How to Win 2026 Part 1: The Strategy for a Historic Republican Midterm Victory.

From Gingrich 360.net (Aug. 23):

Two realities shape American politics today.

The first is the reality we see every day in the news. It is shaped by the latest polls, the Washington and New York political class, and whatever controversy dominates the news cycle.

The second reality is deeper. It is shaped by what Americans actually believe, how they are changing, and where the country is moving over time.

Understanding the difference between these two realities is essential to understanding how Republicans can win a historic victory in 2026.

I learned this lesson firsthand in 2016. Two weeks before the election, I had a memorable exchange with Megyn Kelly about what I described as two different realities. Virtually the entire political establishment believed Hillary Clinton would win. The public polling seemed to reinforce that view. But beneath the conventional wisdom, signs suggested something very different was happening.

Early voting numbers in Florida and Pennsylvania and turnout patterns in Iowa suggested the race was not unfolding the way the political establishment thought it was. President Donald Trump ultimately carried all three states.

The lesson is not that Republicans should ignore polls or assume we are going to win. The lesson is that we must learn to distinguish between the frothy waves on the surface and the much larger political current moving underneath them.

Today, that current presents Republicans with an enormous opportunity. But recognizing an opportunity is not the same thing as winning an election.

First Win the Argument

Margaret Thatcher famously said, “First you win the argument, then you win the vote.”

That should be the Republican strategy for 2026.

Republicans will not win a historic victory by reacting to every controversy, chasing every news cycle, or turning the election into a referendum on whether Americans are satisfied with everything happening today.

We have to make this election a choice about the future. History tells us this can work.

I saw it in my first congressional victory in 1978. I saw it in George H.W. Bush’s remarkable comeback against Michael Dukakis in 1988. I saw it when we built the first Republican House majority in 40 years in 1994. And we saw it again when Donald Trump transformed a presidential campaign into the Make America Great Again movement.

Victory came from identifying a clear contrast, making a factual argument, and repeating it with discipline until the American people understood the choice. Republicans should approach 2026 with exactly the same determination. [read more]

Good advice.  Hopefully, the GOP reads Gingrich's article and takes his advice to heart. Actually, good advice for any GOP election.

All his “How to Win 2026” streaming episodes.

This atheist says he died and returned - now, he believes in God

From J Post.com (Sept. 7, 2023):

There are many unanswered questions in life - the essence of life, existence beyond our planet, and what lies ahead after death. These mysteries have perplexed brilliant minds worldwide, with divergent beliefs about the afterlife.

While some strongly believe in heaven and hell or reincarnation, others deny the existence of an afterlife, proclaiming that we simply cease to exist. However, one man's encounter during a near-death experience challenges this disbelief.

Jose Hernandez, an avowed atheist, shares how a life-altering incident transformed his perspective. Speaking to the YouTube channel Shaman Oaks, Hernandez recounts his extraordinary journey that began with a routine work assignment as an engineer.

Hernandez's near-death experience occurred while fixing an electrical issue from atop a bucket truck.

"I was a staunch atheist. As an engineer, I focused solely on logical explanations," he said. "But that day, everything changed. We were running late, and my partner, concerned for my safety, inadvertently crashed our truck into a tree. The impact left me with multiple broken ribs, and I was rushed to the emergency room."

The critical moment

At the hospital, Hernandez's breathing ceased, and the medical staff fought desperately to save his life.

In that critical moment, he found himself contemplating God, making a promise, "If you get me through this, I'll change."

It was then that he noticed a mysterious presence in the room.

"I saw a shadow standing by the door. At that point, I thought, 'I've endured so much in life. Perhaps it's fine to let go.' And the moment the shadow touched my toe, an overwhelming sense of relief, calm, peace, and love engulfed me. It was euphoric."

As medical professionals performed CPR on him, Hernandez claims that the shadow spoke to him.

"Next, I found myself suspended in the corner of the room, observing the resuscitation efforts. A voice beside me said, 'Think of your body as a car. This vehicle has traveled 8 million miles, and there's nothing more we can fix. It's time to bid farewell to your body.' The voice instructed me, 'Okay, it's time to move on.'"

Following this, Hernandez describes a descent into a black hole, where he experienced flying and witnessed mesmerizing cities, breathtaking forests, and wild herds of animals in motion. In this celestial realm, he was assured that he would be able to see his children and, most significantly, he was reunited with his father.

"When I met my father on the other side, I realized that sometimes we may be unable to express certain things here, but elsewhere, we can."

Near-death experiences often share common elements, with many individuals reporting similar experiences during CPR.

While some interpret these encounters as evidence of consciousness beyond the physical realm, medical professionals offer a alternative explanation. Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry William Revill, in an article in the Irish Times, argues that near-death experiences reflect brain activity during moments of oxygen deprivation and increased carbon dioxide levels. He suggests that reports of a light at the end of a tunnel may be a result of falling oxygen levels in the retina, creating tunnel vision.

In Jose Hernandez's case, his near-death experience challenged his atheism and opened his eyes to the possibility of an afterlife.

Message of hope

His encounter offers a message of hope, echoing the experiences of others who have traversed the threshold between life and death. While the mysteries of life and death continue to captivate our curiosity, Hernandez's account reminds us that there is still much we do not yet comprehend, leaving room for exploration and contemplation. [source]

Nice!

John Michell, Gravity and Black Holes

Newton shows that the gravitational attraction of an object is proportional to its mass.

If light is affected by gravity, a massive enough object will have such a strong gravitational field that no light will be able to escape it.

Einstein explains gravity as a distortion of space-time, meaning that massless light is affected by gravity.

The velocity of light will appear to diminish.

In a 1783 letter to Henry Cavendish at the Royal Society, British polymath John Michell set out his thoughts on the effect of gravity. The letter was rediscovered in the 1970s and found to contain a remarkable description of black holes. Newton’s law of gravity states that an object’s gravitational pull increases with its mass. Michell considered what might happen to light if it is affected by gravity. He wrote: “If the semidiameter of a sphere of the same density with the sun were to exceed the sun in the proportion of 500 to 1, a body falling from an infinite height toward it would have acquired at its surface a greater velocity than that of light, & consequently, supposing light to be attracted by the same force… all light emitted from such a body would be made to return towards it.” In 1796, French mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace came up with a similar idea in his Exposition du Système du Monde.

Source: The Science Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (2014) by DK Publishing.

Egypt's smart: They built a giant above-and-below-ground WALL at the border with Gaza to keep Hamas out…

From Revolver.news (Oct. 13, 2023):

We could definitely learn a thing or two from Egypt about how to protect our country and our people. Egypt shares a border with the Palestinians, right on the Gaza Strip. To keep migrants from rushing in, they’ve built a formidable border wall that goes both above and below ground, making it nearly impossible to breach.

Al-Monitor:

Egyptian authorities had begun the first phase for building a tall concrete wall on the border with the Gaza Strip. Tribal sources told Al-Monitor that the wall will extend from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Rafah border crossing. Meanwhile, the Egyptian armed forces have not made any official announcement on the wall.

The sources said the wall is 6 meters (20 feet) high and goes 5 meters (16 feet) underground and will be parallel to the old concrete barrier topped with barbed wire that was built on the border in early 2008; the walls will be separated by a distance not exceeding 10 meters (33 feet). The new wall, which sources said was begun Jan. 27, aims to prevent the entry of armed militants from Sinai into Gaza and close the remaining tunnels along the border.

The BBC also reported Feb. 18 that the wall will have observation posts placed every 100 meters (328 feet).

An Egyptian security source told Al-Monitor over the phone that the concrete wall along the border with the Gaza Strip will be 13 kilometers (8 miles) long and stretch from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the seacoast at Rafah.

The source, who declined to be named, said the implementation plan for the wall was developed nearly two months ago. The source further said that a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) segment has been finished and that the rest will be completed in the next few weeks.

The source indicated that Egypt is rushing the construction work, which is designed to allow the government to manage entry and exit along the border with the Gaza Strip, as Cairo seeks to control all of the underground tunnels that can be used for terrorist operations, drug trafficking and weapons smuggling.

Interesting.

End Wokeness:

Gaza also shares a border with Egypt.

To keep Gazans out, Egypt built massive parallel walls and a super-strength steel underground wall.

One wall is made of concrete, goes 20 feet high and underground. The other is stone.

In addition to the above/underground walls, the area is patrolled by the military.

There is only one checkpoint to get in to the country and it’s heavily guarded.

Here’s a closeup of the images of the wall:

Wow, that looks secure, doesn’t it? What does it say about our own nation that we let just about anyone cross our borders illegally and with zero scrutiny?

But Egypt isn’t stopping at just a wall. In response to the recent surge of terror attacks in Israel and retaliatory actions in Gaza, Egypt has doubled down on security. They’ve shut the door on refugees looking for a safe haven. When asked why Egypt would turn away these refugees, experts stated the obvious: how can authorities be sure who’s a legitimate refugee and who’s a terrorist? [read more]

See walls do work. Actually, a pretty good idea.

Defeating the Mullahs

From Bill O’Reilly on Bill O’Reilly.com (Aug. 11):

The War with Iran is now a significant problem for both the Trump administration, the United States, and pretty much everybody.

I receive hundreds of messages each day from all over the world. A recurring question is: “How would I, your humble correspondent, defeat the Mullahs?”

So, here’s what I would do:

Number 1: Take out Pickaxe Mountain immediately. That’s the underground complex housing Iran’s supply of Uranium. No guarantee that destroying the facility would achieve anything, but it sends a message.

Number 2: I’d single out targets in the capital city of Tehran. You have to give a warning to the people who live there, but we should take out their infrastructure: that’s water, electricity, all gone.

Finally, the US has to take over this operation—no more influence from our Allies in the region. Let them have their opinions in private, but America must run this enterprise as we did during World War II.

If President Trump did these three things, he would be condemned all over the world, including the Democratic Party here in the US, but he has no alternative.

The Iranian strategy is to “run out the clock” – pardon the cliché. They know the American public will eventually tire of high gas prices and global instability.

President Trump must do something now. Time’s up for Tehran. [source]

Not bad strategies. I don't think the sheep-humping IRGC will ever voluntarily surrender. They definitely don't care about their own citizens. All they care about is spreading their warped ideology. Some kind of extreme pressures need to be put on them. Too bad they can't just be eliminated altogether (maybe by Delta Force?) but first you must find them. Maybe, Mossad knows where they are at.

ICE Plans to Issue Gloves That Can Deliver Electric Shocks

From Newsmax.com (Aug. 12):

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver electric shocks intended to gain compliance from combative individuals.

ICE plans to spend up to $20 million to purchase thousands of "conductive distraction and de-escalation devices" for officers and agents by March, according to a notice published Monday by the Department of Homeland Security.

The devices are known as the G.L.O.V.E., which stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, and are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky. They have been used in recent years by some jails and police departments.

DHS said Tuesday that it was working on a response to an Associated Press inquiry and offered no immediate comment. Jeff Niklaus, the founder and CEO of Compliant Technologies, wrote in an email, "Unfortunately, we are unable to speak on this subject."

The notice said the solicitation for a no-bid contract could be published as early as Friday.

Civil rights advocates expressed alarm at the plan, saying ICE officers already face criticism for their use of force with little oversight or accountability while enforcing President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Compliant Technologies says the devices function as a normal pair of patrol gloves until officers press a switch to activate their electrical mode. The gloves must be applied directly to someone's skin to deliver a pain stimulus that typically helps an officer gain compliance within seconds, according to the company.

"It's immediate and sharp, and it will distract you. I call it like a bee sting," said John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths, who is studying how the device has been used. "If the officer is getting any type of resistance from the person, this is certainly an effective tool."

Peters said he believed ICE's planned purchase would likely be the largest from the company to date. He said he could envision ICE officers using the gloves to help remove uncooperative subjects from cars and houses and in and out of detention facilities.

"For smaller officers or weaker officers or older officers, I think it has a great advantage" because it can produce faster takedowns and shorten confrontations, he said.

The manufacturer warns the device should not be used as punishment, against people merely exhibiting "verbal defiance or belligerence," or on high-risk populations such as children, pregnant women or elderly or disabled people.

Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy project director on policing at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the public should have no confidence that ICE officers will use the devices appropriately. She questioned why the devices would be necessary for civil immigration enforcement and noted those getting shocked might have no advance warning.

"ICE spent the last year showing this country they are too quick to use force. Now they will be able to deploy electric shocks with the slight push of a button that maybe nobody else can see them do," she said. "Introducing gloves that can so easily be used to deliver terrible pain in encounters is a recipe for harm to the public."

Supporters say the devices are generally used in specific jail and transport situations, rather than broadly to patrol on the streets. They have been used to subdue violent suspects who are refusing to get into squad cars and inmates who are harming themselves and threatening officers, according to Compliant Technologies.

Peters said he expected the devices to be misused by a small number of employees, as with other policing technologies, but he said they are unlikely to cause injuries. He said it would be important for ICE to have robust policies and training in place.

To use the device, officers must complete a course and be recertified every two years, the manufacturer says. [source]

I guess cattle prods were out of the question? Maybe, they would have been too awkward to use. It seems, from the article, that ICE officers can't adjust the shock amount. Probably, a good idea.  The anti-ICE nuts' are going to love this tech! Their heads are going to explode when they hear this news.

FBI: Homicides Dropped in 2025 to the Lowest Rate Since 1956

From Newsmax.com (Aug. 14):

The homicide rate in the United States dropped to the lowest it's been in 75 years, according to an FBI report on 2025 crime statistics released Friday, which also showed overall violent crime dropped 9.3% last year.

Experts note that national violent crime rates have been declining since 2022, and pinpointing an exact reason is difficult. They say multiple factors contribute to decreases in crime rates seen in the FBI report, which is based on data reported voluntarily by many but not all law enforcement agencies across the country.

“The homicide drop is historic and crystal clear. But right now, what’s driving it is about as clear as a glass of milk,” said Adam Gelb, president and CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank based in Washington.

“Rates are falling in cities with very different public safety strategies, economic conditions, and political leadership," Gelb said. "The consistency across the map should make us cautious about handing credit to any one leader, party, policy, or program before the evidence catches up.”

President Donald Trump announced the decreases in the annual crime numbers during a visit to a New York police academy Friday.

Trump proclaimed his role in lowering violent crime rates, taking a swing at his predecessor and at so-called sanctuary cities, while touting what he said was his overwhelming support of law enforcement and his tough-on-crime moves such as deploying the National Guard in Washington and elsewhere.

“We ended the war on police, and we declared a very strong war on crime,” Trump said during the Long Island appearance.

Regardless of the contributing factors, criminologists who have been tracking violent crime and property crime in a few dozen cities had been predicting that the homicide rate might drop to 4 per 100,000 residents, which would have dropped the rate to the lowest since 1900, when those rates began to be tracked.

The rate came close when the numbers from thousands of departments were calculated, reaching 4.1 homicides per 100,000 people. That rate is tied with 1955 and 1956, according to Friday's report, as the lowest rate since 1900.

The report showed murder and nonnegligent manslaughter decreased 18.1% between 2024 and 2025, while overall property crime declined by 12.4% during the same period.

Motor vehicle theft, which had spiked in 2022 and 2023 following a social media challenge that helped people exploit a manufacturing issue in some models of Kia and Hyundai vehicles, dropped by almost 23% to the lowest levels in more than 20 years.

In an unusual move just a few months before the midterm elections as many Republicans continue to tout the drop in crime, the FBI report also noted that violent and other crime has continued to drop during the first six months of 2026. The federal agency normally waits until all of the yearly data is reported to suggest a drop in crime.

Groups like the Council on Criminal Justice have also said 2026 could see an even larger decline than 2025, with homicides dropping 18% in those cities during the first six months of this year, compared with the same timeframe in 2025.

Crime surged during the coronavirus pandemic, with homicides increasing nearly 30% in 2020 over the previous year, the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records. Violent crime across the U.S. dipped to near pre-pandemic levels around 2022.

The FBI collects standardized crime data from law enforcement agencies across the country through its Uniform Crime Reporting Program, though not all agencies participate. The 2025 report includes data from more than 17,000 agencies, or more than 87% of the agencies in the FBI's program, serving communities including almost 329 million Americans. [source]

Good to know.