Podcasts about Cease

Working with Skippy 2 taught me he wasn't always listening like he indicated. I learned to check everything, no matter how confident he understood what was needed. Our God is faithful; he does what He says.He tells us:"Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,"Luke 18:1How, though, does prayer keep us from losing heart or fainting?When we trust Him when He says:"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."Psalm 46:10And:"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.." Proverbs 3:5Our Meditation:When we commune with God, we pour out our supplications, we do so continually. Luke 18 one, and we cease our own efforts, Psalm 46 10, and we acknowledge him trusting that he is taking us the way we need to go Proverbs 3:5-6Brethren, let us pray for one another to overcome the weakness of the flesh through prayer. ""What a man is on his knees before God, that he is and nothing more."" Robert Murray M'CheyneeM'Cheynee Donation link:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=G9JGGR5W97D64Or go to www.freerangepreacheronprayer.com and use the Donations tab.Assistant Editor: Seven Jefferson Gossard.www.freerangepreacheronprayer.comfreerangeprayer@gmail.comFacebook - Free Range Preacher MinistriesInstagram: freerangeministriesAll our Scripture quotes are drawn from the NASB 1977 edition.For access to the Voice Over services of Richard Durrington, please visit RichardDurrington.com or email him at Durringtonr@gmail.comOur podcast art was designed by @sammmmmmmmm23 InstagramSeason 007Episode 034

San Diego Padres vs. Houston Astros MLB Pick Prediction by Tony T. Padres at Astros 7PM ET—Dylan Cease will start for San Diego. Cease in four starts in 2025 carries an ERA of 6.64 with WHIP of 1.52. The right hander strikes out 26.4% with 7.7% walks. Ground balls dealt at 36.7% with 0.89 home runs per nine innings. Framber Valdez is starting for Houston. Valdez has four starts with an ERA of 4.91 and WHIP of 1.27. The left hander has a K mark of 25.5% with 8.5% walks. Grounders are 51.7% with 0.82 home runs per nine innings.

Episode Summary: Salvation (Pages 379-404)This chapter is about coming home to yourself—liberation, transformation, and stepping into the light of who you truly are. Some days, you may feel deeply connected to your purpose; other days, you may feel lost. This is part of being human. We move through light and shadow, remembering and forgetting, but there is always a way back to yourself.At its core, this chapter explores salvation not as something external, but as an inner transformation. It is the process of shedding fear and illusion, returning to divine truth, and choosing faith over fear, unity over division, and presence over distraction. Peace, freedom, and love are not something we seek—they are something we awaken within.This teaching is an invitation to step into our divinity. We are all part of something bigger, something sacred. This is a path of awakening—discovering who we truly are and the light we are meant to share with the world.Key Themes* Salvation as Inner Transformation – It is not given to us; it is something we embody and live.* Deliverance is an Inner Process – Releasing false narratives, choosing faith over fear, and stepping into spiritual truth.* Returning to Divine Truth – Aligning with wisdom, presence, and love instead of illusion and distraction.* We Are the Bridge – We are here to carry the Light and be part of the awakening of conscious life.The Path of Deliverance* Deliverance is not about being rescued—it is a shift in perception and awareness.* It is about releasing limitations, false identities, and attachments that keep us bound.* We are called to use discernment—choosing what we align with and how we walk this path.* “You are here to make choices as the Divine human, not the human human any longer.”The Burden is Resistance, Not Life* Life itself is not a burden—it is resistance to our true selves that creates suffering.* The book reminds us: “When you free yourself to be as you are, and free others to be who they are, it suddenly becomes easy to love, to trust, and to release doubt.”* The greatest transformation happens when we surrender the need for control and comparison.A Time of Awakening & Accountability* We are moving into an Era of Consciousness—one of transparency, truth, and co-creation.* We are accountable for the seeds we sow, whether in love or fear.* “You are all accountable for your share of the peace, or your share of the burden, in ways you did not have to be accountable for before.”* The Earth is part of this balance. “Cease and desist from your slow crucifixion of Gaia.”Stepping Into the Light* We are being asked: “Will you be God's dream, a conscious dreamer? Or will you be God's nightmare, twisted in the dreaming?”* This is a moment of choice—one that calls us into presence, connection, and kindness.* The invitation is to live in alignment with divine truth, embodying love and peace in our daily lives.You Are the Ninth Transmission* The Freedom Transmissions are structured in three sacred Braids—Life, Death, and Resurrection.* The final strand is you. You are the completion of the teaching.* “The ninth transmission is not something you receive—it is something you live.”* Your choices, your presence, your love are what weave a new world of wisdom and light.Key Takeaways* We are the living transmission. It is through our actions and alignment that we bring the Light into the world.* Surrender, willingness, and curiosity are all that is required.* This is Revelation. The unseen becomes seen through how we live, love, and serve.Next Steps: Read & Listen

A potential major blow to the city of Benicia, as Valero announces its intent to close down its major oil refinery there The Texas-based company submitted a notice to the California Energy Commission that it plans to “idle, restructure or cease” its refining operations at the Benicia facility a year from now, in April 2026. Hundreds of people work at the refinery, which refines about nine percent of California's crude oil. Its closure could have a significant economic impact on the surrounding area as well as on the price of gasoline at the pump. For more, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott and KCBS political reporter Doug Sovern spoke with Mario Giuliani, city manager for Benicia.

Matt Smethurst preaches 1 Peter 4:1–11 at River City Baptist Church, a new congregation in Richmond, Virginia. For more information or to get in touch, visit https://rivercityrichmond.org.

Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres MLB Pick Prediction by Tony T. Cubs at Padres 9:40PM ET—Jameson Taillon is the starter for Chicago. Taillon in three starts on the year delivers an ERA of 6.06 with WHIP of 1.35. The right hander fans 19.7% with 5.6% walks. Ground ball rate of 32.7% with 2.20 home runs per nine innings. Dylan Cease gets the start for San Diego. Cease made three starts in 2025 dealing with an ERA of 7.98 and WHIP of 1.57. The righty strikes out 27.3% with 9.1% walks. Ground balls sat at 35.7% with 0.61 home runs per nine innings. His FIP is 2.65 which signals a drop in ERA based on his numbers.

San Diego Padres vs. Athletics MLB Pick Prediction by Tony T. Padres at Athletics 10PM ET—Dylan Cease will start for San Diego. Cease made 33 starts last year delivering an ERA of 3.47 with WHIP of 1.07. The righthander struck out 29.4% with 8.5% walks. Ground balls served at 39.8% with 0.86 home runs per nine innings. He has two starts on the season allowing four earned runs with fourteen strikeouts in 10 2/3rd innings. Jeffrey Springs is the starter for Athletics. Springs had seven starts in 2024 with an ERA of 3.27 and WHIP of 1.36. The lefthander fanned 26.1% with 7.7% walks. Ground balls sat at 38% with 1.36 home runs per nine innings. He started twice on the year allowing four earned runs with twelve strikeouts in nine innings.

Can You Segway?Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.So exactly who was going to be sympathetic to their plight, who we cared about?Beyond my fevered dream of making a difference there was a pinch of reality. See, the Cabindans and the people of Zaire were both ethnic Bakongo and the Bakongo of Zaire had also once had their own, independent (until 1914) kingdom which was now part of Angola. The Bakongo were major factions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) -(formerly for a short time known as the nation of Zaire, from here on out to be referred to as the DRC and in the running for the most fucked up place on the planet Earth, more on that later)- and Congo (the nation) yet a minority in Angola. Having an independent nation united along ethnic and linguistic lines made sense and could expect support from their confederates across international boundaries.The Liberation Air ForceThe Earth & Sky operated under one constant dilemma ~ when would Temujin make his return? Since they didn't know and it was their job to be prepared for the eventuality if it happened tomorrow, or a century down the line, they 'stockpiled', and 'stockpiled' and 'stockpiled'.That was why they maintained large horse herds and preserved the ancient arts of Asian bowyers, armoring and weapons-craft. That was why they created secret armories, and sulfur and saltpeter sites when musketry and cannons became the new ways of warfare. They secured sources of phosphates and petroleum when they became the new thing, and so on.All of this boiled over to me being shown yet again I worked with clever, creative and under-handed people. The Khanate came up with a plan for a 'Union' Air Force {Union? More on that later} within 24 hours, and it barely touched any of their existing resources. How did they accomplish this miracle? They had stockpiled and maintained earlier generation aircraft because they didn't know when Temujin would make his re-appearance.They'd also trained pilots and ground crews for those aircraft. As you might imagine, those people grew old just as their equipment did. In time, they went into the Earth & Sky's Inactive Reserves ~ the rank & file over the age of 45. You never were 'too old' to serve in some capacity though most combat-support related work ended at 67.When Temujin made his return and the E&S transformed into the Khanate, those people went to work bringing their lovingly cared for, aging equipment up to combat-alert readiness. If the frontline units were decimated, they would have to serve, despite the grim odds of their survival. It was the terrible acceptance the Chinese would simply possess so much more war-making material than they did.Well, the Khanate kicked the PRC's ass in a titanic ass-whooping no one (else) had seen coming, or would soon forget. Factory production and replacement of worn machines was in stride to have the Khanate's Air Force ready for the next round of warfare when the Cease-fire ended and the Reunification War resumed.Always a lower priority, the Khanate military leadership was considering deactivating dozens of these reserve unit when suddenly the (Mongolian) Ikh khaany khairt akh dáé (me) had this hare-brained scheme about helping rebels in Africa, West Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea coast/Atlantic Ocean, far, far away, and it couldn't look like the Khanate was directly involved.They barely knew where Angola was. They had to look up Cabinda to figure out precisely where that was. They brought in some of their 'reservist' air staff to this briefing and one of them, a woman (roughly a third of the E&S 'fighting'/non-frontline forces were female), knew what was going on. Why?She had studied the combat records and performance of the types of aircraft she'd have to utilize... back in the 1980's and 90's and Angola had been a war zone rife with Soviet (aka Khanate) material back then. Since she was both on the ball, bright and knew the score, the War Council put her in overall command. She knew what was expected of her and off she went, new staff in hand. She was 64 years old, yet as ready and willing to serve as any 20 year old believer in the Cause.Subtlety, scarcity and audacity were the watchwords of the day. The Khanate couldn't afford any of their front-line aircraft for this 'expedition'. They really couldn't afford any of their second-rate stuff either. Fortunately, they had some updated third-rate war-fighting gear still capable of putting up an impressive show in combat ~ providing they weren't going up against a top tier opponents.For the 'volunteers' of the Union Air Force, this could very likely to be a one-way trip. They all needed crash courses (not a word any air force loves, I know) in Portuguese though hastily provided iPhones with 'apps' to act as translators were deemed to be an adequate stop-gap measure. Besides, they were advised to avoid getting captured at all cost. The E&S couldn't afford the exposure. Given the opportunity ~ this assignment really was going above and beyond ~ not one of these forty-six to sixty-seven year olds backed out.No, they rolled out fifty of their antiquated aircraft, designs dating back to the 1950's through the mid-70's, and prepared them for the over 10,000 km journey to where they were 'needed most'. 118 pilots would go (72 active plus 46 replacements) along with 400 ground crew and an equally aged air defense battalion (so their air bases didn't get blown up). Security would be provided by 'outsiders' ~ allies already on the ground and whatever rebels could be scrounged up. After the initial insertion, the Indian Air Force would fly in supplies at night into the Cabinda City and Soyo Airports.The composition,14 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 jet fighters ~ though she entered service in 1959, these planes' electronics were late 20th century and she was a renowned dogfighter. 12 were the Mig-21-97 modernized variant and the other two were Mig-21 UM two-seater trainer variants which could double as reconnaissance fighters if needed.14 Sukhoi Su-22 jet fighter-bombers ~ the original design, called the Su-17, came out in 1970, the first 12 were variants with the 22M4 upgrade were an early-80's package. The other 2 were Su-22U two-seat trainers which, like their Mig-21 comrades, doubled as reconnaissance fighters. The Su-22M4's would be doing the majority of the ground attack missions for the Cabindans, though they could defend themselves in aerial combat if necessary.6 Sukhoi Su-24M2 supersonic attack aircraft ~ the first model rolled off the production lines in the Soviet Union back in 1974. By far the heaviest planes in the Cabindan Air Force, the Su-24M2's would act as their 'bomber force' as well as anti-ship deterrence.8 Mil Mi-24 VM combat helicopters ~ introduced in 1972 was still a lethal combat machine today. Unlike the NATO helicopter force, the Mi-24's did double duty as both attack helicopter and assault transports at the same time.4 Mil Mi-8 utility helicopters, first produced in 1967. Three would act as troop/cargo transports (Mi-8 TP) while the fourth was configured as a mobile hospital (the MI-17 1VA).4 Antonov An-26 turboprop aircraft, two to be used as tactical transports to bring in supplies by day and two specializing in electronic intelligence aka listening to what the enemy was up to. Though it entered production in 1969, many still remained flying today.2 Antonov An-71M AEW&C twin-jet engine aircraft. These were an old, abandoned Soviet design the Earth & Sky had continued working on primarily because the current (1970's) Russian Airborne Early Warning and Control bird had been both huge and rather ineffective ~ it couldn't easily identify low-flying planes in the ground clutter so it was mainly only good at sea. Since the E&S planned to mostly fight over the land,They kept working on the An-71 which was basically 1977's popular An-72 with some pertinent design modifications (placing the engines below the wings instead of above them as on the -72 being a big one). To solve their radar problem, they stole some from the Swedish tech firm Ericsson, which hadn't been foreseen to be a problem before now.See, the Russians in the post-Soviet era created a decent AEW&C craft the E&S gladly stole and copied the shit out of for their front line units and it was working quite nicely ~ the Beriev A-50, and wow, were the boys in the Kremlin pissed off about that these days. Whoops, or was that woot?Now, the Khanate was shipping two An-71's down to Cabinda and somewhere along the line someone just might get a 'feel' for the style of radar and jamming the Cabindans were using aka the Swedish stuff in those An-71's. The Erieye radar system could pick out individual planes at 280 miles. The over-all system could track 60 targets and plot out 10 intercepts simultaneously. NATO, they were not, but in sub-Saharan Africa, there were none better.Anyway, so why was any of this important?Why the old folks with their ancient machines? As revealed, since the Earth & Sky had no idea when Temüjin would return, they were constantly squirreling away equipment. World War 2 gave them unequaled access to Soviet military technology and training.Afterwards, under Josef Stalin's direction, thousands of Russian and German engineers and scientists were exiled to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan who were then snatched up (reportedly died in the gulags/trying to escape) and the E&S began building mirror factories modeled on the 'then current' Soviet production lines.So, by the early 1950's, the E&S was building, flying and maintaining Soviet-style Antonov, Beriev, Ilyushin, Myasishchev, Mikoyan-Gurevich, Sukhoi, Tupolev and Yakovlev airplanes. First in small numbers because their pool of pilots and specialists was so small.The E&S remedied this by creating both their own 'private' flight academies and technical schools. They protected their activities with the judicious use of bribes (they were remarkably successful with their economic endeavors on both side of the Iron Curtain) and murders (including the use of the Ghost Tigers).By 1960, the proto-Khanate had an air force. Through the next two decades they refined and altered their doctrine ~ moving away from the Soviet doctrine to a more pure combined-arms approach (the Soviets divided their air power into four separate arms ~ ADD (Long Range Aviation), FA (Front Aviation), MTA (Military Transport Aviation) and the V-PVO (Soviet Air Defenses ~ which controlled air interceptors).).It wasn't until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of the various former SSR's that the E&S program really began to hit its stride. Still, while Russia faltered, China's PLAAF (Peoples' Liberation Army Air Force) began to take off. Since the Chinese could produce so much more, the E&S felt it had to keep those older planes and crews up to combat readiness. The younger field crews and pilots flew the newer models as they rolled off the secret production lines.Then the Unification War appeared suddenly, the E&S-turned Khanate Air Force skunked their PLAAF rivals due to two factors, a surprise attack on a strategic level and the fatal poisoning of their pilots and ground crews before they even got into the fight. For those Chinese craft not destroyed on the ground, the effects of Anthrax eroded their fighting edge. Comparable technology gave the Khanate their critical victory and Air Supremacy over the most important battlefields.What did this meant for those out-of-date air crews and pilots who had been training to a razor's edge for a month now? Their assignment had been to face down the Russians if they invaded. They would take their planes up into the fight even though this most likely would mean their deaths, but they had to try.When Operation Fun House put Russia in a position where she wasn't likely to jump on the Khanate, this mission's importance faded. The Russian Air Force was far more stretched than the Khanate's between her agitations in the Baltic and her commitments in the Manchurian, Ukrainian, Chechen and Georgian theaters.With more new planes rolling off the production lines, these reservist units began dropping down the fuel priority list, which meant lowering their flight times thus readiness. Only my hare-brained scheme had short-circuited their timely retirement. Had I realized I was getting people's grandparents killed, I would have probably made the same call anyway. We needed them.The KanateThe Khanate's #1 air superiority dogfighter was the Mig-35F. The #2 was the Mig-29. No one was openly discussing the Khanate's super-stealthy "Su-50", if that was what it was, because its existence 'might' suggest the Khanate also stole technology from the Indian defense industry, along with their laundry list of thefts from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the PRC, Russia and half of NATO.Her top multi-role fighters were the Su-47, Su-35S and Su-30SM. The Su-30 'Flanker-C/MK2/MKI were their 2nd team with plenty of 3rd team Su-27M's still flying combat missions as well.Strike fighters? There weren't enough Su-34's to go around yet, so the Su-25MS remained the Khanate's dedicated Close Air Assault model.Medium transport aircraft? The An-32RE and An-38. They had small, large and gargantuan transports as well.Bombers? The rather ancient jet-powered Tu-160M2's and Tu-22M2's as well as the even older yet still worthwhile turboprops ~ from 1956's ~ the Tu-95M S16.Helicopters? While they still flew updated variants of the Mil Mi-8/17 as military transports, the more optimized Kamov Ka-52 and Mil Mi-28 had replaced them in the assault role.Bizarrely, the Khanate had overrun several Chinese production lines of the aircraft frames and components ~ enough to complete fairly modern PLAAF (Peoples Liberation Army Air Force) FC-1 and J-10 (both are small multi-role fighter remarkably similar to the US F-16 with the FC-1 being the more advanced model, using shared Chinese-Pakistani technology and was designed for export,).They did have nearly two dozen to send, but they didn't have the pilots and ground crews trained to work with them, plus the FC-1 cost roughly $32 million which wasn't fundage any legitimate Cabindan rebels could get their hands on, much less $768 million (and that would just be for the planes, not the weeks' worth of fuel, parts and munitions necessary for what was forthcoming).Meanwhile, except for the An-26, which you could get for under $700,000 and the An-71, which were only rendered valuable via 'black market tech', none of the turboprop and jet aircraft the Khanate was sending were what any sane military would normally want. The helicopters were expensive ~ the 'new' models Mi-24's cost $32 million while the Mi-17's set you back $17 million. The one's heading to Cabinda didn't look 'new'.The Opposition:In contrast, the Angolan Air Force appeared far larger and more modern. Appearances can be deceptive, and they were. Sure, the models of Russian and Soviet-made aircraft they had in their inventory had the higher numbers ~ the Su-25, -27 and -30 ~ plus they had Mig-21bis's, Mig-23's and Su-22's, but things like training and up-keep didn't appear to be priorities for the Angolans.When you took into account the rampant corruption infecting all levels of Angolan government, the conscript nature of their military, the weakness of their technical educational system, the complexity of any modern combat aircraft and the reality that poor sods forced into being Air Force ground crewmen hardly made the most inspired technicians, or most diligent care-takers of their 'valuable' stockpiles (which their officers all too often sold on the black market anyway), things didn't just look bleak for the Angolan Air Force, they were a tsunami of cumulative factors heading them for an epic disaster.It wasn't only their enemies who derided their Air Force's lack of readiness. Their allies constantly scolded them about it too. Instead of trying to fix their current inventory, the Angolans kept shopping around for new stuff. Since 'new'-new aircraft was beyond what they wanted to spend (aka put too much of a dent in the money they were siphoning off to their private off-shore accounts), they bought 'used' gear from former Soviet states ~ Belarus, Russia and Ukraine ~ who sold them stuff they had left abandoned in revetments (open to the elements to slowly rot) on the cheap.To add to the insanity, the Angolans failed to keep up their maintenance agreements so their newly fixed high-tech machines often either couldn't fly, or flew without critical systems, like radar, avionics and even radios. Maybe that wasn't for the worst because after spending millions on these occasionally-mobile paperweights, the Angolans bought the least technologically advanced missile, gun and rocket systems they could get to put on these flying misfortunes.On the spread sheets, Angola had 18 Su-30K's, 18 Su-27, 12 Su-25's, 14 Su-22's, 22 Mig-23's, 23 Mig-21bis's and 6 Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano (a turboprop aircraft tailor-made for counter-insurgency operations), 105 helicopters with some combative ability and 21 planes with some airlift capacity. That equated to 81 either air superiority, or multi-role jet fighters versus the 12 Union Air Force (actually the Bakongo Uni o de Cabinda e Zaire, For as Armadas de Liberta  o, For a Area ~ Liberation Armed Forces, Air Force (BUCZ-FAL-FA) Mig-21-97's.It would seem lopsided except for the thousands of hours of flight experience the 'Unionists' enjoyed over their Angolan rivals. You also needed to take into account the long training and fanatic dedication of their ground crews to their pilots and their craft. Then you needed to take into account every Unionist aircraft, while an older airframe design, had updated (usually to the year 2000) technology lovingly cared for, as if the survival of their People demanded it.A second and even more critical factor was the element of surprise. At least the PRC and the PLAAF had contingencies for attacks from their neighbors in the forefront of their strategic planning. The Angolans? The only country with ANY air force in the vicinity was the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and they had ceased being a threat with the end of Apartheid and the rise of majority Black rule in that country nearly two decades earlier.In the pre-dawn hours of 'Union Independence Day', the FAL-FA was going to smash every Angolan Air base and air defense facility within 375 miles of Cabinda (the city). Every three hours after that, they would be hitting another target within their designated 'Exclusion Zone'. Yes, this 'Exclusion Zone' included a 'tiny' bit of DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) territory. The DRC didn't have an air force to challenge them though, so,Inside this 'Exclusion Zone', anything moving by sea, river, road, rail, or air without Unionist governmental approval was subject to attack, which would require neutral parties to acknowledge some semblance of a free and independent B U C Z. Worse for Angola, this 'Zone' included Angola's capital and its largest port, Luanda, plus four more of their ten largest urban centers. This could be an economic, military and humanitarian catastrophe if mishandled.The Angolan Army did not have significant anti-aircraft assets. Why would they? Remember, no one around them had much of an air force to worry about. The FAL-FA in turn could hit military convoys with TV-guided munitions 'beyond line of sight', rendering what they did have useless. It got worse for the Army after dark. The FAL-FA could and would fly at night whereas the average Angolan formation had Zip-Zero-Nadda night fighting capacity.Then geography added its own mountain of woes. As far as Cabinda was concerned, there was no direct land line to their border from Angola. Their coastal road only went as far as the port of Soyo where the Congo River hit the South Atlantic Ocean. Across that massive gap was the DRC where the road was not picked back up. Far up the coast was the DRC town of Muanda (with an airport) and though they did have a road which went north, it did not continue to the Cabindan border.Nope. To get at Cabinda from the south meant a long, torturous travel through northeastern Angola, into the heart of the DRC then entailed hooking west to some point 'close' to the Cabindan frontier before finally hoofing it overland through partially cleared farmland and jungle. Mind you, the DRC didn't have a native air force capable of protecting the Angolans in their territory so,In fact the only 'road' to Cabinda came from the Republic of Congo (Congo) to the north and even that was a twisted route along some really bad, swampy terrain. This had been the pathway of conquest the Angolans took 39 years earlier. The difference being the tiny bands of pro-independence Cabindan guerillas back then couldn't hold a candle to the Amazons fighting to free Cabinda this time around in numbers, zeal, training and up-to-date equipment.Next option ~ to come by sea. They would face a few, stiff problems, such as the FAL-FA having ship-killer missiles, the Angolan Navy not being able to defend them and the Unionists having no compunction to not strike Pointe-Noire in the 'not so neutral' Republic of the Congo if they somehow began unloading Angolan troops. It seemed the Republic of the Congo didn't have much of an Air Force either.Before you think the FAL-FA was biting off more than they could chew, Cabinda, the province, was shaped somewhat like the US State of Delaware, was half the size of Connecticut (Cabinda was 2,810 sq. mi. to Conn.'s 5,543 sq. mi.) and only the western 20% was relatively open countryside where the Angolan Army's only advantage ~ they possessed armed fighting vehicles while the 'Unionists' did not (at this stage of planning) ~ could hopefully come into play.Centered at their capital, Cabinda (City), jets could reach any point along their border within eight minutes. Helicopters could make it in fifteen. To be safe, some of the FAL-FA would base at the town of Belize which was in the northern upcountry and much tougher to get at with the added advantage the Angolans wouldn't be expecting the FAL-FA to be using the abandoned airfield there, at least initially.Where they afraid attacking Angolan troops in the DRC would invite war with the DRC? Sure, but letting the Angolans reach the border unscathed was worse. Besides, the DRC was in such a mess it needed 23,000 UN Peacekeepers within her borders just to keep the country from falling apart. Barring outside, read European, intervention, did "Democratically-elected since 2001" President (for Life) Joseph Kabila want the FAL-FA to start dropping bombs on his capital, Kinshasa, which was well within reach of all their aircraft?Congo (the country), to the north, wasn't being propped up by the UN, or anything else except ill intentions. In reality, it hardly had much of a military at all. Its officer corps was chosen for political reliability, not merit, or capability. Their technology was old Cold War stuff with little effort to update anything and, if you suspected corruption might be a problem across all spectrums of life, you would 'probably' be right about that too.If you suspected the current President had been in charge for a while, you would be correct again (1979-1992 then 2001- and the 'whoops' was when he accidently let his country experiment with democracy which led to two civil wars). If you suspected he was a life-long Communist (along with the Presidents of the DRC and Angola), you'd be right about that as well. Somehow their shared Marxist-Leninist-Communist ideology hadn't quite translated over to alleviating the grinding poverty in any of those countries despite their vast mineral wealth,At this point in the region's history, little Cabinda had everything to gain by striving for independence and the vast majority of 'warriors' who could possibly be sent against her had terribly little to gain fighting and dying trying to stop them from achieving her goal. After all, their lives weren't going to get any better and with the Amazons ability ~ nay willingness ~ to commit battlefield atrocities, those leaders were going to find it hard going to keep sending their men off to die.And then, it got even worse.See, what I had pointed out was there were two oil refineries in Angola, and neither was in Cabinda. Cabinda would need a refinery to start making good on their oil wealth ~ aka economically bribe off the Western economies already shaken over the Khanate's first round of aggressions.But wait! There was an oil refinery just across the Congo River from Cabinda ~ which meant it was attached to mainland Angola. That had to be a passel of impossible news, right?Nope. As I said earlier, it seemed the people of northern Angola were the same racial group as the Cabindans AND majority Catholic while the ruling clique wasn't part of their ethnic confederacy plus the farther south and east into Angola you went, the less Catholic it became.But it got better. This province was historically its own little independent kingdom (called the Kingdom of Kongo) to boot! It had been abolished by Portugal back in 1914.The 'good' news didn't end there. Now, it wasn't as if the leadership of Angola was spreading the wealth around to the People much anyway, but these northerners had been particularly left out of this Marxist version of 'Trickle Down' economics.How bad was this? This northwestern province ~ called Zaire ~ didn't have any railroads, or paved roads, linking it to the rest of the freaking country. The 'coastal road' entered the province, but about a third of the way up ran into this river, which they'd failed to bridge (you had to use a single track bridge farther to the northeast, if you can believe it). It wasn't even a big river. It was still an obstacle though.How did the Angolan government and military planned to get around? Why by air and sea, of course. Well, actually by air. Angola didn't have much of a merchant marine, or Navy, to make sealift a serious consideration. Within hours of the 'Union Declaration of Independence' anything flying anywhere north of the Luanda, the capital of Angola, would essentially be asking to be blown out of the sky.Along the border between Zaire province and the rest of Angola were precisely two chokepoints. By 'chokepoints', I meant places where a squad (10 trained, modernly-equipped troopers) could either see everything for miles & miles over pretty much empty space along a river valley and the only bridge separating Zaire province from the south, or overlook a ravine which the only road had to pass through because of otherwise bad-ass, broken terrain.Two.Zaire Province had roughly the same population as Cabinda ~ 600,000. Unlike Cabinda, which consisted of Cabinda City plus a few tiny towns and rugged jungles, Zaire had two cities ~ Soyo, with her seventy thousand souls plus the refinery at the mouth of the Congo River, and M'banza-Kongo, the historical capital of the Kingdom of Kongo, spiritual center of the Bakongo People (who included the Cabindans) and set up in the highlands strategically very reminiscent of Điện Biàn Phủ.Of Zaire's provincial towns, the only other strategic one was N'Zeto with her crappy Atlantic port facility and 2,230 meter grass airport. The town was the northern terminus of the National Road 100 ~ the Coastal Road. It terminated because of the Mebridege River. There wasn't a bridge at N'Zeto though there was a small one several miles upstream. N'Zeto was also where the road from provinces east of Zaire ended up, so you had to have N'Zeto ~ and that tiny bridge ~ to move troops overland anywhere else in Zaire Province.So you would think it would be easy for the Angolan Army to defend then, except of how the Amazons planned to operate. They would infiltrate the area first then 'rise up in rebellion'. Their problem was the scope of the operation had magnified in risk of exposure, duration and forces necessary for success.The serious issue before Saint Marie and the Host in Africa were the first two. They could actually move Amazons from Brazil and North America to bolster their numbers for the upcoming offensive. Even in the short-short term, equipment wouldn't be a serious problem. What the Amazons dreaded was being left in a protracted slugfest with the Angolan Army which the Condottieri could jump in on. The Amazons exceedingly preferred to strike first then vanish.There was reason to believe a tiny number could have stayed behind in Cabinda to help the locals prepare their military until they could defend themselves. They would need more than a hundred Amazons if Cabinda wanted to incorporate Zaire. The answer was to call back their newfound buddy, the Great Khan. While he didn't have much else he could spare (the Khanate was ramping up for their invasion of the Middle East after all, the Kurds needed the help), he had other allies he could call on.India couldn't help initially since they were supposed to supply the 'Peace-keepers' once a cease-fire had been arranged. That left Temujin with his solid ally, Vietnam, and his far shakier allies, the Republic of China and Japan.First off ~ Japan could not help, which meant they couldn't supply troops who might very well end up dead, or far worse, captured.. What they did have was a surplus of older equipment the ROC troops were familiar with, so while the ROC was gearing up for their own invasion of mainland China in February, they were willing to help the Chinese kill Angolans, off the books, of course.The ROC was sending fifteen hundred troops the Khanate's way to help in this West African adventure with the understanding they'd be coming home by year's end. With Vietnam adding over eight hundred of her own Special Forces, the Amazons had the tiny 'allied' army they could leave shielding Cabinda/Zaire once the first round of blood-letting was over.To be 'fair', the Republic of China and Vietnam asked for 'volunteers'. It wasn't like either country was going to declare war on Angola directly. Nearly a thousand members of Vietnam's elite 126th Regiment of the 5th Brigade (Đặc cáng bộ) took early retirement then misplaced their equipment as they went to update their visas and inoculations before heading out for the DRC (some would be slipping over the DRC/Cabindan border).On Taiwan, it was the men and women of the 602nd Air Cavalry Brigade, 871st Special Operations Group and 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion who felt the sudden desire to 'seek enlightenment elsewhere, preferably on another continent'.They too were off to the Democratic Republic of Congo, man that country was a mess and their border security wasn't worth writing home about, that's for damn sure, via multiple Southeast Asian nations. Besides, they were being issued fraudulently visas which showed them to be from the People's Republic of China, not the ROC/Taiwan. If they were captured, they were to pretend to "be working for a Communist Revolution inside Angola and thus to be setting all of Africa on fire!" aka be Mainland Chinese.There, in the DRC, these Chinese stumbled across, some Japanese. These folks hadn't retired. No. They were on an extended assignment for the UN's mission in, the DRC. OH! And look! They'd brought tons of surplus, outdated Japanese Self Defense Forces' equipment with them, and there just so happened to be some Taiwanese who had experience in using such equipment (both used US-style gear).And here was Colonel Yoshihiro Isami of the Chūō Sokuō Shūdan (Japan's Central Readiness Force) wondering why he and his hastily assembled team had just unloaded,18 Fuji/Bell AH-1S Cobra Attack helicopters,6 Kawasaki OH-6D Loach Scout helicopters,12 Fuji-Bell 204-B-2 Hiyodori Utility helicopters,6 Kawasaki/Boeing CH-47JA Chinook Transport helicopters and4 Mitsubishi M U-2L-1 Photo Reconnaissance Aircraft.Yep! 46 more aircraft for the FAL-FA!Oh, and if this wasn't 'bad enough', the Chinese hadn't come alone. They'd brought some old aircraft from their homes to aid in the upcoming struggle. Once more, these things were relics of the Cold War yet both capable fighting machines and, given the sorry state of the opposition, definitely quite deadly. A dozen F-5E Tiger 2000 configured primarily for air superiority plus two RF-5E Tigergazer for reconnaissance, pilots plus ground crews, of course.Thus, on the eve of battle, the FAL-FA had become a true threat. Sure, all of its planes (and half of its pilots) were pretty old, but they were combat-tested and in numbers and experience no other Sub-Saharan African nation could match.The Liberation Ground Forces:But wait, there was still the niggling little problem of what all those fellas were going to fight with once they were on the ground. Assault/Battle rifles, carbines, rifles, pistols, PDW, SMGs as bullets, grenades and RPG's were all terrifyingly easy to obtain. The coast of West Africa was hardly the Port of London as far as customs security went. They were going to need some bigger toys and their host nations were going to need all their native hardware for their upcoming battles at home.And it wasn't like you could advertise for used IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicles), APCs (armored personnel carriers) and tanks on e-Bay, Amazon.com, or Twitter. If something modern US, or NATO, was captured rolling around the beautiful Angolan countryside, shooting up hostile Angolans, all kinds of head would roll in all kinds of countries, unless the country,A) had an Executive Branch and Judiciary who wouldn't ask (or be answering) too many uncomfortable questions,B) wasn't all that vulnerable to international pressure,C) really needed the money and,D) didn't give a fuck their toys would soon be seen on BBC/CNN/Al Jazeera blowing the ever-living crap out of a ton of Africans aka doing what they were advertised to do and doing it very well in the hands of capable professionals.And politics was kind enough to hand the freedom-loving people of Cabinda & Zaire a winner, and it wasn't even from strangers, or at least people all that strange to their part of the Globe. If you would have no idea who to look for, you wouldn't be alone.That was the magic of the choice. See, the last three decades had seen the entire Globe take a colossal dump on them as a Nation and a People. They were highly unpopular for all sorts of things, such as Crimes Against Humanity and 'no', we were not talking about the Khanate.We would be talking about Република Србија / Republika Srbija aka Serbia aka the former Yugoslavia who had watched all their satellite minions (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia) slip away. Despite being reduced to a tiny fraction of their former selves thus fighting two incredibly brutal and bloody World Wars for nothing, Serbia insisted on maintaining a robust armaments industry.Mind you, they didn't make the very best stuff on the planet. That didn't stop them from trying though. Of equal importance was their geographic location and the above mentioned desire for some hard currency without asking too many questions. The geography was simple, you could move even heavy gear unnoticed from central Serbia to the Montenegrin port of Bar by rail and load them up on freighters and off to the Congo you went.The Serbians produced an APC called the BVP M-80A's which weren't blowing anyone's minds away when they started rolling off the production lines back in 1982, plus some over-eager types on the Serbian Army's payroll sweetened the deal by offering 'the rebels' some BVP M-80 KC's and a KB as well.Then they slathered on the sugary-sweet Maple syrup by upgrading a few of the M-80A's to BVP M-98A's. Why would they be so generous? The KC's and KB were the Command & Control variants, so that made sense (C = company & B = battalion commander). The -98A had never been tested in the field before and they were kind of curious how the new turrets (which was the major difference) would behave. 'Our' procurement agents didn't quibble. We needed the gear.Besides, these Slavic entrepreneurs gave them an inside track on some 'disarmed/mothballed' Czech (introduced in 1963) armored mobile ambulances and Polish BWP-1 (first rolled out in 1966) APC's which were either in, or could be quickly configured into, the support variants those ground-fighters would need. The 'disarmed' part was 'fixable', thanks to both the Serbians and Finland. The 'missing' basic weaponry was something the Serbians could replace with virtually identical equipment.It just kept getting better. Unknown to me at the time, the Finnish firm, Patria Hágglunds, had sold twenty-two of their 'most excellent' AMOS turrets ~ they are a twin 120 mm mortar system ~ then the deal fell through. Whoops! Should have guarded that warehouse better. Those bitches were on a cargo plane bound for Albania inside of six hours.The ammunition for them was rather unique. Thankfully, it was uniquely sold by the Swiss, who had no trouble selling it to Serbia, thank you very much! Twenty-two BWP-1's became mobile artillery for the Unionist freedom fighters, though I understood the ship ride with the Serbian and Chinese technicians was loads of fun as they struggled to figured out how to attach those state-of-the-art death-dealing turrets to those ancient contraptions.To compensate, the Serbians added (aka as long as our money was good) two Nora B-52 155 mm 52-calibre mobile artillery pieces and one battery of Orkan CER MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) for long-range artillery, two batteries of their Oganj 2000 ER MRLS for medium range carnage and six batteries of their M-94 MRLS for 'close support' as well. More field-testing new gear for the "freedom fighters" We also managed to 'purchase' ten M-84AS Main Battle tanks plus an M-84A1 armor recovery vehicle. It should have been twelve tanks, but two had 'loading issues'.Not to be deterred, our busy little procurement-beavers discovered four tanks no one was using, in neighboring Croatia. Why wasn't anyone immediately keen on their placement? They were two sets of prototypes, Croatia's improvements on the M-84; the M-95 Degman which was a 'failed redesign' and the M-84D, which was a vast up-grade for the M-84 line which had been sidelined by the 2008 Global economic collapse, after which the project stagnated.It seemed they were all in working order because late one night 'my people' exited a Croatian Army base with them, never to be seen again, until two weeks later when an intrepid news crew caught the distinctive form of the M-95 sending some sweet 125 mm loving the Angolan Army's way. Whoops yet again! At least they hit what they were aiming at and destroyed what they hit, right?By then, millions of other people would be going 'what the fuck?' right along with them as Cabinda's camouflage- and mask-wearing rebel army was laying the smack-down on the Angolans. That was okay; over a million 'free Cabindan Unionists' were in the same boat. Over a thousand Asians with their mostly-female militant translators were right there to prop up their 'Unionist Allies', but then they were the ones with the tanks, armored vehicles, planes and guns, so they were less worried than most.To pilot these tanks, APC, IFV and man this artillery, they had to go back to the Khanate. Sure enough, they had some old tankers used to crewing the T-72 from which the M-84's and -95 Degman were derived. They'd also need drivers for those BVP M-80A's and Polish BWP-1's and OT-64 SKOT's... who were, again, derived from old Soviet tech (just much better). The Serbian artillery was similar enough to Soviet stuff, but with enough new tech to make it 'more fun' for the reservists to 'figure out' how to use.More volunteers for the Liberation Armed Forces! More Apple sales, great apps and voice modulation software so that the vehicle commanders would be heard communicating in Portuguese if someone was eavesdropping. As a final offering the Turkish Navy spontaneously developed some plans to test their long range capabilities by going to, the South Atlantic.On the final leg they would have six frigates and two submarines, enough to give any navy in the region, which wasn't Brazil, something to think about. This was a show of force, not an actual threat though. If anyone called their bluff, the Khanate-Turkish forces would have to pull back. These were not assets my Brother, the Great Khan, could afford to gamble and lose.If someone didn't call that bluff, he was also sending two smaller, older corvettes and three even smaller, but newer, fast attack boats, a "gift" to the Unionists ASAP. The frigates would then race home, they had 'other' issues to deal with while the submarines would hang around for a bit. The naval gift was necessitated by the reality the Unionists would have to press their claim to their off-shore riches and that required a naval force Angola couldn't hope to counter.As things were developing, it was reckoned since a build-up of such momentous land and air power couldn't be disguised, it had to happen in a matter of days ~ four was decided to be the minimum amount of time. More than that and the government of the Democratic Republic might start asking far too many questions our hefty bribes and dubious paperwork couldn't cover. Less than that would leave the task forces launching operations with too little a chance of success.Our biggest advantage was audacity. The buildup would happen 100 km up the Congo River from Soyo, the primary target of the Southern Invasion, in the DRC's second largest port city, Boma. Though across the river was Angolan territory, there was nothing there. The city of roughly 160,000 would provide adequate cover for the initial stage of the invasion.There they grouped their vehicles & Khanate drivers with Amazon and Vietnamese combat teams. The Japanese were doing the same for their 'Chinese' counterparts for their helicopter-borne forces. Getting all their equipment in working order in the short time left was critical as was creating some level of unit dynamic. Things were chaotic. No one was happy. They were all going in anyway.What had gone wrong?While most children her age were texting their schoolmates, or tackling their homework, Aya Ruger ~ the alias of Nasusara Assiyaiá hamai ~ was getting briefings of her global, secret empire worth hundreds of billions and those of her equally nefarious compatriots. She received a very abbreviated version of what the Regents received, delivered by a member of Shawnee Arinniti's staff.When Aya hopped off her chair unexpectedly, everyone tensed. Her bodyguards' hands went to their sidearms and Lorraine (her sister by blood), also in the room on this occasion, stood and prepared to tackle her 'former' sibling to the ground if the situation escalated into an assassination attempt. No such attack was generated, so the security ratcheted down and the attendant returned her focus to her Queen. Aya paced four steps, turned and retraced her way then repeated the action three more times."How many people live in the combined areas?" she asked."The combined areas? Of Cabinda and Zaire?""Yes.""I," the woman referenced her material, "roughly 1.1 million.""What is the yearly value of the offshore oil and natural gas production?""Forty-nine billion, eighty hundred and sixty-seven million by our best estimates at this time,""How many live in Soyo City proper?""Roughly 70,000.""We take Soyo," she spoke in a small yet deliberate voice. "We take and hold Soyo as an independent city-state within the Cabindan-Zaire Union. From the maps it appears Soyo is a series of islands. It has a port and airport. It has an open border to an ocean with weaker neighbors all around.""What of the, Zairians?""Bakongo. As a people they are called the Bakongo," Aya looked up at the briefer. "We relocate those who need to work in Soyo into a new city, built at our expense, beyond the southernmost water barrier. The rest we pay to relocate elsewhere in Zaire, or Cabinda."By the looks of those around her, Aya realized she needed to further explain her decisions."This is more than some concrete home base for our People," she began patiently. "In the same way it gives our enemies a clearly delineated target to attack us, it is a statement to our allies we won't cut and run if things go truly bad.""In the same way it will provide us with diplomatic recognition beyond what tenuous handouts we are getting from Cáel Wakko Ishara's efforts through JIKIT. Also, it is a reminder we are not like the other Secret Societies in one fundamental way, we are not a business concern, or a religion. We are a People and people deserve some sort of homeland. We have gone for so long without.""But Soyo?" the aide protested. "We have no ties to it, and it backs up to, nothing.""Northern Turkey and southern Slovakia mean nothing to us now as well," Aya debated. "No place on Earth is any more precious than another. As for backing up to nothing, no. You are incorrect. It backs into a promise from our allies in the Earth & Sky that if we need support, they know where to park their planes and ships."Aya was surrounded with unhappy, disbelieving looks."The Great Khan is my mamētu meáeda," she reminded them, "and I have every reason to believe he completely grasps the concept's benefits and obligations."The looks confirmed 'but he's a man' to the tiny Queen."Aya, are you sure about this?" Lorraine was the first to break decorum."Absolutely. Do you know what he sent me when he was informed of my, ascension to the Queendom?""No," Lorraine admitted."We must go horse-riding sometime soon, Daughter of Cáel, Queen of the Amazons."More uncertain and unconvinced looks."He didn't congratulate me, or send any gifts. He could have and you would think he would have, but he didn't. He knew the hearts of me & my Atta and we weren't in the celebratory mood. No. The Great Khan sent one sentence which offered solace and quiet, atop a horse on a windswept bit of steppe."Nothing.Sigh. "I know this sounds Cáel-ish," Aya admitted, "but I strongly believe this is what we should do. We are giving the Cabindans and Bakongo in Zaire independence and the promise of a much better life than what they now face. We will be putting thousands of our sisters' lives on the line to accomplish this feat and well over two hundred million dollars.""What about governance of the city ~ Soyo?" the aide forged ahead."Amazon law," Aya didn't hesitate. "We will make allowances for the security forces of visiting dignitaries and specific allied personnel, but otherwise it will be one massive Amazon urban freehold.""I cannot imagine the Golden Mare, or the Regents, will be pleased," the attendant bowed her head."It is a matter of interconnectivity," Aya walked up and touched the woman's cheek with the back of her small hand. "We could liberate then abandon Cabinda with the hope a small band could help them keep their independence. Except we need the refinery at Soyo so the people of Cabinda can truly support that liberty.""So, we must keep Soyo and to keep Soyo, we must keep Zaire province. There is no other lesser border which makes strategic sense ~ a river, highlands, a massive river, an ocean ~ those are sustainable frontiers. You can't simply keep Soyo and not expect the enemy to strike and destroy that refinery, thus we must take Zaire province.""But the Bakongo of Zaire cannot defend themselves and will not be able to do so for at least a year, if not longer. That means we must do so, and for doing so, they will give us Soyo and we will be honest stewards of their oil wealth. We cannot expect any other power to defend this new Union and if we don't have a land stake we will be portrayed as mercenaries and expelled by hostile international forces.""So, for this project to have any chance of success, we must stay, fight and have an acknowledged presence, and if you can think of an alternative, please let me know," she exhaled."What if the Cabindans and Bakongo resist?""It is 'us', or the Angolans and they know how horrible the Angolans can be. Didn't you say the average person their lives on just $2 a day?""Yes.""We can do better than that," Aya insisted."How?" the aide persisted. "I mean, 'how in a way which will be quickly evident and meaningful?'""Oh," Aya's tiny brow furrowed. Her nose twitched as she rummaged through the vast storehouse of her brain."Get me in touch with William A. Miller, Director of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. He should be able to help me navigate the pathways toward getting aid and advisors into those two provinces ASAP.""I'll let Katrina know," the attendant made the notation on her pad."No. Contact him directly," Aya intervened. "We established a, rapport when we met. I think he might responded positively to a chance to mentor me in foreign relations.""Really?" Lorraine's brows arched."Yes," Aya chirped."Are you sure, Nasusara?" the attendant stared. She used 'Nasusara' whenever she thought Aya had a 'horrible' idea instead of a merely a 'bad' one."Yes. He owes me. Last time we met I didn't shoot him.""Didn't?" the woman twitched."Yes. I drew down on him with my captured Chinese QSW-06. I didn't want to kill him, but I felt I was about to have to kill Deputy National Security Advisor Blinken and he was the only other person in the room both armed and capable of stopping me.""Why is he still alive?""Cáel Ishara saw through my distraction and then took my gun from me, asked for it actually," she shyly confessed."Would you have shot him?" the aide inquired."What do you think?" Aya smiled.And Then:So, given t

In this episode of the WSNS Podcast, I would like to connect the idols in our lives to the Exodus narrative.

Cleveland Guardians vs. San Diego Padres MLB Pick Prediction by Tony T. Guardians at Padres 4PM ET—Ben Lively will start for Cleveland. Lively in 29 starts last season dealt with an ERA of 3.81 with WHIP of 1.25. The right-hander struck out 18.7% with 7.8% walks. Grounders were 41.9% with 1.37 home runs per nine innings. He battled the Royals on the road in his season opener allowing three earned runs with three strikeouts in five innings. Dylan Cease to start for San Diego. Cease made 33 starts in 2024 with an ERA of 3.47 with WHIP of 1.07. The veteran fanned 29.4% with 8.5% walks. Grounders were 39.8% with 0.86 home runs per nine innings. In his opener he faced the Braves at home allowing three earned runs with seven strikeouts in 4 1/3rd innings.

Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo check in with a new episode of The Mets Pod presented by Tri-State Cadillac, as the Mets have started the season and there's actual baseball to discuss! The guys cover the early returns from the starting rotation, the bullpen, and the lineup, plus also chat about what April holds in store for Francisco Lindor. Connor and Joe then go Down on the Farm to look at the first outings of the year for top pitching prospects Blade Tidwell and Brandon Sproat, bring back The Scoreboard for more weekly bets in 2025, and open the Mailbag to answer questions about adding pitching at the trade deadline and the current depth in the outfield. Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Today's Show:00:00 Welcome to the show!02:35 The starting pitching so far06:50 The bullpen so far10:30 Mailbag – long men relievers?12:30 The hitters so far16:20 Francisco Lindor so far18:05 Down on the Farm: Blade Tidwell and Brandon Sproat23:15 The Scoreboard Returns, making this week's bets!32:00 Mailbag – Alcantara vs Cease?36:45 Mailbag -Alexander Canario and the OF44:40 The home opener ahead

(00:00-32:06) Doug's moment of truth, what's the lede? A little Music City Miracle last night. Doug's in the pocket of Big DeWitt. Youngry is really catching on. Cease and assist. This show doesn't do scrums. Audio from Arenado's scrum talking about the fan running on the field. Media chuckle. DeWitt & Mo clearly booed. Ozzie and Jimmy Ballgame got huge ovations. The full St. Louis experience. (32:15-49:08) Blues get the regulation win in Nashville and are 2 points behind the Wild. Winning without your best stuff. 8 in a row. Jim Montgomery talking switching up the lines. Dylan Holloway. Jimmy Snipes. (49:18-1:03:50) The St. Louis Sports Band. Just a nice little Tony LaRussa song. The Shrewsbury Seminary Student on the phone lines letting us know that everyone hates us. Haven't heard from Joshua in a while. Taking credit for the Tushy Booth at Bellerive. Ed Hardy and Affliction. Doug hates boxing. Wondering if The Bachelor found a date for the game. We tried. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Atlanta Braves vs. San Diego Padres MLB Pick Prediction by Tony T. Braves at Padres 9:40PM ET—Reynaldo Lopez will start for Atlanta. Lopez appeared in 26 games in 2024 producing an ERA of 1.99 with WHIP of 1.11. The right-hander struck out 27.3% with 7.7% walks. Ground balls came in at 39.4% with 0.66 home runs per nine innings. Dylan Cease is the starter for San Diego. Cease started 33 games last year posting an ERA of 3.47 with WHIP of 1.07. The righty fanned 29.4% with 8.5% walks. Ground balls were 39.8% with 0.86 home runs per nine innings.

Jackie and MJ are back again for a Second Helpin'! This week, HILARIA berates her husband publicly in an attempt to be cute but definitely comes off pompous and MEAN, then she uses the 15 year old sister of her daughter's friend to let the world know her dropping the accent is Code Switching. Geoff introduced Jackie to Jack Reacher with 3 words 'Big Beefy Boys', and keeping with the theme of masculinity, MJ is trying the British police procedural  'Adolescents' and it's not fun. at all. TLC is dropping trailers for a new show called 'Poly Family' but it's not out until April! MJ also checked out 'Heretic', warns all airport travelers they will too, and MJ attempts to sell Jackie on 'Disco Foot' much to Bully Jackie's chagrin, plus even more!  Want even more Page 7? Support us on Patreon! Patreon.com/Page7Podcast  Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Page 7 ad-free.Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Greg and Sorcerer Chromatic drink and review coffee beers from XII West Brewing (Gilbert, AZ) and Laughing Monk Brewing (San Francisco, CA). In our Beer News, we have two stories. The first is about tariffs driving up the price of beer. the second is about AB-InBev serving a Cease & Desist to Ultra Right Beer. Our Cöld Brüe List is about the 2025 NFL Free Agency. And in our Drunken Shenanigans, Greg talks about the olfactory assault he had this past weekend.

Listen in as the judges of the Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction deliver an unfiltered critique of Jesus, et al. Hereby Demand Ms. Paula Green to Cease and Desist All Invocations of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and “Big Daddy God” by Holly Sadowski.This story appeared in the January 2025 Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction, which featured the anti-prompt: Break the rule “write what you know”.Thanks to our daredevils for bravely facing the judges' fire for the collective benefit of our listeners.Think you can stand the heat? Purchase a Daredevil package at notquitewriteprize.comConnect with us at https://notquitewrite.com Register for the next Not Quite Write Prize at https://notquitewriteprize.com

No Longer An Enemy.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels."My Sister wished to know if you speak Mandarin," the brother translated for me."Hi, I'm Cáel," I greeted him. "Who are you guys?" He looked to one of the two goons holding on to me. I received a painful kidney punch. I discovered a whole new super-power. It hurt for about two seconds then nothing."I asked you a question," he repeated."No, I don't speak Mandarin," I lied so well it came across as a dour confession."Yet you know the secretive language of the Earth & Sky," he stated."Yes, I do. I have a thing for dead languages. Maybe in a few more years, I'll pick up your Mother Tongue as well," I bantered.No punishment was immediately meted out, so I suspected no one close to me, besides him, spoke much if any English. Jian Bob (my new name for him) didn't relay my insult. I wasn't worth it. He went straight for the reason for our get-together."You are going to die, Mr. Nyilas. That is a given," J B began."We both know you have done enough damage to our cause to be worthy of elimination a hundred times over. I'm going to show you respect by not lying to you about your possible fate. What you can do is save your young companion. We understand you two are close," he appealed in a very polite manner. Aya snickered."Cáel, these people are mentally challenged," she giggled to me, "or hideously misinformed.""I know, I know," I smiled down at Aya. "Still, they have gone through a great deal of effort to insult our intellect today, so let's humor them a little longer." Jian Bob issued several casual orders.In short order, a third man had hold of me by the jaw with one hand while trying to hold my eyelids open with the other. One guard held her by the shoulders. A second held her right hand, extending her ring finger. A third man held a knife to her top knuckle. A forth stood close with a small blowtorch."She may be a small person, Mr. Nyilas, but she can still die by the Death of a Thousand cuts," he explained."I love you, Aya," I told her softly."I love you too, Fehér mén," she succeeding in keeping most of the fear from her voice.Neither one of us could stop this. Aya certainly didn't expect me to compromise the Host for her benefit. She was as much an Amazon as the first Epona."First, I wish to know what alerted you to the attack at the Summer Camp," Bob began the interrogation."We know you were responsible. We want to know what happened." I looked into his eyes and waited patiently. He nodded to the guard, who shoved my face toward Aya's extended finger until I was less than a foot away."Do it." The Order came in Mandarin.The guard cut the top part of the digit off, one knuckle. I looked at the flesh and bone being cut away. In a clinical manner, I noted how sharp the blade was. I saw the blood shoot forth and heard Aya's little voice cry out in pain. I was pulled back and pointed at Jian Bob again."Do I need to repeat the question for you?" he said."No, I caught it the first time," I grimaced. "It tells me that you haven't the slightest idea who you are fucking with." Bob made a slight hand gesture and the blowtorch cauterized Aya's stump. Her little lungs belted out a terrible screech that wound down as her feet gave out and she hung limply in the guard's grip."Revive her." The blowtorch guy, clearly not his first day on the job, snapped some smelling salts under her noise. Aya revived, sobbing and in a great deal of pain."Cáel," she whimpered. "I have found my stillness. I'll be okay now." Her sobs subsided."Shall we try this again?" J B remained coolly polite, almost urbane."Nah," I joked, "we are both pretty good over here.""Again." The Mandarin order came. Off went another digit of her ring finger. This time her scream was much more exuberant and forceful. We all know it hurt like Hell, but the world had turned."He's going to kill all of you," Aya snickered while she sobbed. "You are all going to die.""Mu, what is the little girl saying?" she asked Jian Bob, real name Mu."She is stating her belief that Cáel will somehow kill us all," he and his sister shared the joke. "Let us see what her tune is when they start in on her left hand," the woman smiled at her sibling.That implied they'd cut off her right thumb and fingers, digit by digit, until one, or both of us cracked. The man nodded and Aya's nub was burned again. Her scream was more of a cleansing shout."Cáel, do you think I will have a nice horse to ride when I join Epona's herds, or will I get a pony?" Aya whimpered."Not a clue," I began before Mu had the face-hugging guard apply a finger strike to my solar plexus. Alal's gift had allowed me to partially organize my brain functions. Coping with pain was a whole lot easier now, but I had to be careful to monitor it because pain was Nature's way of letting you know that there was something wrong with your body."What color would you like me to pick up and have waiting for you," punch, "when you finally take yourself to the cliffs?""Again.""This is accomplishing nothing," the senior bald Mo Fo grumbled. "He clearly cares nothing for the child and has been trained in counter-interrogation techniques.""There is nothing to indicate that," Mu bristled."Xiàsh, burn the tip of his left forefinger," senior necromancer commanded. The guy holding my face coordinated with the men holding my arms to free me of my bonds and wrestle my left arm forward. I didn't bother resisting.It didn't take the commandoes long to figure I had stopped caring. On came the flame and the pain. Oh, I screamed. The pain was real. What had changed was my ability to shuffle it off to an isolated memory file to be tackled later. The bald creep stepped into my field of vision. His eyes were windows to the abyss. My "spirit" sight opened my eyes to the truly inhuman sections of his mind and soul."See, normal techniques will not be affective. We will do it, " and they realized the enormity of their mistake by assuming I was paralyzed by the pain. I broke free of the guy on my left and began twisting around the guy on my right. I wasn't getting away, I was going for his QCW O5. I knew their favorite martial arts styles and their weaponry now.The guy I was rolling behind realized what I was doing (going for his gun), but mistook my intentions. I wasn't trying to get away, or steal the gun (still strapped to his body). That cockhead even helped me out by lurching ground-ward. I swung the gun up, hit the selector and fired two quick bursts.The first three rounds hit Mr. Blowtorch in his right thigh, shredding it. The second burst caught Mr. Knife guy in the crotch, a triple 21mm castration. Had Blowtorch Guy not been busy trying to keep the strands of his right hip connected to his right leg, he could have stopped the blood fountaining from his buddies shattered groin. That was the end of my joy.I was born to the ground and the guy whose gun I'd borrowed pulled away. I hit the concrete surface hard. That was only the beginning of my issues. Radiating from the floor was cold beyond cold. I had the sensation of falling into the heart of a cold, dead star. How I even knew what the felt like was an impossibility."He feels very cold," protested one of the two guards, in Mandarin; pulling me back to my feet groused."If your incompetence has led to his terminal condition," the male twin threatened. I felt the approach of the female twin, her reaching for me. A new intense pain seared me to the cores of my bones. Before she yanked my hair up, my body reignited.I found myself stared into her pitiless eyes that regarded me with the casual callousness of a veterinarian preparing to put down some rabid stray dog. She ran three fingers over my cheek."What are you babbling about?" she snapped at the two commandoes. "If anything, he is feverish.""Zhen, have him sedated," Chief Necromancer demanded. "Mu, now we will do this my way." Once more I was bound. Someone stabbed a needle into my right triceps. That was a mere discomfort. If I had any consolation, it was hearing Mu ordering the execution of the two men I'd shot.They didn't have the time and facilities to tend to their immediate emergency needs and taking them to a trauma center wasn't going to happen. Those two went into body bags. I had to assume they would be joining us on the plane, though they'd be in the cargo compartment."What are you smiling at?" I heard Zhen snapping before my world collapsed down to a pinhole of light."Lady, I don't know what you said," Aya declared happily. "You are probably angry that Cáel has already killed two of you and we haven't even got off the ground yet." I heard a sound I couldn't make out followed by another and finally a third. That resulted in an Aya-squeak. Ah, she'd tried to hit Aya and Aya had dodged the first two blows. Good girl."Cáel isn't going to like you doing that," Aya chirped."Aya's a winner," I mumbled. I wasn't in control of my senses when they dragged me onto a waiting jet. I wasn't worried. With Aya at my side, I was invincible.DreamingI looked at her face, so youthful, beautiful in her own way, yet far from innocent. She bore a terrible weight. The armor she was wearing, that of a heavy horseman of the steppe, was a leather coat, chain links over her vulnerable regions (throat, underarms and skirt), with the rest being covered by darkened bronze plates.Her iron helmet was open-faced with mobile plates covering her cheeks as well as the sides and the back of her neck; it bore a white horse-hair plume, it was the only feature of her panoply that would draw any special attention her way. She carried no shield. Instead, she wielded a powerful horn & sinew composite recurve bow. She used her knees to rise up on her mount and fire over the mare's head.Similarly attired women rode close to either side of this young woman. Both were older; one in her early forties and the other ~ late thirties. The one to the left bore a lance, not in the couched fashion most people today are familiar with, but used in a double-handed over-head fighting style.The woman to the right fought with a strange blade. It wasn't saber ~ an ancestor of that blade perhaps. It was about a meter long, no hand guard, single-edged except for the top 4 cm on the back side which was equally sharp. Her left hand remained free. I think I saw her purpose. If the young woman got into difficulty, her guardian on the right could pull her horse away and lead the woman to safety.Behind and beside those three rode perhaps three hundred of their sisters. Those in the center were as heavily armored as those three. On each flank were the lighter, faster bow-women, on smaller steeds. The women in the center rode larger mounts that were good for carrying weight and pushing home a charge, while the flanking steppe ponies were virtually tireless.In the center, identified only by her long golden-mane helm, was the Golden Mare ~ War Leader of the Host. The Amazons didn't fly pennants or carry banners. They judged the course of battle by that woman's head movements (the mane was quite long) and the shrill horn blasts unique to the Amazons.Let the barbarians have the all too common deep booming horns calls and their totems raised high for the world to see. Let the Romans keep their trumpets and Legion standards. Amazons had been putting those fools in their graves from time immemorial. Right now, those horns had summoned the Host to a trot.The Hun, Attila, had tasked the Sarmatian Chieftain, under whose banner they rode, to deal with another crisis, the third this short day. Once more, they directed their horses over Catalaunian Fields. The Ostrogoth had gotten themselves into a world of trouble, those filthy, stinking Germans (why was I even thinking that way?)First the Amazons had ridden forth on Attila's right, reinforcing the allied Germanic tribes on the Right Wing in their attempt to force a wedge between Aetius' Romans and King Sangiban's Alans. They'd shown the fools the way, but the supporting Gepids cavalry was too timid and by the time they began to approach, the Golden Mare had been forced to sound 'retire'.The Roman auxiliary cavalry, though of poor quality, had plugged the gap. The Host were too few and too valuable (in their estimation) to die holding a position that their 'allies' might not rescue them from. Next, they had been directed to attack the center of the Alan cavalry line in support of the Huns.Despite the cowardice of their king, the Alans were hardy fighters and too accustomed to the style of steppe warfare that the Host practiced to be lured away from their position. Arrows were exchanged and brief, brutal skirmishes developed, but no advantage was gained. With their mounts exhausted, the Golden Mare had ordered the Host to retired to their camp to water their horses and refill their quivers.That bit of common sense and tactical wisdom placed them in their present crisis. Their Ostrogoth allies had been beating themselves against their Visigoth cousins all afternoon, charging up the same cursed slope that any sane commander would have found a way to flank. No, the Germans had failed seven times using the same plan, so they tried an eighth.Miraculously, they had gained a toehold on the ridgeline and killed the Visigothic King. Like a mob of mindless farmers, the Ostrogoths stopped to celebrate their 'victory' and taunt the Visigoths with the mutilated body of their fallen leader. The Visigoths had been properly incensed and counter-attacked. That's what Princes were for, to avenge their fallen Sires.As the Host exited the Hunnic laager, they'd seen the calamity unfold. The wavering Visigoth infantry had stiffened their line. Believing the Ostrogoths would press forward, the Horse-tail banner of Attila himself broke away from the central Hunnic body, pivoted to his left and thundered into the Visigoth's exposed flank.In the din of battle, it may have looked to the Great Warlord that he had a vanishing opportunity for victory. From the valley below, it was much clearer to the Amazons that the moment to break the Visigothic infantry had passed. The Huns were too tired; their mounts frothing from a long, hot afternoon of battle. Without a swift follow-through, the attack was doomed.At that point, headlong flight for the Amazons wasn't possible. Their long term survival hung on the Hunnic King keeping his Germanic 'allies' in line. They were still somewhere in eastern Roman Gaul, with the Rhine to ford and a land thick with perpetually vicious, blood-thirsty, crotch-scratching, flea-bitten Germanic barbarians to cross before they saw the green rolling hills of home again.No, the Golden Mare, and that young lady knew they had to do something to stem the tide of this disaster for another hour, then darkness would force the combatants to separate so they could try their hand at battle the next day. As the Golden Mare rode to the Sarmatian Chieftain, a rider came through the dust from Attila. The Visigothic cavalry had returned with a vengeance and the Ostrogoths were folding up.The Sarmatians (with their attached Amazons) were to 'somehow' repair the situation. As the Chieftain, the Golden Mare and three Sarmatian tribal leaders hastily discussed the actions. They saw the Hunnic Right, under hard pressure from the Roman attack, beginning to disintegrate. Of immediate concern was the rift opening up between the retreating Hunnic Gepids and the Hunnic horsemen holding the center.King Sangiban had finally discovered his manhood. The Alans attacked through that gap in the Hunnic lines and a rout was in the offing. The Sarmatian Leader decided he had to answer Attila's call. The Golden Mare offered to take her Amazons and whichever tribal leader volunteered first to ride with her against the Alans.She drew her sword and held it aloft then motioned the Sarmatians to look at her shadow."We will hold them off until the length of our swords double (the shadow). Then we are all on our own," she offered. There was no further discussion necessary. There was nothing else to say. The Host and their allies had the fresher horses and full quivers.The Alans had numbers but no heavy horse present, yet. The Host had answered Attila's call to war and now, nearly a year away from their homes in the forested steppe lands of modern-day Bukovina. At that moment they were wondering how few of them would ever see their horse herds roaming free this side of life.That was where my vision came in ~ that woman was 'Ishara', the last of my major bloodline of the first Ishara and this was the last hour of her life. The other two women were the only other two members of that vanishing bloodline. One was her aunt and the other a cousin. Despite the dire peril to their lineage, they joined their sisters in battle.Even though they were outnumber 2 to 1, the Amazons swept aside the first burst of Alans, scattering their bands and hunting the slowest of them down. Rushing alone to fill the gaping hole in the main battle lines was to abandon all tactical sense. Eighty Amazon heavy horse and perhaps twenty more Sarmatians ~ they were integrated now ~ alone simply weren't enough.For the roughly 300 lightly armored horse-archers, it would be a pointless suicide and that was not the Amazon way. Instead, they scattered the initial Alan rush then gently trotted back down the slope. Of course, the Alans regrouped and followed. It was the battle pulse of steppe skirmishing.By simply existing, they turned the rushing wave of that first Alan charge into a slowly strengthening tide. The Alans' mounts were tired and in need of water. Their quivers were nearly empty and some were seen at the top of the slope looting the quivers of the fallen. Whenever they could, the Amazons killed those clever souls.Killing an archer closer to you who only had two arrows left wasn't as economical as killing the one who was both dismounted, thus an easier shot, and about to have fifteen bolts to use against you. Without the constant harassment, the Gepids were able to keep their retreat orderly. In turn, the other Germanics farther to the right kept their mobs relatively intact as well.Their success earned them the inevitable enemy reaction. From his vantage point, the Roman Aetius saw the vulnerable and unsupported position the Amazons held. If he could push past the Amazon screen, he could still achieve a route instead of accepting a mere victory for his side. The solution was a force of

In this episode of the Joyful Health Show Kasey interviews registered dietitian Dana Shaub about the nuances of taking Sabbath rest in a culture that idolizes productivity. Sharing from her own personal experience and from that of working with clients 1:1, Dana dives into the why behind taking sabbath and the practical ways we can move towards Sabbath rest. In This Episode We Discuss: The cost of idolizing productivity What God says about sabbath and whether it is relevant today 3 action steps to move forward in finding Sabbath rest Dana encourages us to prayerfully consider the Lord's words through the prophet Isaiah when he commanded the Israelites to “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” in Isaiah 46:10. As you meditate on this verse and listen to this episode we hope it aids you in entering the sabbath rest reserved for you as a child of God.

Last night Israel killed over 400 Palestinians in a brutal massacre across Gaza. The number will rise as many remain trapped under the rubble. This comes after 16 days of Israel's total strangulation on Gaza. No food, fuel, aid or medical supplies. With the ceasefire shattered, Palestinian political analyst Muhammad Shehada offers his take to Ahmed Alnaouq on the real reasons behind Israel's latest wave of brutality, exposing the political chaos within Netanyahu's government, including his personal corruption trial, mounting protests and a desperate attempt to stay in power at any cost. Please support our work: https://www.palestinedeepdive.com/support

In this episode, Lise takes us deep into her holistic approach to addiction treatment, emphasizing the importance of understanding the individual's vital force and the root causes behind their struggles. We explore addiction beyond the typical definitions, shedding light on common dependencies like coffee consumption and emotional stability. Lise shares how homeopathy and Bach flower remedies play a key role in healing, especially by addressing neurotransmitter imbalances. We also discuss the upcoming Joint American Homeopathic Conference (JAHC), where Lise will speak, offering listeners a chance to explore groundbreaking work in the field of homeopathy.   Episode Highlights: 01:52 - Homeopathy beyond PMS treatment 05:58 - Deciding to specialize in addiction 07:49 - Hidden addictions we don't see 14:40 - Aligning the soul for healing power 21:01 - Serrata: Flower for uncertainty 25:53 - Stages of decision-making in recovery 30:06 - Neurotransmitter Systems at Play 33:45 - Client on opioids and benzodiazepines 37:27 - The challenge of overcoming suppression 43:57 - Impact of glyphosate on gut health 46:57 - Support for smoking cessation 50:45 - Dopamine stimulation in casinos 57:36 - Long-term suffering from quick medication cessation 01:00:37 - Role of homeopathy in addiction recovery   About my Guest: Lise Battaglia, CAP, CCH, RSHom(NA), BFRP, CEASE, HDT, BT, GAPS, is a highly sought-after expert, mentor, speaker, and teacher with a deep commitment to supporting individuals through recovery. With a wealth of experience in both conventional and traditional medicines, Lise works integratively to guide clients on their healing journeys. Based in New York City, Lise sees clients locally and globally via video telehealth. She is recognized for her non-patriarchal, holistic approach, customizing her methods to meet each patient's unique needs for a transformative healing process. With over 30 years of experience, Lise regularly witnesses remarkable healing and considers herself fortunate to be part of her clients' recovery stories. Lise began her career as a crisis counselor for survivors of domestic violence and rape at Saint Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital in NYC, and later became a Certified Addictions Practitioner. As an educator and coach, she specializes in helping individuals detox, withdraw, taper, and recover from dependencies on medications, recreational drugs, and habits that hinder optimal health. An innovator in addiction recovery, Lise uses an integrative approach to address physical and emotional trauma, microbiome imbalances, neurotransmitter deficiencies, and the removal of chemical, heavy metal, and environmental toxins, all of which contribute to deep healing and the cessation of cravings. She views addiction and substance misuse not as weaknesses, but as complex issues influenced by multiple causes.   Find out more about Lise Website: https://www.recoverynaturally.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/recoverynaturally LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/recoverynaturallylisebattaglia/   If you would like to support the Homeopathy Hangout Podcast, please consider making a donation by visiting www.EugenieKruger.com and click the DONATE button at the top of the site. Every donation about $10 will receive a shout-out on a future episode.   Join my Homeopathy Hangout Podcast Facebook community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HelloHomies   Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/eugeniekrugerhomeopathy/   Here is the link to my free 30-minute Homeopathy@Home online course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqBUpxO4pZQ&t=438s   Upon completion of the course - and if you live in Australia - you can join my Facebook group for free acute advice (you'll need to answer a couple of questions about the course upon request to join): www.facebook.com/groups/eughom

Pastor Dan and Linda Catlinwww.prophecyhour.com Cease fire reached in Ukraine?  We start looking at the anti-christ! LISTEN AND DOWN-LOAD HEREhttps://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/branch/episodes/2025-03-13T21_01_51-07_00RADIO AND NET ARCHIVEShttps://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/branchVisithttp://wichitahomeless.com/ Donations and Contacthttps://prophecyhour.com/contact-inofrmation-and-how-to-donate/Radio Archiveshttps://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/branchMission Churchhttp://wichitahomeless.com/ 

Your Nightly Prayer

Hour 3 of A&G features... Cease fire in Ukraine/Russia war Online dating & filters State Farm executive fired after Tinder date leak & the bowtie What's free speech & what's not? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 3 of A&G features... Cease fire in Ukraine/Russia war Online dating & filters State Farm executive fired after Tinder date leak & the bowtie What's free speech & what's not? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben & Woods discuss the report that the Padres plan on holding on to Dylan Cease and Woods' unique trip to Las Vegas.

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found Click On Picture To See Larger Picture The [CB] has started the narrative that the tax cuts are going to the wealthy and his policies will bring the country into a recession. The country is already in a recession. Trump has now added more tariffs to the mix. Canada and Mexico will fold and give in to his demands. Tariffs will create jobs over the long run. The economic transition has begun. The [DS] is feeling the pain, they were put on display during Trumps congressional speech. The people saw how the Ds hate our country and how they were protecting their money laundering operation. The pain they are feeling will increase as their crimes are released to the public. In the end the D party will cease to exist once it's all exposed.   (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); Economy Trump's lies on tax cuts are another gut punch to America's working-class  You know the old expression, numbers don't lie?   Well, they do when the numbers come out of President Trump's mouth.  Trump's numbers don't add up. If he were getting a math grade for his speech to the joint session of Congress, he'd fail miserably.  Trump is worse than a student who hasn't done his homework. He's a president who routinely lies to mislead the public, justify his wrongdoing and distract us from the real harm he's doing to Americans and the lasting damage he's doing to America.  Trump made a lot of promises about a new “golden age” for America. But in reality, he and congressional Republicans are getting ready to sell out Americans and our future so he can deliver massive tax cuts to billionaires like Elon Musk.  Source: thehill.com Yes, the $4.5 trillion in tax cuts you're referring to is largely tied to the continuation of the Trump tax cuts, specifically those enacted under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Many of the TCJA's provisions, particularly the individual income tax cuts, are set to expire at the end of 2025. Extending these expiring provisions is a significant part of what's being discussed in current budget proposals. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and other analyses estimate that permanently extending the TCJA's individual, estate, and certain business tax provisions would cost around $4.6 trillion over a 10-year period (2025–2034), including debt service costs. This figure aligns closely with the $4.5 trillion often cited in recent Republican budget resolutions, such as the House Budget Committee's plan released in February 2025. That proposal explicitly allocates $4.5 trillion to the Ways and Means Committee to "lock in tax cuts," which is widely understood to mean extending the TCJA provisions that would otherwise expire.   The TCJA lowered rates across all brackets. For example, the 15% bracket dropped to 12%, and the 25% bracket became 22%. If it expires, rates revert to pre-2017 levels (10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, 39.6%). A single filer earning $50,000 in 2025, for instance, would see their marginal rate jump from 22% to 25%, increasing their tax bill by a few hundred dollars annually. Standard Deduction: The TCJA nearly doubled it—$13,850 for singles and $27,700 for married couples in 2023 (adjusted yearly for inflation). Post-expiration, it drops back to around $6,350 and $12,700 (pre-2017 levels, plus inflation). This means more income gets taxed, especially for those who don't itemize, which is most working people. A couple taking the $27,700 deduction now could owe taxes on an extra $15,000 or so, adding roughly $3,000 to their bill at a 22% rate. Child Tax Credit: The TCJA bumped it to $2,000 per kid (with $1,

Bob is the created and owner of Trade Genius Academy. Bob also does a podcast on YouTube which is called Trade Genius. Bob begins the conversation with the keystone oil pipeline, Trump is going to rebuild it. Bitcoin and gold are declining, liquidity is drying up but it doesn't mean that they are going to zero, both will increase once again. Trump is setting up a parallel economy, oil, tariffs, no taxes and the fake debt Trump is going to fund the country outside of the [CB]. In the end the IRS and the [CB] will cease to exist.  

Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com      Psalm 46:8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” KNOW HB - Yada "yada" often implies a deep, personal, and relational knowledge, such as the intimate relationship between God and His people or between individuals… a personal knowing built on the presence of time. A knowledge based on deeply knowing and experiencing that relationship.    *how well you know your spouse from dating to mating to hating to celebrating -      Psalm 20 1 Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. 7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God. BOAST - HB - Zaw-Kar  To bring up from deep remembrance  *IT WAS BURIED DEEP INSIDE OF YOU FROM TIME PAST IN YOUR LIFE, AND NOW YOU PULL IT UP AND RUMINATE ON IT, BOAST ON IT   A King will count his chariots and horses going into battle We will call up who God is to us in the deep        Knowing he's there when he is not seen. Elisha  2 Kings 6:16 (Show the servant who is on our side - Elisha does not see it - He just knows it)   How did Elisha get there? TO KNOW WITHOUT SEEING??? 2 Kings 2 Elisha proves his loyalty to Elijah… He won't leave him. He wants his influence. Vs. 9 what do you want? I want a double portion of your spirit. Portion HB - Mouth - literally your speech I want twice as much as what you have in your mouth  

Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Nicola Lindson discuss emerging evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Olivier Drouin from the University of Montreal, Canada. Associate Professor Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and Associate Professor Nicola Lindson discuss the new evidence in e-cigarette research and interview Dr Olivier Drouin. Dr Olivier Drouin is a Clinical Assistant Professor in both the Department of Paediatrics and Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at Université de Montréal. In the February podcast Olivier Drouin discusses his ongoing pilot randomized trial of a brief digital screening and intervention tool for parental and adolescents to address tobacco and electronic cigarette use, CanCEASE. This study takes place in paediatric medical care settings in Canada and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Their pilot study aims to demonstrate the feasibility and evaluate the preliminary effectiveness of the CEASE program for parental smoking cessation and its adapted version for adolescent smoking cessation and adolescent and parental vaping cessation. There is a strong need for effective and cost-effective smoking and vaping cessation interventions for parents and adolescents. If successful, this study will help inform the preparation of a fully powered randomized controlled trial of CEASE in Canada in these populations. Olivier Drouin discusses the importance of behavioural science in understanding the drivers of behaviour and health behaviour change, including the use of scientific method to understand rational and irrational behaviours, habit formation and the role of peer pressure and social norms. The pilot study discussed in this podcast by Chadi at al 2023 is DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.2196/47978; NCT05366790. This podcast is a companion to the electronic cigarettes Cochrane living systematic review and Interventions for quitting vaping review and shares the evidence from the monthly searches. Our literature searches for the EC for smoking cessation review carried out on 1st February 2025 found 2 new studies (Ikonomidis 2024 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae666.3388; Kouroutzoglou 2024 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae666.2955) and 6 papers linked to studies included in our review. Our catch-up search for our interventions for quitting vaping review up to 1st February 2025 found 7 new ongoing studies and 4 linked papers. For further details see our webpage under 'Monthly search findings': https://www.cebm.ox.ac.uk/research/electronic-cigarettes-for-smoking-cessation-cochrane-living-systematic-review-1 For more information on the full Cochrane review of E-cigarettes for smoking cessation updated in January 2025 see: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010216.pub9/full For more information on the full Cochrane review of Interventions for quitting vaping published in January 2025 see: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD016058.pub2/full This podcast is supported by Cancer Research UK.

https://sjrl.org/sermons-and-catechesis/bid-thou-our-sad-divisions-cease-and-be-thyself-our-king-of-peace

Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com  A dog that follows you everywhere… What if it was a King Cobra.. and you still felt the same way… That is Kingdom PEACE, rest KNOWING abiding…     GOD RESTED ON THE 7TH DAY. WE WILL EXPERIENCE THAT REST HERE ON EARTH DURING THE MILLENNIUM.    … BUT WE CAN EXPERIENCE THAT REST NOW AS WELL.    Waiting knowing resting     Waiting - Daniel prayed 3 weeks but was heard on day 1.  Dan. 10   v. 12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.   Understand HB - taking the time to deeply and intently yearn to understand      **There has to be a hunger to know God.     My prayer this year… Ps. 51:10-12 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.         Psalm 46:8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” KNOW HB - Yada "yada" often implies a deep, personal, and relational knowledge, such as the intimate relationship between God and His people or between individuals… a personal knowing built on the presence of time. A knowledge based on deeply knowing and experiencing that relationship.    *how well you know your spouse from dating to mating to hating to celebrating -      Psalm 20 1Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. 7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God. BOAST - HB - Zaw-Kar  To bring up from deep remembrance  *IT WAS BURIED DEEP INSIDE OF YOU FROM TIME PAST IN YOUR LIFE, AND NOW YOU PULL IT UP AND RUMINATE ON IT, BOAST ON IT   A King will count his chariots and horses going into battle We will call up who God is to us in the deep 

Grab your time-traveling bow and arrow, folks! It's time to dive into the prehistoric playground of Turok: Evolution, the game that asked, “What if we took a beloved comic book series and cranked the dinosaur-blasting action up to 11?” Join us as we explore this Acclaim-produced, multi-console extravaganza that had gamers questioning whether they were playing as a noble warrior or just a really enthusiastic paleontologist with anger issues. This episode features the talented Frank Martin, comic writer extraordinaire and master of crowdfunded creativity. He'll help us navigate the treacherous terrain between comic panels and pixelated landscapes, all while dodging raptors and questioning the logic of futuristic weapons in a world where “cutting edge” usually refers to a particularly sharp rock. So strap on your loincloth, polish your plasma rifle, and get ready to explore a game that's part Jurassic Park, part quantum physics experiment gone wrong. Will Turok: Evolution stand the test of time, or will it go extinct faster than you can say “Cease and desist, dinosaur!”? Tune in to find out! Learn such things as: Is it cheating if you're making the game alongside the comics? Is it cheating if you rebooted the comics to be nothing like the comics were when the came out all those years ago? Is it cheating if you're just making Goldeneye in the early 2000s but with dinosaurs? And so much more! You can find Frank on most social media platforms using the handle @FrankTheWriter and FrankTheWriter.com. If you want to be a guest on the show please check out the Be a A Guest on the Show page and let me know what you're interested in. If you want to help support the show check out the Play Comics Patreon page or head over to the Support page if you want to go another route. You can also check out the Play Comics Merch Store. Play Comics is part of the Gonna Geek Network, which is a wonderful collection of geeky podcasts. Be sure to check out the other shows on Gonna Geek if you need more of a nerd fix. You can find Play Comics @playcomics.bsky.social on Bluesky. A big thanks to Not If I Reboot You First and Behold! for the promos today. Intro/Outro Music by Backing Track, who doesn't have a favorite dinosaur because they're all so cool. Support Play Comics by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/playcomicsRead transcript

What's the deal with the cease and desist letters going to Los Angeles pizzerias? Is OpenTable's comeback slowly killing Resy? And was our visit to the LA Times 2024 Restaurant of the Year a Chef's Kiss or a Big Miss? Father Sal's with us today to discuss all of that and more, plus where you can try a $750 burger, what Molly Baz is doing to give back to wildfire victims, and an invitation I extended to Bill Esparza that can only be described as ill-advised and reckless. Helpful Links:NYT's Kim Severson on teh legal brawl over “Dirt Candy” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/dining/dirt-candy-trademark-dispute.htmlGrubStreet on OpenTable vs. Resy https://www.grubstreet.com/article/restaurants-leaving-resy-for-opentable.htmlMolly Baz gives back https://www.latimes.com/food/newsletter/2025-02-16/la-fires-rebuilding-kitchens-cooking-molly-baz-pantry-cooking-editorialTaste on mutton https://tastecooking.com/no-matter-what-you-call-it-mutton-is-delicious/Karen Palmer on the $750 burger https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/porsche-experience-center-carson-california-20107593.php–Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park!⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠

February 19th, 2025:  Universal Call to Holiness; Religious Life a State of Perfection; To Be Deep in History is to Cease to be a Protestant; What Near Death Experience People Say is Most Important

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found Click On Picture To See Larger PictureThe [DS] is going after the food supply, Trump is stopping it. We are in a white collar recession. Elon want to video the gold vaults, the question is, do we have the gold or not. The push for an audit is on. He who owns the gold makes the rules. The [DS] has tried everything, they are failing every step of the way, emotions do not work when people are logically thinking and awake. The people want the waste cut. The D's have never said what Elon has uncovered is fake, this should tell you everything you need to know. The rats are jumping ship, the [DS] system is falling apart. In the end the [DS] will cease to exist, this was planned a long time ago.   (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); Economy https://twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1891609469366251610   President Trump's FTC Chairman @AFergusonFTC https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1891892912004182237  from 6.4% in 2021 to 4.3% in December, the third-lowest since 2009. White-collar hiring levels are now even lower than during the 2020 pandemic. Such weakness usually only takes place during economic downturns. The labor market is softening. https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1891570003276620085   https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1891575340801102154 https://twitter.com/drawandstrike/status/1891852998957019417   https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1891555910218097122 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1891409844801810649     https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1891548132179054740    Political/Rights NBC Reporter Ties President Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE to Plane Crash in Toronto with Canadian Air Traffic Control (VIDEO)   A Delta plane crash-landed on a snowy runway at Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada on Monday afternoon. The flight arrived from Minneapolis when it crashed, landed, and flipped upside down. At least 15 people are injured, including one child. It is unclear why the plane crashed. There are no reports of fatalities. The fake news media immediately tied the plane crash, which occurred in a foreign country, to Trump and DOGE. NBC's Tom Costello tied the crash to the Trump Administration's staffing cuts even though the plane crash-landed in Toronto with Canadian air traffic control. WATCH: Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/pcavlin/status/1891686261426971134 https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1891619487511613745 Sec. Duffy Lowers the Boom on Buttigieg in Blistering Response Over FAA  https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg/status/1891486255889731993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1891486255889731993%7Ctwgr%5E4309c4f703e9b859f82c42f69120681535123387%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fnick-arama%2F2025%2F02%2F18%2Fsectrans-duffy-response-to-pete-buttigieg-on-faa-n2185701 It's interesting that suddenly we seem to be hearing more from Buttigieg when he was the Secretary. But it's incredibly ironic that he's talking now while there had been problems for years that he did not fix. The new Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, was having none of Pete's nonsense. He detailed the mess Buttigieg left and what they were doing to resolve it. Mayor Pete failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system. In less than four weeks, we have already begun the process and are engaging the smartest minds in the entire world. Here's the truth: the FAA alone has a staggering 45,000 employees.

From 'Play Tessie' (subscribe here): Gordo, Sammy, and Pat detail a wild sequence of events from down in Fort Myers headlined by demonstrative comments from Rafael Devers about playing third base. How shocking was it to hear a usually quiet Devers speak so adamantly about being the Red Sox third baseman and is he right to be upset? Also, the best lineup and defensive alignment for the Sox that may have to factor in the mood of the young superstar. And, Dylan Cease was reportedly checked on by the Sox even though a trade is unlikely but that doesn't stop our guys from debating if getting Cease for Wilyer Abreu and Kutter Crawford is a good move. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A major focus of the Minnesota state legislature is rooting out fraud in government programs. We heard about a new committee in the Republican-led House and talked to a DFL Senator about a bill to create a new agency aimed at finding and stopping fraud. Before he was former President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan was a star student in Minneapolis. We heard more on his Minnesota roots and where he thinks U.S. foreign policy stands today. A chef is bringing African American food traditions from his home in the Low Country of the southeastern U.S. to his community in Minnesota. For Black History Month, he's cooking up a workshop about Gullah Geechee food.Our Minnesota Music Minute was ‘Cease and Desist' by the band Crush Scene.

It's This Week in Bourbon for February 7th, 2025. Diageo has announced it will close its bottling operation at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery, A court settles the argument on who gets to say they were the first African American owned bourbon distillery in Kentucky, and Heaven Hill announces the release of Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 19-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Wheat WhiskeyShow Notes: Diageo to close Stitzel-Weller bottling operation in April, relocating jobs and production Diageo announces $415M manufacturing and warehousing facility in Alabama, opening 2025 Castle & Key completes Phase 1 of solar energy project, investing $2M in sustainability Court rules in favor of Fresh Bourbon in dispute over first Black-owned distillery in Kentucky World Whiskey Society launches Green Code Bourbon in eco-friendly packaging for $49.99 Heaven Hill unveils 19-Year-Old Wheat Whiskey in Heritage Collection at $299.99 Support this podcast on Patreon

Should Eli continue to feed feral cats in her yard? Her partner, Becca, says, "NO!" Becca has pointed out that Eli is also keeping bird feeders in the yard. They think Eli has created a fertile hunting ground for these innocent birds. Eli says that she is making her yard even safer for the birds because she is keeping the feral cats fed! Who's right? Who's wrong?Thanks to our generous audience and followers, Jesse and Theresa's fundraising goal for Al Otro Lado keeps going up! Visit alotrolado.org/letsdosomething to do something helpful for migrants at the US-Mexico border. And thank you to everyone who has donated so far!We are on TikTok and YouTube! Follow us on both @judgejohnhodgmanpod! Follow us on Instagram @judgejohnhodgman.Thanks to reddit user u/__magpie__ for naming this week's case! To suggest a title for a future episode, keep an eye on the Maximum Fun subreddit at reddit.com/r/maximumfun! Help us reach our fundraising goal for Al Otro Lado, to help migrants trapped at the US-MX border. alotrolado.org/letsdosomething

From 'Fly the W' (subscribe here): Crawly and Dustin discuss the Cubs continuing to show interest in free agent third baseman Alex Bregman and the club's interest in Padres right-hander Dylan Cease on the trade market. What would it take for the Cubs to acquire Cease?  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Empanada is back.You are listening to this episode 1 week after it was released. To get episodes on time, up to 2 exclusive episodes a month, discord access, merch discounts and plenty more - check out our Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramBUY OUR MERCH - https://deprogramshop.com/ Check out his work here:Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BadEmpanadaLive channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BadEmpanadaLiveSupport the showSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDeprogramPod

Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell continue shining sunlight on the Mica Francis case and the SUNLIGHT IS WORKING. This week, the True Sunlight Podcast dives deep into the bizarre legal world of JP Miller, the pastor at the center of so much controversy. We'll explore how JP is now suing multiple protesters and online critics for harassment and invasion of privacy, claiming they're causing him emotional and economic harm. But here's the twist: this is the same man accused of stalking his late wife, Mica, who was denied a restraining order against him....  On today's episode, the LUNASHARK Team received the official coroner's report in the death of Chris Skinner, the quadriplegic man who drowned in his neighborhood pool shortly after he reportedly confronted his wife, Suzie, and Pastor JP Miller about their alleged affair.  Was it an accident, as ruled? Or is there more to the story? We examine discrepancies in the official reports of how Chris ended up in the water... and video footage that suggest it may have been intentional...? Also on the show, an intake form from a family law firm that JP Miller appears to have consulted in February 2024 for representation in his divorce contains some VERY interesting information, including the name of the person who referred him to the firm. Plus, JP is now suing 13 protesters and creators in Magistrate Court and we have some more insight into what he's up to. According to a summons and complaint that was served on one of the protesters, JP is seeking a restraining order, claiming he is being harassed and he's seeking $7,500 in damages in an invasion of privacy claim. We are officially in the Upside-Down now. After combing through JP's claims, Mandy and Liz have a message for the judge …  This episode gets deeper into these very twisted stories... so let's dive in.  Episode Resources Charlotte Korn's Cease and Desist Letter - May 29, 2024 “Exclusive: John-Paul Miller speaks about wife Mica Miller's death” - NewsNation, July 22, 2024 JP Miller's 911 Calls Timeline SC Code of Laws for Harassment & Stalking IRS 501(c)3 Tax Guide for Churches & Religious Organizations Previous Referenced TSP Episodes: 76, 77, 83 Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight...☀️ If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. Premium Members also get access to ad-free listening, searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos and exclusive live experiences with our hosts on lunasharkmedia.com all in one place. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. What We're Buying... Eric Bland's New Book!!! - Mandy's Book in Paperback!! - Amanda Knox's New Book Boll & Branch Sheets - http://bollandbranch.com/mandy Change the way you sleep with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets. Here's a link to some of our favorite things: https://amzn.to/4cJ0eVn *** ALERT: If you ever notice audio errors in the pod, email info@lunasharkmedia.com and we'll send fun merch to the first listener that finds something that needs to be adjusted! *** For current & accurate updates: bsky.app/profile/mandy-matney.com | bsky.app/profile/elizfarrell.com TrueSunlight.com facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/ Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod Twitter.com/mandymatney Twitter.com/elizfarrell youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia tiktok.com/@lunasharkmedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Minnesota Twins have reported interest in trading for San Diego Padres Dylan Cease; The Twins and Padres have also discussed Chrisitan Vazquez; What would the Twins have to give up to land Cease; Is there a possibility the Twins could re-sign Cease before he hits free agency; Plus a random Twins player of the week on the SKOR North Twins Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Minnesota Twins have reported interest in trading for San Diego Padres Dylan Cease; The Twins and Padres have also discussed Chrisitan Vazquez; What would the Twins have to give up to land Cease; Is there a possibility the Twins could re-sign Cease before he hits free agency; Plus a random Twins player of the week on the SKOR North Twins Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues and hosts emeriti Benjamin Wittes, Quinta Jurecic, and Alan Rozenshtein to talk through the week's big—and we mean BIG—national security news, including:“Executive Disorder.” America's once-and-future President Donald Trump hit the ground running, issuing dozens of executive actions on his first afternoon in office, from once again withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement to pardoning or commuting the sentences for almost everyone involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection. But which actions are important and which are just for the show? And what do they tell us about what to expect from a second Trump presidency?“Swiping Up on Consistency.” The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the law banning TikTok triggered an unexpected crisis last week, as TikTok users who suddenly realized the platform was in danger apparently mounted a pressure campaign against elected officials that led several, including President Biden, to waffle on the desirability of the ban. But incoming President Donald Trump, who once tried to ban TikTok himself, jumped in with an order temporarily delaying the ban—a move that TikTok thanked him for by name in a notice on the platform after service was restored. What explains the sudden about-face among supporters of the TikTok ban?“Cease and Assist.” After more than a year of brutal hostilities, the parties have finally agreed to a ceasefire in the conflict over Gaza. But as Israeli hostages are gradually let free, humanitarian assistance resumes, and displaced Gazans return to their devastated neighborhoods, real questions remain. Is this just a pause or an end to the conflict? And what comes next in Gaza either way? In object lessons, Ben encouraged listeners to listen to Merrick Garland's farewell speech to the Justice Department, regardless of how you feel about the former attorney general. Quinta embraced a sense of escapism with her praise of the Wallace & Gromit movies, particularly the newest addition to the franchise, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. And Scott—wondering what will become of us now—mustered up his best inner disgruntled, middle-aged Millennial voice to recommend Michael Longfellow's plea to not ban TikTok from SNL's Weekend Update.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues and hosts emeriti Benjamin Wittes, Quinta Jurecic, and Alan Rozenshtein to talk through the week's big—and we mean BIG—national security news, including:“Executive Disorder.” America's once-and-future President Donald Trump hit the ground running, issuing dozens of executive actions on his first afternoon in office, from once again withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement to pardoning or commuting the sentences for almost everyone involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection. But which actions are important and which are just for the show? And what do they tell us about what to expect from a second Trump presidency?“Swiping Up on Consistency.” The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the law banning TikTok triggered an unexpected crisis last week, as TikTok users who suddenly realized the platform was in danger apparently mounted a pressure campaign against elected officials that led several, including President Biden, to waffle on the desirability of the ban. But incoming President Donald Trump, who once tried to ban TikTok himself, jumped in with an order temporarily delaying the ban—a move that TikTok thanked him for by name in a notice on the platform after service was restored. What explains the sudden about-face among supporters of the TikTok ban?“Cease and Assist.” After more than a year of brutal hostilities, the parties have finally agreed to a ceasefire in the conflict over Gaza. But as Israeli hostages are gradually let free, humanitarian assistance resumes, and displaced Gazans return to their devastated neighborhoods, real questions remain. Is this just a pause or an end to the conflict? And what comes next in Gaza either way? In object lessons, Ben encouraged listeners to listen to Merrick Garland's farewell speech to the Justice Department, regardless of how you feel about the former attorney general. Quinta embraced a sense of escapism with her praise of the Wallace & Gromit movies, particularly the newest addition to the franchise, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. And Scott—wondering what will become of us now—mustered up his best inner disgruntled, middle-aged Millennial voice to recommend Michael Longfellow's plea to not ban TikTok from SNL's Weekend Update.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is already available early for Patrons over at: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramSupport Support the Podcast and get early as well as bonus episodes by donating. Help us stay 100% independent. Support the showSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDeprogramPod

SEASON 3 EPISODE 87: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN A-Block (1:44) SPECIAL COMMENT: A reminder that what would become the Confederate states thought that secession was constitutional. A reminder that three and a half years earlier the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had no right to ban slavery and slaves had no rights at all. I was thinking of that as President Biden gave his farewell speech last night. Where in the constitution does it say that the nation must commit suicide because a slim majority of its voters have been fooled into believing it ISN’T? Where in the law does it say that a criminal has to be protected from all laws by judges he corruptly appointed? Where in the law does it say that one man is above it? Where in our agency over our own lives does it say that we must defer to a traitor who has corrupted politics, voting, the judiciary, everything that we must defer to him just because he’s good at being evil? And where does a President's loyalty to his people rest? In protecting the forms and rules of a broken system, or protecting those people from the greatest threat they have ever faced – the threat of his successor who has perverted that broken system to serve himself and a few cronies and whores, and condemn the rest of us? Is it Joe Biden's constitutional and moral responsibility to declare a state of insurrection and put them all behind bars… or NOT to do so? As I’ve said before, I do not have either enough words nor enough time to tell you how much this ISN’T going to happen – Doomsday, and national suicide, will continue as scheduled. Have fun! ALSO: The good news is: Pete Hegseth was interrupted three times by hecklers at the hearing for his nomination as Secretary of Brylcreem… the bad news is: it wasn’t three HUNDRED times. He might be the SMARTEST. Pam Bondi apparently didn’t hear a single threat Trump made during his campaign and Tulsi Gabbard doesn’t know what her new job is. Trump goes full Reagan: tries to grab credit for Biden and Blinken’s Hostage Deal and Cease fire. Times, Running Out: is the New York Times actually INTENTIONALLY following the self-destructive path of The Washington Post and CNN. This is not a boat accident. You don’t know Jack-Smith: going out with a whimper not a bang. Love him, but what the hell was that. And how much fun was it to hear Elon Musk make a fool of himself as LA firefighters doused his conspiracy theories with reality? B-Block (29:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The final shoe has dropped in the saga of my ex, and it has knocked Ryan Lizza out cold. Someone named Dakota Lee Dilley has completely personified the Trump (lack of) mentality: sure they were traitors but they were GIFTED traitors. And if you hate Dan Abrams or Chuck Todd, wait'll you hear Dan Abrams DEFENDING Chuck Todd. C-Block 49:30 THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Lawrence O'Donnell's last interview? My heart raced with excitement. Then it turned out it was Joe Biden's last interview. Lawrence was just doing it and he, who correctly predicted years ago he could never host a cable news show with any skill for any considerable span, is staying. A terrible human who tried to take Countdown away from me while he was filling in for me while my dad was dying.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.