Attilatheblond
Attilatheblond's JournalIf you can, check out Adam Kinzinger's FB post of good news from Sunday
He wrote about how the people of Lawrence, Kansas made the effort to welcome the stranger. In this case, the Algerian Footballers who were calling the town home for the month of tournament. The high school band that learned the Algerian National Anthem to welcome players onto the practice pitch. The shops that tracked down and decorated windows with that nation's flag. The people who wore green to let the footballers know they cared and were happy to have them for a while.
Yeah, welcome the stranger. Invite them in and learn from them. Find common ground and celebrate what is different. There are people in several places here probably finding enrichment in playing host to the stranger with this tournament going on.
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Now, my words:
That is the US I believe in and remember fondly, thinking back to the multi-national neighborhood of my youth and the amazing parties Mom hosted where all were welcome, all shared food and music from their home countries. That glorious time and place where the French woman got my grandpa up doing a Can-Can to a record she brought.
By the way of full disclosure, Grandpa was from Lawrence, Kansas, and lived throughout the west as his father traveled to where homesteads were being opened, little towns were springing up and needed a newspaper. Lots of lessons learned in a young nation where immigrants came with dreams of building lives in a great nation. He spoke so fondly of the Chinese cook in a local hotel, the cook who would open the back door and let he and his brothers bring in frogs they caught in a nearby stream. Grandpa loved the frog legs that cook fixed for them. He loved the German butcher who always gave Great Grandma 'a little extra for those 5 growing boys' when he wrapped up her purchase for the supper table. And he loved to listen to all the different musics people brought with them 'from the old country'.
Grandpa learned his letters sitting in the high chair his dad made to keep him out of trouble as a toddler. His letters were in trays of typeset. As a result of the unorthodox method of learning ABCs, Grandpa could read upside down and backwards faster than most could read right-side up. When we went out of town, the rule was to bring back a local newspaper for him to read. That man would study/analyze the local publication and know more about a place than any entry in an encyclopedia would offer.
He was one helluva proofreader along with his other all round printer skills, and would likely spin in his grave seeing how badly I spell.
Pretty sure the old man would be proud of the town from which he sprang, and the America in which he believed. Pretty sure he'd have nodded to Kinzinger's words as being a very important take on how we must continue to strive to build a more perfect union, even when the wrong people get into power and try to poison the tree that is the USA.
Would he have approved of how things are going now? He'd have 'words' for sure. He did not suffer fools and crooks, but he would likely look for the good still evident, and know the candle was still in the window of America.
Trump names William Pulte as acting intelligence head
Source: The Hill
President Trump named William Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to serve as the acting head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
In tapping Pulte, Trump turns to an ally who has been behind referring several of his foes for prosecution for alleged mortgage fraud. Pulte would replace Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month.
“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago. During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Congratulations to Director Pulte!” Trump wrote on his social media site.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5905332-pulte-federal-housing-chief/
Edited to add a mia culpa. I confused this Bill Pulte with the horrors in homebuilding his grandfather did in Tucson. Thank you to maxsolomon for correcting the error below. Since the Pulte family made gobs of money selling sub par homes with sub prime mortgages to very marginal buyers, I will estimate that the Bill Pulte who is in Trump's regime certainly benefited from the fortunes made by scamming buyers. That money buys influence and influence along with kissing Trump's ass probably earned this edition of Bill Pulte some power and money. Let's hope like others in Trump's orbit, this will cost Bill Pulte the Current a lot more than he bargained for.
Another nomination for an extremely sensitive and important post that defies logic and common sense.
From linked article:
Yeah, construction company owner whose homes in the Tucson area left buyers of brand new homes in peril due to shoddy construction resulting in home buyers with massive headaches due to many issues, one of which if I recall correctly, was foundations cracking which caused various issues with the stability of walls.
And he helped Trump find ways to go after his enemies by suggesting investigations into mortgage fraud. Maybe if Blanch keeps getting egg on his face in courts, Trump will consider Pulte for Acting AG too?
Daughter just showed me her Swear Word Coloring Book
Thinking it's a stress relief tool whose time has come.
I think I like the page with Fuck Wizard best.
Has there finally been a Trumpian act of utter stupidity and profit taking that helps the environment?
"Europe has only six weeks’ supply of jet fuel left owing to Iran war, says energy chief"
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/16/europe-supply-jet-fuel-iran-war-flight-cancellations-iea]
Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said there would be flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies from the Middle East were not restored within the coming weeks.
“I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be cancelled as a result of lack of jet fuel,” he told the Associated Press.
I'm so old I recall that the skies cleared measurable when air travel was pretty well interrupted immediately after the attacks of 9/11. I have lived where there was a lot of air travel and in places where seeing a jet other than NORAD patrols if you were up late at night were very rare.
The air was better where the jets were fewer.
Several nations have proven that trains can be much cleaner, even running on solar power, and that the land where tracks are placed can also be used for installations of solar panels to generate power for towns and cities. Less damaging air travel and more travel utilizing newer systems might not be such a bad thing.
Hell, people on trains might be mentally healthier because of the slower pace and the chance to actually interact in positive ways with fellow travelers.
Iran and the rest of the world is trolling Trump bigly
Oh, my! Laughing, crying, hoping the 'football' is a fake as he's liable to totally wig out.
Some US guns go south to drug cartels
And some US merchants have been profiting from supplying cartels with weapons. This merchant is now has a terrorism charge on top of his other legal problems.
Law & order Republicans, 
am I right?
Gray was initially indicted for six counts related to trafficking in firearms, straw purchasing of firearms, and making material false statement during the purchase of a firearm. This increased to nine counts in a new grand jury indictment recently unsealed.
More importantly, the superseding indictment shows Gray is now charged with one count each of Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The FTO referred to is the Jalisco New General Cartel, according to court documents.
https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/courts_and_crime/terrorism-conspiracy-charge-added-against-sv-gun-store-owner/article_5c42932b-3a0c-4e5a-bc21-97e9f06d0492.html?gift=1&gift_token=60ac78ac-a427-4c65-a182-b8e37934b9cf]
Trump to deploy ICE agents to airports Monday
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/22/trump-ice-agents-airports-tsa-dhs-shutdown]Asked how a plan created in 24 hours could be well thought out, Homan replied: "How much of a plan does it mean to guard an exit to make sure no one comes through that exit?"
It takes four to six months to train and certify TSA officers, according to DHS, a process ICE agents have not undergone. There is no law mandating specific training requirements for checkpoint screeners, and the acting TSA administrator could designate ICE agents to fill those roles, former TSA administrator John Pistole tells Axios.
Curious about ICE attire for doing TSA gigs at airports: Will they have a dress code? Will they be told NOT to show up in masks, and all the military security blankie stuff they take comfort in? If they aren't forced to leave the masks, guns, flack vests, gas canisters at home, how will we tell them apart from any possible terrorists taking advantage of GOP bad planning?
Happy First Day of Spring! For those in Arizona or the Southeast California Desert...
Remember to put the oven mitts in your car.
If oil goes to 150, any tanker in the strait could just sit there and their cargo's value goes WAY UP
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1162082209206992With the news about Zorro Ranch lately, interesting that there's a ranch on the AZ/Mexico border available now
Cochise County is looking into leasing it for a training center for the Cochise County Sheriff's Dept. The sheriff is a maga guy and the ranch is owned by Howard Buffet, longtime RW supporter of militias and the RW sheriff.
The ranch as been used as a staging ground for self-proclaimed militia border protectors in past years. The ranch is on the AZ/Mexico border in a sparsely populated area where there has been years of illicit doins, people, drugs, rapes of women coming into the US.
Now, with all this attention being paid to investigations of Zorro Ranch, it makes me curious that Howard Buffett has decided he no longer want to ranch and offered to sell or lease his borderland property.
Raised my curiosity as to why a county supervisor is pushing the idea of the County leasing the property and having it under the control of the Sheriff's dept. Evidently, the department already has property for range training. Curious as to why THIS property is being considered to the department's land holdings.
https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/cochise_county/crosby-delays-buffett-ranch-talks-tax-turmoil-and-a-governor-s-race-shake-up-inside/article_bef3db5e-275e-4179-ab82-042e1b97736f.html] Pertinent section about a third the way down the page of minutes of county supervisors' meeting from Feb 15, 2026
Hickman: Staying in the county, let’s pivot to something different. There’s been speculation about Howard Buffett’s ranch along the border. Terry Jo?
Neff: We’ve heard for months he might sell. Frank, you toured the property recently. What’s happening?
Antenori: The ranch sits right on the border. Mr. Buffett has invested heavily there and supported the sheriff’s office in various ways.
Antenori: What we’re exploring now is a potential 25-year lease to the county. It would likely be jointly managed by the sheriff’s office and county facilities.
Antenori: There are substantial structures — conference rooms, guest housing, training facilities. It could be used for deputy training, county conferences and retreats.
Antenori: There’s already a small range the sheriff uses for short-range training. We’re evaluating the full scope of potential use and cost. Staff will present a proposal, and the board will decide whether it makes sense.
I think it might be prudent to bring the sniffy dogs to have some walk-abouts on the property before the county pays to let the maga sheriff have this property put under his protection.
On edit, didn't put 2 t in Warren's son's last name.
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