Parallels between my story, "Between the Whistle and the Gun" and Ukraine's story...

 I haven't been shy about heralding my recently published novel "Between the Whistle and the Gun." I've announced it on Facebook, several forums and on this blog as well. It is a story I carried with me and worked on for a long time. When I say long time, I mean really long time. Like fifteen years long. It's a serious narrative about Native Americans who were displaced from their homeland. A homeland they occupied for centuries, before the colonials ever set foot on American soil. For whatever reasons, mostly selfish no doubt, the White men decided they needed the land more than the Indians needed their homeland. So they were forced to walk, yes walk, to a new, designated area which they would, not by choice, call home. The journey was fatal for many. For those that did survive the 'new' homeland was hardly hospitable. Disease, famine, bandits, marauders, all contributed to making life in Indian Territory hellish. 

As if those few decades of misery and tribulation weren't enough, the fledgling government and barely 'united' United States post-civil war government singularly decided that a large amount of the land that had been appropriated to the Indians could actually serve a better purpose than being home to the Indians. So they "allotted' a certain amount of land to each Indian to own, as opposed to the Indians collectively owning the land. Subsequently, over nine million acres was taken from the Indians amid such allotment. That goes beyond displacement. That's abuse. 

The backgrounds and histories of the Ukraine war and the displacement of the Choctaw Indians are vastly different. The net effect on the people of each nation has some striking similarities. The Choctaws were in fact, physically displaced. The Ukrainians are threatened with political displacement. They have been an internationally recognized sovereign country since 1991. In December '91, Ukrainians voted in a nationwide referendum on whether to remain independent. More than 90% voted "yes" including majorities in every region of the country. 

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, with the unstated but obvious goal of reclaiming it as Russian territory, subject to the Russian government. To date, approximately 500,000 Russian soldiers have died in the conflict. Ukrainian military casualties; 100-140 thousand. There have been 15,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine. It is the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. A war against a country that voted over 90% to remain independent. 

Setting aside the background of each situation, here are the parallels that will forever remain in the annals of history. 

• displacement of sovereign peoples against their will
• the human tragedy inflicted
• significant deaths caused by political ambitions

The Choctaws through the sheer power of determination and leadership were able to survive as a sovereign nation. Their culture remains intact over a century later. The story of Ukraine is still unfolding. In spite of the fact that their culture overlaps that of their invaders, they are a sovereign nation under attack. Whether they remain so and their culture continues to develop with singularity is yet to be written. From what we have seen so far, they will remain sovereign and independent. As they have stated they wish to be. The free world stands with Ukraine. May they forever remain intact as an independent, sovereign nation and govern themselves. 

Murder in Texas...

 The murder trial of Karmelo Anthony in Frisco, Texas has been front page news since April 2025 when the event happened. There's no need to cite the details of the case for those in Texas, or probably most of the country. But for our guests in other countries I'll provide a brief summary of the case. 

Karmelo Anthony allegedly brought a prohibited knife to a track meet, trespassed into another team's tent, refused to leave after being asked 15 times to leave, reached into his bag in a threatening manner, challenged others to fight him, brutally stabbed Austin Metcalf, an unarmed 17 year-old, who lightly shoved him in response, then ran away and tried to hide the murder weapon. 

Anthony's defense has imploded faster than a meteor crossing the night sky. During the trial, every witness in the tent, including witnesses called by the defense, portrayed Karmelo Anthony as the aggressor who refused to leave and provoked the confrontation. 

Like many other trials in the past, this trial is about much more than just Karmelo Anthony. It's about the $600,000 that was donated to Anthony's defense. It's about the hordes of black activists outside the courthouse, cheering for a murderer and endorsing his violent, depraved behavior, because he murdered a white teenager. It's also about our post 1960's legal system, which prohibits schools from punishing dangerous black pupils like Karmelo Anthony, and which forces white people to live around them while exhibiting such behavior. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a good and just and necessary piece of legislation. Discrimination on the basis of color, religion, etc. should not exist, and a law to prevent it is justifiable. The laws of our country, since the Constitution and the Bill of Rights was written were and are intended to right certain wrongs and improve the quality of life for citizens. All citizens. They were written by humans which by nature means they are not perfect. There are downsides, fallacies, shortcomings, and unintended effects. The Civil Rights Act of '64 is no exception. Court-ordered busing, public housing policy, and "urban-renewal efforts" have resulted in both positive and negative consequences. The negative consequences have resulted in countless unnecessary deaths. 

Let's get straight to the point. As Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights..." That statement will remain true for eternity. But it does not reflect the reality of life in the streets today of many American cities. I shall not recite examples, but do not doubt that they exist. And they are many. There is an unstated rule that states that you're supposed to tolerate antisocial behavior by black people, no matter now offensive it may be, or you'll end up dead. It has happened countless times, it happened under that team tent in Frisco, Texas. 

Writer Patrick Casey wrote: "Austin Metcalf’s murder is particularly salient because almost everyone, regardless of race, has encountered a black person carrying out an antisocial act – cutting in line, mouthing off, blasting music on the subway, etc. – which is accompanied by the implicit threat of violence. … Most people don’t want to share a society with people who routinely violate public norms and are prepared to murder anyone who objects."

It's simply a fact, statistically substantiated, that on average, black people, are far more likely to resort to violence at the slightest provocation. This is how "justice' works in the hood. If they feel their honor is threatened, or the they are being "disrespected," many black people will shoot you or stab you, without any hesitation. That doesn't mean all black people are violent. Most are not. Same as 'white' people, most are not. But the statistics are indisputable. And when these black men leave their neighborhoods and interact with white people at track meets, on the side of the road, on the subway, or anywhere else, their attitude doesn't change. Many of them are still willing to kill over any challenge to their "authority", no matter how slight. So everyone needs to be aware of the risk. Is that how we want to live?...

It's also notable that the type of violence overwhelmingly perpetrated by young, black males is almost always cowardly and dishonorable. It's often a group assaulting one person. Often kicking and beating the victim while's he's on the ground and injured. Mob violence. Anthony allegedly pulled out the knife and stabbed Austin Metcalf before he had a chance to defend himself or to retreat. 

Is feeling 'disrespected' and 'dishonored' an exclusive black mentality? No, it is not. There are other non-white groups that engage in disproportionate violence in response to criticism. And this is not exclusive to the U.S. The problem cannot be solved by calling people 'racist' when they voice their concerns about it, or by changing their behavior to minimize risk to themselves or their family. The more we ignore what's happening, the more innocent people will die. 

In trial testimony it was demonstrated that Karmelo Anthony is yet another black man who allegedly resorted to murder after his antisocial behavior was called out. This was not merely a case of one stabbing at a track meet. It's about the urgency of undoing the deranged laws and legal doctrines that are getting far too many white people killed. It's about the hopeless attempts to achieve 'racial equity.' Equity has a definition, and it has nothing to do with vengeance. 

The despicable behavior exhibited by the black activists outside the courthouse, the $600,000 donated to the Anthony family, show that not much has changed. Decades of affirmative action, welfare payments, reparations in some cities and states, DEI, a half-black president, has failed to produce any sort of racial harmony in the country. Apparently, it has led us to a period of open anti-white racial conflict which has erupted not only in the US but Europe as well. 

Since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when the concept of 'diversity' showed up, people are dying because of a myth that has persisted for far too long in this country; that racial disparities exist as a result of discrimination. They do not. The problem is far deeper than that. Someday, somehow, we are going to have to return to the doctrine espoused by Thomas Jefferson 250 years ago: "All men are created equal with certain unalienable rights..." 

D-Day

 June 6th isn't celebrated as are some other relevant holidays, such as July 4th, Memorial Day, Veterans Day. Perhaps it should be. D-Day is more than a date in a history book. It is the anniversary of of one of the greatest acts of courage and sacrifice the modern world has ever witnessed. It is a day to pause, reflect and remember, and to honor those who stormed the beaches of Normandy in defense of freedom. 

On June 6th, 1944, more than 150,000 Allied troops crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy. So many thousands would never leave those shores alive. Young men stepped from landing craft into the horror of machine-gun fire, artillery strikes, and seemingly inevitable death. Many drowned before ever reaching the sand. Yet these men pressed forward through literal hell because retreat would have meant the fall of liberty across an entire continent. 

This year, the memory of D-Day coincides with the 250th anniversary of America. This year, in celebrations not only in America, but on the beaches of Normandy itself, the nation will use not only what those young men did, but to also cherish what they preserved. As President Reagan reminded us, freedom is never guaranteed to its inheritors, it must also be defended, protected, and earned. 

Words such as freedom, democracy, and the American way of life are repeated. Now, more than ever, we must reflect on the true meaning of those words. Beneath them lies one of the most precious freedoms of all, religious freedom. The right of every human to seek God without interference of any kind from any government. 

Our founders did not place religious liberty at the head of the Bill of Rights by accident. Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which predated the Constitution and became part of the foundation of the First Amendment, rested on a profound conviction; that conscience belongs to God, not the state. The Declaration of Independence had already established the principle, that rights come not from governments but from the Creator, and that no government can legitimately take what it did not give. 

The underlying logic was profound: if government can control conscience, no other freedom is secure. Religious freedom is the most fundamental of all rights. If it falls, all other rights follow. 

The men who landed at Normandy knew that they were fighting against a regime that demanded absolute allegiance from not merely the body, but from the soul itself. Nazi Germany sought to dominate every institution that stood above the state, including the church. Religious belief was tolerated so long as it submitted to political authority. Across Europe, totalitarian governments claimed the authority to define truth, morality, and human worth itself. 

D-Day was not merely a military operation. It was part of a broad struggle against governments that believed human dignity and conscience existed only by permission of the state. 

Soldiers went into battle inspired by and motivated by faith. Chaplains moved among the troops going into battle. On the night before the invasion, General Dwight Eisenhower urged Allied troops to recognize that "the hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you." Even General George S. Patton, remembered for his toughness, personal coarseness, and battlefield aggression, understood the spiritual dimension of the war. Before the Battle of the Bulge, Patton prayed not only for good weather but that Allied victory would help restore "peace and religious freedom."

One of the most remarkable and untold stories of World War II is that of the "Four Chaplains." On February 3, 1943, the troop ship SS Dorchester was struck by a torpedo in the North Atlantic. As panic spread, four military chaplains; a Methodist minister, a Reformed Church minister, a Catholic priest, and a Jewish Rabbi gave away their life jackets so others might survive. Witnesses later recalled seeing them arm in arm on the deck of the sinking ship, each praying according to his own faith tradition as the ship disappeared beneath the water.

The freedom that so many died for was neither automatic nor self-sustaining. Every generation inherits liberty, and also inherits the responsibility to preserve it. Those who landed at Normandy and marched into Berlin gave us more than victory, they also handed us stewardship. The fallen gave us the most precious thing they possessed, their lives. And ask only that we prove worthy of their sacrifice. 

On the anniversary of this D-Day, remember what was purchased on those beaches so many years ago: the freedom to speak, to worship, to dissent, and to follow one's conscience. 

For those in other countries, we Americans pray that you can enjoy those same freedoms. 

What's really happening in Iran...

 There are certain 'world leaders' (most of whom happen to be Iranian) who would have you believe that the past three months in the Middle East have witnessed the downfall of the America economy, the destruction of the U.S. military, and the rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a power that can rival the United States. That the failure to reach any sort of progress toward peace is purely the fault of "The Great Satan" and that Iran has made nothing short of good faith efforts. 

If such were true, then why hasn't the Iranian regime allowed its people to access the internet, after months of digital darkness, to celebrate such supremacy and glory. Instead, the regime has become only more paranoid as the Iranians return to the web and broadcast the genuine, devastated state of conditions in Tehran and across the country. Now that Iranian citizens can be heard, Tehran's manufactured  facade of stealth and resilience crumbles like a stale cookie. 

Reality is; the Iranian economy is spiraling in a downward freefall, its military has been decimated, and its attacks against international shipping and energy in the Gulf are pathetic acts of desperation. Many Americans question whether this war was necessary in the first place. There are various perspectives that can be taken in answering this question, but there is one inarguable truth. Through its missile and drone production, Iran was rapidly approaching a lethal conventional deterrence that could have protected the regime in resurrecting its nuclear program had it been left untouched. 

The broader perspective is this was has been ongoing for 47 years. During that time, the Islamic Republic has killed thousands of Americans, and U.S. presidents of both parties have responded with policies of appeasement, weakness, and fear. 

America stood silent and still while our enemies killed scores of our soldiers. We allowed the Iranian regime and its proxies of terror to build massive arsenals of advanced weapons. Presidents of both parties took little to no action as Iran took our diplomats hostage, bombed our Marines in Beirut, encircled Israel, blew up our soldiers in Iraq, and plotted assassinations against American officials on American soil. Barack Obama and Joe Biden even rewarded Iran's hostage-taking  with billion dollar ransom payments and responded to their nuclear extortion with pathetic deals that accomplished no more than kicking the can down the road. 

President Trump's approach is not a policy of appeasement or fear. It is a policy of courage. After last year's decisive strikes, it would have been easy to declare victory and leave the remainder of Iran's threats to his successors. Iran's defiant posturing at the negotiating table is seen by some as leverage. Such smoke and mirror pathetic posturing goes to the core of Islamic ideology. Dying a martyr is revered in their culture. The jihad shall not die. 

For years, Iran stalled nuclear talks and issued maximalist demands not from a position of power but to buy time and obscure the depth of their vulnerability. Today, with their military shattered, their economy probably in the worst shape of any on earth, and their terrorist network starved of weapons and cash, the chutzpah at the table is pellucid blunder. There is no real threat. 

The hard part is fighting back against the empty threat of the Iranians has real human costs.  13 brave U.S. servicemembers have already given their lives in this war. Their sacrifice has the potential of ending Iran's decades of war against the United States, our troops and citizens, and our way of life. 

Courage alone can bring us to a place of stealth and security, and a step closer to a future where the brave people of Iran and the Middle East and the world will be free from the scourge of the Islamic Republic of Iran.