Golfing on a deserted course in war-torn Burma with the Free Burma Rangers isn’t exactly your typical day on the green. The fairways are overgrown, the bunkers are real craters, and “fore!” sometimes means incoming fire. But when life hands you a warzone, you improvise — a stick, a beat-up ball, and a little gallows humor. Out here, every swing’s a miracle and every missed shot feels like a small victory for sanity.

Good morning from the lodge in West Virginia. I’m hearing from a lot of people who are genuinely worried they won’t receive welfare benefits if the government shutdown drags on. That fear is already boiling over online—threats to loot, videos full of rage, and a general sense that Thanksgiving might turn into a flashpoint. Whether you rely on those benefits or not, this affects you. Civil order is fragile when basic expectations get yanked.

What’s real, what’s hype

• Programs at risk first: If the standoff goes long, WIC would feel the pinch earliest, SNAP/TANF next. Some states have said they’ll float stop-gap funding—but there’s no guarantee, and timelines can slip.

• Weaponized pain: Democrats are using the prospect of missed payments to club Republicans—same playbook we see overseas when leaders leverage civilian hardship. It’s cynical, but it works because fear is loud and contagious.

• Fragile order: If cards flash “insufficient,” we won’t see orderly breadlines. We’ll see flash-mob shoplifting and parking-lot grabs. I’ve watched it happen in other crises; you don’t want to be in the middle aisle when that starts.

The hard numbers nobody likes to say out loud

• 42 million Americans use SNAP.

• 6–7 million use WIC.

• ~21 million kids get free or reduced school meals.

That’s tens of millions who plan their month around government reloads.

There are new and highly intriguing reports surfacing this week about what’s happening just south of the border — and if true, they could mark a major escalation in America’s shadow war against the drug cartels.

According to intelligence sources cited by a subscriber-only security publication — not some fringe outlet, but one with a track record of accurate insider reporting — U.S. Special Operations Forces are operating on the ground in Baja California, Mexico, conducting intelligence-gathering missions and possibly direct-action raids against cartel targets.

Now, before we go any further, let’s be clear: Washington will never officially confirm this. If it’s happening, it’s deeply classified and deniable. But the evidence is mounting that something significant is underway.

What “Special Operations” Really Means

When people hear “Special Forces,” they think of one big secret army. In reality, America’s elite units operate on a tiered hierarchy.

• Tier One units — Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 — answer almost directly to the President through the Joint Special Operations Command. These are the surgical instruments of U.S. foreign policy.

• Supporting them are the Army Rangers (the “kickoff team” for special operations), Green Berets (trainers and force multipliers), Task Force 160th helicopter pilots (the best on Earth), and specialized Air Force pararescueand Marine Raider units.