Why are you Waiting?

Caption: Entropy

 

When an Air Force ran parachute infantry…

This is a great picture. The stresses of combat are visible on the men’s faces, and it’s not a propaganda photo. Fallschirmjäger Lieutenant Lepkowski and his men wait briefly during the fighting in Kirovograd in January 1944.

 

Bullet Points:

** Pres. Trump will be ripping that bandaid off. It’s about time.

** “More recently, USAID continued its track record of working against U.S. interests by awarding the U.S.-based EcoHealth Alliance millions of dollars in grants, which ended up helping to fund risky bat coronavirus research at a lab in Wuhan, China — research that is now widely believed to be responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic. The agency planned to renew EcoHealth’s funding even after the pandemic until it was forced to cut off all funding under immense political pressure last year.

Senator Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) urged the halting of the flow of American taxpayer dollars to EcoHealth. “From funneling tax dollars for absurd studies with the Wuhan Institute in China to sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week, USAID has been one of the most wasteful offenders in Washington. The agency takes about 50–60 percent for ‘negotiated indirect cost rate agreements,’ which translates to shady contractors padding their pockets through overhead costs and charging taxpayers for extravagant dinners. It is high time to prioritize the American people and stop the wasteful and dangerous spending by USAID.”

** A little entertainment industry history. Sometimes, having all the pieces to a puzzle is helpful.

** February 6 will be a red letter day in the lives of many federal workers.

** There is a “HE gets us” commercial representing Jesus Christ as a refugee when his family fled to Egypt from Jerusalem, as recorded in the Bible (Book of Matthew). Jerusalem was part of the Roman Province of Syria at the time within the Roman Empire. Egypt was also in the Roman Empire – so he never left the Roman Empire if the account in the Bible is correctly represented. He wasn’t a refugee since no national border was crossed. Rome took control of Judea in 6 AD (CE) after they deposed Herod Archaleus. Before that, Judea was a client kingdom – a Roman satrap paying tribute to Rome. To frame this further, in 6 AD, the Roman census of Judea took place and was also mentioned as a precursor for the birth of Jesus (the causus beli for the trip to Bethlehem).

** Business is war, and the battlefield doesn’t reward kindness. It rewards strategy. Outsmart your competitors, outwork everyone, and focus on the moves that drive results. Leave the emotions at the door and let the numbers do the talking. – O’Leary

** When America USES its massive economic power to benefit AMERICA, it’s incredible how quickly the neighbors fall in line. Kinda different and refreshing, but then, the Trump family isn’t on the take from China, so I can see why that makes it easier.

** Nancy Pelosi – the younger years.

** Lock them up — elsewhere. Brilliant. American career criminals may be comfortable in the American Prison System, but would they be as comfortable in the third world? Likely not.

** Blame the Italians  Is Senator Elizabeth Warren an Italian?

**

Regulations and Eurointelligence:

The other big story this weekend, drowned out by the tariffs, is President Trump’s executive order on deregulation. This is something the EU could not emulate even if it had the requisite majorities. Trump’s executive order “requires that whenever an agency promulgates a new rule, regulation, or guidance, it must identify at least 10 existing rules, regulations, or guidance documents to be repealed. Furthermore, the Office of Management and Budget must correctly calculate each regulation based on its broader economic impact. This is probably the most crucial aspect.

The order also stipulates that this year’s total net economic cost of regulation, determined by the above procedure, must be significantly less than zero. This procedure prevents the government from imposing expensive regulations and cutting only inexpensive ones.

This executive order is equally important news for our friends in Europe because it means that the transatlantic regulatory gap will widen further. This will make it relatively less attractive for entrepreneurs to start a business in Europe if they choose to do so in the US. The executive order has high potency because it addresses a universal problem of how governments regulate: they do not estimate the broader economic impact.

**

The Democrat Lineup

Suppose you thought that the incomprehensible DNC failure palooza this weekend was the best evidence that the Dem will continue to wallow in ignorance and defeat. In that case, you might be judging too hastily.

Allow me to present a January 30th poll from Echelon Insights listing Democrats’ preferences for their party’s nominee in 2028.

First, I have no idea who “Echelon Insights” is. Other than that, they sound like the name of a nefarious corporation in a thriller starring Tom Cruise or Matt Damon racing against time to uncover a plot to corner the unobtainium market and then blackmail the president or something.  Anyway, their poll lists the top 12 contenders for the Dems in 2028. The four wisest choices are: “Generic Democrat” at 21%; “Unsure” at 17%; “Other” at 7%, and “Trump/other Republican” at 3%.

This means that nearly half of Democrats (48%) effectively want either nobody they know, Orange Hitler (who is constitutionally unable to run again), or one of his minions!

Before you laugh your way into an aneurysm at that hilarious news… wait. There’s more.

Here are the choices, in descending order, of the slightly more than half of Democrats who know who they want:

Que Mala Harris at 32%! (She’s currently sitting in Obscurity, California, two wine boxes into her lunch, which she is drinking while lying on her tummy because her butt is still so bruised from the kicking it received on 11/5!)

Gavin Newsom at 6% (the current front-runner for his 2028 campaign slogan is, “Poop maps, hellfire and used syringes – Newsom, ’28!)

Bernie Sanders (professional useless centenarian) at 5%

Followed by the worst 3-way tie since the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, minus 1:

Mayor Pete (“He made the trains run on time! If by “run” you mean “de-rail and explode”),

Hillary Clinton (her Clydesdale cankles are still trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored),

and AOC (“Juicy Booty, Empty Head” [her words, not mine]), all at 2%

Followed by Pedo Joe Biden (I’m not kidding) and Michelle/Big Mike Obama (insert Chewbacca howling sound here), tied at 1%.

I will never underestimate the GOP’s ability to screw something up and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But still. If this is how the Dems are thinking, we will have to try pretty hard to lose another election anytime soon. But if you thought that nobody could make dumber choices than the hard-core Democrat electorate…

Hog/Warren, 2028!

 

More Swamp Drainage

“Recognizing that free advice is worth exactly what you pay, allow me to offer Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent insight on his new gig as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The bureau, originally the brainchild of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, was built on the misguided principle that protecting consumers in the financial services arena should be “above politics.” In Washington-speak, that means an entity that’s not accountable to elected politicians — or, by extension, to the people who elected them.

Under the leadership of Barack Obama appointee Richard Cordray, the bureau decided that being “above politics” also meant it could be “above the law.” Thus, it was, for example, that the CFPB set out to regulate automobile dealerships, even though it was explicitly prohibited — in statute — from doing so. It started engaging in “regulation by enforcement”: Filing lawsuits against financial service providers for past practices to announce that something permissible would be illegal going forward.

Its participation in various manifestations of Operation Chokepoint, whereby banks were discouraged from providing services to entirely legal businesses — pawn shops and gun manufacturers, for example — because Democrats didn’t like them. And by sending “civil investigative demands” — taxpayer-funded fishing expeditions — to financial service businesses without telling them what they were being investigated for.

You get the point.”

 

In Poland

The city of Warsaw, Poland, uses eight mussels with sensors hot-glued to their shells to monitor and automatically shut off the city water supply if the shellfish so chooses.

When water quality drops, mussels close their shells, tripping the sensor and alerting control computers. When four of the eight mussels close their shells, the control system automatically shuts off the water supply. Mussels are employed for 3 months before being put back into the wild, and more than 50 water plants around Poland employ this same technique.

Adult clams and oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water daily, but if the water becomes too toxic, they close their shells and survive.

 

The Norks

About 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia and entered the fighting about two months ago. They were considered the most advanced elite units in  Kim Jong-Un’s army. According to Ukrainian officials and Western intelligence, around 4,000 of those troops have been killed or injured.

The North Korean soldiers, who were sent to reinforce Russian forces in an attempt to stop the Ukrainian offensive within Russia’s borders, have not been seen on the front line for about two weeks.  At this stage, it is unclear whether this is a permanent withdrawal.

Evaluation:

North Korean troops are unaccustomed to contemporary combat scenarios, including the use of drones and advanced artillery. This unfamiliarity makes them vulnerable on the battlefield.

Communication issues between North Korean soldiers and Russian commanders led to operational misunderstandings, resulting in poorly coordinated attacks and increased casualties. Friendly fire incidents were common.

North Korean units employed mass assault strategies, often referred to as “human wave” attacks. While intended to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses, these tactics have led to substantial losses due to concentrated Ukrainian firepower. The North Koreans were unfamiliar with time-on-target artillery concentration against massed formations.

Reports indicate that North Korean soldiers faced shortages in ammunition and a lack of proper training for modern combat, further compromising their effectiveness and survivability.

 

Identify the Armor

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Identify the Aircraft

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End