2-17-25

Years ago, my father was the State Finance Director for Governor James…..he

came from a career military background, and then a successful business….and then

was appointed by Fob James in the mid-90’s to serve as Finance Director….I’m

told that when he first took the role he made it a point to visit every single office

under his authority….he went into all of them, big and large….some obscure and

out of the way…..in one little office a lady actually cried when he came in….she

said that she had worked for every finance director for decades and not a one of

them had ever visited her office…..I love that story…..

I don’t know if you saw all of the going’s on this past weekend…..but Donald

Trump, the first President to ever attend a Super Bowl also just became the first

AND second President to attend the Daytona 500….oh wait, he’s the first

President to ever step out on the track at Daytona….oh wait, he’s the first President

to ever use his Presidential limousine to serve as a pace car…..while he rode in

it!.....this followed Trump having Air Force One fly low and slow over the crowd

at Daytona which numbered over 150,000…..There is purpose in this, to be

sure….it is his intent to not lose touch with the people that elected him….he rode a

populist wave of support that continues to grow despite the hand-wringing and

doomsaying of the left wing media pundits and progressive liberal

politicians…..the left has completely lost touch – not only with the people of the

nation – but with reality in general…..and they can’t stand the fact that the

centerpiece for all of their angst….the infamous Donald Trump…..keeps getting

out there and seeing people where they are…..and doing what he said he would

do…..

Look, when saga’s are written….and movies are filmed….and books inspire….the

heroes are never the ones who shrank back….or who refused to take

responsibility……or who wrung their hands endlessly over the possibility of

provoking someone….the heroes of leadership are the ones who lead from the

front. Its always been that way….heroes know their folks….great leaders are

Henry V, one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, which centers around the

time before and after the famous Battle of Agincourt in 1415, contained a scene in

which the English troops were vastly outnumbered by the French soldiers, and so

victory looked uncertain….. The night before the battle, the King wandered around

the English camp in disguise, comforting the soldiers and trying to understand how

they were feeling……The next morning, Henry led his troops into battle and to

ultimate victory…… His leadership wasn’t at the back of the line, but at the front,

participating in the battle…..his leadership was found in being not just true to his

ideals and confident in his decisions, but also in being able to read his people….to

understand where they were, and what they felt…..Now I know and fully admit

that a political leader is not going to be at the forefront of a true battlefield in

today’s world. But they should at least try to identify…..try speak to the

moment…..try to accept responsibility

Right now, if this were one year ago….we would likely be coming in to yet

another Monday with Joe Biden returning from yet another weekend at his beach

house where he sat in the sand and contemplated yet another scam on the

American people…..and it got me to thinking…..Joe Biden tried to catfish

America!…..he did….Joe Biden did all that was in his power, or at least those who

worked the puppet strings did, to try and catfish the people of an entire nation…..

You know what I’m talking about right…..catfishing ….it’s slang for when

someone tries to create false persona, typically on social media, with the intent to

mislead someone into a relationship so that they can scam them…..it started in a

2010 documentary where an producer, who had been scammed by a 40-year old

housewife pretending to be a young girl from the Midwest had totally misled

him….so the guy did a documentary on it and in one part of the show a person in

the scene said that those fakers were no better than a catfish being shipped with a

batch of cod…..in other words, it didn’t fit, it wasn’t right, it wasn’t what was

ordered…..the whole catfish thing even spawned a reality TV show that ran for

seven years in which scammers, or catfishers, are exposed for the liars that they

are…..it wasn’t always a good result if you can imagine….but the thing was that

the show Catfish usually checked into folks who had been stringing along an

online relationship for some time …..they relationship was real on one side, but not

on the other…..so they did some investigating….took a peek behind the

curtain…..and exposed the liars….

But it’s not just the stuff of legend or MTV Reality Shows…..catfishers do real

harm, and that is generally their intent…..these catfish scammers are really

perpetrators who hide their real-life identities and shield themselves from moral

obligations or responsibilities…... Motivations for catfishing are typically

malevolent and may include sexual, financial, or social gain….they prey on people

and leave devastating consequences in their wake….I’ve know elderly folks who

were scammed by fakers….I’ve known love-lorn folks who were just lonely and

wanted attention who were scammed by these miscreants…..it has gotten so bad

that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) actually has a

whole website that lays out the international catfishing that preys on US citizens

every year…..the website for ICE actually lays out the warning signs….and I read

them and I thought, holy cow….it’s true….Joe Biden was trying to catfish

America!....he was, or his handlers were! ….…..

 Claims they live, work or are traveling abroad – lying about job performance

 Claims to be notably younger than you – lying about capabilities basically

 Quickly professes love to you – lying about real cares and concerns

 Has a story that is inconsistent – things don’t really add up

 Sends general photos of themselves traveling, shopping, or dining at

luxurious locations – pretending their busy when they’re really not

 Mentions the idea of meeting and being together soon – but they never really

want to get together in person

 Provides periodic excuses for being unable to make a video call – sort of like

calling a lid on the day at 2pm….on Thursday!

 Requests to have conversations/texts be moved to a separate app - sort of

like trying to have social media gerrymandered….

 Asks for money – lots of money….how much have you got….can you do

more?

 Is combative with you or tries to divert your attention when you question

their intentions – If you don’t vote for me you ain’t black!

Did those sound familiar…..straight off of the ICE website…..Catfish Joe

Biden…..who marched into their lives like a dreamy promise of all things not

Trump!....he was going to unify, he was going to revitalize and build back

better….he would make the world a better place….he would create jobs and save

them all from tyranny…..he would make sure that mean tweets would never hurt

those poor easily-triggered leftists who desperately wanted to believe that peace

did not really come through strength…..he did…..he basically did the large-scale

political version of pretending to be one person when he was really another…..how

many times were we told that he could run rings around his staff….that he was in

command of the issues…..that his health and vigor were astounding…..that he

really wasn’t asleep on Air Force One while the families of fallen soldiers from

Afghanistan had to wait 3 hours on the tarmac for him to appear when their loved

ones flag-draped caskets were unloaded…..it was four years of fake….it was four

years of catfishing……he might as well have used a fake profile picture while he

was at it….and to be honest, I’m not sure that he didn’t…..

Leadership must inspire…..it must get out and about….it must be as much in the

front as possible…..it’s not about the image of the leader as much as it is about the

minds of those he/she leads….we as a nation don’t need fake profiles of what

could be, should be, ought to be…..the people of this nation are not responding to

Trump because he is shiny and full of fake promises….they are responding

because he is refreshingly real….he is right in front of them….he doesn’t shy away

from personal contact in which someone might discover that he’s not who he said

he was…..not at all….and more has been done in the last month to restore

confidence in American leadership than any catfishing profile put out there by

Biden…..

I’m so glad that’s over

And that’s a wrap for the Rightside Way!