An Age Old Truth!

 

HISTORY LESSON

The news out of Israel this morning continues to be gruesome.  It's difficult to turn on any news source or peruse social media and not be inundated by highly emotional and heart wrenching stories of the massacre last week.  And now the impending ground invasion of Gaza after days of bombing preparation is coming.  It's going to be ugly.  It's street to street, house to house, alley to alley fighting to try and root out the hideous monsters that are Hamas.  Probably an impossible task but given what has gone on in the last few weeks it is inevitable.  That there will be large scale loss of life on both sides is a given.  The best we can do is to pray for a rapid resolution and minimal loss of life.  But I'm afraid in looking at it today that is not likely.

This elevated situation has brought a lot of questions about the history of the region and how we got to this point.  There are those in my family who know very little about and it has sparked a conversation about all the intricacies of the region.  I've forwarded a few articles that seem pretty reasonable in their explanations while trying to paint a balanced picture.  Because there is plenty of blame to go around.  My son-in-law forwarded the video below to me that he has used to talk to his kids.  While no article, no video, no story telling will get it all right, although simplistic, I think this is pretty close.  It takes about 10 minutes to view it.  Well worth your time.

MOTIVATION MONDAY

 

FRIDAY FUNNIES

RUBBING IT IN!

Meanwhile last weekend in London...

 

PALESTINIAN SUPPORT

By now most have seen the various statements and demonstrations of support to the Palestinian cause in the wake of the attacks on Israel on Saturday by Hamas terrorists.  We have a long history in this country, that is true in other democracies around the world, to tolerate opposing views and protect free speech.  Freedom of speech is so important that it is the very first amendment to our Constitution.  As we have evolved there have been countless battles over the concept of free speech.  The many times tough decisions that have been made by the courts in adjudicating conflicting parties are sometimes tough to take and even perplexing, but protecting the freedom of speech is something we continue to hold dear.

Depending on the news channel you regularly watch, you've likely seen coverage of some of the demonstrations in the streets or written statements from various institutions and individuals supporting the cause of the Palestinians.  If you know what the history of the conflict between the Jews and the Palestinians is, then you know that there are no easy answers.  Picking one side or the other is just human nature and there are myriad of reasons why people will do that.  Personal history, exposure to current events, social pressure, and what you are exposed to in your every day activities might contribute to where you stand.  The vast majority of people will go about their lives, discuss these things with family or friends, and develop thoughts and opinions that are personal, not necessarily public.  But some feel a need or a calling to explicitly state their feelings in public.  And with the dedication we have to freedom of speech, they are protected to do that.  

But in a real sense, the aftermath of the attacks by Hamas into Israel and the subsequent massacres have changed the dynamic.  As the horrific images have been displayed on TV for all to see, watching the same demonstrations or statements for Palestine is hard to take.  Seeing some of the things that the terrorists have done and anticipating the terrible days ahead, it's difficult to reconcile that with statements of support.  My first inclination was outrage, but then I thought of the complexity of the issue and could understand it if someone didn't quite understand the horrifying reality that unfolded when the attacks came.  But once that reality set in, I can't understand persisting with demonstrations of support.  Some who have issued those statements have reconsidered and rescinded them.  I hope some who have initially instinctively participated in such a demonstration have reconsidered and will not voice those sentiments again.  Because what has happened has been characterized as the second Holocaust and there is certainly some truth to that.  

Another thing that is hard to fathom is the calls for a cease fire and for negotiations to begin.  Once again, seeing the images emerging from Southern Israel this can't happen.  The Israelis will not in any conceivable way countenance a cease fire.  They will go to Gaza for retribution and revenge and it will be ugly.  Simple as that.

Of all the things I've seen in the realm of supporting the Palestinians and Hamas, this image might be the worst.  If you've watched at all you know that terrorists dropped from the air in paragliders and massacred hundreds of people at a concert in Southern Israel.  It was depravity on an unprecedented scale.  To celebrate that act with a trite graphic is disgusting.  That BLM thought that appropriate is just another indicator of the rot, moral bankruptcy and opportunism of that disgusting organization.  Shame on them.

The good news is that as the shock has worn off demonstrations of support for Israel agains the atrocities of Hamas have started to take shape.  Last night in San Diego there was a demonstration of support at the local Jewish Community Center and it drew 5000 people of all stripes.  It was a heartwarming show of support.  To the average person there is a feeling of frustration at not being able to "do something".  I would recommend that wherever you live if you see a gathering like the one I described to show support, show up.  Lend your voice and show your support.  It really goes back to the old saying, "all it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing".  

90 THOUSAND TONS OF DIPLOMACY

 

And not just diplomacy!  It’s a disaster evacuation vessel, a full up hospital, a power source, a command and control hub and if need be, a whole lot of whip ass!  It was smart to move the USS Ford strike group closer to potential action and I heard another one is enroute.  And don’t be surprised if one our big deck Amphibs and it’s expeditionary strike group starts to make its way to Eastern Med waters.  Things are gonna get complicated!

Can’t help but wish I was there but know the men and women in the strike group will do a spectacular job!  Gods speed!

MOTIVATION MONDAY

24,669 AMERICANS DEAD!

That number is pretty sobering.  I saw it over on another blog which applied the ratio of Israeli's killed by Hamas to their total population and extrapolated it to America.  24,669.  

Think about that and then think about the hundreds of thousands of young, military aged men streaming across our border and then being released to the interior.  Am I saying that they are all here to participate in some large scale attack.  No.  But the world is full of bad actors and governments who are our avowed enemy.  They are not going to launch an amphibious attack on our beaches nor are they going to launch an air attack on our cities.  But terrorism from within after a long period of planning and preparation?  Think about that.

Powder Keg

By now you will have seen the attack by Hamas into Israel.  I don't need to describe what happened because you can't turn on any news channel and not see the horrific things done by the terrorists.  When something like this happens, I have a bit of difficulty in composing a post that would really, in the scheme of things, matter.  There are a million and one takes on what has happened by people who are a lot more clued in and smarter on the region than I am.  But if you're like me you've been reading a lot of analysis and first hand accounts as they have unfolded so I thought I'd try to capture a few of the better ones...at least from what I've seen.

If you've been watching at all, you probably know that this was a powder keg waiting to go off. Many have characterized today's actions by Hamas as Israel's 911 and I can't say I disagree.  A good description of the initial action is here.  If you doubt that impact or severity of the attack, here is a description by one of my professors at National War College.  She was a Major in the IDF and since coming to the U.S. has become one of the most astute and smart observer of national security issues.  She is an advisor to the highest levels of our government.

"I think it’s a mistake to look at today’s attack as just another twist in a 75 year old conflict. Likewise, it’s wrong to blame “extremists on both sides”. This is Israel’s 9/11. Proportionally to the size of the population, more Israelis were killed today in the unprecedented, multi-domain (land, sea and air) Hamas attack than Americans on that September morning. Hamas has crossed the Rubicon, attacking Israelis in their homes within the Green Line. As I’m typing this, the IDF hasn’t yet regained full control of sovereign Israeli territory. Hamas has taken a significant number of innocents hostage—Toddlers, elderly, teenagers. There’s no room here for “whataboutism”. The link to settler violence in the WB is tenuous at best.

There’s no Israeli occupation in Gaza—that ended with a unilateral withdrawal in 2005. If Iranian-backed Hamas didn’t kick the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza in an armed coup in 2007, Gaza could’ve been Singapore and Oslo could’ve been a success. 

Israel will try to destroy Hamas just like the US did re Al Qaeda. We’re looking at the opening round of what will be a long war, with a high potential for escalation with Hezbollah, the West Bank, and Israel proper, where Palestinians are ~20% of the population."

As the scope of the attack unfolds, it really is pretty breathtaking that a terrorist group like Hamas could pull it off.  You have to ask how that can happen.  And by all accounts it can't happen.  They had to have a lot of help.  And that help came from Iran.  It is now emerging that there was a council of war between Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah a week or so ago to discuss and plan this operation.  As the largest sponsor of state terror, it is not remotely surprising that Iran's fingerprints are all over this.  Again, if you've been paying attention you probably know that in the last month or so Biden has okay'ed the transfer of $6 billion that was frozen by sanctions.  The Biden apologists are saying that this had nothing to do with the attack but of course that is bullshit.  Even the Iranians say they are free to do what they want with the money.  $6 billion buys a lot of rockets and terrorists.  There was also this story in the Times of Jerusalem.  It turns out that the Biden administration has been quietly funneling money to Hamas in Gaza.  Sending money to Gaza is not sending money to the Palestinian Liberation Army.  It's not sending money to people who need it.  It is sending money to Hamas.  Full stop.  

So Biden and his administration has been directly supporting Hamas and indirectly supporting the terrorists but giving money to Iran.  I would like to think it's unbelievable but sadly it seems pretty logical to me.  So this seems appropriate.

Another interesting analysis I came across was a post on X (Twitter) by Victor Davis Hanson.  If you're not familiar, he is a Stanford professor and an astute observer of politics and national security.  Here's his tweet and although a bit long, captures the whole mess pretty well.

A 50th Anniversary War?

Why did Hamas stage a long-planned, carefully executed and multifaceted attack on Israeli towns, soldiers, and civilians—one designed to instill terror by executing noncombatants, taking hostages, and desecrating the bodies of the dead?

And how were the killers able to enter Israeli proper in enough numbers to kill what could be hundreds and perhaps eventually wound what could be thousands?

a) Ostensibly, radical Palestinians wanted to stop any rumored rapprochement between the Gulf monarchies—the traditional source of much of their cash—and Israel, by forcing the issue of Arab solidarity in times of “war”, especially through waging a gruesome attack aimed at civilians and encompassing executions and hostage taking. Iran likely was the driving force to prompt the war—given its greatest fear is a Sunni Arab-Israeli rapprochement.

b)  Arab forces have had only success against Israel through surprise attacks during Israeli holidays, as in the Yom Kippur War (i.e., was it any accident that the present attack began 50-years almost to the day after the October 6, 1973 beginning of the Yom Kippur War?). And so they struck again this Saturday during Simchat Torah, coming at the end of a weeklong Jewish celebration of Sukkot—in hopes that others will join in as happened in 1973. (So much for the Arab warnings not for Westerners to conduct war during Ramadan).

c) Hamas may have reckoned that recent Israeli turmoil and mass leftist street protests over proposed reforms of the Israeli Supreme Court had led to permanent internal divisions and thus a climate of domestic distraction if not an erosion of deterrence.

But, more importantly, in a larger sense the Biden administration has contributed both to the notion that Hamas was a legitimate Middle East player, and to the perception that the U.S. was backing away from its traditional support for Israel—to the delight of Hamas—based on the following inexplicable policies:

1) In February Secretary of State Blinken had bragged that not only had the Biden administration resumed massive aid to the PLA cancelled by Trump, but cumulatively had transferred $1 billion—even as Palestinian authorities bragged that they would continue to pay bounties to the families of “martyrs” (i.e., those killed while conducting terrorists attacks against Israel).

And millions of American dollars also went into Gaza, run by Hamas—despite the Biden administration’s efforts to keep mostly quiet the resumption of such inexplicable support. In this regard, note the current shameful State-Department (“U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs”) website news release that was posted after today’s attack. It ended with this quite embarrassing, morally equivalent admonition:

“We urged all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks. Terror and violence solve nothing.”

"All sides?" "Refrain from retaliatory attacks?”

So Israel is the moral equivalent of terrorists executing civilians and brutalizing their corpses? And the IDF then is not supposed to retaliate against these killers?

This Biden State Department insanity cannot stand. So expect some apparatchik to take down this Munich-like posting as soon as possible.

2) The Biden administration had recently released some $6 billion to Iran through a prison swap deal that saw South Korea hand over embargoed Iranian money to Qatar—despite Tehran’s  increased anti-Israeli rhetoric and its loud brag about the escalation. We should assume money for rockets (Hamas claims they have launched 5,000, and have received 100,000 of them via the Damascus airport) and weapons in general for Hamas were supplied by Iran, which again is likely the chief catalyst for this surprise attack.

3) Almost immediately, after his inauguration Biden mobilized to resume the bankrupt Iran deal. And in unhinged fashion he appointed the anti-Israeli bigot, pro-Iranian journalist Robert Malley as America’s chief negotiator. Note that Malley is now under FBI investigation for security breaches, involving disclosing classified U.S. documents and also for allegedly helping pro-Iranian activists and propagandists land influential billets inside the U.S. government.

In short, there was a general Hamas and Iranian perception that the Biden administration had resumed the discredited Obama madness of empowering Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. This discredited agenda was to “balance” the power of Israel and the moderate Arab Gulf governments to achieve “creative tension”, exacerbated by Biden’s loathing of the government of Benjamín Netanyahu (who has been snubbed by Biden and never invited for an official visit).

Note as well that the Biden administration has siphoned off key weapons and munitions from stockpiles inside Israel to transfer them to Ukraine. The so-called “War Reserve Ammunition—Israel" is all but depleted of just the sorts of weapons needed in the present crisis.

In this regard is there not a pattern here?

Upon the ascension of Biden and his woke military agendas, we saw the following: the complete humiliation of the U.S. in Kabul in its most shameful flight in 50 years and greatest abandonment of equipment in its history; followed by Vladimir Putin’s opportunistic invasion of Ukraine; followed by China’s new belligerence and escalating threats to Taiwan; followed by Turkey’s new de facto alliance with Russia and recent drone encounter with the U.S. air force in Syria; followed by the Hamas/Iranian inspired attack on Israel—with more to come unfortunately.

And will Biden finally get the message from the attacks on the Ukraine and Israeli borders, that borders matter and we too are being invaded, with the encouragement of the Mexican government and to the advantage of the cartels whose fentanyl exports kills 100,000 Americans a year?

What to expect in Israel?

Expect the following: the usual Hamas/terrorist selling and/or execution of Israeli hostages, the use of Israeli hostages as “human shields” in Gaza,  the bargaining/sale of the remains of Israeli dead, occasional killings of Jews inside Israel by Arabs who falsely believe there will be a winning Middle East-wide existential war against Israel. And finally, a devastating Israeli counter-response that will eventually earn a U.S. rebuke.

What should the U.S. instead do?

It should quit talking to Iran and restore full sanctions against it. It should cut off all aid immediately to all the Palestinians. It should undertake a 1973-like massive arms lift of key munitions to Israel and warn Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and others in the Middle East not to intervene or else, given that Israel will need several weeks to deal with Hamas and Gaza. And if it shows any hesitation or weakness, other terrorist groups will opportunistically jump in. 

Copied below is another account I came across this morning that captures in real time the shock and awe that Hamas caused in Israel starting yesterday.  From what I've read from other sources, this is a pretty good summary.  It is heartbreaking!

To all of my friends outside of Israel, I’d like to give you a fact-based update from the ground. Please do not look away. On Oct 7, 2023:

1. Thousands of Hamas rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel, hitting cities as far north as Tel Aviv.

2. Thousands of Hamas terrorists breached the Gaza border in southern Israel. 

3. The Hamas terrorists went into civilian family homes and brutally slaughtered, as of this post, at least 600 babies, children, women, men, the elderly, and their caretakers. Houses were set ablaze, and entire families were burnt alive or butchered when they ran out.

4. The terrorists took at least a hundred Israeli babies, children, women, men, and the elderly into Gaza as hostages. The bodies of the dead were danced and spit on in the streets of Gaza in front of cheering crowds. Hostage Israeli children were beaten by Gazan children.

We know these facts because Hamas proudly recorded and live-streamed the events. 

Israel’s intelligence, military, and government were caught off guard in a tragically similar way to the Yom Kippur War, which happened on the same weekend 50 years ago. Even then, civilians were not the front line of defense. This nightmare, and this evil, is far worse. In the coming days, Israel will organize and respond in a manner never before seen. It will likely take months, but we will completely destroy the Hamas terror organization, return our hostages, and ensure this unfathomable tragedy can never occur again. Never again. 

This war will also come at a very heavy cost to innocent Palestinian civilians whom Hamas cowardly use as human shields. A historic human tragedy with no winners. Hamas is backed by Iran’s radical Islamic leadership, who share Hamas’s stated goal of the destruction of the State of Israel and the death of all Jews. They believe they are the winners because this war delays the normalization of Israeli-Saudi relations, representing an existential risk to their regime. Their loss will be made clear to them in due time.

As the war unfolds, your media, on cue, will flip the narrative to drive clicks and gaslight anti-zionism and anti-semitism. The term “disproportionate response” will run across breaking news tickers in heavy rotation. Your politicians will call for restraint and ceasefires. Your own judgment will transition from the horror of the facts above to innocent calls for love and peace between two warring armies. 

Hamas has proven that they can organize as an army, and we will deal with them accordingly, but what happened here isn't human. It's pure evil. If you support Hamas or their actions, you support terror. You support hate and darkness. You support brutal crimes against humanity. You don’t have to love or defend Israel, we’ll take care of that, I just ask you to check your soul and place in history. 10/7 is our 9/11. As you watch the news in the coming weeks, remember this before forming an opinion about Israel's unprecedented response.

Finally, if you've been reading at all you know I'm a big fan of Bari Weiss and The Free Press.  Here's a link of an interview she did today with the former Ambassador to the U.S. from Israel.  It's a pretty unvarnished view.

https://open.substack.com/pub/bariweiss/p/war-in-israel-michael-oren-worse-than-9-11?r=2lctb&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

So as the hours, days and weeks unfold, it's going to be brutal.  Here are my thoughts:

1. I feel for the innocent folks living in Gaza.  They have no place to go.  It is a terrorist stronghold and I fear that the IDF will flatten it.  And who could blame them.  If the terrorists are hiding in plain site amongst the civilian population, then the civilian population will pay the price.
2. There is no doubt that Iran is behind this whole thing and the Biden administration has done nothing to stop them or hold them accountable.  No matter what they say, they have blood on their hands.
3. Watch Hezbollah.  If they decide to jump in then things could become a lot worse.  They are bigger, better organized and better funded.  
4. Beyond everything else, we need to support Israel in whatever manner they need.  I won't go try to define what that is, but we need to be rock steady in responding to their requests. 

Hillary

 Back during the 2016 election I had a lot of fun with “Hillary” posts.  She was an easy target.  I’ve never liked her but when she presided over the whole Benghazi debacle it was just too much.  Thankfully she has receded from the National stage so we haven’t had to listen to her bullshit.  She truly is a low life.  I think that whatever else he did, the fact that trump beat her and prevented her from doing even more damage to the country as President should be cause for thanks.

But when she pops up out of whatever hole she lives in, she really comes up with some epic bullshit.  Check out this video from yesterday on CNN.  She wants to “deprogram the MAGA cult”.  That’s language straight out of the Soviet gulag.  I wonder where she’ll put the “reeducation camps”?  And she’s gonna need a lot of them to deprogram 75 million people.  She is just so slimy!!

BUTKUS

When I was growing up and a teenager consumed with sports, and especially football, the name  Dick Butkus was synonymous with toughness and competence.  When you watched a Chicago Bears game you knew you were watching one of the greatest linebackers ever.  His hits on running backs and quarterbacks were legendary.  He played for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1974 and was arguably the most dominant linebacker in history.  

When the news came yesterday that he had passed away at 80 years old it brought back a lot of memories.  There is a good article summarizing his career on ESPN and you can read it here.   One thing I didn't know was that he was a Chicago guy his whole life.  He was from Chicago, he excelled in football in high school in Chicago, went to the University of Illinois where he led them to a Rose Bowl victory and was drafted by the Chicago Bears where he played his entire 9 year career.  That's something you don't see in this day and age of going where the money is.  It reminds me of Tony Gwynn.  

His stats were amazing throughout his career.  So much so that he was a first ballot Hall of Fame selection.  He is still so respected that the Chicago Bears paid tribute to him in a Thursday night game after learning of his passing.  

But Dick Butkus wasn't done when he was forced into retirement with a chronic knee injury.  He was an accomplished actor, a football announcer and a spokesman for many great causes.  His was a life well lived.  RIP Dick Butkus.  Well done!

GREAT IDEA

It's a well documented fact that people who achieve a college education have a far greater potential to live a longer, more prosperous and a generally more happy life than people who are not able to attend a college, university or post-high school vocational school.  There is no argument about that.  But how to get more of our population to participate given the cost of school and the again well documented deficiencies in many high schools to prepare students for secondary education.  Right along with this is the trend we see of the rest of the world becoming more and better educated than us.  These are long term problems that must be addressed if we are to maintain our role and status in the world.

I saw an article on the AP wire yesterday about a new program in Georgia aimed at facilitating higher education for high school seniors.  The title is "You’re Admitted: Georgia to Urge High School Seniors to Apply in Streamlined Process".  You can read it here and I've copied it for you below to make it easier to access.  It seems to me that this is something that a State should be doing.  The article references other states that are doing the same thing or exploring it.  Good for them.  

"ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s public colleges and universities want high school seniors to know there’s a place for them in higher education and soon will be mailing a letter to the state’s 120,000 seniors, urging them to claim their spot.

Gov. Brian Kemp and others unveiled the new program Thursday, encouraging more young people to attend college. They say college will help students earn more over the long run and give the state a better-qualified workforce.

“We’re going to make sure that they know there’s an opportunity for affordable, quality education out there for them in our own state,” Kemp told a crowd Thursday at a workforce summit in downtown Atlanta.

The Georgia Match program is part of a nationwide trend called direct admission. Colleges tell potential students they are guaranteed a place based on existing grades and promise admission if they submit a streamlined application.

“The letter is going to reach students that never contemplated going to college or applying to college. They may have never even thought that college was a possibility for them,” said Andy Parsons, the executive vice president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission, said in a Tuesday briefing. “And so that’s really the big idea. We want them to know that there’s an affordable public education available to them in Georgia.”

Georgia’s 22 technical colleges are participating, as well as 23 of the 26 University System of Georgia institutions. All are waiving application fees during November to encourage seniors to apply now. All high school graduates are eligible to apply to a technical college, and the letters will indicate which state colleges and universities a student is eligible for, using grades the state already collects to administer the HOPE Scholarship program.

The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia College and State University are not participating because they require a standardized test and consider additional factors before offering admission. However, Georgia Tech is waiving application fees for Georgia students in November.

Idaho pioneered direct admissions in 2015, seeing new college students increase by more than 8% and in-state enrollment increase by almost 12% over a two-year period, according to a 2022 study. Other states including New York and Minnesota have also launched direct admission programs.

Experts say many students don’t know if they’re qualified for college, or know how to navigate choosing and applying. When colleges offer admission directly, students no longer have to overcome those obstacles.

Georgia officials say more than 50,000 of 2021’s high school graduates either went directly to work or have an unknown status. Those people are targets because college graduates typically earn more money and are less likely to be unemployed than those who only graduate from high school.

The Georgia Match letter and accompanying publicity are meant to be a yearly fall ritual for seniors, their families and their high school counselors from now on.

“This is not junk mail,” Kemp said. “This is your ticket to to economic prosperity in the state of Georgia.”

A 2023 study also found that direct admission increases applications, particularly among students who aren’t white, whose parents didn’t go to college, or whose families have low incomes. But that study’s authors, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor Jennifer Delaney and University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Taylor Odle, found students who got direct admissions offers were not more likely to enroll. They concluded other barriers, including college costs, were holding back applicants.

That’s where Georgia officials say the state’s HOPE Scholarship and HOPE Grant programs can help. The grant program pays for two years of technical college tuition for any high school graduate, as long as the student maintains a C average. There is also enhanced aid for students studying in career fields the state classifies as being in high demand.

The scholarship program pays for four years of college or university tuition for any student who graduates high school with a B average and maintains a B average in college.

For colleges, the program could increase students as Georgia’s number of high school graduates is peaking. The number of Georgia high school students graduating in 2037 will be 12% smaller than in 2025, the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education projects, based on birth rates and migration.

The program could also help reach minority students after the abolition of racial preferences in college admissions by the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of Education recently suggested. No Georgia public colleges have used such preferences since 2001."

Friday Funnies

I sorta miss Friday Funnies so thought I'd start it up again.  And of course, if it's controversial...too bad.

Republican Follies

 This is the best cartoon explanation I’ve seen of the stupidity I’ve seen this week in Congress!

The Wall

This is in the category of you can't make this stuff up...

We all know that Trump famously campaigned on building a wall on our Southern border and boldly declared that Mexico would pay for it.  First, everyone knew the bit about Mexico paying for it was just typical Trump bullshit.  But given the problem of illegal immigration, he did set out a program to build a wall.  You either loved it or hated it, but it did start to be built.  I think he wound up building about 500 miles of wall in certain sections of the 2700 mile border.  Out where I live in San Diego if you drive down to the border you can see it snaking up in the hills.

The wall combined with some specific policies like remain in Mexico, the establishment of ICE, the bolstering of CBP and others seemed to stem the flow of illegal aliens as his administration unfolded.  Of course when the Biden administration came to power the wall was one of the first things they stopped.  They thought it was an abomination and declared that not one more foot of wall would be built.  They also dismantled many if not all of the policies and programs that seemed to be a factor in controlling illegal immigration.  But okay.  Elections have consequences.  Let's see how it goes.

Well, it's a shit show.  If you live on the border like me, you know that there has been a record flow of illegal aliens into the country.  It's a human catastrophe.  And it's not even as bad here as it is in Texas.  In an ultimate case of unintended consequences, cities like New York, Chicago, LA and others who have declared themselves to be sanctuary cities have now been inundated with illegal aliens and they are spending literally billions of dollars (that they don't have) to take care of them.  Of course, they appeal to the border states to stop sending them but it's not gonna stop.  

If you look at almost any video of the constant stream of people coming across the border, it's mostly young, military aged men.  Oh there are some families and there are tragic stories about people trekking thousands of miles with children, but that's the typical case.  And they are coming from all over the world.  I read a story about a flight every day from Istanbul to Bogota.  It is filled every day with young African men bound for our border.  From Bogota they fly to Nicaragua which has virtually no immigration restrictions and from there they make their way North.  It is not a stretch to call it an invasion.  

So I saw on the Fox News website tonight a story about the Biden administration now intending to start building a wall.  I know some reading this probably abhor reading Fox News, but if you're interested you can read the story here.   And I've done a little work for you.  I reviewed CNN, MSNBC, CBS News, ABC News, and the WSJ websites to get an alternate perspective on this story.  But there is nothing.  Zero.  I could find a story done by AP (that I didn't see picked up by anyone) and the Fox News story.  So as I've warned before, if you're getting your news from one source, you're not getting news. You're getting propaganda.  And that's true of any of them.

But in this case here is a story about a major about turn by the administration to take action that impacts all of us, and it's getting scant coverage.  Is that because it's not worth covering.  Nothing to see here, move along.  Or is all about bias and protecting one side or the other.  That the border has been a disaster for 2 years that no one in the administration would even acknowledge has been maddening.  And now that there seems to be some small realization that they have totally fucked this up, they are trying to quietly implement some things that the guy they hate started.  You can't make this stuff up!

He Said, She Said

Have you heard of Trevor Bauer?  Probably not unless you're a sports fan and specifically a baseball fan.  He was a member of the hated (I can't help it) LA Dodgers in 2021.  He was a great pitcher in their starting rotation who was an integral part of the team.   Since he was such a great pitcher, he was making a lot of money.  Like many millions!  And he was destined to make even more as his career progressed.  

But even if you aren't a sports fan you may have heard of him because he was the guy who was accused of rape and assault in June, 2021.  The story made quite a splash in the papers and the fallout was enormous.  At first he was suspended by the Dodgers and then after several months he was let go.  His career was over.  He was radioactive and no other team would touch him.  Through it all he maintained his innocence.  

At some point charges were dropped but his reputation and career was in shambles.  So when the woman came after him in a civil suit, he countersued.  And when he did this he had the right of discovery.  And that's when it all came out.  It was all a scam.  The woman made it all up and even bragged about it in texts to a friend.  Bad move.  But once again, he's lost two years and the damage to his reputation has been enormous.  By some estimates this whole sordid affair has cost him around $100 million.  

I don't know if the whole thing is over, but so far there has been no impact on the woman.  None.  And there likely won't be any.  

Now don't get me wrong.  This case is an anomaly.  Most sexual assault cases in our culture are valid.  Most are the result of some asshole forcing himself on a woman and the results are devastating.  He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  

But there are some cases in which the conventional narrative is not true.  As a society we need to be open to alternative explanations and not jump to conclusions.   There is a reason we put so much stock in the rule of law and due process in this country.  

Blonde Jokes

 There have been and will continue to be a wide variety of posts and subjects on this blog.  Some are important, some are funny, some are infantile, some may be objectionable.  But they are what they are.  It's not gonna change.  As I return it seems appropriate that a blonde joke be right up front!

Back in the Game!

It's been a while since I've written something for this blog.  March 23, 2023 was the last post.  Why did I stop?  In part because it seemed at the time like the blog had run its course.  I had been posting since October 7, 2012.  I had to look back and confirm that date and I was surprised that it had been over a decade.  That's a long time.  While doing that I had some fun looking at old posts.  Some were terrible, some just plain dumb, some sort of funny, and a few were classic.  In doing so I sort of realized two things.  First is that while it's fun to have some folks reading, it's even more rewarding to put down on paper some my thoughts and be able to express them freely.  No one has knocked on my door as a result of some of my ideas, thoughts or beliefs.  Second, I'm not getting any younger (newsflash!) and I still have a few things to say.  That leads to two other things.  First is that it's very common that when someone ages, they tend to turn inward.  They lose touch with contemporary issues,  don't make time to stay up to date with technology, they think that doing something the way it's always been done is good enough, and because they either don't understand or like new things, they tend to heap disdain on them.  They get crabby!  Second, is that their view of life tends to become very conservative.  They may not be open to new ways of thinking, trying new ideas, or seeing things through the eyes of others.  My son likes to tell me to not be the old guy "yelling at clouds".  It's another way of saying that if you don't understand something or are threatened by something, you tend to dismiss or even deny it.  I don't want to be that guy.  There's still gas in the tank, cells in the brain, and fire in the gut.  So why not keep writing, exploring, and offering ideas?  Some will like what I say, some won't care and some will hate it.  So be it!

Now to the subject of my returning post.  You are probably not surprised that it has to do with the current political scene.  I'm just one guy, in one place, with a particular set of biases, who sees life through a particular lens.  But it seems to me that there are two things that are pervasive in the political life of the country.  First is that there is way, way too much anger.  People seem pissed about every issue up for debate.  And what this leads to is a retreat to comfort zones of myopic ideology, a retreat to a place where it's comfortable to pontificate in a safe space with no challenge, and a retreat to hanging out with "like minded people".  Common ground is hard to find and ideology permeates every decision.  Second is that only the zealots are stepping up to enter the arena.  People vying for a seat at the table (at any level be it local, regional or national) have as their watchword that they will fight!  What all that leads to is gridlock, increased animus, an information desert, and a reduction in leaders to those who the fighters want.  The media, probably the most disappointing and irresponsible institution in our world, has descended to promoting their particular viewpoint.  They aren't in the least helpful, unbiased or fair.  So they are no help.  The secondary (and maybe more important issue) is that the politically inclined who have deep pockets (like in the millions or billions) are betting on only a few folks with increased probability of "winning".  

All of this is playing out now on the national stage as the country goes through (the increasingly long) process of electing the next President.  On the one side we have an 80 year old President whose health and mental acuity is clearly failing.  He's being propped up and managed by a group of zealots behind the scenes to not only keep things going day to day but to implement and execute an agenda that is decidedly radical left wing.  I get all the spin, the talking points, the obscure data, the managed appearances, but that's how I see it.  I don't see much, if any action that benefits the American people at large.  I'll have subsequent posts about the border, the environment, the economy, the degradation of our cities, the war, etc, etc, but suffice to say that almost every pronouncement and decision that has emerged from the Biden White House has been a narrowly focused action designed to placate the left wing mob.  If all this weren't bad enough, Biden and the Democrats are insisting that he will run for reelection.  There is so much speculation about what will really happen because I don't think there are too many people on both sides who don't think this would be trainwreck.  I've heard a ton of different alternatives to Biden running but as of today, it's the path we're on.  I'll have a subsequent post about the disaster that is our VP, but that's for another day.  So the option on the Democratic side is limited and scary.  No one knows what will happen in the run up to the election, but it will be a wild ride.

My side (the Republicans) isn't much better and may even be worse.  Of course the elephant in the room is Trump.  I made clear my view of him in a couple of posts you can read here and here.  If you go back and review my posts starting in 2016, I will admit that I thought his Presidency accomplished a lot of good things.  But it also was a shit show in many ways.  So to see him in the lead this time around causes my head to hurt.  There are a couple of assessments of Trump that I've seen in the last few days that I'm providing below.  One is from some guy on X (Twitter) and one is from Gen Kelly.  I don't disagree with much in either analysis.

"Trump is not a conservative, he's a reactionary populist that leads by ratings, polls and crowd sizes because that's what strokes his massive ego. He has no principles and no morals, he's not Christian, he calls prolife legislation awful. He's a silver spoon brat that dodged the draft while his fellow Americans sacrificed in Vietnam, then said American POWs don't have his respect because he 'likes people that don't get caught'.

He praises Xi, Putin and Kim for being amazing dictators, while attacking DeSantis, Kemp, Reynolds and Youngkin. He said Abrams is better than Kemp, Cuomo is better than DeSantis, California is better than FL. He's a woke moron that defends Disney and wants men in his beauty pageant, he makes lewd sexual innuendo about his own daughter. He cheats on all his wives, at least one of whom while she was pregnant - he's goes out and fornicates with a trashy porn person that's slept with thousands of random men then paid her hush money - all while his very beautiful wife Melania was home with his child in her belly.

He talks of suspending the Constitution to allow himself to stay in power, talks of sending government forces to take weapons from citizens without due process. He handed the country over to Fauci and locked us down, shut schools, businesses and churches and then attacked DeSantis & Kemp when they dared rebel against his tyranny. He pushed the FDA to approve his poison poke on a few months safety testing when vaccines are normally tested for 10 years.

He called all the J6ers to DC to defend his BS marketing lie that the election was stolen, they go to jail, he didn't pardon them before leaving office because he was too busy giving Fauci a medal.

He grifted $250M to stop the steal from grandmas and grandpas on fixed incomes and didn't spend a dime on stopping the steal, but he did pay his son's girlfriend (Gavin Newsom's ex-wife)  60k for a 3 min speech and gave Melania's stylist 208k (sad that grandmas are paying for a billionaires wife's hair)

He bragged on tape that he likes chasing married women which is a super-Christian thing to do, and he told Howard Stern he likes walking through dressing rooms at his beauty pageants and looking at naked 14 year old girls. It's well documented that he partied with Epstein for 15 years (reminder - Epstein ran underage girls to perverted billionaires and celebrities that liked to party, Trump is a perverted billionaire celebrity that liked to party).

He hired and fired about a hundred people, telling us they were all 'great, amazing, the best people' then a few months later told us they were 'dogs, traitors, low IQ people that never should have been hired'.

He printed more money than anyone in modern history and his deficit spending was off the chain, he's caused the GOP to lose ground in every election since he barely beat Hillary in 2016, which was his most amazing political accomplishment - beating the 2nd most unpopular presidential candidate in modern history (guess who's #1). 

The man is insane, he's a con, a grifter, a fraud, a liar, and a fool."

And this: 

Marine Corps General John Kelly who served as Trump’s Chief of Staff, went on the record with his opinion of Trump today. Direct quote:

“What can I add that has not already been said? A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ 

A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ 

A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.

A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women.

A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. 

A person who cavalierly suggests that a selfless warrior who has served his country for 40 years in peacetime and war should lose his life for treason – in expectation that someone will take action. 

A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.

There is nothing more that can be said. God help us.” 

 But the reality is that he is running and is leading the pack in the polls by a considerable amount.  Of course, polls aren't elections and we need to have the primaries to see where he stands.  I admire many of the folks running against him and could vote for any of them.  I'm partial to Haley or Desantis, but I could vote for any of them.  I'm hoping that the folks in the early primaries don't follow the polls and send someone else up as the ultimate nominee.  

But here's the truth.  I live in California and as a Republican my vote doesn't really matter or count.  But I'll vote with a level of frustration, but vote I will.  And having said all that about Trump and laying my cards on the table regarding my disdain for him, I have to admit that in November of 2024 when I enter the voting booth (figuratively because we vote by mail), there is no way I will vote for Biden or any of the radicals who might replace him.  None.  So I either vote for Trump, or I write someone else in in the ultimate act of futility.  Hey, maybe I'll write myself in.  The job couldn't be that hard, could it?  But no, I'm too old and thankfully recognize that. 

Drag Shows

 The older I get it seems that the more things I don't understand.  Maybe that is just the way of nature.  I don't know. 

The latest thing that perplexes me are drag shows and all the controversy that surrounds them.  I see snippets of drag shows on the news now and then and it doesn't look remotely like something I'd be interested in.  I wanted to make sure I got it right so I looked up a definition.  Here's the clearest one I found.

A drag show is a form of entertainment performed by drag artists impersonating men or women, typically in a bar or nightclub.

The modern drag show originated in the speakeasies and underground bars of 1920's and 1930's Prohibition America, in what was known as the Pansy Craze. Drag became a part of gay culture and a form of entertainment usually enjoyed by adults in bars, for example the famous gay bar Stonewall.

Typically, a drag show involves performers singing or lip-synching to songs while performing a pre-planned pantomime or dancing. There might also be some comedy, skits, and audience interaction. The performers are often given cash tips by the audience members. The performers often don elaborate costumes and makeup, and sometimes dress to imitate various famous opposite sex singers or personalities. Young male dancers have often been included. Some events are centered around drag, such as Southern Decadence where the majority of festivities are led by the Grand Marshals, who traditionally are drag queens.

And there is a decidedly sexual component to these shows.  I saw a news story the other day and the performers were doing some pretty risqué routines.  I might add that most of the performers aren't very attractive.  I mean...they just aren't. 

But...we live in a free country.  If adults want to go to one of these shows and pay money to see it, well then that is their choice.  I don't have a dog in that fight.  Like I said...I don't understand it but different strokes for different folks.

But what I don't remotely understand is the desire to put these shows in libraries or restaurants where there are kids or other venues that will result in these erotic and bawdy shows being exposed to children.  I see some states are moving to ban that, and I applaud that.  It shouldn't come to the point of government intervention, but it has.  Along with not understanding people putting these shows in places where children can see them, I really don't see a parent allowing their child to view one of these shows.  

This is another one of those things that doesn't impact me.  I won't be going and I don't have any little kids or grandkids who I have to protect from these lewd and disgusting shows.  But it certainly is another symbol of he coarsening of our culture.  I always believe that the pendulum swings and I really hope the pendulum swings back to a culture that is more protective of our kids one day.  I probably won't see it, but I hope it happens.