A red, white and blue type of day, to celebrate a wonderful country!

 

"Tomorrow, our national party will be in full swing. East, west, north or south - that is where the celebrations will be. Those who do not care to indulge in our national celebration, because living here is no longer what they want - I have some excellent news for them. In this bastion of freedom and liberty, the door out is always open for those who want to leave."

Wow! At long last, tomorrow, it will finally be here. But from a historical point of view, this time 250 years ago, our Declaration of Independence (DOI) was all over but the signing. The votes were taken, and mutual oaths were pledged. In the next couple of days, on the fourth of July 1976, all of these agreements were to me memorialized into a formal document called the Declaration of Independence. For many who signed it, it could have been their death wish. For if the colonies quest for independence fell flat, many would have either hung as traitors - or been shot. 

But we did win the war - our Revolutionary War. Instead of the signatories on the DOI being traitors, our first national heroes were made. But now that we won the war, and had this new country, how do we make it work? How do we keep from falling short and failing as a young nation? For the next eleven years, the young upstarts in this new country worked hard, negotiated with each other, and finally agreed with each other on a set of principles. Our Constitution was ratified in September of 1787. An agreement fitting of a more perfect union. 

During the past 250 years, this country has not had an easy ride. Thinking back, we have had many "but what if" type moments. I already mentioned what would have happened if we had not prevailed against the British in our Revolutionary War. What if we had lost the War of 1812? What if we had lost World War I? Or if we had lost World War II? How about our bloodiest war, our Civil War? What if we never really recovered from that war, and the entire nation devolved into something tribal? 

Our entire history is replete with ordinary men and women who did some extraordinary things at just the right time. Some died while serving this great nation, and others lived to go on to accomplish even greater things for the greater good. Is it over now? Can we sit back and relax? Like is the worst part over? Absolutely not! Our vigilance must be absolute, as threats to our freedom and liberty will never be over. 

We are always only one generation away from losing our Republic. And based on some of the new upstarts coming up today who eschew our way of life and want to change it to socialism - our battle for freedom and our way of life is not yet over. As Bono once said, if we lose America, there is no place left to go. In other words, this is it folks. Not just love it or leave it - but protect it or lose it.

Tomorrow, our national party will be in full swing. East, west, north or south - that is where the celebrations will be. Those who do not care to indulge in our national celebration, because living here is no longer what they want - I have some excellent news for them. In this bastion of freedom and liberty, the door out is always open for those who want to leave.

In other words, for reasons which I will never understand, some may hate it here. Good news for them - there is an old saying - "Don't let the door hit you where nature has split you". But don't worry - your place here will be taken by future lovers of liberty. And that is what makes this great nation - great.

   

Wait - what? A civil war in the Democrat Party?

 

"As the political system continues, and the Democrats duke it out with the DSA useful idiots, what should the Republicans do? Nothing. Zip. Nada. Find a comfortable chair, pop up some popcorn, and enjoy the show. The Democrat Party is going to rip itself to shreds and we had nothing to do with it." 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Don't look now, but the worm is starting to turn. The long awaited (and sometimes feared) civil war in America might be happening right now. Only instead of red verses blue (or something like that), it is "traditional" Democrats against the new and upstart DSA (Democrat Socialist of America). And so far, this new DNC has been like a magnet, sucking up all the fruits and nuts who want to take a wrecking ball to America. I think these are the folks who Lenin referred to as "useful idiots".

Last night, I had a real juxtaposition experience. Having just watched the news earlier and seeing a couple more of these useful idiots who won primaries for a Democrat (now maybe a DSA) nomination, I watched some of the very patriotic folks at the soccer match. Trying to square that circle was very hard for me. On one hand, we have all kinds of America lovers watching the World Cup we are hosting, coupled with the wonderful 250th anniversary of our country. On the other hand, we have useful idiots bellyaching that our country is unfair and basically sucks. It is a head scratcher for sure.

But back to the brewing civil war in the Democrat party. Many of the long-term Democrats are not going to go quietly into the night. They may have swung a bit far to the left, but they are still coloring within the lines of traditional Democrats. But this new batch of "socialists" (or as the president often says - Communists), they color way outside the lines. What do they want? They want what you have. If they think you have too much, they are coming for you and your wealth. And for the recent (legal) immigrants who came here to escape socialist countries? Suprise! We now have part of the electorate who wants us to become socialists - or worse. 

How do the Republicans feel about this civil war on the other side of the fence? Many feel this may be the end of the Democrat Party and what is left on the floor will be unelectable. That would be good for our side. Here is the ray of hope for America to continue on for the normal folks. We are a nation of "mouse trap builders". Meaning, the American dream has always been to "build a better mousetrap". That is why Elon Musk, and others lead the world in innovation. And with risk, can come reward. Or failure, if you guess wrong or don't work hard enough. But our system of capitalism allows ALL the opportunity to take a risk to get a reward. The DSA offers none of that - only to confiscate what you have.

As the political system continues, and the Democrats duke it out with the DSA useful idiots, what should the Republicans do? Nothing. Zip. Nada. Find a comfortable chair, pop up some popcorn, and enjoy the show. The Democrat Party is going to rip itself to shreds and we had nothing to do with it. 

Can the SAVE Act be saved?

"For is voters out here in the hinter lands - all we can do is look eastward in disgust and shake our heads. The clown car is alive and well in Washington DC. What can fix Washington? I don't know - maybe an asteroid?"

If the question were asked, "How well does Washington DC work these days?", the answer for most folks would be very simple - it does not. The most glaring example of this clown car in action, is the SAVE Act. A very simple piece of legislation which only does one thing - requires a valid ID (which shows proof of citizenship) prior to voting. Since it is illegal for people who are not citizens to vote in our national elections, this bill should be a real "duh!".

Some say this is an 80/20 issue. Others say it is much higher than that, maybe even a 90/10 issue. It cuts across both parties as well as many of the demographics. So, what then, is the problem? This should have been "falling off the log" easy. But it is not. It has become so hard to get one or maybe two Senate Democrats to vote for this simple bill, that Trump even threatened to hold up another simple bill (the easy of mortgage bill) until this one was signed. Even that did not work.

Is there fraud in our election system? I don't know - is there fraud in any government system? Trick question, as we ALL know the system is ripe with fraud. To give people confidence that our voting system is pure, it would not hurt to have some additional guard rails in it, such as the SAVE Act. Otherwise, the specter of possible cheating will be present every two years. The SAVE Act could diminish any unfounded charges of illegal voting. Not totally stop it but diminish those charges.

What I don't understand is the allegations that some on the left is using on why the SAVE Act is unfair. Things like - 30 million women, who are too clueless to get a valid ID, would be "disenfranchised". What - really? That is worse than a canard. Worse than gaslighting. It is a lie. Plus, it is insulting to American women. I have not heard one person of merit agree with that crap. They have said this argument is nothing but hogwash (or worse).

Rather than work on some tougher issues, Donald Trump has used a lot of time and energy to get this thing through the Senate. It has basically killed the career of Leader Thune. It has made the Senate look so inept, that the House Republicans are calling for the repeal of the 17th Amendment. 

For is voters out here in the hinter lands - all we can do is look eastward in disgust and shake our heads. The clown car is alive and well in Washington DC. What can fix Washington? I don't know - maybe an asteroid?

 

Somewhere, between night and day...

"Some think this might be Trump's Waterloo. The box canyon that he wanted to avoid. Whatever it is, it is not good. It is a place that most normal people hate to be at. That place between night and day. No winners here - just losers. And this Iran thing is looking more like a loser every day."

One might ask, are we ever going to "get there" in the Middle East? We have managed to take care of the bad man in Libia; we have managed to take care of the bad man in Iraq; we have even managed to take care of the bad man in Iran. But to what end? New bad men in Iran just keep popping up. Civilians keep getting murdered in Iran by their own government, and neighboring Arab states keep getting attacked. Short of launching a thirty-day blitzkrieg on Iran, and bombing everything that moves - to what end are we doing there?

And because Iran plays dirty, now they have threatened to take out neighboring countries desalination plants. Hint: when the water goes in those desert kingdoms - everything goes. Rather than act like good neighbors, fellow travelers in this thing called life, they only want to burn, destroy, kill and maim. How do you deal with people like that? How do you negotiate when they smile at you while trying to cut your throat at the same time?

Where are we right now? Is peace at hand? War yet to come? We are somewhere between night and day. We are nowhere good. Do I trust these guys? Not an inch. Do I believe them? Not for a minute. We all know what Trumps wants - he wants the deal of deals. He wants to reshape the Middle East and neuter Iran from any nuclear ambitions. But this might be a bridge too far. For even the best negotiation team on this beautiful blue planet, this might be beyond reach.

If we cut and run, this is not over. Not by a long shot. Iran will continue to use proxies to harass Israel and someday, the Iranian dream of having a nuke which could reach the US - would come true. Trump does not want that nightmare in our future. Then do we stay and fight it out? The American people have about had it with Middle Eastern wars. Enough already. Or do we continue on with this stork dance of tit for tat in negotiations. No movement, just infractions to what has already been agreed to.

Some think this might be Trump's Waterloo. The box canyon that he wanted to avoid. Whatever it is, it is not good. It is a place that most normal people hate to be at. That place between night and day. No winners here - just losers. And this Iran thing is looking more like a loser every day.

"You can't govern if you don't win"

"To the MNGOP loyalists who love purity tests and then lose elections, don't be too hard on your brothers and sisters who vote to win in the upcoming primary. Like me, many are tired, so tired of always losing. Vote to win this time, even if our candidate(s) might have a tinge of purple mixed in with their red."

There is an old saying in politics - "You can't govern if you don't win." One of the things which would drive me crazy about MNGOP when I was a delegate was the tepid effort to win by some of the candidates. Sometimes it was lack of money; sometimes it was lack of name recognition; sometimes it was being "too nice" so they would not hit their opponent where it hurts (although, they would do it to us). We have put good people up, with so-so campaign managers, very little money, and a soft sell. Bottom line? We have been on the losing end for about two decades now.

Who is ahead in the polls right now for the GOP? For Governor, it is the unendorsed Mike Lindell. He has money, guts, and name recognition. He will be tough to beat in the upcoming primary. Lisa Demuth is also running a strong campaign. She was not endorsed either. Right now, the governor's race looks like a foot race between Lisa and Mike. 

And for the open senate seat, Michelle Tayofa who skipped the endorsing convention, is running a very strong campaign. And her lead over the endorsed candidate is huge. Why? Mostly name recognition. And the persona people see of Michele in the media is good. She is likeable. Oh - and she has money.

I have said MNGOP could run lifelong criminals against the DFL and do well this year. Why? The DFL is corrupt beyond measure, and everybody now knows it. But we don't have lifelong criminals - we have another crop of some very good people running. Some MNGOP loyalists are bellyaching that we should not support those running who are not endorsed. Truthfully - I felt the same way at times. But now I don't care. I just want to "win baby, win!"

To the MNGOP loyalists who love purity tests and then lose elections, don't be too hard on your brothers and sisters who vote to win in the upcoming primary. Like me, many are tired, so tired of always losing. Vote to win this time, even if our candidate(s) might have a tinge of purple mixed in with their red. Remember the old football saying - "Winning isn't everything; it is the only thing." 

 

Summer weather? Strange weather? No problem!

 

"Because to celebrate our great country. Our beacon of liberty is not going to be waylaid by some silly weather. We are better than that, to let some weather get us down. We are the sons and daughters of liberty, and proud of it. Plus - this Saturday is a party we will not miss."    

It is nice that summer is finally here, and we can sit in the shade of the old Elm tree and sip on some iced tea. Wait - what? That is from an old Normal Rockwell painting? That is not how summer is this year? But it is summer - the time of year we yearn for when for months the only colors we see outside are white, grey and black. Summer Solstice is now past, and Independence Day has not yet arrived. We should be in our "sweet spot" of weather. But are we?

For those who have not yet heard, Montana, Idaho and parts of Wyoming are getting a rare dose of summer winter. Try that on for an oxymoron! Yes, if you really miss winter, just venture out west to Yellowstone. Now I can see why the Dutton family moved down to Texas! But if you want dry, really dry, just go to the neighboring state of Utah. They are having their worst fire season in years, and towns have been evacuated to get to safety.

Here is the upper Midwest and spreading south and east, we have a good old-fashioned heatwave. Not only heat, but in Minnesota, the temps could hit the "feel like" level of 105 degrees or even hotter. Then to make matters worse, we have some major instability aloft, whereas should an evening thunderstorm manage to "break the cap", the storm could go from ordinary to extraordinary in just about two shakes. No, the weather is not only going to be strange this week in the heartland - it will also be ugly.

Now mix in all of this weather nonsense with Independence Day coming up this Saturday. And let us not forget, this will be a big one - 250 years young! But the ranchers in Montana will find their winter's shovels and dig out a path to freedom. Utah will try their hardest to get their fires under control. And the heartland of this great country will fight this heatwave by trying to stay cool and safe. Why is all of this true?

Because to celebrate our great country. Our beacon of liberty is not going to be waylaid by some silly weather. We are better than that, to let some weather get us down. We are the sons and daughters of liberty, and proud of it. Plus - this Saturday is a party we will not miss. 

  

 

"In time of peace, prepare for war"

 

"A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace"

Ecclesiastes 3:8

"We tried war with these guys, and it worked very well for us. Then we tried peace, and it did not work so well. Now we need to do the war thing again until the job is done. Finish the job Mr. President - please, finish the job!" 

Sometimes I wonder if the GSRC (who are in Iran) have a death wish, or if they are just that BS crazy. What they did the other day by firing a drone at a civilian ship, for no reason at all, defies reason. Here we are in the beginning stages of negotiations to draw up a map to a lasting peace in the Middle East, and some dumb cluck decides to fire on a civilian ship. Trump was livid, but not as livid as I thought he would be. We warned Iran that a "measured" response would be forthcoming from our forces. And it was.

Do you think Iran would have offered us a Mea culpa and then promised to do better after we gave them our "measured" attack? Nope. They attacked Bahrain with drones. Some of which did big time damage to their airport. And now what? Are we going to pause negotiations and do tit for tat during the month of July? Or is it now time to take General Jack Keane's advice and "finish the job". I vote with the general on this issue.

Here is my way of thinking on this issue. If Iran really wants peace, we will see it in their behavior. So far, it has not been there. Iran's reputation is that of snakes and vipers. They have been that way now for almost 50 years. Will they change over time without some form of force? Highly doubtful. Could we "finish the job" by the end of July? I think we could. Hegseth would probably need another infusion of cash from the Congress (and their blessing), but we sure have enough fire power in the theater right now to do some real damage to Iran.

Here is one advantage of going in hard right now against Iran. Especially if we beat the IRGC into dust. First off, we might be able to get the people back in charge of their country, rather than the barbarians. Next, we would not need to diddle with a "cease fire" agreement where the IRGC only plays for time. They would need to surrender, and the terms would be all ours. The aftermath is what a true peace could really look like.

Our war efforts have gone from the remarkable Midnight Hammer, to what we have now, which is more like "noontime blather". Our troops are locked and loaded and ready to go. Enough of talking to these guys - the time for peace is over, and now we need a "shock and awe" military event to finish the job. I mean, why have a military like ours if we don't use it when we need it? Iran will NEVER allow the Strait to be free and open unless we force the issue.

We tried war with these guys, and it worked very well for us. Then we tried peace, and it did not work so well. Now we need to do the war thing again until the job is done. Finish the job Mr. President - please, finish the job!