There just wasn't anything to write about tonight. NOT.
Some weeks, I really have to scrape to find something to write about. This is not one of those weeks. As such, I must start with the assassination of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the attempted assassination of State Senator John Hoffman, his wife, and daughter, and the other Minnesota state legislators who did not answer the door when Vance Boelter knocked.
I'm not gonna write much about this assassin, but I will point you to a profile post on the Minnesota Public Radio website. One piece of that profile was worth posting here:
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.
Every time there was a serial killer, Ziggy maintained the same thing was said about each one:
He sure seemed like a nice guy. Always polite, always kept to himself.
This Boelter guy also served as a pastor while on a mission to Congo. Clearly, he was a man of deep rooted Christian faith who viewed it as some kind of mission to murder people. One might think that's the opposite of what Christians are supposed to do, but who am I to say what is and is not Christian values? I mean, if you listen to the MAGA right, adultery is also okay. Stiffing one's workers, jailing US citizens, and denying medical care to the poor and the marginalized (like women) is okay, too. Be that as it may, Boelter's actions are not all that strange; in fact, one might say that they are an offshoot of MAGA philosophy.
One might also suspect if the decision is made to charge him with federal crimes, President Felon will simply wave his magic winkie and pardon the guy. This concern is not unfounded. For the record, this is from an interview on Sunday with ABC News reporter Rachel Scott asking if he called Governor Walz after the assassination s, the MAGGot-in-Chief replied:
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.
And this is the leader of We, the People? I am disgusted to the max.
To his credit, Vice President Bedbug called our Governor.
So, here's the thing....I keep turning President Felon's statement over and over and I begin to wonder who on his staff knew this was in the works? The preparations Boelter made, the lists, the documentation, all point to a carefully constructed plan. Could he have done that without assistance? After he ran from the Hortman home, he texted his family, and then his wife around 6:20 a.m. According to the report on CBS News:
"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."
She was apprehended with $10,000 in cash, passports, guns, ammo, and the kids. Did she know what was going down? Hard to tell from this.
Is there a conspiracy theory in there someplace? Ja, sure, you betcha! GOP Senator Mike Lee of Utah posted: “This is what happens When Marxists don’t get their way,”Really? How did someone that stupid get to be a Senator? [Don't answer that!]
If there are heroes in this story, it's Yvette Hoffman who shielded her daughter from the bullets with her own body, and the yet-unnamed police officer who decided to go to Hortmans' home.
Minnesotans are in shock. No one can grok the idea that it happened here. Not in our purple, mild-mannered state.
Remember all those Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland movies that basically said "Let's have a show in the barn!" and then it was like a Broadway production with sets, lights, and sparkly costumes. He claimed 250,000 people came, but them stands were awfully empty and there was lots of grassy space available for lawn chairs. Besides, everyone looked painfully bored.
What he imagined versus What he got
I would like to say I feel sorry for the guy, but I don't. Over the weekend, a financial disclosure for President Felon was released. In 2024, he reported over $600 million in income from his holdings, including the crypto sold prior to his taking office. You can read it in Reuter's report. I'm left wondering if he paid any tax on that income, or if it offset his usually monumental business losses. No matter how you look at it, the Grifter-in-Chief makes money off the presidency. When are the red states gonna understand their lives are burning while this asshole fiddles?
Despite a price tag upwards of $45 million, the crowd size, like the size of his winkie, could not compare with the estimated 5 million protesters who marched in over 2000 planned...and spontaneous NO KINGS demonstrations across the nation. Even the fake news about riots in LA could not dampen the significance of the day. As a matter of fact, there were NO riots. In a strange twist of reality, President Felon attended an understudy performance of Les Mis, and thought they were singing about him...in a good way.
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again
Maybe he'll rethink that after this weekend...but I highly doubt it. It would not be the narcissistic thing to do.
Meanwhile, back in the Middle East.....
I won't write about the American friends and family who are in Israel for the foreseeable future because Ben Gurion is closed....or the friends who are stranded in the US, Greece, and other less than exotic locales while trying to get home to Israel. This is all stuff you already know happens. Nor will I write about bomb shelters, direct hits in Bat Yam or Tel Aviv because you already know about that, too. and there is nothing I can add that can comfort anyone.
But I will write about what I think about Israel taking an active position on Iran. And as unpopular an opinion that it will be in some quarters....too bad.
I think Israel did the one thing the rest of the world was afraid to do: take out Iran's nuclear capabilities.
Here's the reality: Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea have a long history of proliferation. Russia's war with Ukraine is internationally viewed as illegal and without foundation. Iran, on the other hand, sits in its desert and utilized proxies to wage war against Israel. No one else. Just the Jews. Iran is the established income source for Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen. They serve as proxy armies for Iran's terror network.
In the past, Iran has continued munitions development despite their insistence that they are not building nuclear warheads. Are the others members of the so-called Axis of Resistance aiding them in their quest? Possibly. This is pretty scary stuff. If Iran can finally produce a deliverable nuclear warhead, are they crazy enough to deploy it in battle?
WASHINGTON — 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.
While everyone is running about dealing with the Three H's, Iran has not been idle. They are stocking up enriched uranium. Fodow, one of their most important facilities, is buried about 300' beneath a mountain near Qom. Israel doesn't have a bomb heavy enough to destroy it, but the US has a "bunker buster" that should do the job. Will they give it to Israel? Hard to say.
President Felon claims he's been negotiating with the Iranians, but I am skeptical. According to ABC News, he attempted to reach out to the Supreme Leader through the Japanese Prime Minister:
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."
I'm not certain anything has changed in anyone's perception of the felon's ability to negotiate a real deal on any level. If you really want to dig into understanding Iran's nuclear program, here's something you should read. IRAN WATCH: Tracking Iran's Unconventional Weapons Capabilities. If this doesn't scare you....
Obviously, I am not a Middle East expert, nor do I play one on TV. What I am is in need of a good education on Iran and its intentions...even beyond nuclear proliferation. I am long skeptical of Shi'ite Islam since the fall of the American Embassy and the taking of hostages. I don't trust anyone who says there is only one path to G-d and it's theirs. That included Hasids, Evangelicals, Christians of many stripes, Muslims, Hindus, or Pastafarians. Doesn't matter. No one gets to tell anyone else what to believe....or even how. Unless you're sacrificing children....that stops right away.
I am not making light of this. I am deadly serious when I say I need to understand in more depth what is happening, and I suspect most of us need to get away from the media bubble. I cannot stand listening to the half-baked opinions on CNN or MS-NBC. Near as I can tell, they know nothing of substance.
The FREE PRESS's reporter Tanya Lukuanov did an interesting video asking people in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon what they think of Israel's bombing of Iran. I'm sure it's cherry-picked, but it it's even a bit true, maybe there is a sliver of hope. Unfortunately, the video has a pay wall, but you can see the beginning. Below is a sample of what was said.
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.”
Their mouths to G-d's ear.
The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
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Google can still be your best friend if you ignore AI reponses.
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