All last week, Republican leaders tried to portray the No Kings protests scheduled for Saturday, October 18, as “Hate America” rallies. G. Elliott Morris of Strength in Numbers partnered with Atlanta-based science newsroom The Xylom to estimate that as many as 8.2 million people turned out yesterday to oppose the Trump administration. The mood at the protests was joyful and peaceful, with protesters holding signs that championed American principles of democracy, free speech, equality, and the rule of law. As the Grand Junction, Colorado, Daily Sentinel put it in a front-page headline: “‘This is America’ ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump bring a street party vibe to cities nationwide.”
Lieutenant Colonel Harald Jäger was in charge of a Berlin Wall checkpoint on the evening of November 9, 1989, when a garbled televised press conferenceconvinced thousands of East Berliners that they were allowed to cross into West Germany. People ran to the checkpoint. They started shouting at Jäger, telling him to open the barrier, even though no one had told him about any changes.
Inside the Pentagon, loyalty is being elevated above law as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quietly removes senior military lawyers, the very officials meant to uphold legality and restraint, and replaces them with loyalists.
The purge has also happened to senior military leadership. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that Admiral Alvin Holsey, the head us Southern Command, which has overseen the strikes against boats off the coast of Venezuela, is stepping down.
While Admiral Holsey has not said why he’s leaving, it may well be a continuation of the troubling trend of purges of highly qualified senior military officials who may have been inclined to restrain Trump’s illegal and fascistic impulses.
The recent purge of military attorneys, in particular, isn’t routine bureaucracy; it’s the deliberate dismantling of the safeguards that prevent America’s armed forces from becoming a political weapon against America’s citizens and democracy.
W
In early August, dozens of Democratic lawmakers fled Texas for Illinois, denying Republicans the quorum needed to pass new congressional maps projected to give the party as many as five additional seats. Their absence paralyzed the state legislature, turning a walkout into political resistance and drawing national attention.
As the standoff dragged on, Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, offered an unorthodox countermove: a proposal to suspend his state’s independent redistricting commission and draw maps designed to hand Democrats a comparable advantage. He unveiled the plan with spectacle, mimicking Donald Trump’s signature style through all-caps declarations, a mocking nickname for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (“KaroLYIN”) and AI-generated celebrity endorsements.
The air was sharp enough to slice your thoughts. When she took my hand, her skin felt carved from the same determination that gripped the valley. Together, we balanced on stones worn smooth by the elements and stepped into Lake Akkajaure, a vast mirror of half-frozen water stretching out before us, its surface reflecting the pale winter sky. The cold struck like a slap, but she called it medicine.
In our family, plunging into ice isn’t a dare. It is inheritance. A belief, passed down like a wool sweater, where endurance is the first language you learn, and pain is a teacher for survival during the dark months. And so, when I resurfaced, gasping, she smiled the way old herders do, tender and proud, and whispered in my ear,
“Now you belong to the North.” https://medium.com/southern-
MOUNT DORA, Fla. - The City of Mount Dora is home to an extremely unique water feature called the Wolf Branch Sink, which has a direct path to the aquifer. It’s like an immediate drain, going straight into our drinking water system.
Right next to it is a landfill that officials in Lake County fear could pollute the water, without proper precautions in place.
Experts say storms could carry chemicals to the sink, and seepage could even happen horizontally through the ground. https://www.fox35orlando.com/
He took command and now “bestrides the world scene like no other,” gushed Walter Russell Mead. “Only Mr. Trump could have made this happen … No other living politician could have reassured Israel, threatened Hamas and patched together a broad Arab coalition the way he has done.” He’s “the president we’ve been waiting for,” added Pulitzer winner Kathleen Parker this morning.
My old friend Niall Ferguson paid tribute to Trump’s “imaginative 20-point plan, set to transform the Middle East” — just one of so many “transformational results at home and abroad” since Trump took office. At the Free Press, Amit Segal also gurgled:
I’ve been covering the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, for 25 years. Never before have I seen it in such a state of ecstasy as when the president of the United States ascended the podium Monday … Here, the United States of America and the State of Israel are celebrating victory at the end of a two-year war, together.
The room was full of pregnant women with their husbands.
The instructor said, "Ladies, remember that exercise is good for you. Walking is especially beneficial - strengthens the pelvic muscles and will make delivery that much easier. Just pace yourself, make plenty of stops and try to stay on a soft surfaces, like a grass path."
"Gentlemen, remember -- you're in this together. It wouldn't hurt you to go walking with her. In fact, that shared experience would be good for you both."
The room suddenly became very quiet as the men absorbed this information. After a few moments a man, name unknown, at the back of the room, slowly raised his hand.
"Yes?" said the Instructor.
"I was just wondering . . . would it be alright if she carries a golf bag?"
Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?
Today's smart ass jokes
SMART ASS ANSWER #6It was mealtime during an airline flight.
'Would you like dinner?', the flight attendant asked John, seated in front.
'What are my choices?' John asked.
'Yes or no,' she replied.SMART ASS ANSWER #5A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets. As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket and he opened his trench coat and flashed her.
Without missing a beat, she said, 'Sir, I need to see your ticket, not your stub.'
SMART ASS ANSWER #4A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store but she couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, ' Do these turkeys get any bigger?'
The stock boy replied, 'No ma'am, they're dead...'SMART ASS ANSWER #3The police officer got out of his car as the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window. 'I've been waiting for you all day,' the officer said.
The kid replied, Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could.'
When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket.SMART ASS ANSWER #2A truck driver was driving along on the freeway and noticed a sign that read: Low Bridge Ahead. Before he knows it, the bridge is right in front of him and his truck gets wedged under it. Cars are backed up for miles. Finally a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, 'Got stuck, huh?'
The truck driver says, 'No, I was delivering this bridge and I ran out of gas.'
SMART ASS ANSWER OF THE YEAR 2017!!A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow's final exam. 'Now class, I won't tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury, illness, or a death in your immediate family, but that's it, no other excuses whatsoever!'
A smart-ass student in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, 'What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?'
The entire class is reduced to laughter and snickering. When silence was restored, the teacher smiled knowingly at the student, shook her head and sweetly said, 'Well, I guess you'd have to write the exam with your other hand.'
Florida Woman Stops Alligator Attack Using a Small Beretta Pistol:This is a story of self-control and marksmanship by a brave, cool-headed woman with a small pistol against a fierce predator. What’s the smallest caliber that you would trust to protect yourself?Here’s her story in her own words:"While out walking along the edge of a pond just outside my house in The Villages with my soon to be ex-husband, discussing property settlement and other divorce issues, we were surprised by a huge 12-ft. alligator which suddenly emerged from the murky water and began charging us with its large jaws wide open.She must have been protecting her nest because she was extremely aggressive.If I had not had my little Beretta .25 caliber pistol with me, I would not be here today!""Just one shot to my estranged husband's knee cap was all it took.The 'gator got him easily, and I was able to escape by just walking away at a brisk pace."It's one of the best pistols in my collection, plus the amount I saved in lawyer's fees was really incredible.His life insurance was a big bonus.
