Its official Gen. 'Mad Dog' Mattis... you can drop the Mad

Gen. Mattis Calls on Biden to End ‘America First’ Policies: It Means ‘America Alone’

This coming from a former United States Marine Corps four-star general!!!

Can’t believe what I’m reading. Been saying that a lot lately. 

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

They may look similar but...

"When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty. It may not sound nice to some bunch of little old ladies at an afternoon tea party, but it helps my soldiers to remember. You can't run an army without profanity; and it has to be eloquent profanity. An army without profanity couldn't fight its way out of a piss-soaked paper bag. As for the types of comments I make, sometimes I just, By God, get carried away with my own eloquence."

Can you imagine "Blood and Guts" wanting to end 'America First’ policies? 

Former Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis is calling on President-elect Joe Biden to kill “America first” policies.

“To achieve defense in depth, simply strengthening the U.S. military is not enough; nor the even more urgent task of strengthening U.S. diplomacy and other civilian elements of national power,” Mattis wrote in a Monday op-ed in Foreign Affairs. “Enhancing national security must start with the fundamental truth that the United States cannot protect itself or its interests without the help of others.”

He also wrote that the U.S. under President Donald Trump had undermined the “foundations” of “international order” as a result of “basic ignorance” of international affairs. “In practice, ‘America first’ has meant ‘America alone,'” Mattis added. “That has damaged the country’s ability to address problems before they reach U.S. territory and has thus compounded the danger emergent threats pose.”

Mattis served as Trump’s first secretary of defense, beginning in 2017 and ending with his resignation in February 2019. His tenure was marred by disagreement with the president on a range of issues, including U.S. participation in NATO as well as the president’s desire to take more a more aggressive stance toward Iran and Syria.

The conflict between Trump and Mattis escalated to such a degree, The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward revealed in September, that Mattis once even contemplated taking “collective action” against the president during tensions with North Korea, allegedly telling then-National Intelligence Director Dan Coats he believed Trump was “dangerous” and “unfit” for office.

In Monday’s op-ed — which also featured bylines from two staffers at the Hoover Institution, along with one from the American Enterpriser Institute — Mattis called on Biden to transform America first policies into something more “cooperative.”

“In January, when President Joe Biden and his national security team begin to reevaluate U.S. foreign policy, we hope they will quickly revise the national security strategy to eliminate ‘America first’ from its contents, restoring in its place the commitment to cooperative security that has served the United States so well for decades,” Mattis wrote. “The best strategy for ensuring safety and prosperity is to buttress American military strength with enhanced civilian tools and a restored network of solid alliances — both necessary to achieving defense in depth. The pandemic should serve as a reminder of what grief ensues when we wait for problems to come to us.”

Imagine there was a General Romney?

Its official Gen. 'Mad Dog' Mattis... you can drop the Mad

Spotted lanternfly makes landfall in Ohio; officials urge vigilance

It was a flickering neon light that may have attracted it. It’s likely the red and grey distinctive spotted fly hopped from a nearby rail car, which routinely runs about 50 feet away from the shop’s window. 

Jason Kopras, an auto glass shop owner, found the spotted lanternfly on the windowsill of his business JK Auto Glass, in Mingo Junction.

It marks the first documented case of the spotted lanternfly in Ohio. If, and when, the invasive species becomes entrenched in Ohio, experts say it will have a devastating ripple effect on state growers.

More: Ohioans urged to be on lookout for destructive spotted lanternfly

“I said, ‘Man, it's the weirdest-looking moth I've ever seen. When I looked at it, it was dead. I picked it up, brought it inside and set it on my file cabinet for about a week,” Kopras said.

He tied it to a fishing lure as a joke.

“I kept showing people that came in because the design on this thing was amazing. I didn't know it was a nuisance," he said.

The spotted lanternfly, which is native to Asia, decimates almonds, apples, blueberries, cherries, peaches, grapes and hops, as well as hardwoods such as oak, walnut and poplar, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture. The insect is likely to find Ohio's weather ideal. 

(Well I'll be damned. So in the dreaded year of  2020 out of 50 states they just so happened to wind up in OH...the state with the ideal weather.)

And what country is the heart of Asia?

First this.

Then this.

And now we have the Spotted lanternfly.

But keep your mouth shut because you may be deemed a racist!

I'm sure the left will tell you it's all just a coincidence.

About a week after Kopras found the fly, Ben Long, 43, a mechanic who follows Ohio State University's extension Facebook group, immediately recognized the fly from posts online.

More: Great Lakes anglers remain wary of invasion of Asian carp

Long called Ohio Department of Agriculture's tip line on Oct. 19.

"I snapped a picture with my phone and texted it," The state ag department responded immediately, saying that insect was a spotted lanternfly.

"We determined that there are railroad tracks all around this location. We started looking in that area," said David Adkins, an inspection manager in the pest control section at the Ohio Department of Agriculture, who went to check for an infestation.

It didn't take long for him to find them.

"I think it was the second tree I looked at, there was a spotted lanternfly. It was an an Ailanthus tree, (also known as tree of heaven). So at that time, we dug a little deeper, found some more."

The spotted lanternfly favors an invasive plant as a its food source, the Ailanthus, which is also native to Asia.

The invasive plant often grows along cleared right of ways of railroad tracks. It's not easy to eradicate. The Ailanthus has a deep root system. If it's cut down, it just grows back. The plant has to be cut down and also treated with an herbicide. To remove it completely would be cost prohibitive for property owners, Adkins said.

Hitchhiking into Ohio

Railroad tracks runs on both sides of Kopras' business. 

"They need to do something about it. Spray these train cars with some kind of killing agent," Kopras said. "Get rid of these things. That should be a regulation they should have to take care of." 

There are major railroads and interstates that provide pathways for the insects to travel.

They spotted lanternflies don't fly as much as glide. They can jump by about 25 to 35 yards.

"A lot of times, to get greater distance, these insects will climb up higher in the trees or up higher on a building, and then putting themselves off so that they can get greater distance," Adkins said. 

More: Asian jumping worms latest threat to Ohio gardens, woodlands

Without an established population, "it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. ... It doesn't get easy until you get a heavy population. And that's what we're trying to avoid," he said.

Upon finding the first spotted lanternflies, Adkins knew he would need a larger crew.

He returned with a team of about 20 staff members from agencies, including the Ohio Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio State University Extension. They all pitched in to do visual surveys and insect trapping.

About 40 insects were found after crews canvassed the area.

“Right now, it's not widespread at all. We just have the one area in Mingo Junction that we've identified as a potential problem area. We have not confirmed and established population yet. We have not found any egg masses,” Adkins said.

To be considered an infestation, Adkins said, egg masses would have to be found showing a complete life cycle. 

While the insects may be beautiful to look at, both nymphs and adults annihilate plants. The spotted lanternfly feeds on the sap of plants. But then the insects produce a substance, known as honeydew, that they spew out, soaking the leaves. The honeydew prevents the plant from being able to photosynthesize. That leads to mold and rot, which kills the plant.

The life cycle of the flies begins as early as March, when the insects are solid black, hatching from eggs. By mid-summer, the insect is red with black stripes and white dots, about a half-inch in size, and preparing to transition from nymph to adult. From August, the insects grow into adults with wings. They lay eggs in the fall. 

In the fall months, well into November, spotted lanternflies are easy to find. They are fully grown adults spanning about an inch in size.

State agencies are tasked with trying to squash an infestation before it begins. They have limited resources to do it as state revenue plunges amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"There's always a concern. Where are we going to come up with the money to do what we need to do?" Adkins said. "That's why we're trying to find this early when populations are small and we can eradicate it early in these small areas is very important, but we have to stay vigilant."

Adkins encourages Ohioans to contact the Ohio Department of Agriculture if they believe they find one of the spotted lanternflies.

So far, Kopras hasn't found any more spotted lanternflies. 

"I look all the time," he said.

Ohioans can use an online form to contact ag officials or call the Plant Pest Control Division at 614-728-6400.

Spotted lanternfly makes landfall in Ohio; officials urge vigilance

Outrage after 'The Butcher of New York' accepts an Emmy for his daily C-19 press conferences Monday

  Critics insist he's more deserving of a 'prison cell' than he is of an award for his pandemic response

(Too bad Hitler committed suicide he would have received an Oscar for his part in WWII)  

Cuomo was given the International Founders Emmy on Monday in a virtual ceremony that credited his 'masterful use of TV' during the pandemic

Before delivering his acceptance speech, he was praised by a number of New York-based stars, including Spike Lee, Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller 

His new book:

About as believable as this one.

A few of the tweets:

Fox News senior Meteorologist Janice Dean, who lost both of her in-laws to COVID-19, meanwhile, said it was 'sickening' to see Cuomo 'profiting off deaths of our loved ones.'

Oh...and a special shout out to the Emmy Awrd Winner. Trump busted his balls to send the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort to New York City to help alleviate non-COVID-19 medical needs.

Don't think it was there a week before becoming infected with C-19.

Outrage after 'The Butcher of New York' accepts an Emmy for his daily C-19 press conferences Monday

Let's see how they're going to blame a white cop for this one

Breonna Taylor protest leader, 21, is shot dead 'during carjacking' near University of Louisville campus

Hamza 'Travis' Nagdy may have thought he would get some notoriety. After all, isn’t his life just as valuable as Breonna Taylor’s? Sadly Hamza, you were shot by members of your own race which makes you a nobody in the eyes of BLM and the MSM.

Let's see how they're going to blame a white cop for this one

Trump warned us...and here it comes!!!

Proposed Biden Gun Tax Could Top $34 Billion

If you live in GA, MI, and PA this will make you see red...again!

This goes against the very fabric of the Constitution. But since when do we care about the Constitution anymore?

Report: 20 million ARs, 150 million ammunition magazines would be taxed under Biden proposal

AR-15s at a gun store in Orem, Utah / Getty Images

American gun owners could face tens of billions of dollars in new taxes to keep the guns they already own under Democrat Joe Biden's gun ban and tax plan.

At least 20 million rifles and 150 million ammunition magazines would be caught up in the sales ban and registration scheme Biden touted on the campaign trail, according to a National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) report. The new taxes would cost Americans more than $34 billion, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.

NSSF told the Washington Free Beacon the sheer number of affected guns and magazines could pose a significant problem for Biden's gun-control plans.

"I think if [Biden and his team] were smart, they would look at those numbers and get an idea of where America stands on gun ownership and gun rights," NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva said.

Biden wants to ban new sales of AR-15 rifles and similar firearms as well as any ammunition magazine holding more than 10 rounds—sizes that come standard on most modern rifles and handguns. He would pay some owners to surrender the affected guns they legally own and force everyone else to register the guns under the National Firearms Act. The proposal would require owners to pay a $200 tax stamp for each item.

The report said the kinds of rifles Biden wants to ban made up nearly half of all rifles produced in 2018. Oliva said the group's estimates may actually be undercounts. While NSSF used the latest Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives manufacturer reports, those only cover up to 2018, and Oliva said AR-15s have continued to grow in popularity since then.

"That manufacturer's report comes out [with] an 18 to 24-month delay," Oliva said. "That number is probably significantly higher now."

Oliva pointed to record sales in 2020 as evidence that the amount of ARs and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds has only increased in recent months. He said the firearms Biden hopes to ban are popular because they offer modularity and customizability while being effective for hunting, sport shooting, and home defense.

The report, which was released Monday, also found that 11.4 million firearms were made or imported into the United States in 2018. A further 9.3 million were made or imported in 2019. That brings the total number of firearms on the American market between 1991 and 2019 up to nearly 214 million.

Oliva said those numbers, combined with the fact that Americans increasingly favor AR-15s and other rifles targeted by Biden and gun-control advocates, are evidence the country is not interested in strict new gun laws.

"America's attitude on gun control is shifting more toward the idea that we need to protect our rights and away from the idea we need government control of our destiny," he said.

The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump warned us...and here it comes!!!