant has clarified that a contestant must be a biological female. Sigh. Has it come to that? Is this REALLY necessary?

Costco is now carrying collections of Chick-Fil-A signature dip sauces. Get ’em while you can.

British law firms are advising illegal aliens to claim that they are homosexual, in order to gain asylum from being deported to Islamic countries. Sigh.

Germany is on the verge of passing a law that would, in essence, forbid “right wingers” (i.e. conservative) citizens from purchasing real property. Meanwhile, immigrants, legal and illegal, will still qualify for subsidies and assistance in purchasing real property.

Turkey is threatening war with Israel, if the United States does not reach a peace agreement with Iran. What a fine NATO ally!

“I worry that the United States is now in a very weak position vis-à-vis Iran, which should be the outlier, should be on the back foot and should be the one held to account.”

–Failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

She is a bitter, bitter woman.  If she were President, what would she have done with respect to Iran?  Nothing.  Just like she did nothing [and worse] as President Obama’s Secretary of State.  Not a damn thing!

“Listen, I’m not one to criticize clerics and religious leaders.  We defend free speech.  We certainly defend the right to free exercise of religion.  A pontiff or any religious leader can say anything they want.  But obviously, if you wade into political waters, I think you should expect some political response.  And I think the pope’s received some of that.

There’s something called the just war doctrine.  There’s a time to every purpose under heaven.  I think what the president’s comments, what the Vice President’s comments reflect is their understanding deep in . . . the SCIF and the classified briefings of the stakes that are so high and the situation that we’re facing and the fact that you had the nation that was the largest sponsor of terrorism now having had that ability taken away from them.  That means potentially millions of innocent people will be able to keep their lives and not be killed by terrorists.”

–Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson (R. La.), pushing back on Pope Leo’s unfortunate decision to weigh in on U.S. hostilities against Iran.

While playing on the weekend at Augusta National, Sergio Garcia melted down over an errant tee shot, breaking his driver, swearing loudly, and damaging a cooler adjacent to the 2nd tee box. ESPN’s Mike Greenberg called on The Augusta National Golf Club to not invited Sergio Garcia back to The Masters Tournament. Mike Greenberg has a good point.

Is LIV golf dead? Maybe.

Former NFL football coach Dave McGinnis has died at age 74. R. I. P.

Sid Krofft, creator of the television show, H.R. Pufnstuf, has died at age 96. R. I. P.

James Whittaker, the 1st American to scale Mount Everest, has died at age 97. R. I. P.

GFK

Maggie Thatcher’s Timeless Wisdom

In the second half of the 20th century, she already had prescient insights into America, circa 2026.

BY:          Vince Coyner, The American Thinker (April 11, 2026).

Maggie Thatcher, easily one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, was a no-nonsense woman. She became Prime Minister of the UK in 1979 and would rescue her nation from the economic quagmire her leftist predecessors had created.

Maggie was the daughter of a merchant. And as one might expect from the daughter of someone who had to deal with customers and vendors and regulators, all the while making sure there was something left in the bank at the end of the month, she was a straightforward and pragmatic leader.

For someone born almost exactly 100 years ago, she had a vision of government and culture that we could use more of today. She was something of a combination of Nostradamus, Mark Twain, and (rather sadly) Cassandra rolled into one.

Her thoughts and observations provide an extraordinary insight into many of our problems today.

The clarity began even before she was Prime Minister. In a series of campaign speeches before her historic election, she repeatedly stated a variation of this principle: “If a Government can’t protect citizens and their property against violence, vandalism, and theft, there is little point in having a government at all.” If anything resonates with Americans today, it’s the fundamental failure of government to do exactly that.

In blue cities and states across America, we see examples of career criminals (including illegal aliens) regularly unleashed on their communities, only to kill or rape innocents. From suddenly being found not competent to stand trial to having their sentences slashed because of their age or background, American blood is spilling because Democrats care more about the “rights” of criminals than they do about the lives of innocent citizens. Thatcher cared about innocent citizens: “I personally have always voted for the death penalty because I believe that people who go out prepared to take the lives of other people forfeit their own right to live.”

She also had a clarity on the economics of leftism, saying,

Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the State has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves. If the State wishes to spend more it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. It is no good thinking that someone else will pay—that ‘someone else’ is you. There is no such thing as public money; there is only taxpayers’ money.

Maggie clearly understood what most American politicians don’t, namely, that government can spend only as much as citizens produce. Only through taxes or IOUs can the government spend a single penny. Given that our national debt is almost $40 trillion and our unfunded liabilities are approaching $100 trillion, financed by a GDP of $30 trillion, another of her quotes drives home the reality:

We are told that the present Government have learned from their mistakes. I say that they have not learned. They still believe that you can spend your way out of recession and that you can create jobs by inflation… and that is the road to ruin. … You can’t tax and spend your way into prosperity. Eventually, you run out of other people’s money.

(This is more commonly remembered as “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”)

As a merchant’s daughter, Thatcher understood what so many of our career politicians don’t, because so many of them have never had private sector jobs or been part of an enterprise that actually created wealth – and just to be clear, lawyers rarely if ever actually create wealth or anything else of value. A common paraphrase of her remarks about such people is “We have been ruled by men who live by illusions … the illusion that there is some other way of creating wealth than hard work and satisfying your customers.”

Thatcher hit the bullseye with this idea, too, summed up in a common paraphrase: “The patronage state is an arrogant state. It assumes it can spend your money better than you do. Yet it expects you to work for it in the first place.”

Along those same lines, Thatcher anticipated the evolution of the left’s political MO beginning with the ascent of Barack Obama, where every critique, criticism, or disagreement was labeled racism, then expanded to every element of American politics: Homophobic, Islamophobic, Sexist, etc. She clearly recognized the tactics: “I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.”

The Iron Lady addressed what would become one of America’s biggest problems when someone like Donald Trump, who is not a creature of the Swamp and wanted to upset the apple cart, came into office:

Whether it is in the United States or in mainland Europe, written constitutions have one great weakness. That is that they contain the potential to have judges take decisions which should properly be made by democratically elected politicians.

If there’s anything that characterizes America in 2026, it’s the army of black-robed judicial activists who think they have the power to transform themselves into the Executive. These leftist judges are making a mockery of our Constitution, and sadly, Congress and the White House are allowing them to do so.

And she understood that the left was not only a danger at home, but was an equally dangerous threat on the world stage. Her frequent speeches about Marx have resulted in this paraphrase: “To the extent that the West is to blame at all for the ills of the Third World, it is to the extent that the West created Marx and his successors, among whom must be numbered many of those who advised the Third World leaders in post-war years.” From the UN to the EU to the Democrat party, Marxism has almost certainly caused more death and destruction across the country and around the world than any other philosophy in all of human history.

And particularly resonant today is the fact that Thatcher understood what it meant to be an ally. After allowing Reagan to use US bases in the UK to strike Gaddafi, while other European allies wouldn’t allow him to use their airspace, she is reputed to have said the following, although it’s a paraphrase of several speeches, not a quotation:

It had the effect of cementing the Anglo-American alliance. What’s the good of having bases if when you want to use them you’re not allowed to by the home country. It made America realise that Britain was her real and true friend, when they were hard up against it and wanted something, and that no one else in Europe was. They’re a weak lot, some of them in Europe you know. Weak. Feeble.

There were many other jewels, of course. These are two of the best:

“Many of our troubles are due to the fact that our people turn to politicians for everything.”

“Being powerful is a lot like being a woman: If you have to tell someone that you are, invariably, you are not.”

Maggie Thatcher had a clarity of vision and an understanding of the nature of man and the nature of government that few Americans (or Brits for that matter!) appreciate today, and sadly, even fewer politicians.

____________________________________________________________________

Democrat Kings Want Our Heads

What is the real point of these ‘No Kings’ rallies?

BY:          J.B. Shurck, The American Thinker (March 31,2026).

American leftists held another “No Kings” rally last weekend.  Democrats and their ideological allies gathered in city parks and town squares to tell the rest of us how awful we are.  They screamed obscenities and called us “fascists” and “Nazis.”  They demanded President Trump’s removal from office.  Some even brazenly wished for his death. 

To non-leftists, these things are cringeworthy spectacles.  The participants look loony and behave immaturely.  They are not serious people.  Their messages make no sense.  How are they able to protest so vocally if they are living under the yoke of tyranny?  How are they able to call for President Trump’s death if he is truly a malevolent king?  Such riddles are never asked or answered.  We are expected to treat their hurt feelings as reasonable justification for their demands to overthrow the government.  

Democrats’ tantrums resemble nonsensical petitions listing infantile grievances, such as: (1) Hillary really won!  (2) Russia, Russia, Russia!  (3) Don’t forget Epstein!  (4) Trump incited an “insurrection” on January 6!  (5) Biden should have imprisoned Trump!  (6) Kamala really won!  (7) The War in Ukraine is good; the War in Iran is bad!  (8) Trump is attacking the press!  (9) Trump is raising oil prices!  (10) Trump has lost his mind!  (11) Trump will never leave office!  (12) Trump must leave Venezuela and Cuba alone!  (13) Israel controls Trump!  (14) We’re all going to die from “climate change”!  (15) Trump wants to bring back slavery!  (16) Trump is committing “violence” against “trans” kids!  (17) Trump is intentionally dividing the country!  (18) “Undocumented” immigrants are Americans!  (19) The votes of “undocumented” voters must be counted!

This “writ of grievances” sounds as if it came from the addled minds of a bunch of nutters hopped up on amphetamines.  Leftists want to overthrow the government but insist that Trump should be in prison for trying to “overthrow” the government.  They think Biden was of sound mind but that Trump has lost his marbles.  They ignore all of Epstein’s ties to Bill Clinton and other Democrats, while insisting Trump did something nefarious.  They call for “hate speech” and “misinformation” to be prosecuted as crimes, while denouncing Trump’s “attacks” on free speech.  They want Trump’s “monarchy” to impose “climate” regulations that would increase fuel costs, while condemning Trump for causing gas prices to rise.  They accuse Trump of fomenting “division,” while organizing nationwide protests fomenting division.  They insist that Trump’s speech represents “violence” but that their violence is protected “speech.”  It’s all very crazy.  If you are incapable of bending over and sticking your head up your own derrière, then you probably can’t make sense of anything they say.

One social media guru named Yogi beautifully lampooned the “No Kings” protests: “The modern left’s definition of fascism: You love your country?  Fascist.  You want to enforce the border?  Racist.  You think parents should raise their kids?  Bigot.  You want to know who’s voting in your elections?  Jim crow.”  Yogi then pointed out how ridiculous leftists are for ignoring all the aristocrats who have been ruling over them for decades: 

“Congress has a 15% approval rating.  80% of Americans disapprove.  97% of incumbents got re-elected.  Chuck Schumer.  46 years.  Longer than Stalin.  Steny Hoyer.  45 years.  Longer than Mao.  Mitch McConnell.  42 years.  5x more than Napoleon.  Nancy Pelosi.  39 years.  Longer than Henry VIII.  Maxine Waters.  35 years.  Longer than Mussolini.  Bernie Sanders.  35 years.  Triple Hitler’s entire reign.  Trump.  5 years and 3 months.  Won the popular vote and the electoral vote.  But Trump is the king.”

Online and in the streets, leftists call for violence against anyone who disagrees with them.  They bully young conservatives.  They target Republicans at their places of business.  They dox ICE agents.  They vandalize churches.  The corporate news media almost entirely ignore these threats to Americans.  Democrat politicians are rarely asked whether they condone such intimidation and violence, but when they are asked, Democrat officeholders go out of their way to paint the aggressors as “victims” and the victims as “aggressors.”  In this upside-down world, Democrats can commit all kinds of crimes and never be punished, while Republicans are prosecuted for made-up crimes.

This two-tiered “justice” in the United States is leading to disaster.  It is no longer possible for the non-leftist half of the country to ignore the fact that leftists commit crimes with impunity, while abusing the court system to target conservatives.  The Trump administration must find some way to hold accountable those who have caused the most harm, while restoring balance and impartiality to the “justice” system.  So far, little has changed.  

The Russia Collusion Hoax nearly took down a sitting president.  Hillary Clinton and her campaign team fabricated a dossier to frame Donald Trump as a Russian agent.  Barack Obama, John Brennan, James Comey, and so many other major players within the American Intelligence Community conspired to push rank disinformation upon the American people that would somehow justify the fact that the FBI and CIA were spying on the Trump campaign (and every other 2016 Republican primary candidate, for that matter).  We endured unethical lawyer Andrew Weissmann’s two-plus-years investigation of President Trump, and the whole thing was a scam meant to cover up Deep State crimes.  The corporate news media played their role as propagandists by treating the fake scandal as the most important story in the world.  To this day, the country is completely divided over the Russia Hoax.  Democrats have been brainwashed to believe both that the Russian Federation got Trump elected and that Trump secretly works for Vladimir Putin.  When close to half the country has been indoctrinated to believe such outrageous lies, someone important must go to jail!  Instead no-one has been held accountable.  

Similarly, non-leftists watched Democrats and their allies burn down cities during 2020’s Black Lives Matter riots.  Leftists caused billions of dollars in property damage, and several dozen people were killed.  Nevertheless, Kamala Harris and other prominent Democrats raised money to bail out anybody arrested.  The corporate news media ignored all the violence and destruction and instead framed the country’s costliest riots as some glorious “victory” for civil rights.  

Six months later, however, every American who showed up in D.C. to protest 2020’s election fraud was treated as a violent criminal.  Establishment politicians and corporate news propagandists immediately framed the three-hour frolic through the Capitol as an “insurrection.”  The FBI spent the next two years raiding the homes of Americans with no criminal records.  Prosecutors and judges shamelessly conspired to depict the election protest as an organized attempt to “overthrow the government,” even though none of the protesters carried firearms.  Nancy Pelosi convened a congressional show trial to drum up charges of “sedition” and “treason” against President Trump and his MAGA voters.  Only Trump voters were killed on January 6.  A Capitol Police officer shot and killed unarmed Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt.  Nevertheless, politicians (including installed “president” Joe Biden) and news propagandists continue to lie to the public by claiming that J6 protesters “murdered” police officers that day.  Congress even put up a plaque honoring the same Capitol Police who felt the need to kill unarmed women.

Tina Peters sits in jail for fighting election fraud in Colorado.  Social media platforms still censor conservative voices.  A leftist assassinated Charlie Kirk.  Other leftists have repeatedly tried to assassinate President Trump.  And leftists continue to call us “fascists.”  

Until leftist criminals who promote violence against the rest of us are held accountable, America will continue to descend into madness.  Until prominent Democrats are prosecuted for serious crimes, two-tiered “justice” will remain.  President Trump takes his constitutional oath seriously.  It is the Democrat Party that is filled with lawless, bloodthirsty kings.

________________________________________________________________

The ‘Consent of the Governed’ Myth

Politicians like to use the phrase “consent of the governed” to explain the policies that regulate our lives. 

BY:          Jim Cardoza, The American Thinker (April 1, 2026).

Politicians like to use the phrase “consent of the governed” to explain the policies that regulate our lives. They do not merely suggest passive acquiescence to actions of government but an active, informed agreement between the people and the policymakers. Yet, the phrase has obviously become detached from observable reality. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the state of California.

To say that California’s government operates with the “consent of the people” requires us to believe that millions of workers, families, and small business owners have knowingly and enthusiastically chosen a set of policies that, taken together, impose some of the highest costs of living in the United States while simultaneously eroding long-standing norms of accountability, public safety, and parental authority.

First, consider taxation. California consistently ranks among the highest-taxed states in the nation, with steep income taxes, sales taxes, and a growing array of regulatory costs that function as taxes by another name. These regulations are not abstract burdens borne by some distant class of the wealthy; they are embedded in the price of housing, utilities, food, and fuel. For government at this scale to be considered consensual, one would have to imagine that Californians were clamoring to surrender a greater share of their income than residents of nearly every other state.

The same can be said of energy policy. California’s gasoline prices are routinely among the highest in the country, driven not only by global markets but also by state-specific taxes, regulations, and fuel formulations. Moreover, policymakers press forward with plans to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in favor of electric alternatives, even though the market clearly demonstrates most folks don’t want these cars. To explain this as an expression of popular demand is absurd. After all, if people wanted electric vehicles, they would simply buy them rather than insisting on banning the more desirable alternative.

Food costs offer another illustration. When minimum-wage mandates for fast-food workers rose dramatically, the resulting price increases were predictably passed along to consumers, many of whom are themselves of modest means. As a result, more than 1,000 fast-food restaurants had closed as of September 2024, according to Google Maps data, and the price of a cheeseburger is up 13 percent. If this too reflects “consent,” then we must believe that Californians are actively seeking higher prices for everyday goods. 

Public safety policies raise even more serious questions. Cashless bail systems, reduced penalties for certain offenses, and a broader “decarceration” philosophy have been presented as reforms aimed at equity and fairness. But these policies also carry serious consequences — rising concerns about theft, repeat offenses, and diminished deterrence. To describe such outcomes as consensual is to assume that the public has weighed these trade-offs and concluded that the trade-offs are not just acceptable; they are desirable.

Similarly, sanctuary policies and expanded benefits for those residing in the country illegally. These approaches are unavailable elsewhere for very good reasons. For such policies to be the product of consent, one must believe that Californians have explicitly requested to have their confiscated tax dollars spent not to improve their own lives but rather used as a magnet to attract lawbreakers.

The same pattern appears in the realm of firearms regulation. California enforces some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. One must ask, does the breadth and intensity of these restrictions reflect a clear, informed consensus among the populace — or the preferences of a narrower set of policymakers and interest groups?

Education policy provides another striking example. Reports of schools withholding certain information from parents — particularly on sensitive issues involving students’ identity or well-being — raise fundamental questions about who ultimately bears responsibility for children. If parental authority can be set aside by institutional policy, how can it be argued that the resulting system reflects the considered consent of those parents?

Likewise, the debate over “medical” interventions for minors touches on deeply contested ethical terrain. For government to facilitate or fund such procedures is not merely a political decision; it is a profound statement about values, risk, and responsibility. To describe this as consensual governance requires a level of public agreement that does not exist.

Then there is the matter of infrastructure and public spending, exemplified by the state’s high-speed rail project. Originally presented to voters as a modern, efficient transportation solution, it has since become an icon for cost overruns, delays, and shifting objectives.

When the reality of a project diverges so sharply from its initial presentation, the notion of consent morphs into little more than a bad joke. Consent, after all, depends on accurate information. If what was promised is not what is delivered, then the will of the electorate was never really in play.

Few, if any, candidates campaigned on a promise of making their state the most heavily taxed in the nation, restricting consumer choices, raising the everyday cost of food, hiding information from parents, or transferring cash from the wallets of taxpayers to those of illegal aliens. These outcomes are all leftist pipe dreams — the imposition of one-party rule — not reflections on the will of citizens.

When campaign rhetoric is routinely deployed in order to deceive and misdirect, it is little wonder that the concept of “by consent of the governed” rings hollow to California citizens. 

GFK

“I’m proud to pay taxes in the United States; the only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money.”

–Arthur Godfrey.

“The purpose of a tax cut is to leave more money where it belongs: in the hands of the working men and working women who earned it in the first place.”

–former U.S. Senator Robert Dole (R. Ks.).

“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”

–former President Calvin Coolidge (R.).

Today is tax day, and every American ought to be outraged.  They ought to be outraged that government at all levels takes so much of our income.  In some States, the combined federal, State, and local income taxes alone can amount to more than 60%.  And that does not account for real estate taxes, sales taxes, gasoline taxes, licensing fees, and other assorted levies.  It is pure thievery, all in pursuit of political power, and socialized redistribution of wealth schemes.  God only seeks 10% of the fruits of our labors; why should politicians get more?

Yes, yes, yes, but the “rich” can afford to pay more.  So?  Does your neighbor’s wealth give you a claim on a portion of it for your own purposes?  Lenin, meet Marx.

In America, government defines “rich” as anyone with a job.  One of my more liberal relatives was all for taxing the “rich” until she got a job, and realized how much the government took out of her paycheck.  She was not liberal very long.

More than 2/3 of federal spending is unconstitutional.  There is no authority for the federal government to provide citizens with health care, housing, food stamps, Social Security, or any of the other myriad of federal programs.  But our citizenry is both largely ignorant and greedy.  They are ignorant of our Constitution and the purpose of government.  And they are greedy.  Don’t think so?  Try and convince an aid recipient that they are not entitled to their “benefits”.  It will not go well.

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.  It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury.  After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”

—The Daily Oklahoman (December 9, 1951).

Is this not where we are now?  Of course it is!  How do you think we got $39 trillion in debt (and counting).  And that $39 trillion does not include benefits promised by Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid (again, all unconstitutional).

We need to drastically cut spending.  We need to drastically cut regulations.  We need to drastically cut taxes.  We need to make Washington, D.C. into a backwater, which rarely touches our daily lives, and exists mainly as a tourist attraction for families and school field trips.  Can you imagine how much prosperity and opportunity would exist for all if government was not sucking up so much?  Try. 

GFK

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.”

“I am not concerned that you have fallen — I am concerned that you arise.”

“The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”

“From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some trans-Atlantic military giant step the earth and crush us at a blow? Never. All the armies of Europe and Asia…could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. No, if destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men we will live forever or die by suicide.”

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

–Abraham Lincoln (16^th President of the United States of America)

On this date in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln attended a performance of the play, Our American Cousin, at Ford’s Theatre which is situated on 10^th Street, NW, in Washington, D.C.  At approximately 10:00 p.m., actor, Confederate sympathizer, and spy, John Wilkes Booth, entered the President’s box and shot President Lincoln, mortally wounding him.  He then leapt from the box onto the stage, waving his pistol, and yelling “Sic Semper Tyrannis” (Latin for, “Thus ever to tyrants”).  Booth escaped from the city, and remained at large until April 26, when he was shot at a Virginia farm.  President Lincoln died 9 hours after being shot, on the morning of April 15, 1865.

While Booth’s motivation for the assassination of President Lincoln was presumably to aid the Southern cause, his actions probably did more to harm that cause than any other.  Before, during, and following the War, the radical Republicans sought to punish the Southern States.  It is believed, based upon all historic evidence, that President Lincoln would have restrained the radical Republicans and effected a more just reconciliation.  Only a victorious War President could possibly accomplish that; history reveals that a slightly regarded Democrat Vice-President suddenly elevated to the office of President was wholly ineffectual in that effort.

There is much to criticize President Lincoln for as to his conduct of the War.  But there is much good to recognize, as he struggled to maintain the unity of a country that he truly believed could not stand divided.  He used suspect methods in the pursuit of victory, but made it clear before his death that charity and reconciliation would mark the post-war recovery.  Sadly, he never got to implement his plan.  One can only wonder what would have happened had John Wilkes Booth failed on that fateful night 161 years ago.

GFK

Artemis II returned safely to Earth last Friday, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off of the California coast. It was a marvel, as the astronauts flew further than any astronaut had ever flown before in space.

I enjoyed watching the liftoff, the pictures taken in space, and the return to Earth. It is truly an amazing achievement, something that no other country could ever pull off. Only American genius could accomplish this mission.

I remember the first American forays into space. I was fascinated then, and am no less fascinated today. It is mind boggling to think what heights our country has scaled in such a short time.

When my grandmother was born in the early 20th century, she grew up in a house without electricity. Man had yet to accomplish flight. Cars were rare, and roads were rarer. Women could not vote. There was no television, and radio was in a nascent stage. And just in her lifetime, America built a network of highways, refrigerators and gas and electric stoves were common, most households owned an automobile, women voted, jets–not prop planes–crisscrossed the country and the world, television and radio were ubiquitous, and man not only went into space, but landed on the moon. Several times.

Though she did not live to see it, it was not long after my grandmother died that cellular telephones came into common use, and desktop computers were widely available. Today, a single Apple iPhone that can fit into your shirt pocket has more computing power than was onboard the Apollo 11 rocket that went to the moon and back.

Perhaps we as a society have become complacent, even bored, unimpressed by the genius and accomplishments of our fellow man. We may have become so comfortable that we fail to appreciate our advancements, achievements, and just how momentous are these things. I hope not. I hope that parents still encourage their children to marvel at the events happening around them. And I hope that parents are interested and impressed too. We live in a marvelous age. Let us stop and appreciate the moment. Let us live in the moment. Let us not let life pass us by.

Iranian militias attacked U.S. diplomats in Baghdad, Iraq. Why are we negotiating with these people?

Predictably, the Iran/United States peace negotiations collapsed. Iran has no intention in living in peace. Iran never intended to live in peace. Bomb it back into the Stone Age.

“Israel is a curse for humanity.  I hope and pray people who created this cancerous state on Palestinian land to get rid of European jews [sic] burn in hell.”

–Pakistan’s Foreign Minister. 

WHO in the Trump Administration thought it was a good idea to have Pakistan host these peace talks? WHO?

United States naval ships are traversing the Straits of Hormuz, clearing the waterway of Iranian mines. Iran is livid that its nonsensical claim of sovereignty over the Straits is being ignored.

China is preparing to send air defense systems to Iran. That would not be a smart move.

“If you make these kinds of, let’s go for the 25th Amendment, and then, you know, then we have, we have a ceasefire, then it’s like, TACO, TACO, TACO. I mean, you know, like, you can’t have it both ways.  I mean, so where we are, it’s like, strange to be gleeful that we still have to accomplish some things and make these kinds of statements.  I mean, you know, I’m old enough to remember we used to root for our military, and we would all agree that Iran is the world’s leading terrorism underwriter.”

–Senator John Fetterman (D. Pa.).

Did you ever think you would see the day when John Fetterman was the most normal and reasonable Democrat elected official?

House of Representatives Democrats are demanding that President Trump submit to a cognitive test by a physician of their choosing, and that the results be released to the public. It is not going to happen.

The Democrats dismissed any notion that China Joe was suffering from declining cognitive abilities. But President Trump? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Representative Eric Swalwell (D. Ca.) continues to be the subject of credible claims of sexual assault and harassment by his former staffers. In addition to the original accuser, 4 more women have come forward with detailed and verifiable complaints of sexual assault. Mr. Swalwell denies–weakly–the allegations. But now, Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D. Ca.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D. N.Y.) have called for him to drop out of the California Governor race. Notably, they are not demanding he resign from Congress.

It also turns out that Mr. Swalwell and his wife used campaign funds to pay his children’s nanny. Who is, it turns out, an illegal alien.

Is it not just amusing that Eric Swalwell, the biggest pusher of releasing the Epstein files because he is convinced that there is evidence that President Trump was an abuser of women, is he, himself, the subject of credible allegations for abusing women? Also, this is the man who declared now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh guilty of rape, before the 1st witness was even sworn. This is just too delicious. It could not happen to a nicer guy.

Representative Maria Salazar (R. Fl.) keeps insisting her DIGNIDAD Act isn’t amnesty; that it merely grants “dignity” to long-term illegal immigrants who play by the new rules she wrote.  HORSE HOCKEY!  Her bill is a backdoor path to citizenship for millions of people who broke our laws to get here.  Congress should kill it outright, and every Republican co-sponsor should pull their name off it and apologize to their constituents.

The United States Board of Immigration Appeals issued a final deportation order for anti-Semitic, Columbia University agitator Mahmoud Khalil. Good-bye!

Commiela said the “might” run for President in 2028. Oh, please. Please do!

Take that “Maryland Man”, illegal alien Kilmar Abrego-Garcia. He is an MS-13 gang member, a wife beater, human trafficker, and goodness knows what else. HE WOULD QUALIFY for a “path to citizenship” under Representative Salazar’s bill. Abrego-Garcia deserves no “dignity”. He deserves deportation to El Salvador.

“They’re going to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country July 4th, but that’s not our celebration.  We were slaves then, and they celebrate signing the Declaration of Independence 1776.  We were not even emancipated until 1863.  So I don’t know what everybody getting ready for a celebration [for].  You know that it seems crazy for me to have on the birthday hat at your birthday party.  That ain’t my party.”

–“Reverend” Al Sharpton, exhibiting his usual racist, demagogic, anti-American stupidity.

Governor Wes Moore (D. Md.) is in a snit because The Baltimore Sun is investigating discrepancies (i.e. lies) in his military record. Governor Moore maintains presidential ambitions, and the truth about his past could sink those ambitions. So Governor Moore is doing what Democrats do; he is attacking the messenger, rather than addressing the substance of the allegations. Governor Moore is accusing the Sun of being a “radical right-wing newspaper”, which is engaged in a “smear job”. Huh. The Baltimore Sun is a “radical right-wing newspaper”? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! If only! There is not a “radical right-wing newspaper” in Maryland. Heck, in Maryland “radical right-wing” Republicans could hold their meetings in a telephone booth (if only there were still telephone booths).

“While America suffers, Chevron profits.”

–Governor Gavin Newsom (D. Ca.), blasting the oil company for making profits while gasoline prices rise at the pump.

Uh, Governor.  Oil companies are supposed to profit.  If they do not, there will be no gasoline to buy at the pump.

There is rampant fraud in California, relating to its social services, for which it receives billions of dollars in federal funding. California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D.) held a press conference wherein he promised to prosecute the fraud, and laid blame for the fraud on . . . President Trump. Sigh. Of course. Orange Man Bad.

Fairfax County, Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano (D.) is a disgrace. He has yet to meet a criminal he did not want to release back into society. Case in point, is the illegal alien who repeatedly sexually assaulted female students in a local public high school. Mr. Descano undercharged the defendant, charging him with simple assault, as opposed to the more serious sexual assault, failed to bring charges applicable to the case, and failed to subpoena witnesses until 1 day before trial. In other words, the Commonwealth’s Attorney–Steve Descano–tanked the trial. He refused to do his job. He is knowingly, purposefully, protecting a criminal illegal alien.

The Fairfax County public school system has more “holidays” than any other public school system in Virginia. Though Fairfax County is overwhelmingly white, most of those holidays are devoted to minority, Third World celebrations. For example, the school system does not take off on Veterans’ Day, but does take off on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a non-existent celebration. Columbus Day is, of course, not recognized. Neither is Good Friday. But Orthodox Good Friday is recognized, as is Easter Monday, which is not an American, but a Canadian holiday. And various days are taken off during April, which is “Arab-American Month”. Because, “. . . diversity is not a weakness, but a strength, one that enriches American society, deepens our collective story, honors our differences, while affirming our unity.” Sigh.

New York City Comrade Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D.) publicly stated he would have the last word on all New York Police Department decisions — not Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Oh, my!

“When my son’s lips turned blue, my wife and I had to pause and ask ourselves: can we afford the ambulance?  No Kansas family should ever have that conversation.”

–Noah Taylor (D.), in a campaign ad for his Congressional race.

Is this guy for real?  Does he think that deliberating over summoning medical help for his son makes him an appealing candidate?  My goodness!

Leftists are at war with their neighbors’ well-maintained, properly manicured lawns. It seems that, according to the perpetually aggrieved, well-maintained, properly manicured lawns are manifestations of “white supremacy”. That is interesting. What if your neighbor is a person of color (colored person?)? This is all so confusing.

In-N-Out burgers are the best for a reason. And it is that reason that In-N-Out CEO Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson issued a statement that In-N-Out will not expand to online ordering, or permit ordering and delivery by Door Dash, Uber Eats, or any other delivery service. Because in person service is part of the In-N-Out experience, and the company will not compromise.

It was also revealed that In-N-Out would not be expanding to the East Coast. I am crushed. Not surprised. But crushed.

I may have to return to California. I do not want to do so. But I may have to. In-N-Out burgers are that good.

Kentucky Fried Chicken is bringing back its Snackers–a fried chicken cutlet on a sesame bun with lettuce and mayonnaise–to its menu. Fans are ecstatic.

“I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy businesses bills go up and down on energy because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.”

–British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, criticizing President Trump over the conduct of hostilities with Iran.

The rather unimpressive Prime Minister is not able to defend his country from threats from countries, such as Iran. Fine. But is it too much to ask him to be a tad grateful who actually act to protect his citizens?

Congratulations to Rory McIlroy on winning The Masters. It was his second consecutive victory. Well played.

At the halfway point of the tournament, Rory McIlroy held a record 6 shot lead over the rest of the lead. But by the end of the 3rd round, Rory McIlroy was tied for the lead going into Sunday, with several big names right on his heels. It was not that Rory McIlroy squandered his lead so much as the rest of the field caught him. Saturday’s round was a thrilling stretch to watch.

On Sunday, charges were made, and it appeared that McIlroy was doomed. Sam Burns charged, and failed. Cameron Young charged, took command, and then fell behind. He continued to pursue, but failed by just inches, hole by hole. Justin Rose, who finished 2nd last year, looked ready to prevail, but faded to a tie for 3rd. Scottie Scheffler, who started the weekend 12 back, finished strong, losing by a close margin, finishing 2nd. In the end, Rory McIlroy prevailed, finishing the back nine on Sunday in true championship form. It was a great tournament.

Phil Garner, MLB player and manager, has died at age 76. R. I. P.

GFK

Today is traditionally called “Low Sunday.” While some may think this refers to the typically low attendance following the Queen of Feasts the Sunday previous, this is not the case! “Low” refers to the ending of the octave of Easter. On the Octave Day of Easter, there are fewer expressions of solemnity, thus “lower” liturgically. For example, the double alleluia at the dismissal of Easter goes away, as does the Sequence, both of which were recited throughout the week-day Masses.

The somewhat cryptic Epistle for this Sunday is from the First Epistle General of S. John. Note that it begins, whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. Not, “whosover,” but “whatsoever.” The “what” referenced here is our faith. Our faith, which is a free gift from God, is given to us to help us overcome the world. By “world,” S. John does not mean the created order, made by God for man to enjoy. Rather, the “world” is all that is contrary to God’s intention for creation. The created order is meant to point us to the Creator Himself. However, ever since that first sin entered creation, the created order has been distorted. Now we experience many occasions where we are tempted away from the reality of God into the darkness of sin.

The object of our faith is the person of Jesus the Christ, the Anointed of God as foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures. His divinity is revealed repeatedly in the Gospels. We see it in His baptism in the Jordan River at the hand of John the Baptist. He makes this claim in His teaching, and we are made aware of it in the Transfiguration. But most especially, we see His divinity, “the glory of God,” revealed on the cross.

Throughout His ministry, Our Lord claimed that He came solely to perform the will of His Father. By closely observing the words and actions of the Incarnate Son we see the Father revealed. The Son is the icon of the Father, the window through which we look to see the Father revealed to us. We see the will of the Father revealed on the cross, and more especially in the Blood of Our Lord’s Sacrifice poured out on the altar of the cross. The Perfect Sacrifice offers Himself, thus accomplishing the will of God. “It is finished.” God’s will has been carried out to its end and in so doing the Son gives Himself back completely to the Father.

In the midst of this is the witness of the Holy Ghost. All that God does is done by all of God. And so too is the Spirit present, testifying to the fact that the Son has carried out faithfully the will of the Father. The Spirit cannot lie, as God cannot lie. His testimony is infallibly true and so all three witnesses are in agreement: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The requirement of the Law of Moses that three witnesses must agree in their entirety to provide satisfactory evidence is met in the witness of the Blessed Trinity.

S, John is telling us in his epistle that when we place our faith in Christ and in His sacrifice on the cross, we are given the power to overcome the distractions and temptations that would divert us from our true end. We have been created to share in the divine life; we are meant for God. Through the cross, Our Lord has made it possible for us to regain that relationship lost in the Garden of Eden. 

The Easter season is one of celebration. Our Lord’s victory over our ancient enemies of sin and death means that in Him we can share in His triumph. This is the essence of our faith. And although we recognize that our faith may grow weak or even be lost through carelessness, may we ever pray that this gift of faith be continually strengthened within us.

___________________________________________________________________

Secularism, liberalism and Islam sapping the West’s rich religious tradition

Fewer worshippers and shifting beliefs signal a deeper cultural transformation

BY:          Robert Knight, The Washington Times (March 29, 2026).

Last week, the Church of England made history by installing its first female archbishop of Canterbury.

A color photo of Sarah Mullally in full regalia, complete with her golden robe and miter, graced the front page of The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

For feminists, it was another cultural triumph. For traditionalists, it was yet another sign of the church’s surrender to woke ideology.

The Church of England is down from about 3 million members in 1955 to around 1 million today. Of those, about 413,000 attend weekly church services, compared with 1.5 million in 1955.

The cause of the decline has been linked to immigration and population trends, growing secularism (half of the British population now self-identifies as nonreligious) and the church’s gradual embrace of liberal doctrines.

Ms. Mullally, for example, once described herself as “pro-choice rather than pro-life.” She later added some nuance, saying, “This is a complex debate, and I don’t think my or others’ views can be so simply categorized.” Sure, they can.

She also champions the social justice and LGBTQ agendas that are turning the once-staid institution into an English version of a Marxist, San Francisco-style “church of what’s happenin’ now.”

She supports gay clergy and ceremonial blessings of same-sex couples but has stopped short of advocating same-sex marriage. She says she hopes this will help keep the worldwide Anglican Communion together. This is no easy trick when its only growth is in conservative, Third World congregations where they take the Bible seriously.

In the United States, the Episcopal Church USA, a member of the Anglican Communion, is in a similar tailspin, with left-wing leadership and a dwindling flock, some of whom have fled to conservative Anglican congregations. The Episcopal Church USA embraces gay clergy, same-sex weddings, transgender activism and unrestricted access to abortion for “those who can bear children.”

In 1955, there were about 2.7 million Episcopalians, of whom 1.5 million attended weekly services. By 2023, Episcopal Church USA membership was down to 1.5 million, with 413,000 people attending services. For some reason, they stopped issuing statistics in 2024.

They still do have a lot of beautiful, empty buildings from which the spirit has flown.

Why does all this matter? The Church of England was once the spiritual heartbeat of the whole English-speaking world, along with Roman Catholicism. It played a huge role in the formation of America’s Protestant ethic and the views of the founders of America’s constitutional republic.

When roots dry up, a plant dies and other things grow in its place. Among those things taking root in what was once America’s mother country are atheism, agnosticism and Islam.

Britain’s Muslims now number more than 4 million and account for 6.5% of the population, including 15% of Greater London. From 2011 to 2021, the Muslim population increased by 1.2 million.

Half the Muslims in Britain are British-born, and this segment is growing far faster than the general population, which now numbers around 68 million.

At the same time, Jews, who have played key roles over the course of British history, including the two terms of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, now number about 313,000, making them only the fifth-largest religious group behind Protestants, Catholics, Muslims and Hindus.

Not uncoincidentally, Britain has shown a rise in antisemitism, especially in urban areas once considered safe. On March 23, two men were arrested in London on charges of setting fire to four Jewish-owned ambulances. Police are investigating whether the perpetrators were part of an Islamist group with links to Iran.

Since the start of the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran on Feb. 28, several anti-Jewish attacks have taken place in Europe. On March 14, a bomb was detonated outside a Jewish school in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam. A day earlier, five teenagers suspected in an arson attack at a Rotterdam synagogue were arrested. On March 9, a bomb was set off near a synagogue in Liege, Belgium.

The point is that Jews and Christians have reason not to be complacent as the West’s rich religious traditions are sapped by secularism, liberalism and a vibrant Islam. A culture that won’t defend its core values is ripe for replacement.

Think of what a young, radicalized Muslim thinks when he sees Zohran Mamdani take over New York’s Gracie Mansion and lead a ceremonial Islamic feast on the floor of the mayor’s office.

How about when he sees hundreds of his fellow believers occupy Times Square and Washington Square in Manhattan for open-air prayer sessions not far from 2001’s ground zero? You couldn’t blame him for thinking he was on the winning team and that America’s Judeo-Christian culture was on its way out.

Likewise, consider what a young, radicalized Muslim living in London thinks when he sees the Church of England being led by a woman quite comfortable with whatever modern conceits are pasted into her faith’s sacred text.

In “The Abolition of Man,” C.S. Lewis wrote that modern Western society was worse off because of the rise of what Arnold Schwzenegger later called “girlie men.”

“We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise,” Lewis wrote. “We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.”

Or we replace them altogether with a female archbishop of Canterbury who is no Maggie Thatcher.

___________________________________________________________________

What Happens If States Start Codifying Muslim Holidays In Their Calendars?

It’s an important question to ask because doing just that is on California’s legislative agenda.

BY:          Denice Gary-Pandol, The American Thinker (April 2, 2026).

Should California codify Islamic religious observances into state-recognized holidays in the United States?

As a nation, the essence of who we are as a People is rooted in our Judeo-Christian values and principles, dating back to the Magna Carta. This shared moral vocabulary has shaped Western thinking since America’s founding. Why, then, would any State in the Union formally endorse or incorporate into our educational and other public institutions a religious doctrine with practices antithetical to the belief system?

AB 2017, introduced by Progressive Democrats Assemblyman Matt Haney and Senator Aisha Wahab, proposes adding Eid al-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast) and Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice) to California’s recognized holidays. If enacted, the bill would do the following:

• Authorize public schools and community colleges to close in observance of these holidays
• Expand the list of excused absences statewide
• Establish formal recognition of Islamic religious practices within taxpayer-funded institutions

What must be noted regarding this legislative proposal is the historical foundation in American law and government. What America’s Founding-era figures openly and in writing acknowledged is that our Judeo-Christian moral beliefs, not Islam, influenced the foundation of our system of government and legal system.

The Jews introduced monotheism into the earth realm and gave us the Holy Scriptures, including the Ten Commandments, which, since the Birth of our Nation, have been displayed on numerous public buildings as a “foundational” historical document. In truth, such documents were once taught in our finest schools and universities alongside Scripture and the Hebrew language.

These Judeo-Christian beliefs include deeply held concepts such as the inherent dignity of man, God-given Natural Rights, and the Rule of Law—all grounded in ethical and moral accountability.

To underscore this historical influence, note a letter from President John Adams to Francis Adrian Van der Kemp in 1809. He wrote,

I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist and believed in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing nations … [and] … I should believe that chance had ordered the Jews to preserve and propagate to all mankind the doctrine of a supreme, intelligent, wise, Almighty Sovereign of the universe, which I believe to be the great essential principle of all morality, and consequently of all civilization.

Consider, too, the obvious lack of justice in codifying a Muslim holiday. It has been Jewish Americans who have contributed so much to the exceptionalism that is America, and they are a people who never thought to fly planes into American buildings in order to kill thousands. Instead, Jewish Americans have made profound and numerous contributions to American society in the areas of medicine, science, technology, and our national security, without receiving state holidays in their honor.

Indeed, at the start of the American Revolution, approximately 2,500 Jews were living in the colonies. As part of their support for the Revolution, many individuals, such as Haym Salomon, were financial pillars of the war.

Not only did Saloman support the Patriots by providing rather large financial services, but he, like so many others, risked his life as a member of the Sons of Liberty, leading the British to arrest him repeatedly on espionage charges. Furthermore, other men, such as Colonel Isaac Franks, served as George Washington’s aide-de-camp and were personal friends.

If California passes legislation that formally recognizes Islamic holidays, would it also extend the same recognition to Jewish holidays, Hindu festivals, Sikh holy days, Buddhist observances, and/or Jain religious events, none of which are officially recognized? What is the limiting principle? Where would this precedent end? Should multiculturalism extend so far as to require equal recognition of all religious systems? This is neither practical nor sustainable. And note, the Jewish population exceeds the Muslim population by nearly 2 to 1.

In addition, the cultural and ethical implications of making Eid al-Fitr, the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” and Eid al-Adha, the “Festival of Sacrifice,” holidays will set an unholy paradigm. Why? Because Eid al-Fitr is a celebration following Ramadan, which means great persecution and suffering against Christians and Jews, particularly in Muslim countries.

And Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, involves the ritual slaughter of animals as a religious act. Around the world, this practice includes the mass slaughter of sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes, camels, and other animals. Publications report Eid al-Adha as “the saddest day of the year” for animal lovers. In 2017, news outlets photographed “rivers of blood” and a photo of a little girl dressed in her best clothes, standing in a “river of blood.”

For many Americans—especially animal welfare advocates—this raises serious ethical concerns. Is it appropriate for the state to endorse or normalize such practices through official recognition? No. Once more, such an outcome would be multiculturalism run amok.

Religious asymmetry also raises concerns. Under Islamic law, celebration of non-Islamic religious holidays is forbidden for adherents to Islam. This raises an important question:

Why should a society rooted in religious pluralism extend recognition to a religious/political belief where celebration of a non-Muslim holiday is unlawful and a punishable offense?

And from a security and public policy perspective, consider the following: There are active threats to the homeland. In California alone, there are 16 active ISIS or Islamic State-related investigations. These investigations are in addition to the ongoing Islamic terrorist threat from Islamic Palestinian, Hizballah, and other groups.

In recent testimony from U.S. intelligence leadership at the U.S. Senate’s Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community on March 18, 2026, FBI Director Patel made clear that in December of last year alone, 4 Islamic terrorist attacks or mass casualty events were averted, including a “bombing campaign” in Southern California. Moreover, Christians and Jews continue to be tortured and/or murdered for their faith in Muslim countries.

This debate on Muslim holidays in California is about policy, precedent, and principles.

• Islam is a religious as well as a totalitarian (political) belief system. Islamism has been compared to both Communism and Nazism. It is not a race, nor is it an ethnicity.
• Critiquing public policy decisions is not intolerance, nor is it racist.

In conclusion, California—and the nation as a whole—faces a fundamental question:

• Do we continue to expand official recognition of religious observances across an ever-growing spectrum?
• Or do we preserve our foundational values, our legal traditions, and the integrity of our public institutions?

AB 2017 would erode the very nature of who we are as a People, what America stands for, our very culture and way of life.

If you’re a California voter, you can act by contacting your own representative or by contacting Assemblyman Haney at 916.319.2017 and Senator Wahab at 916.651.4410 to SAY NO TO AB 2017.

GFK

Alice:     “Where should I go?”

The Cheshire Cat:            “That depends on where you want to end up.”

–Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

The ceasefire with Iran is falling apart. Iran claims that the United States agreed to things that the United States did not agree to at all. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Missiles are still being launched at Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Iran has no interest in peace, and its behavior demonstrates that it is unserious.

What will President Trump do? The Observations submits that there is only 1 thing he can do; bomb Iran back to the Stone Age. Only with regime change will there be any chance for a lasting peace in that region.

“This is not ok.  Invoke the 25th amendment.  Impeach.  Remove.  This unhinged lunatic must be removed from office.”

–Representative Ilhan Omar (D. Mn.).

Mr. Trump is not an “unhinged lunatic”. And he did not marry his brother, unlike a certain member of Congress. Let us deport this woman, and liberate the citizens of her Minneapolis Congressional district.

Federal judge Brian Murphy, a China Joe appointee who must love getting slapped down by the appellate courts, ruled that the Trump Administration could not withdraw Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopian aliens present in the United States. What part of “temporary” does Judge Murphy not understand?

“The attacks on tourists and Easter worshippers in Sri Lanka are an attack on humanity.”

–Barak Hussein Obama, commenting on terrorist attacks that occurred on Easter Sunday at 3 churches in the majority Muslim country.

“Easter worshippers”?  Does he mean Christians?  And does he not know that Christians do not worship Easter.  Christians worship Jesus Christ.

Barack Obama’s “Easter worshippers” locution was more than a stylistic choice; it was symptomatic of anti-Westernism and a deeper reluctance to confront uncomfortable realities about religious persecution in the Muslim world.  Muslim leaders who preside over or tolerate the eradication of Christian communities should face unrelenting international pressure to reform or be exposed as enablers of atrocity.  And the West—if led by leaders with a clearer moral vision—should stand unapologetically with the persecuted Church.  Anything less is not diplomacy; it is surrender.

Christians are not seasonal worshippers or abstract “people of faith.”  They are the body of Christ under siege, and their defense is a test of our civilization’s soul.  History will judge those who looked away.

In Fairfax County, Virginia, 75% of murders just this year were committed by illegal aliens. Governor Abigail Spanberger (D. Va.) continues to insist that Virginia embrace her “sanctuary” policies, and refuse to cooperate with ICE and the Border Patrol. Enter Border Czar Tom Homan who informed Governor Spanberger that her obstinance will not prevent federal law enforcement from doing its job, and that he would just send ICE agents into the Commonwealth.

The Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C. is already preparing for its annual “Pride” celebration during the month of June. Nothing like getting an early start on the celebration of sin!

The Masters golf tournament is being played this weekend. Now that Spring has sprung, the sporting world’s eyes turn South to Augusta, Georgia, where the world’s greatest golfers gather to contend for the season’s first “major” tournament. The magnolias, dogwoods, and azaleas are in full bloom. The green grass is meticulously maintained. There are carpets in homes which are not as nice as the fairways. The wind is warm and light. The Sun shines benevolently down on, perhaps, the most beautiful golf course in the United States, if not the world.

For those lucky enough to be admitted to Augusta National Golf Club’s hallowed grounds, it is a return to a simpler time. Cellphones, cameras, and other technology are banned, thus requiring the patrons to live in the moment. Pimiento cheese and egg salad sandwiches are eaten, and Georgia peach ice cream sandwiches are in high demand. There is no running, or obnoxious cheering or jeering. Patrons are knowledgeable and polite, acknowledging good shots, and lamenting poor shots.

English and I are not lucky enough to be there this year. Uncle Tom’s widow possesses his badges, and so far, our telephone has not rung nor has an invitation otherwise been extended. But we will watch the tournament on television this weekend. It is the best show of the year.

Mark Calcavecchia, the winner of the 1989 Open Championship, was removed by Augusta National Golf Club security for using his phone this week at the Masters.  The members take their rules very seriously.

“How are you guys?  No wonder you’re smiling working with this good-looking chick, eh . . . .”

–Gary Player, addressing male members of The Golf Channel crew, and referring to Anna Jackson, an on air host, at The Masters on Wednesday.

Social media erupted following Gary Player’s remarks, calling him names that we will not reprint here. LIGHTEN UP PEOPLE! It was a compliment. Gary Player is 90 years old, he is not a pervert, and he has a lifelong reputation as a gentleman. GOODNESS, WHY IS EVERYONE SO DAMN SENSITIVE?!?

Former Los Angeles Dodger 2nd baseman Davey Lopes has died at age 80. R. I. P.

GFK

HdQrs Army of No Va
10th April 1865

General Order No. 9                                                                                                                       

After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.

I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them, But feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.

By the terms of the agreement, Officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you His blessing and protection.

With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell.

R E Lee
Genl

Today, April 9, 1865, is the date that General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to U.S. General Grant, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.  The trench warfare around Richmond and Petersburg had bled and exhausted both Lee’s men and supplies, and caused him to seek fresh supplies and the unification of his forces with those of General Joseph Johnston who was then in north central North Carolina.  Fast moving Union troops cut off Lee’s hoped for supply line, and a decision was forced upon him.  He could release his troops to scatter into the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountain ridges, fighting a guerilla battle against the invaders.  Or he could, in essence, end the War by surrender. 

Lee was urged from all corners to slip into the mountains, and not surrender.  The fate of the Confederacy lay heavy on his shoulders.  For 4 years his troops had fought valiantly, against great odds, and had come within a whisker of complete victory in the war on more than 1 occasion.  His troops behaved with honor, and with pride, in love of their country.  The war had not been in vain, yet it appeared to be on the verge of an inglorious end.  Reviewing his battered and undernourished troops, Robert E. Lee reached the most difficult decision of his life.  He would surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to General Grant.  The War would end.

Lee, dressed in his best uniform, arrived at the house of Wilmer McLean to meet with General Grant.  The Battle of First Manassas had been fought on Mr. McLean’s farm in Prince William County, and he had thereafter moved South to avoid the War, with the irony being that it all ended at his new home at Appomattox Court House.  General Grant was dressed shabbily, in a private’s uniform, when he cordially greeted Lee.  The 2 men talked of better days, at West Point, and of their time in the U.S. Army.  Eventually the conversation turned to the matter at hand, wherein Lee accepted what can only be described as generous terms.  The Confederate soldiers were to be paroled, and absent again taking up arms against the United States, they would not be prosecuted or punished.  Officers could keep their sidearms, and all men could keep their horses and mules, so as to assist in the Spring planting.  At Lee’s urging, Grant relented to allow the soldiers to keep their rifles so as to permit them to hunt game for food.  And then it was over.  General Grant ordered his troops to make available food and clothing supplies to the beleaguered Confederate troops.  General Lee took his leave.  There was not gloating, retribution, or anger.  The War, for all practical purposes, was over.

Ceasefire? The Straits of Hormuz to open? President Trump announced a 2 week ceasefire, and that Iran would open the Straits of Hormuz. But there is 1 problem; Iran. It is an untrustworthy nation, whose leaders lie about everything. It is more likely that the bombing will have to resume soon.

Indeed, after the ceasefire was announced, bombs were still raining down on Israel. Iran announced it would “destroy” any ships that sought to pass through the Straits of Hormuz without its permission. An internal statement released by the Iranian government to its people hailed its defeat of the United States, and its determination to acquire and use nuclear weapons against the enemies of Allah. Hmmmm.

President Trump has information not possessed by The Observations. Perhaps the ceasefire is a good idea. Perhaps it will work, and peace will prevail. Perhaps.

But The Observations submits that history is a powerful teacher, and history teaches that Iran’s mullahs cannot be trusted, and will never abandon their mission to destroy Israel and the United States (indeed, Western Civilization). We expect the bombings to resume, sooner than later.

Democrats have been opposed to the war with Iran, openly cheering for America’s defeat. They have repeatedly accused the President and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of committing “war crimes”. They decried the President’s threat to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age. AND THEN, after the President announced the 2 week ceasefire, the Democrats accused the President of backing down, chickening out, and tanking U.S. interests. Sigh.

It does not matter what President Trump does, as the Democrats will oppose whatever it is. Trump Derangement Syndrome.

“The President’s mental faculties are collapsing and cannot be trusted.  To every individual in the President’s chain of command: You have a duty to refuse illegal orders. That includes carrying out this threat [against Iran].”

–Puddin’head, cheering for America to lose its war with Iran.

Puddin’head is not merely stupid.  She is also vile, dangerous, and unpatriotic.

A former staffer has accused Representative Eric Swalwell (D. Ca.) of sexually pursuing his female interns and staffers. Representative Swalwell predictably blamed the accusations on . . . President Trump. Because, Orange Man Bad.

Twenty (20) House Republicans introduced a bill–the Dignidad Act–which is a radical amnesty bill for illegal aliens. It also expands immigration from the Third World. And among other indignities, the bill is written in Spanish. A Congressional bill, written in Spanish. Sigh.

Is it any wonder that the Republicans are The Stupid Party? Is it? Because this bill is the epitome of stupid!

“Trump is a military moron.  His war, with a price tag of $44 billion and $4+ gas, made us worse off today than we were when he started it.  And if he restarts this war we will be in even worse shape.  We must pass our War Powers Resolution to end this war for good.”

–Senator Charles Schumer (D. N.Y.).

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D.) is crowing about all the investments and jobs she just brought to the Commonwealth. One (1) problem. The firms she is touting and for which she is claiming credit had already committed to the Commonwealth under Governor Glenn Youngkin (R.).

Abigail Spanberger is such a liar.

The Minneapolis, Minnesota City Council is considering legalizing the opening of public venues whereby consenting adults could engage in sexual activity (i.e. bathhouses). Almost 40 years ago, these venues were outlawed, due to the outbreak of AIDS. We guess that the City Council misses that scourge, having forgotten lessons learned.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ANGIE WEINERTH! Robert tells me he gave you everything to celebrate your special day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Musso & Frank’s Grill.  For 107 years, the iconic watering hole on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles has been serving up the coldest martinis, and perfectly charred steaks to the famous, infamous, and everyone else in between.  If you find yourself in LaLa Land, you should stop by, settle down in one of the red leather booths, and prepare for an experience like no other. 

Former San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick will be publishing his memoir later this year. Crayons are not included.

GFK