FORTY NINETY EIGHT

This will be the 8641th post I've written to this blog since December of 1998.

But it's only the 4098th post I've actually published.   The other 4562 I sat back after I wrote and then said to myself:  "Hmmm ... that's just stupid" ... and never published them.

Given some of the *(often repetitive)* tripe I've published in the last 20 years, you can imagine the amount of embarrassment I've saved myself by declining to publish the other half of them.

So I want to thank my "constant readers" ... all four of them ... and the rest of you who somehow noticed that something I said may have seemed reading through to the end.

PS:   Yes, I noticed that the published and unpublished counts don't add up to 8641.   Blame it on the software .... they found the one extra post, I didn't.

So enjoy your turkey and trimmings.  I have my dinner cooking and it's in a pot on the front burner, not cooking for hours in the oven.

I've got to go now before the pot boils over.  I hate it when that happens.

Stolen Firearms Part II

I've received comments suggesting that, considering the ease with which the burglars managed to enter my home WHILE I WAS THERE, I need to establish more stringent security measures.


I've begun hooking the chain on the front door, besides ensuring that both locks are locked.
(My landlord assures me that only he and I have keys to the lock ... which confirms that I didn't make that extra check on Wednesday night.   My bad.)

.  I've received permission from the landlord to change the locks on the door.   In the meantime, I'm leaving the interior lights on 24/7 to dissuade return visits.   Unfortunately I'm a sound sleeper, but I reconfirm that all doors and windows are locked before I go to bed.

I know ... locking the barn door after the horses have been stolen.   All I can do is all I can do.

I don't have much ... a little cash and some old credit cards ... I've called my credit card vendors requesting that my old cards be cancelled and new cards sent to me via mail. All firearms are either locked in the safe or by my side. 

The thing is, I don't go out much.  Mostly, just a trip to the grocery store once a week, and the house is locked up then, too.

The burglars left long guns which were laying in the open (I was writing down the serial numbers to confirm my records, and went to bed before securing them .. this one night, only!)

I've been laboring under the delusion that I just "tucked them away someplace" when I went to bed, but I've now confirmed that the firearms are no longer resident here.

Now that I'm certain that it wasn't just a matter of forgetting where I put them, I'll be getting the police involved.  I should have done that immediately, but I tend to be forgetful and I needed to check the whole house.

I've done that; they're gone.

So now I have to enter a claim to my insurance company.

Unfortunately, they also found my wallet with all my credit cards, so I've been contacting card issuers to shut off the cards (no purchases have been made as of today) and request new credit cards be issued via mail.   I still have cards issued from local stores, so I'll visit them to request the old cards be cancelled and new cards issued.    They also got away with the $80 cash that was in my wallet.

This is a traumatic experience for me.    I've had trouble sleeping, I have no appetite.  It's not just  that I've discovered how vulnerable I am to theft, but that someone in this neighborhood knows that I have valuables worth stealing, and they were so comfortable with their thievery.

The only good news is that they missed the valuable competition guns (in the safe) .. it was a "Smash And grab" ... just took the handguns, which they could conceal in a bag, and then they split.  I'm concerned that they seem to have either taken the time to search the downstairs (I don't THINK they cam upstairs, where I sleep), or they were familiar with the layout.  That suggests that they have been inside my home before.  Both of those theories give me no rest.

So I'll spend another sleepless night.   And we'll see what kind of help the police can provide when I finally am able to identify all the firearms by serial numbers ... which I should have recorded LONG AGO!

Curmudgeon Blogging Not Allowed!

The reason I keep writing here is because I have this really terrific "Support Group" of people who, when I get all cranky anc curmudgeonly ... they remind me  that I'm among friends and I don't have to be The Cranky Guy (at least, not all the time(*).

*(see the comments here)

IN OTHER NEWS:
Still can't find the 'missing firearms", still concerned, still searching the house in hopes that I've merely "misplaced them".  Not expecting a good outcome at all ... which feeds my curmudgeonliness.

I've got to go to the County Sheriff on Monday and admit that I've not stored my firearms completely in compliance with Oregon new laws.    You can write me in care of Birmingham Jail.

Guns Stolen (?)

Somebody got into my house while I was asleep a couple of days ago.

They found a couple of handguns (a .38 snubby & a 9mm carry gun) out in the open on a bookshelf, and waltzed away with them.

 I had brought the guns out while I reviewing my firearms inventory, intending to make sure I had the recorded serial numbers. Started with the long guns, then got sleepy and just went to bed.

I didn't notice for a day that the handguns were not where I put them. I thought I had put them back in the safe (which was the reasonable thing to do) until I checked; they weren't there. And the front door was unlocked.

I checked with my landlord and he said only he and I had keys to my house.

My guess it that it was a target of opportunity ... but is someone checking my front door every night to see if I left it unlocked? (I "always" lock my doors, even when I'm awake and in the house. Maybe this time I forgot the check? I can't believe that.)   And as far ask I know,  my neighbors don't know that I own firearms.   How could they?  I never talk to them ... they move in and out of the neighborhood (all rental townhouse duplexes in a college term) every three to nine months as they enter and exit the local college.

Since nobody else had keys, and my landlord was out of town (has been for a week), I have to conclude that I left it unlocked. It was closed and latched, I'm certain of that.

 And I keep my porch light on 24/7/365 ... that light has been burning for seven years on the same 60 watt bulb.   It was intended to make burglars think twice before attempting entry.

 Well that didn't work and locks didn't work. What's next, booby traps?

Now I have to go to the police and report the stolen guns. That will prove awkward, as I don't have serial numbers for both handguns. I have the original box for the automatic, but I don't have any record for the revolver. I missed it by THAT MUCH! (Actually, I did write down a number but I'm not certain that the tall vertical marks are "slashes" or "ones".)

They also took my money clip, with about $80 in cash and ALL my identification (drivers license, CHL) and two or three credit cards plus my bank card.

Monday I'll go around to my bank (haven't seen any withdrawals) and the police to report the robbery. I'll get with my credit company ... I have old cards, so I have my account numbers and I can also contact them online.

I don't mind the money, and the cards and drivers license are an inconvenience. Identity theft is an issue, although all the cards are password protected so they could not be used. 

But I'm concerned about a couple of loaded handguns in the possession of burglars.

I'm thinking it was kids. Teens. There were two rifles in plain sight ... I was checking their serial numbers, too ... and they weren't touched. There were guns in a nearby *temporarily unlocked* closet that I planned to record next but hadn't got around to, and they weren't touched.

There's a moral lesson out there for someone, or for everyone.  Maybe a couple of them.

(1) Make sure you have ALL your serial numbers, plus take photos of the firearms (including close-ups of the serial numbers to confirm ... which I was in the process of doing when I went to bed without properly storing my firearms).

(2) check all your doors before you go to sleep.  I do this religiously (I think) and someone still got into my house.

There's another issue:

Oregon is playing with a law which requires that all firearms be under lock and key, when they are not on your person.  There may be a civil liability ... I could go to jail ... if I report stolen guns where were not locked in an "adequate" container.  I've always said my apartment was always locked, and so my firearms were secured.  I'm in a quandary whether I should report the guns as stolen.

I WANT to report the theft *(or maybe I just "mislaid" them)* but can I ... WILL I? ... be prosecuted because I considered my locked doors adequate security.

The problem with new gun control laws is that it makes felons of innocents. However, in spite of my good intentions, I still lost guns which I considered to be secure.

All of my handguns are now in the safe, except for the one which I keep by my bedside.   And a few long guns, in my bedroom closet.  Obviously, I need the immediate availability of at least one firearm ... even in a neighborhood which for over 20 years I have considered to be "safe".

I guess I need to start wearing a gun on my person 24/7 ... which is certain to frighten my neighbors.

I don't like being  'The Bad Guy".

Incomprehensible Retro Rock: Karma Chameleon:

What WERE we THINKING???


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmcA9LIIXWw

Passing on the Honors ... credit where due

The link below describes a Real American Hero.
On this month of Honor to Veterans, perhaps we need to remember what a Real Hero looks like:
H/T: Irons in the Fire: People who have to pad their testicles:

In the history of the U.S. Navy only seven men have earned all of the “Big Three” valor awards: Medal of Honor, Navy Cross and Silver Star Medal. Six were World War II officers, including one aviator and four submarine commanders. The seventh was enlisted sailor James Elliott “Willy” Williams in Vietnam.

Oh, so now it's OUR fault!

The Republican Party can't find electable candidates to retain control of Congress, and now it's the fault of "gun owners".

Incumbent House Losses Not a National Rebuke of ‘Trumpism’: U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- With the turnover of the House of Representatives to the Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections, those who predicted a “Blue Wave” are ecstatic and pointing to a national “thumbs down” for the Donald Trump administration and its policies. While a surface “analysis,” (meaning no real effort besides parroting “progressive” talking points) may look like that’s what happened, a closer look suggests Democrat “wins” owe plenty to gun owner apathy over turning out to reelect “RINO” squishes. That and changing demographics.

emphasis added

The fact is,  the Republican Party hasn't been able to find an 'electable' candidate for years.  President Trump was only elected because he "wasn't Hillary" and many of us had to hold our nose in order to vote for him (regardless of his vow to support the Second Amendment;  a sucker bet for Constitutionals ... which most gun owners are).

I'm personally insulted by the insinuation that a small, but significant, minority of Republican voters who happen to be firearms owners are accused of failing the Republican party's candidacy.  Perhaps it would have attracted more votes if they had been more attuned to the tenor of the party members. 

I'm half-way convinced that Trey Gowdey could have been a much stronger candidate than Trump, if he had been selected and supported by the GOP in the last election.

For that matter, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R, UT-3) who retired recently, may have been a viable Presidential Candidate; he had as much respect as Gowdy has.

Ammoland, rather than parrot accusations from political fault-finders, would better serve their customers by noting that gun owners are overwhelmingly the strongest constituency for the GOP.

And the GOP needs to grow a pair, if they want to remain the party of the Constitution.

Paul Phillips

RIP Paul Philips ... 1923 -1944

My mother's "little brother" (Paul) was killed in Italy, during WWII.  He was an infantryman, he was in a unit that had landed in Italy and was working their way inland.  He was walking through a farmyard when a sniper's bullet cut his young life short.

I'm short of details.  I once asked my mother about "Uncle Paul" (who died years before I was born) and she teared up, could not talk.  This was 50 years after his death.  Paul was her  "Little Brother", and she never got over her loss.  I had to ask other relatives to learn even this much.

I had asked her about Uncle Paul a couple of years after I got back from Viet Nam.    And it wasn't until that moment that I realized how difficult it was for her to say goodbye to me, the day I shipped out to Viet Nam (on an airplane, an overnight trip ... not the weeks long ship voyage that Uncle Paul must have endured).   She couldn't even talk about him; she grieved for him all over again.

I understand now that she suffered more fear for me than I did for myself.   But she wrote me warm letters about the family and little incidents while I was gone.  And I tried to write back a couple of times a month, but it was not always possible; rain, pencil, wet paper ... I always had an excuse.

She saved my letters, and years later she gave them to me, wrapped in a red ribbon.  I was surprised about how few there were ...  the stack was only an inch thick, and this represented a year's correspondence to my parents?   It was inexcusable, if I had understood A Mother's Fears.  I can only imagine her concern for my safety.

I began to understand when my son ... "The Squid Kid" ... joined the Navy as a career.

Good news: he's in the Navy.  What "Bad Things" could happen to him?

Bad news: he chose "Master at Arms" as his MOS.

This isn't like "Shore Patrol" when they just go after drunken sailors who don't report on time after shore leave; this is like a Navy Cop, who deal with crimes and criminals in the Navy.

But he is strong, intelligent, well trained.  Much of the time he is based on Whidbey Island Navel Air Station in the Puget Sound where his family lives; most nights he gets to go home to his wife and his many children ... when he's not TDS deployed (for a year at a time) in some place I don't know how to spell.

He never writes, he rarely calls .. but when he does phone me, we talk for hours about things that don't really matter.    It just matters that we can talk to each other; I think he does it because he knows I worry about him, although I try not to show it.

He's a lot better about keeping in touch than I was.

I've become "My Mother"; worrying about my beloved soldier/sailor/airman, grateful when I hear he's still okay.

I don't want to become "My Mother", fearing the loss / weeping for decades over the loss of my beloved family member.   And I'm determined not to take counsel of my fears.

On this Veterans Day (previously "Armistice Day", celebrating the end of WWI),  I'm thinking of The Squid Kid, and his family (and many of my grandchildren), and how proud I am of my son who made it his life work to defend his country.

And I know I won't be like my mother, spending the better part of her life mourning for the beloved relative she lost during "The War To End Wars To End Wars".

So ... Ben, remember this: it's a sin for a child to die before his parents.  Be careful out there.

Alleged intent of gun control vs. actual observable goals

They say that we peace loving Americans shouldn't have guns because of public safety ... but who will take guns away from those who threaten us with violence?

This is one of the best written, and most understandable articles on Gun Control I've read recently for a LONG time!  It starts out like this:

Alleged intent of gun control vs. actual observable goals - AllOutdoor.comAllOutdoor.com:

 Pushers of gun control state the disarming the population is necessary for the safety of that same population. The punitive measures they are willing to employ to make that hypothetical safety happen look a lot like “he beats her because he loves her”. Or, as the old Soviet joke went: “We will fight for peace so vigorously that there’s (sic) won’t be anything left standing.” Gun control can only be enforced with other guns, so it’s all about concentrating military power in the hands of a small group that would keep others down forever. While some gun control supporters may be honestly deluded, many are lying from start to finish.

Read the whole thing.

If you think you need a gun to protect your self/family/home ... can you explain why?

If you don't accept the right to keep and bear arms as "legitimate", perhaps you can explain why not?

Gun Control via "Tracking Devices"? Nyet!

Is it possible to prevent school shootings by knowing when a gun owner nears a school?
The Russians think so:

Gun Control: Russian Police Proposes To Outfit All Civilian Weapons With Trackers -The Firearm Blog: the Russian Police Institute, responsible for research and development of specialised (sic) equipment and communications, proposed to outfit all civilian weapons with trackers. So when a gun owner is in close proximity to a school or university, there would be an alarm in the local police station and a SWAT unit would go out to arrest him for coming too close to an educational institution.

That wouldn't work here.   Not for me, certainly.

I live in a "college town". I have a Concealed Handgun License. This kind of extreme law would make that license worthless.

"Back in the day", I was a student here and a member of the (Gallery) Rifle Team.  I owned my own competition rifle.  That wouldn't be possible today, under such laws, without setting off alarms.   The University has 'outlier' facilities covering several square miles, and I live within a mile of the main campus.   If such a draconian law were to be imposed in my state, I couldn't even go to the grocery store ... three blocks away ... without setting off an alarm. 

Of course, the Russians don't care about freedoms; they just care about control.   There's a lot of folks in America who have the same kind of "control issues".

There's a fine line between "reasonable" and "unworkable" gun control laws.  Most folks who are champing at the bit to control guns are perfectly willing to sacrifice their freedoms for a little ... mostly elusive ... safety.

Benjamin Franklin had something to say about that.

Grounds for Impeachment?

No; he actually cannot do that.

Trump vows to end birthright citizenship with executive order:

President Donald Trump said in an interview that he plans to sign an executive order ending "birthright citizenship" for the children of non-American citizens who are born on U.S. soil, a move that would likely be challenged immediately in the courts over its constitutionality.

American Democrats have been waiting for President Trump to make a misstep, and he just tripped over his big mouth with this statement.

The office of the President is an "executive" position, which means he is responsible for executing the law.  He cannot make, change or delete laws ... which are based on the Constitution.

Trump's declaration that he can end "birthright citizenship" puts him in the political position of attempting to undermine the Constitution, and that might reasonably be grounds for a move for impeachment.

Which will certainly happen.

Impeachment isn't necessarily the same as removing him from office, but it certainly is justification for requiring him to resign (as did Nixon) with a sufficient number of responsible Republican Congressmen to reinforce the inevitable Democratic motion.

He has crossed the Rubicon, and he's not an American Caesar ... he's not strong enough to defeat all of his enemies when his own party concurs that he has overstepped his authority.

I voted for Trump on the basis that he was "Not Hillary"; but this move puts him in the same category as the power-mad Clinton family.

If there's a small town in America who is looking for a new dog-catcher, I can name a candidate.
Although it may offend the dogs.

Here's the bad news: his replacement is likely to be the vice president; and can anybody even remember HIS name?

"Trick or Treat" is no longer an American Pastime

Sigh ..

I tried.  I really tried to encourage that Great American Moment ... Halloween.

It didn't work ... for me, or for "here"

I compromised by putting out  candy where the neighborliness kids could just .. just come take it.

No need to knock on the door, or yell "Trick Or Threat, or even just hold out their bags for the expected goodies.

I just put out a barrel of candy .,.,. individually wrapped ... for them to come  by and scarf it up.

ZERO TAKERS!



I am despondent  Kids don't trust anyone any more. 

I suppose that's A Good Thing, in this age, but I had hoped that we had got past "apples with razor blades" and other nasty things by now.

I guess all of us ... adults and children too ..have learned to be cautious of feebies.

I do not LIKE this America, when Children cannot  trust Adults to be caring, loving, supportive.

( I do not like the word "Supportive"   ... I'm not sure what it means; but I THINK it means that Mom and/or Dad go out trick-or-treating with their children, if only to keep them safe

I guess I'm a product of the sixties, when we knew our neighbors and trusted them. In the blocks within a half mile of me, I reaped a lot of goodies.  I liked to wait until after 9pm, and  then work the neighbors; they NEVER had given out all the candies and goodies, so even though I was a little too old to be "Trick or Treating: them, they were glad to get rid on the last of the Candy Bowl.
p=
(I never ate the apple which some of them gave me .. Too Organic!)

Amazon.com: Watch Thank You for Your Service | Prime Video

Amazon.com: Watch Thank You for Your Service | Prime Video

"Trick or Treat" ... or "Scaredy Cat"?

I can't say that I was surprised ... although I was disappointed ... that I welcomed no "Trick or Treaters" at my doorstep this year.

I live in a culdesac in a univiersity townm, and I really didn't expect to receive any children at my front door ... encased in bizare costumes and yelling "TRICK OR TREAT!" when I responded to their knock.

It's a scary world out there, and parents are disposed to keep their children at home on this night which was expected (in my day) to be more treats to the kids, and a few tricks to curmudgeons.

I was forewarned this afternoon when I went to the store to buy candy for my neighborhood children (of whom there are only two ... it's a college town) and the shelves were FILLED with delectables.

I chose my favorite ... peanut butter in chocolate (AKA "Reese's Peanut Butter Cups" (miniatures), because they're individually wrapped, delicious, and because ... if nobody showed up, I like them as an occasional snack.

Good choice.   They're individually wrapped, and if the trick-or-treaters are too thick, I can give them only three, rather than the five or six (depending on degrees of "cuteness" their costumes displayed).

Nobody showed up.

I know have enough Peanut Butter Cups to last me for some time.

I don't blame the parents; there have been so many scarey stories about razor blades in apples,  and poisons in candy, that it's a rare parent who will let a child go Trick-or-Treating when escorted, let alone without parental guidance

I'm not going to beat the dead horse of "poisoned apples", because you've heard all the stories.

I'm just disappointed that our society has changed so much that we are no longer "comfortable" allowing our children to go outside after dark and portune our friends and neighbors for ... 
Treats.


There are only two children in my lonely Cul-de-Sac, and if I thought it would be appreciated, I would go to their door in the morning and offer all of my candy treats to them ... just to show them that their Neighbors adore and appreciate their play-time, their childish squeals of glee during play, their spats, their homely dog (whose name I don't even know, but he's a lop-eared mongrel who enjoys more love than he has earned), and their youthful enthusiasm.

We don't get enough of that last part: enthusiasm is a fading economy, and we need to encourage it.

---

I would knock on their door, offer all my accumulated "TREATS" for their children.  If only to demonstrate a spirit of neighborliness, and to show that they could have trick-or-treated at one door, at least, and been safe.

But their parents would reject my overtures, in defense of their children .., politely, I'm sure.
Yet firmly.  And I would go home with a fistful of melting chocolate dollars, and everyone would be sad.

Because we no longer trust our neighbors, who are strangers.
And we no longer start the morning by hand-watering our lawn and shouting "Hellow, Neighbor" across the street.

In my day, "our children" were "everyone's children", and we watched over them as if they were our kin.  Today .. awww, I don't want to think about it.

It sickens me the way we treat America's Children.   when they don't know, or trust their neighbors, then there's some endemic sickness in America which we're too frightened to confront.

And that's all I have to say about that.

(Say, anybody want a bag of peanut-butter-and-chocolate candy?  It's really, good.  You'll like it!)

Don't come any closer!

View From The Porch: Don't come any closer!:

So, if a dude was going for a gun, would you consider that enough of a threat to warrant shooting him?

Good Question.

Me?  I'm a product of the "late" 1960's, so maybe I could just plead: "Hey Dude, Why So Angry?"
You know, talk him into a peaceful place.

Unfortunately, I split the 1968-1970 years in an un-peaceful place. So I was never, like, really into the "Easy Peaceful Feeling" thing.  Like, y'know man?

Best response I can come up with is:
 (1)  OPEN CARRY MAKES YOU A TARGET and
 (2) AT MY AGE, THERE'S ONLY TWO KINDS  IF FIGHTS; THE ONE YOU WALK AWAY FROM, AND THE ONE YOU DON'T.

Walk away if you can.

It beats the hell out of crawling away.

RIP Dave Skinner

I wanted to write about Dave Skinner .... and while researching him,  I learned that he had died.

It's hard to write about a friend.   Maybe more remembrances.

Maybe later.

Much later.

WHAT argument about guns should be "won"?

Posit: The comparison between death/injury by automobiles v. firearms is facetious and misleading.

Tripping through the Way-Back Machine, I found this April 2018 article by Nicholas Kristof, one of my favorite Liberal (Anti-Gun) writers.

Opinion | How to Win an Argument About Guns - The New York Times:

You liberals are in a panic over guns, but look at the numbers. Any one gun is less likely to kill a person than any one vehicle. But we’re not traumatized by cars, and we don’t try to ban them. It’s true that any particular car is more likely to be involved in a fatality than any particular gun. But cars are actually a perfect example of the public health approach that we should apply to guns. We don’t ban cars, but we do work hard to take a dangerous product and regulate it to limit the damage.

(Emphasis Added:  Read the whole article to put this paragraph in the perspective of its author.)

The comparison suggests that since we've found ways to make cars less dangerous, we should be able to make guns less dangerous, too.

Well, that's just silly.
Although Nicky (who perhaps doesn't keep or carry firearms) conflates the two mechanical devices, he elides over the salient point:   Guns are dangerous because that is their purpose.

(Perhaps he proposes to "limit the damage" by making them more difficult to ... uh ... take the safety off?  Okay, that's silly, too.  I was just trying to imagine what measures Nicky was thinking of which would still keep them easily available in a self-defense situation.  I am confounded.     You think maybe Nicky didn't think it through? )

True, cars are intended for transportation.  But guns are designed to bore holes through their targets. 

Usually, that target is a piece of paper or some other inanimate object.  A tin can?   Often, a gun is used to kill an animal ... such as Bambi or The Easter Bunny. 

And once in a while a gun is used to dissuade a would-be felon from rape, mayhem, or murder.   In those cases, you don't want to piss on them, you want to step on them HARD!

Personally, I've never deliberately aimed a rifle or a pistol at a living human being; in Viet Nam, I preferred the M18 Claymore Mine or the M79 Granade Launcher ... More Bang For The Buck!
(My favorite weapon was the PRC-25 Radio, with which I could call in anything from mortar or artillery fire to an air strike.   Sorry, I digress.)

For personal/home defense, I have always preferred a 1911-style pistol in .45 ACP caliber.   Or 10mm. Or any caliber where the first digit was at least a "4".

(more overleaf)

"Oh, you're so paranoid; nobody does home invasions any more!"

Terror for the Beckhams as masked raiders attempt to break in to their Cotswolds home | Daily Mail Online: David and Victoria Beckham have been left distraught after a group of balaclava-clad burglars attempted to break into their Cotswolds mansion.  Police were called to the couple’s  6 million home in Great Tew, Oxfordshire, last Friday after their 24 hour security surveillance team noticed the intruders on the property’s CCTV.  Guests at the nearby Soho Farmhouse, which is just a stone’s throw away and a favourite haunt of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, spotted them too and ran to scare them off.

Actually, home invasions do occur to "Normal Folks", too.
(details deleted)

That Was No Lady, That Was My Mom!

Been there, done that, paid the price, never did  it again!

There comes a time in a young man's life when he just HAS to rebel against authority.

I once stole my mom's car for a joy ride while she was shopping.  Didn't get it back in time ... but I DID get it back to her.

Not every young man is as lucky:
Some moms are more ... proactive ... than my mother was.

You can rail against "Corporal Punishment", but that's one young man who now understands that you don't compromise all of your in-home security measures just for a joy ride!

He won't be sitting down for a while.

Texas Mom Punishes 14-Year-Old Son With Belt After He Takes Family’s BMW - YouTube:

Good thing she caught him in his formative years; if he had continued to "get away" with this anti-social behavior, he might someday wind up in the Oval Office!

You want Irony? I'll give you IRONY!

Mexicans are now securing their own Southern Border against a flood of "Illegal Immigrants"!

(How do you like them apples?)

BREAKING. Caravan of Central American Illegals Turned Back By Mexico: A caravan of migrants near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala on Friday has turned back from its planned sojourn to the U.S. in the face of a heavy presence of Mexican and Guatemalan law enforcement officers, according to media reports. The Associated Press reported that thousands of migrants stopped about two blocks from the Guatemala-Mexican border crossing before turning around, saying they would wait another hour or so. The border post, reports the AP, is guarded by a heavy security force and tall metal gates. Dozens of Mexican federal police officers are on the border bridge, with hundreds more behind them. In Guatemala, government authorities closed its border gate and are standing guard with dozens of troops and two armored jeeps. Mexico’s ambassador to Guatemala says his country has decided to enforce a policy of “metered entry” since thousands of migrants are clamoring to cross, says the AP.

Yes, I'm aware that this action has been taken because (our President) Trump has threatened to withdraw all "aide" (money we've been paying them off with) from both Mexico and Guatemala if the mob reaches America's border with Mexico.

Yes, I can use the "mob" word here.

Yes, I can also use the word Schadenfreude here.

The HillaryBeast would have welcomed the mob with open arms.   I'm finally glad to acknowledge Donald Trump as the most presidential President we've seen for a long time.

We needed a leader who could make the hard decisions.