To Rome and Back, With Love
Not a vacation, but great to connect with old and new friends
Jill and I just returned from another trip to Italy, sixth in the last four years. One of these was a vacation, but the rest have been business. We have found ourselves traveling all over the world these last few years, mainly speaking about COVID, the jab, and psychological warfare. Somehow, most often, we find ourselves back in Italy. In this case, we flew in on the usual redeye arriving Friday morning, spent the day recovering and adjusting, then two long intensive days of meetings, speaking engagements, and broadcasting. Monday was sort of a day off (met with some whistleblowers!), and then travel back to the modern Imperial capital (Washington DC) on Tuesday.
I can assure you that only a masochist would think air travel in coach from Washington to Rome with a recently broken foot was a good time.
I am always taken aback by the warmth and genuineness of the welcome we receive in Italy, and particularly in Rome. First off, although Jill and I grew up in the Mediterranean culture of coastal Santa Barbara, (which bills itself as the American Rivera), that upbringing did not fully prepare us for Italian culture. Italians really like each other, and they show it. Friends hug and kiss both cheeks, no matter their “gender identity.” They reach out and touch each other. When you are accepted into Italian groups and friendships, physical connection is expected. It always takes me a bit of time to migrate from US-style firm handshakes to a hug and kiss on both cheeks.
The meals. Good heavens, the meals. “Family style” hardly scratches the surface. I don’t think there is any other place we have traveled to where we get quite the same feeling of being accepted and embraced as another local friend. Dinner starts late and lasts long into the night. Multiple courses- each often some version of peasant food. Beans and lentils with a variety of spices. Pasta with cheese and bits of meat - often rough cuts like pigs’ cheek. Good red wine. And desserts to die for. But the main course is the conversation. Wave after wave of discussion, veering from topic to topic, loose and open, with no one dominating
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.We did have a security crew, two middle-aged men neither of whom were particularly fluent in English. They would drive us from hotel to the next appointment, always in great spirits, but constantly discussing the route (in Italian, of course) with keen eyes and ears tuned to a cellular mapping program- and occasional reversals and course corrections. The streets of Rome are truly byzantine. I floated the idea of renting a car this time with Jill and got an immediate veto. She would rather rent a car in the UK where they drive on the wrong side, or walk long distances than try to navigate that traffic and roads. Which by the way, seems to be how Italians keep from getting fat on all that pasta! We are used to LA, San Francisco, DC, but Rome is a whole different level
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All over their former empire, Romans were known for building amazingly straight roads. I now think I know why. Because they knew how hard it is to navigate in Rome
The rumor among the many with Vatican connections is that the Pope passed away a few weeks ago. Why hold off on the announcement? Well, so the story goes, the Vatican has spent billions of Euro fixing up the surroundings in anticipation of the Silver Jubilee for Pope Francis. His passing would really put a crimp in tourism and pilgrimage traffic (and revenue). Or so they say
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After food and walking, Italians have another passion. No, not that - it is gossiping. The biggest, baddest, best and most bizarre explanation will grab everyone’s attention. Which of course, makes dinner conversation a whole lot of fun.
My personal experience has been that Italians are exceptionally kind and generous. Perhaps it has something to do with once ruling the world and now being a post-empire culture. Perhaps it is partially because they have empathy for those, such as myself, that have suffered in some way by the heavy hand of the State. Virtually every Italian that I encounter has a story to tell of how the State has harmed them or others close to them. Some have stories of misdeeds by the Italian Mafia. But all seem to have suffered under stifling bureaucracy, arbitrary and capricious central planning and decision making, and the infernal taxation. Infernal as in inferno. A form of Italian hell.
If you want to understand what decades of Socialism does to a human soul, take some time to get to know the real Italians. Not the wealthy with their finery and fancy villas. The ones that go to work from day to day, and try to raise a family. Words like “we are just serfs,” “if I try to start a business they tax everything,” “everything is so hard” simmer just below the surface. Growing a family is brutally hard. Which is probably why the native-born population numbers are plummeting.
But still they persist. Still they hold their heads high. Italians are proud people, and they recognize tyranny when they see it. Moussolini’s brutalist government buildings remain scattered throughout Rome. Many are beginning to crumble, in contrast to the ancient Roman structures and fortifications they stand beside. Simplistic rough beasts next to elegant, elaborate, and timeless beauties.
Mandated vaccines have become a hot topic in Italy, particularly the vaccines for children schedule that the State recently imposed. The government-imposed COVID gene therapy-based products have become a hot topic all across the Western world. The term “wake up call” has been repeated so often that it has become trite. So many I have never met before come up and want to connect with me, want to hug, want a selfie photo. To thank me for speaking out about what they knew in their hearts and souls was wrong, but which was being forced on them and their families.
One of the primary reasons I was invited this time was to participate in and speak (with translation) at a kickoff meeting for a petition drive. A petition to halt the government imposed vaccine mandates, and in particular the pediatric mandates. And the salt in that particular wound is the presence of one Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has apparently taken up residence in the city of Siena within Tuscany. Fauci has apparently decamped from Washington DC to work with (or for?) his lifelong friend Dr. Rino Rappouli who is head of GSK vaccines, and also to work with BioNTech. Apparently, both GSK and Bio n Tech have large vaccine research and development facilities in Siena. Again and again, I was asked what would be required to arrest Dr. Fauci.
I learned and heard many new things on this trip. The picture of who the puppet masters behind the mismanagement of the COVIDcrisis is coming into focus. And it appears that there is a strong CCP/WHO component and an Italian component. Apparently, much of the WHO COVID policies and positions stem from Italian “public health” organizations and leadership that functionally operate as WHO subsidiaries. And Fauci seems to be intimately involved in all of this. Stay tuned for further details.
Jill and I are always glad to return to our rural refuge in Madison, VA. The weather the last couple of days has been stunning, daffodils and forsythia are blooming, and the grass is greening up. But we have returned with a renewed love for our many friends in Italy and Rome, a lasting warmth inside our souls from the greetings, discussions, and community, and a strong desire to help our friends overcome the legacy of decades of socialism and external political manipulation and to regain their sovereignty. To make Italy great again, to make Europe great again, and to make it possible for Italians and Europeans to thrive as free and independent people and cultures.
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Photos of Italy - just for fun.
Arrivederci
The Malones have a blessed life. Thank you for the recap of your trip, the pictures are just stunning too. Thank you for standing firm on the defeat effort to vaccine mandates, especially for children. I hope your foot is feeling better.
Stunning pictures Drs. Malone!! It’s nice to think of a place where people look beyond your religion, where you come from, your heritage. Truly friendly people usually means they weren’t brought up to hate. They give people the benefit they are good . They weren’t taught to be divisive. Although it seems for many years here things had gotten better, this past 5 years with Covid, the mandates, DEI, CRT, BLM things seem to have been set back decades, and I don’t believe dividing us was a mistake. We all bleed red, and our skin is less than a 1/16 inch thick. It’s all about what’s on the inside.