swordfish

Well, guess what - This is what happens if you are the Commandant of the USCG and you don't follow direct orders from the CIC (Commander in Chief) when ordered to aid in border control (The USCG is under the DHS) YOU GET FIRED and replaced by someone that follows orders. That is how the US military works BTW. The acting Commandant is now mobilizing. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-fires-coast-guard-commandant-linda-fagan/ https://maritime-executive.com/article/uscg-surges-assets-to-border-protection-following-trump-s-orders

Fair question. No - not booted from anything - my facebook account is populated with many of my business associates and I keep it very neutral there for the reason that lefties get offended pretty easily. It's kinda discouraging that it seems only Muda and myself usually post here when I remember just a few years ago this site was well populated. I stumbled on to the OOB many years ago, and I just haven't left. Yet..... Muda on the other hand.......?

President Elect Biden warning to Former President Trump in 2000 - "Don't issue "preemptive pardons" to your family or others" because he's concerned about "blah-Blah-blah" - precedence, stuff like that ...... President Biden in 2025 - Never mind what I said in 2020.......This guy is gonna come after all of us for what we did to him and his family...... https://nypost.com/2025/01/21/us-news/biden-warned-against-trump-preemptively-pardoning-family-after-2020-election/ Former President Joe Biden said he was “concerned” about Donald Trump giving preemptive pardons to family members, according to a resurfaced interview from 2020 — before he went on to pardon his own son and siblings while doling out the highest number of presidential pardons and commutations in US history. In a December 2020 interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Biden warned against then-outgoing President Trump issuing preemptive pardons to his adult children, his attorney Rudy Giuliani and possibly even one for himself before the Democrat’s Department of Justice took over. “It concerns me in terms of what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world looks (at) us as a nation of laws and justice,” Biden told Tapper during the joint interview with then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. That concern, however, was short-lived, with the ex-commander-in-chief on Monday announcing the unprecedented decision to grant blanket, preemptive pardons to his siblings and their spouses, claiming his family had been “subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics.” “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” he said.

Dr. Fauci can thank his lucky stars Former President Biden was able to somehow convince us that he was able to legally get more votes than any other President in the history of the United States..... What do you expect from the former President who knows how guilty his family is? Even his so-called allies have started using the Biden crime syndicate moniker. But by doing this, he can blame it on Trump. He is hoping to stop the investigations that are sure to come. Former President Biden is the epitome of what comes from 50 years of being a slimy well connected and experienced Senator. He showed he had no fear of using "lawfare" to eliminate his political opponent. The Democrat Party made him a scapegoat.

Well - I guess nothing says "Trust the Science" like a blanket pardon from (former) President Biden.....

So now that the Gulf of Mexico is being renamed Gulf of America, SF has a bunch of collector's item maps that still read Gulf of Mexico. Gonna hang on to those dudes, they gonna be worth a whole bunch.....🤣

In other words - "Get the F out of DC". https://nypost.com/2025/01/19/us-news/trump-to-suspend-security-clearances-of-51-former-cia-contractors-who-falsely-implied-hunter-biden-laptop-was-russian-fake/ Trump to suspend security clearances of 51 intelligence officials who falsely implied Hunter Biden laptop was Russian fake President-elect Donald Trump, on Day 1, plans to suspend security clearances of the 51 intelligence officials who claimed reporting tied to Hunter Biden’s laptop had “the classic earmarks” of Russian disinformation ahead of the 2020 election, according to a report. Trump will repeal the clearances of the so-called “Spies Who Lie” as part of a flurry of executive orders he’s expected to sign on his first day back in the Oval Office, Fox News reported, citing a senior administration official familiar with the matter.

And with this final middle finger gesture to the country by President Biden, Former President Carter can RIP knowing he passed THE worst President in history moniker on to this guy. https://nypost.com/2025/01/20/us-news/biden-pardons-fauci-milley-and-jan-6-committee-staffers-in-final-hours-of-presidency/ Biden pardons Fauci, Milley and Jan. 6 committee staffers in final hours of presidency

The official portrait of 47......Looks a little ticked..... https://nypost.com/2025/01/16/us-news/trump-vance-official-portraits-released-ahead-of-inauguration-day/

"Just a bit outside!" "Mr. Baseball" - Bob Uecker at 90. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43439250/beloved-brewers-broadcaster-bob-uecker-dies-age-90 MILWAUKEE -- Bob Uecker, the voice of his hometown Milwaukee Brewers who, after a short playing career, earned the moniker "Mr. Baseball" and honors from the Hall of Fame, has died. He was 90. The team announced Uecker died Thursday morning, calling it "one of the most difficult days in Milwaukee Brewers history." In a statement released by the club, Uecker's family said he had "faced a private battle with small cell lung cancer" since early 2023. "Even in the face of this challenge, his enthusiasm for life was always present, never allowing his spirit to falter," the family said.

Welp - I guess so......

A prime illustration of the dumbassery of California liberals....... 1) An effort to increase fire safety in 2019 was halted because of an "endangered" shrub. 2) The LADWP was fined over $2 million after the shrub was trampled. 3) The fires in SOCAL right now have mostly burnt the shrubs anyway. 4) Actually the shrubs need wildfires to sprout new growth........ https://nypost.com/2025/01/14/us-news/california-bureaucrats-halted-pacific-palisades-fire-safety-project-to-save-endangered-shrub/ California’s eco bureaucrats halted a wildfire prevention project near the Pacific Palisades to protect an endangered shrub. It’s just the latest clash between fire safety and conservation in California that is coming under scrutiny following the devastating outbreak of the Palisades Fire — the most devastating blaze in Los Angeles history, which has consumed the very same area. In 2019, the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) began replacing nearly 100-year-old power line poles cutting through Topanga State Park, when the project was halted within days by conservationists outraged that federally endangered Braunton’s milkvetch plants had been trampled during the process. The goal of the project was to improve fire safety for the Pacific Palisades area by replacing the wooden poles with steel, widening fire-access lanes in the area, and installing wind and fire-resistant power lines — all after the area was identified as having an “elevated fire risk,” according to the LA Times. “This project will help ensure power reliability and safety, while helping reduce wildfire threats,” the LADWP said at the time. “These wooden poles were installed between 1933 and 1955 and are now past their useful service life.” But, after an amateur botanist hiking through the park during the work saw the harm done to some of the park’s Braunton’s milkvetch — a flowered shrub with only a few thousand specimens remaining in the wild — and complained, the project was completely halted, Courthouse News Service reported. Instead of fire-hardening the park, the city — which the state said had undertaken the work without proper permitting — ended up paying $2 million in fines and was ordered by the California Coastal Commission to reverse the whole project and replant the rare herb.That work saved about 200 Braunton’s milkvetch plants — almost all of which have now likely been torched in the wildfires that consumed Topanga Canyon, along with nearly 24,000 acres of some of LA’s most sought-after real estate. It was not clear whether the steel poles were ever installed. The good news for the milkvetch, however, is that they usually need wildfire to sprout — meaning dormant seeds now have a massive new habitat for a new crop of the rare shrub. 3 In the week of chaos that has claimed at least 24 lives, California and LA leadership have faced scrutiny over their approach to wildfire safety verses conservation — most notably from President-elect Donald Trump, who accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of prioritizing the wellbeing of “worthless fish” over Californian’s safety. “He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt… but didn’t care about the people of California,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, accusing Newsom of blocking his 2020 federal order to divert water runoff from northern California to southern reservoirs. That order was halted days after Trump issued it, with Newsom responding to criticism from conservationists who argued it would harm the endangered minnow-like fish and other native fish. Delta smelt, once an important part of the local California ecosystem, are now effectively extinct — meaning they still exist, but their numbers are so few that they no longer have any impact on their environment. In the years since Newsom sued to block Trump’s order the two politicians have bickered back and forth over California water-access, with Trump vowing to block wildfire aid to the state as recently as September if the governor doesn’t give in. Newsom, in response, called Trump’s accusations “pure fiction.” “The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need,” a spokesperson previously told The Post. But California’s water supplies have been scrutinized amidst the fires — especially after some fire hydrants in the city ran dry as firefighters battled the flames, and the pressure for what water they had was often low. Most notably, the county-run Santa Ynez Reservoir — which is right in the heart of Pacific Palisades, and can hold 117 million gallons — was empty when the fires broke out last week, and has been out of commission since around February 2024. Gov. Newsom, however, told NBC News the state’s reservoirs in southern California were all “completely full” when the fires started. Last week the governor announced a probe into why the reservoir was empty. Exactly what sparked the fires remains under investigation, but they are believed to have begun not far from Topanga State Park on a trail in the neighboring Temescal Gateway Park. Neither the LADWP nor the California Coastal Commission responded to request for comment.

When thoughtfully explained, suddenly President-Elect Trump's benign "Greenland" and "Panama Canal" comments (answering precisely aimed questions) begin to make sense doesn't it...... The US isn't going to "annex Canada", "take Greenland from Denmark by force" or "take over the Panama Canal" but our President needs to be wary of potential threats and this happens to be Trump's way of letting them know we're watching and ready to move when needed...... Why do you think Hamas seems to be suddenly coming to terms with Israel one week before inauguration? Maybe the "Hell to pay" warning is having it's intended result...... https://nypost.com/2025/01/12/opinion/trumps-greenland-push-about-growing-china-threat/ It’s about China, stupid. President-elect Trump’s answer to an ‘I gotcha’ question is capturing all of the headlines – his refusal to rule out military force in the Panama Canal – but many in the media are missing its intended messaging. Trump and his incoming national security team are putting Chinese President Xi Jinping on notice. They are essentially telling him and the rest of the world – we see what Beijing is aiming to economically and militarily achieve in the Western hemisphere. Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal and even the Drake Passage at the End of the World are all interconnected. China is their common denominator. This isn’t about U.S. military conquests of old. Rather, it is solely about telling Xi “hands off!” It is the 21st century version of the Monroe Doctrine – and it is coming at a time when China is increasingly asserting itself on the global stage. Beijing is working to strangle economically and militarily U.S. maritime and naval sea routes by controlling key choke points and naval transit routes. Trump’s second term was always going to be more China centric. Xi’s rapidly expanding People’s Liberation Army will be a principal driving factor when his administration rewrites the National Security Strategy as mandated by the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. As is his custom, Trump is arguing the case against Beijing in largely economic terms. However, the impetus for his argument is primarily driven by China and its dual track approach to building a global military projection force. The key word is “dual.” China’s $1 trillion and growing Belt and Road Initiative is economic in construct. However, it is also an alarming modern-day Trojan Horse that is building the infrastructure that will house an increasingly potent global Chinese military presence. We have seen evidence of this in play. China’s economic investment in Africa led to the opening in 2018 of its first overseas military base in Djibouti and only several miles away from Camp Lemonnier – the U.S. base in the Horn of Africa. Initially this was about Beijing gaining access to raw materials and then securing sea routes back to mainland China by securing deep water seaports, building artificial islands and deploying military forces to secure them. Now it is also about Xi threatening vital Western trade routes in the Gulf of Aden and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. Artful or not, Trump’s warnings about the Panama Canal are timely. China is aspiring to economically control the canal. The Landbridge Group, a Chinese company, alongside “Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, now operate ports at both ends of the canal.” Greenland may appear to most Americans to be an isolated concern; yet the Danish territory will play an increasingly vital role in U.S. national security in the decades ahead. Global warming is opening up the 3,500-mile Northern Sea Route that extends from the Bering Sea separating Alaska and Siberia to the Barents and Kara Seas north of Murmansk, Russia. Aside from NORAD, the U.S. is presently ill-prepared to defend against any Russian and Chinese militarization of the Arctic. By example, the U.S. Navy only has two icebreakers to cover the competing Northwest Passage in Canada. Currently, the threat is largely Russian. But, in 2018, China declared itself a “Near Arctic State” and launched the “Polar Silk Road” – an Arctic version of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative in partnership with Moscow. Left unspoken for now by Trump, China’s other ambition lies at the tip of South America in Chile. Retired U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, the former commander of SOUTHCOM, warned Congress in March 2023, that Beijing is attempting to “secure the rights to build dual-use maritime installations near the southern port city of Ushuaia.” If that happens, China could militarily dominate the Strait of Magellan, Drake Passage and Antarctica in the not-so-distant future. It would also mean that Beijing could strategically check or to block at will U.S. maritime and naval transiting of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. We only need to consider Taipei and Manila to know that Xi is willing to play that card. The PLA frequently encircles Taiwan by sea and air to practice cutting its sea trade routes and the PLA Navy routinely harasses Filipino shipping. China is challenging us on our own turf. Do we have the determined resolve as a nation to confront them?

Judge is playing CYOA. https://nypost.com/2025/01/10/opinion/judge-merchan-tries-to-defend-himself-after-trump-sentencing-but-he-and-bragg-are-responsible-for-this-monster/ On Friday, the sentencing of President-elect Donald Trump saw one of the most impassioned defense arguments given at such a hearing in years … from the judge himself. Acting Justice Juan Merchan admitted that the case was “unique and remarkable” but insisted that “once the courtroom doors were closed, the trial itself was no more special, unique, and extraordinary than the other 32 cases in this courthouse.” If so, that is a damning indictment of the entire New York court system. Merchan allowed a dead misdemeanor to be resuscitated by allowing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to effectively prosecute declined federal offenses. He allowed a jury to convict Trump without any agreement, let alone unanimity, on what actually occurred in the case. Merchan ruled that the jury did not have to agree on why Trump committed an alleged offense in describing settlement costs as legal costs. Neither the defendant nor the public will ever know what the jury ultimately found in its verdict. I once described this case as a legal Frankenstein: “It is the ultimate gravedigger charge, where Bragg unearthed a case from 2016 and, through a series of novel steps, is seeking to bring it back to life … Bragg is combining parts from both state and federal codes.” Even liberal legal experts have denounced the case and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) recently called it total “bulls–t.” Now, Merchan seemed quick to assure this Frankenstein case was just like any other creature of the court. It did not matter that it was stitched together from dead cases and zapped into life through lawfare. Merchan knows that there is a fair chance this monstrosity will finally die on appeal, and he was making the case for his own conduct. The verdict, however, is likely to last far longer than the Trump verdict. It is a judgment against not just Merchan but the New York legal system, which allowed itself to be weaponized against political opponents. Trump can now appeal the case as a whole. Prior appeals in the New York court system were unsuccessful, and hopes are low that the system will redeem itself. However, Trump can eventually escape the vortex of the New York court system in search of jurists willing to see beyond the rage and bring reason to this case. Merchan’s monster will now go on the road and work its way back to the Supreme Court. Outside of New York, this freak attraction will likely be viewed as less thrilling than chilling. Lawfare is that monster. It threatens us all, even those who hate Trump and his supporters. Once released, it spreads panic among the public, which can no longer rely on the guarantees of blind and fair justice. That includes businesses that view this case and the equally absurd civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James as creating a dangerous and even lawless environment. Many are saying “There but for the grace of God go I” in a system that allows for selective prosecution. Many will be blamed as the creators of this monster but few will escape that blame, including Merchan himself.

After the NY AG ran on "getting Trump", the DA bragged about the way they they convoluted laws well past the statute of limitations, and conspired to create a felony out of a misdemeanor by utilizing the most liberal judge they could find in NYC - Finally the defense can actually begin the appeal of this travesty......a conviction which WILL be overturned...... https://nypost.com/2025/01/10/us-news/donald-trump-gets-no-penalty-in-hush-money-case/ A Manhattan judge sentenced Donald Trump to no penalty Friday on his conviction for concealing a “hush money” payoff that hid a sex scandal from voters — making the president-elect the first person convicted of a felony to assume the White House. Justice Juan Merchan — who oversaw a trial in which jurors heard evidence that Trump paid off porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal to keep them quiet about alleged trysts — sentenced the Queens native to an “unconditional discharge.” “Sir, I wish you Godspeed as you assume a second term in office,” Merchan said. The decision means the president-elect will not face any jail time, probation, or fines. The sentencing, which Trump, 78, attended remotely on video — appearing on screen from Florida in front of two American flags — crystallizes the soon-to-be 47th commander-in-chief’s historic distinction of being the only US president ever to be convicted of felony criminal charges. However, it also allows him to finally appeal the guilty verdict he claims stemmed from a political “witch hunt.” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — who has gloated about becoming the first prosecutor to put an American president on trial — attended the hearing, sitting in the second row. Ahead of the sentencing, Trump blasted the case as an “injustice” and reiterated his claims it was all a “witch hunt.” “This is a case that should have never been brought, it’s an injustice, of justice,” he railed.