Article II, Section III...

2026 State Of The Union address

"(The President) shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;"

...of the U.S. Constitution...it's why we endure the modern day spectacle of the SOTU.

In days of yore Presidents sent handwritten reports to Congress, read to the assembly by the Secretary of the Senate.

One of the most famous was <Lincoln's 1862 address>, written two years into the Civil War, and delivered to Congress in December of 1862.

It was more than 8,000 handwritten words, and ended with this stirring paragraph:

"Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history.

"We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves.

"No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us.

"The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.

"We say we are for the Union.  The world will not forget that we say this.  We know how to save the Union.  The world knows we do know how to save it.

"We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility.

"In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve.

"We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth.

"Other means may succeed; this could not fail.

"The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just—a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless."

Why can't we go back to those days?

Now it's a major media production broadcast around the world and analyzed  in real time by hacktivists with an axe to grind.

We have descended to tiresome and de minimis political theater, far beneath the dignity originally intended for those who are meant to govern according to the lofty principles set forth in our Constitution.

Case in point:

President Trump asks everyone to stand who agrees our government's first priority is the safety and well being of American citizens, not illegal aliens.

(Hint: it's the 1st 7 words of the preamble of the Constitution.*)

Of course all the Republicans and their invited guests leap to their feet in enthusiastic support of this a priori truth.

The democrats?

For reasons known only to their peculiar tribe, they must oppose everything Trump says, regardless of right or wrong, truth or fiction, no matter how stupid it makes them look.

So naturally they remain sitting on their brains, providing instant campaign fodder for the upcoming mid term elections.

I firmly believe a world without the democrat party would be as close to heaven as us mortal sinners can get, so everything they do to ensure their defeat is fine with me.

But this type of petty posturing is not what the founding fathers envisioned for the State of the Union.

It's supposed to set forth in clear terms how our country is faring, the problems before us and the proposed solutions to keep us strong and vibrant as a nation.

How far we've fallen from that noble ideal!

As if to emphatically underline their complete irrelevance,  here's the democrats' rebuttal to Trump's SOTU speech:

You can be forgiven for thinking this is a Sesame Street episode on meth, but no: this is actually part of the democrat response.

Nothing says "serious and intelligent" quite like dancing giraffes and inflatable frogs.

Imagine Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Lincoln viewing what has become of the government they risked - and in Lincoln's case, gave - their lives to establish and preserve?

As Jed Clampett might opine...

We can do better.

* We the people of the United States

It's only a name on a calendar, and 'round these parts it's nothing to write home about, but in spite of its shortcomings...

...we celebrate March.

It has one redeeming quality that always ensures its enthusiastic welcome:

It Aint'

And to be fair, it does boast the time change, St. Patrick's Day and of course, the official <Start Of Spring>.

<La danse du printemps!>

Ending today on a serious note, as the United States and Israel have launched <Operation Epic Fury> against the terrorist regime of Iran.

From President Trump:

"We pray for every service member as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure Americans and our children will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran. We ask God to protect all of our heroes in harm’s way and we trust that with his help the men and woman of the armed forces will prevail."

And from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“For 47 years, the Ayatollah regime has called out ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America.’ It has shed our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people… This murderous terror regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would enable it to threaten all of humanity.”

Please pray for all involved in this conflict, and especially that victory will be swift and sure.

"And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed."

    - Genesis 12:3

"Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight."

    - Psalm 144:1

later, mcm fans...

It's 22 Minutes Of Your Life...

...<and worth every second.>   

It's very rare for a political speech to be worthwhile, let alone memorable, but this is both.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio's speech at the Munich Security Conference is one for the ages...an instant classic and "must listen" to understand Trump's clear vision on foreign policy and the future of our NATO alliance.

Rubio received a standing ovation for this speech, and well he should have.

It is the most eloquent enunciation of the joint history, shared values and continuing bond between the United States and Europe ever given by a US diplomat.

He notes correctly that "...our home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe".

Emphasizing our roots, he recounts our origins from the Italian explorer who "discovered" the new world and brought Christianity here, to the English settlers from whom we got our language and system of laws.

He lists the Scots/Irish frontiersman who pushed our borders westward and the German immigrants who transformed empty plains into the breadbasket of the world.

He remembers the French fur traders who settled the Mississippi valley as well as the Spanish vaqueros who embodied the rugged adventurism of the Old West.

And he reminds them of the Dutch industrialists who built our most important city and named it New Amsterdam, long before it became "New York".

In short he elucidates the significance of Western culture and puts to rest the lie that America wants to "go it alone".

Make no mistake; we will if we have to, but that's not the goal.

Our deepest desire is for allies who will be strong, independent, able to defend their countries and committed to the trans-Atlantic bond we have shared for centuries.

His follow up interviews and Q&A sessions emphatically underlined Rubio's firm grasp of the intricate nuances of international politics.

And then - by way of hilarious contrast - there was tweedle-dee...

...and tweedle dum...

...who inexplicably thought they belonged at this conference.

Apparently they didn't heed the "adults only" requirement.

The unintended result was <embarrasingly comedic relief>.

The incomprehensible word salads offered up by AOC in response to basic foreign policy questions about the China / Taiwan situation would make even Kamala blush.

Back when she first stumbled onto the national stage, I heard a pundit refer to her as "Alexandria Occasionally Coherent".

Clearly, those halcyon days when she may have accidently uttered a random sentence that wasn't complete bilge now and then are long gone.

She's proven beyond any shadow of a doubt she's dumber than a box of rocks, and now she's taken her act international.

Incredibly, Wretched Dimwitmer was worse: when asked what victory in Ukraine would look like, she humiliated herself by actually deferring to AOC as having more knowledge on foreign policy!

It was the equivalent of publicly confessing, "She may be an ignoramus, but I'm even dumber."

If they're the cream of the D crop, 2028 is looking fine.

Ok, let's play "What's Wrong With This Picture?"

Study it closely, and see if you can tell what's out of place.

I'll give you a minute to ruminate...

If you guessed "the jumbo container of Antacid Tablets because no one needs that many" - wrong!  I work in IT where a regular diet of stress and chaos is part of my job description.

If you guessed "the bag of green apples, because <God didn't make little green apples and it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summer time>" - wrong again!  In later years Glen Campbell was forced to bend the knee to the woke mob for spreading disinformation and was banned from both Twitstorm and Fakebook.*

If you guessed "that lazy cat laying on top of the bag of carrots on the counter" - O my...don't let Karen hear you.  I'll do you a big favor and pretend you never said that.

I can see you're struggling with this, so here's the correct - and may I say, quite obvious - answer:

The Aldi Hedgehog Birthday critter.

As everyone knows, in February you should only be displaying Aldi Valentine Gnomes:

Duh.

*it's possible this is balderdash.

Here's some excitement...over the past week we've gone from this:

...to this:

...which means I've been doing this:

To be honest I can't tell if all those days of swinging my hickories in the cold and snow actually helped or not.

Overall it's been pretty ugly with occasional flashes of competence, but either way I'm going to keep swinging 'em.

In spite of how it may sound if you're within earshot after one of my errant swings, it's fun.

No, really.

Fun.

My kingdom for some talent.

Let's all line up for some of that delicious 23 Skidoo, shall we?

Yummmmmmm...

a former co-worker (that's not him) who now lives in Florida...

...recently shared some of his daily scenery...

...as a reminder he lives in paradise and we don't.

but we do get to watch our babies

apparently our faux spring has met its wintry end

After 50+ years in the work place I've seen a lot of things come and go - ideas, concepts, fads purporting to be the new and exciting way to get ahead and achieve success.

Most of them were really just the same ol' schtick with a new label, though some did have value.

One of the dumbest I ever saw was during the online craze of the late 90's.

The so-called "new economy" was enthusiastically embraced by many major companies.

It centered on the "critical need for an online presence" and - miraculously - profit was no longer a necessity!

Who could have guessed <Al Gore's invention of the Inter-Web (scroll down) > would lead to such mindless frenzy?

To say the least, it was mystifying to watch this mania unfold as companies raced to throw money down the hole that became known as the "dot com bubble".

Hundreds of startups burned through multiple rounds of financing until - predictably - someone was left holding whatever was left of the bag at the end.

The "dot com crash" in 2000 saw internet stocks decline 75% from their high points and wiped out 1.75 trillion dollars of value.

Talk about a resounding rebuke to years of "irrational exuberance"!

In spite of mankind's many failed "get rich quick" schemes, God's eternal truth remains:

"By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life."

    - Proverbs 22:4

That's a life plan you can bank on.

later, mcm fans...

Recognize This?

Well howdy, stranger...it's been awhile.

Haven't seen much of Mr. Sun lately; we've had actual winter this year, replete with clouds and cold and snow and ice.

In a word, grim.

But according to the weather nerds, we're on the front end of a week long stretch of sunny and warmer, and I am so here for it.

is that Harry Vardon?

Ok, that might be stretching the warm stretch just a bit - they're calling for sunny and 40's and we're still more than a month away from <Spring!> - but I can dream...

 

Shocking news from the mental defectives with the big blue D after their names:

<less than 14% of illegal immigrants being deported are guilty of violent crime!>

Obviously, they don't want any of the 20 million illegals recruited during the Biden/Harris years to be deported.

That tidal wave of foreign nationals was their strategy to avoid political extinction; it had nothing to do with compassion, only power.

Their plan was to use these illegals to reshape the electorate, then rule for generations.

But trying to build a case for keeping murderers and rapists in our country seems a bridge too far, even for moral reprobates like the D's.

So the latest tactic by the Jackass party...

...is trying to gin up support for letting all the rest of the illegal aliens stay because they're non-violent.

That apparently means they're cool with pedophiles, drug dealers, child pornographers, drunk drivers, human traffickers, embezzlers and burglars - all of whom are being deported for their "non-violent" crimes.

Do you want to live in that neighborhood?

Neither do the AWFLs*, but they figure they won't have to.

At the end of their <paid stint attacking federal agents>  arresting criminals, they'll return to their gated communities far from the madding crowd, congratulating themselves for being so real. 

For them, the bottom line is always the same:

It's just all wrong because Trump, or something.

America used to be "the melting pot", where immigrants came legally to assimilate.

Of course they retained and celebrated their heritage, but they left their country for the freedoms and opportunities that America offered and proudly became Americans.

They studied our history, embraced our culture, learned our language and often became better citizens than those of us born here; too often we took our good fortune for granted while they treasured their new home.

But as the recent revelation of <widespread Somali fraud> has proved, what I described above belongs to a bygone generation.

Now America is seen as little more than a cookie jar filled with goodies to be raided.

They're not here to become Americans, but rather to rip off the American tax payer and build mini-countries of their own on our soil.

You know, enjoy the freedoms and prosperity America provides while creating their own caliphates:

Live under sharia law, build communities where Americans and law enforcement aren't welcome, and in general give the middle finger to our country and culture while stealing our money.

a Somali daycare with zero children; it's good work if you can get it

Trump was elected to do the job he's doing - deport illegal aliens, secure our borders, strengthen our military, protect our citizens, safeguard our elections, improve our economy.

Rock on.

*AWFL - Affluent White Female Liberal

I would be remiss if I did not give a tip o' the hat to everyone's favorite Hallmark Holiday:

the tulips on the left are still hanging in from Karen's birthday a couple of weeks ago; the ones on the right are Aldi specials just in time for Cupid's big dustup

Valentine's Day!  May you remember to do all the right things and thus avoid <the fate of St. Valentine>.

And as an added bonus, it's also <Pale Blue Dot Day>!

Do something useful with your free trip around the sun this year:

16  The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

    - Psalm 115:16

He made the earth for us; we should be kind and do right by our fellow sojourners.

As the old saying opines, "When you were born, you cried and others rejoiced.

"Live in such a way that when death comes, you rejoice and others cry."

Brace yourselves, it's time to 23 Skidoo:

99% positive ratings from viewers; 92% negative from critics.  you can depend on this surefire rule: "if the critics hate it, it's a good movie".

me, dreaming I've gained 15 lbs; Loki, wondering how long until the inert lump gets up and lets him out

Ziggy, courtesy of Tom Wilson, adding some much needed humor to current events

my beloved made an apple pie for Valentine's day...note the hearts and arrows in the crust

deer dinner date

The other day I was buying bags of bird seed and deer feed when the young girl at the checkout asked me, "Do you need help loading those bags?"

"No," I replied, as I tore off my jacket and flexed my enormous muskuls...

..."that's why I let my wife tag along."

Ok, none of that past the word "No" actually happened, witness the fact I'm writing this from my living room rather than a jail cell.

But Karen did suggest I might want to use that line - and only that line - next time.

The sad reality is my youth has fled like a coward before the schoolyard bully of advancing years.

Now people look at me and think, "Gramps is gonna need help lifting that".

The good news is, I actually don't need help - yet.

The days are definitely coming, but so far a regular exercise routine and reasonable diet are helping me stay physically fit.

But a more important question might be, how's my spiritual fitness?

How's my daily walk with God?

The Apostle Paul makes it clear which realm - the physical or spiritual - is most important as we tread this mortal coil:

8  For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

    - I Timothy 4:8

Don't neglect your body, it's the only one you get this side of heaven.

But your walk with God is far more important; it helps you navigate life's many problems now, and continues into eternity.

later, mcm fans...