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! 

  

The age of Zohran Mamdani - the "anti" John Galt

 

"But who is John Galt? I don't want to imitate nor emulate all of Galt's beliefs or traits. But I do side with John Galt and John Adams when it comes to the natural right of private property. That is my red line. When socialists try to cross that line, that is when we part ways." 

There is a saying going around for the few sane people who still live in New York - "If you think AOC is bad, just wait until you find out about Zohran Mamdani." This guy, who is the new mayor of New York City, has gone from "poser" to a real "kingmaker". How so? Mamdani "wannabes" are popping up all over the country - and winning. In fact, three more just appeared on the scene in NY, and with the blessing of Zohran, they all won.

If this trend continues, Atlas in not only going to shrug, but he will also tip over. With all the virtues that John Galt had in Ayn Rand's famous book Atlas Shrugged, Zohran Mamdani is the antithesis of John Galt. Whereas Galt had believed in the moral right to live for oneself, Mamdani is all about the collective. That is - with one exception. If you have been successful in your business dealings, and have made some serious money, you are the new enemy of the state.

And we can't forget John Adams, on what he thought about private property. What has been earned by the sweat of one's own brow, having one's own private property - that is a sacred right. It is worth fighting for, and sometimes worth dying for. Mamdani on the other hand, believes having "too much" should be determined by the collective, and that "excess" should be taken away from the individual who owned it.

How in the world did we get here? Hold on, because the ride might get a bit rough. Like many of us have, I have worked for companies or organizations with a CEO. I have seen published the compensation packages that many CEOs receive. Some make more money in a year than us ordinary folks make in a lifetime. I often wondered, what would somebody do with all that money? Where would you spend it? Doing what? 

But here is the difference between me and Mamdani type socialists. Where I can look at a statistic about how rich some CEOs are, and wonder what they do with all that money, socialists look at that same metric and believe part (or most) of that money should be theirs. Then what? Confiscation, and then maybe revolution. In short, nothing good happens once the loony left starts to lust after somebody's money and wealth. That truly, is when Atlas shrugs, and then tips over, and finally kicked to the curb.

By now, we know who Mamdani and his little socialist buddies are. They are the trendy posers who think (maybe they don't think) that up is down and down is up. Other people's money is bad, taking it for the collective is good. But who is John Galt? I don't want to imitate nor emulate all of Galt's beliefs or traits. But I do side with John Galt and John Adams when it comes to the natural right of private property. That is my red line. When socialists try to cross that line, that is when we part ways. 

 

 

How safe are we today? Really safe?

"What did I learn from this rather unique assignment from decades ago? We are only as safe as our protection allows. If we are naive about bad guys trying to ruin a day, that is when they could strike. The question then remains - how safe are we today? Are we really safe? Or are we just naive? Interesting questions to ponder."

This sting that the FBI conducted to nab some real baddies who wanted to perpetrate a terror attack on the MMA fight by the White House a week or so ago, is a tale which might be only half told to date. Some things have been leaked out on the internet which might either be true or false. If they are false, it is typical for the internet to spin yarns instead of fact. However, if there is a modicum of truth in what has been leaked, we came very close to a real 9/11 type of Armageddon.

The FBI is trying to keep a tight lid on this thing, as according to rumors, there are still dozens of co-conspirators left to find and detain. But here is the thing which is the scariest to me - the aftermath of the drone attack. In other words, this group of treasonous anarchists were going to let loose with drones with explosives on them. Once the explosives started going off, besides the bedlam and carnage they would have caused, terrified people would have tried to escape into makeshift "killing fields". There, snipers would have tried to pick some of the guests off with long guns. Where is the world does ideas like this come from?

The old saying in the intel or law enforcement agencies still rings true today. We need to get it right 100% of the time, whereas the baddies only need to get it right just once. For the MMA event, we got it right again. If we had gotten it wrong, it would have been just like a 9/11 all over again.

But think about this just for a minute. This was a hard target. We were prepared for some kind of malice to occur. And yet with all that preparation, the plan came close to working. Most of us live in the land of soft targets. Schools, churches, community events. If somebody, or some group with evil malice in their hearts decides to take a run at a soft target, what is there to stop them. 

Years ago, as a young Lieutenant in the Navy Reserve, I did a two-week assignment up at a crypto base in northern Maine. I was asked to think like a terrorist and come up with as many ways possible to attack or dismantle the base. It is a very interesting assignment as I got to work with some local LEOs as well as some of the "alphabet agencies" who has assets in the area. The only problem I had with this assignment was keeping it short. Some of the possible ways to cause havoc never made it into my final report.

What did I learn from this rather unique assignment from decades ago? We are only as safe as our protection allows. If we are naive about bad guys trying to ruin a day, that is when they could strike. The question then remains - how safe are we today? Are we really safe? Or are we just naive? Interesting questions to ponder.  

Beware of the rising socialist army in America!

 

"Even though NYC seems like the land of wine and roses right now, the hard times are coming. The bad times are coming. The poorer times are coming. Why? Money is fungible and people are mobile. Enough said."  

For those of you who love NYC, get ready to kiss it good-bye. The financial capital of the United States (some would say the world), is slowly becoming morphed into another coastal "la-la land". How? Why? What??? Yes, the home turf of one of the companies I worked at (IBM) is becoming bluer than IBM itself. And if you are following Goldman Sacs, you will see a trickle of employees and money which is relocating to Texas, Florida and beyond. Why? They heeded Lady Thatcher's words about socialism.

The only good thing (in my book) which came out of yesterday's NY primary, was Dan Goldman lost his seat. In my book, Goldman was not one of the good guys. He was a thorn in the side of getting the president's agenda done. But as wacked out as Goodman is, the guy who replaced him (Brad Lander) is really nutso. How much so? He was highly supported by fellow nut balls like Mamdani, Sanders and others. Net result? If you hated New York before, if you thought New York had gone off the rails with previous mayors, you have not seen anything yet.

Then we have a real oddity. Darializa Avila Chevalier. This is a woman who says when she gets her hands dirty, she likes to wipe the dirt off of them with an American flag. Just as a point of clarification, this woman will now be running to the US Congress in November's general election. So, between her, Brad Lander, and Claire Valdez are going to try and change the landscape in New York and beyond. Did I mention these three are anti-Israel? And did I mention that New York has the second highest concentration of Jewish folks right behind Israel? How is this all going to work out?

People thought this were strange when so many supported a former New Yorker named Bernie Sanders. And so many more in the Big Apple supported the biggest poser in the region named Zohran Mamdani. NYC had come a long way since Bill de Blasio - a long way down. Some might ask when there are so many sharp people on Wall Street, how in the world could NYC keep electing nitwits. Beats me.

Even though NYC seems like the land of wine and roses right now, the hard times are coming. The bad times are coming. The poorer times are coming. Why? Money is fungible and people are mobile. Enough said.  

Are unelected lower court judges the problem?

"The next time you vote, and on the back side of the ballot are dozens of judges listed. Many are running unopposed. Most of us just check a box to be done with it. But it is many of these judges which are the problem. I know, I know - what is the alternative? Not voting at all. Then all it would take is one vote for a judge and he, she or they are in."

How in the world can we elect a president, who wins the popular vote as well as the electoral vote, and then have some unelected activist judge derail his wishes? I have never in my adult life seen so many things stopped or derailed as I have seen with this president. As much as this frustrates the president, it really is getting very old very fast with his base. An because they are unelected, and the Democrats would NEVER thing of impeaching one of these imposters, we are stuck with their goofball decisions.

This ruling the other day really took the cake. If anybody needs to have a judicial scrubbing down, it is Walz and Ellison. But for this woman from Trinidad to kill the investigations by the DOJ because of politics? What about the rule of law woman? Now the DOJ will need to escalate (again). What a waste of time and money. And for what? Some left wing rant? 

I am more convinced than ever that our lower courts are the real problem in our country. They have way, way too much power. And many times, that is power unchecked. The only recourse is to go up the escalation ladder. Again, that wastes time and money. Meanwhile in Minnesota, the arsonists who lit the match escape justice. In fact, the mutts who were protesting to the point of rioting, were lauded by some left-wing organization. They even had hats made up which said, "Make America like Minneapolis". You have got to be kidding me!

The next time you vote, and on the back side of the ballot are dozens of judges listed. Many are running unopposed. Most of us just check a box to be done with it. But it is many of these judges which are the problem. I know, I know - what is the alternative? Not voting at all. Then all it would take is one vote for a judge and he, she or they are in.

Some are saying that these lower court judges are the real enemy of the state. I am not there as yet, but I might be getting there. They certainly don't do the state any good. Now that is for sure.

And a fond good-bye to a not so good PM

 

"Who will be the next PM of the UK? I sure hope that person is from the Conservative Party. I suppose there is no way to re-animate Lady Thatcher. Now THAT is the kind of leader the UK needs."

Keir Starmer. Gone as of today. He was the British form of a United States Democrat. In other words, not really in control of the UK. In the short time he was in charge, the percentage of Muslims in the UK exceeded 6%. But the percentage of Muslims in London, the once very proper and lily-white capital of England - grew to 15%. And London now has a Muslim mayor. Huh? I have been to London years ago - I can't even believe that fact.

England, like most of Europe is changing. No more steady hands on the ship of state. To start with, more secular. Keir Starmer himself is avowed atheist. The entire UK is more socialist. Perhaps that is the reason why Trump and Starmer have had their moments - and not good moments at that. And how does the Mayor of London and Donald Trump get along? Not well - not well, indeed.

Did every member or the UK Labour Party become a problem for the US to work with? Absolutely not. The ten-year term of Tony Blair led to a wonderful relationship between Blair and G.W. Bush. Life was much different back then. Muslim immigration was not the issue it is today, trade issues were minimal, and the military bond between the US and the UK was very strong. Well then, what happened with Starmer? Donald Trump called him out for what was happening to the UK. That was all it took. Was Trump right to do so? Have you seen the UK as of late? It is a mess.

Why didn't the British help us with Iran? Ready for this one? Britian has no operational Navy right now. The once great British fleet now has only 62 ships, and of that total, only 19% are seaworthy. That is terrible. They can do very little to help us do anything. And then to pour salt in the wound, Starmer would not let us use the landing strip at Diego Garca for our bombers. Our best and longest friend in Europe. Stabbed us in the back. It is good that Starmer resigned. Trump said he would remember that snub for a long time to come.

Who will be the next PM of the UK? I sure hope that person is from the Conservative Party. I suppose there is no way to re-animate Lady Thatcher. Now THAT is the kind of leader the UK needs. Get their defense posture back in shape, make peace with Trump on trade, and fix the growing Muslim problem. But we will see. Maybe that train has left the station (so to speak), and we will be stuck with Keir Starmer imitators from now on. 

Just an afterthought. I love the UK. Love London. The good folks of the UK need to elect a new leader who will take back London the way that Trump took back Washington. You know - "make the UK great again" type of person. Or at the least, "make London livable again." Now there is a good start.