So the Supreme Court upheld that the US can treat Puerto Rico (a protectorate) differently than the States….at least as far as government handouts like Social Security and SSI are concerned.

Puerto Rico folks don’t pay Federal Income taxes, nor do they get representation in Congress…because they aren’t a state. They have benefitted greatly from being a protectorate of the US…no military costs, no taxes, lots of aid in Natural disasters, etc.

Now they want SSI for their people, despite not having contributed to the pool. They have NEVER anted-up to the table, being instead a drain on US taxpayers.

Are the citizens of Puerto Rico willing to do what the rest of us do in order to reap the benefits? If so, we can talk. If not, then shut up. Were it up to me, they’d be cut loose to mire in their own corruption and lawlessness.

Liberals are, of course, outraged. And it would seem that most who oppose this ruling are from or related to people who are from, Puerto Rico. Odd that. In fact, in advocating for free stuff for Puerto Rico, they are in fact, violating their oaths and bringing their loyalty to their country, the on who elected them. Race over Country is a thing amongst (Many) Hispanics, innit?

As the officer approaches:

“What’s the matter, officer? Duncan Donuts closed?”

So I went to put new blades on the zero-turn mower.

I found one of the spindles had broken ears where the mounting bolts were. (2 out of the 4). The other bearing spindle had cracks on 2.

So I looked up on Amazon. $34 each and I can have them tomorrow…Supposedly OEM, not a chinese knockoff.

Then I called the local place where I bought the mower. They had the parts in stock, and they were just a few bucks more. I like supporting the local places, so I drove in and got a pair.

THey offered greaseable, and non greasable. Grease is cheap and it keeps the bearings happy, so I asked for the greasable ones.

Got home, and I had one greasable and one non greasable. Back to the mower place.

Got home, pulled the pulleys, got the spindle bolts loose, and found out that the replacement spindles were an inch and half longer than the ones I was replacing. Called the mower place, yeah, they have the correct ones, and drove back to town and exchanged ’em….taking the broken part with me to make sure they gave me the right one….AAAnnd the ones they were trying to give me were a half inch shorter that the ones I needed.

They did have the right ones. Supposedly it matters according to serial number on the mower as to which spindle length….I pointed out that THEY HAVE THE SERIAL NUMBER AS THEY SOLD ME THE MOWER. They simply never bothered to check….(I later found out that the parts don’t change according to serial number but MODEL number…

Christ on a pogo stick. This isn’t that hard, kid. Use the information tools they provide and don’t just get a part that looks similar off the shelf. And this counter guy has been employed there for several years. All told, it cost me an additional $10 in gas (Thanks Brandon!) and an hour of time to finally get the right parts…..I’d have been better off going through Amazon.

So in Syracuse NY, a 10 year old was caught shoplifting a bag of chips….The claim is that the cops “Terrorized” the kid. 

The cops were called and he was placed in the back of a police car and taken to his mother’s house. .

The neighborhood was, of course, outraged.

Thing is, had Mom (and Dad, if he exists) taught him not to steal, he’d not be there.

The folks in the neighborhood were, of course, outraged. Must be the cops were racist or something. “It was only a petty crime”…”Just a bag of chips…”

The Brooklyn Subway Shooter has disappeared from the headlines.

I guess since he wasn’t a white man, wasn’t a “racist” redneck, wasn’t a Trump supporter, they’d rather he just disappear….

Towards cancelling student debt.

Fucking weasels.

Today, in 1775, colonists chose to stand up and say “NO!” to the King of England’s administrators….and the army which enforced their rules.

They chose not to be disarmed, not to allow their powder and shot and cannon to be confiscated, and to fight the authority that thought that it was OK to take it. To lose their means to resist. They chose, instead, to keep that means to resist, to defend what was theirs, to have the ability to continue to say “Enough!” to the authorities.

They stood, and fought. While I doubt those colonists wanted a war, they were presented with the choice to either have a war, and stand as free people, or to knuckle under and be serfs. They chose the former.

From their actions that day began the birth of the country that became the United State of America. Like most births, there was blood and pain and mess….but birth a new nation they did.

Sending the soldiers of the King away in defeat, hounding them back to their barracks, sent a message that the colonies would not be ruled from afar, would not be taxed to ruin by a monarch from across an ocean, and would instead choose their own destiny.

That battle that began on Lexington Green…. happened 247 years ago today, in 1775.

Parker’s words at Lexington Green: “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”

Good words then, and good words today.

Seen along Rt 45 in downstate Illinois:

Well played, Boy Scouts, Well played.

(yeah, I know, what a surprise)

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren demands a criminal investigation into Jared Kushner getting $2billion investment from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman six months after leaving the White House

Yet there is no outcry against Then VP Biden working to pressure the Ukrainian government to remove prosecutors that were investigating the energy  firms, nor his his son getting paid insane amounts of money from businesses in Ukraine, China and other countries for doing nothing….except getting his dad to help with pressure and influence.

Moved the plane to Fort Wayne the other day. (just a short turnaround flight).

Upon landing, was told to turn off the runway and “Follow the A-10’s”.

Which I did.

(Air National Guard based at Fort Wayne, 122nd Fighter Wing, “Blacksnakes”).

It was fun watching them take off. I need that kind of power (and maneuverability) in my plane.

I tried video, but it sucked as I was too busy taxiing the airplane, so still photos is all I got.