In God we trust, all others pay cash – or gold.
The spear is here! Too late for a proper sermonette since Sunday has passed. We need more holy relics around – and no, I’m not talking about BRM and EdB.
Working in Mexico
Hogsbreath and I were talking about being ambushed in Mexico about six months ago, and I told him I’d posted the pictures on the blog a long time ago. I think we’re talking 2013, but memory plays some tricks. I found them when I was rooting around the archive the other day. Any ambush you can walk away from is not as bad as it could have been.
Even though it’s just a gut reaction, Mexico is far more dangerous now than it was a decade ago. There are a number of reasons for that, but among the most compelling is that, before the Communists took over (AMLO, etc) politically, there was at least a veneer of government pushback against the cartels. I would not work in Mexico today, though I remain in touch with what is going on there through old friends. (photos were taken by SEMAR investigators)
Bullet Points:
** (CNN) (h/t Claudio) Fate of the US Coast Guard Cutter Tampa – Davy Jones claimed more than a few stalwart souls.
** Question of the Day? Why does the government license marriage? It’s a civil contract between two people. I thought about it for a moment and expect that it has to do with inheritance rights, property rights, and ‘legalizing children’ as rooted in history. Although why you have to pay for it (irrespective of the cost) is another question.
** It’s important for the US and the world to go the distance. Yes, I know gas prices at the pump are going up, and we all feel the pain of the direct and indirect costs, but change is coming. There is suddenly a mighty crack in the oil cartel wall that has kept world oil prices in its thrall for the better part of 66 years. We could have probably heard the SNAP! from here. This has been a long time coming for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which had, until the Iran strikes changed everything, been engaged in an escalating duel with Saudi Arabia over the future of Yemen and the various rebel groups claiming supremacy there. Both countries had proxy dogs in the fight and had begun directly intervening in their favor with airstrikes. As the Yemeni border snugs up to the Saudi Arabian one, UAE-backed rebels agitating so close to home irritated the Saudis to no end. The Saudis also felt that Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, was trying to muscle into leadership territory long held by the Saudis in the Arab world, and they were having none of it. The price of oil will come down from that move, as they pump 800 million more barrels per year than they did under OPEC guidelines.
** Life advice from Jimmy Carr.
** Ukraine is hitting the Russians where it hurts economically, aided by hyperaccurate US targeting data. The targeted oil refineries not only cost Russia a fortune but also serve as graphic examples of the damage, with smoke rising and spreading. Putin cares, but egos are involved, and would he be left alive if he tucked tail and ran? (sic semper tyranus) (h/t Claudio) “Last week I wrote about Ukraine’s attack on the Russian oil refinery in Tuapse, a resort town along the Black Sea. The attack last week was actually the second one and resulted in a major fire that took hundreds of firefighters days to put out. It also filled the skies with smoke, and a “black rain” composed of oil and various toxic chemicals fell. Last night, Ukraine struck the same site again. Once again, the site is engulfed in flames.”
** Since European automakers haven’t lived up to their agreements, 25% tariffs will take effect today. I think that also applies to replacement parts that are shipped from Europe to the US after this.
** The Old Whore (right) shameless self-promotion. Now also available on AI Audible.
** The United States escalated its pressure campaign on Iran, pairing maritime sanctions with a parallel strike on the financial channels that convert oil sales into cash, in what officials described as a coordinated effort to tighten the entire Iran–China energy trade chain. The State Department confirmed sanctions on China-based Qingdao Haiye Oil Terminal Co., Ltd., accusing the operator of importing “tens of millions of barrels” of Iranian crude since early 2025 and facilitating billions of dollars in revenue flows to Tehran through ship-to-ship transfers and other deceptive shipping practices. Officials said the terminal accepted cargoes linked to sanctioned vessels engaged in covert transfers, reinforcing long-standing U.S. concerns about Singapore-area STS hubs and the broader “dark fleet” ecosystem moving Iranian oil.
** How much do you hate the Earth? (and puppies and kittens and baby birds – I’ll bet you beat baby harp seals to death for fun.)
** (h/t Ken) Beijing’s retail collapse isn’t some abstract macro story. It’s visible, empty, and haunting. My old colleague in Beijing recently visited the Beijing World Trade Oriental Plaza (世贸天阶), a prime location near Tiananmen Square. He told me that 90% of the shops are gone. This used to be one of the busiest commercial hubs in the capital, always packed, noisy, alive. Today, it feels like walking through a ghost town. “It’s as if an era has ended,” he said. And honestly, that might be the most accurate description of China’s economy right now. And it’s not just my colleague saying this. A Hong Kong tourist filmed the same mall last year. Same story. Endless rows of shuttered storefronts. Echoing hallways. No foot traffic. No energy. Just silence. This is what a retail apocalypse in Beijing looks like in real time.
** Is Europe running out of jet fuel? (Beck)
New Narco Subs
The recovery of a low-profile narco uncrewed surface vessel off Gibraltar highlights an adaptive shift in maritime trafficking, where compact, electrically powered platforms, guided via satellite systems, are increasingly used to reduce detection while maintaining remote control through onboard cameras and low observable profiles. Though limited in endurance, these fiberglass-built systems offer traffickers a deniable, modular logistics tool capable of moving substantial payloads through congested corridors such as the Straits of Gibraltar, where hybrid smuggling methods already converge.
Identify the Aircraft
1
2
Production was severely limited by delays and a devastating earthquake in May 1945, which destroyed the factory.
3
2 built
Parting Shot
End
1 is Diamond Aircraft DA-62
I thought you might have some difficulty with that one — I guess I’m wrong.
(1) Diamond / Airmax DA62 Patrol.
(2) B7A Grace.
(3) Northrop YF-17.
– Kle.
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P.S. – happy R.I. Independence Day, the official start of the AWI.
Excellent, Kle.
Wedding Certificates-
My mother handed in her drivers license when she was diagnosed with Parkinsons at 80. Trying to reobtain a government ID for her after my fathers sudden death a few years later was “interesting”.
One of the suggested documents to bring was her wedding certificate. Found that and it turned out that they were married when the church did wedding certificates not the government (over 70 years ago). As it did not have a government serial number it was not proof of marriage (56 years). Me having taken her and wheelchair to the government office was not impressed.
I researched my ‘pirate’ ancestors and found that all evidence of births and marriages was recorded by various churches in Virginia and North Carolina. My great-grandfather changed his last name when he ran from the law (successfully). The Swiss (different bloodline), on the other hand, had Canton records back into the 1500s and 1400s. The same families lived in the same villages for centuries.
.
I don’t see how the lack of a government stamp would invalidate the document, but different countries, different customs. I had a marriage certificate issued by the government. and a church wedding certificate, and I think that when proof was demanded, I’ve always used the church certificate here in the USA, and it was accepted. And it’s not certified, numbered, or otherwise ‘recognized’ by the government.
It’s interesting how far you can sometimes trace things.
One of my nieces as a school project did a family tree. My mother’s family (Germany to Australia in 1880) can be easily traced back to the 1600’s.
My father’s family was on the wrong side of the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland so there is some deliberate obstruction of records. Great grandfather jumped ship in Melbourne at 15 in 1870. Then changed his age up and altered his name slightly as he was too young to be a solo migrant.
He married into an English family that were cousins of Queen Victoria. Daughter he married was disowned for marrying beneath her, especially a Scottssman.
My maternal great-grandfather was full blooded Scot. His parents emigrated to the U.S. from Scotland in 1848. You can Google Charles Downie and Tarrant County, TX. At one point, my grandmother’s sister applied for membership in The Colonial Dames. I am most fortunate to have a copy of that application, going back 9 generations on her mother’s side, to Thomas Baker, born in Norwich, England in 1636.
Some places in the South, family bibles are ‘acceptable’ since they have generations of marriages, births, and deaths recorded in them.
Yes indeed. My grandmother’s bible is like a family archive.
Identify the Aircraft
1 – Diamond DA62 MPP
2 – Japanese B7A Ryusei Codename Grace
3 – Northrop YF-17
Interesting footnote – The B7A started life designed as a carrier based torpedo and dive-bomber. By the time it reached production Japan had no need for carrier based aircraft as they had no carries left to launch them from.
Thank you for that. The evolution of Japanese aircraft development as the war progressed is interesting. No less interesting is the amazingly rapid development of US aircraft that went from fabric wings to jets in a couple of years.
Mexico – A Hard NO
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Why does the government license marriage? Simple. Control – Government is all about control
***
Middle East – They are feeling the pain and are on the ropes – Do not let up the pressure now.
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China – See above
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Canada – October 2026 – It will be interesting to watch – Pass the popcorn.
The question of whether the Donks hate PDJT so much or instead love power so much to be behind their rabidly insane opposition to denying nukes and stranglehold of Hormuz to the mullahs can easily be resolved by answering “both.”
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Diamond DA62
2. Aichi B7A Ryūsei ‘Grace’
3. Northrop YF-17
I trust in God; everyone else: show me your hands.
Interesting blog today.
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I said this before but it still gets me in the morning. Somewhere some little kid in school gets asked what your parents do for a living. “Mom works as a cook at the Cantina and Dad builds narco subs for the Cartel.”
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Marriage license … so taxes can be levied.
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Paperwork and gov. I was third in line to get my Real ID. First was two early 20’s guys from south of the border. The one guy was the translator for the second guy. He had a beautiful set of brand new crisp documents. All gladly accepted, new drivers license for real ID issued on the spot.
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Next guy was in his late 80’s. He had no birth certificate. He did have his non real ID drivers license, his DD214 from WWII along with a Purple Heart medal and doc, the family bible with his at home on ranch birthday documented by a preacher, his marriage license, social security card (mangled but original), several recent bills with his address, voter ID card, and High School diploma. He was told… no Real ID for you.. you need a birth certificate. He was ready to wander out bewildered that he could not renew his drivers license as he had no birth certificate.
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I’d of probably not been as stunned had it not been for the unchallenged crisp documents from the non English speaker. So being stupid I yelled at the clerk, “Heh! Get your supervisor to help this old guy.” The clerk didn’t have to as I was loud enough the supervisor in their cubicle heard me. Out cane the bureaucrat. Looked it all over. Said, well. You cant prove you’re a citizen. Go get a birth certificate from the county you were born in. That’s 900 miles from here! Not my problem. Please get out of line or we’ll get security to remove you. Real ID’s.
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I knew the B7A as I had recently been reading about the last months of the war.
bureaucrats, the higher they rise, the more entrenched they become in the “NO” position (aka KMA or lay a few on me) position; the latter most often seen in all levels of politicos
I’m stating for the record that I am not a racist: I have, however, noted that the greater the difference in skin tone between the person behind the counter and the person requesting a service, the more often the answer is “NO!”, particularly since the advent of DEI
It’s amazing. Diversity has created a bureaucracy that is dumber than a bag of hammers, and has the power to prevent honest people from travel. A less polite society would have people waiting outside with tar, and feathers, when they left work.
Married 53 years this July and it just dawned on me that we did not have a “marriage license” but we did receive a “marriage certificate” from the Catholic Church where we were married.
Alberta Independence
1,000,000 signatures have been delivered to put the question on the ballot. Done deal? Not so fast says Ezra Levant on his Rebel News You Tube channel. A group he is with funded a survey that found discouraging results. https://www.YouTube.comwatch?V=E9pR6AwJjVk
I hope they are able to become their own country as Canada is well on their way to being a Chinese vassal and a threat to us from our northern border.
It remains to be seen.
Link is broken.
This site can’t be reached
Check if there is a typo in http://www.youtube.comwatch.
If spelling is correct, try running Windows Network Diagnostics.
DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN
Try Rebel News
**Why does the government license marriage?**
Control & profits, the same reason so many other things are “licensed” by them, they can.
Yes, the same reason that a dog licks its nuts – it can.
Well, recorded marriages in parish records were largely seen as part of the pastoral duties of the local priest, as was the reading of the banns. I personally blame the Holy Roman Empire for the start of all government intrusion in peoples lives, although it could possibly run all the way back to the Babylonians. Every little encroachment of power by so-called rulers leads to more and more sequestration by them. They can never get enough power over those being ruled, nor extract enough money from them. Of course, I am jaded and cynical about these things.
Tomorrow, Cinco de Mayo falls on Taco Tuesday. This is it, folks. This is what we have been training for!
Don’t get sidetracked with taco pizza.
The secularist progressives had to replace the function of the church record keeping to lessen their influence on the culture.
In our world, lawyers replaced priests. They tell you what’s legal instead of what’s moral.
Eggs Ackly.