More BoT

 https://x.com/gragedustin/status/2018753360132755705?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Supporting anything but these people being jailed or deported is the complete opposite of decent and moral.  

 https://x.com/cwbchicago/status/2018470739217678637?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Remember the Decent Moral Progressives that fought tooth and nail against DOGE trying to find fraud/waste/abuse in the federal budget?   Well, the monetary toll continues to grow immensely and in blue states across the country.   The fact that this fraud directly harms the sick, poor, homeless, and hungry doesn't seem to faze DMPs, that this is literally money stolen from US taxpayers also doesn't bother them enough to get behind efforts to stop it.  

 https://x.com/emily_hoeven/status/2017694847722000439?s=20

 https://x.com/LukeCanasta/status/2018003063190270460?s=20

 https://x.com/lukecanasta/status/2018003063190270460?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

How freaking hard is it to stop a guy who's been threatening people with a machete for a long time? 

  https://x.com/guypbenson/status/2018429774385779006?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 https://x.com/seanmdav/status/2018397484209635625?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

More damaging polling data for the DFL. 

 https://x.com/highway_30/status/201819587582828586?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Royce is one more black person who the DMPs will attack and discredit.  

 https://x.com/andrewkerrnc/status/2018361160165175558?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Another one bites the dust.  

 https://x.com/wil_da_beast630/status/2018189623176925508?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

And another one's gone...

 https://x.com/shipwreckedcrew/article/2018398953587519840

It seems like manipulating the court system to favor illegal alien criminals might be authoritarian. 

 https://x.com/gaulicsmith/status/2018200477368725624?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

An extensive thread of the fallacy of everyone crossing the border being a refugee or asylee. It's one more example of DMPs working the system to favor those who aren't actually qualified for asylum.

 

Polls, We Don't Need No Stinking Polls

 https://x.com/wil_da_beast630/status/2018733745348436402?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 https://x.com/geiger_capital/status/2018717121425834279?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 https://x.com/megbasham/status/2018403373112754553?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Voter ID is polling well, yet the DFL power brokers refuse to let it come to a vote.

76% of Blacks Support ID

82% Latino

86% White 

95% GOP

71% DFL

 

The issue of voter ID is an issue that has high support across the partisan divide as well as racial/ethnic groups.  Yet the DFL senators absolutely refuse to let it come to a vote, while pretending that this is some absurd sort of "Jim Crow", for which we only have the DFL to than historically.  

 

The polls are telling a clear story and the DFL is choosing to ignore the will of the people.  This obviously isn't a new tactic for the DFL, but their clinging to this despite the public sentiment being overwhelmingly against them raises questions about WHY.  

Superb Owl Halftime

 As we approach the Superb Owl we end up in the now yearly discussion of the halftime show.  This year we are treated to Bad Bunny.  Apparently he is very popular among certain demographics, which is awesome.  He makes music that people like and listen to, more power to him.  However, that raises the question regarding what the purpose of the Superb Owl halftime show really is.  To start to answer that question, you'd have to look at the demographics of who watches the game.   Then you'd have to try to match the halftime to the demographic in one strategy.  Cater to the primary viewers.  Or, you could try to use the halftime performer to create a draw that would increase demographics that otherwise might not watch the game.  Bad Bunny might hit the first of those, but seems unlikely to draw new viewers.  

(Let's not forget that it is all about viewers, ratings, and ad rates.  Nothing else.)

Personally, I'm not a fan of Bad Bunny and am unlikely to watch the halftime performance.   I'm also not a fan of anyone at the alternative halftime show and probably won't watch that either.  In all honesty I don't know if I'll watch much of the game this year, but that's something else entirely.  But, I like the idea of a competing halftime show and of being able to measure which one gets more viewers.   

As an aside, it seems like the NFL could (through streaming or broadcast partners) offer several performers of different styles and genres during halftime.  

Having said all of that, my first thought on halftime performances for the Superb Owl is that local is better.   In this case, I would have looked first at bands from the Bay Area.   Green Day (who's doing pregame), Metallica, Santana, Journey, or a combination thereof.  Strangely enough there aren't many more options beside John Fogarty that have been popular.   Can you imagine Kirk Hammett shredding Don't Stop Believing?   

Beyond that, I would argue that the better option is to find an artist (or combination) that are hugely popular and have wide appeal.   While I'm not a fan, Taylor Swift is the most obvious choice for obvious reasons.  Foo Fighters are another, again not a huge fan.  While I'd prefer that they target music I like, I'm not stupid enough to think that doing so makes sense.  I do think that broader appeal is better than narrow appeal.  

I also think that style matters.   Some styles of music just work better as a big production than others.   Also it's probably a good idea to switch genres regularly to maintain broader appeal.  

 In short, I think that Bad Bunny is probably not the best choice and realize that I could be proven wrong    Ultimately it's just not a huge deal to me and It's highly unlikely that I'll watch.  On a personal note, I tend to focus on lyrics and when I can't understand the lyrics, I tune out.  I appreciate musicianship, but I don't want to see Joe Satriani shred for the halftime show.  

It might be fun to come up with a list of who we'd like to see at the halftime show.   For starters, let's stick to bands that are living.  

 

Right now, I think that the band that Sammy Hagar (who does have some SF roots) has put together for his retrospective tour/residency would be a good choice (especially if he could get Wolf to hop in).   Some combination of Styx, and Cheap Trick could be interesting as well.   Taylor Swift is the no brainer, and Chris Stapleton (who did an amazing job on the anthem) could be good as well.    Earth Wind and Fire are still amazing, as is Queen/Lambert.   Would I personally love some sort of old school rap thing with Sugarhill and Run DMC, absolutely, maybe throw Chic/Nile Rogers in for some funkyness.   

Dumb As A Post

Noted expert on indigenous culture and history Billie Eilish made some nonsense claim about the US being on stolen land at the Grammy awards last night.   This is a pretty good look at why that claim is simply stupid.  

 

 https://x.com/khalidi79397/status/2018145893015228645?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

 

 "The idea that being “indigenous” automatically grants moral ownership of land collapses the moment you look at actual human history and apply a consistent moral standard to it. Long before Europeans arrived, Native American tribes fought, displaced, absorbed, and sometimes wiped out other tribes. The Iroquois Confederacy expanded by crushing rivals. The Aztec Empire grew through conquest, coercion, and tribute. Entire peoples vanished not because of outsiders, but because stronger neighbors took their land. This was not an exception. It was the rule. Morality cannot selectively ignore facts. If land was already changing hands through violence and domination, then “who was there first” cannot logically create an eternal moral claim. A past act of conquest does not become morally sacred simply because enough time has passed. This is not a uniquely American story. It is the story of Homo sapiens everywhere. Humans migrate, compete, conquer, assimilate, and redraw borders. Always have. Always will. No population on earth holds land because history peacefully granted it moral title. Land is held because, at some point, power determined the outcome. Modern moral legitimacy therefore cannot come from ancestry alone. It comes from present responsibility. From how societies govern today, how rights are protected today, and how power is exercised now. Morality applies to living systems, not frozen historical snapshots chosen for political convenience. “Indigenous” is not a scientific or ethical category. It is a political one. It freezes history at a convenient moment and declares that everything before that moment does not count. Who decides that moment? Whoever benefits from it. If you rewind history far enough, every group was once indigenous. If you stop history early enough, every conqueror can reinvent themselves as a victim. Moral arguments about land that ignore this reality are not about justice. They are about power, timing, and narrative control."

"Mostly Peaceful" And Not Authoritarian, My Ass

 https://x.com/almostjingo/status/2018088039927759307

This is the kind of thing that happens more and more when left wing rioters gain control of areas.   

 https://x.com/crimewatchmpls/status/2018097502474371391?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Similar, but less violent, harassment in MPLS

 https://x.com/VenturaReport/status/2018370751993085973

Oh, lets attack independent journalists too.   

 https://x.com/mrandyngo/status/2018412959853068392?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

More left wing tolerance. 

 https://x.com/thepatriotoasis/status/2018338340915782140?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Again with the battery.  

 

Ouch

 Dan was sure of himself, so sure that he laid out a series of bets he wanted to make.  Now I am unhappy I didn't take him up on those bets.  

  Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.are the two agents accused of shooting Pretti, and the agent who shot Good apparently is married to a Filipino immigrant.  

This is an excellent example of how jumping to conclusions based on prejudice and preconceived notions really is.   

Bits Of Tid For Monday

 https://www.foxnews.com/media/pro-life-protester-sentenced-years-prison-says-she-still-trying-register-trumps-pardon

41 months is jail for a black wife and mother.  

 https://x.com/michaelh_mn/status/2018305210339250633?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Other than the complete inability of MPD to enforce city laws, does no one else get the insanity of people protesting for open borders erecting and guarding an arbitrary border?  

 https://x.com/stephenm/status/2018170822762823946?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

The term "Asylum seeker" is thrown about with abandon of late.  But "asylum" is a narrow, specific, category of immigration which is broadly misapplied  to generate a false narrative.  

 https://x.com/amuse/status/2018255502149402918?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

Strangely enough, this somehow isn't authoritarian or fascist.  

 https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2018359064682475840?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

More good helpers.  

 https://x.com/vickiefornyc/status/2018168166635958754?s=51&t=cLq01Oy84YkmYPZ-URIMYw

This is why women should be encouraged to consider carrying a gun.