M2

Very mindful! Very demure!! 🤣🤣🤣 ‘We Will Crush You’: Kinzinger Responds to Trump’s Threat

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This was ten days ago, and I'm sure the numbers are still climbing. Just for the mathematically challenged, nearly 85% were criminal aliens and if you include the fact they were illegally in the country in the first place, that number goes to 100%! Massive ICE operation nabs nearly 650 illegal aliens in Texas, over 80% with criminal charges or convictions HOUSTON – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in conjunction with federal, state and local law enforcement, arrested 646 undocumented aliens – including 543 criminal aliens and seven documented gang members – during a week-long targeted enforcement operation conducted between Feb. 23 and March 2 in the Houston area to bolster public safety, national security, and border security. During the operation, ICE and its partners executed 71 criminal arrest warrants and arrested 543 undocumented aliens who have been charged or convicted of a criminal offense while they were illegally present in the U.S. including: 140 criminal aliens charged or convicted of an aggravated felony or other violent offense such as homicide, aggravated assault, or domestic violence. 34 criminal aliens charged or convicted of a sex offense or child sex offense such as aggravated sexual assault of a minor, possession of child pornography, or rape. 38 criminal aliens convicted of illegal firearms offenses such as unlawful carrying of a firearm, alien in possession of a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm. 52 criminal aliens charged or convicted of illicit narcotics offenses such as drug trafficking, or possession of a controlled substance. 51 criminal aliens charged or convicted of property crimes such as burglary or theft. 93 criminal aliens charged or convicted of driving while intoxicated. “In recent years, some of the world’s most dangerous fugitives, transnational gang members and criminal aliens have taken advantage of the crisis at our nation’s southern border to illegally enter the U.S.,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford. “After illegally entering the country, many of these criminal aliens have gone on to commit violent crime and reign terror on law-abiding residents. Fueled by our unwavering commitment to protect the public from harm, and united in our determination to restore integrity to our nation’s system of laws, ICE and our law enforcement partners in Southeast Texas have banded together to remove these dangerous criminal aliens from our local communities and put an end to the lawlessness that they spread.” “In just one week working alongside our counterparts from federal, state and local law enforcement, ICE HSI special agents successfully executed 71 criminal arrest warrants and made 554 administrative arrests that included illegally present human smugglers, gang members, human traffickers, child sex offenders, drug traffickers and weapons traffickers,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “These collective efforts have made our local communities significantly safer and strengthened our national security and border security. As a result, we’ve sent a resounding message to transnational criminal organizations everywhere that the law enforcement community in the Texas Gulf Coast is more united than ever and will not rest until we’ve eradicated these criminal elements from the country.”

A bear named “Yogi” was ejected from a USAF B-58 to test the Hustler’s escape capsule on this day in 1962 On Mar. 21, 1962, a 2-year old black bear named “Yogi” was ejected from a U.S. Air Force B-58 during tests of the Hustler’s escape capsule. The bear was ejected at 35,000 feet from the USAF bomber flying at supersonic speed (870 mph): “Yogi” survived the test and landed unharmed 7 minutes, 49 seconds later. Even though the bear was not killed in the test, “Yogi” was later euthanized, so that doctors could examine internal organs for signs of damage... (See title link for full story)

Not really, the EUCOM Deputy Commander runs the COCOM while the SACEUR spends all his time in Mons. I've always contended the SACEUR position needed to be rotated amongst the members (STS) with the largest militaries, but then I saw Turkey and France near the top of that list and changed my mind! United States: ~1.3 million Türkiye: ~355,200 France: ~203,000 Germany: ~184,000 Italy: ~170,000 United Kingdom: ~156,000 I would say the US, UK and Germany should have shots at the title. But this is why the US has born the brunt of the cost burden, we held the monopoly on military leadership!

Sim Instructor.mp4

As of recent data, there are over 733,365 pending immigration court cases. The duration of an immigration court case can vary significantly based on several factors, including the complexity of the case, the backlog of the court, and the location. On average, cases can take about two years to be heard. However, in some locations, the wait time can be much longer, averaging over 1,400 days (almost four years) in places like San Antonio, Chicago, and Arlington. And now you think we have the time and resources to try those who can't prove they're legally in the country in the first place?!? Illegal immigrants in the U.S. do not have the same rights as U.S. citizens, but they are still entitled to certain protections under the Constitution such as the Fifth Amendment which guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. This means undocumented immigrants have the right to a fair legal process in criminal and civil matters. As soon as the Supreme Court overturns all current violations of the Second Amendment ("A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.") for actual US citizens, I fully support it looking into the rights of these illegal invaders!

Interesting, it appears Trump is giving up the SACEUR position after the US has filled it (STS) for 75 years... Trump Intends to abandon US command of NATO forces in Europe

How pathetic is it to sit in your car and record a video to post on X... 😞😞😞

I don't think anyone is against legal immigrants, as noted this country was built on their labor which continues to this day. And I work on the south side of San Antonio, which for all intents and purposes is tantamount to being in Mexico. Folks are relatively friendly here as well, but there's also a fair amount of crime, gangs, drugs, etc. as compared with other parts of the city. I know we've discussed the impact of illegal immigrants ad nauseam, but here are some facts from a January 2024 Congressional report (cited below) that put it into true perspective... The average fiscal impact of an illegal immigrant is estimated to be around $68,000 over their lifetime, and in 2023, the total cost of illegal immigration to U.S. taxpayers was estimated at $150.7 billion, with the average taxpayer contributing approximately $1,156. More details... The current surge of illegal immigration is unprecedented. Some 2.7 million inadmissible aliens have been released into the country by the administration since January 2021. There have also been 1.5 million “got-aways” — individuals observed entering illegally but not stopped. Visa overstays also seem to have hit a record in FY 2022. We preliminarily estimate that the illegal immigrant population grew to 12.8 million by October of 2023, up 2.6 million since January 2021, when the president (Biden) took office. This is the net increase in the illegal population based on monthly Census Bureau data, not the number of new arrivals. Illegal immigrants have a negative fiscal impact -- taxes paid minus benefits received -- primarily because a large share have modest levels of education, resulting in relatively low average incomes and tax payments, along with significant use of means-tested programs and other government services. Illegal immigrants can receive welfare on behalf of U.S.-born children. Also, illegal immigrant children can receive school lunch/breakfast and WIC directly. A number of states provide Medicaid to some illegal immigrants, and a few provide SNAP. Several million illegal immigrants also have work authorization (e.g. DACA, TPS and some asylum applicants), allowing receipt of the EITC. The high welfare use of illegal immigrant households is not explained by an unwillingness to work. In fact, 94 percent of illegal immigrant households have at least one worker, compared to only 73 percent of U.S.-born households. But the nation’s welfare system is designed to help low-wage workers with children, which describes a very large share of illegal immigrant households. In addition to consuming welfare, illegal immigration makes significant use of public education. Based on average costs per student, the estimated 4 million children of illegal immigrants in public schools created $68.1 billion in costs in 2019. The vast majority of these children are U.S.-born. Use of emergency medical services is another area in which illegal immigrants create significant fiscal costs. Prior research indicates that there are 5.8 million uninsured illegal immigrants in the country in 2019, accounting for a little over one-fifth of the total population without health insurance. The costs of providing care to them likely totals some $7 billion annually. Illegal immigrants do pay some taxes. We estimate that illegal immigrants in 2019 paid roughly $5.9 billion in federal income tax, $16.2 billion in Social Security tax and $3.8 billion in Medicaid taxes. However, as the net fiscal drain of $68,000 per person cited above indicates, these taxes are not nearly enough to cover the cost of the services they receive. Illegal immigrants do add perhaps $321 billion to the nation’s GDP, but this is not a measure of their tax contributions or the benefits they create for the U.S.-born. Almost all the increase in economic activity goes to the illegal immigrants themselves in the form of wages. Source: HHRG-118-JU01-Wstate-CamarotaS-20240111.pdf

Sydney Sweeney and Ana de Armas in the same movie?!? Wowser!!

Yeah, not feeling it so much anymore (STS)... Woman Made Air Force History. How She Stays Winning (Exclusive)

Reference the above graph... Amid Trump Crackdown, Illegal Border Crossings Plunge to Levels Not Seen in Decades Washington — The number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border illegally in President Trump's first full month in office plunged to a level not seen in at least 25 years, according to preliminary government data obtained by CBS News. Last month, Border Patrol recorded about 8,450 apprehensions of migrants who crossed into the country unlawfully between official entry points along the U.S.-Mexico border, the statistics show. On some days during a record spike in illegal crossings under the Biden administration, Border Patrol recorded more than 8,000 apprehensions in a single day. In January, Border Patrol agents at the Mexican border recorded 29,000 apprehensions, down 38% from 47,000 in December. The drop from January to February was even more pronounced, amounting to a roughly 70% decrease... (Full story at title link)

Sunday March 6, 1836 At midnight on March 6, 1836, Santa Anna's troops began moving into position for their planned attack of the Alamo compound. For several hours, the soldiers lay on the ground in complete darkness. About 5:30 A.M., they received the order to begin the assault. The massed troops moved quietly, encountering the Texian sentinels first. They killed them as they slept. No longer able to contain the nervous energy gripping them, cries of "Viva la Republica" and "Viva Santa Anna" broke the stillness The Mexican soldiers' shouts spoiled the moment of surprise... Inside the compound, Adjutant John Baugh had just begun his morning rounds when he heard the cries. He hurriedly ran to the quarters of Colonel William Barret Travis. He awakened him with: "Colonel Travis, the Mexicans are coming!" Travis and his slave Joe quickly scrambled from their cots. The two men grabbed their weapons and headed for the north wall battery. Travis yelled "Come on boys, the Mexicans are on us and we'll give them Hell! "Unable to see the advancing troops for the darkness, the Texian gunners blindly opened fire; they had packed their cannon with jagged pieces of scrap metal, shot, and chain. The muzzle flash briefly illuminated the landscape and it was with horror that the Texians understood their predicament. The enemy had nearly reached the walls of the compound. The Mexican soldiers had immediate and terrible losses. That first cannon blast ripped a huge gap in their column. Colonel José Enrique de la Peña would later write "...a single cannon volley did away with half the company of Chasseurs from Toluca." The screams and moans of the dying and wounded only heightened the fear and chaos of those first few moments of the assault. Travis hastily climbed to the top of the north wall battery and readied himself to fire; discharging both barrels of his shotgun into the massed troops below. As he turned to reload, a single lead ball struck him in the forehead sending him rolling down the ramp where he came to rest in a sitting position. Travis was dead. Joe saw his master go down and so retreated to one of the rooms along the west wall to hide. There was no safe position on the walls of the compound. Each time the Texian riflemen fired at the troops below, they exposed themselves to deadly Mexican fire. On the south end of the compound, Colonel Juan Morales and about 100 riflemen attacked what they perceived was the weak palisade area. They met heavy fire from Crockett's riflemen and a single cannon. Morales's men quickly moved toward the southwest corner and the comparative safety of cover behind an old stone building and the burned ruins of scattered jacales. On the north wall, exploding Texian canister shredded but did not halt the advance of Mexican soldiers. Cos's and Duque's companies, now greatly reduced in number, found themselves at the base of the north wall. Romero's men joined them after his column had wheeled to the right to avoid deadly grapeshot from the guns of the Alamo church. General Castrillón took command from the wounded Colonel Duque and began the difficult task of getting his men over the wall. As the Mexican army reached the walls, their advance halted. Santa Anna saw this lag and so committed his reserve of 400 men to the assault bringing the total force to around 1400 men. Amid the Texian cannon fire tearing through their ranks, General Cos's troops performed a right oblique to begin an assault on the west wall. The Mexicans used axes and crowbars to break through the barricaded windows and openings. They climbed through the gun ports and over the wall to enter the compound. General Amador and his men entered the compound by climbing up the rough-faced repairs made on the north wall by the Texians. They successfully breached the wall and in a flood of fury, the Mexican army poured through. The Texians turned their cannon northward to check this new onslaught. With cannon fire shifted, Colonel Morales recognized a momentary advantage. His men stormed the walls and took the southwest corner, the 18-pounder, and the main gate. The Mexican army was now able to enter from almost every direction. In one room near the main gate, the Mexican soldiers found Colonel James Bowie. Bowie was critically ill and confined to bed when the fighting began. The soldiers showed little mercy as they silenced him with their bayonets. The Texians continued to pour gunfire into the advancing Mexican soldiers devastating their ranks. Still they came. When they saw the enemy rush into the compound from all sides, the Texians fell back to their defenses in the Long Barracks. Crockett's men in the palisade area retreated into the church. The rooms of the north barrack and the Long Barracks had been prepared well in advance in the event the Mexicans gained entry. The Texians made the rooms formidable by trenching and barricading them with raw cowhides filled with earth. For a short time, the Texians held their ground. The Mexicans turned the abandoned Texian cannon on the barricaded rooms. With cannon blast followed by a musket volley, the Mexican soldiers stormed the rooms to finish the defenders inside the barrack. Mexican soldiers rushed the darkened rooms. With sword, bayonet, knife, and fist the adversaries clashed. In the darkened rooms of the north barrack, it was hard to tell friend from foe. The Mexicans systematically took room after room; finally, the only resistance came from within the church itself. Once more, the Mexicans employed the Texians' cannon to blast apart the defenses of the entrance. Bonham, Dickinson and Esparza died by their cannon at the rear of the church. An act of war became a slaughter. It was over in minutes. According to one of Santa Anna's officers, the Mexican army overwhelmed and captured a small group of defenders. According to this officer, Crockett was among them. The prisoners were brought before Santa Anna where General Castrillón asked for mercy on their behalf. Santa Anna instead answered with a "gesture of indignation" and ordered their execution. Nearby officers who had not taken part in the assault fell upon the helpless men with their swords. One Mexican officer noted in his journal that: "Though tortured before they were killed, these unfortunates died without complaining and without humiliating themselves before their torturers." Santa Anna ordered Alcalde Francisco Ruiz to gather firewood from the surrounding countryside and in alternating layers of wood and bodies the dead were stacked. At 5:00 o'clock in the evening the pyres were lit. In this final act, Santa Anna's "small affair" ended. On the thirteenth day of the siege, Santa Anna’s forces advanced toward the fort before the sun rose. Awakened by the sounds of Mexican soldiers shouting, “Viva Santa Anna,” the Texian defenders quickly returned to their positions on the walls. Travis and his slave Joe made their way to the north wall to coordinate artillery fire on the Mexican troops. On the third assault, those troops began breeching the north wall of the Alamo. Mexican soldiers, who had also captured the south and west walls, followed the retreating defenders into the Long Barrack where a final stand was made. Before the sun came up, the last defender had been killed.

Ever heard of a SCG? If so, find that in one and let me know...

Folks here are in the same boat; but not me, I'm a contractor! 😁 My organization's guidance for those who do it is to start their inputs with "My work is sensitive...” In fact, our PEO (who will remain unnamed) sent out this: "With these bullet submissions, I very much want to keep OPSEC in our minds. Everything that we provide in these bullets must be considered in the public domain. While I know for most of you it will be easy to keep classified or sensitive information out of your write-up, I also want us to keep in mind the threat of “aggregated information”. It is real, and we must do what we can to reduce that threat. As always, please talk with your supervisors if you have any questions, and we will do our best to keep the information flowing to you as we get it, and learn how to implement it." You gotta give them props for actually taking a common sense approach to it! I empathize, but honestly I keep a daily log of my accomplishments as I have to produce a monthly activity report for my company. I usually keep the fluff out, but if ever pressed to prove five bullets a week I could easily include all the pointless and mundane meetings I am required to attend (mostly online but also in person). It ain't that tough!

I hope those in uniform aren't thinking they won't be next. Those of us who survived the RIFs of the early 90s and again in the early 2010s know it won't be pretty... Good luck!

Simply that there are many angles to this situation, yet a lot of people are emotionally polarized by it. Life isn't simple, and things change. What made sense three years ago may not make sense now. And dollars and lives are how we usually determine success or failure in war.

OK, here's a few facts to consider. (Note, the following numbers are from AI and are not collaborated, but appear to be correct). First, this war doesn't come without a cost to Russia... According to recent estimates, since its start Russia has lost approximately 868,320 soldiers. Additionally, Russia has lost a substantial amount of military equipment, including 10,177 tanks, 21,157 armored fighting vehicles, and 370 aircraft. As of 2024, the Russian military is one of the largest in the world, with approximately 1.32 million active personnel and another 2 million in reserve. Do the math. I know we've all seen Enemy At The Gates and know it's been a historical tactic of the Russians to throw bodies into the fight at any cost; but this will have an impact. Ukraine has lost approximately 46,000 soldiers and around another 390,000 wounded. Currently, Ukraine's military consists of approximately 900,000 active and 1.2 million reserve personnel (I suspect the latter are now all "active!"). Again, do the math. Civilian casualties have also been substantial, with over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians killed. As of now, Russia still controls parts of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, as well as Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. As of early 2025, the U.S. has committed approximately $128 billion in total aid to Ukraine, which includes around $71 billion in military assistance and the remainder being financial and humanitarian aid. The total aid from Europe since the war started amounts to approximately $198 billion. More math (and we all know the old saying about math in public!). Lastly, as of January 2025, the U.S. national debt stands at over $36.2 trillion. No math needed to know that's a very big number! So, is the intent of the Trump Administration to put this financial burden on those who will be greater impacted on the outcome (Europe)? Obviously. Just to keep things in perspective, over the past five years, the US has provided Israel with approximately $19 billion in military aid, part of a larger ten-year MOU signed in 2016, which pledges $38 billion in military assistance to Israel from 2019 to 2028. It will be interesting to see if the Trump Administration will cut that as well! One last, here is the top ten list of the countries that received the most U.S. foreign aid in 2024, from largest to smallest... Ukraine: $16.5 billion Ethiopia: $2 billion Jordan: $1.2 billion Democratic Republic of the Congo: $982 million Somalia: $1.1 billion Yemen: $1.1 billion Nigeria: $886.2 million Afghanistan: $1.2 billion South Sudan: $891.1 million Syria: $894.7 million These figures include both economic and military assistance. All included, it's approximately $68.2 billion in foreign aid for 2024. Can we afford it? Can we not?

"The Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!?" "Forget it, he's rolling."

Most likely close, but if EUCOM does disappear it will look suspicious to those who claim Trump is too buddy-buddy with Putin. STRATCOM absorbing Space and Cyber along with its nuke mission is a no brainer. Perhaps they'll split the world in two at the International Date Line and the Greenwich Mean Time making EASTCOM and WESTCOM fudging the latter's line a little? Of course, SOCOM could always fall under STRATCOM if necessary; bringing some of the "cool kids" from Tampa to Omaha! 😆😆😆

Just to switch gears (not that getting breech loaded over taxes isn't a fun discussion!), I just saw this and wanted to highlight another excellent pick by Trump! Trump to tap Texas “border czar” to lead U.S. Border Patrol, report says I met Mike Banks when he spoke at a Texas Leadership conference a year or so ago, and was highly impressed with the guy! He's not a politician, knows the border as well as anyone, and has reasonable expectations as to what needs to be done. He is also very unapologetic, during his speech he talked about the border buoys Texas is putting in the Rio Grande. He defended their use, and addressed numerous fallacies about them such as using saw blades in between the buoys. Not long after, I took a week-long trip along the Texas border with a stop at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, and there was a line of these waiting to be placed in the river. I did the same thing Banks mentioned and ran my bare palm along the ridges of those "blades." I didn't get a scratch. This new administration is moving in the right direction when it comes to defending our sovereignty!

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