Leadership that seeks power for its own sake often produces fear, control, pride, and dependence. True leadership, however, lifts others rather than exalting self. When Richard Medlock taught that “Leadership is not about power; leadership is about empowerment,” the principal points to a higher form of leadership—one centered on helping others grow, succeed, and become capable themselves.
Sensible Truth on The Medlock Post Ep. 32: Purpose and Destiny of the United States of America
Ether 2:10,12: Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
of the United States were inspired documents. Because the Founding Fathers were
recipients of that inspiration, they understood and believed that only a “moral
and righteous people” would uphold the principles and values the documents are
based upon.
Iran’s Historic
Mistake
Carl von
Clausewitz wrote that war is “the continuation of politics by other means.”
President Trump grasped this from the start: Operation Epic Fury exists to stop
Iran’s nuclear march and restore deterrence, not to pursue the familiar neocon
fantasy of occupation and nation-building. Epic Fury is peace through strength
in action: credible force applied decisively when adversaries mistake restraint
for weakness.
By weaponizing
the Strait of Hormuz, Iran committed a strategic blunder of historic
proportions. Tehran meant to punish America. Instead, it exposed every power
built on imported energy, vulnerable sea lanes, and the delusion that
globalization repealed geography. China is exposed. Europe is exposed. Britain
is exposed. Iran has created a world where hard resource power decides
outcomes.
Start with
China. Beijing’s industrial machine depends on imported oil and gas moving
through vulnerable maritime chokepoints, the old Malacca dilemma in modern
form. A great power reliant on long, exposed sea lines cannot be secure,
regardless of economic scale. The Hormuz shock forced China to scramble for
alternatives, proving that size is not resilience.
Europe and
Britain face the same problem. After escaping Russian dependency, they traded
one vulnerability for another, leaning on imported LNG and maritime flows
exposed to coercion. When chokepoints tighten, they absorb shocks rather than
project strength. European criticism says less about American failure than
about discomfort with a world where hard power still matters.
Iran’s mistake
is that once Hormuz becomes structurally unreliable, the world builds around
it. That means bypass corridors, revived pipeline politics, and urgent planning
for routes linking Aqaba to Mediterranean outlets near Gaza and the
long-stalled Basra-to-Aqaba pipeline. The old energy order is cracking. The
UAE’s OPEC exit signals cartel discipline giving way to national advantage
under pressure.
Trump deserves
credit, not European scolding. Operation Epic Fury struck thousands of targets,
degraded Iran’s offensive capabilities, and shattered assumptions that the West
would absorb escalation without response. The administration acted while others
lectured. It restored deterrence in the only language Tehran understands.
The larger
lesson matters more. Secure natural-resource hard power is what the Western
Hemisphere possesses in abundance. The United States, Canada, and the Americas
command hydrocarbons, LNG, farmland, freshwater, critical minerals, and
strategic depth on a scale import-dependent Europe and Asia cannot match. This
crisis clarified, not weakened, the Americas structural position.
The financial
dimension reinforces the point. Demand for Federal Reserve swap lines during
crisis proves King Dollar remains supreme. When stress hits, governments run
toward dollar liquidity, not away from it. Hard resource power and monetary
power reinforce one another, and the United States sits at the center of both.
That is Epic
Fury’s real significance. Clausewitz wrote that “the political view is the
object, war is the means.” Trump understood that. Iran tried to weaponize
geography, Trump turned the confrontation into a demonstration of who is
exposed and who is not.
The Trump
administration deserves far more praise than it has received, and history will
likely judge that Iran’s greatest miscalculation was not merely closing Hormuz,
but revealing which powers still command the real sources of strength.
James E. Thorne
Global Market
Strategist
DEMOCRATS BEING HONEST
"Americans are too small-minded to govern their own affairs and must surrender their individual rights to the world order." Barack Obama
"No ordinary American cares about constitutional rights." Joe Biden
"This liberal will be all about socializing... about basically taking over and the government running all of your companies." Maxine Waters
"If you have $20, and I have $1, then I have $21." Elizabeth Warren
"We are not entitled to the fruits of our labor, we are only entitled to the labor itself." Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 2018
"One day the American people will know their place, and they will stop thinking they deserve the same privileges as us." Dianne Feinstein
"Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids." Joe Biden
"We cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, and unchecked. Americans are right to demand better border security." Barack Obama, 2006
"Candidates with deeply held Christian beliefs are unfit and disqualified from serving as a federal judge." Chuck Schumer
"I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." Barack Obama, from his book Audacity of Hope
"I think Sharia law will be a powerful new
direction of freedom..."
Hillary Clinton
The War on the United States of America is the most illogical conflict in Human History.
We are living in a strange era where anti-Americanism is the cheapest currency for popularity. Whether in Asia, the Middle East, or the Sahel, the fastest way to win a crowd is to burn a flag or blame Washington.
But past the rhetoric, the obsession with seeing America fail isn't just misguided, it's completely illogical.
People love to trash the U.S, but they trust its systems with their lives. Name another superpower where a former President can be held accountable in a court of law.
The world's money flows through New York because the rules are transparent. Even the most vocal anti-imperialist dictators keep their personal wealth in USD. They know it's the only currency backed by a system that won't vanish overnight.
While other nations cycle through coups, juntas, and eternal leaders every few decades, America has maintained peaceful handovers of power for a quarter of a millennium. That institutional stability is the foundation for everything else, the wealth, the innovation, and the freedom.
The world's anti-Americans are currently using American tech iPhone/Android on American platforms X, Meta, Google to post their anti-American views.
From NASA touching the stars to Silicon Valley defining the future of AI, America remains decades ahead. The energy spent hating this progress is energy wasted avoiding the truth that, America is the engine of human milestone.
Everyone poses as anti-American until the music starts or the movie plays. The icons, the films, the NBA, the NFL, American pop culture is the global tongue. It is the only place where the American Dream isn't just a slogan, but a reality for the millions of immigrants who continue to flock there.
The most tragic irony is almost every anti-American figure in history has a secret link to the West. They send their children to Ivy League schools, use American medicine, and consume American luxury. They sell "The West is Evil" to their citizens while enjoying the fruits of the West in private.
Organizations are being formed and billions spent with one goal which is, to beat America.
Imagine if that energy was spent on building domestic systems that actually worked. Imagine if the focus was on innovation instead of imitation and resentment. You cannot defeat a system that you are simultaneously dependent on.
The world loves the fruits of America but hates the tree. Hating the U.S. doesn't make a nation stronger, it just makes it blind to why its own systems are failing.
America isn't just a country, it's the most successful
experiment in human history. The results speak for themselves.
Jesus Christ – Bridge Over Troubled Water
In 1970, the popular singing duet of Simon and Garfunkel released their biggest all-time hit. “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”. It is still popular today.
Bridge Over Troubled Water is one of those rare
songs that feels like scripture set to melody—an anthem of presence,
compassion, and unwavering loyalty.
When you place that theme next to the Infinite Atonement, the parallel becomes profound.
Jesus Christ as Our Righteous Judge
When thinking about why I can trust Jesus to be my righteous judge, I considered the question posed by the lesson material: “Imagine that you have a friend who has been charged with a serious crime. You also know the victim of the crime. You love both people.” This was a great mental exercise as I considered that question in my own life. It also helped me see a current news story differently. There is a woman in this exact predicament. Her husband was the perpetrator of the crime, and her sister was the victim of the crime. I considered the crime only and judged the mother harshly for still supporting her husband. She faced an incredibly difficult situation, and I learned that I was not a good judge. Studying this lesson helped me to have a deep appreciation for my Savior as my judge.
When someone is found guilty of a crime, there needs to be a punishment so that justice may be served. They may also need to be put in jail as a protection to the public. Justice serves the victims, because they were innocent and may have lost something because of the crime. They may even need protection from the perpetrator. Justice and separation provide those things.
That said, judges matter. You would want a judge who is fair, truthful, compassionate, knowledgeable, and just. I enjoyed the part of the lesson that had me list the attributes of Jesus that make Him a trustworthy and righteous judge. Jesus was merciful to sinners, the suffering, the downtrodden. He was kind, gentle and empathetic. He was clear- eyed, truthful, nuanced, thoughtful, and fair. Above all, He was loving. Those are just a few of the mortal examples. I liked what the Psalmist said:
Psalm 96:11–13
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein:
then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
13 Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
The last line stood out to me - that he shall judge the people with his truth. His truth. We have a popular phrase in our culture where people can make all kinds of outlandish claims and then call it “My Truth”. As if to say, well, that’s how I experienced it, so it’s my truth - and cannot be argued against. I am comforted to know that we will be judged righteously by His truth. We cannot always see ourselves or others clearly, but Jesus can. He sees our heart and knows our intent. He knows who we really are. He will know where mental illness or chemical imbalance marred someone’s ability to make right choices, He will know where oppression, inequality, neglect, or abuse played a role. He will see the whole picture and His truth will guide the judgement.
Lastly, the testimony of the prophets in the scriptures give me faith in his ability to be a righteous judge.
“Therefore, let us come boldly to the throne of grace.”
“Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly - Then
shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of the Lord.”
“Oh, wretched man that I am… Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.”
And Doctrine and Covenants 45:
3 Listen to him who is the advocate to an external
site. with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings to an external
site, and death to an external site, of him who did no sin to an external site,
in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the
blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified to an external
site;
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren to an external site. that believe to an external site. on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life to an external site.
Until that day, I am going to work on letting Jesus be
the judge here in mortality too. I am not a good judge, and I want to work
refining and developing more Christlike attributes instead of judging others.