Brief Hiatus, Some Parting Thoughts re: Ukraine - 3/3/2025

You'll feel blessed to know this blog is taking a short pause. I'm traveling to attend the funeral of a dear friend, a fellow Marine Navigator, gone too soon. Since it's the Monday after, and still a hot topic, here are my thoughts and questions, of which, at least in my mind, there are more of than there are answers.

How is that the guy who wants peace is the bad guy?

Is it possible, at any time at all in the future, for there to be peace from this conflict without terms, whatever they might happen to be, that Russia agrees to?

How much is public opinion on Ukraine influenced by the military-industrial complex?

Is there any limit to the financial and other support for Ukraine?

How much is public opinion on what happened in the Oval Office informed by the full range of dislike of Trump's bombastic style, to full-on Trump Derangement Syndrome?

Did you watch the whole exchange in the Oval Office, or did you see what was reported on television?

Is there anything at all that took place in the Oval Office Friday that, in your opinion, Zelenskyy needs to apologize for, or was his demeanor and behavior exemplary and above reproach?

Have you heard or read reports that in recent weeks, that Zelenskyy has made and then quickly reneged on minerals deals with Trump Administration representatives?

Can Ukraine win the war without U.S. or other foreign troops on the ground engaged to fight Putin?

I agree, Putin was the aggressor and that Putin is the bad guy here. Are those of us who have doubts to downright distrust of Zelenskyy supposed to overlook it because Putin is bad?

Do you think there is or that there may be corruption associated with U.S. money and other support? Like kickbacks, payoffs, embezzlement, etc?

How long do you think things would have to remain as they are now, with the war ongoing, before Putin loses his resolve? Can Ukraine outlast Putin's resolve, even with our continued support?

Does the 1994 Arms Treaty with Ukraine have a "till death do us part" clause? Is there any point at which, despite our best efforts to support them, it simply "is what it is," despite that we've done our part?

Can we agree that Putin invaded Crimea on Obama's watch and Urkaine on Bidens watch, and nobody on Trump's watch?

Are the Ukrainian lands now occupied by Russia worth World War 3 and or a nuclear holocaust to you? Will you feel it was worthwhile that your kids and grandkids are dead?

You don't have to answer. I'll see y'all in a week or two. 

Oval Office Dust Up - 3/1/2025

Holy shit this one's going to be unpopular. My thoughts on the disaster in the Oval Office yesterday acros a range of issues.

Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova appears to have a headache... or something in the Oval Office yeasterday.

1) The war in Ukraine. What's the end game? Can Ukraine win the war without the U.S. (or some other 3rd party) putting troops into combat? I don't think so. To me, it appears like the strategy is for us to keep dumping money in and hope that Putin / Russia loses his / it's will before Ukraine runs out of soldiers. I think the war, from Ukraine's point of view, is unwinnable, absent insertion of U.S. or other troops and a massive escalation that has a high potential to result in a 3rd world war. Peace is a better solution. I do not see a path to victory, and I do not see how we can afford to endlessly dump money into an endless war that has no potential happy ending. The war mongering neocons here love it. Wealthy business people here and corrupt politicians here are getting rich, rich, rich off of it.

2) Russia, Russia, Russia, Putin, Putin, and Putin Puppets. Russia are the bad guys in the war. There is no doubt in my mind. But, and this is a huge but, I really and truly do not give a shit about Putin. The absolute weakest argument to support continued fighting, or to criticize anyone who questions the wisdom of continuing down this same path, is to call me / us / whoever is questioning it a "Putin puppet" or to say we're 'playing into Putin's hands". I hate to tell you this, but on the list of things on anyone's political "to-do list", or on the "don't do list," playing into Putin's hands or having some asshole here call me a Putin puppet because I don't give a shit about him, what he wants, needs, or what makes him happy, ain't on them. And while we're on the "Russia, Russia, Russia, Putin puppet thing, lemme remind you. Russia invaded Crimea on Obama's watch. Russia invaded Ukraine on Biden's watch. And Putin, he's a bad guy. Sure. But you calling me his puppet because I question continuing and endlessly sending money to support an unwinnable war, it's aggravating, but empty. You want me to support continuing to fun that war with our money? Paint me a picture of an outcome worth supporting and tell me how we get there from here without U.S. troops or world war 3.

3) Zelenskyy. I already declared Putin the bad guy. That doesn't make Zelenskyy a good guy. I don't trust him. I don't like him. I never have. I don't see a path to me feeling good about supporting Ukraine, knowing he's their leader. Zelenskyy was in the middle of the CIA's plot to destroy Trump 45 via impeachment. You know, the Chiarmella/Vindman "perfect phone call" thing. Whether he was an active participant, or passive, he was in the middle of it. And for those of you who get your news from progressive or neocon propagandists, you won't know this (or may have conveniently forgotten) what Trump was asking about was how Biden had been bragging on camera about having leveraged U.S. money to force Ukraine to fire the prosecutor who was investigating Barisma, the firm his son Hunter was a part of, and what many, myself included, believe was a channel of corrupt money to "the big guy." To make matters worse, Zelenskyy played his cards all wrong last year, making an appearance with PA Governor Shapiro on the campaign trail supporting Democrats.

I saw U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an interview last week talking about how he and Vice President Vance had a deal worked out with Zelenskyy on the minerals Trump has been talking about. Accordin to Rubio, Zelenskyy said he had to get approval from his Parliament before he could sign on to it. Then two days later, Rubio said he saw Zelenskyy on television saying he had rejected the U.S. proposal. I guess they circled back and had worked through it, but the Trump Administration clearly felt Ukraine was in some way "playing both sides against the middle", and not being forthright with us.

Last thing on Zelenskyy and his part in this disaster: arguing with ANY U.S. President in the Oval Office in front of cameras, talking to Vance the way he did, I find it unacceptable. Some of you hate Trump so much you're unable to see a problem with anyone, anytime, any place if they're taking on Trump, you're glad to see it. You're certain they're in the right. My immediate take on yesterday was that Zelenskyy had made a bad boo boo. How can you possibly see it any other way? A lot of us have questioned our support for this war, not seeing an achievable outcome worth thousands and thousands more lives, and billions and billions more dollars. Zelenskyy galvanized that sentiment for many. Many.

4) Trump. Yesterday, Trump's biggest demons, his thin skin, and always getting in the last word got the better of him. I know you Trump haters think everything that happened was his fault. I don't. Zelenskyy had fences to mend with Trump for all the aforementioned stuff. I saw him talking down to Vance and talking over Trump and Vance in a way that was absolutely sure to light Trump's fuse. Yes, I realize some of you didn't see that. I also realize you hate Trump and it affects every single thing you see or don't see as it relates to Trump.

But for his part, I think Trump's handling of the fatigue and sweater wearing, disrespectful Ukrainian made a bad thing worse. As soon as things started to go sideways, Trump should have adjourned to press conference and retired the conversation to a private room. He, as he is inclined to to, failed to see there was a high road to take. While he may have felt he was in the right, and you likely did, too, how it played out was not a good look. That conversation perhaps needed to happen, but it ought to have been in private.

I relate it to a personal experience. I do realize in my career my stage was smaller, but indulge me. In my airline, there had evolved a lot of distrust of the local FAA, to the point there was a counterproductive, adversarial tone to much of the relationship. The FAA and my company both wanted to evolve to a more cooperative and effective working relationship. It had to be so. I see a real parallel with the Trump - Zelenskyy relationship. We were about to embark on a major initiative to conduct an FAA inspection jointly and cooperatively with them. I had a big meeting room in the airline's place, and in it were 15 or so FAA inspectors, and 25 or so of my airline peeps from all the involved departments. Anyway, this one FAA guy, he decided it was the perfect time and place to grandstand, and he turns my meeting, the first one in this new co-operative working relationship, into his own Festivus airing of grievances. He proceeded set us straight with the public ass chewing of the year. Some of what he had to say may have been legit, but I couldn't hear it. He was in our house, disrespecting me and everyone I represented there. I was mad and the more he talked, the worse it got. I was ready to explode. It had the potential to be career ending for me, I was that pissed.

I recognized where it was going and that if I didn't do something it would be unrecoverable. If not me, someone  I was the host of the meeting and our airline's coordinator for the effort, I said simply, interrupting him, "I don't think this is the meeting we expected, nor prepared for. We're not at all prepared for this. I'm adjourning this meeting and we'll reschedule when we're better prepared." I then asked the asshole FAA guy's boss's boss if he and I could talk privately afterward about "a different topic." I wish Trump had recognized and done the same. "This is not a conversation we're going to continue in front of the press and here in the Oval Office." All the good things aside, Trump is a street fighter, a bully in many ways, has thin skin, and always, always, always wants to get in the last word.

Not a good look. For anyone.

I give Trump a grade of "D" for this episode. This episode will go down in history as the low point in either of Trump's terms.

I give Zelenskyy an "F". I realize you Trump haters won't and can't see that, but the body language of Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. in the photo I posted earlier says I'm right in my assessment.

Lemme summarize: I question the bottomless money pit, endless death, and unwinnable nature of the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is not my boogie man, I don't care if you call me a puppet because I question the war. I don't like or trust Zelenskyy. I never have. He made things worse, at least with me, yesterday. Trump embarrassed himself yesterday. It was Trump being his worst self.

D.O.G.E. Cuts - 2/27/2025

The U.S. Government spends a lot of money. We don't just spend a lot of money, we spend way too much money. Way too much is an understatement. This post applies to EVERY single U.S. Government Department and Agency, bar NONE. I would break down the spending in broad categories.

1. Spending that is necessary and essential, well intended, and well accounted for which ends up where it was intended and accomplishes the desired goal for which it was intended.

2. Spending that is necessary and essential, well intended, and well accounted for which either does NOT end up where it was intended or does NOT accomplish the desired goal for which it was intended.

3. Spending that perhaps is NOT absolutely necessary or essential, but which is well intended, well accounted for, and which ends up where it was intended and accomplishes the desired goal for which it was intended. 

4. Spending that is NOT absolutely necessary or essential, but which is well intended, well accounted for, but which does NOT end up where it was intended or accomplish the desired goal for which intended. 

5. Frivolous and unnecessary spending that appeases or pleases some political faction or another. We have lots and lots of this. The dirty truth is, both sides have treated it as an unspoken agreement: "you get yours, we get ours, keep it on the down low and the American people will never know nor be the wiser."

6. Money that lines the pockets of influential middle men, either in business or in the non-profit sector. This is especially infuriating when our political or bureaucratic leadership is directly or indirectly linked to or financed by those business of non-profit interests. This includes children, spouses, siblings, friends, etc. This is corrupt, but the way it's set up there is always a bullshit explanation claiming legitimacy. Legitimate, my ass. Looking at you, NGOs.

7. Covert money for international AND domestic intervention and political and or public opinion manipulation. See. Aye. Eh.

8. Monies that are extremely poorly managed that nobody seems to know where or how it was spent, much of it either intentionally or unintentionally untraceable, either due to antiquated systems, inadequate monitoring, gross negligence and incompetence, or nefarious intent. This, if not in and of itself fraud, is an invitation to fraud.

9. Money that is being distributed or collected fraudulently. 

With as many budgetary line items as we have, there is no way to measure each cut carefully with a micrometer, and then to delicately remove itsy bitsy expenditures one by one across the government. All efforts to trim spending in such a manner are doomed. Each tiny cut becomes a battle, and in no time the effort will lose momentum and atrophy, dying under its own weight.

I do not believe there is anyone in public office or at any agency capable of the kinds of cuts we really need. Why? Because where the hell have they been?

Elon, seen here visiting the Oval Office.

Nope. A micrometer and a scalpel aren't adequate. This thing needs dynamite, chainsaws, and dump trucks. Government has grown itself into a behemoth industry unto itself. While there are many, many hard working, high integrity workers in the public sector, even if you won't admit it, we all know there are others who are not nearly as industrious, not nearly as honest, and not nearly as accountable. I say, blow the whole damned thing up. There is nothing that says excessive cuts in personnel and spending can't be reversed and restored later on. But I guarantee you, every penny we spend, every person we employ is someone's sacred cow, and they will fight to keep it in place, truly believing that the world will end without it. The more time you spend debating and deliberating each and every one, the less you'll accomplish in cutting. Fact. "But the world, it will end!"

Newsflash: it won't. Keep going, Elon. Ignore the noise. "Fire in the hole!"

Dumbass of the Week - 2/14/2025

Happy Valentine's Day! It seems like a good day to spread some love. So how about we love us some Dumbass of the Week?

The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City

Fourth Honorable Mention goes to the four now unemployed dumbasses who ignored the Trump Administration's freeze on USAID spending who sent 50 something million to the foreign owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York City which is being used to warehouse illegal aliens.

This week, Third Honorable Mention to everyone who's livid that Elon Musk has access to your Social Security Number. Hello? The data is there. The richest man in the world isn't doing this because he can get rich by pilfering your information, you dumbass.

Some dumbass, likely at the FBI, leaked details of ICE raids to a radio station in California who then put the information out as a means of aiding and abetting criminal illegal aliens in their efforts to evade ICE arrests. I hope that dumbass is lawyered up. Second Honorable Mention goes to you, FBI leaker. I hope a judge presents it to you at your criminal proceeding.

First Honorable Mention, Dumbass of the Week for the week ending 2/14, goes jointly to Rep. Alexandria Occasio-Cortez, who posted a video on her web page advising illegal immigrants how to evade and avoid ICE, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, who engaged in similar aiding and abetting, but in her native Somalian language. Way to go, girls! First Honorable Mention! Woo hoo.

And now, by popular request, drumroll, please, I once again bring you the Dumbass of the Week. 

The Dumbass of the Week for the Week Ending on 2/14/2025, goes to every single person who is more concerned that Elon Musk is finding questionable and unacceptable expenditures, than you are about the questionable and unacceptable use of US Taxpayer money. Many of these dumbasses are too stupid to understand the U.S. Constitution or too politically far gone to recognize it's stature as the law of the land. These dumbasses think the Federal Bureacracy is a fourth branch of our government. "Price check on Lane 3, please." "Is the bureaucracy a branch of the U.S. Government?" "No, sir. The bureaucracy is NOT a branch of the government."

I do recognize that many of this week's dumbasses know USAID, FEMA, DOE, Treasury, etc., etc. are not their own separate branch of our government. These people either don't care or suffer from a non-lethal disease: Trump Derangement Syndrome. Here's the bad news for them. Surveys show that We the People, yeah, us, want the waste, fraud, and abuse cleaned up in our government budget and spending. We don't want migrants in luxury hotels, a trillion in Covid money stolen, endless Social Security payments to dead people, USAID funding Russian collusion hoaxters and Taliban terrorists, transgender comic books for Peruvians, and all the other lightning rod line items D.O.G.E. is making visible to us every day. 

If you've earned the prestigious Dumbass of the Week this week, congratulations, and Happy Valentine's Day! You are loved.

Moral, Ethical, and Legal High Ground - 2/10/2025

I recognize that my friends on the left are true believers. They truly believe that the left owns the moral, ethical, and legal high ground. For them, it seems that all leftist causes are righteous. Unassailably, totally righteous. And woe be he or she who would interrupt or interfere with that righteousness.

Uh, sorry. No. Our Constitution does NOT provide for a 4th branch of government. There is no separate and permanent bureaucracy, untethered and outside the control of any of the other three. I do realize that you on the left can find Federal judges who are fellow travelers and fellow true believers who, like you, believe the kinds of things USAID, FEMA, DOE, and other government agencies have been spending our money on is righteous and unassailable. But I have read our Constitution, and if you ask me, USAID, FEMA, DOE, DOD, etc., etc., all fall under the Executive Branch of the government and Donald J. Trump is the head of the Executive Branch.

I love the argument (sarcasm) that "it's only half a billion" and "it's less than 1% of the Federal Budget." Oh, okay. Then waste as much as you want on whatever you want (end sarcasm). I'm not going to make a long list here of spending I think is insane, immoral, and unacceptable. I will say none of it sits on moral high ground, I don't give a shit how many times you scream and screech and piss, moan, and complain. If you are more concerned about who is looking, and in believing the places these things are being found are unassailable and untouchable, and aren't at all concerned about how far over the line reasonable people see as the end of acceptability, we have nothing to talk about.

It wasn't long ago, FEMA pushed hurricane victims in western NC out of their hotels in winter, but FEMA continues to rent blocks of rooms in luxury hotels in NYC to house illegal immigrants.

"People will die!" "Children will starve!" "You're throwing the baby out with the bathwater!" I love that last analogy, and here's why. Before we can decide whether to throw out the baby, drain the bathwater, or both, don't we first need to stop the flow from the faucet? The discussion is meaningless if the tub continues filling from an endless flow.

D.O.G.E., Big Balls and Big Bucks, too - 2/8/2025

Elon Musk's DOGE group hired a 19 year old high achiever who had the audacity as a teenager to create the screen name "Big Balls". They may be big, but according to the 70's song, AC/DC has the biggest balls of them all. Seriously, if the folks panicking about DOGE are complaining about this to get us to look away from the absolutely unacceptable, insane, corrupt spending by USAID, it's not going to work.

DOGE may have Big Balls, but AC/DC has the biggest balls of them all.

 

A couple of interesting things I read about USAID in the last few days. I'm referring to stuff other than the insane spending itself.

One interesting characteristic of the employees there is that they perceived themselves to be separate and independent of both the Executive and Legislative Branches of the U.S. Government. They felt their work was outside the scope of presidential oversight. I immediately thought of Alexander Vindman when he said in effect that President Trump, this happening in his first term of course, 'didn't understand (paraphrasing) how U.S. foreign policy works,' and in essence Vindman felt it was his duty to protect U.S. foreign policy from the clumsy, meddling hands of the elected President. You know, because how could a new guy like Trump know the ropes. He was being 'helpful'. Or General MIlley, keeping troops in Syria after Trump ordered them out. I mean, the CIC couldn't know what he was ordering, right? Well, these fuckers at USAID also felt autonomous and better equipped to manage the flow of U.S. taxpayer money than any of them silly meddlers in the Trump Administration could possibly understand.

Something else interesting about the USAID crowd. How did this come to be under scrutiny in the first place? When Trump took office, one of the first things he did was put a moratorium on foreign expenditures pending review. The folks at USAID, rather then make a case that some of their expenditures were critical and couldn't be delayed 90 days, worked around the President's edict. DOGE saw money flowing out, looked into it, and this whole corrupt can of worms came to light.

Before I move on to closing thoughts, one recurring response to the shutdown of USAID by DOGE is "people will die". To any asshole spewing that line, the response should be short and to the point. "There is massive corruption in USAID cashflow, and we are NOT going to reopen the spigot until it is eradicated forever." You know why? Because nobody has died yet and nobody is going to die because USAID funding takes a short hiatus.

Go get 'em, DOGE!

I am looking forward to DOGE digging in at the Department of Education. I predict they will find massive money is spent feathering Teacher's Union nests, and on items supporting an extreme left social agenda. There will be more DEI/CRT/LGBTQ+ stuff than reading, writing, and arithmetic. Those last three, I think we used to call them "the three R's," have taken a back seat in recent years to social issues. U.S. academic standing in the world has declined in the 50 or so years since we've had a DOE. We went from first to not even close to first. It's time to get DOE back on their core mission, the 3 R's, or get rid of them altogether. With the shit I expect DOGE to find, the latter will get more support from the public than the former.

DOD, which has failed 7 financial audits in a row, is on the chopping block, too.

Closing thoughts. Why is Trump taking the wrecking ball to D.C? I mean, he has come back in like a bull in a china shop. Simple. Last time around he tried to work with them and they tried to destroy him. For nearly 10 years they've tried. They tried during his 2015/2016 candidacy, his Presidency, his past-Presidency, his second candidacy in 2023/2024 which included attempted assassinations. Even now, there is a Democrat who's filed Articles of Impeachment. The Deep State, the administrative state, and the establishment need to be destroyed. I am damned glad to see Trump hard at work, taking his wrecking balls to it. What kind of wrecking balls? Really big balls.

Speaking of hard at work, no President in our lifetimes worked harder than this guy does. It's nuts. He never stops. Don't stop, Mr. President. You are doing exactly what we voted for.

Dumbass of the Week! - 2/7/2025

As fast as the news cycle is blowing by, it may be a mistake naming the Dumbasss of the on a Friday morning.

The U.S. Taxpayer is Third Runner Up

Third Runner Up, for the Dumbass of the week on Feb 7th, is The U.S. Taxpayer. While we've been watching deficits soar and the debt skyrocket, we've been fleeced for all kinds of shit. I have no way to verify, but it seems pretty clear that we pay under the table, so to speak, via NGOs (Non Government Organizations), to facilitate illegal immigrants entry into, relocations within, and costs for living far, far, far beyond what the government pays for above the table. We also, via third party cutouts, appear to have paid for BLM riots. And lets not forget trans comics in Peru and all the other stuff. If you don't feel stupid and cheated and robbed and taken advantage of, you should. I do.

Rep. Al "Impeachment Al" Green, still using the same rejected playbook.

Second Runner Up. Congressman Al Green. For the committing "Dastardly Deeds", he filed Articles of Impeachment against President Trump. The old playbook ain't gonna work, Al. Sorry.

Democrat reaction to DOGE: a resounding, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

First Runner Up, Conressional Democrat Leaders. Elizabeth Warren, Corey Booker, Maxine Waters, it's a long list. They're not upset about all of this corruption and wasteful spending of taxpayer money, they're upset that their grift and under the table handouts to far left lunatic fringe activists is becoming public knowledge.

Ta-daaaa! So, here we are, at the moment you've all been waiting for. The Dumbass of the Week for the week ending 2/7, and she really really really deserves it, is fully Trump Deranged and insane Michigan Rep. Laurie Pohutsky. Ms. Puhutsky is going to teach Trump, Republicans, and the world a lesson by having her tubes tied so as not to risk having to raise a child in the era of Trump. Yesiree. That'll teach us! When your virtue signalling rises to the level of self-sterilization, and the virtue you're advertising is Trump Derangement Syndrome, there has always been a need for recognition. Now there is, Good Ol' Matty P's Dumbass of the Week Award. Congratulations, dumbass!

Dumbass of the Week, Laurie Pohutsky.

 

Gaza, USAID, and the FBI - 2/5/2025

Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump

I think the biggest news yesterday is Trump, at his press conference with Israeel PM Netanyahu, said the U.S. will own Gaza, that we will rebuild it. He mentioned it like a smaller Dubai, or something to that effect. This is a bold move. I don't oppose it (yet), nor do I support it (yet). I have more questions than answers. There are people in that region who will not accept a peaceful coexistence with Israel, no matter how good it might be for the Palestinians. My immediate, guttural reaction can be summed up with this simple phrase: "Lebanon 1983". We can't send troops there to be targets, sitting ducks for people who hate Israel and the U.S.A. I need more information before I can support or not support this idea, whatever it is.

Protesters at USAID HQ yesterday

I don't know about you, but all the people mad at Trump and Elon have me convinced the thing needs a full and in depth review. Some of the reported expenditures sound like a woke dream list. I realize it's a drop in the bucket as far as our budget goes, but as an example, transgender comic books for Peru doesn't advance U.S. interests. It advances a woke agenda. DEI initiatives in Somalia doesn't advance U.S. interests, it is advancing a woke agenda. On and on, the examples are pure Insanity. And I suspect the stuff we're not seeing yet, the more deeply hidden, is worse. I am convinced that powerful people in our country are profiting mightily off of funds from this fire hose. I hope Elon and his amazing hackers, programmers, and analysts will trace every dollar, find where it's vanishing, lining people's pockets, or being used for insanity like drag shows in other countries.

Reports of panic in the FBI

Let me put this succinctly: good. Reports that 5-6,000 FBI Agents and or personnel were after the J-6 people is insanity. Maybe 4 or 5,000 of them could have been working to secure our border, track down fentanyl rings, and solving crimes. A leaner, more mission focused FBI suits me fine. See, I don't believe Jan 6th was an insurrection. It was a protest turned to riot. I am not justifying it, nor am I saying nobody did anything wrong. What I am saying is that it was made to be something it wasn't, and people who aren't insurrectionists lives have been ruined to teach the rest of us a lesson: "ear the establishment, "step out of line, the man comes, to take you away."

 

USAID, Sunlight is the best Disinfectant - 2/4/2025

I gotta be honest, three days ago I had never heard of USAID. Today's post will be short, just my nearly random thoughts about it.

USAID vaults into the spotlight just two weeks into Trump's second term.

1) The Democrats going nuts over this, Jamie Raskin and Ilhan Omar, for example to name two of them, are instructive for me. Chances are good that if they're not happy, I'm happy.

They're freaking out because they know Musk is better at finding than they were at hiding.

2) The freaking out over Elon Musk and his band of incredible programmers having access to their systems is also instructive. They never expected anyone to look behind their curtain, especially not people like the people Musk has brought in who are better at finding stuff than the USAID folks were at hiding it.

3) They're freaking out because President Trump is liable to shut USAID down by Executive Order. I read yesterday that President Kennedy started USAID with... you guessed it, an Executive Order. 'Live by the sword, die by the sword,' as they say.

4) If USAID is intended to be the clearinghouse for foreign aid, it belongs under the Department of State. Trump is right to assign it to Secretary of State Rubio (who is off and running, doing a great job so far).

Secretary of State Marco Rubio. If USAID is what they say it is, Department of State is where it belongs.

5) Rubio himself said yesterday that much of what USAID spends is vital, so I don't see it going away completely.

6) Some of the early disclosures of things USAID funded overseas are outrageous. Clearly, leftist political activists have been pushing not a pro-America foreign policy, but a pro-LGBTQ+ agenda, and doing so deep in the shadows. The cliché, 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' comes to mind. Transgender comics or cartoons for kids? YGBSM!

7) Some of the expenditures seem to be the kind allocated by congress on page 645 of a 1500 page spending bill, stuff they're ashamed of, but put in to support unpopular expenses. Now that those things are being moved into the sunlight, some of us are outraged.

8) I have read reports, maybe speculative, that USAID is where the CIA's dark money for the naughty shit they do flows though. Maybe so.

9) I also read that Ukraine aid flows from USAID. I found it interesting that yesterday Zelensky said significantly less than what we allocated actually got to them. As soon as he knew the books were open, he was the first to say, "Wasn't me!" Sure it wasn't.

10) I strongly suspect, strongly is NOT a strong enough word, that many of our politicians are lining their pockets with donations and kickbacks from recipients of USAID money and or from contractors whose services USAID recipients use to do those things being funded.

11) I also suspect that a significant amount of foreign aid goes to corrupt foreign leaders, and that we've been just fine with that, as long as lining their pockets keeps them in line with our agenda.

12) The NGOs who help migrants beat our system are funded by USAID. Via USAID we, the U.S. taxpayers, mostly unwittingly and nearly universally against our will, aid and abet illegal immigrants in beating the system.

As I said in opening, I just learned about this organization. From what I can see, all the right people are complaining, so I hope Trump, Musk, and Vivek keep right on peeling back this onion and exposing what hides inside to the disinfecting sunlight.

In Defense of Rebecca Lobach - 2/3/2025

Her name was Rebecca Lobach. She was 28 years old, and a Captain in the U.S. Army.

Army Captain Rebecca Lobach

If you're calling her "a DEI hire", you're an asshole. You don't know shit about her, do you? Rebecca graduated the University of North Carolina in the top 20% of all ROTC Cadets nationwide.

Rebecca Lobach in happier times.

Something else I've heard a lot of, is that "She only had 500 hours!" How exactly do you expect any military pilot to amass thousands of hours? Lemme give you a little inside info. They ALL had 500 hours at some point. All of them. There isn't some remote airport in Texas or New Mexico where military pilots fly until they get some magical number of hours and then move on to operational squadrons. There are Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine Corps pilots with less than 500 hours all around the globe RIGHT NOW operating military aircraft, both in training and in operations. I flew with many myself. They've grown up to be retired airline pilots now, most of them, anyways.

"There she is with Biden! See! I told ya!" Proves what, asshole?

I have to imagine for Capt. Lobach it was an honor to represent the U.S. Army at presidential events. I don't know shit about Ft. Belvoir, but it's right there by D.C. and putting on a dress uniform and acting as a VIP escort is probably part of the package, a part any soldier would be proud of. It doesn't make her a partisan or loyalist to any party or President. It doesn't mean she wasn't, either. Hundreds, thousands actually, have been called to such duties as these. Is it possible woman and minorities are asked to do so on a more frequent basis for appearances sake? Probably so. Is that something beneficial to their careers? If they carry themself notably and professionally, I would think so. But to disparage a Captain in the U.S. Army because President Biden is in the picture is asinine. Don't be an ass. You can't help it, can you? Sad little person that you are.

Saying she did this intentionally without proof or evidence is dark-hearted and evil.

There are people saying "She had to have done this on purpose." No. Just no. Is it possible? I guess it can't be ruled out, but without any evidence of that at all, the allegation is wildly inappropriate and absurd.

I know it isn't much, but I felt compelled this morning to stick up for Rebecca Lobach. Until I hear different, I will assume she served honorably and faithfully. You may not be willing to give a soldier the benefit of the doubt, but I am.

Fair skies and following winds, Rebecca. Godspeed.

Dumbass of the Week, Mr. President, Take a Bow - 1-31-2025

President Trump is the Dumbass of the Week award for the week ending 1/31/2025. I had other plans, but Trump wins for having a press conference yesterday and discussing DEI in the wake of the inflight collision of an American Eagle CRJ-700 and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter in Washington D.C. Wednesday night.

The Dumbass of the Week is Trump.

We do not know that there is any question about anybody involved's hiring, training, or proficiency.

He oughtn't be politicizing the accident at all, especially at a time when it's likely casualty notifications aren't even done yet.

Let the NTSB and FAA talk about what happened and why. How about, "It's a tragedy and we offer our prayers and support however we can to the victims. We appreciate the great work of the first responders. The NTSB will conduct a full investigation to determine the cause of the accident."

His remarks, in the wake of a tragedy, insult and undermine every competent woman and minority aviation professional, even if unintentionally. This is a huge unforced error, unfortunately something President Trump is prone to doing on a too regular basis.

Jumping on the DEI Grenade... Again - 1/30/2025

I know I shouldn't, but I'm going to say it. Some of you won't like some of what I have to say today. Others will, but won't like other stuff I'm going to say. But it has to be said. I'm going to try to speak in broad terms. Today's taboo topic: DEI hiring in aviation.

To begin with, I take endless pride in my affiliation with and having worked in aviation with minorities and women. I have had minority employees and women work for me, with me, and I have worked for them.

At the moment I am thinking about the Black pilots who earned my respect, admiration, and fondness:  my friendship. Of the things I take most pride in is the friendships and mutual respect. I'll leave last names out, but those of you who knew me on the job will know who I mean when I mention Leon, Tony, and Norm, and Edward. These are guys whose justification on the job I'd argue with anyone who said different. Professional in appearance, behavior, and performance. I put these guys at the top of my list. There was one very special guy, Larry. I have never met a finer example of a human being in my life. As a pilot, as a person, as a manager (he was my manager in the mid-90's), and as a friend, talking bad about him is going to get my dander up.

I could make the same kind of a list of women, too. For the sake of brevity, I will simply say that throughout my career, I have worked with, for, and had amazing female co-workers. Many of them were very successful working with me, and to be humble, I recognize how much their efforts and talents contributed to my own success.

Competence is gender neutral and colorblind. You either are or you aren't. When you hear that the controller was a woman or a minority, or that the helo pilot or CRJ pilot were a woman or a minority, and immediately holler, "DEI hire," you're badmouthing many thousands or aviation professionals without an inkling of knowledge of who it was. It's unfair and it's wrong. It's a mistake. Trump walked this walk today. It's disappointing and he ought to walk it back. Some will never let him live it down, but that's irrelevant. Walking it back is the right thing to do. Politicizing it is wrong.

Now, listen up. This is where it gets harder. There is a very valid concern out there that DEI hiring in safety sensitive jobs like pilot (civilian and military) and air traffic controller has diminished safety margins. Anytime hiring criteria, training and qualification standards, and or job performance requirements are lowered or ignored in the interest of improving percentages of women and minorities in these kinds of jobs (I presume to mean aircraft maintenance, too), there is a very real downstream risk of increasing the odds of an accident or incident. I have had, personally, pilots who I trust and who I do not believe to be racist, when they learn my background in compliance and Safety Management Systems, tell me that hiring, training, qualification, and standards at the airlines where they were have been compromised in the interest of improvement workforce representation and diversity. They told me NOT because they had a gender or color problem, but because they saw a potential downstream safety of flight issue. I do NOT support ethnicity, race, or gender based hiring if standards in a safety sensitive job have to be lowered to meet quotas. If there are more than ample fully qualified, highly competitive candidates, then and only then do I support letting race or gender influence the hiring decision to achieve a workforce that better represents the population.

Acknowledging the foregoing, it is not possible to presume when there has been an accident like last night, should we find the pilots or controller to be Black, Hispanic, female, etc., that DEI hiring was the cause. Neither can you rule it out, but blaming DEI without knowing those aviator and controller records for training, qualification, and job performance just because you have been told DEI hiring has impacted those workgroups is an egregious error of presumption.

Even when standards have been lowered, that does not rightfully make every woman and minority a suspect for being a substandard pilot or controller, you dumbass. You do realize that even with lower standards, it is still possible that the woman or minority in question finished at the top of their peer group in training? If we lower the passing score (making this up) from 90 to 85, and the person involved scored a 96, how in the f*ck are you blaming the lowered minimum score? If, on the other hand, the person scored an 83, two points below the lower minimum standard, and 7 points below the old standard, but they were pushed along anyway, justification for lowering the standard and hiring below the standard should be scrutinized. Clearly.

If we find out one or some of these folks were only hired by compromising standards, were only successful in training because someone let a marginal trainee slip through, or that their performance was known to be substandard and they weren't dealt with because the company's diversity goals would be adversely affected, then you can point a finger at DEI. Lacking that, you're pointing fingers unfairly at a lot of people, like the previously mentioned, some whom I call my dearest and most respected former work mates and friends.

Even if we find out one or some of these folks got by with lesser performance, which I am not assuming, but hypothetically, that is still not conclusive evidence DEI hiring was to blame. It could be that what happened had nothing whatsoever to do with their hiring, training, or on the job performance, lowered standards and all. What if the beneficiary of those lower standards did everything right, to a "t"? What if, and I am NOT speculating or presuming same, there was intent or malice somewhere else? If you don't know what happened, or who was involved, that fact that you heard there were "DEI problems" there doesn't make every problem a DEI problem. Capisce?

Trump, One Week In. Some Quick Hitters - 1/27/2025

He tried to work with the people in Washington in 2017 and into his first term. He tried, he did. Did you see where that got him? This time around, Trump isn't falling for the Charlie Brown bit where Lucy takes away the football repeatedly before he kicks it. Up and down the ranks, and across departmental lines, last time around the D.C. establishment thwarted, obstructed, resisted, and defied Trump, sometimes openly. Everything that transpired in Trump's first week ought to be considered with that in mind. That's why he's cleaning house.

The Swamp, probably:

"Oh my goodness, he's putting Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, and Kash Patel into important jobs! They're not fit! They're Putin puppets. Why didn't he put someone WE approve of in there?"

"Good golly gosh! He unlawfully fired 17 Inspector Generals!"

"Oh my! He is actually starting deportations! He even flew some to Colombia even though Colombia didn't want them back!"

"He's eliminating DEI in the government and in the military!"

"Holy crap! He pardoned the people who interfered with a woman's right to choose by protesting at abortion clinics!"

"He pardoned the whole J-6 crew AND is cleaning out the Justice Department in D.C. of the people who prosecuted them!"

I could go on and on and on. It has been an amazing first week. You know what? I love it. I love it. I love it. This is what he ran on, and he is doing EXACTLY what he said he would do. People are so used to Republicans talking big and then asking, but not getting, Democrat approval to do the things that they were elected to do.

To Democrats angry, upset, disappointed, or our party steamrolled us with progressive policies at odds with what's best for our country and our people. The people rejected their bullshit, YOUR bullshit. We watched your weaponized justice system and your hyper-left social agenda and we said, "No!" Now, suck it up, because it's over.

Unlike Democrats in shock and awe, I'm good with the first week. It's refreshing to see him doing the things he promised, the things we voted for. That was actually my second take-away after this first week. My first was something more general.

Holy crap Trump works hard!

The very first thing that struck me is how hard Trump works. He's got even his supporter's head's spinning. The Energizer Bunny's got nothing on the Orange felon. I suspect Trump worked harder this week than any other President has in my lifetime. He did get in a round of golf, not sure if it was today or yesterday, and predictably, there was Sen. Adam Schiff lambasting him for playing golf while food prices are still high. How many unscripted engagements with the press did he do this week? He met western North Carolina people where they live. He met with California's Governor and L.A.'s mayor. What a refreshing thing, to see our President working his ass off to do the things he promised and putting America first. Shut the hell up, you lying Schiff-head.

The best part is Trump's just getting started.

Poitical Insanity and Stupidity, Dumbass of the Week - 1/24/2025

Dumbassery isn't confined to the left. Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, filed a Constitutional Amendment to allow President Trump to serve a third term. Give me a goddamned break. Why is it people with bad ideas are allowed to have loud voices. Some undoubtedly will agree. Some. Most? Nah. Most of us aren't that stupid. It's a bad idea and it's going nowhere. Ogles gets Dumbass of the Week, Second Runner up.

Next!

California raises their hand. "Look at us, look at us!" Democrats have unified and total control of the California government. Republicans don't have a chance, and hardly have a voice. What has California been up to? Spending California Democrats have been "Trump Proofing" California. I'm not exactly sure what Trump Proof means, but I'm pretty sure that neither the California Legislature nor the Governor have unilateral or joint authority to amend the U.S. Constitution. Now I hear wailing and gnashing of teeth from California: "Evil Donald Trump is politicizing the fires!" These mf'ers spent millions to erect political firewalls against an incoming President. Now, the chips are down, the same people are shrieking, "How dare the incoming President be political when he deals with us!" Gimme a break. California? Dumbasses of the week, Honorable Mention.

That can't be all, can it?

Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamie Raskin have filed Articles Of Impeachment against Donald Trump for pardoning the J-6 people. Didn't Joe Biden pardon Jamie Raskin for his role in the J-6 Committee? I think he did. Filing Articles of Impeachment on a President's 4th day has to be some kind of a dumbass record. I'll award them both, Dumbasses of the Week for their efforts.

Dumbasses of the Week AOC and Jamie Raskin

Stupidity is not the sole property of Democrats, as we've seen and shall see.

They're not the only J-6 dumbasses. Rep Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, has offered pardoned J-6'ers a guided tour of the Capital. Lauren, listen, please. I get that some of these folks got screwed royally by the Biden DOJ and D.C. courts. I get it. But the victory lapping to celebrate the pardons and to rub the salt in Democrat eyes and wounds don't work for me. No, just no. Dumbass of the Week, Runner Up, right here.

Unrelated, from the Dumbass of the Week rumor mill:

Off topic, but to close it out for today, rumors are swirling that Barack Obama and Michelle are on the road to divorce. She no showed with weak excuses for both the Jimmy Carter funeral and the Presidential inauguration. The rumors also say President Obama's new love interest in Jennifer Aniston. Aniston denies it, in fact she insists "We're just "Friends," dumbass!

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: My Thoughts - 1/23/2025

I'm going to walk into the DEI minefield. At least just a little. I'm going to try to get in and out as quickly as I can. I probably can't, though.

DEI why?

I oppose DEI hiring. If you ask me, when the Supreme Court outlawed Affirmative Action (because the program imposed systemic prejudice against certain ethnic and racial groups in favor of other), DEI sprung up in it's place as a replacement. If not DEI, then what, Matty P? How about qualifications and merit, and if someone or some organization is proven to be unfairly biasing hiring or enrollment decisions on the basis of race, address that wrong on a case by case basis.

I saw a Facebook friend ask the rhetorical question yesterday, "What's wrong with diversity and inclusion?" Let me answer. Nothing. What's wrong is when diversity and inclusion are higher on the totem pole of enrollment or employment priorities than qualifications, experience, and merit. What's wrong is when hiring standards, performance standards, and academic requirements are diminished in order to ensure some group or another that is for whatever reason deemed incapable of meeting the existing standard won't be left behind. How about bringing that group up instead of lowering standards? Otherwise, you're replacing what you perceive as one wrong on the basis of race or gender with another.

I saw a post today from a lefty on X. He said to MAGA, any minority in a job is "a DEI hire". I think some do think that, unfortunately. Do I? NO, not at all. So to me, what is a DEI hire? A DEI hire is someone who was hired on the basis of race, gender, or other criteria other than potential and merit. This person was hired (or enrolled in a school, same thing) with lesser qualifications and potential than other applicants who were bypassed in the hiring process, or worse, hiring standards were lowered in order to avail the job or school enrollment to them.

I have many friends in the airline industry. I know personally, many highly qualified women and minority airline pilots. But I also know that in many companies hiring criteria were lowered in order to improve numbers. Improve numbers? Yes. The percentage of women and minorities became an important factor in hiring and when not enough women and minorities were filling new hire classes, some airlines, most, actually, dropped their standards to rectify the problem. Both extremes can be a problem, ok? Lowering hiring standards in a safety sensitive job like airline pilot is a major problem, if you ask me. Hire the best people. Want more women and minorities? Train them better. Find jobs in which they can grow into what it is they need to become airline pilots without the asterisk of a lower standard for employment. And to be clear, not all minorities, not by a long shot, are underqualified. I am NOT saying that. But when standards are lowered, when an underqualified or historically underperforming minority or woman has an accident, the whole group is tainted by it.

The other extreme, NOT hiring women or minorities because you think white dudes are best, is equally and inexcusably wrong, too. I once worked at an almost exclusively white airline. I remember, day after day, wondering where the Black people were at. I think of 1000 or so pilots, I only remember one Black guy. Yeah, it was over 30 years ago, and there were less qualified Black people then, but really. Something's wrong there. I remember getting to my job at UPS, how proud I was every day for working with a diverse group that included Black, Asian, Hispanic men AND women. Competent people. Qualified people. NOT DEI hires, ok? My previous employer could have learned a lot from UPS and the folks who did recruitment and hiring there. One got it right. The other, not as much.

Shifting gears slightly, why did so many refer to Vice President Harris as a DEI hire? Two simple reasons. 1) Joe Biden said he was going to choose a black woman. So, he was intentionally NOT considering white women. He was intentionally NOT considering men at all. He narrowed the field to 25% or less (I don't know what that number would be exactly), and for the purpose NOT to select the best person, but to show the world how righteous and wonderful he was to give a woman of color the job. This calls into question, whether you like it or not, whether Kamala was the best choice. That leads me to the other reason. 2) Kamala Harris showed herself daily to be an inferior performer. This started in the 2020 Presidential Primaries, and carried through her failure as border czar, and her horrific performance in the 2024 campaign once she became the Democratic Party nominee. By the way, look at how she was nominated. Did she win a the Primaries? No. No merit at all. She was installed as nominee. If you can't see how that undermines perception of her, and then on the basis of how she performed, undermines the perceptions of other women and minorities, then we can't talk.

I don't think women and minorities are inferior. I don't think every woman, every minority is incapable. I don't think every woman and minority is a DEI hire. But as long as a school's enrollment standards, or a job's hiring practices put race and gender above competence, qualifications, and merit, when people see a woman, minority, or a person who's both, failing in their job, the slight "DEI hire" is going to, unfortunately, be bandied about.

The only thing worse than DEI hiring or enrollment based on race or gender is enrollment based on sexual preference or gender identity. That's another story for another day.

Birthright Citizenship and Deportations - 1/22/2025

This might shock some of you, but I have opinions on these issues. The incoming Trump Administration is wading into both issues better than waist deep, and, not surprisingly, getting pushback from the left on both. Let's delve into them, just a tiny bit.

On Birthright Citizenship: Students of our history will tell you that citizenship by birthright came to be as a way to ensure freed slaves were not denied citizenship. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1868 and permanently ensured freed slaves had a right to citizenship. Like other rights, it is inalienable. Initially, Native Americans were excluded from citizenship as a birthright (at that time we were at war with many tribes in the west), but that was corrected in the 1920's in a Supreme Court decision, if my memory of our history serves me correctly.

The law wasn't intended for illegal immigrant's anchor babies or Chinese tourism babies to obtain citizenship, but, like it or not, is was interpreted thusly by the U.S. Supreme Court, and that's what we are living with now. I happen to think the Amendment and its subsequent interpretations are bad law, but that they are indeed, the law. I don't think the Trump Executive Order has a chance in hell of withstanding legal challenges, and just like Biden's student loan forgiveness, it's a proposal the President knows won't stand up. Just my opinion. Sorry if you disagree.

I'm glad Trump is tackling the issue, though. There are only two ways to properly, legally stop tourism and anchor baby citizenship, which are both bastardizations, in essence loopholes from original intent. An Executive Order isn't one of them. The first is a Supreme Court ruling. I doubt this is possible, even with a 6-3 sympathetic court, so forget that. The other is a new Amendment, an amendment to the 14th that clarifies who is entitled to birthright and that eliminates these loopholes. That is a long process, and in my opinion there are too many blue states where the measure won't pass for it to become a reality. So, sure, I'm glad Trump is tackling the issue, but at best I see a legal battle that leads only to more awareness of the issue, but no favorable resolution. I think the left wins this one, not because I agree with their position, but because the heavy lifting to amend the Constitution will require some support from the left, and I'm not seeing that. That still leaves deportation on the table for many who were NOT born here.

On Deportations: My advice to the Trump Administration is straightforward: expend all your time, energy, and political capital on 1) persons already designated for deportation, 2) persons known to have committed crimes of violence and other serious crimes in their home country, 3) persons who commit additional crimes here in the U.S.A., and 4) members of terrorist groups, including cartels and gangs. We have tens of millions of people here illegally, and I can't fathom a deportation program massive enough to evict them all in 4 years. But there are plenty of "low hanging fruit" that the government can, and should go after. I have little interest in arguments against deporting these folks. The U.S. is a sovereign nation, not a global penal colony. If you're against deporting 1-4, above, you're an idiot, an un-American asshole, or an idiotic anti-American asshole.

Only the wackiest of wackos on the left can argue against deporting Trent de Aragua members.

One of the problems I see on the left, is that their values place protecting people whose status is "undocumented immigrant" (to use their preferred terminology) higher than protecting the safety of U.S. citizenry. That's what sanctuary cities are all about. "We won't let those silly little crimes you commit here be used by the evil, Nazi xenophobes as an excuse to send you away." There isn't much I can do or say that's going to re-shuffle their moral hierarchy cards and re-prioritize. Not going to happen.

What I would also try to do, if I was Trump, is at the same time as I try to rid the country of as many of the aforementioned "low hanging fruits", is to NOT waste time and effort on illegal aliens here who 1) are gainfully employed and can have an employer vouch for them, 2) who are financially self-sufficient and NOT relying on the U.S. taxpayer for food, transportation, or shelter handouts, and 3) who have committed no additional crimes after making illegal entry in the country. 

I know that my ideas here might not be popular with some on the left, nor with others on the right, but we probably have 30,000,000 people here illegally, give or take. I in no way see 7,500,000 deportations a year as remotely possible, which is what it would take to clear them out in 4 years. If we concentrate on the worst of them and help the best of them, maybe something better can come from this very bad situation. If you're hard over on deporting all 30,000,000, all else be damned, prepare to be disappointed. And don't be surprised when you look in the mirror if you someday recognize an asshole looking back at you.

Trump's First 24 hours, Especially the Pardons - 1/21/2025

I have a lot to say about a lot that transpired yesterday. Off the top of my head, and without internet assist, some first thoughts. It was a lot, where to begin?

There are only two genders. That's it. Trans people may not like where they fall into the boy or girl spectrum, but it is what it is. I don't like that I'm 5'7" tall. I wanted to be 6'7" and play professional sports. But I am what I am. Saying there are two genders isn't anti gay or lesbian, by the way. And maybe it's just me, but if someone is gay or lesbian, logically they seem to know what gender they are. Popeye used to say "I am what I am" (actually, I think it was more like 'I yam what'sk I yam). Well, you are what you are. I get some people don't like it and others don't want to be it anymore. But, hey. Science.

Perhaps my favorite thing yesterday, was learning that President Trump removed the security clearances of the 51 former intelligence people who knowingly and intentionally lied, using their stature from previous office to mislead the American people about the Hunter Biden laptop, and in doing so, meddled with the 2020 election. If the 2020 election was stolen, it was these 51 and the scum in mainstream media who allied with them to perpetrate this lie, who stole it. The abused their privilege and lost it. It is right and just that they did. Candidly, they got off easy. They belong in jail, but this will have to do.

Trump moved to get the DEI out of government. Good riddance.

Trump also moved to bring Federal employees back into the office from their work at home cherry jobs. Don't like it? Get a real job.

He took steps to reverse Biden's INSANE immigration policies. This includes the "TSA Pre" of immigration, an app to whisk in and not be counted as an illegal immigrant. There's a proper number and manner of immigrants immigrating to the U.S. The Biden Administration handled this issue worse than any other, by a mile, bar none. If for no other reason than immigration policies and practices, Democrats had to be defeated in 2024. Thankfully they were.

My second favorite thing Trump did yesterday was that he designated the cartels as terrorists. These cartels have all kinds of U.S. and Mexican officials on their corrupt payrolls: judges, cops, Border Patrol people, bankers, mayors and other politicians, maybe even U.S. Congresspersons in the House or Senate. Now that the money trail smells like terrorism, it gives law enforcement lots of new tools. Since this terror is crossing our borders, it also brings about the possibility that our military get actively involved: "all enemies, foreign and domestic" and all that.

Gulf of America? Seems silly, but why not? Land on Mars? OK. Water for California? I would hope so. Pull out of WHO and Paris Climate? I think so. Lots of stuff, but the big one...

Since so many of my friends on the left are fired up over pardons yesterday, Biden did some, too.

He pardoned everyone involved in the kangaroo court that went by the name, "J-6 Committee". Liz Cheney, Adam Schiff, CAPITAL POLICE OFFICERS who testified (capitalized for emphasis), all of them, Congressional Reps, Lawyers, Staffers. Nothing says, everything was on the up and up with the J-6 Committee worse than the whole bunch of them receiving Presidential Pardons. Biden told us it was a farce yesterday with these pardons.

Biden pardoned his family. The Biden Crime Family part at least. Nothing shows Biden corruption better than this. I'll leave it at that.

The Biden family are corrupt.

Speaking of Pardons, Joe pardoned General Milley. You know, the guy who said he'd let the Chinese know beforehand if Trump decided to act against them militarily. He's also the guy who was in charge and disobeyed Trump's order to withdraw our troops from Syria. And let's not leave out the dead military members due to the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Milley's pardon goes back to 2014. This was a blanket pardon, meaning it doesn't matter what crime he may have committed, he's got a get out of jail free card.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, too, a blanket pardon dating back to 2014. "Nothing to see here, folks! Move along."

Yesterday Biden also pardoned an activist who murdered two FBI agents.

Trump pardoned the J-6 convicts and those alleged but not yet convicted. As I always do when I talk about this topic, I will start with this: people did wrong on January 6th. Before Jan 6th, when I heard there would be a protest that day, my immediate thought was, "Nothing good can come from it." I was right. The defendant's motives and the legitimacy or illegitimacy of those motives are irrelevant. Some of the people acted criminally and their actions were indefensible and wrong. I'm sorry if reading that offends you. It's how I feel. This does not apply to all of the persons convicted and or accused. I would guess it is 10%, maybe as high as 20%. So, if there are 1500 of these folks, I am referring to 150-300 of them. But there is the first rub. We aren't talking about 150-300 people. We're talking about 1500.

Trump pardoned them all. Some were legit criminals. Most people who get pardons are.

Washington D.C., it's residents, it's police department, it's prosecutors, it's jailers, and it's jurors are nearly mono-political in their leftward leanings. Because of the political climate and division in our country, the political leaning as uniformly toward the left. When I learned that the protesters would be tried in D.C., I thought, "Nothing good can come from it. The people who are being over-charged will have no fair chance." I was right again. Shit, some of these people have been held for years awaiting trial. Years.

For those persons who were overcharged and treated unfairly, made an example of is what they were, I supported a Presidential Pardon if Trump won. My position was that this issue should be adjudicated on a case by case basis, and non-violent persons NOT guilty of actual conspiratorial acts ought to be pardoned. Yesterday my opinion changed. I wholeheartedly support the blanket pardon President Trump issued yesterday. Before I move on, I should comment that I have seen reports today that the DC Mayor and DC Prison system have been dragging their feet with the releases of these now pardoned people. This goes directly to the bias in DC which is why I distrusted their process in the first place.

I changed my mind when I learned that Biden pardoned not only the J-6 Committee members, but also ther lawyers, their staff, AND CAPITAL POLICE OFFICERS who arrested J-6ers and also testified about J-6. Why in the fuck are the police getting pardons? Once I heard that, my initial response was, "Hell no!" Nothing could possibly have deepened my distrust of the process that ensnared grandma's who were in the Capital, took a selfie, and left to years in prison. Or so I thought. The pardon of these Capital Police Officers did just that. So, my opinion changed. If those police were pardoned, then ALL the J-6ers ought to be pardoned, and I'm glad they were.

First Post of 2025: Happy New Year! 1/3/2025

Happy New Year, friends. I hope Santa was good to all of you. He was good to me. I'm still breathing, walking and opining, so I'm going to say I'm doing better than some. I had some thoughts about politics and current events when I logged in here, but decided instead to talk about non-political, non-controversial stuff.

Sending best wishes to all who see this for a blessed and healthy 2025!

Did any of you make any resolutions? I made two.

The first is be healthier. That means I have to eat better (yup, more yucky fruits and vegetables), walk and exercise more, and in the process lose 15 or so pounds.

The second is to read more. When I started studying Italian, my reading went to shit. I'm still working on Italian, more on that in a minute, but the obsessions are mutually incompatible. So, I'm going to try a bit of toning down on both, and see if I can make them coexist in my day to day life. With these two activities, I tend to be either all in, or not at all. I think I can find healthy coexistence.

I'm studying Italian with a program called Italiano con Amore. It's a guided self study, more or less. That, plus I listen to and read podcast transcripts. I need a bit of a change, so I am going to try a new teacher, too. In addition, not instead of.

We've got some travels planned, the highlight is a Viking River Cruise this April with a bunch of my MCATA/Marine Corps buddies. We also hope to swing through the southwest in conjunction with the October MCATA Reunion in San Diego. Those plans are tentative and vague. Plenty of time for that. I have my 50th High School Reunion in New York in June, and a wedding in May. We'll work in Louisville a couple of times, at least, too. We sold the condo. It made good sense financially. There's a hotel near the kids, so that's our standing future travel plan.

I stepped down as Vice President of MCATA. The bylaws call for a three year term. I might not have minded staying on as long as Dave Harshbarger remains President, but the rules are the rules, and we've got a great new Vice President now. If one were to act as MCATA's VP for three years, I got the best three you can get. I was there and active during the entirety of the VMGR Memorial Monument project. I got to meet lots of important and awesome people, especially our Gold Star Families, and I got to work with the awesome members of the MCATA VMGR Monument Committee. I couldn't be prouder.

My wife and I have toyed with selling our Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda home and moving a little further south, but in the last 2-3 years, the housing market we'd be selling out of has kind of gone to shit.

Since my stepfather got sick and then passed about 2-1/2 years ago, I haven't gone fishing as much. Not as much as I'd like, anyway. I'm going to work on that. I really am.

My Mets got Juan Soto. Who knows who else comes along, but they're paying him. He better produce. My Giants suck suck suck suck. Something has to change there. Something? Anything. The Knicks are decent. My Cards had a pretty good year in football, and the basketball team got rid os useless and inept Kenny Payne. Kinda like our country is doing with Biden. But enough, no politics today.

I'll get back to politics and world events next time around. We've got a new President coming in, terrorists, there are no shortage of things to rant about. But not today.

Let me sign off by wishing you all the best 2025 you could possibly have. Even you assholes. I hope all your dreams come true, your year is healthy and prosperous. I hope all your family and friends prosper, too, and if you don't, that they share their wealth and good fortune with you. I hope your old friends reconnect, and your estranged families or family members find forgiveness and can let bygones be bygones. Some of them won't or can't. They're stubborn and proud, candidly, they're kind of dicks. Even a dick can see the light, they might just need someone to rip their blinders off. I give you permission: rip the blinders off the dicks in your family. And for God's sake, don't be one. That's the last word: Don't be a dick.

Happy New Year everybody.