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Not vice presidential enough |
The Wifely Person Speaks
Monday, June 30, 2025
Optics and Perception
Monday, June 23, 2025
Wishful Thinking
The ceasefire also does not address any of the underlying grievances in the bilateral relationship. In a social media post, Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that both sides have agreed to ‘start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site’. Talks between both countries’ military personnel took place on 12 May, but it remains to be seen if this paves the way for meaningful political dialogue.India has stated that talks can only discuss the issues of terrorism and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while Pakistan will want to focus on the resumption of the IWT and the status of Indian-administered Kashmir. The last time both countries engaged in substantive peace talks was the Composite Dialogue process that came to a halt following the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008.
In the absence of political dialogue, it is not a question of if but when hostilities resume. New Delhi has stated that it will consider another attack like Pahalgam an act of war, while Islamabad has said the same with respect to any violation of the IWT.
Someday someone's going to have to explain to me the virtue of a proportional response.
Ironically, as Richard Nixon’s former speechwriter William Safire pointed out nearly 40 years ago, the term surgical strike originated as left-wing satire. The first use of the phrase, according to Safire, was in an article by Richard Barnet in Harper’s Magazine in November 1971. “Even [in] the language of the bureaucracy,” Barnet wrote, “the ‘surgical strike’ for chasing and mowing down peasants from the air by spraying them with 8,000 bullets a minute—takes the mystery, awe, and pain out of violence.”
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Safire |
- 4 dozen guns
- 5 body bags
- Another Ford Explorer made to look like a police vehicle
- 3 AK-47 rifles
- Dozens of boxes of ammunition
- $17,940 in cash
- Lots of spent cartridges and casings
And just for good measure: Investigators recovered a Beretta handgun from the backyard of a home on the west side of the golf course. In the woods between an adjacent home and the Shingle Creek Regional Trail, police found a partially-loaded magazine, the flesh-colored silicone mask that Boelter was allegedly seen wearing in surveillance video, as well as a wig.
Monday, June 16, 2025
There just wasn't anything to write about tonight. NOT.
Friends told the AP that they knew Boelter was religious and conservative, but that he didn't talk about politics often and didn't seem extreme.
"He was right-leaning politically but never fanatical, from what I saw, just strong beliefs,” said Paul Schroeder, who has known Boelter for years.
He sure seemed like a nice guy. Always polite, always kept to himself.
Well, it's a terrible thing. I think he's a terrible governor. I think he's a grossly incompetent person. But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too," the president told Scott.
"Dad went to war last night ... I don't want to say more because I don't want to implicate anybody." He also allegedly sent a separate text to his wife: "Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation ... there's gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don't want you guys around."
What he imagined versus What he got |
Do you hear the people sing?Singing a song of angry men?It is the music of a peopleWho will not be slaves again
For Immediate ReleaseWASHINGTON — Today, in light of intensified terrorist activity in the Middle East, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an Advisory to assist financial institutions in detecting potentially illicit transactions related to Islamic Republic of Iran-backed terrorist organizations. The Advisory highlights the means by which certain terrorist organizations receive support from Iran and describes several typologies these terrorist organizations use to illicitly access or circumvent the international financial system to raise, move, and spend funds. It also provides red flags that may assist financial institutions in identifying related suspicious activity.
“Terrorist organizations and activity supported by and aligned with Iran should not benefit from access to the U.S. or international financial systems,” said FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki. “As we witness continuing instability and violence in the Middle East, we are issuing this Advisory to help financial institutions protect the financial system from abuse by terrorists and to encourage financial institutions to stay vigilant in identifying and reporting related suspicious activity.”
“Iran continues to explore new ways to fund its dangerous and destabilizing activities, including the proliferation of dangerous weapons, malicious cyber activities, and financing of terrorist proxies in the region,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “As the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence marks its twentieth anniversary, we reaffirm our commitment to constrain the ability of Iran and its terrorist proxies to exploit the international financial system.”
Recent events have underscored Iran’s involvement in and financing of terrorist activity in the region. Iran seeks, among other goals, to project power by exporting terrorism throughout the Middle East and beyond by financing a range of regional armed groups, some of which are U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorist organizations. These terrorist organizations include Lebanese Hizballah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, and several Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria.
This isn't the first time Trump has sent a message to Khamenei. In 2019, with the help of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he sent a similar message, but the Iranian leader publicly rejected that offer to talk.
Khamenei reportedly said at the time, "I do not consider Trump as a person worth exchanging any message with."
Touched by His Noodly Appendage,/ Niklas Jansson |
In Gaza, where Iran’s terror proxy Hamas sparked the ongoing war with the October 7 attacks, the anger toward Tehran and its allies was visceral.
“Have you seen what has happened in Gaza?” one man asked bitterly. “All of it is because of Iran.”
Another put it simply: “I can’t feed my daughters. And why? Because of the Axis of Resistance.”
In Lebanon, still reeling from monthslong clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, most residents we interviewed wanted nothing to do with further escalation. “At this point? No,” one man said, when asked if Hezbollah should reenter the war against Israel.
“We used to expect a much stronger response from them,” another man agreed. “Now, for sure, they’ve been weakened.”
The most forceful condemnation of Tehran, though, came from Syria, where Iran-backed forces helped prop up Bashar al-Assad and participated in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of civilians during more than a decade of a brutal civil war.
“Praise be to God, we hope this gangster regime ends and disappears completely,” one Syrian told us. “We have suffered deeply at their hands.”
“All of Syria’s suffering stems from Iran,” another man agreed. “The entire Syrian people are happy—and I’m celebrating with them. If Israel wants to bomb Iran for another 100 years—we’ll cheer.”
The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
Monday, June 9, 2025
Provocation and Instigation
I am, in many ways, still married to the dead guy. I miss him. Our lives weren't perfect. Far from it...Being a widow can be a challenge, but it does not define me as much as other people like to think it should. Being invisible is sometimes okay. Losing people you once thought close to you because you no longer have a partner actually tells you who your friends are...something worth knowing.
Truth be told, I could really use his astute input on tonight's episode. I would like nothing more than to listen to him unraveling the threads of the past couple o'weeks in Trumpistan. I know when I pop over to the cemetery tomorrow I will well imagine those wheels spinning in his grave. A total devotee of spy novels, I know he would've had a whole lot to say.
Look, we have laws. We have to go by the laws. We can’t move in the National Guard. I can call insurrection but there’s no reason to ever do that, even in a Portland case ...
We can’t call in the National Guard unless we’re requested by a governor.
Now, he's sending in the Marines to backup ICE and the 2,000 National Guard members. Another 2,000 are being readied for deployment. No way is this gonna go down quietly. President Felon is looking for a fight, and betting that he's gonna get one. But here's the thing: quelling this conflagration will not make him a hero; it will make him a the most hated man in America.Trump repeatedly ridiculed Newsom, a Democrat, saying that he is “grossly incompetent” and had done “a terrible job.” Asked about a threat made by his border czar Tom Homan to arrest the governor, Trump said, “I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” Trump added, without specifying any alleged criminal wrongdoing or charges. “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.”
Sunday, June 1, 2025
IMAGINING NO DRAGONS
Before the war erupted in April 2023, Sudan was already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis that left 15.8 million people in need of humanitarian aid. Two years of war have gravely exacerbated these conditions, displacing over 12 million people and leaving 30.4 million people—more than half of Sudan’s population—in need of humanitarian support.
Sudan now represents the largest and fastest displacement crisis in the world. It is also the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.
On October 16th, just 9 days after the attack on the Nova Festival and adjacent kibbutzim, the UN issued a report on Sudan:
Siobhán Mullally, UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, said unaccompanied children and children from poor families have reportedly been targeted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in the outskirts of the capital Khartoum and elsewhere.
They’ve forcibly recruited women and children especially, she warned.
Girls have also reportedly been abducted from Khartoum to Darfur for sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery.
To date, an estimated 9,000 people have been killed, over 5.6 million driven from their homes in the civil conflict between military Government forces and the RSF, and 25 million people are reliant on aid.
“The deteriorating humanitarian situation and lack of access to food and other basic services make children, especially unaccompanied and separated children on the streets, easy targets for recruitment by armed groups,” Ms. Mullally said.
The UN Human Rights Council-appointed expert stressed that recruitment of children by armed groups for any form of exploitation, including in combat roles, is a gross violation of human rights, a serious crime and a violation of international humanitarian law.
Addressing reports that children might be joining armed groups as a means of survival, Ms. Mullally emphasized that the consent of a child – defined as any person below the age of 18 – is legally irrelevant, and it is not necessary to prove the use of force.
She also voiced concern over lack of humanitarian access to children.
She called on all parties to the conflict to return to peace talks and reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement that would allow for the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance and ensure accountability for alleged violations.
“Urgent action is needed to address these pressing concerns and take effective measures to prevent child trafficking and provide effective protection to child victims and children at risk, in particular displaced, unaccompanied and separated children, refugee children and children with disabilities,” Ms. Mullally said.
We are .02 of world population....and it's still too many Jews left alive for some people. Certainly all Jews are murderers and baby killers because no Jewish institution is ever left unscathed. Last week, it was a museum in D.C. and synagogues in Paris. Or today, June 1st, in Boulder, Colorado where a man tossed molotov cocktails at demonstrators, including children, calling for the releases of hostages held in Gaza. It doesn't matter where the Jews are, or where the institutions are, or the real history of who belongs in Israel...although recently I'm hearing Jesus was a Palestinian....as if he wasn't at the Temple in Jerusalem....where Mohammed was at the time even though Mohammed wouldn't be born for a few hundred more years.