Lightning Fall: a Definitive Novel about an EMP attack on America

EMP attack. We hear the words and kind of fuzzily think "oh the power will be out, better stock up on candles." At least, that was how I looked at it. Faraday cages. Tinfoil hats for our mobile phones. But it's not a laughing matter.

5 years ago, Bill Quick put out a warning in the form of his well-researched, scientifically accurate novel "Lightning Fall". (It's also an exciting adventure story, but we'll get to that part later.)

This past November, the US Military issued a report on the danger of EMP that in many ways paralleled the likely events Quick had identified in 2014: "Military warns EMP attack could wipe out America, 'democracy, world order' "

This week, our President Trump took action to protect us against EMP attack.

In his second National Emergency Executive Order, President Trump again puts our safety first, and established the first ever "comprehensive policy to improve resilience to EMPs".

Congress was first warned about the danger of a nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack in 2008. Two presidents and five Congresses failed to act to shore up our local defenses against it. But finally, we have a President who does not play "kick the can".

We know we dodged a bullet when we elected Trump instead of Clinton 2.0. A read of Lightning Fall shows us we also dodged an atomic bomb - and how important is our President's action to protect us against just such a disaster.

As for me, if I had not read Quick's book, I might have glossed over this presidential EO without thinking. However, coincidentally, I finally read the book last month. As they used to say "my consciousness has been raised". I understand the danger now. I won't laugh at tin foil any more.

A good storyteller, and a perceptive cultural analyst, Bill Quick's novel can almost be used to blueprint our own preparations for the total disruption of communication and services. Lightning Fall takes snapshots of the consequences from every angle and puts them up for us to see how our particular location would look. Through his characters, who seem like people I already know, we get ideas to adapt to our own circumstances to insure our own survival, the survival of our families and our neighborhoods.

I don't know about you, but I will remember "how" info better when I have a context for it... a scenario creates a full picture of not only how, but of what and why, of when and who.  This is what I found in Lightning Fall.

Lightning Fall is a fast paced, exciting thriller with unpredictable turns that kept me turning pages until late at night, and a solid story peopled with characters who matter.  Quick's characters are ordinary people in different locations around the country, from Mississippi to San Francisco to the heartland to what seemed in 2013 the inevitable Hillary Clinton Whitehouse ("Millicent Carter"). Each faces different problems caused by the EMP attacks and has to handle those problems in different ways, whether prepared or not.

What a battle they face. There's a criminal element in every town, from cities to the smallest hamlet, and those are the first bad guys to take advantage when the lights go out. Threats can also come from unexpected sources: a bank manager who refuses to allow a mother to empty her safe deposit box in order to pay the mortgage, a neighbor alerting a gang member to supplies in the apartment below. But faithful allies are also not as far away as first believed, and the weak uncover strengths they had not needed before, in the nick of time.

A deeper crisis threatens the very foundation of our republic when the national government - unaffected by the EMP - sets a course to abandon the needy and take overtly political action that means the deaths of millions, in order to assure partisan victory in an upcoming election. The individuals in our story are facing not only immediate threats, but the prospect of being left to their own devices indefinitely.

Quick has given his individual characters some advantage: they've been "prepping", each in their own way, so they aren't completely in the lurch immediately. Instead, each faces dangers and threats they had failed to foresee, and has to rely on their wits, and the hand of Providence, to win out over those who would separate their soul from their body without a second thought.

Bill Quick is an astute observer of the culture and politics of our time, and Lightning Fall showcases those observations well. Ever imagine that Mexico's capital might be working behind the scenes to undermine local governments in California? Or that someone else might be pulling the eternally corrupt strings that animate Mexico's political class? Lightning Fall maps the course some of that leverage might take.

His grasp of what a Hillary Clinton presidency would have been like is chillingly authentic... and I suspect if Mrs Clinton or Bill ever read Quick's portrayal of their marriage, they might look around and wonder if he had been listening in, so credibly does he suggest how the fictional "Carters" relate to each other in the intimacy of their private marital relationship, right down to moments that are almost endearing (or would be if the consequences of their ambitions weren't so fatal to the rest of us).

Our heroes, most of them, survive in this story, and are looking forward with strength and hope at the end of the book, thanks to their remarkable American values: personal will and individual resources knitted together with neighbors in a fierce joint determination to procure survival not only for themselves and loved ones, but also for their place and their local civilization: to defend their homes and the ground on which they stand against whatever force evil might throw at them, and to be found standing when morning comes.

Get ready. Stock up on canned chili and fresh water. Buy and read "Lightning Fall: A Novel of Disaster" by Bill Quick.

Sign of the Times: Voice Of The Deplorables

This billboard was paid for by a businessman in Boerne, Texas! It reads "ABC News: I grew up with you. We are through. The Russians didn't elect Donald Trump. I did. Kyle Courtney "

At Accuracy In Media, Don Irvine reports:

 "[Kyle] Courtney released the following statement to News4 in San Antonio:
“ABC News was the only channel I watched as a child growing up in Texas but I think they have lost touch with America and forgotten the working man. They don’t represent our voice anymore. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was funded by the Clinton Foundation in close coordination with the media, and now we’re seeing them try to fix what they couldn’t fix during the election. They are doing everything they can, night after night, to create narratives and sway people’s direction to impeach Donald Trump. Our democracy is at stake when a major political party and the media are in bed together. I’m not asking anyone to boycott the Democratic party. I’m not in the brainwashing business, but the liberal media is.” "

Thank you, and God bless you, Mr. Courtney. Many millions of us share your thinking -and also proudly voted FOR Donald John Trump without apology or equivocation.




*Photo Credit: Wellstar Groundwater Technologies, Mr Courtney's company

Here's To All Of Us Deplorables!

A great overview of President Trump's First 100 Days:

"In his first 100 days, President Donald J. Trump has taken bold action to restore prosperity, keep Americans safe and secure, and hold government accountable. At an historic pace, this President has enacted more legislation and signed more executive orders than any other president in over a half century. With a focus on rebuilding the military, ending illegal immigration, and restoring confidence in our economy, the President is keeping his promises to the American people."

Click through to WhiteHouse.gov for a partial list of "America First" achievements, along with articles and videos.

Thank you, and God bless you, Deplorables. Each one of you made - and is making - all the difference in the world.

President Trump and The Deplorables: "Hope, and a Future"

President Donald John Trump is doing the Lord's work in bringing "Hope, and a Future" to ordinary Americans, and he laid out that vision last night in his first speech to the joint Houses of Congress.

President Trump laid out a concrete vision and showed us how to reach for it. By tagging America's 250th birthday - and by not calling it the "Semi-quincentennial - President Trump just gave a future to the descendants of our nation's founding people.

For a decade or more, struggling Americans have recited Jeremiah 29:11 and made it our by-word. We have written it on the walls of Food Banks, have spoken it over children's ministries, have memorized it and repeated it while trying to pay the bills:

 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

And our Father God heard the prayers of the ordinary people across the great, vast expanse of our nation, and sent us a new Cyrus to point the way back home. All the Deplorables whose life expectancy has been dropping, have reasons to live again.

President Trump told us we can speak again about our hopes for our children, and for ourselves, and our families, and communities - and assured us he will clear the path so that we can work with our own hands to bring our own dreams to life. Here are excerpts from his speech:

"Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice –- in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. ...

"The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds -– families who just wanted a fair shot for their children, and a fair hearing for their concerns.....

".. I am not going to let America and its great companies and workers, be taken advantage of anymore. ..

"The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding. ..  ... This effort will be guided by two core principles:  Buy American, and Hire American. ...

"Everything that is broken in our country can be fixed.  Every problem can be solved.  And every hurting family can find healing, and hope.

"Our citizens deserve this, and so much more –- so why not join forces to finally get it done?  

"Every American child should be able to grow up in a safe community, to attend a great school, and to have access to a high-paying job.

"My job is not to represent the world.  My job is to represent the United States of America.

"We want peace, wherever peace can be found.  America is friends today with former enemies.  Some of our closest allies, decades ago, fought on the opposite side of these World Wars.  This history should give us all faith in the possibilities for a better world.

"Hopefully, the 250th year for America will see a world that is more peaceful, more just and more free.

"On our 100th anniversary, in 1876, citizens from across our Nation came to Philadelphia to celebrate America’s centennial.  At that celebration, the country’s builders and artists and inventors showed off their creations. Alexander Graham Bell displayed his telephone for the first time. Remington unveiled the first typewriter.  An early attempt was made at electric light. Thomas Edison showed an automatic telegraph and an electric pen. 

"Imagine the wonders our country could know in America’s 250th year.

"Think of the marvels we can achieve if we simply set free the dreams of our people. Cures to illnesses that have always plagued us are not too much to hope. American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream. Millions lifted from welfare to work is not too much to expect. And streets where mothers are safe from fear — schools where children learn in peace — and jobs where Americans prosper and grow — are not too much to ask. ....

"We are one people, with one destiny.

"We all bleed the same blood.

"We all salute the same flag.

"And we are all made by the same God.

"And when we fulfill this vision; when we celebrate our 250 years of glorious freedom, we will look back on tonight as when this new chapter of American Greatness began.

"The time for small thinking is over.  The time for trivial fights is behind us.

"We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts.

"The bravery to express the hopes that stir our souls.

"And the confidence to turn those hopes and dreams to action. ....

"Believe in yourselves.

"Believe in your future.

"And believe, once more, in America.

"Thank you, God bless you, and God Bless these United States."

 ~   ~     ~  

Thank you Father God for sending President Trump to lead us, and to give us a new vision. Americans, we have a new and blessed chance!  Isaiah 51:1  :

 "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
    and who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;" 

27 Promises President Trump Has Already Kept In First 14 Days

Over at the blog "Maggie's Farm", TheNewsJunkie has a humdinger of a list!  Here are a few of my favorites:

TRUMP PROGRESS REPORT  

1.   Trump erased all mentions on the White House web site of “climate change.”  He did that within ONE HOUR of taking the oath of office.

4.   Trump withdrew America from the TPP treaty

5.   Trump erased all Spanish language from the White House web site. It is now “English Only.”

6.   Trump issued an Executive order starting the construction of “THE WALL.”

7.   Trump issued an Executive order banning funding to foreign pro-abortion groups

11.        Trump announced a ban on visas from dangerous Muslim-majority countries with inadequate screening

12.        Trump announced the end of “Sanctuary cities” and the defunding of federal funds for any city that chooses to continue breaking the law

13.        Trump announced the hiring of 10,000 new border agents

14.        Trump signed an Executive order demanding the Secretary of Homeland Security publish a weekly list of violent crimes committed by illegal aliens

15.        Trump signed an Executive order freezing the hiring of non-essential federal employees

16.        Trump said out loud the words “radical Islamic terrorism.”

18.        Trump used Executive orders to give the go-ahead to the long-stalled Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines

20.        Trump announced his intention to withdraw From Climate & Environmental Accords Along With UN Funding Cuts of 40%

22.        Trump announced he’ll begin a major investigation into voter fraud in the 2016 election

Click through to read the full list. It's GREAT! 

Thank You and God Bless All The Deplorables!

Via Waka Waka Waka, a traditional poem in honor of our new President that reflects his Scottish heritage. Notes from the author:

"§ Domhnall, the Scottish form of the name Donald, is pronounced like “TONE-all”
§ Torquil was the royal progenitor of the MacLeods of Lewis, the outer hebridean island and birthplace of President Trump’s immigrant mother, Mary Anne MacLeod. "

"Come out for the Domhnall, ye brave men and proud,The scion of Torquil and best of MacLeod!With purpose and strength he came down from his towerTo snatch from a tyrant his ill-gotten power.Now the cry has gone up with a cheer from the crowd:“Come out for the Domhnall, the best of MacLeod!”

"When freedom is threatened by slavery’s chainsAnd voices are silenced as misery reigns,We’ll come out for a leader whose courage is trueWhose virtues are solid and long overdue.For, he’ll never forget us, we men of the crowdWho elected the Domhnall, the best of MacLeod! ...."

Be sure to go read the whole poem  --- OR LISTEN to the poem read in a Scots accent here:  http://classicalpoets.org/inaugural-poem-for-donald-j-trump/

"Our History Would Not Come To An End" Winston Churchill on How He Felt Knowing the United States Had Joined WWII

When British Prime Minister Winston  Churchill heard that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor, he immediately called American President Franklin D Roosevelt. Roosevelt told him "They have attacked us at Pearl Harbor. We are all in the same boat now."

Churchill later wrote:

"No American will think it wrong of me if I proclaim that to have the United States at our side was to me the greatest joy. I could not foretell the course of events. I do not pretend to have measured accurately the martial might of Japan, but now at this very moment I knew the United States was in the war, up to the neck and in to the death. So we had won after all!

"Yes, after Dunkirk; after the fall of France; after the horrible episode of Oran; after the threat of invasion, when, apart from the Air and the Navy, we were an almost unarmed people; after the deadly struggle of the U-boat war - the first Battle of the Atlantic, gained by a hand's-breath; after seventeen months of lonely fighting and nineteen months of my responsibility in dire stress. We had won the war. England would live; Britain would live; the Commonwealth of Nations and the Empire would live.

"How long the war would last or in what fashion it would end no man could tell, nor did I at this moment care. Once again in our long Island history we should emerge, however mauled or mutilated, safe and victorious.

"We should not be wiped out. 

"Our history would not come to an end. We might not even have to die as individuals.

"Hitler's fate was sealed. Mussolini's fate was sealed. As for the Japanese, they would be ground to powder."

An Open Letter To President Obama, On His Slander Against Americans

President Obama visited bankrupt Greece, apparently because Greece's government is tired of the "austerity measures" required to pay its debts and wants the EU Reich to write off the billions Greece owes.  While he was there, the has-been race-obsessed President took the opportunity to call Americans "racists" one more time, as reported by White House Correspondent Keith Koffler on White House Dossier, this time because we elected President Donald John Trump:

                 " In our globalized world, with the migration of people and the rapid movement of ideas and cultures and traditions, we see increasingly this blend of forces mixing together in ways that often enrich our societies but also cause tensions . . . Faced with this new reality where cultures clash, it’s inevitable that some will seek a comfort in nationalism or tribe or ethnicity or sect."

Since "open letters to" seem to be in vogue, here's my reply to President Obama, and all who slander anyone for rejecting the false song of globalism :

Dear President Obama,

We are Les Deplorables. We. Don’t. Care.

Signed,

A Natural Born Native Indigenous American Citizen, Daughter of God through Jesus Christ, whose ancestors have been here longer than most Indian Tribes, descended from old European Kings and Serfs, Indentured Servants and Oddlings, all the way back to Adam and Eve.

.

Our Stand Against The Dark: "That Hideous Strength"

Kristor Lawson writes, at The Orthosphere:

"Who has read and remembers That Hideous Strength –  ...[ novel by CS Lewis],.... – and who has lately followed the news in the alternative media must have noticed a horrible semblance of these last weeks to the gathering storm that novel so masterfully presents, of good and evil human, natural, and supernatural rising to a tremendous pitch of intensity and power as they drive each inexorably to a titanic, shattering battle. I do not mean here to specify all the parallels, but they are almost all there: corrupt government agencies with noble sounding names and ends that work in fact deep evil;  ......

....."....  hubris on a vast scale, pretensions to a Babelonian New World Order and a New Man; nominalist obfuscation, nihilism and relativism; sophistical academics and rotten priests; contempt for all that is good, true and holy, old and homely, right, simple, and sweet, or even simply and honestly rational (all in the name of rationality) – the whole nine yards. And arrayed against these Powers, a pitiful few doughty hapless writers and scholars, talking mostly to each other in a remote corner of the world of what is good and right, true and holy, strait and wise, solid and reliable.  ......

..... "Read the book, by the Lord Jesus, if you have not, and that soon. It is short, almost a novella really; and you shall never forget it, for it shall forever shape your perspective on current events.

"One of our Wanderers, I say, must now be actively at work. How, else, to explain the recent relentless incredulous worry of the alternative media – writers and scholars, autodidacts, enthusiasts, eccentrics, conspiracy theorists, hackers, and all their ilks – over the sickening depredations they suddenly apprehend, of the Predators of Man, against the Common Good? Some One must be stirring us up. Perhaps even it is our mascot and Patron, here at the Orthosphere – may God bless his handiwork.
"Saint Michael and all angels, pray for us.

"On then into the crisis. There is after all no alternative, for any of us. God be with us, all."

Click through to read the rest of the short article.

Want a "Godly Leader"? Remember King Cyrus, and Vote For Donald Trump

Want a "Godly leader"? Remember King Cyrus, who GOD anointed to rebuild the temple and free God's people, even though Cyrus did not know God. Cyrus was a BUILDER.

Mr Trump is a builder who does not need the "pay" of the office. Mr Trump is a "type" of Cyrus: a man called by our Father God "for such a time as this", when American citizens are made exiles in our own country.

God said: "I will stir up Cyrus and help him win his battles. I will make all his roads straight. He will rebuild Jerusalem. My people have been taken away from their country. But he will set them free. I will not pay him to do it. He will not receive a reward for it,” says the Lord who rules over all. " Isaiah 45:13

Mr Trump is even getting the opposition that the original Cyrus got!

" Then the [adversaries to rebuilding] discouraged the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build, and they bribed officials to frustrate their plan throughout the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and until the reign of King Darius of Persia. ... they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem." Ezra 4: 4-6

So no matter what False Witness (violation of the 9th Commandment) you hear, remember Isaiah 44, and take heart!

“This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: "I am the Lord, the Maker of all things....
who foils the signs of false prophets [political analysts] and makes fools of diviners [polling companies],
who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense,
who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, ....
who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’            Isaiah 44:24-26, 28

Here is a list of the dozens of Bible references to King Cyrus.  Just as Israel needed a leader to authorize them to rebuild their own country, so do we today. And just as our Creator God gave them that leader, so we today have the opportunity to elect a "type" of Cyrus: Mr Donald J Trump, whose proven leadership will enable us to make the repairs to our nation, our infrastructure, our systems, and our right to self determination that America needs.

QOTD for Oct 11, 2016: Keith Koffler, on Selfishness in Politics

QOTD from Keith Koffler, White House Correspondent, on his blog "White House Dossier" in the article "The Selfishness of Republicans Too Good for Trump":

"Our service members in uniform go risk their lives every day for causes and presidents they do not necessarily support. They don’t choose to fight World War II for Roosevelt, or to not to fight at all, if they are assigned to fight in Iraq for Barack Obama. They go all out and fight to win, even if it hurts their feelings. Or worse.

"Is it too much to ask of Republican political and thought leaders that they make a decision about what will benefit the country, instead of what benefits themselves?" 

Photo: Marine Corporal Paul Kozlowski, 3rd LAR Delta Company, Iraq 2006, disarming an IED. Photo taken by Cpl Graham A Cosgrove. Nothing political is implied by my use of this photo: I chose it because it exemplifies the humility and courage each member of our military presents in their service each day. 

Ten Years Ago, Four American Heroes Gave Their All

My son Ethan Arguello posted this on July 29th, the 10th Anniversary of the deaths of four of his fellow Marines who gave their lives for American liberty. I've posted about these heroes before - part of their story is here. Their mothers, widows, sisters still grieve, and so do their brothers in arms:

"To the ones who gave it all.

"10 years ago....
Ten years ago today something happened that would have a greater impact on my life than I could ever imagine.

"While in Iraq, our platoon and company were split up into three neighboring towns. We were comfortable working here. We knew there were terrorists all around us and from what I remember, moral was high. Exercising, patrolling and sleeping had become a way of life. We relieved an army striker unit that had been in that area of operation for at least several months and reported no U.S. casualties but a known presence of terrorists. On a regular quiet day, we got a call of an attack on one of our positions, QRF was sent out. What seemed like an eternity of time to pass before their return, they returned with bad news. Jose Mata put his arm over my shoulder and told me the news, the news that we could never change. It was news that we couldn't share with anyone else until their families were notified. Together we sat that evening mostly in silence around the rest of the platoon who was not completely aware of what had just happened. A long last couple months we would spend in that country, without four of our brothers. The next day, in tremendous mental pain,HNFMF Chadwick Kenyon told me that he had spent the last minutes with Christian Williams partiality conscious in the back of the MedEvac vehicle. Sgt. Williams, Cpl. Baucus, LCpl. Butterfield and LCpl. Hanson, would have never chosen anyone else to go before them. They were men of honor, loyalty, respect and dignity, who any of us would have done the same for them. With nothing negative to say about these men by anybody, it makes us wonder, why them? I've attempted to understand why they were called before me and our other Marines and never have an answer just a thought that, they wouldn't have wanted it to be us.

"Only the good die young" is a saying that has held strong in my mind every time I think of them. Our Marines stood up to the evil group of terrorists that killed our citizens on September 11, 2001. They did this without the concern of their own safety. They did this for me and you. I and the other Marines of 3rd LAR Delta Company witnessed these Heroes, on many occasions, both in training and in combat give their unselfish 100% at everything they did.

"A big thank you to the families who raised these young warriors to be our protectors. Their character and discipline exemplified the ethics and values that I want my children to one day carry.

"To the Marines who gave it all, that we now call our heroes. We love you, we remember you, we mourn for you and will always honor you.

"Godspeed, USMC"

        ~ Ethan Arguello

God Blessed Texas With Governor Abbott

What an amazing leader our governor is. His determination to place Texans and other people above himself is so powerful an example of selfless service. May God bless and heal him.

Governor Abbott  issued multiple press releases, an Open Letter to Texans, and held a press conference in Dallas on Friday - all without ever making public that he himself had been badly burned on Thursday, with severe injury to both legs and his feet. He learned about the shootings in Dallas before he left the hospital where he was being treated, so he kept the news of his own injuries quiet.

Governor Abbott returned to Texas and held a press conference in Dallas on Friday without letting anyone know about his condition.

Via Drudge:  AP's Will Weissert on ABC13:

"Spokesman Matt Hirsch said Abbott was with his family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Thursday when he was scalded in an accident involving hot water. He declined to provide further details.

"The governor was treated for several hours at nearby St. John's Medical Center. As he was being released, a top aide called from Texas to say a gunman had opened fire in downtown Dallas - an attack that killed five police officers and wounded seven others.
"His first words to us were, 'I've got to come back,'" Hirsch said.

"Abbott held a press conference in Dallas on Friday, but didn't disclose being burned. Hirsch said that his legs were wrapped at the time, but that wasn't evident since they were covered by his pants.

"The only hint anything was wrong, Hirsch said, was that the governor was wearing orthopedic shoes that his staff purchased that morning - rather than the dress shoes or boots he usually dons in public. "

The governor's accident was not reported until Sunday. In the interim, Governor Abbott focused on the tragic killings in Dallas, releasing the following "Open Letter To Texans" on Friday, following earlier statements and updates:

A Time To Come Together

By Governor Greg Abbott

"Our hearts are heavy.

Last night in Dallas, five law enforcement officers were killed; seven officers and two civilians were wounded.

The coordinated ambush and deliberate, brutal executions were acts of cowardice – hiding behind innocents to target and savagely slaughter peace officers dedicated to preserving life and our freedoms.

The full force of the law must ensure all responsible are brought to justice and our communities are kept secure.

Justice will be served, but justice is small solace for the families left behind.

We mourn for the families of the fallen, for the law enforcement community and for our nation.

Respect for our law enforcement officers must be restored in our nation.

The badge every officer wears over his or her heart is a reminder of a sacred trust, a commitment, a contract with each of us.

For law enforcement officers to stand in front of us and all that threatens, we must stand behind them.

Every life matters.

With each innocent life lost, we lose more of our humanity.

It is time for us to unite as Texans, as Americans, to say no more.

No more will we tolerate disrespect for those who serve.

No more will we allow the evil of hate merchants to tear us apart.

Though anguish and sorrow may darken the days ahead, we will not be overcome by evil – we will overcome evil with good.

Texas is an exceptional state with exceptional people. We’ve faced tough challenges in the past, but we have come together to overcome those challenges.

In the coming days, there will be those who foment distrust and fan the flames of dissension.

To come together – that would be the greatest rebuke to those who seek to tear us apart.

There is far more that binds us together. We see that great strength in times of tragedy, in times of great need. Whether fire or flood or the acts of depraved individuals, Texans are the first to open their hearts, their homes, their wallets to offer charity and love.

I ask for your prayers – for our law enforcement officers, for the city of Dallas, for our state and for our nation.

May God comfort those who’ve lost a family member.

And may God heal the hurt in our communities.

I have faith in the goodness of Texas, of America. For in the end, evil always fails."

Post Brexit, This Takes On A Whole New Relevance

We liked this so much, we even bought the book! "A Triune Tale of Diminutive Swine by John Branyan" Enjoy!

Daily Pundit: "If You Can Vote For Trump This Week, Go Vote For Trump This Week"

Bill Quick reminds everyone in places with primaries or caucuses how important your vote STILL IS:

"For those of you who would actually like to stop Crooked Hillary’s headlong attempt to win the White House by armed robbery and corruption, and who would like to see a President who intends to end and reverse a significant part of the damage the Obama administration has done, you really have only one choice, and that choice is now Donald Trump.  

"We need to see as many votes for him this coming Tuesday as possible.  Let’s break all the records.  Let there be no more doubt in anybody’s mind who will be the GOP nominee and our next President."

Bill points out that in politics, momentum counts, and that is something we can still affect as individuals with our votes. This means you California, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Go vote for Mr Trump!

THIS is what Hispanic America looks like!!!!! #LatinosForTrump

Thank you, Mark F, Angelo Gomez, and everyone in this video for showing the world the kind of good people, dear friends, beloved family, and patriotic neighbors we in Texas see every day!

"The most patriotic Americans are immigrants who came here, not for what they could get here, but for who they could BE here."

(Be sure and watch all the way through. The compilation of voices starts about 1:40 in)

@Immigrant4trump #LatinosForTrump

Ten Years Ago, These Men Gave Their Lives For Us and For America

The Memorial Day remembrance in our household includes these men of the 3rd LAR, the subjects of the video, seven Marines and their Navy medic, who served with my son, Sgt Ethan D Arguello, and paid for our freedom with their lives in 2006 in Iraq:

Cpl. Phillip E. Baucus
Lance Cpl. Anthony E. Butterfield
Cpl. Adam A. Galvez
Lance Cpl. Jason Hanson
Lance Cpl. Shane P. Harris
Seaman Chadwick T. Kenyon
Lance Cpl. Randy L. Newman
Sgt. Christian B. Williams

Some years ago, I tried to gather their stories in one place:

"While some boys their age spent 2006 making cool protest posters in frat houses at elite universities and cementing their futures as unelected political advisors to the White House, these men were Marines lodging an effective prohibition against totalitarianism, against slavery, against cruel and unusual punishments, against theocracy, against religious persecution, against kidnapping, against abuse of women and children."

Follow the links below to read the stories of how they served, and how they died.

How can we not cherish each day of our lives in these great United States, and how can we not stand firm against encroachment on the liberty bought for us with the sacrifices of patriots who said no to tyrants again and again and again throughout our history?

Thank you Father God, for sending such men to protect us and our country.

In this post, you can find links to memorial sites and guest books for these heroes, if you would like to leave a note for their families.

Links to the series of all 5 posts:
Part I Introduction
Part II Body Armor Saves Lives
Part III Greater Love Has No Man: 4 killed by Bomb
Part IV The Whole Universe: 3 killed by IED, 1 killed by IED
Part V Apprendix: Links to articles about these men & the 2nd Platoon

Learn their stories. Remember them. Keep faith with them. Catch the torch they throw, and hold it high.

And It's Only Monday: Texas Governor Abbott Keeps Sanctions on Iran, Adds More, Declares Texas a "Strong Ally" of Israel

The Obama Administration seems to operate on Khufu's Maxim, as explained by Will Cuppy: "He [Khufu] had discovered the fact that if you tell somebody to do something, nine times out of ten he will do it."  

Because, even though "narrative" fiction writer Ben Rhodes has bragged to the world that "the Iran Deal" as reported to us was all imaginary, and even though Iran has continued to act as though no deal exists, President Obama is still trying to get more resources for Iran, wanting Texas to lift sanctions.  

Texas Governors are not "nine out of ten", however.  Counter Jihad reports that this past Monday, Governor Abbott said no: 

"Texas Governor Greg Abbot has not only refused to lift Texas’ sanctions on the Iran regime, according to a letter he sent to the White House, he has ordered new sanctions be designed against Iran.  Texas has sufficient economic clout for these sanctions to be telling, as the state is a large enough economically that if it were an independent nation it would be the world’s 12th largest economy (as of 2014).  Gov. Abbot insists that new sanctions will be put into place."

The Algemeiner reports:

 "Governor Greg Abbott explained that the letter was in response to a written appeal made by Obama on April 8, requesting that Texas “review” its economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic – as was promised to Tehran in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers reached in July.

“I strongly oppose the Iran deal because it undermines the national security of the United States and its strategic allies abroad – especially our most important Middle East ally, Israel,” Abbott wrote to Obama. “Entering into an agreement with a country that consistently calls for ‘death to America,’ and repeatedly articulates antisemitic policies is short-sighted and ignores geopolitical realities.” 

[Speaking with Jewish media in New York about the matter, and his recent visit to Israel,] "Abbott concluded: “Israel has no stronger ally in the United States than the state of Texas. That’s true for several reasons, in part because of our personality similarities, but also in part because of our commitment to defending religious liberty [and] state sovereignty. There is no state — I say with a smile — in the country that defends state sovereignty more than Texas. And there is no country that defends state sovereignty more than the nation of Israel. As Prime Minister Netanyahu made clear to me during our meeting… Israel is the nicest house in a rough neighborhood… I am deeply disturbed by the Iran deal that was struck by President Obama. I view it as a potential existential threat to Israel and, frankly, to nations across the globe. It makes no sense to me why the United States would be an accomplice to arming and aiding economically a nation that to this day seems to be devoted to terrorism. And every step of the way during the negotiation and post-negotiation process…Iran has repeatedly shown unwillingness to comply with any of the demands that were expected of them. And you all know probably better than I do what Iran did in March, where it launched missiles, saying in Hebrew that Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth. If that is not a message that the world should comprehend and understand the magnitude of, then the world needs to wake up.”  (Click through to read the rest)

Not a bad day's work. Thank you, Governor Abbott.

Where Does The Trump Way Lead?

Bill Quick, over at Daily Pundit, has started a fascinating discussion about Donald Trump's ultimate goals as President, and how he might approach them.

"...I have to believe Trump was entirely aware of all of this before he announced his candidacy, and his efforts since have taken all that knowledge into account, and guided his strategy – which is far broader than merely running for President – every step of the way.

"But where does the Trump way lead? ...

"....What happens under the two terms of President Trump will be the rest of the story.  That’s the part where the rubber hits the road as far as Making America Great Again.  That’s the part where he breaks the power of the oligarchy, after destroying the ruling party tools they created to express that power in the political arena."

The musing about how he might do that is on-going in the comments - go over and see. Join in with your own thoughts.

"The Trump Family That I Know" - A Black Female Trump Executive Speaks Out