Holiday travel

 

148 Million Americans are expected to travel this Labor Day Weekend (Friday September 4^th-Monday September 7^th.)

131 Million Americans will drive by Car.

17 Million Americans will fly by Plane.

25: Canada

25 Years ago (September 11, 2001) during the Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in the Field in Pennsylvania Canada stood with the United States in many ways.

(Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada with 38 Airliners, totaling 6,122 Passengers and 473 Crew, as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon on 9-11-01.)

Not only did the Canadian Military help protect American Airspace under NORAD, but Canadian Airports took in Hundreds of Planes with Tens of Thousands of Passengers including Thousands of Americans that were headed towards the United States from Europe and Asia.

It was called Operation Yellow Ribbon (French: Opération ruban jaune.)

After the US FAA closed all of American Airspace at 9:45 Eastern Time Transport Canada enacted Operation Yellow Ribbon under SitCen.

The SitCen is Transport Canada's Emergency Operations Centre (EOC.)

As Personnel staffed the SitCen, key Organizations such as Nav Canada, the Department of National Defence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) were also involved in SitCen Operations.

After learning that the FAA had closed down U.S. Airspace, David Collenette, the Canadian Transport Minister, gave orders that Canadian Airports be open only for outgoing Police, Military, and Humanitarian Flights, and incoming U.S. Bound International Flights that were passed the “point of no return” over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  

This was the first unplanned closure of Canadian Airspace.

SitCen focused on keeping in contact with every plane (to make sure there were no more Hijacked Planes), where to land all the Aircraft and how to deplane, screen and clear Tens of Thousands of Passengers through Canadian Immigration and Customs.

Planes were entering Canadian Airspace at a rate of 2 Planes every Minute.

238 Planes with 45,000 Passengers and Crew en-route to the United States were re-routed to 17 Canadian Airports.

Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada is the first North American Airport on the Transatlantic Flight Route.

Gander Airport took in 38 Wide-Body Airplanes with 6,122 Passengers and Crew.

The Total Population of Gander at the time was 9,000 People and there were only 500 Hotel Rooms in the City.

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien stated that in the span of a few hours the Population of Gander jumped by more than 50%.

The People of Gander opened Schools, Community Centers and their Own Homes to house these Stranded People (including American.)

The People of Gander also donated Food, Clothes, Bedding, etc, to them.

Here are the other Canadian Airports that also took in American-Bound Airplanes:

Halifax International Airport in Nova Scotia handled 45 Flights

St. John's International Airport in Newfoundland handled 27 Flights

Winnipeg International Airport in Manitoba handled 15 Flights

Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario handled 14 Flights

Calgary International Airport in Alberta handled 13 Flights

Greater Moncton International Airport in New Brunswick handled 10 Flights

Montréal–Mirabel International Airport in Quebec handled 10 Flights

Stephenville International Airport in Newfoundland handled 13 Flights

Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay in Newfoundland handled 7 Flights

Montréal-Dorval International Airport in Quebec handled 7 Flights

Edmonton International Airport in Alberta handled 6 Flights

Hamilton International Airport in Ontario handled 4 Flights

Whitehorse International Airport in Yukon handled 2 Flights

Deer Lake Airport in Newfoundland handled 1 Flight

Yellowknife Airport in the Northwest Territories handled 2 Flights

Vancouver International Airport in British Columbia (the only major Canadian Airport on the West Coast capable of handling the large Aircraft used for Transpacific Flights took in 34 Planes with 8,500 Passengers and Crew.

After the Planes were diverted and landed and the Passengers and Crew were deplaned and went through Canadian Immigration and Customs the Canadians then had to house and feed all 45,000 Men, Women and Children.

Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Local Canadian Governments worked with Canadian Citizens to feed and house all 45,000 People for 5  days until they could go into the United States,

Operation Yellow Ribbon was the largest Emergency Operation in Civilian Aircraft History.

Canada did not have to endanger their own Citizens by allowing these Planes and People into their Country on 9-11.

They did it because they are a good, kind and caring People.

25 years later we should remember what the Canadians did for us Americans.

Welland Canal

The Welland Canal

The Welland Canal is a Ship Canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway.

The Canal was opened in 1829 and was last reconstructed in 1932 to allow for larger Cargo Ships to pass through it.

The Canal goes through the Niagara Peninsula and was built because the Niagara River (the only natural waterway connecting the Lakes) is unnavigable due to Niagara Falls.

The Canal goes from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.

3,000 Ships (carrying 40 Million Tons or 88 Billion Pounds) pass through the Welland Canal every year.

The Canal allowed goods from American Ports in the Great Lakes (Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago) to travel to the Port of Montreal where they were loaded onto Ocean-Going Ships to go across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.

Lake Ontario (one of the 5 Great Lakes and named after the Iroquoian Native Tribe living in the area since 1639) was renamed to Lake America by US President Trump in August 2026.

Canada continues to only recognize the name it has used for 387 years: Lake Ontario.

Canada holds the cards in this dispute because they are refusing to allow any Cargo Ship (American, Canadian or Foreign) that uses the unrecognized name “Lake America” on their International Cargo Shipping Documents to use the Welland Canal.

That means American Shipping  - especially items and products that go through the Mid-West - is being stopped which means even more higher prices for Ordinary Americans (on top of the higher prices we pay in the form of Tariffs on Canadian Goods also recently imposed by President Trump.)

5: Abandoned

5 years since the Fall of Kabul and:

212,000 Afghan Men and Women who worked for the US Government in Afghanistan from 2001-2021 remain inside Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan still waiting for the United States to keep its promise to help them

They remain hidden under the threat of arrest and being murdered for working for us.

60,000 Afghan Men and Women who worked for the US Government in Afghanistan from 2001-2021 are in 90 different Countries still waiting for the United States to keep its promise to help them.

In November 2025 President Trump ended all Visa Processing and Admittance of Afghans into the US (including those that worked for the US Government) with no timeline to restart.

In 2025 Trump’s Government has deported 402 Afghans back to Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan.

So far in 2026 Trump’s Government has deported 104 Afghans back to Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan.

The US willingly used them and promised to help them, but we failed them 5 years ago and we continue to fail them today.

Off The Path

Off The Path

I have always been one who likes to travel off the beaten path.

I don’t go on Group Tours (unless they are 1 Day ones) and I don’t like travelling by myself.

I have used all sorts of different traveling methods: an Old Soviet Train with Uncomfortable Wooden Benches in Russia; Over-Crowded Ferries; a Plane that was held together with Duct Tape; High Speed Trains; a 3 Seater Arctic Hydro-Plane; Limousines; First Class Planes; Private Taxis; Public Taxis; a Private Jet; a Hired Car with a Private Driver; a Snowmobile; a Gondola in Venice; a Monorail; a Speed Boat; in a Hot Air Balloon; an Over-Crowded Plane with no Class Sections and random Animals on it (Not Service Animals); a Paddle Boat; a Helicopter;  a Bike; a Funicular in Ukraine; a Canoe and a Dog Sled.

I have stayed in all sorts of different places: in a Hostel that was a Former Jail in Canada; in the back of a Pick-Up Truck; at a 6 Star Resort; at a Haunted Motel; at a Soviet Khrushchevka in Ukraine;  at All-Inclusive Resorts; at a Hotel that was constantly bombed during the 30 years of The Troubles; in the Back Seat of my Car;  at a French Castle; at a Closed Rest Area with no Visitor’s Center during a snowstorm; in an Ice Fishing Hut; in a Wilderness Emergency Cabin; on the Beach; in a Tent; on the Bare Ground; on a Bench during the Russian Winter; in a Cave; on a Houseboat; on a Barn; in a Tree House and at an Irish Castle.

I have done many fun and exciting things: gone Sky-Diving; gone Bungee Jumping; gone Para-Gliding; jumped out of a Helicopter into the Mediterranean Sea; gone Skinny Dipping; went to the Blue Grotto in Malta; swam in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland; went to German, Croatian, French, Dutch, British and Austrian Christmas Markets; went Rock Climbing off a Scottish Castle on Loch Lomond; skied in the Austrian and German Alps; swam with Dolphins in the Bahamas; spent the night at Frankenstein’s Castle in Darmstadt, Germany; went to Raves; went to Euro Disney in Paris; went to Disney World in Florida; went to Lego Land;  went to the Cliffs of Mohr in Ireland; walked on an Alaskan Glacier; went to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland; went to the Munich Oktoberfest; went to the Gullfoss in Iceland (where the European and Atlantic Tectonic Plates meet); went to the Gaeltacht (Irish-Speaking Area of Ireland); sat on the Throne at the Winter Palace/The Hermitage in Saint Petersburg; saw the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish Crown Jewels); saw the Crown Jewels of England; went into the World Trade Center many times over the years when my Mom worked there; went to the Pentagon several times when my Dad worked there, went to the Rosh Hanikra Caves in Israel; saw the Canadian Maple Crown; went inside Lenin’s Mausoleum on Moscow; went to Stonehenge; went to the Masada Fortress in Israel; went to Sherwood Forrest;  went to Peterhof Castle in Saint Petersburg; flew a small plane from West Germany to England; fed Shamu at Sea World in San Antonio; reenacted in a Revolutionary War Battle at Saratoga; went to the Prime Minister’s Question Time in Canada; went to the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica; went up Magnetic Hill in Canada; took a tour of the White House; had a Colonial-Themed Meal at Colonial Williamsburg; swam in the Dead Sea; went to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem; visited the Oldest City in the World – Jericho and rode a Horse in the Rain Forrest in Costa Rica.

 I have travelled to many places most Americans haven’t: Several Hours North of the Arctic Circle in Alaska, Russia (living there 2 times and visiting there 3 times); Montenegro; Croatia; Bosnia & Herzegovina; Prince Edward Island, Canada; Cyprus; the West Bank Palestinian Territories; Iceland; West Germany; Campobello Island, Canada; Poland; the Isle of Skye, Scotland; the United Arab Emirates; Northern Ireland; Malta; Kuwait; Greece; Israel and Ukraine.

I have been very lucky and have gotten to do so many fun and interesting things in so many fun and interesting places.

I don't take any of that lightly.

For the past 17 years I have lived off-the-beaten path on my Mountain here in New England where the Arctic Circle gets more Visitors every year then we do

Enjoying

Eating And Enjoying

Having a Baguette Sandwich and some Wine along the Seine River in Paris, France.

Having some Bangers and Mash (Sausage and Mashed Potatoes) with a Pale Ale along the River Thames  in London, England.

Having some Shashlik (Shish-Kabab) and YarPivo sitting on a park bench by the Volga River in Yaroslavl, Russia.

Having a Currywurst and a Pilsener while sitting along the Rhein River in Germany.

Having some Chicken Kyiv and some Arsenal along the Dnieper River in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Having a Cheeseburger and an IPA along the Potomac River in Washington DC.

Having Minc and Tatties (Beef and Potatoes) and a Scotch Ale along Loch Lomond in Scotland.

Having some Cevapcici and some Ozujsko by the Adriatic Sea in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Having some Schnitzel and a Goldstar Dark at the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Having some Moussaka and a KEO along the Mediterranean Sea in Limassol, Cyprus.

A good drink, some tasty food and a nice body of water is all I need.

Note: I have done all of these.

Extra Smoke

 

4th Travel

 

72.2 Million Americans will travel for the 4^th of July Holiday.

61.4 Million Americans will travel by Car.

5.8 Million Americans will fly by Plane.

200 Million Americans are going through Extreme Heat now into the Holiday.

Stay Safe and Cool.

Visiting History

Visiting History

I’ve been to many Battlefields and Museums.

Since today is Independence Day, I will focus on the places I’ve been to related to the Revolutionary War (1775-1783.)

I’ve Been to and Seen:

Lexington, Massachusetts and Concord, Massachusetts (The Shot Heard Around the World.)

Boston (The Boston Tea Party, The Siege of Boston and 1 if by Land 2 if by Sea.)

Fort Ticonderoga, New York (The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga and the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga.)

Long Island (The Battle of Long Island.)

Trenton, New Jersey (The Battle of Trenton.)

Bennington, Vermont (The Battle of Bennington.)

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (Where George Washington and the Continental Army Wintered.)

Saratoga, New York (The Battle of Saratoga – the Turning Point of the War.)

Savannah, Georgia (The Battle of Savannah and the Siege of Savannah.)

Charleston, South Carolina (The Siege of Charleston.)

Yorktown, Virginia (The Siege of Yorktown, the British Surrender.)

Philadelphia Pennsylvania (Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.)

Paris, France (where The Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolution was signed between the United States and the United Kingdom.)

When I was a Kid I went to Re-Enactments and met many of the Reenactors (on and off the Battlefield.)

Lend Lease

Lend Lease to USSR

(American SPAM Can written in Russian sent to the Soviet Union to feed Soviet Civilians and Soldiers during World War 2.)

During World War 2 (1941-1945) the United States sent 175 Million tons of Food and Military Equipment to the Soviet Union through the Lend Lease Program.

Lend Lease (Russian: Ленд-лиз or сдавать в аренду, внаём) was started by the United States when they were Neutral (from March 1941-December 1941) to send Food and Military Equipment to the Allies (the United Kingdom, the Free French and China.)

After the Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 the USSR was added to America’s Lend Lease Program.

After the Germans occupied Ukraine (the Soviet Union’s “Breadbasket”) in 1941 the USSR could no longer feed its Military or its Civilians.

Out of a Total Soviet Population of 200 Million People, 70 Million Soviets were living under German Occupation.

A total of $50 Billion US Dollars ($925 Billion US Dollars in 2026) worth of Food, Medicines, Planes, Tanks, Ammunition, Jeeps, etc. to the Other Allies.

$11.3 Billion US Dollars ($209.5 Billion US Dollars in 2026) worth of Aid went to the Soviet Union.  

 

2% (452 tons) of American Aid went through the Soviet Arctic.

22% (3,964 tons) of American Aid went through the Arctic Convoy to Murmansk.

23% (4,160 tons) of American Aid went through Iran to the Soviet Union.

47% (8,242 tons) of American Aid went through the Pacific Ocean, past Japan (which was at War with the United States, but Neutral with the Soviet Union) to Vladivostok.

 

The fastest and most dangerous route to send American Aid from the United States to the Soviet Union was through the Arctic Convoy Route.

15% of the Cargo sent through the Arctic Convoy Route was destroyed by the German U-Boats.

1,100 Americans died bringing Americans Aid to the Soviet Union.

The United States gave the Soviet Union:

596 Ships

11,400 Aircraft

12,000 Armored Cars (Tanks, Self-Propelled Guns, etc.)

427,285 Cars and Jeeps

1,977 Trains

35,170 Motorcycles

5,000 Anti-Tank Guns

12,997 Pistols

345,735 tons of Explosives

127,000 tons of Gunpowder

35,800 Radio Stations

2,074 Radar Stations

105 Anti-Submarine Ships

202 Torpedo Boats

4 Submarines

3,756,000 Tires

15,417,000 Pairs of Military Boots

1,541,590 Blankets

13,000 Tons of Aircraft Gasoline

98,000 Tons of Wool

658,000 Tons of Sugar

2.7 Million Tons of Canned Meat

 

At the end the War the Americans and the Soviets disagreed on the amount of Money owed for Lend Lease Aid.

In reality the US gave the USSR $11.3 Billion US Dollars worth of Aid.

In 1951, the US reduced the amount down to $800 Million US Dollars (hoping to keep the Soviets out of the Korean War which was ongoing.)

In 1973 the Soviet Union repaid $48 Million US Dollars to the United States.

In December 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia agreed to repay the amount owed.

Russia finally paid off $674 Million US Dollars to the United States on August 21, 2006.

In total the Soviet Union/Russia only repaid $722 Million US Dollars out of the 11.3 Billion US Dollars in Aid they were given.

Mail Trucks

 

Eat And Enjoy

Eating And Enjoying

Having a Baguette Sandwich and some Wine along the Seine River in Paris, France.

Having some Bangers and Mash (Sausage and Mashed Potatoes) with a Pale Ale along the River Thames  in London, England.

Having some Shashlik (Shish-Kabab) and YarPivo sitting on a park bench by the Volga River in Yaroslavl, Russia.

Having a Currywurst and a Pilsener while sitting along the Rhein River in Germany.

Having some Chicken Kyiv and some Arsenal along the Dnieper River in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Having a Cheeseburger and an IPA along the Potomac River in Washington DC.

Having Minc and Tatties (Beef and Potatoes) and a Scotch Ale along Loch Lomond in Scotland.

Having some Cevapcici and some Ozujsko by the Adriatic Sea in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Having some Schnitzel and a Goldstar Dark at the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Having some Moussaka and a KEO along the Mediterranean Sea in Limassol, Cyprus.

A good drink, some tasty food and a nice body of water is all I need.

Note: I have done all of these.

Holiday Travel

45 Million Americans are expected to travel from this Thursday (May 21st) until this Monday (May 25th.)

39 Million will travel by road.

6 Million will travel by plane.

Stay safe and have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Karl Linnas

Karl Linnas

Karl Linnas was born on August 6, 1919 in Tartu, Estonia.

His Father was, August Linnas the Head of a Printing House and his Mother, Ida (nee Park.)

In 1937 he graduated from the Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in Tartu.

He then went to the University of Tartu and studied Mathematics, but he didn’t graduate.

In 1939, he graduated from the Military School's Infantry Class Course specializing  in heavy machine guns.

In June 1940 Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union and later annexed into the USSR on August 6, 1940.

In 1941 the Soviets deported 10,000 Estonians to Gulags in Central Asia where most died.

The Soviets occupied Estonia until the Nazi German Invasion in June 1941.

In September 1941, Linnas became the Commandant of the Tartu Concentration Camp held this position until January 1942, when Estonia was incorporated into the Reichskommissariat Ostland (English: 'Reich Commissariat of Eastland.”)

The Tartu Concentration Camp became the largest Concentration Camp and later Extermination Camp in German-Occupied Estonia.

Estonian Jews, Foreign Jews, Communists, Roma and Sinti were held Prisoner in the Tartu Camp.

Linnas had Groups of 30 to 40 People (including the Elderly and Children) brought to the Jalaka Line (an anti-tank ditch) where they were shot and left in the ditch.

Later Linnas had other Prisoners dig-up the dead bodies and burned them.

In December 1941 the Germans had declared Estonia to be “Judenfrei” (English: Free of Jews.)

There had been 4,500 Jews in Estonia before the Soviet and German Occupations.

The Germans and their Estonian Collaborators (like Linnas) murdered 1,000 Estonian Jews.

The rest had been deported by the Soviets to the USSR in 1940 or 1941 or had fled to the USSR by themselves when the Germans invaded in June 1941.

Once the Estonian Jews were murdered the Germans deported around 10,000 Jews from other parts of German-Occupied Europe to German-Occupied Estonia to be killed.

Many of these Foreign Jews went right from the Cattle Trains to their deaths within an hour.

1,000 Roma and Sint were also murdered by the Germans and Estonian Collaborators as were 15,000 Soviet Prisoners-Of-War.

4,000 Men, Women and Children were murdered at the Tartu Concentration Camp during the time that Linneas was Commandant there.

In January 1944  Linnas fought in the Estonian Collaborating Estonian Auxiliary Police (German: Estnische Hilfspolizei and Estonian: Eesti kaitsepataljonid) where he was wounded.

Linnas, his Parents and his Sister then fled west with the retreating Germans  - not wanting to live under Soviet Occupation again.

After the War in May 1945 Linnas lived in a Displaced Persons Camp in Germany until he immigrated to the United States in 1951 (under the American Displaced Persons Act of 1948.)

Linnas hid his Nazi Crimes from American Immigration and became a US Citizen in 1960.

He lived in Greenlawn on Long Island in New York where he worked as a Surveyor.

In October 1961 the Soviets sent an Extradition Request to the Americans for Linnas to be tried for his Nazi Crimes during the War.

The Americans (at the height of the Cold War and fearing the Soviet Communists) refused to extradite Linnas to the USSR.

In 1962 the Soviets sentenced Linnas to Death in Absentia for his role of the murder of Men, Women and Children at the Tartu Concentration Camp (the Soviets said he had murdered 12,000 People.)

In 1979, the United States Immigration and Customs Department accused him of providing false information when entering the Country back in 1951.

That was through the work of the newly created Office of Special Investigations (OSI), established in 1979 within the US Department of Justice which was given extraordinary power to investigate alleged War Criminals in the US.

In 1981, the Federal District Court for the City of Westbury stripped the 62-year-old Linnas of his U.S. Citizenship for hiding his Criminal Past from Immigration 30 years earlier and ordered Linnas to be deported to the Soviet Union (his Native Estonia had been Re-Occupied by the Soviets from 1945-1991.)

His Case was handled by Prosecutor, Rudolph Giuliani (who would later be the Mayor of New York City.)

His Lawyer was Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark.

In 1986, the US Federal Court of Appeals upheld the Deportation Order,

In April 1987, the US Supreme Court refused to hear the Linnas’ Appeal and he was Deported from the United States to the USSR in 1987.

He was flown from New York City  to Prague, Czechoslovakia and from there went to Tallinn, Soviet-Occupied Estonia and kept at the Central Prison.

In June 1987 his health deteriorated and he was sent to Leningrad (Present-Day; Saint Petersburg.)

He was operated on twice at the Hospital Prison there.

Linnas had Stomach, Liver and Heart Disease.

Because of his ill-health the Death Sentence imposed on him in 1962 was changed to Life Imprisonment.

On July 2, 1987 at the Prison Hospital in Leningrad, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Present-Day: Saint Petersburg, Russia) Karl Linnas died.

He was 67 years old.

His body was cremated and his Daughter, Anu, was allowed to bring the remains back to the United States on July 4, 1987.

His remains were scattered in an unknown location.

Karl Linnas became the Second War Criminal handed over by the American Authorities to the USSR (the first was Fyodor Fedorenko who was a Guard at the Treblinka Death Camp, fled to the US after the War, was deported from the US in 1984 and shot by the Soviets in July 1987.)

Estonia became independent of Soviet Occupation on August 20, 1991.

The Soviet Union collapsed on December 25, 1991.

 

76 Days

From Yahoo/Politico:

“Congress ends record-shattering DHS shutdown”

On the 76th day since Department of Homeland Security funding lapsed, Congress passed a bill Thursday restoring the flow of federal dollars to most of its agencies — without solving any of the policy disagreements that led to the record-breaking shutdown.

The House approved by voice vote the partial DHS funding measure the Senate passed more than a month ago. President Donald Trump is expected to swiftly sign the bipartisan legislation, fully funding the Coast Guard, TSA, Secret Service, FEMA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, along with other offices within DHS that don’t deal with immigration enforcement. Now congressional Republicans turn their attention to enacting tens of billions of dollars for Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a party-line package. They jump-started the process this week with the adoption of a framework unlocking special budget power to skirt the Senate filibuster.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said Thursday that Republicans are “absolutely horrified” to be funding the immigration agencies separately. “The idea that we’re isolating Border Patrol and isolating ICE is offensive to the men and women who serve,” Roy said on the House floor before the bill was passed. “It is absolutely ridiculous that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have done this to those men and women.”

Trump is demanding that the party-line bill, which would fund the controversial agencies for the remainder of his term, land on his desk by June 1. ICE and Border Patrol have been operating largely as normal during the shutdown due to funding previously provided in last year’s GOP megabill. The upshot of the two-track approach to funding DHS is that there will be no changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, which led to the shutdown stalemate that began in February after federal immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota.

In the more than 10 weeks since DHS funding lapsed, Democrats have remained largely united in refusing to support funding for the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement activities without new guardrails. Republicans, meanwhile, are doubling down on funding those agencies without strings — emphasizing a blunt partisan divide five months before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

House GOP leaders sat on the bipartisan package for weeks, scoffing at the late-night decision Senate leaders made last month to fund DHS through the two-step maneuver without consulting their House counterparts. “You don't dump things on the other chamber in the middle of the night without talking to the speaker about it,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters this week. “This is created by bad management in Senate leadership and by not being transparent and open with us in the House.” But pressure from the White House and some Republican lawmakers prompted House GOP leaders to ultimately pass the package unchanged, even after floating the idea of tweaking the bill and sending it back across the Capitol.

Trump administration officials have grown increasingly antsy to see the legislation enacted after nearly draining the $10 billion fund they have been tapping to cover paychecks for DHS workers. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned last week that his department would run out of payroll money in the coming days. Under the package, all of DHS except ICE and Border Patrol will be funded through September, the end of the fiscal year. The legislation includes some new guardrails on immigration enforcement tactics negotiated early this year. But it does not contain any of the additional rules Democrats sought, including barring immigration officers from wearing masks and requiring judicial warrants to make arrests or enter private property.

The end result of the funding lapse is largely what top Democrats have advocated for months as a fallback plan if Republicans wouldn’t agree to any new enforcement restrictions. Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House’s top Democratic appropriator, introduced a bill more than two months ago to fund all but ICE, Customs and Border Protection and the Office of the Secretary at DHS. "It is about damn time that you come forward and do this," DeLauro said on the House floor Thursday before the measure passed. "I proposed it 79 days ago." Instead, House Republicans repeatedly passed legislation to fund all of DHS throughout the shutdown, daring lawmakers on the other side of the aisle to oppose it. While a few Democrats broke ranks, the Republican attempts were met with consistent opposition among Democrats in the Senate, where the bills inevitably ran up against the filibuster.

Off the Hill, TSA agents and other DHS workers who aren’t considered law enforcement personnel worked for weeks without pay, until Trump directed DHS to temporarily cover their paychecks last month. Since the funding lapse began, more than 1,100 agents have quit at TSA and some homeland security efforts have been halted, including preparations for the World Cup soccer games being hosted in U.S. cities this summer.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/congress-ends-record-shattering-dhs-171450121.html

EES

 

The EES (Entry-Exit System) started in the Schengen Area on October 12, 2025.

On April 10, 2026 it became Mandatory at every Border Checkpoint (Airport, Land Border and Sea Border) in all 29 Countries of the Schengen Area.

The Schengen Area includes: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark (not including Greenland or the Faroe Islands), Estonia, Finland, France (not including Overseas Territories), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands (not including the Caribbean Netherlands), Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Americans, Canadians, Brits, Australians and hundreds of other Non-Schengen Members have to use the EES to both enter the Schengen and to leave the Schengen.

There have been hours-long waits for Hundreds of Passengers at many European Airports and Border Checkpoints because of EES.

Airline Passengers who arrived at the Airport 3 hours before their flight missed their flight because of EES (they couldn’t arrive any earlier as the Airline Check-In Counters didn’t open earlier.

It’s not the Airlines fault, but The European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) and the Officials running the EES inside the 29 Member Country Schengen Area.

The System started in October 2025, but became Mandatory 4 days ago and yet the problems with the EES continue.

The EES needs to be fixed and fixed soon otherwise it will make the busy Summer Travel Season hard for thousands of People.

Note 1: You will no longer receive an Immigration Stamp in your Passport.

Note 2: Starting at the end of 2026 Americans and other Non-EU Citizens will also need to get Electronic Authorization to travel to the Schengen Area before they travel under the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS.)

Systemic Failure

From MSN:

“‘A systemic failure’: How the new Entry/Exit System (EES) brought chaos to EU border control”

The EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) brought travel “chaos” to airport border control over the weekend, with queues of up to three hours and reports of stranded passengers missing flights.

Following a series of delays and phased preparations, the biometric border control system was officially introduced across the Schengen area on Friday 10 April, and is now in place across 29 European countries.

Applying to non-EU travellers entering any of the Schengen states for short stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period, the system replaces manual passport stamping with digital records of entries, exits and refusals of entry, while also collecting biometric data such as facial images and fingerprints alongside passport details.

Travellers have been advised to arrive at airports with plenty of time to spare ahead of their journeys. Even so, Friday’s first day of full operations was “marked by passenger disruptions, delays and missed flights”, according to a joint statement issued by ACI EUROPE and Airlines for Europe (A4E). For weeks, the two groups have “cautioned” about the EES “operational rollout challenges” and say that the “major concerns” are “now a reality”. They have called on the European Commission and EU Member States to “immediately introduce additional flexibility” in the operation of the new system.

In a separate statement issued on Monday, A4E was even more scathing, saying that three hours queuing at border control is not an EES “teething issue”, it is a “systemic failure”. “Airlines are working tirelessly to get flights to their destination on time – a top priority for passengers and airlines,” A4E said. “But the EES rollout this weekend told a different story: disruption and excessive waiting time – all outside airlines’ control, leading to delays and missed flights."

The group added that while European airlines are supportive of the overall objective of the EES to strengthen border security, “it must not mean persistent and recurring travel disruptions”. A4E called for greater flexibility in the rollout as essential for operations to run smoothly. “The only feasible solution is for the European Commission to allow for the full and partial suspension of EES until the end of summer, where necessary,” it said.

Passengers left behind in Milan

There were many incidents of travel chaos following the full EES launch. At Milan's Linate airport on Sunday, there were meant to be 156 passengers booked on an Easyjet flight to Manchester in the UK. After facing hours-long queues, only 34 passengers boarded the aircraft, leaving 122 behind in Italy, who “watched their plane depart without them”, said The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder. In order to get home, one family spent more than £1,600 (€1,838) to take a connecting flight via Luxembourg, which would get them home 24 hours late.

A spokesman for Easyjet told the BBC that the border delays caused by the implementation of EES were “unacceptable”. “We continue to urge border authorities to ensure they make full and effective use of the permitted flexibilities for as long as needed while the European Entry/Exit System is implemented, to avoid these unacceptable border delays for our customers,” the statement said. “While this is outside of our control, we are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-systemic-failure-how-the-new-entryexit-system-ees-brought-chaos-to-eu-border-control/ar-AA20QMwI

Full EES

 

The EES (Entry-Exit System) started in the Schengen Area on October 12, 2025.

On April 10, 2026 it will be Mandatory at every Border Checkpoint (Airport, Land Border and Sea Border) in all 29 Countries of the Schengen Area.

Americans and other Non-EU Citizens (Canadians, Brits, etc.) are included in the Countries that have to do EES.

The Schengen Area includes: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark (not including Greenland or the Faroe Islands), Estonia, Finland, France (not including Overseas Territories), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands (not including the Caribbean Netherlands), Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The US has a similar Program for Foreigners (called US-VISIT and has been around since 2004) when entering the US (there is no Exit Immigration in the US.)

Note 1: You will no longer receive an Immigration Stamp in your Passport.

Note 2: Starting at the end of 2026 Americans and other Non-EU Citizens will also need to get Electronic Authorization to travel to the Schengen Area before they travel under the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS.)

https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees_en

American Women Vets

Today (March 29^th) is Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day.

This is the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington DC.

It was dedicated in 1993 to honor the 250,000 American Women who served in the US Military during the Vietnam War (1965-1973) many serving nearby in Guam, Japan, the Philippines and on Military Ships.

11,000 of those Women Volunteered to serve inside South Vietnam itself as Nurses, Air Traffic Controllers, Communication Specialists and Intelligence Officers.

Since 1967 American Women became eligible to become Generals in the US Military.

Since 1972 American Women were allowed to Command Units with Men in them.

Many American Women inside South Vietnam worked as Nurses.

Working conditions as a Nurse were often hard, with many Nurses working a minimum of 12 hours a day, six days a week, in Field Hospitals that had little air conditioning.

Responsibilities included Massive Causality Situations involving Amputations, Wounds, and Chest Tubes for their Patients.

They also dealt with bombings and attacks.

98% of the Wounded American Soldiers that made it to an American Hospital inside South Vietnam survived thanks in large part to the Nurses.

8 American Servicewomen, all of whom were Nurses (7 Army Nurses and 1 Air Force Nurse), died during the War.

(1st. Lt. Hedwig Orlowski, 2nd Lt. Carol Drazba, 1st. Lt. Sharon Lane, Capt. Mary Klinker, Capt. Eleanor Alexander, 2nd Lt. Elizabeth Jones, 2nd Lt. Pamela Donovan, LTC Annie Graham.)

Those 8 W omen’s Names (Eleanor Grace Alexander, Pamela Dorothy Donovan, Carol Ann Drazba, Annie Ruth Graham, Elizabeth Ann Jones, Mary Therese Klinker, Sharon Ann Lane, and Hedwig Diane Orlowski are on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington DC.

59 American Women who served as Civilians (including Nurses) in South Vietnam were also killed and died in the War.

4 American Women became POWS of the North Vietnamese Communists.

In 1962 Eleanor Ardel Vietti became America’s First Woman POW in Vietnam.

(Eleanor Ardel Vietti)

Vietti was a Physician and Missionary who worked at the Buôn Ma Thuột Leper Colony in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam.

On May 20, 1962 she was kidnapped by the Viet Cong and made to work in their Hospitals.

She was reported still alive in 1968, but still held captive by the Communists.

By the 1970s no word was heard about her ever again.

She is currently the only American Woman unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

In addition to the U.S. Military Women who served in South Vietnam, an unknown number of Female Civilians willingly gave their services inside South Vietnam during the War,

Many of them worked on behalf of the American Red Cross, Army Special Services, United Service Organizations (USO), Peace Corps and various Religious Groups such as Catholic Relief Services.

50: DC Metro

50 years ago today (March 27, 1976) the Washington DC Metro System opened.

The First Portion of the System had 4.6 Miles available on the Red Line with five Stations from Rhode Island Avenue to Farragut North, all in Washington, D.C.

Today, the System has grown into a 6 Line 130-mile Network with 98 Stations.

An average of 439,200 People take the System every day.

 In 2025 alone, Metro Rail delivered 147 Million trips making it the Second Busiest in the Country,

I used to take the VRE (Virginia Railway Express) into DC and then the DC Metro every day for work.