R.I.P Rush

Rush Limbaugh has passed away, and its complicated.

I am somewhere in the space sketched by Jonah Goldberg, Peggy Noonan and David French.

Comments

[Melinda]

TM-

No offense, but you've got to widen your info sources beyond the Smith-Mundt Teams.

[MissMarple2]

You know, when any of the three memntioedin this article depart this earth, here is what I will say:

"My condolences to his/her family."

[Dave (in MA)]

I am somewhere in the space sketched by Jonah Goldberg, Peggy Noonan and David French.

[Gentlejim]

RIP Rush

Thank you all. This is a special place, indeed. I’ll give a post-op update when I can.

Thoughts for little Stella.

[MissMarple2]

Rob Eno
@Robeno

FFS @ERCOT_ISO didn't conduct in person inspections of weather preparedness because of COVID protocols.

This is effing stupid. Essential infrastructure has exemptions.

This was lazy.

The CEO must go.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/ercot-didnt-conduct-on-site-inspections-of-power-plants-to-verify-winter-preparedness/2555578/

Tweet is from a reporter for The Blaze, article from an NBC affiliate. I want to know how the Covid protocols could have been ignored before the start of the winter season. What winter preparedness wasn't done? were there union objections involved? Screaminig "Lazy!Fire him!" is simply accepting NBC's harrative, as Jesse Kelly demonstrated in that excellent Federalist article.

[henry]

This will be the rule on corporate boards next.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/19/wisconsins-capital-city-is-trying-to-ban-white-people-from-police-oversight-board/

[MissMarple2]

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/02/19/pollak-crowdsourcing-the-trump-presidential-library/

I told you guys this would happen. A lasting "FU" monument to the democrats!

[MissMarple2]

I believe this is a direct contradiction to the last statement about vaccinations and quarantining:

Breaking911
@Breaking911
·
18m
CDC: Those who are fully vaccinated do not need to quarantine after exposure to COVID-19

[sbwaters]

Henry, in Wisconsin racism is apparently okay if you identify as something else.

[MissMarple2]

MasterworksIO
@MasterworksIO

Skip our waitlist to invest in paintings by artists like Banksy and Basquiat with 10-25% historical appreciation. Minimums starting at $10K.

https://www.masterworks.io/
=============================
Looks to me like another scam.

[Jim Eagle]

From back in the day, I believe ERCOT is the only NERC member without interconnections. Texas only but for little bit of the state on its northern borders.

https://www.nerc.com/AboutNERC/keyplayers/Pages/default.aspx

[North American Electric Reliability Council]

[James D.]

It would be difficult to come up with a list of three people whose opinions I care less about, or for whom I have less respect, than the three people TM cited in his post.

[Jim Eagle]

I would listen to Rush while driving back and forth to JAX or Daytona or wherever and always felt he was more entertainer as a commentator. Never a dull moment except when he had subs other than Mark Steyn.

[Len]

I read two of the three columns that TM linked (Goldberg's wanted me to "join"). Perfect for those still pretending that America is moving smoothly along a reasonable trajectory and that Rush had lost the thread.

[Buckeye]

Damn TM.

Could you be much more pathetic?

[Davod]

Many thanks to all who replied to my wheel cleaning post.

[MissMarple2]

Julie Kelly
Flag of United States
@julie_kelly2
·
32m
Angry, malleable, confrontational faux conservative grovels for coveted Tapper RT. Collusion huckster, Schiff defender, evangelical basher, race hustler who has no clue what’s happening in the country of course demeans someone who did. Told ya this guy is a sinister fraud.

LOL “America is more prosperous than it was when Rush launched his career. It’s more free. Crime is down from its highs. Abortion is down. Divorce is down. Protections for individual liberty are more robust than they’ve been in decades.” What country is French living in?

[Davod]

TM. Another attempt to boost posts from people with negative comments?

[Davod]

"Protections for individual liberty are more robust than they’ve been in decades.”

Not for long.

[sbwaters]

+1 Davod.

[Davod]

David French "Rush Limbaugh and the Right’s Generational Despair"????

[cathyf]

Power plants needing the electrical grid to be up to run their controls and monitoring is something that’s always been weird to me.

Cars work under the model that the combustion engine charges the battery as a side effect of running the car, and then the electrical system runs off the battery. All while the car is moving around in all sorts of weather!

A nuclear power plant or wind turbine or solar panel array costs millions of dollars (hundreds of millions?), and unlike a car they don’t move around. Why aren’t there batteries as part of the power plants? Why doesn’t some of the power being produced get stored in batteries to power pumps, de-ice equipment, keep lubricants and everything in general defrosted, etc?

One of the big reasons for the Fukishima disaster is that they ordered the equipment top-to-bottom in such a way that even a shut-down reactor needed pumps to pump the cooling water UP as opposed to putting the thing that needed cooling on the bottom so that gravity would work in your favor if you were partially crippled.

[matt - deplore me if you must]

Try finding original Banksy's. He has a small gallery output, but 95% of his work is on walls or in dioramas. I love what he did in NYC when he set up as a sidewalk vendor along 5th Ave. just south of the Met and sold originals for $20.

[matt - deplore me if you must]

Cathy, ot is more complex than that. Battery technology is the holy grail. Electricity cannot be stored on a large scale. They simply cannot build batteries large enough. NREL looked at giant capacitors years ago but realized that if one blew it could take out a small town.

Universities, power generators and many others have been looking for close to a century for answers but the laws of physics and chemistry cannot be changed.

[Melinda]

OL & Ig-

A total breakdown of ERCOT, who’s Director lives in Wheaton, IL btw. Worth the read time::

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1362626074622877696.html

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Judging by Goldberg's title his column is a variation on Noonan's and French's theme of "Rush was a good, fun guy when he started but then he got icky [because Trump] and serious, and since we of the mushy nevertrump set detest seriousness that results in victory or effectively resisting progs he just didn't measure up to our high standards. Such a shame he didn't join our losers clubhouse."
This is the same mindset that infected the isolationists leading up to WWII. Isolationism was fine and an acceptable luxury up until it was time to put away childish things and fight like our lives and country depended on it because they did.
When Rush started his nationally syndicated program we were toward the end of Reagan's second term and America was a very different place than it is now. The USSR was about to fall and the economy was chugging along and the left was temporarily on its heels.
The whiners like French et al, want to bask peacefully in a world that no longer exists. The world now is seeing all those short term gains reversed and replaced with things far worse than what Reagan fought. The ideology that the USSR was built on is now part of US.
Business as usual is an existential threat now. And being a happy warrior is a great thing so long as you're committed to winning. The problem is those three idiots are happy losers and the stakes now are an iron curtain landing on us, to combine Churchill and Malcolm X.
We can't spare Rush, he fought.
We sure as hell can spare those three dumbasses. They don't.
Well, they do, sort of. They fight to keep the good guys from winning.
Just be honest and make it official and formally switch sides.

[Davod]

From the Neo link. One of the comments included this excerpt from Chief Sund's resignation letter (Does this sound like Trump supporters, and why haven't we seen any of these people arrested?)

"In the Command Center, I could see that the USCP and MPD officers were fighting with all they had to protect the Capitol building.

I saw officers hit with pipes, wooden sticks, flag poles, and sprayed with mace and bear spray, all while trying to defend themselves against projectiles being directed at them.

The mob was violently and ruthlessly attacking law enforcement officers in an effort to breach their lines.

The officers fought courageously against the violent attackers for over an hour before any individuals in the mob were able to breach the Capitol Building.

At some entrances to the Capitol, law enforcement fought with the mob for hours to prevent them from accessing the building."

https://beckernews.com/3-read-the-former-capitol-police-chiefs-damning-resignation-letter-to-speaker-pelosi-36549/

[Melinda]

Also good and unrelated to TX:

@NikolovScience

A comprehensive discussion with a plethora of MDs and medical PhD researchers on the topic:

"Unmasking COVID-19: Vaccines, Mandates, and Global Health"

I highly recommend watching the videos on this page:

https://twitter.com/nikolovscience/status/1362791757360979975?s=12

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

A longer excerpt from French;

It’s sad to see this rage. It’s sad to see this fear. After all, Rush’s conservative generation did much to leave America a better place than they found it. This is the generation that brought America back from defeat in Vietnam and corruption at Watergate. It’s the generation that gave us “Morning in America” in 1984 and helped defeat a communist superpower without the catastrophe of world war.

America is more prosperous than it was when Rush launched his career. It’s more free. Crime is down from its highs. Abortion is down. Divorce is down. Protections for individual liberty are more robust than they’ve been in decades. But tribalism is worse. Polarization is more profound.

In such a circumstance, the ideas that helped improve our republic have taken a back seat to the attitudes that help us confront our opponents. The ideology is malleable. The confrontation is mandatory. That’s the migration Rush made. That’s a migration millions made. Rush was a symbol of a generation’s despair.

I won't waste my time addressing each of his particular claims because the main point is to the extent what he claims is true about gains that were made, they are being consumed, drowned, reversed and overwhelmed by the insane prog cultural revolution we are undergoing and which he and his two amigos do not take seriously and apparently believe will come to nothing [to the extent they don't agree with the prog revolution].
It is real, it is serious, it is an existential threat, it will destroy and already is destroying whatever minor gains society has made here and there and it intends to institute at the very least an authoritarian state that abolishes self governance. If you don't believe so, just ask them. So yeah, there is desperation in the air. That's because things are desperate, because our Dem foes have taken off the mask to reveal themselves as Marxists in all essentials. And yes changing circumstances and changing enemies do often require a change in not only tactics but strategy.
We can afford the virtues free trade in a world of free republics. We cannot afford it in a world of CCP tyrants.
We could afford lend-lease prior to Pearl Harbor. Afterward total war was our response, not peacefully helping out our allies while staying out of the combat.
For whatever reason that doesn't seem like a desperate situation to these cloistered, retarded eggheads.

[Old Lurker]

Henry's brother should give this guy a big raise:

https://www.newsmax.com/us/covid-herd-immunity-vaccine-johns-hopkins/2021/02/19/id/1010756/

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

That seems inarguable, Mel and Texas has obviously gone far too green and far too inept already.
But the answer to the narrow question remains the same.

[Old Lurker]

As I mentioned last week, the comparison of Venezuelans, sitting atop enough oil to make themselves among the richest per capita in the world just a decade or so ago, now counting themselves lucky to use their paper money for toilet paper...and Texans, shivering in their houses without running water a story we never, ever thought to see in the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave...ESPECIALLY the Texas Chapter.

Even for me, resident cynic, I find it curiously shocking and sad.

[Davod]

I am on the phone to my Traveler rep. The first thing the automated receptionist said was "please stay on the line to complete a short two-minute survey." Two minutes!

[henry]

No problem. Xiden is leading the cavalry to make it worse, faster.

[Davod]

Ol. You forgot for Texans - and quite possibly using dollar bills for toilet paper.

[Jim Eagle]

CathyF,

All power plants whether nuclear, coal, oil of NG as part of their generation design have battery uninterruptle power supply. Usual a system located separately on a rack may be as many as 30 industrial batteries not your average car battery. You need UPS if you have a generation malfunction to monitor and report on critical systems.

Woe be a design without UPS.

[Old Lurker]

:-) Davod.

[henry]

What #nevertrump voted for (long and ugly list):

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/house-releases-text-19-trillion-stimulus-which-includes-15-hourly-minimum-wage-hike

[Jim Eagle]

OL,

Venezuelian oil is not the same as Brent (Texas) crude and middle east crude. It is very high in viscosity and it takes special refining to crack it and make by products like gasoline, lubricants, etc.

Where Chavez screwed the puppie was losing all his refining talent. Now, he has a bunch of 3rd rate engineers and operators who have literally put the brakes on. See many cars at the Citgo stations.

[Melinda]

The guy running ERCOT from Illinois is a skootch more than inept.

[matt - deplore me if you must]

I find it deeply disturbing that none of these crackpots has even questioned what happened to the Hillary e mails, Hillary server destruction, suppression of the Russia collusion/Durham investigation or the Hunter Biden investigation.

If they stand for anything it should be the rule of law. Instead we have coverups that dwarf anything Nixon ever did.

The DoJ and FBI themselves are Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations.

[Jim Eagle]

Mel,

Bill Magness lives and works out of Illinois? Since when?

[Tom R]

I read the French oped. I'm older than he is and I've been a conservative thanks to a proper upbringing in a Christian family and Reagan for over 40 years now. I can't think of any conservative value that Reagan advocated for, that Rush Limbaugh advocated for, or that Trump advocated for that conflicted with what I perceive to be patriotic conservative values.

If French, Noonan and Goldberg take issue with Rush's contribution to the conservative movement, I think that is an acknowledgement it is they themselves who don't possess the same conservative values as those who are widely considered to be the thought leaders of the conservative movement.

[Jim Eagle]

TomR,

What pisses them off is that Rush was asked to speak to CPAC and they werern't. Pettiness runs deep in the #NeverTrump medium.

[Melinda]

It's the Board Chair in Michigan, not the CEO, my error. There's another Director in Wheaton, IL This one:

http://www.ercot.com/about/governance/bios/85922

http://www.ercot.com/about/governance/directors

[Jim Eagle]

Here is a guy who deserves an "Atta Boy".

https://thepostmillennial.com/man-in-tx-powers-his-whole-home-with-his-f150-truck-during-blackout

[Marlene]

Good afternoon. Gov. DeSantis announced that flags in Florida will be lowered for Rush.

[Melinda]

Fatt Katt
@FattKatt13
The West Coast Cuomo? The French Laundry patronizing hypocrite that’s about to be recalled , that’s who.

Larry O'Connor @LarryOConnor
Gavin Newsom's Cuomo-Style Nursing Home Scandal townhall.com/columnists/lar…
https://twitter.com/FattKatt13/status/1362851184877309956

[Marlene]

I heard the Weather Channel guy in Boston say that the weather won't be a factor in Covid vaccine distribution in Mass. I mentioned that our appointments for today were canceled because of supply disruption.
Huh. Is this going to be a blue state/red sate thing? I wouldn't be a bit surprised.

[Melinda]

US Attorney EDNY
@EDNYnews
Mexican National Extradited to Face Sex Trafficking and Related Charges justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/m… (Announced with @HSINewYork)

https://twitter.com/EDNYnews/status/1362811454789926914

[Marlene]

*state*

[Jim Eagle]

What is interesting looking at the ERCOT zones in Texas is that the South Central zone (Austin, San Antonio) are the biggest consumers of power by far. Even more than Dallas, Fort Worth and almost equal with Houston.

[Davod]

Dutch Kota

https://www.historynet.com/man-on-a-mission-the-courageous-general-who-led-the-way-to-d-days-first-successful-assault.htm

[Jim Eagle]

TV reporter in Ecuador is robbed at gun poing while he is on live TV.

https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/tv-reporter-robbed-at-gunpoint-during-live-broadcast/

[Davod]

The weather is pretty good here, but it must be bad in some places, because the trash company canceled it pickup. They rarely cancel.

[Narciso]

They know nothing abd confident about what they dont know.

Rush knew what was coming, sadly obama succeeded all too well.

[cathyf]

Wow. For everyone who has not read the JE Dyer posting that includes the resignation letter of the head of the Capitol Police, go read it now!

https://libertyunyielding.com/2021/02/15/capitol-riot-prying-out-the-narrative-bringing-in-nuggets-of-reality/

The narrative of the letter recounts events that I can only describe as a (past-tense) successful coup that overthrew the US government on Jan 6th.

The Joint Session of Congress to certify the presidential vote was scheduled to begin at 3pm. At least nine senators had pledged to speak to dispute the votes from states where obvious vote fraud had occurred. They would demand instead that those several states would conduct audits of the votes over the succeeding 10 days, and then Congress would reconvene on January 16th and take up the matter of certifying the election then in light of the new information gathered over those ten days.

The president and thousands of his supporters had assembled across town from the Capitol at the Ellipse (across the street from the White House). The president spoke from noon to 1:11pm giving a detailed rationale for disputing the election counts in these states, and mapping out their plan for the afternoon. The Stop the Steal Rally would march down Pennsylvania Avenue and reconvene in front of the Capitol (something that would have taken 1-2 hours, given the size of the crowd at the Ellipse, and that they were on foot.)

Instead of that happening, Congress was prevented from debating and deliberating as is their right and duty, and the president and his supporters were prevented from "peaceably assembling" to "petition for redress of grievances" which is THEIR right and duty.

Before the president could even finish his speech at the Ellipse, "several thousand" violent insurrectionists stormed the Capitol and prevented the 3pm Joint Session of Congress with its the debate and deliberation from happening at 3pm. Once the building was under the control of the insurrectionists, they, along with their (perhaps unwitting?) collaborators in congressional leadership, reconvened at 9pm and forced through the vote certification without allowing any dispute or debate -- the debate which is the bedrock of a functioning republic.

Opposing senators and representatives were silenced.

The President was silenced.

The thousands of people assembled at the Ellipse were silenced.

The letter embedded is in scribd, and I took the time to copy the contents of the letter into a text document in case it gets disappeared. And to make sure that everyone has their own copy, and to otherwise make it harder to do away with it, I'm going to blockquote it here. I recommend that everyone copy and paste into a file on their own computer.

February 1, 2021

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
1236 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington D.C. 20515

Dear Speaker Pelosi:

This week will mark one month since the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tomorrow, the United States Capitol Police will honor Officer Brian Sicknick, who made the ultimate sacrifice as a result of his efforts to defend democracy on January 6, 2021. Although I have not yet had the opportunity to answer your questions or those of any Congressional committees since the events of January 6, I wanted to reach out to you to provide first-hand information regarding the actions that were taken, by myself and the United States Capitol Police (USCP), in preparation for the Joint Session of Congress and the planned demonstrations for that day. There has been much conflicting information presented by various officials and the media regarding the preparations and actions taken at the Capitol that day, and I would like to set the record straight from my perspective.

While the violent attack that took place was unspeakable, and those responsible for this violent insurrection should be held accountable, I am proud of the men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police, the vast majority of whom fought valiantly and risked their lives to protect Members of Congress, their staff, and the Capitol building. Perfect hindsight does not change the fact that nothing in our collective experience or our intelligence – including intelligence provided by FBI, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and D.C. Metropolitan Police (MPD) – indicated that a well-coordinated, armed assault on the Capitol might occur on January 6. Having previously handled two major post-election demonstrations successfully utilizing an action plan that was based on intelligence assessments that had proven to be credible, reliable, and accurate, we reasonably assumed the intelligence assessment for January 6, 2021, was also correct.

I have been in law enforcement for almost 30 years, the majority of that time working in special operations. During my almost three decades in policing, I have planned multiple presidential inaugurations, dozens of National Special Security Events (NSSE), and a number of other special events, many of which included volatile protests and various levels of civil disobedience. Suffice it to say that I have never seen anything like the violent insurrection we witnessed on January 6.

After the election on November 3, there were other large protests planned by pro-Trump supporters: one on November 14 (MAGA I) and one on December 12 (MAGA II), both of which were located at the Supreme Court building and adjacent Capitol grounds, and involved thousands of people. We handled both of those events successfully, utilizing an action plan that was based on intelligence assessments developed by us and our partner agencies. The USCP Intelligence and Inter-Agency Coordination Division (IICD) prepared intelligence assessments for both of these events that indicated that various extremist groups were expected to attend the events and that there was a likelihood of violence. Based on the intelligence, the action plan included: coordination with our law enforcement partners, development of a staffing and Civil Disturbance Unit (CDU) plan, coordination with the Congressional community, enhanced protective actions for Members of Congress, and the deployment of physical crowd management devices that consisted of steel crowd control barriers. During those two protests, there was a limited amount of violence and/or injuries to officers, and a limited number of arrests.

As we prepared for the third protest, we understood that the focus of the protests would be the Capitol itself, and not the Supreme Court as in the previous two demonstrations, and that we could expect the crowd to be somewhat different in size and risk. As is standard practice, our IICD hosted a number of internal briefings and published intelligence assessments of the event, the most recent being published on January 3, 2021, three days before the event. The IICD reports include input from internal U.S. Capitol Police intelligence officials, such as our Director of Intelligence John Donahue, who is an expert in right-wing extremism, as well as information provided by our partner agencies such as the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, and the D.C. Metropolitan Police.

As previously mentioned, the IICD intelligence assessment indicated that the January 6th protests/rallies were "expected to be similar to the previous Million MAGA March rallies in November and December 2020, which drew tens of thousands of participants." The assessment indicated that members of the Proud Boys, white supremacist groups, Antifa, and other extremist groups were expected to participate in the January 6th event and that they may be inclined to become violent. This was very similar to the intelligence assessment of the December 12, 2020, MAGA II event. In addition, on Monday, January 4, 2021, the USCP IICD published the Daily Intelligence Report which provided an assessment of all of the groups expected to demonstrate on January 6, 2021. The IICD Daily Intelligence Report assessed "the level of probability of acts of civil disobedience/arrests occurring based on current intelligence information," as "Remote" to "Improbable" for all of the groups expected to demonstrate on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. In addition, the Daily Intelligence report indicated that "The Secretary of Homeland Security has not issued an elevated or imminent alert at this time…."

At no time during the previous MAGA I or MAGA II events did the crowd attempt to storm or attack the Supreme Court building, or the adjacent Capitol building, and based upon all available intelligence, nothing of that sort was expected to happen on January 6. The USCP has successfully managed numerous large-scale protests where demonstrators have conducted illegal (based on location) and contentious demonstrations on the Capitol grounds and even on its steps. Based upon our experience with the prior post-election demonstrations, our ongoing intelligence assessment and briefings, and the input from our law enforcement partners over the course of many weeks, we developed and implemented a security plan for the January 6 Joint Session of Congress. The USCP implemented a number of enhancements to our planning for January 6, 2021, based on the intelligence that we had.

In preparation for the Joint Session of Congress, I directed that the Department be placed into an "all hands on deck" status, meaning every available sworn employee with police powers would be working. We activated the largest number of CDU platoons possible while still supporting the Joint Session of Congress. This allowed for the activation of approximately seven CDU platoons (approximately 250 officers), with approximately four platoons being available in "hard" gear -- helmets, protective clothing, and shields. While limited by budgetary and training restraints imposed on USCP, the planned number of CDU officers had always sufficed for large demonstrations on Capitol Hill prior to January 6th. In addition, we activated civilian support for January 6 to include enhanced access to the property management division, in the event officers needed replacement uniforms or equipment, and vehicle services.

Although we had ordered a large shipment of riot helmets for our officers for the Inauguration, we pushed for expedited delivery and approximately 104 of the helmets were delivered on Monday, January 4. We developed contingency plans in the event that we had armed individuals in the crowd. In addition, we coordinated coverage for the event with the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service. I directed that additional Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) kits be available in the field if needed. TCCC is specialized training and equipment that prepares officers in the field to implement emergency life-saving care to stop victims from bleeding to death as the result of a gunshot wound or injury. During my time with the USCP, I have authorized officers to carry the TCCC kits and for all new recruits to be trained in TCCC emergency medical care.

On January 2, 2021, I contacted MPD Chief Robert Contee to discuss support if necessary for January 6th. On the morning of January 6th, MPD Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll and I exchanged information regarding our designated CDU Incident Command (IC). This was done in an effort to facilitate immediate command and control of assets if requested. As a result of this advanced coordination, MPD had pre-staged significant CDU resources on the north side of the Capitol.

Well before the planned demonstration, I worked with USCP Assistant Chief Thomas, Assistant Chief Pittman, and her Security Services Bureau to develop an expanded perimeter barrier plan. The expanded perimeter was based on the concern for First Amendment activity focused on the Capitol and the large number of people expected. Both the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms approved the expanded perimeter plan. It was the heightened tensions related to the certification of the vote, and the expanded perimeter that made me believe that National Guard assistance might be necessary.

On Monday, January 4, I approached the two Sergeants at Arms to request the assistance of the National Guard, as I had no authority to do so without an Emergency Declaration by the Capitol Police Board (CPB). My regular interactions with the CPB, outside of our monthly meetings regarding law enforcement matters, were conducted with the House and Senate Sergeant at Arms, the two members of the CPB who have law enforcement experience. I first spoke with the House Sergeant at Arms to request the National Guard. Mr. Irving stated that he was concerned about the "optics" and didn't feel that the intelligence supported it. He referred me to the Senate Sergeant at Arms (who is currently the Chair of the CPB) to get his thoughts on the request. I then spoke to Mr. Stenger and again requested the National Guard. Instead of approving the use of the National Guard, however, Mr. Stenger suggested I ask them how quickly we could get support if needed and to "lean forward" in case we had to request assistance on January 6.

At Mr. Stenger's direction, I called General William Walker, commanding officer of the D.C. National Guard. I advised that I had not received CPB approval, but wanted to know how many National Guard he could provide and how fast could he provide them if they were needed on Capitol Hill on January 6. He advised that he could repurpose 125 National Guard and have them to me fairly quickly, once approved. I asked General Walker to be prepared in the event that we requested them.

On Tuesday, January 5, I hosted a virtual meeting with my Executive Team, all three principals of the Capitol Police Board, and a dozen of the top law enforcement and military officials from D.C., including the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and the National Guard. This meeting focused on both the January 6 event, and the upcoming Presidential Inauguration on January 20. During the meeting, no entity, including the FBI, provided any intelligence indicating that there would be a coordinated violent attack on the United States Capitol by thousands of well-equipped armed insurrectionists. In fact, all present at the meeting indicated that there was no new intelligence to report for January 6. At no time did the Department of Homeland Security issue a threat advisory bulletin in reference to violent extremists planning a coordinated, violent attack on the U.S. Capitol. It should also be noted that the U.S. Secret Service planned to and did escort the Vice President of the United States to the Capitol on January 6, which it obviously would not have done if it believed there to be a threat of a violent insurrection at the Capitol building and on its grounds.

n the days leading up to January 6, we briefed a number of Members of Congress who had requested an advance briefing on our security plan and the permitted demonstration activity scheduled for January 6, 2021. The members that were briefed in advance include: Chairman Blunt, Chairperson Lofgren, Chairman Ryan, and Representative Waters. We informed these members of the expectation of protests, current permitted First Amendment activity on Capitol grounds, our response planning efforts and established perimeter, as well as enhanced Member security initiatives such as increased checks on residences and the ability of the USCP to respond off Capitol grounds to assist Members safely getting to the Capitol if needed. Contrary to some allegations made to the media, I did not at any time misrepresent any facts to Members. This was an accurate reporting of our intelligence and threat assessment at the time.

Lastly, in preparation for the event I sent an email to the USCP Assistant Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs on the evening of Tuesday, January 5, directing them to ensure that all roll calls and officers were fully briefed on what to expect during their shifts -- a long day, large groups, and clashes that could possibly include violence.

On Wednesday, January 6, at approximately 7:15 a.m., as I was driving into work, I called MPD Inspector Robert Glover to inquire about the crowds he was seeing for the event, which was beginning at the Ellipse. Inspector Glover stated that there were already lines to get into the event, but that the crowd was compliant and he did not observe any concerning issues. I then checked in at the USCP Command Center where I would be for the event. I arrived at the Command Center, where I remained to monitor the activity on the National Mall and the Ellipse. I sat at the center console with Assistant Chiefs Pittman and Thomas nearby.

We were monitoring the actions and demeanor of the crowd, which at the time did not raise any concerns, when we received word at 12:52 p.m. that a pipe bomb had been located at the Republican National Committee headquarters, immediately adjacent to Capitol Grounds. We responded immediately to coordinate and send resources to the scene, including a number of officers, officials, and a bomb squad. We also dispatched resources to look for other explosive devices, suspects, and vehicles. At almost the exactly same time, we observed a large group of individuals approaching the West Front of the Capitol.

When the group arrived at the perimeter, they did not act like any group of protestors I had ever seen. Unlike other heated protests, these protesters did not simply congregate to angrily voice their grievances. As soon as this group arrived at our perimeter, they immediately began to fight violently with the officers and to tear apart the steel crowd control barriers, using them to assault the officers. It was immediately clear that their primary goal was to defeat our perimeter as quickly as possible and to get past the police line. This mob was like nothing I have seen in my law enforcement career. The group consisted of thousands of well-coordinated, well-equipped violent criminals. They had weapons, chemical munitions, protective equipment, explosives, and climbing gear. A number of them were wearing radio ear pieces indicating a high level of coordination.

Given these factors, it was clear to me at 1:00 p.m. that the situation was deteriorating rapidly. I called MPD and requested assistance and they responded immediately. I also requested assistance from the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division and other law enforcement agencies. I notified the two Sergeant at Arms by 1:09 p.m. that I urgently needed support and asked them to declare a State of Emergency and authorize the National Guard. I was advised by Mr. Irving that he needed to run it up the chain of command. I continued to follow up with Mr. Irving, who was with Mr. Stenger at the time, and he advised that he was waiting to hear back from congressional leadership, but expected authorization at any moment. At approximately 1:50 p.m., not yet having authorization from CPB, and noting the extreme urgency of the situation, I notified General William Walker that I should have approval shortly and that we had an urgent request for the National Guard. At 2:10 p.m., I finally received notification from Mr. Irving that the CPB authorized me to request the National Guard. However, as explained below, I soon learned that our request would also need to be approved by the Department of Defense.

Meanwhile, at approximately 1:50 p.m., USCP resources dispatched to look for other possible explosives located another pipe bomb at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, as well as a vehicle with explosives and a weapon, all within close proximity of the Capitol Grounds. As a result of these explosive devices, extensive USCP resources were dispatched to the scenes, and two congressional office buildings had to be evacuated. I believe all of this was part of a coordinated plan related to the attack on the Capitol.

At 1:51 p.m., I activated the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Mutual Aid Agreement, requesting assistance from law enforcement agencies from the National Capital Region (NCR). As a result of this request for law enforcement assistance, we had over 1,700 officers from 18 law enforcement agencies respond to assist the USCP. I worked closely with Assistant Chief Thomas and Deputy Chief Pickett to establish resource management to account for and deploy the officers from the responding agencies in the most effective and efficient manner.

We also established priorities for the responding officers, which included: (1) securing the perimeter and foundation of the Capitol; and (2) assisting the USCP in removing unauthorized persons from the Capitol and conducting a top to bottom sweep of the building to ensure no unauthorized persons, or hazardous devices remained in the building. These goals were implemented as quickly as was possible in order to facilitate the safe and expeditious return of the Members of Congress to complete their certification of the electoral votes.

In the Command Center, I could see that the USCP and MPD officers were fighting with all they had to protect the Capitol building. I saw officers hit with pipes, wooden sticks, flag poles, and sprayed with mace and bear spray, all while trying to defend themselves against projectiles being directed at them. The mob was violently and ruthlessly attacking law enforcement officers in an effort to breach their lines. The officers fought courageously against the violent attackers for over an hour before any individuals in the mob were able to breach the Capitol Building. At some entrances to the Capitol, law enforcement fought with the mob for hours to prevent them from accessing the building.

As the crowd was attempting to breach the building, our Dignitary Protection Division teams prepared to evacuate congressional leadership. USCP assigned to the House and Senate Chambers, secured the two locations. As the crowds breached the building, USCP attempted to secure the hallways and prevent the mob from advancing further into the building. The USCP initiated evacuations of the two Chambers and USCP officers began to move Members of Congress to safe locations.

At approximately 2:28 p.m., I learned that in order to get authorization for National Guard support, the Pentagon needed to approve the request. I was therefore asked to participate in a conference call with Dr. Chris Rodriguez, D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency; Chief Robert Contee, Metropolitan Police; General William Walker, D.C. National Guard; and Lt. General Walter Piatt, the Director of Army Staff. During the call I again made an urgent request for immediate National Guard support. I explained that the National Guard was needed to shore up our perimeter to help secure the Capitol. Lt. General Walter Piatt stated, "I don't like the visual of the National Guard standing a line with the Capitol in the background. I would much rather prefer to relieve USCP officers from other posts so they can handle the protestors." I urgently advised that this was not an option and that I did not have officers to swap with National Guard and that I needed assistance immediately. Lt. General Piatt stated that he was preparing to brief the Secretary of the Army and that his recommendation would be not to support the request. Chief Contee then stated, "So you are denying the request from the Capitol Police." Chief Contee then asked me, "Steve, are you requesting National Guard assistance?" to which I stated, "Yes, I need immediate assistance with National Guard at the Capitol, I do not have the option to swap out officers on check points." Lt. General Piatt then indicated that he was going to run the request up the chain of command at the Pentagon.

Almost two hours later, by 4:00 p.m., we had still not received authorization from the Pentagon to activate the National Guard. Mr. Stenger offered to have Senator McConnell call the Secretary of the Army to expedite the request. I concurred that this would be a good idea. I followed up approximately 20 minutes later to check on the call and express the need for leadership to call to assist in expediting the request. The first 150 members of the National Guard were not sworn in on Capitol grounds until 5:40 p.m., four and a half hours after I first requested them and three and a half hours after my request was approved by the Capitol Police Board. I still cannot fathom why in the midst of an armed insurrection, which was broadcast worldwide on television, it took the Department of Defense over three hours to approve an urgent request for National Guard support.

By late afternoon we were able to re-establish our perimeter with the assistance of MPD and the responding law enforcement agencies. We then methodically cleared the building, establishing the security of both the building and the House and Senate chambers. At 5:36 p.m., I briefed Vice President Pence on the current security posture, after which he initiated a call with you, Speaker Pelosi, and I advised you both that the Chambers could be safely re-occupied by 7:30 p.m. I also participated in a conference call at approximately 6:25 p.m. with Congressional leadership that included you, Senator Schumer, Senator McConnell, and Representative Clyburn. During that call I briefed the group on the current security posture of the Capitol and the ability of the House and the Senate to reconvene in their respective chambers and complete the certification of the Electoral College votes with the Vice President. Senate leadership decided to reconvene at 8:00 p.m. and House leadership at 9:00 p.m.

What occurred on January 6th cannot be considered under any circumstances a protest, a rally, or civil disobedience. This was a well-planned, coordinated, armed insurrection at the United States Capitol. The USCP does not have the manpower, the training, or the capabilities to handle an armed insurrection involving thousands of individuals bent on violence and destruction at all costs. Nevertheless, because of their bravery and professionalism in the face of this attack, USCP officers prevented the mob's actions from resulting in more bloodshed, and carried out their mission to protect the Members of Congress and the legislative process. Contrary to what others have said, the USCP did not fail. There are many heroic stories of USCP officers that day that helped to ensure the safety of the Members of Congress, including two officers who lost their lives. Democracy prevailed on January 6, 2021, in large part because of the courageous actions of the United States Capitol Police.

This does not mean we should not look at this day and identify areas for improvement. With the benefit of hindsight, I acknowledge that a number of systems broke down, all of which can be rectified with more resources, better training, updated policies, and accountability. Officials or officers who violated policies or directives, or even their oath, need to be held accountable. I also wish we had had better intelligence and warnings as to the possibility of this type of military style armed insurrection. The entire intelligence community seems to have missed this. In addition, this incident has demonstrated that going forward, the USCP needs more unilateral authority to implement its security planning and the ability to call in National Guard support when needed. Steps need to be taken to ensure National Guard's ability to support the USCP is seamless in the future. Given this new concerning shift in the threats facing the United States Capitol and its Members, Congress needs to seriously consider the physical security of the Campus, and other security protocols. Every aspect of planning for such an event in the nation's capital, and likely elsewhere, must be reconsidered anew.

Finally, I must add that I wish that before placing the blame on the USCP and on me as the Chief for the breach of the Capitol by an insurrectionist mob, more consideration would have been given to the impact of incomplete information provided by intelligence assessments, the denied National Guard request, and the subsequent delayed approval for National Guard assistance. Again, I do not believe that the U.S. Capitol Police failed. Greatly outnumbered and against tremendous odds, they kept the Members safe. I truly regret my early departure from an agency and a mission I so cherished. Working with the women and men of the USCP, sworn and civilian, and serving the congressional community, was the highlight of my 30 year law enforcement career.

Please feel free to contact me. I will do anything I can, and everything that is requested of me, to help ensure that an attack like January 6, 2021, never happens again. I stand ready, willing and able to assist in any effort.

Sincerely,

{image of Steven Sund signature}

Steven A. Sund
Former Chief of Police
United States Capitol Police

CC: The Honorable Steny Hoyer
The United States House of Representatives

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
The United States House of Representatives

The Honorable Chuck Schumer
The United States Senate

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
The United States Senate

[Narciso]

I didnt know that about dota.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--...and Texans, shivering in their houses without running water a story we never, ever thought to see in the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave...ESPECIALLY the Texas Chapter.

Even for me, resident cynic, I find it curiously shocking and sad.--

But the main causes are quite different. The primary cause in TX is a grid and equipment not designed for a very rare weather event; no doubt exacerbated by an inept and probably corrupt bureaucracy. But absent the extremely rare weather event Texans seem to enjoy a fairly reliable and relatively inexpensive grid. It would be cheaper without all the green stupidity but it seems to work ok normally.
Venezuela's never works well regardless of external events because the corruption and ineptitude is of a different level and kind.

[Davod]

Headline at Lucianne:

"Search underway for 100+ undocumented
immigrants who fled from refrigerated
truck, Texas sheriff says"

Should read - Fled from the warmth of a refrigerated truck.

[jimmyk]

Protections for individual liberty are more robust than they’ve been in decades.

Maybe he should climb down from his pedestal and talk with restaurant owners and other small businesses about their individual liberties and what's happened to them over the past year.

[Jim Eagle]

Yep!

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told PRES. JOE BIDEN:
"This morning, three Brazilian people died from Covid-19.”

The blood drained from the president's face as, to everyone’s amazement, Biden collapsed on the floor. A minute passed and to everyone’s relief, he got up and slowly sat well back in his chair.

His staff was stunned, watching this display of emotion from the Commander in Chief, as he sat there, head in hands.

Finally, JOE looked up, and with a shaky quivering voice,
asked Dr. Fauci, "How many is a Brazilian”?

[Davod]

Instapundit headline

"WELL, GOOD: Boys who play video games have lower depression risk."

"Boys who regularly play video games at age 11 are less likely to develop depressive symptoms three years later, finds a new study led by a UCL researcher.

The study, published in Psychological Medicine, also found that girls who spend more time on social media appear to develop more depressive symptoms.

Taken together, the findings demonstrate how different types of screen time can positively or negatively influence young people's mental health, and may also impact boys and girls differently..."

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-boys-video-games-depression.html

[Davod]

JIB is that a joke? It is so hard to know.

[Old Lurker]

JiB and Iggy both missed my point about the Venezuela - Texas comparison. My simple point was that you can have the natural resources in the world, but if you shift toward (Texas) or to (Venezuela) a command society, bad things will happen. Let the Greenies run the energy department in Texas long enough, and the two states will become one and the same. "Let" raises the real issue facing Texans and all of us...why, oh why, are we letting these idiots control us and every little aspect of our lives?

"Real" Texans never used to let stupid, misguided liberals have any say whatsoever in how they lived their lives. So now they shiver in their houses with no running water. Winter happens; always has, always will.

[Neo]

Kim Kardashian files for divorce from Kanye West

Excuse me .. yaaawwn

[Narciso]

Because the hive mind is everywhere because its those musings that are ercot policy, that the tech giants enforce at risk of deplatforming or worse.

[Marlene]

The daughter texted us today to tell us her 4th grade teacher had passed away earlier this week at the age of 97. She was a wonderful teacher, a grandmotherly type and the daughter adored her. I started thinking about the Covid mess and so many children missing a regular school schedule. Of course, a woman who started teaching in the 40s can't compare to today's teachers. I can't imagine a student today remembering a teacher 30+ years from now.

[Narciso]

See here

https://mobile.twitter.com/FDRLST/status/1362829701933195271

[Davod]

OL Texas - too much money, Venezuela - too much socialism.

[Narciso]

Indeed

https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/19/biden-administration-prepares-way-for-banks-to-refuse-service-to-democrats-enemies/

[cathyf]

Here's the money quote:

What occurred on January 6th cannot be considered under any circumstances a protest, a rally, or civil disobedience. This was a well-planned, coordinated, armed insurrection at the United States Capitol. The USCP does not have the manpower, the training, or the capabilities to handle an armed insurrection involving thousands of individuals bent on violence and destruction at all costs. Nevertheless, because of their bravery and professionalism in the face of this attack, USCP officers prevented the mob's actions from resulting in more bloodshed, and carried out their mission to protect the Members of Congress and the legislative process. Contrary to what others have said, the USCP did not fail. There are many heroic stories of USCP officers that day that helped to ensure the safety of the Members of Congress, including two officers who lost their lives. Democracy prevailed on January 6, 2021, in large part because of the courageous actions of the United States Capitol Police.

No, in fact the legislative process was killed on January 6, 2021. The Capitol Police were certainly courageous in protecting Members of Congress, but in the end they, and the Congress itself, turned around and finished the job that the insurrectionists started. They silenced those who tried to Stop the Steal, and Congress gathered to Seal the Steal on the night of January 6th.

[GUS]

I've been correct about this man all along.
Please spare me the GRACIOUS BULLSHIT.

[Narciso]

Why do they have to lie so strenuously in official statements there were 30,000-50,000 rally goers less than a fraction of one percent were involved in any violence

[Jim Eagle]

OL,

I didn't get your comment wrong. I only expressed to you and others what makes Venezuela as a rich country poor. Its not going to be as easy for the progs and libs to corrupt the Texas energy market as it was for Venezuela.

Nigeria, Libya and Indonesia are more likely to do so.

[Old Lurker]

Bingo, Davod. But not very long ago Venezuela had all the money imaginable and a very robust and successful society. Then they went blue, then dark blue, then pure Commie and in the blink of an eye it was all gone. Really, in the blink of an eye.

Texas was, used to be, pure Red and pure Individualist. Home of Real Men and Real Women. Now it is approaching purple with districts like Austin showing other pockets around the state how to get Woke. Use SF as a model and take it to Austin; rinse and repeat. Before you know it, oil will be band and wind will be good...and Bill Gates will come replace all the BBQ with tofu something grown on his new farms in the next state.

This big freeze should be the wake up call of all wake up calls for Texas and they should all wake up, find Bobby alive and well in the shower, and declare it was all a bad dream.

[Davod]

When will the Serpico of the FBI/DHS pop up to blow the lid on this stuff. Does our law enforcement/intelligence agencies have agents working inside these groups? If so, at what stage will one of these agents decide to blow the whistle?

Additionally, what happened to the mighty communications' interception capabilities of the NSA, DIA, CIA, FBI (I no longer know which ones do the actual intercepts or whether they are all doing it)?

[henry]

woke vs woke. What did the Super Bowl audience count teach you idjits?

@cnbc

The NFL is asking for a 100% increase in TV rights payments, but Disney is pushing back

[cathyf]

Narciso, the rally never made it to the Capitol

There was the Stop the Steal Rally.

There was the Seal the Steal Riot.

The "sealers" were not some fraction of the "stoppers". The "sealers" were (are) on the other side.

What you are saying is more like saying that the number of nazi pilots bombing London were a fraction of one percent of the number of Londoners sheltering in their basements and in the tunnels of the Underground.

[rse]

The events of the last year join other major past shocks to society—the 1918 flu pandemic, the Great Depression, the World Wars, and 9/11. History has shown that serious social and political upheaval can bring about fundamental changes in how we think about the world.

From a communications and framing perspective, how can the nonprofit sector use the landmark moment we are in to shift deeply rooted mindsets towards understanding the need for meaningful change?

Mindsets—fundamental, assumed patterns of thinking that shape how we make sense of the world and act in it—are highly durable with deep historical roots. They emerge from and are tied to social practices and institutions that are woven into the very fabric of society. As such, they tend to change slowly. But with the events of 2020 and 2021 redefining how we think about fundamental aspects of our society like health and race, is change being sped up? Will it last? Are the upheavals of recent months shifting fundamental American cultural mindsets? If so, which mindsets are moving? And in what ways are they shifting?

https://www.frameworksinstitute.org/publication/mindset-shifts-what-are-they-why-do-they-matter-how-do-they-happen/

[Tom Bowler]

Cathf, Chief Sund's letter can also be found here. It can be downloaded.

There is also an Epoch Times video of Michael Yon giving his eye witness account where he describes the attacks as likely Antifa.

[MissMarple2]

FLASHBACK: Trump would have been in Texas on Tuesday this week delivering food, water, relief and embracing a hurting population.

We know this because we watched Trump do this time and time again.

Contrast to the feeble, heartless, days-late Biden administration response.

Sad pic.twitter.com/cs9Bw3tR2y

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) February 19, 2021

Video at the link. Can't imagine Biden lifting that 3-year old up in the air.

[Old Lurker]

Jack, the rot won't come from within the Texas energy industry - and it did not come from WITHIN Venezuela's oil industry either - they used to know how to distill their thick crude just fine and how to sell it to the market just fine and how to deliver it to customers just fine too. The industry was spoiled from without by misguided National policy and meddling top down command and control by people who did not know anything about the business. Poof.

Sort of like turning your state's energy policy over to a political body run by (h/t Mel), some guy who lives in IL? Or having your markets dictated by lunatic "energy policy" commands from DC. Or having part of your industry distribution system ordered to stop a pipeline 99% complete and paid for right before it is done.

Everything that happened to Venezuela was percolating here but was let loose on the nation November 3, 2020. Between Nov 3 and Jan 20, every single line of defense (we used to quaintly call them "checks and balances") designed by our Founders was broken down and circumvented as if they were the Maginot Line before Hitler huffed and puffed on it.

The movie has been seen before.

[Davod]

MM2. Benny obviously forgets the new White House meme - Lid, Lid, Lid.

[Davod]

MM2 Additionally, as you know Trump's visit would only be interfering in the otherwise brilliant efforts of others.

[MissMarple2]

https://rumble.com/vdzptp-maxine-waters-said-what-this-is-insane.html

Don Jr. does 4 minutes on Maxine Waters' questions at the Financial Services Committee hearing and her incompetence.

[Marlene]

I remember the daughter taking us on a tour in the rabbit warrens in the bowels of the Capitol in 1999. She brought us to the cafeteria and one of the cafeteria ladies greeted her by name. She introduced us and we had a great lunch. That isn't happening now. On 9/11 there wasn't any co-ordinated evacuation for staff and remember being scared and angry. I asked the daughter later if the staff had ever had fire drill. No. Even after 9/11, I wonder if the protocols changed for all possible events.

[Jim Eagle]

MM,

Your 4:46. First of all Biden would have to know Texas got clowbered by the freeze. In other words, he would have to be awake and sentient.

[Dave (in MA)]

This is what MA residents were greeted with when they tried to use the state Covid web site to schedule a jabbing the last 2 days. Finally someone has released the Kraken.

[Narciso]

Indeed

https://mobile.twitter.com/JordanSchachtel/status/1362500136199413767

[Jane]

Jib,

Your Brazilian comment made me laugh.

Temp has gone down nearly 20 degrees in the last 2 hours. I had to put on sleeves! How rude!

[Dave (in MA)]

♪ ♫ There are no vaccines
From Gov. Charlie
Because his Octopus's Portal
Doesn't work ♩ ♬

--a Howie Carr "chump line" caller.

[Marlene]

Why does Biden have to call a lid? He doesn't have to commute to his office. *eyeroll*

[Davod]

Dave - maybe it's too hot for the time of the year.

[Dave (in MA)]

One of the topics in an unread e-mail from Walgreens:

"Driving health equity"

[Narciso]

Was this referenced

https://mobile.twitter.com/HeyTammyBruce/status/1362128126273347586

[lurkersusie]

His thoughts on Rep. Lauren Boebert

Russel L. Honore'
@ltgrusselhonore
· Jan 12
Replying to @ryanobles
Put Her Stupid Ass on the No Fly List @SpeakerPelosi

[lurkersusie]

Old fashioned earmarks

Sean Davis on Twitter: "This isn't satire. This is what the swamp truly believes. It just happened to be a Paul Ryan staffer who said it out loud. A little corruption is just a small price to pay so the career politicians and lobbyists can get rich...

https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1362873707702738952

[Jim Eagle]

Now that Trump is gone, look who climbs out of the woodwork. Knowing Dementia Joe, it might work.

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2021/02/19/bergdahl-files-lawsuit-claiming-undue-command-influence-by-trump-mccain/

[Jim Eagle]

OL,

Lets say we disagree. I am on optimist because my son and his 17 year old intellect and appreciation of our country, our valiues and our future fit me more than yours.

Enjoy the misery while I enjoy the good.