Reflections From a Murky Pond

Oh yeah! Given how common this particular trope is on the Hallmark Channel, especially around Christmas, I can see the C-Suit fear. 😆

Christmastide, Day 4

Traditionally, the 4th Day of Christmas is a somber holiday known as Cindermas, but times have changed, and I’ve decided not to follow traditions that were forcibly ended in 1647. So enjoy!

Enjoying Christmastide, Day 3

It’s the 3rd day of Christmas. So, honor St. John the Apostle with a few cups of fine wine. And, don’t forget to enjoy the presents and decorations too. 😉

Soon it’ll be pirating time! Well, privateering, since we’ll have Letters of Marque and Reprisal and, hence, safe ports in the US. 😆 Some of us lads – and a few lassies I’m sure – will be able to hoist the Jolly Roger and prowl the Caribbean for enemy vessels to seize or sink.

And no, Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m not exactly kidding. There’s a bill introduced to Congress granting President Trump the legal authority to issue those Letters of Marque and Reprisal.

S.3567 – A bill to authorize the President of the United States to issue letters of marque and reprisal with respect to acts of aggression against the United States by a member of a cartel, or a member of a cartel-linked organization, or any conspirator associated with a cartel, and for other purposes.

— Sen. Lee, Mike (R-UT)
(Introduced 12/18/2025)

Of course, absolutely nothing will come of this. Nothing! This is just a bit of fun and fantasy. S.3567 is, was, and will remain DOA in committee. It won’t even reach a floor vote, where it would fail anyway, given that Democrats vote against every single bill put forth by American Senators.

Even beyond enemy action or inaction in the Senate, there’s a laundry list of issues that would need to be addressed. While the U.S. Constitution, in Article I, Section 8, Clause 11, empowers Congress to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal,” there’s a bit more to it than just commissioning ships’ captains into privateers and setting them upon Venezuelan narcoterrorists and, potentially, tankers violating international and/or American sanctions. A whole legal infrastructure would need to be (re)created, e.g., Prize Courts.

Ah well, it’s a fun thought even though there’s statistically no chance that I’ll ever be able to captain a modern sloop-of-war claiming prizes from Caracus to the Gulf of America.

Christmastide, Day 2

Day 2 of Christmastide is upon us once again. Enjoy the extended holiday as it was meant to be enjoyed… sort of, maybe, it depends upon day, date, time, and nation. 😉