The Iranians haven’t learned their lesson. They’ve got pictures showing the First Family in coffins. Dead. I know this last round of images is going to outrage Mr. Trump, so how long can Iran last in its present form? I always thought Iranians were the smartest of the Islamists. Apparently not. Trump doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Iran thinks they can interfere with world trade by closing the Strait of Hormuz. I think they’ve got another thing coming. 

North Korea is upgrading their missiles that can reach the United States. Kim Jong Un better not be as stupid as he looks. He’s liable to fool around and find out.

The media is doing everything within their power to turn us against Trump. They’ve hauled out every argument in the book, but they’re not winning. That’s his specialty.

There have been earthquakes in diverse places. I lived through several in California, and they’re no joke. One time it splashed water out of our pool, ruined Dad’s upstairs trophy room and got us all up early. Dad said two bucks were locked in combat. My bed was on casters and started rolling around. I saw waves going through the concrete. I remember February 9, 1971 like it was yesterday. My buddies and I were going to go to the beach, but Dad intervened and said the garden needed work. But things are not built in South America like they are in California. No provision for earthquakes. The twin earthquakes in Venezuela last month have left nearly 5,000 dead and 21,000 displaced.

Ukraine still isn’t solved. Zelensky is strutting around like he’s important. The jury is still out. They boast of missiles hitting near Moscow. They better be careful. 

The news says that Walmart is locking up beef in California. I’ve been here a long time, and I don’t ever remember locking up beef. Where are they going to put it?

The media’s been diagraming Trump’s speech before he even made it. It turns out that it wasn’t nearly as explosive as advertised. But that’s the media. They hate Trump.

Mark 

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – July 17, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

We’re going all out for the Fourth.  I’ve been some places, and let me tell you there’s no place like home.  We’ve made some wrong turns in the past but somehow we’re still standing. Melody is in there decorating the meeting room right now and we’ve got reason to celebrate. Men who knew better designated this a national celebration, and this is one we don’t have to be ashamed of.  

Europe has never held a candle to our way of life and still doesn’t. When you think of places you’d like to go or things you’d like to see, go there. You’ll be so happy when you get home. There are some sights to see and things to do, but you’ll be happy you live HERE when you get back. There’s just no place like the United States of America.

We’re celebrating, because it’s one we can celebrate. We like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, too, but there’s no other place you’d want to live. At least on dry land. We’re going all out on our decorations, and glad we don’t live somewhere else on the planet.

The news is a little disheartening, in the Middle East and Ukraine, but the United States is where you want to be. We’ve got things here the rest of the world never gets to see. I know there’s some exotic places you might want to go, but the food and the accommodations! Unless you’re rich, and can afford the best, like Jeff Bezos, you’ve got no business trying to live in any other part of the world.

The world will be celebrating with us, if they only knew. Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like the United States.Everything’s has been decorated, and there’s nothing left to do but go to church!

I hope God continues to bless us! However you’re celebrating, have a safe and happy 4^th of July!

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – July 3, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The earthquake in Venezuela killed an innumerable amount of people. The photographs are hard to look at. So much suffering. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad to be in the USA. It’s hard to imagine the devastation. But the earthquake in Venezuela destroyed buildings and people are distraught, as you can imagine. You can’t believe the photos, but they’re real. They don’t even know how many lost their lives yet. Family members wondering if their loved ones made it, or… We can’t imagine the pain people are living with, not knowing whether their family survived.

Big media is against Trump. They’re trying to say he’s half asleep most of the time. I think he’s doing a good job, but the media is not impressed. They’re trying to say he’s sleeping through meetings. I don’t think so, but he’s definitely got the weight of the world on his shoulders. They’re constantly showing pictures with his eyes half closed. I think he’s got them all outclassed, and they don’t even know it. 

The Strait of Hormuz is open. Or almost open. Iran is still being provocative, violating the ceasefire. This thing could get out of control. Talks are on again, off again, so we don’t know what to think. If a tanker gets blown up in the Strait, look out. That hasn’t happened yet, let’s hope it doesn’t.

The war rages on in Ukraine, with Zelensky sending drones and explosives clear to Moscow. Hundreds of them. Things better not get out of control, maybe they already are. Putin has got that look on his face again, Ukraine better look out. He may be considering the unthinkable.

Now they’re wondering if Putin has his sights set on NATO. Neighboring countries have been on Ukraine’s side and Putin knows it. This is no time for another war! A Drudge Report headline reads “Vlad plots move on NATO?” Better not. We’re still a partner. Unless he wants to start WWIII.

Mark

PS. We were saddened to hear of the passing of Mr. David Kleindienst. He was a longtime Minister and host in Columbia, Missouri. He will be greatly missed and we’ll keep his family and friends in prayer.

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – June 26, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

At this hour, talks go on with Iran. I don’t know whether all these talks will do any good. Arabs are nice people, but you don’t want to get on their bad side.  

The media is growing more bold in their criticism of Donald Trump. I wouldn’t be too quick to jump. So far, I think he’s ahead of the media. He tells them after the fact. He never gives them a chance to ambush him. Those idiots never give up! They just make up a new story you hadn’t thought of. The media, excepting those that attend press conferences, is against him. They never miss a chance to poke fun. So far, at least, he’s having the last laugh.

Trump signed the agreement to agree. Good luck. I doubt it’s final. Gas prices are supposed to come down, otherwise we’d never know we’d been in a war. I don’t know what kind of leverage we have, we’ve already destroyed everything. We’d hoped another faction would come to power, maybe friendly?  But it doesn’t look like that will happen. I guess we’d better get used to the idea of Iran being an enemy.  

Canada is cratering, and you can read all about it. They’ve never had the strength or resolve of the United States. They’ve let every Tom, Dick and Harry come in and at this point I don’t think we’d want it. How Canadians are putting up with the insults coming from the Oval, I don’t know.  The media is largely against Trump, you don’t need me to tell you that. They are criticizing everything he does and thinks. He doesn’t care.  

They’re chasing us around about AI. They say that pollsters are asking AI instead of the people.  That’s a good way to get steered wrong.  

Markets are about 7 moves ahead of the investor, they claim. Oil is coming down, now that we’ve paid penance. Maybe we won’t feel so guilty every time we fill up the car.  

You hardly hear anything about the Ukraine war. First we were on Zelensky’s side, then Trump kicked him out of the White House. I don’t know what to make of it, but I don’t like Zelensky. He had the misfortune of Donald Trump’s presidency, and doesn’t know how to handle it. Ukraine has hit Russia with missiles and the other shoe has yet to drop.

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – June 19, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The news says Trump is sleeping through high level meetings.  Maybe he’s just resting his eyes.  Maybe he’s thinking of Melania.  Who knows?  They’ve got a load of photos with his eyes closed, but who hasn’t blinked?  We’ve all been guilty.  They’re all posting the same photo.  I don’t know if he’s just resting his eyes or what, but he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. I watched the video they’re all writing about, and it isn’t bad.

We’re at war with Iran, but we’re sleeping just fine.  I bet they’re not in Tehran.  It seems every time the Iranians balk, Trump stands at the ready.  He’d be fine with unleashing hell, but he doesn’t want to do it unnecessarily.  

Meanwhile, we’re supposed to be all upset at the way things are going at home.  Racism apparently is rampant, and we’re all guilty.  How are you going to respond when somebody calls you a racist?  Whatever.  That’s way down on my list of things to worry about.  But they never stop trying to stoke it.  Imagine a world where the media isn’t stoking racism.  If you can’t, we’ll understand.

They’re all shook up about 60 Minutes and Scott Pelley.  Apparently he’s had a bellyful and wants to be fired.  They’re giving him a big sendoff, and saying he hung the moon.  I haven’t watched in ages, so won’t miss him.  At all.  Imagine, we’re over here worrying about whether Scott Pelley is being treated fairly, and at the same time dealing with Iran.  It kind of puts things in perspective.

It looks like Netanyahu may be on his way out.  But who knows with Israel’s politics.  Dad wanted to interview him, so he’s been there a long time.  I think he may be ready to call it quits.  Apparently the Zionist party is voting the other way.  Never try to understand Israeli politics.  The media has done its best, but there’s an election coming, and hopes for him are dying.  They couldn’t do it with the scandals they cooked up.  They’ve got Arab parties, and that’s all you’ve got to know.

Word is Taiwan is making buddies with Israel to figure out how to defend against China.  Sounds like a reasonable comparison, if you disregard the ocean.  Taiwan is in a tight spot, and we will be too if our companies don’t start producing new age stuff in the U. S.  But I don’t see us cutting Taiwan loose just yet.  They still make too many things we buy.  

Liberals can’t stand Trump.  I know he’s vulgar sometimes, but he’s a man after all.  The liberal media is always on the attack, looking for something that will sway us.  A little bad language isn’t going to do it.

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – June 5, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

So Bezos’ rocket blew up while testing. He must think he’s giving Elon Musk a run for his money. Luckily no one was hurt, it was just a test. But a test that went wildly wrong. My Grandfather was mighty suspicious of the launches back in the 60’s. He thought they’d all crash and man would have to give up. But that was 60 years ago.

Then my Dad took me to the launch of Apollo 8. He couldn’t sleep and we went way early. That was an experience –– and nothing went wrong. That was before the first moon landing. But Apollo 8 did orbit the moon as I remember. But then, nothing’s like the ‘60’s.

The war with Russia goes on in Ukraine. I don’t know what Trump has got up his sleeve, but he’s intent on stopping it. Putin is apparently trying everything to live to a ripe old age.

The internet says there are organs for sale. No, thanks. We’ll just live out our days. Doctors can monitor everything, but we all still die.

We’re waiting to see what happens with Iran. Trump may approve a newly negotiated ceasefire extension. Otherwise, nothing much has changed.

The media still wants Trump’s head and they’re embarrassing themselves trying to get it. Everybody’s in trouble, Comey foremost. But old troubles die hard, and I think he may be going after everybody who made his life miserable.

Europe is in disarray, and I don’t want to go there. They’ve taken in so many Muslims that there are no-go areas in their cities. Who wants to be a prisoner in the West?

It wasn’t ruined when I went. We flew the Falcon even though it wasn’t a trans-Atlantic airplane. I’ll not forget the landing in the Azores. It was an old air base, and we landed during a 100 mph crosswind. The pilots were scared.

But that was before they decided that importing Muslims wouldn’t be a problem. Now they know!

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – May 29, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Tulsi Gabbard resigning?  Apparently she has someone near to her heart to care for.  I can’t say I’m not disappointed.  I’m sure DJT will find someone suitable, if he hasn’t already.  Tulsi’s husband has some rare form of bone cancer and I’m sure she’s needed.

Apparently we don’t believe in climate change anymore.  Trump has appointed Kevin Warsh as Chairman to revitalize the Federal Reserve and hopefully, like Trump says, the economy will boom.  Without inflation going up.  Have we entered an era of prosperity?

The Pentagon just declassified a slew of UFO files, some of which show US fighter jets blasting various unidentified aircraft out of the sky. Biden let a Chinese weather balloon fly over sensitive locations and didn’t shoot it down until it was out to sea. There are many unanswered questions about these videos; we’ll keep you posted.

We wouldn’t know there was a war in Ukraine if not for the news, but people are still dying. I don’t know where this ends, but Europe has been at war for one reason or another forever. There’s no reason to blow up the world over Ukraine, so I hope the big powers stay out of it. Or is it too late?

Ilhan Omar is in trouble. Apparently these schemes were just a way to get the government to fund luxury, and Ilhan knew about the fraud, and may have participated in it. One woman just got a 40 year sentence and claims Omar knew what was up. Wouldn’t you hate to be in her shoes?  She thought she’d make a splash, but she’s in over her head.  Other Minnesota notables are in trouble too.  How would you like to be Tim Walz?

I remember back in the day, Muslims going to Minnesota for college.  It’s become a hotbed of fraud.  We’ll see how this turns out, but it won’t be pretty.  Why did they choose Minnesota?  The weather’s not nice, and they come from the desert. Sharia law? We don’t care about it.  But how many millions did they steal?  How many officials knew about it, or were benefiting from it?  They’ve figured out how to scam the government, and we’re just onlookers.

I think we can be thankful DJT is President.  He’s dedicated to righting the wrongs that have come our way.  

Pentecost is coming up this Sunday, so prepare.                                      

Mark Armstrong

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – May 22, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Trump says twenty years is enough.  But Iran is not being forthcoming.  The way he looks at it most of us will be dead, and the next generation can deal with the situation.  But Trump’s not happy about the way Iran is negotiating. But the way we’ve been dealing death to Iran’s leaders… they don’t know which end is up.

Trump was just in “Chynah”, and we’re waiting to hear how things went.  China is the one country that’s continuing to do business with Iran. Surely that will get straightened out. We don’t want a war with China while we deal with Iran. China is the one place that could hurt us, but they won’t. The Bible tells us how things will play out, and we’re not there yet.

So far, peace talks with Iran have been unacceptable. The President wants pledges he’s not getting. Meanwhile, Iran menaces the Strait of Hormuz, where a good portion of the world’s oil flows. They could have done this anytime, but they’ve just gotten the daylights bombed out of them, so what’s left? I understand that we are sending oil to Europe to make up for the shortfall, but can we do that indefinitely?  

Everything old is new again. Here we are in 2026 worrying about the Strait of Hormuz. We were worrying about that narrow choke point years ago. My Dad did programs about it. So far Iran has not admitted defeat, and maybe we’ll have to deal with that. I learned one thing about the Middle East: The Arabs are braggarts. I could tell some stories.

The left is doubling down.  Hollywood has its cast of men who play women in movies and it’s all the rage right now.  My Dad used to describe people who celebrate these movies as pigs at the trough, but who’s looking out for Hollywood right now? I guess it’s the one thing they can tout, but I don’t want to be fooled.  

We’re at war with Iran, but you’d hardly know it. Gas prices are up, but at least we can sleep at night. Trump is promising lower gas prices, but the media is making hay while they can. I think most liberal media outlets are against Trump. They can’t stand him, and they’re hoping he will fail just to give them the satisfaction, and allow them to toot their horns in public. But so far so good.

Europe is building cages around its oil facilities, just in case a stray missile comes in. Who ever thought of it?  They’re literally building cages around their oil storage facilities so the explosives won’t reach the oil.  Maybe we should do that. Europe is where the action is, and we’re not making friends with them either. They’re outraged that Trump is such a strong leader. I’m sure his name is on everybody’s lips over there. Europe is backward by our standards. We can be thankful we live in the U. S.  

It looks like America is on a roll, and the media would like nothing better than for us to crash just so they can criticize Trump.

Comey, Clapper and Brennan may yet get their wings clipped.  We can only hope!  

Mark  Armstrong

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – May 15, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Trump is on a roll. I know, intellectual types want you to feel inferior, and the media is completely on board. But Trump is on a roll. There’s a war for our souls and beliefs, and the media is losing. They’ve got all the outreach tools and you’d think we didn’t stand a chance. But Donald Trump has changed all that. He has praised our Creator, and I think he may be getting help. If I’m right, and God is on Donald Trump’s side, Katy bar the door.

There’s trouble in the Straits of Hormuz. We were escorting ships back and forth, but things have changed. It’s hard to know what’s going on in the war with Iran, because information is at a premium, and some of it cannot be believed. We know that Trump is on the job, so we’re sleeping better already.  

Ukraine? I don’t like or trust Zelensky. He’s an actor for pity’s sake, and he thinks we owe it to Europe to drive the Russians back. But the Russians have already taken swaths of the Ukraine, and may want the whole thing. Zelensky was in a comedy troupe, and toured Russia. I don’t even want to know what kind of comedy that was. I don’t think we’d have found it funny. But Zelensky is all decked out in his personally approved uniform, and it doesn’t belong in our White House. It’s like we owe it to the world to bail out Ukraine?  

I know all the arguments, creeping totalitarianism and all that. I don’t have the solution, but none is showing up. Zelensky can keep up appearances but the writing is on the wall. I hope we won’t send any more weapons. They can work it out, but if they can’t, what skin is it off our nose?  

There’s always been trouble over there!  Read the Bible.             

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – May 8, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

I guess the war goes on, but you’d hardly know. A lot of good that did, shaking their fists in the air and shouting, “Death to America.” It’s so childish, but these people are not to be overestimated.  

How would you like to trade places with the former head of the FBI? He’s the only person on planet earth that didn’t know what those shells meant, and wouldn’t have dared… oh, what’s the use? It’s just too obvious to comment on.

There’s a picture of Comey crying, and he should be. He should have thought better before he took on the President. Trump’s not fooling around. Comey just happened upon those shells, and didn’t know what they meant, so he did the obvious thing, and posted it! I think you’ve got to have a screw loose to post on the internet, but I’m glad some intellectuals do. But Comey! He’s not THAT stupid.

Meanwhile we’re kicking the stuff out of Iran, and there’s nothing they can do about it. We don’t even know who to negotiate with, we’ve killed so many layers of leadership. Maybe that’s what we need, fourth stringers. Maybe they’ll understand. Us? We’re sleeping just fine.

The King of England was here, making speeches. I listened when he addressed Congress, it was good. But then he veered off into global warming and I changed the subject. Horse-feathers! But there’s no denying the friendship between Britain and America, though it didn’t start out too well. We can look back now and understand it all. We don’t have too many Jaguars or Rolls Royce’s, not in Texas anyway. Here, the pickup rules. Not to mention whoever is driving. We’ve got some rough tough hombres here, and that’s not going to change. In Plano they’re worried about Muslims getting a foothold in Texas. Not for long.

The media is still against Trump, that hasn’t changed, but they’re running out of things to complain about. They’ve complained about everything, even when they’re wrong. Trump keeps leaving tire tracks down their backs, but they’re not stopping! I like his style. I could be wrong, but I think God gave him to us.

But read the Bible, nothing lasts forever in this life.           

Mark Armstrong

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – May 1, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.