Death To Somebody?

    My goodness, there is so much to write about.  It’s difficult to pick one subject upon which to pontificate.  But, choose I shall.  No sense disappointing the person out there who reads this blog.

    I mean, I could have chosen to discuss the kidnapping/disappearance/whatever of Nancy Guthrie.

    But, Fox News is all over that.

    Or, I could point out my feelings regarding the Epstein Files.  But, that’s been hashed out over and over.  So, instead, I’ll just do nothing about it and hope it goes away.  You know, like the Justice Department.

"That is so not true.  I plan on reading a strongly worded letter on 'Hannity'!"

    Actually, I considered the Supreme Court smackdown of President Trump’s tariff policy.  Yeah, that was tempting.  But, let’s give it a few days before launching into that little partisan drama.

    No, instead, I believe I’ll discuss that which could potentially kill thousands of people.  The dustup with Iran.

    Ostensibly meant as a show of support for the tens of thousands of their own people murdered by the mullahs, the United States has dispatched a considerable amount of military force to the Persian Gulf. 

 

Along with another carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Gerald R. Ford is on its way.

     Sidebar, your honor?  One of those forces is the aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford and her strike group.  Yes, I realize that men (and women) belong on ships and ships belong at sea, but those poor bastards have been jerked around for eight months.  Norfolk-Mediterranean-Caribbean-Middle East-Norfolk (?).  I've ridden my share of ships, but I've never had to put up with that. 

    Predictably, the ayatollah and his minions are threatening all kinds of dire results if the Americans dared to attack them.

"We've got nudies of Hillary Clinton and we're not afraid to use them!"

    Fun Fact:  okay, probably not fun, but a fact.  When I was in the Navy, we were told that it isn’t the Persian Gulf, after all.  Rather, it’s the “Arabian” Gulf.  This was a nod to the Saudis, so they wouldn’t be offended by “Persian” Gulf.  “Persia” being a former name of Iran.

    Pretty silly, if you ask me.  Imagine calling something which has been one name for centuries something else just because you want to tick off someone. 

Oh.  Wait.

    Fun Fact #2:  Persia was previously known as “Iran.”

    I’m not a big fan of American saber-rattling on the other side of the world.  Frankly, and this may seem heartless, what goes on in Iran is Iran’s problem, not ours.  If the United States was to swoop in like Superman everywhere there is injustice in the world, we would bleed ourselves dry.

I consider kidnapping Maduro to be different. 
Because Venezuela is in the Western Hemisphere.  And fuck you, that's why.
You know, doesn't he look like Saddam Hussein here? 
Well, except for the being dead part.

    Yes, I admit that Iran has been a very bad actor globally, but I still don’t want to put our servicemen and women in harm’s way.

    Clearly, a complicated issue which has definite pros and cons.  Still, I’m not for war over there.

    Incidentally, I would have been an isolationist in the late 1930s.

    But, and this is a very strong but, were one of our carriers (or other ships) to be attacked and, God forbid, any one of its crew killed, I would be one of the first ones to call for revenge.  I would want Tehran to disappear.

    Is that a “Wag the Dog” kind of proposition?  Is that what our government is hoping for?  Perhaps, but I would be onboard for a massive military response in any event.

It's an allusion to a movie. 
Feel free to look it up. 
No time to explain it here.

    Just, dear God, don’t let it happen.

    Oh, before I forget, up until December 7, 1941, I would have been an isolationist.  After that, you betcher ass, I would have been full-on to grind the empire into the dust of history.

Because they dared attack our boats.

    Because that’s how I roll.

    

Senor Bunny

    The two of you who read this know that I am a Conservative. I would not actively seek out those who are not Conservatives.  

Which is why awards shows (aka "Hollywood Circle Jerks") are dead forever to me. 

    However, I watched Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show.  My logic is that NOBODY can tell me what or who to watch.  I prefer to make up my own mind.  Talking heads don't fill my head with opinions, thank you very much.

    That said, Senor Bunny's show was...okay.  Not my kind of music, but...okay.  He didn't wear a dress, didn't spout off about the evil El Gran Diablo Naranja ("The Great Orange Devil," I think), and didn't seem overtly political (that bit about electrical poles exploding into sparks near the end was a dig at Puerto Rico's woeful electrical power system.  That was fair.  Puerto Rico's power grid is a mess).

He did seem to have a bad case of the crabs, though

    Apparently, though, his lyrics were filthy and, if in English, would have merited a huge smackdown from the FCC. I mean, come on, children are watching!

Patriots fans, though?  Those people cuss at baptisms

.

    That would be my only complaint.  But, since I don't know Spanish...uh...well...

It's all Greek to me.

    To counter what some people consider a highly inappropriate bid by the NFL to curry favor with a niche group

The same NFL which has learned nothing from Bud Light.

Turning Point USA provided an alternative show featuring Kid Rock.  Supposedly, Mr. Rock has had some songs with questionable lyrics, as well.

But, that's okay because he blasted cases of Bud Light.
USA! USA! USA!

    Apparently, millions tuned in.  But not, as we're being told by the Left., nearly as many who watched the allegedly obscene Telemundo extravaganza during the Super Bowl (135 million...?).

    But, hear me out, what if Roger Goodell had a stroke and thought Kid Rock was the perfect choice to headline the show?  The Left then (and I hate that politics have infiltrated sports) would have had Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and twerking behinds hop around on another channel as an alternative. 

    I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers remained the same (or were close).

    I'd be curious just how many televisions remained tuned in to NBC, Peacock (or wherever it's shown-I can't remember) while people, gathered at Super Bowl parties, shoved their faces in bowls of onion dip or inhaled their twentieth chicken wing, all the while bitching about how awful that game was.

    People who couldn't give a rat's ass about the halftime show because....ULTIMATE NACHOS!!!! 

And it was a terrible game, too.  After all, this crazy bastard
got more yardage than the New England Patriots.

    At any rate, I hope I'm right and that this nation hasn't become so polarized that our allegedly premier sporting event hasn't transformed into an Us vs Them grudgematch.

 

Or is the Puppy Bowl, or golf, going to be my only refuges?

Huh. Imagine That.

 

"Nobody is illegal on stolen land."

"Hey, guys, hey, guys!  Forget all about this! 
Word on the street is that we can get ahold of Billie Eilish's mansion for a song. 
We just gotta beat Elizabeth Warren to the punch!"

This Isn't Going to End Well

 

    Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was a U.S. citizen and a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.

    I have zero doubt he was a good man with a good heart.  And a defective brain.

    In any event, Alex Jeffrey Pretti is dead.

    Yes, the first amendment of the United States most definitely guarantees the right to (among other things), “...peaceably protest...”. 

Note the word "peaceably," but we're not getting into that here.

    So, Alex Pretti had an absolute right to join the rest of the batshit crazy loons* to protest law enforcement going after violent criminals in this country illegally.  Note the word “illegally.”  

    We’re also not getting into that here.  All I’ll say about that is some useful idiots don’t know the difference between “illegal” and “legal” (we call those “stupid” people).  There are also those who refuse to acknowledge the difference (huh, they’re also stupid).

    Or pandering clowns with an agenda.  I'm talking to you, Governor.

"Tampon?"

     Mr. Pretti was shot and killed by ICE officers enforcing federal law.  It very well could have been a tragic accident.  Or it wasn’t a tragic accident.  Like Renee Good’s killing (not murder), it was tragic, that’s for sure, though.  

"DRIVE, BABY, DRIVE!"
"JFC, haven't you done enough???"

    However, Pretti would still be alive if:

    1.  He did not bring a loaded gun to a protest that had the potential to be violent (even though he had that right).

    2.  He did not get into a scuffle with law enforcement (idiot mistake #1).

    BTW, said scuffle was exacerbated by the refusal of Mayor Frey’s police department to protect federal agents doing their job.

    3. When he did get into a scuffle, he continued to resist (idiot mistake #2).

This almost never ends well

     Okay, let’s suppose ICE is at fault.  Seriously doubt it, but let’s suppose.

    If Pretti went limp and was taken into custody, does anyone with a functioning brain cell seriously think he would have seen jail time?

    No, the Minnesota justice system would have let him walk and, more than likely, paid him damages.

"And made a donation, in his name, to a Minneapolis Learing Center."

    What’s more, does anyone with a functioning brain cell honestly think that, if charged with a federal crime, anything would have happened to him?  Not with Republicans and the Bondi Justice Department in charge.

"That's where you're wrong. 
I would have read a sternly worded letter of outrage on 'Hannity.'"

    But, I’ll guarantee one thing:

    Alex Jeffrey Pretti would be alive today.

    I hate to say this, but the more people are allowed to act the fool (I blame both sides of the aisle), the deadlier things will get.

    This isn't going to end well.

*Let’s talk briefly about having the “right” to do something.  Yep.  Unquestionably.  But, it reminds me of accompanying someone who just wanted to step into the crosswalk of a very busy street.  When I reminded him to watch for traffic, he told me, “The sign says traffic must yield to pedestrians.’ I then tell him, “Yes, it does.  Congratulations.  When you get struck and killed by someone [people often pass schoolbuses with their lights on, too], you can tell Saint Peter you were right and had the ‘right of way.’”

Alex Jeffrey Pretti was right to bring a gun to a protest with the potential for violence. 

Alex Jeffrey Pretti stepped into a crosswalk without looking.

   

  

Awful and Unnecessary

    Something awful and unnecessary happened in Minneapolis last week.

    You know what I’m talking about.  At least I hope you do.

    Let’s be clear.  If asked on which side I fall, I would fall on the side of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) every day of the week and twice on Sunday.  Those folks have an unbelievably difficult job, made only more difficult by lunatics.  Who view themselves as divinely blessed to rid the nation of those deemed the modern-day Gestapo by horrendously irresponsible media and politicians.

    I’m talking to you, Mayor Frey and Governor Walz, you retard.

"Would a tampon make it all better?"

    That some people defend those who broke our immigration laws, some of whom committed heinous crimes while here, boggles my mind.

    We are not the same.

    It can only be Trump Derangement Syndrome.  Look, I don’t like 47, either.  But, Idiot Joe and Slappy deported more than Orange Jesus while they were in office.  You people are exhausting.

"Me and my nurse love Orange Jesus!  It's a refreshing drink that goes great with ice cream. 
No joke."

"That's Orange Julius, you idiot!"

    NOTE:  For those calling the United States a fascist dictatorship ruled by a tyrant, have a look at Iran.  Yeah, you would have disappeared months ago if you were right.

    Renee Good, self-styled ICE tracker, inserted herself into a law enforcement operation.  Hindering such an operation is a crime and she should have been prosecuted for such.

    From what I can tell from the video, though, she seems like a pleasant, if deranged, person. 

"That's fine, dude.  I'm not mad at you."

    It's jarring, considering what was about to happen.

    In my opinion, the real villain of the story is her wife, Becca Good.  As I will cover below, her butch bellicosity and “Drive, baby, drive!”  made things worse.

She should be prosecuted.

    Her killer (not murderer), Jonathan Ross, was the victim of a vehicular assault six months ago, which resulted in over 30 stitches.  Surely, the thought had to have weighed on his mind.

    Should he have stood directly in front of the vehicle, weapon at the ready?  Perhaps not.

    However, should Renee Good have floored the accelerator of her SUV in the general direction of a federal agent (pointing the aforementioned weapon) after being told to “get out of the fucking vehicle!”? 

    I mean, who the fuck does that?

   Do I think she intended to hit Ross, thus causing serious harm, if not death? 

   More than likely not.

   Here’s where I think the wife merits blame.  By shouting “Drive, baby, drive!” did she cause Good to act on instinct, not seeing the agent?  She had to have been nervous.  Perhaps.  What do I know?

    What I do know is that, if someone barks at me during a tense situation, I could very easily act on that command.

    Now, as to Ross...

    Should he have stood off to the side a fraction?  Still have his gun raised, unquestionably, but not so much in the car’s path?  Perhaps.  Once again, what do I know?

    The man had to make a split-second decision.  What he saw was a vehicle lurching at him.  In that incredibly-brief amount of time, in his mind it was kill or be killed.

    I know what I would do.  I would shoot.

    So would you, Mr. "I Saw the Video a Dozen Times While Sitting On the Couch."

Or toilet.

    Did Renee Good cause her own death?  Of course not.  But, did she make an incredibly bad decision, thus putting herself in the crosshairs (poor choice of words, perhaps) of an agent who had already seen a car used as a weapon?

    Absolutely.

    Awful.  And unnecessary.

    Tragically, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of it.      

 ********

    Not for nothing, I must have missed the outrage when Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on a Charlotte train.

By an illegal immigrant

And Now, a Word From Benedict Arnold

 "I was an American Major General who fought with distinction during the American Revolution.  In fact, in my opinion, the Americans would not have won the Battle of Saratoga were it not for me.  Yet, everyone gets their knickers all in a twist when they read how I planned on turning over West Point to the British.  But, the Congress, and even General Washington, didn't give me the respect that a true hero deserved.  After all, what's a little treason between friends?  Therefore, I stand with Arizona senator, and retired Navy Captain, Mark Kelly.  By the way, where is Arizona?" 

  

Trouble

     As in, “I’m in Trouble With Everybody.”

    The good news is that hardly anyone reads this.

    The bad news is that I’ll probably tick off those who do.

    As quite a few people know, I did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.  I fact, I haven't voted for him since 2016.  Even then, I would have voted Libertarian, but their candidate was batshit crazy.

"I still don't know where Aleppo is."

    Mind you, I didn’t vote for that cackling imbecile, either.  Rather, I wrote in Ron De Santis, knowing fully how much of a futile gesture that was.  I may as well have written in Al Penwasser.

    My reasoning was that no way was I going to throw my support towards a man who

Or is that 'whom'? 
Oh, eff it.  English, amirite?

I found fundamentally flawed.  Whether he won or lost, it wasn’t going to be because of me.  I just couldn’t do it.

    And, for those who sling accusations of, “Well, by not voting for Trump, you’re helping Harris”, I counter with “By not voting for Harris, aren’t I just helping Trump?”

    Enter MAGA brain freeze.

    Of course, since I am a Conservative, I’m overall happy with the result.  This nation would be in far worse shape had Harris and, God help us, Walz, won.

    NOTE:  Why the idiot from Minnesota had no business being vice-president would take up an entire blog post.  So, let’s just focus on Orange Jesus for now.

"Makes me yearn for the good old days of putting tampons in boys rooms."

    If nothing else, the border is closed.  There are certainly other good things to point out that Trump has done, but that is number one, by my way of thinking.

    On the other hand, Cheeto just can’t keep his fucking mouth closed.  The man's ego is next level crazy.  For instance, Trump class battleships!!??  What in the actual fuck is that all about?  In my opinion, no warship, let alone class of warships, has any business being named for an actual living person.  I’m talking about you, USS George H.W. Bush (commissioned nine years before Bush died).

    NOTE:  Of course, since construction on these things won’t start until the 30s and The Donald is 79...

    There's a bunch more, to be sure, but another thing which gives me pause

Not to be confused with 'paws.' 
See?  English can be fun!

are the checks for $1,776 sent to active duty military.  Don't get me wrong.  Not for one second do I begrudge these folks (most are heroes, some are dirtbags) getting a boost for Christmas.  Much better that they get taxpayer money than some Somali warlord.

    But, nerd student of history that I am, I remember reading how later Roman emperors bought off some in the military so that they could remain in power.

    Dear Lord, I hope I'm just being cynical and I'm dead wrong, but...    

    So, like I just wrote (please pay attention, the both of you), he is fundamentally flawed.  I can see why some people have a real problem with him.

    However however, the alternative was a candidate from a party that, among many other things, thinks mentally ill dudes playing Halloween dress up belong in women’s locker rooms and that illegal aliens have the same rights to governmental goodies as American citizens.

"Yeah, you're clearly a racist."

"Right?"

    Meaning, as bad as he is, the other lunatic was much, much worse.  I predict this still won’t help the Republican Party in the mid-terms.  Brain-dead Americans have typically voted against the party in power.  I’m sure they will do the same in November.

  Of course, the party in power in Congress hasn’t helped themselves, either. 

To say nothing of the Attorney General.

  A more useless cast of characters hasn’t been seen since the Biden family.

"Jill and Hunter suck.  No joke."

    I still don’t regret my vote in 2024 and I still don’t like Trump.  But, like it or not, he has done good things.

    I just wish he would stop reminding us that he has.