July 21st, 2024 • 3h 5m
Shownotes
Every new episode of No Agenda is accompanied by a comprehensive list of shownotes curated by Adam while preparing for the show. Clips played by the hosts during the show can also be found here.
Biden
Hillary memes are heating up!
A PRESIDENCY’S BITTER END - Seymour Hersh
The top issue, according to those with first-hand information, is to make sure that Biden does not decide immediately to abdicate the office and turn it over to Harris. “We want him to stay in office until January 20, 2025, when the new president is sworn in.” There would inevitably be a political downside to that strategy, I was told, because the Republicans would rightly “make hay” with the notion “that Biden is not fit to run for the presidency but still fit to be president” until the inauguration.
And the question confronting the political planners, I was told, is: “Does Biden has the strength to stay to the end?”
Another problem with keeping the ailing Biden in office for the next six months, as a political expert told me, is that “Kamala thinks she’s a solid candidate.” There is a lot of evidence that she may not be. On June 6, a Politico/Morning Consult poll found that “only a third of voters think it is likely Harris would win an election were she to become the Democratic nominee, and just three of five Democrats believe she would prevail. A quarter of independents think she would win.” The poll also showed that Harris shares the same poor ratings as Biden. Both are well under water: Biden at 43 percent favorable and 54 percent unfavorable; Harris is at 42 percent favorable and 52 percent unfavorable.
CrowdStrike
Be nice to your sys admin Dude name Ben!
Crowdstrike Voting Machines
BOTG Reporting - CrowdStrike Outages and Hospitals BOTG
First of all, I don't anticipate the VA experiencing _any_ impact at all because as far as I have ever seen nothing they use even runs on a modern GUI.
Ohio State, Cincinnati Children's, and Cleveland Clinic are all hit pretty hard. They have had to cancel emergency surgeries and I'm not sure how they are functioning at all. I find this interesting because I know that those three hospitals get a lot of medical tourists from all over the world; I've seen Saudis treated at both Cleveland Clinic and OSU.
A real life example of the jam this creates from UPMC in Pittsburgh:
Every unit has a medicine dispensing cabinet (vending machine for drugs, yay!) that nurses pull from to administer drugs to patients
All of their medicine cabinets are blue screened
Calls generate by 0500, and the vendor that supplies support for the cabinets is pressured not to wait for a fix from CrowdStrike
Service technicians go in and start replacing hard drives on the cabinets. This process is **not** just a swap. All of the information that the cabinet previously held is stored on a server from the vendor. That's all of its configurations, what drugs and quantities it has, even patient information.
They replace the hard drives, but since the server was affected none of that information can be downloaded and now the cabinet can't be restored
The only way to access these drugs is through specialized proprietary keys that unlock mechanical overrides
Now all of the cabinets have been overridden and this is going to create a nightmare for all of the purchasing and drug tracking systems as life saving meds get dispensed with no proper record being kept
Shooter
Water Tower Nonsense
Camera (and mic) is not stationary
4/0050 NOTAM Details
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE(DOD), THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY(DHS) OR THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE(DOJ) MAY TAKE SECURITY ACTION THAT RESULTS IN THE INTERFERENCE, DISRUPTION, SEIZURE, DAMAGING, OR DESTRUCTION OF UNMANNED ACFT DEEMED TO POSE A CREDIBLE SAFETY OR SECURITY THREAT TO PROTECTED PERSONNEL, FAC, OR ASSETS.
Thomas Matthew Crooks: The Trump Shooter’s Last Year - WSJ
He was also quietly receiving several packages that were marked “hazardous material,” some of which law-enforcement officials think he might have used to make a pair of homemade bombs that investigators found in his Hyundai Sonata parked not far from the rally. The explosives appeared to be designed to be set off by remote control, as they were fitted with a receiver, though officials were still trying to discern whether they were viable.
Trump
Loud noises headlines because they expected a bomb?
No shorting of DJT stock prior to the shooting- I checked BOTG
Hey guys,
This is Associate Producer DoucheBagPat, Michigan, local number one.
A couple of local number one members contacted me and asked me to verify if there was shorting on DJ T prior to the shooting.
On Monday, I looked.
A quick look at the volume and price action since July 1 show that STOCK volume was very subdued, the average trading range was way less than normal. The stock price was flat during that entire time. The average daily volume is about 11 million shares so almost impossible that 12 million got shorted without any ramifications. No significant stock shorting occurred.
I then checked the put volume. This would be the snapshot of how many contracts existed at the end of the day on July 12, before the shooting.
I put up a chart of every single option contract that had over 1000 contracts. Most of the put buying occurred after Run ups that could be attributed to things like the debate in June, some of the court rulings in May and April etc.
As far as reports of 120,000 put contracts being bought, there were NOT EVEN 120,000 PUT CONTRACTS IN EXISTENCE before the shooting.
I saw zero evidence of any ramped up put buying during July through the 12th before the shooting.
Also as a bonus comment, you can see bullets in photographs, especially 1/800 of a second exposure. We have many pictures with film at 1/400th second exposure showing bullets and shotgun shot midflight. In fact, on a sunny day, you can often see bullets flying down the range with the naked eye as the bullet hits a spot so the sun reflects off it.
(I am the one that organized the very first No agenda meet up to shoot guns, so I’m gonna claim standing on this matter. )
Remember guys, the next time you’re vacationing in Detroit be sure to let us know so we can say hi.
Associate Executive Producer,
DoucheBagPat
Brooks' Advice to Democrats - Orange Man Bad
If Democrats want to beat MAGA, it’s not enough to say: Orange man bad. Talking endlessly about Jan. 6 does no good. If Democrats hope to win in the near future they have to take the MAGA worldview seriously, and respectfully make the case, especially to working-class voters, for something better.
Nessum Dorma - Sum of The World
Whistleblowers make huge claim about Trump's security detail | Blaze Media
Sen. Hawley reveals
This apparently meant that "detection canines were not used to monitor entry and detect threats in the usual manner" and that "individuals without proper designations were able to gain access to backstage areas."
In addition, whistleblowers claimed that "department personnel did not appropriately police the security buffer around the podium and were also not stationed at regular intervals around the event's security perimeter."
Shockingly, whistleblowers also said that the former president's detail was not even made up of mostly Secret Service agents.
"The majority of DHS were not in fact USSS agents but instead drawn from the department's Homeland Security Investigations," Hawley wrote.
The letter added that the HSI agents were "unfamiliar with standard protocols typically used at these types of events."
Secret Service said to have denied Trump requests for more event security - The Washington Post
Agents charged with protecting the former president requested magnetometers and more agents to screen attendees at sporting events and other large public gatherings Trump attended, as well as additional snipers and specialty teams at other outdoor events, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive security discussions. The requests, which have not been previously reported, were sometimes denied by senior officials at the agency, who cited various reasons, including a lack of resources at an agency that has long struggled with staffing shortages, they said.
The Secret Service, after initially denying turning down requests for additional security, is now acknowledging some may have been rejected. The revelation comes as agency veterans say the organization has been forced to make difficult decisions amid competing demands, a growing list of protectees and limited funding.
“The assertion that a member of the former president’s security team requested additional security resources that the U.S. Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed is absolutely false,” said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, in a statement on the day after the shooting.
After receiving detailed questions from The Washington Post, Guglielmi said the agency had learned new information indicating the agency’s headquarters may have in fact denied some requests for additional security from Trump’s detail and was reviewing documentation to understand the specific interactions better.
Christian Nationalists
Olympics
Olympic Sportsball Boots on the Ground
Can’t believe you dedicated a whole minute to Olympic basketball. The US team was in Abu Dhabi playing a couple of warmup matches against Australia and Serbia (with three-time MVP Nicola Jokic). What I was struck by was how patriotic the Serbians and Australians were. They all put their arms on their teammates’ shoulders and sang along with their respective national anthems. The US team did not. You might remember all these guys from the Trump years when they showed their globalist sympathies. LeBron famously bent the knee for China
They also have a schtick before the anthems now. The announcer says: “If you are willing and able, please stand for the playing of the national anthem.”
Go Podcasting!
Big Pharma
Wegovy - Boots on the ground experience
Will keep this shortish. My wife was on wegovy and we are not stopping it.
- Took for 5 months
- Lost 35 lbs
- Insurance paid 100% for reasons not exactly clear to me (but probably pre-diabetic and other considerations)
- GI issues almost non-stop
- Month 4 started getting extreme pains in the upper abdomen which lead to a few hospital visits.
- Pains were "worse than childbirth". Nausea.
- Nurses in ER said they see this _all the time_ and were quick to release us once they could ensure it wasn't pancreatitis or something else related.
- Lasts about 4-5 hrs. Baths help coupled with zofran.
- Turns out the pains are probably related to gallbladder.
- Gallbladder may need to be removed, unclear if correlation vs causation. But my thoughts point to directly related
- Off wegovy for a few weeks now
- completely changed her 'relationship' with food. Worried if what she is eating will cause her body to slip into the pain episodes. We think high fat foods were the cause.
- GI issues continue
She said today, "If I could go back, I wouldn't have started the drug". Hopefully this can help others who are on the fence to not do it. Not worth it.
--
Matthew
JD Vance
JD Vance - brings clans together
Keep your Intel close to the chest
Keep your enemies even closer
Queen Ursula
VIDEOS
VIDEO - North Alden Street shooting leaves 9 shot, 3 dead in West Philadelphia - 6abc Philadelphia
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 16:42
Detectives are now looking for suspects and a motive in the shooting.
Sunday, July 21, 2024 2:53PM
9 shot, 3 dead at large party in West Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are investigating a mass shooting that took place in West Philadelphia.
Nine people were shot, and three of them died.
This happened just after 2 a.m. Sunday in the 1200 block of North Alden Street.
According to authorities, this all stemmed from a fight.
Police believe more than 100 people were gathered when shots rang out.
Action News is told all the victims were adults in their 20s and 30s.
Detectives are now looking for the suspects involved.
"It appears that there were multiple shooters, but it's unclear at this time how many. We have counted at least 25 to 30 spent shell casings at this time," says Inspector D.F. Pace.
"We're not sure if it was a block party or just simply a group of individuals that were invited from other parts of the city. It's not clear at this time."
Police say injuries of the surviving victims range from stable to critical.
They did find a gun at the scene, but no suspects are in custody.
Copyright (C) 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
VIDEO - Iran's Nuclear Weapon Breakout Is Down To 1-2 Weeks, Antony Blinken Issues Stark Warning | N18G - YouTube
VIDEO - One-on-one with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston: New immigrants and helping the unhoused - YouTube
VIDEO - Israel strikes Hezbollah ammunition depot after the Lebanese group hit a kibbutz in a drone attack - YouTube
VIDEO - Global technical issues grow amid major Microsoft outage - YouTube
VIDEO - Ursula von der Leyen wins second term as European Commission president | DW News - YouTube
VIDEO - Trump pitches unity, but revives old grievances in primetime RNC speech - YouTube
VIDEO - Leaks about Biden's future intentional, part of mounting pressure campaign: analyst - YouTube
VIDEO - BREAKING NEWS: Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell Absolutely Brings The House Down At RNC Praising Trump - YouTube
VIDEO - Report: Obama and Pelosi warn of Democrat loss if Biden continues - YouTube
VIDEO - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken optimistic about ceasefire deal ' FRANCE 24 English - YouTube
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VIDEO - Texas congresswoman dies: US Representative Sheila Jackson dies after revealing cancer diagnosis - ABC7 New York
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 02:13
Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday, has died. She was 74.
Lillie Conley, her chief of staff, confirmed that Jackson Lee, who had pancreatic cancer, died in Houston Friday night with her family around her.
The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation's fourth-largest city since 1995. She had previously had breast cancer and announced the pancreatic cancer diagnosis on June 2.
"The road ahead will not be easy, but I stand in faith that God will strengthen me," Jackson Lee said in a statement then.
Bishop James Dixon, a longtime friend in Houston who visited Jackson Lee earlier this week, said he will remember her as a fighter.
"She was just a rare, rare jewel of a person who relentlessly gave everything she had to make sure others had what they needed. That was Sheila," he said.
Jackson Lee had just been elected to the Houston district once represented by Barbara Jordan, the first Black woman elected to Congress from a Southern state since Reconstruction, when she was immediately placed on the high-profile House Judiciary Committee in 1995.
"They just saw me, I guess through my profile, through Barbara Jordan's work," Jackson Lee told the Houston Chronicle in 2022. "I thought it was an honor because they assumed I was going to be the person they needed."
Jackson Lee quickly established herself as fierce advocate for women and minorities, and a leader for House Democrats on many social justice issues, from policing reform to reparations for descendants of enslaved people. She led the first rewrite of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender and immigrant women.
Jackson Lee was also among the lead lawmakers behind the effort in 2021 to have Juneteenth recognized as the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established in 1986. The holiday marks the day in 1865 that the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom.
A native of Queens, New York, Jackson Lee graduated from Yale and earned her law degree at the University of Virginia. She was a judge in Houston before she was elected to Houston City Council in 1989, then ran for Congress in 1994. She was an advocate for gay rights and an early opponent of the Iraq War in 2003.
Top congressional Democrats reacted quickly to the news Friday night, praising her commitment and work ethic.
Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina called her "a tenacious advocate for civil rights and a tireless fighter, improving the lives of her constituents."
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said he had never known a harder-working lawmaker than Jackson Lee, saying she "studied every bill and every amendment with exactitude and then told Texas and America exactly where she stood."
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California cited Jackson Lee's "relentless determination" in getting Juneteenth declared a national holiday.
"As a powerful voice in the Congress for our Constitution and human rights, she fought tirelessly to advance fairness, equity and justice for all," Pelosi said.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he and his wife Cecilia will always remember Jackson Lee, calling her a "tireless advocate for the people of Houston."
"Her legacy of public service and dedication to Texas will live on," he said.
Jackson Lee routinely won reelection to Congress with ease. The few times she faced a challenger, she never carried less than two-thirds of the vote. Jackson Lee considered leaving Congress in 2023 in a bid to become Houston's first female Black mayor but was defeated in a runoff. She then easily won the Democratic nomination for the 2024 general election.
During the mayoral campaign, Jackson Lee expressed regret and said "everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect" following the release of an unverified audio recording purported to be of the lawmaker berating staff members.
In 2019, Jackson Lee stepped down from two leadership positions on the House Judiciary Committee and Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the fundraising of the Congressional Black Caucus, following a lawsuit from a former employee who said her sexual assault complaint was mishandled.
In a statement, Jackson Lee's family said she had been a beloved wife, sister, mother and grandmother known as Bebe.
"She will be dearly missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire all who believe in freedom, justice, and democracy," the statement said. "God bless you Congresswoman and God bless the United States of America."
Copyright (C) 2024 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.
VIDEO - Costco offering apocalypse-ready emergency food kits: 150 servings for $80 in 1 bucket - ABC7 New York
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 02:12
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By ABC7.com staff Wednesday, July 17, 2024 4:06PM
Costco wants to make sure you're well-fed when the apocalypse starts, offering emergency food buckets with a shelf life of 25 years.
LOS ANGELES -- Ready for the apocalypse?
Costco wants to make sure you're well-fed when the zombie revolution begins or the aliens land.
The retailer is offering an emergency kit in a bucket that provides 150 freeze-dried food servings, with a shelf life of 25 years.
The Readywise Emergency Food Supply bucket offers a total of 25,280 calories with freeze-dried items such as teriyaki rice, pasta alfredo, potato pot pie and apple cinnamon cereal.
It's listed online at $79.99, though some Costco locations are offering lower prices in person.
Online shipping takes 10 to 15 business days. But it's not clear if delivery can be guaranteed once the actual apocalypse begins, so you might want to make sure your home is stocked now.
While this product in particular has received some viral attention recently, the retailer offers similar products that include a Chef's Banquet one month supply with 380 servings for $189.99 and, yes, an entire pallet of 36 Readywise buckets for $2,500, offering a whopping total of 5,400 servings.
Copyright (C) 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
Top Stories
VIDEO - New insight into the final moments of Thomas Matthew Crooks, Trump's would-be-assassin - YouTube
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VIDEO - Democrats are gaming out post-Biden options while he insists he'll stay in the race
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 00:45
Sequestered at his Delaware beach house as he recovers from Covid, President Joe Biden got a bit of good news Saturday when it became public that Hillary and Bill Clinton are sticking with him.
But the fact that it is news that the former president and secretary of state are supporting their fellow Democrat '-- and not even in public but privately '-- underscored just how isolated Biden has become in his own party, with some saying privately that it is easier to count the number of people still supportive of the president than those who think he should abandon his re-election bid.
''I'm sure he's mad and upset all at the same time,'' said Meghan Hays, who served in the Biden White House until 2022, but added that he understands the reality of politics and is ''notorious for not holding grudges.''
The defiant tone struck by campaign brass Friday, and a pledge for Biden to return to the campaign trail next week, did little to stop the hemorrhage of support for the president. Some Democrats have already started gaming out potential contingency plans, such as whether Vice President Kamala Harris should seamlessly replace Biden at the top of the ticket or whether Democrats should prepare for an open nominating convention next month in Chicago, which would be the first in decades.
''Joe Biden is our nominee,'' Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said on MSNBC on Saturday. ''But what gives me a lot of hope right now is that if President Biden decides to step back, we have Vice President Kamala Harris, who is ready to step up to unite the party, to take on Donald Trump and to win in November.''
''Remember,'' added Warren, a progressive who ran against both Biden and Harris for the Democratic nomination in 2020, ''80 million people voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020 knowing that Kamala Harris would be ready to step up if needed.
Biden's shrinking circle of loyalists continues to argue that the president has made his decision to stay in the race and that the party needs to move past this crisis ''yesterday,'' as Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz put it on MSNBC on Saturday.
''We need to unite as a coalition like we did in 2020,'' Munoz added, arguing that the party needs to instead focus on the ''terrifying'' possibility of another Donald Trump presidency.
Even so, as of Saturday afternoon, 32 Democratic congressmen and four senators have publicly called on Biden not to seek re-election. And 11 of those came out in just the past two days, since Trump delivered his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday night, suggesting the tide is not turning.
That remains a small minority of the more than 200 Democratic members of the House and 51 Democrats in the Senate. But Democratic officials and strategists widely believe that the actual number of people wanting Biden to step aside is much higher.
And the defectors increasingly include longtime Biden allies, like Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is facing a tough re-election year.
Some, according to aides and allies, have been trying to avoid a public break with the president, hoping he would arrive at the conclusion that he needs to step aside himself, but have felt compelled to ratchet up the pressure as Biden has dug in.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who has known Biden for years, reiterated his call for Biden not to run for re-election in a new Boston Globe op-ed, which revealed a recent incident at a D-Day commemoration where Biden ''didn't seem to recognize me.''
''Of course, that can happen as anyone ages, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem,'' Moulton wrote. ''It was a crushing realization, and not because a person I care about had a rough night but because everything is riding on Biden's ability to beat Donald Trump in November.''
Moulton called on his fellow Democratic lawmakers ''who are deeply concerned but who haven't said so publicly'' to find the courage to speak up.
Lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill next week, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the behest of Republicans.
Meanwhile, in Rehoboth Beach, Biden ''continues to improve steadily'' from his Covid infection, according to his physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, who said Biden has responded well to multiple doses of Paxlovid.
Biden was also boosted by the Clintons, who remain a powerful force in Democratic politics. They have been actively encouraging donors to stick with the president and have been in touch with the White House, offering to help however they can, according to two people familiar with their thinking.
''As soon as we have the green light, we are going to be back out on the stump, directly communicating the contrast [with Trump],'' Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said on a press call Saturday morning.
Still, on the same call organized by the campaign, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., while supporting Biden herself, declined to urge her Senate colleagues to do the same. ''Each of my colleagues has to make their own decision,'' she said, before touting Biden's record in Michigan.
As they wait, some Democrats are already looking past Biden and gaming out potential replacement scenarios.
Harris would be the obvious and heavily favored successor, but others want a more open process with other options.
A group of legal scholars is circulating a memo to Democratic lawmakers, opinion leaders, donors and other officials laying out the case for what they dubbed a ''blitz primary,'' which would allow multiple candidates to make their case in the days and weeks before the delegates to the Democratic National Convention formally select the nominee in late August.
''Anointing Harris would cause the Party to miss a remarkable opportunity to capture the nation's imagination between now and the Convention,'' reads the memo, which was written by, among others, Rosa Brooks, a former Obama and Clinton administration official and an informal policy adviser to Biden's 2020 campaign, who is now a professor at Georgetown Law.
Another pop-up group, Delegates for Democracy, has been directly organizing convention delegates around the idea of an open convention, where the delegates would, for the first time in decades, get to actually decide who would represent the party in November.
A previously unreported memo authored by Democratic pollster Jason Boxt in support of the effort drew on his surveys to argue that Democratic primary voters ''overwhelmingly favor Biden withdrawing from the race'' and want an open convention, which they view as a legitimate way to select the nominee.
''Delegates have always been the end of the process, the people who nominate the president,'' Elaine Kamarck, a longtime DNC member and rules expert, said at a virtual briefing for delegates organized by the group Friday. ''Delegates still choose the nominee of the party.''
Many other Democrats, however, want to avoid a messy replacement process if Biden steps aside and see Harris as the party's best '-- and perhaps only '-- option to quickly take the president's place so close to the November election.
''Vice President Harris has the message, resources, and experience to defeat Donald Trump and safeguard our Republic,'' Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said in a statement Saturday. ''Joe, I love and respect you. But the stakes are too high to fail. It's time to pass the torch to Kamala.''
Alex Seitz-Wald Alex Seitz-Wald is a senior political reporter for NBC News.
Yamiche Alcindor Yamiche Alcindor is an NBC News Washington correspondent.
Monica Alba, Megan Lebowitz and Julie Tsirkin contributed.
VIDEO Tom Zimmer - "The Hermit of Loreto"
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 19:44
Recently, I received a barrage of emails and Facebook messages asking me about the ''Hermit of Loreto''--a so-called "hermit", originally from the U.S., who lived in Loreto. Though I, too, am an American who lives in Loreto, Italy, I had never heard of him. I was forwarded a YouTube video to watch:
In the video, American diocesan priest from Providence, Rhode Island, Fr. Giacomo Capoverdi, recounts how he once met this holy man who living in Loreto. He says that some seventeen years earlier, a friend of his -- an Italian American doctor named Claudio Curran -- told him that he just had to get up to Loreto on his upcoming trip to Rome to speak with a holy man there by the name of Tom Zimmer. He said this "hermit", an American layperson, had left everything behind in the US to live in Loreto as a kind of penitent, or hermit. He added that he was very prayerful and had written a book, ''Pieta''' which had sold upwards of ''ten million copies.'' Fr. Capoverdi recounts in his video that after arriving in Rome, he indeed took a train up to Loreto and went inside the basilica where he found an elderly gentleman, hunched over, sitting on the floor next to the Holy House in prayer. He sat down next to him, introduced himself in English and had a very spiritual conversation. Then Fr. Capoverdi fast forwards until a few weeks ago when he was talking to his old friend, the doctor, who said that back in the 1980s, Tom Zimmer had told him (the doctor) that he had received a ''premonition'' and that he (Tom) believed that a certain man would lead America back to God. And that man would be none other than Donald J. Trump. ''The millionaire playboy from New York?'' asks the incredulous doctor. ''Yes,'' responds Tom. In fact, Zimmer was so convinced that Donald Trump would become a great spiritual leader of America that he wrote his name on a brick and had it placed in the reconstruction of St. Peter's Holy Door after the Jubilee in order that Trump would receive blessings from the many Masses that would be said in the Vatican. Fr. Capoverdi says that he wanted to get this message out after he saw Donald Trump's wife begin a political rally in Florida by beginning with the Our Father. Now, I have to admit that my first impression after watching this video was somewhere between skepticism and suspicion. Although I believe that God reveals his plans and messages in advance to his prophets, it is not always clear who his prophets are, or, when people speak as ''prophets'' whether or not they are true or false. Further, my reaction was the same as the incredulous doctor: "President Trump will lead people back to God?" I thought to myself, eyebrows raised. Nonetheless, since a number of people asked me if I would look into Tom Zimmer, I did. The Holy House of Loreto (the house of Mary of Nazareth) was transported to Italy in the 13th century likely by Crusaders returning to Europe, although tradition attributes the "Translation" miraculously to angels. Since the 1920s, the basilica has been staffed by the Capuchin Franciscan friars. Due to my membership in the Third Order of St. Francis, my work organizing pilgrimages, and my own prayer and Mass attendance at the Holy House, I know a number of friars and personnel who staff the basilica. And so I began my research. First, I ran into a jovial, 90-year-young friar named Fr. Mario whom I've known for years. He was in Loreto for a week-long retreat, though he lives not in Loreto, but in the mother house in Camerino where his order began in the sixteenth century. Since all the Capuchins of this province come to Loreto often, as it is one of their most important churches and communities, I asked Fr. Mario if he knew anything about Tom Zimmer. Fr. Mario said he recalled an American man who prayed in the basilica. But he added that over the years, there have been many such ''penitents'' or ''oblates'' who come here for weeks, months, or years at a time, and he did not know much about him. He did say that the friars all knew of him and referred to him simply as ''L'Americano'' (the American). They found him to be courteous and polite, if not a little ''particular.'' They were aware that Tom attended upwards of four or five Masses each day and that he spent the rest of his time praying in and around the Holy House. (The Holy House itself is a small structure comprised of three marble-wrapped walls in the center of a large basilica.) Since he didn't have any more information about ''The American,'' Fr. Mario told me I should speak with Fr. Giuseppe Santarelli, who has been in Loreto for decades and would surely know more. Fr. Santarelli, an octogenarian, is one of the more erudite friars in Loreto. He is the founder and director of the ''Congregazione Universale della Santa Casa'' which promotes devotion to the Holy House and publishes a magazine, among other things.
I popped in and introduced myself. I immediately sensed that Fr. Santarelli, not much taller than five feet, was a kindly gentleman. I told him that I was there to inquire about an American ''penitent'' who lived in Loreto back in the 1990s and prayed frequently in the Holy House. Fr. Santarelli cut me off,
"Ah s¬, Thomas Zimmer si chiamava... certo che mi ricordo...'' (''Ah yes, Thomas Zimmer was his name, of course I remember him...''). He went on to say that everyone in Loreto knew of him.
I told him about the ''premonition'' Tom had made about Donald Trump and that a video of an American priest discussing it had just gone viral on the internet. Fr. Santarelli just smiled and added that he did not know anything about that, but that him making such a prophecy was perfectly in character.I asked what he knew about Thomas. Fr. Santarelli said that Tom was in Loreto for about ten years, was very pious and devoted, went to Mass every opportunity he could, was constantly in prayer, spoke fluent Italian and possibly other languages, and the friars held him in high regard. The only issue that any friars may have had with him is that he received Communion more than twice daily, which they asked him to refrain from doing so. He said that he knew Tom had gone back to the US before he died. He didn't recall exactly, but he thought somewhere around 2008.
He said that the basilica had received word of his death and they had a record of it. He took me into another room where there were some archives. He pulled out a ledger or two, but could not find the document he was looking for. He then said that he had a photo of Tom, and he pulled out a hardbound book from a different shelf. It was a type of album. In it, Tom Zimmer can be seen frail and hunched over leaning on a cane sitting in front of the Holy House. He let me take a picture of it. I asked him what he thought about Tom's prophecy, but Fr. Santarelli said he did not know him well enough to have an opinion on that. He said that I should speak to a woman who worked in the giftshop next to the basilica, whose name was Michela. He said that she knew Tom quite well and even referred to her as a ''faithful devotee'' of his. I went next door, found Michela, introduced myself to her, and explained why I was there. She said that she believed Tom was a very holy man, and she used to accompany him to the Holy House from the retirement home where he lived, Oasi Ave Maria. She said he used to joke that he had lived in Mary's House longer than St. Joseph. During the time she knew him, she said that he taught her many prayers, including a devotion to St. Bridget that helped her during a difficult period. She also said that after he returned to the US, he wrote to her saying that he regretted his decision to leave Loreto, but that he felt strongly that he needed to return to his homeland. Without saying so, it was clear that Michela was very fond of Tom. I told her about his premonition and what he had reportedly said many years earlier about Donald Trump. But, she said she did not know anything about that. I asked her if he had ever confided to her any other such premonitions or prophecies. She said he had not, but that he was particular about such things. I asked her to elaborate.She said that sometimes he would become convinced or "fixated" on certain things. For example, during the period she knew him, there was a sensational murder case in Italy involving a woman from the northern mountain village of Cogne who was accused of murdering her three-year-old son. Though the mother was convicted in court and sentenced to sixteen years of prison for homicide, Zimmer was convinced of her innocence and would frequently say so.
My last stop was to Oasi Ave Maria retirement home, about 3 kilometers (2 mi) from the Holy House. I introduced myself to the receptionist who called the director, Dr. Montuoro. I introduced myself and said why I was there.Dr. Montuoro said that he knew Thomas well as he had lived in their home for many years. I told him about the premonition he had made some years ago, and he said it was not surprising. He said he frequently made such statements privately to people he knew, though never publicly. I asked the doctor if Tom had ever talked about any such statements, including the premonition, to him. He said no, at least not referring to Donald Trump, but he had heard him speak in such a manner to others, though he did not elaborate.
I asked the doctor about Tom's character, and he said that Tom was well-liked by the staff and had numerous friends and acquaintances who visited him often, that he spoke with Tom frequently, and gave him rides back and forth to the Holy House. He said that he read constantly in English, Italian, and German, and his room was crammed with books. He said that Tom was always passionate when he spoke with people about spiritual things, though he was a little "particular". I asked him to elaborate, and he said that he wore numerous religious medals around his neck and wrists, and constantly recited chaplets and prayers. The doctor said that in the end, due to his poor physical health, his family members insisted he return to the US, though it was against his will and he regretted it. He died at his home in the United States. After initially publishing this article, I need to insert one more conversation I had with another longtime resident of Loreto, a woman named Sonia who owns a local popular restaurant called Tacabanda. I asked her if she knew the American, Tom Zimmer. As soon as I mentioned his name, her eyes began to glisten as she contemplated her memories."Oh my goodness, sure I knew him.... I could talk to you for hours about Tom Zimmer. I fed him every day and he sat right over there," she said pointing to a seat on the left side of the patio. "He came to Loreto about the time I opened my restaurant. One day I saw an elderly gentleman going through my trash, and I asked him what he was doing. He said he was hungry, and I told him I would give him food. From that day forward, I fed Tom Zimmer lunch every day as long as he was in Loreto."
I asked what she knew about him to which she repeated that she could talk about him for days. But she said, "Let me just say this... Tom Zimmer is one of those persons who can ... how shall we say, ... see things that others cannot." I asked her to elaborate."I'll give you just one example," Sonia said. "There was a time when my mother, who lived with me, saw a doctor for something, and he ordered some lab work. I was to go to the doctor with her to see the results the following Monday morning. The day before, I was quite anxious. When Tom saw me, he told me to come to him, and he looked at me. Without knowing what was going on with my mother, he said, 'Sonia, do not worry about the hospital visit tomorrow, your mother will be just fine.' I was amazed. And sure enough, the next day the results all came back favorable. That was Tom Zimmer. There are numerous stories like that about him," she said.
After examining the life of Tom Zimmer, the ''Hermit of Loreto," and his time spent in Loreto, I have no reason to doubt Fr. Capoverdi's statements that Thomas Zimmer communicated to his friend that he received a ''premonition'' that Donald Trump would ''lead America back to God.'' Nevertheless, when seeking to determine whether a prophecy is true or false, the Church leaves us some criteria to guide us in discernment.
The first is to look at the recipient of the prophecy. Generally, that person should be a good and virtuous person and, additionally, the person's temperament should be considered, as well as his or her physical and mental state. Here, it is clear that Thomas Zimmer was prayerful and devoted, was courteous and helpful toward others in need, and appears to have been of sound mind, though his body was failing. Next, a private revelation must not state anything contrary to publicly revealed truth. Here, too, there is nothing Scriptural or in Church teachings that would suggest that a political leader (even someone less than virtuous) cannot lead people to God; on the contrary, Scripture indicates it as a duty. (see Ezra 1:1-11). Lastly, the prophecy must come true. And on this, it is my opinion that we will have to wait and see '... And even then, I will wager that whether Donald Trump ''leads America back to God'' will be open to interpretation. In any case, it seems extraordinary that an elderly "hermit of Loreto" would have had such such an intuition or premonition about Donald Trump as a future "Christian" leader when, at that time, he was no model of Christian virtue or living. Regarding the brick in St. Peter's with Donald Trump's name on it... I am assuming the Jubilee year referred to was in 2000, and it would likely take a miracle to track it down... Although "with God all things are possible". Thank you for your thorough investigation into this matter. I agree with your summation. Time will tell. But what a beautiful thing to anticipate here in the USA. I WOULD love to travel with you on one of your pilgrimages but finances do not allow. I pray for you and your beautiful ministry. Pax et BonumPaulette Croteau,ofs
Sandra Gutierrez
3/9/2017 03:47:57 pm
Wow that was so very interesting thank you so much Bret for all the research you did. And again I just wanted to thank you for the awesome pilgrimage that I had the honor to go on it was so much more than I could have ever expected.
Bret P Thoman
3/10/2017 02:03:23 am
It was great having you with us and I look forward to meeting you again some time!
SHARON DASARO
3/20/2017 03:04:45 pm
MY FEELINGS AS WELL
lawrence scalzo
6/9/2019 11:52:16 am
thank God for this Tom Zimmer who prays for Donald Trump and has a brick with Donalds name at the Vatican for masses offered , God has answered our suffering prayers over the evils of the democrats over the past 8 years and the Clinton era, we need God back in our Country , let us all pray for Trump and outlaw abortion and defund planned parenthood and boycot companies that donate to this abortion killing machine of the devil
Patricia Grenier
7/1/2020 11:05:15 pm
PRAISE GOD that HE WILL do for the Donald what HE did for Saul, who became Paul a GREAT EVANGELIST!PRAISE GOD, AVE MARIA!
Rose Marie Howell
9/13/2020 01:46:56 am
Roe v Wade has been the law of the land in America since 1973, the year my husband and I were married. 47 years. It is a lie and it is a horror.My Hope and prayer is that President Trump will get it thrown out and replaced with a Life Begins At Conception Act. Then, we will be able to Hope that our God will again really Bless this Nation as He most certainly has in our history.
K. Ryan
12/27/2020 08:30:47 pm
The evils that Pres. Trump will be exposing are far worse than what you cite here. His attorney Lin Wood recently said that the American public is going to be shocked when they learn who (Clinton, Obama, Bushes) had been residing in the White House. The public will turn to their leader, Donald Trump, and from noting his recent public statements regarding Christ's role in world history, it appears to me that he has already been anticipating the reaction and needs of the public. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq__Wl8JVs0
Paul Schmidt
3/27/2020 12:11:31 pm
I am a parishioner at Church of the Holy Family in Novi, Michigan.I very much appreciate the research and time Bret P Thoman has put into this, as I have also spent some time looking into those mentioned in the video by Dr Claude Curran, M.D.Dr Claude, himself, from my research seems to be a very legitimate witness. here is a site that he has posted an article on:https://www.providencejournal.com/article/20131117/OPINION/311179951Opinion Claude A. Curran: TV ads about male problems assault children's innocenceBy Claude A. Curran Posted Nov 17, 2013 at 12:01 AMAgain, I really appreciate all of your efforts, Thomas
Dav Thompson
10/16/2020 10:06:55 pm
Though it is reasonable to think this prophecy might be true, I can personally attest to the fact that the same Dr. Claude Curran referred to is a drug-peddler and heretic. I can validate my claims.
Treasa van Ommen
10/23/2020 04:43:10 am
It is now only eleven days away from the election when we hope and pray that Donald Trump will win another 4 more years and defeat the fake 'Catholic' Joe Biden. Such a win would allow for President Trump to build on the work he has been doing while recognizing God's hand and the desperate need to stop abortion. There are so many enemies trying to destroy him who have the desire to turn America into a Socialist country. Sadly amongst his enemies is the one man who should be in favour of Pres. Trump, that is the Pope, Francis. Jorge Bergoglio, who is apparently joined to the One World Order U.N. Socialist FreeMasonic movement. Jeffrey Sachs said he is delighted to have Pope Francis lead the One World Religion. I am going to ask Tom Zimmer's holy soul to intercede for Pres. Trump.
Ohaverkamp
12/31/2020 02:01:03 am
How great is it that trump lost. if trump has enemies they are there because he helped create them. I realize that there are many frightened people in this country and they should be frightened of only one thing-donald trump!
Mary anne
9/21/2023 02:28:01 am
Here we are trump is charged for. Jan6
Pete Redmond
2/22/2024 07:27:59 pm
Thanks for that Kevin. I'm sorry for not replying to your call but it's been a hectic time. My third son, Mike was married this past week so we had lots going on. All is well with us and I hope for you as well.Pete
Roger C. Thibault
7/12/2024 07:05:19 pm
Saint Paul was once a bitter enemy of his Boss (Jesus,/God)! God's ways are not our ways. God has already used him to partially end the holocaust of abortion! Trump for President!
Bret P Thoman
3/8/2017 02:11:32 am
I'd love to have you here one day, too! Thanks for the feedback...
Giacomo Capoverdi
3/9/2017 12:05:11 am
Hi Bret, wow! Thank you for doing all this resarch. It surprises me that some people think I, a priest, would make up a story like this. It would be great to meet you or talk to you some time.
Bret P Thoman
3/9/2017 03:39:01 am
Dear Fr. Capoverdi, Thank you for responding directly. I, too, was a little surprised by some of the posts I read on various blogs online about whether or not you were a priest, if this was a hoax. I did not doubt that, but wanted to find out more about Thomas Zimmer. I was impressed by people's reactions to him, which confirmed to me that he was a good, kind and prayerful man.
Frank schaffer
4/19/2023 09:23:57 pm
I noticed up above in comments someone accused Mr Curran or father Curran of being a drug smuggler. Wow they have no problem smearing anyone! If what that person said it's true, exactly what evidence can he produce if any? These are the "smoking gun" type accusations Barr always leveled at Trump for 6 years. all unsubstantiated btw. Then kavanugh...Comey Bryant was attacked for her religion. Once again typical Democrat behavior. And these hypocrites want others sued and prosecuted at every turn. Hypocrites is exactly what these democrats are and sadly I think they are proud of the wool they've pulled over their followers eyes. Shame shame shame. One day it will all be obvious. We are getting glimpses of the corruption that is verifiably connected to the very president of these united states. Again...Shame shame shame. Jesus has shone his grace on Donald Trump. Obviously it can only be for good. That's is the bane of the democrats. Truth and goodness and moral right that allows human rights . Light will prevail over the forces of darkness. In Jesus mighty name I pray Donald John Trump is again elected in 2024 by a landslide so there's no need for recounts. Amen
Dear Father. I have been prompted by God to look into info on you, your video & the hermit. (I'm sorry Farher, but there is so much untruth on the internet.) I found this article & read it; then saw "your" comment. God just showed me you are real & genuine. God speaks to me thru numbers sometimes. Just yesterday, I bravely shared with my husband on our trip home from Little Rock Arkansas to Lafayette Louisiana a small miracle God gave me (yesterday) thru numbers: 5:55 pm. I would love to share this story, but not here. Anyway, when I read the article & Trump was compared to king Cyrus in Ezra 1:1-11, I had to read that in the Bible. And I want you & Bret to know that I believe NOW that what Tom Zimmer said about Trump was true.
Anne Collins
7/2/2017 11:22:54 pm
I don't believe Ezra 1 1:11 has anything to do with Trump. He is very evil, having used bankruptcy numerous times to avoid his debts, numerous marriages and divorces, appalling temper and lack of restraint, hateful response to anyone who annoys him. Absolutely no remorse for any of his evil words and deeds, at age 71! But I do God can use evil to do good. Maybe what is going to happen is that US will take action and return to GOD BECAUSE of his horrendous behavior.
Jeff Kircher
7/13/2017 11:25:53 pm
In response to Anne Collins-God uses ordinary people to accomplish his will. Often it is a very unlikely person, so that people know that the divine works were not done by an amazing human but by God working through the person. Consider David and Goliath. David was young, maybe twelve, and completely unprepared. It was laughable that he should even try. But he won, decisively and quickly. Some think Trump is laughable. I do not. I note that he brings clear speech into a political world that babbles with political correctness, double speak and tolerance for everything especially evil.
Kim Matheny
8/25/2017 04:48:23 pm
Bret - thank you for your thorough research and terrific article. I saw this video earlier this week and was struck with awe of this information. For over a year, I have believed and shared with many that this election was not about DJT or HC, but about the salvation of souls. This truly solidifies my belief. Anne Collins - we are all human and God asks that we not judge, but trust in the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind and soul. If we listen to the lies of the world, we will never see the truth. These are very unkind things you say about our President, and I really pray that All people of faith look beyond his faults and truly listen to the words he speaks. Bret quotes scripture from Ezra - I have always likened President Trump to zachariah the tax collector in Luke 19:1-10. God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. This president speaks truth, but sadly many are blinded from truth today. God Bless you Fr. Capoverdi for shedding light on this man, Thomas Zimmer and giving us all something to hope for in this world today.
Ebed Turley
12/7/2017 09:46:46 am
Dearest Anne, Does the story of Saul not come to mind?May our brother Mr. Trump, by the hand of God, also have such a miraculous conversion.When it happens, it will be quite clear to see.I hope those reading will join me in asking Jesus to lift that prayer to our Father, that our nation, and our President, be blessed as Saul was.Thank you, Lord.
R Wenner
10/3/2018 07:29:03 pm
In the Bible, book of Judges, I think the story of Gideon before his "election as protector of Israel" is something like Trump--Gideon was a sort of lawless character, estranged from his "good" brethren until a time of danger when they knew he was tough enough fighter to be a successful general. He wasn't the sort of person you'd think God would choose for a Judge -- nor Trump as a president. . . . they had dodgy backgrounds, both.
David Ayn
7/22/2020 08:46:06 am
This is a reply to Anne Collins: Bankruptcy is a sin?...no, bankruptcy is a legal option to declare a company has no funds or income great enough to satisfy debts. Trump is not a Catholic; therefore, his multiple marriages has no relevance to his beliefs (are you bigoted against non-Catholics and non-Christians?) And your standing in judgement of Trump definitely removes you from any Christian standpoint. I think we all should step back and refuse pointing fingers at anyone. I see where, after reading your comment, a dose of humility can salve a lot of intolerance.
Jose Valdez
7/29/2020 01:30:40 am
This is a reply to David Ayn:Yes bankruptcy is a legal option, but yes, it is a sin when used to steal '' seventh commandment. Whether Catholic or not, multiple marriages certainly is relevant to his beliefs (are you bigoted against fidelity?) Your judgment of Anne Collins definitely reveals you have no tolerance of another viewpoint. ''When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.'' (John Lewis) I see after reading your comment, a dose of humility may make you a bit more tolerant.
Patricia Atencio
8/10/2020 11:50:05 pm
Looks like Anne Collins is describing Hillary Clinton.
Arlene Hebert
4/24/2017 01:29:45 pm
Father, I just sent you an email from my iPhone prematurely. This is a follow up. I would love to speak with you via email or by phone. I can be reached at 337-344-0566. God bless you Father. Thank you for your simple comment to Bret; that comment has given me much peace.
Dawn Becker
7/23/2020 09:13:28 pm
Message to Anne Collins, Do you believe in God? If you do and you have read the Bible, you will see that God did not always use good people to spread his word. I do not believe anyone else could have held up against the radical left. God chose the right person and be careful of what you hear. Are you aware that on the weekends Trump delivers money and food to homeless people and widows and has done this before he was elected. I bet you do not know this because no one from the left allows this information to be viewed. You only know what you are hearing from the people whose only wish is that you despise the man. Trump stopped Pelosi, Schumer and many others from their steady stream of cash that was at the expense of the American taxpayer. Before Obama left office, he 250 million taxpayer dollars to the Palestinians. Why do you think he gave our money to people trying to destroy the United States. They all had their hands out. The Chinese were in control of our medical and pharmaceutical supplies. Do you think that a country that hates the U.S. should have so much control over the products we ingest or of our vaccines that are injected heavily into our children? think again
Fr. Capoverdi, in watching your video, I noticed that when you mentioned something about praying, you made the Sign of the Cross with your left hand. Couldn't do it if I tried!
Molly Murphey
7/23/2018 11:09:26 am
Father - would you consider offering up a Requiem Mass for the soul of Tom Zimmer? He died in a Veteran's Home in Miami Florida in 2009 and was buried in a Veteran's Cemetery (Lebanon National Cemetery) in Kentucky. There is no obituary to be found. I bet he never had a Requiem Mass for his soul.
Raven Wenner
10/3/2018 07:24:51 pm
What a wonderful suggestion and thanks for the info on Tom Zimmer's death and burial. May he rest in Peace.
FRANCINE AMY
3/9/2017 05:04:49 pm
How amazing that today, March 9, I viewed Fr Giacomo video and came to this article that Bret wrote about. I as a cradle born Catholic who did not truly know my faith much less practiced it, had a conversion experience over 10 years ago thanks to Our Lady of Medugorje! I believe God calls those who are not perfect...and when I researched the meaning of the names of Donald John and Michael Richard...I was sure they were both going to be elected with Gods Grace. Donald means ...Great Chief. John means...Gracious Gift of God. Michael means...He who is closest to God and Richard means...Strong Ruler/Leader.It was a providential election...we are living in historical times.
Bret P Thoman
3/10/2017 02:05:05 am
Dear Francine, thank you for your interest, and of course your name has great roots, too! (BTW, you may be interested in my book on St. Francis, in which I played on his baptismal name, John, and his nickname, Francis, throughout. Francis means "of France" while John means, "God is gracious."
Louis M Van Thanh
3/11/2017 11:02:25 am
Thank you, Fr Capoverdi. It's a nice story, Tom Zimmer. I had some moving and nspiring thought when I read this story. I was moving to have a connection with Donald Trump. One time I thought he would be like Cyrus. From the night of presidential election and his win of presidency I watched Fox News regularly to follow Trump and his administration. I appreciate that they did great jobs among oppositions and protests. So they need our prayers and support. May God bless them and America.
Bret P Thoman
3/13/2017 04:24:25 am
Keep praying!
Jim Marsala
3/12/2017 01:23:17 am
Bret - Did you or anyone else ever think about trying to find out more about the brick? Not sure how these dedication bricks were handled, but I would think that the Vatican or their reconstruction team would have a record of Tom and what he did.
Bret P Thoman
3/13/2017 04:25:22 am
That would require, I think, a miracle. I know a handful of people in the Vatican, and will ask around a bit. My instinct tells me it will remain forever a mystery!
erica zankli
7/11/2017 06:27:41 pm
But, Brett GOD performs miracles each and every day,ask the holy spirit to bring this brick to you. GOD Bless
nancy Lyon
6/10/2017 02:09:46 pm
I would be interested to know also if the gift of the Donald Trump name on the brick at the Vatican is recorded anywhere. I knew Tom Zimmer well and also Dr. Claude Curran.
Carolyn Schmitt
10/15/2017 05:10:00 pm
I found this so fascinating! After hearing about this from my sister in St Louis, we both got reading up on it, and she ended up finding a copy (in her bookcase) of the Pieta Prayer book that Fr spoke about. Oh the irony! Was just wondering, is Tom Zimmer still alive today?
I was so happy to read Fr. Capoverdi's post about Tom Zimmer, it really impressed me. I have been praying for our new president Donald Trump since he chose to run for office, at first I had some doubts about him, but the more he spoke I knew he was our only chance to end abortion.He gets so much criticism in everything he tries to do. He really does need our prayers, hopefully Tom Zimmer was right, our country needs to be brought back to God.
Bret P Thoman
3/21/2017 04:04:37 am
Keep praying!
Nancy Lyon
6/10/2017 02:19:23 pm
In my opinion we need to pray to Tom Zimmer to ask his intercession for help in keeping our President Donald Trump safe from all the violence and things going on against him. Tom was a very good and holy man. He did for 40 years what the Governor of Kentucky has now asked the people in Kentucky to do, STAND ON THE STREET CORNERS OF MAJOR CRIME AREAS and evangelize in peace and prayer. Tom was a very simple man but is now known all over the U.S. and elsewhere. Tom, pray for all of us as you did when you were here on earth.
Ricardo Fojas
7/9/2020 02:11:35 pm
Hi Nancy! I read that you knew Tom Zimmer well and I am hoping that you could tell us more about him. Where was he from and what was his educational and professional background? Molley Murphey commented here that Tom was a veteran who died in a Veterans Home in Miami, Florida in 2009 and was buried in Lebanon National Cemetery in Kentucky. Please tell us more about Tom Zimmer. Thank you very much.Ricardo Fojas, U.S. Army, Retired Katy, TexasEmail: usvet64@yahoo.com
Michael
7/13/2020 04:21:07 am
I fully agree with Ricardo Fojas' comment, Nancy. Please tell us more. Being ex-Royal Air Force (Volunteer Reserve), I have an affinity with all fellow flyboys who have a spiritual connection, like General Farragut Twining and Padre Pio.
Wilma Boling
10/20/2020 10:43:08 pm
Hello Nancy, We all are grateful that God guided Tom in letting him know that He was raising up Trump to be President. We do need to pray for our President in these troubled times, but I feel sure that Tom would not want us praying to him. God's own words say: We have one advocate to the Father (God) and His Name is Jesus. God Bless you.
I totally agree with you, Catherine! I feel the same way.
Marie Bullock
3/20/2017 03:22:41 pm
Thank you for the great research. I did not doubt the validity of the story but you have provided excellent confirmation. As far as the part of the prophecy regarding the President turning this country back to God, I believe that will come to pass only through the rosaries, prayers and sacrifices by people desiring it. God has given us Trump. Now it is our turn.
Bret P Thoman
3/21/2017 04:05:28 am
Yes, definitelykeep praying!
Katherine Heying
3/31/2017 11:36:20 pm
You are so right on, Marie. It is our portion to step up and be praying and doing rosaries and fasts. As Scripture says somethings need prayers AND fasting. Let is be about it.
shirley hoke
3/30/2017 02:10:02 pm
i pray for our president that God may use him. After reading this i pray it might be so because we sure could use the help. amen
DEBI
4/5/2017 11:11:26 pm
I am so grateful to have come across this site. I never doubted this video and I am even more grateful to God that he would set this all up to show that His Goodnes always prevails.All of the comments show a great appreciation for God's Almighty Wonders.I'd like to suggest, along with all the other suggestions made on particular prays, that the Saint Michael the Archangel prayer be said every day. God has given him the strength to defend us in this battle and cast into hell satan and all the evil spirits who prowl the world seeking the ruin of souls.I believe ... I truly believe. Peace, peace, peace and only peace.
Geraldine
7/5/2020 01:35:04 am
Keep praying..Peace will prevail...God Bless and protect you .
Geraldine
7/5/2020 01:37:11 am
Peace will prevail..Keep praying the Rosary..God bless and protect us all..ð
Dennis McCaskill
6/14/2017 08:39:38 am
Thank you for this. This and other prophecy about our time have opened my eyes and reintroduced me to GOD. As a lifelong sinner and "proud atheist" in the past...twenty years of research have opened awareness to my foolishness. Again, thanks for this reinforcement.
Patti ERICKSON
7/8/2017 06:31:26 am
What an exciting find on the Internet through Steve Strang's "Charisma" magazine article I have chanced upon tonight!! Such a wonderful investigation has transpired, so many wonderful leads in Loreto and America. I have much searching to do now!! Tom Zimmer sounds like a memorable, deeply prayerful man to have known - like an angel unaware. So many in our lives could be like him - let's treasure everyone we meet!! I have liked Donald Trump and even had a message from God about him in July 2016 when I said to God, "I don't like the term "crooked Hillary," what else could we call her?" I sensed God tell me, (and I'm looking at the note I wrote at 3 am that night), "You may have a plan, silly Hillary, but God has one, too and His trumps yours." From that conversation, I was convinced Trump was going to win! Thank you immensely for this video!! Our Healing Rooms ministry prays for President Trump and VP Pence continually!! God bless you everyone mentioned in this journey. In the Shepherd's Love, Patti Jeremiah 29:11
Barbara A. Orla
7/8/2017 08:46:28 pm
I am also a prophet and the Lord spoke to me as well that He was putting Donald Trump in office. I had such a complete peace with it that even when things were getting rough for Trump I was at peace. The Lord put him in and the Lord will clean him up. It is our job to pray for him to hear God's voice and ask for angels to surround him and his family for protection. We need to speak only positive words for him and not give in to what the enemy is trying to do.
So true, Barbara! "We need to speak only POSITIVE words over him [and over all our government leaders, including in Canada] and not give in to what the enemy is trying to do."
Naomi
7/11/2017 01:42:32 pm
This article was so uplifting. Tom Zimmer was such a beautiful vessel of prayer and reading about his dedication to prayer has caused me to want to have this kind of dedication to my Lord. And to hear through your comments that many of you are committed to praying for our President and Vice President blesses me beyond words as I too pray for them. We will see and reap the fruit of our prayers as it is clear in the Bible that God not only hears when we pray but He also answers. I am thankful for answered prayer every day of my life. God bless you all.
Rose-Marie Edwards
7/10/2017 10:24:23 pm
Pray God's hand is upon our President and Melanie our first lady and he truly does lead this Country to once again be "one Nation under God indivisible with Liberty and Justice for all and that every knee will bow every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of our Father. His Kingdom come His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven!Amen!
I had a vision about President Trump back in 1992 it was summer. He saw my website about starting a non-profit program to help women on welfare get back on there feet. At the time he wasn't the President, but he had a lot of money and wanted to help fund the vision God had given me to help these women. When I came out of the vision, I jut thought it was weird and went on with my life, I received my Skincare therapy license and started my journey of working in salons & spas in Oregon & Washington. I started making a journal of what I wanted in the non-profit organization as far as people I would have working there, a children's area, a large clothing rack with professional ladies items, and of course my skincare that I will one day create to fund this non-profit. I never thought about Mr. Trump again until he ran for the President position. Now, I've seen this video and read the words in black and white. I wonder if God has been preparing me for the destiny He has given me to help these women? I've had a chronic illness called fibromyalgia that has stopped my progress of the creation of the skincare. I feel like God has put me on a shelf and I have no idea how I could possibly bring into fruition. Now that Mr. Trump is our President, I was thinking & praying that this program would help the chronically ill & unemployed women get back on their feet? Like the fishes & loaves story. Teach them, give them opportunity to be successful. Not a hand out, but a hand up. Thank You so much for reading this and praying that God shows me the way to make this happen and make America Great again.
Patrick Biachi
7/15/2017 12:09:19 am
Great article. Amen,may God show you the way to make this happen and make America great again,in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Frank Schell MD
10/19/2020 11:06:10 am
I have just read your post and must comment that many patients with fibromyalgia do much better by sticking to a strictly gluten-free diet. I don't recommend this for people generally, but fibromyalgia is definitely a condition that can be very much improved with this diet. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me. God bless you.And, as a comment on the overall posts here, I recently watched Joan of Arc movie, with Leelee sobieski as Joan.I was contemplating the movie The following day, along with the prophecy regarding Donald trump. I had a strong premonition that Donald will convert to Catholicism, and be martyred.Frank Schell MD
Greg Grimer
10/24/2020 11:35:15 am
In 1992 there were no websites. Only 10 websites existed at the end of that year. None of them were yours.
Father Bruce Brosnahan
11/23/2023 05:08:41 am
Greg Grimer, thanks for your post that the first 10 websites began late in 1992. Amazing how the Internet has developed since then. The first 3 sentences of Wendy Reavis' post appear to relate, not to 1992 itself, but to her vision in 1992 of her having a website in the future. See the beginning of her 4th sentence, "When I came out of the vision ... ." God bless.
Leonie James
7/13/2017 07:02:10 pm
God speaks through different persons, and in different ways. Why should we not believe. God chooses His instruments to His honour and glory.
Patrick Biachi
7/15/2017 12:19:00 am
Leonie,you are very correct,"God chooses His instruments to His honour and glory". Instances of this abounds in the bible,that greatly testifies to how God works, when He changed the course of people's history;by using the simple and less virtuous to make great a difference.See Isaiah 55:8.
Patrick Biachi
7/15/2017 12:05:03 am
Many thanks for the lucid account given on this very important prophesy. I am of the opinion that everyone be patient and prayerful, as America is undoubtedly and urgently in need of a leader to move it on the path of revival. Most Americans including some so called Christians are more interested in economic transformation at the expense of spiritual rebirth of the American nation. May the Will of God be done!
Tina
7/19/2017 03:39:09 pm
Awesome
sharon louthian
7/30/2017 01:42:43 pm
I would like to thank you for making this information available to us. I have been a Catholic since I was 17. I am now 73, would not change my faith for anything. I totally believe this remarkable story. I hope that someone will make the President aware of this. I have never prayed so hard for anything asking God to make Donald Trump our President. I have never been really interested in politics intel this election. everyone in my family except for my husband was against him. But in the end, even my parents who are dyed in the wool Democrates voted for him. When I went to church the Sunday after the election everyone was talking about his winning and a lot of us agreed that it was Devine intervention. I believe that the devil is behind a lot of the troubles Trump is having trying to get anything done.
Steven Rahn
8/17/2017 05:31:15 pm
Thank you for sharing these accounts of Tom Zimmer. I have been wondering about the stories I have recently heard. As regards Donald Trump, I have no doubt that he was called to this work. I have heard the stories from Christians who claim to have documented the prophecies they have received regarding him, going back several years. Trump has one very important quality, which is a rare one...a kind of resolute determination and toughness, a refusal to quit or surrender even against enormous odds. Anyone hoping to challenge the deeply entrenched evil and corruption in our modern world, rooted in demonic behavior, could expect the most vicious and savage attack in response. Trump has received a tidal wave of evil directed at him. Lies, propaganda, plots of assassination, vile accusations of racism and pedophilia and worse. The media has spread these things, and many have accepted them as true, but they are not. Few people on the planet could stand up to this organized and relentless assault the way Donald Trump has, and it may be that quality that God may have been looking for above all else. Trump has embraced the Christian faith in the last two years, even if he had little interest earlier in life.
Teresa Ovalle
8/25/2017 10:23:48 pm
I have remembered through the years that at different times during various interviews Donald Trump would have, he would be asked if he had any interest in running for the presidency, and his answer was always no. Then the day came when he announced. Then I realized and felt that God haad been preparing him for the presidency for many years and that he would win the presidency. Which he did, even though my husband kept saying it would be a miiracle if he did. I never doubted. If God is for you then those who stand against you will fail. Our country is undergoing a correction and through diligent prayer God will bless the United States of America with his favor again.
Rosa
10/31/2017 02:08:03 am
Well said!
nancy lyon
8/27/2017 10:33:19 pm
I know this is true. I have almost 100 letters that I've kept since I first met him in 1994 and he was in Italy for 40 years praying daily and walking all day going from one church to another praying for us but MOSTLY for priests. I'm praying for his intercession for many things and I believe he is helping. I ask him to pray with my husband and me when we pray our rosary in the mornings. I have a beautiful "close-up" picture of him in front of the Holy House in Loreto and he's wearing his faith around his neck. I don't know how to share that on here. Tom is buried in Marion County, Ky. in a National Cemetery near me. Pray for his intercession, he will help us. He will help keep the President and his family safe.
Michael Moore
10/22/2017 05:10:46 pm
Would this be his grave, Nancy? See https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=zimmer&GSfn=thomas&GSiman=1&GScid=109420&GRid=178269384&
Thank You! I began to see The Donald as the "Moses" of our time during the primaries. I have been praying for him daily since. He arrived just in time to save our country! God bless President Trump, and God bless the USA. I am a life-long Lutheran.
Peggy
1/22/2018 03:02:09 pm
I was getting depressed close to the election, thinking the outspoken Pro-Life/pro religious freedom Trump had no chance, like all the experts were saying. Then I happened upon a small article at the bottom of a standard news app about an Iranian American minister in an Iranian jail who received a vision of Trump as president and then searched and read a retired fireman's prophesy of Trump being president. I got a little hopeful and watched all the events of the election night. It surprises me that more people don't see that God is teaching us a lesson. Trump's vision lines up with God's right now. That now, for some reason, the Lord wants to make America prosperous and strong. Now is a time for the US to reap, since we have been generous and taken advantage of by other countries for decades. After all, we are a free people founded on a belief in God. I told my husband, kids and others to put their money in stock. In the past I've been nervous about stocks, watching them go up and down. Now we can talk about retirement. I do not know the future, but after the miracle of the election, I just believed Trump was going to make America strong and prosperous, according to his agenda. It feels so good, that something good is happening for America! Even though often it doesn't seem like it, I believe many people here will give up their pride and come to believe in God again. Anyway, the thing I wanted to mention about Trump is that he is brave. He said what he was going to do, and he boldly is trying to do what he said. If you look at the Biblical hero's, they were brave people. Look at the parable of the talents. This life is a test and God needs us to do our part. We need to be good, loving, etc, but we need to be brave, which is another way of saying to have faith.
Margy Cleary
1/23/2018 02:09:47 am
I feel so blessed to have found this article about Thomas Zimmer. Such a man of faith to see Donald Trump as our President gices me such hope for our future. Satan is working in overdrive with the media, corrupt politicians and the hatred of people trying to take him down. I thank our Lord and Savior that He keeps our President strong and safe. The recent March for Life speech shows us he values Gods people from conception. He truly has become a man of God. I will continue to pray my rosary for the guidance and protection of our President, First Lady, his family and the Vice President Second Lady and his family. Knowing he is Gods chosen one, I can sleep a little easier.
gail
2/12/2018 07:30:14 pm
I knew dear Tom ..and I was floored by his holiness, abject spirit of poverty which he loved, his radiance of countenence, his complete absorption in God, his uncanny insights , the beautiful graces and little things he shared that i cant forget.. the things he did, his single-mindedness the way priests, bishops and the like would simply just walk up to him and sign his forehead with The Cross, unbidden..his beautiful humility when publicly humilated by a vatican swiss guard.. and the treasure trove of information about Indulgences.. particularly the simple use of The Pieta Prayer book.. in particular..The Prayers of St. BRIDGET. GOD BLESS YOU NOW ETERNALLY , my dear friend, Tom and Thank You! ..'the nurse'
Elizabeth Griffith
3/17/2018 10:42:07 pm
Anne Collins, I would say as kindly as possible that you sound exceedingly self-righteous, which is a far more serious and dangerous sin than any for which you blame the President. The Scribes and Pharisees received Jesus' most fearful condemnation, while the sinners received mercy. Matthew might very well have been like DJTrump, but when God called Matthew responded AND became one of the twelve. Let's employ some of that mercy and see what DJTrump is becoming and becomes for America.
Donna Lee
5/30/2020 01:10:25 pm
Yes, agree, Elizabeth, words such as hers do not edify nor bring solace to our people and nation. I, too, saw much positivity and a beautiful blue aura around Our President Trump before voting. He is continually being guided by our ArchAngels and Angels. We, as a nation, are going through the flames of Daniel and will reach the other side purified. Praise our Creator, in Jesus Name, Amen. ðð'ð ðºð¸ð...
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Jon Boatwright
8/16/2018 04:40:44 pm
Wow. A friend sent this page to me. Wow. Donald Trump becoming President was also prophesied by a Protestant guy named Kim Clement long before he even spoke of running. There are many videos on YouTube. I believe God is moving in such ways especially with so many falling away from the faith. Lord have Mercy.
mark waterinckx
8/23/2018 04:19:35 pm
Rosa Quattrini, known as 'Mama Rosa' pretended to have 'apparitions' of Our Lady in the sixtees and seventiesHer claims have been rejected by different bishops of her diocese, Piacenza, in N.W.Italy(not Assisi)I came there in that time and first met Tom Zimmer in 1970, who then was the fiancee of the daughter of a Belgian friend of mineTom was not pleased about those 'messages', because they didn't say a word against abortion. He himself distributed 'messages' from all over the world, like Garabandal-Spain and many prayersWhen the bishop of Piacenza forbade Mama Rosa to spread her 'messages', Tom started to distribute 'messages' from 'the secret seer of San Damiano', speaking about... abortion. I asked Tom if perhaps he himself was that 'secret seer', and, surprised, he said yes.On May 15 1971 the police came and expulsed Tom from San Damiano.Some people named him crazy, and holy, all togetherSome day from S.Damiano he sent me eggshells, adding that he ate that egg who had been blessed by 'Our Lady',Because Tom continued to send more 'messages' by post from that 'secret seer of S.Damiano' after his expulsion, in April 1972 the family of Mama Rosa made public a warning that Tom Zimmer did not speak in the name of 'Our Lady of San Damiano'Later I heard that Tom was living in Rome, collecting empty bottles from the bins to gain some money...I posses a big file about TomThrough Internet I hear now that he should have died in about 2008 and burried in KentuckyMay God have his soulYou will understand I don't believe a word of what he says about TrumpMark Waterinckx retired professor chemistry belgium
Raymond Dupuis
9/3/2018 07:48:03 pm
Professor Waterinckx,If you do not believe Mr. Zimmer and have such a low opinion of him, why on earth do you keep such a "big file" on him?Regards,Raymond Dupuis
David Jones
9/29/2018 09:37:46 pm
Why would you have file on this man? What about him made you collect so much information about him?
Michael Moore
1/14/2019 06:39:09 am
Does anyone know if Tom's cause for beatification has been started by the relevant bishop in Florida?
JMZ
4/14/2019 01:23:47 pm
My comment to the analysis by Bret Thoman, OFS:''A every fine, clear and thoughtful analysis and explanation of ''prophecies" and I would like to underline the last part of Bret's presentation: "After looking into Tom Zimmer, the 'Hermit of Loreto, I have no reason to doubt Fr. Capoverdi's statements that Thomas Zimmer communicated to his friend that he received a 'premonition' that Donald Trump would 'lead America back to God.' Yet, when seeking to determine whether a prophecy is true or false, the Church leaves us some criteria to guide us in discernment.The first is to look at the recipient of the prophecy. Generally, that person should be a good and virtuous person and, additionally, the person's temperament should be considered, as well as his or her physical and mental state. Here, it is clear that Thomas Zimmer was prayerful and devoted, was courteous and helpful toward others in need, and appears to have been of sound mind, though his body was failing.Next, a private revelation must not state anything contrary to publicly revealed truth. Here, too, there is nothing Scriptural or in Church teachings that would suggest that a political leader (even someone less than virtuous) cannot lead people to God; on the contrary, Scripture indicates it as a duty. (Some have even seen Trump in the figure of King Cyrus [see Ezra 1:1-11]). Lastly, the prophecy must, obviously, come true. And on this, it is my opinion that we will have to wait and see '... And even then, I will wager that whether Donald Trump ''leads America back to God'' will be open to interpretation'...In any case, it seems extraordinary to me that an elderly 'hermit of Loreto' would have had such such an intuition or premonition about Donald Trump as a future "Christian" leader when, at that time, he was no model of Christian virtue or living."My comment to Fr. Capoverdi's video is similar: ''Even more amazing than this video are the comments below which betray each person's beliefs and convictions to the story told or anything else one might want to give his opinion on ... as St John, the Evangelist, says in his First Letter (4:1): 'Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.''' Donald J. Trump has been elected and is the President of the United States ... and as you aptly say: "the [full] prophecy must, obviously, come true (i.e. that Donald Trump would ''lead America back to God.'') . And on this, it is my opinion that we will have to wait and see '..."
Marg Broaders
6/2/2019 01:57:48 pm
Donald J. Trump is doing more than it appears to bring America back to God. A real turning back to God is the only way the greatness of your nation can fulfill its role in God's plan for this world and the only way America can be great again. The greatest obstacle for America to return to its proper place as a the world's greatest democracy is abortion. President Trump continues to promote life. Mother Teresa said that any nation that kills it's innocent unborn, will not find favour with God. If President Trump accomplishes the return of America to respect for life, from conception to natural death, then he will have achieved a great triumph. Pray for him for a full conversion. Today is a national day of prayer for Donald Trump. Pray and fast for this man! Although I am Canadian, I pray for your nation since as America goes, so goes democracy worldwide. Therefore, I am praying for your country (our neighbour) and your president. I ask for prayers for Canada from those who read this. We are much worse off in the respect for life than your nation. May the red bars on both sides of our national flag symbolize the blood of Christ over this nation from sea to sea. May the blood of Christ be over the United States as well, from sea to sea. God bless our lands. God bless President Trump and your entire nation. God Bless Michael Pence. God bless all the Americas and all Americans. May our prayers, and fasting and sacrifices and all our sufferings bring us to the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of our most beautiful Mother. If we join them to the Cross with her, they will not be wasted but suffered with hope and purpose. Amen, Amen.
JAMES F. PRATER
11/7/2019 09:40:58 pm
I BELIEVE IN PR0PHESY AND HAVE SEEN IT COME TO PASS MANY TIMES DURING MY 86 YEARS OF LIFE HERE ON EARTH.
Peter
2/3/2020 07:47:03 pm
Now that we have all witnessed the passing of time upon this Presidency maybe the prophecy is being interpreted incorrectly.Maybe just maybe the ''leading back to God'' is not literally what Trump will do personally. Rather, maybe it is his words and action that will awaken Americans to truly recognize the face of hate, malice, bigotry and godlessness.Maybe Trump is metaphorically all that God hates as we read in Proverbs 6:16-19.16There are six things the LORD hates,yes, seven* are an abomination to him;17* Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,hands that shed innocent blood,18A heart that plots wicked schemes,feet that are quick to run to evil,19The false witness who utters lies,and the one who sows discord among kindred.Maybe God expects us to not be so literal in our understanding of prophecies and expects us to seek his wisdom, understanding and council with such matters. Trump acts upon his own free will and is exactly as he desires to be. To be sure we have never had such a vile, inhumane, godless or irreverent President except possibly Andrew Jackson. Just as humanity witnessed countless times the false prophets it never ceases to amaze me the willingness to so readily believe.Guarding your faith is just as important as having faith. Be wary of the claims least you be lead astray.Likewise simply observe and listen to Trump.If you see him as a man of God I'll ask you to read Proverbs 6 again.Pray for discernment.If you need help with that I would suggest reading the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.Otherwise be very cautious what you fall prey to in believing or not believing.Peace be with youPeter
Derlin Gerard Clair
4/25/2020 01:41:19 pm
God bless you,dear sir,and Godwilling,may be our next President be truly someone who will give a real Hand Up to us Working Americans.
Ricardo Fojas
7/9/2020 02:24:31 pm
Sir, God warned us not to judge others. Please refrain from judging President Trump. Only God can judge.Thank you.
Laurie Haas
8/30/2020 03:12:18 pm
Ricardo, To be a Christian doesn't mean we leave our brains at the door. We're not idiots for Jesus! Good grief! We don't have to "refrain from judging Trump" He is our president who is working for the people of this government!
Brooksie Hebert
2/5/2020 11:33:49 am
Question -- Wouldn't the Vatican have a list of who purchased bricks and or inscriptions? Has anyone ever looked in to this?
Julia Nutter
7/19/2020 05:57:50 pm
Date of Holy Year where he posted brick is 1983, not 2000.My brother in law is from Rome. He may be able to find out if records are kept.
George
2/13/2020 09:17:57 pm
"The Holy House of Loreto (the house of Mary of Nazareth) was transported to Italy in the 13th century by Crusaders returning to Europe." ??? https://www.tfp.org/science-confirms-angels-took-the-house-of-our-lady-of-nazareth-to-loreto/ https://italytravelideas.com/religion/holy-house-of-loreto-false-historical-explanation/#1572663200484-fdc40766-b0d79c79-96f8 https://italytravelideas.com/religion/loreto-can-only-be-a-miracle/
Michael
2/17/2020 04:21:46 am
Fascinating
Matt
3/14/2020 09:52:47 pm
Comment left by Peter that Trump is 'tobe sure we have never had such a vile, inhumane, godless or irreverent President except possibly Andrew Jackson...and that maybe the leading back to God is not literally what Trump will do personally. Rather, it is his words and action that will awaken Americans to truly recognize the face of hate, malice, bigotry and godlessness....and is metaphorically all that God hates....If you sincerely believe that Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Shumer, mainstream media, hollywood celebrities, will be led to God due to President Trump, you must be out of your mind. This poor man has been falsely accused that he is Putin's puppet with russia hoax for 3 years and finally exonerated, sham impeachment and acquitted, 90% negative news bias by media and yet achieves a 50% approval rating, who stated that unborn children are made in the holy image of God, proclaimed Jan 22, Roe Vs. Wade anniversary as Sanctity of Life Day, made several proclamations of Day of Prayer, first President to speak at the March for Life, has been prayed over by Catholics and Christians in White Office, refuses to recognize the month of June as gay pride month, and you then state he is the bad guy, and will lead those on the left to return to God, you must be out of your mind to post such a comment.
Mary
8/26/2020 07:53:15 pm
Hey Matt, Peter is right. Also fyi, abortion isn't going away. Its been here for thousands of years and Donald trump is a fake and a phony. To me, when you hold someone like that on a pedestal, you don't believe in God. Donald Trump doesn't believe in any of Christ's teachings. Name one thing that he has done that follows the teachings of Christ. You people are suckers. All I feel is sorry for you
Louise
7/14/2024 02:01:36 pm
Well , Mary, roe v Wade was overturned. I guess you were wrong. And sorry that you don't believe in all the goodness of President Trump. But I will pray for you, as your soul truly needs it.
Harry Walkeden
4/14/2020 09:27:32 am
Fascinating. I was looking for the video (which I watched the other year) to send to a friend when I came across your piece. Fantastic research thank you so much!
Irene McDuffee
4/20/2020 01:33:54 pm
I attended the Bishop's Mass at the cathedral in Savannah, Georgia on All Saints Day last November. In his homily the Bishop spoke of the saints among us. He said that not all saints have halos and not all angels have wings. Weeks later when the media was bashing the President again, I remembered the Bishop's words. I am grateful to God that Donald J. Trump is President of our country. None of us is perfect, but this man is extraordinary in giving glory to God and asking Him for His grace for our country. I think that America is listening to him.
I am glad my brother-in-law forwarded this link to me as I shared the Hermit of Loreto 3 times. I appreciate very much what you have written about the Hermit and his premonition which I believe will happen as God wills it to happen. I am so glad to know all your findings about the Hetmit who was a Vet. I pray America becomes Christian again. GOD bless us all.
FrankRossi
7/1/2020 01:34:24 am
Good article
Roseanna Festa
7/1/2020 02:42:02 pm
I'm so glad to have this article, it further confirms my belief that President Trump was under Gods protection!
Margaret
7/1/2020 05:06:28 pm
Thank you I have no doubt that Donald Trump was chosen by God to lead USA. Have hope people and remember that God is in charge even now. Keep praying for President.
Greg Grimer
7/2/2020 07:58:29 am
Show me the brick. Then I will believe the story.Given that Trump has not saved America yet in his first term (though I like Trump), would you agree in advance that if Trump loses in November that this prophecy is nothing more than a co-incidence and embellishment?If not then how is it ever falsified?
Julia Nutter
7/19/2020 05:54:04 pm
Yes, fair points. Note that author of this article is
Wes Darling
7/5/2020 04:09:44 pm
It seems telling that more of the commenters here close by referencing their belief in the Divine Right of Kings than they do by referencing the man in question.
I think this can be misleading. He does not say that Trump represents God but that "he would lead us back to God." I am not a Trump advocate but in seeing how he has handled the world politics in his presidential reign, it is safe to say that praying to God is what many are doing as it seems the ou way to find relief for his cruelty, callisness, insensitivity and outrageous methods of verbally humiliating and attacking women and people he feels are less. God has become out resort to help stop Trump from wreaking havoc in the world that he has done already and so people Nate using all methods possible to ensure he is removed. To say God help us during Trump's reign is not an overstatement. He has created Chaos and imbalance and when those things are created, people turn to God, spirituality and the mystic for help. He is not what I would call a "God" man. He is the opposite. He is judgemental, cruel, inconsiderate and scary.
Here is my issue, I would love to share this story, but there are a few things that bother me, 1) I am an ardent Trump supporter but I can find no references to this story before Trump became president, my anti-trump followers would eat that up, do you have any references? 2)I am a Genealogist and it bothers me that I can not find Tom Zimmers supposed grave in Kentucky, any help would be appreciated. 3) When I look up the prayer book for sale, Tom's name is not associated with it. Please understand I am not anti in anyway, but if I'm going to spread the word, the people in my circle are going to want these answers, any help you can give will help further the cause. I desperately want this to be true, but I test everything as scripture says too. Please help.
Michael Moore
7/9/2020 10:08:01 am
Please see my above link to his grave - posted 10/22/2017 05:10:46 pm.I cannot assist with your other two issues but would be interested in what you find.
Aracely Sanchez
7/23/2020 02:25:13 pm
Hi, have you received any informaci"n, I would like to know of this prophecy is true orFalse. Thank you
Marietta
9/9/2020 04:26:13 am
Chuck, Here's what you're looking for - LifeSite's interview with Dr. Curran, who talks about Tom Zimmer's "prophecy" on Trump in 1983.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBsiXN9mLS4&t=307sAs regards the Pieta Prayer Book, Tom Zimmer did not write it; he merely assembled its contents with the help of a friend. He collected traditional Catholic prayers and compiled them in a pamphlet. His name is not on it because he is not the author, just the compiler. The Pieta Prayer Book is one of the best-selling Catholic books of all time.
Michael Moore
7/9/2020 10:29:49 am
Alternatively, there is this link: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178269384/thomas-zimmer
Jeff Jorgensen
7/12/2020 09:45:33 am
Thank you for posting this story - Learning about Tom Zimmer was very moving - what a awesome person - may he rest in peace. God bless
I believe in my heart that The Hermit of Loretto is right. He is the only President of USA who addressed on the ProLife March . He is our ProLife President. Only God knows how many babies had been saved from being aborted during his presidency for 4 years. Daily I pray the Rosary of the Unborn for the re-election of Donald J. Trump so we will have another 4 years of less abortions. Remember that abortion is one of the 4 sins that cry out to God for vengeance. Please let us all join together for end to abortion and for the re-election of President Donald Trump. Faith can move mountains and prayer is the key to the heart of God. Together with all our prayers as Christians we will make the prophecy of the Hermit of Loreto to come to fruition that Donald J. Trump will bring America back to God. We need another 4 years of A Prolife President! May God Bless America!
Marian
7/17/2020 12:28:46 pm
Even Judas had a place in the resurrection. Don't be so quick to make Trump the savior, he could very well be the Judas. His actions and words or lack thereof just may bring such anguish to the United States that it will bring us "to our knees". He is guilty of murder for the 140K men, women and children who have died thus far in the United States from covid. The acts that cry out for vengence include homicide.
It is not reasonable or rational to blame the president for a pandemic. In fact, the president has done an excellent job in combating the pandemic, and his actions have saved tens of thousands of lives (if not more). The science bears this out. The US has a lower mortality rate, and deaths per population, than most European countries. His tireless work to provide needed PPE, ventilators, hospitals, etc, has been admirable.
Lena
8/20/2020 04:30:31 pm
I agree with you Joe. People are so quick to blame him for a virus that was so new to everyone. I would have liked to have seen how anyone else: Biden-calling him a xenophobic, Pelolsi-telling everyone to celebrate in the streets of San Francisco in February, NY mayor DiBlasio urging New Yorkers to go to restaurants, Broadway plays, etc.The NY Times saying there was nothing to worry about, and the list goes on. These are all facts that can easily be researched. Yet they blame him and the failing economy (which was phenomenal before the pandemic), on his lack of leadership. Surprising they haven't blamed him for hurricanes and wildfires in Ca.
Angela
10/21/2020 04:21:08 pm
How can people blame Trump? Only GOD controls who will catch, recover or die from disease - regardless of man's knowledge, technology or best laid plans. We have lived with viruses our entire lives and should know how to avoid exposure. Are people so ignorant they now need government telling them how to avoid a cold or flu and when they should understand it MAY be life threatening? Welcome nanny state! This being said, how does this compare to the evil of our Democrat leaders sanctioning billions of aborted babies...playing God! To go so far as to actually murder any surviving fetus! The audacity to compare the two! Oh, wait it can be compared! Both show people are mindless , selfish, willing to blame others for their plight and have lost their faith in God Almighty!
Marian
7/17/2020 12:35:38 pm
Judas too had a place in the redemption. Don't be so quick to hail Trump as the savior when he could, in fact, be our judas. By his actions and words, or lack thereof, he has been instrumental in the deaths of over 140K people in the United States. Remember what Jesus told us "Heaven's way is not always man's way". Perhaps Donald Trump brings us "to our knees" by the anguish he caused when he ignored the warnings regarding covid. I too am against abortion but I do not credit Trump with the fall in abortion numbers. Those numbers have been steadily decreasing since the 1990/s . He on the other hand has killed many of our babies after they were born by taking away funding from the poor and marginalized. He locked babies in cages at the border to let them squander in filth. I pray every day for Donald Trump and lawmakers.
David Jones
7/22/2020 09:34:15 am
Someone with the hate you have in your heart should be asking for forgiveness and for God to remove the evil within you.
I think you are citing things that are simply not true. The president is not responsible for the pandemic, but he is responsible for the US excellent to response to the pandemic, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. The president has increased funding for the poor and marginalized. The fake news you saw about 'cages' were, in fact, built and used by the Obama Administration. The main stream news media is provably biased, and, worse, deceitful, and have not qualms about lying to support their left wing political agenda.
Marietta
9/9/2020 06:16:11 am
Marian, No one here is proclaiming Trump as ''savior.'' You're a lying dog-faced pony soldier if you think people here are calling Trump a ''savior.'' Only one is Savior '' Our Lord Jesus Christ. And Trump did not kill the thousands of COVID patients you alleged. The hospitals were emptied of other patients to make room for COVID cases, but they did not come by the thousands. The first responders at the hospitals had to wait and wait for the projected influx of patients that did not come, so they made creative use of their waiting time by exercising, choral-singing, and line-dancing. The hospitals were given bonuses for every COVID death they listed, so they listed as COVID even those who died of other causes. This inflated the number of COVID deaths so much, which Democrats like you maliciously attribute to Trump. Shame on you. If there's anyone more responsible for the increase of COVID deaths, it's NY Gov. Cuomo who placed COVID patients inside nursing homes that infected hundreds of residents to their death. Also, MI Gov. Whitmer vetoed a bill that would have prevented COVID patients to be taken into nursing homes, so she, too, has blood in her hands. The children who were kept in cages initially by the Obama administration were used by illegal aliens as tickets to evade our immigration laws. Since children have to wait for illegal adults for their processing, they could not be let lose into the interior US. When AOC visited those ''cages,'' she found only dormitory-style accommodation where the kids were given food, clean clothes and beddings and taught basic hygiene like taking a bath and brushing their teeth. There was nothing to complain about, so AOC staged a photo opp of crying over the wire fence surrounding an empty parking lot.Trump's enemies have hurled slings and arrows at him but nothing has stuck and that should tell you something about God protecting him. He was berated by ex-Catholic ex-pundit Chris Matthews for turning ''pro-life'' when he used to be pro-abort. Roger Stone said that Trump's transformation into pro-life came years earlier, as he observed the week-to-week changes of his wife's pregnancy until the birth of his youngest child. From the start of his presidency, Trump has been attacked by his enemies, first with the pussy-hat protest on the day he moved into the White House. Then came in quick succession: the Russia hoax that lasted a good two years of the very expensive Muller investigation that amounted to nothing; Stormy; the vicious Kavanaugh hearing which was an indirect attack on the presidency; Ukraine; the stupid impeachment theatre that did not stick; up to the present day Democrat-programmed BLM and Antifa riots; and of course, COVID ''all with the help of MSM. Tell us, is there any other contemporary political or social figure that had withstood such arrows and slings of fortune? As for me and my house, we'll be voting for Trump as we did in 2016, if only because his agenda is pro-life. He is the first president to attend a Pro-Life March and promises to defund Planned Parenthood. Very brave of him. Oh, and also because his enemies are all fake Catholics: Biden, Pelosi, Durbin, Tim Kaine, Kerry, Sotomayor, the Cuomo brothers, Newsom, Podesta, Palmieri, Rosie O'Donnell, Michael Moore, etc. '' all pro-abort; pro-homosexual couplings; pro-lawbreaker aliens -- who are likely the evil, shameless Judases you are supporting.
Rocio Duran
1/30/2021 11:39:27 pm
Marietta Thanks to politician like AOC, I have come to realize what the democratic party is becoming. Congress needs to expelled politician like AOC and Omar that only care for their political career and not the American people.
Greg Grimer
10/24/2020 11:52:33 am
Go and look up the word murder in a dictionary.Then go and confess making a calumny against the POTUS, Donald Trump. Calumny is a mortal sin.Those 140,000 died due to a virus, which kills 1 in 400 people. Trump did not "murder" any of them.
Rocio
1/30/2021 11:09:49 pm
Trump didn't create those cages, it was the Obama administration. Many of these children are sent with the smugglers without their parents. Before you start pointing the finger at People, do your homework on the kids at the border or talk to someone whose been at the detention center. My neighbor niece and her children were taken to those detention center after the smuggler left them in the desert near the border. Just waiting for the border patrol to rescue them. Her children were well taken care and had good treatment from officers. The media has been very bias with Trump. The media didn't make a big deal after Obama deport over 3 millions people and 1.2 millions without any criminal record separating families. Trump brought these kids back together to their.
Rocio
1/30/2021 11:22:16 pm
Obama and his lawmakers built these cages and separated children from the parents. Obama also deport 3 million people and 1.2 million people without any criminal record separating families and the media didn't make a big issue about it. Many of these are sent with the smugglers without their parents. Thank god for our good men in our border patrol to rescue these people left in the desert all alone by these criminal smugglers. Before pointing the blame at someone do your homework about what really goes on at the border. I don't trust what the media tells our people. I believe the people that have been in the detention center. Many undocumented parents that have come out of those detention center state that the children are treated very well.
How can I thank you? & Mark Mallett for this information...thjis great man & telling us of this '' great Hero Donald J.Trump ''. Can you keep me posted ??? Blessings. Jon David and Deanna Bintner, Exira, Iowa..
I knew Tom Zimmer very well. We spent as a family with four kids several summer holiday near Loreto at the seaside. Almost every day we met Tom Zimmer in the Loreto Church. We took him out for food or invited him to our hotel to spend some time with us. We had some great moments and he was teaching us things about the christian faith we never heard before.We are very thankful for the privilege to meet such a great man of God.
Michael
7/22/2020 09:47:01 am
That must have been some encounter, Martin...!
Thanks for sharing that. Mr. Zimmer's message reminds me that prayer is not a footnote to this reality, not a subjective note to God, but the most Real thing we can experience -- it's the true Reality of our time on this Earth.
Juanita U Chambliss
7/19/2020 08:37:39 am
I believe in God ,if Hod is in it , it will happen God can trun a turn anybody he wants around to work for him. By jchambliss.
Julia Grimer
7/19/2020 05:50:28 pm
Jubilee Year in question is 1983, not 2000
mpad2884
7/22/2020 11:02:34 pm
You will know men that follow Me by their fruit. Donald Trump is the anti-christ. Do not be deceived.
Craig
8/3/2020 06:03:08 am
Terrific Story!
I'm surrounded by friends & family who have nothing but hard, dark words to say about President Trump. And yet they have only praise for former Presidents Clinton & Obama. Both those individuals are implicated in the sex trafficking scandal surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. Both visited his island and literally participated in sex with children and the attendant satanic rituals. This is gradually coming to light. So I'm so encouraged when more positive, Christian, life-affirming news emerges of Mr. Trump's good works, and the positive impact he is having on the human and Christian community. I'm Canadian and generally an anti-conservative, anti-American, and anti-Christian attitude is all too common. It's very depressing and was the main reason I left Canada 22 years ago. I've lived in Taiwan, S. Korea, and Thailand. I find Mr. Zimmer's mission to pray for the world, for Mr. Trump, and for this time we're living through now inspiring. In previous eras it was commonly believed that prayer has a real, tangible effect IN the world, that Masses said had profoundly such an effect, that praying to specific issues had a direct impact on those issues. Look at what the last 120 years of atheist secularism has done to the world. We are literally turning this garden into a hellscape of genocide and the destruction of children. I shudder to think of another Clinton or Obama presiding over the further descent of the Western world. Thank you, Mr. Zimmer, thank you Thomas, for restoring our faith in the centrality of prayer in this world's life.
Teresa Artecona
8/9/2020 01:08:44 am
Thank you so much Mr Thoman for your investigation about Thomas Zimmer and publishing it. I met Thomas in the House of Loreto in 1997. I went as a pilgrim with a group of nuns. He approached me, speaking in English, right after mass and handed me a small bottle with a specially blessed oil as a gift. I turned my eyes to the little bottle in my hands and immediately looked up to thank him. He had completely vanished. I looked left and right for him to no avail. Never saw him again, but his face was engraved in my memory. I had quite a surprise when I saw the utube video about him. It was like hearing the story and looking at the picture of a very dear family member long gone. Can't explain it. I just never forgot him. My daughter still has the little bottle of specially blessed oil he gave me. There was something holy about him. May he rest in peace.
Michael Omohundro
8/15/2020 04:53:29 pm
Tom Zimmer took his last breath in Florida, and his next breath in Heaven...... Hallelujah!May we too have faith in things unseen, and hope for revival of Christianity in this great land of North America. I include Canada and Mexico, both of which have also fallen short of the glory of God.
Gary W MacQueston
8/18/2020 12:14:26 am
Donald Trump is of course not responsible for the coronovirus deaths. He undoubtedly saved many thousands of lives by instituting the early ban on Chinese flights, over the objections of the same people who would blame him for everything.I corresponded with Tom Zimmer between 1998-2003. His letters were always filled with religious comments and dates of religious significance, and advice for me. In 1999 he asked me to send him a "used" set of Encyclopedias (in English of course) and I did. Luckily I have kept a couple of his letters and reread them. Amazing prediction that he had....
Diane E Matous
9/7/2020 03:50:21 pm
Can you share these letters? Some people are saying Tom Zimmer is not a real person. All of the proof we have about him is from people we can't contact or talk to.
Marietta
10/1/2020 11:50:09 pm
Diane, Here below are the links you can share with your friends. And your friends can share with others. God bless you.Fr. Capoverdehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyV7kwMRzdoFranciscan Pilgrimageshttps://stfrancispilgrimages.com/blog/tom-zimmer-the-hermit-of-loretoLifesite News John Henry Westenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBsiXN9mLS4&t=339sFind a Gravehttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178269384/thomas-raymond-zimmer
Joan
8/30/2020 09:00:33 am
Where is the brick now ... is it still in the church door?
Betty Campbell
9/8/2020 07:10:28 pm
I enjoyed this story on Tom Zimmerman so much. As for his prophecy, I believe it solidly. When Donald Trump ran for president, only two of my peers, relatives and friends alike thought I was out of my mind for believing he would be the next president of the US. I simply knew it in my heart and never deviated from that belief. Same for upcoming election. Donald Trump will win and hopefully bring people back to God, since God has been removed from our schools and anywhere else that Satan deems he must go. Most of my own family have turned away from the church, and my one hope is that before I die that they will return to church and Almighty God.
Rene Ade
9/13/2020 08:29:35 pm
Thanks you for the News about Tom Zimmer. Beleaved me all the vid(C)o Is so true, I Sa¯d it's true. il ´ s the man I have met too. grce of God on earth.: Roma. Acquilla, peruggia, loreto, assise, Turin,.... He bring me there and my familly. ToM zimmer is a gift of God..... Se stil crying him...thanks God.
Michael M.
10/8/2020 07:49:49 pm
Actually, the Pieta is not a written book, it's a collection of prayers and can be traced back to several individuals, including a man from Michigan named Harry Faulhaber. So perhaps "compiled" would be a more accurate description of the author instead of "written" when referring to this little booklet. There is very little to no information on a definitive "author" to this book on the internet so verification is very difficult. There's no doubt that Mr. Zimmer was a good and holy man, and perhaps it might be true that he envisioned Donald Trump as a possible leader of America back to God as reported. But credit for creating the Pieta booklet is something that is seriously still up for debate. If anyone else has any information confirming or refuting any of this, please share.
Joe Donum
10/23/2020 10:52:03 pm
The weak links in this story:1) Was the doctor telling the truth? Was his memory accurate?2) Nobody else corroborated the Trump prophecy.3) Tim received Communion more than twice daily - did he stop when ordered to refrain by the Franciscans? It sounds like he didn't, which throws his mysticism into doubt.4) I have been acquainted with a number of devout people who believe they receive revelations from God, but most of them are just imagination.
Russ Schneider
11/2/2020 06:13:28 am
In the last paragraph, I read that it must have been 2000. I believe that since 1975 there have been three jubilee years or when the Holy Door has been opened in 1983, 2000, and 2015 with the next scheduled year being 2025. I believe that if a brick was to be found it would have been placed in 1983 and removed in 2000. If it exists then it will be in the possession of some Vatican employee who retrieved it after its removal prior to the opening of the door in 2000.
Roger C Thibault
11/2/2020 02:01:50 pm
Does anyone know if Thomas or other Catholic officials spoke of Trump in 2020? If so, e-mail me. Thanks Roger - RogerCThibault@gmail.com
Frank Cicero
1/3/2021 11:21:31 pm
I just recently heard about tom and now I am fixated on this matter. I wanted to know we can get a picture of face preferably during his time in Italy
As someone already noted whether Trump leads America back to God will be subject to interpretation. It is clear already that he has done more in his 4 short years which most of his time spent dealing with nonsense from the eil left then supposed previous Catholic leaders. The veracity with which he spoke about life surprised me.With that said all of my friends who are Priests report a significant increase in people coming back to or growing deeper in their faith
Denise Miller
3/28/2021 02:21:22 pm
I just found this and find it interesting along with the comments. Unfortunately we now know that President Trump was cheated out of four years by the evil left. And we have Biden as our illegitimate president. I was curious to see what the original author of this post thought about President Trump leading us back to God. Can it be that after seeing the turn this current administration is taking that people will start praying for a revival so we do not go into communism or is this God's will as punishment for our sins especially abortion?
Susie Melkus
7/16/2024 07:31:02 am
Yes, good points. My thoughts, too. Also now, since 2.5 days after the assassination attempt! God is giving us another chance perhaps? I pray so, at least for 4 more years and a little more time to 'repent and return to God' as a nation. Please God.
6 25 22 roe vs wade declare unconstutional. It goes back to the states. As it should have been the people decide what they want. Not some entity in DC. GOD is making it very clear to us. I want holy people. Today is the feast of the sacred heart. A very special day in the Church. You protestants look it up. A great day for all of us Christians. There s going to be an uprising a.ou g the supporters of this horror. Remain in prayer and faith. Maybe DJT won't be our next pres. But he sure set the stage . Maybe this what Tom Zimmer meant. Gods funny that way. After the fact. To us it makes perfect sense. But at the time not so much. Gods very Stealthy. I love his ways. Very tactical.
Brandon
7/4/2022 06:33:26 pm
I can't help but wonder now with Roe overturned if Providence played a part in getting Trump in office so he could appoint three conservative justices? What better way to turn people back to God than by supporting a Culture of Life instead of the Culture of Death.
Bill Brown
8/14/2022 04:45:06 pm
The Lord told me before Pres. Trump ran for office that he set into Donald Trump's heart the desire to be President.
Hugh
8/28/2022 11:14:45 am
I believe Zimmers prophesy. Since Trump did not become president in2020, this could mean that he'll win in 2024 and lead America back to God then (he has started the process with his Supreme Court pucks overturning Roe v Wade) or that he lead us back to God without being president. Time will tell. But if America returns to God the leftist Democrats and their warped ideologies such ad Gender Theory will be repudiated and rejected and they will gnash their teeth.
Francisco
9/8/2023 09:45:58 pm
Hugh I too believe in this Tom Zimmer Prophecy and that it will be totally fulfilled in 2024 when Trump is re-elected and lead America back to God.
Francisco Ruffolo
7/31/2023 08:23:21 pm
I too believe the 1983 Tom Zimmer Prophecy about Trump. The fact that Trump became President in 2016 proves that part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. The second part of the prophecy bringing America back to God will be fulfilled in 2024 when Donald S. trump is re-elected President once again. Father Giacomo Capoverdi's account of the Zimmer Trump prophecy is amazing..
Patrick
10/31/2023 05:11:49 am
Pray that Donald Trump repent of his treason against the United States. Pray that Donald Trump repent of his treason against the United States, because of his weed and lies states states. Because of his many lies and mortally sinful greed, he has lead many astray. Pray for them too,
Gary
11/28/2023 08:56:46 pm
Pray that Donald Trump is elected again and saves America from all those who want to bring our country down. Enlighten the ignorant to realize he is the best thing for America now. The left has been on a 7 year mission to bring him down by any means possible because he is against their agenda to destroy the America that we know and love.
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VIDEO - Former Microsoft DEI Lead Accuses Executive Leadership of Toxicity as Tech Giant Shuts Down Major Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team, - video Dailymotion
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VIDEO - Seth Moulton says it's time for President Biden to drop out '' NBC Boston
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:02
Congressman Seth Moulton reiterated his call for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race with anecdotes from their relationship.
The Democrat representing Massachusetts' Sixth District said earlier this month in an interview with WBUR that Biden should step aside in the election against former President Donald Trump. NBC News reports that he was the third Congressional member of his party to make such a public statement, but more than 30 other lawmakers have followed.
Writing in the Boston Globe Friday, Moulton said the president had "earned an amazing legacy," and that giving up his power could serve to solidify it.
The representative describes in the piece how Biden has supported him in his own political career dating back to 2014, calling the president a mentor and friend. But fast forward to 2024, and he describes how the president could not recognize him during an event at Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
"Of course, that can happen as anyone ages, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem," Moulton wrote.
He then lays out why he believes it's time for Biden to step aside, driving home the point that Democrats must rally to beat Trump.
"We have a choice to make. To my colleagues who are deeply concerned but who haven't said so publicly: Let's demonstrate the courageous, forward-looking leadership that Americans tell us they want in their politics and rob the Trump-Vance ticket of the opponent they want," he wrote.
U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, weighed in Thursday, making the same point about the need to defeat Trump, but taking the opposite stance from Moulton.
"We understand what the stakes are in this election. That's the agenda that we need to pursue, that's why I continue to believe that reelecting Joe Biden is the best way to protect our democracy, protect the individual rights of all Americans, and that it's a sharp contrast to what the Republicans have to offer," Hassan said.
Biden's campaign insisted in a memo released Friday that he will not drop out of the race. However, sources tell NBC News that his family has discussed possible exit strategies. Friday alone, 13 more Congressional Democrats publicly called on Biden to step aside.
State lawmakers in Massachusetts have also joined that chorus, with seven senators on Beacon Hill writing a letter calling for Biden to pass the torch Thursday night before Trump spoke at the Republican National Convention.
"Selecting a new Democratic presidential nominee will inject badly needed excitement and grassroots energy into the party and its voters, especially young people," wrote the group, which included Sens. Jo Comerford of Northampton, Jamie Eldridge of Marlborough, Paul Feeney of Foxborough, Pat Jehlen of Somerville, John Keenan of Quincy, Jason Lewis of Winchester, and Michael Moore of Millbury.
Information from State House News Service was used in this report
VIDEO - Obama tells allies Biden needs to reconsider his reelection bid: Washington Post - YouTube
STORIES
'Ludicrous': Donors leave call with Kamala Harris frustrated and annoyed
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 17:01
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris departs Air Force Two as she arrives at Pope Army Airfield to campaign in Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S., July 18, 2024.
Kevin Mohatt | Reuters
A call Friday featuring Vice President Kamala Harris and about 300 major Democratic donors left many who dialed in frustrated, with one donor declaring it "ludicrous" shortly before it ended, according to two sources familiar with the call.
One person on the call referred to it as "mismanaged" and "rushed." They added expectations had not been managed well and some participants left feeling admonished.
That person and two other sources said many donors joined hoping to get an insider's view of how to move forward in the wake of President Joe Biden's dismal debate performance and the growing number of Democrats calling for him to drop out of the race. Instead, they said donors left the call feeling disappointed and like they had not gained any new insights or helpful information.
"It was a total failure," said one source who was on the call and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide a candid assessment. "It was damaging. It was poor planning."
The call had been organized by Jen O'Malley Dillon, the chair of Biden's campaign, and not by the campaign's finance team, according to a source familiar with the planning. One of the sources who was on the call said that the donors who participated represented a wide range of views '-- some diehard Biden fans, some unconvinced about his path forward and many views in between.
U.S. President Joe Biden rubs his nose while greeting shoppers inside Mario's Westside Market grocery store in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., July 16, 2024.
Tom Brenner | Reuters
At the end of the call, hundreds of participants were unmuted, and one person declared that the call was "ludicrous," according to two of the sources.
One source stressed that they took the comment to mean that the call was poorly run and not as a criticism of Harris.
During the call, Harris, who was asked to join the call by Biden's senior advisors, praised Biden, according to campaign officials.
"We know which candidate in this election puts the American people first: Our President, Joe Biden," she said according to the campaign officials. "With every decision he makes in the Oval Office, he thinks about how it will impact working Americans. And I witness it every day."
Harris also spoke positively about Democrats' chances of beating former President Donald Trump. "Something I believe in my heart of hearts," Harris said according to campaign officials. "It is something I feel strongly you should all hear and should take with you when you leave. And tell your friends too. We are going to win this election. We are going to win."
NBC News reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
The fallout from the call comes as donations to the Biden-Harris campaign and Democratic groups have plummeted and as Harris has been deployed several times to speak with donors as questions swirl over Biden's future on the ticket.
The call with donors started with presentations from field organizers who expressed anger at the ongoing debate within the Democratic party about backing President Biden, given what they've seen and heard from voters on the ground, according to one source with direct knowledge of the discussion.
One source said before Harris joined there seemed to be an effort to stall, which they said is normal for events with high ranking officials. But what angered many donors, this source said, was that during the wait '-- which was about 20 minutes '-- donors were "admonished." Participants of the call were told they needed to "lock in and get behind" Biden and to not pursue efforts to push out the president.
"Please help us turn down the volume on this conversation publicly," Melissa Morales, founder and president of Somos Votantes, said on the call, according to a transcript obtained by NBC News. "It's time to stop the leaks and the rampant rumors. Your message has been heard and received. But every day that we continue this publicly chaotic conversation, we come closer to a loss '-- no matter who the nominee is."
That didn't sit well with some on the call.
"These are donors who are not used to getting admonished and told what to do," the source said.
Another source who was on the call and is supportive of Harris being the Democratic nominee pushed back on the donor's feelings of frustrations.
The person said while many donors thought they were going to get insightful and confidential information, they immediately went to the media and proved why they shouldn't get it.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Harris spoke at a campaign fundraiser in Provincetown, Mass. and praised Biden as one the most consequential presidents in history.
Harris garnered applause at various parts of her speech talking about her and Biden's record including advocating for the rights of the LGBTQ community.
But, the loudest applause from the crowd came when someone in the crowd of 1,000 people shouted "Go get him Kamala," as Harris criticized Trump.
The applause lasted for several seconds as Harris smiled and looked out onto the cheering crowd of some one thousand people.
After Harris left the stage, Lennie Alickman, 63, said she wanted to see Biden step aside.
"She is on a tightrope. She has to be very careful not to alienate Biden," Alickman said when asked about Harris praising Biden throughout the speech. "I actually would like to see Kamala at the top of the ticket. She could carry out and continue the policies of the Biden administration. I love Biden but I'm not sure he is up to the job. And, I'm worried he is going to lose against Trump."
John Newton, 75, who attended the fundraiser, also said he believes Biden needs to drop out of the race and wants to see Harris become the party's nominee.
"I love Joe," Newton said. "In a business context, it's like your 81 year old salesman that's goofed up at the convention and not making his numbers. And, you gotta go in and tell him, 'Judy is replacing you.' It's no fun. But sadly that has to happen."
Harris closed her speech at the event which was said to have raised $2 million by talking about her campaign manager when she ran for district attorney in San Francisco.
She said he told her, "You must recognize what you're up against '-- and know that those who oppose progress will always try to suggest that a movement for freedom is somehow subversive and that it undermines who we are as a nation or our traditions. But what we know is that it strengthens who we are as a nation when we fight to expand rights."
Hit with A Bullet: Glass from Teleprompter Did Not Injure Trump | Snopes.com
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 16:11
Broken glass from a teleprompter requires the existence of a broken teleprompter. ");}else if(is_tablet()){slot_number++;document.write("
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Claim:The injury Trump sustained during a July 13, 2024, assassination attempt wasn't caused by a bullet but by broken glass.
Rating: Despite an increasingly clear picture of the timing and location of shots fired on former U.S. President Donald Trump during an attempted assassination at a July 13, 2024, Trump rally, skepticism over the question of whether or not Trump was hit with a bullet remained on social media days later:
Skepticism over the notion that Trump had actually been hit by a bullet was fueled by anonymously sourced reports that he was "not struck by a bullet, but hit by glass fragments" from a teleprompter that had been hit by a bullet.
Reporters from both Newsmax and Axios reported on a source making this claim, which was then amplified by other outlets including Raw Story. Some went so far as to call the purported disclosure evidence of a "stunt."
There was, however, no evidence to suggest anything other than a bullet caused the wound to Trump's ear, and these early reports to the contrary have largely been walked back.
The assertion that glass, not a bullet, caused the injury is undercut by the fact that photographs show no damage to the teleprompters allegedly hit to produce the broken glass, by a New York Times photograph capturing a bullet passing by Trump's ear, and by the fact that Trump later stated, on Truth Social, that a bullet had, in fact, pierced his ear:
I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.
Trump's description of his wound matches photographs of his ear after he was hit, prior to being removed from stage. The two circles below, added by Snopes, highlight two areas that appear to show torn skin:
Following initial publication of this piece, several users online took umbrage with our assertion that there was no evidence of broken teleprompters, sharing this photo as purported evidence of a shattered teleprompter:
However, this photograph, a low-resolution version of an image taken by Getty Images photographer Anna Moneymaker, does not show a damaged teleprompter. The purported damage shown in the top right corner is merely a reflection of some object, as seen below in a zoomed-in, higher-resolution version of the same photograph:
Other photographs taken after the above photograph show two intact teleprompter screens. The photo below comes after the would-be assassin's shots were fired because the armed and helmeted law enforcement officer at the bottom left did not get onto the stage until the shots stopped, based on video of the event:
Here is that same moment photographed from a different angle, clearly showing two intact teleprompters:
Other video from after the incident shows two intact teleprompters as well.
The theory that glass from a teleprompter caused Trump's wound requires a broken teleprompter. There is no evidence to support the notion that either of the teleprompters at the rally was broken at any point during or after the attempted assassination.
The theory that Trump's injury stemmed from a bullet, on the other hand, requires a shooter and a bullet. Unlike broken teleprompters, a shooter has been identified and a photograph documents the existence of a bullet passing by Trump's head.
Because there is photographic evidence of a bullet, and of a wound caused by a bullet, early and imprecisely sourced claims that Trump's injuries stemmed from broken glass are "False."
SourcesArd, Alexa Juliana. "Photos: Bloodied Trump Rushed off Stage after Assassination Attempt at Pennsylvania Rally." USA TODAY, https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/politics/2024/07/13/trump-rushed-off-stage-by-secret-service-at-pennsylvania-rally/74396190007/. Accessed 15 July 2024.
"Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)." Truth Social, https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/112782066045321247. Accessed 15 July 2024.
"Early Claims Trump Hit by Glass Fragments Undermined by New York Times Photos." Rawstory, https://www.rawstory.com/trump-was-hit-by-glass-fragments-not-a-bullet-report/. Accessed 15 July 2024.
Gold, Michael, et al. "Trump Is Safe After Assassination Attempt; Suspected Gunman Is Dead." The New York Times, 13 July 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/14/us/trump-shooting-news-biden.
Ismay, John. "Photo Appears to Capture Path of Bullet Used in Assassination Attempt." The New York Times, 14 July 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/14/us/politics/photo-path-trump-assassination.html.
MSN. 14 July 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20240714205135/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/not-so-fast-donald-trump-was-hit-by-glass-from-shattered-teleprompter-not-a-bullet-according-to-sources/ar-BB1pVVKz.
"Trump Was Hit by Glass Fragments '-- Not a Bullet: Report." Rawstory, https://web.archive.org/web/20240714022522/https://www.rawstory.com/trump-was-hit-by-glass-fragments-not-a-bullet-report/. Accessed 15 July 2024. FOX 5 New York. WATCH: Moment Trump Appears to Be Shot at Rally. 2024. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYfvSspaJtk.
"Republican Presidential Candidate Former President Donald Trump Is..." Getty Images, 13 July 2024, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/republican-presidential-candidate-former-president-donald-news-photo/2161922156.
The Wall Street Journal. Debunking Conspiracy Theories Around Trump's Assassination Attempt | WSJ. 2024. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46s81vcbB0o.
"U.S. Secret Service Agents and Counter Assault Team React Moments..." Getty Images, 16 July 2024, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/butler-pa-u-s-secret-service-agents-and-counter-assault-news-photo/2161606800.
Alex Kasprak is an investigative journalist and science writer reporting on scientific misinformation, online fraud, and financial crime.
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The Man Behind Trump's VP Pick: It's Worse Than You Think
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 13:31
After the recent revelation that Donald Trump had selected J.D. Vance as his Vice President, public attention not only turned toward Vance, but also to the billionaire Peter Thiel. Vance has been one of several prominent Thiel prot(C)g(C)s whose profile has risen in recent years, with other prot(C)g(C)s of the PayPal co-founder including OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anduril's Palmer Luckey.
Recent reports have also noted that Thiel first recruited Vance into his circle while Vance was still a student at Yale Law School. Shortly thereafter, Vance joined Thiel's investment firm Mithril Capital, where he worked for two years before joining Revolution Ventures. Vance played a major role in Revolution's ''Rise of the Rest'' seed fund whose major investors included Amazon's Jeff Bezos and the Walton family of WalMart, who boast long-standing deep ties to the Clinton family. Vance later launched his own venture capital firm Narya Capital in 2020, which was heavily funded by Thiel as well as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Schmidt, a major Democrat donor, has been the guiding hand behind the Biden administration's science and technology policy and has dominated the development of the AI policies of the US military and intelligence communities, largely through his leadership of the National Security Commission on AI (NSCAI). As Unlimited Hangout previously reported, the Schmidt-led NSCAI promoted policies like the end of private car ownership and in-person shopping in the United States to advance Americans' adoption of AI as supposed national security imperative in the lead-up to the Covid-era lockdowns.Both Schmidt and Thiel are key members of the steering committee of the controversial, closed-door and overtly globalist Bilderberg conference. Newsweek once called Schmidt and Thiel the two most influential figures at Bilderberg.
Thiel has donated heavily to Vance's political career, giving $15 million to Vance's successful Senate bid in the 2022 election cycle in what was then the largest donation ever given to one Senate candidate. Thiel also joined Vance, a former ''Never Trumper,'' on a visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago where Vance successfully won the former president's blessing. Thiel also connected Vance to other members of the so-called PayPal mafia, like David Sacks who donated $1 million to Vance and hosted a fundraiser for him. Sacks, along with PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, were allegedly a key factor in Trump's selection of Vance as Vice President as they ran ''a secret lobbying campaign'' for Vance that also included media presenter Tucker Carlson.
Thiel had been a major donor to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and served on Trump's transition team, with other Thiel-linked figures like Trae Stephens dramatically influencing Trump's Pentagon appointments. Stephens' influence at the Trump Pentagon also helped develop the military's relationship with the Thiel-funded company Anduril, which was co-founded by Stephens and Thiel fellow Palmer Luckey. Before Anduril, Luckey develop the Virual Reality system Oculus Rift, which was later sold to Facebook, where Thiel then served on the board. Anduril is now building a ''virtual border wall'' for the federal government and Trump, who long campaigned on building a physical barrier on the US-Mexico border, abandoned that promise during his first term and now supports the exact solution Anduril is selling.
Anduril's unmanned drones have also come to play a major role in Ukrainian military operations during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as have other controversial Thiel-funded companies like Palantir (a CIA contractor) and ClearView AI, which used mainly photos posted on Facebook (another Thiel-backed company) to develop its Orwellian facial recognition database. These companies' close ties to the Ukrainian military may impact a second Trump administration's policies as it relates to American support for Ukraine, particularly if Thiel is slated to hold significant influence. Beyond Ukraine, this network of Thiel-funded defense companies are remaking the face of warfare and slowly but surely replacing human decision-making with AI.
While these ties should be unsettling on their own, the potential influence of Thiel on the upcoming Trump administration should concern every American, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum, due to Thiel's efforts to rehabilitate and remake some of the intelligence communities' most Orwellian and unconstitutional efforts to target domestic dissent.
Thiel Information AwarenessWhile Peter Thiel has long marketed himself as a libertarian, his track record from PayPal on has revealed him to instead be an architect of the modern surveillance state and a successor to the neoconservative cabal that had once tried (but failed) to do the same. During PayPal's earliest days, Thiel and his colleagues went around to various government agencies, including intelligence agencies, to see how they could best tailor their product to win government support (and contracts) for their products and services. After leaving PayPal, Thiel would follow a similar path in creating another company, Palantir. Palantir is the engine on which the surveillance state runs and, soon after Vance was announced as Trump's Vice President, it was reported that Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale as well as Palantir itself were backing a Trump-Vance super PAC called America PAC.
Unlimited Hangout has reported extensively on Thiel and Palantir for several years. As noted in past reports, the company was created to be the privatized version of a post-9/11 surveillance program that had been dreamt up by the Iran-Contra criminals responsible for the unconstitutional Main Core database. During the Reagan administration, the individuals at the heart of the Iran-Contra scandal developed a database called Main Core, which firmly placed the US national-security state on its current, tech-fuelled path for crushing dissent. A senior government official with a high-ranking security clearance and service in five presidential administrations told Radar in 2008 that Main Core was ''a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived 'enemies of the state' almost instantaneously.''
Main Core was expressly developed for use in ''continuity of government'' (COG) protocols by the key Iran-Contra figure Oliver North and his allies that operated an ''off the books'' intelligence apparatus with direct CIA involvement known as ''The Enterprise.'' North and his associates used COG and Main Core to compile a list of US dissidents and ''potential troublemakers'' to be dealt with if the continuity of government protocol was ever invoked. Troublingly, these protocols could be invoked for a variety of reasons, including widespread public, non-violent opposition to a US military intervention abroad, widespread internal dissent, or a vaguely defined moment of ''national crisis'' or ''time of panic.'' North would later brush up against the Trump administration, joining former Blackwater founder Erik Prince in an effort to lobby the administration to create an ''off the books,'' private CIA.
Congressman Jack Brooks attempted to ask Oliver North about the COG protocols during the 1987 Iran-Contra hearings, but was prevented from doing so.Main Core utilized the PROMIS software, which was stolen from its owners at Inslaw Inc. by top Reagan and US intelligence officials as well as Israeli spymaster Rafi Eitan. Also intimately involved in the PROMIS scandal was media baron and Israeli ''super spy'' Robert Maxwell, the father of Ghislaine Maxwell and reportedly the man who brought Jeffrey Epstein into the Israeli intelligence orbit. Like PROMIS, Main Core involved both US and Israeli intelligence and was a big data approach to the surveillance of perceived domestic dissidents.
The Iran-Contra and PROMIS scandals were exposed, but were subsequently covered up, largely by the then US attorney general William Barr, who would return to serve in that same position during the Trump administration. The use of Main Core by the federal government persisted and continued to amass data. That data could not be fully tapped into and utilized by the intelligence community until after the events of September 11, 2001, which offered a golden opportunity for the use of such tools against the domestic US population, all under the guise of combating ''terrorism.'' For example, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 government officials reportedly saw Main Core being accessed by White House computers.
September 11 was also used as an excuse to remove information ''firewalls'' within the national-security state, expanding ''information sharing'' among agency databases and, by extension, also expanding the amount of data that could be accessed and analyzed by Main Core and its analogues. As Alan Wade, then serving as the CIA's chief information officer, pointed out soon after 9/11: ''One of the post-September 11 themes is collaboration and information sharing. We're looking at tools that facilitate communication in ways that we don't have today.''
In an attempt to build on these two post-9/11 objectives simultaneously, the US national-security state attempted to create a ''public-private'' surveillance program so invasive that Congress defunded it just months after its creation due to concerns it would completely eliminate the right to privacy in the US. Called Total Information Awareness (TIA), the program sought to develop an ''all-seeing'' surveillance apparatus managed by the Pentagon's DARPA. TIA's supporters argued that invasive surveillance of the entire US population was necessary to prevent terrorist attacks, bioterrorism events, and even naturally occurring disease outbreaks (such as pandemics) before they could take place.
The architect of TIA, and the man who led it during its relatively brief existence, was John Poindexter, best known for being Reagan's National Security Advisor during Iran-Contra and being convicted of five felonies in relation to that scandal. Poindexter, during the Iran-Contra hearings, had famously claimed that it was his duty to withhold information from Congress.
In regard to TIA, one of Poindexter's key allies was the chief information officer of the CIA, Alan Wade. Wade met with Poindexter in relation to TIA numerous times and managed the participation of not just the CIA but all US intelligence agencies that had signed on to add their data as ''nodes'' to TIA and, in exchange, gained access to its tools. Wade, while at the CIA, had previously partnered with Robert Maxwell's daughter, Christine Maxwell, on national security software called Chiliad, which had similarities to TIA (as well as Palantir) but fell short of the proposed program's scope and ambition. Christine had previously been involved in her father's efforts to market bugged PROMIS software to US national laboratories.
The TIA program, despite the best efforts of Poindexter and his allies such as Wade, was eventually forced to shut down after considerable criticism and public outrage. Though the program was defunded, it later emerged that TIA was never actually shut down, with its various programs having been covertly divided among the web of military and intelligence agencies that make up the US national security state. While some of those TIA programs went underground, the core panopticon software that TIA had hoped to wield began to be developed by the company now known as Palantir, with considerable help from the CIA and Alan Wade, as well as Poindexter.
At the time it was formally launched in February 2003, the TIA program was immediately controversial, leading it to change its name in May 2003 to Terrorism Information Awareness in an apparent attempt to sound less like an all-encompassing domestic surveillance system and more like a tool specifically aimed at ''terrorists.'' The TIA program was shuttered by the end of 2003.
The same month as the TIA name change Peter Thiel incorporated Palantir. Thiel, however, had begun creating the software behind Palantir months in advance, though he claims he can't recall exactly when. Some reports state that Palantir began as an anti-fraud algorithm at Thiel's PayPal. Thiel, Karp, and other Palantir cofounders claimed for years that the company had been founded in 2004, despite the paperwork of Palantir's incorporation by Thiel directly contradicting this claim.
Also, in 2003, apparently soon after Thiel formally created Palantir, Iraq War architect and Bush-era neoconservative Richard Perle called Poindexter, saying that he wanted to introduce the architect of TIA to two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Peter Thiel and Alex Karp. According to a report in New York Magazine, Poindexter ''was precisely the person'' whom Thiel and Karp wanted to meet, mainly because ''their new company was similar in ambition to what Poindexter had tried to create at the Pentagon,'' that is, TIA. During that meeting, Thiel and Karp sought ''to pick the brain of the man now widely viewed as the godfather of modern surveillance,'' shaping Palantir into a TIA equivalent.
Soon after Palantir's incorporation, though the exact timing and details of the investment remain hidden from the public, the CIA's In-Q-Tel became the company's first backer, aside from Thiel himself, giving it an estimated $2 million. In-Q-Tel's stake in Palantir would not be publicly reported until mid-2006. In addition, Alex Karp recently told the New York Times that ''the real value of the In-Q-Tel investment was that it gave Palantir access to the CIA analysts who were its intended clients.'' A key figure in the making of In-Q-Tel investments during this period, including Palantir, was the CIA's chief information officer at the time, Alan Wade.
Alex Karp (left) and Peter Thiel (right) pose at the 2009 Sun Valley conference, which is hosted by Allen & Company, SourceAfter the In-Q-Tel investment, the CIA held the unique position of being Palantir's only client until 2008. During that period, Palantir's two top engineers'--Aki Jain and Stephen Cohen'--traveled to CIA headquarters at Langley, Virginia every two weeks. Jain recalls making at least two hundred trips to CIA headquarters between 2005 and 2009. During those regular visits, CIA analysts ''would test [Palantir's software] out and offer feedback, and then Cohen and Jain would fly back to California to tweak it.'' As with In-Q-Tel's decision to invest in Palantir, the CIA's chief information officer at the time, Alan Wade, played a key role in many of these meetings and subsequently in the ''tweaking'' of Palantir's products. It should come as no surprise, then, that there is an overlap between Palantir's products and the vision that Wade and Poindexter had held for the failed TIA program. The extensive overlap between the two is detailed in previous Unlimited Hangout investigations.
The benefits in repurposing the ''public-private'' TIA into a completely private entity after TIA was publicly dismantled are obvious. For instance, given that Palantir is a private company as opposed to a government program, the way its software is used by its government and corporate clients benefits from ''plausible deniability'' and frees Palantir and its software from constraints that would be present if it had remained a public project.
A 2020 New York Times profile on Palantir noted:
The data, which is stored in various cloud services or on clients' premises, is controlled by the customer, and Palantir says it does not police the use of its products. Nor are the privacy controls foolproof; it is up to the customers to decide who gets to see what and how vigilant they wish to be.
Not long after Thiel helped resurrect TIA as Palantir, another post-9/11 DARPA program was also seeking a private sector makeover. Developed by Douglas Gage, a close friend of Poindexter's and a DARPA program manager, LifeLog sought to ''build a database tracking a person's entire existence'' that included an individual's relationships and communications (phone calls, mail, etc.), their media-consumption habits, their purchases, and much more in order to build a digital record of ''everything an individual says, sees, or does.'' LifeLog would then take this unstructured data and organize it into ''discreet episodes'' or snapshots while also ''mapping out relationships, memories, events and experiences.''
LifeLog, per Gage and supporters of the program, would create a permanent and searchable electronic diary of a person's entire life, which DARPA argued could be used to create next-generation ''digital assistants'' and offer users a ''near-perfect digital memory.'' Gage insisted, even after the program was shut down, that individuals would have had ''complete control of their own data-collection efforts'' as they could ''decide when to turn the sensors on or off and decide who will share the data.'' In the years since then, analogous promises of user control have been made by the tech giants of Silicon Valley, only to be broken repeatedly for profit and to feed the government's domestic-surveillance apparatus.
The information that LifeLog gleaned from an individual's every interaction with technology was to be combined with information obtained from a GPS transmitter that tracked and documented the person's location, audio-visual sensors that recorded what the person saw and said, as well as biomedical monitors that gauged the person's health. Like TIA, LifeLog was promoted by DARPA as potentially supporting ''medical research and the early detection of an emerging epidemic.''
Critics in mainstream media outlets and elsewhere were quick to point out that the program would inevitably be used to build profiles on dissidents as well as suspected terrorists. Combined with TIA's surveillance of individuals at multiple levels, LifeLog went farther by ''adding physical information (like how we feel) and media data (like what we read) to this transactional data.'' One critic, Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, warned at the time that the programs that DARPA was pursuing, including LifeLog, ''have obvious, easy paths to Homeland Security deployments.''
At the time, DARPA publicly insisted that LifeLog and TIA were not connected, despite their obvious parallels, and that LifeLog would not be used for ''clandestine surveillance.'' However, DARPA's own documentation on LifeLog noted that the project ''will be able . . . to infer the user's routines, habits and relationships with other people, organizations, places and objects, and to exploit these patterns to ease its task,'' which acknowledged its potential use as a tool of mass surveillance.
However, despite its proponents' best efforts, LifeLog was shuttered just like TIA. Given what had transpired with TIA, some suspected the program would continue under a different name. For example, Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation told VICE at the time of LifeLog's cancellation, that: ''It would not surprise me to learn that the government continued to fund research that pushed this area forward without calling it LifeLog.'' Along with its critics, one of the would-be researchers working on LifeLog, MIT's David Karger, was also certain that the DARPA project would continue in a repackaged form. He told Wired that ''I am sure such research will continue to be funded under some other title . . . I can't imagine DARPA 'dropping out' of a such a key research area.'' The answer to these speculations appears to lie with the company that launched the exact same day that LifeLog was shuttered by the Pentagon: Facebook.
The Military Origins of Facebook
Facebook's growing role in the ever-expanding surveillance and ''pre-crime'' apparatus of the national security state demands new scrutiny of the company's origins and its products as they relate to a former, controversial DARPA-run surveillance program that was essentially analogous to what is currently the world's largest social network.
A few months into Facebook's launch, in June 2004, Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz brought Sean Parker onto Facebook's executive team. Parker, previously known for co-founding Napster, later connected Facebook with its first outside investor, Peter Thiel. As discussed, Thiel, at that time, in coordination with the CIA, was actively trying to resurrect at least one controversial DARPA program that had been dismantled the previous year. Notably, Sean Parker, who became Facebook's first president, also had a history with the CIA, which sought to recruit him at the age of sixteen soon after he had been busted by the FBI for hacking corporate and military databases. Thanks to Parker, in September 2004, Thiel formally acquired $500,000 worth of Facebook shares and was added its board. Parker maintained close ties to Facebook as well as to Thiel, with Parker being hired as a managing partner of Thiel's Founders Fund in 2006. Thiel left the Facebook board, which he had joined in 2005, in 2022 to focus on supporting ''Trump-aligned candidates,'' including J.D. Vance.
Thiel and Facebook co-founder Mosokvitz became involved outside of the social network long after Facebook's rise to prominence, with Thiel's Founder Fund becoming a significant investor in Moskovitz's company Asana in 2012. Thiel's longstanding symbiotic relationship with Facebook co-founders extends to his company Palantir, as the data that Facebook users make public invariably winds up in Palantir's databases and helps drive the surveillance engine Palantir runs for US police departments, the military, and the intelligence community. Facebook data also feeds another Thiel-backed company, Clearview AI.
Notably, even LifeLog's architect, Douglas Gage, has publicly commented on Facebook's similarities to the program he had once hoped to lead. In 2015, He told VICE that ''Facebook is the real face of pseudo-LifeLog at this point.'' He tellingly added, ''We have ended up providing the same kind of detailed personal information to advertisers and data brokers and without arousing the kind of opposition that LifeLog provoked,'' precisely because it is now a private company and not a project housed at the Pentagon's DARPA.
Palantir and the Surveillance Agenda under TrumpDuring the Trump administration, Palantir enjoyed an even more privileged status than it had held under previous administrations, with Palantir gaining many new lucrative contracts, mainly with the military and intelligence, during Trump's first term. This was likely influenced by Thiel's presence on Trump's transition teams and the role of close Thiel associates in choosing key Pentagon appointees.
Donald Trump and Peter Thiel in 2017, SourceNot only that, but the broader agenda behind Palantir '' the decades-long effort to create a pre-crime, AI-powered surveillance system in the United States '' also got significant boosts during Trump's first term. For instance, Trump's Attorney General William Barr quietly legalized pre-crime in the United States under the guise of detecting potential mass shooters before they commit any crime. The program, called DEEP, enables the DOJ and FBI to work with ''private sector partners'' to surveil people of interest that have committed no crime, but are ''mobilizing towards violence.'' At roughly the same time the program was announced, Barr was also pushing heavily for a government backdoor into consumer apps and devices, particularly those that utilize encryption. He also signed a data access agreement with then-UK Home Secretary Priti Patel that allowed both countries to ''demand electronic data on consumers from tech companies based in the other country without legal restrictions.''
Also during the Trump administration, an Israeli intelligence-linked company called Carbyne911 began to be installed throughout the United States in emergency call centers and has since spread throughout the nation. Carbyne911 was heavily funded by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Trae Stephens sits on its advisory board alongside Michael Chertoff (head of DHS under George W. Bush) and Kirstjen Nielsen (head of DHS under Trump). Carbyne was also heavily funded by Jeffrey Epstein and Leslie Wexner and, for much of its early history, was closely associated with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, himself an intimate associate of Epstein.
How the CIA, Mossad and ''the Epstein Network'' are Exploiting Mass Shootings to Create an Orwellian Nightmare
Israel's Mossad and infamous Unit 8200 are partnering with the CIA and US tech firms to create an Orwellian pre-crime nightmare.
Carbyne911 and similar companies extract any and all data from consumer smartphones for merely making emergency calls and then use it to ''analyze the past and present behavior of their callers, react accordingly, and in time predict future patterns,'' with the ultimate goal of smart devices '' such as ''smart'' street lamps '' making emergency calls to the authorities, as opposed to human beings.
Data obtained from these software products, which are slated to be adopted nationwide as part of a new national ''next generation'' 911 system, are shared with the same law enforcement agencies now implementing the Barr-designed ''national disruption and early engagement program'' to target individuals flagged as potentially violent based on vague criteria. Combined with the ''domestic terror'' framework released during the Biden administration, the definition of ''domestic terrorists'' now encompasses those who oppose US government overreach and those who oppose any form of capitalism, including the World Economic Forum-favored ''stakeholder capitalism,'' and/or ''corporate globalization.''
The Trump administration, during this same period, also mulled the creation of a new health-focused agency modeled after DARPA. The proposed ''HARPA'', which was promoted extensively to Trump by his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his daughter Ivanka as well as Trump's close friend and former NBCUniversal president Bob Wright. HARPA's proposed flagship program '' ''SAFE HOME'' (Stopping Aberrant Fatal Events by Helping Overcome Mental Extremes) '' would use ''breakthrough technologies with high specificity and sensitivity for early diagnosis of neuropsychiatric violence,'' specifically ''advanced analytical tools based on artificial intelligence and machine learning.'' The program would have cost an estimated $60 million over four years and would use data from Americans' social media accounts as well as ''Apple Watches, Fitbits, Amazon Echo and Google Home'' and other consumer electronic devices. The program would also collect information provided by health-care providers to identify who may be a ''threat.''
Bob Wright promoting the HARPA proposal in 2018Though HARPA was not created under the Trump administration, Trump reportedly reacted ''very positively'' to the proposal and was ''sold on the concept.'' In addition, before the proposal was known publicly, Trump had called on Big Tech, and specifically social media to collaborate with the DOJ to create software that stops mass murders before they happen by detecting potential mass shooters before they can act. However, Trump ultimately passed on creating HARPA, which was ultimately created during the Biden administration as ARPA-H, underscoring the bipartisan nature of this agenda.
Are Peter Thiel-Backed Intelligence Contractors ''MAGA''?Despite many Thiel-backed or Thiel-founded companies describing themselves as ''America First'' and as defenders of ''Western values,'' a closer examination of those companies suggests this is not the case. One lesser known example of this is Palantir's early role in developing a way for the US government to target Julian Assange, leaks-based journalism in the public interest, and what it called ''The WikiLeaks Threat.'' In looking at other Thiel-linked firms, it's quite clear that at least some are more than willing to target Americans on either side of the political divide on behalf of their biggest client, the so-called ''Deep State'' that Trump supporters revile. Take, for example, the Thiel-backed Clearview AI '' which claims to now be able to identify every person in the world using its advanced facial recognition system. As Unlimited Hangout contributor Stavroula Pabst noted in a recent report:
When asked in an NBC interview about Clearview AI's possible negative ramifications for society, the company's CEO, Hoan Ton-That, said '[a] lot of peoples' minds on facial recognition technology were changed around Jan. 6th, when the insurrection happened [at the United States Capitol Building]. It was very instrumental in being able to make identifications quickly.'
As its own CEO stated, Clearview AI was used extensively on January 6th and later boasted of its ''potential for identifying rioters at the January 6 attack on the Capitol.'' In a 2023 interview, New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill added that, not only was Clearview AI used at the Capitol that day, but also in the days and weeks that followed to identify alleged rioters:
The FBI had photos of all these people because many of them were filming themselves on social media and posting photos online, and they weren't wearing masks. And so many police departments started running their photos through Clearview AI to identify them.
After the events of January 6th, 2021, Clearview AI reported a 26 percent uptake of its services from law enforcement, having used its role in targeting Trump supporters as a sales pitch.
Clearview AI's sales pitch that includes its admitted role in arresting those present at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021Clearview AI is not the only Thiel-linked company willing to target Trump's base, as Palantir's co-founder and current CEO Alex Karp is obsessed with his long-time fear that the ''far right'' is going to murder him for his ethnic background. That fear, per Karp, ''propels a lot of the decisions'' made at Palantir. ''I still can't believe I haven't been shot and pushed out the window,'' Karp told New York Times reporter Michael Steinberger in 2020. Steinberger added that ''if the far right came to power, [Karp] said, he would certainly be among its victims. 'Who's the first person who is going to get hung? You make a list, and I will show you who they get first. It's me. There's not a box I don't check.'''
Then, in 2023, Karp stated during an interview at the World Economic Forum annual meeting that ''We built PG [proprietary software], which single-handedly stopped the rise of the far-right in Europe.'' Given that the labels ''far right'' as well as ''far left'' are often misused to describe those on either side of the political spectrum that do not subscribe to or support official narratives, it's worth asking if the ''far right'' Karp claims to have stopped referred to people who actually deserve the label, or right-leaning populism, given populism of any flavor is a threat to Palantir's benefactors in the corporate world and in the US National Security community.
Alex Karp arrives at the 2016 Bilderberg conference, SourceIn addition, Trump supporters that did not subscribe to official narratives around Covid-19-era policies should be aware of Palantir's role in the Trump administration's Covid response and also in the Covid vaccination roll-out. During Covid, Palantir developed Tiberius, which was used by HHS to ''help the federal government allocate the amount of vaccine each state will receive'' and also to ''decide where every allocated dose will go '' from local doctors' offices to large medical centers.'' Tiberius, and by extension Palantir, collected all the Covid-19 and healthcare data from US government agencies, local and state governments, pharmaceutical firms, vaccine manufacturers and companies contracted to act as vaccine distributers. Palantir was also provided Americans' sensitive health information by the Trump-era HHS as well as ''a wide range of demographic, employment and public health data sets'' in order to ''help identify high-priority populations'' to receive the vaccine first. During Covid, Palantir was also a member of the Covid-19 Health Coalition, whose other members included the CIA's In-Q-Tel, which was Palantir's first funder, as well as Amazon, Microsoft and Google.
Palantir also managed the HHS Protect database, a secretive database that hoarded (and still hoards) information related to the spread of Covid-19 gathered from ''more than 225 data sets, including demographic statistics, community-based tests, and a wide range of state-provided data.'' At the time, HHS Protect was criticized by several public health experts and epidemiologists, among others, because of the sudden decision by the Trump-era HHS to force US hospitals to provide all data on COVID-19 cases and patient information directly to HHS Protect and, thus, to Palantir. Hospitals were threatened with the loss of Medicare or Medicaid funding if they declined to regularly feed all of their COVID-19 patient data and test results into the HHS Protect database. Palantir declined to provide information on any safeguards it had in place to protect Americans' health data in any of its HHS-related programs, despite requests to do so from Senators and Congressmen. HHS Protect also later incorporated HHS Vision, an artificial intelligence''driven ''predictive'' component, which ''uses prewritten algorithms to simulate behaviors and forecast possible outcomes.'' Aspects of HHS Protect share remarkable similarities with the scrapped TIA sub-program known as ''Bio-surveillance.''
Palantir's Tiberius, Race, and the Public Health Panopticon
The controversial data mining firm, whose history and rise has long been inextricably linked with the CIA and the national security state, will now use its software to identify and prioritize the same minority groups that it has long oppressed on behalf of the US military and US intelligence.
Not only that, but a long-time consultant to Palantir, Avril Haines, was a key fixture at the controversial pandemic ''simulation'' in late 2019 that was tied to previous, intelligence-linked biosecurity events like the 2001 anthrax attacks. Haines, a former CIA deputy director, worked very closely with her superior, John Brennan, at the CIA, including during the time Brennan illegally surveilled Trump associates during the 2016 election cycle and helped propagate and develop the ''Russiagate'' narrative, which Haines is now conveniently resurrecting. Haines, shortly after participating in Event 201, joined the Biden administration and has been serving as the administration's top intelligence official '' the Director of National Intelligence '' since Biden took office in January 2021.
Palantir is also controversial among the America left for its role in using big data to facilitate ICE raids on migrants and its decision to pilot its ''predictive policing'', i.e. pre-crime, functionality in low-income, minority communities. Ultimately, Palantir '' like many of the other military/intelligence contractors with close ties to Peter Thiel '' is a tool of the National Security State, which has been ramping up its ''War on Domestic Terror'' apparatus that '' per government documentation '' will target dissent on both left and right and essentially anyone who attempts to stand, or even speak, against government overreach and criminality.
With Thiel, Palantir and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale now pumping millions into the Trump-Vance campaign after the recent VP announcement, it seems almost inevitable that Palantir and the other Thiel-linked military contractors will have even more influence in a second Trump administration than it did during his first term.
4/0050 NOTAM Details
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 03:18
Affected Area(s) Top Airspace Definition: Center: On the ELLWOOD CITY VOR/DME (EWC) 088 degree radial at 11.1 nautical miles. (Latitude: 40º51'25"N, Longitude: 79º58'15"W) Radius: 2 nautical miles Altitude: From the surface up to and including 1000 feet AGL Effective Date(s): From July 13, 2024 at 2020 UTC (July 13, 2024 at 1620 EDT) To July 13, 2024 at 2215 UTC (July 13, 2024 at 1815 EDT) Operating Restrictions and Requirements Top No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM (except as described). A. UAS OPS MAY BE AUTH WI THE DEFINED SSI AIRSPACE IF IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE RQMNTS LISTED BLW: 1) UAS OPS IN DCT SUPPORT OF AN ACT NTL DEFENSE, HOMELAND SECURITY, LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIREFIGHTING, SAR, OR DISASTER RESPONSE MISSION; 2) UAS OPS IN SUPPORT OF EVENT OPS; 3) COMMERCIAL UAS OPS WITH A VALID STATEMENT OF WORK; 4) MUST BE IN POSSESSION OF AN APPROVED SPECIAL GOVERNMENTAL INTEREST(SGI) AIRSPACE WAIVER; 5) AND COMPLY WITH ALL OTHER APPLICABLE FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS.B. UAS OPR IDENTIFIED IN A.1, A.2 OR A.3 ABV MUST APPLY FOR A SGI WAIVER VIA EMAIL AT 9-ATOR-HQ-SOSC@FAA.GOV.C. UAS OPR WHO DO NOT COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS ARE WARNED THAT PURSUANT TO 10 U.S.C.SECTION 130I AND 6 U.S.C.SECTION 124N, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE(DOD), THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY(DHS) OR THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE(DOJ) MAY TAKE SECURITY ACTION THAT RESULTS IN THE INTERFERENCE, DISRUPTION, SEIZURE, DAMAGING, OR DESTRUCTION OF UNMANNED ACFT DEEMED TO POSE A CREDIBLE SAFETY OR SECURITY THREAT TO PROTECTED PERSONNEL, FAC, OR ASSETS.D. THE SYSTEM OPS SUPPORT CENTER (SOSC), IS THE CDN FAC FOR OPR ACCESS AND IS AVBL DLY FM 0600-2359 EASTERN, TEL 202-267-8276 FOR CDN.E. THE FAA RECOMMENDS THAT ALL ACFT OPR CK NOTAMS FREQUENTLY FOR POSSIBLE CHANGES TO THIS TFR PRIOR TO OPS WI THIS REGION.OPR MAY REVIEW THE TFR DETAILS ON THE INTERNET AT HTTPS://TFR.FAA.GOV/ OR HTTPS://WWW.1800WXBRIEF.COM. IF QUESTIONS REMAIN, CTC FSS, TEL 800-992-7433.
Podcasters are secretive about exact listener numbers
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 02:21
Clockwise from top left: Promotional image for Sky News' Electoral Dysfunction, George Osborne hosting Persephonica's Political Currency, Emily Maitlis on Global's The News Agents and Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell present The Rest is Politics. All pictures Youtube screenshots.Top political podcasts saw downloads rise 50% or more during the 2024 UK general election, according to their publishers, leading one to dub it ''the first podcast election''.
Press Gazette has heard from podcast company Acast, hosting platform Spotify and publishers including the BBC, Telegraph, Politico and Sky, who all report significant listenership growth over the election.
Although podcast publishers are secretive about numbers Press Gazette estimates market leader The Rest Is Politics is likely to have achieved more than ten million downloads in June. No-one from publisher Goalhanger responded to requests for comment.
'Truly the first podcast election'Podcast production and hosting company Acast told Press Gazette that, ''from the announcement through the week of the election, our political podcasts saw an average growth of 53%''.
Sam Shetabi, Acast's UK content director, added that ''podcasting in general has a bit of a summer lull between June and August'... whereas all of our news podcasts have completely bucked that trend''.
He said that Political Currency, the Persephonica and Acast podcast featuring former politicians George Osborne and Ed Balls, had been ''a superstar'' within the group, seeing episode downloads rise 81% between the week the election was called and the week it ended.
Content from our partners Key ways to futureproof your media career as journalism job cuts bite deepBesides Political Currency, he said, the FT's Political Fix grew by 39%, The Guardian's Today in Focus grew 47% and The Times' How To Win An Election grew 43%.
He added the growth had been ''greater than that of a lot of our football shows'', despite the surge in listening for those podcasts amid the Euros.
A spokesperson for Spotify, one of the biggest podcast hosting platforms, painted a similar picture, telling Press Gazette: ''Total hours played of news and politics podcasts in the UK have increased by 49% over the last 12 months.
''Listeners in the UK to news and politics podcasts have increased 6% over the last 12 months, so there's been a slight increase in the number of people listening, but a big increase in how long they're listening for.
''The Rest is Politics is the top political podcast in June 2024, and in 2024 overall [the BBC's] Newscast has seen the most growth over the last year, increasing its listenership by 64%.''
The BBC, which has increasingly been trying to direct its podcast audiences toward its own platform BBC Sounds, said Sounds saw a record number of listeners on the morning following the election.
A spokesperson said: ''Eight out of ten UK adults came to the BBC across all platforms as audiences tuned in to BBC election coverage in their millions.
''The week of the general election was the biggest week for BBC News on BBC Sounds in at least the last 18 months, with results day (5 July) the second biggest day on BBC Sounds overall. We also saw significant audience interest in our election podcasts.''
Other publishers also furnished Press Gazette directly with figures about their increases.
Global said that The News Agents, hosted by former BBC presenters Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall, is nearing 100 million all-time downloads and that ''listens are up 45% since the general election was called''. The podcast hit 10 million downloads in December 2022, three months after launch.
The Telegraph's The Daily T, which launched only shortly before the election was called and hosted the first election trail interview with Rishi Sunak, told Press Gazette its election night and results day episodes ''performed on average 45% above a typical episode's performance''.
''The Rishi Sunak interview was listened to 84% more times than the average episode,'' a spokesperson for the publisher added, and ''podcast listens the week of the election were 2.7 times higher than the week prior to the election announcement.''
[Read more: Why Telegraph's Tominey and Ahmed think there is room for another daily podcast]
Politics at Jack and Sam's, a co-production between Politico and Sky News presented by the former's UK editor Jack Blanchard and the latter's deputy political editor Sam Coates, has hit two million downloads since it launched in October.
It had its most successful week following the election, ''with more than double the listeners on Monday 8 July than the week before''.
Another Sky podcast, Electoral Dysfunction '-- fronted by political editor Beth Rigby and politicians Ruth Davidson and Jess Phillips '-- has also hit two million downloads, having launched in March.
Sky said Electoral Dysfunction was ''growing week on week and achieving above our targets'' and that its election debrief episode the day after the vote ''was the most successful episode to date, with a 40% increase in audience''.
Both the podcasts saw record downloads in June, the publishers said '-- in part because they increased their frequency, with Electoral Dysfunction going up to twice a week and Politics at Jack and Sam's going out every weekday.
Dave Terris, the head of audio at Sky News, said it had been ''truly the first podcast election''.
''During an average day on the campaign trail, our political editor Beth Rigby and deputy political editor Sam Coates would write an analysis for online, do a TV package for the News at Ten and then discuss the big political news of the moment on Electoral Dysfunction, Politics at Jack and Sam's and the Sky News Daily'...
''Both Electoral Dysfunction and Politics at Jack and Sam's have reached two million downloads. Considering that nine months ago neither of these propositions existed, we're extremely pleased to see how they've been received.''
Will the influx of new listeners stick around now the election is over?That listeners would take an interest in politics during an election does not necessarily mean that they will stick around once it's over. But Acast's Shetabi said: ''We would expect there to be a nice long tail that you retain'...
''They will favour one of those shows that they particularly enjoyed listening to over this election period, and I expect there to be growth in all of those shows that continues for the rest of the year.''
Asked how advertisers had taken to the growth of political podcasting given the well-publicised reticence of brands to advertise against some hard news, Shetabi said: ''I think there was some nervousness around the election period itself'... lots of brands chose to try to [advertise against] other content, and also because we had the Euros there were lots of other opportunities for lots of other ears to reach.''
But he added: ''What we have seen with advertisers is if they've changed their plans, they've moved campaigns to later in the summer, rather than cancel them.
''There's not really a sensitivity around news and politics per se. It's more around the current context [of an election].''
Meanwhile, Politico's executive director of advertising and partnerships for Europe, Rolant Glyn, told Press Gazette: ''We've had sustained interest from new advertisers to engage with our podcasting output and, in particular, Politics at Jack and Sam's since its launch.
''The increased number of listeners and subscribers shows an appetite to hear from Jack and Sam's unique perspective on British politics which we're expecting to contribute to revenue growth in the second half of the year.''
Podcasters are secretive about exact listener numbersUnlike radio, television or (to a decreasing extent) print circulations, there is no auditor for podcast audience sizes.
Although multiple publishers were generous enough to provide Press Gazette with data on how their listenership had increased over the election, none were willing to hand over average episode download or monthly listener numbers.
However, Press Gazette did gain access to a copy of the media kit for Goalhanger, the Gary Lineker-founded publisher of the most popular politics podcast, The Rest is Politics.
The media kit appears to date from before the launch of the also highly popular The Rest is Politics USA (which debuted this year) and The Rest is Entertainment (which debuted in November 2023). It claims The Rest is Politics receives eight million downloads monthly, making it the second most popular podcast in Goalhanger's stable after The Rest is History, which receives ten million downloads monthly.
The Rest is Football, Goalhanger's third most popular podcast, was on three million downloads a month at the time the kit was issued and The Rest is Money, hosted by Robert Peston and Steph McGovern, was on 500,000.
The publisher said listeners average 40 minutes per episode, that two-thirds of its audience are aged 28 to 59 and 70% of its audience is male.
The top UK political podcasts (on Youtube) during the UK general electionApple Podcasts and Spotify do display in-app leaderboards showing which podcasts are most popular, both overall and by topic. Press Gazette has captured the top ten from both leaderboards on Wednesday 17 July below.
Although neither Apple nor Spotify display audience numbers, one other popular podcast medium, Youtube, does.
BBC research, previously reported by Press Gazette, has suggested that approximately one-third of podcast consumers prefer to watch their podcasts than listen to them '-- something reflected in the popularity of so-called ''vodcasts'' like The Joe Rogan Experience.
The profile and tastes of these video podcast listeners likely differ in some regards from audio-only podcast consumers, and not all podcasts are published to Youtube. However, because the data is public, it is possible to compile a partial leaderboard of those podcasts that do publish to the video platform.
If you think we missed anything on the above list, or have any other podcast listener data to share, let us know at bron.maher@pressgazette.co.uk.
The data shows that on Youtube, too, The Rest is Politics was the most popular UK politics podcast of the election, garnering more than 4.2 million views on podcasts uploaded between the date the election was called and Wednesday 17 June. (Press Gazette refreshed the above chart the day after publication to add four additional podcasts: Channel 4's Political Fourcast, Joe Media Group's Politics Joe, Crooked Media's Pod Save the UK and IFS Zooms in from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.)
Illustrating the extent to which vodcast and podcast audiences can differ, the second most popular political podcast was that of The New Statesman, which received 3.2 million views. On Spotify and Apple Podcasts The New Statesman Podcast ranks 34th and 32nd respectively at time of writing. (Similarly Politics Joe, which is 71st on Apple, and 29th on Spotify, is fourth on Youtube, and Channel 4's Fourcast, which is second place on Youtube, comes in at 159th on Apple and does not rank at all on Spotify's 50-strong leaderboard.)
The New Statesman (a sister title of Press Gazette) told us after the publication of this story that across all its Youtube content, regardless of publication date, it received 5,212,722 views between 23 May and 18 July. Although we excluded shortform Youtube Shorts from this analysis, the NS channel's Shorts published since 23 May have received 1,484,157 views.
The News Agents was third-ranked among the Youtube podcasts, nearing two million views.
It is also possible to plot how podcast releases performed.
Most podcast publishers on Youtube use the medium to host both their audio products and their general video content. But for the handful of publishers on the above list that mainly use their Youtube channels to host their podcast, it is possible to see use the platform's publicly-available channel subscriber figures to see how subscriptions to certain podcasts on Youtube grew over the election.
Acast's Shetabi told Press Gazette the growth across podcasts during the election showed the market still has plenty of space for new entrants
''The audience size is only growing," he said.
"The election period proved that '-- all of these shows grew to some extent because people were discovering new shows and new perspective, new angles... You're not going to say that two of these shows in the top 20 news and politics podcasts are the same."
Additional reporting by Amy Seal and Juliana Pamiloza.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
Secret Service said to have denied Trump requests for more event security - The Washington Post
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 02:05
Top officials at the U.S. Secret Service repeatedly denied requests for additional resources and personnel sought by Donald Trump's security detail in the two years leading up to his attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday, according to four people familiar with the requests.
Agents charged with protecting the former president requested magnetometers and more agents to screen attendees at sporting events and other large public gatherings Trump attended, as well as additional snipers and specialty teams at other outdoor events, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive security discussions. The requests, which have not been previously reported, were sometimes denied by senior officials at the agency, who cited various reasons, including a lack of resources at an agency that has long struggled with staffing shortages, they said.
Those rejections '-- in response to requests that were several times made in writing '-- led to long-standing tensions that pitted Trump, his top aides and his security detail against Secret Service leadership, as Trump advisers privately fretted that the vaunted security agency was not doing enough to protect the former president.
The Secret Service, after initially denying turning down requests for additional security, is now acknowledging some may have been rejected. The revelation comes as agency veterans say the organization has been forced to make difficult decisions amid competing demands, a growing list of protectees and limited funding.
A gunman was able to fire off rounds from an AR-15-style rifle from a rooftop about 150 yards from the former president at the rally last Saturday. Trump was injured, as were two others; a man in the crowd was killed. The agency has been under scrutiny over security lapses at the rally.
Trump advisers' anger deepened after an agency spokesman publicly denied that any request for additional security lodged by Trump or his detail had ever been rejected. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who has been under pressure to resign over security lapses at the rally, repeated that denial in a meeting with Trump campaign leadership in Wisconsin on Monday, people familiar with the discussions said.
''The assertion that a member of the former president's security team requested additional security resources that the U.S. Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed is absolutely false,'' said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, in a statement on the day after the shooting.
After receiving detailed questions from The Washington Post, Guglielmi said the agency had learned new information indicating the agency's headquarters may have in fact denied some requests for additional security from Trump's detail and was reviewing documentation to understand the specific interactions better.
''The Secret Service has a vast, challenging, and intricate mission,'' he said in a statement. ''Every day we work in a dynamic threat environment to ensure our protectees are safe and secure across multiple events, travel, and other difficult environments. We execute a comprehensive and layered strategy to balance personnel, technology, and specialized operational needs.''
In response to a request for comment, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign referred to a statement Trump posted on Truth Social praising his own Secret Service detail.
The extended tussle over safeguarding a former president who holds regular public events that draw large crowds raises new questions for the Secret Service, a long admired protection force that guards American presidents, their families and other senior officials. But it has been plagued by staffing shortages and hiring limits since 2010 and suffered a series of embarrassing security lapses during the Obama and Trump administrations.
A Secret Service official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly describe sensitive internal discussions, said the agency has finite resources and has to juggle competing demands, especially for its countersnipers, counterassault teams and the teams of uniformed division officers who help screen attendees for weapons at events using magnetometers.
The agency is currently responsible for security details for more than two dozen people, most of them requiring full-time security and a few others receiving what is informally called ''door-to-door'' protection from the moment they leave their homes. Protectees include the president and vice president and their families, as well as former presidents, candidates and a growing number of senior administration officials. After the Butler shooting, the agency added a protective detail to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, and is now protecting GOP vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance as well.
Bill Gage, a former Secret Service agent who served on presidential protection and counterassault teams during the Bush and Obama administrations, said the agency is always drowning in far more requests and events than it can possibly handle with its hiring limits, and that leads to headquarters denying requests even more frequently during the busy campaign season.
''I hate to dumb it down this much but it is a simple case of supply and demand. The requests get turned down routinely,'' Gage said. ''A director has to finally come forward to say we are way understaffed and we cannot possibly continue with this zero fail mission without a significantly bigger budget.''
The Service's Office of Protective Operations reviews security requests for events, and as part of a regular push-and-pull, it sometimes reconsiders initial denials after being persuaded the risk justifies the expense, officials have said. But it must balance the reality that each agent, countersniper or magnetometer assigned to cover one event reduces what is available for other people the service protects.
The weekend of the Butler shooting, the Secret Service had sent multiple countersniper teams and hundreds of agents to the Republican National Convention and was also securing an event by Jill Biden and a scheduled trip by President Biden to Austin the day after the shooting.
''It's just true '-- we don't have the resources to secure him [Trump] like we did when he was president,'' the official said.
None of the denied requests that The Post reviewed related to the Pennsylvania rally. But one of the denials that most concerned Trump officials came as he held a rally in South Carolina in July 2023, one of the first large-scale events of his current campaign. Trump was speaking in a downtown square in Pickens, a small town 20 miles west of Greenville, at a site surrounded by commercial and residential buildings. People familiar with the request said that Trump's security team asked for more countersnipers to be stationed on rooftops to guard against potential shooters or other attacks.
The people said the Pickens event was one of several in which Trump's team was denied more tactical support. Trump's detail was told Secret Service headquarters had determined they could not provide the resources after the detail made an extensive argument for why the teams were needed, they said.
Guglielmi said the Service is still reviewing the planning for the Pickens event but said local countersnipers rather than Secret Service teams were on hand to help address the threats of potential shooters.
On multiple other occasions, Trump's team asked for magnetometers and additional help to screen attendees for Trump to attend sporting events, particularly wrestling matches and college football games, people familiar with those requests said. They were told no because the events were not campaign events.
In one instance, the Secret Service argued the screening was unnecessary because Trump would be entering a stadium to watch a football game via a secure elevator and then be guided through a secure area to a private suite with controlled access, according to a Secret Service official who reviewed some of the security requests.
''He was not going through the general population,'' the official said. ''You don't need to mag the entire stadium'' in those circumstances.
But Trump advisers said he often moved through open-air concourses at the games, interacting with large swaths of the public. Some Trump advisers were repeatedly concerned about his safety at the sporting events as he moved through the areas, people familiar with the matter said.
People around Trump were also concerned by what they feared was an insufficient number of magnetometers and security personnel at rallies, they said, including one in 2023 in Macomb, Michigan, where some attendees jumped over bike racks to get past security and were restrained by local police, according to people close to Trump who witnessed the episode.
Several Trump advisers said the denials had been a frustration for more than a year.
The Secret Service extends the highest level of protection to current presidents and officials. Former presidents receive a significantly lesser degree of Secret Service protection, but Trump's high profile and daily routines make him a different kind of security challenge than most former presidents, according to former Secret Service agents.
Trump is also the first former president in modern times to run for reelection, which carries additional security burdens, though candidates are not provided the same level of security as sitting presidents.
Other former presidents only rarely make large, public appearances, living more private lives. Trump, on the other hand, is almost always around crowds, at his clubs and golf courses, and holds frequent campaign events attended by thousands, if not tens of thousands, particularly since he announced a new run for the presidency in November 2022.
Cheatle, a veteran Secret Service agent, has called the security failure at the rally on July 13 unacceptable, as a gunman was allowed to fire from an unsecured roof around 150 yards from where Trump addressed the crowd. The gunman was spotted acting suspiciously before Trump began speaking but the Secret Service did not intervene or prevent Trump from taking the stage.
The Secret Service and Trump's orbit also argued over planning for the Republican National Convention, particularly over how large of a security perimeter the agency would impose. The relationship grew so acrimonious that senior Republicans repeatedly sought meetings with Secret Service leadership in Washington after battling with agents on the ground over security and logistics.
On Thursday, Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita called for Cheatle to resign, as have a number of lawmakers in both parties. During the convention, several Republican senators chased Cheatle through the arena in Milwaukee, where she had traveled to brief them on the investigation. The senators screamed at her after she declined to answer questions about the attempted assassination.
Reports: Andy Beshear contender for VP nod should Biden exit race
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 01:16
Multiple reports indicate Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is a serious candidate to be the Democratic nominee for vice president should President Joe Biden withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
A report from The Hill, a media outlet that covers the federal government, cited "well-connected Democratic Party insiders" who said Beshear is in the running to be Kamala Harris' vice presidential pick '' should she become the nominee '' along with Sen. Mark Kelly from Arizona and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. Biden may announce his withdrawal "soon after the Republican National Convention concludes in Milwaukee," according to The Hill's reporting.
The Republican convention ends Thursday night.
Another report from journalist Mark Halperin, who also serves as a commentator for the conservative outlet Newsmax, cited "multiple sources" stating Beshear, along with Pennslyvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, are being vetted to be Harris' running mate in a race against Donald Trump and JD Vance.
The reports come as recent polling from AP-NORC Center shows seven in 10 adults '' including 65% of Democrats '' want Biden to withdraw from the race, according to previous reporting from USA TODAY.
A growing number of congressional Democrats, as well as those in state government positions, have called on Biden to withdraw from the race.
What have Kentucky Democrats said about Biden?Beshear and Democratic Congressman Morgan McGarvey, who represents Louisville, have not called on Biden to resign. In the days following the June 27 debate with Trump, Beshear called on Biden to discuss his health with the public.
''I said that our president is known for being a straight talker, telling the American people the truth, and my recommendation was that he have an open conversation with the public about the status of his health,'' Beshear told reporters in Louisville.
In a previous statement to The Courier Journal, McGarvey said members of his party are in "serious conversations" about how to proceed with Biden's candidacy.
What has Beshear said about spot on presidential ticket?While Beshear has remained a vocal supporter of Biden following the recent debate, he appears to be keeping his options open despite being tight-lipped on his aspirations, The Courier Journal reported. He told reporters he would only consider putting his name on a presidential ticket if he ''could help the commonwealth even more through some other opportunity.''
Since January, Beshear has traveled to out-of-state Democratic fundraisers at least five times, while launching a PAC to support Democrats in red and purple states.
Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@gannett.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter
CrowdStrike global tech outage snarls early voting in Arizona -- with GOP convention travelers delayed
Sun, 21 Jul 2024 01:07
A massive global tech outage Friday snarled early voting in Arizona's state-level primary elections '-- as travelers leaving the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee were delayed, officials said Friday.
Some early voting stations in the Grand Canyon state, where early voting has been open since July 3, were knocked out of use Friday, according to the Maricopa County Elections Department.
''Due to the global tech outage, Maricopa County is also experiencing an outage at some voting locations,'' the department wrote on on X.
At least 15 early voting stations in Arizona were knocked out of use by the global tech outage. x/MaricopaVoteA total of 15 of the early polling sites were impeded by the CrowdStrike outage, which crippled industries and banks and caused massive travel delays worldwide, officials said.
Primaries in the battleground state could dramatically shift power in the US Senate and House '-- with former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake challenging Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb for the chance to replace outgoing Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
The outage crippled banks and industries globally Friday. Getty ImagesSix Republicans, including former Senate candidate Blake Masters, are also competing to replace retiring Republican Debbie Lesko in Arizona's 8th Congressional District.
Meanwhile, travelers leaving the RNC Friday were hit with frustrating flight delays caused by the global tech glitch.
The tech outage delayed travelers returning from the RNC APHundreds of people stood in line for hours at the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, travelers told The Post.
Liz Willis, 31, a conservative social media influencer who traveled to Wisconsin for the RNC, was stuck in line at Delta's check-in hub for two and a half hours Friday.
''It's been an exhausting week. It's been exciting,'' she said. ''I want to go home and go to bed.''
The GOP convention in Milwaukee is the second in recent years that ended with a major transportation-related outage. During the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, 2,000 flights were delayed or canceled due to Southwest experiencing a technology issue.
What a Catholic Holy Man Prophesied About Donald Trump - Charisma Magazine Online
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 19:43
If you've read Charisma or my newsletter, you've read about some of the pre-election prophecies that said God had raised up Donald Trump and he would win. I personally know four prophets who said this. I went out on a limb and reported this before the election, knowing if it didn't happen, I would be embarrassed. But it did come to pass.
Recently, a friend sent me a story from the internet about a Roman Catholic priest that is so incredible I hardly know whether to believe it. Since we don't run this type of article in Charisma, I decided to run it here. I am compelled to share it, if only to make you wonder if it might be true and if it's one more confirmation'--from a very different perspective'--that God somehow raised up Donald Trump.
After the election, the remarkable prophecy came to light that a Catholic ''holy man'' named Tom Zimmer prophesied in the 1980s that ''Donald Trump would lead America back to God.'' Zimmer, who died on Sept 10, 2009, was known as the ''Hermit of Loreto,'' a town on the east coast of Italy. An American, he moved to Loreto in the early 1970s and lived there until 2008, when he returned to America to die. He was no ordinary Catholic. He co-authored the Pieta prayer book, which sold millions of copies, and is said to have attended Mass many times a day.
The month after Trump's inauguration, an American priest named Giacomo Capoverdi posted a video on YouTube that tells this amazing story. A few weeks later, Catholic blogger Brett Thomas, Secular Order of St. Francis, wrote about it. He tells about the video and how the Rev. Capoverdi says he met the Hermit of Lorento.
Capoverdi said it was around 2000 when a friend of his, an Italian-American doctor named Claudio Curran, told him he had to meet this holy man. He took the train from Rome to Loreto the next time he was there, went to the basilica and saw an old man sitting on the floor hunched over in prayer at the ''Holy House'''--which Catholics believe was the home of Mary from Nazareth. Capoverdi seems to believe the story that, to save the house from being destroyed by Arabs during the Crusades, angels transported it to Loreto, now a place of Catholic veneration.
Capoverdi asked him in English if he was Thomas [Zimmer], and the two had a delightful conversation. When Trump was elected, Dr. Curran called and told him that, back in the 1980s, Tom Zimmer said he had received a ''premonition'' and that ''a certain man would lead America back to God'''--and that man would be none other than Donald J. Trump.
''The millionaire playboy from New York?'' the incredulous doctor is said to have asked Zimmer.
''Yes,'' the Hermit of Loreto responded, adding he was so sure Donald Trump would become a great spiritual leader of America that he wrote his name on a brick and had it placed in the reconstruction of St. Peter's Holy Door after the Jubilee so Trump would receive blessings from the many Masses that would be said in the Vatican.
Thomas wrote: ''After looking into Tom Zimmer, the 'Hermit of Loreto,' I have no reason to doubt Capoverdi's statements that Thomas Zimmer communicated to his friend that he received a ''premonition'' that Donald Trump would ''lead America back to God.'' He then says what the church says to do in order to determine whether a prophecy is true or false. First: Was the prophet a good and virtuous person? Zimmer was. Next, the prophecy must not contradict Scripture or church doctrine. Here, too, ''there is nothing scriptural or in church teachings that would suggest that a political leader cannot lead people to God; on the contrary, Scripture indicates it as a duty,'' Brett writes.
Finally, Thomas says the prophecy must come true. And of course, there's also the possibility of searching for the brick at St. Peter's door with Donald Trump's name on it'--to see if Zimmer really left it there. It does seem extraordinary that a prayerful elderly man would have had such an intuition about Donald Trump as a future Christian leader when Trump was, indeed, living a life quite the opposite. Here we must wait and see if that happens, but I'm sure whether or not Trump leads America back to God will be open to dispute and interpretation.
Watch the video to see if you think the story is valid and let me know your thoughts. {eoa}
'80s rock band frontman retires due to health diagnosis - al.com
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 19:25
Alabama Life & CulturePublished: Jul. 19, 2024, 6:07 a.m.Jack Russell (R) and Robby Lochner of Jack Russell's Great White perform in concert at the Cedar Park Center on April 24, 2016 in Cedar Park, Texas. (Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images) Getty Images
Jack Russell said he is retiring from touring after a recent health diagnosis.
The former frontman for Great White, 63, shared the news on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
''To my fans and friends, It is with my heaviest of hearts that I must announce my retirement from the road,'' he wrote. ''After a recent diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) in May 2024, I am unable to perform at the level I desire and at the level you deserve. Words cannot express my gratitude for the many years of memories, love and support. Thank you for letting me live my dreams. You have made my life a wonder. Love, Jack Russell.''
The announcement comes on the heels of the release of Russell's autobiography, ''The True Tale of Mista Bone: A Rock & Roll Narrative,'' which was written by the singer and K.L. Doty.
Russell, per Loudwire, performed with Great White from 1981 until 1996. He left the band in 1996 to pursue a solo career. The site said he has returned to perform with Great White on multiple occasions, and also had his own band, Jack Russell's Great White.
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on ''The Opening Kickoff'' on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
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Read the Transcript of Donald J. Trump's Convention Speech - The New York Times
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 19:23
He spoke for just over 90 minutes.
Former President Donald J. Trump delivering his nomination acceptance speech Thursday night. Credit... Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times Thank you very much. Thank you very, very much. And thank you, Dana. Thank you, Kid Rock, sometimes referred to as ''Bob.'' And thank you, Lee, right from the beginning, thank you very much. What a talent. What a beautiful, beautiful song. Thank you.
Friends, delegates and fellow citizens. I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength and hope. Four months from now, we will have an incredible victory, and we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country.
Together, we will launch a new era of safety, prosperity and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed.
The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart.
I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.
So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. And we will do it right. We're going to do it right.
Let me begin this evening by expressing my gratitude to the American people for your outpouring of love and support following the assassination attempt at my rally on Saturday.
As you already know, the assassin's bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life. So many people have asked me what happened. ''Tell us what happened, please.'' And therefore, I will tell you exactly what happened, and you'll never hear it from me a second time, because it's actually too painful to tell.
It was a warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Music was loudly playing, and the campaign was doing really well. I went to the stage and the crowd was cheering wildly. Everybody was happy. I began speaking very strongly, powerfully and happily. Because I was discussing the great job my administration did on immigration at the southern border. We were very proud of it.
Behind me, and to the right, was a large screen that was displaying a chart of border crossings under my leadership. The numbers were absolutely amazing. In order to see the chart, I started to, like this, turn to my right, and was ready to begin a little bit further turn, which I'm very lucky I didn't do, when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard. On my right ear. I said to myself, ''Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.''
And moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down. My hand was covered with blood. Just absolutely blood all over the place. I immediately knew it was very serious. That we were under attack. And in one movement proceeded to drop to the ground. Bullets were continuing to fly as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage. And they really did. They rushed to the stage.
These are great people at great risk, I will tell you, and pounced on top of me so that I would be protected. There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side. I felt that.
The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin's bullet would have perfectly hit its mark and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together. The most incredible aspect of what took place on that terrible evening, in the fading sun, was actually seen later. In almost all cases, as you probably know. And when even a single bullet is fired, just a single bullet, and we had many bullets that were being fired, crowds run for the exits or stampede. But not in this case. It was very unusual.
This massive crowd of tens of thousands of people stood by and didn't move an inch. In fact, many of them bravely but automatically stood up, looking for where the sniper would be. They knew immediately that it was a sniper. And then began pointing at him. You can see that if you look at the group behind me. That was just a small group compared to what was in front.
Nobody ran and, by not stampeding, many lives were saved. But that isn't the reason that they didn't move. The reason is that they knew I was in very serious trouble. They saw it. They saw me go down. They saw the blood, and thought, actually most did, that I was dead.
They knew it was a shot to the head. They saw the blood. And there's an interesting statistic. The ears are the bloodiest part. If something happens with the ears they bleed more than any other part of the body. For whatever reason the doctors told me that.
And I said, ''Why is there so much blood?''
He said, ''It's the ears, they bleed more.''
So we learned something. But they just '--
They just, this beautiful crowd, they didn't want to leave me. They knew I was in trouble. They didn't want to leave me. And you can see that love written all over their faces. True.
Incredible people. They're incredible people. Bullets were flying over us, yet I felt serene. But now the Secret Service agents were putting themselves in peril. They were in very dangerous territory.
Bullets were flying right over them, missing them by a very small amount of inches. And then it all stopped. Our Secret Service sniper, from a much greater distance and with only one bullet used, took the assassin's life. Took him out.
I'm not supposed to be here tonight. Not supposed to be here.
[Crowd chants ''Yes, you are.'']
Thank you. But I'm not. And I'll tell you. I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God.
And watching the reports over the last few days, many people say it was a providential moment. Probably was. When I rose, surrounded by Secret Service, the crowd was confused because they thought I was dead. And there was great, great sorrow. I could see that on their faces as I looked out. They didn't know I was looking out; they thought it was over.
But I could see it and I wanted to do something to let them know I was OK. I raised my right arm, looked at the thousands and thousands of people that were breathlessly waiting and started shouting, ''Fight, fight, fight.''
Thank you.
Once my clenched fist went up, and it was high into the air, you've all seen that, the crowd realized I was OK and roared with pride for our country like no crowd I have ever heard before. Never heard anything like it.
For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots that stood bravely on that fateful evening in Pennsylvania. Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans: Corey Comperatore. Unbelievable person, everybody tells me. Unbelievable.
And seriously wounded two other great warriors. Spoke to them today: David Dutch and James Copenhaver. Two great people. I also spoke to all three families of these tremendous people.
Our love and prayers are with them and always will be. We're never going to forget them. They came for a great rally. They were serious Trumpsters, I want to tell you. They were serious Trumpsters and still are. But Corey, unfortunately, we have to use the past tense.
He was incredible. Yeah. He was a highly respected former fire chief. Respected by everybody. Was accompanied by his wife, Helen. Incredible woman. I spoke to her today. Devastated. And two precious daughters. He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect them from flying bullets. He went right over the top of them and was hit. What a fine man he was.
I want to thank the fire department and the family for sending his helmet, his outfit and it was just something, and they're going to do something very special when they get it.
But we did something which cannot match what happened. Not even close. But I am very proud to say that over the past few days we've raised $6.3 million. For the families of David, James and Corey. Including from a friend of mine just '-- called up, he sent me a check, right here, just got it. One million dollars. From Dan Newlin, thank you, Dan.
And again, when speaking to the family, I told them, I said, ''Well, I'm going to be sending a lot of money, but it can't compensate.''
They all said the same thing: ''You're right, sir; we appreciate so much what you're doing, but nothing can take the place, in the case of Corey.'' And the other two. By the way, they were very, very seriously injured. But now they're doing very well. They're going to be OK. They're going to be doing very well. They're warriors.
So now, I ask that we observe a moment of silence in honor of our friend Corey. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for others. This is the spirit that forged America in her darkest hours. And this is the love that will lead America back to the summit of human achievement and greatness. This what we need.
Despite such a heinous attack, we unite this evening, more determined than ever. I am more determined than ever and so are you. So is everybody in this room.
[Crowd chants, ''We love Trump.'']
Thank you. Thank you very much. Our resolve is unbroken and our purpose is unchanged, to deliver a government that serves the American people better than ever before. Nothing will stop me in this mission, because our vision is righteous and our cause is pure.
No matter what obstacle comes our way, we will not break. We will not bend. We will not back down and I will never stop fighting for you, your family and our magnificent country. Never.
And everything I have to give with all of the energy and fight in my heart and soul, I pledge to our nation tonight. Thank you very much. I pledge that to our nation. We're going to turn our nation around and we're going to do it very quickly. Thank you.
This election should be about the issues facing our country and how to make America successful, safe, free and great again.
In an age when our politics too often divide us, now is the time to remember that we are all fellow citizens '-- we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
And we must not criminalize dissent or demonize political disagreement, which is what's been happening in our country lately, at a level that nobody has ever seen before. In that spirit, the Democrat party should immediately stop weaponizing the justice system and labeling their political opponent as an enemy of democracy. Especially since that is not true. In fact, I am the one saving democracy for the people of our country.
And very big news, as you probably just read. On Monday, a major ruling was handed down from a highly respected federal judge in Florida, Aileen Cannon, finding that the prosecutor and the fake documents case against me were totally unconstitutional, and the entire case was thrown out of court. With all of that publicity '-- thrown out of court.
If Democrats want to unify our country, they should drop these partisan witch hunts, which I've been going through for approximately eight years. And they should do that without delay and allow an election to proceed that is worthy of our people. We're going to win it anyway.
But worthy of our people.
On this journey, I am deeply honored to be joined by my amazing wife, Melania. And, Melania, thank you very much. You also did something really beautiful, a letter to America calling for national unity. And it really took the Republican Party by surprise, I will tell you; it was beautiful. In fact, some very serious people said that we should take that letter and put it as part of the Republican platform. That would be an honor, wouldn't it? Right? Mr. congressman? But it captivated so many, so '...
I also want to thank my entire family '-- Don and Kimberly, Ivanka and Jared, Eric and Lara, Tiffany and Michael, Barron, we love our Barron. And of course, my 10 wonderful grandchildren.
You saw a few of them up there on my lap before. And how good was Dana? Was Dana good? I mean, wasn't he good? You know, he was on probably the only vacation he's had in about '-- maybe ever. Because he works. But about 10 years, with his wife '-- very far away. I won't tell you where, but very, very far away, beautiful place.
And my people called and he said, ''Yeah, I won't be able to do it. This is many, many years. I promised my wife. I can't do it.'' And they came and they said, ''Dana won't be able to do it.'' Because he was my first, second and third choice. I said, ''Well, you know, that's too bad.'' But I understand, he's away and it's good. It's good for him. And that was it. About 30 minutes later, she came back in: ''Sir, Dana just called; he's going to do it.'' And his wife, she said, ''You can't turn him down. You just can't do it. You have to go.'' That's a good wife.
So he got in a plane, he got here a little while ago. Now he's going to get on the plane in a little while and he's going to go back home to his wife. But they're great. And I just want to thank her and him and their whole family because that's not easy.
And Kid Rock, same thing. Called, he said, ''I want to be a part of it.'' I want to be a part, because, you know, Kid does this great song. Big, big monster song. I had no idea. You know, he became a friend of mine over the last 10 years. And, uh, he's amazing. Everyone loves him.
I didn't even know how big he was. You know, he has rallies. Thirty-five, 40,000 people he gets, every time he goes out. I think he's making so much money he doesn't know what the hell to do with it, you want to know ...
And then we have my other friend, and I've known him so long and we took that song and it was a big success. But we made that. I saw a chart of great songs to America. That was No. 1 on the chart recently. No. 1, so. That's Lee Greenwood, very special, beautiful person. He's a beautiful man.
But they all wanted to be here. They called '... And how about the Hulkster? How good was he? You see that? Where is he? Boy, oh boy.
You know, they may call it, they may call that entertainment. I know about entertainment, but when he used to lift a 350-pound man over his shoulders and then bench press him two rows into the audience, I say maybe entertainment, but he is one strong son of a gun, I tell you. I watched it many times. There aren't a lot of entertainers that could do that, right? You were fantastic. Thank you very much.
Followed by '... Eric? What was that all about? Boy, that was good. I didn't want to really come up here.
But he was so great. And he's such a good young man. He went through a lot of trouble, and Don, last night, was incredible. They went through so much trouble. They got subpoenaed more than any people probably in the history of the United States. Every week they get another subpoena from the Democrats. Crazy Nancy Pelosi, the whole thing. Just boom, boom, boom.
They've got to stop that because they're destroying our country. We have to work on making America great again, not on beating people. And we won. We beat them in all. We beat them on the impeachments. We beat them on the indictments. We beat them. But the time that you have to spend, the time that you have to spend. If they would devote that genius to helping our country, we'd have a much stronger and better country.
And Jason. The biggest star in country music. Jason, thank you for being here. Jason, thank you very much. Jason Aldean, he's good. I like his wife even better, by the way. She's here. Thank you, Jason.
But I'm thrilled to have a new friend and partner fighting by my side: the next vice president of the United States, the current senator from Ohio, J.D. Vance, and his incredible wife, Usha.
He's going to be a great vice president, he's going to be great. He'll be with this country and with this movement. Greatest movement in the history of our country. Make America Great Again. When they criticize it, they say, ''We're going to try and stop MAGA.'' MAGA is ''Make America Great Again.'' What are you going to stop? There's nothing to stop. Then they say, ''Oh, that's right.'' It's very tough to fight it.
And all of the people that did try and fight it have failed, but he's going to be with us for a long time, and it was an honor to select him. Great, great student at Yale. His wife was a student at Yale; they met at Yale. These are two smart people. So J.D., you're going to be doing this for a long time; enjoy the ride.
And a very special thank you to the extraordinary people of Milwaukee and the great state of '-- oh, there they are. There they are, that's '-- You are so easy to spot. And Green Bay's going to have a good team this year, right? They're going to have a good team. They're going to have a good team. Most of the audience doesn't like it, but it's true. You're going to have a very good team this year.
And by the way, Wisconsin, we are spending over $250 million here, creating jobs and other economic '... development all over the place. So I hope you will remember this in November and give us your vote. I am trying to buy your vote. I'll be honest about that. And I promise we will make Wisconsin great again. We're going to make this ... Thank you. Mr. governor, thank you very much. Thank you.
I am here tonight to lay out a vision for the whole nation. To every citizen, whether you're a young or old, man or woman, Democrat, Republican or Independent, Black or white, Asian or Hispanic, I extend to you a hand of loyalty and of friendship.
Together, we will lead America to new heights of greatness like the world has never seen before.
We were right there in the first term. We got hit with Covid. We did a great job. Nobody knew what it was. But nobody's ever seen an economy pre-Covid, and then we handed over a stock market that was substantially higher than just prior to Covid. Coming in, did a great job. Never got credit for that. We got credit for the war and defeating ISIS and so many things. The great economy. The biggest tax cuts ever. The biggest regulation cuts ever. The creation of Space Force, the rebuilding of our military. We did so much. We do so much.
Right to Try, Right to Try is a big deal. We've got Right to Try. They were trying to get that for 52 years. Somebody's terminally ill. And hopefully there's nobody in this audience, but it does happen, a lot. They're terminally ill and they can't use our new space-age drugs and other things that we are way ahead with. We have the greatest doctors in the world. The greatest laboratories in the world, and you can't do it. They've been trying to get that approved for 52 years, wasn't that easy. The insurance companies didn't want to do it. They didn't want the risk. The labs didn't want to do it because if it didn't work, people are pretty far down the line toward death. They didn't want to do it. The doctors didn't want to have it on their record.
So I got everybody into an office '-- 52 years, they tried. Sounds simple, but it's not. And I got them to agree that somebody that needs it will, instead of going to Asia or Europe or some place, or if you have no money, going home and dying '-- just die '-- we got them to sign an agreement. They agreed to it, where they're not going to sue anybody. They can get all of this stuff. They're going to get it really fast, and what's happened is we're saving thousands and thousands of lives. It's incredible. Right to Try. It's '... great feeling.
Under our leadership, the United States will be respected again. No nation will question our power. No enemy will doubt our might. Our borders will be totally secure. Our economy will soar. We will return law and order to our streets, patriotism to our schools, and importantly, we will restore peace, stability and harmony all throughout the world.
But to achieve this future, we must first rescue our nation from failed and even incompetent leadership. We have totally incompetent leadership. This will be the most important election in the history of our country.
Under the current administration, we are indeed a nation in decline.
We have an inflation crisis that is making life unaffordable, ravaging the incomes of working and low-income families, and crushing, just simply crushing our people like never before. They've never seen anything like it.
We also have an illegal immigration crisis, and it's taking place right now, as we sit here in this beautiful arena. It's a massive invasion at our southern border that has spread misery, crime, poverty, disease, and destruction to communities all across our land. Nobody's ever seen anything like it.
Then there is an international crisis, the likes of which the world has seldom been part of. Nobody can believe what's happening. War is now raging in Europe and the Middle East, a growing specter of conflict hangs over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, and all of Asia, and our planet is teetering on the edge of World War III, and this will be a war like no other war because of weaponry. The weapons are no longer army tanks going back and forth, shooting at each other. These weapons are obliteration.
It's time for a change. This administration can't come close to solving the problems. We're dealing with very tough, very fierce people. They're fierce people. And we don't have fierce people. We have people that are a lot less than fierce, except when it comes to cheating on elections and a couple of other things, then they're fierce. Then they're fierce.
So tonight, I make this pledge to the great people of America.
I will end the devastating inflation crisis immediately, bring down interest rates and lower the cost of energy . We will drill, baby, drill. Can you believe what they're doing?
But by doing that, we will lead a large-scale decline in prices. Prices will start to come down.
Energy'... Raised it, they took our energy policies and destroyed them. Then they immediately went back to them, but by that time, so much was lost. But we will do it at levels that nobody's ever seen before, and we'll end lots of different things. We'll start paying off debt and start lowering taxes even further. We gave you the largest tax cut. We'll do it more.
Now, people don't realize, I brought taxes way down, way, way down. And yet we took in more revenues the following year than we did when the tax rate was much higher. Most people said, how did you do that? Because it was incentive. Everybody was coming to the country, they were bringing back billions and billions of dollars into our country. The companies made it impossible to bring it back. The tax rate was too high and the legal complications were far too great. I changed both of them, and hundreds of billions of dollars by Apple and so many other companies would work back into our nation, and we had an economy the likes of which nobody, no nation had ever seen. China, we were beating them at levels that were incredible. And they know it. They know it. We'll do it again, but we'll do it even better.
I will end the illegal immigration crisis by closing our border and finishing the wall, most of which I've already built.
On the wall, we were dealing with a very difficult Congress and I said, ''Oh, that's OK. We won't go to Congress.'' I call it an ''invasion.'' We gave our military almost $800 billion. I said, ''I'm going to take a little of that money, because this is an 'invasion.''' And we built '-- Most of the wall is already built, and we built it through using the funds, because what's more, what's better than that? We have to stop the invasion into our country that's killing hundreds of thousands of people a year. We're not going to let that happen.
I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created, including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine, which would have never happened if I was president. And the war caused by the attack on Israel, which would never have happened if I was president. Iran was broke. Iran had no money. Now Iran has $250 billion. They made it all over the last two and a half years. They were broke.
I watched the other day on a show called ''Deface the Nation,'' has anyone seen it? And they had a congressman who was a Democrat say, Well, whether you like him or not, Iran was broke dealing with Trump. I told China and other countries, ''If you buy from Iran, we will not let you do any business in this country, and we will put tariffs on every product you do send in of 100 percent or more.'' And they said to me, Well, I think that's about it. They weren't going to buy any oil. And they were ready to make a deal. Iran was going to make a deal with us.
And then we had that horrible, horrible result that we'll never let happen again. The election result. We're never going to let that happen again. They used Covid to cheat. We're never going to let it happen again. And they took off all the sanctions, and they did everything possible for Iran and now Iran is very close to having a nuclear weapon, which would have never happened.
This is a shame, what this administration, the damage that this administration has done. And I say it often. If you took the 10 worst presidents in the history of the United States. Think of it. The 10 worst. Added them up, they will not have done the damage that Biden has done. Only going to use the term once. Biden. I'm not going to use the name anymore. Just one time. The damage that he's done to this country is unthinkable. It's unthinkable.
Together, we will restore vision, strength, competence and we're going to have a thing called common sense making most of our decisions actually. It's all common sense.
Just a few short years ago under my presidency, we had the most secure border and the best economy in the history of our country, in the history of the world. We had the greatest economy in the history of the world. We had never done anything like it. We were beating every country, including China, by leaps and bounds. Nobody had seen anything like it.
We had no inflation, soaring incomes, we're going '--
Nobody's '--
Nobody can believe it. You can't believe what happened four years ago is happening now in reverse.
And the world was at peace. Inflation has been a killer for our country. No matter what you're making, it doesn't matter because inflation is eating you alive. People that were putting away money, they were making great wages. The highest they've ever made. But they were putting away a lot of money. Now they are just being destroyed. They're not putting away anything. They're barely living. They're going into saving accounts. They're taking out their money to live because of inflation.
Inflation, remember, it's called a country buster. You can go back to Germany from 100 years ago. You can go back to any country that's suffered great inflation. We've suffered the worst inflation we've ever had. But go back and see what's happened to those countries. We've had the worst inflation we've ever had under this person.
But in less than four years, our opponents have turned incredible success into unparalleled tragedy and failure. It's been a tremendous failure.
Today, our cities are flooded with illegal aliens. Americans are being squeezed out of the labor force and their jobs are taken. By the way, you know who's taking the jobs, the jobs that are created? One hundred and seven percent of those jobs are taken by illegal aliens.
And you know who's being hurt the most by millions of people pouring into our country? The Black population and the Hispanic population. Because they're taking the jobs from our Black population, our Hispanic population. And they're also taking them from unions. The unions are suffering because of it.
Thank you. Thank you. I like you too. Thank you very much.
Inflation has wiped out the life savings of our citizens, and forced the middle class into a state of depression and despair. That's what it is. It's despair and depression.
We cannot, and will not, let this continue. Less than four years ago, we were a great nation, and we will soon be a great nation again. We're going to be a great nation again. Thank you.
With proper leadership, every disaster we are now enduring will be fixed '-- and it will be fixed very, very quickly.
So tonight, whether you've supported me in the past or not, I hope you will support me in the future, because I will bring back the American dream. That's what we're going to do. You don't even hear about the American dream anymore.
With great humility, I am asking you to be excited about the future of our country. Be excited. Be excited.
And by the way, the news reports. All, look at all of those big networks. Look at them. They're all here. But everyone one of them has said this could be the most organized, best run and most enthusiastic convention of either party that they've ever seen. Every single one.
And it's true. It's true. And there's love in the room. There's great love in the room.
So I'd better finish strong. Otherwise, we'll blow it, and we can't let that happen. No, this was great. All of the great people that spoke and everybody hit a home run. I mean, there's not one that I can think of where I said, ''Oh, gee, that wasn't great.'' Every single person. I refuse to be the only one. Don't do that to me. They're already getting ready. See, I gave them an idea.
No, we had a, this was a great convention. This was '--
I think we're actually going to go home and miss it. You know usually with a '--
First of all, look at these crowds. You'd never have this at a convention. Look at these crowds. Love, it's about love.
This week, the entire Republican Party has formally adopted an agenda for America's renewal. And you saw that agenda, and it's very short compared to the long, boring, meaningless agendas of the past. Including the Democrats. They write these things that are hundreds of pages long and they never read them after they're done. In their case, fortunately they don't read them because they're pretty bad.
It's a series of bold promises that we will swiftly implement when you give us a Republican House. And Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. We have our great speaker of the House with us tonight. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. Thank you.
A Republican Senate. We have many senators here. And send me back to our beautiful White House just a few short months from now. We're talking about just months. It can't come fast enough. We have to get it done.
First, we must get economic relief to our citizens. Starting on Day 1, we will drive down prices and make America affordable again. We have to make it affordable. It's not affordable. People can't live like this.
Under this administration, our current administration, groceries are up 57 percent, gasoline is up 60 and 70 percent, mortgage rates have quadrupled, and the fact is it doesn't matter what they are because you can't get the money anyway. Can't buy houses. Young people can't get any financing to buy a house. The total household costs have increased an average of $28,000 per family under this administration.
Republicans have a plan to bring down prices, and bring them down very, very rapidly. By slashing energy costs, we will in turn reduce the cost of transportation, manufacturing and all household goods. So much starts with energy. And remember, we have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far. We are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy. We have it and China doesn't. Under the Trump administration just three and a half years ago, we were energy independent. But soon we will actually be better than that. We will be energy dominant and supply not only ourselves, but we will supply the rest of the world.
With numbers that nobody has ever seen and we will reduce our debt, $36 trillion. We will start reducing that. And we will also reduce your taxes still further. Next, and by the way they want to raise your taxes four times. Think of it. And all my life I grew up watching politicians. I always loved politics, I guess. I was on the other side. I'd watch the '-- and they were always talking about we will give you a tax cut, we will give you a tax cut. My whole life I was watching I will give you a tax cut, right Mr. Congressman? That's all they talked about. This is the only administration that said we're going to raise your taxes by four times what you're paying now. And people are supposed to vote for them? I've never heard it. You're paying too much, we're going to reduce your taxes still further. We gave you the biggest one, as I said. We're going to give you more and it's going to lead to tremendous growth. We want growth in our country. That's what's going to pay off our debt.
And next, we will end the ridiculous and actually incredible waste of taxpayer dollars that is fueling the inflation crisis. They've spent trillions of dollars of things having to do with the Green New Scam. It's a scam. And that has caused tremendous inflationary pressures in addition to the cost of energy.
And all of the trillions of dollars that are sitting there not yet spent, we will redirect that money for important projects like roads, bridges, dams and we will not allow it to be spent on the meaningless Green New scam ideas.
And I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one. Thereby saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration, which is happening right now and saving U.S. customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car.
And right now as we speak, large factories, just started, are being built across the border in Mexico. So, with all the other things happening at our border, and they're being built by China to make cars and to sell them into our country, no tax, no anything. The United Autoworkers ought to be ashamed for allowing this to happen and the leader of the United Auto Workers should be fired immediately and every single autoworker, union and nonunion, should be voting for Donald Trump because we're going to bring back car manufacturing and we're going to bring it back fast.
They are building some of the largest auto plants anywhere in the world. Think of it. In the world. And we are going to bring it back. We're going to make them. We don't mind the '--
We don't mind it happening but plants will be built in the United States and our people are going to man those plants. And if they don't agree with us, we'll put a tariff of approximately 100 to 200 percent on each car and they will be unsellable in the United States.
We have long been taken advantage of by other countries. And think of it, oftentimes these other countries are considered so-called allies. They've taken advantage of us for years.
We lose jobs. We lose revenue and they gain everything and wipe out our businesses, wipe out our people. I stopped it for four years, I stopped it. And we're really ready to make changes like nobody had seen before. And remember, U.S.M.C.A. I got rid of NAFTA the worst trade deal ever made and replaced it with U.S.M.C.A. which is, they say, the best trade deal ever made. Actually, probably the best trade deal was the deal I made with China where they buy $50 billion of our product. They were buying nothing. They buy $50 billion worth. They had to but I don't even talk about it because of Covid. I don't even mention it frankly because of what happened with the China virus.
We will not let countries come in, take our jobs, and plunder our nation. They come and do that. They plunder our nation.
The way they will sell their product in America is to build it in America, very simple. Build it in America and only in America. And this very simple formula, and congress has to go along with us and they will. This very simple formula will create massive numbers of jobs. We will take over the auto industry again and many many, hundreds of thousands of jobs, we lost so many jobs over the years. If you go back 20, 25 years they've stolen, going to China and Mexico, about 68 percent of our auto industry. Manufacturing jobs. We're going to get them all back. We're going to get them all back, every single one of them.
At the center of our plan for economic relief are massive tax cuts for workers that include something else that stood out to be very popular actually. Here it's very popular. In this building and all those hotels that are so nice, I'm staying in a nice one. It's called no tax on tips. No tax on tips. No tax on tips.
And I got that by having dinner recently in Nevada where we're leading by about 14 points.
Hello. I'll see you there very soon, everybody.
And we were having dinner at a beautiful restaurant in the Trump building on the Strip. And it's a great building and the waitress comes over.
''How's everything going?''
Really nice person.
''How's everything going?''
''Oh sir, it's so tough. The government is after me all the time on tips, tips, tips.''
I said, ''Well, they give you cash, would they be able to find them?''
And she said, ''Actually,'' and I didn't know this, very little cash is given. It's all put right on the check. And they come in and they take so much of our money it's just ridiculous. And they don't believe anything we say. They've just hired, as you know, 88,000 agents to go after them even more.
And I said, ''This shows the level of'--''
You know, most people who go out they hire consultants.
They pay them of dollars.
But I said to her, ''Let me just ask you a question. Would you be happy if you had no tax on tips?''
She said, ''What a great idea.''
I got my information from a very smart waitress. That's better than spending millions of dollars. And everybody, everybody loves it. Waitresses and caddies and drivers and everybody. It's a large, large group of people that are being hurt badly. They make money, let them keep their money.
I am going to protect Social Security and Medicare. Democrats are going to destroy Social Security and Medicare because all of these people, by the millions, they're coming in. They're going to be on Social Security and Medicare and other things and you're not able to afford it. They are destroying your Social Security and your Medicare.
Under my plan, incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish completely, jobs will come roaring back, and the middle class will prosper like never, ever before and we're going to do it very rapidly.
But no hope or dream we have for America can succeed unless we stop the illegal immigrant invasion. The worst that's ever been seen anywhere in the world. There's never been an invasion anywhere. Third world countries would fight with sticks and stones not to let this happen. The invasion at our southern border, we will stop it and we will stop it quickly. You heard Tom Homan yesterday. Tom Homan, put him in charge and just sit back and watch. Brandon Judd, a border patrol, he's incredible. These guys they, you know, they, they really their job is a lot easier if they don't have to do anything but they want to. They're patriots.
Brandon Judd. Border Patrol. ICE. ICE goes out. You have to see what ICE does with M.S. 13. You have, these, these are probably the worst gang and ICE goes in there. And I know a lot of people in these rows here. And they're very tough people. But they don't want to do this job. They'll go into a pack of M.S. 13 killers. They're the worst, probably the worst gangs in the world. We have thousands of them. I moved thousands and thousands out in my four years. We moved them out. And it was a pleasure, but ICE would go right into a pack of these killers. And you see fist flying, you see everything flying and they take them. They put them in a paddy wagon. They take them back and they get them out of our country. And the other countries weren't accepting them back. And I called up and I said tell them that we're not giving them economic aid any more. And the next day I got calls from all these countries that were terminated. Billions of dollars we spend on economic aid to countries that does us frankly no good. And the next day I was called by everybody, I couldn't take all the calls.
''Sir, sir, what's the problem?''
I said, ''You won't take your killers back that you sent in caravans into America. You won't take them back.''
''Well sir, if you'd like us to, we would give very serious consideration to doing that.''
In 24 hours, they were being taken back. For years and years when I first came in, they said President Obama tried to get them to go back and they wouldn't accept them. They'd put planes on the runway so you couldn't land the plane. They'd close the roads so you couldn't take the buses; they'd all have to turn back.
As soon as they said no more economic aid of any kind to any country that does that, they called back and they said, ''Sir, it would be our great honor to take M.S. 13. We love them very much. We love them very much, sir. We'll take them back.''
At the heart of the Republican platform is our pledge to end this border nightmare, and fully restore the sacred and sovereign borders of the United States of America. And we're going to do that on Day 1.
That means two things on Day 1, right? Drill, baby, drill and close our borders.
And by the way, and I think everybody as a Republican, as a patriot in this. Less than four years ago, I handed this administration the strongest border in American history. But you can see on the chart that saved my life. That was the chart that saved my life. I said, ''Look at, I'm so proud of it.'' I think it's one of the greatest '-- it was done by the Border Patrol '-- one of the greatest charts I've ever seen. It showed everything, just like that. You know the chart. Oh, there it is. That's pretty good. Wow.
Last time I put up that chart I never really got to look at it. But without that chart, I would not be here today. Never got to look at it. I said, ''You've got to see this chart.'' I was so proud of it. But by the time I got to there. I never got to see it that day. But I'm seeing it now and I was very proud.
If you look at the arrow on the bottom, that's the lowest level, the one on the bottom, heavy red arrow, that's the lowest level of illegal immigrants ever to come into our country in recorded history. Right there. Right there. And that was my last week in office. And then you see what happened after I left. Look at the rest. And if you go out a little bit further, it's getting to be a little bit old, but I love it anyway right, but you can go much higher with those numbers.
Look what happened right after that. The invasion began. We had the opposite. We stopped the invasion. But the invasion we stopped was peanuts by comparison to what happened after I left. Look at what happened after I left. They took over our country.
We ended all catch-and-release. We shut down asylum fraud. We stopped human trafficking and forged historic agreements to keep illegal aliens on foreign soil. We want them to stay on their soil.
Under the Trump administration, if you came in illegally, you were apprehended immediately and you were deported. You went right back.
The current administration terminated every single one of those great Trump policies that I put in place to seal the border. I wanted a sealed border. Again, come in but come in legally. You know how unfair it is? So many people, hundreds of thousands of people have been working for years to come into our country. And now they see these people pour into our country at levels that are unprecedented. So unfair. And we're not going to do it. We're not going to stand for it.
They suspended wall construction, ended ''Remain in Mexico.'' We had a policy, ''Remain in Mexico.'' You think that was easy to get from the Mexican government? But I said, ''You must give it to us. If you don't give it to us, there will be repercussions.'' And they gave it to us, but not easy.
Canceled our Safe Third agreements, demolished Title 42, implemented nationwide catch-and-release. That's catch-and-release where we catch them and release them into our country. I had we catch them and release them into Mexico. There's a slight difference. And took 93, this is the previous administration, 93 executive actions to throw open our border to the world. The entire world is pouring into our country because of this very foolish administration.
The greatest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country. They are coming in from every corner of the earth, not just from South America, but from Africa, Asia, Middle East. They're coming from everywhere. They're coming at levels that we've never seen before. It is an invasion indeed, and this administration does absolutely nothing to stop them.
They're coming from prisons. They're coming from jails. They're coming from mental institutions and insane asylums. I, you know the press is always on because I say this. Has anyone seen ''The Silence of the Lambs''? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He'd love to have you for dinner. That's insane asylums. They're emptying out their insane asylums. And terrorists at numbers that we've never seen before. Bad things are going to happen.
Meanwhile, our crime rate is going up, while crime statistics all over the world are going down. Because they're taking their criminals and they're putting them into our country. A certain country, and I happen to like the president of that country very much, but he's been getting great publicity because he's a wonderful shepherd of the country.
He says how well the country's doing because their crime rate is down. And he said he's training all of these rough people. They're rough, rough, rough. He's training them. And I've been reading about this for two years. I think, ''Oh that's wonderful, let's take a look at it.'' But then I realize he's not training them; he's sending all of his criminals, his drug dealers, his people that are in jails, he's sending them all to the United States. And he's different in that he doesn't say that.
He's trying to convince everybody what a wonderful job he does in running the country. Well, he doesn't do a wonderful job. And by the way, if I ran one of the countries, many countries, many, many countries from all over, I would be worse than any of them. I would have had the place totally emptied out already.
But we have become a dumping ground for the world, which is laughing at us. They think we're stupid. And they can't believe that they're getting away with what they're getting away with, but they're not going to be getting away with it for long. That's what I can tell you.
In Venezuela, Caracas, high crime, high crime. Caracas, Venezuela, really a dangerous place. But not anymore, because in Venezuela, crime is down 72 percent. In fact, if they would ever in this election, I hate to even say that, we will have our next Republican convention in Venezuela because it will be safe. Our cities, our cities will be so unsafe we won't be able, we will not be able to have it there.
In El Salvador, murders are down 70 percent. Why are they down? Now, he would have you convinced that because he's trained murderers to be wonderful people, no. They're down because they're sending their murderers to the United States of America. This is going to be very bad. And bad things are going to happen.
And you're seeing all the time. That's why, to keep our family safe, the Republican platform promises to launch the largest deportation operation in the history of our country. Even larger than that of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, from many years ago. You know, he was a moderate but he believed very strongly in borders. He had the largest deportation operation we've ever had.
Just recently, I spoke to the grieving mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, a wonderful woman. A precious 12 year-old girl from Houston who last month was tied up, assaulted and strangled to death after walking to the convenience store just a block away from her house. Her body was dumped near the side of the road in a shallow creek, found by some onlookers who couldn't believe what they had witnessed. Charged with Jocelyn's heinous murder, two illegal aliens from Venezuela who came across our border, were in custody and were then released into the country by this horrible, horrible administration that we have right now.
I also met recently with the heartbroken mother and sister of Rachel Morin. Rachel was a 37-year-old mom of five beautiful children who was brutally raped and murdered while out on a run. She wanted to keep herself in good shape. It was very important to her. She was murdered. The monster responsible first killed another woman in El Salvador before he was let into America by the White House. This White House let them in. He then attacked a 9-year-old girl and her mother in a home invasion in Los Angeles before murdering Rachel in Maryland. Traveled all throughout the country, doing tremendous damage. Rachel's mother will never be the same. I spent time with her. She will never be the same.
I've also met with the wonderful family of Laken Riley, the brilliant 22-year-old nursing student. She was so proud of being first in her class, who was out for a run on the campus of the University of Georgia when she was assaulted, beaten and horrifically killed. Yet another American life was stolen by a criminal alien set free by this administration. These were incredible people we're talking about. These were incredible people who died.
Tonight, America, this is my vow. I will not let these killers and criminals into our country. I will keep our sons and daughters safe.
As we bring security to our streets, we will help bring stability to the world.
I was the first president in modern times to start no new wars. You know, we were the toughest. We were the most respected. And you saw this. Hungary, strong country. Run by a very powerful, tough leader. He's a tough guy. The press doesn't like him because he's tough. And he came out recently. They were asking him at an interview: The whole world is exploding, what's happening, what's going on. Viktor Orban, prime minister of Hungary, very tough man. He said, ''I don't want people coming into my country and blowing up our shopping centers and killing people.''
But they said to him, ''Tell us, what's going wrong? What's happening? What is it?''
He said, ''There's only one way you're going to solve it. You got to bring President Trump back to the United States because he kept everybody at bay.''
True. He used a word I wouldn't use because I can't use that word. Because you'd say it was braggadocious. The press would say, ''He was a braggart.'' I am not a braggart.
But Viktor Orban said it. He said ''Russia was afraid of him. China was afraid of him. Everybody was afraid of him. Nothing was going to happen.''
The whole world was at peace, and now the world is blowing up around us. All of these things you read about were not going to happen.
Under President Bush, Russia invaded Georgia. Under President Obama, Russia took Crimea. Under the current administration, Russia is after all of Ukraine. Under President Trump, Russia took nothing.
We defeated 100 percent of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, something that was said to take ''five years, sir, it'll take five years, sir.'' We did it in a matter of a couple months. We have a great military. Our military is not woke. It's just some of the fools on top that are woke.
I got along very well, North Korea, Kim Jung Un. I got along very well with him. The press hated when I said that.
''How could you get along with him?''
Well, you know, it's nice to get along with someone who has a lot of nuclear weapons or otherwise. See, in the old days, you'd say that's a wonderful thing. Now they say, ''How can you possibly do that?''
But no, I got along with him and we stopped the missile launches from North Korea. Now, North Korea is acting up again. But when we get back, I get along with him. He'd like to see me back too. I think he misses me, if you want to know the truth.
Our opponents inherited a world at peace and turned it into a planet of war. We're in a planet of war. Look at that attack on Israel. Look at what's happening with Ukraine. The cities are just bombed out. How can people live like that, where buildings, massive buildings are falling to the ground.
It began to unravel with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the worst humiliation in the history of our country. We have never had a humiliation like that. Thirteen heroic U.S. service members were tragically and needlessly killed. Forty-five others were horrifically wounded. Nobody ever talks about that. No arms, no legs, face explosions. Horrifically, horrifically wounded. And by the way, we have a man in this room who is running for the U.S. Senate from a great state, Nevada, named Sam Brown, who paid the ultimate price. Thank you, Sam. Thank you, Sam. Thank you. He paid the biggest price probably ever paid by anybody that is running for office, and I think he is going to do great. He's running against a person that is not good, not respected. A total lightweight.
But Sam, I think, paid really '--
We were talking about it with some of the senators that are working so hard for Sam. But he paid the biggest price of any senator ever to run for the Senate. I don't think anybody has ever, what he did. He's a real hero, a really great person. And he's running and I hope that everybody gets out and votes for Sam Brown.
And we also left behind $85 billion dollars' worth of military equipment, along with many American citizens were left behind. Many, many American citizens.
Emboldened by that disaster, Russia invaded Ukraine. They saw this group of people that were incompetent. We took the soldiers out first, no, no. We're going to take the soldiers out second. If they would have followed my plan; we had a great plan. But the plan only kicked in if they did everything perfectly, and they weren't doing things perfectly. So we said it doesn't kick in. You know, 18 months in Afghanistan, we didn't have one '-- they were killing them left and right, snipers. And I spoke to the head of the Taliban. You've heard this story. Abdul, still there. Still the head of the Taliban. The press got on me, ''Why would you speak to him?'' I said, ''Because that's where the killing is.'' I don't have to speak to somebody that has nothing to do with it.
And I told him: ''Don't ever do that. Don't ever do that again. Don't ever, ever do that again, you're going to stop.'' Because during the Obama administration, many great people and soldiers, a lot of soldiers, were being killed from long distance. I said, ''If you keep doing that, you're going to be hit harder than anybody has ever been hit by a country before.'' And he said, ''I understand, Your Excellency.'' He called me ''Your Excellency.'' I wonder if he calls the other guy ''Your Excellency.'' I doubt it.
The other guy gave him everything. I mean, what kind of a deal was that? He walked out, gave him everything. You know that right now Afghanistan is one of the largest sellers of weapons in the world? They're selling the brand-new, beautiful weapons that we gave them.
But think of it. He actually said to me, ''But why, but why, do you show me a picture of my home?''
I said, ''You'll have to ask your people or one of your wives.''
But he could figure it out. And for 18 months we had not one attack on an American soldier by the Taliban. Eighteen months. And then we had that horrible day where soldiers were killed. I was not there because of a ridiculous election. But we had that horrible attack.
And they also gave up Bagram, one of the biggest bases anywhere in the world, air bases, anywhere in the world. The longest runways, most powerful hardened, thickened runways.
We gave it up. And I liked it not because of Afghanistan, I liked it because of China. It's one hour away from where China makes their nuclear weapons. And you know who has it now? China has it now.
We were keeping that, and now China is likewise circling Taiwan, and Russian warships and nuclear submarines are operating 60 miles off the coast in Cuba. Do you know that? The press refuses to write about it. If that were me running this country and we had nuclear submarines in Cuba, I will tell you that headlines every day would be ''What's Wrong With Our President?''. You don't even hear this. You're not hearing about this. Russia has nuclear submarines and warships 60 miles away, Mr. Congressman. From Miami, by the way, happens to be here. Correct? In Cuba. That would not be stood for if it were somebody else. They don't want to mention it, but now maybe they will.
And to the entire world, I tell you this, we want our hostages back '-- and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price.
With our victory in November, the years of war, weakness and chaos will be over.
I don't have wars. I had no wars, other than ISIS, which I defeated, but that was a war that was started. We had no wars. I could stop wars with a telephone call. I could stop wars with just a telephone call. It properly stated it would never start. We will replenish our military and build an iron dome missile defense system to ensure that no enemy can strike our homeland.
And this great iron dome will be built entirely in the U.S.A. We're going to build it in the U.S.A. And Wisconsin, Wisconsin, just like I gave you that massive ship contract, and you're doing a very nice job, governor, right? Thank you, governor. And they're doing a great job. In fact, I had a little design change and we gave them a tremendous for, essentially, what we used to call destroyers. These are now the most beautiful. They look like yachts.
I said, ''We have to take the bow, and we have to make it a little nicer, and a little point at the top instead of a flat nose.'' And the people at the shipyards said, ''This guy sort of knows what he's doing.'' We had the most beautiful ships, right, governor? And everybody sitting over there? And it was a big contract that everybody wanted. I gave it to Wisconsin, but we're going to have a lot of that built right here in the state of Wisconsin and all other states.
Israel has an Iron Dome. They have a missile defense system. Three hundred forty-two missiles were shot into Israel, and only one got through a little bit. It was badly wounded, it fell to the ground, but most of them are '-- And Ronald Reagan wanted this many years ago, but we really didn't have the technology many years ago. Remember, they called it starship, spaceship, anything to mock him. But he was a very good president, very, very good.
But now we have unbelievable technology. And why should other countries have this, and we don't? No, no, we're going to build an iron dome over our country, and we're going to be sure that nothing can come and harm our people. And again, from an economic development standpoint, I'm going to make it all right here. No more sending it out to other countries in order to help. It's America first, America first.
We will unleash the power of American innovation, and as we do, we will soon be on the verge of finding the cures to cancer, Alzheimer's disease and many other diseases. We're going to get to the bottom of it. You remember this gentleman that I don't want to mention, other than one time I had to, because when you say ''the 10 worst,'' I had to do it. I didn't want anybody to be confused.
But this man said we're going to find a cure to cancer; nothing happened. We're going to get to the cure for cancer and Alzheimer's and so many other things. We're so close to doing something great. But we need a leader that will let it be done.
We will not have men playing in women's sports. That will end immediately.
And we will restore and renovate our nation's once-great cities, making them safe, clean and beautiful again. And that includes our nation's capital, which is a horrible killing field. So many things '-- they leave from Wisconsin, they go to look at the Washington Monument, they end up getting stabbed, killed or shot. We will be, very soon, very proud of our capital again, Washington, D.C.
America's on the cusp of a new golden age, but we will have the courage to seize it. We're going to take it, we're going to make it a current '-- I mean, we're going to bring this into a golden age like never seen before. Remember this: China wants to do it, Japan wants to do it. All of these countries want to do it.
We have to produce massive amounts of energy. If we're going to produce the new '-- if you look at some of the things that have been done, and some of the things that we're going to do. But A.I. needs tremendous '-- literally, twice the electricity that's available now in our country, can you imagine? But instead we're spending places where they recharge electric cars.
They built eight chargers at a certain location, toward the Midwest. Eight chargers for $9 billion? Think of them as a tank for filling up your gas. Think of it. They spent $9 billion on eight chargers, three of which didn't work. And if you are going to do this all over our country, this crazy electric Band-Aid. If you're going to do this '... And by the way, I'm all for electric. They have their application. But if somebody wants to buy a gas-powered car, gasoline-powered car, or a hybrid, they're going to be able to do it. And we're going to make that change on Day 1.
So, to conclude, just a few short days ago, my journey with you nearly ended. We know that. And yet, here we are tonight, all gathered together, talking about the future, promise and a total renewal of a thing we love very much. It's called America.
We live in a world of miracles. None of us knows God's plan, or where life's adventure will take us. I want to thank Franklin Graham for being here tonight; he's an outstanding man. He wrote me a note recently; I have a lot of respect for him. ''Sir, I love your storytelling, I think it's great, in front of these big rallies, but, sir, please do me one favor. It won't make any difference. Please. Don't use any foul language.''
I was a little embarrassed, I said. He said, ''It won't make any difference.'' Actually, it does, the story's not quite as good, but I've been very good. The story is not quite as good, to be honest.
I've got to have a little talk with Franklin, but he was great. He's a great gentleman, his father was so incredible, Billy Graham. My father used to love taking me to see Billy Graham. My father would take me to see Billy Graham at Yankee Stadium. He had the biggest rallies you've ever seen. He was a good rally guy, too.
But he'd get up and he was a fantastic guy. My father loved Billy Graham. But I love Franklin Graham, I think Franklin's been fantastic. And I'm trying, I'm just working so hard to adhere to his note to me. I'm working hard on it, Franklin.
But if the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on Earth is a gift from God. We have to make the most of every day for the people and for the country that we love.
The attacker in Pennsylvania wanted to stop our movement, but the truth is, the movement has never been about me. It has always been about you. It's your movement. It's the biggest movement in the history of our country by far. It can't be stopped. It can't be stopped. It has always been about the hardworking, patriotic citizens of America.
For too long, our nation has settled for too little. We settled for too little. We've given everything to other nations, to other people. You have been told to lower your expectations and to accept less for your families.
I am here tonight with the opposite message: Your expectations are not big enough. They're not big enough. It is time to start expecting and demanding the best leadership in the world, leadership that is bold, dynamic, relentless and fearless. We can do that.
We are Americans. Ambition is our heritage. Greatness is our birthright.
But as long as our energies are spent fighting each other, our destiny will remain out of reach. And that's not acceptable. We must instead take that energy and use it to realize our country's true potential '-- and write our own thrilling chapter of the American story. We can do it together. We will unite. We are going to come together and success will bring us together.
It is a story of love, sacrifice and so many other things. And remember the word: Devotion. It's unmatched devotion. Our American ancestors crossed the Delaware, survived the icy winter at Valley Forge and defeated a mighty empire to establish our cherished republic.
They fought so hard, they lost so many. They pushed thousands and thousands of miles across a dangerous frontier, taming the wilderness to build a life and a magnificent home for their family. They packed their families into covered wagons, trekked across hazardous trails. Scaled towering mountains and braved rivers and rapids to stake their claim on the wide-open, new and very beautiful frontier. When our way of life was threatened, American patriots marched onto the battlefield, raced into enemy strongholds and stared down death '-- and stared down those enemies '-- to keep alive the flame of freedom. At Yorktown, Gettysburg, and Midway, they joined the roll call of immortal heroes. So many '-- just so many heroes, so many great, great people. And we have to cherish those people. We can't forget those people. We have to cherish those people.
And building monuments to those great people is a good thing, not a bad thing. They saved our country. No challenge was too much. No hardship was too great. No enemy was too fierce. Together, these patriots soldiered on and endured, and they prevailed. Because they had faith in each other, faith in their country, and above all, they had faith in their God.
Just like our ancestors, we must now come together, rise above past differences. Any disagreements have to be put aside, and go forward united as one people, one nation, pledging allegiance to one great, beautiful '-- I think it's so beautiful '-- American flag.
Tonight, I ask for your partnership, for your support and I am humbly asking for your vote. I want your vote. We're going to make our country great again. Every day, I will strive to honor the trust you have placed in me, and I will never, ever let you down. I promise that. I will never let you down.
To all of the forgotten men and women who have been neglected, abandoned and left behind, you will be forgotten no longer. We will press forward, and together, we will win, win, win.
Win, win, win, win, win, win.
Nothing will sway us. Nothing will slow us. And no one will ever stop us.
No matter what dangers come our way, no matter what obstacles lie in our path, we will keep striving toward our shared and glorious destiny '-- and we will not fail. We will not fail.
Together, we will save this country, we will restore the republic, and we will usher in the rich and wonderful tomorrows that our people so truly deserve.
America's future will be bigger, better, bolder, brighter, happier, stronger, freer, greater and more united than ever before.
And quite simply put, we will very quickly make America great again.
Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Wisconsin. God bless you, God bless you, Wisconsin, and God bless the United States of America, our great country. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.
Depression linked to violent crime, study finds '-- Department of Psychiatry
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:39
Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow Prof Seena Fazel said: "We wanted to determine whether there was an increased risk of violence in individuals with clinical depression, and without other factors which are known to contribute to this risk."One important finding was that the vast majority of depressed persons were not convicted of violent crimes, and that the rates reported are below those for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and considerably lower than for alcohol or drug abuse."There is considerable concern about self-harm and suicide in depression," he added. "We demonstrate that the rates of violent crime are at least as high, but they don't receive the same level of attention in clinical guidelines or mainstream clinical practice."
Diagnosed depression linked to violent crime, says Oxford University study
The Guardian online, 25/02/2015, Mark Tran
People diagnosed with depression are roughly three times more likely than the general population to commit violent crimes such as robbery, sexual offences and assault, according to psychiatric experts. The study, based on more than 47,000 people in Sweden, emphasised that the overwhelming majority of depressed people are neither violent nor criminal and should not be stigmatised. ''One important finding was that the vast majority of depressed people were not convicted of violent crimes, and that the rates ... are below those for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and considerably lower than for alcohol or drug abuse,'' said Seena Fazel, who led the study at University of Oxford's psychiatry department. The researchers found that 3.7% of men and 0.5% of women committed a violent crime after being identified as clinically depressed. This compared with 1.2% of men and 0.2% of women in the general population.
Radio: BBC Radio Oxford, Breakfast
25/02/2015, 06:03
A link has been found between depression and violence by scientists at Oxford University. The findings show that people with depression are three times more likely to commit a violent crime. Professor Seena Fazel comments on his research.
Also:
Clinically depressed three times more likely to commit violent crime Fox News (US), 25/02/2015
Clinically depressed 3 times more likely to commit violent crime DNA (India), 25/02/2015, via Reuters
Radio: BBC Radio Scotland, Good Morning Scotland 25/02/2015, 07:15
Depression linked to violent crime, study finds BBC Health 25 February 2015 Last updated at 01:27
People with a depressive illness are three times more likely to commit a violent or sex crime than those in the general population, a study suggests.
The Department of Psychiatry at Oxford University examined the criminal records of 47,158 Swedish people after they were diagnosed with depression.
Some 3.7% of men and 0.5% of women had convictions - 1.2% of men and 0.2% of women in the general population did so.
The researchers say the issue has not been given enough attention by doctors.
The study, which is published in Lancet Psychiatry, looked at convictions for sexual offences and crimes such as murder, assault and robbery.
Doctors say antidepressants may have pushed Trump shooter Thomas Crooks over the edge - as concerning new details emerge | Daily Mail Online
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:37
Details are beginning to emerge about the state of mind of Donald Trump's would-be assassin after the FBI gained access to his cellphone this week.
Though no concrete motive has been established, Thomas Crooks' internet history revealed he searched for information about 'major depressive disorder' in the days leading up the attack on July 13.
Psychologists say the condition, a clinical term to describe depression that lasts a long time and affects everyday life, is typically marked by hatred of oneself.
But it can also be turned outward. Depressed people are around three times more likely to carry out a violent crime, some research shows. At least a quarter of mass shooters in the US deal are clinically depressed or have other non-psychotic mental illnesses.
The prospect that Crooks may have been depressed and taking anti-depressants has reignited a debate in the medical world: do those drugs, in fact, play a role in creating homicidal tendencies?
Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at former President Trump while he was speaking at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday. Experts are still working on pinning down his motive
Law enforcement do not know why Crooks targeted Trump and the shooter's politics appear confused.
He was a registered Republican and had been described as classmates as a definite conservative, yet he donated money to a progressive movement in 2021.
Still, even without a motive, doctors have said Crooks fits the standard model of a mass shooter.
He was believed to have felt disenfranchised and invisible and sought a sort of immortality through his violent actions.
Dr Craig Hands, a psychologist in California, told DailyMail.com that while antidepressants may be linked to homicidal behavior, major depression is the likely culprit
A review of Crooks' phones and computer by the FBI found he had Googled major depressive disorder.
However, it was not clear whether he had been diagnosed with the condition, which affects around 17 million adults in the US.
Dr Craig Hands, a clinical psychologist in California, told DailyMail.com: 'In the case of the shooter, I can only surmise, in many ways, from what I've heard, he fits a common profile.
'Indeed it may be likely, I don't know that he was depressed, but that may have contributed to his actions.
'This depression creates isolation'... there is kind of a burning ember kind of depression that's associated with internal rage against oneself, and rage against the machine as it were. Rage against the world.'
Major depressive disorder is a clinical diagnosis that causes a persistent feeling of deep sadness, hopelessness, loss in interest in activities, low energy, poor or increased appetite, concentration changes, suicidal ideations and behavior.
Dr Hands added: 'Typically the depression is criticism and rage towards oneself, self-hatred.
'I have to underscore the term hatred, hatred for oneself, but oftentimes, or sometimes, that hatred gets projected out externally.'
A 2015 Oxford University study of about 47,000 people in Sweden both with and without depression found that those with depression were about three times more likely than the general population to commit a violent crime, such as homicide, aggravated assault, or robbery.
Crooks' phone showed that in the weeks leading to his attack on Trump, the loner had researched Ethan Crumbley, who shot and killed four classmates at a Michigan high school in 2021.
Crooks also searched Crumbley's parents, who were both found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the first time parents of a school shooter have been prosecuted.
Law enforcement said Crooks had photos of both Biden and Trump in his phone and had searched when the Democratic Convention was being held, and where.
Thomas Crooks' internet history revealed he searched for information about 'major depressive disorder' in the days leading up the attack on July 13 (stock)
Dr Rachel Toles, a licensed clinical psychologist based in California, who specializes in the study of violent criminals told DailyMail.com that Crooks may have been seeking to kill 'the most visible' people on the planet to make up for the fact felt invisible all of his life.
However, an old theory about mass shooters has re-emerged following the new details about Crooks' phone history.
Professor Peter G¸tzsche, a medical researcher and co-founder of the famous Cochrane Collaboration, an evidence-based research institution in the UK, floated the idea medication could have played a role.
He said that it's 'quite possible that he was taking a depression drug, which we know increases the risk of homicide.'
The controversial idea is not totally unheard of. A study from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a nonprofit watchdog group based in Pennsylvania, drew a link between antidepressants and violent behaviors.
Researchers collated more than 780,000 reports of adverse effects linked to 484 drugs, 1,937 involved violence, including acts like homicide or physical assault.
They identified 31 drugs (6 percent of the total) that were disproportionately linked to violent events. These included 11 antidepressants such as Prozac, some ADHD medications, and a few sedatives
Paxil was associated with a 10-time increased odds of causing aggression, while the rest were around eight times as likely.
A separate study in PLoS medicine found that young people taking antidepressants like Prozac are more likely to commit violent crimes, with a 43 percent increase in risk for 15-24 year-olds.
Meanwhile, a 2015 Swedish cohort study found a link between SSRIs and violent crime convictions, but the results varied by age group.
A 2016 review of over 70 trials found an increase in aggression and self-harm in children and adolescents taking SSRIs, but not in adults.
Still, other studies have found that antidepressants may have anti-aggressive effects, and it is difficult to separate whether the depression itself causes violence.
Common antidepressants increase the amount of available mood-boosting and emotion-regulating neurotransmitters in the brain.
SSRIs specifically increase the levels of serotonin in the brain by inhibiting the reuptake (absorption) of serotonin into brain cells. This makes more serotonin available to improve message transmission between neurons.
SNRIs, meanwhile, increase the levels of both serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. They inhibit the reuptake of these two neurotransmitters, making them more available to enhance communication between neurons.
By increasing the levels of these neurotransmitters, anxiety is reduced, mood is improved, and overall emotional well-being is enhanced.
The 20-year-old was shot by US Secret Service snipers moments after opening fire on Trump - but major questions remain about how he was not detected before
Police personnel stand over Crooks body on the rooftop of America Glass Research, located just a couple of hundred yards from where Trump was speaking on Saturday
Age seems to play a role.
At 20 years old, Crooks brain was not fully developed and wouldn't have been until around age 25.
Some research, including by Dr Amir Raz, a professor of clinical neuroscience in the psychiatry department at McGill University, suggests that tinkering with serotonin in children's brains is a risky idea.
He told Scientific American in 2007: 'The human brain is developing exponentially when we are very young.
'And exposure to antidepressants may affect or influence the wiring of the brain, especially when it comes to certain elements that have to do with stress, emotion and the regulation of these.'
Not all doctors are convinced, though. In response to Dr G¸tzsche's message on X, Dr Benjamin Martin Janaway, a psychiatrist in the UK, said: 'Antidepressants are chemical modulators. They cannot plan and execute an assassination attempt.'
Dr Hands stressed that everyone deals with their depression differently and a 'subpopulation of people who may respond to antidepressants with suicidal ideation or thoughts and or actions.
'However, those situations have to be viewed within the contact context or the matric of the person's life.'
For instance, Crooks was reportedly on decent terms with his family, but didn't spend much time with them, suggesting strife in the household, Dr Hands suggested.
He was also said by a former classmate to have been bullied by other classmates. He had been teased for the way he dressed, with the former classmate noting that he was 'lonely' and often seemed 'socially reserved.'
Many perpetrators of violent crimes who have depression feel invisible, unnoticed by others and more often than not made out to be a bad person, 'weird', or dangerous.
The motive is often to reveal oneself to the world and gain the attention of which they believe they had been deprived. They want to seek a form of vengeance against the world that mischaracterized them and from their standpoint, hates them.
Dr Hands said: 'The hatred can accumulate and get externalized. Two things happen: not only do they get to act out against the world that has not seen them, that has mischaracterized them, and from their standpoint, who hates them, they get to punish them.
'They get to kill their aggressor, they get to get to be seen. And then they can act out their own self-destructive tendencies, and destroy themselves in one fell swoop. That aggression and self-hatred are absolutely critical to actions of violence towards others.'
When Security Becomes the Threat: The Crowdstrike Incident | by Confused Cyber Warrior | Jul, 2024 | Medium
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:36
Hi everyone who lands on this page! Welcome back to ''I am confused about cybersecurity.'' This is my second write-up in the series, and today, we're diving into a recent global IT outage that was caused by none other than a security update from Crowdstrike. Funny enough, the software that's supposed to protect you from cyberattacks ended up acting like one. Talk about irony! Now hackers can't hack you because your systems won't even start. Best protection ever, right?
What Happened?
On July 18th, a minor content update to Crowdstrike's Falcon sensor caused Windows systems worldwide to crash with the infamous blue screen of death(BSOD). While MacOS and Linux systems were spared, the update wreaked havoc on Windows endpoints, demonstrating that even with robust IT infrastructures, single points of failure can still bring everything down.
The Culprit: A Rogue Channel Update File
The disaster was triggered by channel update files names starting with the pattern ''C-00000291*.sys'' in the `%WINDIR%\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike` directory. This file was probably invalidly formatted, causing the top-level Crowdstrike driver to crash. Different customers received different versions of this problematic file, which further complicated the situation.
The Fix
The immediate fix was to reboot into safe mode, delete the rogue file, and then boot the system normally. Fixes for cloud systems is to unmount the volume attached to the virtual server and then mount to another server, delete the file, unmount for temporary server, and mount back to the original Virtual Machine.
Official Source: https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/statement-on-falcon-content-update-for-windows-hosts/
Why Did This Happen?
The invalid format of the file could cause the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) due to several reasons:
Driver Crashes: The Crowdstrike driver might be designed to load specific data structures from the file. If the file is incorrectly formatted, the driver might encounter unexpected data, leading to crashes. Drivers operate at a low level within the OS, and crashes at this level can lead to BSOD.Memory Corruption: An invalid file format might cause the driver to read or write outside its allocated memory. This can corrupt memory, leading to system instability and ultimately a BSOD.Edit: Yes, it was a null pointer access, at the time of writing it was still under analysis, so updating now.
3. Unhandled Exceptions: The driver might not have proper error handling for malformed files. When the driver encounters unexpected data, it might throw unhandled exceptions, causing the system to crash.
4. Critical System Operations: The file might be critical to the driver's operation. An invalid file could disrupt critical functions the driver performs, such as security checks or communications with other system components, leading to a BSOD.
These scenarios highlight the importance of validating and thoroughly testing all updates before deployment, especially those involving low-level system components like drivers.
Who's to Blame?
Blaming someone for this mess is not straightforward:
The Individual: Some might point fingers at the person who pushed the commit.The Process: Others argue that this is a failure of the overall process, not just one individual's mistake.The Organization: Ultimately, it's the responsibility of the organization and its management to ensure robust processes are in place.Lessons Learned
1. Rigorous Validation: Updates, especially those rolled out to production environments, need thorough validation.
2. Manual Review: Having a manual review step for critical updates can prevent such widespread issues.
3. Comprehensive Testing: Testing updates across all systems can catch potential problems before they cause major outages.
4. Clear Communication: Open communication channels for reporting and addressing issues quickly are crucial.
Historically, we've seen similar incidents where a small oversight in the update process led to significant disruptions. For example, Microsoft's infamous Windows 10 October 2018 update deleted user files due to a bug that slipped through the cracks. This highlights the need for meticulous testing and validation.
Conclusion
This Crowdstrike incident serves as a wake-up call for all of us in the cybersecurity field. It underscores the importance of robust validation processes, comprehensive testing, and the need for manual oversight in critical updates. Let's hope this incident pushes companies to strengthen their processes and prevent such disasters in the future.
Having endpoint security as a checklist for compliance is another reason why these tools are trusted blindly.
Hope you enjoyed reading this and learned something new! Happy learning!
If you would like to support me, please buy me a coffee. :)
How to fix CrowdStrike BSODs in three minutes '-- fix requires manual changes, but they are simple | Tom's Hardware
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:31
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)If your machines have been impacted by the recent CrowdStrike outage, then this is the how-to for you. Users across the globe have been impacted by the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSoD), triggered by CrowdStrike's update of its Falcon Sensor application. An application designed to protect your machines from malicious threats is now the source of one of the largest outages in recent memory. Below we have instructions that can fix the issue in just a few moments.
The official fix, as detailed below, comes from CrowdStrike and effectively sees us regressing the update to a previous working state. Whether this will be automated in the future remains to be seen.
If you have been affected by the CrowdStrike outage, here are the steps to fix it. Note that these steps must be completed for every affected machine. At the time of writing, no automated service can do this, so your sysadmin or IT support team will be busy for the next few days.
Boot your Windows system into safe mode or the Windows Recovery Environment (winRE)by first powering up your machine until a manufacturer's logo is visible. Press and hold the power button for ten seconds to turn off the machine. Repeat this process once morePress the power button again to power up and the machine will boot to the winRE.From the option menu select Troubleshoot >> Advanced Options >> Startup Settings >> Restart.Select option 5 or press F5 to restart the machine in safe mode with Networking.Wait for the machine to boot into the safe mode desktop.Open the File Manager and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrikeLook for and delete any files that match the pattern "C-00000291*.sys"Reboot as normal.You should now be able to boot into and use your Windows PC as normal.
The IT world is currently reeling from this outage, with many questioning how this issue made it to production, when it should've been tested before release. This outage may also force companies to add a staging step to their update management policies, testing the updates in an isolated environment before they are pushed live.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Les Pounder is an associate editor at Tom's Hardware. He is a creative technologist and for seven years has created projects to educate and inspire minds both young and old. He has worked with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to write and deliver their teacher training program "Picademy".
Iran Can Produce Fissile Material For Bomb In 'One Or Two Weeks': Blinken | Barron's
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:01
By AFP - Agence France Presse
July 19, 2024 Order Reprints Print Article Speaking at a security forum in Colorado, Blinken blamed the collapse of the nuclear deal for the acceleration in Iran's capabilities Mandel NGAN Text size
ADDS background
Iran is capable of producing fissile material for use in a nuclear weapon within "one or two weeks," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday.
The details on Iran's capabilities emerged following the recent election of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
He has said he wants to end Iran's isolation and favors reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and global powers.
Blinken said, however, that "what we've seen in the last weeks and months is an Iran that's actually moving forward" with its nuclear program.
In 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal, which was designed to regulate Iran's atomic activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
Speaking at a security forum in Colorado, Blinken blamed the collapse of the nuclear deal for the acceleration in Iran's capabilities.
"Instead of being at least a year away from having the breakout capacity of producing fissile material for a nuclear weapon, (Iran) is now probably one or two weeks away from doing that," Blinken said.
He added that Iran had not yet developed a nuclear weapon.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said last month that Iran is further expanding its nuclear capacities, with Tehran informing the agency that it was installing more cascades -- or series of centrifuges used in enrichment -- at nuclear facilities in Natanz and Fordow.
According to the IAEA, Iran is the only non-nuclear weapons state to enrich uranium to the high level of 60 percent -- just short of weapons-grade -- while it keeps accumulating large uranium stockpiles, enough to build several atomic bombs, the agency says.
Following the US withdrawal, the Islamic republic has gradually broken away from its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.
But the country's acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri told CNN earlier this week that Iran remained committed to the accord, known as the JCPOA.
"We are still a member of JCPOA. America has not yet been able to return to the JCPOA, so the goal we are pursuing is the revival of the 2015 agreement," he said. "We are not looking for a new agreement."
Bagheri said no one in Iran had talked "about a new agreement. We have an agreement (signed) in 2015."
Blinken was speaking just days after reports that the US Secret Service had increased security for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump weeks ago, after authorities learned of an alleged Iranian plot to kill him.
Tehran has denied the allegations.
Franklin Graham is the poster child for Christian nationalism '-- and he's a liar '' Baptist News Global
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 17:48
To understand the insidious nature of Christian nationalism, look no further than Franklin Graham's appearance at the Republican National Convention last night.
Graham already has demonstrated he knows no shame in endorsing, blessing and lionizing the most corrupt president in American history, yet people continue to send his nonprofits millions of dollars, enriching him as one of our most highly paid partisan preachers.
Mark Wingfield
At the RNC July 18, he appeared after Hulk Hogan and before Donald Trump. He was supposed to pray but gave as much of a speech as he did a prayer. His claim that he was speaking as a ''private citizen'' was meaningless to separate his public comments from both Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which he leads.
Graham joined the chorus of other evangelical preachers who believe God intentionally spared Trump from an assassin's bullets last weekend in Pennsylvania: ''Last Saturday in Butler, Pa., President Trump had a near-death experience, no question, but God spared his life.''
Graham said he cannot explain why God would spare Trump's life and ''allow another one to be taken,'' but he pivoted from that sentence to make an evangelistic appeal to say, ''God loves us and wants us to be with him in heaven one day.''
This played like an excerpt from the worst kind of funeral sermons '-- where the preacher or eulogist just skips right over the pain of death to make sure everyone present in the room is going to heaven.
''This played like an excerpt from the worst kind of funeral sermons.''
As for earthly things, Graham said an experience like this changes people, as it no doubt did Trump, who ''rose with his fist raised in strength showing America his unshakable resolve to fight for them in this nation.''
Others not in the Trump Fan Club might see that gesture differently '-- that the former president put his ego ahead of not only his own safety but the safety of the Secret Service members attempting to shield him. But when you're already God's chosen, that must not matter.
Graham said near-death experiences ''cause us to examine our lives and to reevaluate our priorities,'' yet Trump made no adjustments to his America-first, anti-immigrant isolationist agenda that night. Instead, adoring fans behind him held up signs saying, ''Mass Deportations Now.''
Remember, the same Bible that calls us to salvation calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to welcome the stranger among us.
But things got worse than that. Next, Graham started telling flat-out lies.
''For as long as I've known President Trump, I've found him to be a man of his word,'' he declared.
''For as long as I've known President Trump, I've found him to be a man of his word.''
Apparently Graham hasn't listened to any of the small-business owners who have been jilted by Trump through the years, hasn't listened to any of the women who say Trump assaulted them, hasn't paid attention to the hundreds of documented lies Trump spews between breakfast and dinner each day.
No, it turns out Graham has some other measure in mind: ''When he told me and our country in 2016 that he was going to appoint conservative justices, guess what, he did. In 2016, he said he would defend religious liberty and, guess what, he did.''
By ''religious liberty,'' of course, Graham means the liberty of evangelicals like him, not the liberty of all people.
And then Graham threw out this whopper: ''In 2019, I was with him at the United Nations when the first president in the history of this country stood there to advocate for religious liberty worldwide.''
So no other U.S. president in history has advocated for global religious liberty? That is patently false and insulting. It makes Trump out to be a hero he is not. Not only have other presidents advocated for worldwide religious liberty, Trump has not. He doesn't want religious liberty for Palestinians. He doesn't want religious liberty for Muslims. He doesn't want religious liberty for Democrats.
Like Graham, Trump has only shown interest in advocating for religious liberty for his political base. All others be damned.
''Like Graham, Trump has only shown interest in advocating for religious liberty for his political base.''
Graham also hailed Trump's work to free American pastor Andrew Brunson '-- a cause c(C)l¨bres' among evangelicals '-- from a Turkish prison. Yes, it's great that Brunson was released, but he's one of thousands of political prisoners held in worldwide prisons because of religious convictions.
And then Graham '-- speaking as a ''private citizen'' of course '-- endorsed Trump's election: ''I'm grateful and thankful for what he did as 45th president of the United States and I know that as the 47th president he will keep his word to the American people to make America great once again.''
Extra points for working a political slogan into an introduction to a prayer.
And then there's the prayer.
Graham asked all the Republican delegates to stand ''as we call upon the name of the God of heaven.'' Maybe everyone there was Christian, but likely not. Yet the assumption is they are or should be.
Graham thanked God for sparing Trump's life '-- ''it was you and you alone who saved him'' '-- and mentioned ''the others that were injured on Saturday'' and ''the family who lost their loved one.''
Then he worked up to the big tell: ''We say thank you for the provisions you have given to the United States of America. You have blessed this country more than any country in the world. Sadly, as a nation we have forgotten who is responsible for all the freedoms, the liberties and the bounty that we enjoy. It has all come from you.''
The fundamental starting point for Christian nationalism is the belief that America is exceptional in God's love for our country above others. Has God really blessed America ''more than any country in the world''?
Is that why we have more gun-related deaths than most other countries in the world? Is that why we have a stain of racist slavery we cannot wipe away? Is that why we imprison more people per capita than any other nation in the world?
''Amid all this blessing from God, Graham suddenly spared a thought for refugees and asylum seekers.''
Amid all this blessing from God, Graham suddenly spared a thought for refugees and asylum seekers desperately seeking entry to our Promised Land.
''Our nation is in trouble,'' he told God. ''We're divided politically, racially, economically with millions of people seeking refuge and hope in our dry and thirsty land. You're the only one who can fix the complexity of the problems that we face today. We pray for President Trump that you would give him wisdom, strength and a clear vision for the future of this nation and the task that is at hand. Continue to protect him from his enemies.''
See the link there between Trump being the only hope to implement God's plan for America '-- which apparently should involve mass deportations, persecution of political enemies and allowing the free flow of guns?
Get ready for the big finish. Graham closed his prayer by saying: ''We know that all authority comes from you. You are a great God, and we ask that if it be thy will that you will make America great once again, and we ask that you unite our hearts, bring us together, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.''
And then this little flourish at the end: ''We pray this in the mighty name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.''
After an entire speech and prayer claiming America is uniquely Christian, Graham ends by calling upon ''my Lord and Savior.''
As both Graham and Trump demonstrate, the power in the blood behind isn't just America first, it's conservative evangelicals first. And, as always, truth be damned.
Mark Wingfield serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global. He is the author of Honestly: Telling the Truth About the Bible and Ourselves and Why Churches Need to Talk About Sexuality. His brand-new book is Troubling the Truth and Other Tales from the News.
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Franklin Graham says he's not a preacher of hate, so let's roll the tape and see | Opinion by Rodney Kennedy
A PRESIDENCY'S BITTER END - Seymour Hersh
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 17:39
President Joe Biden and members of the Congressional Black Caucus visit Mario's Westside Market grocery store in Las Vegas on July 16. / Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images.Donald Trump's core campaign issue, as he made clear again and again on Thursday night, is still the border and what he calls ''unchecked illegal immigration'' and the murder and mayhem that he insists, as he did in earlier campaigns, those from the south have brought to America.
But the Democrats have a far more immediate and complicated political issue to address. Scores of published reports have stated that President Joe Biden has come to his political senses'--with the help of Representative Nancy Pelosi, the strong-willed and straight-talking former speaker of the House'--and concluded that he cannot run for re-election.
The big issue for Biden has been the disaffection of many of his previously enthusiastic funders. One donor told me that there was much anger among his East Coast group at Biden's inner circle for their mishandling of the president's growing disconnection. ''Not one of the president's key aides,'' he told me, ''ever said one word to the donors'' about the extent of Biden's disabilities prior to his revelatory debate with Trump last month. ''It was as if the Democratic band was playing 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' on the deck of the Titanic .''
Tesla Hits Record High Sales from Carbon Credits at $1.79B
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 17:20
Elon Musk's Tesla generated a substantial $1.79 billion from carbon credit sales last year, as revealed in their Q4 2023 and annual financial report, bringing its total earnings from such credits since 2009 to nearly $9 billion.
This revenue comes from trading regulatory credits to other automakers unable to meet emission regulations in the US, Europe, and China.
Carbon Credit Cashflow: Tesla's Billion-Dollar Bonanza Tesla continues to profit from the need of its rivals to meet emissions standards. It is a lucrative business that was initially expected to diminish. Since the EV giant incurs minimal additional costs to earn these credits, the sales represent almost pure profit.
This revenue stream has been crucial for Tesla, although the specific recipients of the credits remain undisclosed.
In its recent fourth quarter and annual 2023 filings, the EV maker reported a $433 million income from the sale of carbon credits. That figure represents a 7% decrease year over year (YoY) compared to $467 million earned in Q4 2023.
But the total annual revenue of Tesla from selling carbon credits in 2023 increased to $1.79 billion from $1.78 billion. Yet, that enabled the automaker to reach another record high in 2023.
This sustained revenue may have surprised Tesla, given previous expectations that regulatory credit income would fall as competitors increased EV production.
In 2020, the company's former CFO Zachary Kirkhorn cautioned investors about relying too heavily on this revenue stream. He forecasted a decline in its significance over time.
However, contrary to expectations, Tesla's earnings from regulatory carbon credits have not decreased significantly, as last year's earnings slightly surpassed the previous year's income.
RELATED: Tesla Carbon Credit Sales Reach Record $1.78 Billion in 2022Tesla is Driving the Carbon Market Forward By providing its peers a mechanism to offset their carbon emissions, Tesla plays a significant role in the carbon credit market.
As the automotive sector seeks to comply with emissions standards set by regulatory bodies, they can purchase carbon credits from Tesla. They can also do the same from other companies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through renewable energy and other carbon reduction or removal initiatives.
The revenue generated from the sale of carbon credits has become a substantial source of income for the company. In fact, the credits account for a staggering 11% of Tesla's overall gross margin for the quarter, $4,065 million, down from 25.9% seen in Q4 2022.
Tesla's total automotive revenues of $21,563 million were up 1% YoY but missed analysts' estimate of $22,385 million.
Still, the growing carbon credit sales underscores the value of the EV maker's clean energy initiatives. This is also evidenced by another growing business of the company, energy generation and storage. Its Q4 2023 revenues totaled more than $1.4 million, up from the year-ago earning of $1.3 million.
Given the global focus on reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change, the demand for carbon credits is expected to increase in the future.
Tesla's position as a leader in the electric vehicle market and its commitment to sustainable energy place it in a favorable position to continue profiting from the sale of carbon credits in the years to come.
RELATED: Tesla's Record Carbon Credit Sales Up 94% Year-Over-YearGearing Up Amid Shifting Automotive Landscape Despite its continued dominance in the U.S. EV market, Tesla faces growing competition, particularly from China's BYD. The Chinese automaker recently surpassed Tesla as the world's largest seller of EVs.
BYD's vehicle production was up substantially last year, almost 2x as high as in 2022, at 3.02 million units. However, around 1.4 million of these vehicles were hybrids, while Tesla produced around 1.84 million all-electric vehicles.
Moreover, some of Tesla's competitors are scaling back their EV investment plans, with Ford delaying $12 billion in investments. On the other hand, General Motors is reintroducing hybrids to its lineup.
As emissions regulations tighten, the regulatory landscape becomes increasingly challenging.
Europe is imposing stricter car emissions targets starting next year, with even more stringent standards set for 2030 and beyond. The EU sets a 100% emission reduction goal for both cars and vans from 2035 onwards.
Similarly, the United Kingdom has implemented a zero-emission vehicle mandate beginning this year.
At home in the U.S., the government committed $623 million in grants to propel the growth of EVs. The financing was made available through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding aims to make EV chargers more reliable and accessible for American drivers.
Tesla's lucrative carbon credit sales continue to defy expectations, bolstering its financial performance and solidifying its role in sustainable transportation. And despite growing competition and tightening emissions regulations, Tesla's position in the EV sector remains robust, fueled by its commitment to clean energy initiatives.
READ MORE: Transforming the American Clean Energy Landscape Under Biden's Era
Opinion | What Democrats Need to Do Now - The New York Times
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 14:27
David Brooks
Credit... Dieu-Nialo Chery/EPA, via Shutterstock In 2016, MAGA was just a slogan '-- or at best a spasm of resentments and instincts about issues like immigration. Over the last eight years, think tankers, activists and politicians have developed MAGA into a worldview, a worldview that now transcends Donald Trump.
Across the Western world, right-wing parties have ceased to be parties of the business elites and have become working-class parties. MAGA is the worldview that accords with this shifting reality. It has its roots in Andrew Jackson-style populism, but it is updated and more comprehensive. It is the worldview that represents one version of working-class interests and offers working-class voters respect.
JD Vance is the embodiment and one of the developers of this worldview '-- with his suspicion of corporate power, foreign entanglements, free trade, cultural elites and high rates of immigration. In Milwaukee this week, with Vance as Trump's pick for vice president, it became clear how thoroughly MAGA has replaced Reaganism as the chief operating system of the Republican Party.
If Democrats want to beat MAGA, it's not enough to say: Orange man bad. Talking endlessly about Jan. 6 does no good. If Democrats hope to win in the near future they have to take the MAGA worldview seriously, and respectfully make the case, especially to working-class voters, for something better.
At its best, what is MAGA, anyway?
Well, in any society, there is a legitimate tension between security and dynamism. In a volatile world, MAGA offers people security. It promises secure borders and secure neighborhoods. It offers protection from globalization, from the creative destruction of modern capitalism. It offers protection from an educated class that looks down on you and indoctrinates your children in school. It offers you protection from corporate predators. As Senator Josh Hawley argued in Compact magazine this week, ''The C-suite long ago sold out the United States, shuttering factories in the homeland and gutting American jobs.''
To those who rightly feel buffeted by vast and destabilizing forces, Trump emerges as a kind of Aaron Sorkin character: ''You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.'' He offers security so people can get on with their lives.
Now, the problem with MAGA '-- and here is where the Democratic opportunity lies '-- is that it emerges from a mode of consciousness that is very different from the traditional American consciousness.
The American consciousness has traditionally been an abundance consciousness. Successive waves of immigrants found a vast continent of fertile fields and bustling cities. In 1910, Henry van Dyke, who later became the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands and Luxembourg, wrote a book called ''The Spirit of America,'' in which he observed that ''the Spirit of America is best known in Europe by one of its qualities '-- energy.'' In the 20th century, Luigi Barzini, an Italian observer, argued that Americans have a zeal for continual self-improvement, a ''need tirelessly to tinker, improve everything and everybody, never leave anything alone.''
Many foreign observers saw us, and we saw ourselves, as the dynamic nation par excellence. We didn't have a common past, but we dreamed of a common future. Our sense of home was not rooted in blood-and-soil nationalism; our home was something we were building together. Through most of our history, we were not known for our profundity or culture but for living at full throttle.
MAGA, on the other hand, emerges from a scarcity consciousness, a zero-sum mentality: If we let in tons of immigrants they will take all of our jobs; if America gets browner, ''they'' will replace ''us.'' MAGA is based on a series of victim stories: The elites are out to screw us. Our allies are freeloading off us. Secular America is oppressing Christian America.
Viewed from the traditional American abundance mind-set, MAGA looks less like an American brand of conservatism and more like a European brand of conservatism. It resembles all those generations of Russian chauvinists who argued that the Russian masses embody all that is good but they are threatened by aliens from the outside. MAGA looks like a kind of right-wing Marxism, which assumes that class struggle is the permanent defining feature of politics. MAGA is a fortress mentality, but America has traditionally been defined by a pioneering mentality. MAGA offers a strong shell, but not much in the way of wings needed to soar.
If Democrats are to thrive, they need to tap into America's dynamic cultural roots and show how they can be applied to the 21st century. It should be said that social dynamism is more complicated than it appears at first blush. It's not just getting on your Harley and hitting the open road. It's not really about rugged individualism or the libertarian version of freedom as the absence of constraint.
My favorite definition of dynamism is adapted from the psychologist John Bowlby: All of life is a series of daring explorations from a secure base. If Democrats are to thrive, they need to offer people a vision both of the secure base and of the daring explorations.
Here's where they have a potentially good story to tell. Americans can't be secure if the world is in flames. That's why America has to be active abroad in places like Ukraine, keeping wolves like Vladimir Putin at bay. Americans can't be secure if the border is in chaos. Popular support for continued immigration depends on a sense that the government has things under control. Americans can't be secure if a single setback will send people to the depths of crushing poverty. That's why the social insurance programs that Democrats largely built are so important.
But what Democrats really need to do, in my view, is to offer people a vision of the daring explorations that await them. That's where the pessimistic post-Reagan Republicans can't compete. American dynamism was turbocharged by the construction of the transcontinental railway, the creation of the land grant colleges, the G.I. Bill and President Biden's successful efforts to revive our industrial base in the American Midwest.
Personally, I wish Democrats would spend less time on dumb, reactionary policies like rent control. That reeks of panic in the Biden campaign. I wish they would champion the abundance agenda that people like Derek Thompson and my colleague Ezra Klein have been writing about. We need to build things. Lots of new homes. Supersonic airplanes and high-speed trains.
Democrats need to take on their teachers' unions and commit to dynamism in the field of education. They need to stand up to protectionism, not join the stampede. Raising tariffs, as Trump wants to do, would not only raise costs on American consumers; it would also breed laziness and mediocrity within those sectors cosseted from competition. Democrats need to throttle back the regulators who have been given such free rein that they've stifled innovation.
If Republicans are going to double down on class war rhetoric '-- elites versus masses '-- Democrats need to get out of that business. They need to tap back into the more traditional American aspiration: We are not sentenced to a permanent class-riven future but can create a fluid, mobile society.
The economist Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute has offered a telling psychic critique of MAGA economic thinking: ''The economics of grievance is ineffective, counterproductive and corrosive, eroding the foundations of prosperity. Messages matter. Tell people that the system is rigged, and they will aspire to less. Champion personal responsibility, and they will lift their aspirations. Promoting an optimistic vision of economic life can increase risk tolerance, ambition, effort and dynamism.''
Strain is getting at the core point that aspiration is not like a brick that just sits there. Aspiration is more like a flame that can be fed or dampened. The venture capitalist Marc Andreessen underlined the point a few years ago: ''The problem is desire. We need to *want* these things. The problem is inertia. We need to want these things more than we want to prevent these things.''
In Milwaukee, I have heard a lot of patriotism, but it was the patriotism of nostalgia, not the patriotism of hope. That leaves an opening for the folks who gather in Chicago next month.
David Brooks is an Opinion columnist for The Times, writing about political, social and cultural trends. @ nytdavidbrooks
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Democrats Need to Take MAGA Seriously
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Whistleblowers make huge claim about Trump's security detail | Blaze Media
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 14:22
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) revealed through a letter to the Department of Homeland Security that whistleblowers have claimed President Trump's security detail on the day of his attempted killing was mostly composed of inexperienced DHS agents, with several typical protocols for such an event being skipped.
The Missouri senator posted a copy of the letter he sent to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, detailing claims by whistleblowers from inside homeland security.
"Whistleblowers tell me that MOST of Trump's security detail working the event last Saturday were not even Secret Service," Hawley wrote on X. "DHS assigned unprepared and inexperienced personnel."
The letter said that "whistleblowers who have direct knowledge of event" alleged that the July 13, 2024, Trump rally was considered to be a "loose" security event.
'How long did agents physically spend on the ground surveying the site before the event?'
This apparently meant that "detection canines were not used to monitor entry and detect threats in the usual manner" and that "individuals without proper designations were able to gain access to backstage areas."
In addition, whistleblowers claimed that "department personnel did not appropriately police the security buffer around the podium and were also not stationed at regular intervals around the event's security perimeter."
Shockingly, whistleblowers also said that the former president's detail was not even made up of mostly Secret Service agents.
"The majority of DHS were not in fact USSS agents but instead drawn from the department's Homeland Security Investigations," Hawley wrote.
The letter added that the HSI agents were "unfamiliar with standard protocols typically used at these types of events."
Hawley finished his letter by asking seven questions to the DHS secretary, starting with how DHS determined it would staff the event.
He also asked what percentage of DHS agents were from HSI rather than typical Secret Service and whether they were properly trained for events such as the rally in question.
The letter also asked if agents were appropriately stationed around Trump's podium.
Perhaps the most important question by Hawley was asked last:
"How long did agents physically spend on the ground surveying the site before the event?"
Secret Service brass have fallen well short of Americans' expectations in terms of their explanations for the security failures surrounding the assassination attempt on Trump.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was pictured on video fleeing from questions by Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday.
Congressman Hawley also said in his letter that the Senate has actually "learned more from whistleblowers" than from DHS officials.
Secretary Mayorkas' only public statements in the six days since the shooting of Trump have been regarding border security.
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Trump Shooter's Improvised Bombs Used a Radio-Control System: Report - The New York Times
Sat, 20 Jul 2024 06:04
A report obtained by The Times detailed the bombs' rudimentary construction, made with the kind of initiators used for fireworks shows.
An aerial view of the complex of buildings from which a gunman fired at former President Donald J. Trump in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. Credit... Kristian Thacker for The New York Times Following the killing of the gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday during a rally in Butler, Pa., investigators discovered two improvised explosive devices in the would-be assassin's car that used a radio-controlled initiation system designed for commercial fireworks demonstrations.
Details on the improvised bombs were in a document released by a federal government task force on Monday to law enforcement departments across the country.
The New York Times obtained a copy of the document, called a ''quick look'' report, on Tuesday.
The two devices in the car owned by Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa., were almost identical in construction, according to the task force's report. Each contained a cardboard tube filled with a gray powder that was described by a police bomb technician as having ''an odor of nitromethane'' and appeared to contain prills '-- essentially small pellets.
While the report does not contain a laboratory analysis of the gray powder, the description suggests the presence of a fertilizer, which is often packaged in prill form. According to the National Institute for Health, nitromethane is sometimes used as a fuel in racecars and has a ''strong disagreeable odor.'' It can be purchased online.
The combination of certain kinds of fertilizers and fuels is a common method for creating homemade explosives, such as the ammonium nitrate-based device Timothy J. McVeigh used to destroy the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, Okla., in 1995, killing 168 people.
Whether or not Mr. Crooks attempted to detonate the devices is unclear, but the report described them in a manner that cast doubt on their viability as weapons.
Notably, the devices in Mr. Crooks's car used a type of radio-control system for initiating fireworks displays, in which a single hand-held transmitter can broadcast a signal to multiple small receivers. These in turns send current to an electric match '-- a wire with a pyrotechnic compound on one end '-- that produces a small flame to ignite the firework.
The two devices in Mr. Crooks's car were composed of ammunition cans '-- one metal, and one made of plastic '-- that each had a cardboard tube inside, filled with the gray powder recovered by police bomb technicians. Each cardboard tube had the head of an electric match inserted, and they were connected to a radio receiver unit.
The receivers shown in photos from the report appear to be identical to a model called Alpha Fire made by RFRemotech, a company based in Guangzhou, China.
The report shows that law enforcement officers recovered a set of 10 radio receivers from Mr. Crooks's home along with electric matches. According to RFRemotech's website, a set containing 12 Alpha Fire receivers and one transmitter can be ordered online for $192, while a set containing a second transmitter costs $216.
The product listing for the Alpha Fire says that it can reliably initiate fireworks from a distance of about 6,500 feet.
''We are sorry for the assassination attempt on your former president Donald J. Trump,'' said Yukie He, an account manager for RFRemotech, in an email early Wednesday. ''We checked all history sales, but not any records of a sale of our products to Thomas Matthew Crooks.''
John Ismay is a reporter covering the Pentagon for The Times. He served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the U.S. Navy. More about John Ismay
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Bombs in Gunman's Car at Trump Rally Had Radio Control
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