they fill us full of lies, everyone buys

 'Bout what it means to be a soldier

I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel
'Bout all the blood that's been spilled
Will god on this throne
Get me back home
On the day after tomorrow (Tom Waits)

it's been 3 days since the 3 young American Soldiers lost their lives in Jordan at the hands of an Iranian proxie drone. As of this writing the families of the soldiers have not heard from POTUS directly, and the US response to this act of war has been crickets...Dementia Joe is on his way to a fundraiser in Florida, and Kareem Abdul Piere gave a bumbling, stumbling incoherent statement on the Whitehouse lawn that would make the VP's word salads look like clear thought. 

Back on October 8th President Biden warned Iran NOT to attack American forces in the region with his one word speech....."Don't"........probably because he didn't remember the rest or couldn't read the cue cards but whatever......the VP then did an interview and she too said our message to Iran was "Don't" , and then she giggled like a teenager at a high school dance....her juvenile response to everything over her head....a giggle and fake laugh.....this administration kept it up as if it was a campaign slogan.....everytime Joe was asked on camera a serious question about our warning to Iran not to attack our men and Women serving in harms way......he would chuckle sand repeat "DON'T".....Since October 17th there have been 160 attacks on US Forces in the Middle East.

I wonder how the families, friends and loved ones of the 3 Georgia Residents Killed ( 2 women and 1 male soldier) feel now about this silly giggle and cackling? I wonder how the families of the other 40 service members seriously injured in this attack feel about 72 hours of silence? 

The truth is that this administration is guilty of dereliction of duty. Joe Biden should be tried and convicted of treason against the United States for his failure to secure of borders and his lack of action in protecting our troops. Had he responded with force back in October, these 3 young soldiers would be alive today. The sad fact is that this is not the first time......he left our troops vulnerable during the botched Afghanistan withdrawal and 13 servicemen paid the price with their lives. This is a pattern of either incompetence or willful disregard.......neither which is an excusable defense.  The country is at war whether we like it or not and treasonous acts like this should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Blinken, Austin and Kirby walk on tippy toes every time they speak....they start every response with "We don't want war or escalations"......well if that is how the Commander in Chief and his Administration feel, then they should allow every single member of the Armed Forces the chance to be discharged this morning....because they volunteered  to protect this Nation and fight our enemies.....not to be cannon fodder or political pawns......if the Administration is not going to enable the military to fight our enemies, then we need to disband the military altogether and surrender. I am sick to my stomach at this embarrassment of a nation ....and Nobody, NOBODY gives a fuck.......the majority of the country has their collective head so far up Taylor Swifts ass, that they couldn't tell you names of the deceased soldiers.

The three soldiers killed are Sgt. William Jerome Rivers of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett of Savannah, Georgia. All three were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, Fort Moore, Georgia.

if we don't wake up and speak up pronto, it may be too late come January.    we are a sad punchline to a bad joke at the moment. 

I just do what I've been told
We're just the gravel on the road
And only the lucky ones come home
On the day after tomorrow

And the summer, it too will fade
And with it brings the winter's frost dear
And I know we too are made
Of all the things that we have lost here

wait until the war is over

And we're both a little older
The unknown soldier
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Unborn living, living, dead
Bullet strikes the helmet's head ( Jim Morrison)

51 years ago today the Paris accord was signed, thus ending the Viet Nam War. I must say i do not specifically remember this day in history. ( i believe talks had been progressing and the peace agreement was imminent ) I certainly do remember the War though.....i remember the evening news disrupting the family dinner...I remember my father screaming at Walter Kronkite  every few days and threatening to throw the television out into the street......I remember the draft ....i know they put each day of the year into a bowl and drew the dates one by one ..all 366 possible birthdays....the number that corresponded to your birthday became your draft number....so if you were born on June 14th and they pulled that out of the hat first....you and everyone else born on that day had a draft number 1. This was before the internet and so they would print the draft results in the ancient artifacts at the time...the daily newspapers. I also remember the bracelets with the names of the MIA-POWs that people were encouraged to wear until the name on the bracelet was freed.....or unfortunately more frequently their corpse was retrieved or identified. My oldest brother was draft age eligible but was a student at Manhattan College, so i guess he was exempt....i do remember as a 6-, 7- or 8-year-old kid being afraid that he would have to go to Viet Nam. Maybe having the country at war during such an impressionable age, had an impact on my generation. I remember the Vets finally received their welcome home moment in the Spring of 1985....I was on delayed entry into the Navy when the Viet Nam Vets marched over the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall and Thousands of Cheering New Yorkers /Americans. I was with my Uncle Frank, he had served in WWII .(he brought home a Knotsee Flag from the fall of Berlin and i am in possession of it today)...and he was a retired NYPD officer.....we went into a dozen Bars in the Wall Street area, and he seemed to know someone in every joint....he had the gift of Gab and a zillion great stories to tell.....I turned on the news this morning and they are calling this Holocaust Remembrance Day....no mention of the war that tore America in half, coming to an end.

And so  51 years later, the demented Commander in Chief is threatening action against TEXAS.....Not the Hooties and blowfish in Yemen that keep firing missiles at the US Navy in the Red Sea. His sights are set on Texas for the crime of defending our nations border and installing razor wire to prevent an illegal alien invasion.

Basement Joe also urged and signed off on the sale of 23 billion in Fighter Jets to Turkey....Turkey will in turn use these Jets to attack our Kurdish allies in Syria. (Not a good time to be a friend of America). This was payback for Turkey  "ALLOWING" Sweeden to join NATO.  Erdogan, the same man that gassed and or imprisoned thousands of his political opponents; has been meeting with Iran ....yep, that Iran......why would a NATO member be offering an olive branch to Iran ? hmm....lets hope those fighter Jets aren't used against our guys in the not too distant future.

You have to wonder just how much damage this man, or whomever is calling the shots; can do to this country before the next inauguration.

Make a grave for the unknown soldier
Nestled in your hollow shoulder

Blind man running

 through the light of the night
With an answer in his hand
Come on down to the river of sight
And you can really understand (N. Young)

how shallow must one be?

 how black are their hearts. ?

The Chicago Bulls apparently (thanks Phil Mushnick) had a   special celebration last week to honor the anniversary of their Championship Years with Michael Jordan. Players, Coaches and Team Officials were invited back for a special night. Jerry Krause, the architect of these teams; passed away back in 2017. ( Mr Krause was portrayed as the Villian in the ESPN docuseries Last dance....although he built the Team, he was also the GM when they eventually collapsed))  Mr Krause was represented by his 80-year-old widow, she was in a wheelchair and was accompanied by her grandchildren.  She was greeted with Boos....the self-righteous, entitled low life scum in attendance booed an 80-year-old woman. One can only imagine how emotional the night must've been for this woman who misses her husband but decided to represent him. She was probably encouraged to do so by her children and Grandchildren. And then she is booed.....she broke down in tears and had to be comforted by former player Ron Harper........as Mushnick put it, this 80-year-old woman and her late husband were humiliated by dehumanized humans. I wonder if these dirtbags laid their heads on the pillow that night and felt satisfied with their behavior. That's America in the post pandemic world....sports only serves as the window into our country's soul.....we see it in politics, we witness it on mass transit and on the streets of the city....it's ugly and it's angry.

A roar went up on Staten Island last night as Jets fans celebrated as if they had won a playoff game......not quite...but their division rivals , the Buffalo Bills, lost on a missed field Goal.....wasn't all that long ago in the Lief that Jimmy Polis and Duff were cheering on these same Bills and waiting for Scott Norwide to ruin the Giants Super Bowl.....oh how times change....

Steve Mac was glad the Chiefs moved on, but he missed on his parlay...he needed Curly Culp to have a sack and Ed Podolak to rush for 60 yards..........atta boy Leonard , great game....onto Balteeemore........2+3=BEEER

Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around

 

Whose Woods these are i think i know

 His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow. (Frost)

Ah yes Mr Frost, your imagery has stayed with me a lifetime since first reading your poem.

Something about the snow that brings out your inner child.

As pre-teens we would participate in Brooklyn's unique winter Olympic sport of Skitching ...the art of gathering in a pack and waiting for the next Car or Bus to pass and then latch hold of the rear bumper for a death-defying ride through the snowy streets of Bayridge. 75th street and Ridge Blvd was a great place to gather and ride the slalom that was a 3 block downhill. Like Franz Klammer at Innsbruck we would slip, slide and navigate Colonial Road .... occasionally, or quite frequently; the driver of the vehicle would slam on the breaks and get out of the car and chase us off......imagine the panic of trying to drive a 72 Pontiac station wagon on the ice and Brooklyn hills and slopes....not sure if your breaks will work or you will collide with a bus or truck...AND then 4 or 5 ten-year olds grab hold of your car and try to hitch a ride for a few blocks of fun. I never understood the anger of the drivers back then, but i get it now.

And then the motherload.... eventually a Savino Oil truck would turn onto your thoroughfare and the excitement level amongst the pack would ratchet up a few notches. You could literally ride an Oil truck for 20 blocks in the right conditions. The Oil trucks hide a high bumper that was easy to grasp (sometimes as many as 8 or 9 kids could ride the same bumper) and the drivers couldn't really see (or care) who was riding along. The fact that you would be instantly crushed, paralyzed or perhaps killed if you hit a dry patch and were to slide under one of these massive wheels; was ignored. The thrills associated with a lengthy ride outweighed everything else....until your friends fell or dropped off and you found yourself in the 80's with a whole new pack of riders...and you voluntarily relinquished the ride.....a Champion....the day was a success.  

Years later the excitement of the streets was replaced by the downright giddy atmosphere of the Saloon and Pubs on a snowy night. That trail of Alabama slammers in the virgin snow that stretched from the doors of the Cove to all 4 possible directions. (an orange murder scene, as patrons would take a roadie and then stumble or spill a few precious drops) The refusal to leave the bar at last call and then the packs of revelers walking down the middle of 3rd or 5th avenue at 3:00 am.......the frigid walk home....praying for an oil truck. Yes there is something magical when a big city is silenced by a blanket of snow....your heart beats a little faster as you gaze at that sheet of white paper that was a concrete jungle the day before.....as the great Philosophers Calvin & Hobbes said...."It's a Magical world out there, let's go exploring"

        He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

it ain't no use

to sit and wonder why, babe....it don’t matter, anyhow

An’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don’t know by now  (Dylan)

it's an old familiar tune i sing this day, the forewarning of the long game that the socialist play. That's at the top of the charts again this morn.

Unfortunately, the socialists are not stupid....they understand that a key step towards destroying a Capitalist society is through bankruptcy....hence the increasing National Debt and runaway spending...they use inflation as great divide to separate the haves from the have nots....ensuring that the have Nots outnumber the haves.....it will be easier to nationalize Big Oil in a country that is unable to afford to put gas in their car to get to work.....just as it will be easier to get a starving man to accept their crumbs and go along with the plan.....it has worked for centuries across Asia, Europe and South America.....and it has been gaining traction in the USA since Barry Husein...aka the crown Prince of Indonesia "Spoonjiah"

Another step is controlling the message....for years they infiltrated the Education system and they are clearly in control of the Mainstream media, they are actively trying to censure platforms like X and driving the dumbed down public to Facebook and Tik Tok to get their news ....imagine where we would be without the NY Post and Fox News......if this was Argentina they could declare check mate.

But America is different for 433 million reasons....that's the number of privately owned firearms in our country.... Guns...The Protected right to own guns....an armed populace...that is what has always set America apart from other civilizations that have tried and failed to live free of tyranny. Guns to protect against foreign invaders? sure, why not........Gun to protect against an internal attack from our own Govt and the Communist/Socialist leeches that infiltrate? YES ABSOLUTELY......I don't own a gun and i never will....I drink far too much to ever has access to a firearm....but i am grateful for my friends and neighbors that DO own guns, and lots of them....but i suspect the socialists have a plan for that too.

Call it the Sleepy Floyd Syndrome...it has been going on for decades...every chance they get they whip silly little girls into a frenzy and rouse scores of losers to get out of their parents' basements to protest against a Police shooting. They burn and loot their own neighborhoods and demonize the Police in the process. This is a concerted effort to discourage good people from choosing Law Enforcement as a career path........a dumbed down force that is diverse and inclusive ( as opposed to merit based best qualified candidates) is like that starving guy and the crumbs   

In 2018 the US Army new recruits consisted of 44,000 Caucasian soldiers.....Last year that number dropped to 25,000.....Just like the Police, the white man has been demonized and blamed for every problem on the planet....is it any wonder after the Afghanistan withdrawal and the forced diversity and inclusion movement that the old reliable white devil is saying No Thanks? it is sobering stats like these that make me kind of glad to be in the home stretch of life....I honestly do not want to see the next few chapters of this Socialist takeover.

But we have been down this road before......the pendulum has the ability to swing back.....and swing back with a great force, but it will take all of us, each and every day to call out the bullshit, don't be silenced in the workplace,  stay informed (Blogs like this one can help) and for goodness sakes.....drink more.......2+3=BEEER

I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don’t mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s all right

anybody here

 see my old friend Martin?

can you tell me where he's gone?   ( Dion Dimucci)

it's funny how the Woke movement choses their targets...Moreso how they distribute the free pass.

The selective outrage of this young generation is transparent and comical.

Dave Chappelle?  he points out that Trans gender is a form of mental illness and does a really funny job of doing so...he is Target #1 .... they insist that sponsors walk away, and that Netflix pull all of his specials.

Dr King?  he preached that homosexuality was a sin and that homos were agents of the devil....he said that homosexuals were NOT born that way but were corrupted by America's perverted culture and that they need the help of a psychiatrist to get cured.....i wonder how that would be accepted today? 

not as funny as Chapelle but quite similar in their root assessment. 

But the good Doctor gets to keep his holiday and i get to sleep in on a frigid Monday and drink a case of beer and wait for the NFL Wild Card game at 4:30......My day of service includes the insufferable act of going to a bar to watch the Devils and Bruins.....hopefully an injury filled 0-0 tie.....and the shootout will conclude 2+3=BEEER

He freed lotta people but it seems the good they die young
I just looked around and he's gone
Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, it's gonna be one day

SWEATER NITE 26 Official Letter

Welcome to the Blog, 

I guess you all know why you're here.

My name is Tommy and i like to drink cold beer.

well, that's an obvious typo (one of many) we all know by now that this blog is the creation of a talented typing Dog in Monmouth County, named after the Ranger great Stephan Matteau Matteau Matteau. That Tommy fellow will have to remain behind the curtain until he retires.

I assume if you are reading this that you are either part of the greater Sweater Nite Community OR a Russian-Chinese hacker from the Wuhan Lab trying to spy on Bayridge. If the former, then pull up a chair, pour a beer and enjoy the letter.........if however, the latter defines you, then you better try another weather ballon because we ain't spillin secrets.

Allow me to bring first time visitors up to speed...this Blog was started in 2006 and has been a running commentary on all things that matter in a polite society....Beeer, Hockey, Politics and Beeeer. I have sprinkled in some classic tales from the 11209 and the occasional memory from childhood, the Navy or a prior life....I'm sure you will recognize some of the Characters of the Night, the gin mills of yesteryear and the ancient empty streets to dead for dreaming. Feel free to spend the next rainy Saturday going back through the archives at the bottom and reading year by year by 17 or 18 years. In a recent Gallup poll of my loyal readers, the Derby Rant was voted favorite annual post....on the first Saturday each May we combine the names of every horse entered in the Derby into one long run-on thought/story that culminates with my prognostication for the big Race. if grammar and spelling are your kryptonite's...turn around now Miss Forbes ( or Prof O'Mara) because this blog is typed in the spirit of Jack Kerouac and the Original Scroll......just get the thought out and down on paper and let the editors worry about corrections......giddy up.

Last year We celebrated the Silver Jubilee, the 25th recurrence of Sweater Nite. I must admit that by 3:00 i was already satisfied with the day's events. Attendance was great, they came from far and wide....PC's was festive and welcoming as always, Steve Mac and JC executed a flawless and well thought out Setlist, food was served, drink was flowing and i managed to deliver my incantation before losing my grip on sobriety. ....and then 

I was shocked and a wee bit confused when i spied Ranger Great Nicky Fotiu coming round the corner of 72nd Street. Never in a million years could i have imagined something like this. The annual beeer drinking and Sweater wearing bash that started in my basement on 73rd street being graced, and i do mean graced, by the presence of true NY success story. I believe even the Islanders fans were impressed by his graciousness. He signed autographs, shook hands, told stories and insisted on doing an open microphone Q&A. This Favored Son from the Isle of Staten seemed right at home in Bayridge. In the days that followed multiple people phoned to share their interactions with Nicky, he seemed to have a story or connection with half the room. He definitely appreciated my Hartford Whaler Gordie Howe Sweater, he signed the whale tail and then posed for pictures by the car as he was leaving to drive back to Cape Cod. He went into the trunk and gave me an autographed photo of Him, Mark and Gordie Howe when they played together in Hartford. a true gentleman. He knew my Great Nephew Matthews hockey coach in Massachusetts and chatted with the 10-year-old about his current hockey team and coach.

I dug a little further on Nicky to refresh my memory and came across some astonishing facts....if ever there was a life story ready for the big screen....this was it.

While growing up on Staten Island he was a fan of the Rangers....at the age of 15 (1967) he finally was going to see them play at the Garden.....he took the Ferry to Manhattan, visited his Grandmother in Little Italy for Sunday dinner and then went into MSG to see the Rangers vs the expansion Flyers. He says he heard the voice of God as he entered the arena, and God told him he was going to play for the Rangers......Keep in mind he was 15 and had never played hockey before.....but he believed it....he bought a pair of second hand skates and the following week he got up at 3:00 a.m........he rode a bus to the ferry....he took the ferry to Manhattan....and then doubled back on the subway to Coney Island and the Abe Stark arena for open skate ( he would skate for 90 minutes and then do the commute in reverse to go to High School)  he said he would carry a hand axe in his gym bag in case anyone gave him trouble on the trip....from these humble beginnings to a 13 year career in the NHL and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals with Calgary in 1986, he was the first New Yorker to ever play for the Rangers and he was the toughest....but it was his personality and his interactions with the fans, his incredible fundraising and charity work that endeared him to Ranger Nation and NYC..I was working at the D.A.C. when he came to shake hands with Wall street suits and collect checks that would go to the building of the New Dorp Hockey Bubble (Home of the St Francis Terriers Hockey team) ...as luck would have it he scored 2 goals the night before against the Penguins, and as he would bluntly state in his speech in the Heisman room "Timing is Everything"...I was on a Bus Trip to Montreal with the My Former Head linesmen and the Fan club in the early 80's ....about 600 Ranger Fans all with standing room only tix in  the upper deck of the Forum , and of course Nick was the last one off the ice in the pregame warmups....and he starts flinging pucks up into the rafters.....only about half made it to the top of the arena, the others fell on unsuspecting Montreal Frogs.....classic Nicky.

I would like to sincerely thank those that played a role in getting Nicky to attend and for the Autographed photo of Misters Messier and Gretzky.

speaking of Gretzky......the unfathomable may become a reality....his all-time goals record of 894 is in the cross hairs of the Russian Bear Alex Ovechkin......as of this writing Ovie needs 64 goals to tie. I feel it is unfair to compare players from different eras, and i have great respect for Ovechkin...but some observations .... the NHL did not adopt its current regular season overtime format of 4 on 4 play until AFTER Gretzky had retired.....can you imagine what the great one would have done with all that open ice with one less skater on either side?  Ovie has 26 OT goals.....i have to think Wayne would have at least that many.........this one is tricky...Ovechkin has 98 more PPG......the Caps power play has always revolved around #8.....he was always option #1........Gretzky on the other hand played with a much better supporting Cast...and although he benefitted from that overall, it also meant he shared the Power play with future Hall of Famers , unlike Ovie he was NOT the only option....nowhere is that more evident than in the fact that #99 has  nearly 1,300 more assists (1,283).....think about that....Gretzky has more assists (1963) than Ovechkin has total points (1,510)......Gretzky retired at 38.....Alex just turned 38......he will probably have to play 2 more years to match the record........to those of us old enough to have enjoyed Gretzky's career from the start, there simply is no comparison between the two...if Ovechkin hangs around and scores 900 it will not change my opinion, but here's hoping an injury, asteroid or a second Fauci Pandemic stops him short.......side note....Me and Admiral Jack Duffy spent a week in Gretzky's Toronto bar during the 93 World Series, and Grandma Gretzky's pierogis are better than any delicacy the Moscow Dynamo can cook up. ....giddy up

Speaking of Horsies.....the 2024 and possibly 2025 Belmont Stakes will be held on the Storied Grounds of Saratoga Springs as Belmont Park is being fumigated after an infestation of disease, plague and homo-ness from their next-door neighbors.......might warrant a trip north or at least a BBQ to watch the Historic race.

We all know the migrant crisis is out of hand, but sending these folks to Secaucus and forcing them to board a NJ Transit Train to NY is a cruel and unusual punishment. The UN needs to look into human rights abuses....nobody should ever have to switch trains at the Boondoggle Lautenberg Monument...the bar in the waiting room serves warm beeer for Criminy Sakes.......side note...the Bar in The Moynihan Train Hall across from MSG serves ice cold Brooklyn Lager in a real GLASS pint......side side note....the Molly Wee may be back on the chopping block if Horrible Hochul has her way....the evil Governor wants to take about 10 buildings on 8th ave under eminent domain bullshit, knock them down and build ....you guessed it....office towers.....the NYC of 2050 will be a 10 block corridor stretching from the Hudson yards to the Empire State Building and 30th to 34th street....The Corporations that remain will move their HQ's to this sector....a new train station below ground to deliver workers from the NJ suburbs,  and all the inmates will never leave the heavily guarded complex... and the rest of the island will be turned over to the bloods, Cripps  and Latin Kings or MS 13......also in the Crosshairs are the Blarney Stone, Tir Na Nog and Tracks.......i can only speak for myself...but the more my city disappears, the easier it will be to leave.....I weep for the Reade Street Pub, the Beekman and the Old Suspenders....Grateful that i spent as much time in those gems as i did....and i still regret the handful of days i foolishly did not stop somewhere for a cold one....life is short, drink up.

Can't make it up.....as i sit here enjoying a cold beer and typing the letter i get a text from Jonny Ti Jean Caddotte inquiring about Sweater Nite 26 and then a knock at the front door from UPS (Will Danaher they're coming to the front door....whats the matter ?, is the back door not good enough for him) and the Koozies have been delivered. (Nicer than Mulligans i might add). Still waiting on the Sweater Delivery from the Uyghurs Repatriation Camp , this years Official Sweaters will be awarded to two loyal skaters.. Chris Coughlin and Margie Z Bird.....and a special commemorative Sweater will be awarded to Mike Gallagher and the Lief.... Finally, we have 4 seats in an Executive Box for the Devils-Flyers Game at Giants stadium that we are raffling Off. Sat Feb 17th, Free Food and Booze....Please click on the link below to register.

http:\\satanlikeshockey2

Leave it to a bunch of teenage hockey players to restore a little faith and pride in our Country. (In case you missed it, search You Tube) The USA Hockey Team won the Gold medal at the World Junior Championships, these kids are good, really good; and will playing in the NHL soon.....but as much fun as it was to watch them dominate on the ice, what happened next was sweeter. At the medal ceremony and playing of the National Anthem, they stood shoulder to shoulder and sang along; the Unbridled Joy and Pride burst through the TV and you couldn't help but feel a swell in the heart as you watched. No Kneeling, no sitting, no profanity or crotch grabbing, no speeches about LGBTQ-LMNOP, No Black Olives matter, no rapinoe or krappernick .....just red-blooded American Pride on Display....good on ya boys.........side note , the Rangers-Islanders and Satans all had prospects on Team USA, so these guys should be lacing them up for the local squads in a few years.

Interesting to see the coordinated full court press by the DOJ, FBI, and The Capitol Police to identify and track down anyone and everyone who may have passed through the Nation's Capital on Jan 6th 2021. ATM records were gladly turned over by Banks, D.C.  Hotels, Amtrak and the Airlines cooperated too....if you so much as had a cup of Dunkin within 50 miles of the Capitol you had to explain yourself....guilty until you could convince them of your innocence.......also interesting was how swiftly and quietly a black Police officer was acquitted for Shooting through a barricade and killing an unarmed Air Force veteran (Ashli Babbitt)...nobody said her name or marched in the streets. I wonder how many people were prosecuted for the BLM riots of 2020, the sleepy floyd inspired nightly looting, the burning of courthouses and police cars.......yeah well.....2 systems of weaponized justice. 

Claudine Gay....if you copy and paste any of these gems, be sure to give credit to Matteau Matteau Matteau in the footnotes.

Come gather ’round people, wherever you roam.

And admit that the waters Around you have grown.

And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone.

If your time to you is worth savin’

Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin’  (B. Dylan) 

This past year saw the closing of another historic Bayridge Watering Hole. The persistent rumors of the pending demise came to fruition as O'Sullivan's closed their doors for a final time. Established in 1934, the Grand Dame closed 11 short years before turning the century mark. 89 years on the Corner of 89th street.... symmetry.   Amongst the many stories shared in her final days came one from a few skaters that heard them firsthand from their fathers. Apparently, O'Sullivan's was one of the first Bars to have a Television set, and it gained notoriety as being the place to go to WATCH the Brooklyn Dodgers when you could not make the trek to Ebbett's field, or the team was on the road. Not surprisingly most of the team called Bayridge and Dyker Heights home. I can't fathom how traumatizing it must have been when the first TVs were introduced.... imagine slaking your thirst in the Bayridge watering hole when a magic box starts displaying a live baseball game being played in Crown Heights...it's a good thing the Whiskey was in arms reach to calm your nerves... I spent many a delightful afternoon at the bar washing down icey cold mugs of beeer and watching the occasional passersby through the front picture window. Another gem taken from the crown that was our childhood....as sad as it is to think about all the people and places we have lost, I try to balance the equation by thinking about Just HOW Fortunate I /We were to be born at that time and in that place. (we coexisted on the planet with Jerry Garcia for goodness sake) .... I would not trade the last 60 years of a Life Connected to the barrooms and Churches and Schoolyard's of the Hamlet that is BAYRIDGE 11209 for anything .....I thank God for each and every piece of it. I have been harping for 25 years, but again I stress......nobody is guaranteed to see tomorrow...if you can carve out a few hours to stop by and see some old friends, then you should. On more than a few occasions in the lobby of Clavin's, i have been told that the last time someone saw the deceased was at the prior Sweater Nite......and that reinforces why we still do it.

That Brings us to the 26th edition.... The Viking Invasion....Mike Gallagher welcomes us to the Oasis on Senator Street.....we return triumphantly to Liev Eirikson, the Oak Room and the Alley. The sun shall rise over the borough of Churches on the 18th day of February and before that Sun sets (or maybe just afterwards) the Rangers shall dispose of the old ancient, boring islanders. On the same grid iron that hosted a Super Bowl and a Giant playoff game (No jets playoff games yet, but Brian Duffy and Aaron Rodgers will end that drought next year) they will take to the makeshift ice. Yes......Rangers vs Islanders from Giants Stadium....Pregame skate at 1:00 in PC's....followed by a Viking March along 5th Ave to "The Lief"...Live Pizza and Free Music await....hope to see you then.....Slainte....

2+3=BEEER

Matteau Matteau Matteau

PRESIDENT & FOUNDER

Arabian Night

 our gods pursue their fight

What fatal flowers of
darkness spring from
seeds of light ( Hunter-Garcia)

notice how whenever i quote a lyric, that i always give credit to the Lyricist. Unlike Claudine ( i knew she was) Gay . 

talk about strange occurrences in the desert.....well yesterday at a memorial service in Iran for Gen O Sole O Mio (on the 4th anniversary of his death by drone) two explosions rocked the cemetery and killed 80 people....who did it ?

USA & ISRAEL = Doubtful......neither side has launched attacks directly at, and inside iran....why attack a memorial service ? if there was a special target attending, i think a surgical strike would have made more sense, why kill 80 non combatants ?, but i still do not think we have the balls to assassinate an iranian target on iranian land .....even Trump waited for O Sole O Mio to visit Iraq  

Iran = possible ......a false flag ? create an attack on yourself, blame the West and rally the people.....it'a not that far fetched , but i don't think the mullahs give a shiite about what the rest of the country thinks...they don't need to kill 80 people to gain public support for a conflict with the west....they want to wipe Israel off the map and they don't care what he iranian people want.

Hammas-Hezbollah-Isis =  Long shot... they all would benefit from a pissed off Iran rolling up their sleeves and punching back at the West, but i don't think these Sand Jiggs have the brain or wherewithal to conduct a terrorist attack on iranian soil and in doing so, bite the hands the feeds you weapons.

Saudi Arabia = "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner"  i have no evidence.....but i do know that the Oct 7th Hamas attack was sponsored by Iran and timed to disrupt the Saudis from joining the Abraham accords.....Saudia Arabia does NOT want the Ghaza war to end without the West engaging Iran and bringing about a regime change......the Saudis know that if that war ends and the dust settles.....the focus of iran and ALL of their Proxies (Houthis etc etc ) will be on attacking Saudi Arabia.......the Saudis need iran to retaliate in a Big Way and escalate this regional conflict into the next world war........I think the Israelis are in agreement on that...i even suggested back in October that Netenyahoo was hoping to parlay the Hamas attack into a reason to get the US and the West to finally confront Iran once and for all.

China = maybe    never underestimate Xi Xi Ping Pong and Dr Anthony Fauci......anyone evil enough to unleash the Wuhan Flu on the planet should certainly be a suspect in ANY terrorist attack.

The Wet Market = Maybe......it was a bat from the market that exploded....nothing to see here....and 2+3=BEEER....let's hope cooler heads prevail and they don't blow up the planet until AFTER Sweater Nite 26.....

Let's see with our heart

these things our eyes have seen

and know the truth will still lie

somewhere in between