Weekend Parting Shot: Give Me Pokémon or Give Me Death

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers,

I pray this missive finds you well. I also hope you enjoyed your first Official Week of Freedom and are savoring living in a republic again. The Left's response has been entertaining, with some denizens offering thoughts that suggest that they may be suffering from some sort of personality disorder. But a few have managed to put on a happy face. More on that later.

The Great Pokémon Riot of 2025

Regular readers (if there are any) of mine know of my disdain for Costco. It does not stem solely from the board's doubling and subsequently tripling down on DEI and its shareholders' decision to keep that odious philosophy in place, although that has only cemented my opinion in recent months.

My hate/hate relationship with Costco has been going on for years. I think you need a Costco card to get into Dante's Ninth Circle of Hell. But alas, my wife has a prescription that at present she can only get at Costco, so this morning, I grabbed my fedora, picked up my bullwhip, and trundled off to reenact my favorite scenes from "Indiana Jones and the Box Store of Despair."

Aside from a Lexus SUV momma full of suburban angst and smelling vaguely of Starbucks who nearly ran over my foot with her cart trying to beat me to the pharmacy counter, this expedition was uneventful. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the Atwater Village Costco in Los Angeles.

According to the New York Post, on January 16, the store was selling collections of Pokémon cards. I never quite got Pokémon, but I was in my 50s when it came out. My grandson was a big fan, though. That said, these were not boxes of cards that I used to get the kid for Christmas. The collections in question were the 151 Blooming Waters Premium Collection packs. The store was selling them for $60 a pop, although they originally went for around $120 to $150. I admit I have no idea what a 151 Blooming Waters Premium Collection pack is, but apparently, it is a thing because everybody was Kung Fu fighting over something intended for children aged six and up.

(Warning: language ahead)

people are fighting in Costco over pokemon cards

I picked a bad time to join this hobby… pic.twitter.com/xPK1mhb0Ag
— DSG Toast (@DisguisedToast) January 16, 2025

The Post reported:

People began ordering other shoppers to call the police because of the unruly crowd.
Police were not called to the store, and no arrests were made, TMZ reported.
Additional footage from the LA-area store captured store employees yelling at the anxious alleged scalpers to walk as the store opened.
The hyper-fixated shoppers were seen pushing and shoving in the store, attempting to get the limited box set, Pokémon forum, PokéBeach reported.
A separate view captured the mad dash as people grabbed entire boxes full of the packs.
Costco has since implemented a “1 unit per membership per day” policy for the packs.

And that, kids, is where Harris voters come from.

Turn that frown upside down!

Since DJT's election and triumphant return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, various progressives have been airing all sorts of veiled and not-so-veiled threats via social media. Most have the requisite nose ring and eyes that say they would love to stuff your kid's pet bunny into a pot of boiling water. So this was positively a breath of fresh air:

I saw it so now you have to. I don't make the rulespic.twitter.com/DgtVVzUtsL
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 23, 2025

The lady is a veritable human beatbox. Almost. And she truly has a lovely singing voice. I will say this: that was the most elegant apology for one's privilege I have ever seen. And she didn't leave anyone out. Well, she left one demographic out. Can you guess which one? I don't know if it was a song or an incantation, but at least it really was "mostly peaceful" for a change.

Wine recommendation

Because you need to unwind, even after a banner week like this.

Normally, I like to highlight wines that I think people will enjoy. However, at times, it is my duty to caution you against making the same mistakes I have. Case in point: the 2021 Apothic Inferno Red Blend.

Granted, I am not a fan of sweet wines, but I'll try anything once. If you took 1/2 cc of isopropyl alcohol and squeezed it into a bottle of cough medicine, you would have this wine. And most serious reviewers have agreed with me. We tried drinking it, pouring it over vanilla ice cream, and even putting it in chili. We tried everything, but even for a sweet wine, this was like trying to drink a glass of slightly alcoholic maple syrup. So bottoms up and caveat emptor.