“The record of the Waco incident documents mistakes. What the record from Waco does not evidence, however, is any improper motive or intent on the part of law enforcement.”
The siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, is an important event in American history because it directly led to one of the biggest terrorist attacks on American soil – the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building. It’s not necessary to defend this act of terrorism to understand why the entire freedom movement of the time was so incensed by it. Indeed, it stood as a symbol of federal overreach and the corruption of the Clinton Administration. Lasting for 51 days, the confrontation between federal law enforcement agencies and the Branch Davidians, a religious sect led by David Koresh, culminated in a catastrophic fire that claimed the lives of 76 people, including Koresh himself.
The seeds of the Waco siege were sown when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) obtained a search warrant suspecting the Branch Davidians of stockpiling illegal weapons. On February 28, 1993, ATF agents attempted to execute the warrant, resulting in a shootout that claimed the lives of four ATF agents and six Branch Davidians. This event marked the beginning of the standoff.
It’s important to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the siege of Waco, just as it is important to do so with the siege of Ruby Ridge or the attack on the American consolate in Benghazi. With every event, it is important to stick to the facts and what can be extrapolated from them to make the strongest argument about what went wrong and why, and what could be done differently in the future.
Read more: The Waco Siege: What Happened When the Feds Laid Siege to the Branch Davidian Compound
Over a hundred years ago, on February 21, 1916 at 7:15am, the battle of Verdun began and became one of the longest, one of the bloodiest and one of the fiercest battles of the First World War for the French and German armies.
In these days of increasing Thought Police intervention in our lives, I had a rather interesting revelation: It dawned on me that so many of us already talk in code.
No, I am not talking about the codes adopted during the war with the famous ( or infamous ) Enigma code that caused Alan Turing and his team of codebreakers so much consternation in WW II; no, I am talking about the code that families speak.
Let me give you some examples.
When I was a little girl, my parents bought some sleeping bags for my two older brothers. They were rather el cheapo, kapok filled grey sleeping bags and were so thin that my older brother complained " Gee! They are so thin, you could spit through them "
Henceforth, in our family, a sleeping bag was known as a spit through. If someone ever kidnapped a family member and we had to establish if that person was an alien, the first question we would ask would be " What is a spit through? "
Read more: Lifting the Lid on the Way Things Work.... Talking in Code is Already Part of Life
It was back in the early days of 2019 that Australia was shocked to learn that one its greatest sports men, Israel Folau, was fired for quoting the Bible. Alan Jones, then host of his own show on Sydney radio said
“The Australia that our Anzacs fought for seems to be disappearing before our very eyes,” Jones said. “It prompts you to wonder what kind of society we’re living in.
“Nothing wrong with Israel, [Folau ] it’s the society and those who prosecute [and persecute ] him who are sick.
“But the cancer won’t kill us, it’s the cancer that will be removed, not Israel. The Australian people won’t accept this.
“This is not the Australia our veterans fought for and we’re going to have to take our country back by argument and by the democratic and peaceful process — not by hate and revenge or vilification and intimidation.”
Well, how wrong Jones was. For it appears that Australia did accept it and our country is a much changed place.
Read more: Onward Christian Soldiers. Are We Marching Off to War?
Magic happens everywhere and goodness, wonder and delight can be found alive and well throughout the world.
All we need do is look to our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, for the joy in the simplicity of delight to be found in such timeless heroes.
Fairies are part of my Manx heritage so it is not be be treated lightly that you have my assurance that the Tooth Fairies are still flying around the world doing a great job.
They tell me that the Easter Bunny is also ready for a bumper Easter Egg day. But they asked me to remind the children to brush their teeth and not get carried away with too many goodies from the Bunny basket.
Enjoy!
As Easter has come upon us one more year, I have been pondering what to write. What to feature for a day ( Good Friday ) that was hardly good and rather more than a simple end to a bad week.
In this time of confusion, unrest and violence - where good seems to being constantly overshadowed by evil - I wondered how the story would sound if it was seen through the allegory of a modern musical band. I mean no disrespect and I hope that my story is read with that in mind.
It was hardly a good Friday. In fact, it was a rather unpleasant day if we are to be honest.
Sometimes, bad weeks just get worse, don't they? As far as Jesus was concerned, he had been let down by one of his best mates and, when interviewed by police, another close friend said " I don't know nuffink. "
The Band, known as Jesus and the Disciples, were a big hit 2000 years ago. They played gigs at local venues, spreading messages of love, hope, and unity through their music. Jesus, the charismatic lead singer, had a voice that could soothe even the most troubled souls, and his lyrics touched the hearts of all who listened.
It was a terrible end to what had been a bad week for the band.
So how did the band get to this place?
Read more: The Story of the First Band of Rock and Roll - Jesus and the 12 Apostles
Less than three hours ago, I was sitting in the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, watching 47 minutes of footage from the Hamas massacre on October 7, together with a small group of specially invited evangelical leaders. The images, as expected, were jarring, disturbing, horrific.
Little children in their pajamas, butchered in their own beds, covered in blood. The corpses of young women, shot in their crotches. Victims with their hands tied behind their backs, now charred with fire.
Others burned beyond recognition.
Bloody image after bloody image for 47 minutes.
CCTV footage of a woman cowering on the floor, trying to hide from Hamas bullets. Then bodycam images from those same terrorists as they carry out her lifeless body.
Cell phone video footage of young, female Israeli soldiers, huddling together on the floor as they try to find refuge from the murderers who caught them unaware early in the morning. Are they safe here? Should they try to run somewhere else and hide? The next footage shows their bullet ridden corpses as their murderers celebrate.
Has the dust settled?
Far from it. It is everywhere. We are choking on it. The storm cloud comes in many forms: inflation, learning losses, ill-health, high crime, non-functioning government services, broken supply chains, shoddy work, displaced workers, substance abuse, mass loneliness, discredited authority, a growing real estate crisis, censored technology, and overweening state power.
For that matter, consider that Easter, the day to celebrate the Son of God’s triumph of life over death, itself was canceled for public worship just four years ago. That actually happened. Not even at the height of World War II was there a consideration of such a thing, or even canceling baseball. When the idea was suggested in a famous movie script, Spencer Tracy asked “Why would you abolish the thing you are trying to preserve?” (Woman of the Year 1942).
Good question. What precisely was the point of the hell we went through? Who did it and why? Why did it last so long? Why has there been no official accounting?
Read more: Four Years Later....... What precisely was the point of the hell we went through?
This Easter, we are praying for a miracle and a rebirth or resurrection where good triumphs over evil and hope is restored and justice and commonsense prevail.
At least that is how I feel.
Over the centuries, we have learned so much about the strength of the human spirit. That incredible ability to triumph over adversity, whether it be physical, emotional or mental agony... or all three at once.
As Easter approaches, so too is the concept of war uppermost in our minds... it seems to loom ever more ominously on the horizon...... that conflict that drives us to delve deep and draw upon reserves that we often did not know we had.
People speak so frequently about Easter being about death and rebirth. About struggles that can wear us down yet somehow, the miracle of the human spirit can come out the other end and rejoice that all is not lost.
Let us hope that 2024 yields this outcome. But what is it that drives us onward?
Read more: The Ideal Palace - A Story of Rebirth after Death and 33 years of Struggle
This is the dramatic story of how an eccentric environmental speculation grew into a powerful global scare industry; it is the story of the corruption of science, the defrauding of taxpayers, the destruction of reliable energy, the bullying of anyone who dares question the narrative and a hidden agenda for shortages, rationing, environmental destruction and global control.
The film exposes the climate alarm as an invented scare without any basis in science. It emphatically counters the claim that current temperatures and levels of atmospheric CO2 are unusually and worryingly high. In fact, we are currently near the end of a warm interlude in an ice age and there is no evidence that changing levels of CO2 (it has changed many times) has ever 'driven' climate change in the past.
Read more: Climate Change - The Movie - The Cold Truth on Global Warming
In early 1951, New Zealand’s waterfronts weren’t just bustling ports - they had become battlegrounds.…
205 hits
Ratty News Special: “From Gondwana to Dusty Gulch: The Ostrich Problem” By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble,…
408 hits
During World War II, Australia was a vital cog in the Allied machine, sending troops…
483 hits
Of all the magnificent units and regiments of the Australian Army I doubt if…
451 hits
The Emu War is one of Australia’s strangest historical events. In late 1932, the government…
373 hits
For nearly a decade, I’ve poured my soul into this blog. Twelve hours a day,…
350 hits
The Battle of Long Tan took place on August 18, 1966, in the Phuoc Tuy…
418 hits
We live in a strange age where even computers can sound like they care. AI…
314 hits
RATTY NEWS EXCLUSIVE: DIGITAL DINGO’S BIN BONANZA By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble – Chief Correspondent, Dusty…
394 hits
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the…
401 hits
Democracy: Now With 97% Less Majority Rule Because who needs the will of the people…
474 hits
NEWSFLASH FROM DUSTY GULCH By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble – Dusty Gulch Bureau Chief Hold onto…
405 hits
Between the “Scrap Iron Flotilla” and “the Rats of Tobruk,” turning insults into a point…
405 hits
Before Xbox and iPads, we had mist, mud, and pinecones - and we waged battles…
376 hits
Picture trench warfare, and you’re probably seeing World War I’s muddy, rat-infested ditches, with soldiers…
425 hits
Digitally Removed in Shocking Duck Directive - Trevor the Wallaby Victim of “Knee-Free” Policy – Gulch Governance…
468 hits
How my father’s final hour barefoot in the sun taught me what it really means…
412 hits
What a healed bone, the smell of leather, and a soldier’s burden reveal about who…
401 hits
Thomas Pritchard, Australia's last "Rat of Tobruk" passed away at the age of 102 on…
527 hits
In a thoughtful historical essay published on this blog, John Ruddick celebrated the British discovery…
453 hits
From immigration policy to identity politics, energy to ideology - the erosion of Western society…
474 hits
In the 1970s, listening to Pirate Radio was more than entertainment - it was defiance.…
566 hits
DUSTY GULCH IN TURMOIL AS SOCIAL MEDIA MELTDOWN HITS MULTI-SPECIES SCHOOL By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble,…
479 hits
“Every tyrant must begin by claiming to have what his victims respect and to give…
544 hits
The sea doesn’t warn you. It doesn’t care who you are, what rank you hold,…
463 hits
National First looks into how compulsory voting shackles true democracy. Australia likes to pat itself…
478 hits
At nine years old, I felt the silence of the lambs, long before I knew…
470 hits
While the new aces argue about the runway, the old crew still knows how to…
475 hits
When a lifetime isn’t enough to be believed I know a person... in her older…
553 hits
RATTY NEWS SPECIAL BULLETIN By Roderick “Whiskers” McNibble, Editor-in-Cheese It has been a busy week…
454 hits
Before he was a U.S. Senator, Vice President, or bestselling author, J.D. Vance was just…
516 hits
From the rat-hunters of age-old sailing ships to the black-cloaked Catalinas prowling the Pacific skies,…
500 hits