Devil in the Ozarks

General 4 Minutes

I found this story on The Epoch Times site, originally on the Associated Press site:

There are plenty of hideouts in the rugged terrain of the Ozark Mountains, from abandoned cabins and campsites in vast forests where searchers are hunting for an ex-lawman known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.” Others are not only off the grid but beneath it, in the hundreds of caves that lead to vast subterranean spaces.

Fugitive Grant Hardin “knows where the caves are,” said Darla Nix, a cafe owner in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, whose sons grew up around him. Nix, who describes Hardin as a survivor, remembers him as a “very, very smart” and mostly quiet person.

For the searchers, “caves have definitely been a source of concern and a point of emphasis,” said Rand Champion, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

“That’s one of the challenges of this area — there are a lot of places to hide and take shelter, a lot of abandoned sheds, and there are a lot of caves in this area, so that’s been a priority for the search team,” Champion said. “It adds to the challenge of a search in this area, for sure.”

Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”

He escaped Sunday from the North Central Unit — a medium-security prison also known as the Calico Rock prison — by impersonating a corrections officer “in dress and manner,” according to a court document. A prison officer opened a secure gate, allowing him to leave the facility.

Authorities have been using canines, drones and helicopters to search for Hardin in the rugged northern Arkansas terrain, Champion said. The sheriffs of several counties across the Arkansas Ozarks had urged residents to lock their homes and vehicles and call 911 if they notice anything suspicious.

In some ways, the terrain is similar to the site of one of the most notorious manhunts in U.S. history. Bomber Eric Rudolph, described by authorities as a skilled outdoorsman, evaded law officers for years in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It was a five-year manhunt that finally ended in 2003 with his capture.

Rudolph knew of many cabins in the area owned by out-of-town people, and he also knew of caves in the area, former FBI executive Chris Swecker, who led the agency’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office at the time, said in the FBI’s historical account of the case.

“I think it is very likely that he not only had campsites and caves, but he was also spending some time in those cabins,” Swecker said. “He was anticipating a great conflict and he had clearly lined up caves and campsites where he could go,” he added.

Rudolph pleaded guilty to federal charges associated with four bombings in Georgia and Alabama, including one in Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta during the 1996 Olympic Games.

There are more than 2,000 documented caves in northern Arkansas, state officials say. Many of them have entrances only a few feet wide that are not obvious to passersby, said Michael Ray Taylor, who has written multiple books on caves, including “Hidden Nature: Wild Southern Caves.”

The key is finding the entrance, Taylor said.

“The entrance may look like a rabbit hole, but if you wriggle through it, suddenly you find enormous passageways,” he said.

Local residents might discover some caves as teenagers, so a fugitive would want to choose one that deputies in the search didn’t also discover as teens, Taylor said.

It would be quite possible to hide out underground for an extended period, but “you have to go out for food, and you’re more likely to be discovered,” he said.

Hardin pleaded guilty in 2017 to first-degree murder for the killing of James Appleton, 59. Appleton worked for the Gateway water department when he was shot in the head Feb. 23, 2017, near Garfield. Police found Appleton’s body inside a car. Hardin was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

He was also serving 50 years for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers, north of Fayetteville.

He had been held in the Calico Rock prison since 2017.

SOURCE: THEEPOCHTIMES.COM (The story, from Associated Press, is dated 5/31/2025)

Devil in the Ozarks CAPTURED

How was Hardin caught, ending 12-day manhunt?

Authorities said tracking dogs picked up Hardin’s scent and were able to lead them to Hardin. Hundreds of law enforcement officers at the local, state and federal level spent nearly two weeks searching for Hardin, using dogs, drones and aircraft, at times hampered by severe weather.

Moccasin Creek where he was found has seen high water due to heavy rainfall in the last two weeks, which may have limited Hardin’s ability to move around. It also prevented authorities from finding him sooner. Champion said search teams had looked through the area before but couldn’t fully investigate because of the high water.

Though Hardin was previously thought to have left the state, Champion said investigators now believe he never got very far at all from the prison. He was fingerprinted and assessed at the North Central Unit before being moved to the Varner Unit, Champion said. He will be interviewed in the coming days.

SOURCE: USA TODAY

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Published by pat frederick

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155 thoughts on “Devil in the Ozarks”

    1. Very weird! Good morning, Pat! It poured rain last night with strong winds; no way Zeb can mow today, that’s for sure! Still cloudy and cool w/temp only at 68 – we’ve got a string of supposedly cooler days on the way, which will be a nice change!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. GOOD MORNING, PAT AND FILLY!

      Great story – love a good killer hunt!

      Got the yard done – with the help of my yard man. I wanted to do the front yard myself to get it back in shape and get after the weeds that went wild while I was taking care of Sally Q. So this week, I spent a few early mornings working on the front yard and front bed, mowing, digging nut grass, edging, etc. Boy howdy, it needs a lot more work.

      The yard guy came today and mowed and trimmed the back yard which is harder for me due to the slope on the woods side.

      He’s also a finish carpenter with contacts around the building, repair community so can help me get the long delayed repairs done around my house.

      How and what are you two doing today – what projects and escapades are you doing?

      Liked by 2 people

          1. IDK what to tell you – I only have to sign in again after I completely shut the internet down on my computer. Are you using a phone or a computer? If it’s a phone, I don’t know jack about that since I’ve never had a smart phone. I only access it from my laptop.

            Liked by 2 people

              1. Ah! I’m not very familiar with them – I’ve been on Windows since the advent of the first desk top computers!

                Liked by 1 person

      2. I’m not doing much of anything except waiting for my Amazon delivery. I did toss some of my throw pillows and a couple of regular pillows into the dryer with a couple of dryer sheets to freshen them up a bit. I left my legs wrapped up last night and I guess that must be why they aren’t hurting as badly today. The diuretic I ordered is in this shipment so I am anxious to get that started – hopefully it will help lower the swelling.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Afternoon GA!
        sorry Filly had to dig you out of the bin!
        I ran to the little grocery store in town and to the post office. that was my big escapade for the day! lol
        working on fall crafts now, then start designing some new Halloween stuff.
        it’s stinking hot out there right now! glad the ac is working!

        Like

    1. RealRobert

      @Real_RobN

      Here it is: CIA Director Mike Pompeo covertly granted Adam Schiff access to raw intelligence logs and communications—out of a small room in Langley—for Schiff to use in an attempt to overthrow

      @realDonaldTrump

      , the sitting President of the United States. In other words, the handwritten notes by John Brennan—which DNI John Ratcliffe declassified in October 2020, confirming Obama’s treachery—were concealed from the American people by CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. TheseTruths

    TheseTruths(@thesetruths)

    Offline

    Wolf

    July 30, 2025 02:08

    Evacuations Underway as Tsunami Sirens Go Off in Hawaii After 8.8 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Russia – Trump Posts Warning

    Tsunami alerts were issued for Alaska and the entire US West Coast.

    The first tsunami wave is expected to hit around 7:15 local time in Hawaii.

    Tsunami waves are expected to hit California’s coast after midnight PST…

    Fox News reported Tuesday’s earthquake off Russia may be one of the 10 biggest quakes ever recorded…

    President Trump posted a statement about the earthquake and tsunami warning.

    “Due to a massive earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a Tsunami Warning is in effect for those living in Hawaii. A Tsunami Watch is in effect for Alaska and the Pacific Coast of the United States. Japan is also in the way. Please visit tsunami.gov/ for the latest information. STAY STRONG AND STAY SAFE!” President Trump said.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. EXCERPT: “The legal doctrine of government speech, which inhibits individual First Amendment rights, got a massive expansion from the Pacific to the Rockies thanks to a federal appeals court that upheld ideological requirements for ongoing professional licensing rules, according to lawyers for a California doctor challenging her state’s rules.

    The Pacific Legal Foundation told Just the News it will file a petition for rehearing by the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals following a three-judge panel’s ruling Friday that deemed the Golden State’s mandatory “implicit bias” training in accredited continuing medical education, of which doctors must complete 50 hours every two years, government speech.

    Beyond California, the ruling blesses current or potential ideological requirements in CME in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Alaska, Montana and Hawaii. The panel was nominated by presidents Clinton, Obama and Biden, all Democrats.

    The logic of the ruling means “there is little to stop governments around the country from compelling continuing education instructors in any trade or profession to profess all manner of controversial state-endorsed topics,” said PLF lead attorney Caleb Trotter.

    It’s a “dangerous misuse” of government speech prohibited by the Supreme Court’s 2017 Matal ruling against a statutory ban on “disparag[ing]” trademarks including for the Asian-American rock band The Slants, Trotter said, quoting Matal.

    A Florida Christian high school, supported by football greats including Tim Tebow, is trying to get SCOTUS to review a similar 11th Circuit ruling, binding on Florida, Georgia and Alabama, that upheld a ban on prayer over the public address system by religious teams at games in taxpayer-funded venues, deeming them government speech.

    PLF sued California two years ago on behalf of ophthalmologist Azadeh Khatibi, a peer-reviewed researcher who treats infectious diseases and teaches CME courses, and medical advocacy group Do No Harm, which has CME-teaching members.

    The group argued AB 241 requires doctors to be taught “white individuals are naturally racist” as a condition of their licensing but lost at the district court a year ago. This spring PLF sued to block even broader Michigan rules on behalf of Grand Rapids dentist Kent Wildern, arguing the scientific rigor behind implicit bias has been questioned since at least 2009.

    The conservative Young America’s Foundation and Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and libertarian Cato Institute supported Khatibi in friend-of-the-court briefs. Khatibi’s co-plaintiff and CME instructor Mary Singleton, an early black female physician who blasted the mandate as racist in The Washington Post, died before oral argument.

    A childhood immigrant from Iran, Khatibi obtained a preliminary injunction against another California law banning so-called medical misinformation, prompting the Legislature to revoke the law before it could be struck down. Khatibi, then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others sued again months later, claiming California was still threatening doctors.

    “Dr. Khatibi never imagined that she would escape the oppression of her childhood only to face creeping collectivism and unfree speech in America,” PLF says on the case page. “Regardless of its relevance in her CME courses, she must replace some of her instruction with a discussion of implicit bias.”….”

    https://justthenews.com/nation/free-speech/creeping-collectivism-appeals-court-upholds-ideological-mandate-doctors-keep

    Liked by 1 person

  14. EXCERPT: “After blocking a new muscular dystrophy therapy in order to investigate patient deaths, the Federal Drug Administration reversed course after criticism and restored hope to parents seeking a treatment to aid children affected by the debilitating disease. 

    The FDA’s initial decision to freeze distribution of the therapy, marketed as Elevidys, following at least three patient deaths potentially connected to the therapy, stirred criticism from advocates for muscular dystrophy patients and from health policy experts. Added to the mix of criticism about the initial decision were the attacks and defenses of Dr. Vinay Prasad, the agency’s top biologics official, who supported progressive candidates and criticized several of President Trump’s key health policies in the past. 

    The company that produced the therapy, Sarepta Therapeutics, initially resisted the freeze, but eventually paused shipments of its innovative product, opening its stocks up to a hammering that threatened to put the company’s future in serious jeopardy. According to financial analytics website companiesmarketcap.com, Sarepta’s market cap fell yesterday to $1.56 billion from $14 billion a year ago. Market capitalization, commonly called market cap, is the total market value of a publicly traded company’s outstanding shares — held by institutional investors and the public at large — and is commonly used to measure how much a company is worth.

    The “Right-to-try”

    The reversal of the pause aligns with President Donald Trump’s longtime advocacy for the right-to-try. During his first term, the president signed a new law giving terminally ill patients the opportunity to seek new or experimental treatments without obtaining the approval of the FDA, which had been required in the past. 

    The FDA demanded on July 18 that Sarepta pull Elevidys from the market and halt all shipments to patients after reports of two deaths connected to the treatment. Elevidys is not an experimental drug, and was approved by the FDA under certain circumstances in 2024. It is a prescription gene therapy designed to treat patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disorder that leads to the breakdown and decay of muscles over time and mostly impacts male children. 

    Despite initially refusing to voluntarily pause shipments of the therapy, Sarepta eventually agreed to a “temporary pause” to allow “the necessary time to respond” to the FDA and to finish the “safety labeling supplement process.” 

    The reaction was immediate. After the pause was announced, the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the disease by supporting research and advocating for care, criticized the decision. 

    “These reports are profoundly upsetting and raise serious concerns for our entire community,” PPMD said in a statement. “Families who have fought tirelessly for access to this therapy, those who have already received it, and those who are in line to receive it are now left with more questions than answers.” 

    The organization said the agency’s original approval of Elevidys was important for researchers to continue innovating new therapies for rare genetic diseases. 

    “Elevidys was the first gene therapy approved for Duchenne and set an important precedent for the development and evaluation of future therapies,” PPMD said. “Its approval signaled both scientific and regulatory readiness to explore genetic approaches to treating Duchenne and underscored the importance of continued investment and collaboration in the rare disease space.”

    Families worried about lack of information about deaths

    The FDA’s initial demand to pull Elevidys from the market came after concerns about the therapy and its effectiveness began to percolate among the muscular dystrophy community. Some parents of children with the disease who were receiving the gene therapy were not as optimistic, reportedly raising concerns about the patient deaths. The FDA would later determine that those deaths were not connected to the therapy, informing its recent decision to reverse course……”

    https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/health/fda-lifts-hold-muscular-dystrophy-drug-after-public-criticisms

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Just The News: “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Tuesday announced the long-anticipated proposal to repeal the Obama-era “endangerment finding.” The rule determined that greenhouse gas emissions posed a risk to public health, which gave the EPA the authority to regulate those emissions as a pollutant. 

    In a statement, Zeldin said the rule had been used to justify over $1 trillion in regulations, including the Biden-Harris administration’s EV mandates. Its repeal, according to the EPA, would save Americans $54 billion in annual costs. If the proposed repeal is approved, all regulations regarding emission standards for vehicles would be eliminated. Zeldin said the move would grant car buyers greater choice and affordability. 

    “With this proposal, the Trump EPA is proposing to end sixteen years of uncertainty for automakers and American consumers,” Zeldin said in the statement. Public health or welfare

    The Clean Air Act directs the EPA to regulate pollutants from new motor vehicles if they are found to cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be determined to endanger public health. It was under this section of the act that the endangerment finding was drafted. 

    The section of the act states that “the Administrator shall by regulation prescribe (and from time to time revise) in accordance with the provisions of this section, standards applicable to the emission of any air pollutant from any class or classes of new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines, which in his judgment cause, or contribute to, air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.” 

    Dr. Roger Pielke Jr., senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, explained in his “The Honest Broker” Substack that once the EPA determined that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health, it took on precedential status. That means, in order to reverse that judgment, Zeldin would need to determine they do not endanger public health. 

    While there are legitimate arguments that those emissions are harmless, Pielke wrote, they don’t dismiss contrary views. The courts wouldn’t arbitrate the two perspectives and would likely conclude that a large body of research supports the contention that they are harmful, which is a sufficient basis for an endangerment finding. Legal arguments

    This is likely why Zeldin is challenging the finding on a legal and procedural basis, rather than a scientific one. Rather than argue that the finding was wrong, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking repealing the finding argues that that section of the Clean Air Act does not authorize the EPA to regulate emissions standards to address climate change. 

    In the 2007 case, Massachusetts v. EPA, the Supreme Court considered the question of whether the EPA was required to consider greenhouse gas emissions as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. In its ruling, the high court deferred to the EPA’s interpretation of the act under the “Chevron deference,” which deferred to agencies’ interpretation of ambiguity in written statutes. The Supreme Court shot down the rule last summer, which opens the door for courts to reconsider the EPA’s former interpretation of the Clean Air Act. 

    “We propose that the Endangerment Finding relied on various forms of ‘Chevron deference’ to depart from the best reading of the statute and exceeded the EPA’s authority in several fundamental respects, any one of which would independently require rescission to conform to the best reading of the law,” the EPA’s proposed repeal states. In the name of climate change

    If the rule is finalized, it will almost certainly face legal challenges. Whether the courts uphold the rule remains to be seen. Critics of the rule, however, praised the EPA for the effort. 

    “The 2009 Endangerment Finding empowered years of climate alarmism starting during the Obama administration and accelerating under the Biden administration. It resulted in hundreds of billions of wasteful spending in the name of climate change, lining the pockets of environmentalist special interest groups and the green climate industry,” Roderick Law, communications director for the Functional Government Initiative, said in a statement. 

    Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, said the EPA has used the finding to deny Americans access to reliable, affordable energy, as well as transportation choice. “It has reshaped investment and infrastructure to our country’s detriment and has been used as a vehicle to push a political agenda,” Pyle said. 

    The proposal had critics as well. Calstart, which advocates for a transition to emissions-free vehicles, called the proposal a “devastating blow to American jobs.” “This proposal undermines the regulatory certainty that businesses need to plan and invest with confidence, destabilizes the market, and will kill tens of thousands of jobs in the electric vehicle sector—jobs that were created through forward-thinking policies and industry innovation,” John Boesel, Calstart CEO, said in a statement. 

    The proposed rule is open for comments until Sept. 21. In a press conference in April, Zeldin encouraged supporters and those concerned with the repeal to lend their expertise to the discussion. 

    “When we go through a public comment period, we encourage people who are concerned about these issues and have opinions one way or the other, and have technical experience. They want to provide their insight. I would encourage them to participate,” he said.” 

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Just The News: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday told reporters that he believes Jeffrey Epstein’s most prominent accuser, Virginia Giuffre, was among the former Mar-a-Lago employees that the late financier “stole” from his resort. 

    Giuffre, who committed suicide in April, has been credited by other Epstein accusers with inspiring them to speak out about their own experiences with the convicted felon. Epstein died in prison in 2019, while awaiting trial on multiple sex-trafficking charges.

    Trump spoke out about his fallout with the late financier over the weekend as his administration faces blowback from lawmakers and supporters regarding its handling of Epstein’s alleged client list. The president claimed the falling out was over Epstein stealing employees from his Florida resort.

    “He took people that worked for me. And I told him, ‘Don’t do it anymore.’ And he did it,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Stay the hell out of here.'”

    Trump confirmed that the employees were young women who worked in the club’s spa, including Giuffre. The accuser previously said she met Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell while working at the resort as a teenager, per NBC News.

    “I told him, I said, ‘Listen, we don’t want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa.’ … And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again,” Trump said. “I think [Giuffre] worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people. He stole her, and by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.”

    The president’s comments are true that Giuffre has never accused Trump of wrongdoing, but she has sued Prince Andrew, alleging she was sexually abused by him when she was a teenager. The British prince has denied the allegations but settled the lawsuit in 2022.” 

    Liked by 1 person

  17. interesting read. Kim Davis, a Tennessee clerk who did not want to recognize gar marriages, was taken to court and eventually SCOTUS declared gay marriage was legal in their Dobbs decision. Now she’s headed back to court, armed with an attorney challenging that very decision in light of a newer court ruling…Oberfell.

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

    Liked by 1 person

  18. “Administration Finds Millions of Individuals Double Enrolled in Taxpayer-Funded Coverage — The existence of duplicate payments demonstrates the left’s desire to make all Americans dependent upon government.”

    The Federalist, By: Christopher Jacobs, July 30, 2025

    healthcare money under a pill bottle

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Earlier this year, The Federalist highlighted a Wall Street Journal investigation that found taxpayers had spent billions paying for individuals who had enrolled in Medicaid in multiple states simultaneously. The kicker is not surprising but still shocking: As bad as the Journal exposé seemed, the reality is worse.

    A new investigation increased both the number of enrollees with duplicate forms of taxpayer-funded coverage and the amount taxpayers are paying for such unnecessary double-dipping. It provides an example — one of many — to rebut leftist claims that the recently passed budget reconciliation bill will somehow destroy the safety net.

    Explosion of Wasteful Spending

    The Journal analysis of Medicaid data from 2019 to 2021 found taxpayers spent $4.3 billion over three years, providing duplicate coverage to an average of 660,000 people per year. The Trump administration recently examined what happened after four years of Biden administration policies, designed to promote enrollment in taxpayer-funded coverage at all costs.

    The analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of 2024 enrollment data concluded that, last year, “an average of 1.2 million Americans each month were enrolled” in Medicaid in multiple states — nearly double the level of duplicate enrollment cited by the Journal in the opening years of the Biden presidency. Moreover, CMS also noted that another “1.6 million Americans each month were enrolled in both Medicaid” and taxpayer-subsidized coverage on the insurance Exchange plans.

    According to CMS, the total cost of all this unnecessary spending on a total of 2.8 million duplicate enrollments is $14 billion per year — more than three times the $4.3 billion figure the Journal reported earlier this year. CMS didn’t specify if that $14 billion figure represented total Medicaid costs (i.e., including the share of Medicaid costs that states pay themselves), or only the potential costs to the federal government.

    Regardless, it represents a large amount. For purposes of comparison, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that, during the last fiscal year, the federal government would spend $607 billion on Medicaid. Simply eliminating the duplicate payments would reduce federal Medicaid spending by roughly 2.3 percent — without doing anything to harm beneficiaries, who would still have taxpayer-funded coverage, just not in multiple places at once.

    Phony Coverage Losses?

    The CMS data highlights two important points regarding Medicaid and taxpayer-funded insurance programs. First, the discussion about the number of individuals who will “lose” coverage seems overstated.

    CBO has yet to release detailed coverage estimates regarding the final version of the bill, enacted into law. But the case described above demonstrates the absurdity of this type of exercise. The left might scream about 2.8 million people “losing” coverage — even though they “lost” coverage only on paper and are still insured elsewhere (and at taxpayer expense) in the system.

    Many of the other supposed “losses” from the legislation fall into similar buckets: individuals who choose not to comply with the new work requirements, undocumented migrants denied taxpayer-funded coverage for public policy reasons, and so forth.

    A good percentage of Americans would have few qualms about lawmakers making these types of reasonable policy judgments. And yet the left hopes to overwhelm such rational behavior with screaming headlines talking about Trump taking away health care from 15 million Americans.

    Welfare-Industrial Complex

    More fundamentally, the fact that these types of duplicate payments can exist, have existed for many years, and grew substantially under the last administration demonstrates the left’s desire to make all Americans dependent upon government.

    The Biden administration self-evidently had little interest in controlling spending on individuals obtaining taxpayer-funded coverage from multiple sources. Even if it wasted taxpayer funds — and even if the multiple payments fattened the coffers of insurance companies, who got paid to provide coverage that beneficiaries never used — Biden’s CMS simply wanted to juice the enrollment numbers by any means necessary.

    With this kind of attitude, it seems little wonder that our federal government faces $36 trillion in debt and counting. Ending the nonsense of people enrolled in duplicate coverage won’t solve the debt problem on its own, but recent actions by CMS — not to mention Congress in the reconciliation bill — to expose this madness and stop it provide a welcome dose of common sense for a change.”

    Liked by 1 person

  19. “The Democrat Party Has Always Been As Foul As Jasmine Crockett”

    The Federalist, By: Eddie Scarry, July 30, 2025

    Jasmine Crockett

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “At the core of The Atlantic’s unnecessarily long profile on loud Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett is the argument that, “when the Republicans go low, the Democrats should meet them there.”

    As Rachel Jeantel so famously put it, “That’s real retarded, sir.”

    The notion that Democrats have for too long shown excessive restraint or pitched themselves to voters with a naive intellectualism while being punched in the mouth by brute Republicans is a hysterical myth, one that only persists because the media that helped create it continue to perpetuate it.

    Going back as far as 2015, you undoubtedly heard both Democrat leaders and prominent dorks in the Washington news media call President Trump a “bully.” Hillary Clinton called him that. Joe Biden called him that. Joe Scarborough Scarborough called him that. The New York Times called him that. The Washington Post called him that. The Wall Street Journal called him that.

    Because average Americans are highly sensitive to injustice, the point of calling Trump a “bully” was always to manipulate their emotions, pressuring them to oppose him solely because important people were accusing him of attacking weaker people in cruel and unfair ways.

    But while the average American may be innocently naive to a fault, he is not blind. Trump, as a political figure, has always been one (elderly) man confronting powerful forces: the Republican establishment, the Democrat establishment, the left-wing entertainment industry, and, most intimidating of all, the monolithic, corrupt national news media. That he was able to hit them where it hurt (often to hilarious effect) didn’t make him a bully. It made him the winner.

    Let’s not forget whose finances were nearly zeroed out. Let’s not forget who sat in jeopardy of imprisonment. And let’s not forget who was shot, just shy of being killed.

    Jasmine Crockett’s approach to politics isn’t new. Democrats have always been vulgar little deviants of no shame. But the difference between pre-Trump and now is that before, Democrats were largely able to rely on the media to do the work of viciously smearing their opponents for them, thus keeping their own hands clean and maintaining a veil of decency.

    As vile as he was, you had to respect the late Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, if for nothing other than his tendency to openly express his contempt for his opposition, lying about it with reckless abandon (which was of course excused and tolerated by the media when they weren’t busying themselves mocking a Republican’s interracial family). But virtually every other Democrat got to play “norms and values,” hiding behind the Washington press, well shielded from any real scrutiny.

    Trump changed that. Unlike most Republicans, the president isn’t afraid to do to Democrats what they’ve so successfully done to others and hidden from themselves. He’s not afraid to call them what they are and, best of all, have fun while he does it.

    If Jasmine Crockett is a change for Democrats, it’s only in that she’s among the first to accept that she can’t hide what her party has been all along.”

    Liked by 1 person

  23. “Cincinnati Police Chief Asks Citizens Not To Film Crimes Next Time As It Makes Her Look Bad”

    Crime · Jul 29, 2025 · BabylonBee.com

    Image for article: Cincinnati Police Chief Asks Citizens Not To Film Crimes Next Time As It Makes Her Look Bad

    CINCINNATI, OH — Friday’s violent mob-style attack took social media by storm over the weekend, forcing Chief of Police Teresa Theetge to call a press conference in which she asked citizens not to film violent crimes because it makes her look bad.

    According to the chief’s office, Theetge is particularly upset because the abundance of video footage posted to social media makes Cincinnati look like a lawless city. A fact, she says, is supposed to be a secret.

    “That is unacceptable to film a crime in my city,” she said. “It was horrendous, yes, but it also makes me look bad. Why did people film it? Just to let others know what happened and to force me to prioritize a crime I don’t really care about? That’s a waste of my important time.”

    Experts agree that if no one had been on hand to film the violent assault outside a weekend jazz festival, Cincinnati wouldn’t look so awful right now. “It’s a terrible crime to film a crime,” said Theetge. “I promise whoever is responsible for filming this and posting to social media will be brought to justice.”

    At publishing time, Chief Theetge had also called on police to end the use of body cameras because of how bad they make criminals look.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. “9 Early Frontrunners For The 2028 Democratic Primary”

    Politics · Jul 29, 2025 · BabylonBee.com

    Image for article: 9 Early Frontrunners For The 2028 Democratic Primary

    “Sure, the calendar may still read “2025,” but the 2028 presidential primary season will be here before you know it. While big names like Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez grab all the headlines, there are other Democratic candidates making waves behind the scenes.

    The Babylon Bee has obtained the following list of frontrunners for the 2028 Democratic nomination:

    1. Hunter Biden: The perfect heir to the family legacy, only with more F-words and crack.
    2. Kilmar Abrego Garcia: Few candidates have been able to build as much support among the Democratic base as this wife-beating illegal immigrant.
    3. That one bronze statue of the sassy black woman from Times Square: Still smarter than Kamala Harris
    4. Angel Reese: The party could use someone with her track record of beating popular white people.
    5. Volodymyr Zelenskyy: He has valuable experience in running a country and costing American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
    6. Luigi Mangione: Insiders say he would be a killer candidate.
    7. Stephen Colbert: Word has it his schedule is wide open.
    8. Elmo: The party has a strong history of success when it comes to nominating puppets for president.
    9. Joe Biden’s Autopen: It ran the country before, and it can do it again.

    The Republicans could be in big trouble against that all-star lineup. Who else could make a run for the Democratic nomination? Add your suggestions in the comments.”

    Liked by 1 person

      2. oh yeah…that old guy’s house is still closed up–maybe he’s on vacation? we’ll keep an eye out though. I did check the “community post it board” there but no one had any mowers for sale.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Ah, you don’t need to do that. My idea of shipping it by train is kind of extreme and I’ve found a shop in Norfolk that sells used riding mowers. I’m going to check it out on Friday after my test. Zeb is still being a dick, tho. Since the bank will charge me $35 to stop payment on that check, I asked him this morning if we would wait a couple more days to see if it did finally arrive. He said ok but he won’t wait any longer than Friday – asswipe!!!

          Liked by 1 person

            1. Oh, Rodney sent me a link to his site – there are a TON of documents they require that you download – waaaay more than I would ever consider downloading onto an internet site! Really super complicated!

              Liked by 1 person

  26. “Further Data Shows Media Wildly Overestimated Number Of Trans Troops”

    The Federalist, By: Jacqueline Annis-Levings, July 29, 2025

    Protests against transgender troop bans

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “In the weeks surrounding Trump’s inauguration, the left-wing media insisted the administration’s effort to remove trans troops from the military would weaken the force — some outlets fearmongered that up to 15,000 service members would be booted. But numbers recently obtained by journalist Chris Bray from the Department of Defense indicate that only four “transgender servicemembers” have been “removed from the military so far under the new Trump administration policy.”

    In May, the Department of Defense released a memo laying out how “Service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria may elect to separate voluntarily.” At the time, the agency estimated 1,000 troops who self-identified as having gender dysphoria would “begin the voluntary separation process.” According to Bray’s reporting, citing a DoD official, of 1,404 troops who self-identified as of May, only four have completed the process of separation. The rest are “pending.” 

    Nonetheless, as Bray also notes, the media will surely continue pushing the claim that Trump’s efforts to “prioritize military excellence” will boot “thousands” from the force. 

    “Abruptly discharging 15,000-plus service members, especially given that the military’s recruiting targets fell short by 41,000 recruits last year, adds administrative burdens to war fighting units, harms unit cohesion, and aggravates critical skill gaps,” Rachel Branaman, executive director of LGBT activist group Modern Military Association of America, told The Times after Trump was elected. “There would be a significant financial cost, as well as a loss of experience and leadership that will take possibly 20 years and billions of dollars to replace.”

    Bray has pointed out that the 15,000 estimate is from a study by the “now-defunct” Palm Center, which used a questionable process to find their final number. As a Defense Department official recently told The Federalist’s Shawn Fleetwood, about 4,200 “active-duty, Guard and Reserve service members [were] serving diagnosed with gender dysphoria” as of February. Even if more trans troops leave or are removed from the military over the next few years, both the 4,200 and 1,400 numbers are still a far cry from 15,000.

    Multiple outlets, including Newsweek, The Independent, The New York Times, CBS News, and NPR, regurgitated the 15,000 number in recent months. Although some outlets acknowledged the 4,000 estimate from the DoD earlier this year, they still clearly chided the Trump administration’s efforts.

    Trump’s January executive order essentially disqualified transgender troops as “mentally and physically” unfit for duty. A district court judge attempted to block the enforcement of the order for violating constitutional rights. After an emergency appeal from the Trump administration, the Supreme Court stayed the injunction, allowing the policy to be enforced while litigation continues.

    Despite media fearmongering about the Trump administration’s efforts, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force all met their recruitment goals months early this year.”

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Just The News: “New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte has signed a slew of bills aimed at protecting crime victims, strengthening penalties for human trafficking and cracking down on child pornography generated by artificial intelligence.

    The first-term Republican signed 11 bills on Monday updating laws related to how investigators handle rape kits, establishing a committee to study the toll of human trafficking within illicit massage parlors and setting stricter penalties for creating child sex abuse images using artificial intelligence programs.

    “New Hampshire continues to take decisive action to protect victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other horrific crimes and get offenders off our streets,” Ayotte said in a statement. “From cracking down on human trafficking to establishing a new domestic violence fatality review committee, we’re making sure our state remains the safest state in the nation.”

    Among the bills signed by Ayotte:

    House Bill 218 provides victims of crimes with the right to request a free initial police report and, following the conclusion of the investigation or case, a free copy of the complete case file.

    Senate Bill 140 establishes the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee to conduct comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of deaths related to domestic violence.

    Senate Bill 148 prohibits those convicted of murder from financially profiting from the death of the victim. For example, if a person kills their parent, they cannot then inherit their parent’s estate.

    Senate Bill 262 increases the penalty for certain offenses involving the trafficking of persons under 18 years of age to 18 years to life imprisonment.

    While New Hampshire’s violent crime rate has been decreasing for years, Ayotte has said there are too many crimes being committed and campaigned on a platform of tightening the state’s public safety laws.

    The former U.S. senator made crime a central pillar of her gubernatorial campaign last year, focusing on New Hampshire’s most populous city, Manchester, and attacking her Democratic opponent Joyce Craig’s record as mayor.

    Attorney General John Formella was among those who praised Ayotte for signing the slate of public safety bills, saying they “send a clear message: victims will be supported and perpetrators will be held accountable.”

    “These new laws – from enhancing protections for domestic violence survivors to increasing penalties for human trafficking and exploitation – demonstrate our dedication to safeguarding the most vulnerable,” Formella, a Republican, said in a statement.”

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Just The News: “United States Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky on Tuesday won gold in her signature 1,500-meter freestyle race at the swimming worlds championship in Singapore.

    Ledecky, who holds the record for fastest completion of the race, did not set any new records but finished in 15 minutes, 26.44 seconds, according to the Associated Press. Simona Quadarella of Italy took silver, completing the race in 15 minutes, 31.79 seconds and Lani Pallister of Australia won bronze, completing the race in 15 minutes, 41.18 seconds.

    The current record for the 1,500 meter freestyle is 15 minutes 20.48 seconds, which Ledecky set in 2018. “I was just trying to get out fast, but comfortable enough that I could go from there,” Ledecky said. “I’m happy with the time and happy with the swim. I love this race. It was the race I broke my first world record in 2013. Lots of great races over the years.”

    Ledecky’s time on Tuesday marked her fifth highest in the race. She now owns 25 of the top 26 times in history in that race. The all-star, who is the most decorated female swimmer in history, also won bronze in the 400-meter freestyle. Ledecky now has a total of 22 gold medals from world championships, and nine Olympic gold medals.” 

    Liked by 1 person

  29. “Calls grow for nationwide Islamic religious education in German schools: Teachers’ association and Turkish community leaders say Muslim students should have the same right to religious education as Christians in Europe”

    ReMix, Thomas Brooke, July 30, 2025

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Germany’s Association for Education and Training (VBE) has called for the introduction of comprehensive Islamic religious education in schools across the country, arguing that Muslim students should be offered the same opportunities as their Christian peers.

    “We are committed to ensuring that all believers can talk about their faith within schools and receive relevant information about their religion and other religions,” said VBE Federal Chairman Gerhard Brand in comments to the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND).

    He urged political leaders to ensure that schools are equipped with the necessary personnel and materials, and that programs are implemented quickly and expanded over time.

    Islamic religious education is currently regulated at the state level, resulting in significant variation. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Islamic religious education is already offered in schools, while in Bavaria, a state-run Islamic studies course is available as an alternative to ethics. However, the Bavarian model does not include cooperation with Islamic religious communities.

    According to estimates, around 5.5 million Muslims live in Germany, and at least 580,000 were attending school as of 2020. Yet only around 81,000 students are currently enrolled in Islamic religious education programs. Advocates say that expanding access to these classes is essential for integration and for protecting students from extremist influences.

    The Turkish Community in Germany also welcomed the initiative but warned of political and structural hurdles. “Islamic religious education is a must — just like Catholic and Protestant religious education,” said the group’s chairman, Gökay Sofuoglu. He called for educational standards to be aligned at a national level, while acknowledging the constitutional limits imposed by Germany’s federal system. “We would need a nationwide Islamic cooperation partner. Unfortunately, that isn’t in sight at the moment,” he said.

    Sofuoglu stressed that while the state must remain secular, it has a duty to ensure fair and equal treatment of religious communities. “I don’t know how this could be regulated nationwide,” he added.

    Stefan Düll, president of the German Teachers’ Association, told the RND that “religious education in public schools, taught by teachers trained and state-certified in Germany, can provide a counterbalance to fundamentalist attitudes — mediated by the family or by fundamentalist preachers online.”

    The debate over Islamic education is not just reserved for Germany. As the Muslim population across Europe grows, both support for and opposition to Islamic teachings have risen in multiple European nations.

    In April of this year, Remix News reported how, for the first time, Muslim students had become the largest religious group in Vienna’s schools, underlining the incredible demographic transformation taking place in the Austrian city.

    https://rmx.news/austria/this-is-no-longer-immigration-this-is-displacement-for-the-first-time-muslim-students-outnumber-christians-in-viennas-schools/

    According to data obtained from the office of Bettina Emmerling, the city councilor responsible for education, Muslims now account for 41.2 percent of all students, while Christian students fell to 34.5 percent. The trend is only growing, and is accompanied by rising problems, including violence in schools, anti-Semitism, and contempt for women.

    “Islam is changing our society in ways we do not want,” warned Christian Klar, a Viennese school principal, last October. He expressed concern over the “rapid Islamization” of Austrian schools, alongside rising violence and anti-Semitic incidents.

    https://rmx.news/article/we-have-to-take-a-stand-school-leader-in-vienna-warns-of-rising-islamization/

    In January, it was reported that approximately 200 schools across the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia now teach Islam as part of their curriculum, following the disclosure of official figures after a parliamentary request by the local Vox party.

    https://rmx.news/article/islam-now-taught-in-nearly-200-schools-across-andalusia-as-vox-claims-region-has-succumbed-to-mass-immigration/

    The inquiry submitted by Vox Andalusia sparked political debate over the extent to which the curriculum is being catered to immigrants and the scope of influence a rising Islamic community now has on institutions across the region.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. this is hogwash. you learn religious teaching at catechism classes–not at a public school. OR a Christian school which you have to pay tuition for. they want it free. you want your kids taught islam? BUILD A DAMN SCHOOL!

      Liked by 1 person

  34. Liked by 1 person

  36. Just The News: “The Supreme Court will meet in private to discuss Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid to overturn her sex-trafficking conviction on Sept. 29, Fox News reported.

    Maxwell has argued she should have been immune from prosecution due to an agreement Jeffrey Epstein made with federal prosecutors before his death.

    She is currently serving a prison sentence for sex-trafficking and the prospect of a Trump pardon has raised speculation, though the president has indicated he hadn’t considered such a move.

    Maxwell served as the madam and primary procurer of underage women for Epstein and recent spoke with the DOJ about her role in his operation. She has not ruled testifying before Congress.”

    Liked by 1 person

  37. “EVERYTHING that happened in the Quran, The Torah and The Bible all took place within that little teenie, tiny circle. Why do you suppose that is?“

    Liked by 2 people

  38. “When our standards are high, when the mission is clear, when we prioritize warfighting over wokeness, that energizes the young men and women of our country… That’s reviving the warrior ethos”. – Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth         

    “Your eyes are being fooled a bit here. This is NOT a picture of a classic old car. This is a painting. Yes – crafted by a brilliantly talented woman. You can find out more about her here: http://www.cherylkelley…”

    “And in the end, she was $ 20,000,000.00 in debt. And she was the one that was going to ‘fix’ our national economy? Good luck, California – if she decides to run, you all will put her in Sacramento – because you’re still idiots. Juss’ sayin’…”

    Liked by 1 person

  39. “Rumors abound that this concrete monolith that looks like something out of a bad sci-fi movie is going to end up costing a billion dollars when all is said and done. WTF could they possibly have that would warrant spending that much money on such ridiculous idea? The whole idea of ‘Presidential museums’ is suspect of grift.”   

    “Aerial view of Flying Wing planes at the Northrop plant in Hawthorne in 1949. It’s kinda amazing that they were so far ahead of the current science at that time, yet the ideas that came out of those (for then) radical design elements didn’t really catch on until nearly 50 years later with the development of the B-2 Stealth Bomber.”

    Liked by 1 person

  40. “Indian police have arrested a man accused of running a bogus embassy from a rented residential building near the capital, New Delhi, and recovered cars with fake diplomatic plates.

    The suspect impersonated an ambassador and allegedly duped people for money by promising overseas employmen in northern India. According to police, Harshvardhan Jain, 47, claimed to have acted as an adviser or ambassador to entities such as “Seborga” or “Westarctica.”

    Police recovered multiple doctored photographs showing Jain with world leaders, and fake seals of India’s foreign ministry and nearly three dozen countries.

    Jain was also suspected of illegal money laundering through shell companies abroad, he said. He is also facing charges of forgery, impersonation and possessing fake documents.”

    Liked by 1 person

  42. “This must be where they train the alligators for Alcatraz…

    NF: We visited this park the first time I ever flew on an airplane – a couple of years after I was adopted, my parents and I flew to FL to see my Dad’s parents (first time I was introduced to them), who lived there at the time. The only thing that is noteworthy of my first airplane flight was how awful the humidity was when we stepped off the plane!!! We also drove down a section of road that looks like you’re going downhill but you’re really traveling up-hill! Weird! IDR now what it is called. (….or was it vice versa? IDR for sure! LOL)

    “There is a real Alligator Farm in St Augustine. This park is Florida’s oldest continuously running attraction, having opened in 1893. It is known for housing all 24 ‘recognized species of crocodilians’ (How can you not love that word? Try using it in a sentence some time), including alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gavials, making it the only place in the world to see every species. 

    Beyond crocodilians, the park also features other reptiles, mammals, and birds, along with various exhibits and animal performances. Notable attractions include Maximo, a 15-foot 3-inch, 1,250-pound saltwater crocodile, and opportunities for animal encounters like feeding alligators or interacting with sloths. This photo was taken there in 1926.”

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I remember that I thought it was pretty cool. We also went out on the glass-bottom boats, which was way cool, especially for a farm girl from NE who had never even seen an ocean before!

        Liked by 1 person

  47. “Kash Finds Trove of Sensitive Documents at FBI”

    Clandestine, Jul 30, 2025

    “FBI Director Patel reportedly found a “trove” of sensitive documents in a secret room at the Bureau. One of these documents being the classified annex to the Durham report, which Trump and his team are expected to release to the public soon.

    Obama’s cabal built in blockades and hid information, both digitally and physically, in an attempt to prevent Trump loyalists from finding information proving Deep State criminality.

    So for those of you complaining about the pace of this operation, please try to understand that Bondi/Patel/Bongino, and the rest of Trump’s appointees, are operating in a hostile environment. There is much more going on behind the scenes that we do not see.

    It’s not as easy as going into a file drawer at the FBI and pulling out the goods. Obama and his cronies went to great lengths to cover everything up, including raiding Mar-a-Lago, in an attempt to steal the Documents Trump already had in his possession.

    The enemy is trying to cover their tracks, but they are failing.”

    Liked by 1 person

  48. “Well, nothing like a little boom in the Middle East somewhere….”

    “Wonder how they picked the guy who would be jumping?”

    “Like showering under a waterfall, and better yet, illegal in California!”

    Liked by 1 person

  49. “Classic, but more bacon please”

    “Cats Going Boneless”

    “Daytona Beach, FL, 1957”

    Oasis

    “Wildest Front Door Ever”

    Liked by 1 person

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