Summer

Blog Post

 

 

 

Bullet Points:

** Prompt – Digital graphic – right: A young, ginger-haired person with freckles and round glasses sits in a cluttered rustic kitchen eating a large rectangular strawberry layer cake. They wear a light blue-green jacket, a pink apron, and a textured red head covering. In one hand, they hold a large silver spoon with cake crumbs near their mouth. The cake, topped with white frosting and crumbles, rests on a beautiful large vintage round white English ceramic serving plate in front of them, surrounded by draped red, white, and yellow cloths. The background features aged teal walls and shelves stacked with old, weathered tins and jars. The overall style is reminiscent of a detailed oil painting with warm natural lighting. –ar 1:1 –profile blkk9 –stylize 300 –v 8.2.

** Marching in Michigan. A mostly peaceful Michigan vacation. The antidote for civilization.

** Meanwhile, on Mars.

** PRAHOVO, Serbia (AP) โ€” Water levels on the Danube River, the second longest in Europe, have dropped so low because of drought that the hulks of dozens of World War II German battleships are emerging into view. They are a curious distraction from the summer heat crisis. The Danubeโ€™sย record low water levels also have forced power plants to the brink of shutting down, and governments across Central and Eastern Europe are taking steps to conserve electricity. In the middle of the river separating Serbia and Romania near the Serbian port of Prahovo, a rusty hull is now visible along with a broken mast where the Nazi flag used to fly. The ships, some still laden with weapons, belonged to Nazi Germanyโ€™s Black Sea fleet that the Germans deliberately sank as they retreated from Romania and as Soviet forces advanced deeper into Europe near the end of the war. The British “Operation Gardening” dropped mines in the Danube River to sink Axis shipping. I’m surprised scrapyards aren’t trying to snap this up as they’d all be considered “Low-Background” steel.

** Turn your pick-up into a technical!

** President Trump signed a second executive order Thursday that does something no administration has ever done: it bans birth tourism outright, using a visa-fraud statute the Supreme Court can’t touch. This comes weeks after the Court struck down Trump’s broader birthright citizenship order 6-3 in June, citing the 14th Amendment. So instead of relitigating who’s born a citizen, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller explained the new approach rests on ๐’๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐ง๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐€๐œ๐ญ โ€” a 1952 law he called โ€œ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ.โ€ The logic is simple: lying to a consular officer about why you’re visiting is fraud. โ€œ๐˜๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ’๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ’๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ’๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ’๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ.โ€ Miller said. It’s not a hypothetical problem. Texas AG Ken Paxton has already sued Houston-area clinics selling $๐Ÿ‘,๐Ÿ—๐Ÿ“๐ŸŽ โ€™๐›๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐ฉ๐š๐œ๐ค๐š๐ ๐žโ€™ deals to over a thousand Chinese nationals, and billboards advertising the same scheme have turned up in Mexico.

** She fought the law (some moves on the dame) and the law won.

** The State Department and DHS quietly launched a pilot program this week requiring certain prospective immigrants to post a cash bond โ€” up to $๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“๐ŸŽ,๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ โ€” before they can get a visa. Applicants from the Dominican Republic who were previously denied on โ€œ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ค ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ฆโ€ grounds are first in line, with consular officers in Santo Domingo already offering the bond option this week. The โ€œ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ค ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ฆโ€ rule bars visas for immigrants likely to become dependent on taxpayer-funded benefits. Under the new pilot, instead of an automatic denial, consular officers can set a bond โ€” typically in the $๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ,๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐ญ๐จ $๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“๐ŸŽ,๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ range โ€” that gets returned after five years if the immigrant never draws public cash assistance or long-term government-funded care. A State Department official framed it plainly: the bonds exist to โ€œ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ค ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด.โ€ Officials say the program, built on existing authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act, could expand to other countries. No new law, no fight in Congress โ€” just a president willing to use the authority already on the books.

** 688s are still doing their part. There are currentlyย 24ย Los Angeles-classย fast-attackย submarines still in active commission with the United States Navy, out of 62 originally built. See RIMPAC 2026

** A highly controversial legislative proposal tucked inside the annual US defense bill seeks to criminalize the public disclosure of special operations forcesโ€™ identities, sparking an intense clash between national security mandates and constitutional press freedoms. Specifically, the NDAA amendment dramatically expands the scope of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, which was originally enacted to shield undercover spies. By renaming targets as protected individuals, this new legal barrier covers service members in sensitive combat units, certain communications crews, and even the civilian contractors tasked with training them. While military supporters argue these secrecy measures are essential to shield elite commandos and their families from retaliatory cyber harassment, critics warn of government overreach. Under the draft, critics argue the Pentagon would wield unilateral authority to decide which operations remain classified, effectively deciding what information is legal to print. Ultimately, this points to the tension between the need to uphold standards of national security and the freedom of the press.

** Who doesn’t love the thumper?

** Fun with DNA.

** SiG reports on sunspot numbers and the solar cycle. Quick question – how significantly does that impact weather patterns – or does it?

 

Methods

Governments have been using different methods to send people they don’t like on their way since the last ice age (Younger Dryas) ended. We don’t know much about what might have happened before that.

Impalement is a brutal method of torture and execution where a person is pierced by a sharp pole, stake, or hook. It dates back to ancient Mesopotamia around 1772 BC and was used globally as a supreme punishment for crimes against the state, treason, and military rebellion until the 20th century. Image left: A relief that depicts Assyrian soldiers impaling enemies, a brutal form of execution used to instill terror. The scene is from a wall panel located in the British Museum, originating from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu) and dating between the 9th and 7th centuries BC

Babylonia: The Code of Hammurabi from 1772 BCE lists impalement as a legal penalty for specific crimes, such as a wife causing her husband’s death for another man.

Assyria: The Neo-Assyrian Empire used vertical and horizontal impalement on a massive scale. Palace reliefs show captured enemies and rebellious city leaders on stakes to terrify rival populations.

Persia: Rulers like Darius the Great used impalement for political rebels, corrupt officials, and traitors. Ancient historians note thousands of rebels were executed this way.

Medieval and Early Modern Eras

Vlad the Impaler: Vlad III of Wallachia (the historical inspiration for Dracula) used mass impalement in the 15th century as both a tactical psychological weapon against invading Ottoman armies and a domestic deterrent against crime and corrupt nobles.

Ottoman Empire: The practice persisted within Ottoman legal and military frameworks for centuries, occasionally employed well into modern wartime conflicts. (see Turkey)

Other Cultures: Historical records and regional legends across parts of South Asia (such as southern India) and Europe utilized temporary or permanent stake executions for severe crimes against social order.

***

The Email Burns!

As soon as President Trump finished taking questions from a hostile press corps in the Rose Garden, one of his top aides walked straight up to him and handed him a clean, professional binder.

President Trump didnโ€™t smile for the cameras. He opened the binder and started reviewing it immediately.

Inside that binder was a small message in fine printโ€œwe regret to inform you that Larry from did not renew their MAGA Membership before your deadline.

Trump immediately told us not to give up on you! He said Larry is a true MAGA Patriot who never gives up, especially when AMERICA IS ON THE LINE.

As a result, we provided you with a FINAL 5-HOUR EXTENSION to renew your MAGA membership before the doors close for good. Will you be a shoulder for MAGA to lean on during the midterms?

How can I live with such guilt? At least I have five hours to wire the money that will save the republic and will stave off a disaster of Biblical proportion. It’s a good thing that I have Mike_C’s banking information and access codes to get the money there in sufficient quantity to satisfy the needs of an imperiled nation!

 

 

 

Identify the Aircraft

1

 

2

Two graphics to aid your ID

 

Identify the Shipย 

3

No hull number, but you can wrangle a class at the least.

Hint: it was one of the fastest destroyers of World War II – 6 built

 

4

11 of this class were built and commissioned. Two were lost in combat.

 

Parting Shot

Big Beautiful Wall

 

End

45 thoughts on “Summer

    1. It’s a real stretch to classify that as a light cruiser – unless you don’t have any light cruisers and want to live the fantasy.

  1. Off topic it is national census here today. Done every five years. Missed the last one as we were overseas.

    It is no longer paper and all on line unless you are very remote and requested paper.

    They added a controversial question this time asking about sexual orientation (you can opt out). My wife and I put down that we are normal.

    1. If you’re woke, “normal” is recut as “abnormal” – which is not normal, but they say it’s the new normal.

  2. Identify the Aircraft
    1 โ€“ Polish PZL P.11c
    2 – Soviet Belyayev DB-LK
    Identify the Ship
    3 โ€“ French Le Triomphant – Le Fantasque-class
    4 – Royal Navy Fiji-class possibly HMS Newfoundland

  3. Fun with DNA: hard pass but thank you for that information; itโ€™s scary as all get out.

    1. You can live forever, RSH. And if you don’t want to go the re-built DNA route, you can have your brain up-loaded into one of Musk’s Optimus robots.

  4. Technical; combined with the truck bed “tool” box that VM posted sometime last year, AND a retractable truck bed cover, will the mines CCP endorsements cover this set up?

  5. I just a text from Greg Coker; he has been diagnosed with MS. I am reaching out to the praying men who will read this. Please lift up prayers for Greg and Edie.

  6. RCC; glad to hear that normal is still here, and hopefully coming back soon.

    I’m racist, very racist. I believe in only one race, human, period. Our ethnic nationalities were part of the original creator’s design, with a distinct purpose. Acts 17:26,27.

    I’ve lived and worked with people of various skin color, languages, and culture, ( including cuisines) and respect the ones that are normal, and trying to be compassionate with those that trying to live up to an image. I call BS on TPTB dealing out victimhood cards to the sheeple.

  7. H/T sir for posting the end around move by PDJT when the highest court in the land can’t use common sense to decide what’s wrong and right. Old man and senile senior syndrome are not factors in my nausea of Lawyers finding clauses to get the guilty off the hook.

    Fetterman said, ” grow a pair ” when trying to wake up his fellow party members to start actually working.

    Working livestock, a body knows where to look to sort the boys from the girls. I see the gender confusion just like the race card. Stop messing with the original design!

    1. Ref the cake eating ginger artwork. Well done btw. But does Jules know youโ€™re drawing caricatures of her childhood in the Olโ€™ Blighty? Beware of the wolf hounds sent to visit.
      *
      Not renewing your MAGA membership in a timely mannerโ€ฆ. If you get shunned at the grocery store by the old blue haired widows itโ€™s on you.
      *
      Ships and planes today.. batted a zero known.

      1. Jules will find out the hard way…should have made her blonde, but strawberry works better with strawberries.
        .
        Ships and planes need to be difficult because of some of the sharks doing the IDs. They don’t want to be spoon-fed easy IDs.

  8. Identify the Aircraft:
    1. PZL P.11
    2. Belyayev DB-LK
    Identify the Ship :
    3. French Le Fantasque-class destroyer Le Triomphant
    4. British Colony class light cruiser

  9. Dumb question of the day:
    Now that the COVID flamozzle is over and the masquerade has run its course (with the exception of muggers, thieves, and other low IQ adherents)
    Why does the US government prevent me from purchasing Ivermectin (OTC or per Rx)? Why does my physician look askance at me when I ask for a 20 pill Ivermectin script as though I’m asking for an RX for 100 tabs Percodan?
    C’mon Mr Kennedy, let’s get this straightened out

    1. It’s not OTC, but you can get it paying through nose at The Wellness Company, among other places.
      I got it a couple years ago through a tele-visit and a compounder from a doctor north of here.
      Wasn’t cheap. Didn’t use it all. A friend in Florida needed some for his elderly mom and we mailed it to him.
      Almost instant relief for her (not covid).

      1. OTC in Africa, but Big Pharma here makes it difficult to obtain because their unpronounceable newโ€™ meds couldnโ€™t gain marketshare. Remdesivir is toxic, as human guinea pigs discovered. Plenty of online Big Pharma end-around shops carry it, moreso after the Covid PsyOp said it was โ€˜horse pasteโ€™ to scare people away from a well used well documented medicine.

        1. i’m told it gets handed out free along with hcq in africa and some asian areas. its a wonder drug by their own testimony, testimony they cover up til this day. its safer than tylenol too. the new fda chief was a covidian masker, fauci disciple. who the hell is feeding trump all these swamp creatures names for office?

  10. “** 688s are still doing their part. ”
    I may have commented earlier, they just decommissioned the San Juan.
    First to see action in the Iraq War (2). Except for those CIA guys.

    1. Mike_C has more money than he knows what to do with. He can pay my fair share. It’s becoming the American Way.

      1. >good thing that I have Mike_Cโ€™s banking information and access codes
        I hope you put my entire fortune of $298.34 (plus three “$10 off of $25 purchase” coupons at the local thrift store) to good use.

        Today, after several months break, I got another email from Best Pharma Grifter (allegedly) Vivek Ramaswamy who wants my support toward his Ohio governorship. That creature is emblematic of our soon-to-be co-ruling class. If you think our current rulers are narcissistic, spite-filled hypocrites full of un-earned self pity (and they are), wait until 100k Ramaswamys really get truly entrenched in US politics and major corporations.

        In more cheerful political/corporate news, I had the opportunity to meet Mike Minogue (and his wife Renee) who is running for Governor of Massachusetts as a Republican. Mike is a West Point grad, Ranger qualified, Desert Storm vet, and former CEO of Abiomed, which is best known for the Impella intracardiac pump. Unsurprisingly, the guy is a good speaker and charismatic as hell. At least in person (I have no idea how he comes across on TV). Pretty decent platform too. The other guy seeking the MA Repub nomination is Brian Shortsleeve, a Harvard ROTC Marine who served in former Yugoslavia and the Persian Gulf. I don’t know much about Shortsleeve, though a major strike against him (in my book) is that he is also a Harvard Business School graduate. I kid. Sort of. While I also have Harvard smeared across my CV, I’m pretty convinced that Harvard, and Yale, are, at best, amoral entities whose primary goals are to increase their endowments and influence above all else. Growth for its own sake, ethics or morality be damned, is the philosophy of cancer.

        1. I sent two of your 50% off Target coupons and the free regular-size sandwich coupon from Jersey Mike’s to the Trump campaign, suggesting they use them as they saw fit.

          1. > Jersey Mikeโ€™s
            In the vein of the words of Stephen-the-Mad-Irishman from Braveheart, “It’s mine. MY shop.” (You can tell from the name.)

  11. Thumper. Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch fame was assigned to one in Vietnam (USMC). I would link to one of his videos talking about it, but it would seem that the YouTube algorithm has run over the horizon with its collective hair on fire, requiring sign in for ALL the videos on his channel.

  12. Sunspots and solar cycles have a MAJOR impact on the Alpha Index and MAD detection ranges. That was one of the things ‘we’ watched closely, in addition to making sure we ran comps to have the MAD systems as optimized as possible… sigh

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

<p class="wantispam-comment-form-privacy-notice" style="margin-top:10px;">This site uses Antispam to reduce spam. <a href="https://anti-spam.space/antispam-privacy/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Learn how your comment data is processed</a>.</p>
Scroll to top