As Hurricane Ian Approches, A Surreal Morning - 9/28/2022

 

This is a tv screen shot of Ian. I'm pointing to our home's location.

It's a 972 mile drive from where I am right now in St. Matthews, KY to our home in Charlotte County, FL. Hurricane Ian is a strong Category 4 hurricane and is poised to hit our home directly this afternoon. Ian is big and bad and strong. It feels surreal.

I should be there.

I'm so glad I'm not there.

Our friends, our dear friends that stayed behind, please be okay.

So worried, anxious, helpless, fearful.

They keep saying Charlotte Harbor on the Weather Channel.

Jim Cantore is in Punta Gorda.

Worried about our family nearby, they're not too far away.

I hope Cape Coral isn't hit like it appears we in Charlotte County will.

My mother and sister in the safe place for tornado warning in Jupiter.

Is Ft Myers going to be okay?

Will our house be okay? What will happen?

Watching TV makes it too real, hard to keep watching.

I can't stop watching.

Trying to comfort my wife in the midst of my own stress and anxiety.

Hearing from so many lovely friends and family expressing concern.

Offers to help.

Help with what?

Not knowing what we will have to deal with.

I'm really glad we're here and have our cat, Eddie, with us.

Feeling that I should be there.

Also feeling glad we're not there.

Fearing the worst.

Praying for the best.

God watch and protect them all.

Election Day: Stuff That Matters. Stuff That Don't - 9/26/2022

We're 6 weeks and a day from Election Day for the mid-term election. Democrats are doing everything they can to make this election hinge on something, or some things, anything really, other than President Biden's abysmal performance. Generally speaking, as you all know well and good I'm sure, the mid-terms, especially during a President's first term are a referendum on the Presidency. The President is not on the ballot, per se, but giving a President control of Congress, or taking it away on the other hand, is a show of support or lack thereof. Joe Biden is an awful President. Jimmy Carter probably sends a box of donuts every Monday morning to Mr. Biden with a thank you card. "You're the worst! It's very kind of you to take me from atop the list while I'm still alive to see it!"

 

Having the mid-term be a referendum on an awful President will be a disaster for the Democratic Party. They know it. You know it. I know it. We all know it. So they're going to be talking about other stuff. What matters to me? What don't?

These things matter:

The economy matters. My 401k has had the worst year ever. I worked hard to save. Joe Biden and Democrats don't give two shits about us hard working (now retired) people like me who saved for this day.

Inflation matters. It's bad. But hey, fuel prices are down temporarily as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is being foolishly depleted, a $0.19 per gallon tax is temporarily waived, and demand is down because people are broke. Do you think prices will go up or down after the mid-term when the pressure of the election for the party in power is off? I know what I think. We need ramped up production, and Democrats are NOT where we're gonna get it.

Immigration matters. It's our national disgrace. I've written about it many times before. Rather than belabor it again this morning, let me say simply this: I am not calling for mass deportations. I know many are, I am not. I am calling to close the border to illegal entry. If it takes a wall and 87,000 border personnel of all types to manage it, we need to stop this ridiculous, uncontrolled, and unmanageable flow of people. We DO need immigrants. I don't hate them. Stopping illegal immigration is NOT bigoted. Don't listen to people saying that.

Fentanyl and other drug deaths matter. That's our most real and presently dangerous pandemic. It's destroying lives. How much of it is coming across the Mexico border? How much is in your city, state, town, or municipality?

Crime matters. Crime is on the ballot. Progressives are pushing, unfortunately successfully in many places, to reduce prison populations but NOT by reducing crime. No, they think the answer is returning violent, repeat offenders to the streets. A single day doesn't go by where I don't read about some violent awful person committing a violent crime shortly after being released on low or no bail by some George Soros backed progressive prosecutor, using the term prosecutor very loosely. Crime is a problem in every progressive city and municipality I can think of. It is on the ballot.

Green policies and mandates matter. I am all for our planet. My first love is our National Parks, the US landscape, and our wildlife. I DO believe our environment is important. We DO need to do better. What we don't need are mandates that cause more harm than they do good. I am not sold that battery power is a viable alternative to the pollution of gas powered vehicles on our highways. Will we ever feel confident that we can harness nuclear generated electricity again? I don't know, but I do feel that most of the green mandates I read about coming in blue states or from this Democrat dominated bunch in Washington are prematurely implemented and hurt our economy in the short term and simply hurt our environment just as badly or worse in the long term, just differently, than the carbon emissions they're replacing. How about don't mandate stuff before it's ready for prime time and the infrastructure, cost, and impact have been well studied and addressed.

Bizarre far left social agendas matter. I don't hate gay people, trans people, etc. But being accepted and loved and treated fairly is no longer enough. Now we who are not gay or trans are considered bigots by this radical fringe just for being ourselves. This bullshit with pronouns, come on! Chemical castration and surgical mutilation of kids? If you ask me it's child abuse. You show me a 7, 9, or 11 year old trans kid and I'll show you parents who have brainwashed their kid with some weird gender bullshit, probably thinking they're being so wonderful for not imposing some evil societal pressures on the kid to conform to their biological/genetic gender. And there are public officials and public service workers, including teachers, who feel it's their duty to society to support these misguided kids, damn their parents for trying to impose antiquated and stereotypical gender norms on the poor little victims. All their enlightenment has a dark, dark side to it. Let kids be kids. Support gay and trans adults. There is a difference. Accept gay and trans people and treat them fairly. Stop talking to children who aren't your own about these issues.

Our highly political DOJ, FBI, and other three-letter agencies matter. President Biden's administration has absolutely weaponized every agency to maintain their political power and the crush opposition. Electing a House and Senate to hold them in check is the only answer. It's the only way. The scary thing is that the Administration, Deep State, and leftists across the land think that what these agencies are doing is righteous and good. It's scary. We have a system of checks and balances. Right now they're out of balance and unchecked.

Racism don't matter in that it's NOT on the ballot. I mean, it matters, it's wrong and an evil, sure. But way too much is made to be about race when it's not about race at all. A booming economy booms for us all. Lower crime makes life better for us all. Productive, hard working immigrants of all colors make us a richer society. Racial quotas, gerrymandering, and manipulation of school admissions rather than on academics is racism. Shaping prison populations based on race rather than on criminal activity does as much harm or more than the little good it does. Stop manipulating outcomes and start understanding and addressing root causes. The most important things, nothing higher I don't care what you say, to academic achievement and to raising a law abiding society and lower prison populations is strengthening families and religious faith. That does not exclude persons from non-tradition families, nor does it exclude atheists or agnostics. I'll bet you anything that Black persons with a strong family and religious faith of one kind or another on average are doing better economically and socially than those without those are on average. Some of you probably think it's racist of me to affirm those two facts. Well some of you are stupid, brainwashed puppets.

Fascism don't matter, because it's NOT on the ballot. The President crossed a dangerous line when he called me and like minded people fascists. It's as if he is setting the stage for violence or something. We are a Constitutional Republic. I want fair and well run elections. I want no more or less representation in Washington and locally than what is spelled out in the US Constitution. I want my constitutionally protected rights. Freedom of speech and assembly. Freedom of religion. Right to bear arms. I want the right to health, happiness, and my own prosperity. That's not fascism. It's freedom. It is the exact opposite of a threat to our republic, to our freedom, to democracy. How in the hell people were convinced that "America first" is a threat to America is beyond me. But here we are.

And finally, Donald Trump don't matter, he is NOT on the ballot. Don't fall for it. This is a referendum on our failing President, Joe Biden, and on progressivism. It is NOT about Trump. Don't let them forget it, and don't you dare let them make you forget it, either. You can either empower Biden for the next two years, or you can neutralize him. Your choice.

Vote.

We Need To Remember His Name - 9/24/2022

Hey friends, did you hear about the MAGA teenager in North Dakota who was killed by a middle-aged Democrat just a couple of days after the President Biden and his spokesperson made the case to the American people that "MAGA Republicans" are dangerous? Do people know the dead boy's name?*

I don't know how much coverage the story got on mainstream (I mean leftist) news since I don't watch much news anymore. I am very comfortable saying, in fact confident in saying as a matter of fact, that had the two's political affiliations been the reverse, had a MAGA guy killed a Democrat, you'd have heard about nearly nothing else but that story on those same leftist "news" outlets. It would have been wall to wall and non-stop.

This death is a tragedy, and this killer is clearly a nut job of some sort or another. That doesn't exonerate Biden and his spokesperson's direct role in painting MAGA Republicans as a danger and a threat. A Harvard/Harris poll I posted the other day shows that a majority of Democrats do believe that we MAGA Republicans are a threat.

It doesn't help that Democrats on the Jan 6th Committee lie and exaggerate repeatedly about rioter/protester/trespassers killing Capital Police officers and other such dishonest nonsense. This perpetual vilification and demagoguery toward anyone and everyone who protests, objects to, or questions their agenda is dangerous. It needs to stop.

Cayler Ellingson, RIP

 

*His name is Cayler Ellingson. We should remember it. He did nothing wrong to have our President turn the nut jobs loose and kill him: Cayler Ellingson.

Bizarro World is Here! - 9/20/2022

Are you familiar with Bexar County Texas' Sheriff Javier Salazar? In the Bizarro World that shapes today's U.S. political discourse, Bexar County Sherriff Salazar is investigating the Governor of Florida for sending 50 migrants to Martha's Vineyard.

Bexar County Texas Sheriff Salazar, a Democrat

When I heard that Salazar is investigating Governor DeSantis, my first thought was, how in the hell is Florida or its Governor in his jurisdiction? But then I heard he was a Democrat and I realized the investigation is nothing more than political douchebaggery. Yes, Salazar is a douchebag. Only in a bizarre world is a Texas Sheriff investigating a Florida Governor and a flight from Florida to Massachusetts. Bizarro World.

But something else about this seemed familiar or fishy to me and I couldn't place it. I never hear of Salazar before, did I? I don't think so. I haven't been to Bexar County, Texas, before, have I? I don't remember. I don't think so. Maybe, I guess. But something rang a bell, and I didn't know what it was about it. Hmmm? Then I read more about the story.

By Wednesday morning (June 29th), the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office (BCMEO) said it had received a total of 53 bodies

Oh, that Bexar County. Let me refresh your memory. Here's a link: CNN Jun 29, 2022. For those of you who may be a bit reluctant to click a link to a CNN story (I don't blame you), here's the bottom line. 53 migrants were found dead in an unrefrigerated trailer in Bexar County just a little less than 3 months ago. That would be found dead in Sheriff Salazar's jurisdiction. I am not blaming the sheriff. I don't blame him at all, actually. Our embarrassing and sometimes tragic immigration disaster is President Biden's fault. Those dead migrants are and will always be part of Joe Biden's legacy. Regardless of his lack of blame, Sheriff Salazar opening of a probe of the Governor of Florida is absolutely and utterly bizarre.

How the Bexar County Sheriff has legal standing to investigate the Governor of Florida escapes me. I don't know. How Bexar Sheriff Javier Salazar has the moral authority and the audacity to point fingers at anyone when migrants are dying right under his nose astounds me. Javier Salazar is a douchebag if ever there was one. He is practicing the brand of hypocritical, divisive, political douchebaggery that only a partisan hack can practice. He is NOT a serious person. He is not to be taken seriously. I will not take him seriously. I doubt Governor DeSantis will, either.

Bizarro World, my friends. We have entered Bizarro World. Sheriff Salazar welcomes you!

Immigration Quick Hitters for Friday - 9/16/2022

I really am going to try and keep this short and sweet today.

We can do better. Better for us. Better for them.

 

1. The Biden Administration has for over a year shuttled immigrants who entered the US illegally on airplanes, often under the cover of darkness, to points hither and yon, all around our country. Was there outrage and public outcry about the inhumanity of it all? No. Crickets.

2. The Biden Administration has deported back to Haiti large numbers of immigrants who entered the US illegally seeking refuge here. Was there outrage and public outcry about how un-American it is to send them back to Haiti? Of course not. Crickets.

3. I've seen estimates that 8000 people enter our country, the majority of them doing so illegally, every single day. An estimate 4000 per day enter into Texas alone. Similar reporting counts 2,000,000 thus far in 2022 and 4,000,000 during the Biden Administration. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California get the vast majority of these, but Florida has quite a few. As a matter of fact, a good number of those in Florida were transported here by the Biden Administration. Outrage and outcry? Of course not, not from the left. Crickets. Fuck red states.

4. Just some silly number crunching. I read that Mayor Adams said New York City can't handle its estimated 11,000 illegal immigrants. Oh, really? Lemme do some math for you. 4,000,000 since President Biden took office, in a country of 360,000,000 is a little over 1%. You follow? New York has a population of 8.5 million, roughly. Do you know what 1% of 8.5 million is? It's 850,000. Somebody tell Mayor Adams that he needs to get ready because New York's fair share means there ought to be 839,000 more headed his way. Outrage and outcry that New York City won't do its fair share to accommodate the the 4,000,000? Of course not. Crickets. But, hey. Fuck Dl Rio, El Paso, Brownsville, and Yuma. Fuck all them cowboy hat wearing motherfuckers down there. This is their problem. It ain't ours.

5. I saw footage of Border officials under the Biden Administration unlocking a gate to allow persons to enter the US illegally via a Texas rancher's private property. Outrage and outcry? Oh, no. Again, not from the left. Hell no. Fuck Texas and a bunch of ranches on the border, right? 

6. Vice President Kamala Harris just recently declared that our border is secure. It's only secure if you think an open border is a secure border. Outrage and outcry? Of course not. There's enough stupid people who believe her. Fuck them other people. They're racists and bigots.

7. Frustrated by the total failure of the Biden Administration to manage the border and immigration, Governors of states overwhelmed and trampled underfoot by the endless passage of migrants begin transporting migrants to Chicago, New York, Washington DC, and now Martha's Vineyard. Outrage and outcry? Oh yeah, baby. You betcha. "Criminals!" Human Trafficking!" "Kidnapping!" "Bigotry!"

8. We have an illegal immigration problem. People in the third world countries from whence all these trespassers came and continue to come have heard the message loud and clear: The US border is open. There are no consequences to entering the US illegally.

9. Oh, lest I forget. They're saying Governor DeSantis and Governor Abbot ought to be arrested! You agree? Fuck you and fuck your fucking crickets, too.

10. Immigration needs reform. We don't need 87,000 new IRS agents. We need 87,000 of border agents, immigrant tracers (like contact tracers), social service workers, immigration judges, English as a second language teachers,etc. And we need real immigration laws that work. If 2,000,000 new immigrants a year is the right number for our economy and national stability, then establish infrastructure that can manage that. This shit we got working now don't work.

11. Note nowhere in here did I call for mass deportations. I just want this fixed. I have no problems with immigrants. I have a problem with this whole mess.

Our National Disgrace, Reprise - 9/15/2022

In July I wrote about our immigration disaster, calling it "Our National Disgrace". This morning I saw it reported that Governor DeSantis, the great governor of my great state, Florida, flew two planeloads of immigrants who entered the US illegally to Martha's Vinyard, famous among other things as the summer home of former president Barack Obama. In a separate report, I read that two busloads of immigrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris' residence in Washngton, DC.

Welcome to Martha's Vineyard! This guy don't seem to perturbed at having been given a free lift.

Hooray! We made it! Martha's Vineyard is the place to be!

 

Before I delve, I have seen posts on social media how degrading and dehumanizing transporting these folks to places such as these is. What? Listen up, dumbasses. Four million people have entered our country illegally under this administration, the vast majority accessing free passage across our border in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, courtesy of President Biden and his Administration. It was the voters of Washington DC, Martha's Vineyard, and of blue states, cities, and sanctuary cities across this country who put faraway border states into this crisis by rejecting former president Donald Trump and electing a nincompoop puppet controlled by the progressive left. 100 or 200 of these immigrants in DC or Martha's Vineyard verses 4,000,000 into CA, AZ, NM, and TX? Cry me a fucking river!

As far as I'm concerned, the governors of these states are doing precisely the right thing. They ought to have scheduled buses, and if affordable aircraft, operating to sanctuary cities and the very bluest of cities and states on a daily basis. They ought to offer every illegal entrant into our country optional free transportation on any one of the next 4-5 scheduled departures to the blue state or sanctuary city of their choice. I suggest they set up the frequency based on destination population. New York City is huge. Send 15-20 buses a day, at least. Chicago is big, too. 10-12 buses a day sounds about right. After Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Boston, Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, Louisville, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC get their fair share, little old Martha's Vineyard won't be getting all that many, not hardly any at all.

I love the idea of dropping the Washington DC bound immigrants at Vice President Harris' residence. She's in charge of the border. She's the one lying about the border being secure.

Before I carry on further, I should mention that I saw proud social media posts about how the people of Martha's Vineyard are opening their hearts and taking action to accommodate and support the immigrants who were brought there. Bravo!!!!!! That's the spirit. Is two planeloads a day for two years okay then? I mean, as long as border states continue to be overwhelmed and flooded with the migrants the Biden Administration they voted for purposely allows to enter illegally, it seems only right that the people who made the bed ought to have to lie in it.

I'm not for transporting any immigrant to any of these places against their will. Let me make that perfectly clear. But as long as our immigration and border policy coming courtesy of blue state electoral mandate is for the US to have an open door and an open border, I see absolutely nothing wrong with offering these migrants transportation to the US sanctuary city or blue state of their choice. I recommend the Governors of AZ, TX, and FL, who thus far are the ones providing this transportation, make travel brochures highlighting the industries and job opportunities in each of these wonderful destinations. I'd include maps and instructions on how to apply for social services and state aid, where and how to find medical care in each, and a listing with addresses and phone numbers of all the homeless shelters and charitable soup kitchens, food banks, and pantries.

There are alternatives. But hey, as long as any and every alternative is portrayed by these same now indignant and outraged recipients of illegally entered migrants as bigoted and racist, we can't have none of that. So, failing to pass immigration reform, to aggressively police the border and enforce US immigration law, and failing to build a wall to thwart most illegal entry, the next best thing we can do is to help these people get to places where they'll find opportunity, support, and prosperity.

Joe Biden/Democrat Campaign Strategy, 2022 - 9/14/2022

Democrats and President Joe Biden, supported wholeheartedly by giant social and news media, have demonstrated very clearly what the strategy is for the 2022 Mid-Term Elections:

1. Trump, Trump, Trump, scary Trump, mean Trump, evil Trump, criminal Trump, spy Trump, Trump, Trump Trump*. This is most popular with voters with Trump Derangement Syndrome, which carries a large portion of Democrat voters..

* Trump is not on the ballot in 2022.

2. Abortion, abortion, abortion. Republicans want to ban ALL abortions. Even though this is demonstrably NOT true, with admittedly some Republicans who do, but not a majority, and even though many Democrats do NOT support late term (2nd and 3rd trimester) elective or birth control abortions, the party line is that Republicans will impose a 100% ban. No exceptions. It's not accurate, but it gets good traction.

3. MAGA is evil., MAGA is scary. MAGA is fascist! MAGA, MAGA, MAGA. Scary MAGA, mean MAGA, racist MAGA, misogynist MAGA, evil MAGA. Red hats, red hats, fear the red hats! Hate the red hats. Vote against the red hats.**

** Making America great again seems okay by me. I don't think of American greatness as evil. But with a certain crowd, this gets traction, too. Blame America first.

4. White supremacy. Antisemitism, militia groups... All of this is waiting in the GOP wings to seize control and to turn the USA into a racist's paradise. The news is already ramping up story after story about Antisemitism and extremist groups. All black, Hispanic, Asian conservatives, Republicans, and MAGA are uncle Tom's and to be ignored. They are not real minorities.

5. January 6th, January 6th, January 6th. All other riots and attempts to interfere with our governmental processes in the last 8-10 years are to be discounted and ignored. January 6th was the only one that ever happened that mattered. January 6th is more important that your job, grocery and gas prices, healthcare, Covid restrictions, everything. January 6th. Say it over and over. January 6th, damn it! January fucking 6th!!!!!!

6. The economy, the border, energy policy, military affairs, foreign affairs, failed Covid policies, failing schools, any and all other issues: if forced to discuss them, lie about them. Say that all is perfect and wonderful because of Joe Biden. If the lies fail, immediately change the subject to something listed in 1-5, above.

"Trump! Abortion! MAGA! White supremacists, racists, Antisemites! January 6th!!!!" Lather, rinse, repeat!