ProActive

 I was listening to the news, and just heard that the Molotov-tossing, spray-painting leftie lunatics are planning a day of protest against Tesla on March 29th. Over 500 protests at dealerships all over the US.

It's time to get proactive.

If I owned a Tesla dealership, I might be hiring some Roof Koreans. It worked in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots. Armed men with shotguns on the roof of a building tends to calm down protests in a big way.  Let them protest peacefully, but the first guy that waves a Molotov gets a wad of double-ought in the chest. If you are in the protest near that guy, you may have to deal with flyers, and the fact that he just dropped the firebomb at your feet. That is a motivator for retreat,

I'm just saying.

Here We Go

 President Trump today signed an executive order that will dismantle the Department of Education.

President Carter cranked it up in 1979, and it has been a huge drag on the education center ever since. I beleive that it will take and act of Congress to fully dissolve it, but there are lots of things the administration can do to hasten that end.  I mean, if a department has no staff, is there any reason to keep it?

Dolphins

 This is a cool photo.  Dolphins near the SpaceX capsule in the Gulf after it touched down.

The chyron says that the dolphins are celebrating.  I doubt it. They are probably wondering, "Where the hell did this come from?"

Overreach

 I haven't been paying attention to the judiciary lately.  I'm retired and other folks are tasked with that function.  I'm no lawyer, but I can read English, and from my limited understanding, the Supreme Court is responsible for the supervision of the lesser federal courts. To my way of thinking, that puts John Roberts squarely in the supervisors role.  It seems that he has abdicated that role.

It seems that a number of unelected, lifetime, local district judges think that they can tell an elected President what to do. Some folks are agreeing.

We’ve had a federal judge order President Trump to rehire 30,000 federal employees he laid off. We’ve had more than one order him to spend money which violated an executive order he’d given.

And over the weekend, one of the silliest and most corrupt judges in America, James Boasberg of the federal district court in Washington, D.C., actually ordered the Trump administration to turn planes around that were in the process of deporting Tren de Aragua gang members to a prison in El Salvador.

I agree and understand that the federal judiciary has a role in upholding the rule of law.  We are a nation of laws.   But, courts have jurisdictions and federal district courts have limited jurisdiction. I fail to see how a lower court judge thinks that he can tell an elected, sitting President how to do his job.

After this latest kerfuffle, President Trump posted, in a moment of peeve, that this judge should be impeached.  Chief Justice Roberts is quoted as saying that impeaching a federal judge is "inappropriate".

Perhaps impeaching a federal judge is inappropriate, but it is also Constitutional.  It's written right there in the document. What might be appropriate is for Chief Justice Roberts to exercise his supervisory role and instruct his lower courts on something called judicial restraint. If John Roberts is concerned about the reputation of the Courts, perhaps he should start by reining in local judges who want to assume the role of President.

CBP Home App

 The Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) has launched a new app for migrants.  It's designed to make it easy for illegal immigrants to self-deport.  Linky Here.  President Trump says that if an illegal immigrant uses the app to go home, they may be able to later return to the United States legally.

I think it is a great idea, and I'm simply boosting the signal.

Alleged gang members deported from US arrive in El Salvador mega prison ...

So, this happened over the weekend.  Tom Holman and crew scooped up a bunch of illegal alien gang members and deported them to the mega-prison in El Salvador. The warden in that prison doesn't play.

They got haircuts and deloused, and a hard bunk.  I didn't notice a lot of swagger among the detainees. They know that life just got real hard. As an old prison hand, this video warms my heart.

Home Safe

 We made it home safe, getting to our acre sometime around 8:00 last eve. It was a great weekend, spending time with our shooting family. 

That may seem like hyperbole, but the Cowboy Fast Draw community is a close-knit bunch, focusing on safety and fun before competition. In most cases, the competition is stiff, but a shooter will generally call a rule violation on themselves, or if there is a question about fairness.  I've seen individual matches stop and reset if the shooter that is ahead feels like he or she may have gained an unfair advantage.

I had a problem rear its ugly head this weekend, something the CFDA call a "boot shot". That is when a shooter trips the trigger before the gun has cleared the holster. We shoot wax bullet ammo, and have deflectors on our holsters, so it generally causes no injury, but we still consider it a safety violation. It caused me to lose three matches this weekend. I need to re-work my draw so that I can stay off the trigger until the gun is level. We go fast, but shooting the floor is considered un-cool.  I need to work on that, and I'll start that proto

Catching up on the news, I see that the Midwest and Deep South suffered major tornado damage this weekend, with upwards of 40 souls lost. That is both a community an individual tragedy, and I'll pray for the hand of a loving God to sooth the hurting.

Texas State

 Belle and I are in Richmond, TX for the Texas State Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw.  We shot a minor match today, to warm up, but we'll be back tomorrow morning for the main match. We're shooting in a big arena at the historic George Ranch, southwest of Houston.

It's nice, but not as nice as the place where we will shoot Louisiana State in May.

After driving in Houston traffic, I feel like I have been ridden hard and put away wet.  We're at the hotel now, and I don't think I"ll sart another engine until tomorrow.

Update

Remember earlier this week, we talked about a truck my son has bought?  It turned out both of them got an old fixer-up.  I have no doubt these two will get these old trucks running.

Uncertainty

 When I was in graduate school, I took an economics class, Decision Making Under Uncertainty.

There is no certainty in the business world.  The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.  But, there are ways to minimize uncertainty  Basically, when things don't change.  Stability tends to minimize uncertainty.

Here comes Trump, with a mandate to shake thigs up  Tariffs, border policy, DOGE. Things are changing daily, sometimes hourly, and the market responds. The market hates uncertainty, which is why it so volatile. Those of us who played the long game recall that the DOW was below 1000 until 1972 and didn't crack 10,000 until Microsoft and Intel were listed in 1999.

All that is happening right now is short-term volatility based on uncertainty.  Play the long game and you will be fine.

Campus Jihad

 So, in the wake of anti-Semitic activities at Columbia University, it seems that ICE has arrested one protestor, a Syrian on a student visa, and is holding him in a facility in Louisiana.

That seems a bit harsh, moving him to Louisiana, but I'm okay with it. Other students are planning walk-outs in support.

I taught at the college level for a couple of years, Into to Law Enforcement, very basic stuff. I was never faced with protests, but I was asked once how I would deal with a student missing a test.

"That is simple", I replied. "If you miss a test, you get a zero for that test.  The only excuse I will accept is if I happen to look out the classroom window and watch you get run down by a garbage truck.  But, I will also require documentation from the emergency room that treats you."

If students want to protest, let them protest.  It is their right.  But, I would schedule a major exam on those days to help them choose.