Transcript: Tucker Carlson and Viktor Orbán

Directly taken from Mike Hampton on Substack:

Tucker Carlson monologue: As the war in Ukraine completely reshuffles the world order, and threatens to destroy human civilisation, it's striking how little information Americans are receiving about what happens there. The nation of Hungary shares a border with Ukraine. Its leader, Viktor Orbán, the nation's longest-serving Prime Minister, has been dealing with the Russians all his life. He grew up under Russian occupation. As a young man, he was harassed and thrown into jail by Russian-backed police, first efforts to liberate the country. As Prime Minister he's dealt regularly with Vladimir Putin whose nation supplies Hungary with most of its energy. Viktor Orbán understands Russia and Ukraine. So 2 years after we last spoke to him, we returned to Hungary, and sat down with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and asked him what exactly happening in Ukraine right now. This is what he said...

Carlson: So, in the United States, the view is that Ukraine is winning this war. Doesn't sound like that's true?

Orbán: It's a lie. It's not a misunderstanding. It's a lie. It's impossible. Everybody who is in politics and understand the logic, the figures, the data - no way.

Carlson: Why's it impossible?

Orbán: Ukrainians die everyday, hundreds of thousands - my heart is with them. It's tragedy. It's tragedy for Ukraine. They run out earlier of the soldiers than the Russians. What finally will count is boots on the ground. And the Russians are far stronger. More numbers.

Carlson: Many more.

Orbán: So this strategy what we are supporting is bad engineering.

Carlson: So if the Biden administration has said our goal is to beat Russia, to affect regime change, to kill Putin, and take him out of power-

Orbán: They misunderstood Russia. To understand Russians is a difficult thing, especially if you have an ocean between you and Russia. So when we speak about politics, by that I mean Westerners, what is the focus point of our conversation? The focus point is freedom. How to provide more and more freedom to the People. When you speak on politics in Russia, this is not the number one issue. The number one issue is how to keep together the country because the country's very big. Freedom is just another issue - second, third, whatever. First keep the country together, and that's generated a different culture and understanding of politics. That's created a kind of military approach. Always on security, safety, a buffer zone - a geopolitical approach. It's not our culture. It's a different approach. It's legimate to have that because its their history. We have to understand that we cannot beat them as we're doing just now. It's impossible. They will not kill their leader. They will never give it up. They will keep together the country, they will defend it. If we [unintelligible], they will invest more. If we send more technical equiment, they will produce more. Don't misunderstand the Russians.

Carlson: So they're not going to get sick of Putin and throw him out?

Orbán: C'mon. it's a joke.

Carlson: What would happen if the West succeeded in killing Putin? What would happen to Russia and its nuclear stockpiles?

Orbán: May I share one of my experiences?

Carlson: Yeah.

Orbán: I was Prime Minister, exactly at the time when the change happened in Russia. Putin after Yeltsin. Yeltsin was very weak, and getting weaker and weaker. And I do remember the fear of that time, here in Hungary, and in Europe as well, whether there will be new leadership or not. The real fear here is if there will be anarchy in Russia - Putin [he meant Yeltsin] is out and no new guy was coming in who was strong enough to keep together the country; the nuclear arsenal, the army control and so on. Everybody was happy after he realised and had seen Putin come in, and started to control the military and Russian power, as a leader. Everybody was happy. I do remember that. Now Putin is in power for long, long years. We forgot about how dangerous it is when there's no strong leadership or interregnum in Russia. Interegnum is the worst case possible.

Carlson: But that is our goal, the goal of the US State Department.

Orbán: But it is a mistake. If it is the goal, it is a mistake.

Carlson: It sounds very dangerous.

Orbán: It's more than dangerous. To sit in Washington, safe in United States, is a different feeling than sitting here in Budapest, Ukraine's next door country. What's going on there could have an immediate impact, in 24 hours, here. When I was very young, '86, if I remember well, there was the explosion of the nuclear power station in Ukraine, by accident. And it affected us immediately. So if there is an escalation in Ukraine, that could have an impact on us immediately. Washing is far away. Russia and Ukraine is close. That's the Hungarian approach.

Carlson: So given the manpower imbalance between the Russian and Ukrainian armies, and the attrition of the Ukrainian army, hundreds of thousands dead-

Orbán: Many Hungarians as well. Nobody knows it. But we have a minority, a strong minority, more than 150,000 people, in the territory of Ukraine, which was earlier part of Hungary. It's a historical community living there. They are part of the Ukrainian state, and they are now conscripted to the army. They die, they fight for Ukraine, Hungarian soldiers dying for Ukraine as Ukrainian citizens. We, the Hungarian nation, are losing lives daily.

Carlson: At a certain point they're going to need more men, more soldiers, where they're going to come from?

Orbán: That's the most risky question. If any Western country sends boots on the ground, that would mean a direct war between the West and Russia, and we are in a Third World War, immediately. It's a very dangerous moment now.

Carlson: That's obvious to you?

Orbán: Absolutely. Not [only] for me, everybody on the street, ordinary citizens are aware that we are living in a very dangerous moment. So the Third World War could be knocking on our door, so we have to be very, very careful. And that's my message, always, to America at NATO Summit: Be careful with that.

Carlson: And what kind of response do you get when you say that?

Orbán: They are bigger, therefore they add more colour, that's always the case.

Carlson [laughing]: So they don't listen to you?

Orbán: You can say in that way, also.

Carlson: I have to ask you about Nordstream. It seems very obvious that the Biden administration blew up Nordstream, either directly or through proxies. I haven't heard anyone dispute that, really. How is Western Europe, Germany in particular (the biggest NATO member in Europe), not say anything about this? It just crushed the German economy. Why don't they say a word about it?

Orbán: When it is happened, we recommended it as a terrorist attack. It was rejected in Germany and the West. It was not a terrorist attack, it was... SOMETHING [both laugh]. It's kind of evidence of lack of sovereignty. But it's the job of the Germans, I would not like to criticise them. What we Hungarians did immediately, we made clear there is another pipeline, not just Nordic stream but a Southern stream, coming from Russia through the Southern corridor - Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary - and, together with the Serbian Prime Minister, err, President, we made it clear that if anybody would like to do the same with the Southern corridor as was done with the Northern one, we consider it as a reason for war, a terrorist attack, we will immediately react. So don't do that. Probably you can do it to the Germans, but you can't with this region.

Carlson: You think people understand that?

Orbán: I think so.

Carlson: You were not speaking to the Russians when you said that?

Orbán It's a Hungarian issue, not a Russian issue.

Carlson laughs: When you said, to the World, don't commit an act of terror against this pipeline, you weren't-

Orbán: It was not addressed to Moscow. No-

Carlson: No, it was not... So if you were in charge of NATO, or say [if you were] Joe Biden, what would your next move be in the war in Ukraine? What would you do?

Orbán: Peace - immediately. Call back Trump. That's the only way out.

Carlson: Call back Trump?

Orbán: Call back Trump. because, you know... you can criticise him for many reasons, I understand all the discussions... but the best foreign policies, for several recent decades, belonged to him. He did not initiate any new war. He treated, nicely, the North Koreans and Russia, even the Chinese. He delivered the policy which was the best one, [inaudible], you know the Abraham Accords, so that was a very good foreign policy. he's criticised that he's not educated enough to understand the world, but this is not the case. Facts count, and his foreign policy was the best one for the world. In the last several decades I hace seen. And if he would have been the President, at the moment of the Russian invasion, at the start, it would not have been possible to do that by the Russians. So Trump is the man who can save the Western world, probably the human beings in the world as well. That's my personal conviction.

Carlson: Can I ask you just to skip around, just for one second, about the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Days before that, at the Munich Security Conference, the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, said to Zelensky, at a press briefing, we would like Ukraine to join NATO. Now Ukraine joining NATO, obviously cannot, you know-

Orbán: It's a long story. When the idea of membership, Ukraine-NATO, was raised, it was in the Summit of NATO Bucharest, 2007 or 8. Russia was not strong enough to stop it. So that was a real chance at the time, to integrate the Ukrainians into NATO. But it was rejected, there was no big agreement among the Western countries to do so, so it was postponed. But after 2 or 3 years later, the Russians became stronger and stronger and stronger. And now they are even stronger. So we missed the historical opportunity to do so. And this window of opportunity is not open anymore. So we can't do that. So we can't afford to have that long a border line between Russia and Ukraine that belongs to NATO. That would mean immediate war danger to all of us. Even in Washington. So its even a danger for the United States. Quite a danger for the region but even for you, for the the family-

Carlson: Cause it could provoke a nuclear w-

Orbán: Ja. It's not a realistic proposal at this moment so forget about it. We should say just the opposite. We should make a deal with the Russians on the new security architecture to provide security/sovereignty for Ukraine but not membership in NATO.

Carlson: I think your view is shared by many sober people who watch this, so why would the Vice President say something like that, the moment when their were Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border.

Orbán: You know, it's difficult to follow the mindset of a big power, like you are. It's a different approach to everything, than the approach of the 10 million people of Hungary with a historical experience, knowing the Russians better than you know. You always think that you know better because of the Cold War, but it's not the case. You should ask us how does it work, what is the way of thinking, what is the cultural context.

Carlson: So back to the peace. If you were in charge, or if Trump were to win in 2024, how would you approach that, what would it look like, the settlement?

Orbán: First you should admit, probably, publicly acknowledging, that the keys in your hand. If the United States would like to have peace, the next morning there is peace, because it obvious that the poor Ukrainians are not competitive in this war. If there is no money, and no equipment from the West, especially the United States, the war is over.

Carlson: Yes.

Orbán: The solution is in your hands, in the hands of your President. The President or the future one. You will solve it. The United States can do it. Nobody else can. It's not the solution for the Ukrainians. Of course it's about the Ukrainians, they must be involved... but ther real factor is not Ukraine but the intention of the United States.

Carlson: Yes. So policy maker sin the United States have been talking recently about taking Crimea, including the Russian port, away from the Russians. Is it a realistic goal, and what would happen if we tried?

Orbán: It's totally unrealistic. No way.

Carlson: That's not a wise-

Orbán: It's not wise. It's not realistic. It's out of question.

Carlson: Last night, we stood here, and you had fireworks over the city to celebrate the founding of the city of this nation, and you had about 10% of your entire population standing outside, cheering, and they all seemed to be happy to be Hungarian. How do you get a country to be grateful it's Hungarian.

Orbán: It's an ancient nation, first. The country was established 1100 years ago. We are a historical nation, using the same language. Nobody speaks the the same language around us - Germans and Slavics, no Hungarians. Therefore, ot maintain the language, to maintain the culture for this country, is a big achievement by itself. So we celebrate it, even yesterday, that we did it for more than 1000 years, that we are still Hungarians. And to be Hungarians, we are very proud of it. We love the nation, we love the country, and we are proud of it. It's not very much mainstream thinking, politically thinking of today's Western societies, but in Hungary we are still very patriotic, and Christian, and committed to those values. Not in an ideological level, but on the streets every day.

Carlson: Do you think that's why you are so unpopular among leadership in the United States and the West?

Orbán: I'm not the favourite politician of the liberals, unfortuantely, but nobody's perfect, you know.

[they share the laugh]

Carlson: Why do you think that is?

[Orbán sighs deeply]

Carlson continues: The country is thriving, that's usually the measure we use.

Orbán: It's more about our civilisation, I mean the Western Christian civilisation. Now, the main division line is not according to ideologies. It's deeper. It has an anthropological character. So, on one side, in Europe and probably in your country, but in Europe definitely, there are groups of people who think that the most important thing in the world is their ego - themselves, me, this is the centre of the world. The other camp of the people, the other part of society, thinks that's not true because there are certain things which are more important than me and my ego - family, nation, God. And because they are more important than me, I have to serve these higher level things. This society has a majority here in Hungary. And the other society, which is concentrating only on me, only dealing with myself, it's more Westernised, dominating factor of political life. And the governments of the West, more belonging to the first group of people. I belong to the second one, and Hungary belongs to the second one. Our Constitution is concentrating on the We, how we are linked together - family, nation, God, what is common. We the Hungarian nation, that's how we speak on that. It's totally out of fashion in the Western European society.

Carlson: But why would that be so provocative to certain people in the West. I mean, different countries have different traditions. Mongolia has its own religion, language... but that's not offensive, but something about what you said is very offensive?

Orbán: Because in Western society, politics very often led by intellectuals, and intellectuals like to be ideologists, a special approach from the ideological point of view. And ideology is a very difficult thing because it has an exclusivity. So when a liberal decides this is the interpretation of society, it means it's the only way to interpret society. If you do a different way, you cannot be a good man. We have another interpretation. We have a Christian, national and more traditional interpretation of human beings and society, but they can't accept it because it's different. So we are plural. They are hegemonistic. That's the problem.

Carlson: So the intolerance is baked in, it's part of-

Orbán: It's coming from-

Carlson: -the ideology.

Orbán: Liberal ideology, basically. You know, liberal originally meant freedom, but now in Europe, liberal means that you're the enemy of freedom. Because you're a hegemonistic request on society, on values and the concept of human being, as well. So liberals are against freedom, that's how we see that.

Carlson: I've noticed. I don't live in Hungary, I can't assess it, I can assess your Media landscape which is much freer than ours. Much freer. Much more diversity.

Orbán: I have to fight every day [chuckles].

Carlson: The people in our country don't. Virtually every Media outlet is on their side, reflexively, and yet they describe you, in the United States, in the Media, as fascist. And the Biden administration seems to believe it, the State Department, anyway. The US is the biggest, most powerful country in the world. Are you worried about being crushed by the United States?

Orbán: It's dangerous, may I say. We should not neglect the importance of that factor. When the United States administration does not like you, or considers you as an enemy, or having a back track, it's dangeous in international politics. So you are powerful, still number 1 power in the world, so if you criticise somebody, we have to be very cautious how to deal with that. And now the Democratic administration does it regularly. So we have to be clear, here, that this not the voice of America, it's the voice of the administration of the United States. Not all Americans have the same approach as the Government. Like the Republicans are far closer on the values basis to us, the previous President is friend of Hungary on the values basis, historically and wholeheartedly, so a real friend. So don't make the mistake a mistake to consider the United States equal to the United States administration.

Carlson: Yes.

Orbán: That difference is important. You have competition, a political system based on competition.

Carlson: Of course.

Orbán: And hopefully Trump will come back, so the Republicans will come back, and the relationship will again be very good. But now it's absurd. Can you imagine, the United States deleted the agreement between Hungary and the United States on double taxation, but they still have the agreement between Russia and the United States.

Carlson: That means that American citizens, for those who don't know what this is, American citizens who live and work in Hungary, pay Hungarian taxes to your government, but also full federal taxes to the United States.

Orbán: But the attitude, as such, we are a member of NATO, we are ally to the United States, and we are worse treated than the Russians. What's that about?

Carlson: What is it about? It's what you just said. It might be helpful to say it out loud. The Biden administration spent U.S. tax dollars to campaign against you in in your last election. They didn't succeed, you won, in a fair election.

Orbán: Big money.

Carlson: Big money... I don't think most Americans understand where their tax dollars went, to [try] defeat you in Hungary.

Orbán: Exactly.

Carlson: But if you respect democracy, don't you let countries govern themselves?

Orbán: It's definitely against all the principles, we confess.

[both laugh]

Carlson: Are you worried about American control over Hungarian debt? Are you worried that the Biden administration could, potentially, hurt Hungary economically.

[Orbán shakes his head, no]

Carlson: No.

Orbán: 10 years ago, probably. That could have been the case, but today we are strong enough. No, no. It's not easy. It's far easier to cooperate with the United States government, it's far nicer horizon to have a good relationship, but even without that we can stand, we can survive, we can grow, even grow.

Carlson: So, in the American Media you have been dismissed as a puppet of Russia, a friend of Putin's... I want to put a picture on the screen of you being arrested by Soviet-backed police, as a young man. This country was occupied by the Soviets, the Russians, for 40 years...

Photo of Orban being arrested by 3 police in 1987; one with a baton against his throat

Carlson: ..so, given that, are you a bootlicker of Putin, are you a puppet of Putin? What's your view.

Orbán: When I first time met him, come back as Prime Minister, we said very clearly, don't touch upon history, because the history between Russia and Hungary is rather sad. One of the main heroic attempts of the Hungarian nation to get freedom, was launched against the Habsburgok, in the middle of the 19th century, crushed by the army of the Tsar of Russia. They had the Austrians, because we were in the winning position. The Russians were invited by the Habsburgok and they crushed the freedom fight here in Hungary. Then they occupied us in the Second World War. And when we tried to get out from their yoke in '56, they crushed us again. History is, if you know... if you ask anybody on the street, that any Hungarian leader who is elected freely can be a puppet of Putin or the Russians, they say it's a joke, impossible, because we are a sovereign country. Even to the Russians, we deliver many times that we are soverign. So I don't take seriously that kind of accusation. But, of course, I try to have a rational relationship with the Russians, especially on the economy and energy. And my personal point is, that without involving the Russians into the security architecture of Europe, we cannot provide safe lives to the citizens of Europe. But now everything is going against it, unfortunately.

Carlson: Well, Russia is hardly integrated into the security architecture of Europe. NATO is at war with Russia.

Orbán: What NATO does is rather strange. If you look at the official position of NATO, as an institution, as an alliance, they're exactly saying what we said, so no involvement, and to do as much as we can for peace. That's the official position of NATO. But at the same time, NATO says that the member states of NATO should do their best to support the Ukrainians. We should clarify what's going on, like the United States foreign policy to support Ukrainians, it's not the policy of NATO, it's the policy of the United States. That's a big difference.

Carlson: But, I mean, NATO countries now, border over 1500 miles of Russia. So it seems like the point, if you take a step back, NATO is to provoke war with Russsia. That's what it seems like. What is the point of NATO?

Orbán: The point of NATO is that we are stronger than the Russians are. That's very important, to make clear. There's the nuclear armament which must be balanced but, in conventional weapon context, we, NATO, are far further than the Russians are. The Russians are not strong enough even to beat the Ukrainians. Therefore, if somebody is belonging to NATO, it's obvious we are in a secular position. Russia is not able to strike our security, out of question, because we are so strong. That's the number 1 point. The second is that some leaders of NATO, some member state leaders like your President, they had a strategy to crush the Russians somehow, and the strategy was that the Ukrainian soldiers will fight and some member states of NATO will finance this fight, by money and military technical equipment. And this can be the way to beat the Russians. We, Hungarians, said clear at the very beginning, at the very first point, that this strategy will never work. It's a bad strategy. And now we have one and a half year of the war, and it's obvious it's a bad strategy. We have to stop it. We need a new strategy, or we should run, as soon as we can, for peace.

Carlson: Let me ask you one last question about Trump since you brought him up a couple of times. You were just in an election that I know your staff were worried you might lose. There was an open question. You won, pretty sizeably. But it was a real election. Did you consider, at any point, just indicting your challenger on fake documents and charges, and trying to throw him in jail. Wouldn't that have been easier?

Orbán: You mean against me?

Carlson: Yeah.

Orbán: Okay, we have some bad chapters of our history, but that kind of civilian war, cold civilian war, was not part of our culture. So we can beat each other, argue against each other, but to do what's going on now in, in some countries and even your country, to use the justice system against political opponents, in Hungary, I think it's impossible to imagine. You know, that was done by the Communists. It's a very Communist methology to do that. So, in Hungary, we are all aware that we disagree on things - ideology, values, vision of the future, even practices of politics - but we belong to the same nation. We have rivalry but what is the final sense of this argument and competition? To unite the nation, yeah? To provide a better future. I can't say that I will kill you or send you to the prison. If you follow that track, no chance to unify the nation. If the nation's not unified, you can't run for big purposes. So competition is okay but it must be fair, legally perfect, otherwise you can sacrifice your country, and the future of your country, for your personal success, which is not acceptable, at least it's not in Hungary.

Carlson: Mr Prime Minister, thank you very much.

Yeah, Idalia Was a Hurricane. My Bad

Videos of Eye Wall Conditions are More Convincing than Amateur Weather Stations

 

Hurricane force winds were definitely found in Perry, FL; maybe 80 mph winds with gusts to 100 mph in some locations—specifically near the eyewall? I’m just guessing, but it was pretty ferocious there and nothing is or should be minimized. NB: These videos are intentionally trying to capture the very worse conditions in the eyewall.

They got the story! It’s strong! If you weren’t hit by the eyewall, you probably did not see quite such severe wind conditions, but it was nothing to be minimized either. Flooding and storm surge in lower lying areas was bad in many locations, so many people suffered damage to their homes and property.

I recommend that site Live Storms Media on YouTube. I guess they’re basically stormchasers?? It’s interesting if they can make a living on YouTube revenue.

Just for reference is video from a tropical storm that was NOT a hurricane that hit South Texas about 10 days ago. There was no hype with this storm as it formed in the Southern Gulf of Mexico and had a circulation before landfall. It was billed to have “only” 60 mph winds. Here are the stormchasers trying to capture the most scary moments that they can find. To me it looks like 30 to 40 mph winds and higher gusts to about 60 mph?? (just guessing) Take a look and compare:

A Quick Update on "Cat 4" Idalia: Making Landfall

“Cat 4” Idalia, is coming ashore this morning in Florida. You can see that the strongest storms and winds are seen/found on the NW quadrant of the storm. Usually it’s the NE Quadrant that is the strongest. At the end of the clip above, the intensity of storms found right at the inner eye wall was weakening somewhat but reforming on and strengthening on the NE Quadrant. Here’s the live radar at Wunderground.

There are a couple of amateur weather stations on the barrier islands in that NW quadrant—both remain online signifying that the power has not been knocked offline. Their readings seem plausible and they report basically the same wind speeds on the same barrier island.

All of the strongest outer bands are sweeping through that NW area where there are the homeowner weather stations. Yes, you’re right, they are not “official.”

The NE quadrant stations with lower winds/gusts reported from all of those stations. At the end of the clip above, there is a blob of storms coming ashore, but unfortunately there are no reporting weather stations. The storm is arguably weakening slowly now, possibly sharply as the ocean gets churned and surface sea temperatures decay. Much of the circulation is now over land.

There are fairly widespread power outages, especially in the NW quadrant of the storm (the deepest red color is Wakulla County), This is the county where the weather stations reported below are located :

The highest winds/gusts reported by the stations on the barrier island in Wakulla County, NW of the storm’s eyewall, are 53mph/56 mph and 45mph/55mph. I don’t think it’s going to get any worse at this point. Both of these stations are close to one another, have given very similar readings and both haven’t lost electrical power/internet connection.

This is all data from just a few minutes ago.

Weather Station ID: KFLALLIG2

Station Name:Bald Point

Latitude / Longitude: 29.921° N, 84.335° W
Elevation:48

City:Alligator Point
State: FL

 

Weather Station ID: KFLCARRA24

Station Name: GatorNest22

Latitude / Longitude:29.899° N, 84.39° W
Elevation:20

City: Carrabelle
State:FL

Here’s the headline at the time of this blog’s posting proclaiming that this storm is a Cat 4 or would be expected to have winds of 130 mph to 156 mph, or very devastating winds with massive destruction and power outages (like Hurricane Cleo that I spoke of from my childhood in the previous post.) 

As I have claimed, there appears to be a massive disconnect between the forecasted Cat 4 winds of 130 to 156 mph, vs the reported ~55 to 60 mph winds/gusts. Yes, both of those stations could be wrong, but I don't think they are THAT wrong. Also, I watched them for some time and the readings seemed to match when the strongest of the storm’s bands crossed those locations. The fact that the stations didn’t lose power also corroborates lower-than-hurricane-force winds in that area. The exposed position of the two weather stations, facing the sea, would be expected to see the highest winds (again, in that NW quadrant—where the strongest bands were observed on radar).

Idalia probably wasn’t even a Hurricane at all; and it’s very unlikely that it’s anywhere near a Cat 4.

Massive and Repeated NOAA Exaggeration of Tropical Storm Strength

“Hurricane” Idalia is being hyped to the moon as a MAJOR HURRICANE!! CATEGORY 3!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!. THE STRONGEST HURRICANE EVER IN THE BIG BEND OF FLORIDA!!! The sad thing is that this type of exaggeration is routine now. The NOAA will give a name to a tropical low pressure area (depression) for God’s sake. They’ll call a tropical depression a tropical storm and they call a tropical storm a strong hurricane! They do it all the time. They are lying all the time!

They’re naming winter storms with names for God’s sake! It’s really a joke. They’re desperately begging for viewers!

 

Below is the computer model projection of the storm path and strength. The storm’s strength at landfall is HYPED at 111 to 129 miles per hour. Wow, Category Three!

The Problem?? Idalia will NOT EVEN BE A Hurricane at landfall. How do I know? One just has to look at the generated forecast for a town or community underneath the path of the storm’s eye.

In this case, Perry, Florida is just right of the storm’s forecasted eye, ie., the strongest quadrant of the storm is the northeast eyewall. (It’s an extremely unpopulated area of Florida and about 30 to 40 miles inland from that 8/30/2023 7 PM point. It’s forecasted to be a direct hit on Perry, FL. 

August 30th Projected Storm Path is Usually Quite Accurate. This map Shows a Category 3 Storm at Landfall. Sorry, there won’t even be hurrican force winds recorded. You’ll see.

Below, I show the computer model forecasted weather conditions for Perry, Florida (not subject to NOAA hype). It’s calling for SUSTAINED winds of 40 to 60 mph at Perry at a maximum. Many, many times, I’ve confirmed that it’s these forecasts that are quite accurate. I’ve looked many times at various continuously recording weather stations, preferably local airports, after storms pass. I’ve seen for myself that weather stations usually match these forecast model’s wind strengths. And I’m always looking for airport weather stations on the NE side of the eye for maximum wind strength. (Hey, I’m an engineer and science guy, what can I say?)

So, here’s the maximum storm strength expected at Perry (will likely be proven quite accurate):

From Wunderground.com: Maximum Winds at Perry is Forecasted at 40 to 60 mph—or Not Even a Category One Hurricane. It’s a TROPICAL STORM, NOT EVEN A HURRICANE AT ALL!!

The maximum sustained winds expected in this sparsely populated area near Perry, Florida is forecasted at only 40 to 60 mph. (Sustained winds are wind speeds that are sustained for at least one minute duration—it’s NOT gusts, which can be higher). Yes, there will be higher gusts. If you watch the weather channel, they’ll be reporting only wind gusts which will STILL be guaranteed to be MUCH lower than Category 3 and probably not even be a Cat 1.

You’ll see! Or maybe you’ve already noticed this.

Category 3 winds are 111 to 129 mph or very devastating conditions. As a child living in South Florida, I remember a hurricane passing over our house one night. It was Hurricane Cleo in the early 1960s and it was a Category 3 storm. It was incredibly loud and damaging. I remember very clearly the loud moan of that type of wind. Our house had metal shutters that covered all the windows.

The eye of the storm passed over my house and I can remember my mom opening the door when the eye was overhead to see trees stripped of leaves and limbs and and other damage. You often can see clear skies in the eye of these storms and calm but hot and oppressive conditions. (I remember clutching my mom’s calf-length skirt which was the style in the early 60s) That storm tore all of our house’s roofing materials down to bare wood. Rainwater was dripping everywhere in the house and my mother put pots, pans and anything else available to catch the drips. We were without power for seven days.

Perry Florida will not even experience true hurricane force conditions. Yes, there may be gusts up to hurricane strength but that’s not the criteria. And yes, there may be imbedded tornados in these storms that cause a large amount of wind damage. If you’re on the coast, wave and water damage is very bad, even for tropical storms.

For Idalia, the storm surge and rainfall will VERY LIKELY correspond to a strong tropical storm—NOT EVEN A HURRICANE. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times that I have verified this type of exaggeration; it’s routine. Hey, I’m a man of science— an engineer—who researches these kinds of things and verifies these things factually.

Nearly everything is a lie or exaggeration in our country. There is an extreme and fraudulent effort for every person or organization online to rack-up clicks and views. There is a real desperation: please look at me!! Just look at titles of YouTube videos! Clickbait is everywhere!! It’s the story of our time.

Caitlan Johnstone: 30 Signs That You're a Stooge For the "US Empire"

 From Australian Caitlan Johnstone on Substack:

There are many bootlicking simps for the US empire. It’s not entirely their fault; the empire has the most sophisticated propaganda machine ever devised and most westerners have been marinating in its influence their entire lives. But it does happen, and it’s good to bring awareness to it.

Here then are 30 signs you might be an empire simp:

1. You get triggered whenever anyone highlights the well-documented western provocations that paved the way to the war in Ukraine.

2. You think Putin invaded Ukraine solely because he is evil and hates freedom and the US is pouring weapons into the nation because it loves Ukrainians and wants to protect their freedom and democracy.

3. You’re more interested in Trump’s mugshot than the western-backed atrocities in Yemen or starvation sanctions in Syria.

4. You can listen to Tony Blinken talk without wanting to throw trash at his head.

5. You understand that the last time there was a credible foreign military threat near the US border the US responded so aggressively that it almost ended the world, yet you demand that Russia and China accept US military threats on their borders.

6. You think the US is filling Australia with war machinery because it loves Australians and wants to protect them from China.

7. You believe the world’s most destructive military force is encircling its #1 geopolitical rival with war machinery as a defensive measure.

8. You live in the most propagandized population on earth and make jokes about North Korean propaganda.

9. You live in the most propagandized population on earth and spend your time fretting about Russian propaganda.

10. You think the title of most murderous and tyrannical regime on earth belongs to any government besides Washington.

11. You live under the most murderous and tyrannical power structure on earth and yet spend your time shrieking about tyranny in Asian countries.

12. You want to see Vladimir Putin tried for war crimes before George W Bush.

13. You believe western interventionism has ever had anything to do with spreading freedom and democracy or protecting humanitarian interests.

14. You find protests in places like Iran, Venezuela or Cuba much more interesting than protests in places like France, Haiti or Chile.

15. You unironically call NATO a “defensive alliance”.

16. You rend your garments about China preparing to seize control of Taiwan by military force without ever acknowledging that the US empire is preparing to do the exact same thing.

17. You’ve ever believed for even one second that the US government gives a fuck about Muslims in China.

18. You oppose guns except when they’re being used to kill foreigners overseas.

19. You claim you oppose the misdeeds of all governments equally but find yourself spending most of your time yelling at people who criticize US foreign policy online.

20. You’ve ever accused anyone who criticizes US foreign policy of secretly working for Russia or China.

21. You’ve ever accused someone who criticizes Israel of being an anti-semite.

22. You think being anti-war means putting a Ukraine flag in your Twitter bio.

23. You think “the troops” have ever fought for your freedom at any time since you’ve been alive.

24. You think the invasion of Iraq had anything to do with liberating the Iraqi people.

25. You think the destruction of Libya had anything to do with protecting Libyans.

26. You think the west arming Al Qaeda in Syria had anything to do with advancing the interests of Syrians.

27. You think US escalations against Russia and China have anything to do with “national security”.

28. You think the Department of Defense has anything to do with defense.

29. You think it’s okay for the US to keep waging wars, destroying nations, starving civilian populations with economic sanctions, instigating proxy wars, arming neo-Nazis and violent jihadists, staging coups and persecuting journalists, because if it doesn’t do those things the world might be taken over by evil tyrants.

30. You were bothered by any item on this list.

Travel Log #1: Bangkok and the Quest for Long Stay Visa

The flights to/from Texas to/from Bangkok are long and exhausting. By the time you add layovers, it’s 26 hours of travel time at best (each way). It typically consists of a domestic flight to the US west coast (LA, SF, Seattle), layover, then to Japan or Taipei with another layover, then on to Thailand. Then, once you arrive, you find yourself in a completely upside-down time zone: 12 hours ahead of Texas: night is your day, day is your night. I’m finding myself sleeping a lot. That’s also what happens when you get old!

I’m staying at a guesthouse that bills itself as a hostel. It’s real nice, basic, super clean place with fast wifi, great air conditioning in each room, free laundry service and in the heart of the trendy business district in BKK. I arrived the night of August 24 at about midnight to the big international airport Suvarnabhumi and got a taxi to my accomodation. Another thing that I like about Thailand is that taxis wait outside of baggage claim in an organized fashion; a supervisor greets you and he enters your destination in his computer stand and directs me to the waiting taxi. Without asking, they turn on their meter, so there is no question about the cost of the journey. No surprises! No monkey business. (This driver knew no English, so he gave me his phone to type in my accomodation address on his google maps. It came up right away on his phone, in Thai language and we were off.) The driver will ask “Highway?”—which means he’s requesting to use the toll roads. Say yes! Altogether, a 20 mile trip from the airport was about $18 including tolls. That’s gone up quite a bit in 10 years.

When I got to the closed entrance of my accomodation at about 1 AM, but there was a sealed envelope with my full name on the outside taped to the front door. It had my electronic key card for the entrance and the key to my room inside. Nice! Very Thai style! I slept OK. 

My room (but no stuffed bear) and the entrance to Pan Pan

So, my first few days were walking around the central business district called Si Lom road. I’ve stayed in this area of Thailand many, many times and it’s familiar to me. Here’s some pictures so far; sorry that I don’t have many yet:

Some Local Pictures of My Current Neighborhood (Click to enlarge)

My Root Canal

A few months ago, I had a crown installed on one of my molars (without a root canal) in TX. It turned out that the nerves under the crown got inflamed and caused me really bad pain. My home Dentist gave a dosepak of Prenisonol, a steroid, that worked to calm the inflammation and pain for about a month. It became clear that I needed a root canal, which is a special procedure to drill through a permanent crown. I was referred to an endodontist in TX who gave a phone estimate of $2400 to do the root canal. It was then that I decided to get my travel plans in place to have this done in Thailand. I needed another dosepak of prednisonol to make sure I wasn’t in pain during travel.

So my first order of business after arrival was to see a Dentist at the nearby Bangkok Christian Hospital. They have an entire dentist suite. I got a crown there many years ago. It’s interesting, you just walk in the hospital, make your way to elevators and go directly up to your desired floor. No one is challenging you in any way. That’s freedom! Thai people know freedom.

The marble plaque at Bangkok Christian Hospital from 1965

I arrived in BKK late on Thurs, August 24th. On Friday morning the 25th I went to BCH and went to the dentist suite and they saw me right away as a walk-in. Easy-peasy! The dentist gave me an xray, some antibiotics, some pain medicine and he booked an appointment with me and an Endodontist there the next morning. So, Saturday morning at 10am, a super nice doctor (who spoke great English and listened to Western classical music during the procedure) successfully drilled through the ceramic crown without fracturing it and cleaned out all the “pulp” inside the tooth and roots. I never felt a thing! It was pain free. The cost was about $220 USD. I will need a followup in two weeks to remove the temporary filling and antibiotic solution and put the final filling in. I figure that that will be about another $100 to $120 USD more. So once again, I’m reminded that medical or dental costs are about 5 to 10 times cheaper in Thailand—and it’s been that way since 1997.

My Long Stay Visa Ordeal

My last contract work (as a Principal Facilities Engineer) in Lagos, Nigeria in Africa was a 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off schedule. In my case, I spent each 2 week off period in Bangkok. They gave me all business class seats for all of the flights—which was nice.

When that contract was finished early in 2011, I ended up staying on in Bangkok for 2 years ending in 2012 on Long Stay Visas before returning to Texas and my condo there.

This time, now 11 years later, I came to Thailand having already searched for all of the procedures and documents necessary for obtaining a one year visa— the Long Stay OA visa. I’ve have obtained this visa before both at a consulate in Texas and in Bangkok.

I started the application at the consulate in Texas, but came to a stumbling block: the Houston police department no longer provides a letter stating that you have no serious criminal offenses. Instead, I used a Texas State government website, paid $3, and did a statewide criminal record search for my name. In my case, I searched myself and I copied the output of the search to a JPEG showing that “there are no records.” Thinking that was going to be enough, the local Thai consulate said that it WASN’T enough and that they won’t accept that. Kabosh!! The criminal search is not required when applying in Bangkok, so I just came to BKK to apply for the visa.

Once in BKK, I made some calls to some immigration law firms and chatted with one lawyer about the current “environment” at immigration. For decades, the procedure has always been, for the one year “long stay” visa, one must prove that you have adequate funds in savings AND/OR a monthly pension checks to meet their minimum requirements, prove that you’re not a criminal, and get a statement from a doctor that you have no communicable diseases. Sounds easy, right?

The requirement is that you have about $2100 per month in regular gov’t pension income or $800,000 baht in savings—about $23,000 in savings. I have both of those things.

So, the Thai lawyer told me, that now in BKK that they don’t accept the $2100 per month income (which I have the printed Social Security benefit verification letter on my laptop showing that amount). Furthermore, Thai immigration has evolved to where the 800,000 baht in savings now must already be transferred to a Thai bank prior to a visa application. (Before it was enough to show that quantity in your home accounts.)

The ridiculous thing is that one can’t open a Thai bank account either in advance or as a tourist in Thailand. This is also true for all countries in the world. So, the requirement is entirely irrational. Futhermore, I don’t trust Thai banks; I’ve known people who’ve had their money stolen (but long ago). Maybe UOB or HSBC would be OK, but I’m not doing it.

Moving On!

Anyway, with dealings with governments, there’s always some single surprise and/or unofficial change that puts the Kabosh on everything. So I’ve decided to give up playing games with Thai immigration. So, I’ll stay my one month as a tourist, then either go Angkor Wat or maybe Phnom Penh in Cambodia (by air) late in Sept and return back to BKK & receive a fresh 1 month tourist visa.

Ultimately I plan to travel down to Kuala Lumpur and stay for at least one month in an ultra modern, furnished high-rise apartment that one can find on Airbnb for $500 to $600 per month (discounted for month long stays) — right in the best area of KL! US citizens get 3 months automatic tourist visas. And KL is like Singapore, but it’s ~4 times cheaper and has the same diverse cultures and food. Malaysia is a great place. They have the same warm and welcoming feeling that is similar to the rest of SE Asia. KL is cheaper than Bangkok now. It’s super safe too. Thailand is also safe.

From KL, I might go for a quick trip to the Philippines—maybe fly to Cebu city and return to KL. Nepal, who gives a 6 month tourist visa on arrival, is also on my list for continuing travel. I’ve been to Katmandhu and Annapurna area before and it’s really excellent there! I stayed a month, during my 2nd around-the-world trip in 1999.

With that I’ll close. Let me know if you like this kind of travel log. I’ll be sure to share more photos. I know that’s what’s really interesting. Let me know if this is boring or too long.

Tucker Interviews Trump

242 million views and counting:

Tucker & Colonel MacGregor Episode 18: Why The Ukraine War Must End Now

"US Is On The Brink of Catastrophic War That Could Easily Destroy Us" - Col. Douglas MacGregor Tells Tucker Carlson Why The Ukraine War Must End Now

Ep. 18 Into the abyss: Colonel Douglas Macgregor tells us why the Ukraine war must end now. pic.twitter.com/a3bGLvJC4s

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 21, 2023

The Latest Flimsy Charges Against President Trump; Conspiracy This, Conspiracy That

 “We have a severe Constitutional Crisis. All of these prosecutions against Trump are to interfere with the 2024 election, which violates everyone’s constitutional rights. But worse still, they have all coordinated their attacks and conspired together. This is destroying our legal system. This will now be unrestrained about the legal system, for Republican prosecutors are now free to indict Hillary, Pelosi, and down the line. State prosecutors can now indict all the Democrats, and the DOJ, firmly in control of the Neocons, cannot order a state prosecutor to stand down.

All of these indictments against Trump when he is the lead candidate for the 2024 election signals to the entire world that this is the end of the United States experiment in Liberty & Justice for All. It is simply all over. The abuse of the law will now become a free-for-all. Mark Meadows has already moved to transfer the case from the crazy prosecutor to a federal court."

From Martin Armstrong

I have mentioned before, conspiracy charges and “RICO” charges are the way that the Federal government and prosecutors successfully railroad of people into jail. This is happening right now all over America. The US is a prison nation.

The J6 defendants, some elderly, nearly all conservatives are rotting in jail— railroaded by the unlimited resources of the government to “fabricate charges.” By using flimsy charges of ‘CONSPIRACY to commit a crime,’ that are in the legal code as felonies, they’ll charge you with MULTIPLE COUNTS of “conspiracy charges” and tell you that you’ll get 150 years in jail.

Then, they’ll force the victim, all citizens of the formerly great USA, to settle on some lesser charge where they only have to stay in jail for 5 or 6 years EVEN IF YOU DID NOTHING. And you can’t go to trial, the Federal Prosecutors have a 99% conviction rate—-higher than Nazi Germany. The deck is stacked against the American people. A serious review of this prosecutorial abuse is long overdue.

It’s almost as bad as Federal stings where the government manufactures a crime.

Here’s Trump’s charges from traitor DA Fanni Willis:

• 1 count of violating the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, which is basically a catch-all charge for a larger CONSPIRACY!! to overturn the outcome of the election (just by questioning the results and urging Constitutional remedies provide to the House of Reps with regard to the Electoral College).

• 3 counts of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, which are about Trump’s attempts to convince Georgia officials to overturn the results (really CONSPIRACY!!)

• 1 count of CONSPIRACY!! to commit impersonating a public officer

• 2 counts of CONSPIRACY!! to commit forgery

• 2 counts of CONSPIRACY!! to commit false statements and writings

• 1 count of CONSPIRACY!! to commit filing false documents

• 1 count of filing false documents

• 2 counts of making false statements and writings

Again, here’s the charges at the Federal level:

• Charge of CONSPIRACY!! to defraud the United States, which includes plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election (OMG!!)

• CONSPIRACY!! to obstruct an official proceeding, including plotting to prevent the 2020 election certification

• Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, which includes actually blocking the certification of the 2020 election results. (What a joke)

• CONSPIRACY!! against rights, which includes a plan to deprive someone of a constitutional right (in this case, that is the ability to vote)

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is all about impeachment of Trump’s character, to alter, manipulate and to prevent Trump to run or even campaign in the next election season and distract you as the Uniparty fleeces America. As I mention above, “conspiracy to commit” is a bit of a joke especially when Trump was entirely correct to call out obvious election tampering by the Democrats.

THE DEMOCRATS ALWAYS ACCUSE OTHERS OF THE CRIMES THAT THEY ACTUALLY COMMIT.

THEY ALWAYS ACCUSE OTHERS OF BEHAVIOR THAT THEY ACTUALLY DO.

THEY INADVERTANTLY REVEAL WHO THEY ARE BY THEIR ACCUSATIONS.

The Only 'National Defense' Needed in This Country Is Defense AGAINST the REAL ENEMIES: The Ruling Class and the U.S. Government

From Gary D. Barnett at Lew Rockwell

Throughout our history, and today, little, if any defense of this country or its people, has been necessary or warranted. The true enemy of the people of America is, and has always been, its own government. The real enemies are most all the politicians, regardless of party, the courts, the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, the IRS, the entire military industrial complex, and in general, the federal and state police forces. In other words, all the ruling class and it pawns in government, its enforcers, and all their institutions and bureaucracies, are the real threat to this populace and its natural freedoms. The ludicrous notion of national defense, and that government forces actually “defend the country,” is an outright lie; propagandized by the State and its mouthpieces in media, simply as a way to gain great power in order to own and control society.

The Portland Oregon Mob Was Barely Resisted by City “Leaders”

Many will take offence to these statements, mostly due to the fact that since birth, they have been inundated and indoctrinated by false ‘authority’ figures, to believe that they cannot survive and prosper without restrictive laws and rule, and worthless government schooling, all kept in check by severe coercive State prosecution. They are taught (schooled) to abandon their individuality in favor of the so-called ‘greater good’ of a collective society, to depend on and trust others in power to protect and sustain them and their families throughout their lives. This breeds only ignorance and passivity in the face of State terror. Independence, a supposed hallmark of this nation-state and its residents, is literally vilified, and even prohibited in many instances, causing personal sovereignty to be discarded in the name of unified slavery.

We live in a country that has warred aggressively against fictitious enemies, meaning without cause or necessity, more than any other country on earth. It is stated, and supported, that the United States has been at war for at least 93% of its entire existence. I firmly believe this number to be much higher, and with proper consideration, it is likely closer to 100%. If one is to determine the actual damage done, the actual harm due to direct war, proxy war, what is insanely considered ‘collateral damage,’ what is the horrid long term cost to human life in the aftermath of this terror, the total number of causalities, including the dead, would be tens if not hundreds of millions of innocent people. But what is sold to the wrongly named ‘public, is that this country is and has been the savior of ‘democracy,’ a completely evil and failed ideology, which is a gross lie beyond the imagination of any sane and thinking human being.

…snip…

At this time in our lives, aggressive war by this government and all who support its heinous deeds, has graduated from its main objective of slaughtering innocent men, women, and children, in addition to the other devastation, in other countries most everywhere on earth, to include the entirety of this country’s population as well. The major war currently is against all of us who live and work in the U.S. by those who continue to claim to be our protectors. This contradiction is absurd, but is still little understood by the average American, as can be evidenced by the terroristic treatment inflicted, and with little if any resistance, on this society these past few years.

…snip…

Who will defend you from harm? Who will defend you from foreign invasion, although that has never once happened in this country’s history, not even including the pre-planned setup called the Pearl Harbor attack? Who will defend you from hyper-inflation and the resulting extreme prices for goods? Who will defend you from mass censorship and constant surveillance? Who will defend you from food shortages, energy shutdowns, and extensive restrictions on all transactions and travel? Who will defend your children from the consuming perversion being forced on them at every opportunity with this government’s blessing? Who will defend you from aggression and tyranny? Who will defend you from yourself?

It will NEVER be the evil State that defends you, nor will it be its ‘national defense systems,’ its enforcers in the military and police, the politicians, the banking cartels, the large corporate monsters, or any government at any level. There is only one legitimate defense, and that is self-defense. Only you, each of you, has the ability and desire to defend himself. No other and no State entity can or will ever be your savior.  Until that is accepted, expect total serfdom to become your voluntarily accepted way of life.

Much more tyranny is coming. Lockdowns, fake ‘viruses,’ bioweapons, threats and totalitarian measures based on bogus ‘climate change, central bank digital currency, social credit restrictions, more inflation, destruction of money, health mandates, curfews, travel shutdowns, food shortages, transhuman promotion, among many other atrocities, including perpetual war.

National defense is an outright lie, and can never protect you, it can only harm you. There is but one enemy, and that enemy is the State! There is but one defense against this demon called government, and that is when individuals, or individuals working together en masse, abolish all rule. The responsibility for you is you, and any dependence on government whatsoever can only lead to despair, hopelessness, disaster, and enslavement. Defend yourself from this evil State, and break the chains that bind you.

[Doug here: BURN IT DOWN!]

Hilarious Update on Tropical Storm Hilary

 

The Inestimable Virtues of Flyover People, Part 2

From Gateway Pundit:

There should be a big crowd Sept. 1 when the Bremerton Knights take to the high school football field for the first game of the season.

That’s because Coach Kennedy is back. (2 minute video below)

The Bremerton School District, on Washington’s Puget Sound west of Seattle, had booted assistant coach Joe Kennedy eight years ago.

Kennedy’s offense? Taking a knee at the 50-yard line to pray after games. Tyranny by Idiots!!!

That’s right. In an era of increasing gender-bending, propaganda in social justice and identity politics, school violence, declining test scores and increasing chaos, Coach Kennedy crossed the line by praying.

Except the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the coach. In a 6-3 June, 2022, decision, the court ruled the school district violated Kennedy’s First Amendment rights and ordered him reinstated.

So Kennedy is back in the game, literally, and he said messages and calls from local supporters indicated they plan to be there for the Bremerton team’s first Friday night lights.

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“I’m a little nervous, to tell you the truth,” Kennedy said in an exclusive interview with Seattle’s KOMO-TV. “And it’s more just because the first game is coming up and … I got to … knock the rust off.  It’s been a while.”

To KING-TV, Kennedy commented about his eight-year ordeal to keep his job: “I wish I could say that it was easy.

“You know, looking back it’s been a long road,” he said. “And many heartbreaking years. But, you know, it’s great that it’s finally worked out, but it’s been tough.

To everybody that’s been supporting me, praying for me across the United States, I mean [it was] millions of people,” he continued. “That’s what’s kept me going and kept me in this fight.”

The school district indicated it wanted to put the issue behind them and that it will fully comply with the high court’s order, KING reported, and that the district will treat Kennedy’s religious beliefs the same as those of other district employees.

Following two decades with the U.S. Marines, Kennedy joined the school district in 2008, according to court documents. Initially, he would take a knee at the 50-yard line and silently pray. Players asked if they could join him. “This is a free country,” was Kennedy’s reported response. “You can do what you want.”

Soon, most of the team would join Kennedy’s prayers, and eventually opposing players also would join.

[Doug here: him saying “this is a free country” is ironic considering his 8 years of being fired from his work and basically exiled to the “wilderness.” And how many individuals have the money to sustain an 8 year fight against the unlimited resources of “government?”]

Sometimes Kennedy’s prayers included him giving short, motivational speeches and there were pre- and post-game locker room prayers, which were reported to be a tradition that pre-dated Kennedy’s tenure, court documents said.

Kennedy never pressured students to participate, and his prayer activities continued until 2015, when the school district’s superintendent learned of them.

Kennedy was ordered to stop what he was doing. So he did.

“Driving home after a game, however,” according to an account in the majority opinion by U. S. Supreme Court Justice Neal Gorsuch, “Mr. Kennedy felt upset that he had ‘broken [his] commitment to God’ by not offering his own prayer, so he turned his car around and returned to the field.”

“By that point, everyone had left the stadium, and he walked to the 50-yard line and knelt to say a brief prayer of thanks.”

After that, Kennedy engaged in silent prayer after games, but the school district, believing the action represented the district endorsing religion, eventually fired him.

Legal actions followed, with Kennedy eventually winning at the Supreme Court.

Returning to the field for the 2023 season, Kennedy was asked by KOMO if the school district had placed any restrictions on his mid-field prayers.

“I don’t have any guidance on that yet,” he replied. “They’re still trying to figure that out. I know that I’m allowed to pray after a football game, and that’s what I intend to do.”

Kennedy was queried by KOMO whether he had to take a knee — couldn’t he just bow his head instead?

“I could, but my commitment was, you know, that’s the way I’ve always done it, when I said I was going to give God the glory after every game — win or lose — on the football field,” according to Kennedy.

The Inestimable Virtues of "Flyover" People: Folk Hero Christopher "Oliver" Anthony

[Forward from Doug: Chris Lunsford, who named his music enterprise Oliver Anthony after his grandfather, is this amazing soul just like the 100s of millions of amazing souls in our country (and billions of beautiful souls around the world).

He is the “poster boy” for all of the Left’s imagined “far right” or “alt right” or “white supremacist” degradations. They are blithely labeled such in a disrepectful, dismissive way by the so-called powerful elites in government or money centers. A few years ago, Chris might have also been dismissed as “deplorable” or someone “clinging to his guns and Bible” by astoundingly arrogant “Let Them Eat Cake” cretins, idiots, fools and psychopaths empowered and enriched by our hyperfinancialized eCONomy.

Suddenly, his message and emotion reached 10’s of millions people by simply singing his wisdom from his heart (and YouTube didn’t censor it). Here’s this amazing guy who isn’t “special” according to prevailing thought, but he shows that EVERYONE is special; that each of us have an amazing constellation of thoughts, feelings, understandings and experiences that are common, yet still truly special.

I talk a lot about the “Virtues of Fly-Over people” in my post They Don't Even Know From Where Their Food Comes. They are people dismissed as unimportant by our criminal or deranged elites, but they have an understanding, common sense and grounding that academic or government types rarely have:

Most people who live around and work in “government,”universities, big Media, big Tech, show business, government think tanks, NGOs, the Federal Reserve usually are amazingly ignorant, full of their academic and/or Marxist theories, full of leftist propaganda and frankly full of shit. They haven’t done an honest days work in their entire lives. They don’t even know from where their food comes. They can be and often are completely wrong about everything for all of their lives and never have to face any consequences.

The supposedly unsophisticated “flyover”people are belittled and even hated by the undeservedly wealthy in the big ”money center” cities on both coasts or those who inhabit the “Clinton Archipelago.”

Clintonistas hate them because their horse sense, derived by honest work and struggle, trumps their highly vaunted academic “learning” nearly every time. The people with horse sense (Conservative types, Trump sympathizers) are nearly always right because they are reality-based and have wisdom through experience, ie., common sense. Doug out]

Now From ZeroHedge:

Lunsford is a former factory worker and lives in the forgotten part of the US, Appalachia, an area plagued with an opioid crisis and abandoned factories. The song tells the story of working-class folk who struggle daily while being ignored and mocked by political elites just north of Richmond. 

Lunsford detailed in a lengthy Facebook post that he turned down a $8 million deal from stunned music industry executives:

People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers. I don't want 6 tour buses, 15 tractor trailers and a jet. I don't want to play stadium shows, I don't want to be in the spotlight. I wrote the music I wrote because I was suffering with mental health and depression. These songs have connected with millions of people on such a deep level because they're being sung by someone feeling the words in the very moment they were being sung. No editing, no agent, no bullshit. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place.

Since going viral nine days ago, he has received over 50,000 messages from people reacting to the song. He said some messages include stories about "Suicide, addiction, unemployment, anxiety and depression, hopelessness and the list goes on." 

Lunsford provided more details about who he exactly is... 

My legal name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford. My grandfather was Oliver Anthony, and "Oliver Anthony Music" is a dedication not only to him, but 1930's Appalachia where he was born and raised. Dirt floors, seven kids, hard times. At this point, I'll gladly go by Oliver because everyone knows me as such. But my friends and family still call me Chris. You can decide for yourself, either is fine.

In 2010, I dropped out of high school at age 17. I have a GED from Spruce Pine, NC. I worked multiple plant jobs in Western NC, my last being at the paper mill in McDowell county. I worked 3rd shift, 6 days a week for $14.50 an hour in a living hell. In 2013, I had a bad fall at work and fractured my skull. It forced me to move back home to Virginia. Due to complications from the injury, it took me 6 months or so before I could work again.

From 2014 until just a few days ago, I've worked outside sales in the industrial manufacturing world. My job has taken me all over Virginia and into the Carolinas, getting to know tens of thousands of other blue collar workers on job sites and in factories. Ive spent all day, everyday, for the last 10 years hearing the same story. People are SO damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated.

In 2019, I paid $97,500 for the property and still owe about $60,000 on it. I am living in a 27' camper with a tarp on the roof that I got off of craigslist for $750.

There's nothing special about me. I'm not a good musician, I'm not a very good person. I've spent the last 5 years struggling with mental health and using alcohol to drown it. I am sad to see the world in the state it's in, with everyone fighting with each other. I have spent many nights feeling hopeless, that the greatest country on Earth is quickly fading away.

He concludes with: 

That being said, I HATE the way the Internet has divided all of us. The Internet is a parasite, that infects the minds of humans and has their way with them. Hours wasted, goals forgotten, loved ones sitting in houses with each other distracted all day by technology made by the hands of other poor souls in sweat shops in a foreign land.

When is enough, enough? When are we going to fight for what is right again? MILLIONS have died protecting the liberties we have. Freedom of speech is such a precious gift. Never in world history has the world had the freedom it currently does. Don't let them take it away from you. 

Just like those once wandering in the desert, we have lost our way from God and have let false idols distract us and divide us. It's a damn shame.

Meanwhile, the political left is triggered by this song for speaking the truth (just like they hate the sentiments in “Try That in a Small Town.” And the country music industry is "confused by a man actually from the country making actual music."

Here’s a 5 minute message from this ordinary guy on YouTube

Just remember this Ron Paul quote...

People are awakening from their multi-decade daze. The matrix is glitching...