What Shall We Bake Today?

Food 1 Minute

Today’s offering is another picnic favorite: Butterscotch Blondies!

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup chunky peanut butter

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

3 large eggs, room temperature

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups mini pretzels, divided

1 cup butterscotch chips, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 13″x9″ metal baking pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment, leaving an overhang on 2 long sides. Grease parchment with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat brown sugar, butter, peanut butter, baking powder, vanilla, and salt until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition, until well combined

Fold flour into batter until only a few streaks remain. Add 2 cups pretzels by hand, lightly crushing into 2 to 3 large pieces. Add 2/3 cup chips, then fold pretzels and chips into batter until well combined.

Scoop batter into prepared pan, spreading with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Press remaining 1/2 cup pretzels into top of batter. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup chips.

Bake blondies until light golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 23 to 27 minutes.

Let cool. Using parchment overhang, lift blondies out of pan, transfer to a cutting board, and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Unknown's avatar

Published by pat frederick

Published

124 thoughts on “What Shall We Bake Today?”

  1. Morning All!
    this is weird…wolf’s site is gone. got a bunch of gobblygook that i didn’t understand when i clicked on the saved link. maybe it’s temporary, but none of his back up sites have current posts.
    it’s a little cooler here this morning…barely 60* but cloudy and dreary again.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Pray for Wolfie – the site is possibly under attack – they put out weapons grade truth about many topics, esp. the covid & vax hoax, and have saved many lives.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Kalbo posted this @ M’s:

      Passing by. Borrowing a twig, please.

      Can’t get into QTree. Perhaps it is under attack or technical issues.

      America wins again.

      House Passes Trump-Backed Rescissions Package Slashing $9 BILLION in Bloated Spending — FOREIGN AID, NPR, and PBS on the Chopping Block — Two Republicans Voted “No”

      https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/07/house-passes-trump-backed-rescissions-package-slashing-9/

      Another America first Beautiful Friday.

      And from GA:

      ER QTH SITES 

      https://twitter.com/WOLFM00N 

      https://utree.home.blog

      https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/

      Also – this old site is still up, but not used recently

      https://wolfmoon1776.wordpress.com/

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Good morning, Pat! So far, my pooter is normal but we’ll see what happens. Thankfully, the weather report predicts no rain until this evening – crossing my fingers that I can FINALLY get this grass cut today!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Morning Filly!

        it’s ominous outside this morning-bleak gray skies.

        I know once hubby cuts our grass, the deer come back out in droves! fresher tasting grass and tons less bugs!

        I hope yours gets cut!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Just The News: “The GOP-led House early Friday voted 216-213 along party lines to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funds, handing President Trump another major win in his bid to shrink the size of government.

    The rescissions package — already approved by the Senate — now heads to Trump for his signature. The president has vowed to sign it. The House approval came after lawmakers dropped a provision to demand the release of files from the late sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Just two Republicans, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Mike Turner, R-Ohio, voted against the bill. 

    “This bill tonight is part of continuing that trend of getting spending under control,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said. “Does it answer all the problems? No. $9 billion I would say, is a good start, and hopefully we do more things like this.”

    The bill cuts $8 billion from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. i hope this clarifies things for the general population. you can’t put spending cuts in appropriations bills. but now that the appropriations bill passed, they can work on clawing back and cutting some spending.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Just The News: “The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday released a memo that accused the previous Biden-Harris administration of misusing taxpayer funds that allegedly ended up going to Israeli organizations that oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and to terrorist groups.

    Six U.S. and Israeli Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) provided the committee with 380 documents related to funding that was allegedly disbursed by the Biden administration’s United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the State Department and other federal agencies. 

    “The Committee’s oversight has revealed that the Biden-Harris Administration provided grant funds to groups that contributed directly and indirectly to the judicial reform protests that sought to undermine the Israeli government,” the memo reads. “In addition, documents obtained during this investigation suggest that the Biden-Harris Administration potentially funded groups with ties to U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.”

    The committee said one Israeli NGO received funding from U.S. grant recipients to fund a coalition headquarters for the anti-Netanyahu judicial reform protest, and that the Biden administration provided $42,000 to another Israeli NGO to conduct “Civic Activism Training” in Israeli high schools.

    The committee also accused several U.S. nonprofits of using millions of dollars of grant money from the federal government to fund anti-democracy and anti-Netanyahu protests in Israel.

    The House committee said its investigation into the alleged misuse of funds is still ongoing and that they have since reached out to other groups that could be involved in undermining the Israeli government.”

    Liked by 1 person

  6. jackass is likely getting an earful from almost every direction.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. FTA

        Others say he will slip in the details seen in his bill now on the back of some other bill when no one is looking.

        That said, this is a major defeat for a monstrous idea, a double-slap in the face of those who had lost their homes based on city negligence — failure to clear brush, failure to keep fire trucks and hydrants in working order, failure to fill the reservoir built to fight fires, and all the other positively criminal negligence coming from city and county officials, and now failure to issue rebuilding permits — but who have grand plans to put bums and criminals first, getting them squared away before the locals are allowed to rebuild.

        And don’t imagine this isn’t part of the plan — they have yet to issue rebuilding permits to those affected, but still demand property taxes, two-thirds of which are based on the value of the land, on the burned lots, which is forcing many to sell even though they don’t want to.  What better a setup for nonprofit and homeless housing construction? 

        https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/07/in_fire_ravaged_los_angeles_an_idea_so_bad_even_its_sponsor_has_now_disowned_it.html

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Just The News: “(The Center Square) – Republican lawmakers have introduced a new bill that would revoke the National Education Association’s federal charter, over concerns of its priorities. Since the NEA was exposed for calling President Trump a fascist and adopting resolutions that are partisan driven, many Republicans in Congress believe that the nation’s largest teachers union is prioritizing politics over education and has morphed into a mouthpiece for left-wing extremism.

    U.S. Rep. Mark Harris, R-North Carolina, and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, introduced a bill, the National Education Association Charter Repeal Act, which would revoke the NEA’s federal charter. The Center Square reached out to the NEA for comment but has not received a response.

    After Congress established the NEA in 1906, the goal was for it to support America’s teachers and strengthen its schools. Harris said the NEA has abandoned that mission in order to support radical leftist agendas.

    “From branding President Trump a fascist to embracing divisive gender ideology and walking away from efforts to fight antisemitism, the NEA has become nothing more than a partisan advocacy group,” said Harris. “Since the NEA is clearly not prioritizing students, parents or even teachers, it’s time to remove Congress’ seal of approval from this rogue organization.”

    Blackburn said the NEA has made it clear it is a partisan organization, and it should not be given a platform to expand its woke ideology. “Time and again, teachers’ unions have shown they’ll put their political agenda ahead of students’ needs,” said Blackburn. “The National Education Association has made it crystal clear it’s a partisan organization, and it shouldn’t be rewarded with a federal charter that platforms woke gender ideology, antisemitism, and left-wing propaganda. Our students deserve better.”

    Along with the authors, 12 additional Republicans in the U.S. House are cosponsoring this bill. “Becky Pringle has weaponized the nation’s largest teachers’ union to push a radical political agenda, funneling millions to Democrats while abandoning students, parents, and teachers,” said U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Illinois, who is a cosponsor of the Charter Repeal Act. “Under her failed leadership, the NEA has become a vehicle for indoctrination, not education.”

    Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Culture Project, was the one who obtained a copy of the NEA’s resolutions and posted a thread on X, exposing each newly adopted business item.

    “NEA pledges to defend democracy against Trump’s embrace of fascism by using the term facism [sic] in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump’s program and actions,” according to the union’s resolution.

    The NEA changed the language of deporting illegal immigrants to “kidnapping” and expressed its support for students protesting against ICE raids. “NEA opposes Immigration and Customs Enforcement kidnapping student leaders and supports students’ right to organize against ICE raids and deportations,” read another resolution.

    In response to the lawmakers’ action against the NEA, DeAngelis took to X, thanking them for their efforts. “Thank you so much for fighting against the socialists at the National Education Association,” DeAngelis wrote. “It’s time to REVOKE their federal charter.”

    U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wisconsin, and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, previously tried to revoke the NEA’s congressional charter in 2022, but were unsuccessful.”

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Just The News: “President Donald Trump says that if the violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots happening across the country are discovered to have central organizers or professional backing he would designate them foreign or domestic terror organizations, similar to what he did with Mexican cartels in February.

    “I would do that, and in a minute,” Trump told Just the News, No Noise television show Wednesday.  I would do that.” 

    Officially designating an organization as a terrorist group in the U.S. criminalizes providing material support, freezes assets, and restricts travel for members and supporters under laws such as the PATRIOT Act. The designation also allows for enhanced law enforcement surveillance, investigations, and federal resource deployment while signaling a security threat domestically and internationally. However, it can also polarize public opinion and, for foreign groups, may lead to global sanctions, though domestic designations are rare due to free speech concerns.

    In June, Just The News reported that the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a self-described Communist revolutionary group with ties to a China-linked Marxist funding network, has been leading nationwide protests against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns on illegal immigration, including demonstrations in Los Angeles that escalated into riots. 

    The PSL, which openly advocates for the overthrow of the American system and supports Communist regimes, has organized anti-ICE protests in such U.S. cities as Chicago, San Francisco and Austin, Texas, while also promoting a “Don’t Open for ICE” campaign. 

    Trump deployed the Marines and California National Guard from Camp Pendleton to help local law enforcement to restore order earlier this summer in Los Angeles, where PSL-organized protests turned chaotic. The group condemned the Guard presence as an attempt to suppress First Amendment rights, urging continued protests against what it calls Trump’s “war on immigrants.”

    Trump, who often speaks about his support for law and order, signaled that he was affected by the violence happening against ICE officers trying to do their jobs and carry out lawful deportation orders. “I watched last week as they were throwing rocks at brand-new cars – Border Patrol. And I saw that, and I gave them total authorization to stop their car and do whatever is necessary to arrest those people. Use whatever you have to use to arrest them,” he recently said. 

    PSL’s activities are reportedly financially supported by Neville Roy Singham, a Marxist businessman who funds far-left groups like the People’s Forum, which shares close ties with PSL. The group has been linked to pro-Communist causes, celebrating regimes like those in China and Cuba while defending Palestinian-affiliated Hamas’ October 2023 attacks on Israel. 

    PSL’s “Liberation School” promotes Marxist ideology, and its merchandise glorifies Communist figures and revolutions. Despite denying ties to a recent Washington, D.C., shooting by a former associate, PSL’s revolutionary rhetoric and Singham’s funding network have drawn scrutiny for their connections to global Marxist movements.

    In another instance of communist connections, Just The News reported that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a former leader of the Venceremos Brigade (VB), a pro-Communist Cuba group tied to Cuban intelligence and linked to violent groups like the Weather Underground, has deep historical ties to far-left activism, having traveled to Cuba multiple times in the 1970s as part of the brigade. U.S. intelligence agencies have described the VB as a Cuban intelligence operation aimed at recruiting politically oriented Americans to influence U.S. government positions. 

    The VB, which Bass described as an “educational project” to foster ties with Cuban society, is now fiscally sponsored by Singham’s The People’s Forum.

    Trump concluded by extending unlimited permission to his border czar and said, “I called Tom Homan, and I authorized him to do whatever he has to do.”

    Liked by 1 person

  9. “Let American Patriotism Shine”

    Newsletter | July 17, 2025

    “Could this be the tipping point? The New York City mayoralty race suggests even the residents of one of America’s bluest cities may have no choice but to wake up and face reality. The polls show that Zohran Mamdani, the candidate from the Democratic Socialists of America party, is likely to become the city’s top official.

    Time will tell, but reports are that in a one-on-one race against incumbent Eric Adams, Mamdani wins. In a one-on-one against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani loses. If Adams and Cuomo both run, along with anti-crime candidate Curtis Sliwa, Mamdani goes to Gracie Mansion. It’s not a pretty scenario for Gotham residents.

    So what would a Mamdani mayoralty mean? Socialist chaos — he thinks it might be a good idea for the city to take control of supermarkets. What would that look like? The Soviet Union at its most degraded and degrading — long lines of hungry shoppers vying for the last bag of flour or rice, only to despair and walk home empty-handed.

    Also, a Mamdani term means Islamist grievance. In college, he was a member of the Students for Justice for Palestine, an organization with ties to Palestinian terror groups, and embraces the phrase “globalize the intifada” — which in fact means kill Jews everywhere. The child of anti-American activist parents, one a professor and the other a filmmaker, Mamdani became a U.S. citizen in 2018, and doesn’t seem to like much about America. His language echoes that of Barack Obama’s, whose goal, of course, was to transform America.

    And indeed Obama did, along with Joe Biden, by opening our doors to third-world illegals whose ideas and political commitments show that they’ve made little or no effort to adapt to American values and mores. In fact, third-world influence is why cities across America have seen non-stop pro-Hamas protests since the Palestinian terror group killed 1200 people on October 7, 2023.

    Third-world influence is also why political candidates backed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations have won more than 80 local elections across the country since 2022. Large parts of American cities, like Houston, TX and Dearborn, MI, are dominated by Islamic fundamentalists. What happened?

    The problem isn’t just the Obama faction pushing anti-Americanism. Patriots need to reevaluate their “live and let live” attitude because that’s not how it works with activists who have taken advantage of our easygoing ways – while we let people pursue their own path, they set about undermining ours.

    Enough is enough – we’ve had it.  Frankly, whoever doesn’t love our country can go back to where their values and ideas come from, because they’ll find no fertile soil here.

    America’s history is full of heroes and momentous events, from the Revolutionary War to Donald Trump’s remarkable campaign that led to his second term as president. Our nation is blessed with the most wonderful cities in world history. New York has been a great American metropolis. Elections have consequences. Let American patriotism shine through across this great country so none of our cities are turned into third-world hellholes.”

    Liked by 1 person

  10. “America’s Future Files Legal Brief To Safeguard Free and Fair Elections”

    “On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, America’s Future filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Donna Curling, et al. v David Worley, et al., Dkt. No. 25-11320. The case regards a challenge to Georgia’s use and implementation of an electronic voting system on statutory and constitutional grounds including the right of all Americans to participate in free and fair elections.

    The brief was filed in support of plaintiffs-appellants who initiated suit seven years ago, in August 2017, following a controversial runoff election conducted using unsecured electronic voting equipment that was susceptible to manual, electronic, and even online manipulation.  The plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint explains,

    Georgia’s 6th Congressional District voters can never know who was legitimately elected on June 20, 2017 to become their Representative to the 115th United States Congress. They know only the output of an undeniably compromised [electronic] voting system that—according to Plaintiffs and many of the nation’s most qualified experts—generated a result that cannot reasonably be relied upon. To declare that result to be [the] will of the voters—as Defendants have done—is to engage in farce…

    [H]ackers not only had the capability, but they also had easy access. From at least August 2016 through early March 2017, all the computer files[]—including tabulation database programs, voting system passwords, programs used to create voting machine memory cards, and voter registration information—were left out in the open on the internet, without requiring so much as a password to obtain. Without solving these known issues, the Runoff [was] almost entirely [conducted] on illegal, unverifiable electronic ballots for which discrepancies cannot be corrected, providing perfect cover for electronic manipulation.

    America’s Future stands for free and fair elections and supports legitimate election scrutiny. Without a meaningful right to vote, no other rights survive.  Since the general election of 2020, the reliability and security of electronic voting systems has been a topic of national public interest and widespread legitimate concern over the integrity of our elections and the lawfulness of state vote tabulations, as well as state voter roll maintenance.

    Notably, the federal district court judge presiding over this case for all seven years of court proceedings ruled in favor of plaintiff-appellants in 2019, and in doing so, blocked Georgia’s use of Device Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines, noting the lack of voter verification when casting a ballot and highlighting the outdated equipment making up the DRE machine and software, which had not been updated for over a decade.

    That same year (2019), Georgia’s legislature approved the replacement of DRE voting machines with Dominion Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) which are voting machines that print out completed ballots for voters to hand feed into a second machine which scans the ballot and, if successfully scanned, tabulates the selections of the voter.

    Georgia’s replacement of DRE machines with BMDs did not end the litigation.  The parties simply adjusted to the new circumstances and the case continued forward.  Then, in 2025, out of nowhere, the district court ruled that the plaintiffs-appellants lack legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of Dominion’s BMDs despite the threshold issue having not come up during the previous seven years of court proceedings.  Our brief highlights the issue, stating,

    From the filing of the case in 2017 until the post-trial decision of the district court on March 25, 2025, the plaintiffs have survived defense challenges to their standing to show a violation of their constitutional rights by use of the DRE and BMD voting systems. The court’s March 2025 post-trial ruling that 8 plaintiffs did not have standing was not based on any higher evidentiary burden at trial or failure of proof at trial. Rather, it was based in a change in the court’s view — that voters had no “legally protected” interests in a voting system if it was not based on an infringement of the right to vote, vote dilution, or failure to have their vote counted.I’m a new Text block ready for your content.

    As our brief explains, the district court’s understanding of “legally protected interests” of voters is shortsighted.

    Voters also have a “legally protected” interest to have their vote counted ACCURATELY.

    We agree with the plaintiffs-appellants that the two different types of voting machines share many of the same features and flaws.  The mechanics of voting systems that rely on computerized and electronic equipment and software deploy unverifiable technology incapable of audit and inherently insecure.  Software programs and electronic voter systems are more easily prone to undetectable systemic vulnerabilities, technical defects and technological malfunctions, not to mention susceptible to large-scale manual manipulation, whether intentional or inadvertent, by hackers, data programmers, government officials, poll workers, and/or unknown bad actors.

    In a 1963 Supreme Court ruling, Justice Hugo Black, writing for the majority, put it simply, 

    No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined.

    For these reasons and those which are fully set forth in our brief, we urge the Eleventh Circuit to reverse the district court’s judgment.”

    Liked by 1 person

  11. “Tackling The Explosion of Crimes Against Children in the Digital Space –
    STOP SCAM ACT 2025″

    “Following up on our series examining how Congress is addressing the crisis of crimes against children in the digital space, today’s entry covers the STOP SCAM ACT of 2025.

    The legislation’s chronology began in 2023. Over time, the original bill was amended.  Currently, it is under consideration in the Senate. Similar to other bills of its kind, including the Take It Down Act and the DEFIANCE Act, which have been covered in this series, the STOP SCAM ACT was reintroduced this year. The official or “long title” is “Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act of 2025.” It is available to read in its present version here.

    The aim of the bill is “to combat the sexual exploitation of children by supporting victims and promoting accountability and transparency by the tech industry.” To achieve the goal, the bill expands protections for survivors in federal court and includes provisions that establish and facilitate mandatory restitution payments for them, as well.

    Most notably, the STOP CSAM Act contains accountability provisions for tech companies and expands civil remedies for survivors. Below are some of the provisions for tech companies: 

    • Establishes and facilitates mandatory restitution payments for survivors.
    • Establishes liability for certain child sexual exploitation offenses, making it unlawful for a provider of an interactive computer service, as defined in section 230 of the communications Act of 1932 (47 U.S.C 230), that affects or operates through the use of any facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce to intentionally host, store or make child pornography available or knowingly promote or facilitate a violation of certain child sexual exploitation offenses. Penalties for providers who violate this would be subject to fines of up to $1,000,000 and up to $5,000,000 if the offenses involve a conscious or reckless risk of serious personal injury or harm to an individual as a direct and proximate result.

    The bill also expands civil remedies for survivors by creating a civil cause of action for victims of the intentional, knowing, or reckless aiding, abetting, or promoting of certain child exploitation offenses and/or the hosting or storing of child pornography, or making child pornography available to people by a provider of an interactive computer service or app store, and who suffer personal injury as a result. Penalties for violations include recovering actual damages the person sustains or liquidated damages in the amount up to $300,000 and the cost of the action, including reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred, and any other relief available at law in the court’s discretion. There is no statute of limitations.

    This civil remedy also addresses encryption. It prohibits any of the following from being used as an independent basis for liability: utilizing a full end-to-end encrypted messaging service or other encryption services, not possessing the information necessary to decrypt a communication, or failing to take an action that would otherwise undermine the ability to offer full end-to-end encrypted messaging services.

    Providers of interactive computer services who face a civil action for knowingly or recklessly hosting, storing, or making child pornography available can assert several defenses, including that it would be technologically impossible for them to disable access or remove the child pornography without compromising encryption technologies. 

    These proposed encryption regulations are one of the areas where the bill has been subject to the most criticism. 

    In addition, tech companies have mandatory reporting requirements. Providers who gain actual knowledge of any facts or circumstances indicating an apparent, planned, or imminent violation of certain child exploitation offenses or any apparent child pornography on their service will be required to report as soon as reasonably possible (but within 60 days) to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) Cyber Tipline. The bill also provides specific requirements that must be included in the report. 

    Annual reports of the total number of reports submitted to the NCMEC Cyber Tipline must be sent to the Attorney General and the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission by those tech companies that have more than 1 million unique monthly visitors or users in the preceding year and generate revenue of more than $50 million in the preceding year. Companies in violation will be subject to penalties.

    Thus far, organizations such as the National Fraternal Order of Police and RAINN have publicly supported or endorsed the STOP CSAM ACT. On the other hand, the legislation is facing criticism from groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

    To check if your state’s Senator is a cosponsor of this bill, click here.

    Other federal legislation that will be covered as this series continues is the Child Exploitation and Artificial Intelligence Expert Commission Act of 2024, the No FAKES Act of 2024, the Kids Online Safety Act, and the Protecting Our Children in an AI World Act of 2025.”

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Just The News: “President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that creates a new classification of federal employees, which will not be a career post, but is intended to help the president fulfill his “policy agenda.”

    The move comes after Trump began reclassifying thousands of federal employees under Schedule F, which treated the employees as political appointees and other at-will workers. The move was intended to make it easier for the administration to remove them if they did not align with its agenda.

    The new order creates a Schedule G classification, where employees will engage in “policy-making or policy-advocating work.” The positions are intended to end when the presidential administration that hired the employees ends. 

    “President Trump believes creating non-career Schedule G positions will enhance government efficiency and accountability and improve services provided to taxpayers by increasing the horsepower for agency implementation of Administration policy,” the White House said in a fact-sheet. 

    The White House said the move is intended to improve operations at departments like the Department of Veteran Affairs by “streamlining appointments for key policy roles.”

    The move is the administration’s latest effort to reduce wasteful spending and reform the federal government.”

    Liked by 1 person

  16. “IVF Experiments That Mix And Match Multiple Adults’ DNA Are Bad For Kids And Society”

    The Federalist, By: Jordan Boyd, July 17, 2025

    IVF cryo tube

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “How are babies made?” is an age-old question that has sent centuries of parents scrambling for an answer. The go-to explanation, of course, goes something like “Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much…” A new in vitro fertilization experiment that yielded eight “healthy” live births after injecting purchased eggs with the DNA of a man and another woman, however, threatens to invalidate that reliable response.

    Researchers in the United Kingdom, which rearranged its laws in 2015 to accommodate the “pronuclear transfer” trials, pitched their “three-person IVF” experiment as a means to lessen the chances of mitochondrial mutations that lead to genetic disorders in infants conceived via IVF. Corporate media outlets across the globe, such as The Guardian and Financial Times, echoed those talking points in their coverage of the venture.

    In a largely unregulated landscape like that of the U.S., however, it’s easy to see how a procedure promoted as a way to reduce the risk of life-threatening diseases can easily become a cover for something far more sinister, such as eugenics. In this particular case, the UK researchers’ success in producing live babies born of three people’s DNA no doubt opens the door for bringing more people into the sacred act of reproduction.

    Scientists have already made headway in the campaign to cut women out of reproduction by reprogramming adult male mice stem cells to become usable eggs. The lead researcher on that particular project expressed to an eager press that it is “theoretically possible to produce babies from male-male [human] couples.”

    Now, scientists are not only paving the way for homosexual couples who want both of their DNA included in the process of commissioning children via IVF, but also for people in sexual relationships with more than one person.

    There is a growing push in pop culture and corporate media to normalize and even legally recognize so-called “polyamorous” relationships and their parenting. One such example is the recently released TLC show PolyFamily, which follows a glorified group of swingers who pretend they don’t care which of their babies share certain pairings’ DNA.

    The children who result from or are subject to these arrangements are at a much higher risk of abuse and endangerment than kids who live with their married biological mother and father. Yet, the expansion of assisted reproductive technology (ART) experiments, such as manipulating mitochondria, does nothing but embolden these inherently dysfunctional arrangements.

    In fact, there is a not-so-secret hoard of activists that welcome unconventional reproduction because it distorts the definition of marriage and family. The ongoing destruction of marriage and family in the Western world not only devastates children, putting them at higher risk for financial, social, and emotional consequences, but also society. Fertility rates and family structures are heavily responsible for “shaping the economic and political fortunes of nations.”

    The more that developed countries rely on ART like IVF and the ever-evolving in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), the more they are expected to regress into dystopia described only in fiction.”

    Liked by 1 person

  24. “Frankly, “they” need both parents out of the house and extended family severed from the daily lives of nuclear families. This is by design. Industrialized societies rely on and promote a workforce that is willing and able to relocate, both geographically and socially, to adapt to the constantly changing demands of technology, the market, and the broader economy.

    This mobility is considered crucial for economic resilience, innovation, and ongoing growth. In industrial societies, more functions such as childcare, elder care, and education shift from the extended family to the state, and the nuclear family becomes increasingly isolated from their extended family.

    This transition is central to the organization of modern, industrialized societies and is a key reason why family structures have changed so markedly during and after industrialization.

    This is partly why the nation state values higher education. A college education, where children move away from their childhood homes, breaks family bonds. This creates a workforce willing to move for career opportunities, permanently breaking the bonds of both nuclear and extended families.

    Research on the migration patterns of college-educated youth in the United States shows that a significant number do not return to the regions where they grew up after earning their degrees.

    This also leads societies to rely more on science than religion for guidance. When youth break family bonds, they also weaken their ties to local churches, as they head off to college. Over time, the church and religion decrease in societal importance.

    Consider what this means for the family and traditional values.”

    Liked by 1 person

        1. no, that won’t do it unless it’s a house phone–like on the wall–if you can text, they can compromise it. if you have a computer, they can compromise it. if you pay any bill on line–they can access your accounts–it’s endless and people who allow them into their homes with alexa and siri are frickn nuts!

          Liked by 1 person

  26. i hate, hate, hate being unorganized. sigh.
    I KNOW i have something, but it’s not where i usually keep it, so i have been searching for it. can’t find it.
    if we go out tomorrow, I will make sure to buy another one and THEN i will find it!

    Like

  27. “Scott Jennings Pressed About Whether He Will Ditch CNN for Senate Run”

    By Harold Hutchison, Daily Caller News Foundation • Jul. 17, 20

    (DCNF)—CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings hinted Wednesday at what might lead him to ditch the corporate network for a possible Senate campaign during an interview on Real America’s Voice.

    Jennings, who has repeatedly clashed with Democrats and other left-wing guests on CNN, debuted a new talk show on Salem Radio Network Monday. “Bolling!” host Eric Bolling asked Jennings about rumors of a possible run for the Senate seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

    “A lot of people are floating your name to take over, to jump into Mitch McConnell’s Senate seat next year in ’26. You thinking about it?” Bolling asked Jennings.

    “I haven’t made any announcements about that,” Jennings, a former George W. Bush administration official, told Bolling. “There’s three people in the race, I know them all, like them all, have been in and out of their lives in varying degrees over the years. I’ve supported them all in various endeavors, so I’m confident the seat will remain Republican.”

    Republican Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky, former Republican Attorney General David Cameron of Kentucky and businessman Nate Morris have all declared their candidacies for the Republican nomination to replace McConnell, according to Ballotpedia.

    “I do think politics is a team sport, and I think Trump’s the head coach and eventually he’s gonna weigh in on this, and my political advice would be to anybody, you know, if he calls a play, we’re gonna have to run it,” Jennings told Bolling. “I wouldn’t want to run against the president in Kentucky. So, I don’t really have any announcement about it at the moment.”

    “Just let me throw that through the Bolling sieve here. If Trump taps you, you’re going to run,” Bolling asked, with Jennings responding, “I pay very close attention to everything the president says.” Jennings joined President Donald Trump on Air Force One and spoke during the president’s 100-day rally in Michigan, fueling speculation of a possible Senate run.

    McConnell announced his retirement in February, following a series of health crises in recent years. He was hospitalized on Mar. 9, 2023, after he tripped and fell during an event at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., suffering a concussion and a fractured rib and entered an inpatient rehab facility after he was released from the hospital on March 13, 2023.

    The 81-year-old senator was previously treated for a broken shoulder after a 2019 fall in his Kentucky home, CNN reported. He also froze up during an August 2023 press conference in Covington, Kentucky, when asked if he was running for reelection and had a similar incident in July 2023, during a weekly press conference in the Capitol.”

    Video: https://thelibertydaily.com/scott-jennings-pressed-about-whether-he-will-ditch/

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Just The News: “(The Center Square) − Texas Petroleum Investment Company has been responsible for 54 reported oil spills in Louisiana since 2019, releasing a total of 212,299 barrels of crude oil — the equivalent of nearly 8.9 million gallons, according to state data.

    The bulk of that oil — 190,000 barrels — came from a single catastrophic spill in 2019 in Iberia Parish. Records from the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office indicate the release originated from a facility flowline. That incident remains one of the largest inland oil spills reported in the state in recent years.

    Although TPIC’s overall spill volume has trended downward since that major event, the company remains a significant source of oil pollution. In 2021, its worst year on record excluding the 2019 Iberia event, the company was tied to 13 separate spills totaling 17,828 barrels. Three of those occurred in Plaquemines Parish.

    So far in 2025, TPIC has reported six oil spills totaling 290 barrels.

    The company’s record stands out in the context of broader spill activity across the state. As of mid-July, Louisiana officials have logged 23 oil spills this year totaling 1,077 barrels. The largest to date — 358 barrels of diesel — occurred in Acadia Parish. The responsible party for that incident remains unknown.

    TPIC operates extensively in southern Louisiana and is among several companies that have faced scrutiny for repeated environmental incidents in the region. State agencies did not immediately respond to questions about whether enforcement actions had been taken in connection with TPIC’s spill history.”

    Liked by 1 person

  29. WeThePeople2016

    July 18, 2025 10:37 am

    BREAKING: Trump administration and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. REJECT America’s involvement in the World Health Organization “pandemic response measures.”

    The US will not comply.

    “The new regulations employ extremely broad language that gives the WHO unprecedented power,” Kennedy said

    “That opens the door to the kind of narrative management and propaganda and censorship that we saw during the Covid pandemic.”
    Join @SGTnewsNetwork
    https://t.me/SGTnewsNetwork/98556

    The proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations open the door to the kind of narrative management, propaganda, and censorship that we saw during the COVID pandemic. The United States can cooperate with other nations without jeopardizing our civil liberties, without undermining our Constitution, and without ceding away America’s treasured sovereignty.

    Video:

    https://truthsocial.com/@seckennedy/114874606221975745

    Liked by 1 person

  32. SMDH….idiots!

    “Variety reports the scared band has entirely nixed its American tour slated to launch Aug. 15 in Bethel, NY and traverse the entire country before concluding in Anaheim, Calif. on Nov. 8.

    he band took to social media on Wednesday to outline why the end is nigh for its touring hopes and aspirations, specifically noting: “The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable. So … “You can blame it on the weather… The tour is cancelled.”

    Liked by 1 person

  34. “Breaking- WHO International Health Regulations Rejected! President Trump, Secretary Kennedy, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio heard our request and took action!”

    Robert W Malone MD, MS, Jul 18, 2025

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Big win indeed. The worm turns, and elections have consequences. I suspect that Tedros and his sponsors are not so smug today as they were back in June when they illegally jammed these through at the last minute.

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEHHS & State Department: The United States Rejects Amendments to International Health Regulations

    WASHINGTON, DC—JULY 18, 2025—U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio today issued a Joint Statement of formal rejection by the United States of the 2024 International Heath Regulations (IHR) Amendments by the World Health Organization (WHO).

    The amended IHR would give the WHO the ability to order global lockdowns, travel restrictions, or any other measures it sees fit to respond to nebulous “potential public health risks.” These regulations are set to become binding if not rejected by July 19, 2025, regardless of the United States’ withdrawal from the WHO.

    “The proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations open the door to the kind of narrative management, propaganda, and censorship that we saw during the COVID pandemic,” Secretary Kennedy said. “The United States can cooperate with other nations without jeopardizing our civil liberties, without undermining our Constitution, and without ceding away America’s treasured sovereignty.”

    Secretary Kennedy also released a video explaining the action to the American people. “Terminology throughout the amendments to the 2024 International Health Regulations is vague and broad, risking WHO-coordinated international responses that focus on political issues like solidarity, rather than rapid and effective actions,” Secretary Rubio said. “Our Agencies have been and will continue to be clear: we will put Americans first in all our actions and we will not tolerate international policies that infringe on Americans’ speech, privacy, or personal liberties.”

    On June 1, 2024, the World Health Assembly (WHA), the highest decision-making body of the WHO, adopted a revised version of the International Health Regulations through a rushed process lacking sufficient debate and public input.

    Praise for today’s action from members of Congress:

    “The COVID-19 pandemic exposed how the incompetency and corruption at the WHO demands comprehensive reforms. Instead of addressing its disastrous public health policies during COVID, the WHO wants International Health Regulation amendments and a pandemic treaty to declare public health emergencies in member states, which could include failed draconian responses like business and school closures and vaccine mandates. Since 2022, I have led the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act, which the House passed last year. The United States will not allow the WHO to use public health emergencies to devastate our nation. I fully support the Trump administration’s decision to reject the IHR amendments,” said Senator Ron Johnson.

    “America’s public health policy belongs to the American people and should never be dictated by unelected globalists at the WHO or the UN. Time and time again, the WHO has demonstrated it cannot be trusted, and I am grateful that the Trump administration is standing strong to protect American sovereignty,” said Congressman Tom Tiffany.

    “The United States must never cede our sovereignty to any international entity or organization. I applaud Secretary Kennedy and Secretary Rubio for rejecting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ill-advised International Health Regulations (IHR) amendments. I have long supported the U.S. withdrawing from the WHO and defunding their power-hungry organization. My legislation, H.R. 401, first introduced in the 117th Congress, does just that while advancing the mission statements of America First and Healthcare Freedom. The WHO, a widely discredited international organization, lost any potential credibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we must ensure no future administration grants them any legitimacy or further power over the health of Americans,” said Congressman Chip Roy.

    “Secretary Kennedy and President Trump have proven their commitment to putting America First. WHO is an unaccountable international organization that hands individuals’ healthcare freedoms to corrupt bureaucrats. I’m thankful for Secretary Kennedy’s firm stance against WHO’s Pandemic Agreement that will protect Americans’ health freedom and privacy. Let’s Make America Great and Healthy Again,” said Congressman Andy Biggs.

    Today’s announcement is the latest action by Secretary Kennedy and HHS to hold the WHO accountable.”

    ****************

    I am told by colleagues from within the Trump administration that this Malone.News post from June 03, 2024 (below), together with advocacy from many others, was key to today’s decision and announcement. More winning. One step at a time. Donald Trump, Secretary Kennedy and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are changing the world.”……

    https://www.malone.news/p/breaking-who-international-health

    Like

  36. I called Zeb earlier to ask what time they would be here and he said definitely after lunch…..so I went out and managed to get the gates open – they swell in the rain and are a royal PITA to get open, but I did it. I’m just going to leave them open from now on, unless my Sis comes up with her dogs, since I don’t plan on having a dog any time soon. I also spent a good amount of time pulling a bunch of those danged Texas stickers from the driveway. They spread all over and hide underneath other weeds. I’m going to make sure Zeb and his workers know about them, too – I can only imagine how their wives would scream if they brought any home with them! They hurt BAD!!!!

    One of the pulmonary specialists from the Norfolk hospital called to check on my status and I told her about not using the oxygen. She did say that I should have my doctor order an overnight oxygen sensor (one of those things you wear on your finger) to ensure that I’m getting enough oxygen while I’m sleeping, which I wouldn’t know. She said that could be a reason for the swelling in my lower legs & feet. So I’ll call him and have them send me one. If necessary, I’ll go back to using the oxygen at night and see if that makes a difference.

    Feeling pretty upbeat at the moment….now if Zeb just doesn’t screw that all up, I’ll be good!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. hubby’s pulmonologist wanted hubby to do that. he was supposed to pick up the device at the hospital, wear it all night and then return it the next morning so they could read it. (the hospital is an hour a way). He said no thanks. he has an oxometer that we got on line for $8. he tests his oxygen before he goes to bed and then in the morning. but he wears his oxygen at night. i think it’s a habit, but whatever makes him comfortable is fine with me!

      Liked by 1 person

  44. Holy shit!!! This is fricking ridiculous! Zeb shows up with a tractor and a bush-hog and a small riding mower that his EIGHT YEAR OLD DAUGHTER is operating!!! Meanwhile, he has crews in Osmond, Tilden, Norfolk doing all kinds of other work, not even mowing! I told him 3 times he doesn’t have to worry about the alley outside the fence and yet he keeps going back and forth over the same ground – I told him just one strip and he claimed he only made 2 trips down and back but I WATCHED him go back and forth FOUR times!!! Meanwhile, his little girl is running the mower around and around w/no clippings coming out because it’s all clogged up. I finally stopped her and got a stick to pry the grass out of the opening and Zeb comes over and bulls his way in and gets snippy with me “I’ll take care of it! Just leave me alone to take care of this!”

    This is NOT going to work at all! What an absolute asshole!!!! Somehow, some way, I HAVE to find a 2nd hand mower to do it myself or find someone else to mow – period! I can’t stand watching that little girl trying her damnedest to do what Dad tells her to do!!!! I am sooo worried she is going to get hurt!!! Now he is out in front, completely out of view of his young daughter!!! O.M.G!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. YIKES!
      you don’t need the headache!
      i don’t do it, but my daughter and son love facebook marketplace. i guess you put in your area code and you can see what folks in that area are selling. Daughter has bought second hand garden equipment to keep at a lady’s house that they mow for her (free of charge). that way, they don’t need to bring their own. my son bought leftover lumber from a guy not far from him. all kinds f stuff–but i don’t facebook. does your sister?

      Liked by 1 person

  45. EXCERPT: “Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has declassified bombshell emails showing the shocked reaction of a top cybersecurity spy when he was belatedly informed in 2019 that the discredited anti-Trump Steele dossier had been used to develop the Obama administration’s intelligence assessment on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Just the News can reveal.

    “We have a problem,” the intelligence officer on the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) wrote when he learned by accident about the dossier’s influence in the December 2016 intelligence community assessment – seemingly by accident from an email sent by another top intelligence officer who had asked him to search for material in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

    The revelation so disturbed the NIC’s deputy national intelligence officer for cybersecurity that he eventually blew the whistle, first to the U.S. intelligence community’s watchdog, then to Gabbard personally, intelligence sources relayed to Just the News.

    “At no time in my IC career has ‘dossier’ material ever been represented to me in a work setting as something the NIC viewed as credible, or that was influential in crafting NIC products,” the officer wrote at one point.

    The CIA’s recent eight-page “lessons learned” review – released earlier in July – focused on the 2016 assessment about Russia and the November 2016 election, which was made public in January 2017. 

    The review, conducted at the direction of CIA Director John Ratcliffe, concluded that “the decision by agency heads to include the Steele Dossier in the [assessment] ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.” 

    According to the newly-declassified and partially-unredacted September 2019 emails obtained by Just the News, one surprising assertion was that the Steele dossier had played a role in the assessment seemed to originate with top IC election security official Shelby Pierson, who had been appointed the Election Threats Executive (ETE) within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) by then-DNI Dan Coats just a couple of months prior. ODNI had said in July 2019 that the ETE “will serve as the DNI’s principal adviser on threats to elections and matters related to election security.” …..

    https://justthenews.com/government/security/new-declassified-emails-show-key-spy-shocked-learn-steele-dossier-used-russian

    Liked by 1 person

  46. I called my GS, Gage – he is going to see if he can find me a used riding mower – he thinks he can find one for around $500. He’s just too busy to come up and do it with his small riding mower but he will also see if he can find someone else who might be willing to come up here. I’ve got to do something, that’s for sure!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  47. “Tulsi Drops SMOKING GUN in Russiagate Investigation!!”

    Clandestine, Jul 18, 2025

    “I don’t think people are grasping how big of a deal this is. Obama and his cronies are under investigation, and Tulsi just produced smoking gun evidence that they all WITTINGLY committed treason. She even said “there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016”.

    They knew the entire time that the Russia story was a hoax, and thus the Mueller investigation was a treasonous regime-change operation, spearheaded by Obama and his holdovers in the intelligence community, namely Comey, Brennan, Clapper, etc.

    This means the Dems, along with their cohorts in the media, KNOWINGLY fed the American People disinformation for years, that THEY concocted, with the intent to overthrow the sitting POTUS.

    It’s literal treason, and we now have incontrovertible evidence that Obama knew about it. It’s time for justice.”

    Liked by 1 person

  48. Shit! Made the mistake of calling the VA to have the doctor request the oxygen monitor and now they insist I come in for an appointment because my feet are swelling….FFS, of course they are!!! DUH!!!! So next Wednesday afternoon, I get to go beard them in their den again! He’d better not try to get me to take any more big pharma poison – I’ll tell him to put it where the sun never shines!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  49. Lurker360

    July 18, 2025 2:52 pm

    Ten days ago, the following was posted on CTH:

    Lurker360 © July 8, 2025 6:12 pm
    Is it possible that Trump is avoiding the specter of “retribution” here?
    By obfuscating (and by Musk’s pronouncement that Trump’s on the list) he is inspiring the LEFT to demand that the dirty laundry be exposed.
    When it is exposed those who are outed (Many Dems?) cannot blame Trump, as all he has to say is
    “All of you Democrats demanded this information”.

    And now the boomerang is in the air.

    VSGPDJT has requested his DOJ to release the only possible untainted record; the sealed Epstein grand Jury Indictment from 2019. Bondi is on it.

    Unlike whatever the FBI has been sitting on, embellishing, or whatever, this Grand Jury record should include EVERY salient piece of information and no fluff.

    Betting we’ll be hearing lots of reasons (from dems and rinos) why that info is not what we wanted) LOL.

    VSGPDJT strikes again!

    Like

Comments are closed.