DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, Grant us the graces we need to intentionally choose Your will over our own desires, every moment of every day, regardless of who is or isn’t watching. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

CBS: [7:34] – CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, has been sold to Skydance Media in an $8 billion merger, which was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on July 24, 2025. The deal includes CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central, among other assets. Skydance, backed by Oracle founder Larry Ellison and led by his son David Ellison, made concessions like eliminating DEI and committing to an ombudsman to address alleged bias in CBS News.

• https://nypost.com/2025/07/24/media/fcc-greenlights-8-4b-sale-of-cbs-parent-paramount-to-skydance/

CRUZ: CLICK https://x.com/tedcruz/status/1952390476473966882 to hear Sen. Ted Cruz reveal that he never spoke with Biden during the entire four years of his presidency. Not once.

DEMOCRATS: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SHBKgeFsQx0 to hear how hard they’re finding it to actually raise campaign money, instead of stealing it from taxpayers. Grok tells me the New York Slime has reported that the most recent disclosure reports show …

1. Republican National Committee (RNC) currently has five times as much money as the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and,
2. The Republican’s super pac, MAGA Inc., has $177 million cash on hand, while its Democrat counterpart, PAC Future Forward, has a whopping $2,826.08.

• https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/us/politics/maga-inc-future-forward.html – N.b., I refuse to pay to read the Slime, so can’t check these claims as I usually do.

FLORIDA: Following a six-day undercover operation targeting online child predators, Florida arrested 48 pedophiles.

• https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/08/04/florida-arrests-over-40-pedophiles-in-undercover-operation-7-on-ice-holds/

LIFE: [3:37] – CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/737237009169007 to see a guy go from “it’s a woman’s choice” to “maybe if it’s just the morning after pill” after watching the video above.

MARY’S MANTLE: Women in many cultures, including those of the Middle East, use their shawls as baby blankets and as cloth baby carriers to keep the hands free for daily tasks. While the theological and artistic depictions of “Mary’s mantle” typically emphasize Mary’s shawl used as a cloak, she likely used her shawl/mantle to swaddle Jesus when he was a newborn, to cover Him when he slept, and to carry him against her skin while she worked.

The etymology of the word “mantle” offers more opportunities for meditation. The Latin word “mantellum” meant “cloak, cloth, hand-towel, napkin” perhaps related to the Latin “manus” for “hand” – e.g., “manuscript” = “hand written”). In Old English, “mentel” referred to “a loose, sleeveless garment worn as an outer covering, falling in straight lines from the shoulders” and in Old French “mantel” meant “cloak; bedspread, cover.” From the 1300s, it has referred to something “that which enshrouds, something that conceals, a covering”, thus the layer of the earth between the crust and core.

• “Mamacha Maria” by Artemio Coanqui (Peru) is on page 20 @ https://arte-mio-gallery.my.canva.site/catalogue
• https://www.etymonline.com/word/mantle
• https://thelittleroseshop.com/blogs/the-little-rose-shop-everyday-faith/wrapped-in-marys-mantle-what-does-this-mean
• https://aleteia.org/2019/05/04/place-yourself-under-the-mantle-of-the-virgin-mary-with-this-prayer/

OKLAHOMA: In an effort to prevent leftist ideologies from infiltrating Oklahoma’s classrooms, teachers relocating from liberal-leaning states will be required to pass a new certification test to prove they align with Oklahoma’s curriculum standards.

• https://slaynews.com/news/oklahoma-introduces-america-first-test-teachers-moving-liberal-states/

RUSSIAN COLLUSION: [11:23] – Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff doesn’t pull punches.

TEXAS: CLICK https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1952387626423476490 to hear Gov. Abbott play hard ball with Texas House Democrats who have left the state to break quorum and block a Republican-led effort to pass a redrawn congressional map that would flip five Democratic congressional districts to favor Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms. By refusing to come to work, they seek to prevent the House from achieving the two-thirds majority (100 out of 150 members) needed to conduct business, effectively stalling the vote. Gov. Abbott’s threat to remove them from office has the force of a 2021 Texas Supreme Court decision.

CLICK https://x.com/townhallcom/status/1952463495867269370 [:57]. The Texas House has passed a motion to issue arrest warrants for those legislators who fail to attend a mandated session. GOOD! I used to get into trouble for being ten minutes late to my shift. Skipping out altogether while still expecting a paycheck? ::eyeroll::

CLICK https://x.com/FoxNews/status/1952457586038706464 to watch live cam of the Texas House, which is set to convene today at 3 pm.

• https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-statement-on-house-democratic-quorum-break
• https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/texas-democrats-leave-the-state-to-prevent-redistricting-vote-5896083
• https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/texas-house-votes-to-arrest-democratic-lawmakers-who-left-state-5896495

TRANS: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1445970146460543 to hear the trans-detrans story of a young man who was abused and lied to by his pediatrician and his therapist. Thank God he never did more than socially transition for a couple of years, so is now a fully intact, fully functional man.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5l-wKAfqqzE. I think these two could recite the phone book and make me laugh.

DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, We praise You and we thank You for making the world so intricately beautiful that we can know You just by looking at what You have created. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS: I was thinking yesterday how God must have been in a funny mood when He decided to put a duck’s bill on a beaver’s body. Today, in my Facebook feed, I learned just how totally, over-the-top weird His mood really was!

The duck-billed platypus, a native of Australia, has fur that glows under ultraviolet light, a trait shared among mammals with only the Virginia Opossum and New World Flying Squirrel. Where most mammals have only one X and one Y chromosome, this bizarre, Darwin-defying mammal has five X and five Y chromosomes each. It also

• lays eggs, like a bird;
• has webbed feet, like an otter;
• hunts by electrolocation, like a shark;
• has no stomach, a trait shared with the spiny anteater; and,
• has eyes equipped with double cones, which is common in birds, but almost unheard of in mammals.

The females have no teats, but rather secrete milk through special pores in the skin; the young lap, known as “puggles” lap it off their mama’s fur. The only other mammal to lack teats are spiny anteaters.

And finally, duck-billed platypus males are the only confirmed living animal of any kind to have venomous spurs on their hind feet. These are primarily used for male-male competition during mating season, but the toxin in the venom is capable of causing tremendous pain to humans.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus and Grok

LEAF SHEEP: Yesterday, I was marveling at how the duck-billed platypus demonstrates God’s immense creativity and whacky sense of humor. Today, I see this in my Facebook feed. – The Leaf Sheep is a sea slug that can do photosynthesis! No bigger than a grain of rice, it sports green leaf-like flaps covered in chloroplasts stolen from the algae it eats. The chloroplasts allow it to convert sunlight into energy, making it one of the very few animals in the world capable of photosynthesis. AND it looks like Shawn the Sheep dressed up as an artichoke for Halloween! LOLOL

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costasiella_kuroshimae

LIFE: Do not skip this one!!! CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/750307747619302 … big “happy tears” tissue alert!!! – In other news, Oklahoma’s Gov. Kevin Stitt has issued an executive order halting public funds to any individual or agency affiliated with abortion providers. This follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision which affirmed states have the right to decide which providers can take part in their Medicaid programs, including the right to block providers connected to abortion services.

• https://m.bartlesvilleradio.com/pages/news/461912025/govstitt-bans-public-funds-for-abortions

MARY POPPINS meets JAMES BOND: I saw a movie like this once. I thought the concept was fiction, but it’s real. Norland College in Bath, England, trains elite nannies to work for high-profile, wealthy families. In addition to earn Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and care, Norland’s nannies are also trained in self defense, evasive driving and cybersecurity. The four year curriculum includes keeping kiddies safe from everything from paparazzi to kidnappers, sparring while holding a baby, and fending off attackers while managing children in strollers or on foot. Norland’s nannies also cook, do infant massage, and earn impressive six-figure salaries.

• https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-nannies-elite-training-self-defense-childcare-norland-college-2023-1
• https://www.norland.ac.uk/beyond-the-curriculum/

MEDIA: The Slime Stream Media made this little boy’s gaunt frame front page, top of the fold news, because it allegedly proved how heartless Israel is. Babies Are Starving! Except the boy, while desperately ill as a result of a serious genetic disorder, is not NOT starving. Other photos of him show that his mother and his 3 year old brother are well fed. The Slimers didn’t care. Hating on Israel is one of the Left’s pet causes, so truth be damned.

• https://x.com/mishtal/status/1949363288908734605
• https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/hunger-or-disease-whats-the-truth-behind-the-viral-image-of-starving-child-from-gaza-13914911.html

SOCIAL SECURITY: [8:27] – FIVE minute wait times on phone calls?! Wow!!!

GRAMMY NOTES: I was watching an old episode of Diagnosis: Murder called “Drill for Death” and kept seeing actors from MASH. I thought I’d try to stump Grok and ask how many there were. It took about 4 seconds to get the answer. Elliott Gould and Sally Kellerman from the MASH movie, plus Loretta Swit, Jamie Farr, and William Christopher from the MAS*H TV series. 🙂

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1367612238275236 to see the Border Patrol’s take on the “great jeans” ad. LOL!!

CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZqXsveckYMc to see Wendy’s Drive Thru, Dad style. LOL

BARRON TRUMP: Well, this was fun! Barron Trump “liked” my comment! 🙂 If you’re not familiar with the Sydney Sweeney thing, click the link below.

• https://fortune.com/2025/07/30/why-sydney-sweeney-american-eagle-jeans-ad-controversial-explainer/

DOGE: Over the last 5 days, agencies terminated 122 wasteful contracts saving We the Taxpayers another $388 million. One of the contracts was $1.17 million for a “merit review experience study” for the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The NSF uses a “merit review” to decide which greedy hands get what piece of the taxpayer money pie. A “merit review experience” would refer to how the owners of said greedy hands felt about the merit review system. E.g., were the guidelines easy to follow, was the process fair and transparent.

The NSF, for reasons that escape me, decided it was a good idea to blow $1.17 million of that taxpayer money pie to hire an outside contractor to survey said merit review experiences and suggest possible revisions to the merit review process. Our health care provider does the same thing by emailing us a “Let us know how we’re doing” survey after every visit.

• https://x.com/DOGE/status/1951489401214599611

HAPPINESS: A teacher gave a balloon to every student, who had to inflate it, write their name on it, and throw it out into the room. The teacher then mixed all the balloons and gave the students 5 minutes to find their own balloons. Despite a hectic search, no one found their balloon.

At that point, the teacher told the students to take the first balloon that they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes, everyone had their own balloon. The teacher said to the students: “These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But if we care about other people’s happiness, we’ll find ours too.”

KAMALA: CLICK https://x.com/WesleyHuntTX/status/1951282525193547822 to hear Harris blame her decision not to run for governor of California on a “broken system.” The system to which she refers is the corruptocracy funded by billionaires like George Soros who want to establish medieval feudalism on a global scale … with them in charge of all the wealth and power, of course. In the Middle Ages, feudal lords were absolute rulers of their fiefdoms. They owned the land, made the laws, and commanded the military. The majority who did the work and paid the taxes were not allowed to own weapons or move elsewhere. Any of that sound familiar?

ORDINARY HEROES: In June 2022, Hailey Ann Smith was on her way home from playing her harp at a wedding when a car accident blocked traffic on Interstate 85 in Atlanta. She posted on her Facebook page “I got the harp out and parked myself in the very middle of the Interstate and played a few songs for everybody! What you can’t see is the ppl that gathered around to video and enjoy the music and the trucker that drove past me when we were all moving again and yelled “You were awesome!” There are clips someone recorded of her playing at the Facebook link below. 🙂

• https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/interstate-instrument-woman-plays-harp-traffic-jam-i-85-atlanta/85-43fecefd-a719-4dd1-b9b2-397e21bee8c2
• https://www.macon.com/news/state/georgia/article263004868.html
• https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0FYWakHEMSXohkoWfPJuNth47jjT64hV2tpWfzUuUfyjAPFU53mKci2DXhRDaPfTJl&id=100009068937058

RUSSIA COLLUSION: CLICK https://x.com/WesleyHuntTX/status/1951051483220246732 [:18] to hear former FBI Director James Comey say he never told President Trump that the Steele Dossier had been paid for by Hillary Clinton and the DNC.

GRAMMY NOTES: My 12-years-older brother and his pals were playing darts. One of the pals stuck his hand out and covered the board. He crowed, “Now you can’t win!” My brother put his dart through the dope’s palm. This may be why I don’t recall there ever being a dart board in our house.

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1257028732501055 for a giggle.

DAILY PRAYER: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our deaths. Amen.

107 DAYS: I searched “107 days” at Amazon and learned I could blow $30 pre-ordering Harris’ book about how she was handed a vote-free presidential nomination and more than a billion dollars in campaign cash only to become the second woman to lose to the host of The Apprentice. Or I could save $16 and get a novel about a crazed scientist, a deadly virus, and a desperate race against time. Hmmmm …

• https://notthebee.com/article/kamala-harris-announces-book-named-after-her-excuse-for-not-winning-the-election
• https://x.com/KamalaHarris/status/1950904316841115711

DRUG PRICES: President Trump has given Big Pharma until Sept. 29, 2025, to give Americans the same low prices they give other nations. “If you REFUSE to step up, we’ll deploy every tool to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices.” Democrats will now begin advocating for high drug prices, because Hitler.

• https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1950974766950608944

EVs: [4:35] – Electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries, which pose a unique fire hazard in that they burn hotter than conventional fires, produce toxic gases and can reignite days or weeks later. Some German cities have banned EVs from underground parking and a Norwegian ferry operator has prohibited them. Following the catastrophic loss of their cargo ship (video), Matson has announced that, effective immediately, it will no longer transport battery-powered electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

• https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/matson-suspends-shipping-evs-citing-hazards-of-lithium-ion-batteries
• https://firecarry.com/why-are-lithium-fires-hard-to-put-out-understanding-the-challenges-solutions/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matson%2C_Inc.

HYPOCRATS: CLICK https://x.com/mazemoore/status/1950627275625693625 [1:05] to hear Fauxcahontas speak with forked tongue.

JUDICIARY: On July 20, U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the Mississippi state government from enacting several provisions in a bill aimed at eradicating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

The order listed eleven imaginary plaintiffs and two imaginary defendants, cited allegations that were not made by the plaintiffs, quoted phrases from the DEI law that were not in the law, and attributed declarations in the complaint to the wrong people.

One critic of the sloppy TRO said, “I feel like I’m Alice in Wonderland.”

• https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/never-seen-anything-like-this-lawyers-bewildered-over-federal-judges-order-rife-with-indisputable-factual-inaccuracies/

SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL: Aka, Semi-Q, this ungainly name means “250^th anniversary.” – Trump says he has big plans for celebrating next year. One of these is a full set of new designs for our circulating coins. The designs will reflect our country’s founding principles and honoring our nation’s history. It’s going to be a fun year for numismatists!

• https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-programs/semiquincentennial/

WHITE HOUSE: CLICK https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/1950676573822021667 [1:55] to hear Bobby praise the changes his boss has made to the beauty of the First House.

WHOOPS: CLICK https://x.com/FoxNews/status/1950702615827820696 [1:28] to hear an official at the University of Iowa brag about how they have found ways to “operate around” state and federal DEI bans, saying, “I am proud of the fight.”

SHORTS:

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/9563821677050610 for another Islam to Christ conversion story.

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=705210399073122 to see/hear a fun feature at the Music House Museum in Williamsburg, Michigan.

DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, We praise You and we thank You for all those trying times You allowed, so we could learn to truly trust in You. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

BORDER: Old Orchard Beach Police Department in Maine hired Jon Luke Evans and swore him in as a law enforcement officer. Cumberland County Jail, also in Maine, hired Gratien Milandou Wamba to work as a corrections officer. Both men passed whatever background checks the LEOs of Maine felt were sufficient. Later, both men attempted to buy a firearm. Apparently, ATF does a better job with background checks, because neither man was here legally. ICE picked up Wamba in April; they arrested Evans this week.

• https://notthebee.com/article/tom-homan-had-the-perfect-response-to-stephen-a-smiths-criticism-of-deporting-law-abiding-citizens
• https://notthebee.com/article/ice-arrests-illegal-alien-who-was-working-a-police-officer-in-maine
• https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1111747027652543&set=pb.100064517691676.-2207520000&type=3
• https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-arrests-illegal-alien-serving-local-police-officer-after-attempting-unlawfully
• https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/maine-immigration/former-cumberland-county-jail-employee-ice-custody-expired-visa/97-b25ae426-f4f0-4dee-99b3-34554ee0b889

ECONOMY: Economists predicted 2.4% growth for April to June. The real numbers are in. Our GDP grew by 3%. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of all goods and services produced in the national economy.

• https://silverloch.com/coming-in-hot-gdp-growth-better-than-expected-grows-3-in-second-quarter
• https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/us-economy-surges-3-percent-in-2nd-quarter-tops-market-estimates-5894134
• https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/07/30/ya-aint-seen-nothing-yet-treasury-secretary-scott-bessent-cheers-strong-economic-growth-at-breitbart-policy-event/
• https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/liz-peek-trumps-major-trade-wins-could-rocket-fuel-us-economy
• https://silverloch.com/u-s-trade-deficit-crashes-following-trump-tariffs
• https://notthebee.com/article/us-gdp-went-up-by-3-in-quarter-two-beating-all-the-expectations

HOW TO LIBERAL: Be afraid! Always imagine the worst!

ISLAM: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1469975600858172 to hear another beautiful testimony.

• https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/18/world/shiite-muslims-ashura-holy-day-intl-hnk/index.html

KAMALA: “In recent months, I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their Governor,” Harris said. “I love this state, its people, and its promise. It is my home. But after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election.”

• https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/07/30/kamala-harris-rules-out-running-for-california-governor-my-leadership-will-not-be-in-elected-office/

PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH: Now six months into his second term, Trump has averaged one peace deal or ceasefire per month. Most recently, he brokered a Thailand-Cambodia agreement.

• https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/07/28/trump-is-averaging-one-peace-deal-or-ceasefire-a-month/

SPACE SHUTTLE: NASA operated the space shuttle program between 1981 and 2011. The shuttle crafts were designed for spaceflight, followed by a gliding landing. Because the shuttle program worked on a tight schedule, they were flown to where they were needed atop modified Boeing 747s.

CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/1242247871035606 to watch in wonder at one of these ungainly duos coming in for a landing.

Since the Space Shuttle’s retirement in 2011, NASA has relied on commercial providers (SpaceX, Boeing, Northrop Grumman) and international partners (Roscosmos, JAXA) to deliver supplies and crew to the International Space Station.

• Source: After seeing that cool video, I asked Grok.

TIME TRAVEL: Out in the Bering Strait, between Russia and Alaska, lie two islands just 2.4 miles apart. In between them is the International Date Line. Big Diomede, owned by Russia, is known as “Tomorrow Island” because it’s nearly a full day ahead of the other, Little Diomede, owned by Alaska and, obviously nicknamed “Yesterday Island.” It’s one of the only places in the world where you can see the “future” or look into the “past.” Little Diomede is the spot Sarah Palin was referring to when she said you can see Russia from Alaska.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diomede_Islands