Not just an open-source treasure hunt, but a COVID vaccine problem supersource

 

By now I'm sure readers are aware that last weekend, the Department of Health and Human Services released an open-source 11GB file containing every single Medicare claim from 2018 to 2024 - not individual patient diagnoses and private information, but every charge claimed against Medicare for every procedure by every provider.  It's a gold mine of information that may lead to literal gold mines for those who find evidence of fraud and abuse in the data.  As Jeff Childers pointed out:

This is clearly not just a DOGE project. It is a coordinated effort across the Trump Administration. For example, timed with the release of the data, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a related new program. Not only have they open-sourced the research, but they have gamified it. Bessent said Treasury was setting up a website for people to report Medicare fraud— and they’ll get up to 30% of whatever’s fined and recovered.

If the $1 trillion fraud estimate is even half right, the government just turned fraud detection into the world’s largest treasure hunt. Some kid in a bedroom with a laptop, a chatbot, and a case of energy drinks might make more money this year than most hedge fund managers. Dog the Bounty Hunter: Fraud Edition is coming soon, to a laptop near you.

Social media quickly began lighting up across the board. Within hours of the data release, citizen analysts had started flagging facilities billing for physically impossible numbers of procedures, clinics with addresses at residential apartments diagnosing hundreds of children with autism per month, and at least one provider that seems to have performed more Medicaid services than there are actual humans in its zip code.

However, the biggest aspect of this data treasure trove might be the unveiling, at long last, of the problems caused by COVID vaccines.

While most folks were off and running hunting for fraud bounties, the covid warriors instantly saw the other, riper fruit hanging higher up in the HHS data’s branches ... And now they have AI to help crunch the numbers, build spreadsheets, put up websites, and suggest, “Would you like me to draft the lawsuit?”

Since the agency was birthed by progressive geniuses in the Carter Administration, HHS has diligently protected the privacy of Big Pharma by keeping a death-grip on Americans’ health data. Even though, during the exact same period, we got fatter by the minute, our health got worse and worse, and we spent more and more trillions on healthcare. It’s none of your business because privacy. Science! Trust the experts! Shut up!

Now, taking the corporate media, pharma, and the political establishment completely by surprise, the data is suddenly out there. The VAERS data looked awful, but they wriggled out of that trap by sneering that the adverse event-reporting system —the system they created— was unreliable. But now we have a second data set— and it includes vaccination records.

What happens when the HHS data confirms the VAERS data? What will they say then?

I don’t say this lightly: this historic HHS data release could be even bigger than the Epstein files.

There's more at the link.

I think he's spot on.  Anyone and everyone who's been affected by problems after receiving the COVID vaccine, or who's lost a relative or friend to vaccine-related issues, can now find out for certain whether there's any correlation between that vaccination and subsequent medical issues, as revealed by what care was billed, when, and for how long.  With that information on hand, lawsuits for medical negligence and/or malfeasance of any kind by the vaccine manufacturers become more than just a theoretical possibility.  They become almost a certainty.

Cue the vaccine manufacturers suddenly lobbying Congress to pass a law granting them retroactive immunity from lawsuits over negligence and malfeasance - immunity they do not have under the existing vaccine legislation.

I wonder how many ambulance chasers lawyers are suddenly rubbing their hands together with glee as they cue up their legal AI systems and turn them loose on the new data?

Peter

He has the right of it

 

Aesop, whom we've met in these pages on many occasions, is back from his blogging hiatus and demonstrating that sarcasm, acerbic wit, and not giving a damn do, indeed, convey points of view very well.  Here he is discussing the US dollar and fiat currency in general.

Wages since 1985 have cratered. Case in point, my parents' combined household income in 1985 was at the 50th percentile at the time, i.e the mid-point, nationally. Or notionally. Mine is currently at the 90th percentile nationwide, all by my ownself, IOW, better than 90% of US households. But for me to have the purchasing power they enjoyed near the household median in 1985, my paycheck would need to be larger than it is by seven- to ten-fold. IOW, I make 500% of what mom and pop did, yet the purchasing power of my income is only about 40% of what theirs was then. That's how much nothing my fiatbux "Real wages" command currently, and how badly "Real wages" have dropped.

Gold is gold, which is why the spot price is USD$4500/oz as I write this, compared to +/- USD$300 in 1985. That means a dollar in 2026 is worth less than 7% in real terms what it was 40 years ago.

. . .

For Common Core grads, that means your dollar now is worth less than 5/1000ths - 0.005% - of what a dollar was worth in 1932. ($1 x 0.065 x 0.07 = 0.00455. QED) A dollar currently is worth less, in real terms, than the cost for the ink and paper to print it. Maybe write that down on your hand in Sharpie, lest ye forget. We don't need zinc pennies anymore, because $1 bills are the new 1/2¢ coin. And the only people who've figured that out are EVERYONE who's selling you anything, worldwide, and why all your s***, from cars to houses to Happy Meals,  has zoomed in price. Gold hasn't zoomed. Your dollars are simply worth Jack, and S***. That's how inflation works, with the Treasury printing fiatbux three shifts a day, and inflating the unbacked money supply by trillions, year after year. Fun times, dead ahead. 

. . .

This reality is why Fiatbux - dollars, francs, yen, renminbi, whatever - are all finely engraved toilet paper. Don't make me do a retard crayon talk here. The only things that have cratered harder than "real wages" since 1985 are Russian armored regiment performance, or possibly Minnesota fraud investigations. Even Catholic church child abuse investigations have improved more than real wages since 1985. To suggest otherwise makes CNN economic reporters and hosts on The View sound wise. 

. . .

Sometime between tomorrow and death, most of the world is going to discover firsthand what the inhabitants of Weimar, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela all learned about financial reality. It isn't going to be pretty. In a Wile E. Coyote running off the cliff kind of way. Mind the drop.

Just saying.

There's more at the link.

Of course, he's saying nothing new to those of you who've been following our discussions on this blog over the past few years.  We most recently addressed the problem less than a week ago.  Nevertheless, there are relatively few people, in my experience, who actually understand the issues and/or will reorient their lives in such a way as to live according to reality as it truly is.  Most people will continue to spend money, not on things of lasting worth or that will retain their value, but rather on what the Bible calls "riotous living":  weekends in Vegas, fashionable clothes, fancy frou-frou imitations of coffee, and so on.  If most people would spend on true necessities what they spend every month on such fripperies, they could prepare themselves and their families for hard times and sleep easier at night.  However, most don't bother.

If you want a glaring example of evidence about our present situation, it's actually the absence of a piece of evidence.  It's simply this:  What happened to the audit of US gold reserves in Fort Knox that we were promised?  Where is it?  Where are the results?  The subject has literally vanished from view.  My conclusion is that it's being deliberately suppressed;  and if that's the case, then I can only assume that our gold reserves simply aren't there any more.  Where they are, and/or what happened to them, I have no idea:  but if we had them, there's no reason at all why we, the people who (in theory) own them, just as we own (hah!) our government, should not be told about them.  I'm pretty sure the powers that be understand full well that if they aren't there, they no longer underpin the value (such as it is) of the US dollar, so they'd rather ignore them and pretend the problem doesn't exist.  Trouble is, after we've been lied to and misled so often by so many administrations, nobody with two or more working brain cells trusts the deafening silence which is all we hear about the subject.

(If you think differently, I have this bridge in Brooklyn, NYC I'd like to sell you.  It's beautiful!  You'll make a mint out of charging people tolls to cross it!  Price on application.  Cash only, please, and in small bills.)

Oh, well . . .

Peter

Need meat for long-term storage? Here's a very useful option

 

A few readers have contacted me asking what sort of meat they should buy for long-term storage and emergency use.  All the usual answers are well-known, particularly a freezer filled with the meat you normally eat:  but in a long-term emergency situation, you may not have power to run your freezer.  That's where dried and/or canned meat comes in.  (Jerky is basically dried meat, of course, although often over-seasoned.)  I also keep a stock of pemmican, as I wrote a few weeks ago.  What else do I recommend?

Some time ago, author and friend Mike Williamson introduced me to Grabill Country Meats in Indiana.  They're an Amish-run company, producing cans of beef, port, turkey and chicken preserved the Amish way, boiled in the can with water and nothing else at all.  The meat tastes delicious and lasts a very long time, so much so that they don't put a "best by" date on the can.  Last Monday I opened a can of pork chunks that I bought from them twelve years ago, and it looked, smelled and tasted just as good as one bought last year.  Delicious!

They sell 13oz. and 27oz. cans in boxes of twelve only.  I make sure we always have some in our long-term storage, simply because I've never found better-tasting, easier-to-use canned meat.  Their cans may seem expensive, but if you work it out on a cost-per-pound basis (particularly considering the quality of their meat), it's not bad.  The larger cans work out considerably cheaper per pound than the smaller ones, of course.  Shipping costs are a bear, but anything heavy has that problem.

So, if you want to keep a few (or more than a few) cans of "emergency meat" around to feed yourself and your family, Grabill Country Meats has my strong recommendation.  Being canned chunks, it can't be roasted or fried, but it makes great stews and soups.  In emergency, it can be eaten cold out of the can with a spoon.  Good stuff.

Peter

Blowing the lid off yet another corrupted government program

 

I was very pleased to read that the Small Business Administration is taking steps to put its house - and its finances - in order.  It appears to have been one of the main avenues for taxpayer money to be funneled to corrupt firms and individuals.  With luck, that may end very soon now.

The Small Business Administration on Friday ordered all companies that get preference for government contracts due to their status as “socially disadvantaged” minorities to provide detailed financial information to show they are not defrauding the program, The Daily Wire has learned.

The change represents a move to reevaluate a decades-old program that Washington insiders have long recognized as openly corrupt. The 8(a) program is one of the largest and oldest DEI initiatives in the country, affecting contracts at almost all federal agencies.

SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler said there is mounting evidence that minority contracts had become “a pass-through vehicle for rampant abuse and fraud,” especially after the Biden administration raised the target for contracts that are “set aside” for minorities from 5% to 15% of all contracting dollars.

“We’re committed to thoroughly reviewing every federal contract, contracting officer, and contractor — while working alongside federal law enforcement,” she said.

The records will shed light on the extent to which companies are subcontracting out the work to non-“disadvantaged” firms, while keeping a cut for serving as a middleman or “front” company. That would defeat the purpose of the program and result in higher prices for government services across the board.

Undercover journalist James O’Keefe caught employees from one such firm boasting that they did exactly that. O’Keefe Media Group published a video exposing ATI Government Solutions, an 8(a) firm based on Native American ownership that is run by whites. Anish Abraham, senior director at ATI Government Solutions, acknowledged that his company was a “pass-through” that got a $100 million contract, kept $65 million, and paid another firm $35 million to do the work.

Such reports “have raised questions about widespread misconduct within the 8(a) Business Development Program, adding to years of credible concerns that the program designed to serve ‘socially and economically disadvantaged’ businesses has become a vehicle for institutionalized abuse at taxpayer expense,” the SBA wrote to each of the 4,300 “disadvantaged” contractors.

There's more at the link.

If those contractors don't provide all the required information by January 5, 2026, they "risk losing their eligibility for contracts".  That in itself doesn't sound like much of a threat;  but we're talking 4,300-odd contractors and several billions of dollars a year.  That's an awful lot of pork being threatened, and an awful lot of grifters suddenly staring at the horrifying possibility that they might actually have to work for a living, instead of stealing from the rest of us.

This is part of the ongoing fruit of D.O.G.E., of course.  I've heard many people complain that D.O.G.E. "went away" without achieving anything like as much as they initially claimed they would.  They fail to realize that D.O.G.E. cracked open the vault of secrets, corruption, nepotism and all the other evils that have long pervaded the federal bureaucracy.  It got the information that pointed to areas needing attention, whether immediate, or in due course.  The Trump administration couldn't possibly tackle all of them at once, but it's knocking them out one by one.  This week, it's the SBA's turn.  Next week, there'll be another.  D.O.G.E. may well end up saving America every cent it had promised, and perhaps even more - but it won't happen overnight.

At any rate, the cockles of my heart are warmed by the thought of panic-stricken managers and leaders of corrupt organizations who've just realized that their comfortable cloak of anonymity is about to be stripped away.  That glint of light they see in the distance?  It's reflections from the handcuffs waiting to be used on them.

Excellent!  More, please!

(I wonder whether James O'Keefe and his organization get a finder's fee for each corrupt organization and individual they expose?  They deserve it - and I can't think of a better way to use taxpayer money!)

Peter

I think this would get massive support

 

From user Common Sensei on Gab:

I'd vote for that (and the representative[s] proposing it) in a heartbeat . . .

Peter

A good letter

 

Kudos to CDR Salamander for sharing a letter from Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll in preparation for the holiday season.  Mr. Driscoll addresses a long-standing problem, and offers hope.  Click the image below for a larger, more readable view.

I had some experience of that sort of stress during my own military service, decades ago.  Back in 2011, I wrote in these pages about a friend.

I remember Gavin, who was a member of a patrol that found a baby, too young to walk, sitting in the middle of a dirt road in a township, crying. As the point man and a couple of others walked up to see why the baby was just sitting there, the terrorists waiting in ambush blew up the landmine they'd buried beneath her, killing the point man and savagely mutilating the other two soldiers. Bits of flesh and blood from the soldiers, and the baby, splattered all over Gavin . . . across his face . . . in his eyes, nose and mouth.

For years, Gavin would start awake in the small hours at night, a scream of horror on his lips. "They blew up a baby! A baby!" Gavin's wife eventually left him, because she couldn't handle the strain of living with his nightmares. Psychiatric treatment couldn't break the cycle; nor could alcohol, or drugs (legal and illegal). Gavin took his own life at last, too tormented by what he'd seen to endure any longer, in the small hours every night, the parade of images across his closed eyelids. He was a hero in my book . . . and I'll always remember him as such.

There's more at the link.

There are too many like Gavin who never receive the help they need - not just combat stress and trauma, but the quiet accumulation of too many incidents, too much angst, too few friends.  I hope Secretary Driscoll's letter will help to reach them before it's too late.

Peter

Yay pemmican!

 

A few years ago I mentioned Steadfast Provisions and their pemmican products.  Earlier this year I boosted their fundraiser, aimed at building a brand-new, much-updated commercial kitchen to produce much larger quantities of pemmican and other products.  I'm very glad to report that the new kitchen is up and running, and their pemmican is better than ever.  If this article sounds like I'm shilling for them, well, I guess I am, because I really like to see small businessmen come up with a good idea and make a living out of it - and I just plain like pemmican anyway!

(In case you didn't know much about pemmican, there's a very informative article about it at their Web site.  Recommended reading.)

The new product is similar to the old, but more finely ground, producing a powdery rather than a granular substance when crushed or folded into other foods.  I find the flavor much improved, too.  Last time I ordered the salted-only pemmican, without seasoning.  It was fine, but very bland, designed more to be added to other foods (e.g. soup or stew), or supplemented with flavorings if eaten alone.  In this way it would taste more like the main dish, but provide added protein.

This time I ordered the seasoned version, and find it's much more palatable to eat on its own, even without adding anything else.  The texture appears much closer to Plains Indian descriptions of it, where it was eaten by the pinch out of a parfleche rawhide bag.  I tried some yesterday flavored as the Indians did, with honey dripped over it - delicious!  One can also add dried or fresh berries for a fruitier, sweeter flavor.

I plan to keep several bricks of this stuff in stock as an emergency supply.  One could exist by eating only pemmican, if one had to, but that would get boring fairly quickly!  I regard it as an excellent "bug-out" food, energy-rich and nutritious, easy to get to while walking or driving.  The new version tastes good enough that I'll probably be eating some as a snack on a regular basis, too.  I don't think one could possibly get foods that are more "keto" than pemmican, so I'll take advantage of that.

I prefer to buy the "brick" package of pemmican, containing 2.2 pounds of concentrated beef.

It may seem expensive, with a price tag of $97 for 2.2 pounds of pemmican, but bear in mind how greatly the "raw" weight of meat has been reduced in the production process.  One of those bricks contains over 10 pounds of raw beef, and given the price of good-quality beef today, that's a bargain in anyone's language.  If you'd like to try something smaller and lower-cost, the company also makes a pemmican bar for $17.  Expect them to be hard to find for a few months as the word spreads about the company's new production and new flavors.

To all my readers who contributed to Steadfast Provisions' fundraiser, thank you very much.  IMHO, it's been worth the wait to get their new premises into production.

Peter

Don't just build the structure, pay attention to the foundations

 

I've been watching the outpouring of emotion over the murder of Charlie Kirk and the other blatant, in-your-face crimes that have shocked our nation in recent weeks.  I'm sure most of us agree that something needs to be done;  but what, precisely, should be done is fiercely debated.

I'd like to suggest that if we all "started small", we'd get a lot more done than if we all worried about the "big picture".  Each of us, as individuals, is too small and ineffectual a factor to get much attention on a state or national level.  However, at our local level, we can certainly organize ourselves into groups of like-minded people and put pressure on our town and city councils to fix the problems we encounter.  If a few dozen, or a few score, citizens were to insist that our local cops be given the authority, the budget and the free hand they need to control crime on our local streets, it would make all of our towns safer places to live.  If local towns were to come together and demonstrate that they can succeed in doing that, then our county executives might apply the same lesson on a larger scale.  If enough counties do likewise, then our state might begin to create the necessary conditions for change and improvement:  and if enough states do the same, then our entire nation might find a way forward.

However, it all starts locally, with the foundations rather than the superstructure.  We can't wave a magic wand and change our national government, or the Deep State bureaucracy, or so-called "blue state" policies.  However, we can affect the day-to-day lives of our communities at our own level.  If enough of us refuse to tolerate bigotry, extremism and dogmatism, we can take back our own environment.  If enough of us do that, we can inspire others to do likewise . . . but it all begins with the individual.

Therefore, let's not worry about founding new chapters of Turning Point USA, or joining the political party of our preference.  Let's join local churches, or make sure that local chapters of the Boy Scouts or Girl Guides are run in a balanced and sane manner, and do our best to see to it that local schools aren't infested with extremist views that make it a trial and a punishment for our children to attend them.  All that is within our power to do, if we're willing to exert ourselves for the good of our communities.

Have at it!

Peter

This is long overdue!

 

Thanks to insane regulations that forbid prisons to jam cellphone signals, inmates have for decades (literally) been using smuggled cellphones to operate crime networks and organize specific crimes from behind bars.  We've known they're doing it, but the regulators have always insisted that cellphone frequencies may not be jammed for any reason.

At long last, that looks to be changing.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2025 – The Federal Communications Commission may soon give state and local prisons authority Congress has repeatedly declined to grant.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Friday the commission will vote Sept. 30 on a proposal to let state and local prisons jam contraband cell phones - effectively cutting off the smuggled devices inmates use to communicate with the outside world. Carr stressed it would be voluntary and not a federal mandate to jam.

“Contraband cell phones are the root of so many evils taking place, not just in prisons, but across the country, for the crimes that people are phoning in and enabling,” Carr said, speaking at the Arkansas Attorney General’s office in Little Rock, following a tour of Varner Prison. “We need to do something about this serious threat to public safety.”

Carr said the proposal would sidestep federal law by declaring that calls from contraband cell phones are not “authorized communications” under 47 U.S.C. § 333, the statute that bars jamming. By de-authorizing those communications inside prisons, the FCC would clear the way for state and local facilities to deploy targeted jamming technology without running afoul of federal restrictions.

“Once contraband cell phone use is not an ‘authorized communication,' then the federal law is no longer a prohibition to jamming it, and that's well within the FCC authority to give that reading to federal law,” Carr said.

There's more at the link.

When I worked as a prison chaplain, I became aware of more than a few major crimes (up to and including murder) that were clandestinely arranged between inmates and their families and gangs outside the walls.  Even though that was a couple of decades ago, and modern miniaturized cellphones (much more easily concealed than the bigger, old-fashioned bricks) did not exist at the time, the cellular network was an increasingly important element in those arrangements.  With modern phones and encrypted communications apps, it's become a nightmare to keep track of what's going on.  This decision should be a major benefit to law enforcement in shutting down some of the worst of the worst criminals, who've regarded incarceration as simply a better-protected way for them to do business (because inside prison walls, their enemies outside find it, not impossible, but harder to get at them).

Peter

Condiment recommendation

 

While browsing through Amazon looking for a couple of items, I came across their White Wine Jalapeno Mustard.  The combination looked interesting, so I ordered some to try it.

I was amazed.  The flavor combination of this mustard is outstanding, perhaps the best of its kind I've ever tasted.  The jalapeno gives it a burn, but not excessively so, and the white wine helps tame the burn and adds significant flavor of its own.  It tastes a bit like a horseradish mustard, but there's no horseradish in it, and its own flavor adds body and a mellow finish.

So far I've tried it on cold roast beef (in a sandwich), German bratwurst, and cubed goat in a stew.  It's worked with all of them.  If you like mustard, particularly with a strong flavor but not overpoweringly hot, I highly recommend this stuff.

Peter

Independence Day 2025

 

Here's wishing everyone a happy, relaxed, upbeat Fourth of July celebration this year.  When I think back to how things were last year, there's a vast difference, isn't there?  We have a President who may not suit everyone, but is doing his job the best way he knows how, and a Congress and Senate that are - however shakily - working together to move forward his agenda.  I think that beats stalemate, and I think most of the Founding Fathers would have approved.

May our Republic grow stronger every year, and become a land whose citizens may live in liberty and prosperity under the grace of God.

Peter

The ambulance chasers lose at last

 

I was pleased to read that a manifestly unjust court verdict has finally been overturned by the Texas Supreme Court.

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Werner Enterprises, reversing a $100 million jury verdict against the motor carrier upheld by an appellate court in a 2014 fatal crash in which a pickup truck lost control on a slick interstate, traveled across the highway median and collided with a Werner tractor traveling on the opposite stretch of road.

. . .

“This awful accident happened because an out-of-control vehicle suddenly skidded across a wide median and struck the defendant’s truck, before he had time to react, as he drove below the speed limit in his proper lane of traffic,” the court wrote. “That singular and robustly explanatory fact fully explains why the accident happened and who is responsible for the resulting injuries. Because no further explanation is reasonably necessary to substantially explain the origins of this accident or to assign responsibility for the plaintiffs’ injuries, the rule of ‘proximate causation’ does not permit a fact finder to search for other, subordinate actors in the causal chain and assign liability to them.”

The high court said that nothing the Werner driver, Shiraz Ali, did or didn’t do contributed to the pickup truck hitting ice, losing control, veering into the median and entering oncoming traffic on an interstate highway.

However Ali was driving, the presence of his 18-wheeler in its proper lane of traffic on the other side of Interstate 20 at the precise moment the pickup truck lost control is just the kind of “happenstance of place and time” that cannot reasonably be considered a substantial factor in causing injuries to the plaintiffs.

There's more at the link.

I've long been angered by the "sue-at-all-costs" approach by so-called "ambulance-chasers":  lawyers who'll hunt down anyone who might conceivably have any case of any kind against another after an accident, then sue on their behalf for often ridiculous sums in damages, hoping that the defendant will settle rather than go to the trouble and expense of an often long-drawn-out trial.  They're an entire sub-culture in the legal "industry".  During our recent travels, both my wife and I commented on the huge number of billboards in economically depressed areas through which we traveled, advertising the services of lawyers to sue anybody whom they could persuade you had "wronged" or "harmed" or "damaged" you.  It appeared to be the major economic activity in those areas, if one judged only by the billboards alongside the roads.

This case is a classic example.  The truck was doing everything legally, traveling in its lane at a lawful speed, and nowhere near traffic coming the other way:  yet the ambulance-chasers tried (and, at first, succeeded) to paint it, its driver and its owner as guilty parties, responsible for the accident and subsequent injuries and expenses.  That they succeeded in a lower court is a black mark against that court, which really should have known better.  Fortunately, in this case, a higher court was able to put a stop to that nonsense:  but how many times does that happen?  How many times can the defendant not afford to take the case to an appeal, and is therefore forced to bear the costs of a settlement?

Shakespeare's prescription for lawyers might have been in jest, but it sometimes seems more than appropriate in the light of how they conduct themselves . . .

Peter

A very profound essay

 

On his blog, Larry Lambert has published a . . . I don't know whether to call it a short story, or a fictional meditation.  It deals with faith and its excesses, and the consequences thereof.  I found it very moving.  Here's a short excerpt.

The decline began long before the collapse. The signals were faint at first: sperm counts in freefall, ovarian reserves vanishing in women barely out of adolescence. No plagues, no radiation spikes, no mutated pox sweeping through the cities. Just a soft, irreversible silence in the womb of the species.

By the late 21st century, birth rates had collapsed across nearly every industrialized nation. The causes weren’t simple—how could they be?—but the fingerprints were everywhere. Microplastics woven into fat cells, delayed childbirth, synthetic estrogens leached from packaging and drugs, endocrine disruptors in every river system on the planet.

We drank our own demise.

At first, we tried to fix it—hormone therapies, artificial gametes, gene repair clinics—but nothing truly reversed the trend. It wasn’t just biology that failed. It was confidence. People stopped trying. Family shrank, generations collapsed. Governments flirted with natalist policies, but no one wanted children in a world visibly unraveling.

Into that vacuum stepped God.

Or, rather, the men who claimed Him.

If you're a person of faith (any faith), click over to Larry's place to read "Ashes and Orbits".  I think you'll like it.  If you're not a person of faith, you may yet find it interesting.

Peter

Some good news from the recent India-Pakistan clash

 

Readers will recall that last week, India launched air strikes against places in Pakistan that it claimed were terrorist bases or support areas.  It seems that at least once, they got their target identification right.

India’s governing BJP party said on Thursday that its “Operation Sindhoor” counter-terrorist airstrikes on Pakistan “eliminated” Abdul Rauf Azhar, the operational commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist group and the mastermind behind American journalist Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and beheading in 2002.

Rauf Azhar was the younger brother of JeM founder Masood Azhar, who was also targeted by India on Tuesday night. Masood Azhar survived the airstrikes, but said ten members of his family were killed.

. . .

The kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl is one of many heinous acts JeM has been linked to. Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), was abducted by terrorists from a hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, in January 2002. He had moved to Pakistan from India to investigate Islamic terrorism after the 9/11 attack on America.

Abdul Rauf Azhar was one of the kidnappers, working with a group that called itself “The National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty.” They claimed Pearl was an Israeli spy and send the United States a long list of demands for his freedom. When those demands were not met, they forced Pearl to film a video in which he identified himself as a “Jewish American,” and then chopped his head off. 

The terrorists released the video to the public under the title “The Slaughter of the Spy-Journalist, the Jew Daniel Pearl.” His body was dumped in a shallow grave near Karachi.

There's more at the link.

JeM has long been regarded as a state-sponsored terrorist organization, backed by Pakistan.  Wikipedia reports:

JeM was allegedly created with the support of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which is using it to carry out terrorist attacks in Kashmir and [the] rest of India. Due to sustained international pressure against Pakistan sponsored terrorism, JeM was banned in Pakistan in 2002 as a formality. However, the organization was never seriously disrupted or dismantled. Its arrested leaders were subsequently released without any charges and permitted to re-form under new names. Its variants openly continue operations under different names or charities in several facilities in Pakistan.

Thanks to India for delivering a good shellacking to JeM.  I daresay that somewhere, the ghost of Daniel Pearl is feeling a little better today . . .

Peter

So much for "tariffs being a disaster"!

 

I've been highly amused by all the brouhaha over President Trump's tariffs.  To hear the mainstream media and the progressive left, you'd think that the United States' economy was about to slide down the slippery slope to perpetual ruin, taking our prosperity and future prospects along with it.  The reality has proved to be rather different.

Therefore, I was happy to read in the Bahnsen Group's daily Dividend Cafe newsletter yesterday:

China Trade Deal

What we know:

The 125% reciprocal tariffs are off the table for ninety days, coming back down to 10%.

On an annualized basis, this is $300 billion of tariff cost to the economy that now won’t happen.

What we don’t know:

Currency was either not discussed or has not been floated publicly in terms of where things are headed.  I have no doubt some discussion of currency will be a part of any final, successful deal.

What needs to be said:

Maybe things fall apart in the next 90 days.  Maybe they don’t.  Maybe it gets better.  Maybe it gets worse.  BUT, if you were a U.S. importer or domestic manufacturer heavily reliant on Chinese imports for your production, and your costs were up 145%, shutting down your supply chain entirely, and now you had what might only be 90 days to order parts/goods/materials before seeing skyrocketing prices, what would you do?  Expect an ordering bonanza in the next ninety days that defies human imagination.

There's more at the link.

Nobody expected so quick - or so favorable - a deal . . . except President Trump, I suspect.  He's played his cards masterfully.  If things continue to go this well, a whole new international economic order will open up.

Makes a pleasant change from Bidenomics, doesn't it?

Peter

Is the NRA swamp finally going to be drained? It's long overdue.

 

Readers who've followed the glutinous, corrupt, fetid swamp that has engulfed the management of the National Rifle Association (NRA) for the past decade or more can finally see some light ahead of them.  Whether it's a new dawn, or an oncoming train, remains to be seen:  but for the first time I'm hopeful that the current leadership cabal can be removed, freeing the NRA from their shackles and allowing it to make a fresh start.

Over the last two years, the NRA Board of Directors has cleaved off into essentially two parties, with a few directors remaining unaffiliated. Previously reported, the 2025 election of board members overwhelmingly favored one party over the other.

One group self-identifies as “Strong NRA,” and is made up of what’s colloquially called the “old guard.” The other group labels themselves “NRA 2.0,” and they’re referred to as “reformers.” NRA 2.0 has alleged that the Strong NRA is made up of a Cabal of loyalists of former NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.

NRA 2.0 took 66% of the available seats in the recent board election, a near supermajority of the spots. Strong NRA took the remaining 34%.

There were no incumbent directors or nominated candidates elected or reelected who were unaffiliated.

. . .

The decisive win that NRA 2.0 saw in the board election prior to the NRAAM seems to have paid off for the reform candidates, gaining them more ground within the Association. While the members spoke loudly and clearly in who they wanted to take a director’s chair, how big is their hold now within the ranks?

With a new makeup of directors, a shakeup within the officers’ line, and the formulation of reform-minded committees, it’s time for the BOD to get to work.

There's more at the link.

For several years I've refused to donate anything to the NRA or any cause or effort supported by its CEO, Wayne LaPierre, and/or anyone closely associated with him.  The scandals surrounding his exploitation of the NRA to fund his luxurious lifestyle are well known.  He's become known less for his gun rights activism than for his personal hedonism.  I sincerely hope that the new Board will remove him and his supporters from every position of authority and responsibility in the NRA.

For sure, I won't contribute a cent to the organization until they're all, repeat, ALL gone.  There are other effective, scandal-free pro-Second Amendment groups out there that can spend my donated dollars far more wisely.  The NRA is going to have to re-earn my support, and that of many of its registered members, who've long since given up on the organization.  Let's hope the "new broom" succeeds in "sweeping clean" all the old detritus and setting up the NRA for renewed success in future.

Peter

Say a prayer for James O'Keefe, his work, and his safety

 

James O'Keefe, who's exposed more wrongdoing, shenanigans and corruption than just about anybody else I could name, is on the verge of what may be his biggest story yet.

James O’Keefe of the O’Keefe Media Group said he is dropping a massive bombshell within the next month or so.

O’Keefe said what he is releasing is bigger than his work exposing ACORN.

“This is ACORN 2.0? Or is it bigger?” podcast host Benny Johnson asked O’Keefe.

James O’Keefe said it’s much bigger.

“No, it’s much bigger because we’re talking about corrupt government… Billions of dollars – tens of billions… stay tuned,” O’Keefe said.

“I have these people breaking the law,” O’Keefe said.

However, it looks as if this also carries big risks:

In a video posted to X, O’Keefe appeared visibly shaken as he stated, “I’m going dark. I’m not suicidal. Pray for me. This one scares me, guys.” The message was accompanied by the ominous caption: “T-minus seven days.”

“T-minus seven days” is a countdown expression that means seven days remain until a specific event occurs.

There's more at the link.

Like many others, I've been convinced for years that there's an undercurrent, a groundswell of corruption in the so-called "Deep State", particularly during the administrations of Presidents Obama and Biden.  I'm also sure that those most deeply involved in it have no intention of going quietly, or giving up the source of their wealth (and yes, it is wealth:  just looking at what D.O.G.E. has uncovered so far, we're talking hundreds of billions of dollars).  From what Mr. O'Keefe just said, he may have become aware that some would prefer to remove him and his collaborators from the scene altogether rather than see any more of their schemes exposed.

That danger doesn't only extend to financial shenanigans.  Today neocon John Bolton issued a very thinly-veiled warning to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.  I'm sure he would deny that it's a physical threat, but then, I haven't believed Mr. Bolton for a long time.  He might be described as a right-wing representative of the Deep State.  Draw your own conclusions.

Keep Mr. O'Keefe and his sources in your prayers, please, friends.  He daren't be complacent about threats and risks.  He's offended far too many people with something to hide.

Peter

A new toy

 

I took my wife to the gun store last Saturday;  she doesn't often go there, but the staff all know her, and have fun bantering with her about aircraft versus firearms as a money sink.  Be that as it may, I spotted something unusual in a display case, and asked the owner to fetch it out for her to look at.  I told my wife that she would fall in love with the grip angle - and she did.

(Image courtesy of the High Standard Collectors Association blog)

It's a High Standard Supermatic Citation pistol, made in the 1960's.  It has the coveted Hamden, Conn. manufacturing stamp.  The Hamden factory burned down in the 1970's.  Production moved to E. Hartford, also in Connecticut, but aficionados maintain that the quality at the latter plant was never the same as at Hamden.  The barrel has holes drilled and tapped in the underside to accommodate weights for competition shooting;  these were commonly installed on the Trophy models, but less often on the Citations.  They can be had as aftermarket parts.

Making it even more special as a purchase was that it came with:

• The original factory box;
• A second magazine;
• And a box of Winchester-Western Mark IV ammunition, probably manufactured in the 1960's as well, and today a collectible item in its own right.  The ammo's in minty condition, too, and hasn't picked up any of the crud that can adhere to externally-lubricated .22LR bullets.

The original papers are missing, but I'll keep my eye open for a set.  Everything's in really good condition, far better than I've seen on some other High Standards of similar vintage.  What's even nicer is that the gun shop will be going out of business soon, due to the owner retiring;  so he gave us a really good price as a farewell gift to my wife, meaning we got it for about two-thirds of what I think its market value will be.

My wife is looking forward to shooting her new toy.  I think she's going to have a blast, literally.  Those High Standards with their sharp grip angle are an absolute joy in the hand, almost falling into line with the target on their own, and making it hard to miss in terms of instinctive alignment.  I daresay she'll let me borrow it from time to time, and I'm looking forward to that.

That was an unexpected weekend present for my wife, and I'm tickled pink to find it.  High Standards in this condition are hard to locate at the best of times.

Peter

The first female LOACH driver for a very special unit

 

I'm sure most of my readers have heard of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), commonly known as the 160th SOAR.  They fly in support of all Army Special Forces, and sometimes help out Navy and Marines SF as well.  They're a very specialized outfit with one heck of a reputation among "those that know".

Lindsey Chrismon flew with the 160th, and was the first female pilot of the AH-6 "Little Bird".  First used during the Vietnam War (during which it was christened the LOACH, for "Light Observation Helicopter"), the 160th is today the only unit still flying them (in a greatly updated version, of course).  Capt. Chrismon also flew the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.  In the video below, she tells her story.  It's filled with interesting details and bits and pieces of information.  It's an hour and a half long, but I suggest it's worth taking the time to watch it, even in segments as and when you can manage it.

Grateful thanks to Capt. Chrismon for her service, and for a very interesting narrative.

Peter

Why D.O.G.E. is so hard for the left to stop

 

I've been somewhat surprised that the progressive left has filed so few lawsuits opposing the existence, mandate and mission of D.O.G.E. as a whole.  After a few initial lawsuits before it was even legally established, the focus has switched almost completely to complaints on the periphery, rather than trying to stop D.O.G.E. from doing its job altogether.

This article explains why that's the case.

Originally created under the Obama administration to improve government software, the USDS has been rebranded as the United States DOGE Service. This move, as Renz points out, is not merely a name change but a strategic repurposing to align with new priorities.

"Trump did NOT actually create a new agency," Renz noted. "Instead, what he did was repurpose an existing agency - the USDS - into something more useful." This strategy allowed Trump to bypass the need for Congressional approval while ensuring the initiative's legality.

. . .

The executive order is grounded in existing laws, notably 44 USCS Chapter 36, which focuses on developing technology for the government. By leveraging this legal framework, Trump ensured that the DOGE Service's focus on efficiency and IT evaluation remains within the agency's original mandate.

. . .

The executive order mandates the establishment of DOGE teams within every administrative branch agency. These teams, comprising a lead, lawyer, HR person, and engineer, will work under the USDS (DOGE) umbrella to identify waste and improve efficiency.

Renz emphasized the strategic brilliance of this approach: "Looking at the software and how things are managed is a great way to find out where there is waste - particularly when part of the mandate is to ensure efficiency."

. . .

While Renz expressed reservations about the extent of executive branch authority, he commended the strategic execution of the DOGE initiative. "This order was very well done," he stated, adding, "Trump and Musk have really done a good job strategically here."

There's more at the link.

The article made a few things clear to me:

1. President Trump could not have dreamed up this strategy in a week or two.  Even before the election, he must have had people working on ways and means to achieve what he wanted;  and I've no doubt Elon Musk assigned some of his brightest and best personnel to assist in that effort.  The months between election and inauguration must have been at fever pitch, getting all the political and legal ducks in a row to allow the new Administration to get down to it from Day One.
2. It's now clear why President Trump refused the offer of General Services Administration (GSA) funding and assistance during the transition period.  If the GSA had known what he was planning to do, they would undoubtedly have shared that with the rest of the Biden administration, and given Democratic Party lawyers and fixers a head start on figuring out how to block D.O.G.E. and other initiatives.  By keeping things in-house and rejecting official "advisers" or "consultants", President Trump kept his cards very close to his chest, ensuring that D.O.G.E. could "hit the ground running" and shock everybody with the speed at which it moved.
3. Legally, this whole thing was brilliant.  Of course President Trump would have expected "lawfare", with Democrats launching lawsuit after lawsuit to stop him implementing his agenda.  However, by simply using an existing and entirely legal framework to insert D.O.G.E. into the executive function, he bypassed or blocked almost every legal avenue to challenge it.  If it was legal for President Obama's USDS to do what it did, then D.O.G.E. (using precisely the same legal framework and justification) was unchallengeable.  I don't know what lawyers came up with that approach, but it was spectacularly effective.

I think this transition from the Biden to the Trump administrations is going to be studied by political scientists for years to come.  It's a textbook case of how to avoid, evade or nullify efforts to stymie the handover of power.  I can only hope that the Democratic Party doesn't learn from it, and try to do the same when their turn comes (as it undoubtedly will) to assume power once more.  Sadly, I fear that hope is in vain . . .

Peter