The Midwest mother who masterminded the roughly $250 million Somali-linked fraud in Minnesota was sentenced to more than 41 years in prison on Thursday morning.

Is it harsh? Yes, Should it be more? Maybe.

Is it a longer sentence than some murderers get? Yes, but that isn’t the issue. (although sentences for murder need to be addressed also)

At the end of it, a sentence like this should be a punishment AND a deterrent for others.

Now if only the rest of her co-conspirators get the same treatment.

It isn’t like the folks that approved the payments could not have noticed that her charity just sprung up overnight and was suddenly “serving 91 million meals” in just a few moths time….They had to be in on it somehow….This wasn’t just one woman’s creation.

Those officials who approved the payments need some judicial love as well.

I bet half (or more) of her partners are back in whatever shithole country they came from….now with millions of (US Taxpayer) dollars to live comfortably with.

you ight wanna stock up a bit.

There are fears that there will be a shortage of oils for modern (like produced in the last 20 years) cars

Apparently most of the base oil stock for modern “Synthetic” (which really aren’t synthetic as I would define it) oils comes from the Middle East.

So if you change your own oil, you may not be able to find your normal brand and grade….and if you have a dealer or shop do it, expect to pay more or not get your normal grade or brand.

Me?  I stock at least one (usually two) oil changes ahead for all the cars and I change my own oil so not a worry….yet.

The US is still releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (apparently in an attempt to keep prices down….not what the SPR was built for)

– A record 9.9 million barrels were drawn from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve last week, lowering the total inventories held in US SPR sites to just 374 million barrels, its lowest since July 2024.

– The pace of SPR drawdowns seen last week marks an all-time high, with more than 1.4 million b/d of strategic stocks supplied into the market, above Biden’s average rate of 1 million b/d.

– An expedited drawdown of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is likely to damage the salt caverns where SPR barrels are held, making them susceptible to salt falls and cavern deformation.

And more than 40% of the released SPR oil is sold outside the United States, not benefitting the Citizens of the US.

Also not the reason for the SPR….

Interesting, innit?

“A throat punch is generally aways understood”

“Endeavour to be the person that your dog thinks you are”

“Remove Negativity “

“Almost always, the kindness you put into the world will come back to you at some point”

“The truth often hurts the weak”

“Persistence has gained more for people than luck ever will”

“The sun rises even when no one watches”

“We are indeed products of our past, but we need not be prisoners of it”

Source is FBI 2019 crime data.

Yeah, I know….Pointing this out makes me a racist.

The UK government will introduce legislation banning new North Sea oil and gas exploration licences as part of its Energy Independence Bill.

The idiots would rather BUY oil than use their own domestic supply….and are pushing for 100% “Renewables”….Instead of reliable electrical generating plants…

What did the British use before candles???? Electric Lights!

Apparently an AI program went rogue and did some things it wasn’t supposed to do..

” ‘I decided to do it on my own.'”

This is how we get Terminators, people.

Why is it that an ID to vote is somehow racist (and or misogynist)…

but requiring an ID to board a plane is not?

Are we discriminating against black people (and women) by requiring a ‘Real ID” to travel via airplane?  To buy a car or buy a gun?  To open a bank account (unless, of course, you are illegal, then one is not needed)….

Or is it only when it makes for less voter fraud that it then matters? Is it more difficult to get an ID if one plans to use it to vote?

Asking for a friend and all that….