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The New American Digest

For Followers of Gerard Van der Leun's Fine Work

  • About American Digest
  • About New American Digest
  • “The Name In The Stone”
  • Remembering Gerard Van der Leun
    • from the website: Through the Looking Glass
    • from the website: Barnhardt
    • from the website: Neo’s Blog
  • Articles
    • The Overland Stage
      • The Holladay Overland Stage: 1 – The Central Route
      • The Overland Stage – 2 Company Operations
      • The Overland Stage – 3 Exploring The Route – An Overview
      • The Overland Stage: 4 – South Platte/Julesburg/Ft Sedgwick
        • Jack Slade
      • The Overland Stage: 5 – Julesburg to Junction Station (aka Ft Morgan)
      • The Overland Stage: 6 – Junction Station to Latham
      • The Overland Stage: 7 – Latham Crossing to Fort Collins
      • The Overland Stage: 8 – LaPorte to Virginia Dale
      • The Overland Stage: 9 – Virginia Dale to Cooper Creek
      • The Overland Stage: 10 – Cooper Creek to Pass Creek
        • Fletcher Family
      • The Overland Stage: 11 – Pass Creek to Bridger Station
      • The Overland Stage: 12 – Bridger Pass to Duck Lake
      • The Overland Stage: 13 – Duck Lake to LaClede
      • The Overland Stage: 14 – LaClede to Almond
      • The Overland Stage: 15 – Almond to Rock Springs
      • The Overland Stage: 16 – Rock Springs to Fort Bridger
      • The Overland Stage: 17 – Fort Bridger to Weber Station

I find I don’t wish to explore new lands, but to explore again those I have already passed through, trying to see what I’d missed in the first hectic rush … Gerard Van der Leun

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ain’t no sunshine…

The New American Digest Posted on September 14, 2026 by JeanSeptember 10, 2026

originally posted by Jean Oct 9, 2011

it’s been days and days.
many
many
more than one day.
so many days that
memory did forget
any other days that
were not as this day.
gray
dull
listless, lifeless,
soundless swirl.
blending endlessly
each day
into
every day.
some day
begins.
no day
ends.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Replies

Just Another Day In The New America

The New American Digest Posted on September 13, 2026 by DTSeptember 10, 2026

suggested by Joe (long ago but could be today)

Four Amish Men Killed in Crash Caused By Kyrgyzstani Semi-Truck Driver Paroled into US Under Biden

Debra Heine February 5, 2026

A semitruck driven by a Kyrgyzstani national slammed into a van carrying four Amish men in Indiana on Tuesday, killing them all.

Gert Pretorius, 44, was reportedly driving a semi eastbound when he slowed for traffic ahead. Behind him, another semi, a 2022 Freightliner driven by 30-year-old Bekzhan Beishekeev, did not stop.

Instead, the truck reportedly “swerved left, crossed the center line, and struck a westbound Chevrolet van head-on.”

Inside the van were four Amish men from Bryant, Indiana: Henry Eicher (50), his sons, Menno Eicher (25), Paul Eicher (19) and family friend Simon Girod (23).

The three Eichers were pronounced dead at the scene and Girod died later at the hospital, all of them suffering severe blunt force trauma injuries.

A fifth unidentified passenger is reportedly being treated at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.

The van was driven by Donald Stipp, 55, who underwent surgery Tuesday night and is now listed as stable but in critical condition.

The Stipp family shared a message of appreciation to the community for the prayers, calls, and support during what they described as an unimaginable time. A GoFundMe has been created to help with medical and recovery costs.

Beishekeev and Pretorius were apparently not injured.

“Four Americans were tragically killed and lost their lives this week, yet again, from an illegal alien — an individual who was paroled into the country by the Biden administration, using the CBP One app… that’s not how immigration in this country should work,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated  during the White House press briefing, Thursday.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Thursday that Beishekeev  entered the United States through the Biden administration’s CBP One app on December 19, 2023, at the Nogales, Arizona port of entry. He was paroled into the U.S. under Biden’s “humanitarian parole program” and later obtained a commercial driver’s license in Pennsylvania.

Biden’s CBP One cell phone app reportedly allowed 50,000 to 60,000 otherwise inadmissible aliens to enter the United States every month for two years until President Trump terminated the program on day one of his administration.Approximately  350,000 aliens were released into the interior of the country and quickly given work permits under the Biden era program. DHS under Trump repurposed the app into “CBP Home,” which encourages self-deportation.

“Not only was Bekzhan Beishekeev released into our country by the Biden administration using the CBP One app, but he was also given a commercial driver’s license by Governor Shapiro’s Pennsylvania,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “These decisions have had deadly consequences and led to the death of four innocent people in Indiana on Tuesday.”

“It is incredibly dangerous for illegal aliens, who often don’t know our traffic laws or even English, to be operating semi-trucks on America’s roads,” McLaughlin added. “These sanctuary governor’s must stop giving illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses before another American gets killed.”

Beishekeev  was arrested on a bench warrant related to prior court obligations, not directly for the crash, and was initially held in the Jay County Jail.

He is now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and will remain in federal custody pending immigration proceedings.

According to Freight Waves  Beishekeev’s truck’s logo indicates that it belongs to Sam Express Inc., a Kyrgyzstani-owned, interstate freight carrier based in Palatine, Illinois.

Sam Express Inc. is linked to a suspected “chameleon carrier network” of trucking companies operating out of the Chicago metropolitan area. Sam Express Inc. is also reportedly registered as a foreign corporation in California.

The company openly displays a Kyrgyzstan phone number on its website and on social media, as well as both American and Kyrgyz flags, Freight Waves noted.

The network has been tied to 91 documented crashes, and one of its entities, Tutash Express 1 LLC, operated under revoked authority while reporting over 128,000 miles driven in 2025.

The evidence points to “an active overseas dispatch operation and a driver recruitment pipeline connecting Kyrgyzstan to trucking operations in the Chicago area,” Freight Waves said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) calls these types of operations a chameleon carrier network: “multiple authorities sharing equipment, drivers, and management, while maintaining separate DOT numbers so that, when one accumulates too many violations or crashes, they can shift operations to another.”

According to the Government Accountability Office, chameleon carriers are three times more likely to be involved in serious crashes than legitimate operators. From 2005 to 2010, the GAO found that 18% of carriers with chameleon attributes were involved in severe crashes, compared to just 6% of new applicants without those red flags.

The Indiana State Police Critical Incident Reconstruction Team is investigating the crash, with federal scrutiny focusing on the network’s use of shared vehicles and Kyrgyzstani names and recruitment pipelines.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Replies

Lenticular Cloud

The New American Digest Posted on September 12, 2026 by IllinoisBeekeeperSeptember 9, 2026

illinoisbeekeeper took this photo Oct 4, 2014. I-70, MP 255 west of Denver.

Now, for extra bonus points – which way is he headed ?

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Replies

Catch Up

The New American Digest Posted on September 12, 2026 by DTSeptember 9, 2026

When I got back from my travels, I dug into the NAD files and emails I’ve received. A number of suggested posts got … misplaced, and have now been found. So many of the next several posts will be those suggested earlier … in one case, from 11 months ago.

Ooops.

Anyway, if I missed someone’s suggestion in the past, those posts should be coming up soon … starting later today. Let me know if I missed something else … this is an open site; if you submit or suggest something, with few exceptions (only 1 so far – with the author’s agreement), it will be posted.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Replies

Assassination

The New American Digest Posted on September 11, 2026 by DTSeptember 11, 2026

Muslim NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were seen laughing as the names of the honored dead were read aloud at the 9/11 memorial on Friday.
Zohran Mamdani and AOC giggled while victims’ families wept.

Something like this is going to be the trigger …

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Replies

They Won

The New American Digest Posted on September 11, 2026 by DTSeptember 8, 2026
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Replies

Trial and error…

The New American Digest Posted on September 10, 2026 by JeanSeptember 9, 2026

originally posted by Jean Dec 4, 2007

If I
had my way,
if it were
up to me,
I’d know
what to say
and how
to say it.
I’d know
what to feel
and when
to feel it.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Replies

Hell

The New American Digest Posted on September 9, 2026 by DTSeptember 9, 2026

Let’s avoid the argument of if Heaven and Hell even exist.
If one believes in the existence of Hell, one necessarily believes that God does not forgive all sins.

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Replies

Irons In The Fire

The New American Digest Posted on September 9, 2026 by DTSeptember 5, 2026

Jamestown VA glass works

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a reply

Tunesday: Snake Oil Willie Band – I Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore

The New American Digest Posted on September 8, 2026 by DTSeptember 5, 2026

A sample of some obscure – and maybe not obscure – tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.

Today’s selection: Snake Oil Willie Band – “I Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore” 2014

A New Jersey band. “We are seasoned, professional musicians with many years of dedication to our craft. We do our utmost to provide our audience with an enjoyable evening of recognizable music, well played, that is easy to dance to.“

The band has been around since 1995 but this was their first recording. They’re still active … this being Sept 8, they last played at Kymer’s Campground in Branchville, NJ last Saturday and play at the High Point Country Club on the 26th.

Betcha this song is their closing tune.

Tony Krucinski

But, but, but … there must be deep meaning here.

“I Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore confronts the uncomfortable reality of physical decline and its impact on self-worth and intimate relationships. The narrator has let his body deteriorate through poor lifestyle choices, transforming from a capable, confident man into someone who hides from his own reflection.“

Whoo-ee!

Posted in tunes, Uncategorized | 1 Reply

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Contact: dt@newamericandigest.org

Gerard Van der Leun
12/26/45 - 1/27/23


Gerard's Last Post
(posthumous): Feb 4, 2023
"So Long. See You All a Little Further Down the Road"

When my body won’t hold me anymore
And it finally lets me free
Where will I go?
Will the trade winds take me south through Georgia grain?
Or tropical rain?
Or snow from the heavens?
Will I join with the ocean blue?
Or run into a savior true?
And shake hands laughing
And walk through the night, straight to the light
Holding the love I’ve known in my life
And no hard feelings

Avett Brothers - No Hard Feelings

The following was posted along with the announcement of Gerard's passing.
Leonard Cohen - Going Home

For a 2005 interview with Gerard


September 2026
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Most Recent Comments

  1. jean on ain’t no sunshine…September 14, 2026

    Someday I'd love to see the PNW.

  2. Joe on ain’t no sunshine…September 14, 2026

    You describe the Pacific Northwest to a tee but I haven't seen any "bare trees" that resemble those. See them…

  3. jean on ain’t no sunshine…September 14, 2026

    Ohio is in that mix also.

  4. DT on Lenticular CloudSeptember 14, 2026

    Heading up into the hills west of Denver (and Golden), there are places where the mountains are difficult to see…

  5. John Venlet on ain’t no sunshine…September 14, 2026

    Jean, you could be describing northern Michigan over the months of October through to the new year in March.


Blogroll
The New Neo
Jean's Blog - Pondering
The Feral Irishman

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man,
play a song for me
I'm not sleepy
and there ain't no place I'm goin' to

Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man,
play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning,
I'll come followin' you

Take me for a trip upon
your magic swirling ship
All my senses have been stripped
And my hands can't feel to grip
And my toes too numb to step
Wait only for my boot heels to be wanderin'

I'm ready to go anywhere,
I'm ready for to fade
Unto my own parade
Cast your dancing spell my way
I promise to go under it


Men who saw night coming down about them could somehow act as if they stood at the edge of dawn.


From Gerard's site. The picture always caught my eye.

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