The Red Pill Has Some Side Effects

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I haven't gotten very political recently, not that I haven't had strong opinions and feelings, but I sometimes get weary at hearing myself.  As does my wife.  I follow many like-minded blogs or websites, media companies such as the American Thinker, The Daily Wire, Turning Point USA, Matt Taibbi, and Mil-blog sites such as Commander Salamander, Borepatch and others.  We are all screaming down a wind tunnel, all with the same thoughts and ideas about where our country has been and where it is going.  I've tried to watch others, but I detect / detest the leftist spin in every single story.  I often feel that I am unable to change any of it, so my periodic koobecaF or Insta posts and shares are a tiny relief valve for me.  Sarge is also gracious enough to allow me the space here to pontificate a bit more than a brief social media post will allow. 

The the thing about those posts, my likes and shares, is that it is a permanent record of my beliefs and strong opinions against our totalitarian-trending state.  It's not hard totalitarianism, they aren't coming and arresting me for what I'm saying, but the minders in in Mountain View California*, those little birds and ears of the government, are watching what I say.  And their algorithms put me into a special category of people who might be of concern¹, ones who are not supportive of events that are taking place.  Instead of a Gestapo-like secret police, they are the soft gatekeepers of access.  They can shut down what I say, blocking posts, maybe slowing my internet, shadow-banning me, and maybe someday blocking off my access to online banking, throttling down my ability to live in a digital world.  We can say that will never happen here, but it already is to some extent.  "You have violated community standards."  I wouldn't have thought Britain would jail people for saying things, but it's happening daily at the same time they are not arresting people for actual egregious crimes. 

Did you know that if you play video games and either shoot up a crowd of non-player characters, do anything violence near a school, or fly an airplane into a building, you are automatically put on a watch list of sorts?²  

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You may have heard what happened to former congresswoman and current Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Tulsi Gabbard.  She was put on a special watch list for the airlines that forced her to receive extra special scrutiny when flying.  Probably because she went against the mainstream liberal narrative.  Probably?  Most definitely because of that.  And when questioned, the FAA and the Department of Homeland security have clammed up, eliminating any evidence of who did what, or clearing any name associated with the order.

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The assassination attempt?  There doesn't seem to be any interest from the media in finding out about who visited his house four times, and also visited the FBI headquarters in DC.  Or any journalistic curiosity about how his social media was slicked, or how he developed a remote detonator.  Was it a massive overreach when 20 agents in riot gear broke into a Catholic family man's house at daybreak to arrest him for pushing someone away from his son near a pro-life demonstration?  Absolutely, but the evil are in power and is no way to defeat the Department of Justice when they are backed by the media and judges.  Yes these kinds of things are illegal but no one seems powerful enough or strong enough to stop them, and not every case can make it to the supreme Court.  They are the Brown Shirts of today's generation.  Reagan foretold how we can lose our rights in a single generation.  And going to a mostly digital world makes it even easier for them to deny us our rights and our freedoms.

Am I ready to cut the cord and get completely off of social media? No, not yet. We will see how things go in November, which will be very telling about the way our country is headed. Even if the conservative pick gets into office, he may not be able to stem the tide in the single term he will have.  It would require a large swath of the justice department to be culled from the herd.  Deep staters run deep and it may not be easy to find them, and even harder to loosen their grip.  A strong AG not from DC proper, new directors of the CIA and FBI, again not from within, might be able to make a difference.  We will also need the entire legislative branch on our side.  The rest of the woke mind hive will have to be put on notice, and freedom loving Americans will have to call them on their sins, and be not afraid of their tactics, pushing back and maybe even protesting.  Watering the tree of Liberty you might say.

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If things don't go our way in November, it might be time to run and hide, and be grateful that I have exercised my second amendment rights.  Have you seen that meme regarding weapons and what they are for?  It was similar to this:  A pistol is for self-defense.  A rifle is for hunting.  An AR-15 is for tyranny, and our collective ownership of them of them is for lots of tyranny.  That's not exactly how it was laid out, but you probably get my point, and I didn't want to post it- no need to get Sarge in trouble!

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Is that far fetched? 10 or 15 years ago I might have said yes, but since then we have been lied to about a vaccine that is killing children and weakening our immune systems, observed massive 2:00 a.m. election fraud, and seen our media abandon its role as the fourth estate (an independent press) to begin electioneering for the preferred and formerly hated candidate that they are told to prefer, despite what the voters want.  Do you want more? How about that completely open border, after which these illegals are allowed to get a driver's license.  One month later due to motor voter laws, they are able to vote.³  So I don't trust the DC elite at all anymore.  

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Anything else?  Well there's the blatant buying off the youth vote by illegally promising to provide student debt relief. Did the supreme Court rule against it? Yes they did, but the administration is still doing it.  How about our President being in China's back pocket?  Can anyone say actual impeachable offense?  

I could go on, but I am again getting tired of hearing myself speak as it were.  What's a man to do?  I will continue to pray for a return to true servant leadership.  And if I lived anywhere else than California, I might volunteer as a poll watcher, but this state is too far gone to ever vote for its self interest.  I will also follow Juvat's voting rubric.⁴  How about you?  Any recommendations for me?  My sanity may depend on it.

Until next rant.

*Silicon Valley 

1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/11/06/new-government-spy-report-your-social-media-is-probably-being-watched-right-now/

2 https://theintercept.com/2024/03/09/fbi-dhs-gamers-extremism-violence/

3 https://nypost.com/2024/06/14/us-news/how-non-citizens-are-getting-voter-registration-forms-across-the-us-and-how-republicans-are-trying-to-stop-it/

4 "My voting rubric is No Democrat, no Incumbent, no unopposed."

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Random Tuna Musings

View from our hotel in St. Thomas, USVI

Hello everyone.  How y'all doin?  Haven't been too visible recently, just hanging around in the comments section a little.  I don't know about you, but I find it harder to comment on his stories than I do when Sarge writes about a specific topic.  I always have opinions, but when it comes to the historical fiction he writes, that' not something I want to provide feedback on.  And that it might come across as criticism.  Maybe I just don't feel it's something I feel smart enough to comment on since I can't say I'm much of a historian.  But anyhoo...

How's your bracket? I didn't get a chance to fill one out, as we were on vacation. But I always pick a Cinderella team and who knows, I might have randomly picked St. Peters.  Then again, Kentucky has been a powerhouse in the past, and a small school I've never heard of beating Kentucky as a number two?  No, my bracket would have been busted early.  Gonzaga would have been my pick to go to the final four if not the championship game, but they always let me down.  Arkansas beat them with Eric Musselman as their coach. We are both alumni of USD and I saw him play my freshman year. They went to the tournament in 1987 but lost in the first round against Auburn.  He was a real fan favorite back then and listening to the post game interview last week, he's still a very gregarious guy.  He's been a journeyman coach across the spectrum with stints in Rapid City, Phoenix, Reno, Orlando, Memphis, and others. It's good to see him doing well.  I'm now rooting for Villanova, but Kansas might win it all.

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Ukraine? We're a month into this war and it is very interesting to watch from the outside. I think this is the first war where people's cell phones have played such a role in showing the world an up front view of the fighting.  It's worked in Ukraine's favor, and very much against the Russians favor, as we are able to see the atrocities they are committing almost in real time.  Ukraine is also playing the propaganda game at a varsity or Olympic level. That whole ghost of Kiev story and reports of Ukrainian success, whether it is real or embellished, is helping build international support for the Ukrainians cause.  I think we're also seeing that Russia is not this 20-foot Giant we expected, or at least they didn't bring him to the fight.  It seems that Russia is forgetting that an army crawls on its belly, and that experts talk logistics. Those experts must have remained in Moscow because the images of mired tanks and large convoys that are stalled out seemed it show a level of incompetence we didn't think the Russians had, but obviously have in spades now.  Maybe their arrogance, and a belief that this would be a cakewalk, has come back to bite them in the ass, literally and figuratively. Reports of the Russians just leaving their dead behind is also shocking, but probably shouldn't be surprising considering that Putin is clearly a madman.

How about that President and Vice President we have, huh?  They are quite the team. I believe this war and the sad state of our economy are directly the result of their incompetence and weak leadership.  Not to mention horrible policies.  Between Biden being ignored and embarrassing himself on the world stage, to telling our troops they will be going into Ukraine, and gaffes on the deterrent effect of sanctions, he comes across as a bumbling idiot.  Coupled that with VP Harris's preschool like explanation of the Ukrainian situation, to her latest* rambling remarks regarding the passage of time, and total incompetence with the border and any task she is given, I wonder if some folks on the left are having buyer's remorse.  He is clearly deeply affected by his dementia, and she is an unmitigated disaster as his Veep, so our country is in the doldrums and drifting aimlessly.  Thank God we got rid of that mean tweeter though! 

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I liked Trump as our President, despite his coarseness and lack of some perceived notion of what it is to be "Presidential," but I'm not sure I want him to run again.  He wants to, and I think he will destroy anyone in the primaries, but the level of vitriol and hatred he raises on the left are deeply concerning to me. If he does run again, I'm sure we will again see constant attacks on every single thing he says and does, no matter whether they are good or not.  And we'll also have to listen to a constant stream of claims of racism, misogyny, and criminal behavior, characteristics that were the center piece of the left's narrative during the last administration.  I'm also worried that they will roll out the same election tactics as they did in 2020.  

Who could fill the void? Ron DeSantis is clearly a possible candidate, although the current don't say gay bill dog-whistle the left is currently sounding is clearly an attempt to damage him permanently.  Maybe Nikki Haley?  I really like Trey Gowdy, but I don't see that happening.  Romney?  No thank you very much, he's a complete RINO.  I like Ted Cruz too, and I wouldn't be surprised if he runs, but while brilliant, he's also polarizing to the left.  South Dakota's Kristi Noem?  Who else?  I think the GOP has a deep bench that the Dems don't.  I truly believe any of them could do a far better job than the current executives.  And none of them seem to have particularly abrasive twitter accounts.  The left can easily go after DeSantis, and they will for sure, but Haley?  Noem?  There's no room for cries of racism or misogyny there.  I think the GOP has an outstanding chance to pick up some votes from the left, if they can work together on a consistent message, and provide everyone running with some credible and deeply cutting talking points about what the left has done to this country.  A consistent message that has little room for debate (border crisis, inflation, Afghanistan, etc.) should enable the GOP take the House and Senate this year, keeping it through 2024, and easily take the Executive branch that year as well.  At least I hope they can.

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Anyone  engrossed in Netflix's F1 Drive to Survive like me?  The show runners have done an excellent job distilling the F1 racing series down to the best and most dramatic parts of the season into hour-long highly compelling episodes.  I had never watched F1 before, but am now a pretty big fan.  I guess that the show has led to a massive increase in viewership here in the US and the demand for tickets at the USA Grand Prix held in Austin Texas last year was huge.  A former USMC pilot buddy of mine got me interested in the show and wants us to get tickets for that race in October.  He flies for Jet Blue now and could get us tickets to get there.  However the "tickets starting at $100" is mostly a bait and switch.  Sure, you can pay $100 to get into the track during the weekend, maybe during a testing session or a practice, but the actual race will run us closer to $800 to start.  I'll have to stick to TV for my F1 fix, and NASCAR for more reasonable $50-ish tickets if I want to see one again in person.  Crazy money in F1, with just a few primary sponsors it seems, whereas NASCAR has plenty of companies helping pay the bills.  That series definitely has a different feel.  It's exciting, but a bit pretentious and stuffy if you ask me.  The top 3 drivers are paid massive amounts, but the average driver in NASCAR makes more than the rest of the F1 field.  Practically any car could win a NASCAR race, but in F1, it's almost always one of the top 3 teams, and the rest just don't have the technology.

I guess the Oscars were last Sunday.  A complete non-event for me, although watching the news the next day, I will say Will Smith is an arse.  Based on the ratings for it over the past few years, nobody much seems to care about the spectacle either.  While I see a few films throughout the year, they are not usually the ones the self-absorbed Academy cares about.  It's turned into an equity event vice a merit award show, with them increasing the number of nominees to a silly number, just so they can ensure certain demographics are given the nod.  Might I see one of their indie films?  Possibly, but it's just something to entertain me, not something I become engrossed in, nor feel the need to be a part of for the water-cooler talk the next day.  Celebrity is nothing that I care about, and those actors are no smarter or better than the average person.  Could the reduced box office and ratings be an indication we're moving away from us being star-struck?  I hope so.  Ricky Gervais said it well.

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What's the difference between a Ruble and a Dollar?  A dollar.

A few more thoughts on Ukraine.  This war is also the first where an internet-based economy and international banking is being used to punish the aggressor.  The massive worldwide sanctions being imposed on Russia and its oligarchs, along with all the tech giants cutting the Russians off from every western app is interesting to see, and shows how united the world is against what Putin is doing.  The sanctions have been in place for a few weeks now, but I don't know that they're having the intended effect.  I think we all hoped that they might cause internal pressure on Putin, maybe forcing the oligarchs to force Putin to pull out.  Putin is clearly the most powerful Russian oligarch though, and probably the richest, so maybe they are all powerless against him.  The Ukrainians are putting the most pressure on him now though, with a courageous fight.  No matter what happens, Putin is done- at least on the international stage.  Even if he wins, whatever that means, he loses since the Ukrainians, not to mention the international community, will never stand for anyone supported by him.  And his Army, despite having 150K troops in country, will continue to face resistance from the UKR Army, the general populace, volunteer fighters that are continuing to stream into the country, and the steady flow of weapons from the rest of the western world.  Putin's scorched earth tactics now seem to show that the pressure is working somewhat, although tragically for the UKR people.  When we see the bodies of a family who had been carrying only suitcases, clearly gunned down as they walked, Putin has lost his center of gravity.  His army has shifted from regular warfare to terrorism, focusing strikes on the innocent- on the street, in apartment buildings, and in hospitals.  Putin is an international pariah now and can't ever operate on the world stage again as no western country, bank, or business will cooperate with him.

But regarding Biden and Ukraine, I'm not sure what's going on, but I don't like it.  It might seem like he makes these tremendous flubs, but maybe they are intentional.  On March 23rd, Biden flew to Europe.  On the very same day, the US Government's Selective Service Office tweeted the following:

In the 72 hours Biden was in Europe, he "misspoke" and told American troops that they will be going into Ukraine.  Then, during what was billed as a "Major Speech by the American President to Europe from Poland," Biden declared that "Putin cannot remain in power."  While the Whitehouse backtracked from any calls for regime change, the two flubs and the timing of that tweet really have me wondering.  Are the elites in power pushing us into a kinetic war with Russia, into WWIII?  It would definitely deflect from the domestic woes they've induced.  

Ok, enough serious stuff.  Here are a few photos from that trip I teased in the opening photo.

By the way, this post marks the completion of my fifty-fourth trip around the sun.  And I have to say I think it's going pretty well.  Kids are raised / educated, house paid off, nothing on my credit cards, and two newer cars owned outright.  Health is fine, our marriage is as solid as ever as it approaches its third decade, we are happy, and I have little to worry about.  Even the Navy's COVID fears seem to have waned, so I get to ditch the mask.  That's not to say there's no room for improvement.  My need to lose weight has only increased, we still need to get my daughter to launch (animation employment is elusive), and my house needs a bunch of work, but none of those worries me greatly.  All in all, we're pretty blessed.  I've started to look more towards retirement considering how I have far more work years behind me than I do ahead of me, and we're adding more to our travel bucket list.  We spent a week in St. Thomas earlier this month, as you can see by those photos, and the Caribbean is amazingly beautiful.  We'll go back for sure, with other islands now on the list.  We don't want for "things" anymore, but we are about the experiences, so saving for trips is the goal these days.

Ok, that'll do it for this post.  Time to go blow out some candles.  

*Latest, meaning at time of writing.  She'll probably have another before posting.