Tim Graf

Blessed - Believer, Educator, Father, Husband, Grandpa, Brother, Son, and Friend. Views are my own.

[C. S. Lewis @CSLewisDaily]

“There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him.” - C.S. Lewis

[Nikki Haley @NikkiHaley]

America just crossed a dangerous milestone: our national debt now exceeds the size of our economy. Washington spends $1.33 for every $1 it takes in, with a $1.9T deficit this year alone. When the bill comes due, expect higher taxes, a weaker dollar, fewer services, a weaker military—and our kids stuck paying for it.

[Joe Scarborough @ScarboroughNow]

Americans love their Canadian brothers and sisters. They are the greatest allies, friends, and neighbors any country could have. So proud of Buffalo Sabres fans. 🇺🇸🇨🇦
#canada #sabres

[Tim Graf @TimGraf7]

Crazy Ending

[Anthony Scaramucci @Scaramucci]

Actual quotes from President Trump:

Trump’s “victory timeline” claims.

Mar 3: "We won the war."
Mar 7: "We defeated Iran."
Mar 9: "We must attack Iran."
Mar 9: "The war is ending almost completely, and very beautifully.
March 10: practically nothing left to target
Mar 11: “You never like to say too ⁠early you won. We won. In ​the first hour it was over.” Mar 12: "We did win, but we haven't won completely yet."
Mar 13: "We won the war."
Mar 14: "Please help us."
Mar 15: "If you don't help us, I will certainly remember it."
Mar 16: "Actually, we don't need any help at all."
Mar 16: "I was just testing to see who's listening to me."
Mar 16: "If NATO doesn't help, they will suffer something very bad."
Mar 17: "We neither need nor want NATO's help."
Mar 17: "I don't need Congressional approval to withdraw from NATO."
Mar 18: "Our allies must cooperate in reopening the Strait of Hormuz."
Mar 19: "US allies need to get a grip - step up and help open the Strait of Hormuz."
Mar 20: "NATO are cowards."
Mar 21: "The Strait of Hormuz must be protected by the countries that use it. We don't use it, we don't need to open it."
Mar 22: "This is the last time. I will give Iran 48 hours. Open the strait"
Mar 22: "Iran is Dead"

Mar 23: "We had very good and productive talks with Iran."
Mar 24: "We’re making progress."
Mar 25: “They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize.” Mar 26: "Make a deal, or we’ll just keep blowing them away."
Mar 27: "We don’t have to be there for NATO."
Mar 28: No major quote
Mar 29: Claimed talks were progressing
Mar 30: "Open the Strait of Hormuz immediately, or face devastating consequences."
Mar 31: Claimed a deal was "very close" and that Iran would "do the right thing"
Apr 1: "We’ll see what happens very soon."
Apr 2: Repeated that a deal was likely, while warning of continued strikes if not
Apr 3: "Something big is going to happen."
Apr 4: Said Iran must comply "immediately" or face further consequences.

Apr 5: "Open the fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah."
April 6 :a whole civilization will die
April 7: total and complete victory
April8: objectives were met

A true disaster

[Mike Levin @MikeLevin]

A January 6th rioter pardoned by Trump was just sentenced to four years in prison for possessing more than 100,000 child sexual abuse images and videos.

His lawyers argued the case should be thrown out because of Trump’s pardon.

The presidential pardon power is a dangerous tool in the wrong hands, and Trump has made that abundantly clear.

Congress must act now to reform the pardon power before it does more damage.
https://t.co/dun6I00aHo

[Tim Graf @TimGraf7]

@keloland Make no mistake, the insurance tax credit program he supports is a voucher program that South Dakotans are largely very opposed to.

[Packers Give Back @PackersOutreach]

Everyone has a story

[Tim Graf @TimGraf7]

Awesome day for Jason to shine.

[Jon Root @JonnyRoot_]

19 years ago, Jason McElwain, the autistic manger for his high school basketball team, played for the first time.

In the final 4 minutes, he scored 20 points.

I’ll never forget watching this in HS & seeing him win an ESPY over Kobe’s 81-point game

https://t.co/vVblCZcz32

[Megatron @Megatron_ron]

NEW:

🇺🇸 Rep. Thomas Massie calls on all politicians, influencers and outlets to join en masse in seeking justice for the child victims of Epstein and his billionaire friends:

"If you won’t stand up for trafficked kids, who will you ever stand up for?"

[John Pavlovitz @johnpavlovitz]

I wonder how a human being finds themselves sitting in that chair in front of the watching world in a moment of such gravity, so completely bereft of empathy, so seemingly unencumbered by other people’s suffering, and so strident in the face of simple accountability.

But as the father of a daughter, I want you to know that I fully detest what you are doing to so many other people’s children right now.

I abhor your callous disregard for the daughters who stood courageously before you today, whose eyes you did not have the dignity to look into; women whose cavernous hell you know full well, because you’ve pored over it countless times in words, photos, and videos.

It sickens me to my core to know that thousands of survivors, girls and young women not unlike my daughter, have experienced unspeakable horrors and are finding in you, not a fierce and willing advocate, not a steadfast warrior who will deliver them justice, but an unexpected, shame-throwing avatar of the men who brutalized them.

https://t.co/sKn8QLIzss

[Megatron @Megatron_ron]

JUST IN:

🇺🇸Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna after reviewing unredacted Epstein files:

Massie: That was an interesting experience. What I saw that bothered me were the names of at least six men that have been redacted that are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files. It took some digging to find them.

Khanna: We discussed that. I mean, there are six men, some of them with their photographs that have been redacted. And there's no explanation why those people were redacted.

[Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness @coachajkings]

Mike Vrabel gives a masterclass on mindset, self-talk, and dealing with doubt.

"You can't let doubt creep into what you do as a person. I don't care what you do."

"You have to be able to talk to yourself and not listen to yourself so much. You have to tell yourself what to believe."

Read that again about your self-talk. Talk to yourself - don't just listen to yourself.

Your mind will feed you doubt, fear, and negativity. Your job is to challenge it. Tell yourself what's true, not what's easy to believe.

"That doesn't say that there aren't tough times that you struggle with failure. You have to be able to recognize it and know that that is a part of all of us."

Failure isn't the opposite of success - it's part of the path to it.

Successful people don't avoid adversity. They expect it. They know that they must learn from the setbacks and challenges.

"If you coach long enough, you're gonna get fired. Just like if you play long enough, you're gonna get cut or you're gonna get traded. That's just how this business is."

That's the reality. Not cynicism...clarity.

"I've tried to explain it to the players that this is what happens. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to do it with this group of guys."

Tough times happen. The choice is to be a tough person that overcomes those tough times.
(🎥New England Patriots )

[Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie]

If your representative, Democrat or Republican, is still silent about the Epstein files, or claiming it’s “much ado about nothing,” it’s time to elect a new one. Check their public statements today.

[Ethan (X) @itsEFlyX]

@RepThomasMassie

[Restoring Your Faith in Humanity @HumanityChad]

This 88 year-old father had been apart from his 53 year-old son with down syndrome for the first time in his life. Since birth, he has always been around his son and has never been separated from him. This is their reunion at the airport.

[Tim Graf @TimGraf7]

@AndyHermanNFL Love the passion but we’ve become a spoiled fan base. Go Pack Go!

[James Tate @JamesTate121]

Shared today by Bev Perry in the Expand Dem Values in the House and Senate Facebook group.

I need to say something that's been bothering me for a while, and I'm saying it as a Marine Corps veteran who leans center-right.
This isn't partisan. This is observation.
We've slow-faded into accepting militarized police as normal, and nobody seems to notice or care.
Even as a USMC pilot, I went through six months of infantry training as an officer before flight school. I've worn the gear. The helmet, the tactical vest, the whole kit. And I can tell you from experience, it changes you.
There's a psychological shift that happens when you strap that stuff on. You feel different. You carry yourself different. You start seeing the environment differently. In the Marine Corps, that shift was appropriate because it's a combat culture and organization.
But these are American streets. American citizens. And we've got law enforcement dressed like they're kicking down doors in Fallujah to serve warrants in suburbia.
What happend to high standards and real policing tactics? Think Adam-12...Officers Reed and Malloy. Crisp uniforms. A revolver. A baton. High standards and professionalism. They looked like public servants because they were public servants. They de-escalated. They talked to people. They were part of the community.
Now? Tactical gear, beards, ball caps, Oakley sunglasses, sleeve tattoos, and a tactical kit that would make special operators jealous. And we've turned it into a fetish. We celebrate it. We assume that because someone looks hard, they must be a professional.
They're not.
I loved the Marine Corps. But I'll be honest, I was also blinded by it for a while. Mission first. Unit over everything. And that mentality made sense in that context.
But law enforcement doesn't get that critical examination. "Back the Blue" has become a shield against accountability. A blanket assumption that a badge plus gun equals hero. That tactical gear equals competence.
It doesn't.
Most people who join law enforcement aren't special operators. They're average people who desperately want to belong to something bigger than themselves. I understand that impulse deeply, it's why I joined the Marines. But wanting to belong doesn't make you qualified. Looking the part doesn't mean you can perform under pressure. And wrapping yourself in warrior aesthetics doesn't make you a warrior.
Old school law enforcement represented something. Standards. Bearing. Discipline. Professionalism that was demonstrated, not costumed. A revolver and a baton meant you had to rely on your training, your words, your judgment, not overwhelming firepower.
What I see now in law enforcement is the costume without the culture. The gear without the training. The authority without the accountability.
Are there good people in law enforcement? Of course. I know some personally. But this reflexive "law enforcement can do no wrong" mentality is lazy, dangerous, and intellectually dishonest.
A woman is dead. And before we sort ourselves into teams and start assigning blame, maybe we should ask harder questions:
Why do we accept a militarized police force as normal?
Why do we assume tactical gear equals tactical competence?
Why have we let "Back the Blue" become a substitute for actual standards?
I wore the uniform. I went through the training. I know what that gear does to your head.
It shouldn't be normalized on American streets against American citizens.
And we shouldn't pretend everyone wearing it is qualified to carry it. The fact that he called her a “fucking bitch” after he shot her three times should be a huge red flag for all of us.

[HHS Volleyball @HHStigerVball]

Congratulations to Tiger Vb player Gabi Zachariasen on setting a state record and being named the South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year for the 3rd year in a row. So proud of you. Will be cheering you on at USD and in life! Keep shining bright.

[Tim Graf @TimGraf7]

@JacobMorley