January 25, 2026
Snow Day; ICE follies; Pretti-Good; Stan The Man Loses
Hello from Minnesota NYC. For once the weather reports weren’t exaggerating. I went up on the roof and took these pics.
Pictures don’t do the cold, blurry reality justice. While my eyes saw nothing but a chaotic wall of moving snow and whitish/grey haze, my camera’s shutter speed froze the action and so captures a false impression of clarity.
The visibility was low, it’s very cold, there’s a strong wind, and the snow is powdery.
I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and I can’t find out whether the place will even be open. Note to self (and you):
Do not make doctor’s appointments in winter on a Monday, because you won’t be able to cancel over the weekend.
My heart goes out to all the brave men and women who must work today, especially our law enforcement officers and firefighters.
That goes double for ICE, triple for ICE-men in Minnesota. They have a tough job and they’re being put on the spot by both demonstrators and the Administration.
I refuse to get upset over the latest unfortunate incident. I will not comply.
Advice to leftists: Don’t bring a gun to a demonstration or an “observation” or whatever you want to call it. You almost never have the right to pull a weapon on a law enforcement officer. I added the qualifier “almost never” because there is a theoretical sliver of legal space the size of an onion skin where it might be justified (such as cases where you don’t know someone is a LEO). Virtually all of the time, the instant you show that gun, you aren't a “protester” anymore—you've forfeited your legal protections and handed the state every reason to use force.
I don’t give a damn about Alex Pretti.
The woman died. The POS had a bunch of warrants outstanding. The woman eventually died of her injuries. Not sure what ultimately happened to the murderer - he was referred for psych eval. (A whole other can of worms—don’t get me started…)
I’m more upset about this nameless woman than Alex Pretti or Renee Good. The only reason we know their names is because they were white, and stupid.
I could give you a dozen more examples of blameless New Yorkers, mostly “of color” who have been maimed and murdered by career criminals. I care about these victims. Not Pretti-Good.
It’s obvious that Tim Walz is whipping up trouble because he wants to distract attention from his corruption woes. Jacob Frey is his miserable mini-me.
But….
I don’t think the administration is handling this provocation at all well. The media are of course making shit up and fabricating data to prove that ICE is unpopular. Americans voted for Trump to take care of the border (which he has) and deport illegals (which is much more difficult). But I think they’re playing into the hands of the left.
I’ve had a huge problem with Kristi Noem from the start. I don’t trust her. With her makeup plastered face and silly long tresses, she doesn’t project authority — she projects an annoying DEI Barbie vibe. Time for a haircut, sweetie.
I think Eric is right. But the buck stops… where? Trump.
I want to get this job done. That doesn’t mean I believe in giving in to Walz, a low-life instigator. I do not agree with slimy Megyn Kelly, who thinks the federal government should vacate Minnesota and let the place rot.
That’s an abrogation of authority and responsibility, something she’s good at.
I just think we could be doing it without the theatrics.
But yes, let’s note why we’re in this mess:
As I expected, colorful, wonderful Stan “the Man/Stanimal” Wawrinka lost to the dully competent and perfectly named Taylor Fritz in the Australian Open, as I expected.
It wasn’t a blowout (7-6 2-6 6-4 6-4), but in sports, youth must be served, as it was here. He took a set off the younger man, but was eventually battered into submission by Fritz’s crushing forehand and power (30 aces). Fritz actually looked semi-interesting in this match, as if some of Wawrinka’s pizzazz rubbed off on him.
The years 2003 to 2023 are alternately referred to as “The Big Three” era (Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic) or “The Big Four,” because of Andy Murray. I could make a case for either. During that era there was only one player who was a threat to beat any of them: Stan Wawrinka. When he was on his game, he was the peer of four of the greatest players of the modern era.
Peak Wawrinka is some of the best tennis you will ever see. And the level is rightly praised, with many saying that Wawrinka's best level is at the same level of the Big 3 - few can really argue. We all know that peak Wawrinka rarely shows up, but once he does, he usually ends up winning the entire tournament. However, one match that is rarely talked about is his straight sets win over Federer in the 2015 French Open. Perhaps it's overshadowed by the fact that he beat peak Djokovic in the final, a guy that pretty much went unbeaten all year. But still, his win over Federer isn't praised enough imo. I'd say it's probably among Wawrinka's top 3 best matches ever, maybe it even rivals his performance against Djokovic?
That’s a pretty good career, in my opinion.
And that backhand….
It wasn’t just the shorts. It was the T-shirt as well.
Good job, Diana. I agree the Government could do its work better and more efficiently without the theatrics. About twenty years ago my son was working at a local HVAC company that began hiring illegal aliens. He found out some of them were taking home more than he was, which caused resentment on his part, but he minded his business. Anyway, one day a swarm of cop cars showed up. There were so many they filled up the parking lot. The Feds had support from the local police and the sheriff's department. They even had IRS agents out there. Two or three dozen illegals were taken away, and the company's owners were arrested and jailed. The owners had to pay huge fines of several hundred thousand dollars, and one went to prison. It came to light they had recruiters down at the border hiring the workers and hauling them up to the city, which I guess made the case easy to prosecute.
The point is the officers got the job done well without any need for confronting protesters or shooting anyone, and the publicity afterward was enough to make anyone else doing that stuff around here to sit up and take notice.