Monday, July 28, 2025

Our summer of heat, rain, smoke and deals






"Donald Trump continues to be the grand chess player when it comes to knowing all the aspects of the deal. How so? One of the byproducts of all these new trade agreements is we got there first. Russia and China are now on the outside looking in. Well played President Trump - well played." 


Dizzying. That is the only word I could think of to describe the month of July. And it is not even over as yet. It has been a month of heavy rainstorms, bumper crops, blistering heat, Canadian smoke, as well as witnessing the Art of the Deal. All that and a bag of chips, as the saying goes.

Last night was yet another wave of heavy thunderstorms. It topped of a day of tropical heat and humidity. The Canadian smoke has left us and is now plaguing the cities (like NYC) on the East Coast. Today, more heat and humidity, with a good chance of more storms towards the end of the day. Some forecasters, even put out a dire warning about our atmosphere being set up the right way for a very destructive Derecho this afternoon, with winds topping 80+mph. Let's hope they are wrong. 

But in the midst of all this weather news, our President, the author of the Art of the Deal, continued to reset the trade arena for the United States and our trading partners. All of a sudden, this month, we have new trade agreements with the UK, China, the PI, Indonesia, Japan, and over this weekend, the very important EU. Instead of getting screwed by friend and foe alike, Trump level set the trading arena to much fairer for everyone. When Friday comes, whomever does not come to terms with us, will get a letter saying their tariff will be 30% going forward. It is as simple as that.

Not all things that Donald Trump have turned into a win. He is very frustrated in the lack of peace in Ukraine as well as Gaza. It is not for lack of trying - he has had his very best team (Steve Witkoff) on site time and time again trying for a peace deal. But Putin wants to ride that red horse of war into the dust. He cares not about what his warring has done to Ukraine or his country of Russia. Hard to deal with people like him. And Gaza with Hamas? They refuse to let the remaining hostages go. They know when that happens, the rest of Hamas will be no more than cannon fodder. 

What will August look like? Should be very few deals to be made, as the deadline will have passed. The weather? Hopefully, Mother Nature will have settled down a bit, and the Canadian wildfires will have run out of steam. Meanwhile, more and more oil wells are being dug. More and more AI data centers are being built. More and more tariff dollars are steaming into our newly minted External Revenue Service. 

Donald Trump continues to be the grand chess player when it comes to knowing all the aspects of the deal. How so? One of the byproducts of all these new trade agreements is we got there first. Russia and China are now on the outside looking in. Well played President Trump - well played. 

   

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Our national B+E






"We do, however, only have a few ways which are illegal. That is border jumping. Overstaying a visa. Having forged documents. Coming into America that way, and staying here, is a national form of B+E."



As many of us know, the term B+E is a law enforcement term which means "breaking and entering". In other words, if you break into somebody's house, business, garage or car without their permission, you are breaking the law. No discussion, no excuses, no equivocation - you are a law breaker. 

Now let's take that to a much larger scale. Breaking into our country, when you don't have permission to do so. Now we have many ways to come to America using permissive ways - all of them legal. We do, however, only have a few ways which are illegal. That is border jumping. Overstaying a visa. Having forged documents. Coming into America that way, and staying here, is a national form of B+E. 

But hold on Bird! Many of these illegals came in on the invite of President Biden! What say you about that one? I say simply this - Biden's invite, for illegals to jump over the border, was an illegal order (offer). One thing I learned in the Navy was the only order which can be refused is an illegal order. And Biden had no standing to make this offer (order). He played these poor people like patsies. Many spent a life's savings to come here for a ruse. For this alone, Biden should serve time.

Our Alligator Alcatraz in Florida is now housing people and have started flights to send them back to where they came from. Some of the inmates at the facility have been complaining about the food, sleeping conditions and so on. When the Florida governor was asked about this, DeSantis replied, "It is a jail, not a hotel". Enough said, sir!

Here is the bottom line. Even though I have no police record, if I broke into my neighbor's house without his permission, and even if I did not steal anything - I would be a law breaker. When the police came, they would put me in cuffs and take me to jail. I would be charged with B+E, and there would be some kind of punishment. Same goes for our border jumpers. They should not be rewarded for breaking out laws by given amnesty - they should be expelled (deported). 

President Trump is doing the right thing. Joe Biden did the wrong thing. People who are here illegally are doing the wrong thing. The gift horse was offered by Secretary Noem when she came up with the "self deport" program. It was for sure a "get out of jail free card". If people self-deported, they get a free ride home and $1,000. More importantly, if they do it legally, they can come back. However - if they don't self deport and get caught - they can never come back. Case closed.  

  

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Exactly, what is the new message?





"Our bench is strong, and our message is clear. Make America Great and Greater Again. Reach for the stars. Democrats? Time to fade quickly into the sunset. You had your chance and blew it. Now it is time for the good guys to take over."  

  


The Democrats, both locally and nationally, are in a frenzy. Why? No message. Well, there is a message, but it is not a very good one. The Woke thing broke, and the DEI thing was a joke. The economy was left in tatters from Biden, as him motto was Orange Man Bad, and so is oil and natural gas. By contrast, the 45th President of these United States (and now the 47th), had a very simple message. America is great, we can make America even greater. Roger that, sir! 

Joe Biden was the gift who kept on giving. He was so bad, so inept, and such a country wrecker, all the MAGA team needed to do was showcase more of Biden-omics and the lunacy which surrounded it. Since Biden and team had so many sycophants, it is hard to find someone to be the new torchbearer. They have all been tainted by stupidity. Trump on the other hand, although far from perfect, has the economy back humming like a Ferrari.

Here is the bottom line, dare I tip my hand to the other side. There simply is no message for Team Blue. Nothing. NADA. Every metric available was minimalized or negated under the term of POTUS 46. America became weak and broken. A joke on the world stage. Now, America is back. Stronger, better, and richer. The haters of Trump still hate him and always will. But people who love Trump and his policies, know we are living in very special and blessed times. This is truly the Golden Age of America.

Of all the good things Donald Trump has taught us, it is the promise of daring to dream. To follow your heart. To imagine the best of the best, and how to get there. Whereas Obama, Kerry and Biden wanted to besmirch and denigrate America, and always talk us down, Trump does just the opposite. He is a patriot and true American. Is he perfect? No, but pretty darn good. 

Our message going forward into the midterms is simple to stay the course. The message for 2028 is more of the same, please. Since we can't have Trump again, Donald is helping shape the future for JD Vance or Rubio. Our bench is strong, and our message is clear. Make America Great and Greater Again. Reach for the stars. Democrats? Time to fade quickly into the sunset. You had your chance and blew it. Now it is time for the good guys to take over.  

  

Friday, July 25, 2025

Land of 10,000 frauds?





"This is exactly what happens when you have one party government for decades at a time. No checks and balances. Crime and graft grow like weeds in a garden. When this is mentioned to you, please look interested. Why? The billion or billions stolen are your money. You should be very pissed. I know I am."


The stories of Minnesota are now hitting fast and hard. We seem to have a real crackerjack of a US Attorney on station right now, and he is finding more frauds than we find worms on the sidewalk after a downpour. In fact, Minnesota even has garnered the attention of some national websters and bloggers. Minnesota it seems, is the land of 10,000 frauds. How much so? Maybe a $1B. Maybe even $4B, if we want to go back in time a bit.

Wait a minute! Bird, are you still talking about the Feeding our Future scam? Well, sort of. It seems that was one of many fraud schemes which was perpetrated on the Minnesota taxpayers during the Walz years. In fact, anything which had the word "Medicare" associated with it, was a target for fraud in the great state of Minnesota. But what about Walz and the people he hired to shepherd these programs? Ah - now there is the rub.

Either Walz is as dumb as a box of rocks, or he is crooked. Either way, he should be fired. Fired and maybe tried and convicted. Did I mention that Walz is a Democrat? Did I mention that for reasons which transcend sanity, Walz was picked to run as a vice president this past election? OM Goodness - what a pickle we would have all been in if Kamala had won. Now Walz is back as governor. What should we do with him? Turn a blind eye so he can keep ripping us off?

On of the national bloggers had an interesting observation. Did Walz work in collusion with the Somali network, or was he an independent? Either way, this entire issue is dripping with neglect or just plain crime. Is the DOJ going to become very interested in this issue? They already are. In the near future, a hard rain is going to fall (to quote Bob Dylan). A day of reckoning is coming. Once the extent of the fraud is exposed, Democrats in Minnesota might be as popular as a case of herpes. 

This is exactly what happens when you have one party government for decades at a time. No checks and balances. Crime and graft grow like weeds in a garden. When this is mentioned to you, please look interested. Why? The billion or billions stolen are your money. You should be very pissed. I know I am. 

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Feral youth on parade

 





"Someone I once knew said that Minneapolis has more problems than Carter's has pills. And that was before the Floyd incident. What happened during the Floyd riots changed this town forever. Made crime fashionable and acceptable. Gutted the police force. Neutered the cops who remain."


When will this ever end? It was bad before the Floyd incident but now is ten times worse. The city once known as the City of Lakes, now known as the City of Disfunction, has one more burden to carry. Feral youth. And they are on parade right now. Vandalizing cars, parked on the street. Why? Why not - it is after all, something to do. Many of these young perps are raised in homes with no father, and a dysfunctional mother. Knowing right from wrong? No thanks.

To date, about 200 cars have had their windows broken. For what purpose? Is this being done by the established gangs in Minneapolis, or one of the newer and very prolific Somali gangs? I guess it does not matter - the effect is the same. Broken windows, and the cost to repair, some or all of which is borne by the car owner. With a mayor's race in the offing, which candidate will promise to address this growing problem. Jacob Frey? Nope - this is already happening under his watch. Omar Fateh? Please - don't make me laugh.

I am very familiar with the City of Minneapolis. I grew up on the border of Minneapolis, just feet from being a resident. My wife and I lived there for a year right after we were married. My wife and I went to college in Minneapolis, at the main campus of the U of M. I worked downtown, as I had clients there. Yes, I know that town. I have seen it change. Seen it devolve. Seen the rot and crime destroy parts of that town. What was once great and admirable, is now becoming hollowed out and dangerous.

Someone I once knew said that Minneapolis has more problems than Carter's has pills. And that was before the Floyd incident. What happened during the Floyd riots changed this town forever. Made crime fashionable and acceptable. Gutted the police force. Neutered the cops who remain. Put them under liberal decrees which handcuffed them from being the cops this city needed. Then what? Kids shooting kids, and feral youth popping up all over, as prolific as weeds.

Somebody recently asked me if there are any safe places to live (or be) in Minneapolis anymore. With tongue in cheek, I responded either I-35 or I-94, headed out of town as fast as you can drive. Other than that, I don't know of any safe zone in that town. I have said this many times before - most of my friends who live outside of the metro or further outstate, avoid the metro area like it is radioactive. Why borrow trouble? And going into that town is always borrowing trouble.  

 

 

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Where in North America, do we go for a sanity check?






"Here is the bottom line. We have no place to go. We need to fix our countries, as going anyplace else in North America is just as bad - maybe worse. Not too many years ago, the problems which plague us now, did not plague us then. We could figure stuff out."


Don't look now, but if you live in North America (like I assume most readers do), it is a hot mess right now, and I mean more than just the temperature. How so? Mexico is at war with itself, as the cartels have become a force to reckon with. There are parts of Mexico which are way beyond dangerous. What is the new President of Mexico doing to turn things around? Pretending everything is just fine, thank you. It is too bad, as Mexico has a lot to offer. But the drugs and corruption are blunting the advantages of living or visiting there.

Well, what about Canada? How is Mark Carney doing in his new job? He has got to be better than Justin Trudeau - right? Maybe. Carney is just as authoritarian as Trudeau was. He is partial to the eastern part of the country, and only uses the western part as an ATM. My words? Not hardly - the words of many who live in the western provinces. Carney also does not know when to make the right kind of deal with Trump. Thus, the trade war is eroding his financial base, and the folks out west are getting ready to bolt. I will give Carney a solid "F" so far in his leadership.

And then there is the United States. Better known as the land of the Hatfields and the McCoys. A land where politics is like a drink of bitterroot, and acrimony is knitted into every level of politics across the land. Congress has become an organization of scandal and investigations. Why anybody would want to serve in this once austere body is beyond me. We remain a land of great promise, with world class everything. And yet, we can't get along with each other. How bad has it become? We have gone from name calling, to lawfare, to life and death. I have never seen hatred so vile, as I have seen it as of late in this great country.

Well, that is it. There are no more countries to escape to in North America. Each country has a unique set of problems and issues. Do I know the solutions? A way out? Absolutely not! Watching the news these days can give you a peptic ulcer, or hypertension. Saying the wrong thing to a group of people can get you ostracized and shunned. In Canada right now, people in Alberta have already started referring to themselves as our 51st state. And Saskatchewan - those folks are happy to be the 52nd state.

Here is the bottom line. We have no place to go. We need to fix our countries, as going anyplace else in North America is just as bad - maybe worse. Not too many years ago, the problems which plague us now, did not plague us then. We could figure stuff out. We could get along (to a degree). I mean, the fact that Canada is getting ready to split up is nothing less than extraordinary. If you had told a Canadian even 20 years ago that this could happen, they would have thought it to be a very bad joke. Now, in 2026, it could be reality.

Mexico might be the country with the simplest fix. Simple, yet painful. Law and order, from the top down. Maybe even martial law for a while. Either the people run Mexico, or the cartels run it. The United States military is trying to help right now, but all the good people in Mexico need to be resolute. Enough is enough. 

I am not picking on North America. South America has problems also. And corruption. Different issues, same solution. People need to be resolute. Law and order, peace, and understanding. No more insularity. No more tribal politics. No more senseless violence. "Out of many, one", could apply to just about every place, every day. It worked for a while; it can work again.    

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Here we go again?

 



"For those of us who live outstate or outside of the Metro Area, all we can do is shake our heads in wonder. How could this change happen so quickly? What ever happened to homegrown mayors in Minneapolis? Jacob Frey was not. He was a Jewish kid from New York who moved here. And Omar Fateh certainly is not from here. I guess the days of having a Swede, German or Pollock who grew up here as mayor - are over."  



My latest edition of Thinking Minnesota came yesterday, with the lead article called Make Minnesota Great Again. It seems almost ironic that just this past weekend, a Somali socialist (and activist) was nominated by a suspicious group to be the next Mayor of Minneapolis. Why do I say suspicious? Jacob Frey used the word "irregular" in how the vote was tallied in this Somali rich sea of voters. Dare I say Jacob meant cheating instead of irregular? In any event, Frey wants a do-over.

Wait - what? Somali's cheating? You mean like with Feeding the Future? Even though there have been some convictions on that MASSIVE fraud, many investigators think it might have only been the tip of the iceberg. And as the Star Tribune reported this morning, three years ago Fateh almost got kicked out of the Minnesota Senate for a murky allegation over a $500,000 taxpayer gift to a Somali broadcast company who endorsed Fateh. Fateh escaped expulsion, but this brother-in-law took the fall on that one - two criminal convictions.

Sorry Mayor Frey, as lurid as this election might have seen to you, the die is cast. There is NO WAY the Somali community is giving up the Minneapolis Mamdani. This is too rich - having a communist run NYC and a socialist (of Somali decent) running Minneapolis at the same time? But wait - what is there was graft, like when (allegedly) Ilhan Omar married her brother? There are all kinds of murky and slimy things which have been alleged about her rise to power. Again, water under the bridge. The die was cast on her years ago. She is now an infamous member of the Squad

Barack Obama let in tens of thousands of Somalis, and many of them settled in the Cedar Riverside area of Minneapolis. It forever turned our 5th Congressional District bluer than a Robin's egg. And now that district has set its eyes on the City of Minneapolis. Once that is done, what is next? Governor? Our city, our state, are changing right before our eyes. Those who live in Minneapolis and don't like it, learn to live with it. This is the way it will be for a long time to come.

For those of us who live outstate or outside of the Metro Area, all we can do is shake our heads in wonder. How could this change happen so quickly? What ever happened to homegrown mayors in Minneapolis? Jacob Frey was not. He was a Jewish kid from New York who moved here. And Omar Fateh certainly is not from here. I guess the days of having a Swede, German or Pollock who grew up here as mayor - are over.