THIS IS MORE LIKE IT

       Contrary to what many believe, a lot of us who've opposed the New Right and dare to criticize Trump 47 actually do wish that Trump 45 would come back. Trump's previous term actually did have a strong populist element; and the Globalists, Red Pills, and other assorted extremists were the ones sitting outside the fence throwing stones. That situation has very much been reversed, to put it mildly. 

       Thus when the President signed another Executive Order yesterday, we feared for the worst despite the superficial positive opening. After reading the official statement from the White House and the Executive Order itself (three times to make certain that I wasn't dreaming), it almost felt like 2017 all over again. 

       "Endemic vagrancy, disorderly behavior, sudden confrontations, and violent attacks have made our cities unsafe.  The number of individuals living on the streets in the United States on a single night during the last year of the previous administration — 274,224 — was the highest ever recorded.  The overwhelming majority of these individuals are addicted to drugs, have a mental health condition, or both.  Nearly two-thirds of homeless individuals report having regularly used hard drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, or opioids in their lifetimes.  An equally large share of homeless individuals reported suffering from mental health conditions.  The Federal Government and the States have spent tens of billions of dollars on failed programs that address homelessness but not its root causes, leaving other citizens vulnerable to public safety threats.

Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order.  Surrendering our cities and citizens to disorder and fear is neither compassionate to the homeless nor other citizens.  My Administration will take a new approach focused on protecting public safety."

      The 'new approach' is summarized as follows:

• The Order directs the Attorney General to reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that limit State and local governments’ ability to commit individuals on the streets who are a risk to themselves or others.  
• The Order requires the Attorney General to work with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of Transportation to prioritize grants for states and municipalities that enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting, and track the location of sex offenders.
• The Order redirects funding to ensure that individuals camping on streets and causing public disorder and that are suffering from serious mental illness or addiction are moved into treatment centers, assisted outpatient treatment, or other facilities.
• The Order ensures discretionary grants for substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery do not fund drug injection sites or illicit drug use.
• The Order stops sex offenders who receive homelessness assistance from being housed with children, and allows programs to exclusively house women and children.

       This move was long overdue. The scourge of homelessness/vagrancy has been a blot on our society for far too long, and the President is correct in saying that the policies pretending to address the problem have failed. Of the number of around 275,000 cited in Executive Order, it's estimated that about 1/2 to 2/3 of that total infest the West Coast. Some cities in California, Oregon, and Washington have become virtually uninhabitable because of it. 

     More to the point, the Executive Order goes beyond the superficial element of enforcement: it emphasizes rehabilitation and treatment for addiction and mental illness---things which none of the progressive policies promoted by the West Coast's Democrat Establishment ever bothered to address. In many ways, it's reminiscent of the successful campaign against the Opioid Crisis which saw overdose deaths and addiction rates decline between 2017-2019.

    Let's hope that this implemented and we'll be watching to see if it all goes off as planned. As was true of the anti-Opioid Program under Trump 45, there were a lot of vested interests who don't want such beneficial policies to succeed. As long as those interests can't interfere, this can nothing but improve Quality of Life for millions. 

TRASH CULTURE'S TITANIC FAILURE

   This morning, we're all being greeted with the news that a debris-field has been spotted by our brave xhes in uniform where a privately-owned tourist submarine went missing. Given the Pentagon's recent history with weather balloons, UFOs, and expertise in the Ukraine Conflict, we shouldn't jump to any conclusions; but, that aside, the critical levels of oxygen onboard are nearly exhausted and the outlook for the passengers isn't looking especially promising.

  The company that owns the submarine and offers tours for a quarter-million dollars per trip is OceanGate, which is based in Everett, Washington. For those not living on the West Coast, let's just say that that fact alone raised a red flag. Seattle-area businessmen have a certain reputation well-known to any independent contractor; and the ones catering to exclusive clienteles are among the worst. Whenever one gets involved with a company like this, it's best to guard both one's back and one's wallet. 

   So it wasn't much of a surprise to learn that CEO Stockton Rush---who is among those trapped on board---once boasted that the submarine could be navigated "with a cheap Amazon video game joystick." Rush also signalled his commitment to Political Correctness by stating publicly that he "didn’t hire 50-year-old white guys with military experience to captain his vessels because they weren’t inspirational." Apparently Rush forgot that he himself was a 60-year-old White guy. 

  My intuition tells me that being trapped on a submarine with panicked and probably vengeful customers facing death is not going to be a pleasant way to end one's life, but there's some poetic justice to it. As if this all weren't bad enough, the US Coast Guard---which was too busy celebrating Pride Month to monitor a submarine in American waters---has botched the search from start to finish: even blocking a British team which actually had some expertise from assisting. From what I can tell, this submarine had less safety regulations and licensing involved than any local owner of a canoe would have to deal with.

  This is one of those situations where one doesn't know whether to feel sad or exasperated. All morning long, lyrics from an 80's hard-rock band keep playing in my head: "History shows us again and again that Nature undoes the follies of men." I haven't been deep-sea diving (yet); but places like the Sea and even Outer Space are a lot like our wildernesses. Nature has a lot to offer Mankind---provided one plays by Nature's rules. Nature can be quite unforgiving to those who don't: and one's status among men doesn't enter into Nature's equation of things. When I do get around to exploring the deep waters, I'm certainly not entrusting my fate to a rich dunce with an Xbox controller who thinks that experience is irrelevant. Nor should one rely heavily upon the US Coast Guard in case things go wrong. 

     Meanwhile, the Ameroboobs are flooding social media alleging that an episode of The Simpsons from 2005 predicted the disaster.   I would say that the truth is, that when a society thinks that The Simpsons are normative, the results are what's predictable. Unfortunately, that aspect of the situation will be ignored; and the subject of moneyed dilatentes putting human lives at risks and the incompetence of our Coast Guard will get swept under the rug. 

    At least here, the sun is shining, there's a cool breeze outside, and a jaunt to the river sounds in order. Maybe some Indian artifacts and a enough clams for some chowder tonight would put Nature in a proper perspective. 

THE RAT RACE

      To give sort of a background here, in 2019 I moved to a smaller rural community. It's really something of a truck-stop town, along a major highway and surrounded by some of the few small farms and shrinking timber industry left in America. Now, once upon a time, the State was an agricultural and timber-producing power in the US. We produced more apples, cherries, and peaches than the rest of the world combined; and were in the top 10 states producing potatoes, grain, berries, and onions. 

   Today, a few orchards have converted into wineries; while Willy Gates and Jeff Bezos have bought up most of the distressed farmlands. Our local supermarkets are seeing dwindling supplies of meats, dairy products, eggs, and fish (with correspondingly high prices). The shelf spaces are being filled with synthetic and plant-based 'substitutes'---produced by companies which are owned by the aforementioned Gates and Bezos. That doesn't mean our Ag Industry is dead: Marijuana is by far the leading cash-crop. We have one '420 Store' in town and two businesses catering supplies to home-growers. They do thriving business, while two of our small grocers recently went out of business.

   

      While Gates and Bezos are rats in their own way, we're discussing today the actual animal. Not long after the weather began turning nice, I began seeing rats around the place. They're always a nuisance anywhere, but it was unusual to see them in the daytime. They started creating problems out in the garden, and I realized that I hadn't been seeing many of their natural predators (e.g. raccoons, possums, hawks, snakes, etc) around lately. Also, their main competitors for food (e.g. squirrels, birds) also seemed more scarce.

    Lately these critters seem to have become more bold and aggressive: they've made a couple of raids in the house and I even saw one jump through an open window. Wondering where these things are coming from, I suspected the neighbor. They're known marijuana-growers (totally licensed and legal of course); and I think we all know that potheads don't typically have the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene. 

   So I dropped by and sure enough there was plenty of trash around but not really enough to start an infestation. I mentioned the rat problem to one of the guys and he said, yes they've had the same issue. He took me to his growing room and solemnly showed me a special tent where they grew plants for seed. The rats, he explained, had gnawed their way into the tent and were eating the seeds.

   That told me all that I needed to know right there. Marijuana plants produce a flower which has concentrated levels of THC and is source of the high-potency products sold today. These flowers can be left to form a seed-pod which is even more concentrated. It's like some of the mid-20th Century anti-drug ads used to say: "Marijuana can turn a mouse into a maneater," and that's exactly what's happening. 

   Somewhere in this story is a commentary on the state of our society, but I'll let the readers draw their own conclusions on that one. 

    I wish that we could say that this is a purely personal or local anecdote, but sadly, we can't. There was a story recently about some biologists who were finding that geese and seagulls on area beaches were ingesting marijuana products discarded by beachgoers. Today, people who use pot products on the beaches are occasionally being attacked by these birds---eager to get their 'fix.' I've heard many stories of people in city parks suddenly attacked by raccoons and squirrels---which are normally not overly aggressive. 

   Our State has had more than one fishery closed by Federal inspectors because the levels of drugs in the water made the salmon unfit for consumption. A veterinarian told me recently that across the US (and in his own practice) there's been a surge the last few years of animals brought in and diagnosed with Narcosis from exposure to high-THC marijuana products. It's not only dogs and cats either. Out here in farm country, he told me that he's run across drug-poisoning cases in cattle and horses. 

   During the Trump Administration, there was a study done on the pollution and environmental impact of Marijuana growing and use on the West Coast. There were some steps taken to start cleaning up, but Orange Man Bad; and the rest is history. It was bad enough dealing with hop-headed psychos on the city streets, now we have deal with amped-up rats and seagulls and heaven-only-knows what else. Does anyone suppose all of these 'Green' Whackos on the Far Left are going to concern themselves with any of this? Somehow I can't bring myself to believe that people who promote Drag Queens in Kindergartens are going to lose much sleep over poisoning the environment with dope. They'll just go on at the Hookah Lounge, grabbing a soy-burger with synthetic cheese if they get 'the munchies' (i.e. their bodies reminding them that they need to eat); and patting themselves on the back for reducing their carbon footprint.