RIP Lindsay

Good Man Gone

Four term US Senator Lindsay Graham from SC died suddenly this weekend at the relatively young age of 71. An "aortic tear" so say reports.

I never knew he was so widely revered.

For sure I became infuriated by Graham's position on some matters. Nonetheless, he really was a role model for politicians on both sides. Untainted by scandals, Graham went about doing the business of the people. He was far from a blind sycophant of Donald Trump. But neither was he afraid of offending the establishment by backing fiercely policies he truly considered right and moral. He was widely, perhaps unanimously, respected. He was also well-liked. Try and name a few others in Congress who are both respected and genuinely liked.

Graham was a soldier's soldier. 30 years in the Air Force and National Guard. Reached level of Colonel. Always ready to battle for our men and women in uniform. Always with a quip and southern affability. He reminded me of Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird.

As a fixture in the Senate, he could have responded to the incentives of official Washington and the elite media, and sabotaged Trump’s presidency. But Graham understood that his party had voted and chosen Trump to lead them. So he made the best of the unexpected disappointment of the 2016 primary. He became Trump’s friend, joining him for golf, advising him on strategy, and hoping to catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Graham knew the value of a President with a cast iron spine. He and Donald trusted each other because they trusted each other's motives.

It worked. Graham’s counsel helped guide Trump to take military action against Iran, reconsider a premature and sudden withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, and avoid a full breakup with NATO. Senator Graham was hated by the “Never Trump” crowd and, of course, despised by the woke left. Especially after calling out the character assassination of Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court in 2018. “This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics,” Graham bellowed. Many say this was Lindsay's finest hour.

In so many ways, Graham was what we desperately need more of - a pragmatic idealist. Elected officials uncontrolled by the need to stay in power and willing to do the right thing regardless of consequences. He died with a whopping $1.4 million in assets. This after four terms as a major player in the insider trading capital of the free world.

RIP Lindsey Graham. You were a credit to American government. You leave many friends behind and big shoes to fill.

Judge by His Enemies

The best measure of this man's worth might just be who his enemies were. Russia, Iran, Tucker Carlson, The View, Hassan Piker, Ro Khanna, Candace Owens, Guests on the last remaining Late Night Talk Show and Omar Suleiman are a cross section of the Jew-hating, anti-Americans who reacted with condolences such as...Good riddance, Welcome to Hell. All He Ever Wanted to Do Was Kill, etc.

Lots of Room

Few would disagree the World Cup is a glorious event. Aside from the bastardized, largely ignored Olympics, America has no other chance to root for "our side". Fortunately, this go round provided several rousing opportunities to chant Go USA.

But in the end, USA was limp. We played scared and uninspiring "football". Our star was a cardboard no show. We went in with a questionable goalie and he answered the question...embarrassingly.

Let's not forget our $16 million a year coach, who came up way short. Unable to put fire in the belly and confidence in the psyche for the finale. Don't forget, as home side, we didn't even have to qualify.

Oh well, put away those Messi jerseys for another four years.

Looking Their Gift Horse in the Mouth

When Tiger Woods started to emerge as the phenom he was the entire Professional Golfers Association of America was enriched. TV revenues and in person attendance skyrocketed, purses doubled and players got rich. All because of Tiger.

Although not on the same scale, Caitlyn Clark had the same impact on the WNBA.

So why does it seem like there is a concerted effort to victimize her? Every night some opposing player is committing a vicious foul. Referees are turning a blind eye. Fellow players, all of whom saw a pay hike thanks to Caitlyn, are continually mouthing off and trashing Ms. Clark..

The provocation for such illogical, counterproductive behavior? It's not because Caitlyn is a straight white woman in a league that is 70% black or LGBTQ. It is because she has refused to play the game, to do her part. Clark has steered well clear of the agitation demanded. She refuses to be a vehicle for racial and sexual activism that seems to define the WNBA these days. How dare she?

Revolutionaries inevitably eat their own. Be careful ladies. It's not good business to kill off the goose who's laying the golden eggs.

IRAN UPDATE: Sooo Weary...

of hearing about the Iran quagmire. It's impossible to keep track, let alone trust, where things stand. I know - we've resumed bombing. Trump has closed the strait to Iran oil and says we'll manage from here onward - for a fee. To all of which I say...yaddy, yaddy, yaddy.

Only one thing is for sure. Iran ain't never going to play ball. Not now, not ever. It didn't take Nostradamus to predict the MOU wasn't worth a rial.

So what to do? What to do?

1. Initiate then accelerate projects with Arab states to build alternatives for transporting oil that reduce Hormuz to a memory. Pipelines mainly to the Med. They have boatloads on money. Let them mortgage a few skyscrapers and get cracking with US technology.

2. Gas up US oil production so we can help fill the void to Europe and Asia. Especially Alaska.

3. Aggressively build up missile defenses and inventories including significant technology (i.e. space-based) upgrades. Then share with those who prove they want to be our friends.

4. Bomb the living bejesus out of the Mullahs/IRGC at the first hint they are back in the nuclear weapons business.

5. Keep the sanctions in place to starve the regime from rebuilding.

6. Get Starlink open to the Iranian people.

7. Formally pull the plug on senseless MOU. Loudly, clearly.

Looking more and more like the scenario we outlined a few issues back has legs. Slow play until after elections. Do all needed to keep oil prices from spiking again, replenish munitions and missiles and keep the whole mess out of the headlines until after November. Then lower the boom.

Problem is Trump needs to laser focus on issues that will determine midterms. There's no midterms in Tehran. Another problem is media keeps bringing Iran up and Trump can't resist a lengthy diatribe.

Victory by attrition seems the only course. I checked with Marco and he's down.

Confused

Why is everybody ragging on JD for a crappy MOU, lots of faux toleration for the IRGC and faulting Israel for delays in a deal?

Don't they recognize this guy can't go to the Men's Room without a hall pass from DJT?

College Condemnation Continues

Only 38% of US adults now consider a college education worthwhile.

Cite:

• Partisan bias & indoctrination (brainwashing)

• Poor job prospects

• Cost

as main reasons for the continuing decline in college degree confidence.

CME readers were way out front on this one.

Skeptical? Good Reason.

Dem leaders, Chuck Schumer and Hakim Jeffries, are promising voters that if they "will only give them another chance" they'll deal with the affordability "crisis". Schumer said he'll make it the Dems' North Star.

Facts don't support. As we all know CNBC is right at the top of liberal shills for the Democratic Party. Well, they just released a poll that showed the top 10 "costliest" states in the US. Nine were BLUE states led by liberal governors. The only GOP-led state on the list was Florida, which is there only because anyone with a half a brain is moving here. And that drives up real estate costs.

North star? How about Death star?

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

On the heels of the aforementioned ruinous survey and with undisguised intentions to defuse and deflect, CNBC released another survey. Its "quality of life" rankings. The 10 worst places to live were all conservative RED states. All 10 voted for Donald Trump.

Honestly, what fools buy this stuff?

What the Hell Are We Doing in Venezuela?

Still in bed with Maduro leftovers. Acting President is former Maduro VP, Delcy Rodriguez. Why?

I recognize we want to secure the oil situation and are emphasizing stability. But reality is that major investment is extremely unlikely given continuing ties to the past and lack of clarity about the future. Political prisoners have not even been released and we took out Maduro seven months ago.

Why are we not throwing our weight behind Maria Corina Machado, the longtime, staunch opposition to Maduro? Her popularity stands at 82.5% While Rodriguez, stands at 4%

Why not back Machado and fast track democratic elections? Must be a reason but I haven't seen it.

The Trump administration is right to seek stability and recovery in Venezuela but wrong to think they can be achieved without a return to democracy—especially now, after the earthquake. The order is wrong; democracy is the key to stability and recovery. The rage felt now by so many Venezuelans must be channeled into an election where they can peacefully express their views and desires. The ongoing instability in the Persian Gulf has U.S. oil giants cautiously glancing at Venezuela’s vast energy reserves, but until democracy and rule of law are reestablished there, it will remain a land of untapped potential.

For the record...We've already seen what a change to right-headed leadership can mean - check out Argentina.

Guess Who's Leading in Cali for Gov.

Rafael Becerra. Remember him? He was the dummy who ran Health and Human Services under Sleepy Joe during Covid. He was the one that had parents putting masks on two year-olds. He was the one Susan Rice, Obama liege and party sycophant, called "an Idiot".

Well, this "Insult to an Empty Suit" is leading in the polls. Albeit with 28%.

When asked for his top priorities in terms of the changes he will make, he pulled a Kamala. Said he couldn't think of any. Say Whaaaat? Can't think of anything California can de better? How about ordering more U-Haul trucks?

As an aside, Becerra's Chief of Staff for 20 years has been indicted for siphoning off campaign funds.

Killing the Filibuster

Once again I feel compelled to declare emphatically...eliminating the filibuster is a HORRIBLE IDEA. We all know how annoying, no damaging, a do-nothing Congress has been. Frustration is through the roof so the temptation to ram things through on a simple majority vote has never seemed more tempting.

But I remain absolutely, firmly convinced that killing the filibuster will have far reaching impact and turn this circus we call Congress into an irredeemable quagmire from which our system of government will never emerge in tact.

When the Democrats regain control, as they most surely will at some point, you can take it to the bank that:

• Puerto Rico and DC will become states;

• SCOTUS will be increased to 13;

• The filibuster will be killed.

In order for any system to be effective it must be stable and trusted. You can see what happened to the UK. Or, for that matter, most EU countries who switch out PMs like yesterday's knickers.

Suddenly Dawned on Me.

Duh. Where did this massive wave of Anti-Israel sentiment come from?

So obvious. Bibi and 90% of Israel are "buds" with Trump. All the rest...genocide, etc. is nothing more than obfuscation.

Mamdani Demise Inevitable?

Certainly Zohran and his coterie of Democratic Socialists are flavor of the month. They appeal to those jonesing for radical action. Those who are fed up with mainstream Democrats and feel Progressives are wimps.

Now I firmly believe Mamdani's promises will come up a cropper. That his policies are and will continue to drive the wealthy, large corporations, jobs and tourists out of America's most famous city.

But he has done something that gives me pause. Apparently he recognizes that nothing could Titanic him quicker than a significant uptick in crime in the Big Apple. To this end, surprisingly and cleverly, he retained the Chief of Police. Not quite ready to turn the institution over to the inmates.

If Those in Power

...don't care about the people they govern it opens a lot of doors.

Mind Boggling

Your favorite Governor, the Father of Fraud, "coulda been VP" Tim Waltz offered this explanation for why he pardoned a Laotian national here illegally and convicted of abusing a 10-year old girl...I quote:

""Did that make us any safer? Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable?

Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?"

It's official. There's no hope. When elected officials proactively shield child abusers we're doomed. Think of your daughter, niece, granddaughter.

With All Due Respect...

Retire Mitch McConnell. We have a razor thin edge in the Senate as it is. Prolonged absence by a voting member is anathema.

Not a Toll

Trump is trial ballooning the idea that the US should run Hormuz and charge a fee for guaranteeing safe passage.

Of course, TDS'rs are aghast. As a frame of reference, it costs about $600K for a decent size ship to go through the Panama Canal.

In terms of the Strait of Hormuz, this would not be a toll but a fee to provide military safe passage.

Genius

We intend to no longer provide military aid paid for with taxpayer $$$. We will sell weapons to those most threatened and let them protect themselves.

Which is what Trump has done with Ukraine. Sold weapons to NATO so they can protect their flank.

Sounds like win, win, win, no? So simple, it's elegant.

Feckless (which you know is one of my ATF adjectives.)

For years we've been a sucker. Sending billions, no trillions by now to countries just so they like us. How's that worked?

Since Reagan, every President has echoed that the Iranian Mullahs must never get a nuke. Yet no one did anything forceful to prevent...til now.

Don't Look Now...

But Canada is in the news again. Apparently they are making no effort nor contributing anything to securing the world's longest border. With us. This is facilitating fentanyl trafficking etc. just like it used to be in Mexico.

Speaking of feckless. How about the Maple Leafs start ponying up...or forget about free trade.

Cheering in China

NY Governor Kathy Hochul has outlawed Data Centers in NY state.

Fraud Update

But never fear, Kathy's on the job.

The Department of Labor (DOL), in collaboration with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, has deployed a strike force to New York to recover hundreds of millions in unemployment fraud payments.

"New York has exhibited fraud and improper payment rates on a scale we’ve never seen before—draining nearly $2 million a day from hardworking American taxpayers," DOL Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito reported.

New York has the highest unemployment insurance fraud rate in the country at 15%, according to the DOL. The federal government says the state also has the highest improper payment rate at 23%.

A spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's office told Fox News Digital that she is (just now) implementing policies to prevent fraud, which has been a longstanding priority of President Donald Trump's second term.

You go, girl.

Is It Just Me?

Or do "Rules" seem not to matter much.

In order for nations and societies to function there must be some modicum of shared objectives and behavioral codes. There must be "rules".

Certainly throughout history there have been egregious breaches of this basic human principle. Nazi Germany being one. Times when governments went completely off the rails. By and large, it can be argued, governments have stuck to the "codes" even if, at times, loosely.

These days it seems to me that attacks on civilization's framework are all too frequent. And not just from third world dictators. But right here, in our own backyard. In Chicago, Minneapolis, LA, NY. Decency, decorum and basic morality are tossed aside whenever politically convenient. Transgressions range from the increasingly commonplace practice of attacking opponents with insults, lies and derision to the orchestrated use of violence with full intent to injure or even kill.

Ethics, morality, integrity seem to matter less and less.

It seems we have entered a new age where crowd warfare has become the weapon of choice. Increasingly popular and potent. The art of mobilizing the "victimized" and siccing them on your enemy. Paying them to form mobs to weaken and destroy the pillars of society and systems of government - not by convincing discourse or the ballot box. But by violent protest oft accompanied by physical attacks on the opposition.

It's all fine and good to be for "rule of law" and the dictates of democratic society. But, it matters not a whit if the other guy doesn't agree to play by the "rules".

No cost must be spared to root out the source of what now appears to be systematic campaigns to wobble our democracy. Much of which is funded abroad. In this case - I say throw out the rules. Do whatever we must to expunge this venom. The sooner the better.

New Practice

I have always loved clever sayings, which require second thought or I find just plain hilarious. I'll share one each issue.

I'll start with two.

"He loves nature, despite what it did to him."

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."

Enjoy your weekend. Use that AC that the French hate so much.