The slate is set for a Monday evening conference in the Republican House of Representatives as nine GOP politicians have registered by the deadline today to put their names in the nomination process.   After the conference meets on Monday night, there will be a secret ballot vote on Tuesday.

The absolute worst-case scenario is Tom Emmer (R-MN) who has just received the endorsement of Kevin McCarthy.  Emmer wants to abolish the electoral college for presidential races in favor of a national popular vote. Unfortunately, Emmer likely carries around 70 automatic votes from the professionally Republican caucus.

On the opposite side of that spectrum is Byron Donalds (R-FL) who is pure MAGA and also running for the job.

WASHINGTON DC – The House GOP’s enormous speaker field is officially set, with nine Republicans seeking to somehow unify their splintered party after almost three weeks without a leader.

It’s the most crowded field since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s fall 19 days ago. The latest round of candidates includes current GOP leaders — like Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Vice Chair Mike Johnson (R-La.) — as well as more surprising rank and file members like Reps. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.). Another last-minute addition, Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), who serves as GOP policy chair, raised eyebrows on Sunday.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell requested for CBS to travel to his office in DC so that he could visibly show support for the Biden administration spending effort on behalf of Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.  McConnell noted in the interview on the policy agenda for these priorities, he and Joe Biden are in direct agreement.

At the 08:32 moment, Mitch McConnell is questioned about his health and says he is healthy, “in good shape and completely recovered.”  WATCH:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has not done many interviews this year, but he invited us to Capitol Hill Friday to talk about President Biden’s request to Congress for $100 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel and US border security. And that’s where our conversation began.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL: We have big power competition from China, and Russia and we still have terrorism problems, as the Israelis have certainly experienced in a brutal way in the last week. So I think that requires a worldwide approach rather than trying to take parts of it out. It’s all connected. The Chinese and the Russians said they’re now friends forever. Iranian drones are being used in Ukraine and against the Israelis.

MARGARET BRENNAN: There’s resistance among some Republicans, including here in the Senate, about bundling things together. Is it possible to pass Ukraine aid if it’s not tied to Israel?

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Anthony Blinken appears on CBS Face the Nation to discuss the U.S. response to the Israeli war against Hamas terrorists. Margaret Brennan clutches her pearls and gives her best defense of Hamas/Palestinian terrorists. But the babies and the children, or something; all of that is propaganda. WATCH:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is at the State Department. Good morning to you, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN: Morning, Margaret, good to be with you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Tension is very high in the region. Are you changing your security posture? Are you pulling any US personnel out of the area?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Margaret, we are concerned at the possibility of Iranian proxies, escalating their attacks against our own personnel, our own people. We’re taking every measure to make sure that we can defend them and if necessary, respond decisively. Not at all what we’re looking for, not all we want, but we’ll be prepared, if that’s what they choose to do.

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Always remember, CNN = U.S. State Dept position.

CNN is reporting the Obama/Biden administration are seeking to delay the Israeli counteroffensive into Gaza in order to gain more time for hostage negotiations.  Israel denies feeling pressure, yet something is holding them back; make of that what you will.  However, the delay itself tracks accurately with the predictable intent of the ideologues behind the hidden agenda of the administration.

CNN – The Biden administration has pressed Israel to delay its imminent invasion of Gaza to allow for the release of more hostages held by Hamas and for aid to reach Gaza, according to two sources briefed on the discussions.

The release of two Americans held by Hamas Friday signaled that more of roughly 200 people believed to be kidnapped by the militant group may be freed after they were taken during the group’s deadly attacks launched against Israel two week ago.

“The [administration] pressed Israeli leadership to delay because of progress on the hostage front,” and the need to get trucks of aid into Gaza, one person familiar with the discussions said. The NSC did not immediately respond for comment.

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I’m not going to narrate against this Pentagon announcement {HERE} today, I’m just going to share.

Something is happening that is beyond just Israel going into Gaza.

[Defense Dept] – Following detailed discussions with President Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region. These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel.

First, I redirected the movement of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to the Central Command area of responsibility. This carrier strike group is in addition to the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which is currently operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. It will further increase our force posture and strengthen our capabilities and ability to respond to a range of contingencies.

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For his monologue this week, Neil Oliver walks through the psychology of crisis that surrounds us, then falls squarely on the antidote of fellowship.

“We cannot and must not turn blind eyes or deaf ears to any wrong. We must maintain the courage to stand side by side against evil, any evil, perpetrated by anyone. In the end, all I can say to all those hoping for the best while watching the worst is, I hear you!”

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For several years, CTH has been outlining the critical importance of fellowship.  Living our best life requires us to put the importance of the human connection at the forefront. A priority that seems to have been purposefully torn apart.

Fellowship is the essential ingredient to a purposeful life. How and why we interact with each other is the how and why we recharge our core humanity. Isolation starts with a rebellion against God, and we must be conscious about the human need to be connected.

I will not divide my humanity, nor concede my core view of fellowship, simply to comply with the demand of another that I consider my brother or sister of greater or less equity than myself.  Any business that chooses that path will not benefit from my economic participation.  I also choose freedom!

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Today, the sketchy Pentagon statements about the USS Carney are starting to make sense.  The initial suspicions within the originating statements {GO DEEP} are well founded.  Today, the Pentagon is admitting the events in the Red Sea were “much more significant” than originally outlined.  Here’s the big picture, and we will go a little deeper.

The USS Carney is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer assigned to USS Ford Carrier Strike Group 12.  As part of the October 8th deployment into the eastern Mediterranean, the USS Carney took up a defensive position for the strike group by going through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. Fortunately, the Carney arrived in the Red Sea, on mission, Wednesday, just hours before four cruise missiles and 15 drones entered the established defensive perimeter airspace.

The Carney’s interceptions, the defensive activity against the missiles and drones, took place over 9 hours on Wed/Thursday.  All of the interceptions happened in commercial airspace, meaning the drones and missiles were targeted to fly at altitudes of commercial air travel. Obviously, the destination of the missiles and drones was/is unknown; however, the Pentagon said “potentially” targeted to hit Israel.

Now keep in mind, this report from CNN (think State Dept) is from a U.S. official that is NOT the Pentagon.  Meaning this report is political in nature and slanted to provide the State Dept/political Intelligence Community perspective.   Again, this is not a military report; this is a report from the U.S. political angle of government.

CNN — A US warship that intercepted drones and missiles near the coast of Yemen on Thursday encountered a larger and more sustained barrage than was previously known, shooting down 4 cruise missiles and 15 drones over a period of 9 hours, according to a US official familiar with the situation.

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Team Ron DeSantis made a desperate effort to accuse Donald Trump of supporting Hezbollah and trying to out-Israel Nikki Haley, they failed miserably. At this point the pathetic campaign of the Florida Governor has been reduced to a small supportive segment of rich, affluent, white men over 50; in essence, the professional republican donor class; and that’s it.

President Trump leads the field with almost 60% support and no other candidates reaching double digits.

[Source DATA]

[…] In the 2024 Republican primary, Trump holds his base of support since last month at 59%. No other candidate reaches double digits at the national level: 8% support Haley, 8% DeSantis, 4% Chris Christie, 3% Mike Pence, and 3% Ramaswamy. Ten percent are undecided. Since last month, DeSantis’ and Ramaswamy’s support decreased four points from 12% and 7%, respectively, while Haley’s support increased five points nationally from 3% to 8%. (link)

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In the New York case against President Trump’s business operations, far left Judge Arthur Engoron previously issued a gag order forbidding President Trump from criticism of any court employee.  Today, Judge Engoron levied a $5,000 fine against President Trump because a Truth Social media post made prior to the order was visible on the Trump campaign website.

This judge is nuts.  Literally, nuts.

(Reuters) – Donald Trump was hit on Friday with a $5,000 fine by a New York judge for violating a gag order barring the former U.S. president from disparaging court staff during a civil fraud trial in which he is accusing of unlawfully inflating his net worth to dupe lenders.

Future violations by Trump could be punished by steeper fines and possible imprisonment, Justice Arthur Engoron said in an order. The judge noted that the violation appeared inadvertent, but added, “Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions.”

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Today, Hamas says it has 200 hostages, and that 50 more are held by other armed terror groups in Gaza {link}.  Keep in mind, the motives of all the participating actors to twist the truth.  If the Hamas claim is accepted, and considering how these groups operate, the 50 held by “others” are better off dead.

That said, today two of the USA hostages held by Hamas were released.  I’ll get into the predictability, the non-pretending version, of this play after the media outline of the release.  The White House also took a victory lap {SEE HERE}.

(CBS) – Two U.S. hostages, a mother and a daughter, have been released by Hamas, officials announced Friday. The freed hostages were identified as Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Shoshana Raanan, according to a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office.

Additional details about the release weren’t immediately available. The pair are with the Red Cross, “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan reported.  A message posted to a Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel said the release was made for “humanitarian reasons.”  (read more)

♦ Non-Pretending Predictability.  Hamas, Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Biden administration are all working together.  This is a geopolitical dynamic of merged interests aligned in common cause against the nation state of Israel.  The transparency of a slow-drip hostage release, and the Western media spotlight upon it is predictable.

Everything is being done to stall, impede, slowdown and interfere in the Israeli War against Hamas.  Within this dynamic the Brotherhood, Qatar, Hamas and the White House have the same objective.  Trust me; Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia can see it very clearly.

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