Author: The Chief

Charlie Kirk RIP

Those calling for blood in the streets got what they wanted today.  Charlie Kirk (he was a Republican, but affiliation doesn’t matter here) was killed today while speaking at Utah Valley University.  Ironically reports/video show he was fielding a question about deaths from mass shootings when the fatal bullet was shot.  Do not watch the video footage, it is gruesome.  It pierced his main artery in his neck, his body went limp, and a literal river of blood shot out.  It looked as like something from a horror/sci-fi/war movie.  I texted the Blog Father “no chance he lived.” 

Kirk leaves behind a wife, and a 1- and 3-year-old.  Also, online footage of his death will be circulated/still on the interwebs likely into eternity.  Imagine when those kids grow up, they can view the video of their father shot and killed.  Oh, also the ensuing comments celebrating his death.

But this blog is not to memorialize Charlie Kirk or attack the left.  It’s to make a point that we live in the equivalent of a Banana Republic or third world country. 

Folks, just in the past roughly 12 months we have had; 2 attempts to kill Donald Trump, 2 Minnesota State electeds shot, 1 fatally, a judge murdered by a Sheriff in Kentucky, The United Health CEO murdered, and an arson at the house of PA Gov Josh Shapiro.  The violence is condemned, thoughts and prayers are offered up, pro-gun vs anti-gun happens, then right back to where we started.  Oh, prior to these events, Gabby Giffords was nearly killed, and Steve Scalise likely would have been killed had the secret service and Sen Rand Paul not been present at the scene of that shooting. 

I guess it’s now ok to kill folks you don’t agree with politically?  That seems to be the message sent on all forms of media, electronic and televised. 

Trust me when I say this, it’s not representative of all Americans, it’s a growing fringe on both left and right…. Yeah, even the right.

When at the gym, I will occasionally have the news on in front of me, granted subtitles skew the content a little bit, but both sides are playing to the extreme.  Online media is the same exact way, who cares about being righ,t its more important to be first. 

The root causes of this issue are as follows; we have so many shootings in this country we have become numb to it under the guise of “violence happens” in that part of town.  Check out the local news at night.  We allow violent video games, I know, I know, research shows no correlation but there has to be something there, our young people are the trigger pullers in most cases now, and violent video games were a thing in my youth, and still are to this day.  This de-sensitizes you to death, oh, and in some of these games, you are the “bad guy” shooting at the police…. Where have we seen that before?  Political nonsense being spewed on tv and electronic media is another form. Now imagine consuming many hours of this garbage and thinking it’s gospel.  Again, I’m talking left and right.  This is the straw that stirs the drink. 

I overheard a fellow Republican at a CRA meeting say “The DNC is a great spot for a terror attack… think of how great it would be with that scum gone.”  I objected and was told by another member to “shut up.”  Yep.  Again, CRA is a “right leaning organization.”  I do not think many sane people advocate blowing up a mass of the population unless they have multiple screws loose.

Similar statements, but not political in nature.  I work with someone who has never missed early morning and prime time tv. They had this one several years ago;  Russia had been massing troops at the Ukraine border at the time.  “Come on Putin, move in and fire a bullet, I want the stock market to go down and have people panic sell so I can buy on the cheap.”  Yeah, he wanted a war and people dying in large numbers so he could buy a stock cheap.  Digest that for a minute.  Innocent people…. Dying.  Or this great hit from the same guy regarding Chipotle’s e-coli outbreak a decade ago.  It is was caused by an investor who is short (betting the stock goes down) the stock.  So let me get this straight, some guy somehow instructed a huge storefront operation to get high numbers of people sick…. On purpose, mind you.  This is tin-foil hat right/left wing BS.  It also shows a big disconnect from reality.

Fear not, the left does it as well, but what scares me is the right is now starting to have more and more fringe actors like the ones mentioned above. This creates a scary situation.  For example, Sean Hannity. I caught his opening monologue yesterday and boy I wish I hadn’t.  He has been lost since Rush Limbaugh died and it shows.  He dedicated the beginning to not Charlie Kirk but going off about how deranged and mad the left is.  Sean, we know this.  A deranged, Palestinian supporting leftist attempted arson on Democrat Josh Shapiro’s home.  Shapiro is Jewish.  Monologues like this do not help, they actually hurt.  It stirs up folks who have no view of humanity.

A final word comes courtesy of Alexandria O’Casio Cortez. 

“From the moment I was elected, I have felt that I accept a certain level of risk in doing this job,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. But she added that security protocols for members of Congress are “for a bygone time. … They’re not designed for a digital threat environment era.”

AOC and several other members of Congress have cancelled outdoor events and are thinking of hiring private security.  The type of thing yesterday should scare lots of people, but not for the reasons you think.  Charlie Kirk is really a “JAG” (Just a guy) if you think about it.  He is a relative unknown outside of the political spectrum.  He isn’t elected.  Has no voting record outside of “he voted.”  He was murdered.  In front of his family.  A sniper from long distance, in what appears to be a long thought-out and planned attack.

How do we stop this?

We really can’t.  Political rhetoric, especially on the podcast fringe from both sides.  Some of what I think is the solution is the same as Brian Kohberger.  When this perp is arrested simply declare you caught the guy.  Do not name him or put out any info.  Try him after you have an airtight open and closed case that not even the public defender’s office even really wants to touch.  No plea bargain.  Federal terrorism/hate crime charges.  Death penalty!  Upon conviction, again as an unknown to the world population, make it clear any appeals are expedited to a judge immediately.  The goal here is a needle/electric chair/firing squad within 5-7 years of conviction.  This may not stop the shooting, but it helps to remove the scum and the attention they want from this earth.  As opposed to Kohberger who like I mentioned will be around awhile to continue to seek out attention for what he did.

The Chief

PS Matthew Dowd formerly of MSNBC fame, I’m coming directly for you next week in this space.

Trump/DC/Epstein Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

Why Epstein?  Why is this still being talked about in the news media?  I’m talking mainstream, far left, far right, and all over the internet.

None of this makes sense honestly.

Whose fault is it?  Trump’s.  Yep, go ahead CRA folks, throw your insults and other things my way.  Your newfound BFF, Trump, is solely to blame for this.  It was easily handled, but he chose to pull a “Covid Donald” as I call it.  Playing to both sides of his MAGA base.  If there is one thing Trump is very, very bad at its controlling a situation.

1/3 of the problem is Trump’s MAGA Base.  Who are MAGA you may ask?  I will define them for you.  MAGA are not representative of the Republican Party.  MAGA includes conspiracy theorists, new found “conservatives”, vaccine deniers, and a slew of 1 issues candidates that could careless about Party.

How is this Trump’s fault? He should know his MAGA folks better than most.  These conspiracy theorists and election deniers are something else.  They play in all far left/right corners of the internet. Also he has 1 in his cabinet, Dan Bongino of Fox News fame.  Bongino has been pushing the hardest to make the files public.  Vaccine deniers fit in this group as well, I’m not talking Covid, I’m talking these folks who are ok with Florida doing away with mandatory vaccinations.  Read what Measles can do to a young child, polio, etc.  Oh, RFK jJ. is in his cabinet spouting this BS by the way.  The newfound conservatives comment refers mostly to CRA types who hated Trump calling ,him a Democrat etc. who suddenly turned once he became popular as president.  The one issue people began coming out of the woodwork eight years ago. They love some of Trump’s policies but they really don’t know why.

2/3 of the problem is the far left.  They hate Donald with a vengeance, and will do anything to get him gone.  The rumor started by Musk that Donald is “in the Epstein files” was liquid gold for them.  They picked it up and ran with it.  Now they are getting right-wing whackos to support releasing the files via congressional vote.  Margorie Taylor Green and Thomas Massie being 2 of them.

3/3 of the problem is Trump himself.  Trump has been odd and erratic sense Covid.  Really, he has been all over the place on things.  He was all about releasing the files, Pam Bondi claimed they were all on her desk, then they weren’t.  Then they released the video with a minute or so missing, and basically claimed a judge was holding up releasing the files. Then Trump declared “If you are a supporter of mine and you want the files released; I do not want your support anymore.”  Yep, smart play to the base by releasing an obviously doctored video, then say you are done with them.  He is now calling it a “Democrat hoax.” 

“The confused and badly failing Democrat Party did nothing about Jeffrey Epstein while he was alive except befriend him, socialize with him, travel to his Island, and take his money!” Trump posted. “They knew everything there was to know about Epstein, but now, years after his death, they, out of nowhere, are seeming to show such love and heartfelt concern for his victims. Does anybody really believe that?

“The now dying (after the DOJ gave thousands of pages of documents in full compliance with a very comprehensive and exacting Subpoena from Congress!) Epstein case was only brought back to life by the Radical Left Democrats because they are doing so poorly, with the lowest poll numbers in the history of the Party (16%), while the Republicans are doing so well, among the highest approval numbers the Party has ever had!” Trump added.

The president asserted that the DOJ “has done its job, they have given everything requested of them. It’s time to end the Democrat Epstein Hoax, and give the Republicans credit for the great, even legendary, job that they are doing.”

I call that a steaming pile of BS!  If it’s a hoax, why was Epstein convicted and sentenced?  Why is Ghislaine Maxwell rotting in prison?  Why was she convicted?  Seems like an easy pardon case here.

Just to be clear here. I do not think it was a hoax.  I do think this whole thing is true.  I do think we are seeing a coverup by a President who ran on transparency and breaking up the Swamp.  Just to be clear, I do not think Trump’s name appears in anything bad.  I do think he ran in some of those social circles, so his name is likely there.  I do believe there are a number of very powerful folks on that list, not just government folks.  I’m talking financiers, CEO’s, etc.  Someone powerful got to Trump, and he flipped.

Trump has handled this whole thing wrong; it’s a damn shame too.  Look at all his momentum in his first 4-5 months.  Best President of all time?  Could have been!  Then he decided to play in this and the tariff stuff.  He blunted his momentum bigtime.  Congress is fighting him because he flipped. 

Trump, release the files.  Do it.  Take a gigantic straw to the Swamp and have Stormy Daniels assist with draining it.  Watch the swamp rats run, and your base go nuts.  There is still time.

The Chief

Bryan Kohberger Got What He Wanted–Shame on You IDAHO!

Today had to have been painful for the families of the four students killed by Kohberger, even more painful for the two survivors.  The families are going through a constant hell, get togethers with empty seats, personalities missing from parties, weddings/birthdays/milestones never to be celebrated.  Sure, they got their day in court today, to face the monster who killed their loved ones/friends.  He sat there stone faced, not a care in the world.  Sure, the speakers could beat him up verbally and call him all the names they wanted, but it doesn’t and won’t matter.  Kohberger got exactly what he wanted out of this whole ordeal.

He will die famous in the small town of Moscow, Idaho.

Sure, he will be spending his remaining years in a supermax outside of Moscow, but still, everyone in the US knows who Bryan Kohberger is.  Similar to Charles Manson, The East Area Rapist, the Unabomber, Whitey Bulger; these folks get/got to die famous. 

What’s my point?  No one will remember who I am outside of close family and friends when I leave this earthly plane.  The entire USA knows who Bryan Kohberger is.

From the day of the quadruple murders to the media circus that followed, to the day of his arrest, he got what he wanted.  Everyone was glued to the TV, who done it?  Why?  How come?  Who could be so evil?  Was there a serial killer on the loose?  Believe me when I say this Kohberger may have been on the run, but he was likely watching the coverage of his murders.  It was calculated and planned out, he was studying criminology or something at Washington State University, I say or something because I do not care about him.  He wanted attention because he is a sociopath; he knew after committing this heinous crime that he would be featured on; Nancy Grace, Greta Van Susteren, and Ashleigh Banfield (newsnation) nightly for weeks on end.  Even though those news hosts claim not to care about him, they covered him extensively for the last 3 years. (This the old news axiom, if it bleeds, it leads.)

His pretrial hearing was insane, the motions to dismiss or disregard evidence that was damning was just a pivot.  He had made up several conspiracies about how a friend of the deceased actually killed them not him.  It was all a ruse, just a way to keep him in the news.  He loved this, he was likely watching from his jail holding cell in county lock up each night.  Oh yeah, they get cable tv and access to the internet via iPad type devices…. Paid for by Wiliam’s tax dollars! (Idaho taxpayers) .

If he wanted fame and notoriety, why did he take the plea deal?

Isn’t it obvious?  Idaho has the death penalty, oh and by the way they actually use it, unlike the Peoples Republic of California.  Oh, and Idaho has the firing squad, good luck saying that’s cruel and unusual punishment like lethal injection.  Also, unlike lethal injection, with the firing squad you won’t see a botched execution, they will just shoot you again!  So, Kohberger needed to take the plea, no one wants to exhaust their appeals and know death is around the corner.  Plus, it was unlikely Kohberger had any appeals that would be heard.

But taking a plea means no appeals, so what was the point in sparing his own life?

Correct, he cannot appeal his sentence, he spared his own life so he can continue to use the media while in jail.  Look for Kohberger to run a drill by writing letters to local papers/journalists throughout the area to tell his story.  You have large markets like Boise, smaller markets like, Spokane and Pullman, and very small markets like Moscow or Nampa.  He only needs one to write back to him.  Remember he never spoke at his sentencing hearing nor during the trial, it’s a total mystery as to; how, when, why and what for.  He can and will attempt to spill the “tea” by promising to tell all about his murders and the motive in exchange for something.  Likely to have his commissary account (food) loaded with money etc.  You have to remember jail is no fun, but he gets 3 warm meals a day, a bed, and access to cable and internet in his room.  All that is missing is better food, and the attention that will come from the media! 

But he cannot get out?  Right?

Well yes and no.  Sure, life without parole is the sentence (X4 actually, plus ten years) but things can change.  They never found the murder weapon, and they have no motive for the killings…. Think the Innocence Project could take this one up at some point?  Look in my home state, convicted double murderer Scott Petersen might get a new trial because the Innocence Project took up his case.  Political risk is a thing as well; Idaho might be dark red right now but who knows what could happen in 15-20 years?  Get a little bluer?  Look at the Menendez brothers in California, it’s looking more and more like they will walk free here someday under some sort of “compassionate release program.”  (Blogger note: it appears one brother’s health took a fatal turn so that might be driving the release of him.)  The Menendez brothers got life without parole, as did quite a few others who are having their sentences re-visited.  Kohberger could one day walk free.  Likely?  Maybe not, but it could happen.  Far better chance than being on death row.

The plea deal was a joke, brought by a weak-kneed prosecutor.

While I will admit most of this evidence was circumstantial, they did have DNA and lots of cell phone pings around the scene of the murder in the weeks leading up to it.  In a small town like Moscow, you need to pursue the death penalty.  The “we didn’t want to put the families through a trial and years of appeals” is BS.  If you believe this plea deal was about saving money for the state, you are gullible.  This was a Scott Adams (aka Dilbert creator) special…. The prosecutor took the weasel way out.  His crying during his statement during the sentencing hearing was for the camera folks, he could and should have gone for the jugular but he refused.  He never even let the families of the deceased know.

The judge didn’t have to accept the plea deal either

This is a little-known fact, judges can; accept, deny, or enhance any plea deal.  He chose not to.  Then he, like the prosecutor, choked up for the camera to put on a show during the sentencing hearing. 

In closing Kohberger got what he wanted. He got life in prison, hopefully a fellow prisoner will “Epstein” him.  But we have not heard the end from him yet. He will make attempts to tell his story to local reporters, or national ones for that matter.  He will try to get his case looked at by the Innocence Project, anything to keep his name in the news.  He will torment the families of the deceased for decades.  In a just world Kohberger would have been sentenced to death, and the deed done within a decade.  The scum wiped from this earth.  A deterrent for all who seek to be like him.  Commit this crime in Idaho, we will remove you from earth, quickly.  But no.  He got what he wanted.  The families, friends, and people of Idaho now get to pay for this man’s food, shelter, and healthcare for life, oh, include cable and internet as well.  Oh, and perhaps most ironically, they will be paying the prison guards to keep him safe from other prisoners who will be trying to kill him.

Even worse, he got to sit in on hours of victim impact statements from families trying to make him cry. Kohberger is evil. He wanted this.  He loved every minute of it.  He sat there stoic, emotionless, and with no emotion.  He loved every minute of it.  He knew Van Susteren, Grace, and Banfield would be showing it on tv nightly.  He got what he wanted.  The lawyer from the local firm Dewey, Screwem, and Howe told me the best thing to have done would have been to not show up. An empty courtroom would have sunk Kohberger. He wanted folks to cry and pour out statements about the folks he killed. The people that he snuffed-out were going to do big things, but for him.  Kohberger got his rocks off on the pain that he caused.  He loved every minute of it. He uttered 3 whole words during the entire hearing.  When the judge asked if he wanted to speak, he said “I respectfully decline.”  It was a charade for him; he got what he wanted.

He gets to die famous… doesn’t seem very just to me.

By The Chief

What the Texas Flooding can Teach us about Government

Sad, tragic, unthinkable, the horror of sending your daughter to church camp only for them to be swept away by a massive once in a forever flooding event.  Or to have your entire house washed away, or watching in horror as family members/friends/acquaintances are swept away by the flooding knowing you cannot do anything about it.  It’s awful and I shudder to even try to imagine how those families feel. 

Now the blame game has begun.  The cable TV watchers and hosts are eager to find a scape goat to blame this on.  It was actually part amusing, it’s on at my gym so I would watch about a segment or two a day.  God I’m glad I don’t pay for that at my house.  First you had the psychotic Margarie Taylor Green saying it’s cloud seeding that was done to change weather patterns.  Yeah.  A grown adult said that.  Then you had a flurry of Democrats saying Texas turned down money for a better emergency warning system, that would have warned about the flooding.  Yep, you lost a loved one, damn those Republicans in Texas, and damn the “cloud seeding group.”  Yikes.  That’s how far we have fallen as a country. We now politicize children/people dying.

Blaming the other party, or a government organization, or a hair on fire conspiracy theory when people are dying/dead/missing makes you the lowest of the low.  It’s not the fault of a political party or any person for the deaths that occurred. 

Whose fault is it then?

It’s the collective whose fault.  Why was the camp allowed to be built in a “long dried up creek?”  I think that is a fair question. It was approved by a planning commission and a zoning commission. Did anyone think to ask about “what if a once in a lifetime event happens?”  Or maybe a step further in saying “this used to be a creek, we should modify this to flood proof it?”  Everything is bigger in Texas, including the flooding.

What about the lack of a flash flood warning?

This is crazy to even ask.  It’s almost as bad as the Republicans I know saying “if only the fire hydrants worked during the Pacific Palisades fire!”  That is delusional thinking. A flash flood warning may appear on your TV should you be watching it as a weather alert, it may appear via text message on your phone (if you have service, the part of Texas we are talking about is very, very rural.) service likely didn’t exist. A flood siren going off?  Is it tested?  Would it work?  It was also very early in the morning while folks were sleeping, it likely would have been ignored.  It’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, everyone can say a day later what they woulda/coulda/shoulda done the day before. 

If you are relying on the government to keep you safe or give you an early warning then rethink your priorities.  In my area, Oroville dam had its spillway take major damage. We were told nothing was wrong, even though it was obvious the spillway was deteriorating by the hour.  Simultaneously with the government assuring that there was no threat to public safety, downstream of the dam, the government removed the baby salmon from the fish hatchery and PG&E took down the powerlines nearby (I’m actually thankful for this, as that company tends to kill about as many innocent civilians as Netanyahu does in each conflict).  I was told by a 90-day loving co-worker that there was nothing to worry about, as he had yet to see a TV segment or report on this. Well, a couple days later I got a text while he was in the office about the dam was going to fail and massive flooding was imminent.  He got a phone call from his wife, to which after hanging up, he decided he needed to leave right away, but that all was well.  His master plan?  Head for higher ground in an automobile with no 4-wheel drive.  First issue with his plan…. The higher ground was actually in the direction of said dam.  Secondly, when you are in a car, you are at the mercy of a large wave of rising flood waters.  I prefer my chances inside a building or at the very least on foot to be able to maneuver tough terrain quicker and easier than trying to find a passable roadway.

Two days later

He came into work buzzing about how the “roads were crowded, and the store shelves were vacant.”  Sound like the plandemic boys and girls?  Please do not hoard toilet paper?  Please don’t hoard groceries/staples etc.?  Keep in mind where we work is a solid 3 hours plus from that dam.  Additionally, with the farm land, designated flood zones and the ability to blast the levee further north, we were never in any danger of seeing standing water period, let alone some sort of Texas style flooding.  Me?  I worked my day, went to the gym, went home and if this tidal wave were to come, I would simply climb into my attic, bust a whole in the roof and fly my American flag simply letting folks know someone is here.  Of course he had an insult to call my plan.

Here is my comeback to his “plan”

Thou fool (William’s term which I love btw).  You watch more TV in a single morning than I do in a month.  Rather than thinking for yourself, you rely on a talking head reporting from a studio to tell you what to do.  Did it not occur to you, the smart folks like your co-workers, were unfazed and didn’t leave?  You had the genius idea to stop at a store looking for essentials… for what purpose exactly?  You tried to get gasoline; the lines were a mile long… I wonder why?  What was your plan?  Oh, wait you left the house because a talking head said go… you never had one.  Just like a lemming walking toward a cliff, you aren’t smart enough to figure out the next move and over the cliff you go.  Yet you think you were the smart one that day.  Both parties rely on people just like him, they don’t take a stand on any issue and always do as instructed by the propaganda network.

In closing I will say this.  Let me repeat if you are thinking a government run emergency alert system is the answer, check yourself into a clinic.  Think for yourself and please turn the tv off.  I cut the cable about 9 years ago.  I do not miss it.  I think for myself and always have a plan, one criticism I have of the older generation is they make the same mistakes over and over again, repetitively because they never learn a lesson.  My hypothesis is that they run their lives like a tv show, the next episode is on tomorrow and yesterday’s is in the past.

The Chief

“I’m from the government and I’m here to help” used to be a statement people feared, now it’s embraced.  I’m scared for the country’s future…. I really am.  And I didn’t walk uphill in the snow to school both ways like the scared generation did.

The “Trump/Musk Bromance” Was Always going to end like this

It was a match that was never going to work out.  Didn’t it seem odd at the time, here is Elon Musk liberal darling who all of a sudden took a right turn.  He became the darling of the right wing, kind of like a born-again Christian.  They love to espouse how much they love the faith, but it’s obvious they have never actually read/listened or practiced it.

Why though?

What many in the far left and right are not able to comprehend is that many a wealthy folk/heads of corporations want to be friends with the group in power.  Harris lost, it was time to circle back to Trump.  Now in the case of Musk, he is actually more of a libertarian in a sense of wanting freedom of speech (he bought X) and legalizing all drugs.  Zuckerberg and others donated/flocked to Trump’s inauguration, many writing big checks.  Not because they agree with Trump, it’s essentially a bribe to make it so his DOJ won’t break up their monopoly in tech.

But they got along so well?

Well in a sense yes.  Musk saw Trump as a conduit, not a friend.  It’s the opinion of this blogger that Musk wanted to parlay DOGE into being head of NASA or some other department that can help his companies out financially.  Musk read and played Trump like a fiddle, Trump has loyalty to no one in DC and hates the culture.  Look no further than Trump’s cabinet picks this go round. It’s a who-who of Fox News hosts/contributors, and politicians from certain states/areas who are loyalists to him.  Qualifications be damned.  Musk knew he likely could not get confirmed by the Senate since he angered the left helping Trump, and a lot on the right, like me, view him skeptically.  So, DOGE was created.

Then what?

Well DOGE was somewhat successful in the eyes of some but likely in the eyes of Trump it failed.  Trump wanted to find several trillion in savings… Musk could not deliver.  Sure, DOGE did some good things, but it’s hard to find waste to cut.  Waste to you is someone else’s pet project/grift.  Also, Musk hurt himself by coming up with conspiracies that were flat out debunked; army of zombie 150-year-olds getting Social Security benefits anyone?  I think Elon at that point realized the easy cuts were done, and he was looking for an off ramp to be rewarded for his work at DOGE.  (As a side bar, the DOGE cuts never went through Congress as far as we know, so they will likely be revived under a different presidency.)

What was next?

To repeat, I think Musk was eyeing being NASA director, or somewhere there because he didn’t seem to want to be re-appointed to DOGE.  Then came the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) and its circa, 4 trillion dollars in new debt, price tag.  Musk called Trump on the carpet about the debt and the debt ceiling parts of the bill.  Trump hated it.  Trump didn’t realize Musk is actually just like him politically, they are populists. I know the MAGA wing won’t like that description but it’s true.  Tell me where Trump or Musk stand on something?  It’s a shifting scale that slides depending on how it affects them and/or their poling numbers.

The marriage gets annulled

The fallout was wild to watch, kind of like an Enron executive’s fall from grace. The war of words on social media between the two was literally out of some reality tv type show.  Allegations of Elon being on drugs on the campaign trail and not able to pass a drug screen to Trump being on the Epstein client list.  It was bizarre. (Oh, wait there is no client list? WTF)

What really went down?

In one corner you have the richest man in the world, he blew a couple hundred million on Trump’s election and that is vapor to him.  Musk has done very well for himself.  In the other corner you have the most powerful man in the world in Donald Trump. Neither of these men like hearing “no.”  They are also both extremely petty… kind of like someone I used to associate with.  You go against them just once and they set out to ruin your life/isolate you.  Musk is now starting a third party; Trump wants to deport him.  Musk is threatening primaries against folks who supported the BBB, Trump will primary those who did not support his BBB. 

Trump now wants to cut all of Musk’s green energy benefits….?

Bingo, we have a winner.  Folks Elon Musk has made his fortune on the backs of taxpayers.  Green energy credits, interest free government loans, cap and trade credits, government grants and subsidies, all for his green energy empire.  Folks, Musk was a died in the wool liberal as far as California goes.  Tesla was going to be forced on everyone, and in some parts of the Bay Area, it seems like it was.  Solar was also a field Musk was in on.  His SpaceX company is another that does a lot of business with the government among his other affairs.  Cut those out, and Musk’s empire goes pop.  Hence the reason he is raging out right now.  Liberals have stopped buying his vehicles and conservatives have never wanted them.  Dirty little secret … Musk’s subsidies likely never survive even if DOGE found trillions in cuts.  I would not be stunned to see the subsidies darn near eliminated on a federal basis.

The next chapter will be fun to watch.

The Chief

Online Dating?  Not for me

The Blog Father has written about online dating lately, so I wanted to share my experiences.  Most online dating sites, I won’t say all are a cesspool.  I tried it for about 2 months based on a friend telling me, “Everyone is on it.”  She was right…  Do I say really right?  It was a sewer.  Granted it was a free site so I should have known.  It was also a Catholic one to boot.  Folks, as has been written here, lots of folks are religious, lots also attend Sunday service, very few actually listen.  Most, I think, just want the “hall pass” they think going to church provides for the sins of the week.

Here are the types you will encounter:

AI/ChatGPT created profiles:  They are fake accounts run by likely men to be honest here.  You can tell because the responses to your inquiries are tailored to fit what you are looking for.  Oh yes, I work out daily… what’s my favorite exercise?  Anything that makes me look good.  Big red flag.

Working girls:  These are the ones more than happy to send a scantily clad photo to you.  Then they try to get the conversation off the platform that you’re on.  Only Fans and other sites are where they want you to view their profile.  Oh, it’s pay to play by the way.

Scammers: You know the play here.  It’s I have a car bill totaling $1200 so I can’t come visit you.  After they admit they don’t have a car.  Then they can’t say the name of said car repair facility only that its “local.”  Oh, and they send scantily clad photos as well to keep you on the line.  Bear in mind, the photos you are getting are most certainly not the person you think you are interacting with, they were likely screen shotted off the internet.  That’s right, they are using someone else’s image and likeness to try to hook you in.

People trying to cosplay someone else: I met up with a girl who I did like.  I felt she felt the same about me.  I added her on Facebook and quickly found out it was a scheme.  She was playing her own version of the bachelorette.  She even had photos of her “dates and asking the comment section what they thought.”  Yep, full stop. I deleted said Facebook and dating website.  I have no desire to compete with other men, and I am no trophy or prize to be won.  Oh, and having to ask your female friends or a comment section what they think shows what amounts to an undeveloped brain. I do not care what your friends think, I want to know what you think.

Bottom line.  Stay vigilant if online dating is for you, but as I stated above it’s a sewer and it has/takes all types.  What is my remedy?  Well, I do not really have one.  I would say use your network plus friends and places you like.  It is risky but I would rather play with the pool I know rather than the one I do not know.  Being taken advantage of is not cool… thankfully I have not been.

The Chief

Editor’s Note: Thus far, between two dating websites, I have found one real human and at least seven fake accounts trying to play me. I have deleted my account membership from one website and the accompanying profile. In addition, I have cut down the personal information on the one remaining site. Not to say it’s better, just that the scammers are not as good as the previous site that I cancelled. Yesterday, I was able to identify the fraud by the third text exchange. This happened on two separate accounts in one day. The AI chatbot was by far, very close to getting away with it, but it doesn’t have the awareness to hide itself. Proof of life (i.e. that you are talking to a real person) will get harder as technology improves but it is a good first step. Proof of gender may very well be the second hurdle. If you saw some of the profile photos that I’ve seen, you would agree.

Stop Misinterpreting Isolationist Policies

Editor’s Note: I was sent this blog post just before it was announced that Trump authorized bombing Iranian nuclear sites.

In wake of the Ukraine/Russia war and Isreal/Iran war, a lot has been made of “far left and far right” isolationism.  Most of the media talking heads are shoveling a lot of bull shoot about this new ever-increasing policy.  I want to clarify for the media and others who are uneducated about this policy and what it actually means.

Lately Bill O’Reilly, Chris Cuomo and several other talking heads have appeared in my “YouTube recommended videos.”  On rare occasions, I will view these only to remind myself of why I made the smart move dropping cable.  I watched both videos, they were about 20 minutes in length, and they are terribly misinformed.  Isolationism does not mean that we pass on everything that is occurring outside the US.  They both make a very bad take that “Iran cannot have a nuke … you guys think that’s ok?”  The straw man argument is we need to join the war because the Ayatollah and mullahs are bad, and the world is better off without them.  They are correct, Putin and the Ayatollah are very bad people, but where does the argument end?  Kim in North Korea is bad too; so we should kill him off?  The other comments are we are “safer” with these folks gone and de-nuclearized.  Again, it’s a correct take, but how do we accomplish that?

Regarding isolationism and the Russia/Ukraine war, it’s actually easy to see why many are agreeing with that policy.  Ukraine is not in NATO; they are not in the EU.  Russia gave many indicators they were going to full scale attack, Ukraine ignored all of those.  However, Ukraine has not been bashful about telling us and other NATO countries to pony up to help them defend.  Why should we get involved here again? 

Let’s just say we do get involved… Putin bad right? How many NATO allies are going in with us?  Don’t answer that question, just think about it.  If we go in, we better beat back Russia really quickly as we do not have the numbers to match them.  Russia is old school grind-out the war foot-by-foot.  They have disposable humans, we do not.  Do not kid yourselves, Ukraine doesn’t want our weapons, Zelenskyy wants our boots on the ground.  For a war we are not and should not be a party to.

The Iran/Israel war is similar.  Sure, Israel is an ally, at least I think so.  But how are we a party to this war?  Iran did not directly attack us, sure they have proxies who have fired at our ships in the area, but never a direct attack.  This is no different than Russia’s Wagner Group or even the USA’s Blackwater group from the Iraq war.  They are third parties that keep themselves an arm’s length to avoid being a direct party to the attack. If Iran fired a missile at a base or ship of ours … it’s on.  That’s not isolationism. 

Israel has now decided they need our large bunker buster bomb to finish off the nuclear production in Iran.  Again, I ask why are we needed here?  Israel should have known about this before they attacked.  This isn’t some WWE tag team match where they decide it’s our turn to enter the ring.  Also how are they so sure we only need to drop a couple of these bombs?  How will we know the uranium enrichment is really destroyed?  Do these talking heads honestly think there are no air/ground defenses around this thing?  It’s the Iranian crown jewel; they just leave it vulnerable to attack.  Even after we do as O’Reilly says and “just drop a couple bombs” how do we know its totally destroyed …. Boots on the ground.  Likely ours.  Again, a forever war started because we had to remove someone.

Do not get it twisted, we have the world’s number 1 or 1b most powerful military, but we do not need to use it to show the force we have.  We have much bigger issues to deal with.  Again, why should our young people be sent to die in vain for wars we are not a party too?

Need more proof?  Spain just said the quiet part out loud as to why NATO has many countries not hitting their defense spending target.

Yep.  Spain doesn’t want to spend more on defense because they want to waste it on social programs and green energy.  Fear not, if needed, they got the USA’s phone number.  We will bail them out with our military.  Many other NATO countries feel the same way.  Do not get it twisted as I said earlier, we will enter a war we are a party to, but shouldn’t other countries be pulling their weight?  The Ukraine/Russia and Iran/Israel wars just seem like proxy wars to me. 

We can sit it out.  Doing so doesn’t make anyone pro-Kremlin or pro-Iran, that’s a retarded take.  I can personally guarantee the war mongers in the media such as O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and the war mongers in congress; Lindsay Graham (r) and Richard Blumenthal (d) wont be offering to lead the charge on foot.  However, they will dutifully send in your kids or grandkids to get the job done.  All to stop a nuke that our own Intelligence chief claims Iran does not possess nor are they wanting to possess. 

The Chief

How Trump Derailed his own Presidency

It was going so well.  The deportations, DOGE, law and order returning, no involvement in foreign wars, inflation cooling down, and the Democrat Party reeling like a swimmer drowning in a lake (or a passenger in the car with Teddy Kennedy). 

Then Trump nuked it all.  To be very honest I am not sure why.  There are many things he has done, I will list them all.

Tariffs.  This was and is felony stupid.  He essentially became a “trade war Hitler” and declared war on the world and unilaterally raised tariffs on everyone.  He had no plan…. actually, that is going to be a recurring theme of this blog.  China raised tariffs on us, and so did many other countries.  China stood up to us and showed the rest of the world how they could as well.  Sure, he saved face with a couple trade deals, which we know nothing of the details other than “we won!”  Color me a skeptic, until proven otherwise.  Raising prices on goods, services, and clothing and telling people to have more kids is an oxymoron but I do not expect most of his followers to understand that.  However, it has made for fun theatre watching; Sean Hannity and a host of other so-called conservatives defend him.  Look it up people. It’s a far-left protectionist policy, but do not let facts get in the way; it may confuse the MAGA boot lickers.

Trump v Elon.  Again, really stupid.  I understand the point of DOGE and Elon was to find multiple trillion dollars to cut/save in the budget.  This was always going to be an uphill climb. To Musk’s credit, he did find several things to cut.  Then Trump went full nuclear when Elon said the “big beautiful bill” would raise the debt by circa 4-5 trillion.  I do not know the relationship these two have now, but it was a nasty public spat that was so unnecessary.  One thing is Elon called Trump on the carpet for something real, conservatives have known all along, Trump has no problem spending our money, he did it big time last term.  Again, what was the point of this spat?

Trump v Jerome Powell.  Did you know Trump appointed Powell?  Yeah, I know “that was so 7 years ago… muh, MAGA!”  Did you also know he is a lifelong Republican?  Again, those pesky things called facts.  Folks, Powell and the Fed’s job is not to cut rates to juice the stock market, nor is it their job to cut rates to zero so you can get low interest loans.  It’s a hard job, they need to curb inflation.  Saying you are going to fire him, unless he capitulates to your desires is wrong.  Saying you are going to name yourself Fed Chair, even if in jest, is straight out of the far left “no king’s” protest.  Powell is not perfect, but could we maybe not treat the US as a 4-year series of “The Apprentice?”

The Iran/Israel conflict.  I blame Trump here for refusing to stand up at all to Netanyahu.  I would have publicly stated “Bibi, this is your war and conflict, we are sitting it out.”  Instead, he did the opposite, and his recent words tell me, we are already involved and likely going to drop the bunker buster.  So much for being antiwar, huh?  Interestingly enough India and Pakistan had to stand down, but this is ok?  MAGA had a large isolationist contingent, we shall see what comes out of this. 

His Big, Beautiful Bill. It is taking on water. The far-right hates adding to the deficit part, and center right wants SALT changes.  He refuses to move even slightly.  As a result, the tax cuts are stalled.  He better get ready to work with a Democrat Congress because the tax hike will happen on his watch if they are not extended. 

Greenland/Canada 51st state BS.  I have had many a MAGA wannabe tell me its trolling or funny, too bad no one else finds it so.  Oh, by the way, check out Canada’s election results. You add them as another state(s) to the Union and we will never have a Republican president again, ever.  Greenland? He spoke about this during his first term… why and how come?  They are sparsely populated, 45k at most.  We do not need it.  They do not want to be under US rule.  It’s honestly this type of stupidity that makes people long for Joe Biden and no drama due to him being in poor health shape.  This type of trolling when we have wars going on, inflation, homeless issues, and rioting is dumb.

Not calling Governor Tim Walz after the assassination of 1 representative, and attempted assassination of another.  MAGA: muh, Tim Walz bad, he’s dumb democrat from blue state.  Sure, but guys, the optics mean a lot here. It doesn’t matter if the shooter was; left/right/white/black/Cuban/Mexican/Asian, what matters is a phone call.  Touch base, say how sorry you are, and reassure the governor that the suspect is charged federally. Seek the death penalty, and make sure the death part is carried out as soon as possible.  I understand they were rivals and not so nice things were said, so I guess we carry a grudge into infinity?  Be the bigger man. Trump made a big deal out of the person who was killed when he was almost assassinated, yet he wants to ignore this?  Again, make a call, optics.  Also make it clear it’s not open season on lawmakers who you do not like.

Everything was going so well and then he started all these unnecessary battles, with his own people by the way.  As much as I liked Trump and voted for him 3 times, he is starting to more and more look like a deranged, angry, white male.  This is playing directly into the democrat’s hands.  I know one group of people famous for yelling “Allu Akbar”, when they want to end their life, why did Trump?

The Chief

Israel v. Iran = USA v. Iraq

Folks, you all likely remember Colin “Iraq has WMD’s and we have proof” Powell.  He made those comments to the United Nations.  Then like the chameleon, he is changed his stripes to keep a job with the Obama administration.

This blog is going to point out that the action Israel is taking is no different from what we did following the 9/11 attacks.

Israel, like the USA, believes full well that a known adversary (Iran/Iraq) has enriched enough uranium to make a nuclear weapon.  Sure, the narrative is helped that both countries essentially refused the UN/Nuclear commission from doing a full inspection.  The problem is…. Colin Powell and our intelligence was wrong.  Big time.  As a result, it was a mess in Iraq and it remains so.  Our standing in the world fell as a result… but you don’t care about that.  We let the military industrial complex win.  Just like what is happening now in Iran.  Yes, I will admit Iranian proxies in Yemen, Gaza, and Lebanon have been pestering Isreal for years.  They have had enough.  I do not blame them.  However, their strikes on Iran, including their nuclear facilities, will end up backfiring.  I, for one, do not trust that Iran has enough Uranium to create a nuke.  Sorry, I do not buy it.  Yes, their behavior toward inspectors is bizarre but Israel and US fully believe that they have nuclear capability so does the inspection even matter at this point?

I guess the point I am trying to convey is W. Bush, John Bolton, Dick Cheney, John McCain, and Lindsay Graham knew the time was nigh to move in on Iraq, so they did.  Israel, in my opinion, has a similar group of warmongers who knew their time was coming up, so they decided to make a move as well.  What I do not like is the US claimed they were staying out of it; yet there are reports we moved 40K rockets/missiles from Europe down to Israel. Also, it appears we have war ships on the way from other parts of the world to assist with defense.  We did help shoot down rockets/drones fired by Iran into Israel.  Like it or not we are a party to this conflict. 

The other part of the issue in Iran is Israel lacks the weaponry to inflict damage on the actual nuclear sites.  One thing highly important that Netanyahu overlooked is he needs bunker busting bombs to hit the enrichment facilities.  These are located deep underground and are heavily fortified.  Israel, as stated, does not have that bomb, the USA does.  The USA also has bombers in the area capable of delivering said weapons, and the bomb is likely not far behind.  Again, they need to draw us into the war to get the result they want.  But until then I guess Israel just flies sorties over Tehran and other parts of Iran bombing missile and military garrisons.  Another, forever war. 

There is only 1 real downside to this war.  Removing the Ayatollah is a big mistake if we go down that route.  Yes, he is a bad man, a butcher, use any term you want to describe him, but in reality, he is a paper tiger.  His saber rattling of wiping Israel off the planet was just that. Israel, in about 4 days, has crippled them militarily.  Sure, the Ayatollah may be bad, but is removing him the key?  Did we learn no lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, or Syria?  Who replaces the Ayatollah?  Is it a better or worse group?  Also, by bombing like we or Israel have done is just setting up future generations to hate the USA and Israel. 

However, score one for the warmongers and the military industrial complex. They still have backers here.  Hopefully, we are not drawn into this war in any meaningful way, we do not need to lose more young people as a result of a bunch of 70 plus year olds who think war is a great thing for the economy.

The Chief

The LA Riots … Who is Right?

You may have seen the footage from over the weekend and bleeding into the work week about anti-ICE rioting in the Los Angeles area.  It’s a sad situation but again the democrats continue to screw up. 

Folks, Trump is by no means perfect, and I do have some issues with the deportations he is doing.  Mostly how they are doing them.  Look, I have no issue deporting the bad guys, I’m talking criminal illegals.  Frankly. round those folks up 7 days a week for all I care.  The issue I have is caught up in the madness are non-criminal illegal spouses and children having done nothing wrong.

Let us be civil for a minute or two here.  There are folks who are here illegally, and that is wrong, but they also do the jobs many an American refuse to do.  What is missing from our society is an easy answer.  Give illegal, non-criminals a window to become citizens.  Not an indefinite window, call it 120 days or something.  Then go ahead and round up all the rest.  I say this with compassion because the guy pushing a lawnmower, the guy in front of Home Depot looking for an honest day’s labor, work is not the problem. The criminals are.  To be honest, neither the GOP nor the democrats have ever laid out any sort of plan to help alleviate this issue.  It has led to a very nasty underbelly of society where we have a class of people living in the shadows, avoiding detection.  These folks clean our houses, landscape, roof, construction jobs etc. 

So do I agree with the riots in Los Angeles?  Hell NO!

In America we are a society built on freedom of speech and the right to “peacefully” protest.  What is going on in LA is anything but.  Sure, it may have started with ok intentions, I understand the idea of ICE agents actively looking to “deport anyone brown” is very stressful even though it isn’t true.  The problem is these “protests” tend to attract a lot of bad actors…. Really bad actors. 

If you haven’t been paying attention, first good, secondly the scene devolved into chaos quickly.  Rather than being peaceful demonstrators, the anarchists smashed cinder blocks and were throwing them at ICE agents and the police.  They tossed motorized scooters at the police, threw Molotov cocktails at the police, and burned vehicles, both the public’s and the police’s.  The situation quickly turned into where the police were in full riot gear.  Trump even used a very obscure law to call up the CA National Guard to quell the violence.  Gavin Newsom and Rob Bonta reacted by suing the federal government…. Sheesh. 

The protests have shown no sign of slowing down.  It’s a full-on left vs right issue like anything else in our country these days.

One thing I do have to ask is this, why do the democrats always seem to defend the most unlaw abiding, whackos?  Let’s be honest, pull a permit, organize near the City Hall.  Maybe have a march while not impeding traffic.  Throw/hurl/set ablaze nothing and your point likely gets across.  At last glance, an Apple Store, Adidas store, and a few others were set ablaze and looted.  Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks, and a host of other civil rights leaders are turning over in their graves. They didn’t endorse any of this hooligan type of behavior.  As for that New York Post writer who was shot with rubber bullets, sorry that happened but when you are actively participating in an angry mob when the guys with badges and guns say disperse, I would follow said orders. 

The scene looks like something out of a third world country, not America. Get your point across peacefully, these rioters are not the guys you want to associate with.  In addition, we now have a DA in Los Angeles County who is tough on crime…. The days of mostly peaceful protests and “just expressing themselves,” appear to be over.

The Chief