Simple Facts of Life

@CynicalPublius I'll go a little off the reservation here and pick three "feel good" songs by Nightwish: Elan Alpenglow My Walden youtu.be/8cfGLKgT8S8?si… youtu.be/FrJvKZNEh7g?si… youtu.be/J8Xwr1kTEdk?si…

Losing my brother and retiring from the law at the same time, while taking on new challenges, has left me in an overly emotive and philosophical mood, so please excuse what I am about to do, which some will label engagement farming. But I really am interested in hearing what people think about what I’m about to say. I helped my nephew put together a playlist of popular songs that defined his father---songs his father loved that defined him. What three popular songs would define you at your funeral? (Putting aside for this purpose faith-based hymns, which I think most people would pick.) Here are mine: 1. “Body of an American,” by The Pogues. 2. “American Soldier,” by Toby Keith. 3. “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” by Jimmy Cliff. How about you?

@atensnut One thing that Walz & Frey don't seem to understand is that when Antifa et. al. get their way, the next targets will be: Walz and Frey.

This is 🔥 🔥 🔥

@KurtSchlichter Well, there are trans kids, just like there are vegan cats. And they both got that way through the same process. Somebody who was supposed to be looking out for them screwed them over.

There are no trans kids. Stop victimizing children you freak.

@VivekGRamaswamy Something that I wrote a dozen years ago, as valid today as it was then. qmcusn.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/ive…

Common-sense work requirements for welfare recipients actually help those recipients over the long run. A permanent handout isn’t compassion, it’s cruelty.

@KurtSchlichter I am also a USN veteran, and that fact doesn't make my loathing of Sen. Kelly any more valid than that of the non-vets who, due to their possession of a functional brain cell, share my disgust.

Femme

@CynicalPublius Basic training should be rough because if somebody won't be able to handle the stress, that's the time to find out, not after you invest a lot of time and money training him. And certainly not after he gets into combat.

Because if you cannot handle the stress of basic, how can you handle the stress of combat?

@TappintotheTrut How about this: Extend the ACA subsidies, but make them for US citizens only. I'd like to watch the Dems squirm over that.

The deal being worked on in the Senate comes down to a promised vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies, three key appropriations bills, immediately re-open SNAP funding, and undo the mass firing of federal workers under OMB at the start of the shutdown. A lot of wins for the left, but as always, no matter what you give the left, it is never good enough. redstate.com/joesquire/2025…

@CynicalPublius Here's something that I wrote a dozen years ago, as relevant now as it was then. qmcusn.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/ive…

Here's an idea. How about we eliminate ALL federal subsidies for health insurance, food, heating oil & gas, child care, and housing, and instead leave it up to the states (and cut federal income taxes accordingly)? That way if you want a bunch of free stuff you can move to a state offering a bunch of free stuff, and if you want to work hard at a job and keep more of the money you earn, you can move to state that helps only those truly in need. Deal? I mean, I'm sure all those rich California, Illinois and Massachusetts Democrats would be totally fine with a massive tax burden that no one feels in Texas, South Carolina or Utah. Deal?

@catturd2 I'll be waiting for the next Howard Cosell to show up, after Momdani bankrupts New York, and say " You need to bail us out, because we're just like you."

Again, I don’t give AF about New York City the liberal hellhole - I’ll laugh when they elect that commie extremist, and laugh even more as the city gets destroyed by the liberal elitist snobs that voted for their own demise. It won’t affect me one bit. Can’t wait to see them destroy themselves. 👉 🍿

@CynicalPublius The journos are acting like they've been sent to the "Dark Side of the Moon."

...it's been three whole minutes with zero Pink Floyd responses...🥲

RE: Pentagon Press Access I write a lot about the US military, both on X and in national periodicals. I have no Pentagon access of any kind. Zero. Zilch. Nada. (But no one stops me from writing whatever I want.) Does that mean my "First Amendment rights are being violated"? Of course not. The cries of these idiot journotards about Pentagon press access are the mewling sounds of spoiled rich children being told that if they don't eat their meat they can't have any pudding. Sickening.

@americanmama @w_terrence Heartless, yes. Human, ???.

@w_terrence Gavin is a heartless human being.

Gavin Newsom is the worst kind of human being. He should be standing up for Charlie Kirk because Charlie was kind enough to go on Gavin’s own podcast and debate him. That helped Gavin out a lot. Let’s be real: Charlie didn’t need Gavin. Gavin needed Charlie. Gavin even admitted that his young son loved Charlie Kirk, was excited to meet him, and couldn’t wait for the day Charlie came on the show. And how does Gavin repay him? By defending Jimmy Kimmel and siding with the people mocking and celebrating Charlie’s death. That’s not just wrong , that’s heartless. Charlie showed Gavin respect and gave him an opportunity he didn’t have to give. For Gavin to turn around and spit on his memory like this says everything about the kind of person he really is.

@dvorahfr Here's a theme song for you: youtu.be/CRrqHZNMUko?si…

Today will be a big day for SpaceX. One step closer to Mars.

@atensnut Just thinking about this, and my favorite song from Herman's Hermits. youtu.be/wdCHlJoAP8I?si…

Did you ever have milk delivered to your home? 🙋‍♀️

@KurtSchlichter On what planet does anyone care about what Olbermann thinks or says?

Comedy gold

@atensnut "Schiff for brains." Here's how I used that one a few years back. qmcusn.wordpress.com/2019/12/12/mar…

“Schiff for brains” is grandstanding to deflect from his own crimes.

@atensnut Sadly according to Grok she is a US citizen, so deportation is off the table.

Holy Crap!! She should be detained.

@KurtSchlichter @townhallcom To all of the people who believe that "If we just do this one amnesty, we can solve the immigration issue, and we will be done with it" :

My new @townhallcom column is unequivocal! Read Our Lips - No Amnesty Ever townhall.com/columnists/kur…

@KurtSchlichter That sort of thing would never happen in the Biden administration. I know this because Hunter Biden, Adam Schiff, Merrick Garland, Anthony Fauci, and Mark Milley told me so.

Suck it cuck

@Jameswick_12 @RealJamesWoods Maybe this will help.

@CynicalPublius @F10fromMAGArone Maybe that's why "The Art of War" by Sun Tsu has been regarded for millennia as one of the best guides for success in a multitude of endeavors.

@F10fromMAGArone Yup. So many of the skills designed for warfighting have huge applicability in the rest of life. It's why some businesses seek out vets to hire.

I want to explain how my brain functions. The most important lifelong, developmental aspect of my reasoning skills has been my Army service, where I learned about something called the Military Decision-Making Process, or the “MDMP.” (I’ll post a link below.) I put the MDMP into almost daily practice for years until it became my default way of analyzing problems. I’ll share a link below, but essentially the MDMP is a structured, regimented process whereby a military staff develops a unit course of action for accomplishing a specified mission. (Although this is technically a process for staffs, individuals can practice the MDMP as a way of thinking.) There is a LOT to the MDMP, and it’s a very complex collective skill that military staffs must learn how to accomplish efficiently, through constant training and repetition. At the risk of gross oversimplification, I want to highlight what I consider the most important part of the MDMP, which is a section at the front end of the process where you identify critical “facts” and “assumptions” that relate to the problem at hand. Facts are things you know for sure—things that are verifiably true. Assumptions fill in the gaps where absolute facts are unknowable. For example, you may assume that you will have good weather for an operation, but you do not have 100% certainty that this will happen. “We will have favorable weather” is an assumption upon which your planning relies. You must relentlessly seek to verify the accuracy of your facts, and you need to constantly analyze your assumptions with as much data as you can to verify that there is a high likelihood each assumption is true. The success of the course of action you ultimately choose depends on not messing this process up. You need to be very certain as to your facts, and you need to make sure you have eliminated as much uncertainty as you reasonably can with respect to your assumptions. Assuming that the enemy is not behind that hill when they actually are means death and failure. Then, as the operation proceeds, you must constantly seek to verify the accuracy of your facts and assumptions, and if new circumstances dictate that your facts or assumptions are wrong, you need to adjust your course of action (if necessary) to deal with the new information. I was drilled so relentlessly on this for years that it became second nature, and in my second career as an attorney this analytical model has also served me exceptionally well. It’s also how I write my substantive X posts. I believe too many Americans, particularly on social media, lack the ability or desire to distinguish between facts and assumptions, and they will leap to assumptions that lack sufficient validity. Case in point: “Dan Bongino said either Bondi goes or I go.” FACT or ASSUMPTION? That is an ASSUMPTION. Until we have verifiable, irrefutable evidence that words to that effect left Bongino’s mouth, we can only ASSUME it is true. I don’t care that Megyn Kelly and other very reliable sources say they heard this is the case, it is hearsay until proven otherwise, and hearsay means assumptions. And since it is an assumption, people with good reasoning skills will pressure test the assumption to determine if it is significantly more likely than not to be true. My point is not that this Bongino story is true or false—it may very well be completely true. But in ANY case where an assumption is considered to be fact (or where a wrong assumption is made), it is perilously easy to make the wrong choice as to how to proceed on a political or social issue. In summary: 1. Facts and assumptions are not the same thing, and it is incredibly important to know the difference when deciding how to proceed on important issues. 2. Similarly, when basing decisions in part on the unknowable, it is also incredibly important to choose assumptions that have a high likelihood of being true. Validating an assumption should be a rigorous process. Thank you for attending my TED Talk.