Ed Powell

アメリカの皆さん、私はアメリカが大好きな日本人の女性です。現在はなぜかイギリスに住んでいます。 ところで皆さんにどうしてもお伝えしておきたいことがあります。 日本とアメリカはかつて戦争をしました。 しかし、戦後の日本では占領軍としてやってきたアメリカ人を大歓迎しました。 なぜ敵だってアメリカ人をそんなに歓迎したかわかるでしょうか。 それは日本に来たアメリカ軍の人々が日本人に対して大変親切であったからです。 例えば私の祖母は夫フィリピンで亡くしているのですが、アメリカ軍のやっていたPXで雇われてまだ小さかった叔母を養うことができました。 当時の日本は戦争未亡人に対する扱いが大変厳しく、祖母は仕事を見つけることができませんでした。 しかし、そこでシングルマザーの祖母をすぐに雇ってくれたのがアメリカの軍の人々だったのです。 そして彼らは祖母にたくさんの食べ物を送りました。 クリスマスにはケーキや豪華な缶詰をくれたのです。 祖母は生涯そのような親切さを忘れることがありませんでした。 ですから、私がアメリカに留学することに大変賛成していました。 そして日本人は戦争はしていたのではありますが、アメリカがもたらした民主主義や自由者を歓迎しました。 それは多くの日本人が求めていたものだったからです。 そして、アメリカの人々は日本を民主化し、占領においても日本人を一生懸命助けてくれました。 日本人は戦争はしましたが、そのような恩は忘れないのです。 そのような経験があったために、日本人のアメリカ人に対する考え方は大変前向きです。 そして日本人はアメリカ人の明るさや正義感があるところが大好きです。 我々日本人はアメリカの人々が思うよりもずっとシンプルで素直なのです。 我々は言葉の裏を読んだり、行間を読むような事はしません。 他の歴史が長い国の人々は、そんな我々のことを単純で騙しやすいと言うふうに言いますが、私たちは狡猾なことをやるのが嫌いなのです。 そして私たちはアメリカ人も似たような性質を持っていると言うことを感じています。 だから私たちはアメリカ人が好きなのです。

The Mostly Peaceful are at it again.

🚨ARRESTED🚨 ICE has just arrested an MS-13 gang member who was illegally in the United States. Luis Calderon-Martinez has been detained but was previously convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine, carjacking, bringing a controlled substance into a prison, hit-and-run, property damage, illegal entry and driving under the influence in New Jersey, Arizona, and California.

30 days – Last 48 hours In less than 48 hours, after attacks on its infrastructure, Iran attacked metal industry facilities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, military bases in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and destroyed or damaged 5 to 7 American aircraft. In Iraq, a drone struck the residence of Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, in Dohuk on Saturday, March 28. Ironically, the attack was condemned by the United States. Other targets hit in the country included the Majnoon Oil Field, Balad Air Base, and Umm Qasr Naval Base. In Bahrain, Iranian forces targeted the facilities of Aluminium Bahrain (Alba). In the United Arab Emirates, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest aluminum producer in the Middle East, was hit by missiles and drones, with significant damage reported. The Mussafah Industrial Zone in Abu Dhabi was also struck, where the explosion of three tanker trucks caused a large fire and resulted in three fatalities. In Israel, the target was the Elta Systems complex. Although Israel has not confirmed damage to the military unit, explosions and smoke were recorded in the industrial and port area of Haifa over the past 48 hours. Nothing compared to the Iranian attack on the American Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where a strike destroyed or damaged between 5 and 6 KC-135 tanker aircraft and at least one AWACS. With this latest attack, the total number of American aircraft damaged or destroyed throughout the war has now exceeded 14.

Some of us expressed great concern about the Iran War when it was first launched. We were shouted down and condemned as “panicans” and “blackpillers” and even Islamist sympathizers. But it’s pretty clear from how things have gone that our concerns were absolutely reasonable and legitimate. Maybe Trump will get us out of this thing soon and it still won’t spiral into a long and drawn out war. But even if that happens — and I’m not convinced it will — no thoughtful person can deny at this point that the spiral and long war scenario is very much a possibility. No reasonable person, at this stage, can say that our concerns were irrational. What looks irrational now — and always did — is the demand for blind allegiance and unthinking “trust” in our elected leaders, as though we are called to have faith in politicians like we have faith in God.

Hello Senator Thune, At 3 AM on Friday, March 27th, in a near-empty chamber, you passed a bill by voice vote that excludes all funding for ICE and CBP. Let me repeat that: voice vote. No roll call. No record of who was there. No accountability. Just you, Barrasso, and a handful of senators shuffling paper in the dead of night while America slept. You could have demanded a recorded vote. You chose not to. You could have held the line for five more days until the House returned. You chose not to. You could have used the same procedural tools Democrats have used against you for 40 days. You chose not to. Instead, you gave Chuck Schumer exactly what he asked for, DHS funding minus immigration enforcement, and called it a win. Then you walked to the cameras and blamed the Democrats. Let's be precise about what you did: 1. You caved to a demand Democrats made on Day 1 of this shutdown. Forty-one days of supposed hardball negotiation, and you settled for their opening offer. 2. You handed them a template. The next time Democrats want to defund any agency — ICE, CBP, or anything else — they now know: just shut down DHS and wait. John Thune will fold at 3 AM. 3. You punted to reconciliation. "Good possibility," you said. Not "we will." Not "guaranteed." Just maybe. Meanwhile, ICE operates on fumes from last year's bill with no certainty of future funding. The precedent you set: You have argued for months that the filibuster is sacrosanct. That the 60-vote threshold protects minority rights. That we cannot bend Senate rules for policy wins. But at 3 AM on Friday, you bent every norm that actually mattered: • Voice vote to avoid accountability • Empty chamber to avoid debate • Midnight deal to avoid scrutiny • Immediate recess to avoid questions You'll bend the rules to avoid a fight. You just won't bend them to win one. What you've actually accomplished: Democrats demanded ICE restrictions. They got ICE defunded. Not reformed. Not restrained. Defunded. And you're out here tweeting about how Democrats are the "Defund the Police" party while you just voted to defund border enforcement at 3 in the morning. The question you should answer: Why did this deal have to happen at 3 AM? Why couldn't it happen at 3 PM, with cameras rolling and every senator on record? You know why. Because you didn't want your voters to see what surrender looks like. Here's my message: We saw it anyway. Stop hiding behind "Democrat obstruction." You're the Majority Leader. You set the schedule. You control the floor. You chose this outcome. Own it.

I'm watching the Harry potter movies with my son, and I can't express to you the degree to which this woman is the perfect embodiment of the spirit which has infected our culture.