A Bizarre Case

There thankfully are not many abductions committed by strangers, and those there are are typically committed against children. Have you ever seen an elderly person "kidnapped" in America before this recent horror befalling the journalist's mother? This is crazy! And to have it linger so long without it being solved. I pray she is returned alive but with each passing day, the prospect of that lessens. 

America for Americans

If you want a Balkanized United States, promote a language that less than a third of the people speak and understand at major events. The mother tongue of this nation is English, and sharing it has been a unifying force. Do you expect Mexicans would tolerate a performance at a significant event entirely in English? 

Interpreting Bunny's Words

According to reports about the halftime show I refused to watch, Bad Bunny unleashed a cascade of obscenity in Spanish over the air of the broadcast. I have no interest in ever hearing or seeing the performance, and if I did, I am not sure I would understand much of it, although I did make it through Spanish III in high school so many decades back. If the allegedly sexual language was indeed transmitted, NBC should face fines and sanctions, as this was not late night cable but distributed to families with children, some of whom would obviously be capable of comprehending the offensive verbiage. I have never knowingly listened to Mr. Bunny and never will, but he has no license to pollute the airways with filth, and the broadcaster had an affirmative obligation to ensure that he did not. 

A Lame Game

The New England quarterback looked like a deer in the headlights as the championship game proved too big for him. The Seattle defense was outstanding as it had been most of the season, perhaps rivaling the 1985 Bears for dominance. The contest itself was a long way from entertaining, unless you are a Seahawks die-hard. The commercial with Tom Brady was indecipherable and certainly did NOT make me want to go buy a doughnut. I would have enjoyed watching a Bob Ross painting class more than this not-so-super bore.

Bowl or Bore

More often than not the Super Bowl has not been an especially competitive game. Some seasons, the advertisements are much more entertaining than the action on the field. I do not know whether Seattle or the Patriots will prevail, nor if it will be a close contest, but I am certain they can take the divisive "Black National Anthem" and their halftime show with the Trump-hater featured and shove them where the light will never shine. 

Pavia Versus Manziel

Diego Pavia and Johnny Manziel are both relatively short for the quarterback position in the NFL, but so are Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson, who both proved successful to varying degrees in the pro ranks. Pavia and Manziel could both sustain plays with their legs and were good downfield runners. Johnny had better talent and depth at Texas A & M than Diego ever did at Vandy. Without Manziel, the Aggies would have still had a winning record, but without Pavia, I doubt the Commodores would have prevailed in five games. In the right circumstance, I believe Pavia can be a winning professional quarterback, at least in the short term, while Manziel was not able to pull that off. 

Devil in Details

The devil might not be running around your neighborhood, but he does seem to have plenty of local representatives. I am not saying they are Satan incarnate or even always evil, but at the crucial moments, count on these folks to let you down. They are the ones who are fair-weather friends, but in the clutch, they look for an angle to exploit you. They may be strangers who come to help you after an ice storm has felled your tree and want to charge you $1,800 for a four hundred dollar job. There may be good people that come to the fore in crisis but do not count on it. 

Brain Back On

After ten days in the deep freeze with no electricity, the power thankfully is back on at our primary residence where the temperature inside had fallen to twenty-eight degrees (28!). Without the electric, my blogs went offline for several days, and it has become difficult to resume the habit of three separate posts (at least) being published on three different venues. My main despotinwaiting.blogspot.com, my americanlaststand.blogspot.com, and my substack fell by the wayside, and it is not easy to rev back into the former swing of publishing. I imagine at some point I will regain the rhythm from before the ice storm but am not there yet. 

Lights Back On!

It took ten days at our primary residence, but we finally rejoined the Age of Electricity yesterday. I think I learned what it is to an extent to live Amish, and I am not up to it. I like my HVAC, and my electric blanket, and the delicacies in my refrigerator not spoiling. I am spoiled for my hot showers and my dark roast coffee in the morning. I would not have done well as a Spartan because the creature comforts are for me. Praise the Lord though that power is finally restored. 

Weather Altering Tactics

Could a foreign adversary be affecting America's weather? Could our unusual ice storm be something other than entirely natural? Cloud seeding is reputed to work, but could other world powers deliberately be changing climate patterns to hurt America? 

Not Much Warmer

February started with bitter cold and fluffy snow that thankfully was easy to brush off the SUV. The day was not ultimately as cold as the days that ended January, but it was not exactly a good time to tan. I managed to do a good portion of my daily five mile walk in the mall and found a hitherto unknown portion of Macy's by pressing the wrong button on the elevator. The mysterious 1-M, which obviously was not meant for public access, with some boxes of "inventory", and some closed doors, at least one of which was likely the loss protection office. So I found a two floor retailer that actually had effectively four levels, with 1 and 2 open for shopping, I-M that obviously is not meant for the public, and three, listed as "offices and restrooms". At least the store was nice and toasty. 

A Warmer February?

It would be hard to imagine the weather in the new month being as awful as the previous month's, but it is not starting off with promise. It is sixteen degrees and snowing, just what we did not want or need. Of course, one day does not a month make, but it is not an auspicious start. 

Some Honest Questions

The government of the city of Nashville and our electric service have demonstrated unpreparedness, negligence, and incompetence. Why was aggressive tree cutting or at least paring back initiated near electric lines and transformers? Why did it take so many days to bring in additional help when the scope of the outage was immediately observable? Why are so many still without electricity even now? I am sorry if my presentation is disjointed, but our home does not have electricity restored yet. 

Nashville's Own Treemageddon

My hometown looks like a World War I battlefield with trees knocked down and broken to bits all over. We lost electricity between four and six in the morning Sunday and have not had it restored since. I apologize to my daily readers for not producing a column for several days but had no means to publish without the power to go online. There is nothing funny about this as people have died in Davidson County, across Tennessee, and throughout our nation due to this weather cataclysm.  

Bill Cassidy Turncoat

Louisiana has produced plenty of unscrupulous politicians over the years but none are worse than disgraceful United States Senator Bill Cassidy, who is one of the Republicans in name only with which the nation and Trump must suffer. Cassidy spits in the face of Angel Parents and all the other victims of illegal aliens to side with Communists, ANTIFA, and anarchists. Cassidy is eager to abandon rule of law for the law of the jungle by confronting Trump and comforting foreign parasites who have breached our borders to leech off hard-working Americans, that is when they are not killing us with smuggled drugs, their habit of driving impaired, or outright murder. God bless Donald Trump and our Federal border and immigration enforcers. Satan is for Cassidy and the chaos he fosters. 

Feeding the Hysteria

The first reports I heard last week about the looming winter storm said my home town of Nashville was facing a snow accumulation of thirty (30!) inches. The shelves of grocery stores and similar provisioners in  our area were immediately laid bare by scared Southerners who took it as the gospel that a weather catastrophe was about to strike us. By midweek, the forecast had settled down to a more manageable amount of eleven to thirteen inches. That would be no bargain, but people have survived worse. The WSMV weather team last night had reduced projections to a mere three to four inches, that is a relatively normal event in typically sunny Tennessee. So why I ask was the initial prediction so dire? Were certain folks stoking a panic for their own reasons? 

Lambs to Slaughter

The Iranian people made a tragic mistake- they listened to Donald Trump- and they believed him. They took to the streets awaiting the cavalry, but the rescuers were tied up in narcissism and wasted breath diplomacy, causing the deaths of thousands who were gullible. Iranians deserved better, dying to be free. 

"Bored" of Peace

Do you think Israel is willing going to outsource security to countries that hate Jews? Do you think Turkey and Qatar really want their boots on the ground protecting Jewish communities on the border with Gaza? Trump's Board of Peace is a sick joke with slaughtered Jews as the punchline. 

Baiting the Revolutions

The Iranian people stood up, risking their lives, because Donald Trump, the leader of the free world, said he had their backs. In the event, he has not, leading them to be slaughtered by the evil regime that has enslaved them nearly half a century. It seems to be even worse though as Trump has apparently agreed to let regional tyrants finish off the Kurds, the traditional ally of the United States and along with Israel and very few others, the upholders of decency in the Middle East. You should not send civilians into machine gun fire unless you are willing to risk blood and treasure to ensure the yoke is thrown off, and you should never abandon those who have bled beside you to stop terrorism and suddenly side with the (not so reformed) terrorists themselves. 

A Proven Loser

With all the coaches available with winning records in the NFL, leave it to the Tennessee Titans to hire someone who was a head coach for more than three seasons and never came close to the playoffs or achieved even a .500 record. Why would the Titans hire Robert Saleh? Is this some sort of outreach to "diversity"? If you want to sell those outrageously priced personal seat licenses, how about bringing in someone who has a history of producing victories? 

Buffalo Makes Mistake

The Bills did not make the Super Bowl this season, and one reason is that they were beset with an exceptional spate of injuries that few other NFL teams have ever had to endure. They were still a competitive team with a winning record and lasted well into the playoffs. I think their head coach was a good one, and if he wants, he will quickly be hired to lead a team to a good won-loss record somewhere else. He might opt to go into broadcasting instead, where he would make a tremendous analyst and/or color commentator. Professional football is unforgiving, but Buffalo is cutting off the nose to spite the face with the recent firing of Sean McDermott. 

Vrabel Can Coach

A ways back on this blog I made the mistake of saying my hometown Tennessee Titans should part ways with the head coach, largely because Tennessee could not fire the bulk of the team. It seems Mike Vrabel was the one man who should not go (or have gone). He is an outstanding leader of men. I did say in the original post that he was not a "terrible coach any more than his mentor Bill Belichick is" or something similar. Well, while the Nashville pro team earned itself another very early draft pick with abysmal play, Vrabel has his new club, where he was a fixture as a star player for years, back in the American Football Conference Championship Game. Go Mike go- I was way wrong- the Titans should have kept you. 

Running State Interference

The Governor has called out the National Guard in Minnesota, not to assist Federal authorities in rounding up criminal aliens but to serve as a blocking force to protect Minnesotans presumably from ICE. Has the failed Vice Presidential candidate ever heard of the American Civil War? The government in Washington, District of Columbia, established primacy by force of law and arms over the States in that bloody conflict. I would contend that States' rights were vanquished then for all time, essentially making it a settled issue, unless some fool wants to relitigate it with bullets and bombs at some point. I have this not necessarily novel notion that cities and states should work with, not against immigration agents to make communities safer. 

The Leaders Deserve

Those who enslave the people of Iran do not merit living in exile with the fortunes they have stolen. They have earned the most tortuous ends that could be inflicted on wrongdoers, hopefully publicly. 

In All Forms

Fanaticism from the right or left or of the religious variety is extremely dangerous. Certitude can be highly corrosive. 

A Free Iran

The removal of the Ayatollah and the mad mullahs would make the world safer from the terrorism they have sponsored for almost half a century and likely mean Iran would no longer pose a military (including nuclear) threat to the rest of the globe. A return of the Shah and/or another form of truly representative government should be welcomed by all decent people. The end of the Islamic Republic would deliver greater peace and stability for the region and beyond. 

Arm Iran's People

The Office of Strategic Services sent cheap, crudely-made single shot .45 caliber pistols into Occupied Europe, that ended up killing a few Nazis. The CIA armed resistance to Communists in several countries. Right now the mullah regime has ample guns, while the people of Iran have virtually none. I would rather have an obsolete gun facing a modern military weapon than a rock or bottle. The free world should provide a fighting chance to the freedom seekers in Iran by arming them. I don't care if that would be a casus belli for the Ayatollah against those who arm his opponents. The vast majority of Iranians would like to tear the reactionary clerics oppressing and now slaughtering them in the streets limb from limb. For the sake of the world and human liberty, we must help the Iranian people free themselves. 

Inflamed Iran's Intifada

Finally, there is a throwing off of the yoke I wholeheartedly support. The Iranian People will no longer tolerate the vicious theocratic oppression they have been forced to live under since the fall of the Shah. For the sake of the entire world, back their removal of the mad mullahs. 

One and All

Anybody who enters our country illegally is by definition a criminal. Folks that protest for aliens who have unlawfully entered America are voicing public support for crime. If you riot for any reason, you deserve condign retribution. Why would anyone want more wrongdoers in their community and publicly go out to disrupt law enforcement there to protect them? 

No High Noon

Independent reporter Nick Sortor has released video of the Minneapolis police ceding the center of the city to the mob. Even the police chief is seen bugging out. The cops there apparently have no pride or backbone, and the male officers act like anything but men. They retreat, leaving any citizen who is not a rioter at the mercy of the lawbreakers and permit a hotel to be vandalized and defaced. This event is a mortification that should not take place in a developed country. 

A Simple Proposition

Either we have rule of law or anarchy. I am saddened anyone is killed, even if they invite their own demise, but the way to avoid shooting incidents like the one in Minnesota is to honor Federal detainer orders and not let criminal aliens back into communities where they potentially commit more crime and create danger for themselves, the people around them, and Federal authorities, who are bound to uphold the law and now face added risk of trying to apprehend criminals that were once in custody but now have to be re-apprehended by agents causing additional and unnecessary risk for all involved including bystanders. "Sanctuary" cities and states make everyone less safe. A stark choice exists between order and lawlessness,  

Moment of Decision

Either we are a Federal Republic, with the national government taking precedence over the rights of the individual states, or we fight a civil war all over again. We can't survive with fifty immigration and foreign policies. New York City mayors do not decide which foreign leader is an ally or enemy and certainly not who take take into custody at the despotic and kleptocratic United Nations. Minnesota or any other state for that matter should not be allowed to make America more dangerous for everyone by making themselves a sanctuary for criminal aliens. When you release foreign predators back on the street instead of relinquishing custody to lawful Federal authorities, the immigration control still needs to apprehend them, and the felons are free to commit more crime until ICE captures them. Why make things worse and spark insurrection by failing to cooperate with the Feds? 

Us Versus Them

America has never been closer to becoming a Red-Green hellhole than right now. Political Islam had no traction in the United States after September 11, 2001, but then whispers of imaginary "Islamophobia" turned into shouts. Muslims including overt Islamists won elections in towns and cities throughout the country. Now they have captured mayoralty in the nation's largest city and multiple cities in Michigan. Then, there are the Reds, mostly under the guise of "socialist" who have won office believing they have the right to take what is ours. This nation is not Red-Green but Red, White, and Blue with capitalism giving the most opportunity and prosperity to all and Judeo-Christian tolerance and pluralism unifying real patriots. 

Day to Remember

Lest we never forget that today marks the anniversary of undercover government officers and agents provocateur, working on behalf of Team Biden, staging a sham insurrection to frame Donald Trump. God bless America and DJT, and let us hope those who set him up will answer for their treason. 

Sympathy for Devils

If you side with despots over their oppressed people, you are an awful person. If you are more concerned with the rights of criminals than those of their victims, you are a bad person. If you do both, you are one of today's DemocRAT leaders. 

Bathed in Evil

Many DemocRATS are condemning President Trump for capturing drug-dealing Maduro.  The narcotics this dictator trafficked killed Americans. The tyrant allowed the worst offenders and lunatics his country held to leave prisons and asylums provided they left Venezuela and large numbers of them ended up in the United States. The criminals whose entry into America Maduro facilitated include the murderous Tren de Aragua gang. If you support the despot over the oppressed people of the country he enslaved, you display the same kind of moral inversion the "Free Palestine" crowd does. Places where people have a real voice and vote deserve our support. 

Rid of Chavistas

There are reports of some Chavistas being killed by fellow Venezuelans after the capture of their bloody-handed dictator by the United States. This is the natural consequence of oppressing and impoverishing fellow countrymen for years. Maduro is lucky to be in American custody rather than facing a fate like Qaddafi. Freedom and prosperity will soon return to the liberated Venezuela. 

Better Than Southeastern

This season at least, the other major football conferences seem manifestly superior to the SEC. In the college football playoffs, it looks like the only Southeastern teams that win happen to be paying other SEC teams. Many think the lone and last SEC team standing Ole Miss is dead meat for mighty Miami. I do not know if this is the case because the contest on the filed has not even kicked off yet, but I do admit the SEC record this bowl season is atrocious. Mississippi State will also soon vie in a bowl, even though the Bulldogs are guaranteed a losing record, even if they somehow beat Wake Forest. As an aside, there are too many bowl games. Sadly, at this point, I have to rate the conference I root for, the grand Southeastern, behind the mighty Big-10 and even the ACC on the gridiron. 

Are Hurricanes Back?

The University of Miami football team is not yet at the level of dominance it once was, but it may be well on the way to reclaiming the national title after a long wait. The Hurricanes are a long way from invincible with two defeats during the regular season, but they are dominant right now having smacked Texas A & M down on the Aggies home field, then blasting favored defending national champion Ohio State on a neutral field. Miami is a more complete team than those it will face going forward. It may well be the Canes year.