Gabe

I was told I should write something here.
So, let it be known, I have written. BAMA fan behind enemy lines. Roll Tide Roll !

[Special Ops Magazine @specialopsmag]

CIA Officer Darren James LaBonte, killed in action along with eight others on December 30, 2009, at Camp Chapman in Afghanistan. He was 35 years old.

He passed on a chance to play professional baseball with the Cleveland Indians and instead enlisted in the US Army in 1992. After completing the Ranger School at Fort Benning, he served with the 1st Ranger Battalion in Savannah. He completed 2 enlistments before leaving the Army in 2000.

Newly married and working as a SWAT officer in Illinois when the 9/11 attacks occurred, LaBonte immediately began looking for ways to return to the fight. He first joined the US Marshals, then moved to the FBI, where his Ranger experience and outstanding performance at the academy earned him a spot on an elite organized crime squad in New York City.

Still driven to do more, he answered the CIA’s call in 2006. LaBonte entered the Agency’s paramilitary ranks within the Special Activities Division, which conducts high risk joint operations alongside units like DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6) and Delta Force. He deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and then transferred to a case officer role in Amman, Jordan after the birth of his daughter.

That assignment brought him to Camp Chapman. A Jordanian doctor, Humam al-Balawi, had persuaded the Agency that he could lead them to Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s second in command. An offer that reached all the way to the White House.

As al-Balawi’s handler, LaBonte flew in from Jordan alongside his friend and Jordanian counterpart, Ali bin Zeid. He voiced serious concerns about the meeting to his superiors: too many personnel involved, no search of the source, a large welcoming crowd, and even a birthday cake prepared.

On December 30, al-Balawi detonated a suicide vest. The blast killed 7 CIA officers and contractors, along with bin Zeid and an Afghan colleague. It stands as the deadliest attack on the CIA in more than 25 years, and was later depicted in the film Zero Dark Thirty.

LaBonte was just one day away from leaving Afghanistan to reunite with his wife, young daughter, and parents in Tuscany. A star now marks his service on the Memorial Wall at Langley.

Not forgotten.
"Rangers Lead the Way"

[Breanna Morello @BreannaMorello]

@AP How many Americans were killed and/or raped by illegal aliens this week?

I noticed the AP never runs those numbers.

[Robert Griffin III @RGIII]

To put it simply, Caitlin Clark is the face of the WNBA because she is the most prominent, marketable, and recognizable individual in the WNBA.

She is not currently the best player in the WNBA. That’s A’Ja Wilson.

The nuance that you are missing is that being the most popular player, recognizable player, biggest draw and bringing in the most money for the WNBA for 3 years now despite not winning a MVP or WNBA Championship, giving the players the ammo to get chartered flights with a new CBA that increased some players base salary by 1,400% and being the single player that globally other people recognize makes her the face of the WNBA.

To be the standard of winning in the WNBA will take Caitlin Clark some time.

Michael Jordan was the face of the NBA well before he was the standard of winning and before he ever won an NBA Championship or MVP because of his playing style and savvy branding.

Everyone knew if they beat MJ or had the game to their life against him that everyone would notice because all eyes were on him.

That is why teams play every game against the Indiana Fever like it is their Super Bowl.

That is why every player with a competitive bone in their body plays Caitlin Clark like they have something to prove to the world.

They know when they do it against Caitlin Clark, the world will notice.

Having the first 45 point 10 assists double double in WNBA History and the first 45 point 10 assists double double in 29 mins in NBA or WNBA History shows the talent and rare playing style Caitlin Clark possesses.

It’s okay to say that A’Ja Wilson is the best player in the WNBA.

It’s okay to say Olivia Miles is the best rookie and one of the best guards in the WNBA.

It’s okay to say that Angel Reese is the best rebounder in the WNBA.

And it’s okay to say that Caitlin Clark is the Face of the WNBA.

[Barstool Bama @BarstoolAlabama]

Missing this badly

[ThePersistence @ScottPresler]

This is not me.

[Buzz Patterson @BuzzPatterson]

@1Nicdar They hide their launchers in mosques, schools, in buses, etc. If we hit one of those, we’re “war criminals” and the media runs with it. That’s why.

[Oliver Henry @oliverhenry]

Made it to Tennessee!

[Chris Hand @ChrisHandOnAir]

My full interview with @maybedanielleee on the current state of the trucking industry.
https://t.co/vwnHRzQzh7

[Bobby Burack @burackbobby_]

Not bad for the 11th best guard in the WNBA.

[0HOUR1 @__0HOUR1_]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I refuse to eat lettuce.

[Steak 'n Shake @SteaknShake]

We wish to thank our franchise partners, who are seeing record sales growth. So far, our partners are up 16.5% in the third quarter of 2026, just as they were up 15.8% in the third quarter of 2025. This is what we call momentous momentum.

They are living the American dream. If you want to become a partner, the entire investment is $10,000.

We are interested in a person’s talent, not their money. The key is delivering the gold standard in service. That's what it takes to be a franchisee and earn 50% of a restaurant's profit.

[Ted Cruz @tedcruz]

This is what happens when you don’t teach basic U.S. history.

[Gabe @cricketsmissing]

@oliverhenry That's the South for ya. Too bad !

[NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 @japan_nobunaga]

In America they told me the football game starts at 1 PM.

I arrived at 1 PM.
I was five hours late.
The parking lot was already a city.

A man had built a living room beside his truck. Not metaphorically. He had a couch. A television. A chandelier powered by a generator the size of a small horse.

He was grilling enough meat to feed a village, and when I walked past he said, "You hungry?"

I said I had not been invited.

He looked at me the way you look at someone who has apologized for breathing.

"Brother," he said. "You're here. That's the invitation."

He handed me a plate. It was not a small plate. The brisket hung over the edges like a man sleeping in a bed he has outgrown.

I ate it standing beside a stranger's couch in a parking lot in October, and it was among the finest meals of my life.

A woman across the row had a tent, a smoker, a speaker system, and a flag so large it could have sheltered a family of five beneath it.

She had been here since 6 AM.

The game had not started.

The game, I began to realize, was not the point.

I asked the man what time he would go inside the stadium.

He said, "Depends."

I asked on what.

He said, "On whether the ribs are done."

I want to be clear. He had a ticket. He had driven four hours. He had assembled a small civilization from the back of a pickup truck.

And he was considering not going to the game.

Because the ribs were not ready.

In Japan we tailgate nothing. We do not build living rooms in parking lots. We do not grill for strangers.

We sit quietly on trains and think about whether we remembered to bow at the right angle.

I have since attended eleven tailgates.

I have never once cared who won the game.

Nobody has.

The game is inside the stadium.

America is in the parking lot.

[Judianna @Judianna]

😎💾

[Gabe @cricketsmissing]

@miles_commodore I'm not sure any of those movies could be made today. lol All are great!

[Rock'n Roll of All @rocknrollofall]

Even 12 years later, this Bluegrass AC/DC cover still gives goosebumps.

What a performance.

[OutKick @Outkick]

Just give Freddy his citizenship already

[Jesse Kelly @JesseKellyDC]

1. China-hawk president

2. China creates a virus

3. Virus used to justify wrecking the economy and expanding mail-in voting

4. Steal the election to bounce the China-hawk and install a man you completely own with blackmail material

It’s like something out of a movie.

[Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao @SECNAV]

Congratulations to @RTX_News on increasing Tomahawk missile production by 300% and delivering a record number of SM-6s last quarter.

This is what it means to deliver for our warfighters—giving them what they need to fight, win, and come home safely. Semper fi and Hooyah.