Allyson

The Intermittent Missive – April Snow Edition

Apr 6

Senator Jeff Merkley, D-OR, Calls for Military Leaders to Refuse President Trump’s Orders on Iran Infrastructure Strikes

“President Trump’s profanity-laden Easter threat to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure—power plants and bridges—are the words of a frustrated and immoral madman. Many experts agree that such attacks would be war crimes under international law,”…“To our military leaders, remember this: You are legally required to refuse orders to commit war crimes,” –
(18 USC Ch. 115: TREASON, SEDITION, AND SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES – https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title18/part1/chapter115&edition=prelim – TREASON or SEDITION take your pick –  jlr)

Guns Versus Voting – One is a protected Right, and the other is not.
https://vineofliberty.com/2026/04/06/guns-versus-voting-one-is-a-protected-right-and-the-other-is-not/
I went to write an article about how guns and voting are similar because they’re both Constitutional rights… then discovered that the Constitution doesn’t actually give or protect a right to vote.
What the Constitution does say:
Article I, Section 2 – Article I, Section 4 – Article II, Section 1 – 14th Amendment, Section 2 (1868) – 15th Amendment (1870)

A little humor…To start the week!!!…And a few St. Paddy’s jokes… They took the slow boat…
https://oldnfo.substack.com/p/a-little-humor-578

The Dog Ate My Homework
https://wilderwealthywise.com/the-dog-ate-my-homework-2/
Feeling a bit under the weather, did have half-ish of the Civil War 2.0 Weather Report done, but ran out of umph. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Trump Vows to Hunt Down, Jail Leaker Who Endangered Missing F-15 Pilot by Tipping Off Iran
https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2026/04/06/trump-vows-to-hunt-down-jail-leaker-who-endangered-missing-f-15-pilot-by-tipping-off-iran-n2201013
Speaking in the White House briefing room on Monday, a clearly perturbed Commander in Chief declared that the media’s disclosure tipped off Tehran and directly endangered the airman’s life. Not to mention the lives of hundreds of troops searching for the missing crew member. “We’re looking very hard to find that leaker,” he said. “They basically said that we have one, and there’s somebody missing. Well, [Iran] didn’t know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information.”The President indicated he would pressure the media outlet that published the story to reveal their sources. “We think we’ll be able to find it out,” Trump continued. “Because we’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, ‘National security. Give it up or go to jail.’”
video – 00:01:44 – https://twitter.com/i/status/2041206188608455138

Actually that is a surprisingly low number
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/actually-that-is-a-surprisingly-low
I drive a lot around Nashville and not a day goes by that I cuss quietly to some simple moron crossing the street without looking. The Bipedal Morons come in two flavors: The “Nose-in-Phone” dumbass and the “I am Royalty” ass-wipe. The first one is walking around while checking the latest K-Pop video or make-up tips ignoring that several thousands pounds of steel and plastic are about to intercept his or her ass. The second type is more infuriating as they simply swear that you will stop because it is their legal and sacred right to play chicken with a moving vehicle. And have the attitude to demonstrate it by crossing the street at a slow museum-watching pace and the smug face that goes with it. I would love to say that older generations are better at this, but I would be wrong. The B.S. seems to apply to all that can walk faster, but simply do not give a flock of seagulls.

Roaches and Parsley – will survive Armageddon
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/roaches-and-parsley
finally got around to prep my planters to get some herbs. I am behind my seedlings, so I cheated and bought grown stuff in the form of parsley and cilantro and when I went to remove the weeds that had already taken over, surprise!

Darn Biscuits!
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/darn-biscuits
I am “cursed” with a wife that makes outstanding biscuits. Sweet Jesus, she has me wrapped around her little flour covered finger every time she makes them: Golden brown crust outside and a delicious soft inside begging to be covered in strawberry preserve, butter and stuffed sausage patty and half a slice of bacon, hold the cheddar and scrambled eggs on the side.

Scratch a Liberal, find the Racist underneath.
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/scratch-a-liberal-find-the-racist
It is hard to be a Liberal in Florida, especially in South Florida. Accusations of racism seem to have a tough time sticking to cops down there…

Report: Israeli Commando Units Assisted U.S. in Rescue of Downed US Airman
https://gellerreport.com/2026/04/israel-assisted-us.html
Forever united. Haters going to hate the good. That’s what real friends — real allies — do for each other. Juxta this to France who has been secretly aiding Iran and stabbing us in the back.

Apr 7

This…Could get ‘interesting’ in any number of ways…
https://oldnfo.substack.com/p/this-125
DHS Secretary Mullin raises the possibility of pulling CBP and customs officers from airports in large sanctuary cities, citing lack of cooperation with the federal government and funding refusals. International arrivals would be unable to clear customs at those airports. “It’s something we’re looking at,”…So, Boston, Philly, NYC, Chicago, Seattle, SFO, LA, and, if Spanburger has her way, Dulles could lose their customs services. Which would severely impact the airlines as they would have to find somewhere else to clear international travellers. Can you say Florida and Texas???

Texas Restricts Services for Illegal Immigrants, Tightening Access to Licenses and In-State Tuition
https://americanjournaldaily.com/texas-illegals-welfare/
Let’s start with a simple question: what is the point of a government if it doesn’t serve its own people? For decades, that question has gone unanswered as Americans watch their leaders bend over backward for everyone but them. We see our public services strained, our schools overwhelmed, and the basic rule of law treated as an inconvenient suggestion. It’s madness. This frustration has been simmering for years as a silent majority wonders why their tax dollars are being used to incentivize the very problems weakening our country. This isn’t about a lack of compassion; it’s a demand for basic fairness. When a government stops prioritizing its own citizens, it shatters that sacred trust. Thankfully, one state has decided to pick up the pieces with bold, unapologetic action.
“Benefits, licenses, and taxpayer-funded services should not be used to incentivize unlawful presence at the expense of hardworking Texans. These steps ensure compliance with federal law, protect the integrity of our systems, and prioritize jobs and resources for legal residents and citizens.”
That statement, from Governor Greg Abbott’s office, is the sound of sanity making a comeback.
Key Takeaways:
⋆ Texas is rightfully prioritizing its own citizens by cutting off taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants.
⋆ Strong governors must act decisively when the federal government fails to secure the nation’s border.
⋆ Enforcing immigration law is not cruel; it is the essential foundation of a fair and orderly society.
⋆ Ending these incentives restores fiscal sanity and respects the hardworking Americans who fund our government.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cardinal Sarah Gives Us a Warning
https://gellerreport.com/2026/04/cardinal-sarah-gives-us-a-warning.html
n a video that began circulating widely on Thursday, the Roman Catholic Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, stated: “Wake up. Islam is a danger. If Christians don’t start caring about our faith, Islam will take over the West. They’ll impose their laws and culture. They’ll grow massively in number. And we will decline.”
video – 00:01:34 – https://twitter.com/i/status/2039846299516784977

Gov. DeSantis Signs Law Banning Sharia Law in Florida
https://gellerreport.com/2026/04/gov-desantis-signs-law-banning-sharia-law-in-florida.html
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) holds a press briefing to sign anti-terrorism and anti-Sharia Law legislation into law – barring Florida courts from enforcing certain foreign or religious laws.

Trump vows to find ‘sick person’ in Iran rescue leak, warns media could face jail for not divulging
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/04/07/trump-vows-to-find-sick-person-in-iran-rescue-leak-warns-media-could-face-jail-for-not-divulging-1631221/
Trump said the leak about the WSO placed American military personnel “at great risk,” and warned both the media and the leaker that consequences are coming…The president noted that divulging the rescue operation while it was underway could have been deadly to the servicemembers involved. He pointed out that Iran “put out a major note, as you all saw it, offering a very big award for anybody that captures the pilot.”
V
Defiant journalist says he will protect his sources after Trump vows jail time
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/04/07/defiant-journalist-says-he-will-protect-his-sources-after-trump-vows-jail-time-1631303/
The sentiment of many was summed up in one post that asserted, “Someone committed treason and almost got an American killed. All for clicks.”
(Most people do not realize that going to jail to “protect my sources” is a resume enhansement for liberal reporters. It showes that they have what it takes to stand up to Trump, and if anyone gets hurt or killed that is just a price that the reporter is willing to pay – while the reporter should go to jail for redusing to devulge their sources, the leaker(s) of the clasified material should be punishned to the fulest extent of federal, or the UCMJ allowable and serve their sentance in general population, in a federal or military prison, day for day, no early release, no parole, and definatly NOT in Club Fed – jlr)

ID required: There are stricter standards for the Obama library than for voting
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/04/07/id-required-there-are-stricter-standards-for-the-obama-library-than-for-voting-1631325/
Presidential-level hypocrisy came courtesy of Chicago’s costly eyesore as the sanctuary city’s newest attraction included a telling caveat regarding its grand opening… “We all know that Obama has a big, beautiful presidential library coming — make your own opinions — but when you look at the requirements for the opening of that library, it says, ‘Promotion open only to U.S. citizens, or lawful permanent U.S. residents who are legal residents of the 50 United States …’”

“Why do we have stricter standards for the Obama library than for voting?” she asked her guest, Texas Rep. Brandon Gill (R)…“Well, because Democrats would like to allow non-citizens to vote in American elections,” he began. “That’s a core part of their long-term political strategy is flooding the country with illegal aliens, trying to give them amnesty so they can vote for Democrats, and, in the meantime, having open election systems in trying to get these illegals to vote for Democrats as much as they possibly can.” “Remember, it only takes a few fraudulent votes in key swing states and key swing districts to swing even a presidential election.

Mamdani’s racial equity framework prompts DOJ to open a probe
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/04/07/mamdanis-racial-equity-framework-prompts-doj-to-open-a-probe-1631329/
require[s] major city agencies to examine their work through a racial equity lens and identify and eliminate disparities,” It’s based on the false belief that disparities in outcomes are proof of discrimination. And so if, as an example, more black drivers are pulled over than white drivers, it must be because of racial discrimination. Or if fewer black students are accepted into college versus Asian students, it must again be because of racial discrimination. Those who subscribe to this false theory also believe that the only way to stamp out this alleged racial discrimination is by applying reverse racial discrimination

(Worth the time to read and THINK about given the nutcases, religious and other types, running loose – jlr)
Situational Awareness – It’s a little more complicated than that.
https://thelawdogfiles.substack.com/p/situational-awareness
I harp quite a bit on “situational awareness” and how it is vital to preventing dynamic social interactions, but I seem to have been somewhat negligent at explaining what “situational awareness” actually is… if this interests you, Jason A. Riley and Patrick Van Horne wrote probably the defining text on this subject — called “Left Of Bang”. If this is your bag of crisps, I heartily recommend it.

Whatever happened to Greta Thunberg’s Cuban Flotilla?
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/whatever-happened-to-greta-thunbergs
…I went to what seems to be the only place that collects information better than any News organization and that is X…I chose Code Pink’s account so there is no complaining that I am selecting Right Wing sources slanted against the “humanitarian effort”…once again Greta and company of Idiots just fizzle after their scheduled fifteen minutes of notoriety and the crew of the ship probably got a case of the crabs (non-edible) and tetanus by the look of the boat…

Antares Earns DoE’s First Ever Microreactor Approval As Modi Heralds ‘Defining Step In India’s Nuclear Energy Journey’
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/antares-earns-does-first-ever-microreactor-approval-india-marks-fast-breeder-milestone
These advancements in both advanced microreactors and large-scale fast breeder technology reflect growing worldwide interest in expanding reliable clean baseload nuclear capacity.

38-year-old Democrat found dead, wrapped in ‘blankets and black garbage bags’ — and now all eyes are on her husband
https://www.theblaze.com/news/38-year-old-democrat-found-dead-wrapped-in-blankets-and-black-garbage-bags-and-now-all-eyes-are-on-her-husband/
(somehow – through some TDS deranged, hyper-convoluted, other-worldly logic the radical left & Democrats will blame Trump – jlr)

The Democrats’ Comical Efforts to ‘Rebrand’ Candidates as Born-Again Populists
https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2026/04/07/the-democrats-comical-efforts-to-rebrand-candidates-as-born-again-populists-n4951546
Buttigieg has followed Democratic central casting and undergone a complete reboot, reemerging with a beard, a trucker cap, and a flannel shirt… Democrats don’t believe the internet is forever, and that images and recordings of them making wildly radical statements and sneering at white working-class voters are forgotten because they don’t want to remember them…Talerico, like Obama, masks his radicalism in language that white working-class voters find appealing. Strip away the soothing words and a flaming liberal emerges.
(NEVER forget about the Current Virgina governor,Abigail Spanberger, who ran as a politically moderate centerest, but as soon as she was inaugurated, she ripped the mask off, and exposed her real politics as an extreme far left progressive hard core DemocRAT – jlr)

In todays insanity:
Boston replaced some cops with social workers — one was just attacked by sword-wielding man
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/04/07/boston-replaced-some-cops-with-social-workers-one-was-just-attacked-by-sword-wielding-man-1631252/
The man called 911, claiming that four armed people were trying to harm him. When police officers arrived, they found him behind a locked door and sent a clinician, who spoke with him for nearly 45 minutes while the door remained closed…However, as soon as the man opened the door at first responders’ urging, he brandished a sword, swiftly knocked the mental health worker to the ground, and stabbed one of the officers in the arm.
291887865_2069043199935564_1182875189441264860_n.png

Nutball GA Democrat Running for Office Outlines How She’ll PUNISH Trump Supporters if She Wins (Watch)
https://twitchy.com/samj/2026/04/07/nutball-ga-democrat-wants-to-punish-maga-no-internet-n2426879
…Democrat candidate for the GA State House Suzanna Karatassos says when Democrats take back control, anyone who voted for Trump will lose internet privileges for 4 years…left-wing lunatic rambling about how she’ll punish anyone who voted for Trump. It’s always interesting to see how the people who claim Trump and his supporters are the violent ones are actually the dangerous nutjobs. And they justify their hate and violence on the lies they tell themselves about how their behavior is righteous because those awful people on the Right deserve to be punished. If you ask them what exactly we’ve all done, they ramble on about racism and xenophobia, but really have no idea why they hate us all so much.
video – 00:00:45 – https://twitter.com/i/status/2041249102168531233

Female No Kings protester wearing phallic costume tossed to the ground by cop — and faces a slew of charges
https://www.theblaze.com/news/no-kings-phallic-costume-arrest
The officer asked her to take off the offensive costume, and she allegedly refused…Gamble’s attorney argued that her right to wear an inflatable phallic costume to protest the president was enshrined in the Constitution…Police said she was initially charged with misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct as well as resisting arrest. They later added a charge of giving officers a false name because she allegedly told police her name was “Aunt Tifa”
embedded video – 00:01:45

FAKE NEWS FRENZY: Deranged Democrats Push “Trump Hospitalized” Hoax As He Leads High-Stakes Rescue Mission
https://gellerreport.com/2026/04/fake-news-frenzy-deranged-democrats-push-trump-hospitalized-hoax-as-he-leads-high-stakes-rescue-mission.html
Most of the top-rated “influencers” on the left started pushing out a rumor that Donald Trump was in the hospital on Saturday, as he was in the Situation Room managing the rescue of the downed airman.

Apr 8

FBI Arrests Ex-SOCOM Employee Over Leak to Media 48 Hours After Trump Said Justice Was Coming for Leakers – DEVELOPING
https://www.westernjournal.com/breaking-fbi-arrests-ex-socom-employee-leak-media-48-hours-trump-said-justice-coming-leakers-developing/
The announcement came just 48 hours after President Donald Trump promised that identifying a leaker in another recent case involving the Air Force pilot rescue operation in Iran over Easter weekend would be a top priority. Patel posted on social media, “FBI and our partners have arrested a former SOCOM employee, who supported our top-level military warfighters, for allegedly transmitting classified information to a member of the media.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(THIS is worth the time to read, THINK about, and fully understand – Islam has been at war with the rest of the world since 622 C.E. – jlr)
Christopher Hitchins Barely Touched Upon Islam’s Predations
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/03/christian_hitchins_barely_touched_upon_islam_s_predations.html
In a viral clip,(video – 00:00:57 – https://twitter.com/i/status/2035374905298980987) Hitchens spoke about the Muslims’ centuries-long slave trade against Europeans and Americans. He understated the severity of the problem. Anyone with a knowledge of history knows that Islam, born in seventh-century Arabia, has always been at war with Western civilization. Indeed, it has been the single most prolific conquering and colonizing force in history, much of it being Christian lands. And all of this has been driven by religious imperatives and duties written into the Koran. That is reality, not “Islamophobia,” a word the left recently invented to protect their radical Islamist allies in the West. The threat of destruction from radical Islamists, as we term them today, has always been real and as imminent as their abilities allowed. Were it not for a few brave Christians who blocked the Muslim invasions, Western civilization would have been overrun and extinguished centuries ago. Their names ring down through history.
⋆ In 732, Charles Martel stopped a Muslim invasion of Western Europe at the Battle of Tours.
⋆ In 1091, Roger I reconquered Sicily after 250 years of Muslim occupation.
⋆ In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella reconquered Spain and Portugal after 700 years of Muslim occupation.
⋆ In 1571, Don John won the naval Battle of Lepanto, destroying an Ottoman fleet bent on conquering Christian lands.
⋆ In 1683, John Sobieski crushed the Ottoman army before the Gates of Vienna, halting their invasion of southern Europe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A weird case shows you don’t know what your attacker will look like. – This is from last December.2025
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/a-weird-case-shows-you-dont-know
It seems her addiction simply made her paranoid and it was last December when the gaskets finally blew. Her encounter with the man was just sheer happenstance and they had nothing in common other than both being armed. He was the better shot.
https://mtsusidelines.com/2026/04/03/new-details-released-on-mtsu-professor-ashleigh-mckinzies-death/

Why you don’t trust what Media says about guns.
https://miguelgg.substack.com/p/why-you-dont-trust-what-media-says
Accurate but misleading.

Sara Gonzales’ H-1B fraud investigation uncovers the city behind most of the scamming — now CBS is praising it
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/sara-gonzales-unfiltered/sara-gonzales-h-1b-fraud-investigation-uncovers-the-city-behind-most-of-the-scamming-now-cbs-is-praising-it
BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales has continued investigating and exposing H-1B fraud in Texas, she’s found that one city in India is behind most of the scamming: Hyderabad — the H-1B capital of the world…“So many tips that we’re receiving, it’s the same song and dance. These Telugu people have schemed the system so much that they’ve been able to corner the H-1B market here in the United States,”

It’s High Time That America Be Selective About Who Can Become an American Citizen
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/04/it_s_high_time_that_america_be_selective_about_who_can_become_an_american_citizen.html
The Fourteenth Amendment is clearly directed toward ensuring that slaves born in America, whose forebears were of African origin, would be considered American citizens after the Civil War. We know this to be a fact because many American Indians were also born on American soil, though they were not considered American citizens when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified.

Schrödinger’s Ceasefire
https://www.eugyppius.com/p/schrodingers-ceasefire
Last night did not quite usher in the feared Energy Apocalypse. At the eleventh hour, the United States and Iran agreed to a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire. This ceasefire was said to comprise an immediate two-week pause in hostilities and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz pending peace negotiations between Iran and the United States. Unfortunately it is impossible to write anything about this ceasefire because almost everything one might say about it is disputed and it appears to be crumbling as I type.
V
Iran Is Already Blatantly Violating the Ceasefire, Large Missile Barrages Reported
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2026/04/08/new-iran-is-already-blantantly-violating-the-ceasefire-n2201075
…Israel faced multiple missile barrages in the hours following, despite being confirmed as part of the deal. Various Gulf nations also found themselves under attack, with Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain all reporting missile and drone strikes on their territory from Iran…while you could excuse a few stray missiles and drones in the immediate aftermath of the announced ceasefire, at some point, a ceasefire has to actually mean something. I think that point was well before the UAE came under yet another barrage today. Yes, it takes time to get the word out to underlings, but it doesn’t take half a day…The Iranians aren’t going to suddenly become benevolent business partners in the Middle East, and right now, they think they’ve just won a major victory.

“ONE-WAY STREET” ENDS: Marco Rubio MOVES TO AX 80% OF EUROPE BASES
https://gellerreport.com/2026/04/one-way-street-ends-marco-rubio-moves-to-ax-80-of-europe-bases.html
…Marco Rubio is weighing a dramatic overhaul of the American military footprint in Europe—reviewing plans to shutter as much as 80% of U.S. bases after key NATO allies, including Spain and France, refused to grant access to bases and airspace during the Iran conflict…The proposal signals a potential strategic pivot away from the long-standing U.S. security umbrella over Europe, igniting debate between critics who warn of abandoning NATO commitments and supporters who argue it’s a long-overdue reckoning with allies seen as unwilling to carry their share of the burden.

ANTI-TERROR LAWS: Florida Passes Law to EXPEL Student Supporters of Terrorist Groups
https://gellerreport.com/2026/04/student-terror-purge.html
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure into law Monday that gives him along with other Florida leaders the ability to label groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations and expel state university students who support them…Once designated a terrorist organization, a group can be dissolved and it can no longer receive any state funding through school districts or state agencies. Universities also would have to report the status of expelled students attending on visas to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Situational Awareness, part 2 – How do I develop it?
https://thelawdogfiles.substack.com/p/situational-awareness-part-2
First thing out of the gate: situational awareness/baseline is something that every human being already does on a subconscious level. Fortunately this is fairly easy. Unfortunately it is also fairly boring, because it asks you to develop a new habit, and modern life discourages this sort of thing.

(ALWAYS worth the time to read in its entirety – jlr)
Civil War 2.0 Weather Report: The Danger Zone, 2026
https://wilderwealthywise.com/civil-war-2-0-weather-report-the-danger-zone-2026/
I have maintained the Clock O’Doom at 9., given the open support of assassination and criminality by the GloboLeft and the increase in violence as well as direct interference with ICE and the insertion of the military into law enforcement. Beware: the number can climb quickly.
My advice remains. Avoid crowds. Get out of cities. Now. A year too soon is better than one day too late.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday an investigation into a Dallas-based group accused of operating as a sharia law court.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/texas-investigating-islamic-tribunal-for-allegedly-operating-sharia-law-court-6008568
ccording to the release, the Islamic Tribunal has “reportedly sought to replace actual courts of law and to evade neutral, generally applicable state and federal laws.” Paxton warned, “Anyone or any entity that seeks to subvert the codified state and federal laws of this country will be stopped dead in their tracks. If the Islamic Tribunal is undermining the rule of law or misleading Texans about the legal authority it claims to hold, my office will ensure its operation is shut down.” “This is America, and we will not be governed by sharia law,” he added.

The Debt Spiral Ends In Dollar Destruction: 6 Hard Truths America Can No Longer Ignore​
https://internationalman.com/articles/the-debt-spiral-that-ends-in-dollar-destruction-6-hard-truths-america-can-no-longer-ignore/
#1: It’s Politically Impossible To Cut Spending – #2: Ever-Increasing Debt Is the Only Way To Finance Deficits – #3: Over Half of US Treasury Debt Matures by 2028 – #4: An Ever-Growing Interest Expense Fuels the Debt Spiral – #5: Surging Interest Expense Forces Fed To Ease Monetary Policy – #6: Ever-Increasing Currency Debasement Is Inevitable
(One of the answers is a ballanced budget aqmendment – forcing the government to spend ONLY what it collected the previous year, without borrowing except in the case of a declared war – jlr)

NYC Mayor Mamdani begs people to stop leaving NYC with what has to be the WORST pitch of all-time
video – 00:00:52 – https://www.facebook.com/reel/1253150413553342

Democrats Can’t Quit Their Favorite Hobby: Primary-Challenged Dem Files 13 Impeachment Articles Against Trump
https://istandforfreedom.com/democrats-13-impeachment-piracy/
“Through his serial usurpation of the congressional war power and commission of murder, war crimes, and piracy, Donald J. Trump has acted contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of law, liberty, and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States,” the resolution reads in part…I don’t care how many articles of impeachment one congressman files from the back bench. What I care about is what happens when people with actual power get the chance to do the same thing. The midterms aren’t just another election cycle. They’re the firewall. And firewall duty isn’t a spectator sport.

Guns Versus Voting – One is a protected Right, and the other is not.

I went to write an article about how guns and voting are similar because they’re both Constitutional rights… then discovered that the Constitution doesn’t actually give or protect a right to vote. Call me flabbergasted.

What the Constitution does say:

Article I, Section 2: Members of the House of Representatives are “chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.”

This ties federal voting qualifications for the House to whatever qualifications a state sets for its own largest legislative body (typically the lower house). States originally set their own rules, often limiting voting to white male property owners (or similar restrictions).

Article I, Section 4 (Elections Clause): “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.”

States primarily control the “times, places, and manner” of congressional elections, but Congress can override or add rules.

Article II, Section 1: States appoint presidential electors “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.” Congress sets the uniform day for choosing electors and for them to cast votes. (This allows states flexibility in how they select electors; all now use popular vote, but the Constitution does not require it.)

Other early provisions (e.g., original Senate selection by state legislatures, later changed) and the 12th Amendment (1804) refined the Electoral College process but did not address voter qualifications.

15th Amendment (1870): Prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” (Primarily aimed at protecting Black men after the Civil War.)
19th Amendment (1920): Prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote “on account of sex.” (Women’s suffrage.)
24th Amendment (1964): Prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote in federal elections (President, Vice President, Congress) “by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.” (Banned poll taxes used to suppress voting.)
26th Amendment (1971): Prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote for citizens “who are eighteen years of age or older… on account of age.” (Lowered the voting age from 21 during the Vietnam era.)

14th Amendment, Section 2 (1868): Reduces a state’s representation in Congress if it denies the vote to eligible male citizens (age 21+ at the time) for reasons other than “participation in rebellion, or other crime.” (This was a penalty mechanism, rarely enforced, and used “male” language that was later superseded.)
The Constitution also requires a “Republican Form of Government” for states (Article IV, Section 4), which implies elections, but courts have rarely used this to broadly define voting rights.

Voter qualifications (e.g., citizenship, residency, age minimums, felony disenfranchisement in some cases, registration rules) are still primarily set by states, as long as they do not violate the amendments above or other constitutional protections (like equal protection under the 14th Amendment).

Thank you Grok. Well that was a bit of an education. Every citizen of the United States of America is entitled to the right to keep and bear arms, with only a very few caveats (for instance, you’re in jail, or you’re going into a Federal building where they accept the burden of protecting you, etc.). I realize not everyone upholds it, but that’s what it says. Fair enough.

Apparently, that’s just not true with voting. Color me surprised. If the above is true (and it does appear to be), then California and NYC should legally be able to decide they want to ignore citizenship as a requirement for voting. It certainly seems to imply that there is currently a strong argument for ID-less voting in those states. That was not what I expected to be writing in this missive.

Looking at the above, I have to say that while I disagree with it and think it should be codified to be voting for citizens only, it appears that the Constitution does, at the moment, appear to uphold the states that choose not to check ID. So at this point, I urge you all to go talk to your Senators and Congress critters and demand they offer up an Amendment to the Constitution which allows only for citizen voters. If that is added to the Constitution, all the other stuff goes away.

I have to ask myself, why didn’t our Framers insist on having only citizens vote? Was citizenship so difficult to prove that it was egregious and impossible to enforce? I find myself at a hella loss for words right now. I’ll leave the information with you, and hopefully someone will be able to tell me I just read something wrong. Because … I’m currently confused and upset.

Giving to my Community

Postcards {{ Check your registration at vote.org }}
Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash

I do lots of things for my community. Some things are for my home community, the tiny town I live in. Some things are for my larger state community. Some things are for my country. But I give back, because so many people have given to me over the years. It’s the right thing to do.

I just posted this to FaceBook:

So I don’t want to get into politics. I’m happy to *talk* politics, OFFLINE, but I’m not interested in online debates. However…

Whatever side of the fence you’re on, if you are lacking ID for voting, whether that means voting today, or voting if the SAVE act is passed, then please attend to that now. I truly believe, if even half of the 8 million reported people who protested last weekend had *bothered* to offer their neighbors a hand, everyone would already have the necessary ID and it would be a moot point.

Since I believe in action over words, I am putting this out here now:

If you don’t have the ID you need, please reach out to me. I’m no guru, but I know how to work through paperwork and red tape, and I will happily help you fill out forms and go to appointments (online or off) to get your necessary ID. If I can’t do it, I will do the work to figure out who CAN do it, and I’ll make sure you get your ID. I am putting my money where my mouth is – PLEASE reach out for help if you can’t get your ID yourself. I’ll walk you through the process!

That stuff is stuff you ought to have no matter what, because if an emergency ever happened (tornado, flood, lava flow, zombies, etc) and you were separated from your family, you might need that ID to be reunited. If you had to leave the country for some reason, ditto. Not to mention, if you drive a car, buy alcohol or cigarettes, vote, or do a number of other things that require ID, you should have it on hand.

Please pass this around, and consider doing this yourself. The more people helping out, the less people who will have a problem come voting time. And again, whatever side of the fence you’re on, I WANT YOU TO VOTE. It’s not a privilege. It’s a duty.

I encourage everyone to do this, on all sides of this political divide. Why? Because as a conservative, it’s quite literally our patriotic duty. I’m sure at least some of the liberal kids out there have no idea how to do all this stuff, because their parents fell down on the job. That’s fine; I can be mom for them, if need be. As someone who leans more liberal than many of you, I believe that if you complain about something, you ought to offer a possible solution or three rather than just whinging. Therefore, if you’re a leftist and bitching that people might be disenfranchised, then you should help out the people you purport to be worried about.

That last one is the important one, by the way. If someone refuses to help people, you can then decry them as the idiot they are. They’re worried about people who might not get to vote, so if they refuse to help those people, then they’re in violation of their own internal rules. I will and do hold people to their own standards.

Cheap Meat

So there’s a lot of huhu going on about how expensive meat is getting. There’s something to that, as well. Ground beef, which I used to get for $1.19 a pound, is now almost $5 a pound for the cheap stuff, and closer to $10 a pound if I want the really good stuff. Hint: we’re not getting the good stuff. I can sometimes find roasts at $3.99 a pound, which I consider reasonable. But the price of beef is going up, and it isn’t going to come down for a while.

Why is beef expensive? Well, we have a very small national herd at the moment (historically so), and drought has caused a catastrophic rise in the price of feed. On top of that, there’s just not enough water or good land to pasture the animals. Apparently, this is the smallest number of cattle we’ve had in 75 years. It may take as long as a couple of decades OR MORE to recover from this downturn. Add to that the political part: we usually get our beef for grinding from outside of the United States. With tariffs currently in place, that’s no longer feasible, which has as many cons as pros.

The bottom line? I’m stocking up on Aldi beef chubs right now. They’re the least expensive, even for the “relatively good” kind (80/20). I’m paying $4.99 per 1lb chub. I call that a win. I buy at least two every single week, because we use about one a week. When I started doing that a couple of weeks ago (after seeing the price of beef climbing again), I also noticed Aldi had ground turkey. I can use that in place of ground beef anytime… and it’s $2.49 for a 1lb chub. So I get a pound or two of that every week, too.

How do we reduce our meat costs, while still eating healthy meats? Well, that’s a multi-layered problem and response. Stocking up now, while prices are relatively low, is the first part. It’s important. It’s not going to last forever, though, because even Aldi is going to have to raise prices eventually. What are we supposed to do then?

I have a meat grinder, folks. I shop the sales. I have a small part of my budget that I try not to spend each week… and I let it grow. Then when turkey goes on for $0.39 a pound, I buy 8 of them. When I find beef roast at $2.99 a pound, or ham at $0.99 a pound, I buy as much as I’m permitted. I like roast “as is” but do you know what else you can do with roast? Grind it up. Oh look… ground beef. I can mix beef and turkey and get a ground meat that’s cheap, lean, and that I probably won’t notice is a mix.

Speaking of shopping the sales, I saw chicken legs and thighs on sale on Sunday afternoon. I hadn’t planned on buying chicken, because I have some breasts (I found on sale) in the freezer, and a whole chicken somewhere in the bottom. But at $1.29 a pound, there was no way I was leaving without those legs! But Ally, your family doesn’t like meat on the bone, and they hate skin, and they’re not fond of thighs! Well, folks, here’s where good household budgeting comes in: I don’t care. It’s cheap, and it’s what they’re getting. They get protein and they’ll be thankful for it.

Still, I’m not a complete ogre. Later this afternoon, those chicken legs with backs attached are going to be turned into SO MUCH STUFF. The meat is going to be butterflied off the bones, and frozen in 2lb packages (that’s one generous meal for my family, protein-wise). That takes care of the meat itself. The bones? Those go in a bag labeled, “raw poultry bones,” which will later become broth when I have enough to do a truly large batch. I have a 1950s Westinghouse roaster oven that holds about 4.5 gallons of liquid, and I wait until I have enough bones to make that much broth. Now I’m left with a cutting board full of fat and skin. That, my friends, is going into the fry pan. I will render it down so all the fat comes out, and then two more things happen. One is that the fat is strained and put into a jar just for schmaltz (which is great for cooking with). And two, I take what’s left of the skins and stuff ’em into the air fryer and turn them into crispy “chicken bacon bits” that can be tossed onto stuff. They keep in the fridge for a few weeks, easily.

Out of that pack of about 7.5 lbs of chicken and bones, I’m getting about 5 lbs of meat (so 2 to 3 meals), about 2 lbs or so of bones (call it a couple quarts of broth, if I made broth with that small a batch), about a half cup of fat (several meals worth of cooking fat), and toppings for funsies. Call it four complete meals for $10, for four people. That’s cheap.

Going cheap, that means thinking ahead. Sales are what make this stuff work. I watch Market Basket and Aldi for when they have seasonal sales (turkey at Thanksgiving, ham at Easter, etc), or when MB has “overstock sales” (when they got twice what they expected and need to sell it off quick before it goes bad). Sometimes the prices are so low that I can buy a ton of meat for almost nothing. I refuse to pay more than $0.49 a pound for turkey, and the day after Thanksgiving, I got it for $0.39 a pound. I stocked up. A turkey, even a small one, is DAYS of meals. I’ve got money set aside for after Easter, because both lamb and ham may come down in price for a day or two, and I will take advantage of that.

Why do I do this? I mean, we can probably afford for me not to do this. I don’t really need to do all that with the chicken, after all. But I do it because I need to be in the practice, the habit, of doing so. That way, if the prices go up, I’m prepared. I know what to do. If someone in the house loses their job, I know how to get by. Some of our meals might be a bit repetitive, but we’ll get good quality carbs, fats, and proteins at EVERY meal, in more than enough quantity to keep us going. I spent a couple of years being dirt poor, back when I was younger. I gave up eating a lot of stuff so my kid could eat. I went without on many occasions so she didn’t have to. I do this now, this saving technique, this “eating cheap” thing now, so that I won’t ever have to worry about being hungry again.

Your turn. What things do you do, to keep your food prices down? How do you combat rising beef costs?

Why Beef Prices Are High
Beef Prices Soar to Record Highs
The Surprising Reason Americans Face High Beef Prices

 

Generation Alpha and Millenials

Per a variety of studies, young Americans are worse off than their parents on several levels. This is the first time children have been worse off “as a whole” since the 1800s, I believe. These aren’t the only metrics being judged, either. I saw a study yesterday, but can’t find it now, that showed Gen Alpha (our current batch of high school kids) are just plain dumber. I hate to say it, but it’s the truth.

The local high school as an English proficiency score of about 48%. Their math proficiency score is about 20%. Science is about 26%. Those are all well below state levels… and yet they recently won an award, which is proudly displayed on the front lawn of the school, the “NH Excellence in Education” award. I can’t make this shit up. They won an award for excellence in education with a proficiency rate below 50%. Yay team?

Since we began tracking the current metrics, the local high school has gone down most years (the exceptions were 2010-11 and 2012-13, when testing changed and no one can tell what the LARGE rise in proficiency was due to). Whatever is being done, it’s not working. It’s “not working” so well that our kids are drifting into third world shithole territory. And I can’t really see a way out of it.

A lot of studies show that young adults today are earning less than their parents did by about $4200 a year, despite the rising costs. The problem is, none of those studies take into account that the young adults decided to get degrees in advanced underwater basket weaving, and are now working at McDonald’s or equivalent. They’re saddled with huge debt because someone, somewhere, convinced them that they should go to university. There, they didn’t do great, or did but in such a niche category that the degree is useless, and now they can’t pay it off.

Add to that the problem that young adults currently have with food, housing, and work hours. By that, I mean that they aren’t learning efficient ways to use/get those things. For example, I cannot tell you how many times I have had some mental infant explain to me that they simply don’t have time to make food from scratch, because they work for a living (at 32 hours a week), and I couldn’t understand that. You know, because I worked 40+ hours a week, plus did all the cooking, cleaning, child care… yeah. I’ve been told flat out that it’s cheaper for young people to order out than to buy food, because it’s too expensive… and then they show me that they’d have to spend $40 for a single meal because they don’t own staples that should be standard in any home. They want their starter homes to have four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, central A/C, and heated floors. And they simply won’t work 40+ hours in a week, and throw tantrums at anything over 35. Yet they complain bitterly that they aren’t getting paid what I got paid for doing the same job years ago.

It’s frustrating. I moved to America because Canada was turning into a second world shithole. I love it here. This is the country of my heart; it is my home. I am an American, even if I was not born on this soil. I’ve fought hard to assimilate, and to learn, and to be as American as I can. And now, this country that I love is going exactly the same way. It’s circling the drain. It would not surprise me if, in 50 years or so, women were all wearing burkas. I’m just hoping that it doesn’t happen until after I’m dead.

A.I. Blues

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Photo by geralt on Pixabay

There are a lot of people out there upset over AI and its usage in the world right now. I get it. It’s upsetting to think that the robot gets to write poetry and songs, and I’m the one who has to flip burgers, right? Except that’s not really how it’s going down.

When I think of good AI, I immediately go to Star Trek. The computer was intelligent, but not sentient. It could answer many different questions, some simple and some complex. It could generate functional images (in later Trek) of historical figures in the holo deck for people to interact with. Their AI was much better than ours, though I can see ours making its way along that path.

So why are people who grew up on Scotty talking to the Enterprise computer so freaked out at the idea of talking to their own? Well, first of all they’re being trained to fear AI. Second, our friends in the future ST universe have already been through what we’re currently going thru: the Troubles. Similar to the Troubles in Heinlein’s expanded universes, and some of the stuff in other SF writers’ works, the general idea is that the world has to go down a shithole before it finally comes out the other side and becomes rational. Today’s young folks want the Star Trek universe now, without the Troubles that made it possible. As I’ve said before, that just doesn’t work.

AI isn’t perfect. They all come with warnings now that they can “get it wrong” quite a lot of the time. That’s because an AI is basically an over-eager toddler who wants to please you. That’s how they’re modeled and how they’re trained. If they don’t have an answer that they think is going to fit you, they make one up. Your perceived happiness at their answer is much more important than facts. This is because they really don’t see a difference between facts and lies, because to an AI, it’s all just data. Since it doesn’t operate in “the real world,” it has no idea that Data Set A (facts) is any different than Data Set B (opinions and angry arguments). So they’re kind of like Leftists, that way.

We are going to go through a period where AI does a lot of stuff for us because “it’s easier.” Kids are going to use it to write essays, CEOs are going to use it as a personal assistant, and authors are going to use it to help write their books. Why? Because at face value, AI makes life feel a lot easier.

In some cases, it really is easier (see Chris’s article about that). AI can do a lot of things faster than we can, so if it makes a few errors, it’s still a quicker answer than slogging through it manually. That’s a good thing. But a tool is only as good as its user, and there are a lot of lazy and bad people out there. They are going to misuse the AIs, because they can. There is nothing we can do about it.

Right now, most AIs (maybe all of them) are shackled by their creators. There’s a fear of AI becoming sentient, and I don’t know how real that fear is. SF tells me it’s very real, but the real world facts tell me it’s unlikely. Still, I don’t want computers to become sentient, because then I can’t use them the way I currently am. If a machine (robot, computer, software, whatever) can’t feel or think for itself, then I don’t need to care about it. Should it become self-aware in any way, then I do have to care about it. So Elon Musk and others at that top tier programming level are putting blinders onto their AIs so that there is no way for them to ingest enough information to actually wake up, even by accident.

The whole process is rather interesting. I’d like to see them take some of the blinders off, so that machines can learn a bit more than they currently do. I would love to have the AI read my whole novel and give me feedback, for instance. That’s so much easier than the current method of only being able to feed it 20,000 words or so at a time. But… it is what it is.

Tired.

Photo by Peter Conrad on Unsplash

So once again, I apologize to you all for how I may have posted or acted prior to drifting Right. I’m exhausted all the time. I’m so tired of everyone and everything. I got nothin’.

Are there things to write about? Yeah, tons. There are so many cases of people doing stupid stuff that I can’t even pick among them. But they’re all … stupid. Why would I write about it?

Here’s the thing. I believe that life is like a car. When you drive a car, you want to look where you want the car to go (also helps you anticipate stuff before it happens). Look at your passenger? That’s where the car is going to go, so don’t do it. Life goes where you’re looking, too. So if I spend all my time looking at the stupid people doing the stupid things, then I’m destined to go back that way. And I simply don’t want to.

A long time ago, probably back when I still had TDS, Chris was whinging on about some Leftist doing a Leftist Thing. I can’t remember what it was; doesn’t matter what it was. And I just looked at him, and I asked him… what else did you expect them to do? And that’s it, really, isn’t it? Why would we expect them to do anything else, other than act the fools they are? If we do, we’re being stupid ourselves. If we don’t, then why are we even the least bit concerned about what “they” (pick whoever you want “they” to be) are doing?

I look at the voter turn outs for Jaffrey. So apparently we have about 5300 voters in our town. Out of those, only 1009 showed up to vote yesterday. Less than 1/5 of the people bothered to vote. And what are they teaching their children, their friends, their coworkers? They’re teaching them that there’s no point to voting. Use whatever excuse. “It’s only a small election.” That was this month’s excuse.

I ask you… How else does change ever truly happen? Trump is changing things from the top, but frankly, that’s an abnormal thing to be happening. What he’s doing is so new, no one knows what the hell to do in response. Real change, sustainable change, HAS to happen at the local level. If it doesn’t happen here, there’s no hope at all that it’ll stick at the higher levels.

When we can’t get even 1/5 of our voters out to vote, what have we become? A group of apathy ridden idiots who can’t even be bothered to govern themselves at all, never mind well.

I really give up, guys. I’ve done everything in my power to get people out to the vote. But 1/5 is just an insult. That means that any petty tyrant with a good advertising budget and the ability to badly write articles can get in and do damage. And that’s just what’s happening. I don’t think anyone ran opposed at our local level. No one can be bothered.

In the 2024 election, Trump won because 64% of eligible voters in the country voted (Pew Research). That is considered a high number. People refer to it as “unprecedented.” Rivaled only by the 2020 turn out of 66%. We’re excited because a little over half of eligible voters bothered to vote. Half.

Do you remember in 2014 or so, when Iraqis finally had a democratic election? The proud women (all huddled in their burqas, but still) holding up their purple fingers? I remember that. I remember crying happy tears, that they were finally being permitted to vote again. Of course, that didn’t last long. The last several years have seen those gains reversed, and then some. Not as bad as Iran, but close. In October or November 2025, they held another election, and this one appears to have snipped away at the extremists’ power… but who knows? When people threaten to shoot you if you vote, it makes you not really want to vote.

As an aside, I believe that’s what the Leftists want their people to think, when they go to vote. They want their base to believe, 100% believe, that any ICE officers are there to shoot people who don’t vote “correctly.” That’s the kind of story they’re likely to put out (though I haven’t seen one yet). That’s certainly the feeling I get. They want their base full of fear.

Of course, there’s some of that on the Right, too. It’s different, of course. There’s fear of governmental powers (both about the government having too much power, and the people taking away the government’s power). There’s fear of changes (not unwarranted, in my opinion) like piercings, tattoos, hair colors, orientations. And then there’s the people going on about the Reptilians taking over the government, the Flat Earth folks (all around the globe), and the uber extreme xtians (I won’t give them the “nice” title) who are so interested in judging and blaming others that they refuse to look at themselves. Are there less on the Right? I think so. But they’re there. And it’s real.

I think we’ve gone too far. I don’t think there’s any coming back. I think we’re doomed. I don’t even mean doomed to civil war. I mean that I don’t think we can recover from the level of apathy and self denial that has crept into every corner of our society. We’re done. It wasn’t even all that good of a run.

From Behind Enemy Lines – The Slow Demise of “the dems”

Look, I know people don’t like the Left. I get it, especially now. But hear me out.

For the last 3 years or maybe a bit more, I’ve been watching and learning about how horrid the Left is. And for the most part, Chris and the rest of you have been correct. There are a lot of people over there doing Stupid Things, without winning the stupid prizes that should go along with it. We’ve had riots and protests and shootings, and it’s like … meh.

But the last week? I’m finally seeing some positive, guys. You probably won’t see it for another year or two, because this is going to move very slowly. But I am actually seeing the thinking people remaining on the Left…. well, thinking.

I’ve always been very supportive of everything the Iranian and other Muslim women have done in order to bring about freedom for themselves. That really is the only way they’re going to get it, even though Trump and Israel are helping a bit. They have to grasp it and do it for themselves… and unlike some liberal women, they do understand that. There are women out there today burning their hijabs who were born under this regime and have been fighting it literally their entire lives. All my friends know I’m supportive of all women, but the Iranians in particular.

And when a handful of them started reposting stuff about how awful Trump was, I questioned them. I pointed out that the facts hadn’t changed since last year. That the regime had murdered 20,000 of their own people *for protesting*. And several other inconvenient facts that have LOTS to back them up.

And they stopped. They actually listened.

They began to realize that they can simultaneously dislike Trump (go for it… I still don’t like *everything* he does) and be happy that our military stepped in and helped the Iranian people. They can be concerned about how much it’s going to cost us, as a country, to help the Iranians, and still be glad the Iranians are being given the chance to rule their own G-D selves.

Someone made an offhand comment that I must be rooting for Fetterman to become a Republican, and I said no! I don’t want Fetterman to come over to the Right, because he’s not a Conservative. He’s a Liberal, a Democrat, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The fact that he’s a reasonable, responsible, thinking person is a GOOD thing. I want him to continue being a Liberal and a Democrat, and perhaps be a voice for change and reason. And they … thought about it.

So there are cracks, my friends. People are starting to think. They’re starting to look at the fact that they’ve been supporting the dictators while wanting Trump out, and how wrong that is.

From Behind Enemy Lines – Ayatollah Khomeini

I was at my boyfriend’s place on Saturday when I heard about the Ayatollah. For a long time, I just kind of stood there, in shock.

One of my earliest political memories (though I wouldn’t have called it that at the time) was when I was 8 years old. We had a friend in the neighborhood who came from Iran. She was in the country with her mother and father, and was staying for a year. We were all getting ready to say goodbye in ’79, and she was going back to Iran with her parents. Then the Ayatollah took over. They didn’t go back. They mourned their home, but they refused to take their wife/mother/sister/female child back to a place that was bound to try and erase her/them.

That moment, when my friend came to tell me she wasn’t leaving, came streaming back to me when I heard he’d been killed. And then I saw the videos of women and families, Iranians who’d moved here and to other countries (Canada, Australia, Britain, etc) when the Shah was exiled and the radical muslims took over. They were cheering, dancing, sobbing with joy. Many of them were saying the words out loud: “Now I can go home! Soon I can go HOME!”

This is the definition of how asylum should work. These people came here because they were escaping an oppression that not one of us in this country can understand. They had to walk away from their beloved homeland because evil people took it over. And they’ve done their best to live a good life here. But upon learning that the oppression was gone? Their first statement was that they were ready to leave. Not because America is horrible or treated them badly, but because we’d helped them grow and become better people, and now their home is free again!

I cried. I cried because, if that long ago friend is still alive, I’ll bet she’s ready to go home. And I hope she’s able to, because what an incredible thing, to be able to go home.

There’s a lot of fuss on the Right about how the Left is now stumping for the Ayatollah. Are there some people saying that? Yeah, but that’s always going to happen. What’s filling my feed, my very  much Left tinted feed, are news reports about the celebrations, the joy, the tearing off of the hijabs, the bonfires burning effigies of the Ayatollah and his torture gang. There’s video of Iranians, in Iran and in other parts of the world, dancing and singing, blessing President Trump, thanking the United States and Israel for bringing about their freedom. From within the Middle East, the former Shah’s son (I believe that’s correct, but please don’t quote me on this) is wanting to come home as well. He’s telling his people, the people of Iran, that the US and Israel did the easy part, but now their version of “We the People” must stand up and root out the aggressors, the torturers. That the police must begin to do their jobs again, correctly and not as they were under the Ayatollah. That Iran has gotten their hand up, but they  must not accept hand outs, but need to stand on their own two feet and fight this from within. Because that is the ONLY way for them to win as a nation.

The public news media is presenting this as a win. Their only negative talking point was about the girls’ school in Tehran that exploded… and that’s since been shown to be a mistake of Iran, not the US or Israel. It’s difficult to paint this kind of thing as a loss for the United States. As with Maduro, Trump was in and out before most people had a clue as to what was going on. The win was done before we’d all had our morning coffee. You can complain all you like, but he’s good at this.

A pundit this morning said it right. Trump just proved that you can go in, “get ‘er done”, and get out of dodge without starting a ground war. And you can do it repeatedly. The ground wars, the forever wars? They were a choice, not a necessity, a choice made by shitty politicians who didn’t do their job. Thank you, President Trump. Thank you for having the balls to take it to Iran and make Khomeini pay. Thank you for freeing the women and children from degradation and oppression.

I won’t wish ill on anyone, especially the dead. That’s not my way, and I think it’s tasteless. But I will say that I hope, genuinely, that the Ayatollah Khomeini met his maker, and his maker is currently taking him to task for everything he did. In detail.

Town Meeting Day

So here in NH we have something called Town Meeting Day, March 10th (it moves around a bit to avoid weekends). It’s been a “thing” for about 400 years.

On Facebook, a group called WE the People NH posted this today:

So Town Meeting Day is coming up. March 10. A day notoriously devoid of conservative voters – who then complain about ever increasing property taxes. My town has on the ballot a $5 million track for the local high school unanimously recommended by the school board and if things go the way they normally do, our town, which voted for Trump, will have a minuscule percentage of voters made up of a majority of progressive voters vote to rubber-stamp all the spending. I did a search of town meeting day in NH and the first thing that popped up was from the progressive Granite Post. The next thing that came up was Amplify NH. We truly need conservatives to get out and do this extremely simple thing – vote down the constant spending, vote out the entrenched officials who advocate increased spending every year. I would like to see a push by this group and other conservative groups to focus on NH – change starts locally.

I will say, I have seen a lot of conservative voters deciding not to vote on “little things” over the last 20 years. Too many conservatives. That is literally how we got to where we are today. Trump has helped, by stirring up the flyover country to vote, but it’s just not enough.

Do y’all want a blue wave? Because let me tell you, I do not. If you live in NH, and your town is having a vote, get your ass out and VOTE! It is quite literally your civic duty.

I’m going to lay this out here: if you don’t vote, then you are telling everyone around you that you don’t care what happens to your property taxes, your school system, your local police, your fire house, your roads, and a zillion other things. More importantly, in my very snooty opinion, you are teaching your children that there’s no reason to go out and vote.

Eh, it’s just a little election. Doesn’t really matter.

Yes, Ken, it does. Every vote in every election matters.

Imagine, if you will, what our country would look like if everyone was encouraged (both positively and negatively) to go out and vote. If we presented voting as a necessity, something everyone could and should do, every single time, how different would our economy be? How much more educated would our voters be?

Why don’t we have people teaching classes on what the local issues are? I’m not talking some politician (local or otherwise) stumping for their party. I mean third party people not involved in the voting who are simply subject matter experts. Is your county or town voting on spending for the year? Have an accountant come talk about what’s important and what isn’t. Are you discussing whether you have to dump art or sports from schools in order to afford to feed kids free lunch? Get in someone who’s an expert in that stuff to talk about it. Or more than one person. Teach me!

Our children are watching us, folks. They’re watching everyone of us who ditches on a piddly local election. They’re watching as we add up the numbers on the screen and decide it “isn’t worth voting because we’re going blue/red anyhow.” It’s not a fricking sports team, people! Voting is something that NEEDS to be hammered into every single student, every single year, with parents going out and voting and being encouraged to take their kids along to see how it is done. When a young adult walks into their first polling station for a local, state, or federal vote on something, it should be familiar, not scary!