What certain critics might denounce as vengeance is, in truth, justice that’s been a long time coming. Kash Patel offers a potent mix of experience, skill, and an unwavering commitment to reality—qualities that naturally make him a danger to the entrenched political class.

The FBI once enjoyed widespread trust, but that confidence has plummeted over the years, particularly in the last four, and it’s not hard to see why. Favorability polls for the agency are at a century now. The weaponization of the agency has been its downfall.

The nation is at a crossroads. Those who refuse to support genuine change are as much blame as those who openly resist it. The FBI has morphed into a political entity while presenting the false appearance of a law enforcement body. Sure, they’ve had their share of successes in the past, but their recent activities, especially the trampling of the rights of the people, have been glaring. A thorough overhaul is well past due.

Why, oh why, can’t the GOP muster the same unity as the Democrats? Thune needs to step up, turn up the heat, and keep it there. We might see the desperately needed reforms if he can pull that off.

Listening to a sermon today about how God uses broken people, from Judges 11:29, the words, “Then the SPIRT OF THE LORD came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there, he advanced against the Ammonites.”

Unrelated, I recalled a song from a long time ago, Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum. The song has been interpreted in various ways. In line one, Greenbaum says, “I’ve got a friend in Jesus.” So, the thought would naturally be that it’s a song about Christianity. Not really. It was a time of counterculture, and Greenbaum was a Jew.

The beauty of the song is that it can be interpreted in many ways, including Christianity. By the way, Greenbaum once said the song had to do with his own spiritual curiosity and the gospel music he heard. In interviews, he noted that the song explored his idea of faith and the afterlife and chose “Jesus” for universal recognition within the context of American spirituality despite his personal Jewish faith.

“Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum can indeed be interpreted as embracing Christ and the Christian faith due to the explicit references to Jesus in the lyrics.
Consider the direct mention of having “a friend in Jesus” and going “on up to the Spirit in the Sky” as an affirmation of Christian beliefs where Jesus is central to salvation and the afterlife.

That’s my view anyway. Listen and draw your own conclusions.

Tulsi Gabbard’s unique profile makes her an excellent choice for the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) role. Gabbard brings military experience to the position, including active deployments. This experience lends credibility to understanding the complexities involved in intelligence gathering and analysis from a firsthand perspective. As a lieutenant colonel, to me, this shows her commitment to national service and ability to handle sensitive security matters.

Consider Gabbard’s political journey from a progressive Democrat to an independent and later a Republican. It demonstrates her ability to navigate political divides, learn, and move forward as she matures.

As one born during the Korean War and living through continual hot and cold wars, I’ve moved back and forth between hawk and dove. I’ve grown weary of war. I appreciate her outspoken criticism of interventionist foreign policies and her advocacy for peacebuilding rather than military engagement. Therefore, I have a personal liking for her that likely has no bearing on intelligence gathering, but it could. We’ve seen what happens when the opposite is true: Iraq.

Gabbard’s skepticism towards traditional intelligence narratives, particularly concerning U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts like Syria, for which she has been unjustly criticized, it shows her willingness to exercise evidence-based decision-making aligned with constitutional principles. It indicates a commitment to safeguarding civil liberties, which is crucial for maintaining public trust in intelligence activities. We’ve seen abuses of civil liberties over the past 20 years, and so too has she seen it in her personal life. My thought is she gets it better than most.

I conclude as I began, Tulsi Gabbard’s total background and focus on balancing national security with civil liberties make her a good choice for leading the U.S. intelligence community to keep us safe from those wishing our country harm.

First, a shoutout to Abe, as they tried to cancel him once; Happy Birthday, President Lincoln!

I kept hearing this quote by democrats, but they’re getting it wrong. Please read the actual words to see where the finger of blame must be pointed at by those using it.

The quote, paraphrased from a longer one, ended with these words, ” If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide.”

BTW, when I was young, I recall not getting days off from school, but we celebrated Lincoln’s and Wahington’s birthdays in February. We didn’t have cake, ice cream, or anything else; it was just noted, and the teacher would have talked about each man.

Today is Abe Lincoln’s birthday, and if he were still alive, he’d be pretty damn old. Now, old Abe has been inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame because he was a pretty good wrestler. They estimate he was in 300 wrestling matches and only lost once. Now I was checking into it; it sounds right. Heck, he’d be in the Hall of Fame for it, but not the WWE one.

In Abe’s own words, the only man to beat him was my great-great-great-great grandpappy, Lorenzo Dow Thompson. Lorenzo didn’t get into the Hall of Fame. He could have, but he didn’t want to be in it. I did watch the match-up on YouTube, and it wasn’t even close. Granddad took the best of three falls. You won’t find it on YouTube unless you have an exclusive account (you don’t).

But you can read about it. Lincoln remembered his wrestling days on the campaign trail in 1860 from the excerpt. He told Risdon Moore, a college professor whose father served with Lincoln during the Black Hawk War, that he was undefeated until Lorenzo Dow Thompson threw him. (By the way, as much fun as I could have with the name, I believe it to be wrong)

In the words of Lincoln himself, “Gentleman, I felt of Mr. Thompson, the St. Clair champion, and told my boys I could throw him, and they could bet what they pleased. You see, I had never been thrown or dusted, as the phrase then was, and I believe Thompson said the same to the St. Clair boys: they might bet their bottom dollar that he could down me. You may think a wrestle, or “wrastle,” as we called such contests of skill and strength, was a small matter, but I tell you, the whole army was out to see it. We took our holds, his choice first, a side hold. I think realized from his grip for the first time that he was a powerful man and that I have no easy job. The struggle was severe, but after many passes and efforts, he threw me. My boys yelled out, “a dog fall,” which meant then a drawn battle, but I told my boys it was fair, and then said to Thompson, “Now it’s your turn to go down,” as it was my hold then, Indian hug. We took our holds again, and after the fiercest struggle of the kind that I ever had, he threw me again, almost as easily at my hold as at his own. My men raised another protest, but I again told them it was a fair down. Why, gentlemen, that man could throw a grizzly bear.”

Old Abe was a known storyteller, but he is in the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and Lorenzo Dow Thompson isn’t some long-lost relative, but who cares?