Bullet Points:
** Never share a foxhole with somebody braver than you are.
** Part of San Francisco are still open. Scoma’s on Fisherman’s Wharf is open. My sister married into the Scoma family and taunts me that she eats there for free. I said, “That may be true, but you have to drive through the Zombie apocalypse to get there,” – she concedes my point.
** (left) Wound channel size matters.
** Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has officially initiated proceedings to demote retired Navy Captain and current Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a move that could significantly cut his military retirement pay. The Pentagon’s aggressive move comes after Kelly participated in a November video with other Democratic lawmakers urging U.S. service members to refuse illegal orders from the administration. Hegseth issued a formal Letter of Censure to Kelly, citing his “reckless misconduct,” and placed it in his permanent military file. The Secretary of War accused Kelly of violating Articles 133 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, labeling his actions as “conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman”. Hegseth and President Trump have characterized the video as “seditious,” with the administration claiming it was “intended to undermine good order and military discipline”.
(VM Comment – Kelly is tacitly admitting the charges against him when he says the charges are “retaliation.”)
** If the enemy is in range, so are you.
** You shouldn’t take criticism from somebody you wouldn’t take advice from.
** Ian delves into Chiroptera – guano-analytics.
** The Golden State – In a jaw-dropping financial twist, Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold may have just become the first Super Bowl MVP to actually lose money by winning the Lombardi Trophy. Despite earning a $178,000 winner’s bonus, California’s notorious “Jock Tax” has stuck him with a massive bill that completely wipes out his prize money. Each player on the winning Seahawks team receives a $178,000 bonus from the NFL. Because the game was played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the 13.3% tax rate applies to a proportionate share of a player’s annual salary, based on “duty days”. Darnold, who is on a $40 million contract, owes the state of California an estimated $249,000 for his 8 days of work there, resulting in a $71,000 net loss just for showing up to win.
It’s not just the stars; every player on the field is seeing their hard-earned bonus slashed, with take-home pay for winners expected to drop to around $86,000 and just $49,800 for losers after all taxes are settled. Experts point out that if the game had been held in a state like Florida, Texas, or Washington (where the Seahawks are based), the players would be hundreds of thousands of dollars richer.
Every sports team needs to boycott California. Play someplace else.
** If it is stupid – but it works – it’s not stupid.
** The enemy diversion you’re ignoring is inevitably the main attack.
** Name one thing. She’s not wrong.
** Is mental incompetence a valid defense? The question of “justice” eventually comes into play, and vigilantes rise to set things right. It’s the same argument that Robin Hood (whether or not he was only a legend) offers. Does the King’s Justice meet the litmus test? (warning – war story) A friend’s wife worked as a clerk for the federal court in downtown Los Angeles many years ago. There was no parking available in the building, so she had to use public parking a few blocks away. This lady was a small Japanese lady (her parents, who I knew, were at Manzanar during WW2 until her dad enlisted in the US Army). One day after work, as she walked to her car, a vagrant attacked her with a galvanized steel pipe, smashed her head, broke one arm, and bruised her ribs. She offered no offense. He just wanted to do it. We spoke with the LAPD. The guys who worked that area knew the suspect. They found video footage of the attack on a surveillance feed from a nearby building. Then they found him carrying the same pipe. They did not arrest him. They took him behind a building and beat him to the point where he would be unable to do that sort of thing again. The question for you is whether you feel that sort of corrective measure is better for the public good.
TRIPP
Washington’s answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative begins in Armenia, and Vice President JD Vance is in the South Caucasus to pave the way. The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) may serve as the foundation stone of a broader network of transportation and economic corridors designed to secure critical Eurasian supply chains for the United States and to counter Chinese and Russian influence. However, the region lies on the periphery of U.S. geopolitical engagement; therefore, TRIPP’s implementation will require pragmatic solutions and a return to realpolitik in order to avoid aggressive countermeasures by other regional powers.
The Race for the Eurasian Balkans: BRI vs. TRIPP
There is a vast landmass that Zbigniew Brzezinski famously described as the Eurasian Balkans, stretching from the Armenian Highlands in eastern Türkiye through the Caspian Sea, to the great mountain ranges bordering Russia to the south, and China to the west. Central Eurasia has emerged as a key arena of contemporary great-power competition among China, Russia, Iran, Türkiye, and, more recently, the United States. Beyond its strategic location—bordered by Afghanistan, Iran, and China—the region is exceptionally rich in natural resources. The Caspian Basin ranks among the world’s largest fossil fuel reserves, while Central Asia contains some of the globe’s most significant rare earth mineral deposits.
The region was formerly part of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire. Following the dissolution of the USSR in the 1990s, nations that regained their independence opened their economies to foreign investment, with China rapidly emerging as the region’s leading investor. Indeed, it was in Central Eurasia that China articulated its grand global strategy: the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In 2013, in Astana, Kazakhstan, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the Silk Road Economic Belt, which later evolved into Beijing’s flagship geopolitical project. Today, the BRI seeks to expand China’s economic and political reach from Latin America through Africa to Asia; since its inception, however, Central Eurasia has remained one of its primary focal points.
Regional states have been among the largest recipients of BRI funding, with Kazakhstan, in particular, standing out. In the first half of 2025, Kazakhstan became the world’s leading recipient of Chinese capital flows, attracting approximately USD 23 billion in just six months—more than three times the amount Thailand, the second-largest recipient, received. Since 2013, Central Eurasia has attracted over USD 100 billion in BRI investments, making it one of the initiative’s most important destinations. Most projects in the region focus on infrastructure—railways, highways, pipelines, border crossings, and ports—aimed at connecting Chinese industry not only to regional resources but also, through expanded transport links, to markets in the Middle East, Europe, and beyond.
The United States is now pursuing a revised grand strategy in Eurasia to counter China’s expanding influence on the continent. This strategy includes efforts to normalize relations with Russia, reduce commitments in Europe, expand the Abraham Accords in the Middle East, limit India’s strategic hedging, and reinforce U.S. dominance in the Indo-Pacific. Although Central Asia and the South Caucasus have historically occupied a marginal position in U.S. foreign policy thinking, this changed under the second Trump administration. In line with its new National Security Strategy, Washington seeks to secure access to critical supply chains and materials as a pillar of economic security in a global value chain landscape dominated by China. Accordingly, President Donald Trump invited the leaders of the five Central Asian states to the White House in November 2025 and announced a USD 20 billion investment package focused primarily on technology and the extraction of critical minerals. To ensure physical U.S. access to the region, however, a transit corridor must first be established—this is the intended role of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
Build TRIPP, Not TRAP!
At first glance, TRIPP may appear to be a modest and relatively insignificant infrastructure project in a country of limited geostrategic weight: Armenia. The planned corridor between Azerbaijan and its autonomous exclave of Nakhchivan, running through southern Armenia, is a mere 42-kilometer route to be developed and secured by U.S. companies—a small fraction of the thousands of miles of trade routes under American oversight worldwide. Yet TRIPP differs fundamentally from conventional infrastructure projects. It could serve as the cornerstone of a broader geoeconomic and geopolitical strategy to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Eurasia. By securing U.S. access to Central Asia via Türkiye, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, the corridor could also become a strategically significant platform for maneuvering vis-à-vis Russia, Iran, and ultimately China.
TRIPP would run along the Armenia-Iran border, in some sections only a few hundred meters from Iranian territory—hence Tehran’s longstanding and vocal opposition. The timing of its announcement is notable: TRIPP was unveiled just over a month after Operation Midnight Hammer in the summer of 2025, during which the U.S. Air Force struck three Iranian nuclear sites. Moreover, the TRIPP Implementation Framework (TIF) was adopted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on January 13, 2026, amid the largest mass protests in Iran since the Islamic Revolution. These developments underscore the seriousness with which Washington approaches the initiative.
The TRIPP Implementation Framework demonstrates that the United States views the corridor as part of an “integrated system,” rather than a standalone 42-kilometer route. It envisions not only rail and highway connections but also oil and gas pipelines, electricity transmission lines, and fiber-optic networks, complemented by administrative facilities, utilities, and comprehensive safety and security systems. The project represents a long-term U.S. commitment: the jointly established American-Armenian TRIPP Development Company will receive development rights for an initial 49-year term, with an expected extension of an additional 50 years—a vision for the 22nd century.
On paper, TRIPP is a well-conceived plan to secure a sustained American presence and interests in a region of growing geostrategic importance and to ensure Trans-Caspian connectivity amid intensifying great-power geoeconomic competition. It requires relatively limited financial investment, no military deployment, and could yield significant geopolitical dividends for both the United States and its regional partners. Even a 42-kilometer corridor could shift the regional balance of power westward and facilitate an intraregional connectivity network capable of counterbalancing traditional and emerging routes controlled by Russia and China.
There are, however, some critical risks. TRIPP stands only a hair’s breadth away from becoming a “TRAP” for the United States and its regional partners. The South Caucasus remains deeply scarred by violent conflicts: Armenia and Azerbaijan have yet to sign a peace treaty, and no agreement is in sight between Georgia and Russia. Tensions in the Middle East are widely expected to escalate in 2026, and any such development could destabilize Iran’s immediate neighborhood—from Azerbaijan through Armenia to Türkiye—triggering a domino effect that reignites regional conflicts. Tehran is likely to respond to perceived threats in its immediate vicinity with overwhelming force, and it already views TRIPP as a strategic challenge. Similarly, decision-makers in the Kremlin regard the South Caucasus as of paramount importance to Russia’s security and great-power status, making substantial Russian countermeasures against expanded regional U.S. involvement highly probable. Russia retains significant political and economic leverage in Armenia, including its largest foreign military base, and has demonstrated its willingness to employ these instruments if deemed necessary. In short, the South Caucasus has long served as a battlefield for competing regional powers, and its limited geopolitical capacity may not withstand the pressures of renewed superpower rivalry.
Let’s Export Realpolitik!
The era of the liberal world order has ended; once again, realism shapes international relations. “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must,” wrote Thucydides two and a half millennia ago—a maxim that has characterized power relations ever since. Yet today’s dense web of international economic interdependence constrains the unchecked use of force and prevents the unmitigated dominance of the law of the jungle. Contemporary realpolitik does not signify the abandonment of pragmatism; rather, it reflects the growing primacy of pragmatic solutions over the ideological constraints of liberal internationalism.
For TRIPP to succeed, it must be implemented through flexible, pragmatic approaches to critical challenges and potential confrontations. This includes acknowledging and addressing Russian concerns about shifts in the regional balance of power through coordination and cooperation—ranging from procurement contracts for construction companies to policy alignment with institutions such as the Eurasian Development Bank. Such measures could ensure that TRIPP’s east–west axis does not undermine existing north–south connectivity. Interconnecting TRIPP to established transportation networks would further reduce perceptions of the corridor as an exclusive or potentially militarized conduit for NATO and its partners. Only through such calibrated strategies can assertive—or even aggressive—countermeasures be avoided, and only then can Trump’s Route to Asia’s Heartland be sustainably secured.
De-Fanging
Do you think that Iran should be de-fanged?
WWGK do? What would Genghis Khan do?
Of note, I’m reading about a lot of flights leaving Iran containing IRGC family members. Maybe they’re given leave to depart at this point for a new home in Russia? Are they leaving now to fight another day?
Identify the Field Artillery
1
Identify the Vehicle
2
3
4
5
Parting Shot
End
1 – German light field howitzer 105mm
2 – M548 Swamp Fox
3 – French Char B1
4 – T17E1 Staghound with land mattress rocket launcher
5 – British General Dynamics Ajax
ExcellentVery well done!
TRIPP – this is what you get when you put a level-headed businessman with a great love for his country (along with like-minded people) in charge of U.S policy.
BTW: I’ll give you dollars to donuts that’s a liberal rag she’s reading
** To those of you who haven’t picked up a copy of “…Scouts” yet, I’d strongly advise you to do so – before you get too far behind in the series.
I forgot to ask: is there a sequel to “Broken Toys”?
TRIPP – I’m gratified by the love of country and the wisdom to behave in the interest of America that we see in the White House. What a change. And The Donald was able to focus in on people who would serve the nation rather than themselves in his cabinet.
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Don’t be a cynic, I think that she’s reading Imprimus (Hillsdale College pub).
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I’m happy you’re enjoying Hudson’s Scouts. The Crow Creek Expedition should be out in the March/April timeframe, depending on the other demands on my time. The question will then be whether I start on the next book in the duellist series and keep that momentum up, or restart the sequel to Broken Toys. I’ll wait to see what the reaction to The Crow Creek Expedition is before I make that decision. These things take some time to write, and I have other things in life that demand my attention, like the blog and other life and business interests. If I divide my time between too many writing projects, the focus that is required goes away. I think that I’m becoming a better writer through exercising the writing muscle. Some of that is the focus required, that is almost an obsession.
Size matters; all bullets matter, especially with a purse that size. Imprimis has an ad for Chargers merch. It’s in black and white so can’t tell if the violet attire is an allegiance signal or not.
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The heels may reflect solidarity with the current doxed box office “Melania”. Flotus wears chic boots to board in one of 99 scenes of heels.
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Liberal? She may be just checking up on what the liars are saying. With feefee on guard I wouldn’t ever get close enough to find out.
Every sports team needs to boycott California. Play someplace else. – But they won’t, especially the super woke NFL. It would amount to an admission that they were wrong and we are right, the left cannot let the mask slip.
Maybe the pendulum will swing the other way in California? If they had honest elections, it might. As it is now, I still receive ballots at my last three residences there that are mailed to me. This is my 8th year in Arizona.
If they send you legal ballots and you vote is that voter fraud on your part or theirs? (Maybe only your fault if you vote Republican, not if you vote Democrat. Might be worth a test run…we’ll bail you out.)
(Ps. This is why I never do well on standardized tests.)
I’m sure that it would be a crime for me to vote early and often – but is there a CA court that would convict me if I voted for the democrat of my choice? There’s the rub.
Corrective measures: If it’s effective and it works……..but I repeat myself. Were there consequences to the cops for their actions? I kindly hope not. Sooner or later, the sane man daily confronted with an insane situation year-after-year and seemingly without end will reach a breaking point.
No consequences to LAPD. The lady in question was the wife of an Orange County Deputy District Attorney. Justice was served; the victim recovered, lived to retire, and now lives in Palm Springs with her husband, who is a friend of mine. I visited with them about a year ago.
I do so love a happy ending.
Some criminals have been corrected by Thump Therapy, while others became angrier and more vicious. Sounds like the guy in your scenario may have been in the latter category. If the last go-around of therapy physically prevents him from hurting others, that just shows the “official” justice system let another one slip through the cracks and something a bit more vigorous was needed. If the guy is still alive, he still has a chance to reflect on his ways and repent but, while I wouldn’t put money on that happening, there is still Saul of Tarsus.
Yes, there could be a miraculous conversion even of the Charles Mansons, but God grants to men according to the wishes of their hearts. They can decide who they want to be, and in many cases, the die is cast. In some cases (Ben Carson) a hero arises from horrible conditions to do great things. Not usually.
Identify the Field Artillery:
1. 10.5 cm leFH 18 (?)
Identify the Vehicle:
2. M548 gun truck
3. Char B1
4. T17E1 Staghound equipped with Land Mattress rocket launchers
5. General Dynamics Ajax
Excellent
Guano-psychotic. Proceed carefully.: Noted, especially since ‘beat cops’ are disallowed to do their jobs in an effective manner because of lawyers and corrupt DA’s…like the ability to take a multi-offender baddy behind the woodshed to straighten him out so he can’t hurt anyone else…or eat solid food again. The ‘justice’ system has been run over by Lefty lunatics…look at Officer Chauvin…still languishing in prison.
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The [Tarnished] Golden State Jock Tax: California will further auger-in as TPTB running it into the ground are clearly guano-psychotic. Only thing that may change the red tide is enough businesses leave and if….Nah, even that can’t change the galactically stupid who believe their offal doesn’t stink.
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BREAKING NEWS!!! (again, following EdB’s lead) ‘Savannah Guthrie’s mom’ kidnapping update: A patsy has been identified and taken into custody as “a person of interest” (whateverthehaythatmeans as coined by lawyers to avoid murder cases getting tossed over a technicality). Apparently the “alleged” perp is a former bandmate of the SIL. More circus theater that even Taylor Sheridan couldn’t write….because he writes good scripts.
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Opening Art: Invokes Diane Lane in ‘Under The Tuscan Sun’…one can really find themselves ‘there’.
I have no insight into the Guthrie kidnapping case. The whole thing has a certain taint to it. Inside job.
Yup…Sister/SIL most likely (eg. Scott Peterson, Susan Smith, Chris Watts, Sherri Papini…etc).
I’m using the ‘BREAKING NEWS!!!’ as a parody of how inane our media has become…besides, they let the guy go after detaining him for a bunch of hours. His mom/aunt/family member where he was staying was shocked when SWAT showed up and raided the home. Didn’t find anything. Even Taylor Sheridan couldn’t write this mess in a drunken stupor…because he writes good stuff that mirrors a thread of reality.
I live in the Tucson area. Most people aren’t paying attention to this circus. The best comment made that I’ve heard was “This is Tucson, things like this aren’t supposed to happen!”
Sheriff Nanos has been exposed as a fraud.
Sheriff Nanos may not have been the best pick for the electorate. Oh, I know he fits into the DEI slot, but better to hire competent than a paper tiger.
Always suspected this was a defined media distraction once the recurring headline/new opener became “SAVANNAH GUTHRIE’S mom”. Anything for brand marketing.
(Not saying it isn’t tragic and horrible if this woman is found dead, which she likely is, but jeez, what a Keystone Cops debacle.)
There will be a t-shirt marketing effort around that if there isn’t already.
‘Foxhole’ Axiom: “Always go hiking in bear country with someone slower than you.”
Exactly. I don’t have to outrun the bear. I only need to outrun PaulM. BRM has been ill and is looking at another back surgery, so I think that I can outrun him. Wanna go for a hike, BRM?
Younger brother and uncle were at a guest ranch, out hiking, saw a bear…uncle says, I only need to outrun you and I have my sneakers on while your wearing clunky boots. Younger brother – with full smile on his face – pulls out his blade and says, “Not if I stab you in the leg.” They still laugh about it. (Note: Younger brother ‘plays not to lose’, which makes this even more hilarious.)
Only if I can use a supersized, hydrolized, energized, weaponized, ruggedized disability scooter equipped with all-round anti-bear defenses (something like the Israeli Trophy system would be nice). Speed governor? What speed governor?
No, and to be sure, I’d need to put a shackle around your ankle, welded to a chain, welded in turn to a cannonball of SIGNIFICANT caliber…siege artillery.
Nobody is thinking to bring a gun?
No need under the circumstances.
[Bear in the background with some sneakers sticking out]…Smartwatch attached to a severed arm laying on the trail starts talking:
“Congratulations! Great hike today, you lost 155#’s!”
Check out the ‘Action Trackchair’ and all of its accessories. Yeah, you may have started joking about a supersized, energized, ruggedized disability scooter, ut the Action Trackchair fits pretty much what you’re joking about. Yyou’d have to add weapons, armor, and such yourself.
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Ever since my wife had to go wheelie-woman, I’ve fantasized about getting one. Sigh. Along with the land to have one of those bad boys be useful (like add on a small backhoe arm or dozer blade…) and the vehicle to transport if we want to use it elsewhere (fantasies about converting a school bus and adding a trailer for the AT.) Double sigh.
I’m sad to say I live in California and I can’t believe the idiots in charge. I thought the Jock Tax was a joke, but I was wrong. Good grief.
Love the last photograph. It’s the way I see her.
Have a fabulous day and rest of the week. :)
I lived in SoCal for a long time, Comedy+. My children live there, as do my grandchildren. I do not want to see it fail. It was a nice place once, but it’s not what it used to be. Living in Arizona saves me at least 20% in cost of living. Maybe a bit more. When I lived there, it was in a very nice neighborhood. B-list movie stars lived in my neighborhood. I wouldn’t want to move back.
So you must have known the now famous Savannah Guthrie. (Okay, I’ll stop now.)
The Winner’s Tax in California raises some interesting questions. Games like that and the Pro Bowl are arranged well in advance, and all team players are under contract to their teams, which are under contract to the NFL. So does a player have a right to boycott a game? Or does a guy like that quarterback say, “I’m making millions every year, I don’t care about losing a hundred K if I win.”
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The NFL might say no because of how woke they are, but what if all the starters said they were boycotting? Would winning or losing the game become meaningless because “we were playing without our best players.” Both teams have the same incentive or disincentive to be in a game in California. I could see the game’s mystique collapse and nobody caring about it anymore. From Super Bowl to Super Bowel Movement.
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Since the contracts for an event of this size are set up years in advance, and I have no idea if next year’s game is in a place with similar laws, but it’s probably too late for the NFL to break the contract for next year’s Super Bowl anyway. Could the NFL quietly say, “we better make sure we don’t go through that again”?
Next year’s Super Bowl will be played in Los Angeles. The players will donate their hard-earned money to the wastrels, illegal aliens, freaks, and misfits that drain the system – money down a rat hole.
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So long as the players are making what they’re making, I can only guess that they make up the difference when they play elsewhere. I have two nephews in minor league baseball. One plays for the A’s, and the other was just traded from the Rangers to the Nationals. Even though minor league players don’t make much money, they must have CPAs to navigate their complicated tax situations.
“…”they must have CPAs to navigate their complicated tax situations.”
All the more reason to eliminate the IRS and let that trickle down to states that believe we work for them. It is ridiculous that people with simple income/expenses have to hire CPA’s to files taxes or ‘navigate their complicated tax situations’ created by these fools. Our Founders left England for this exact reason, that the politicians and envious out there believe we should return, and trying hard to make it so.
x2, x3, x10, x10¹⁰
Eliminating the IRS will do nothing to curb the stupidity of the States as it is a States’ Rights issue to levy taxes within their borders.
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How about doing a military takeover of California and put a governor-general in charge, with colonel/general-mayors in charge of the major cities? Return the place to a military-run territory until it can prove that it can run properly and safely by itself.
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Then do Puerto Rico. Time to fish or cut bait, Rico. Want to be a state? Learn ENGLISH!!!! It’s not hard, over 55% of Guamians have done it, while less than 5% of Ricos have. Prove that the territory is worth it, else ditch it.
The German 105 looks like the one at the Royal Tank Museum in Jordan. An amazing museum worth a visit.
X2 – while in Jordan, also visit the world’s first underwater military museum, which is located just off the coast of Aqaba, Jordan, in the northern tip of the Red Sea. Inaugurated in July 2019, the site features decommissioned military hardware from the Royal Jordanian Army, strategically submerged to create an artificial reef.
LL, I agree with you on many issues but I have to part ways re the Mark Kelly affair. What, exactly, is wrong with refusing an ** illegal ** order? Back in the day I, like most of us here, was subject to the UCMJ and knew very well the consequences of disobeying or refusing a lawful order. Emphasis on “lawful.” It’s been a long time but I believe part of our indoctrination was to distinguish between lawful and unlawful orders: if the squad leader tells me to kill the prisoners I can’t do so and later claim the Nuremberg defense “I was just following orders.”
I understand that this business is political theater but I have to say that I didn’t like it when the Obama and Biden administrations brought criminal charges against their political opponents and I don’t like it now when Hegseth is doing it.
Air Force (not line officer or grunt) dentist:
Yeah! understood!
where it’s a clear-cut matter, either black or white, like not killing/murdering unarmed prisoners who’ve surrendered, there’s no question.
Similar here as well: there was absolutely (in my mind) no gray: zero. He knew precisely what he was doing; he committed treason; hang the bastard, being a U.S. Senator doesn’t ameliorate the situation; only makes it worse, if anything.
OTOH, many Libocrats do/say the same thing every day
JKS in the USAF of the late 70s, commanders and others in charge were willing to give an order and back it up by facing off with anyone who disagreed with it. The burden of following an order which was not obviously illegal was carried by the officer giving the command. If a subordinate asked for a written order to comply with, the commander would jot it out without complaint. Some colonels were proactive and would give a note ordering what they wanted done at the start of the discussion. Fast forward to the mid-late 80s.
By then, the commanders and others in charge would issue orders and not back them up at all. The burden was on the individual accomplishing the order. Most of these on the edge orders exceeded written regulations. A commander may violate a written regulation or may order his men to do so, but he is the legal authority for the order. Instead of backing the order, the commanders would tap dance — “I didn’t say that or I didn’t mean for him to do that” — when that is exactly what he ordered or wanted done.
The officers and NCOs who willing violated written orders at the suggestion of the commander were promoted and those who asked for a written order to do so were moved right out of the military.
Kelly, using his position both as retired officer and US Senator was hedging his command to active, guard and reserve members by inferring that the individual was to not obey lawful orders they disagreed with. He was using the double negative to say don’t follow the president’s lawful orders. That is unethical, against the UCMJ and if any other retired officer with a bully platform said similar things, they would have already faced action with loss of pay or demotion and other such actions.
Kelly should be reduced in rank to Ensign for his deliberate attack on lawful presidential directives and should be admonished for violating Senate rules concerning polite conversation outside of the Senate chamber.
There’s reminding people that they don’t have to follow illegal orders (gee, Mark Kelly, where was the don’t follow illegal orders speech when COVID not-vaccines and boosters were required?)
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But there’s also the way you remind people about not following illegal orders. And you’d best explain what an illegal order is.
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By all accounts, what Mark Kelly said in the infamous video was skirting the edge of inciting mutiny or actually inciting a potential mutiny. Which in the UCMJ is a big no-no, with penalties for higher-ups getting more severe.
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After some stupidity at the local pd where I worked, we all, civilians and cops, had to take a 2 day course on illegal orders. Which was so friggin vague over what an illegal order is to be completely useless to determine what most ‘illegal orders’ were/are/will be.
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And the My Lai ‘massacre’ was used as an example of illegal orders. Which, well, was it? Some wag, after listening to all the factors that caused said illegal orders to supposedly be issued, asked what was illegal about it? Lessee, ordered to control area. Receiving heavy fire from village. Taking casualties from people linked to village. So you flatten the village and that’s illegal? How less illegal would it have been if the LT had pulled back and had the whole village napalmed or ArcLighted?
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Yes, there are obvious illegal orders. But there are lots of orders that are ‘illegal’ only in the eyes of the media or leftists. And that’s what Mark Kelly and his merry band of nitwits were doing. Basically telling US military personnel that they don’t have to listen to the chain of command because MK and idiots don’t like Trump or Vance or Hegseth. And… that’s illegal for a member of the US military to do without overwhelming evidence of illegality by the chain-of-command. Where’s the illegality of what the Trump Admin is doing? (crickets… sounds of lots of crickets)
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Kelly needs to go away. He’s a corrupt jerkface ex-astronaut who’s showboating while using his military creds. Too bad the area that elected him won’t de-elect him next election-time.
When I was a youth, the local policemen carried slap-jacks. They were handy in solving problems jail-time couldn’t solve. Also, I had a friend busted for a joint while at a concert in Houston. He showed his ignorance by being belligerent. At that time, a trip to the jail was a trip in an elevator, which made my friend’s trip in the elevator the longest elevator ride he ever experienced.
Ah, yes, the elevators. There is more than one notorious elevator. I recall one in an antiquated jail in Houston. No, I wasn’t the one in custody.
Yes, but the DA can’t gain another ‘low hanging’ conviction to add to his win column while propping up the prison industrial complex. Modern lawyers and DA’s have seriously undermined good police work, that often employed, as you say, common sense tactics…everything now is deemed criminal requiring a stint in jail, including accidents or simple mistakes or lapses in judgement. Don’t pay your parking ticket, see where that goes. Old days the local officer – who knew you – would haul you into the Clerk to pay it, nowadays they issue an arrest warrant. Yet another government created Remora system that fishes at the public pier looking for a problem to convict someone, anyone, in order to pad their resume’ and/or feather their own self-important nest.
The issue with judges and prosecuting attorneys is that a lot of judges are elected, and said judges cater to the very group of people that produce the criminals – see the guy getting his sentence for kidnapping, violent assault and rape of a white woman cut in half by a judge because he (and apparently the judge) suffer so badly under the White Devils.
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Same with the head prosecutor in districts, counties, parrishes and states.
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Cops can do everything correctly, and mostly do, only to have activist prosecutors and judges throw it all away.
Name one thing——-one of the reasons I left Cleveland 49 years ago. Growing up I rubbed shoulders with a bunch of “wiseguys”. It wasn’t a good idea to mess with them as many found out the hard way. My son graduated high school with Samantha Guthrie. My guy says something is fishy.
Very fishy.
‘Educational’ beatdowns tend to be a better reminder to the perps that they don’t want to do that again than anything else I’m aware of.
Community policing via hickory impact therapy (HIT) was right in this case. The difficulty is where to draw the line. Should a cop beat someone for glaring at him? What about “that dude looks like the guy my high school girlfriend dumped me for. Ima beat his ass.”
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But what should we expect when “rule of law” is applied only to those abiding in the middle (demographically), while the “disadvantaged” are given virtually free rein, while the “elite” literally enjoy free reign (sic).
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Dear Jeffrey, I think you’ll like this torture video. Sincerely [some billionaire dwarf in a thobe from the UAE]
“The era of the liberal world order has ended”
Thanks for the brief, helpful.
Excellent closing infographic.
A lot of what we are talking about today, the failure of the criminal justice system, can be laid at the feet of the Quakers. Who, in the early 1800s, ‘reformed’ the US criminal justice system. Removing corporal punishment and reducing capital punishment in favor of rehabilitation and long-term housing (to remove the criminals from society.) Guess what works best? Beating/working the criminality out of the criminal or ending the criminals’ lives (hard to repeat offend when taking a dirtnap.)
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There’s a point between them. Like what Singapore does.
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And, yes, I want to see some snot get caned for being a low-level criminal bitch. And I want to see drug dealers and other big criminals dance on the end of ropes or ride the lighting, preferably in the neighborhood they committed the crimes in – Portable Gallows or Portable Electric Chair.
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Before you say ‘but cruel and unusual,’ well, consider what was considered not cruel and unusual back in the founding of this nation when its rules and laws were first written. Are we any better under the gentle hand of liberals?