The Last Hedge

The final barrier to oppression enveloping the whole world is the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. Were it not for hundreds of millions of guns in private hands in America, the globalists and the Deep State would impose tyranny on all mankind. 

No to Canada

Would you really want the Great White North to become America's fifty-first state? I do not want the morons who voted for Carney to become part of my country. Keep the United States great by keeping those bizarre and self-righteous Canadians out of our still sane nation. 

Beware of "Journalists"

The dinosaur press and even the leftward portions of New Media are enemies of the people. They all saw Biden's obvious decline but only now, when it is irrelevant to anything except their flagging credibility, are they mentioning it in public. So the "guardians of truth" will only let you know what the facts are when their revelation can't harm the Left. 

Beware of Liver

If you ever do acquire a Keeshond, have your veterinarian pay special attention to the liver of your pet. Three of our Kees ultimately succumbed to liver cancer, although one of those Bru did so at the ripe old age of eighteen (which is a pretty good run for this breed). 

The Keeshond Disposition

Some dogs, particularly members of the Retriever family, have sunny temperaments. Not many folks would say that about their Keeshond. This is a stubborn breed that only wants to go in the one direction that does not lead to the safe and welcoming confines of home. This type of dog would not bark if someone was breaking into your house but will not stop barking when you are on the phone with your doctor trying to hear if your biopsy came back positive for cancer. This fellow went through al the recommended training steps before the introduction of the kitten into your household, then found the newcomer to be absolutely delicious. No, Keeshonden are not for everybody, just for owners with Job's patience and Musk's wallet. 

The Tiger "Lily"

We had a Keeshond named "Lily" who was as large as a female German Shepard both in height and weight (about twenty-four inches at the shoulder and seventy-seven pounds).  Every time she stepped out, I would find her munching on squirrel(s) and or chipmunks that she would track down with her amazing speed or moles and voles she had dug up. She was Carnage, Incorporated to the small mammals in the backyard. The smart ones avoided the fenced in area where we let Lily roam to at least have some chance of survival. We had one flight of stairs leading to the backdoor in the daylight basement, but I never saw Lily walk down it. She would leap the entire nine steps every time in a single bound with her feet touching down only when she was on the floor thirteen feet below. What an animal- one perfect killing machine! 

Beware of Bird

A couple of years back, I was being swooped by a territorial blue jay every time I walked out at the west of our home (the bank executive side, not the movie star one). This bird was relentless. It would fly just over my head, so close I could hear and feel the rush of its rapidly flapping wings. Still, I had matters to attend to at that portion of our house, like taking out the garbage and recycling. One day, this blue fury finally (from my perspective) went too far. He/she actually grabbed a hunk of my hair toward the back of my neck and yanked it out. That's right, this inedible turkey pulled some of my locks out by their very roots. After that, the diving bastard actually left me alone. I guess the jay had made its point. 

Beware of Cat

One of my great aunts maintained a menagerie in her apartment in Manhattan. She had dogs, cats, and a monkey she called "Cochise". She fed a pigeon at her window that she named "Walter", but he was not the Walter acclaimed for his work on the silver screen. Aunt Bertie had a Park Avenue vet make house calls to care for her flock back when veterinarians did such things, and one day after the treatments she was escorting the doctor back to the elevator when a vengeful cat ran out and bit each in sequence on the ankle, resulting in two awful infections and no more home visits by that particular healer. The dog may or may not be man's best friend, but surely cats are unpredictable. 

Beware of Dog

A long time ago I knew a fellow with a huge Queen of England Line yellow Labrador Retriever named "Charter". This dog was as large as a Great Dane, must have weighed a hundred and fifty pounds. He was by no means a vicious animal, just large and strong and not comprehending his own strength. We were warned when we visited that Charter would be "rough" when he greeted us upon our arrival at "his" lakefront home. His owner actually suggested we roll up in a ball if he knocked us down to let him "burn off some steam" while figuring out who we were. I was confident I could handle him because I had grown up with a one hundred ten pound Flat-coated Retriever who was pretty dominant in his own right. Man, was I ever wrong. This dog outweighed me at the time and knocked me down like a bowling pin. Then, to show his "affection", Charter stomped on me a few times, with my thinking at the time being the big boy was just trying to make sure I was dead. I survived my encounter with this monster whose owner insisted that he is "just friendly and a gentle giant". Dogs are man's best friend, but with a pup like Charter, you really do not need enemies. 

Beware of Vance

The Vice President of the United States visits the Pope, and the very next day, the Pontiff is dead! Usually Vice Presidents are only sent to attend state funerals, not cause them. Perhaps, J.D. will be invited to visit old Putin. 

America Left Vulnerable

Our enemies abroad fear Donald Trump, and for the United States, that is a good thing. If Forty-seven is seen as an iron leader of unquestioned authority that makes America's enemies tremble, but when Federal judges and the Supreme Court manacle our President that actually weakens us in the eyes of the rest of the world. An unthinking judiciary is turning a rampant bull into a feeble steer, and the perception of the rest of the globe will surely reflect that they are witnessing American Courts castrate a formerly strong President and that will transform America from the bully on the block to the skinny fellow who has sand kicked in his face. American courts are not simply coddling foreign criminals, lunatics, and terrorists; they are also making us weaker and inviting aggression against the Homeland by deliberately handicapping our one elected LEADER. 

The Failure Factories

I saw a story today about a ten year old home schooled girl who just completed not one but two college degrees. If she had remained in the temples of indoctrination that are America's public schools she would likely be a fourth grader and have her intellect restrained and talent trapped. The best action a parent can take for an exceptional child is to remove them from state-run education. 

A Brighter Future?

Had Kamala Harris secured the Presidency, the United States would have had no chance for better prosperity or increased freedom. The Trump victory by no means ensured an improving economy, but at least Forty-seven is a capitalist, and not an empty-headed, sloganeering Marxist. Tariffs might not ultimately help Americans and in the short run, are undeniably causing the pain of increased costs, but they beat central planning and the Communist re-founding of our nation. 

The Glacial Pace

If Trump were an emperor with unquestioned authority or truly a dictator, perhaps he could save America. Because he is not a tyrant and operates under law, Forty-seven is being blocked from doing much of anything. It seems every action the executive branch attempts to embark upon is stymied by some court or another. No leader could function under such strictures, and the President is not exempt from having the rug pulled out from under him by Leftist judges, who are demonstrating their determination to keep the United States on the path of managed decline, rather than aiding the effort to return our nation to greatness. 

Such Fast Change

If I had bought a Tesla vehicle a year ago, I would have been an environmental hero. If I purchase one today, I am a Nazi. Oh, how rapidly the worm has turned. Maybe, you really never were stopping global warming by driving an electric car, and perhaps Musk does not actually equal Hitler, but simply someone who wants to restore fiscal solvency and sanity to the United States. 

Pennsylvania Governor Attacked

A bizarre arson attack damaged the Governor's Mansion in Pennsylvania. The arsonist apparently carried a hammer with the intention of beating Jewish Governor Shapiro. Fortunately, the assailant never was near enough to the Governor to implement that portion of his deranged plan. As a Jew myself, I have to wonder if part of the motivation of the perpetrator was antisemitism. 

A Weather Gauge

Should I lie and say I bought during the Trump tariff panic? I did not buy, nor sell either, but watched in horror as my stocks dropped like a lead balloon.Will the shares come back? Maybe, I certainly hope so, but stocks tend not to bounce back but to recover much more slowly than they crashed, if we are lucky enough that they rise back at all.  

When Tariffs Hit

The tariffs Trump has imposed have not really bit yet. The American People have not seen how much so many items they need simply to live will go up when the tariffs kick in, and only then will they start to realize how expensive life is about to become. MAGA will lose considerable support when folks see how much it is costing them. 

Feel Like Winning?

When you lose a fifth of your portfolio in a week, is Trump winning? Can you afford much more of Trump victories? Will your retirement investments withstand much more of Trump "prosperity"? How much will Trump's tariffs cost you and your family in the end? 

Blood and Treasure

Americans are suffering at the hands of Team Trump with the irresponsible and destructive tariffs, but just wait for the pain when the President does the bidding of other nations and attacks the Islamic Republic of Iran. Then, the mad mullahs will send suicide terrorists the world over and cut off the Straits of Hormuz, and America will find out what misery is all about. 

Does Trump Care?

The President makes a great show of being filmed with "angel families" or hostages formerly held by Hamas after they are freed, but does Trump actually have any empathy? It is when he gains political points that Trump demonstrates great concern for certain people, but when the cameras are off and no advantage is to be gained, does Forty-seven actually give two cents for the condition of Americans? Trump's reactions to the economic dislocation brought about by his tariff scheme shout "NO". He is not the least bit worried that you lost ten percent or more of all you had in the span of a few short days. Trump is not bothered in the slightest that you now have to push back retirement because your 401(k) tumbled mightily. Trump may just be the awful con man that the opposing party said he was. 

Trump's Grotesque Hubris

Does Trump not realize how much he is harming the investor class in America with his ill-conceived tariff policy? Trump is breaking the entrepreneurs who create the vast majority of private sector jobs in an effort to bring back illusory blue collar assembly jobs that are already gone everywhere because of advances in robotics and automation. He is destroying both the goose and the golden egg in service of a vision that has been extinguished, so that even if the industry returns to American shores, it will bring very little employment with it for human beings. Trump is waging a fight that was lost in the 1970's when Japan began preying on US automotive manufacturers, but Trump is too bullheaded to see there is no turning the clock back decades, and no way the tariffs uplift prosperity for most of the American People.  

Forward Thinking President?

Imagine an old codger of an American President closing US markets in 1930 to everything made abroad because he demanded all the wagon-wheel making jobs be brought back to America. Most of the country erupts because who is still traveling by wagon in 1930? Why are you punishing the vast majority of Americans to bring back something no longer useful, a relic of past lives? We don't need wheelwrights anymore, we have cars now, but just move that forward almost a century and see how little concern Trump has for the plight of most of his countrymen. Mr, Trump, your tariffs are a tool of a bygone era and are harming almost every family! 

The Southeastern Dominance

This season's SEC men's basketball will be crowned as the best by any conference so far. In the championship game, Florida was not overpowering but scraped out a hard-earned win. The Gator victory capped off a spectacular year for the league, wherein all but two teams were invited to the NCAA Tournament, and half the Final Four were members, with the Gators ultimately proving supreme and acquitting the Southeastern Conference as the toughest ever in Men's Division I. 

The Right Thing?

Trump waging a tariff war now is not necessary and will destroy his popularity. After the election where he not only won the Electoral College but the popular vote, Trump had a mandate but that was to restore and enhance prosperity, not to cause a recession. Have other nations exploited the United States? Sure, absolutely but the answer to that is NOT to make the American people suffer more by tanking the 401(k)s and stocks. Waging the tariff fight now is a choice by Trump, and a very destructive one for Americans just digging themselves out of COVID economic dislocation and the Biden mismanagement. Please President Trump- wake up and stop crushing your own voters. 

The Realistic View

Trump's tariffs are a terrible mistake from many perspectives. They may be the absolute right course for anyone interested in fair trade, as America has been subjected to unfair practices that negate free trade for decades. Everything from tariffs against exported US goods, to markets completely closed to certain US goods, to currency manipulation, particularly by Red China, have been implemented to harm America. In order to have truly free trade, it must be a level playing field for every country, but it has been slanted against American manufacturers and farmers with Trump finally fighting back on their behalf. The problem with Trump imposing tariffs now is that he is harming most Americans, and the goal of bringing production back on shore may ultimately help very few as those returning plants will be automated and staffed by many robots and only enough people to service the robots that will actually be making most of the goods. As for monetary policy, is Fed Chair Jay Powell right that the Trump tariffs will spike inflation, and therefore, the Federal Reserve can't lower interest rates to stimulate the economy as Trump demands? Yes, but Powell was silent as Biden and his rubber stamp Congress were spending the United States into oblivion, and actually tailored American monetary policy to keep DemocRATS in power and in the White House. Powell will stand as an opponent and obstacle to Trump while he was just the opposite to Biden and Harris. Trump's policy is moral and correct but also enormously destructive to the prosperity he is trying to deliver. 

The Pessimistic View

Trump imposing tariffs may be the morally correct path because American goods have been subjected to foreign tariffs without response for far too long, but what of the damage done to most of America's households? Everything they were buying from abroad will now cost more, but they will not be making anymore to pay for it. Not to mention the 401(k) and individual shareholder bloodbath taking place. Sometimes, doing the right thing is painful, but these tariffs are killing us, and there is virtually no upside for America as technology is replacing workers everyday and everywhere, so jobs will not be coming back to our country in any significant numbers, even if the manufacturing facilities ultimately do return to our shores. 

Bit of Optimism

Donald Trump can't cure what ails America's economy. He will not be in office long enough to undo the damage of awful economic policy, lousy negotiations with foreign leaders, horrendous trade policy, and cronyism that have reduced the United States to where we are now. Ross Perot heard that "giant sucking sound" of American jobs leaving and could not have been more right but was mocked by both liberals and conservatives alike, when time has demonstrated that the factories really did depart in droves with NAFTA. The problem we have at the moment is that Trump can't reverse the decline in four or even the somewhat mythic eight years (which won't happen). He is also poisoning his MAGA brand so that he will likely not have a successor to continue his "bring jobs back to America" mission, and industry is changing with automation and robotics, wherein the blue collar positions will be reduced substantially no matter where the assembly and manufacturing plants are. So the President in attempting to do service for Americans and in principle absolutely the right thing is in the process of making Trumpism toxic and ensuring it ends with this one last term. Then back to the Deep State, the Swamp, the offshoring of jobs, and the managed decline of the United States we go. 

Tornado Proof Construction

There is no building material that is able to withstand the most fierce tornado. You can take natural disasters into account in construction codes, but there will always be a weather event so powerful that it overwhelms anything man has the ability to construct. Lord, help America including my home state of Tennessee as we are beset with violent spring storms. 

About "Free Trade"

America has been subjected to the tariffs and closed markets of many nations. This is not fair trade. Without fair trade, there can't be free trade. Uncle Sam has been Uncle Sucker far too long, but Trump is determined to change that. 

Mandatory Death Penalty

Membership alone in certain jihadi movements merits execution. Daesh (ISIS) burned people alive in cages. They drowned others in similar contraptions. If you make a video pledging your loyalty unto death to this terrorist organization, capital punishment is exactly what you deserve. You can't volunteer to be a brutally sadistic murderer without the harshest consequences. After witnessing what Hamas did on October 7, 2023, their adherents deserve no mercy either.