Columns
Of Snakes And Crows
In the Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-3, God, perhaps in a mood to overcome His boredom once He had created earth and its creatures, set Eve and all future women to be at odds with snakes. First, God created Adam then, when Adam had nothing to do but enjoy life, God created Eve to tempt him; I suppose for God’s own amusement. To tempt Eve, God created the serpent whose main purpose appears to have been to set up Eve’s biblical day-time talk show episode of learning about good versus evil by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Of course, Eve brought Adam along.
Even though both Eve and the serpent knew to eat of the Tree of Knowledge had been forbidden by God, as Eve explained her great sin, the serpent beguiled her and led her to partake of the Tree of Knowledge and share the dreadful bounty with Adam. God cursed Adam to labor and women to bear children and hate snakes. The Bible makes it clear that the “curse” included the creation of sexual relations so Adam was probably not too upset with Eve’s frailty.
These interactions of women and serpents came to mind yesterday when Peg and I looked out our cabin window and saw a large black crow in a battle of wits with a two-foot long black and gold banded, although I’m no herpetologist, I think, Mandarin serpent. I am guessing the snake was seen by the crow as a potential threat to the crow’s nearby nest. Usually, crows build their homes high up a tree, but as most of our trees are stubby blackjacks, I bet this crow’s nest may have been not too far away. I really do not know how or why the confrontation took place nor which adversary initiated it. I did conclude both snake and crow saw the battle as an existential threat.
The crow would make a sprightly hop over the snake which would try a thrust with its head as the bird jumped over. According to the Internet, the Mandarin is not very venomous, but has enough poison to defend itself if it can get a bite in.
This back and forth and over and across series of moves and countermoves went on for about five minutes until either one or both of the creatures got bored or tired and the crow hopped up on the fence and the serpent slithered off into the high grass of our pasture. I do know how I happened to see this entertaining contest. Peg shouted, “Jim!” I recognize Peg’s alarm for mice, not too loud, squirrels, somewhat concerned and snakes: an all-out Eve protestation. I went for my shotgun but, frankly, did not know at which of God’s creatures to shoot; they both looked like good and evil or just confused and while Peg hates all snakes, she’s not too fond of crows either.
I did note that by the time I was ready to fire, Mother Nature had taken matters back to the situation ante without any damage being done. Apparently, the knowledge of good (live and let live) and evil (senseless death) had not been eaten of by either creature. Maybe there’s a lesson there; I wish I could ask my old Sunday School teacher.
You can also follow us on Facebook at “Jim Peg Redwine” or Substack “@gavelgamut”
Drone On
All organized militaries play war games to practice for real war. No blood from the losers or booty to the winners. No buildings destroyed or state treasuries depleted. In essence, war games are the best wars. Mankind has sought such a resolution of conflicts since we progressed from living in caves to coveting the caves of our neighbors. However, a major problem has often been we had to destroy our neighbor’s cave to take it over and often we had to kill our neighbors first. But, voila; along has come our ability to wage war without incurring any of its messier elements. We can now just dispatch unmanned drones instead.
Just this past week Ukraine captured several Russian soldiers using inexpensive, unmanned drones. No blood, no returned fire, no mess, i.e., no fighting. That’s the kind of war we can all live with. It is a little like battles used to be settled by having one soldier from one side, say David, fight one soldier from the other side, say Goliath. Who says we humans cannot learn from thousands of years of slaughter? Instead of killing to prevent Iran from somehow, someday, maybe developing a nuclear weapon, we can now just have warring factions display their drones while everyone watches the show. It could be better than an ♫ op-er-a ♫ (as they say in the musical Les Misérables) and cost about the same.
Oh, I know what you are thinking, Gentle Reader; there are a few more things to work out with Iran now. Anyway, I have already spent more time thinking this war through than President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu did before June 2025 and February 2026 when they started bombing Iran.
You can also follow us on Facebook at “Jim Peg Redwine” or Substack “@gavelgamut”
Civilization Not Annihilation
The most dangerous character trait an advisor to a narcissistic megalomaniac can have is honesty. Speaking truth to power is what a true patriot does before falling on her or his sword. Those around Rome’s Caligula found that out between 37 and 41 AD before he was assassinated. On the other hand, our country has a desperate need for words of wisdom and humanity to be whispered into President Trump’s ear and, more importantly, for him to believe those truths and put America over personal pouting. Of course, if the ruler surrounds himself with sycophants, the advice is more damaging than the facts.
Humanity has unfortunately had numerous examples of people who clearly saw and warned of a dark future but whose forecasts were ignored. The most famous of these cautionary voices came from Cassandra of Greek mythology. Cassandra was the daughter of Troy’s King Priam. She proclaimed the disasters that would befall Troy, but she was dismissed as mad and Troy was conquered by the Greeks in a senseless ten-year war over Helen’s affair with King Priam’s son, Paris.
On March 17, 2026 Joseph Kent, who had been nominated by Trump to serve as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, sent the President his letter of resignation. Kent had served twenty years in the army, had been awarded six bronze stars, was an army ranger and green beret and had seen several combat deployments to the Middle East.
Kent correctly foresaw the future of America’s destruction of Iran. After our unprovoked attacks in June 2025 and February 2026, Joseph Kent, at great self-sacrifice, implored President Trump to put America first:
“President Trump,
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
I support the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term. Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.
In your first administration, you understood better than any modern President how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never-ending wars. You demonstrated this by killing Qasam Solamani and by defeating ISIS.
Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.
As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.
I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.
It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.”
Gentle Reader, you already know that Kent’s prescient warnings went unheeded. President Trump has publicly threatened to destroy forever the entire civilization of Iran if it does not, UNCONDITIONALLY, adhere 100% to Trump’s demands. Iran has 90 million people and a civilization over 4,000 years old. Also, as Kent stated, Iran has never been a threat to America and could not be if it wanted to be. To exterminate an entire segment of humanity is to violate every moral position we say we stand for.
The Strait of Hormuz had never been blockaded by Iran until the United States and Israel decided to unilaterally and without warning, while in the midst of negotiations, bomb Iran twice and demand total regime change and capitulation. President Trump portrayed our actions as a means of helping the Iranian populace to revolt against the radical theocracy controlling Iran. But, if we kill everyone and eliminate their culture, how is that to their benefit?
Now, as we supposedly want a “deal” with Iran, what does Iran have to give? President Trump says we obliterated all their nuclear capabilities in June 2025 and February 2026. We and Israel have completely decimated Iran’s air force, navy and economy. All Iran has left is the Strait of Hormuz and their devastated lives, while we demand unconditional capitulation. Iran has nothing else to concede. So, how can this “negotiation” end?
Just as the Greeks after the Trojan war, I suggest we declare victory, we get in our ships and sail home; that is what a properly heeded Cassandra would advise. And we should thank Joseph Kent for having the wisdom and courage to choose the harder right over the easier wrong. The President should recognize Kent’s service to America and choose duty over duplicity.
You can also follow us on Facebook at “Jim Peg Redwine” or Substack “@gavelgamut”
Hail From Hell
Peg and I traveled to Scotland in 2017. We did not rent a car then because the British Isles have age restrictions on driving. After having to drive on the wrong side of the road in Ireland in 2013, we accepted the wisdom of those regulations. Then after surviving the Oklahoma thunderstorm on the highway last night in the dark, I suggest all driving everywhere should be reserved for no one under 30 or over 40. Only quick and 20-20 drivers should be on the roads. Author’s note: we weren’t the only ones who should not have been blindly swaying from lane-to-lane last night. There must have been thousands of too young and reckless and too old and feckless operators of potential death machines dodging hail and guessing where the road should be.
It reminded us of our Scotland trip to the Isle of Skye. We stayed in the small town of Broadford and one day took a shuttle to the even smaller town of Portree. When we slowly and carefully got off the bus, we saw a sign that said, “Caution, elderly people crossing”. We were amused and even took a selfie; of course, we were almost 10 years younger then.
One of us got hearing aids a couple of years ago but they are more utility as earrings than listening devices. One of us was too vain to admit to any hearing difficulty but the uselessness of the set we bought justified the age-denial.
The reason we were on the road back from Indiana was our children had thrown an 80th birthday party for Peg and a 75th party for her brother. It was great and enjoyable, especially because all we had to do was get there and back; we did, but barely. Peg rode in the back seat so she could lie down while I drove. Normally, Peg navigates as I would have had Christopher Columbus in Greenland. If I can see the Big Dipper, I can guess which way is north.
Usually, we do not encounter monsoons and Peg can shout directions to me with little damage being done. Alas, as they said about elderly Aunt Edith in the movie Christmas Vacation, I couldn’t have heard a ‘dynamite truck exploding in a nitroglycerin factory” during the hail last night, so her increasingly panicked screams to “Watch Out!”, fell on truly deaf ears.
Well, we got back to the ranch about 10:00 pm and hurried into the cabin as we yelled at one another. Some of the conversation I did hear went something like this:
Peg: “Jim, get in here before the lightning strikes again.”
I heard, “Where did you pack the medicines?”
Jim: “Peg, you’re all wet, do you need a blanket?”
Peg heard: “Peg, don’t be such a wet blanket.”
Peg: “Put the dirty clothes in the washer.”
I heard: “Jim, it’s time you did the washing for a change.”
This morning the sun is out, the rain and hail are gone and Peg and I are trying to recover. As we live on the prairie, we have deer, armadillos, etc., and wild turkeys that often appear in our yard. In an attempt to make amends to Peg for shouting back to her when she had shouted at me that my driving was going to get us killed, I tried to tell Peg we had some turkeys pecking in front of the veranda.
Jim: “Peg, come look at the preening tom!”
Peg heard: “Peg, where’s my toothbrush?”
Peg: “Jim, you need to get a photo of those turkeys.”
I heard: “Jim, quit being such a turkey.”
Regardless, all-in-all it was a wonderful celebration and another exciting adventure. However, it is a good thing that we are not likely to be attending another 80th birthday party.
You can also follow us on Facebook at “Jim Peg Redwine” or Substack “@gavelgamut”
President Trump’s Avatar
President Trump had to find a way out of the descent into Hades he had recklessly threatened for Iran. Not even his most fervent acolytes could justify his destruction of an entire civilization because some of its leaders refused to prostate their country to President Trump’s demands. One of the President’s most irrational statements was to announce to the world a 48-hour time limit. This removed all wiggle room and meant either the United States had to retreat from its unconditional conditions or Iran had to.
The President’s dilemma remains he has exterminated not just Iran’s hierarchy but, over several years, he has eliminated many of his own advisors he could have relied upon for trusted advice. However, someone is left standing who managed to convince Trump to connive what is for now an off-ramp from his unhinged behavior. Who is the Trump Whisperer who helped him to extract defeat from devastation; the Court Jester who was able to get the emperor to listen to reason; The Greek Chorus that foreshadowed Trump’s own hubris fueled self-immolation on the world stage?
We do not know, as yet. However, there is a Daniel Ellsberg somewhere in the Trump Administration who will someday divulge the facts behind President Trump’s total defeat by his own ego. History provides many examples of people who have had the courage to put principle over their own survival.
Hitler’s greatest general, Erwin Rommel, gave his own life to try to stop a maniac from ending civilization. Marcus Junius Brutus conspired to assassinate Julius Caesar to prevent Caesar from claiming the emperorship and destroying the Roman republican form of government. Both Rommel and Brutus committed suicide, but both tried to save their countries from narcissistic tyrants. Daniel Ellsberg released the top-secret Pentagon Papers to divulge to the world the false basis for America’s involvement in the Viet Nam War. He was charged with espionage and endured great contumely for his courage.
Someone in President Trump’s truly inner circle had the ability to speak truth to Trump about Trump’s seismic moral, political and diplomatic tirade that placed America in the position that Hitler’s Nazis and Netanyahu’s Zionists are known for, genocide. We are, for now, most known for President Trump’s threats to eliminate an entire civilization. If the President decides to eliminate the Cassandra who brought America back from the edge, doom may yet occur.
Here’s a big thank you to that Cassandra, whoever she or he is, and a caution that truth can be a dangerous thing, especially if whispered to megalomaniacs.
You can also find us on Facebook at “Jim Peg Redwine” or Substack “@gavelgamut”
Epic Fury Revisited
“Peg, Peg, are you awake?”
“I am now that you have poked your elbow through my ribs. What are you laughing about?”
“I just solved President Trump’s kerfuffle in the Middle East. It came to me in a dream; I knew you’d want to hear it. It has everything. No blood, no money and no more angst. Do you want to get up and have a hot chocolate or just lie here and be amazed?”
“What I want is to go back to sleep, but apparently that’s not an option. So, go ahead; let’s hear what, if anything, is going on in your head.”
“Oh, good. The country needs my help. Listen up, I think this borders on brilliant; it’s kinda like something Trump, Hegseth, J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio might have thought of on their own, if they’d thought of it.”
The Dream Solution
President Trump summoned Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to the oval office after he saw a FOX NEWS report of a portion of Hegseth’s prayer at the Pentagon directed to the war against Iran:
“Grant this task force clear and righteous targets for violence.
….
[L]et justice be executed swiftly and without remorse.”
“Now, Pete, that is a real prayer. Where in the world did you come up with that?”
“Mr. President, I took that straight from the Bible. I am sure you are familiar with Psalm 144 that holds: ‘Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.’”
“Oh, sure, I used to be referred to suggested passages, but then I found Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to be rather D.E.I. in its approach so, I quit wasting time on such by-gone thinking. The world now looks to me to solve these things. After all, I am the peacemaker.”
“Anyway, Pete, I just wanted to commend your attitude of all out victory and run an idea by you as to how we might land on our feet in this Iran thing. What do you think about a little diversionary tactic such as finding a country we can get to surrender without any more blood or tax dollars wasted? We need an enemy we can truly subdue in a couple of days, you know, one we can blame for criticizing our righteous invasion of Iran. I have one in mind based on what this guy from Chicago just said on March 26th about the war. No, no, it wasn’t that slob J.B. Pritzker who wants to run against me in 2028. He is in Illinois, but I mean that other Chicago preacher who used to be called Robert Francis Prevost but now dresses like a mullah or an Arab Sheik. Just this past Palm Sunday he said our ‘… hands are full of blood and that God does not listen to our prayers because we are waging war and using religion to justify violence.’”
“I think the fellow does not like my policies and is challenging my authority. Doesn’t he realize I represent 350 million people? Of course, he touts his leadership of 1.4 billion Catholics, 5 ½ of which are on the U.S. Supreme Court, but most of those people do not even own one golf course. And he lives in the smallest country on earth with the smallest army. Do you know there are only 135 members of the Swiss Guards and their last military engagement was at the sea battle of Lepanto in 1571? Further, they dress funny with their red, yellow and blue pantaloons and their only weapons are long sticks. How long could they last against our troops or even one Abrams tank?”
“Most importantly, I bet if I decided to take over the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV would just turn the other cheek. Then we could raise really huge campaign contributions by converting the Sistine Chapel into a really high-end rental suite like the Lincoln bedroom. We could also sell off that depressing Pieta thing and replace it with a statue of me.”
“What do you think, Pete? It would be easier than Venezuela and a whole lot less trouble than Iran. Also, the Pope doesn’t have any way to restrict access to the Mediterranean Sea or even to the Trevi Fountain. Okay, that’s enough planning, let’s go for it this afternoon! This should really divert attention from Iran and Epstein. Let the games begin.”
“To sleep, perchance to dream.”
Hamlet, Act 3, scene 1
“What a dream. What do you think? The solution was right there in my head and now I just need to get the President and the Pope to sit down for some real Trump-like deal making. I’m pretty sure the Pope will be amenable to a Trump negotiation calling for unconditional surrender. What’s the Pope going to do, run over the President with that funny little golf cart?”
“I can’t speak for the Pope, but if you don’t shut up and let me go back to sleep, you won’t need to worry about it.”
You can also follow us on Facebook at “Jim Peg Redwine” or Substack “@gavelgamut”