Welcome to the weekend.
Bullet Points:
** Who do you favor? Supreme Court nominees: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Utah Sen. Mike Lee are two names being floated as potential replacements on the bench whenever that time might come, say, if Justice Sam Alito retires.
** Most people assume propaganda exists to persuade, to march into the public square armed with facts, arguments, and emotional appeals strong enough to convert opponents into believers. That assumption gives propaganda far too much credit and far too much dignity. The more effective form of modern propaganda does not aim to change your mind. It aims to make you question whether you have a mind worth trusting at all. Convincing someone is difficult work. It requires coherence, evidence, consistency, and a willingness to engage directly with competing ideas. It invites scrutiny; even the least aware demand some sort of evidence. In a world where information is abundant and attention is scarce, that is a costly strategy. It is far easier and far more efficient to introduce just enough uncertainty to disrupt confidence. A seed of doubt, properly planted, does not need to grow into a new belief. It only needs to erode the old one.
** Are you worrying about the wrong thing with A.I.? (graphic right)
** Selective memory?
** The US Treasury has warned banks in the Middle East and East Asia to halt Iran-linked transactions or face potential sanctions, signaling a stepped-up enforcement push targeting the financial networks that move Tehran’s oil revenues.
** Wheels within wheels within wheels. Riyadh is cementing its alliance with Islamabad, sending financial aid to Pakistan, and receiving military assistance from its Asian ally. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah yesterday and spoke of Islamabad’s “unwavering solidarity” with the kingdom. Last week, Pakistan sent fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to bolster its defenses against Iranian attacks, even as Islamabad was trying to mediate a US-Iran peace deal. The defense ties go back decades. Riyadh helped fund Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program in the 1970s; last year, they signed a mutual defense pact. Saudi Arabia has also provided financial aid, providing $3 billion to Islamabad this week, just as a $3.5 billion loan from the UAE is due for repayment. In the past, Gulf loans to Pakistan were frequently rolled over when they matured, but Pakistan’s relations with Abu Dhabi are not as close these days: In January, the UAE signed a letter of intent for a strategic defense partnership with Pakistan’s main rival, India.
** Crack for the ammosexual.
** The Latest Little Bird (left) AH-6. How does all that ordnance affect its combat range? Mission Enhanced Little Bird (MELB), and the proposed AH-6I and AH-6S.
In September 2013, Aurora Flight Sciences and Boeing offered the H-6U Little Bird for the U.S. Marine Corps uncrewed lift, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability competition. Boeing, working as a subcontractor, was flying the Little Bird without human input, but with a pilot on board to comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations during testing. Marines at Quantico announced they had successfully landed an uncrewed Little Bird autonomously using a mini-tablet computer in April 2014. The helicopters were equipped with the Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS), which combines advanced algorithms with LIDAR and electro-optical/infrared sensors, enabling a person holding a tablet to select a point to land the helicopter at an unprepared landing site. Autonomous landing without the need for remote control or teleoperation reduces operator burden and allows them to be resupplied or to conduct other missions, such as medical evacuation, around the clock.
** Energy Prices: I paid $4.25/gallon for gasoline in Arizona yesterday (for comparison). Arizona adds a state gasoline tax of $ 0.19 per gallon to the price. Without that, it would be just over $4.00/gallon. Though people are complaining about the price, I have a difficult time getting too worked up about it. Just for fun, I ran a comparison between Arizona and the UK. Based on Q2 2026 (April–June) data, UK residential electricity rates are roughly 60–70% higher per kilowatt-hour (kWh) than those in Arizona. Arizona: The average residential electricity cost is approximately 15.6 ¢/kWh (USD). UK: The Ofgem price cap, effective from 1 April 2026, sets the average electricity rate at 24.67p/kWh (GBP). Currency Conversion: Assuming an exchange rate of ~1.25, 24.67p converts to approximately 30.8 ¢/kWh (USD). I pay about US$110/month for electricity for a 4,000-square-foot home. (372 square meters) I have two large refrigerators and a large freezer.
** Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is calling new misconduct allegations a “right-wing conspiracy”. Gallego’s best friend, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), resigned from Congress and suspended his run to be governor of California under a cloud of sexual abuse allegations, spying for Communist China, and so forth. Gallego is concerned that he’ll be drawn into the same vortex that’s consuming his best buddy.
** Finland’s President Alexander Stubb suggested that Canada’s shared values and close cooperation with the European Union could make future membership theoretically possible — though the choice rests with Canadians. During talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney, he highlighted strong alignment in trade, defense, and global strategy, as Canada looks to deepen ties beyond the U.S. while maintaining key security partnerships.
Romantic Interlude
Identify the Ship
1
A minelaying cruiser in her original configuration in 1928.
She was one of the first purpose-built fast minelaying cruisers, commissioned in May 1927. This 6,740-ton ship was designed to lay roughly 350 mines. She featured a transom stern and a unique diesel-electric propulsion for efficiency and served actively during the Second World War.
2
3
4
Parting Shot
End
1 HMS Adventure
2?
3 HDMS Knud Rasmussen Royal Danish Navy.
4 HMAS Warramunga ( named after Aboriginal tribe in the Alice Springs region – mostly desert) is an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy
Am I the only one who’s mind went “Du bist mein Sonnenschein” with this post’s title?
You were not alone.
Ever listen to Cindy und Bert – Der Hund von Baskerville?
No doesn’t ring bells but we had all kind of crazy German records when we were kids in my house growing up.
I don’t understand why.
At a republican club meeting here in northern Arizona , guest speaker republican representitive from the south commented that if you wanted to find gallegos, just look for a bar or where ever people are serving alcohol.
I love that version of that song. It gives it a much darker feel more in line with the lyrics IMHO. The Dead South is an interesting band. Another I like by them is this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9FzVhw8_bY
On another note: I’ll be headed to KC for a wedding in about two months. I’ll be looking at houses south of KC, hoping I can find some place where county tax assessors don’t have such large appetites.
“… where county tax assessors don’t have such large appetites.”
Aka. Charging you a rent tax for purchased private property after the sale. Don’t pay it and they waltz in as if it’s theirs. Then..sell it later for a nice gain and they charge you another tax on anything above their arbitrary CapGains threshold (that has not kept up with inflation…that they caused).
Property taxes needs to end as it affords some government entity too much unchecked ‘King James’ overlord capacity.
X2 I live in a modest 3 bedroom ranch in a rural area of south Miami County KS. The county assessor seems to think I live here.
https://static.foxbusiness.com/foxbusiness.com/content/uploads/2025/05/naples-pool.jpg
Yeah, I was looking over the property tax rates while looking for a potential new home site.
Yup, while the assessor operates ‘under the law’ (that self-serving TPTB created). Florida has started, Wyoming and Montana are floating options as older ranchers and town residents are getting taxed put of their homes…which by any measure is criminal.
@ jim
around here those homes are owned by corporate, which means you pay the taxman’s assessments any time you purchase their products, IOW the owners just don’t care what they’re assessed
There is no escape from death and taxes.
Identify the Ship:
1. HMS Adventure
2. ROCN Min Jiang-class minelayer
3. HDMS Knud Rasmussen
4. Looks like a Chinese Type 815G intelligence ship but the pennant doesn’t match.
#4 I think it’s the Haiwangxing (Neptune), but the hull number doesn’t match the pennant.
Just out of curiosity, what happens when Congress refuses to annoint DJT’s pick for SCOTUS and we have only 8 members and there is a split decision?
I think that Lee and Cruz both have Senatorial stroke.
And they need to stay IN the Senate!
Cruz or Lee: If one considers past ‘performance’ and their ability to go directly to the heart of a matter while being unafraid, then I’m okay with either of them…sure beats what O and The Puppet picked, operatives who are none too bright to be sitting on the highest court. Although…to mess with them…PDJT ought to suggest Boasberg, who [still] thinks he can tell The Executive Branch, specifically The President, what it can and cannot do.
***
Swalwell: :All I have to say is ‘he’s ONE’…and there are plenty more scumbags in Congress just like him. Time To Clean House.
***
You Are My Sunshine: Fun rendition for an App-A-Latch-Ee-In tune…thinking my new look will be that of the mandolin player, except I’m not even close from the South so might not work…plus…‘the brothers’ would be even more concerned for my mental health. I did help a friend – true suthun boy – at his boyhood NC homestead…even had an historic tuh-back-ee barn at the driveway entry, where in any other urban area the local health official would red tag it as a health hazard and the building official would say it is unsafe…but still standing. Friend took me to the best biscuit joint around while listening to Uncle Earl…sweet tea for breakfast…and The Red Mill for water wheel ground grits was down the road…good living.
Ammosexual. Shades of Knob Creek.
—
Energy. One of the pure delights of escaping Kalifornia for Texas was shopping for electricity. We are about half way through our current 60 month contract. Power company is Reliant, delivery is Oncor. Total price is about 14.5 cents/kWh.
—
I am a sucker for the Mandolin. Tune starts at the 4:10 mark.
—
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-mR2-cnuDU&list=PLINSQGXREtvem3gWthZrEuRXHD0MhFsHL&index=8
Hall has a few of those jam sessions on-line on YouTube and they’re all too cool.
NATO
A company commander in Germany, circa 1965, told us NATO existed for two reasons. One was to contain the Russians. The second was to keep the peace; that Europeans were incapable of getting along and were always starting wars that dragged everybody into the wars. At the time I didn’t pay that much attention being more interested in the usual enlisted activities of drinking, bar fights and loose women. Still, that lecture has stuck in my mind all these years.
Have those reasons changed? The original concept has been perverted. Adding Turkey, as an example. PDJT likely has a vision of a up to date deal to fix NATO.
I don’t think that it can be fixed. I agree with Victor Davis Hansen that it will likely continue and the US will contribute a nominal amount – maybe as much as Canada does. I think that the Article 5 provision that “an attack on one is an attack on us all” will be watered down somehow to indicate that we have a general intention of getting along. There will be bilateral agreements where nations will specify their level of commitment and support to each other that will replace NATO. After this latest debacle, it will look more and more like the UN.
“There will be bilateral agreements where nations will specify their level of commitment and support to each other that will replace NATO”.
Not trying to disagree. Isn’t that what lead to WW I?
I simply believe that’s where it’s headed. NATO will remain as a shell for a while.
So propaganda really is gaslighting.
Kaman actually did the first auto flying choppers years ago.
They’re still in the game, but I’m not sure what the future of uncrewed helicopters is in the drone mix. They’re quite complicated and expensive.
Democracy is two wolves and a goat deciding what’s for dinner