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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

Home→Published 2026 → February - Page 4 << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >>

Monthly Archives: February 2026

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Who Da Thought It?

The New American Digest Posted on February 14, 2026 by DTFebruary 14, 2026

It came about when someone suggested this verse to me:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

Isaiah 5:20-21

Which ended up leading to this ...

  • Defending our God-given rights
  • Protecting liberty
  • Upholding the Constitution
  • Promoting less government
  • Preserving America’s founding values

Maybe that was the person's intent.
Who even knew they still existed?

Some stuff worth reading: "John Birch Society" jbs dot org

The John Birch Society is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, right-wing populist, and right-wing libertarian ideas.

So this is bad???

If NPR is against it; if Wiki uses terms like "radical right", if a description states: "known for its strong anti-communist stance and promotion of conspiracy theories."
It must be worth looking into. Counter the woke.

Ida never thunk it of myself either ... but I'm already on "The List" so why not?

Even though I was far too young to vote - or even have an educated opinion, I remember thinking I liked Barry Goldwater in '64; I even still have one of his books from then.
Damn - they
are going to come for me when they take power again ...

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Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Replies

Still …

The New American Digest Posted on February 14, 2026 by JeanFebruary 14, 2026

submitted by Jean

Words and artwork by Jean

Happy Valentine's Day

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Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Replies

I’d Like To Introduce Y’All

The New American Digest Posted on February 13, 2026 by DTFebruary 9, 2026

to Mrs DT ...

It was a bit chilly out this fine day ... :)

Mrs DT & I met in Colorado. We never really dated - the voice in my head told me she was the one and I'd better not mess this up. Not that I have a habit of messing things up. Too often. Well, maybe too often ...

But I didn't this time.

But to make up for not dating, we got married three times. Colorado acknowledges common-law marriage.
Wedding #1 - the one I recognize.

Mrs DT is from a foreign land. She had every intention of returning home; she turned down a good job because she was not staying. Until she met me. Ta da!

The Feds don't recognize common-law so we had to do it formal like so she could get a green card.
Went over to the county courthouse, talked some clerk into signing papers.
Wedding #2 - the "official" one. Today's date; Friday, February 13

Now people think, Aw, that's cute. A Valentine's Day wedding.
Nope. We don't celebrate Valentine's Day.
Like this year, we got married on Friday the 13th. It just happened to be February.
That's why I'm posting this now.

But then friends and relatives spoke their minds ...

So, we picked a date in May (nice weather) - I forget the date but I'm sure Mrs DT hasn't - where we had a friend (I think he was ordained in some way back in his hippie days) perform a ceremony with all the traditional trimmings including a reception.
Wedding #3 - the almost forgotten one.

We must have done something right - still together and still friends. I was thinking 30 years - perhaps wedding #1; looking at a calendar, wedding #2 must have been 1998 so 28 years "official".

She became a citizen in 2002 but that's a different story.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 18 Replies

Headline: “Obama-era Greenhouse Gas Rules Gone”

The New American Digest Posted on February 12, 2026 by DTFebruary 12, 2026

"An ensuing Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA found greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants and that if the EPA determines they endanger public health or welfare it can regulate them."

By far the most significant "greenhouse" gas is water vapour.

And lots of other related things there's no point in going into here - other than ...

EPA has probably done at least as much damage to this country as the civil rights act.

F EPA

did i express myself clearly enough?

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Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Replies

Ambler Mansion – Jamestown, Virginia

The New American Digest Posted on February 12, 2026 by DTFebruary 10, 2026

Jamestown was founded in 1607 (Pocahontas anyone?) on what was then a peninsula poking out into the James River. It was the capital of Virginia until 1699 when the capital was moved to Middle Plantation, later named Williamsburg. The town of Jamestown began to fade away as the majority of commercial life followed the government to Williamsburg but several families stayed on what became an island and prospered.

Through marriage and inheritance, the primary landowner was Richard Ambler by 1724. Richard died in 1766 and divided his holdings between his three sons. Edward, the eldest, inherited Richard's Yorktown properties, John inherited the majority of Jamestown properties, and the youngest, Jaquelin, inherited smaller holdings in both. John died not long after Richard; his holdings went to Edward. Edward moved his family to Jamestown; when he died in 1768, his family remained until the American Revolution. Jaquelin died in 1798.

The Ambler mansion was first built in 1750. Built in the Georgian-style, it was a 2-story structure centered about a central hall with two rooms on either side. The home was surrounded by extensive garden walkways. It was burned in the American Revolution and rebuilt by John. The Ambler family sold its Jamestown holdings in 1831 to David Bullock. The home was burned again in the Civil War and rebuilt again. The third burning in 1895 was not rebuilt and the ruins are now part of the Colonial Historical National Park.

Although the Jamestown site has fee-based access like other national parks, there is an island loop road which is open-access (as is Colonial Parkway - the main road between Jamestown and Yorktown through Williamsburg. Obama shut the road down during one of the now common govt shutdowns. Like closing statues.)

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Disclaimer

The New American Digest Posted on February 11, 2026 by DTFebruary 11, 2026

I recently expressed some opinions on participating in the stock market. There have been some interesting comments as a result. I enjoy such but I feel the need to state a disclaimer. This also covers opinions not necessarily of a financial nature. To do so, I'm going to steal bits from QTR Fringe Finance because he best expresses my thoughts on the matter; I haven't changed his wording too much:

My posts represent my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any stocks mentioned at any time without warning.

These are not recommendations to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in.

None of my comments are a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not hold opinions I write about any longer than it takes to write it down. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish any comments, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position.

You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the far side of the fringe ... but I can see the fringe off in the distance.

If you see numbers and calculations of any sort, assume they are wrong and double check them.

I do my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts in unusual mental states sometimes. I often edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. It might still be there.

Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

Mostly I won't give stock advice unless specifically asked - or unless the muse strikes. If and when you ask - about stocks or anything else, I'll be happy to flap my figurative lips until the cows come home. And beyond if I feel the urge.

I've played the stock game for a few decades now and can provide definitive, God's-honest-truth on methods to lose money. Many of those methods involve listening to experts. I will share what little I've learned but my advice is worth what you paid for it.

But that advice or comment may give you a starting point to form your own opinions.

Now. Back to our regularly scheduled program.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Replies

try not to make a mess…

The New American Digest Posted on February 11, 2026 by JeanFebruary 9, 2026

originally posted by Jean Feb 2, 2026

if you are determined,
  bound and determined,
     to disregard
          disrespect
          dismiss
     the life that you own,
            get a room
               far away
                  and write a long note
                     saying "sorry, I love you,
             but I hate myself more."
         
         dammit
         you made a mess.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Replies

Who Or What Is A “Nancy Guthrie”?

The New American Digest Posted on February 10, 2026 by DTFebruary 10, 2026

... and what's so special about her that she gets days upon days of national news coverage?

Has no one else had horrific crimes committed against them in the past few days?

Is there nothing else more important going on in the nation or world that national column inches must be filled with yet another personal crime?

Does she have damning information on Hillary Clinton?

Are there no people of national prominence that should better receive national column inches of coverage of their arrests and convictions?

Yeah, I know I could look "Nancy Guthrie" up ... but why should I bother?

We've already lost, doncha know?

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Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Replies

Twofer Tunesday: Dazed & Confused

The New American Digest Posted on February 10, 2026 by DTFebruary 10, 2026

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

Today's double selection: Dazed & Confused: Jake Holmes, Yardbirds 1967

Jake Holmes
Yardbirds

Most wouldn't even think that this wasn't a Led Zeppelin song but it was written by Jake Holmes as an acoustic piece in 1967. Holmes opened for the Yardbirds at a concert in New York. The Yardbirds drummer liked the song, bought the Holmes LP and played it for the rest of the band. Jimmy Page tweaked it a bit, added a bit of guitar work, and the Yardbirds started performing the song themselves although they never recorded it in a studio.

In 1968, Jimmy Page had formed a new group called Led Zeppelin and after additional tweaking, the song was released on the group's first album - without credit to Jake Holmes - and was usually on the playlist at Led Zeppelin concerts.

Holmes filed copyright infringement lawsuits and the case was finally settled "with prejudice" in 2012. The song is now released as "By Page - Inspired by Jake Holmes". The song is the most played of the Zeppelin song list.

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Posted in tunes, Uncategorized | 3 Replies

When Did It Become Legal Or Even Acceptable …

The New American Digest Posted on February 9, 2026 by DTFebruary 9, 2026

Submitted by Joe from Comments

My wife had a very powerful letter to the editor published in our local paper today. I hope that you enjoy.

When did it become legal or even acceptable to interfere with law enforcement activity? Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carries out duties assigned to it by Congress. It is the right of every American Citizen to engage in free speech and peaceful assembly. Harassing, assaulting and threatening law enforcement officers and their families and blockading their vehicles to impede their activities is not the lawful exercise of free speech. If local or state officers were treated this way, common sense dictates that reasonable citizens would not approve. Because the flood of illegal (forbidden by law) immigrants into the United States of America was facilitated and encouraged by those who want to cause havoc in our great country, the ones responsible are determined to make the most of their accomplishment. We are being told that an “ICU nurse” was an innocent victim of ICE. Only days before, this same “innocent” person had a prior violent confrontation with ICE, clearly caused by him. He was harassing agents, spat upon an agent and kicked out a tail light of an agent’s government vehicle, all the while armed with a semi-automatic Sig Sauer 9mm gun. He was tackled to the ground by an agent, but was not arrested. This “ICU nurse” just happened to belong to a very well paid Signal watch group in Minneapolis that tracks ICE movements in the city for the purpose of interfering with the ICE agents’ assigned duties. In an interview after his death, the parents of this man stated that they were aware of his activities and advised him “not to do anything stupid” while protesting.

I have read several letters severely criticizing ICE activities and the deportation of those who entered our country illegally (in violation of our laws). I would like to suggest that if the letter writers are OK with mob violence and someone breaking our nation’s laws and sneaking in where they are not allowed, that these letter writers remove the locks from their doors, disable all home alarms and cameras, leave their vehicles unlocked, leave valuables and liquor in easily accessible places and then call 911 and wait for law enforcement to rescue them when something unlawful happens to them. Then they can receive a lot of attention explaining on camera (if they are still alive) how they cannot imagine why their home was invaded. Or, they can just invite these illegal (forbidden by law) immigrants, without knowing anything about them, into their homes to live and see how that works out.

How do all these mobs just “spontaneously show up” at these protests? They don’t. This is a well funded and well organized attack on our country. So who is paying the dark money for these protests? A superficial search is all that is needed to find out. Reports state that the civil unrest is being massively funded primarily by George Soros Family Foundation groups, along with the David & Lucille Packard Foundation, Melinda Gates Foundation and Neville Roy Singham, a Connecticut born tech billionaire living in China, as well as the (CCP) Chinese Communist Party, who would love nothing better than to destroy America without ever firing a shot. 

Are we to believe that these groups have our best interests at heart? Anyone who is unaware of the numerous heinous crimes committed against American citizens (adults and children) by Illegal immigrants is either not paying attention or is so busy being “compassionate” towards illegal immigrants that they are in denial of the truth. In addition to the human cost of this violence, we (American tax payers) have lost billions upon billions of dollars through fraud and by monies spent on housing, health care, and education of illegal immigrants, not to mention the cost of the increased need for local law enforcement, court costs and incarceration costs if and when criminals are prosecuted. All the while, many of our own citizens, especially veterans, are homeless. 

A just released report from just one state, Tennessee, outlines some of the consequences of allowing/encouraging illegal (against the law) immigrants into our once sovereign nation:

Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference has released its annual state immigration report revealing that in 2025, illegal migrants committed 2,183 violent offenses, including 41 homicides, 145 sexual offenses, 1,592 assaults, 11 child rapes, 40 aggravated kidnappings, 2,920 DUI’s, 5,318 cases of driving without a license or on suspended/or revoked, 966 carjackings, 36 Felony firearms offenses, and 66 assaults on police or first responders.

Remember, these are statistics from just one state, Tennessee, for one year.

These crimes are committed by the criminals ICE is trying to remove from our country. In addition to dealing with violent criminals, ICE agents are enduring the added threat of violence from our own citizens who hate our country. Ice agents are risking their lives to protect American lives, even the lives of those attacking them and our American way of life. 
Sheila……

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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


February 2026
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Most Recent Comments

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    Yesterday, gas (87) $4.79 a gallon. That may be the highest I have ever seen. Trump has exceeded the communists.

  2. jd on Should I Even Share This?May 10, 2026

    I can believe in that sort of thing because I had a similar experience though there was nothing physical (your…

  3. GrayDog on Should I Even Share This?May 10, 2026

    Yes. Yes it was.

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    My fishfly-collecting years were spent north of Detroit just off Lake St Clair. I knew them as fishflies before I…

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    Sometimes it seems that we are here and then gone in the twinkling of an eye.


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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