FIT FOR A KING: Trump to Get New ‘Flying Palace’ Gift from Qatar Worth $400 Million

  "My new airplane is THIS BIG!"  Donald Trump. (photo: Intercept)

 

TRUMP ALLY LAURA LOOMER: “The Qataris fund the same Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered U.S. Service Members."

  

Oliver O'Connell and Paul Farrell / The Independent 12 May 25

 

ALSO SEE: Trump Plans to Accept Luxury 747 From Qatar to Use as Air Force One

Qatari officials have described reports that the country’s royal family is gifting a $400 million Boeing jet to President Donald Trump as “inaccurate.”

ABC News reported Sunday that the plane would be available to President Donald Trump to use as the new Air Force One until shortly before his departure, at which point it will be transferred to the foundation responsible for the Trump presidential library.

The president has made it no secret that he is tired of waiting for Boeing to produce a new Air Force One to replace the current planes, two modified 747-200 jumbo jets known by the model number VC-25A, which date from 1990.

Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Media Attaché to the US, told Politico that the deal involving the plane had yet to be finalized.

“The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” Al-Ansari said.

In February, Trump said he was “not happy” with the slow progress and cost overruns on the new presidential aircraft, which were ordered in 2018, during his first term.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the federal government is hiring defense contractor L3Harris to refurbish a Boeing 747 previously used by the Qatari government. It now appears that the plane will be gifted to the U.S. next week during Trump’s first official foreign trip, barring the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome.

ABC’s report cites sources that are familiar with the arrangements.

Trump toured the plane in February when it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport. It is said to be so opulently configured that it has been referred to as a “flying palace.”

The president hit out at those who were critical of the gift in a post on TruthSocial.

“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.”

Meanwhile, the arrangement has set off alarm bells about the legality of accepting such a valuable gift from a foreign government under the Constitution’s emoluments clause. The clause prohibits any government official from accepting gifts from “any King, Prince or foreign State.” Qatar is a U.S. ally and major diplomatic force in the Middle East.

Sources told ABC News that lawyers for the White House counsel's office and the Department of Justice drafted an analysis for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that concluded it is legal for the Department of Defense to accept the aircraft as a gift and later turn it over to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation.

They claim it does not violate bribery laws as it is not conditioned on any official act and is not being given to an individual, but rather to the Air Force and then the Trump library.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House lawyer David Warrington said it would be “legally permissible” for the donation of the aircraft to be conditioned on transferring its ownership to Trump's presidential library before the end of his term, and not the president, personally, the sources told the network.

They said Bondi provided a legal memorandum on the matter to the White House counsel’s office last week after her advice was sought on the legalities of the gift.

Nevertheless, Democrats and even Trump’s far-right ally Laura Loomer have condemned the reported arrangement.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on X: “Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar. It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom.” There were similar allegations from others on social media.

Axios reports that Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York wrote to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the acting Department of Defense inspector general, and the Office of Government Ethics requesting a probe into the matter. The Democratic National Committee called it Trump’s “latest grift.”

Loomer also posted her disapproval: “I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.”

“The Qataris fund the same Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered U.S. Service Members. The same proxies that have worked with the Mexican cartels to get jihadists across our border,” she continued, pushing a far-right conspiracy theory. “This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true. And I say that as someone who would take a bullet for Trump. I’m so disappointed.”

Any aircraft used to transport the president must meet strict U.S. military specifications, and so the 13-year-old plane will initially be transferred to the Air Force for modifications.

The full scope of modifications is unknown, but existing planes include radiation shielding, a variety of communications systems, and anti-missile technology. Notably, neither the Qatari plane nor the upcoming VC-25B aircraft being built by Boeing will have the air-to-air refueling capabilities of the current presidential plane, allowing it to stay airborne essentially indefinitely and with unlimited range.

Once modified, Trump will be able to use the aircraft until January 1, 2029, when it will be transferred to the library, less than three weeks before his term ends. The Air Force will pay for any costs relating to its transfer, the sources told ABC News.

Boeing estimated that the new Air Force One planes currently on order will not be ready until 2029. Trump asked Elon Musk to work with them on the project, and an updated timeline of 2027 was given, though the president was insistent that he wants a new plane this year.

Trump will make his first official foreign trip of his second term this coming week, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The focus will be on “economic agreements.”

The Trump Organization, run by the president’s two eldest sons, has growing interests in the Middle East. An ethics agreement released by the company in January forbids deals with foreign governments but allows those with private companies. 

Things Worth Remembering: Nora Ephron on Being a Mom

 

Sunday, 05.11.2025

By Hadley Freeman

When debating with a 4-year-old about what color of plate is acceptable for his dinner, you may realize: Motherhood is absurd, and very funny.

(David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

When I was asked to write an article for Mother’s Day I thought, Sure. I thought, How hard can that be? I thought, I have three kids under 10, which absolutely makes me a mother. Even if all of my kids have informed me at various points that I’m the worst mother in the world because I wouldn’t let one of them eat a piece of old chewing gum he found on the bus; or I declined the 5-year-old’s request to have her own smartphone; or I forgot to buy an emperor costume for Roman Day at school, which all good mothers know is the most important holiday of the year.

Well, at the risk of pulling the curtain back on the magic-making here, I have been trying to write this article for three hours and failing, and here is an incomplete list of reasons why:

1. An email arrived informing me that two of my children will go on a field trip tomorrow and therefore need a packed lunch, necessitating a run out to Pret A Manger to spend about $37.19 on sandwiches and dried mango that the children will definitely not eat;

2. An argument erupted in the school parents’ WhatsApp about children and screen time, and let me tell you, those parents could teach Sun Tzu a thing or two about the art of war;

3. Another email arrived reminding me I had to buy a costume for Viking Day at the 5-year-old’s school, which even bad mothers know is the second most important holiday of the year.

Like a fish can’t describe water, parents can’t really describe parenting, mainly because they don’t have the time. And it’s very difficult for mothers who have got through the brunt of the experience to describe it in retrospect, because—like childbirth—they’ll have blocked a lot of it from their memory. Which is why I love the essay “Parenting in Three Stages,” by the late, great Nora Ephron, from her 2006 collection, I Feel Bad About My Neck.

Ephron wrote about parenting exactly the way she wrote about heartbreak, aging, friendship, and food: hilariously, wisely, originally, and honestly. Ephron’s sons were adults by the time this was published, but she remembers in teeth-clenching detail what it’s like to deal with, first, small children, who you’re constantly terrified of breaking, physically or emotionally, and then large adolescents who suddenly hate you for no obvious reason.

“Adolescence comes as a gigantic shock to the modern parent, in large part because it seems so much like the adolescence you yourself went through,” she writes:

Your adolescent is embarrassed by you and walks 10 steps ahead of you so that no one thinks you are remotely acquainted with each other. Your adolescent is ungrateful. You have a vague memory of having been accused by your parents of being ungrateful, but what did you have to be grateful for? Almost nothing. . .You’ve devoted years to making your children feel that you care about every single emotion they’ve ever felt. You’ve filled every waking second of their lives with cultural activities. The words “I’m bored” have never crossed their lips, because they haven’t had time to be bored. Your children have everything you could give—everything and more, if you count the sneakers. You love them wildly, way more than your parents loved you. And yet they seem to have turned out exactly the way adolescents have always turned out. Only worse. How did this happen? What did you do wrong?

Just as Ephron knew that no amount of expensive face cream can head off the aging process (not that it stopped her from buying lots of expensive face creams, a paradox she wrote about often), no amount of parenting can prevent your child from becoming a teenager.

This essay captures two more truths that I think have been forgotten in a lot of more recent writing about parenting: First, kids are changing all the time. And second, parenting is worth it.

When did people stop understanding that kids are not adults, and therefore subject to change on a daily basis? I noticed it during the rise of the gender debate, when parents were suddenly writing articles saying—and I swear I’m not even making this example up—that they always knew their daughter should have been a boy, because she told them she was a boy when she was “almost 2.” Let’s not get distracted with that craziness. The point is, whatever lunacy your child comes out with, whether they’re 2 or 12, don’t sweat it too much, because they’re programmed to try on things for size and then mutate, just as kids have always done. It’s hard not to catastrophize when your kid is wildly unhappy at age 14, as I was. But the worst thing you can do is affirm your child’s belief that they are uniquely, hopelessly doomed. Instead, reassure them—and yourself—that pretty much everything in childhood is a phase. Or just give them Ephron’s essay, which at least might make them laugh.

Secondly, parenting is worth it. I appreciate that a lot of parents fear coming across as smug, or making the child-free feel left out, but I think we’ve had enough of this tedious trend in which every article about parenting focuses on how stressful and horrible it is. Is it any wonder young women increasingly say they don’t want kids? By all means, don’t have kids when you’re young—I waited until pretty much the last chimes before midnight—but parenting is not miserable. Yes, it can be stressful, but the stress is often hilarious. Not even Larry David could write the kind of absurdist comedy scenes that parenting brings, such as when you’re debating with a 4-year-old about what color of plate is acceptable for his dinner.

Then one day, according to Ephron, you realize your children are delightful adults. It’s a miracle, all of it, in the truest sense of the word. Happy Roman or Viking or Mother’s Day.

We Have More Power Than Trump Wants Us To Believe — Here’s What You Can Do

  Demostrators rally near the White House during the nationwide “Hands Off!” protest against US President Donald Trump’s policies and executive actions, in Washington, DC, on April 19, 2025. (photo: NBC)

 

"Trump is counting on you to give up. Don’t let that happen. To protect democracy, we all must stay engaged day in and day out. If we remain committed, democracy will win."

Marc Elias / Democracy Docket 09 May 25

The messages have been loud and clear: You are worried about the future. You are frustrated that more is not being done. We are all angry that so few will stand up and fight.

I became acutely aware of the strength of these emotions when it was recently revealed by 60 Minutes that I was — in the program’s words — “the only lawyer the president has named who was willing to appear” on its broadcast about Trump’s targeting of lawyers and law firms for retribution.

After it aired on Sunday, my inbox and phone were flooded with messages from friends, others in the pro-democracy community and even some Big Law partners.

Many were outraged by the firms’ complicity. Others were perplexed that lawyers would be so cowardly and hesitant to stand up for the rule of law. Some understood why so many are so fearful. But mostly, people were inspired by the need to stand up to Trump and asked me what part they can play.

Here’s my response:

Trump wants us to believe he is all-powerful. He wants us to believe that opposing him is futile or worse. He wants you to accept that there’s nothing you can do to limit his ability to harm our country and our democracy. But that simply isn’t true.

In truth, Trump is quite weak and afraid.

His greatest weakness is elections. He fears their outcome. That’s why he issued an illegal and unconstitutional executive order to try to seize control of them.

There are things every one of us can do in our daily lives to help ensure free and fair elections — and, in doing so, limit Trump’s power. Some actions are small — so small that you might dismiss them as unimportant. Don’t. Every important journey begins with a single step, and the first is no less important than the last.

It’s also true that some actions are much bigger — so big you might doubt your ability to achieve them. Don’t give up before you start. Have faith that you can accomplish great things if you set your mind to it.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers or a comprehensive list of every way we can defend our elections or our democracy. Like you, I’m just one person doing my best to navigate a dangerous time in our country’s history. Yes, I’m a lawyer, but right now, my most important role is that of an active citizen.

So, here is a list I recently sent to premium members of what each of us can do to stand up for democracy and defend our elections. Democracy Docket is dropping the paywall and publishing it because we must all feel the power we have to stand up to Trump and protect our democracy.

1. Educate Yourself

Elections can be complicated. The rules vary from state to state — and sometimes even from county to county. These rules also change frequently due to new laws, policies or court rulings. My first recommendation: spend time each month learning what’s happening with voting laws in your state and nationally.

2. Share What You Learn

Once you’ve figured out what’s going on, share that information with your networks and community. It might feel awkward to bring up voter suppression or changes in election laws when we’re not in the middle of a major election — but local elections happen in off years, and special elections are more common than you think. Now is the perfect time to start conversations about voting.

3. Run for Something

I told you some of these would be big steps — and this is one of them. But that doesn’t mean it’s too big to take. Look around your community, and you’ll see many local elected positions that need good, qualified people. These could be town or county roles — some of them even directly related to elections, like election judges or county clerks. A great place to start is the organization Run for Something, which offers invaluable resources.

4. Volunteer for a Campaign

Not ready to be a candidate? Volunteer for a campaign or your local party committee. Every campaign needs volunteers, and there’s no better way to support free and fair elections than by working for a pro-democracy candidate.

5. Join or Support Pro-Democracy Organizations

Is partisan politics not for you? There are numerous nonprofits and grassroots organizations working every day to protect voting rights and ensure free and fair elections. Supporting these groups with your time or resources helps these groups do their work.

6. Become a Trained Poll Worker

Many counties face a shortage of poll workers, especially during election season. Being a poll worker requires dedication, attention to detail and a willingness to be trained. It’s a meaningful way to serve your community and help protect the integrity of the voting process.

7. Engage Your Elected Officials

Call and write your elected officials at the federal, state and local levels. Tell them that protecting voting rights and ensuring free and fair elections are your top priorities. Even better, show up at public meetings. Ask them directly what they’re doing to combat voter suppression. Be informed about pending legislation and urge them to support pro-democracy initiatives. This applies no matter where you live or who represents you — Democrat or Republican. Constituent pressure always matters. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

8. Vote in Every Election

Yes — every election. That means local elections, primary elections and special elections. Become a super-voter. The more you vote, the more informed and engaged you become. You’ll also be better positioned to notice and report problems — like changes to polling locations or voting equipment — that could impact turnout or accessibility.

9. Stay Engaged

Trump is counting on you to give up. He assumes you’ll take action for a few months, or maybe even a year, and then move on. Don’t let that happen. To protect democracy, we all must stay engaged day in and day out. We can’t just show up right before an election and tune out afterward. If we remain committed, democracy will win.

10. Support Independent, Pro-Democracy Media

I couldn’t end without mentioning this. A healthy democracy depends on a well-informed public. Support independent, pro-democracy media by subscribing to and supporting outlets like Democracy Docket and sharing its content online and in real life.

"To protect democracy, we all must stay engaged day in and day out."

‘JD Vance Is Wrong’: The Pope Appears Uneasy With Trump Immigration Policies

   Vice President JD Vance in Rome to meet with Pope Francis last month. (photo: Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

 

Before Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became pope, a social media account under his name shared criticisms of the Trump administration’s positions on immigration.

 

Lisa Lerer / The New York Times 09 May 25 

ALSO SEE: 'A Blessing': US Catholics Celebrate First American Pope

Months before Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the first American pope, a social media account under his name expressed criticism of Vice President JD Vance, sharing an article that called the vice president’s interpretation of Christian doctrine “wrong.”

The piece, published in The National Catholic Reporter, was a rebuttal to Mr. Vance’s interpretation of a Catholic teaching that he had used to defend the Trump administration’s deportation policies.

The post on X, which the account shared in February, was one of several that highlighted articles criticizing the Trump administration’s positions on immigration.

In April, the account under Cardinal Prevost’s name shared commentary from a Catholic writer who asked whether President Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador saw “the suffering” caused by their immigration policies.

“Is your conscious not disturbed?” a Catholic church analyst, Rocco Palmo, wrote. “How can you stay quiet?”

While The New York Times could not independently confirm whether Cardinal Prevost ran the account — or if it was operated by a staff member — the account was connected to a phone number and email address believed to be tied to him. Nearly all the posts, which date to 2011, shared articles, statements and comments made by other church leaders — not by the cardinal himself.

In July 2015, the account reposted an article by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York that described Mr. Trump’s “anti-immigrant rhetoric” as “problematic.” Three years later, the account shared a post from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, saying there was “nothing remotely Christian, American or morally defensible” about the administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents.

The account also appeared to take issue with the Trump administration’s repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, which granted legal status to young adults brought to the country as children. The account reposted comments from several church leaders attacking the decision as “heartless” and fueling “racism and nativism.”

The criticism of Mr. Trump largely echoes the positions of Pope Francis, who also expressed his disagreement with the administration’s deportation policies.

At times, the account waded into other contentious areas of American politics. In 2020, it shared a statement signed by seven American bishops that said they were “broken-hearted, sickened, and outraged” by the killing of George Floyd, which they described as a “wake-up call.”

In 2017, the account shared a post from Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, criticizing fellow lawmakers for refusing to pass gun control legislation after the Mandalay Bay mass shooting in Las Vegas. Mr. Murphy has since emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the Trump administration.

And several posts shared articles opposing abortion rights, including one from the Catholic News Agency that featured self-identified “pro-life Democrats” criticizing Hillary Clinton for adopting an “extreme pro-abortion platform.”

Only a small fraction of the posts referred to American politics. Many were in Spanish and shared announcements from the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Vatican. Others addressed matters of faith and Catholic doctrine or marked special dates for the Order of Saint Augustine, a religious order of men and women who follow the teachings of the fourth-century saint, of which Cardinal Prevost is a member.

Some were even lighter fare: One post linked to an article by the Catholic News Service listing the best Christmas movies.

The first posts were shared in 2011 and appeared to be updates on the cardinal’s travel schedule.

“In Rome, Council meetings,” the account posted on Sept. 20, 2011.

So far, Mr. Trump doesn’t seem to be holding any grudges against the pope for any previous criticism. In his own post on X, the president said he looked forward to meeting the new pope.

Mr. Vance, a Catholic convert who met with Pope Francis shortly before his death, also sent well wishes on Thursday afternoon.

“Congratulations to Leo XIV, the first American Pope, on his election!” he wrote on social media. “I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!”

Not everyone in Mr. Trump’s orbit may be quite as pleased.

Even before the selection of the new pope, Steve Bannon, one of the president’s top allies, who has urged the church to adopt a more traditional stance, described Cardinal Prevost as “one of the dark horses” to become the next pontiff.

“Unfortunately, he’s one of the most progressive,” Mr. Bannon said in the interview last week.

You will remember Mr. Bannon, of course.  Old Evil Personified is still lurking in the shadows, and if he says the new pope is progressive, one has to like the Vatican's choice very much.

Defying Trump’s $92 million parade on June 14

(Gazette Blog Editor's Note: The following is from INDIVISIBLE, one of the progressive non-profits organizing nationwide rallies to be held on June 14 to protest Trump's military birthday parade.)

Thursday, May 8, 2025 For the past 106 days, we've been locked in a race we can't lose. Trump is sprinting to seize and centralize power before a strong enough resistance rises up. We're working to unite massive opposition before his power becomes unassailable. And the truth is that the other side is moving fast -- faster than many outside Indivisible ever imagined -- to sidestep and stomp out those opposing them: Defying the courts. Sidelining Congress. Threatening allies. Disappearing adversaries. Stifling free speech and dissent. That’s what tyrants do. They try to seize total control before the public can realize what’s happening or mass resistance can organize. And as our institutions dither about if and how they can resist the sway of a president, Trump is trying to grab the powers of a king. But this is the United States of America, and we don’t do kings here. That’s why on June 14 -- Flag Day, and Trump’s birthday -- we’re not going to stand quietly by as he wraps himself in our flag and glorifies himself with a military parade. That flag was first raised nearly 250 years ago in defiance of a king, and we won’t let him disgrace it as he tries to become one. As Trump hosts a military parade in DC on June 14, we’re rising up everywhere else to show him, his fascist allies, and our fellow Americans we still have the power to defy and defeat tyranny. Use this link to learn more and make a plan to join us for a national day of defiance. As I said, we're racing to determine our future right now: tyranny vs. democracy. Trump got out to a fast start. He thought he could cement his power before we could organize a response. But that response came quickly from the ground up. Millions showed up for the Hands Off! protests on April 5. And we came together again, in thousands of places, on May Day to remind folks of the power of working-class solidarity. And once civic leaders saw the rest of us fighting back hard, momentum began to shift. Suddenly, public institutions -- just a few, but it’s a start -- found their spine. Trump started backpedaling. Republicans who’d stood lockstep behind their wannabe autocrat began showing signs their fealty has limits. Trump’s power-grab isn’t slowing down, though, so we need to inject another dose of courage into the business leaders, judges, academics, media figures, and others in positions to stand up to him. We do that by showing up in massive numbers and showing them they aren’t alone in this fight. June 14, No Kings Day, needs to be our biggest day of protest yet -- with more people, in more places, making even more pro-democracy noise than ever before. Here’s how you can step up: Find and sign up for a No Kings Day event near you. We already have dozens of events forming all over the country, and we’re working with partner organizations (and folks like you) to add even more every day. If you don’t see a protest planned in your community, consider organizing your own. Our No Kings Day toolkit offers guidance, tools, and resources to organize and promote a June 14 protest wherever you’re reading from right now. Spread the word on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, or wherever you connect with friends. Grow Trump’s opposition and multiply your impact by recruiting 2-3 friends to join your local No Kings Day event. The wannabe king in the White House wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of power for his birthday. But we’re going to show him what real power looks like. See you on June 14. In solidarity, Sarah Dohl Co-Founder & Chief Campaigns Officer Indivisible

Better ways to spend $92 million than on Trump's birthday military parade

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE: If ever a picture was worth 92 million words, this is the one. 

White House spin reaches new level of stupid

White House press secretary and chief prevaricator Karoline Leavitt

 Trump takes credit for getting quarterback Sanders drafted (in the fifth round, no less)

 

By Walter Einenkel 

Daily Kos Staff 

Monday, April 28, 2025 at 2:30:07p MDT  

 

REPUBLISHED BY: 

Blue Country Gazette Blog 

Rim Country Gazette Blog

The White House press briefings continue to be a cloud of misinformation and distraction as Fox News’ Steve Doocy and White House press secretary and chief prevaricator Karoline Leavitt ran some interference on Monday for President Donald Trump and his dismal first 100 days. 

As Trump publicly melted down over his abysmal approval ratings, Leavitt and Doocy decided to spin Trump’s supposed influence over last week’s National Football League draft. 

On Friday, Trump attacked NFL owners in a Truth Social post for failing to draft Shedeur Sanders, the college quarterback and son of Hall of Fame football player Deion Sanders, in the first round.  

Trump’s Friday rant was filled with racist 1980s buzzwords about Sanders, who is Black, as being “streetwise” and having “PHENOMENAL GENES.” 

“After the President's Truth Social post, the Browns finally took Shedeur Sanders. Does the president think he deserves credit for Sanders getting picked?” Doocy asked Leavitt. 

“All I will say is the president put out a statement and a few rounds later he was drafted,” professional liar Leavitt said. “So I think the facts speak for themselves on that one, Peter.” 

While some experts predicted Sanders’ would be drafted in the first round, the real surprise came when he wasn’t picked until the fifth round, days after Trump’s rant.

Try as they might, this distraction only goes to show what a mockery these press conferences have become, with right-wing podcasters and MAGA media getting to ask useless questions. Meanwhile, the outrage of the public has made it clear how unhappy Americans are with Trump and those who do his bidding.

Good lord, is there nothing this wondrous man cannot do.  We are so lucky to have him for our sovereign monarch.