Ode To A Beagle Named Rocky
Posted By: RockyTCB, 5/20/2026 10:43:36 AM
We normally don’t use this space for personal announcements. That isn’t the purpose or mission of Issues & Insights. But, since we answer to no one but ourselves, we can break our own rules. On Saturday, our family lost our 12-year-old Beagle, Rocky, to cancer. We didn’t even know he had cancer until a week before. After a recent move, we’d taken Rocky to a new vet for a wellness check and mentioned that his eating habits had recently changed. Instead of his normal voracious appetite – so voracious that we had to buy a dish designed to slow down eating
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RockyTCB"
If President Donald Trump is considering handing over billions to the terrorists of Tehran and leaving them in control of the Strait of Hormuz, as some news dispatches have indicated, he will have committed a blunder. The only choice they should be offered is to give up everything or lose it all to the almighty forces of the U.S. and Israeli militaries.
If not, the Iranian threat will never be eliminated, only weakened for a time before returning to its demonic affairs, leaving a mess for someone else to clean up. Because Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had
Gasoline prices have soared to their highest levels since 2022’s pandemic inflation sent prices to record highs across the nation. Why are prices so high now? If you ask average Americans, they overwhelmingly choose one answer: The U.S. war with Iran, which has sent crude oil prices soaring above $100 a barrel. As the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows, Americans are feeling the pinch from higher energy costs.
With prices now at a national average of $4.53 a gallon (still below the all-time high of $5 a gallon in June 2022), the cost of gasoline again has seized Americans’ attention.
Yes, Today’s Gas Prices Are ‘Peanuts’
8 replies
Democrats were quick to make hay of President Donald Trump’s remark that the high price of gasoline “is peanuts.”
But what if he’s right? What if today’s prices are lower than they were, say, when we had a peanut farmer as president? Or many times since then?
Democrats called Trump “out of touch” with everyday Americans.
“’Peanuts’ isn’t how my constituents would describe the spiking gas prices that make everyday life more expensive,” said New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. “POTUS isn’t paying for this war. Middle-class Americans are, and he couldn’t care less.”
You’d think that the Iran war would have been good news for EV sales, given the boost in gasoline prices and general uncertainty it sparked. Instead, it might someday mark the beginning of the end of the left’s EV dreams.
New EV sales in April – the second full month of the war – were down 6.2% compared with March, and down a whopping 23% from the year before, according to Cox Automotive.
True, overall car sales were down last month, but just by 5.4% year over year, and 1.9% from March.
In other words, people were increasingly turning to gasoline-powered cars when they bought in April.
Ode To A Beagle Named Rocky
14 replies
We normally don’t use this space for personal announcements. That isn’t the purpose or mission of Issues & Insights. But, since we answer to no one but ourselves, we can break our own rules.
On Saturday, our family lost our 12-year-old Beagle, Rocky, to cancer. We didn’t even know he had cancer until a week before.
After a recent move, we’d taken Rocky to a new vet for a wellness check and mentioned that his eating habits had recently changed. Instead of his normal voracious appetite – so voracious that we had to buy a dish designed to slow down eating
The cost of higher education has become a major issue for many, if not most, American parents and even grandparents. As education costs explode, so has the amount of debt students have to pay off after they graduate. This month’s I&I/TIPP Poll asks: Is it worth the cost? And what role should government play?
The national online I&I/TIPP Poll, taken by 1,464 adults from April 28 to May 1 , asked voters four education-finance related questions. The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.9 percentage points.
The first question: “Do you believe the federal government should provide student loans and financial aid to college programs where
Predicting that catastrophe is just around the next corner is an old game for the global warming crowd. From Al Gore to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to King Charles to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the forecasts of doom have been raining down on us for decades. That we are able to note this today is remarkable, because one crank is sure that 2026 is the year of our extinction.
“I can’t imagine there will be a human on the planet in 10 years,” Guy McPherson said when asked in 2016 how much time the human race had.
“We’re headed for a temperature in that span
Last week, in the wake of the Democrats losing the redistricting battles, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “We will beat the far-right extremists. We’re going to win in November, and then we’re going to crush their souls as it relates to the extremism that they are trying to unleash on the American people.”
To Politico, this is a sign that Democrats had “ditched the niceties,” calling it “a marked reversal from years of high-minded Democratic rhetoric.” MS NOW reports that “Democrats say they are done playing defense.”
“Niceties”? “High-minded rhetoric”? “Playing defense”? When have Democrats ever been like that?
The news stories are pretty much all the same. Heartless Republicans slashed Medicaid spending and let temporary “enhanced” Obamacare subsidies expire, and now millions are losing health insurance.
But buried deep within those stories, if it’s there at all, is the fact that when measured properly, enrollment for both programs is up.
Here’s a prime example.
Axios this week ran a story with the headline “Health program cuts hit home, fueling blame game.”
It begins by saying that “Sweeping changes that congressional Republicans made to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid are starting
Voters Lukewarm On U.S.-Iran War, As Majority
Oppose Use Of Ground Troops In Iran: I&I/TIPP Poll 6 replies
Oppose Use Of Ground Troops In Iran: I&I/TIPP Poll 6 replies
President Donald Trump has worked hard to forge a deal to end the U.S.-Iran war and avoid a wider conflict. But, as the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows, Americans remain sharply split over the U.S. military action, and strongly oppose sending ground troops into Iran.
The national online I&I/TIPP Poll, taken by 1,464 adults from April 28 to May 1, asked: “Do you support or oppose the United States military action against Iran?” The poll’s margin of error is +/-2.9 percentage points.
Among all those responding, 43% said they support the U.S.-Iran war either strongly (23%) or somewhat (20%), while 47% said they oppose the war either strongly (30%) or
Running On Rage
3 replies
Why does America have elected officials? If a visiting alien were introduced to the Democratic Party and asked that question, he’d surely say the purpose is to accumulate, consolidate, and hold power. This is the state of that party in 2026.
Of course, this is not a new development. The Democratic Party has been moving from a traditional political group (with a long history of proposing poor ideas) to a mob that wants to rule over the country rather than represent voters, defend the Constitution, and uphold the rule of law.
There’s no better example of this than the tantrum the party is pitching over the Virginia Supreme Court’s
When the federal government released its jobs report for April, even the die-hard Trump-hating media had to admit that the gain “beat expectations.” Economists had expected just 65,000, not the 115,000 reported.
But the jobs report is even better than advertised, because it included a loss of 9,000 federal workers.
That wasn’t how mainstream news outlets covered the report. They were busy on Friday, warning about “several red flags” and that “the solid-looking topline employment numbers mask underlying weakness in the labor market.”
Given the inability of these “experts” to
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said it’s “absolutely a legitimate question” as to whether lower court judges should defy the Supreme Court when it comes to emergency docket decisions. (snip) U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel...was interviewing Jackson... when he (asked the question).“ Jackson said it is “absolutely a legitimate question and a legitimate concern.”
The June 2024 presidential debate between then-President Joe Biden (D) and then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump was inarguably one of the most consequential events in American political history, largely because it proved to the American people beyond a shadow of a doubt that the occupant of the Oval Office was unwell. As we all know, it led to Biden withdrawing from the presidential race three weeks later after essentially being forced out by his fellow Democrats. It was a reckoning of sorts for the Democrat Party, the Biden-Harris administration, and the mainstream media, all of whom played starring roles in the deliberate years-long cover-up of Biden's decline,
Feds seize $40M in gold bars, cash, Rolexes
from former CIA official who faked being
a Navy pilot 23 replies
from former CIA official who faked being
a Navy pilot 23 replies
A former senior U.S. government official with top secret security clearance was arrested after the FBI raided his Virginia home and discovered a staggering $40 million stash of gold bars, $2 million in cash and 35 luxury watches, court documents reveal. David J. Rush was arrested May 19 and is facing federal charges for theft of public money after allegedly swindling the government out of tens of millions of dollars while posing as a highly decorated Navy Reserve captain and Air Force test pilot. [T]he grift unraveled after Rush made multiple requests for a "significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars."
Congressman Tim Burchett Introducing ‘DROP
Act’ to Bring Back Hanging Executions
for Savage Killers 22 replies
Act’ to Bring Back Hanging Executions
for Savage Killers 22 replies
Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett is calling for the return of hanging as a federal execution method in response to one of the most depraved crimes in recent memory: the months-long torture, rape, and murder of 19-year-old Isabella Stroupe in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In a viral X post on Sunday, Burchett directly quoted a detailed account of Stroupe’s horrific death and asserted, “I have a bill to bring back hanging. Let’s see if all the tough talk by Congress holds up. Support the Drop Act.” Stroupe, 19, was found dead in an east Charlotte apartment in early May. According to court affidavits and police reports, she had been bound to
Federal judge privately reprimanded for
having extramarital sex in chambers with
police officer 21 replies
having extramarital sex in chambers with
police officer 21 replies
A federal district judge has been disciplined for having extramarital sex with a law enforcement officer inside the judge's chambers during business hours, according to several news reports.
A special committee for the Eleventh Circuit on Friday found the judge, who isn’t named, "demonstrated a gross lack of judgment." Clerks could overhear the intercourse taking place, which was "extremely uncomfortable and troubling" for them, according to Bloomberg Law.
The affair exposed the judge to risks of extortion since his or her spouse wasn't aware of the affair.
Spoiler alert: Naaah. But it's certainly fun to fantasize.
Yes, John Cornyn may have been a slightly safer bet than Ken Paxton in a general election. Given the relative difference between how the two would have voted over the next six years, the gain from nominating Paxton probably doesn't justify the assumed risk of dethroning the incumbent Cornyn. It might take more money to fight for the seat in the general election, but that assumes that Democrats would have left Texas alone had Cornyn eked out a win over Paxton.
In the end, though, Texas is Texas,
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is gaining a reputation for penning nonsensical solo dissents in what should otherwise be unanimous Supreme Court decisions. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that her colleagues are no longer shy about putting such incoherence in its place. The latest incident came on Thursday in the Supreme Court’s Fernandez v. United States decision, in which the 8-1 majority held that “the supposed invalidity” of a prisoner’s conviction “is not among the ‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ that justify compassionate release.” (Compassionate release is a process by which convicted individuals may seek a reduced sentence or early release due
Blue States Starting to Curb ‘Free’
Healthcare to Migrants as Budgets Spin
Out of Control 17 replies
Healthcare to Migrants as Budgets Spin
Out of Control 17 replies
A host of deep blue states are quietly pulling back from their generous programs of “free” healthcare to migrants as federal dollars dry up and their budgets continue to spiral into the red. With the Trump administration beginning to close the spigot of billions in federal aid that many states lavishly spent caring for illegal migrants, sates including California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Oregon Washington, and the District of Columbia are finding that they cannot afford to replace the chocked off federal dollars with their own state budget dollars. This reality setting in has caused state officials to begin scaling back their freebies —
Donald Trump’s reputation and political career were built on his dealmaking prowess, yet the president keeps demonstrating that he is a terrible negotiator.
Repeatedly over the past nine years, Trump has gotten rolled by counterparts during high-stakes exchanges. North Korea, Russia, Russia again, China, and China again have gotten the better of the United States.
Ebola outbreak spreading faster than measures
can contain it, international health aid
group says 17 replies
can contain it, international health aid
group says 17 replies
U.S-based health aid organization is warning that the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is spreading faster than responders can contain it.
The warning came Tuesday from the International Rescue Committee, which said the outbreak is no longer limited to remote areas of northeastern Congo, ABC News reported.
Cases are now spreading to larger regional hubs, including the major city of Goma and Uganda's capital, Kampala.
The outbreak has resulted in over 900 suspected cases and at least 223 deaths so far.
President Trump’s surprise endorsement catapulted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to a landslide victory in Tuesday’s Republican Senate primary runoff election.
As has been the case throughout the 2026 midterm primary season, Trump’s stamp of approval remains critical for GOP candidates in local and statewide elections.
Here are four takeaways from the contests in the Lone Star State.After coming in second place in the preliminary March 3 primary, Paxton was propelled by the president’s endorsement — defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) by a stunning 27-point margin (63.8% to 36.2%) in the runoff.
For years, Democrats and their allies in the media swore Joe Biden was sharp as a tack, fully capable, and absolutely fine. Then came the June 2024 debate, and that story collapsed in real time before millions of viewers. The fallout was so bad that Biden's own party forced him off the ticket. He dropped out, spent the rest of his term below the radar, and has spent his post-presidency trying to rehabilitate his image. Now, that effort has taken a new and telling turn. Biden filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to block the Justice Department from releasing roughly