MEMORIAL DAY through the eyes of a Green Beret wife.

AMERICA'S HONOR:

Once we knew who and what to honor on Memorial Day: those who had given all their tomorrows, as was said of the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy, for our todays. But in a world saturated with selfhood, where every death is by definition a death in vain, the notion of sacrifice today provokes puzzlement more often than admiration. We support the troops, of course, but we also believe that war, being hell, can easily touch them with an evil no cause for engagement can wash away. And in any case we are more comfortable supporting them as victims than as warriors.

Read it all.

ONE OF THESE THINGS is not like the others.

MEMORIAL DAY REGRET: I did not serve.

I suspect there are many of us from that era with similar regrets....

SO REMEMBER: Memorial Day makes memories sacred treasures.

MEMORIAL DAY 2021 — Remembering the fallen.

And reminders from @POTUS (Stay cool this weekend, folks) and@VP (Enjoy the long weekend).

Boobs, both. Ill-mannered boobs at that.

FIFTEEN PATRIOTIC QUOTES for Memorial Day. This first one, from President Reagan, is far and away the one most relevant to America in 2021:

[F]reedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it and then hand it to them with the well-thought lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same. And if you and I don't do this, then you and I may well spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it once was like in America when men were free.

Now go read the rest.

THANK YOU

From Michael Ramirez for all of us.

UNRIVALED HEROS: Real President Trump's Memorial Day statement.

On this Memorial Day, we remember the fallen heroes who took their last breaths in defense of our Nation, our families, our citizens, and our sacred freedoms. The depth of their devotion, the steel of their resolve, and the purity of their patriotism has no equal in human history.

It is because of their gallantry that we can together, as one people, continue our pursuit of America’s glorious destiny.

We owe all that we are, and everything we ever hope to be, to these unrivaled heroes. Their memory and their legacy is immortal. Our loyalty to them and to their families is eternal and everlasting.

America’s warriors are the single greatest force for justice, peace, liberty, and security among all the nations ever to exist on earth. God bless our fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Coast Guardsmen, Airmen, and Marines.

Don't waste your time looking for statements by President Biden and Vice President Harris -- they're not worth reading.

MEMORIAL DAY: A day of remembrance.

And a reminder.

Today is dedicated to Memorial Day. Regular blogging will resume tomorrow.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Why isn't 'black privilege' a thing?

Answer: It is, if it comes with a stuffed animal.

SPRINGTIME 2021, Week 13, and it's done. This is the last post until I start the Fall 2021 falling leaves series. Here's the usual pond view:

The hardwoods have finally filled in -- not completely, but almost so. Next the usual fire pit view:

The trees are almost completely filled in, although you can see they're still a bit thin at the top left. The fire pit is (almost) completely renovated, and all the plantings in the gardel to the right of the walkway are filling in nicely.

Here's the garden area at the edge of the walkway. The flowers seem to be thriving, and we plant a few more with each visit to the nursery. That's the pond in the background, but as with every spring it's now nearly invisible.

The Arapaho Walk road 'tunnel' is now nearly nearly complete, but again, not quite completely filled in at the very tops of the trees.

And finally, the best view of the pond we'll have until next year.

Until then....

ANSWERS to 12 bad anti-free speech arguments.

Linked from Instapundit here.

THERE'S STUPID, there's incredibly stupid, and then there's academia: University professor claims American universities are too rightwing.

THE DIPLOMAD indulges in a bit of gloating.

MY FAVORITE from PowerLine's Week in Pictures:

Now go see the rest -- and don't miss the breaking news.

VOX, THE 'EXPLANATORY JOURNALISM' WEBSITE has a hot new idea about gun control: licensing.

Reminder: Vox is "a website staffed by people who think they are the elite guard of social justice, but who are in fact some of the dumbest people ever to have been awarded an internet connection and a WordPress login."

MAN WITH RIFLE stops mass shooter.

The comments are on point.

SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: Critical race theory 'isn't optional anymore'.

I'd suggest that this particular school superintendent is about to find out that continued employment "isn't optional" either.

BUT I FEEL REALLY, REALLY GOOD ABOUT HATING MYSELF: White Brandeis University dean posts 'I Hate Whiteness' on Instagram.

The IQ of the average progressive must be subzero....

IT'S BLACK, SCARY, AND GOES 'BANG!': ATF Director nominee asked to define an assault weapon. Click on the Twitter link to see the video.

It reminds me of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's 1964 test for hard-core pornography: "I know it when I see it."

RANDOM THOUGHT: There would be a lot fewer mass murders if we were encouraged to shoot back.

ANOTHER NATIONAL TREASURE: Thomas Sowell.

THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION tries to understand why women are buying guns.

Oblivious to the obvious....

SENATOR JOHN KENNEDY [R-LA] IS A NATIONAL TREASURE: perfectly sums up the relationship of China and the World Health Organization.

Fauci is flabbergasted....

BRONC BUSTING, CANADA STYLE: A Venn diagram showing the intersection of politicians with reality would almost be a null set.

It's true in America as well.

TRUMP POUNCES: Levels New York Attorney General Letitia James in response to her announcement of a criminal investigation of the Trump organization.

MAYOR VOWED TO TAKE "ILLEGAL GUNS OFF THE STREET". Police just found one in her home.

Hypocrisy, thy name is 'Democrat'.

THE DIPLOMAD WRITES: "The land of the free/Where the less you know/The better off you'll be...."

Diploson3 had an interesting observation in disagreement with me. I told him I was getting my guns before they banned them. He argued they won't bother with that. The prog-wokes will let us keep our guns and obsess about keeping them, while they do away with all the other rights and protections. The law enforcement, judicial, and military institutions are joining the education and media establishments in becoming tools of the prog-woke machine. The "cancel" effort grows stronger and bolder. Non-woke positions are harder and harder to express. The censorship grows and grows, making communication of "unpopular" ideas ever tougher. The woke have established that the government, under a flimsy pretext, can keep us locked in our homes, dependent on hand-outs, unable to gather with friends and organize with like-minded individuals; the electoral process is a joke from top to bottom. They don't need to take our guns, for now.

I fear the Diploson may be right....

HOW PARTISAN FARCEBOOK FACEBOOK 'FACT' CHECKERS silence debate and punish those who atray from the 'approved' narrative.

HIGH. VERY, VERY HIGH: The price of conforming to critical race theory.

Critical race theory is a fraud foisted on us by academic welfare recipients for the sole purpose of making themselves feel good about their total inability to compete on a level playing field. Change my mind

The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.

MICHAEL WALSH: Israelis should take the lessons of war to heart.

[I]t’s time to sack your officer corps, empty out the Pentagon, get women off the front lines, bring back the male-only draft, train warriors and not guidance counselors, and elect an administration who understands the nature—and, more importantly, the purpose—of warfare.

Yes. So we should. Domestically as well as militarily.

FLORIDA IS SOUNDING BETTER AND BETTER: Lifelong New Yorker wonders it the city can still be home.

Obvious answer: No.

HOW ABOUT AN 'ELIZABETH WARREN WEALTH TAX' ON UNIVERSITY ENDOWMENTS? Yale to alumni -- drop dead.

OMG! A GLOCK SEMIAUTOMATIC BB GUN! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! California assemblyman gets massively triggered by BB gun packaging.

Not the Babylon Bee....

SPRINGTIME 2021, Week 12, and it's almost done: No magical 'poof' day this year, since the frostbite delayed the hardwoods by 2-3 weeks, but they finally decided to show their leaves. Here's the usual pond view:

As you can see from the shade on the stairs, the leaves have come out -- it's not full yet, but close.

Here's the fire pit view, with (finally!) a new addition called our barn. Now it doesn't look quite so barren at the top of our hill. Spring is in full flower alone here -- our next-door neighbor's house isn't even visible.

Our road tunnel is finally back. Well, almost. There's still a bit of fleshing out to do, but the overhanging canopy is nearing completion.

And finally, a view up the hill toward the fire pit and new barn. You can telll the trees in the background above the barn haven't completely filled out yet, but by next week's finale they will be.

SKYPE? Please, no.

WILL THE OAK ISLAND MONEY PIT MYSTERY every be solved?

This is a PJ Media 'behind the paywall' post, but if you happen to be (or want to be) a VIP member, it's a very good discussion.

SCREW YOU, WE'RE MEETING ANYWAY: Trump's 1776 Commission meeting despite Biden abolition.

THE GOOD NEWS: The founder of the 1619 Project loses tenure at the University of North Carolina. The bad news is that she will be allowed to teach there for at least five years before another tenure review.

TO BEAT WOKE TYRANTS we must treat them like the monsters they are.

A POLICEMAN'S LOT is not a happy one. "God willing, that will change when sanity is resurrected in our country."

NOTHING SAYS “SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY” like a public indoctrination program.

As a Life Senior Member of the IEEE I have sadly watched it degrade from a fine professional organization when I first joined in the mid-60's to a cesspit of intersectional wokeness today. Read the comments at Instapundit first -- you'll find them uniformly negative. This one, from commenter 'varifrank', I found particularly apropos:

Consensus is the language of politics
Doubt is the language of science
Belief is the language of religion
Compulsory force is the language of tyranny

Then, if you have the stomach for it, go to the original 'article'. I did, and immediately regretted it.

BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DISPLAY THEIR 'VIRTUE' ANY MORE WITHOUT SHOWING THEY'RE COMPLETE IDIOTS. The COVID Cult of Caution embraces mask wearing for everyone despite evidence it isn't necessary.

YOU HAVE TO BE EFFING INSANE TO BELIEVE THIS CRAP: According to the Los Angeles Times the lockdowns didn't trash the economy.

I would suggest not saying that to people who live and (used to) work in my neck of the woods.

THE FOUR FREEDOMS are under assault.

I'm just barely old enough to remember Norman Rockwell and the Saturday Evening Post but looking back, and despite all the technological marvels of the last 80 years, those were indeed the 'good old days'.

THE DIPLOMAD RETURNS to note that the Biden administration can be described in these two words: 'tragic' and 'absurd'.

It would be an enthralling drama if we weren't on stage as well....

PHOTO OF THE YEAR: Israel's Iron Dome missile defense in action.

For those of you unfamiliar with missile defense, the interceptors are on the left, and the swirling pattern is the defending missiles bleeding off excess energy in order to match the trajectories of the attacking Hamas missiles.

ANALYSIS: CORRECT. Democrats, not Trump supporters, are the true Jan. 6 insurrectionists.

AM I ALLOWED TO BE OFFENDED? That progressive smirk.

I'M REMISS ON PowerLine's Week in Pictures. Again. Here's this week's favorite:

I don't think I'll order sourdough bread with breakfast again....

Now go see the rest.

THAT FEW? Nearly 20% of Seattle police quit amid national protests.

HAMAS? THE ECONOMY? PFUI -- For CNN, it's Rep. Liz Cheney [R-WY] being booted from Republican leadership that's important.

HEH. Democrats are wearing binkies to wean themselves off masks.

The smart ones. The progressives are still wearing masks....

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE relying on Trump to raise funds.

I think that's disingenuous. Donors -- like me -- are funding Trump. The RNC is just trying to take credit.

IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO SABOTAGE GEORGIA: Raphael Warnock tries sabotaging another state over its voting laws.

Luckily he should be a short-term Senator.

STOP LAUGHING: Fox News' Juan Williams says there's no labor shortage or inflation.

Has he left his house lately?

POLICING FOR PROFIT: How Washington, DC carjacked an elderly couple.

TUCKER CARLSON: 'Equity' is racism, bigotry, prejudice, and hatred.

He's right.

FACEBOOK FACEPALM: Data shows new iPhone function is highly favored by users for blocking app tracking.

Good. The place to hit crap companies (like Facebook) is in their business model, where it really hurts.

YOU GET WHAT YOU VOTE FOR: Homeless camps are taking over the west coast.

On the bright(er) side, they're there, and we're not. Let's keep it that way

IT WASN'T ENOUGH, but ... most of Trump’s 2020 support came from women and people of color.

HARVARD'S LEGACY: the worst class evah?

Thankfully, I graduated (not from Harvard, for which I am eternally grateful) in 1968.

Added note: I also attended (and again, thankfully) did not graduate from Penn State University.

KEEP THIS IN MIND ...

... as you punch back. The T-shirt is here.

ONE HUNDRED REPUBLICANS are signing a letter that demands either the Republican Party breaks away from former President Donald Trump, or they will leave and may form a third party.

Good luck with that, and good riddance.

Spineless Republicans are not an asset...

OLD NEWS, but this is your Biden administration: Abandoned migrant kids, all under 7 years old, found hungry, crying near border, rescued by Texas farmer.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Leftovers are what you put in the refrigerator until they're rotten enough to be thrown out.

GOD BLESS TEXAS: Gov. Greg Abbott orders a mandate against mask mandates.

LIZ CHENEY won't back Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for Speaker if GOP takes the House in 2022.

Not to worry, Liz; you have to be a Representative to vote in 2023.

WELL, WE DO LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD: Consumers aren't so dumb.

THIS IS CNN:

Seen on the interwebs. Progressive news, 24/7.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Biden mocks ancient wisdom.

You can read history -- and learn from it -- or not read history and be condemned to repeat it. Because they already know everything, progressives always choose the latter course.

And repeat failure ... over and over and over.

IT'S NOT TRUMP ANY MORE; it's the Easter bunny.

AMMO GRRRLL DECLARES: I am definitely CIA material.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Now that mask mandates are ending nationwide, it'll be much easier to identify the virtue-signaling mask morons.

I was out and about today and the only people I've seen wearing masks are the employees of the big box/chain stores (and of course the mask morons, a surprisingly -- to me -- small number). Everyone else was mask-free, smiling, and happy.

Update: I'm not the only one who's noticed.

MINNEAPOLIS SUBURB okays plans to limit police in making arrests unleash criminals upon its citizens.

Good luck with that....

SPRINGTIME 2021, Week 11: Short post this week, since Spring is here, only the frostbitten trees don't believe it. Here's the usual pond view, looking out this week rather than down:

Compared to last week, the hardwoods are filling out, but slowly, oh so slowly. We're a good 3-4 weeks behind the normal schedule for spring.

Our neighbor Farmer Brown (our pseudonym for a gentleman not too far away whose summer vegetable garden is always spectacular) has just today broken ground tilling for his garden, a good 2-3 weeks later than normal. Strange spring, this....

Here's street south outside our house, looking slightly upward to see that the trees along the road have just barely started to leaf out. Another week, maybe two, before their foliage is fleshed out. Street north isn't quite as bad -- it's mostly softwoods which have full foliage to give the road our classic tunnel look. Still, the hardwoods that form the 'tunnel' at our end are well behind schedule.

Finally, another pond view showing the hardwoods down along the pond beginning to recover.

Till next week, then.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ survived another traumatizing 'assault' on the Hill.

The cartoon says it all....

I'M RIDIN' WITH BIDEN:

Just not very far....

A NOTE FOR DAVID HOGG: Don't worry, we already know you're an idiot.

I DON'T THINK THAT'S ANY SURPRISE: We're governed by morons.

After thinking about it a bit, 'morons' is too kind. Imbeciles is a better descriptor.

LIZ CHENEY ON FOX NEWS: Good riddance to this woman, and hopefully, Wyoming gets rid of her for good next year.

NEVER ATTRIBUTE TO MALICE THAT WHICH CAN ADEQUATELY EXPLAINED BY COWARDICE AND STUPIDITY (I.E., LEFTISM): In this particular instance I think actual malice is appropriate.

THE FIRST 100 DAYS: Only 1361 to go.

Lifted from this Instapundit post.

HAVE THEY THOUGHT ABOUT JUST STICKING TO COFFEE? Starbucks threatens to abandon Facebook. Because they don't like hearing from outside their “BLM, LGBTQ, sustainability/climate change, etc.” agenda bubble.

I would suggest that nagging is not the best way to retain your customer base....

NEW YORK-STYLE JUSTICE disarms the victims.

Makes 'em so much easier to control -- especially when the victimizers are on your side.

HEH: Pardon our pixie dust.

DONALD TRUMP: It's unfair to compare Joe Biden to Jimmy Carter.

Unfair to Carter.

NEW YORK TIMES: Will electric cars become an environmental catastrophe?

They're really slow learners, but maybe, just maybe....

100 FORMER GOP OFFICIALS: Dump Trump or we’ll start a new Republican party.

Good luck with that. And don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.

Added thought: I'm looking forward to seeing the names of those whom I'll consign to the dustbin of history.

SO WHY DID YOU SHUT DOWN THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE? Biden's energy secretary says 'pipe is best way' to transport fuel.

Well, we don't want you to have fuel. You'll just waste it on stuff like growing crops, transporting them to markets, going to work, and so forth. In other words, doing stuff we can't control.

SLEEP WELL, MINNEAPOLIS: Minneapolis to pay $35M to police officers who left force amid George Floyd unrest.

Just desserts....

OLD COKE, NEW COKE, WOKE COKE, soon-to-be Broke Coke.

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT, AMERICA? White House staggered by multiple crises from gas shortage to overseas conflict and migrant surge.

You voted for a team of incompetent fascist boobs....

RANDOM THOUGHT:

Red state nightmare....

THE HALF THAT PAYS THEM: Half of America says taxes are too high.

I'm in the paying half, and I agree.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Tuning out 'wokeism'.

Read it all, then say “no mas” and pop this nightmarish balloon.

THAT 70'S TV SERIES BROUGHT BACK FOR A RERUN: Welcome back, Kotter Carter.

POWERLINE: A Mother's Day wish.

More here.

ABOUT TIME:I’m done complying with COVID restrictions.

Welcome to the revolution.

POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES (which I forgot) posted Saturday, but better late than never. Here's my favorite:

And I hope to see this many, many more as times. Now go see the rest.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Fund the federal government by simply printing money; let inflation distribute the burden to the citizenry.

It worked in Venezuela. Right?

Update & bump to top:

It was just a random thought on my part, but the Biden administration seems to be taking it seriously.

FOR THE LEFT, it is only “democracy” when Democrats win.

And pointing this out is racist.

GOOD GRIEF: California’s new math framework demands educators ‘teach toward social justice’.

If this Leftist lunacy had been in place when I was in school I would have never made it through to a PhD in engineering.

But then I'm white; it would have been a 'socially just' outcome....

IS BLOGGING BACK? Former President Donald Trump launched a new communications platform that will allow him to communicate with followers after previously being banned from posting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

INSTAPUNDIT thinks it is, and it's about time to use the loony Left's own weapons against them.

MOCK THEM. LAUGH AT THEM: A revised history of the 1619 Project.

Then ignore them.

OBVIOUSLY ELON MUSK IS CRIPPLING THE ECONOMY: He's reusing rockets and preventing new ones from being built.

And he moved to Texas and left California to die.

Clearly he must be a Trump crony....

CNN PRAISES JOE BIDEN for efficiently liberating thousands from wage slavery in his first 100 days in office.

Now if only we could eliminate him (and his puppet masters)....

AND YOU EXPECTED SOMETHING DIFFERENT? A truly dismal jobs report.

SPRINGTIME 2021, Week 10: Here we go again -- no 'poof' day. Here's the usual pond view:

The softwoods and lower brush are filling out nicely compared to last week, but the hardwoods are still far behind. Talking with some people over the week, it seems that the reason is a hard freeze just as the hardwoods were starting to bud out. The buds died, and now the hardwoods are essentially starting fresh. I'm starting to see buds again, and hopefully by next we'll see leaves if the weather behaves.

The fire pit view is much the same; the softwoods fully leafing out, the hardwoods just beginning to rebud.

Here's a good first view from down at the pond. That's my neighbor's garage just barely visible at the top of the hill, and you can clearly see that the hardwoods took the freeze seriously. Up close, all are beginning to bud out and I'm hopeful to see real change next week.

On the bright side, here's a wild azalea growing along the edge of the pond that survived the freeze and just started flowering.

And finally, our house, with the picture taken about halfway down the walking path down to the pond. The softwoods are growing well, as are (unfortunately) all the weeds I've been hoping I had controlled last year. Until next week, then.

THE LEFT BACKFIRES AGAIN: 'Happy Birthing Person Day' contains the terrible, terrible, bad, bad, taboo word 'son'.

You're welcome.

YES, IT IS MOTHER'S DAY: Ten last-minute Mother's Day gift ideas for your wife since we know you forgot.

ANTHONY FAUCI IS HAILED AS THE NATION’S LEADING EXPERT ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES. In reality, he’s the nation’s leading white coat supremacist and a “deep state fraud.”

UNEXPECTEDLY (OF COURSE): Our higher(!?) education system is failing.

Sorry, should read 'has failed'.

YOU MAKE THE CALL: Are Americans becoming Sovietized?

I know what my answer is -- and I hope I'm wrong.

WHO'D HAVE THUNK IT? COVID is now saving lives.

'Saving lives' is, I think, a bit of a stretch, but the fact remains that the vast majority of COVID-related deaths were of the elderly and infirm who, even without the coronavirus, were unlikely to survive for an extended period of time.

JOE, QUIT TUGGING THE MARIONETTE STRINGS: Press Secretary Jen Psaki admits she discourages Biden from taking questions.

AMMO GRRRLL is on the road with the BLUE STATE BLUES.

GOD? WHAT GOD? Biden heralds our National Day of Prayer and doesn't mention God.

OBEDIENCE FATIGUE: It's happening.

MAINSTREAM OUTLETS face deluge of criticism for retracted Giuliani story.

Since they were mainstream media outlets, I suspect the source(s), anonymous or otherwise, were the outlets themselves.

Update: Heh.

WOMAN BERATING A LA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY is a depressing example of how wokeism poisons the mind.

I'm not convinced there is a mind to poison....

WILL THE 'NEVER TRUMP' REPUBLICANS APOLOGIZE?

The former Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich told America how moderate and sensible Joe Biden would be as president. Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman assured America that Joe would work with everybody. And Jeff Flake, the former Arizona senator whose last name tells the story, well, he was enraptured with those “better angels” Joe would allegedly summon.

Note that all three proudly hold the title 'Former'.

ROGER L. SIMON: Get off Twitter now!.

I'd comply, except that I've never been a twit.

THIS IS CNN: What's important; what's not. CNN also has an audience problem. Could they possibly be related?

THE IMPLOSION BEGINS: Just months into Biden's term, Psaki planning to leave WH press secretary job.

IS 'BOTH' AN OPTION? Biden’s Amtrak tale, was it lyin Joe or dementia Joe?

I'M SURE IT IS -- FOR DEMOCRATS: Biden insists disappointing April jobs report is 'evidence' that economy is moving in 'right direction'.

The worse the economy, the better their opportunity for control.

CRITICAL RACE THEORY: What it is and how to fight it.

Just say "No." Better yet, "Hell, no!"

FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTIS goes full chad on COVID panic pushers.

For those like me, of a certain age, the phrase 'full chad' means at full power, in a tank, with guns blazing.

Thanks, Gov. DeSantis.

GARBAGE GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS: Coronavirus in one state (#159).

IT MUST BE NICE TO BE A LEFTIST: Trump inauguration rioters getting $1.6M settlement from D.C.

January 6th 2020 'insurrectionists' still in jail. Without bail. In May.

'EXPERTS' NOW BELIEVE reaching herd immunity is not attainable.

Or, in plain English, "We don't dare free you from our control."

Balderdash. Keep in mind that an 'expert' is a has-been drip under pressure. Only now they come with microphones....

EQUITY ISN'T ALWAYS EQUAL(ITY):

Found online here.

PREACHY HOLLYWOOD LEFTIST gets her well-deserved put down.

Each of us is greater than the sum of his individual parts. We aren't just a skin color, sexual organ, profession, neighborhood, or hobby. We are, most essentially, our unique selves. A healthy, free country recognizes that. A sick, Marxist country desperately tries to fit us into easily controllable boxes. We must celebrate every person who refuses to be stuffed into that leftist box.

It's time to take these Leftist crybullies, put them (firmly) back in their little boxes made of ticky-tacky, glue those boxes shut, and send them off to Nowheresville.

BUT, BUT ... THERE AREN'T ANY GRANDMOTHERS LEFT: Cuomo warns unvaccinated kill grandmothers.

He's already killed over 15,000 in New York's nursing homes.

THIS SHOULD BE FUN: Project Veritas is sticking it to the New York Times.

Let the trial begin.

VELVET ROPES AWARDED MEDAL OF FREEDOM for saving democracy during Jan 6 insurrection.

Yes, it's supposed to be satire, but these days one can never be absolutely sure....

ONE MUST HAVE HOPE: Will France save western civilization?

What is happening in France is happening here in spades. The following is a statement written by French soldiers to their government. Read it and tell me if that same statement could be written (with only minor changes) to our leadership here in the U.S.

Mister President, Members of the Cabinet, Members of Parliament,

The hour is late, France is in peril, threatened by several mortal dangers. Though retired, we remain soldiers of France, and cannot, under the present circumstances, remain indifferent to the fate of our beautiful country.

Our tricolor flags are not simply a piece of fabric; they are a symbol of tradition—the tradition of those who, throughout the ages, whatever the color of their skin or their religion, served France and gave their lives for her. On these flags, in golden letters, is inscribed the motto, “Honor and Fatherland.” Today, our honor rests on denouncing the crumbling-apart of our fatherland.

Crumbling-apart through a certain kind of anti-racism, which has an explicit goal: to sow malaise on our soil, up to and including hate between communities. Today, some speak of racialism, of indigenism, and of anti-colonial theories, but with these words, those hateful and fanatical partisans seek to foment a racial war. They despise our country, her traditions, her culture, and want to watch her dissolve by tearing her away from her past and her history. Thus, by attacking statues and analyzing words from several centuries ago, their true goal is to undermine our ancient civil and military glories.

Crumbling-apart through Islamism and the hordes from the Banlieues. Several patches of our nation have been detached and turned into territories put under submission to dogmas contrary to our Constitution. Every Frenchman, regardless of belief or non-belief, must be everywhere at home in France; there cannot and must not exist any city, any neighborhood, where the laws of the Republic do not have writ.

Crumbling-apart, when hate replaces fraternity during protests, when the regime uses police as jackboots and scapegoats, against yellow-vest-wearing compatriots who seek only to express their hopelessness. This even though ski-mask-wearing individuals infiltrate those protests, destroy businesses, and threaten the police. And yet, the police only follow the sometimes-contradictory policies set out by you, holders of political office.

The peril rises, violence increases every day. Who could have predicted, ten years ago, that a teacher could one day have his head cut off as he left his middle school? As servants of the Nation, who have always been ready to pay the ultimate price for our service, we cannot remain passive spectators of such actions.

Therefore, the leaders of our country must absolutely find the courage required to eradicate those dangers. To do so, it is often necessary only to apply existing laws without weakness. Do not forget that, like us, a great majority of our fellow citizens is incensed by your cowardice and your guilty silences.

As Cardinal Mercier, Primate of Belgium, once said: “When prudence is everywhere, courage is nowhere.” Ladies and Gentlemen, stop equivocating—the hour is late, the work ahead is immense. Do not lose time, and know that we are ready to support political leaders who would undertake the rescue of the Nation.

However, if nothing is done, heedlessness will continue to spread its poison throughout society, inexorably. In the end, there will be an explosion, and our comrades in active military service will be forced to step in and undertake the perilous mission of protecting our civilizational values and the lives of our fellow citizens.

It is easy to see that the time for hesitation is over. Otherwise, tomorrow, civil war will put an end to this growing chaos, and there will be thousands of deaths, of which you will bear responsibility.

France, hopefully, has the spine to do something. Our leadership doesn't.

JUST ... SHUT ... UP: A software company comes up with a brilliant corporate speech policy.

NEW YORK GOV. CUOMO working on resurrecting 89 deceased nursing home patients to gain back House seat lost in the 2020 census.

I guess he's figured out a lawsuit is a loser.

AT LEAST UNTIL 2022: The Deep State is back.

THE CANCER OF CRITICAL RACE THEORY: Has the disease go undiagnosed for too long?

Yes.

MEDIA HYSTERIA means the Arizona election audit may be on to something.

As properly noted, Joe Biden is and will remain President through 2024. BUT ... the fraud that so clearly permitted his election must be exposed and prevented from ever occurring again.

AMERICAN MEANNESS: Liz Cheney may lose her GOP post soon.

Her comeuppance is overdue. I was never really impressed with her and surprised at her rapid ascent to a leadership post in the Republican caucus.

THE RISE OF THE JOELS: Men can be just as totalitarian, petty, shrewish, haranguing and busybodied as women.

So far I've been lucky: one Karen, no Joels....

ACTIVISTS BAILED 70 PEOPLE OUT OF THE DANE COUNTY JAIL IN LAST YEAR; 25 have been rearrested.

Make of it what you wish, but it seems to me that arrestees who've been bailed out by someone else are less likely to give up their 'day jobs'....

BRADEN ELLIS: PowerLine's hero of the week.

Update: the 'professor' has been put on (terminal) leave.

HELL FREEZES OVER!: Even CNN acknowledges Biden is not 'following the science' on the CDC mask mandate guidance.

That must have hurt.

LAUGHTER IN THE GULAG: Woke people are stupid, and stupid people are funny.

HEH. Tim Scott declares America ‘not a racist country,’ and Leftists step up to the plate to prove him wrong.

Scott is right, and Leftists are insane.

ONLY IF THEY WISH TO SURVIVE THE APOCALYPSE: Is Coke rethinking 'woke'?

YES. ABSOLUTELY. Is it time for civil disobedience?

LEFTISTS ALWAYS PUNISH THE INNOCENT: In a move to create “safer prisons,” California plans early release of 76,000 prisoners.

LIZ CHENEY: Biden's not my enemy, so why can't I fist bump him?

My first thought when reading the post was "Wow, this is really silly." Then it dawned on me that Allahpundit missed the most important point entirely: "How do you fist bump when you're required to maintain a 6' social distance?"

EVERYTHING THE DEMOCRATS DO has only one aim -- power.

You thought differently?

I THOUGHT SO!

Found here.

ARE NEOCONSERVATIVES (SEE BELOW) FINALLY TAKING CONTROL? Austin [TX] voters overwhelmingly reject propositions pushed by progressives.

Be sure to click on the SaveAustinNow Twitter video.

FINALLY THE GOOD GUYS WIN ONE: New Mexico police officer gets up, fires back after being shot by accused cop killer.

POWERLINE: Our garbage media at work.

I'm sorely tempted to call them our 'garbage collector media' but that would be insulting real garbage collectors....

ISSUES & INSIGHTS RECORDS BIDEN'S FIRST STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS: Punchin’, Punchy Joe overshadowed by Nanny Nancy and Kindergarten Kamala.

[T]his gang of kindergarten cops now expects Americans to conduct ourselves like compliant, docile tykes in one big nationwide childcare. To fall into line and obey without question. To keep our distance, and our opinions to ourselves. To share our wealth, no matter how much effort or dedication it took to obtain it. To give up our guns, our rights, our freedom of movement, our place in line, our country.

And to stop depending on our own ingenuity, innovation and industry and tamely take whatever goodies – or gruel – Nanny Nancy, Kindergarten Kamala, Lecturing Lizzie, Schoolmarm Sandy, and the rest of the crowd of radical feminists, race-baiters, climate activists and girlie men babysitting meek Punchy Joe deign to hand to us at the cost of our own treasure and liberty, and our children’s futures.

Their preschool vision of America was what Punchin’/Punchy Joe’s part-pep talk, part-lullaby and vaunted first 100 days were really about – and what the next 19 months at least will be at well.

Sleep well.

THREE GUESSES. As usual, the first two don't count. Can diversity include conservative
thought, too?

POWERLINE'S WEEK IN PICTURES (Narcolepsy Edition) posted on Saturday, but I kept falling asleep. My favorite:

Now go see the rest.

THE K-12 IMPLOSION must continue.

As Instapundit himself has noted many times, sending your children to public school is akin to child abuse.

IF AMERICA IS SO RACIST "Why don’t they [Africans] flee to all of the wonderful countries on the UN’s Human Rights Council?"

Linked from this Instapundit post.

BIDEN'S 'STATE OF THE UNION' SPEECH: The Grim Reaper speaks.

Slowly. So .. very ... slowly.

AMMO GRRRLL has some very good news from Minnesota.

THE RATINGS ARE IN, and they're really bad.

The most popular president in history (according to the Left) and only about one third of his voters bothered to watch his speech. (And that's assuming that only his voters watched.)

IF THERE'S A NOBEL PRIZE FOR IDIOCY, here's a sure winner:

Portland’s mayor [Ted Wheeler] ... urged the public to safely stand up to the black bloc group of violent demonstrators who continue to plan “direct actions” around the city that routinely end with shattered windows, fires and other vandalism. Wheeler asked residents to note the license plates of people who drive to the events in various neighborhoods and then don all black clothing and grab shields or weapons from their cars. Share those license numbers with police.

'Nuff said.

WASHINGTON POST FACT CHECKERS expose the truth about Tim Scott’s black privilege.

And embarrass themselves mightily....

WHEN THE FACULTY LOUNGE GOES AFTER COLLEGE SPORTS the alligators will come for them.

I'd miss college sports, but it might be worth it to watch the faculty as the alligators feast on them....

'REPLACEMENT THEORY' EXPLAINED: If you can't win with the voters you have, replace them with ones more amenable to your views.

It's the equivalent of "vote the bastards out" from the Deep State's point-of-view.

RANDOM THOUGHT: the only open borders in the U.S. should be marked EXIT.

SPRINGTIME 2021, Week 9: Last week, the leaves didn't come. This week, the leaves still didn't come. Either Mother Nature woke up late, or I started too soon. I blame Mother nature. It's been a rather gray day, cloudy, cool and with on and off (mostly off) rain, so I wasn't anxious to take the (long enough) walk to the pond.

Here's the usual pond picture. The small stuff is greening up nicely, but as you can tell the hardwoods are still struggling to wake up this year.

Next is my standard fire pit picture, and again the hardwoods are not cooperating with spring yet. The brush (at least on my lot) has been mostly cleared, but the neighbor's house is no longer visible as his trees/brush fill out.

This last picture is our friendly dogwood on the south side of the house. Its flowers are mostly gone now, replaced by leaves. In the background, the hill on the opposite side of the creek is still mostly gray.

Until next (hopefully greener) week then....

RENEWABLE NONSENSE: 90% of wind and solar could be economically competitive by 2030.

Strangely, the link to the Carbontracker report in the article is now dead. How come? My suspicion is that someone reviewed its claims more closely and spotted multiple large errors. Or someone realized the message that lots of wind power is still more expensive than conventional energy is not politically correct.

Ya think?

ANOTHER PROJECT DOWN THE MEMORY HOLE: Kamala Harris is handed yet another project to lead.

One thing the Democrats have learned from the Wizard of Oz: it's much better to screw things up from behind the curtain.

THUGS AND LIARS: Counting the ways we hate "60 Minutes".

BIDEN ECONOMIC ADVISER pushes global corporate tax minimum to counteract proposed US increase.

The Democrats' response to any crisis/problem/whatever is to always (always!) punish the innocent.

Now they're going worldwide.

POWERLINE: Biden can't find his mask.

From the comments: " It’s amazing that nobody running this clown show has thought to have a 'Presidential Mask Envoy' to hold the symbiote’s mask while he gives somebody else’s speech to a fawning handful of mindless zombies."

Also from the comments:

If I were forced to wear a mask, this is the one I'd choose....

IN MOVE TO BAN CHARTER SCHOOLS, Bernie Sanders introduces the 'No Child Left Ahead Act'.

Shortly to become 'not satire'....