Top O' the Briefing
Happy Friday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. The Sine Qua Non Sequitur is teaching some Swedish reindeer photographers the importance of properly oiled chaps in preparation for Stagecoach this weekend.
When then-private citizen Donald Trump came down the golden escalator in Trump Tower to announce his presidential candidacy in the summer of 2015, he ruffled a lot of feathers when he was truthful about illegal immigration. He spoke about the bad people who came up from Mexico across our porous southern border.
It was quite shocking, even for people who agreed with him. Politicians didn't speak that way. Republicans who were opposed to open borders and supposedly strong on border security didn't speak that boldly or honestly. Yes, the Sinaloa Cartel is the headline today, but this is really about the way that President Trump has changed so much about how we approach the myriad dangers that come into this country across the Mexican border when the security is lax.
Let's get to the Sinaloa problem. Here is Sarah’s intro to a post she wrote about the cartel yesterday:
With operations in at least 47 countries around the world, the Sinaloa Cartel is largely considered one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the Western Hemisphere. One of the first things the Donald Trump administration did in 2025 was designate it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
Sinaloa is also one of the driving factors behind the fentanyl crisis in the United States. Back in the 1980s, it focused heavily on trafficking cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine, but in the 2010s, it began to diversify heavily into fentanyl. Heavy demand for synthetic opioids in the U.S. and the fact that it's much easier to make synthetic drugs with chemicals than rely on large-scale farming drove the change.
The Sinaloa Cartel is not only the 800 lb gorilla in the Western Hemisphere, it ranks as one of the largest and most dangerous criminal organizations in the world, and it has been for a very, very long time. Here's the thing, though — before Donald Trump became president almost no one outside of the southwestern United States had ever heard of it.
Pre-Trump, the political conversation was rarely, if ever, about the bad guys. Pols would drone on and on about all of the plucky workers who were flooding northward into the U.S. just so they could make a few bucks. The staunchest border security Republicans would give the occasional head nod to criminal activity coming up from Mexico, but never anything strong enough to counter the open borders freaks' feel-good stories. Their timidity in the conversation only served to exacerbate the problem.
The toughness that Trump has brought to the GOP all starts with his unflinching honesty about illegal immigration. It is a problem that couldn't be properly attacked when nobody was being honest about how big it was.
Trump is targeting the biggest part of that big problem. Sarah details how both the State Department and Treasury are going after the Sinaloa Cartel. She also explains what a daunting task it is — the cartel is very good at the whole powerful criminal organization thing. Still, the Trump 47 team is making the effort. And this president has been defying political expectations ever since the aforementioned escalator ride.
Godspeed to law enforcement personnel and all the people in the Trump administration who are trying make this country safer after decades of open borders lunacy. The bad guys are really bad and the good guys' jobs are being made more difficult by Trump Derangement Syndrome Democrats who have decided to throw in with criminals.
I was kidding about the third term thing in the headline, but only barely. It's also great fun to trigger the lefty trolls with talk like that. Any mention of a Trump third term and the Dem hive mind experiences a collective soiling of the undergarments.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
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The Mailbag of Magnificence
We will begin with a note from MBV, who is responding to this from Wednesday's MB: "The Sine Qua Non Sequitur is preparing a Spanish-language TEDx talk on holistic mindfulness in alternative haberdashery."
Will the English translation be available? I'm a big advocate of dressing intentionally -- given that so many people go around looking as if they'd grabbed random clothing in the dark. Some of the alternative fashion people do a great job of this -- Goth outfits are often beautifully composed. Also bikers. I'm neither, but I do appreciate the aesthetics of a well thought-through outfit. :)
If I am going to be on stage or television, then I dress very intentionally and well. During this extended desert-dwelling, writing phase of mine, I spend most of the year in t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. If it weren't for church, I might not own any shirts with buttons right now.
Dave A. writes:
As a retired 30-year Army CWO4, I’m often reminded of a motto that was posted at the WO school house in Ft. Rucker, AL – “When you walk by a standard not being set, you just set another standard”. As the SME for their given field, upholding the standards was tantamount to our profession. With the moral decay and unethical shenanigans that permeate from the DC swamp coupled with the bias, unscrupulous flying monkeys that support them - that saying is proven true on an almost daily basis. Be cool SK!!
I fear that too many people in Congress would have to Google "standard" and still struggle with understanding the meaning. I will try to stay cool, Dave. I have a high standard of not caring about the news on the weekends which helps a lot with that.
Doug F. and I are of the same mind:
The flowered catsuit scene in My Cousin Vinny is the very second I fell in love with Marisa Tomei and got her the Oscar. Keep up the good work Kruiser.
Marisa Tomei and Jennifer Connelly are my two unshakable, enduring crushes from when I was a young man. Both are still hot.
We will finish with this from Lee:
Mr. Kruiser! Love your columns -read them every morning. Always careful with my cup of coffee though - don't want to spew any! But, the vodka-infused chocolate nonpareils are just wrong. Keep going though! Take care and God bless!
This is the kind of reaction that I usually get for the made-up SQNS cocktails and food items. Lately, however, people have been intrigued by the weird stuff. I just know that I'm going to get bored one Saturday and start experimenting with some of the SQNS libations and cuisine.
Hopping Mailbag this week — many thanks to all who made it happen!
Everything Isn't Awful
Mainlining cuteness.
Yummy.. 😊 pic.twitter.com/mt02cWEEI9
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) April 23, 2026
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The Kruiser Kabana
Kabana Gallery
The Arizona legend.
“Winds from the East” 🌬️
— DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun Museum (@DeGraziaGallery) April 22, 2026
A force you can feel in every brushstroke. In this powerful work, Ettore DeGrazia captures motion, spirit, and direction—where horse and rider move as one against an unseen current. Bold color and sweeping texture bring the energy of the wind to life. pic.twitter.com/Ad53IWGeyi
Kabana Comedy/Tunes
It is that time again, my friends.
Weekend Bonus
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