The Elephant Man’s Last Breath

General 6 Minutes

Today is the anniversary of the death of Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man, and I found this article on LISTVERSE.COM about the man and his life.

From: LISTVERSE.COM:

Joseph Merrick, also known as The Elephant Man, is widely known as a medical oddity. His perplexing ailment led him to a life in the limelight, which was not always grand. Going from oddity show to oddity show, The Elephant Man faced many hardships until he finally found solace at the London Hospital.

Though many people simply view him as a being to be studied, he was more than that. The Elephant Man was a human who had a life and a history that goes beyond the sideshow. Though his life is not one of glamour, there are many interesting facts that make this Victorian man extraordinary.

Merrick Was Born Healthy

Joseph Merrick was born August 5, 1862, in Leicester, England, to Mary Jane and Joseph Merrick. When young Joseph was born, he was a completely normal child—healthy, well-formed, and with no medical abnormalities. However at age five, Merrick’s physical form began changing rapidly. He developed abnormal growths on his bones, causing huge deformations on his skin. His cranial structure also changed, and large swaths of skin hung from the back of his skull and in front of his face.

His right arm became twisted, and his hand contorted into a flipper-like appendage. His legs suffered the same fate as his arm, causing impairments when he walked and requiring him to use a cane. Though Merrick became increasingly handicapped as he aged, he successfully attended school until age 11 when his malformations prevented him from making it to his classes. Shocked by what they were witnessing, his parents were convinced that Merrick’s condition must be related to the trauma his mother had experienced when she was pregnant. She had been kicked over by an elephant on a trip to the fairground. The Merricks thought it could be the only explanation for their son’s malady.

Merrick Most Likely Suffered From Proteus Syndrome

During Merrick’s time, medicine was not up to the scientific standard of today. So seeing a person with an ailment like Merrick’s was a shock. Back then, many doctors determined that Merrick was suffering from a severe case of neurofibromatosis. This is a genetic disorder that causes tumors to develop on a person’s nervous system. Luckily, medicine has advanced in many ways since then. Through the study of Merrick’s remains, it was determined that neurofibromatosis was a misdiagnosis. Merrick’s ailments were not on the nervous system level.

Studies have shown that he was most likely suffering from an incredibly rare disease known as Proteus syndrome. Causing extreme overgrowth in the bones, skin, and other organs, Proteus syndrome is characterized by asymmetrical growth which often affects one side of the body more than the other—just like in Merrick’s case.  Sadly, Merrick’s parents would have never known that young Joseph would have Proteus syndrome upon his birth. The disease shows no physical symptoms until the afflicted child reaches at least six months old.

Merrick Had Three Siblings Who All Died Tragically

Merrick wasn’t an only child. But his siblings did not fare much better in their lives as they all died due to illnesses and debilitations. Merrick’s brother, John, was born April 21, 1864, and only lived about three months. The child succumbed to smallpox, which was a common illness at the time. Merrick’s second brother, William, was born in January 1866 and lived almost five years before he, too, succumbed to illness. William died after he came down with scarlet fever. Marion, Merrick’s only sister, was born September 28, 1867. She also endured physical problems such as myelitis, seizures, and other impairments. She died in 1891, a year after Merrick passed away.

Merrick Worked For His Dad For A Short Time

Merrick’s mother died when he was a mere 11 years old, and his father quickly remarried. To help bring in extra money, Merrick left school and began working by rolling cigars. However, he had to stop a few years later when debilitating growths overtook his right arm. He was then employed directly in his father’s haberdashery which sold notions, men’s clothing, and accessories. Merrick was given the job of door-to-door salesman, which he found very dispiriting. Due to the growths on his legs and hips, he had trouble walking, which made trekking from home to home a burden.

By this point in his life, his facial deformities had left him incredibly disfigured. They also limited his ability to speak when trying to sell his father’s goods. People would open their doors, surprised to see this poor soul in front of them. But they could not understand his speech, and many were frightened by his appearance. Despite his efforts, the money was not coming in fast enough. Merrick’s father beat him severely for not making enough sales and kicked him out on the street at age 17.

Merrick Was Once Displayed In A Shop Window

Sideshows, or human oddity shows, were common during the time in which Merrick lived. Due to his condition, he was found by Tom Norman, who immediately added Merrick to his famous exhibits. With his graying, bulbous skin, Merrick was described as “half a man and half an elephant.”  Norman claimed that Merrick was treated with respect and earned plenty of money while he was with Norman’s freak show. Although Merrick was a in a better position than living life on the street, Norman still profited more by keeping Merrick in the show.

It wasn’t long before people began to lose interest in Norman’s show, and the police closed it down shortly afterward due to public decency and disruption concerns. Unable to find income, Merrick traveled to Belgium to find work in a show there, which turned out to be a disaster.

Merrick Was Stranded In Europe For A Year

When Merrick arrived in Belgium, he was met by a new promoter and a less than enthusiastic crowd. Merrick gained only mediocre success in the traveling shows, and his Austrian promoter was a true monster. After the failure of the Belgium shows, the Austrian robbed Merrick of his life savings, beat him, and ultimately abandoned him. Stranded and alone, Merrick wanted to get back to England. He finally found passage on a ship and made his way back to England in 1886.

During the voyage from Belgium, Merrick had contracted a bronchial infection. When he arrived at the Liverpool Street Station, people mobbed him due to his strangeness. With his speech unintelligible, Merrick was arrested and taken into custody by the police.

Merrick Enjoyed Writing

In his sideshow days, Merrick wrote a short autobiography that was published as a pamphlet given out at the shows. This three-page autobiography was meticulously constructed with Merrick giving specific details about himself and his condition. Merrick was an excellent writer and enjoyed the process. Upon his return to London from Europe, he took up permanent residence in London Hospital thanks to the efforts of Dr. Frederick Treves.

Once provided a safe room, Merrick’s love of writing blossomed. He found that writing gave him some sense of comfort in a life that had been so tragic. He wrote prose and poetry and loved writing letters.

Merrick’s Own Head Killed Him

Merrick’s abnormal skin and bone growth did much damage to his body, including his head. The giant skin folds had made his head so heavy that Merrick was forced to sleep in a chair. Lying down while sleeping posed many threats—the greatest of those was dying in his sleep.

Sadly, this is exactly what happened to Merrick. On the night of his death, he had decided to lie down in his bed to sleep in an attempt to “be like other people.” During the night, Merrick passed in his sleep.

Dr. Treves, who had worked so hard to give Merrick a nice life in the hospital, did the autopsy and believed that Merrick had died of asphyxiation. Over 100 years later, a newer theory suggested that Merrick’s neck had dislocated under the weight of his own head, crushing his spinal column.

 Merrick’s Skeleton Was On Display In London

After the autopsy, Merrick’s skeleton was given to the Queen Mary University of London. For many years, people could come and view the actual skeleton. Today, Merrick’s bones are kept in a private room that requires special access to view them.  However, those wishing to see the skeleton can venture to Royal London Hospital where Merrick’s skeleton has been recreated in great detail using 3-D scanning. This skeleton can be viewed alongside many of his other personal items, including his hat and mask, photos, and the model of a church he made while living in London Hospital.

Merrick Made It To The Big Screen

Merrick’s life was made into a movie in 1980. Based on the writings of Dr. Frederick Treves and Ashley Montagu’s book, The Elephant Man: A Story in Human Dignity, director David Lynch (Eraserhead, Mulholland Drive) decided to take the story of The Elephant Man and adapt it for the big screen. In a film starring Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt, Lynch recreated the heart-wrenching life of Merrick in black-and-white.

To ensure that Merrick’s appearance was as accurate as possible, Lynch received help from makeup specialist Chris Tucker, who used the actual casts of Merrick’s body to create an incredibly accurate depiction. Ninety years after his death, Joseph Merrick still had the ability to draw an audience.

SOURCE: LISTVERSE.COM

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Published by pat frederick

Published

82 thoughts on “The Elephant Man’s Last Breath”

  1. Morning All!

    it’s 60* with a chill in the air.

    we have to do a big banana run later this afternoon…hopefully this time we can actually get bananas…lol the little market in town didn’t have any last week that weren’t already overripe.

    see what today brings…

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    1. Good Morning, Pat!

      Yucky Michigan summer day. Cloudy, drizzly, humid, Temp 70*, DewPoint 70*.

      Such a sad story about “Elephant Man”. And he never got a burial.🙁

      Safe travel, take care. 😊

      Liked by 2 people

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      2. Morning, Gina! Did you ever see the movie, “Mask?” I posted a clip below – Cher is the Mom and her son, Rocky, has the same disease. Loved the movie!

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    2. Morning, Pat! Jeez, you would think fall had returned here – only 59 outside this morning and cloudy, now up to 60!!! Had to turn on the space heater nearby this morning! Brrrrr…….had to refill the jelly again but I’m feeding more finches and sparrows than orioles. That’s one thing I rarely have to worry about the local store having is bananas and they always have an assortment from green to banana-bread ripe.

      I had read about this guy before – Cher also made a movie where her son had the same condition – Mask. Did you ever see it? I loved it!

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Good Morning Filly!

        it’s chillier here in the mornings too, but i’m not gonna complain!

        I just snuggle closer to hubby and say keep me warmer baby…LOL

        I never saw the movie, because Cher is such an ass…imo.

        Liked by 1 person

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        1. Yeah, she plays kind of an ass in the movie too – tough biker chick – but it’s a really good movie and I’ll take every chance I get to drool over Sam Elliott!!! Hunka-hunka!!!

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            1. Ahhhhh……Elliott is about as perfect as you can get, IMO…..of course, he comes after my all-time love, George Strait!

              Like

              Reply
  5. TheseTruths

    TheseTruths(@thesetruths)

    Offline

    Wolf

    August 5, 2026 01:25

    JUST IN: Trump-endorsed candidate for Governor of Michigan John James has OVERWHELMINGLY won the Republican nomination

    James has been an AVID supporter of President Trump all throughout the campaign.

    MICHIGAN: MAKE JOHN JAMES YOUR GOVERNOR IN NOVEMBER! pic.twitter.com/qHUJI1eJ0m

    — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 5, 2026

    Trump-endorsed candidate for Governor of Michigan John James has OVERWHELMINGLY won the Republican nomination

    James has been an AVID supporter of President Trump all throughout the campaign.

    MICHIGAN: MAKE JOHN JAMES YOUR GOVERNOR IN NOVEMBER!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. M.A. Rothman
    @MichaelARothman
    5h
    𝐍𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐁𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄’𝐒 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 — 𝟗.𝟐 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐒 — 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐃

    A new Paragon Health Institute study lands like a bomb on Capitol Hill: roughly 𝟗.𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎.𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 on Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion in 2024 likely did not meet federal eligibility rules. That is 𝟒𝟔 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 of the entire expansion population — and an estimated $𝟑𝟑 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 in taxpayer money out the door.

    Paragon president Brian Blase took the findings straight to Capitol Hill this week. Asked whether states really follow the federal eligibility rules, his verdict was blunt: 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵.

    And the incentive to cheat is baked in. Blase testified that Washington reimburses states 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 for signing up an able-bodied, working-age adult through the expansion than for the truly vulnerable the program was built for — children, seniors, and the disabled.

    So a program sold as a safety net for the most fragile Americans has been quietly converted into a cash pipeline, where every questionable enrollee means a bigger federal check. The people getting squeezed out are the ones who were never supposed to be an afterthought.

    𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 $𝟑𝟑 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭.

    https://xcancel.com/MichaelARothman/status/2084882087677661313

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    1. Just imagine how much $$$ the retirees would be making in SS had all these billions and billions of $’s not been stolen and/or wasted. Not to mention the American people overall getting some of their hard-earned $ back in tax refunds!!! Hell, round up all the money spent fraudulently and Americans wouldn’t even HAVE to pay taxes for years and years!!!!

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  8. Charlotte99

    August 5, 2026 6:18 am

    SHOCKING:

    RFK Jr. just dropped this on live national TV

    Lyme disease.

    RSV (the #1 killer of American kids).

    COVID-19. All of them came from gain-of-function research. His exact words: They’ve been engineering the diseases that are destroying us… and then calling it “science.”

    This isn’t a conspiracy theory anymore.

    This is the HHS Secretary saying it out loud. “Lyme disease almost certainly came from these experiments and is now devastating our country.”

    “RSV came from a laboratory, which is now the biggest killer of children in our country.”

    “And of course, the COVID-19 pandemic… All of those have been linked credibly to gain-of-function research.” “It’s something with enormous costs and no proven benefits.”

    https://nitter.poast.org/DawnsMission/status/2084267267500716327#m

    Liked by 2 people

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  10. Charlotte99

    August 5, 2026 6:59 am

    EBONICS AGAIN

    NY police bigwig, husband helped goon son plan gangland shooting — and mom was getaway driver: sources

    A Westchester County police bigwig and her ex-con hubbie chaperoned their gangbanger son to a botched hit on a rival in the Bronx – then she took over as the getaway driver, officials said Tuesday.

    Mount Vernon Deputy Police Commissioner Jennifer Lackard, 49, and her husband James Lackard drove their 20-year-old son Chase Lackard to Concourse on June 29 at around 11:57 a.m. and helped him plan a brazen hit right outside the Bronx Criminal Court, according to police and court records.

    Once there, the proud parents sat in the front of the family’s Chrysler Pacifica while their “Slutty Gang” member son opened fire with a semiautomatic out of the window toward members of the rival street crew P. Laafay – but missed his targets, sources and documents said.

    https://nypost.com/2026/08/04/us-news/ny-police-bigwig-was-getaway-driver-for-goon-son-in-gangland-shooting-sources/

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. Charlotte99

    August 5, 2026 7:40 am

    BREAKING: MASSIVE INDIA H-1B VISA FRAUD RING BUSTED…

    The long-simmering scandal over America’s H-1B visa program has erupted into a full national crisis, as Indian law enforcement has uncovered a sprawling network of universities selling counterfeit degrees—many of which were allegedly used by foreign nationals to fraudulently obtain H-1B visas and enter the United States workforce.

    The raid has set off alarm bells in Washington, and for good reason: the integrity of a program designed to attract the world’s best talent has been systematically exploited for decades.

    According to initial reports, the fraud ring spans no fewer than 28 universities across India, with fake certificates and counterfeit institutional seals recovered across the medical, nursing, and engineering fields.

    In a staggering display of industrial-scale deception, investigators have seized approximately 100,000 counterfeit certificates so far.

    https://nitter.poast.org/Fxhedgers/status/2083975783538720789#m

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. if true, the whole dang family is rotten!

    Liber8tor
    August 5, 2026 8:15 am

    Abduhl Al-Sayed Lefty-Left candidate for Senate in Mich has the same smarmy smile as Mamdani. Al-Sayed says he is not “Socialist or Marxist” but wants to distance himself from that label until after the election. (yes…I can understand why).

    Al-sayed is very well educated and groomed his entire life by big money from the Paul Soros Foundation. Yes, that’s the older brother of George Soros.

    bshaw7369610
    August 5, 2026 8:21 am
    Reply to Liber8tor

    I believe Paul Soros also funded and sponsored Mr. Ramaswamy…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Told ‘ya! Ramaswamy was also on the $$$ train in the beginnings of the pharmaceutical fraud involved with COVID. He sold his pharma company out early, took the $$$ and started campaigning for office somewhere…. anywhere….and he is Vances’ best bud!!!!

      Liked by 1 person

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  13. Charlotte99

    August 5, 2026 9:14 am

    𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝟓𝟏 𝐈𝐌𝐌𝐈𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐏’𝐒 𝐃𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄, 𝐍𝐎𝐍-𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐒

    President Trump’s Department of Transportation announced the results of Operation Highway Shield on Tuesday, a crackdown that started in Florida and has since spread across the Midwest into Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio, according to the New York Post and Fox News.

    The numbers are staggering. Officials ran 3,487 enforcement stops, pulling 𝟕𝟔𝟔 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 and logging 51 immigration detentions, 47 criminal charges, 39 incarcerations, 36 English-language-proficiency violations and three cargo-theft recoveries totaling roughly $1 million in stolen freight.

    Florida troopers reported that up to 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 at some weigh stations could not meet English requirements. When one officer asked a driver what a road sign meant, the trucker answered 𝘕𝘰.

    Asked what a driver should do when he saw it, the trucker again replied 𝘕𝘰.

    Federal Motor Carrier Safety administrator Derek Barrs called it a matter of life and death.

    𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦, he said. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥.

    The push follows a string of 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 involving drivers the Department of Homeland Security says were in the country illegally or holding commercial licenses they never should have been granted.

    𝐀 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝟕𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐬 — 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝.

    https://nitter.net/MichaelARothman/status/2084956088995393673#m

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  14. Sunnehanna

    August 5, 2026 9:14 am

    There is little to no chance that Fauci is sleeping well these past several days. Rand Paul’s committee votes on Thursday to determine a contempt of Congress charge.

    Sen Paul clarified that although Fauci has received a presidential pardon, his refusal to help the Senate is a crime of its own that is not covered under the pardon, which excused any crime committed between 2014 and January 2025.

    “We have a law in Congress that if you will not testify and help an investigation, it’s called contempt of Congress. It’s a felony,” Paul said on the “Just The News, No Noise” TV show. “Now, the prosecution has to be through the Department of Justice. People get confused sometimes, and online people will criticize me sometimes and say, ‘why won’t you prosecute him?’ And it’s like, ‘Well, I don’t have prosecutorial power.’”

    Paul said he believes he can bypass the full chamber and send the referral to the DOJ directly because the recommendation is not a law and that the referral poses several important questions for a court to decide.

    “The legal question is: Can someone plead the fifth? Can they plead their constitutional right not to incriminate themselves when they’ve already been given immunity through a pardon?” he asked. “There are arguments for this, and there are some precedents.”

    Liked by 1 person

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  15. Charlotte99

    August 5, 2026 8:58 am

    WOW!!!

    A group of North Carolinians REFUSED to give Muslims a permit to demolish a residential home and build a 3,000 square foot mosque just outside of Charlotte NC

    “Arafath Mohammad” did not inform any neighbors of his plan to build a mosque when he purchased the home.

    Residents then STORMED the council hearing saying: “Islam is not a religion, it’s a takeover,” said a Lancaster County resident opposed to the project.

    “We do not want Sharia law in this area,” said another Lancaster County resident.

    After 2 HOURS of residents voicing their opposition, the council unanimously denied the permit.

    There will not be a mosque in the residential neighborhood.

    https://nitter.poast.org/mattvanswol/status/2084367791654609020#m

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  16. Just The News: “Progressive upstart Abdul El-Sayed was projected to win the Michigan Democratic Senate primary, defeating Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and marking yet another win for a left-wing insurgency that has rocked the party establishment.

    The Associated Press called the race for El-Sayed at 9:55 a.m. EST, at which point he led with 48.48% to Stevens’s 47.51%, with 95% of precincts reporting.

    El-Sayed is set to face former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., in November. Rogers did not face a serious primary and was previously the Republican nominee in 2024.

    Michigan is expected to prove a pivotal battleground in the battle for the Senate. The Wolverine State has flipped the past three presidential elections, backing a Republican in 2016 and 2024, but backing a Democrat in 2020. 

    It has not sent a Republican to the Senate since Spencer Abraham, who left office in 2001.”

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  17. H/T Rodney

    ROFLMAO

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    1. I believe too many in congress are aligned with the jews on some issues…and they’re probably well paid for that. and to some extend POTUS has tried to protect israel as well–they are a strong and (mostly) loyal ally. But to claim that POTUS is israel first is a lie.

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  19. thedoc00

    August 5, 2026 11:30 am

    For those who keep asking what happened to the DOGE Cuts and all the fraud-waste-abuse that has been identified and griping that the President has not followed up with action. Read this article from the Gateway Pundit.

    The President’s hands to implement DOGE or write restrictive disbursement requirements were just tied by the Law … requiring an attempted slog thorough the corrupted Federal Courts to undo.

    The “Republican” senate just codified the exact opposite of ALL the DOGE findings and recommendations by approving $700 BILLION in Grants to the very organizations DOGE investigated and undoing Executive Branch Rules put in place that allowed Executive Branch officers the authority to review as well as approve-disapprove and assess appropriations for fraud-waste-abuse … with Susan Collins leading the charge to undo DOGE efforts.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/08/republican-senators-cave-dems-shield-more-than-700/

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  20. Cjzak

    August 5, 2026 10:40 am

    Interesting time line from a a substack author who calls himself the 2nd Smartest Guy in the World. Bill Gates is an evil man.

    “Let us review a brief history of this gain-of-function (GOF) abomination known as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS):

    ALARMING TIMELINE: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation + Vanderbilt University+ Alpha-Gal Syndrome

    2012 

    Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation begins funding Vanderbilt University’s work on Alpha-Gal Syndrome. A condition most people had never even heard of yet.

    2013 

    Bill Gates starts publicly pushing synthetic lab-grown meat as the future — “better for the planet,” he says.

    2017 

    Gates pours serious money into Memphis Meats (now Upside Foods). He’s all-in on fake meat replacing real beef, pork, and lamb.

    2012–Present 

    Lone star tick populations explode across the U.S. Hundreds of thousands develop Alpha-Gal Syndrome — a brutal, lifelong allergy to red meat triggered by a single tick bite. Cases keep rising dramatically.

    2021–2023 

    Gates Foundation funds Oxitec’s genetically modified cattle tick projects. Official story: “for livestock protection.”

    2024 

    Vanderbilt ramps up actual development of the Alpha-Gal vaccine.

    2025–2026 (NOW) 

    Tick infestations surging. Alpha-Gal cases climbing fast. Gates still aggressively promotes lab-grown meat. The vaccine “fix” is moving forward.

    The pattern is crystal clear:

    1. Fund the “problem” (Alpha-Gal research at Vanderbilt since 2012) 

    2. Accelerate the crisis on the ground (tick explosion + meat allergy epidemic) 

    3. Push people off real meat (synthetic meat empire + campaigns) 

    4. Sell the “solution” (lab meat + the vaccine)

    Create the crisis → Control the food supply → Profit from the cure.

    They’re not even hiding it anymore.

    This isn’t coincidence. This is a timeline.”

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  21. Bill Melugin

    @BillMelugin_

    NEW: It appears that all five Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Federal Courts will boycott today’s committee hearing on the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in US, arguing that they believe GOP will use it to scapegoat all Muslims. “Democrats have no intention of indulging this political creepshow,” the Dems say in a joint statement. The Dems on the committee are: @SenWhitehouse, @SenBlumenthal, @maziehirono, @AlexPadilla4CA, & @SenPeterWelch. The hearing, called by Senate Republicans and chaired by @SenTedCruz (R-TX), is titled ““Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America.” The Muslim Brotherhood promotes governance based on Islamic principles and several of its branches have been labeled as a terrorist organization. Last year, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a senior leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood has had a presence in the US for decades. Hearing at 2:30pm ET. No Democrats are expected to participate.

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  22. Alrighty then! I decided to get the rest of the TX stickers pulled before it got to hot and I got ‘er done. Yeah! I did break a sweat working in the sun, even tho the temp is only 74, but not as bad as yesterday. Tomorrow will be a mowing day – high temp called for is 84, which isn’t bad at all, and clear. More and more grass is turning green again, thankfully.

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      1. It’s so nice, I’m going to mow the back yard today yet….I cut some saplings out from underneath the 2 west evergreen trees, too, and pulled more weeds. It’s just so pleasant outside!!!

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  23. QThestorm
    @17QStorm
    $220 BILLION OF YOUR MONEY IS GETTING LAUNDERED THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

    Rep. Harriet Hageman exposed the entire racket on camera.

    The Department of Education runs a ~$280 billion annual budget.

    Less than 25% ever reaches students in the classroom.
    The rest flows straight into bureaucracy… then to consultants… who turn around and donate right back to Democrats… then to more consultants… then to NGOs.

    She said it without blinking:
    “It is money laundering and money churning at its absolute best.”

    This is the Federal Department of Indoctrination in its purest form — a permanent Democrat slush fund dressed up as “education.”

    That’s why the left is losing its mind over DOGE and Trump’s agency-by-agency purge. They’re not protecting kids. They’re protecting the pipeline.

    Abolish the whole damn thing. Send the power and the money back to states, parents, and actual classrooms.

    https://x.com/17QStorm/status/2084788976854978657

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  24. EXCERPTS: “One hundred and eleven. That is how many times Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment before a congressional committee this week, reading the same canned sentence no matter what he was asked.

    Four. That is how many months Peter Navarro spent in federal prison under the very same statute, after telling Congress exactly why he believed he could not comply: President Trump had invoked executive privilege, and the privilege was not Navarro’s to waive.

    The two contempt-of-Congress cases could not be more different, and the difference is not politics. It is written into the text of the statute on contempt of Congress, which Congress split into two distinct crimes with two distinct standards. Understanding that difference tells you two things at once: why a contempt charge against Fauci might actually stick — and why Navarro’s conviction should not survive the appeal now.

    If Fauci is charged with contempt of Congress, it will be under 2 U.S.C. § 192 — the same statute the Biden Department of Justice charged Navarro with. After someone receives a subpoena from Congress compelling his testimony, Section 192 prohibits two different actions: (1) “willfully” defaulting (that is, neither producing requested documents nor showing up for the hearing); and (2) refusing to answer relevant questions without a justifiable excuse.

    Fauci would be charged under the second clause, refusal to answer relevant questions. While the prosecution would have to prove that this refusal was deliberate rather than accidental, that would be easy here. Fauci deliberately and intentionally refused to answer nearly every question put to him on matters big or small.

    The only defense available to Fauci under the second clause would be if he had a justifiable excuse for refusing to answer questions. The Supreme Court has said that the Fifth Amendment, properly invoked, trumps the investigative powers of Congress. So if Fauci properly invoked the Fifth Amendment, he would defeat a Section 192 charge.

    Fauci’s Improper Use of the Fifth 

    But Fauci did not properly invoke the Fifth Amendment, for three reasons. First, the Fifth Amendment is not absolute. When someone pleads the Fifth outside of his own trial, it must be because he reasonably apprehends a risk of self-incrimination in future prosecution. But because Fauci received a sweeping pardon of more than a decade from President Biden, there is no federal prosecution he could fear. If he told the truth, the pardon absolves him of the need — and ability — to plead the Fifth.

    The only exception would be if he intentionally lied during the hearing, because that would then be a new crime not covered by the sweeping pardon. But a person cannot plead the Fifth on the basis that he believes he is going to lie during a hearing. That would certainly create perverse results…..”

    “…..Biden’s Anti-Navarro Lawfare

    The lawfare against Peter Navarro could not stand in starker contrast. Rather than blanketly pleading the Fifth with the same rote response, Navarro specifically communicated to Congress that he was obligated to withhold a response to the subpoena because he believed President Trump invoked executive privilege.

    That difference is crucial because Navarro was charged under a different part of the statute which has — or should have — a different standard. While Fauci would need an objective excuse to defeat a Section 192 charge, the clause Navarro was charged under has something the second clause does not have: an extra mens rea element.

    Mens rea is the state of mind that a criminal must have to make his actions criminal. While Fauci would just need to intentionally refuse to answer, the government had to prove that Navarro willfully defaulted on his subpoena.

    In the criminal context, “willfully” almost always means that the person acted with the knowledge that his conduct is illegal. The Supreme Court has been confirming that for 150 years. In Navarro’s case, he should have been able to defeat the charge by showing he defaulted because of his good-faith belief that President Trump invoked executive privilege.

    But the D.C. Court departed from decades of Supreme Court precedent, relying on a D.C. Circuit case to “read the willfulness requirement out of the statute.” It prevented Navarro from even having the opportunity to explain to the jury why he thought his actions were lawful, that is — or at least should be — why he did not default “willfully.” But the D.C. Court shut him down and sent him into trial with one hand tied behind his back.

    Navarro went to prison for four months because of this error in the law. But even after he finished his time, he continues to seek the vindication of his rights in court.

    The statute Congress wrote already draws the line. The witness who appears and stonewalls needs an objectively valid excuse; Fauci’s blanket Fifth is not one. The witness accused of willful default must be shown to have known his conduct was unlawful; Navarro’s jury was never even allowed to hear why he believed the opposite.

    Applied as written, Section 192 reaches the first man and acquits the second. Navarro will continue to fight to ensure that law is applied as written.”

    https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/05/peter-navarro-went-to-prison-for-less-than-faucis-contemptuous-refusal-to-talk-to-congress/

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    1. our Granddaughter bought one like that–only it’s a ring you wear on your finger–for hubby. he never had any luck with it.

      I’ve had luck holding a feeder in my hands–and they land on mu thumbs–but you can’t feel them!

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      1. I know – they’re light as a feather! I had one land on my hand in VA once – amazing! So much energy in such a fragle, tiny being!!!

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  27. David Robert Jones (also known as David Bowie) performs as a saxophonist and lead singer with the Kon-Rads at a concert in 1963 – my brother, Red, and I went to see him at the Capitol Center outside DC one night – helluva light show!!! We snuck bottles of liquor in inside our boots – for some reason, IDR a lot about that night…..🙄😮😉😊😏

    Nice Flag

    Go get em, Smokey!

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  32. Just The News: “Multiple people were killed and at least one person was hospitalized in what’s being described by law enforcement as a “mass shooting.” 

    The Caswell County Sheriff’s office responded to a call just before 8 a.m. Wednesday at a home in Prospect Hill, North Carolina.

    When deputies arrived, they found several people who had been shot. One person was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound, WFMY reported. Authorities say multiple people were killed, but they haven’t said how many. 

    Investigators are collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses to try to determine what happened. Officials do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the public.”

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  35. “A pilot narrowly missed highway signage to make a daring emergency landing on a major Florida road. Flight instructor Emily Shelton, 21, performed the skilful manoeuvre after smelling fumes in the cockpit and warning air traffic control: “We’re not making it to the airport.”

    Cashcam footage shows the moment she glided under highway signs, avoided traffic and safely landed on the interstate. Emily, who has logged around 1,300 hours of flight time, had been taking a student on his first ever lesson when she reported the smell of burning fuel.

    She told air traffic control: “Our oil pressure is dropping down into the red, and we do have fumes in the cockpit from the oil.” As the situation worsened, she warned controllers that they would not make it to the airport. She said: “We would like to go ahead and declare an emergency. We’re losing our engine. We are not making the airport; we are going down on I-10. We are lined up trying to avoid the cars.”

    Controllers replied: “Roger. It’s at your discretion, safe spot as possible. We’ll get the vehicles out for you.” Truck driver Eric Jordan, whose dashcam recorded the feat, described the landing as a “miracle.”

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  37. Holy cow! This looks so real!!!!

    “This hyper-realistic sculpture is created by artist Randall Rosenthal. The entire scene, including the “knife” and “vegetables,” is carved from a single block of wood. Rosenthal specializes in creating illusory scenes that look indistinguishable from real objects. Google his name to see some more of the truly incredible things he creates. People like him fascinate me.”

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