Paul Crewe: Hey Pop, the time you hit Hazen in the mouth, was it worth 30 years?

Pop: Yeah: For me it was.

The Longest Yard 1974

Last week I filled up my gastank at $4.009 a gallon.

The $4 barrier was a big shock as gas had plummeted during the 2nd Trump term to a point where I had paid $2.56 just before the start of the war with Iran. That had saved me a lot of money and it showed.

I had hoped that things would be over before a final oil delivery but it was not and my oil delivery cost considerably more than I had budgeted, fortunately my prepay had still covered it so the impact wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

With my job about to end this week after 10 years these additional costs are a real strain on the family budget and I imagine that for people who are less careful with their money, which I imagine is most people, the gas increase is a matter of real pain.

Gas is now $4.27 everywhere as we start getting fuel that was traded on markets at the top of the spikes.

It’s a real concern not just financially but politically because the cost of gas increases the cost of everything else and the Democrats who didn’t say boo when gas prices were like this during the Biden years are making hay of it all.

Every incentive both personal for me and political for conservatives in election 2026 screams for things in Iran to end yesterday.

But when it comes down to it, none of that matters, because this is a defining moment for the country and the world.

For 47 years the Islamists in Iran have been the number one source of murder and terror in the world and have exported this terror to almost every corner of the planet. Thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of others have lost their lives become of their direct actions over this time. They have been the delivery system for all our enemies who want us dead. For 47 years they have chanted “Death to America” and I’ve never for one moment thought they didn’t mean it.

America had opportunities to stop this. Reagan, could have gone in regardless of the Hostage release but was dealing with the cold War. Bush one didn’t want to upset Arab allies as he dealt with Iraq. Clinton was more interested in not getting booted, Bush two who actually had Iran surrounded on three sides never pulled the trigger and Barack Obama, It’s my opinion that he’s been on Iran’s side from the very beginning of his presidency and into his 3rd term running the autopen man.

The single greatest thing Donald Trump can do for the United States and for the World is removing the Islamic Republic from the face of the earth.

  • It will save countless lives, free the people of Iran from the terror they’ve lived under.
  • It will destroy terror networks and connections that will take our foes years to rebuild.
  • It will change the face of the middle east permanently giving an incentive for Israel’s neighbors to make peace
  • It will deprive both Russia & China of a proxy used to attack us and intimidate others
  • And it will deprive Islamists of a nuclear device (at least until England and France fall)

All of these gains are stacked against a tighter belt for me and mine.

There is no contest.

I hate where Gas prices are, but if they reach $5 and Iran falls this year, it’s worth it.

If the economy slows because of the increase in gas prices, but Iran falls this year, it’s worth it.

And if the Democrat left, which I suspect is doing all it can to encourage Iran to hold out actually wins both houses of congress because of this war, but Iran falls IT’S STILL WORTH IT!

All of those things me a harder life for me in the short term, but a better life for my sons and myself and the entire world in the long term.

About 85 years ago my father found himself in the Pacific fighting a war for the world’s survival while at home my ancestors on both my mother and fathers side did without in order to support that effort until it was won. Because of their sacrifices I lived in a safer world in freedom.

You and I are being asked to do the same but on a much smaller scale and with a lot less pain.

Let’s be worthy of those who came before us.

Mr. President, fight this war to win. I know the world will not thank you for it, in fact they will publicly curse you for it and teach others to do so. A generation of idiots (outside of Iran itself) who already hate you will hate you more. The Europeans whose oil supply you will scorn you and don’t even think of the Nobel Prize that you had earned for your actions of the past year.

They will attack you for the rest of your life and dance upon your grave with you go to face your maker. They will live to do it in freedom and security.

But even as they do all of these things, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that the freedom, security & even the lives that they spend mocking you, will have been a gift you have freely given them asking nothing in return.

That’s one great legacy.

It’s the first of the month so that means it’s indulgence calendar day

feel free to download and distributre widely

Update: Fixed error

Well as the old saying goes all good things must come to an end and thus my run of Pintastic NE 2026 videos end on the final day of April with a pair of videos from Sunday morning.

In the old days of Pintastic I would generally stay till the very last pinball game was packed up and wrapped up and the main hall would usually be open till about twelve with a few paid people coming in to play some games on the cheep.

Not so much these days:

Of course in those days the machines from the extra ball lounge would be moved into the main room for the final day. Now they remain where they are and people go there to play while the woman’s tournament continues on.

But if there is one constant it’s that my interviews close with Gabe D’Annunzio the founder of the Pintastic feast.

This festival is the reason why there are now so many pinball options in the area that it’s no longer necessary to stay till the final game is packed up. A lot of people in New England have a lot of fun together because of this man and I hope folks remember this. I hope folks say a prayer or two for him in gratitude for all the joy he has brought so many.

And that concludes our Pintastic NE 2026 coverage. God willing and new job willing I’ll be back for Pintastic 2027.

The Pintastic NE 2026 Video roundup

I was very fortunate that the great Steve Ritchie one of the greatest design minds in Pinball & Games and one of the most beloved members of the Pinball community was kind enough to give me time for a sit down interview on Saturday at Pintastic NE 2026.

Part 1

part 2

Some of you might be wondering why I break these into two parts. The primary reason is that my old Cannon Camera doesn’t record beyond 19 minutes at a time.

The logical question is why I don’t get a new one it’s because I like the thing and have been using it for over a decade and produces excellent video.

The 2nd logical question is why don’t I just edit the video into one, part of it is when I had the reputation as being “The hardest working man in the blogosphere” I would shoot so much video & attempt to get it up fast editing would take too much time but the other part is more basic. Back when I was reporting for money I made it a rule not to edit videos so that people who watched my material knew it was a true representation of what was said.

Given the choice of an edited interview or no interview the latter.is my choice. Given the choice of an edited video or no video give me no video.

Only broke the rule once for a catholic religious lady who let something slip for 2 seconds.

Bottom line, what you see is what was said.

Previously: