Tag: Border Wall

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Throwback Thursday on a Saturday

Small Town Guy, Big City Thoughts, and a Throwback Thursday on the wrong day.

There’s a popular hashtag that regularly makes the rounds on social media. It’s #TBT, which stands for “Throwback Thursday.” Well, I had my very own Throwback Thursday last Saturday

Had a little bit of a flashback to my sports play-by-play days on Saturday. Went down to the Target Center in Minneapolis to watch some small-town basketball. Spring Grove (one of the teams my paper covers) was in town to take on LeRoy-Ostrander. A couple of times a season, small town teams come in and get to play in the Target Center while the Timberwolves are out of town. Kind of a season highlight for the kids and a lot of fun for moms and dads. It was also a nice throwback for me.

Throwback Thursday
Cade Grinde attempts a free throw for the Spring Grove boys’ basketball team, who beat LeRoy-Ostrander on Saturday in a game played at Target Center in Minneapolis. (Photo by Chad Smith)

I’m still blown away by just how good the Target Center looks after renovations last year. I went and looked back at some pictures I took when Redwood Valley made the boys’ state basketball tournaments just to be sure, and I was right. That old dark wooden floor (that always looked like it hadn’t been waxed in years) made the atmosphere so dark and gloomy. The new wood floor down there, combined with the GIGANTIC overhead screens/scoreboards give the Target Center a modern-day feel. I like it. Now if we could just put a more successful franchise in there?

Throwback Thursday
Here’s me courtside at the Target Center back in the day. As you can see, I’m waiting with breathless anticipation for a Redwood Valley Cardinals boys’ basketball game at the state tournament. (Photo by Miller Photography)

Is it seriously the end of January already? Wasn’t it just Christmas like two weeks ago?

Thank the Good Lord that the government shutdown is (temporarily) over. I really don’t care what your politics are. Our “leaders” are getting fat and rich by keeping their hands in our collective cookie jar. How do they keep getting elected?

For that matter, why is it a bad thing to want to secure the southern border? I’ve got a wife, daughter, and relatives I’d like to see kept safe. Anyone arguing against securing the southern border, while at the same time living behind a wall that surrounds their private residence (pick a politician), is an absolute hypocrite.

Throwback Thursday
Thank goodness the government shutdown is at least temporarily over. Too many people got hurt in the process of scoring political points. (Photo from ijr.com)

I saw a headline today that said the Infernal Revenue Service is going to need some time to get through the work backlog because of the shutdown? Have THAT many people already submitted their tax returns? And does that seem a little ominous for those of us still waiting for our W-2 forms?

Watching the Golden State Warriors play the Celtics in Boston tonight and got to thinking: Do they EVER call traveling in the NBA? I KNOW they don’t when James Harden is playing. If you doubt me, just watch the highlights. That step-back three he likes so much from the right wing (and never seems to miss)? I swear to you his feet shuffles and THEN he takes a step back. And watch The Beard when he drives to the basket. How many steps does he take between picking up the dribble and laying it in? You’ll be surprised. Take a look here. There’s a lot of discussion out there about this very topic 🙂

That’s all I have for now. I’m sitting here at home on a Saturday night, just before 9 p.m., and got to thinking that things have changed. This used to be PRIME TIME go out time back in the day. Now I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to make it successfully till ten o’clock. Can anyone else relate to advancing middle age as much as I can right now?

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Government Shutdown Gets a Repreive

Trump Announces Temporary End to Partial Government Shutdown

President Trump announced Friday that he had reached an agreement with Congressional Democrats to temporarily reopen the Federal Government, ending the 35-day partial government shutdown. Nine departments had gone without funding, including the USDA. Senate lawmakers from both parties had asked the president to temporarily reopen the government while they work on a broad-scale immigration agreement. (Photo from timesofisrael.com)

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has reached an agreement to reopen the federal government for three weeks. That three-week continuing resolution will allow furloughed federal employees to return to work. Trump also promised to get them their back-pay, “As soon as possible. It will be quick.” The remarks come on the 35th day of the shutdown. Members of the Senate from both parties have recently pushed Trump to temporarily reopen the government and restart serious negotiations on a wider-reaching immigration deal. Trump did mention the importance of allowing immigrants to legally enter the country to work, something very important to agriculture. The three-week resolution will allow the government to reopen nine unfunded departments, which includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Two bills to reopen the government were shot down in the Senate on Thursday. That got serious negotiations going for the first time in weeks. Trump had asked for a “down payment” on funding for a border wall in exchange for reopening the government, but it’s still unclear if he got what he asked for. Trump said he has other options that would allow him to build the southern border wall. Right now, It’s unclear if he’ll take any steps if lawmakers temporarily fund the government but don’t reach a solution on immigration.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today issued the following statement in response to President Donald J. Trump’s announcement of reopening the federal government:

Government shutdown
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue is pleased that the partial government shutdown ended on Friday. He said they’ll be working to reestablish all USDA functions as soon as possible. Photo from foodsafetynews.com)

“President Trump’s announcement of the reopening of the federal government is welcome news, as it will bring thousands of our employees back to work and return us to our mission of providing our customers with the services they rely upon.  I extend my sincere thanks to the thousands of USDA workers who stayed on the job during the shutdown to offer as many of our normal activities as we could.  The President has already signed legislation that guarantees backpay for all employees, and we will move forward on that as soon as possible.  Meanwhile, we will prepare for a smooth reestablishment of USDA functions.

“There will now be sufficient time for Congress to come to an agreement with the President on his pledge to protect our national security by securing our southern border with a reliable, effective barrier.”

Here’s the announcement from Fox 10 in Phoenix, Arizona: