July 4, 1776

 JULY 4, 1776 WAS THE OFFICIAL AND VERY FIRST NO KINGS DAY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! LET'S NOT FORGET THAT EVER. ALSO BEAR IN MIND, NO PRESIDENT OF THE USA HAS EVER BEEN A KING, NOT THE FIRST ONE ALL THE WAY UP TO OUR CURRENT & VERY PATRIOTIC ONE DJT. 

Happy Independence Day

 

Life & Freedom

• Caught this in my kitchen yesterday. 
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  Took it outside, to set it free, and a moment or two later it flew off of my hand and landed in the grass maybe 10 feet or so away. Immediately after it landed, a Mockingbird flew over, landed next to it, grabbed it or gobbled it up right there, then flew away. It hapened so fast I am not sure if it ate it right then or flew away with it in its beak. You never know when your time is going to be up. Life is short, freedom can be fleeting, enjoy them while you have them.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

The Governor of PA Is A Disgrace In My Opinion

 I hope you all have a very Happy Independence Day. Well except the governor of PA, who, in my understanding, refused to have PA officially participate in Freedom 250 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding and the independence of the USA, Which came about by way of the signing of our Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, PA. See: 

 

https://www.pennlive.com/politics/2026/06/shapiro-says-pa-is-opting-out-of-trumps-great-american-state-fair.html

Imagine the governor of the state in which our founding document was signed seemingly hates not only President Trump but also the USA so much as to make such a disgusting terribly partisan and disrespectful decision. Freedom 250 is not a partisan event, every state was invited to attend, that regardless of whether a blue or red state. Not surprisingly many blue states have opted out claiming Trump made it partisan when in fact, it seems to me, the governors of the states not attending are the ones making it partisan and are not living up to the first word in our nation's name ' UNITED'! 

If it was legal, I could imagine seeing the governor of PA being tarred and feathered for that disrespect toward our great nationbeing that our Independence was first declared in PA. I am not condoning or advocating such an illegal action but my guess is that if it was legal, it probably would bring on a satisfactory feeling for many patriotic U.S. citizens.

HAPPY IDEPENDENCE DAY TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE PATRIOTS AND WHO LOVE THE USA.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Venezuela - Lending Them A Hand

Tonight, I donated $100, plus an optional processing fee, to the Salvation Army for Venezuela relief. If you want to donate, you can go here, supposedly a website of the Salvation Army, and it certainly looked to me to be legitimate:

https://sawso.org/

 

At the top of the page, a box comes up about Venezuela with a donate icon in its lower left. If you click on donate anywhere else, it does not seem to go to Venezuela but to other areas helped by the Salvation Army. 

 

Maybe some of you can also donate. I am hopeful anything you can spare would be appreciated and go toward doing good for the people who suffered so long under Maduro and who now have been devastated by the recent earthquakes. If you cannot afford to donate, say a prayer for them, prayers are free. If you do not pray, at least keep them in your thoughts and hopes.

 All the best,

Glenn B 

 

The Price Of Gas About To Go Up Again

I expect, now that we are again bombing Iran, the price of  gas is going to get higher again, very soon. 

 

I like President Trump, I admire he does more of what he says he is going to do, by far, than any other president in my lifetime. I appreciate he is the master of the deal.  Now that Iran has recommenced attacks on our allies and has fired on two ships in the Straits of Hormuz, I hope the president will fully realize there is no making any deals with the unmitigated scum who govern Iran. 

 

I an  no war monger, I detest violence, but I know when it is necessary from a one on one self defense action and maybe know right up to a full fledged war to protect not only a country but also from psychotics much like new wave Hitlers or Stalins who want to rule the world and do not care how many they kill to achieve that goal. Thus, I think it long over due to for the U.S. to attack Iran, not only by air and sea but on land with a full fledged invasion.

 

Of course that is merely my opinion and we all have more opinions that we do have arses. Yet, I really see no way to ever make a deal with the fanatics who run Iran and to assure they do not acquire weapons of mass destruction. Let's face it, all they did in the time frame of the current negotiations was to falsely agree to a deal, apparently only to rebuild their offensive weapons capabilities and then to again attack our allies and shipping. 

 

The only ways to deal with heinous tyrants like them has been proven again and again throughout history. Either you hope and wait for them to die but until then they keep killing innocent folks; or you annihilate them asap and end their reigns of terror much more quickly; thus  saving a countless number of lives. Of course if the USA invades, many, too many, of our troops  will be killed or terribly wounded. All I can say about that is I truly believe that if we don't put down the tyrants in Iran now, they will acquire nukes or other WMDs sooner or later and they will launch them, in the name of their version of god, on as much of the world as they can reach. I pray to the God of Christianity that I will not be around to see it and, that I am around to see their reign of terror obliterated. So, I hope President Trump terminates the problem now for once and forever.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

An Apology To My Readers

 As you must be aware by now, if you regularly were a reader of my blog, I stopped posting here quite a while back. Let me just say, there was a life changing personal event that took place in my life back in February. Due to that, I figured it maybe was wise to not blog as much. As anxiety, and I guess even some bit of depression, caused by the outcome of that event crept into my life, I more or less stopped blogging almost altogether. I think in all, I have made only half a dozen blog posts since the beginning of February. 

 

I am not about to write about the event that caused me to essentially stop blogging except for what I have already said: It was and remains a life changing personal event and it has caused me a great deal of anxiety and some depression as well. So much so that I have an appointment with a mental health counselor in the near future. No I have no lost my mind but I am extremely anxiety ridden due to that event. The thing is, it promises to drag on like that for up to a year or more so I am seeking out some helping coping with it.

 

I will probably blog about it at a later date, maybe once the whole mess, in which I find myself, has been concluded - but not now. I just wanted to say sorry for not explaining before, why I have not been blogging.

 

I may put some effort into blogging again soon. In that case, I guess there is a lot to blog about with politics being as truly insane as it has become (such as that weirdo, my opinion of him, running for office in Maine; the abject insanity of leftists; the attacks on ICE and leftist support of criminals; and the seemingly never ending saga of hatred for President Trump (aka: he's your daddy) along with the attempted assassinations). Other subjects of interest are, as always: guns and ammo; travel; tidbits of interesting history; current events; and anything else that strikes my fancy. Hope to be writing more soon.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

It's That Time Of Year Again...

...so allow me to wish all my Jewish readers a very happy and holy Pesach (Passover). Enjoy your seder. Enjoy your wine too but please, no driving after 4 cups.

 

I pray peace will come soon in the Middle East.

 

All the best,

Glenn B.

Stupidest Caption, I Think, I Have Read In A Long Time

So, Chuck Norris is gone from this earth, hopefully to wind up in a much beter place. I admit, I was never a huge fan of his but I did enjoy his  Walker Texas Ranger show and some of his movies. What I liked best about him was his love for our country and the fact he supported our great nation respectfully. 

I hope he will rest in eternal peace and that his family will take solace in how much folks admired him. 

 I just read an article, 

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/chuck-norris-death-inspires-tributes-sylvester-stallone-jean-claude-van-damme-lead-hollywood-reactions, on Fox News about tributes from other celebrities and politicians. In that article, there wasvat least one photo of him and Bruce Lee. I was quite surprised to see its printed caption: "Bruce Lee remembered Chuck Norris after his passing on Friday." Even when the media outlet is Fox News, it seems the so called journaliats who write the pieces, cannot havecenpugh respect to getvsomething like that correct. They truly are, in my opinion, disrespectful, moronic, mindless twits when it comes to reporting facts. If you are unfamiliar with who was Ruce Lee, he was a marshal arts expert and a friendly contemporary rival of Chuck Norris. The kkey word in that last sentence is the word "was", that because Bruce Lee passed away at the age of 32 in 1973. Yet someone decided to write this caption: "Bruce Lee remembered Chuck Norris after his passing on Friday."  The truth is Bruce Lee did not remember anything after Mr. Norris passed away on Friday. Maybe his soul remembered but as I see it, it most certainly qas nt Bruce Lee remembering any thing! A little respect from journalists would certainly be nice instead of rediculous balderdash.

 

RIP to them both.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

I Have Been Having A Hankering...

 ...a frozen or fresh duck for quite some time now, in fact for months - since Christmas week. The only place I have seen any has been Walmart. They offer frozen ones containing 12% added water. As I said though, I have been desiring a roast duck; I am not looking for duck soup.

 

 In the wee hours of the still dark morning on which I write this,  Idecided to search for one online, and figured I would look first at the sites of local supermarkets. So, I checked Albertson's. The Albertson's near me is, like all others in my opinion, an overpriced less than well stocked yuppy haven. After all, it is in the pimple on the backside of Arkansas wherein I reside and you would be hard pressed to find anything much        better here as far as supermarkets go. Kind of makes me miss NY for its shopping. I checked anyway. 

 

I was amazed to discover they sell or at least advertise what must be the Gozilla of poultry when it comes to quackers. Here is what it says on their website about the ducks they offer for sale, and I quote it here to educate you as to what they claim is available: "This pack features a premium quality whole duck, ranging from 4 to 8.25 s. each, up to a a total weight of 36 pounds." 

 

 Now, I note, they say this pack, that seemingly indicating it could be more than one duck but then again it says the pack contains "...a premium quality whole duck..." which seems to clearly indicate they are talking about a single packaged duck. Now look at the weight range, they show it as: "... ranging from 4 to 8.25 lbs each, up to a total weight of 36 lbs." Did I say it must be the Godzilla of ducks. I think I did. Either it is that or, I guess, is encased in a huge chunk of ice, enough to make Walmart's duck with 12% of added water look like a great deal.

 

As it turns out, I have digressed from my duck hunt by waddling down the slope to the marshy edge of the shallow waters, then hopping into the cool wetness and swimming across the pond to Blogger Island to write this post. Now, I need to change course and head to over to Aldi Island to search there. My guess though is: I may have to order a frozen flat billed defeathered quacker from an online poultry monger. The hunt continues.

 

All the best,

Glenn B

 

 

Kristi Noem

 I have never had much negativev to say about president Trump except maybe that I think he should speak along the lines of being more presidential instead of him using speech more resembling the trash talk I believe is a characteristic of Dan Bongino when he crtisizes those he opposes. one other thing, and it goes hand in hand with what I justbsaid, is I think President Trump sometimes reacts, to his disdatisfaction with people, more like a Democrat (aka: a spoiled rotten child) than like a well mannered conservative man.

 Today though things are different. I am absolutely befuddled as to why he has reportedly ousted Kristi Noem from DHS and moved her to another probably less critical position. I worked my entire career in federal law enforcement, always within agencies the main duties of which were the protection of the borders of the USA and mostly 

 enforcement of  Immigration and Custom's laws. My career spanned just over 32 years. In all that time, I never saw a Department head more competent, or even equal, to Kristi Noem - in any department within the US government. She was competent in as much as she knew the law more than well enough to do the job, was extremely well spoken, stayed cool under pressure, was absolutely firm in her resolve to keep our borders secure while also keeping all of our nation secure internally as well, was and remains a true patriot and was extremely loyal to President Trump but also, and much more importantly than loyalty to the president, she was loyal to the United States of America. Butvshe pissed off Trump recently in testimony to Congress over something if true that was probably at most an embarassment to the president andvas is too often the case, in my opinion, he had an overly emotional reaction on an interpersonal and out she went. For Trump to have done to her what Democrats have been trying to do to her (and in essence to him) by ousting her is a shameful disgrace in my estimation. I think, it highlights one of his true weaknesses, his vengeful over reacting to what I believe he wrongly takes as as disloyalty. 

 

I strongly believe, he should be apologizing to her and begging her to return to her position as number 1 at DHS. His replacement has little to no experience to qualify him for the position from ehat I have read about him but honestly I need to do morev research on that. Instead of disposing of her as if her outstanding level of competence and loyalty could easily be bested or even matched, he and the country would have been betterboff, in my opunion, had hevshown her half as much loyalty as she gave to him. Instead of firing her, he should have awarded her with the highest of acolades and the greatest of honors. Presudent Trump's knee jerk reaction is something I would have expected of president Biden had he found someone in his administration who was even half as competent as was Kristi Noem when it came to the protection of our borders, the protection of our legal resident aliens, enforcement of our laws and her loyalty to the president and as I said above more importantly her loyalty to the USA.

 

 All the best,

Glenn B 

I Decided Years Ago To Stay Out Of Mexico..

...and I am happy I did so.  When I first left NY and a bit later moved to Texas (now in AR) I had thought, I'd like to visit a border town in Mexico. As much as I used to love going to Mexican border towns, I wound up deciding againt such a trip. So, it probably was well over 6 years ago,, when violence in Mexico had me decide that I probably would never visit there again. I am happy that I have held to that decision because violence has increased exponentially over the years. 

 

Violent chaos is going on there right now, as I type, due to the killing of "El Mencho" the head of a narcotics cartel called the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. People are being killed, roads blocked,  vehicles and buildings set ablaze. The members of the cartel are armed so well, with military type weapons, that the Mexican army needed back-up from the Mexican Air Force during a confrontation with them in the last day or so. More at the link: https://www.foxnews.com/us/death-toll-rises-after-mexican-drug-cartel-leader-killed-us-backed-operation

 

Many U.S.citizens, and probably those of other nations, who are on vacation in Mexico are trapped there right now as airlines have canceled flights to and from Mexico as cartel members have gone berserk and in essence have declared war on that nation.

 

If you intend to travel to Mexixo, please take heed of my opinion, which is you should avoid going there if at all possible, at least, while the violence persists.

 

Stay safe. 

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

No Details But I Have An Important Recommendation For Pistol Carriers

Get yourself firearms shooting insurance (or whatever they call it) from a place like USCCA or another like it, in the event you ever are in a self defense situation and have to fire a shot. I cannot make it any higher of a priority than right at the top of what you should and need do, if you have not done it already. That is all I can say. Please do not ask me why I posted this and please do not even post your guesses in the comments. If I knew ho to turn off comments I would do so for this post. If anyone asks why I posted this, or tries to guess why I posted this, I will delete your comment. Just please consider it a public service announcement and leave it at that for now. Details probably will be released in the future but it may take a long time.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

I Hope The Border Patrol Agent...

 ...who shot the man in Minneapolis (more at one of many sources) had probable cause or at least a reasonable suspicion to believe that the man, Alex J. Pettri, whom he shot, was posing a threat of imminent serious bodily harm or death to the law enforcement officers. I find it questionable in an objective manner.  Why do I find it questionable:

 

 First I must say, I think, there was plenty of evidence that the man was resisting arrest. Secondly, he seemingly attacked the officers or at least attempted to assist another person whom the LE officers were either trying to arrest or otherwise subdue. That seems very obvious from all of the videos I have seen of the event. Third, he allegedly was armed with a semi-automatic pistol. He reportedly was within his rights to do so but in my estimation was extremely foolish to have carried the pistol to an anti-ICE demonstration and then to get physically involved, evidently in a violent manner, in the way in which he did involve himself in a law enforcement operation. Fourth, the officer who fired the shots, evidently told his superiors that he feared for his life or limb or for that of the other LE officers present. I would guess, and as I just said this is a guess, that he thought the guy was going for his own pistol or if he had been disarmed as I have read elsewhere, then maybe he reached for one of the officer's guns or some other weapon. I can only guess because it could not be seen in any video that I have watched nor has the government released a statement from the BPA. Let me repeat something, I did not see a weapon in Mr. Pettri's hand(s) nor did I see him reach for an officer's weapon. That does not mean that he did not do so, it merely means I could not tell from watching a few videos if he did so. Fifth, no one from the government, like the chief Border Patrol Agent Bovino nor DHS Secretary Noem said that Mr. Pettri drew his weapon, attempted to draw his firearm or tried to snatch away an officer's weapon. Had he done so, it would have behooved government officials to come right out and say so but they did not and I must wonder - why not! Instead, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino stated that because Mr. Pettri had a pistol and two loaded magazines it seemed to him that Mr. Pettri had gone to the demonstration to do maximum carnage to federal agents. DHS Secretary Noem essentially said the same thing later on. Now, I have to shake my head in disbelief that even one of them said that with little to no evidence to back that up. Let's face it, if such had been the case, why did Mr. Pettri not just draw and start firing at the officers and agents when he first saw them pushing down the other person with whom they had interacted? Yes, it could have been the case, that Mr. Pettri was armed  and had planned a premeditated deadly attack on the agents but I for one would certainly like to see proof of that instead of hearing what may well have been the biggest line of bullshit I have heard in years. I am not saying it definitely was bullshit, it actually could have been the case, but what is that claim based upon. The fact is Mr. Pettri, did not start shooting anyone. That is not to say that he did not pose an imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death to the officers and agents at the time he was shot. It is me just saying that is something that needs evidence, evidence other than that of him carrying a weapon that he was legally allowed to carry even if he foolishly carried it to such a protest. Sixth, where are the body camera videos of the altercation? Were the agents & officers not wearing body cameras, not even one of them? Seventh, what statements about the shooting were made by the BPA who fired the shots? Eighth, what statements were made by the other LE officers & agents who were involved? The list goes on and on of questions that need answers and evidence to back up the answers. What is not needed are statements from government officials saying that Mr. Pettri went to the demonstration looking to create havoc & carnage by shooting government officials, at least not without much more evidence to back up statements like that because it makes it appear as if the government maybe is covering for an unlawful shooting. Same goes for calling Mr.Pettri a homegrown terrorist as DHS Secretary Noem did in sum and substance.

 

Now do not get me wrong, both the governor of MN and the mayor of Minneapolis almost immediately condemned the shooting in essence indicating the BPA who fired the shots is guilty of an unlawful shooting as in a murder. Where is the evidence of that! They essentially indicated that Mr. Pettri did absolutely nothing wrong even in the face of video evidence showing he apparently impeded the federal agents & officers from carrying out their lawful duties. The videos showed the officers using less than lethal force in trying to subdue Mr. Pettri. Only after multiple attempts to subdue him were shots fired. If the officer was a murderer why did he wait so long to shoot - do you think maybe he had good reason (probable cause) for the agent to think there was an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death to himself or other officials?

 

I don't have the answers but someone in the federal government had better come forth with the answers post haste, and those in state and local government should keep their hateful mouths shut until they have actual evidence to back up what they are saying. Otherwise, there is going to be more and more violence aimed at the agents & officers who are attempting to carry out their duties in rounding up, arresting illegal aliens (not immigrants), with the ultimate goal of deporting or imprisoning them. As it stands right now, this is one of the biggest cluster fuck I have seen in years.

 

All the best,

Glenn B  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have Not Posted In A While...

 ...because, to tell the truth, it pains me to see and even more so to think about what has been going on in this country of ours, especially in Minnesota. 

 

I will write about it briefly here but hope to stop long before mu stomach churns and I wind up barfing on my laptop.

 

The Democrats, leftists, liberals or whatever you want to call them have gone completely insane and I use the word insane in its legal sense. They no longer have a grip of the difference between right and wrong. This has been spurred on by Democrat politicians, the main stream media (aka: the mud slinging media and MSM) and allegedly from what I have heard by financiers like George Soros.

 

When a federal law enforcement officer defends himself against a potentially deadly attack in which a motor vehicle was essentially used like a guided missile, by the driver, who aimed it at him, then actually struck him and caused injuries. The extent of the injuries did not matter, what matters was that he perceived, in fact had probably cause to believe, the threat as one that could cause cause serious bodily injury or death to himself.  It did not not matter if he actually sustained actual minor or serious, he was 100% right to apply deadly force against his attacker - because of the the threat of imminent deadly force being used against him. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that. I very likely would have done the same. He is backed up by several videos, including one showing him being struck by the vehicle.

 

As far as I am aware, he has not received any support from a single democrat politician in Minneapolis, nor in the whole state of Minnesota; He also has not received support from the MSM, instead they seem to be trying to crucify him. The governor of MN said they will prosecute him - I ask for what - for self defense. If so, I challenge the governor to stand in front of an SUV while I drive it toward him (let's see if he thinks his life is in danger. Of course, that is a hypothetical situation. If I actually could run such a test, I would never drive the vehicle into him, nor would I suggest or condone anyone else doing it, as that woman did to the ICE officer. Afterwards, I'd have a lie detector test administered to the governor to ask him if he thought his life was in danger). I'd do the same thing, remember this is hypothetical, to the mayor. To make it interesting though, at the last moment of me starting to drive, I'd have a guy in a MAGA and tee-shirt, carrying an American flag, start screaming death to liberals, pull me from the vehicle, hop into it and then have him drive it toward, in my opinion, two of the most disgusting political hacks I have ever seen. I'd bet my life savings I could tell you the results of both lie detector tests if only because of the brown stains coming through the backsides of their pants.

 

Then there was the cameraman whom a crowd of liberal agitators/rioters confronted accusing him of being an ICE agent and had him apparently cowering in fear because he drove an SUV. One woman told him he had best drive another type of vehicle. Now they are doing exactly that of which they accuse ICE. Not only are they insane, in my estimation, but this shows I think that they are bat-shit crazy as well.  

 

Then there was the gang of them that entered a church during Sunday mass and harassed the worshipers. Talk about Nazi/Fascist tactics. I'd love to see them try that in a Red State. I find it a crying shame that the church goers did not beat the ever loving shit out of them - again, I am not suggesting anyone do so nor condoning such actions - yet it would have given me some satisfaction to have seen them get their arses whooped. I am a true believe in 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you' and if that is what they believe and are doing then it maybe, hypothetically at least, should come right back at them. As it is right now the Department of Justice is promising justice will be done over what appears to me to be an apparent civil rights violation.

 

Meanwhile, from what I heard on the radio news today, Tampon Tim (yes the governor of MN) has not even mentioned the cameraman being harassed nor the invasion of the church by liberal scum. Why not, well two reasons I would guess he has not mentioned it, as of when I heard the news: First of all he want to keep up his support of the rioters and agitators to deflect from his suspected involvement in 

Somaliagate, and secondly he is an absolute leftist anti- law and order kind of a guy in my estimation. I think, the same goes for the mayor of Minneapolis.

 

It truly all makes me sick; the fact these so called agitators and or rioters and their quest to invoke communism, socialism and anarchy by repeatedly violating the law and opposing enforcement of our laws, while in support of illegal aliens - all while opposing (often violently) the duly elected president of the United States of America Donald Trump, makes me want to puke.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

Ignorance Is Bliss Until...

 ...someone gets nasty in defending it. Then it is just downright annoying. Take for example the guy who was at one of my tables at a local gun show last week. He was an old timer, probably well into his eighties, or at least his late seventies. He was talking to another younger guy who was with him while picking up several boxes of ammo I had for sale. As he did so with each, he mentioned the bullet grain weight written on each box, to his buddy. With one, it was apparently too small for him to read so he asked me what was the number on the box. He specifically asked me how much is the powder weighg of the cartridges.

WEll, my ignorance shone through at that moment when I said I had no clue. He said, it's right here on the box. I looked at where he had pointed on the box and I politely said that is the bullet weight. He immediately snapped back at me and in a huffy tone corrected me by insisting it was the powder weight. He then guffawed and told the guy with him it is the powder weight and that he has known that for sure for many years. He then turned to me and told me the same with another guffaw while yet again, in a not nice tone, insisted it was the powder weight. I just said, no sir that is the bullet weight. He laughed at me and my reply and insisted it was the bullet weight and mumbled something about him being a reloader. His laugh and tone of voice were not jocular nor friendly, they were a laugh and tone that you send someone's way when you are amazed by their ignorance or outrighg stupidity. 

 

I repeated myself once more in a polite way and he just laughed that laugh at me again and said he has known for years it was the powder weight. I was about to either look it up on the Internet, using my phone, to show him, but I think his buddy whispered something to him and he walked away after that saying he must have been wrong all those years. He said that as if he was dismissing an ignoramus, that being me.

 

Sometimes it is difficult to deal with potential customers in as much as staying cool and polite goes. He was one of those customers.  Another few verbal barbs from him and I would have told him to shove his smug attitude up his hole into where the sun does not shine. 

 

Now, I will admit, he had me wondering who was right, and  even though I was 99.9% sure it was me, I checked on the web. Turns out the grain weight listed on every box of brand name ammo, that I had at the show, was the bullet weight not the powder weight. I am wondering when I will read the news that a reloader in AR blew off his hands when his gun exloded.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

True Grit - Leonard A. Funk - I Thought It All AI Balderdash...

 ...at first, when I was watching a video on YouTube. It is a long video, at least long for me to watch. Regardless of me at first thinking it phony, I watched and listened intently because it was a great story. It was a story about what real American heroes are made of; and if Leonard A. Funk was not an American hero, then no one was one. 

 

Watch the video, it's long like I said, about a half hour, but it seems to be true - at least all the parts of the actions he took under the conditions described.Whether or not he laughed in the German Officer's face, while having a machine gun pointed at his gut, that might be questionable and requires more searching but I, for one, would like to believe it true. Why? Because if that ain't what an American hero with true grit would do, then no one, anywhere or at any time, has ever done anything like it. By the way, I know he earned the Medal Of Honor, for the actions against the Germans as described in the video. Of that there is no question; I searched out his medal citation. He also won the several other medals mentioned awarded him by the USA (I saw them listed on his Tombstone in a photo independent of the video). I am guessing he was awarded the European ones as well. 

 

 

This guy had it all: guts, know how, ability, opportunity, motive (The Malmedy Massacre) and an excellent tool to do the job. He also actually had true grit, even the most brave among mankind probably would have surrendered in that situation; yet, he was determined and he persevered taking control and winning the battle.

 

Below is a link to his Medal Of Honor citation. If you do not believe the video read the citation: https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/leonard-a-funk. Below is a photo of him circa 1945, source Wikipedia. 

 

 

 

He also, as the video said & from what I found on Wikipedia, worked for the VA after he was honorably discharged from the army and he died as said of cancer at too young an age for a hero to die. I can only imagine what went through his own mind, let alone those of the German officer and the German troops as he started and kept on laughing. I have laughed like that before, uncontrollably, while caught in an absurd unwinnable situation that did not befit laughter, but certainly not under those conditions with a gun to my belly while facing odds like he faced.

 

We need more folks like him in this country, heck in the world. The truly odd thing is, I do not recall ever hearing of him before. Had you ever heard of him before seeing this post? Sure, as the video indicated - we have all heard of Audie Murphy and Sgt. Alvin York but of Leonard A. Funk??? Well, I may have heard of him way back, then again maybe not - I am just uncertain; yet, I am pretty sure I had heard the Truman quote before. So, maybe I heard of Funk too. Still though, I do not recall hearing about his amazing story ever before. I am an old geezer now and have forgotten more than many people have ever learned but I think if I had heard of him and that battle before, I'd remember - both him and his story are just that fantastic.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Hope You Had A Decent Year...

 ...and I hope 2026 is better. Have  a safe and fun New Year's Eve and a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Christmas Shopping Dilemma

   I decided to get one more gift for my grandson, even though I had already completed all of my Christmas shopping save my tradition of doing in store shopping on Christmas Eve.

 

I was in the process of ordering him a gift card. They have fairly generic one, one with the Carvel logo, ones for celebrations of things like birthdays, and seasonal cards among the ones they offer for sale. They had a nice one for Channukah that said Happy Hannukah and had a picture of a mennorah on it. I thought thag was appropriate especially as it reflects as a religious theme. The Christmas themed gift card however had no indication of a religious theme. It showed Santa and had two words on it, "Happy Ho (or maybe ot said hos). That struck a nerve. I readily admit, I am far from being very religious but I do celebrate Christmas. I think Christmas is ALL about the gifts. On the first Christmas, God gave mankind the gift of his only begotten son who was born in a manger, that lodging was essentialy gift from the landlord, then the wise men gave Jesus gifts of gold, silver and muir. Over and over again, in the New Testament are examples of gift giving, many given to others by Jesus. A few of the most notable were the wine from water, loaves of bread and fish to feed the multitudes, the gift of life to Lazarus and fimally the ultimate gift of Jesus giving his own life to save us from sin. How wonderful would life be if we all, each and everyone of us  gave more gifts to one another. 

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

She Will Never Live This Down

A lieutenant of the WA State Patrol repotedly was pulled from her official vehicle by what I am guessing was a nut case or someone under the influence of mind altering drugs and the guy then allegedly drove off in it. He reportedly was caught and arrested later. 

 

My guess is her fellow troopers will crown her with a new  less than complimentary moniker that will remain with her for the rest of her career. How she let him approach her vehicle so closely without having the door locked is beyond my understanding. He certainly seems to have locked it once he got into it though. It boggles the mind how a Washington State Patrol⁷ lieutenant did not have enough sense to have the door locked. Watch the video and see more at this link: 

 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/watch-video-shows-suspect-push-trooper-ground-before-stealing-patrol-cruiser-christmas-day

 

 All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 Wishing all who celebrate  a very Merry Christmas. I hope your Christmas was filled with love, peace and good tidings and that the gifts you gave made those who received them smile with joy. Of course, most of all, I hope you had a blessed one.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

I Almost Forgot To Wish You...

...a happy Festivus, for the rest of us. I got it in here just under the wire. Hope you enjoyed our special day, aired your grievances, set up your aluminum poles, and showed off feats of strength while enjoying time with loved ones.

More about the origin of Festivus here, it was indeed a real thing before Seinfeld

 

 All the best,

Glenn B 

Riding The Bullion Tiger

Silver spot has hit $70.71 as per Kitco. I think if it hits $80.00, I may sell 25% of what I have. Then, if it goes down substantially, while I am still breathing, I probably will buy back the same amount that I sold. Me thinks, the bubble will burst sooner or later and prices will crash, or at least fall by a large amount with in short time.

 

As for gold, Kitco, today, shows it at $4,476.80. I doubt I will sell any of what little gold I have, but if the price goes high enough - who knows. If I do sell any, my plan would be the same as it was for silver.

 

Sooner or later, even the Gold Bullion Tiger will be put down. For now though, I am enjoying the ride even though the tiger I am sitting on is a relatively small one. I must say while still small  my overall bullion holdings have risen remarkably in value. Just since the end of this past September, the value of my bullion that I had in September  has gone up by an amazing amount, that excluding a half ounce I bought since then. Yeeeehaaa.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

Does Life Ever Get You Feeling Down

Feeling down, in the dumps, singing moaning the blues, see life as a shaite sandwich and each day just another bite of it, then give this a watch and a listen. 

Then again, maybe you are one of those who feel superior to others, quite the self important type of arrogant snob, and thus probably think of yourself as the end all be all. Well, you'd be wrong and if you think not, then once again, I say, give this a watch and a listen:

 

It made me smile and that means I feel at least a bit better now that I watched it. How about you?

If for some reason you could not pull up the video by clicking on it above (That's on YouTube) you can always cut and paste the link. If you have never heard this song,listen to it now; even if you have heard it before, it is worth listening to again. 

By the way, I checked him saying that light moves at 12 million miles per minute; he was not spot on but not at all far off as light travels through the vacuum of space at 11,176,940 miles (source, varies slightly per source). Damn, the universe as we know it is huge and who knows how big for sure, I mean there is ever so much we do not know of it.

 Now, if you were not impressed by that song, sung by a member of Monty Python, watch this video of someone singing it, someone who probably knew a bit more about the universe than almost anyone else, if not actually more than all others. I am amazed he sang it.

 

 

 All the best,

 Glenn B 

Happy Chanukah

 A happy Chanukah to all who celebrate it. Yes, I realize that Chanukah in 2025 has been savagely marred by the terrible attack in Australia and it will make celebrating this joyous holiday much harder to enjoy but Chanukah is a celebration of victory, of rededication of the holy temple and of hope for the Jewish people that their faith would survive. Thus, I can only wish you a happy one despite the terror of that attack.

 

More about Chanukah here: https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/102911/jewish/What-Is-Hanukkah.htm

 All the best,

Glenn  B