Executive Orders (EOs): EOs alone produce a “sugar high” that quickly dissipates. In 2017, Pres. Trump wiped away a bunch of Obama’s EOs. (And there was joy and rejoicing amongst right-thinking people!) Then Biden wiped away Trump’s EOs in 2021. (And darkness descended.) And now Trump is returning the favor.
Since they can undo anything done by EOs, we need to move quickly to pass laws, especially in areas where we’ve got the “80” position on an 80/20 issue. For example, use the same EO language to pass laws banning men from women’s sports, locker rooms, and prisons.
Then, when the Dems take back the White House (shudder), rather than just signing an EO that lets men start beating women in sports and raping them in prisons again, the Dem president (shudder) will have to go to the American people and say, “Let’s let the dudes back into women stuff.”
Murder-by-Drone (in Russia)
(Forbes) (h/t Claudio) Russian police are investigating the first-ever homicide case [outside a war zone] in which the murder weapon was an FPV drone. Such drones are easy to make and even more straightforward to acquire, and they are now made in large numbers in Russia.
‘Blowback’ is the technical term for the backward escape of gases from a firearm. It has long been used as a metaphor for the unintended consequences of military or covert action. It may be an apt description of what has happened with the rapid development and democratization of explosive-laden racing drones in Russia. Russia’s notorious organized crime gangs may now have the perfect weapon for carrying out hits on each other — and anyone else who gets in their way.
The outline of the story is carried by Russian media, including news outlet Kompromat1 reported on Feb 8th :
“At the beginning of the year, a murder attempt was made on a large farmer in one of the Trans-Baikal regions. The businessman died on the spot from his injuries. The weapon of the crime was an FPV drone with explosives,” states the article. (Thanks to Samuel Bendett for highlighting this).
The killing is described as “a new milestone in the history of Russian crime. For the first time, criminals used an FPV attack drone.”
In Germany
“Germany’s energy policies have led to electricity costs that are four times higher than in the U.S. The country’s industrial sector, especially the auto industry, suffers due to high energy costs and green regulations. Germany’s military has been significantly reduced, with only 180,000 active soldiers and minimal military assets. The country’s fertility rate is dangerously low, and immigration policies have led to a large foreign-born population. Germany’s self-inflicted decline mirrors the Morgenthau Plan’s intended de-industrialization and depopulation of post-WWII Germany.”
Doubling down on woke and importing single military-age males from savage lands isn’t a solution.
Bullet Points:
** Welfare for colleges? NIH ‘slush fund’ allegedly stiffs research to fund administrative bloat. Private foundations fund only a fraction of the “indirect costs” Uncle Sam does, and universities spread panic to keep the taxpayer spigot gushing. Critics say universities “launder” federal money to researchers for perks, so they go along.
** Democratic Party political activist Sheryl Crow, a once-relevant (a little long in the tooth) “singer,” said she sold her Tesla and donated the money to NPR. Nobody told her that she could have donated it to Virtual Mirage? Get the word out. We accept your money. Are you planning to shuffle off that mortal coil soon and don’t want to leave your money to your cat – think VM! I’ll buy an armored vehicle to honor your memory.
** Detroit Schools –
** Hunters. We know who we are.
** Thoughts on staffing. How many people do you need to run the company?
** “This is being shared everywhere, and it should be because it’s historically illiterate, antagonistic to a fundamental value, and done so condescendingly from a highly paid “news” desk. CBS Margaret Brennan blames free speech for the Holocaust.”
It’s all about the Climate
The BBC’s recent article “Climate change: The Panama community that fled its drowning island” claims that rising sea levels are swallowing the island of Cartí Sugdupu in Panama due to climate change.
This is false.
The island’s inhabitants are not being forced to relocate because of rising oceans but due to overcrowding, poor infrastructure, and a lack of resources—issues that have nothing to do with climate change.
Furthermore, real-world examples and peer-reviewed research contradict the idea that small islands disappear due to rising seas. Instead, many islands are growing, adapting, and naturally shifting over time.
The BBC’s report is misleading at best and deliberately deceptive at worst. What a shock.
Cartí Sugdupu is one of Panama’s San Blas Islands, home to the indigenous Guna people. The BBC’s article, painting a picture of climate-induced displacement, completely ignores that the island is severely overcrowded, with more than 1,000 people packed into a tiny space of just 0.028 square miles. That’s a population density higher than New York City! The primary reasons the residents are moving are not rising sea levels but poor living conditions, a lack of fresh water, and a shortage of space—issues that have been pressing for decades.
Instead of addressing these fundamental concerns, the BBC presents the relocation as a direct result of climate change despite the absence of evidence that rising seas are responsible. The sea level around Panama has risen at an average of about 1 to 3 mm per year, a rate consistent with natural post-Little Ice Age trends and one that has not increased during the recent period of climate change.
As such, there is no indication of an impending climate catastrophe, as described in Climate at a Glance. At this pace, it would take centuries before Cartí Sugdupu faced submersion.”
***
Thoughts on the Filibuster
The GOP congress should immediately propose and start pushing a law codifying the filibuster for regular legislation, with a one-year deadline to pass it.
But the GOP should warn the Democrats that if they successfully oppose it by the end of next January and it hasn’t passed, the GOP will immediately kill the filibuster and jam through every bit of legislation that Trump wants. In that context, smart Democrats would have a big incentive to vote for legislation to keep the filibuster, knowing that if they don’t, the GOP is going to run roughshod for the next year and possibly three years.
So far, the filibuster has only been a customary practice, which we saw when Harry Reid threw it out for lower court judge confirmations, thus allowing us to put judges on SCOTUS with 51 votes. (HA!) Before the election, many Democrats said they would get rid of the filibuster for all legislation, arguing that the evil GOP was “thwarting the will of the people” by adhering to it.
I like the filibuster because it prevents faddish passions from driving whiplashing policies. However, a prerequisite for a functional filibuster is the existence of two sides operating in good faith so that some party members are willing to cross party lines to support reasonable ideas the opposition proposes.
Does ANYBODY think that’s the world we’re living in? If Trump gets to nominate someone for SCOTUS, and there are 47 Dem senators, there is no way that any Trump nominee will get more than one Dem vote. (Zero, if a second coconut falls on Fetterman’s head and he reverts to his leftist priors.)
So why would I want to keep the filibuster? As much of an obstacle as it is to us now, if it were codified into law, it would be much harder to overturn, and it would thus be a similar obstacle when the Democrats get a slight majority later.
However, if the Democrats don’t take the deal by next January, we can’t continue to live by rules that we know they will trash as soon as they regain power.
Toward the end of Biden’s term, they seriously talked about killing the filibuster, stacking the SCOTUS, and adding Puerto Rico and DC as new states. And they likely would have done AT LEAST the former if they’d won in November.
Let’s force the issue. If they want to play by the rules, that’s our thing. But if they expect to change the rules to gain an unfair advantage, we’ve got to beat them at their own game by beating them to the punch.
***
Energy
ADNOC Gas has secured a long-term role in helping meet India’s growing demand for liquefied natural gas. The Abu Dhabi-based producer signed a 14-year deal with Indian Oil Corp. for up to 1.2 million tons annually, valued between $7 billion and $9 billion. Deliveries will begin in 2026.
According to the International Energy Agency, India’s LNG demand is expected to more than double by 2030. The surge is driven by rising gas consumption across industries, transport, and refineries. With India aiming to boost gas in its energy mix, Gulf producers who are expanding production, like Oman, Qatar, and the UAE, are well-positioned to meet its needs.
ADNOC Gas has already pre-sold most of the output from its upcoming Ruwais LNG plant, which will double its production capacity when it comes online in 2028. Meanwhile, ADNOC Logistics & Services, its shipping division, recently secured $2.1 billion in financing to expand its fleet and support exports.
Identify the Vehicle
1
Not an STUG III
2
The same and not the same.
3
Air-Mobile
Parting Shot – Clairvoyance?
End
Morgenthau Plan: I am reliably informed that “morgenthau” translates to “morning dew” (an interesting change of pace, BTW). But somehow it seems that “Morningstar Plan” would be more accurate.
—
Just had an epiphany about morningstars. I used to say that “if there is a USA one hundred years from now, we’ll be demonized and targeted for destruction just like those filthy Germans and those filthier Russians.” But why wait? Maybe it’s already happening.
—
Margaret Brennan: shockingly, NOT one of Them. No Harvard OR Yale on her CV.
It helps to have an Ivy League reference if you want to join the swamp but maybe there is a more obscure family connection?
IDV
1.STUG-III
2.Churchill Crocodile
Morris C-8 FAT
“I didn’t choose the StuG life, it chose me.”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rszg66O8BjY
🤣
Correction:
3.Morris C-8 FAT aka QUAD
Revisit #1
#2 there are two tanks. The same and not the same
1. StuG IV. You can tell by the casement front, definitely a IV and not a III. Be easier if we could see the running gear and see the IV’s little bogie wheels, but Larry had to get cute and find a photo with the running gear hidden. Bastid. The gun mantlet also points to a IV. Close to the mantlet on a Jadgpanther rather than a Stug III.
2. Churchill Crocodile and a Churchill with the 75mm. On a smaller tank, I’d say the gun was the 6pdr but the Churchill is such a landyacht of a tank, which is what made it so successful in being used for things that it wasn’t designed for, like bridgelaying and as an engineer’s vehicle (AVRE.)
3. I dunno. I think Hogsbreath is correct about it being a Morris as it’s ugly enough to be one.
–
Filibuster? I’d say keep it and strengthen it. Congress wasn’t originally designed to be run by -+ 1 but by a reasonable majority. The Filibuster restores that reasonable majority.
–
And to strengthen it, resort back to the old old filibuster ways. No breaks, no time outs, no shenanigans. You wanna filibuster, well, you’d better be wearing your diapers and have someone ready to tag in if needed. Else no filibuster for you. Oh, you say it would be hard on the congresscritter older than 70? Too bad. Term limits and age limits may apply, though I’d rather see common sense take over.
Diaper? That’s for dilettantes. Foley catheter (and an IV drip). So a friend’s father (FF) was this medium-faluting Manhattan attorney. FF had some sort of surgery and had to have a foley in place for a couple of weeks. Of course this made him unhappy, until he discovered that he could sit through a production of Das Rheingold without having to run to the bathroom for the first time in years. (Later on, FF managed to ruin his shoes by knocking the bag loose (he had it strapped around one ankle) and drenching his feet in urine, but that’s another story.)
If I were Obama girlishly watching Sumo wrestling I’d say “Eeeww”….but since I’m not, if I ever get to that point MrsPaulM is instructed to put me out to pasture…let the coyotes, wolves, and lions clean me up…so to speak. Hopefully I’ll be delirious by then and won’t care.
Google “sky burial”.
Ok, that speaks to my 12yo self. Musk clip from Hannity interview with PDJT when Trump ayd “he’s going to Mars”:
Hannity: “You seriously would go to Mars? Isn’t that dangerous, you could die?”
Musk: “Yes, I could if I decide to go, but as long at it’s not by impact.”
Hahahah
*says, “He’s… (Oy…typo’s galore…which would be my James Bond gal pal name)
Btw WEB…THAT last statement is hilarious, about spit out my really nice MrsPaulM breakfast after plowing some more Climate Change.
The main issue with the filibuster plan is this ‘smart democrats’, I don’t think they exist. The best plan, to me, would be to scrap the filibuster for the rest of the year and use that year to rebalance our laws. Then next year offer to codify the filibuster. It would give enough incentive that you wouldn’t need ‘smart’ democrats to pass it. The normal pongoid ones would do.
Identify the Vehicle:
1. StuH 42
2. Left: Churchill 1; right: Churchill with 6 pounder
3. Looks like a Morris CS8 lightened for air-landing.
I think that #1 is a StuH 40. There were very few built. Correct on the others.
Looks to be a little battlefield pickup going on with that Degtyaryov lmg being used.
I couldn’t find any Churchills armed with the 6pdr that also have muzzle brakes. Only ones that I have found with a muzzle brake are 75mm armed ones.
“Hunting” – Now I want to watch the movie…not familiar…what is it?
***
Climate Change [Panama] Hooey- Prime had a 2-Parter on Greenland, looked good, like a really cool travel log. Host was a guy from The Motherland…seemed decent enough. Inside of 3 minutes the camera is looking at calving glaciers and icebergs and he says…I kid you not…”due to the effects of Climate Change all this ice will melt, as we see here, raising sea levels.”
We immediately switched to rewatch Reacher S2…or might have been Kenda:Homicide Hunter…anything was better than being subject to that drivel. Any normal (operative word there) with a basic understanding of their root beer or sweet tea in a glass with a few ice cubes floating about knows this guy…and his Climate Change ilk…are idiots. They are the modern Chicken Little’s with some bizarre axe to grind for purposes only they can understand….OR…maybe they are just deranged.
Hunting – Yellowstone 1923 Series.
–
The Younger Dryas was a period of extreme cold that occurred about 12,900–11,700 years ago. It was a reversal of global warming that ended the last Ice Age. And by that, it was the most recent Ice Age. We’ve had many less significant climate reversals since then. The study of the climate over geological time is the study of radical changes – some of which were extinction-level events. Humans didn’t drive any of them. The extent to which human activity significantly impacts the climate is still hotly debated. Because it’s funded for political gain, “science” is unreliable. Often activates conflate human pollution with the climate. We can do a lot to stop pollution. The climate – not so much. Unless you go with the Bill Gates Block the Sun (Matrix) solution.
Thx…watched a bit of the trailer the other night, but this bit makes it more intriguing. It’s on Prime so might be a snow day bing watch indulgence.
“Science is unreliable”. Two points can be made with that:
1) Only when convenient for those with an agenda, and it swings either way (in a science sense, not a wacko 42 letter self identifying manner). Science may be unreliable but facts and data are not (ie. “group of data” to be clear this time), which good science is supposed to work towards. Truth matters. Or to totally politicize my comment: As DOGE is doing, using the old adage: “Money talks, Bravo Sierra walks”. The political side is quickly losing its hold on WTP as the Federal finance truth emerges. Anthropogenic weather change is BS, altho might have some effect in small areas, eg. London Fog…which was mitigated with modern heating systems. Seems the Weather Chicken Little’s are demanding we regress as a species and society despite technologies and environmental awareness to be good stewards. WTP are, whereas China… not so much.
2) Unless it’s about Covid and the Self-Appointed Rulers of the Universe want to run a mass psychosis psy-op on the Plebes for both diversion and political gain.
(admittedly, in effect, #2 might be a subset of #1)
– Dissertation over.
I wish it really was warming. The benefits to life in general and humanity in particular would be tremendous. If Trump was able to acquire Greenand and Canada, and the temp rose, think how much land would become conventionaly inhabitable year round. There would be a new land rush to the north. Unfortunately, the little warming we had at the end of the last century didn’t last long and now we seem to be starting to trend back down. (And Paul, the ice in Greenland in on top of rock, so if it melted, it would raise sea levels.)
Yes correct, some ice/glacial flows are on rock…but his blanket statement while watching calving icebergs was more of the same indoctrinated pablum (my point of contention). Sea levels have not changed one inch in 150 years, so LL is correct: not anything man has had an effect. Now I want to watch 10 minutes to see if that setup pervades the program, might ultimately be good.
Working in the corporate world, I found that 25% of my workforce was useless, 25% were outstanding and 50% were mediocre doing their jobs or doing what was necessary to get by. Although I’m not a trained psychologist (I have a masters in human behavior) some employees have problems and as a line manager I don’t feel as though someone should be shitcanned for a fuckup. I also was in union environments and I would involve stewards to help resolve drug, alcohol or family related problems. As a manager, you have to make decisions that the uppers didn’t always agree with, so you leave them out of the equation.
LSP’s son, “The Sergeant,” asked me about people I brought before a captain’s mast (Article 15 UCMJ) and people I stood in judgment on in official proceedings during my time in the military. I laughed and said that the number was zero. I always felt that a subordinate’s failure – when dealing with a team of solid professionals – demonstrated my inability to lead, teach, and mentor. I hold with that. It’s not only in military settings. Leadership by example, by training, trusting, mentoring, and being available when somebody has a question or a problem means that you are unlikely to have to resort to Article 15 or a court marshall.
Absolutely correct. Having to resort to official punishment of a young troop is almost always a failure of leadership. L-L was higher up the food chain but I had over two years’ time in grade as a sergeant myself when I got out and always looked for, and found, a just and equitable way to avoid that sort of thing. Even got in a good deal of trouble myself once for refusal to submit a young troop for discipline after a stupid mistake and I remain proud of that. Most people just want guidance, to be included (inclusion!) in the information flow and positive feedback. Amazing what a little positive feedback can accomplish with a young troop on the edge. You have to make them think they are a valued part of something bigger than themselves and that they themselves are on the way up. You have to get to know your people to do that. Most “leaders” can’t be bothered. It absolutely works in the civilian world as well.
Works in all areas of life, the main consideration is there has to be a willing recipient (that humility thing)…many are not, unfortunately.
I agree on leadership failures lead to problems. Then the question is what to do for repeated excursions or blockheads. I was taught the pre-WWII method of taking the guys who kept goofing off to do the extra chores, cleaning the trunk locker, painting exterior surfaces as needed and other such necessary chores rather than make work or official punishment. They were supervised by higher ranking individuals who needed to supervise and I was there to show that the unit was cohesive. Their buddies would take note and assist them in living a better life. It wasn’t as fast as legal action, but everyone got a chance to improve and live a life worthy.
By the 90s, the Air Force was done with any supervised assistance. At Peterson AFB, one of my associates was the Area Defense Counsel. He was busy every Tuesday and Thursday in court. I asked what kept him so busy and the answer was general courts martials for dismissal. They were all young airmen having graduated from technical school typically less than a year previously and the charge was Failure To Go. They just didn’t show up to work. One warning. The next time, an Article 15 and the third time a court martial. No NCOs or officers rolling them out of bed and marching or double timing to work and back. Just throw them out.
Military leadership at the company level.
I was in during the draft era and a semi-permanent part of the 1ST SGT’s “voluntary after hours work program”, so I speak from a position of some (dated) experience. We had people who were simply mentally defective. One individual, while on the troop ship, would hang off the stern by his finders. As a group, we were prone to fighting and getting drunk as recreation. It didn’t help the unit was 60-70% black. Article 15s were reserved for slackers.
The current military is, IMO, better trained, better motivated and better led and will recover from DEI. From what I’ve heard, ditch diggers and cannon cockers are still the nastiest.
Your grandfather is genius.
How dare you suggest that the fair, independent leaning, non-agenda biased BBC are reporting fake news!
What’s it like to wake up in America these days? I wake up dying to see what has happened next whilst I slept (a bit) and if they’ve opened the door of Fort Knox to see if any gold is left. It’s so exciting! I’m almost starting to become obsessed with Elon Musk.
So the US government has been paying BBC to report fake news? Hold me in case I faint with shock. Yes, the hits are coming fast and furious across the pond, Jules. If we eliminate the rather OBVIOUS fraud, we should be able to balance the budget and pay down the deficit, and the Social Security system will be solvent. MUSK!
The BBC…while absolutely incredibly brilliant in Top Gear show production, after all those seasons, still got rid of The Greatest Living Englishman and his Two Lifelong Pals (excellent in their own right)…so no quarter given. Now, not to be outdone by their “dismissal” (which may have had more to do with Clarkson being a very good contract negotiator than some odd fracas with a producer and The BBC wanted to exit their deal), The Boys (still acting like the 12 year olds most of males are underneath) launched The Grand Tour, with undoubtedly the best reboot opening scene ever for a TV program. So there…BBC.
When you consider that it’s our tax dollars at work, we ought to get the cars distributed here by lottery after Top Gear drives them.
Now THAT is a great idea…well, except for caravans or the more humble affairs they hilariously destroy in the process, only the good ones.
Dana Loesch yesterday: “I think the more we pay in taxes the more votes we should get, I should get at least two.” hahaha (me, I’d take the TG HiLux…it still runs!)
** climate change and land disappearing into the ocean: in my 9th grade Science class when we covered Geology we (i.e.: the teacher) discussed the subduction of tectonic plates; haven’t noticed Flawreeda getting any warmer or shrinking since my folks first moved down here in ’75
**Morgenthau may also mean morning custom/habit: don’t know ’bout you, but the first thing I do every morning after I leap out of bed is make a dash for the …
**”Murder-by-Drone” these mini-aircraft are controlled by radio signals – hmm? should be easy enough to interfere, even to return to sender?
** EOs have always reminded me of a very regal/imperial way to run a constitutional republic (or, as some would have it: a “democracy’); I’ve commented on this a time or two – or more
Concur with all on the filibuster! That ‘tool’ goes both ways, as the dems learned after Harry Reid weaponized it.
Breaking News – The S&P 500 climbed to a fresh all time high today as it ticked up a quarter percent.
Patel is about in, wait for the market to reflect that appointment…while the grifters and cheats scream bloody murder as their insider trading largess disappears like the vapor they ultimately represent – themselves.
Margaret Brennan came off as Philomena Cunk.
X2
Germany has low infertility rates? If you smile at a German woman you stand high odds of her spreading he legs. German women like to #uck.
They’re very orderly in their approach to things.
Has anyone tried watching the FAFO – Official Version music video?
The sheep will spend its whole life fearing the wolf only to be eaten by the shepherd.
re: FAFO
mildly entertaining.
I suspect most of that crowd will enjoy it
Juan