"The wheels on the bus go round and round" (This is about Greenland)

"Welcome Greenland! Come in out of the cold. Under the watchful eye of the US, good things are in your future. We are not an occupying force; we are only a protector and developer. Everybody is going to come out better because of this agreement. Everybody that is, except Russia and China."

Because of "old Europe" being just plain old and cranky, it took forever and a day to get some kind of agreement for us to expand our presence in Greenland. But when POTUS took to Truth Social to give the good news, it became apparent that "old Europe" Denmark finally saw the big picture. And the big picture is simply this - the more of US that is seen in Greenland, means the less of interlopers like Russia and China. Is this the best deal possible? Maybe - but it is better than not good. It will allow our Golden Shield to have some better footing.

Why bring up that kid's song, "The wheels on the bus"? Because in the Trump administration, stuff is always going on behind the curtain. Stuff in going on in South America. An oil deal happened in Venezuela. Stuff is going on in Cuba. Meanwhile, we are still trying to fix the mess in Iran. Only a guy like Donald Trump, who was weaning on keeping things going on many different business ventures, can pull this off.

The other day I penned an article about the joint base in Poland which has been talked about in the past. That seems to be coming together also. We have an eye on what is happening in the Indo-Pacific to boot. But our good ally Japan is doing a great job helping us out over there. And South Korea keeps getting stronger as does the PI. No, Donald Trump is setting the stage for long term stability which will last long after he is out of office.

What is next of the list of "to-do" items? Hard to say but know this - it is something that has been mentioned in the past but is not yet done. Right now, there is so much more going on than our high oil and gas prices. Those really are transitory, and Iran is 100% to blame for that inconvenience. But Trump is looking at the bigger picture (as he always does).

Welcome Greenland! Come in out of the cold. Under the watchful eye of the US, good things are in your future. We are not an occupying force; we are only a protector and developer. Everybody is going to come out better because of this agreement. Everybody that is, except Russia and China.

The USA/Poland love fest moves closer to the alter

"How is Poland doing in defense spending? Poland is spending a whopping 4.5% of its GDP on defense. Now that is commitment! That even eclipses the 3.22% of GDP the US spends."

The worst kept secret in NATO is the bromance that Donald Trump and Polish President Doda had. But Doda is now gone, and his successor is in office. His name is Karol Nawrocki. The bromance that Trump had with Doda is continuing with the new bromance Trump has with Nawrocki. Why? Poland is the kind of country that NATO needs, and both Doda and Nawrocki are the kind of leaders that Poland needs. And neither one of those Polish gentlemen have one ounce of fear in their bodies towards Mother Russia. In fact, there is out and out antipathy for Russia by Poland. Much of that comes from a very bad history.

This has been teased for a while now, but due to current events in Eastern Europe, the timeline might have been moved up. The US and Poland have been planning a joint base (with some size to it) in the eastern part of Poland. Why? Seems that is where all the action is right now. If Putin thought he could walk right into Poland with not a wink or a not from the US, he was dead wrong. If Putin did make a run in Poland, he would not only find an A1 fighting force with Polish forces waiting for him, but Putin would also get the back of the hand from American forces.

If Putin ever did decide to take a run at NATO, either by going through Finland, or Poland, this would be a very bad and very sad wake up call for him. Now that the worldwide inventory of F-35 fighter jets is over 3,000, NATO has plenty of top-notch air power to take care of business. Our Army is rock solid, and they are ready to defend any piece of land that the President finds worthy. And we have recently seen in Iran the acumen of our total force package. Under Trump and Hegseth, we have a lean, mean, fighting machine to represent out interests.

But what about Canada? How do they fit into NATO right now? Canada, who has become more of a puppy than Bulldog, is only spending 2% of its GDP on NATO. That is sad and bad. And that came with much shaming and shunning by the US. All Canada wants to do right now is become a member of the EU. Why? To get away from that bully Donald Trump. 

How is Poland doing in defense spending? Poland is spending a whopping 4.5% of its GDP on defense. Now that is commitment! That even eclipses the 3.22% of GDP the US spends. Once again, Poland and Japan always show up to do the right thing. If push ever came to shove, we know for a fact that Poland and Japan would have our backs. But what about Canada? We all know the answer to that one.

Death by economic strangulation

"There will be lessons learned once this war is over. Both sides will learn. Will the same strategy be applied to the next war? Maybe - or it will be something else, even more painful. Maybe the next war will be totally digital. Fought with only ones and zeroes. Turning off the other sides water and electric. Excited? I'm not. I am ready for a return to the swords and shields."  

How has warfare changed over the ages? Plenty. From the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, to the World Wars, to Viet Nam and then into Afghanistan, war is constantly evolving. And the Iran War (if we can call it a war) is changing warfare again. How so? Sure, we are still using kinetic force against the enemy. And drone warfare has gone from science fiction to bloody reality. But the thing which has changed the most is economic warfare. Whom can strangle the other sides economy the fastest and most complete.

Right now, under the leadership of President Trump and the skillful acumen of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, we have a tourniquet around the financial neck of Iran. We have blockaded their oil ports. We have threatened eye watering tariffs to any country who trades with Iran. In short, nothing in and nothing out. Their economy is in tatters, and inflation has made their currency next to worthless. Will they ever cry "Uncle" and simply give up? I sure hope so.

But there is still some kick left in Iran. They are making things painful for the US and our allies. The Strait of Hormuz is still a mess (don't think for a minute it is not), and now the Houthis are doing something similar to the Red Sea. The net result it even though we are awash in oil and gas in this country, we are still paying close to $4.50/gal for gasoline and over $6.00/gal for diesel. It seems Iran has found a different type of economic tourniquet to put around our neck also.

Where do we go from here? Is there an end in sight or are we all going to suffer together? The Democrats have sworn revenge on the president for mucking up our economy. Why President Trump? He did not cause prices to go up. If anything, he wants energy prices to be half what they are now. But he is committed to keep Iran from EVER having a nuke. Never, ever. But to do this, we needed to really put the screws deep into Iran. Thus, we have two choices: 1) Keep on keeping on. Suck it up buttercup. 2) Call it a day and leave the area. Let somebody else worry about Iran. Que sera, sera.

There will be lessons learned once this war is over. Both sides will learn. Will the same strategy be applied to the next war? Maybe - or it will be something else, even more painful. Maybe the next war will be totally digital. Fought with only ones and zeroes. Turning off the other sides water and electric. Excited? I'm not. I am ready for a return to the swords and shields.  

  

Is Star Wars finally here?

 

"In any event, just when you thought there would be a minor pause in the news cycle, we get this story. What is my opinion about weapons in space? It was only a matter of time. This is the start of a new frontier, just waiting for America's defense contractors to take the ball and run with it."

Whoa! Where in the world (or not in the world) did this one come from? We have fielded a space weapon? Ready to use if called upon? Have we not seen this movie before? During the Reagan years? Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Better known as Star Wars. In reality, SDI in the 1980's could have been called "a whole lot of smoke and mirrors" instead of Star Wars. Why? It was a nothing burger. A bluff. But it worked - it scared the pants off the Soviets. Brought about their end a lot quicker and safer. 

So far, the two words to describe both the Russians and the Chinese are "not happy". This might end up being topic "A" (a good ice breaker) when Xi visits the White House later this month. Some might say this was an open invite for the Russians and the Chinese (at a minimum) to make their own version of a space weapon. Or, maybe they already have, and are still trying to keep it under wraps. In any event, it seems the charter of the Guardians in the Space Force might have just changed. We might have given them some teeth and growl. 

I would love to describe in detail what our space weapon looks like, but this secret is being held tighter than a drum. All the Secretary of the Air Force has said is this - it stands ready to use if hostile forces threaten friendly forces. Now there is a description you could drive a truck (or a star ship) through.

Some speculate it might be the Rods from God weapon system. Steel rods on a platform in space which can be released and directed downward towards an Earthly target. When they hit the ground, the kinetic energy released would be huge - almost like a small nuke. If I were a betting man, I would bet on this weapon. Why? It has been talked about for years. Plus - it would not violate any existing nuclear treaty.

In any event, just when you thought there would be a minor pause in the news cycle, we get this story. What is my opinion about weapons in space? It was only a matter of time. This is the start of a new frontier, just waiting for America's defense contractors to take the ball and run with it. Is DARPA involved in this new technology? Probably, although not known for sure. I do know this however (after having a couple of contracts with DARPA over the years) - that is where the wizards of smart live. And there are a whole lot of wizards who live there. 

Who is helping NATO? How about both Trump and Putin...

 

If Donald Trump was told that he was partially responsible for NATO being so ready right now, he would feel pretty good about himself. However, if Putin knew that he was setting the example to NATO why getting much more prepped was important, I doubt if Putin would be pleased. As the expression goes, we can always serve as an example, even if it is a bad example. And Putin serving as a bad example has certainly helped the cause. 

What an odd title for a blog post. NATO is stronger because of both Trump and Putin? Please explain Mr. Bird! It really is not that complicated. When Trump started his first term, his first meetings with fellow NATO types were not really a love fest. In fact, anything but. In so many words, Trump told (mostly the Euro Zone) that he was tired of propping up NATO financially. That NATO was woefully behind on its financial commitments, and as such, the US was considering pulling out of NATO. That was the start of the wakeup call.

Fast forward to Trump's second term. NATO is bigger and stronger (welcome, Finland!). More countries are either at commitment, or drawing much closer. Even though Trump is referred to by some in the alliance as "Big Daddy", ruling with an iron fist, a bit of tough love seemed to have worked. Bottom line? Because of some tough talk and some tougher love, NATO is bigger and stronger today because in part of Donald J. Trump.

But Trump may not have been the strongest catalyst for NATO to become more prepared and robust. Instead of just talking about a boogie man, Putin has done one better - he has shown himself to be a real live villain. As the expression goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. And Putin's illegal and immoral war on Ukraine, has shown the world (especially NATO), what a modern-day villain looks like. I can't prove this, but my guess is that without Putin, NATO would not have the razor's edge it currently has.

Interesting article in the news this morning. NATO is very worried that Putin will make a play for some NATO country by 2029 or before. And what does that mean? Whatever it means, NATO is prepping for the worst. And what really helps, is they think that the US will play a minor role rather than a lead role. That also helps in how pepped NATO is right now. I doubt if the US would ever turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to NATO should Russia ever attack - but I do like the idea that NATO thinks that way right now.

If Donald Trump was told that he was partially responsible for NATO being so ready, he would feel pretty good about himself. However, if Putin knew that he was setting the example to NATO why getting much more prepped was important, I doubt if Putin would be pleased. As the expression goes, we can always serve as an example, even if it is a bad example. And Putin serving as a bad example has certainly helped the cause. 

  

Denaturalize and deport?

It will be interesting to see if during Trump's final two years at POTUS if this denaturalization and deport issue has legs. I can see some liberal Biden or Obama appointed judge trying to stop it. On what grounds? Beats me. If somebody comes into my house and bad mouths everything I own, and then talks trash about my wife, I want that person to leave - like now. That is the way I feel about this country. Does that make me a redneck? Sorry - not sorry.

Up from the clamoring masses, the chants of "denaturalize and deport" are heard when America hating recent arrivals are showing this great country the back of their hands instead of loving on Lady Liberty. My thoughts on this? It is about freaking time. Coming to this country, living in this country, being able to drink out of the fountain of freedom - is a high privilege and honor. When I hear these recent arrivals showing us this magnitude of disrespect, it makes me mad and sad at the same time.

Rumor has it that POTUS and our SOS might try to denaturalize and deport our 5th District Congresswoman. Why? Numerous reasons really - but the overtly legal one is if she did commit fraud on her immigration information, she might be out. Would that cause a seismic shift in our politics in Minnesota. Count on it. 

But on a broader view, I really like this idea of having the gift of America open only to people who love it here and want to make this country better. If that sounds chauvinistic or nationalistic, I am sorry. I really don't mind immigrants. My great-grandparents were (legal) immigrants. This country was built on immigrants. I do, however, have problems with immigrants who are ungrateful and unloving towards our country.

Not to date myself, but I remember years ago some folks had bumper stickers which read, "America, love it or leave it." Many on the left thought that only right-wing rednecks would have something such as that on a bumper. But many of the right, thought that patriots would feel that way. Even back then, the first fractures in our society were starting to show.

It will be interesting to see if during Trump's final two years at POTUS if this denaturalization and deport issue has legs. I can see some liberal Biden or Obama appointed judge trying to stop it. On what grounds? Beats me. If somebody comes into my house and bad mouths everything, and then talks trash about my wife, I want that person to leave - like now. That is the way I feel about this country. Does that make me a redneck? Sorry - not sorry.

  

Falling down on the job

"Then who is the moron? Walz or the Minnesota voter? Good question. How about we just say all of the above and just leave it there."     

When I first went into Navy Boot Camp, one of the first things I learned (as a boy becoming a man), was accountability. Like with many young men, once in a while I would do something stupid and then get caught doing it. When that happened, the Navy pounded this into all of us. You stood tall, and said, "No excuse sir!" and then you accepted whatever consequences were dished out for that offense. We did not blame the other guy, did not blame the system, did not blame the weather - we took responsibility. It was all part of becoming a man.

Then I think about Tim Walz. Whatever happened to his training as a young man. He was in the Army (sort of) and should have learned basic responsibility. As a good Democrat, he should have learned that old adage coined by another Democrat - "The buck stops here". But Walz did not learn that lesson. He is blaming everything and everybody for Minnesota's fraud problem. But here is the deal folks (in Biden talk) - Walz was (is) the CEO of Minnesota. Much of the fraud happened during the Democrat trifecta (in other words, hard to blame Republicans when they were not even in charge of garbage pickup). 

Tim Walz was in fault. Period. Full stop. He could have stopped the fraud. Along with Ellison, they could have or should have seen in and stopped it. Then after the magnitude of this mess came to light, Walz should have been paraded around the state holding a sign high in the air which said, "I am a moron". I mean, most of us know Walz is a moron except for Walz. In his eyes, he should be the Veep right now. Try that one on for size! Harris as POTUS and Walz as her Veep. Beam me up Scottie!

Soon we will have a new Governor. If is us Hotdish Amy, expect more of the same. She is no better. No breath of fresh air. Not a reformer. I have said this before; Minnesota has some of the dumbest voters in the nation. How so? The elect people who break things and then re-elect them. It is like we keep re-electing arsonists who set the joint on fire. And again, we can't blame the Republicans, as they can't seem to win any office up for grabs. It is ALL DEMOCRATS - 100% all the time.

Then who is the moron? Walz or the Minnesota voter? Good question. How about we just say all of the above and just leave it there.     

Imagine a world, where Russia acted civilized...

"Nukes. Putin has nukes and his trigger finger is really starting to itch. I think he would love to plant one of his Satan Missiles in downtown Brussels. Just to send a message to NATO that as tough as they think they are, Russia is tougher."

Every day, I worry about what Russia is going to do next. Specifically, what Putin is going to do next. Right now, Vladimir Putin is an island in a sea of humanity. Nobody likes him; nobody trusts him. He is a monster. History will judge him for what he is - a monster who kills for joy. A war criminal. What he has done to Ukraine for no reason whatsoever, is a major breech of humanity. He actually is giving Hitler a run for his money in cruelty and dispassion.

I really thought, after the fall of Berlin and then the breakup of the Soviet empire, the world was going to get a break from the Russian Bear. If there was a break, it was short and not that sweet. The Communist thing which has infected Russia ever since 1917, is a hard bug to beat. It did not take long for Russia to rid itself from reformers and then get back to a KGB hardened dictator. As soon as Putin slipped back into the corridors of power in Russia, I knew the bad old days were about to return.

Here is what frightens me about Putin - he knows no boundaries. To him, this war on Ukraine is not just a war for territory, it is a war to fix an injustice of history. Ukraine belongs under Russia's thumb, and by golly, Putin will kill every Ukrainian man, woman and child to make it so. Even though the Ukrainian Army has performed a miracle turn around, going from farmers and accountants into an asymmetrical fighting machine, Putin can't be bothered with them anymore. He can't beat them, so he is on to the scourge of mankind - the genocide of civilians.

But despite how poorly the Ukrainian War is going for Putin, he has a scratch which needs to be itched. And this scratch (in Putin's opinion), is another accident of history which needs to be corrected. NATO. That pain in Putin's side which gets worse for him every year. And the lack of respect for Putin and Russia by NATO is jaw dropping (for Putin). To think that Ukraine has fought Putin to a draw, just think what an unleashed NATO could do to Russia. But there is a hitch to that brave thinking.

Nukes. Putin has nukes and his trigger finger is really starting to itch. I think he would love to plant one of his Satan Missiles in downtown Brussels. Just to send a message to NATO that as tough as they think they are, Russia is tougher. Or maybe Putin wants to take out London. Or Paris. Or Rome. Or all of them. Until the world can rid itself of Putin and his nukes, scenarios showing a nuclear future for Europe are vivid and realistic. 

That is why Putin is so dangerous. What he can do, and what he might do. Without nukes, Putin is a paper tiger. With nukes, Putin can end the world.    

A day like no other....

 

"But today if a day to remember. We remember the heroes of 9/11, both living and dead. We honor them. Many of us still remember our solemn promise - WE WILL NEVER FORGET! Unfortunately, some have forgotten. Some no longer honor our heroes. May the number of those people be forever small, and as time goes on, even smaller. Our 9/11 heroes deserve so much better."

As we go through life, there are certain milestone events which shape us. Sometimes change us. But whatever they are, many if not most of us, remember exactly what we were doing at the time of the event, where we were, and the aftermath. For example, I remember when John Kennedy was shot. Even though I was in Jr, High School, I remember it clearly. My folks for their entire lives, remember Pearl Harbor. Where they were, what they were doing. And most if not all, of the folks reading this blog article, remember 9/11 like it was yesterday. But it was not yesterday. It was twenty-five years ago today. 

My story from twenty-five years ago is not that special. No different from many of us. I got up, got dressed and headed off to work in downtown Minneapolis. I was working at IBM, and IBM had American Express as a client. As I pulled in the parking lot across from the American Express building, I turned the car off and just looked out at the morning sky with wonder. This was going to be one of those "10 out of 10" days for weather. The sky was azure blue and nary a cloud was in sight. I was just turning the radio in the car off to head into work, when the first news flash came across. Some plane had hit the World Trade Center.

My first thought as I was walking into the building was if New York was having weather like we were having, how could some small plane not be paying attention and then fly into a building that size? When I got into my office, I turned on my radio. That is when the gravity of the situation hit me. It was not a small plane hitting a large building - it was a commercial air liner. Then my phone rang. It was my daughter calling from college. "Dad, what is going on? I am watching the news, and it showed an airliner hitting the WTC." 

Then the second plane hit, and all of a sudden. I had a dozen people in my office glued to my radio. One of my co-workers who knew I was retired Navy asked me what I thought was going on. I was stunned and really had no idea what was happening. It did say this - "We might be at war, and this is an attack." Shortly thereafter, we were all sent home, as were most other businesses downtown. 

Many people became heroes that day. Some of those heroes never made it home. Many of us when we arrived home that day, immediately turned on the TV. But a sense of foreboding was in the air. Was the attack over, or was something else, maybe even more sinister in the offing? Most of us were just numb - this was like a bad dream. A nightmare. 

What did we learn from 9/11? The same thing we learned from Pearl Harbor. We need to be prepared. Expect the unexpected. Did anything good come out of 9/11? We learned that our homeland was a sitting duck. So, we promulgated the Department of Homeland Security. An organization which can keep us safer and more prepared. 

But today is a day to remember. We remember the heroes of 9/11, both living and dead. We honor them. Many of us still remember our solemn promise - WE WILL NEVER FORGET! Unfortunately, some have forgotten. Some no longer honor our heroes. May the number of those people be forever small, and as time goes on, even smaller. Our 9/11 heroes deserve so much better.

If war came to the Falkland's, could we side with Argentina?

"What do I think the message would be from Trump to both the UK and Argentina? Make a deal. Have the military stand down. More war cannot and will not be tolerated. That is it. That is as far as I think our involvement in the Falkland Islands dispute will go. Trump sees bigger fish in the sea." 

Are we on the verge of another war? No, not the "rubbing the wrong way" that Turkey and Israel are doing to each other over Syria. I am talking about the Falkland Islands. That Argentina might end up invading these islands and planting the Argentine flag on them. Kicking the Brits out, as they say. Wait a minute! Have we not already seen this movie? Argentina tried this before, and the Brits kicked back - hard!

Things change over time. Javier Melei and Donald Trump have somewhat of a bromance going on. It is no secret that during the recent tenure of Kier Starmer, our relationship with the Brits has soured quite a bit. Seems like the recent revelation the US has had about unchecked immigration, and DEI, was not on the same path as the Brits were on. As such, the relationship between the US and our closest Euro ally became very strained. And the once great and powerful United Kingdom, is now only a shadow of the stature it once enjoyed.

Now before some might give a collective "so what", here is the "so what". It is what is happening in the other hand (as the magicians would say). Donald Trump has been forging much stronger bonds with many of the countries in South America. The strongest alliance right now seems to be with Argentina. The case that Argentine is making for getting the Falkland Islands back seems to be sound to our current administration. Then the question begs to be asked - if push comes to shove, and war breaks on in the Falkland Islands, what is our posture? Turn the other cheek and show a blind eye and a deaf ear? Get involved (under the covers) by giving Argentina some aid? Or, respecting the long-term relationship we have had with the UK, and asking Milei to stand down.

It is interesting to see how the power shift has changed in the Euro Zone over the past few years. Who is ascending and who has become a "free rider" (or duffer) to NATO. Poland and Finland are rock solid and very strong right now. They have their eyes set on Russia and never blink. Sweden and Norway are also strong, but Finland is the cornerstone up by the arctic for NATO. 

France is still ballsy in how they treat Russia. Are they strong enough to make a difference? Maybe. Italy is the country to watch out for. Giorgia Meloni wants to make Italy stronger - much stronger in the near future. The UK is weak and not getting much stronger. Sure, the UK (like France) has some nukes - but besides that, as the saying goes, the UK is all hat and no cowboy. A war with the Falkland Islands might leave the UK fighting this war all by themselves.  Article 5 of the NATO charter might go unnoticed and ignored if fighting does break out. Why? For NATO, the Falkland Islands are nothing more than a distraction. The real threat remains to be Russia. And the war in Ukraine once again reminded Europe what a threat Russia can be.

What do I think the message would be from Trump to both the UK and Argentina? Make a deal. Have the military stand down. More war cannot and will not be tolerated. That is it. That is as far as I think our involvement in the Falkland Islands dispute will go. Trump sees bigger fish in the sea. Like the "Donroe Doctrine" which is starting to show signs of really working out well. Do we like Argentina? Right now, we love them. And what is there not to love?

   

On this issue - the government gets a solid "F"

 

"I am not trying to be a conspiracy nut on this issue but come on! We were promised better than this. This is not transparency. Not to quote an old and tired movie line, but we really can handle the truth. Our skies are sacrosanct - if we have somebody or something flying unimpeded through our skies, we need to know. Come on President Trump - show your hand."   

Recently, the History Channel had an hour-long program called "Are they watching us"? For one solid hour, the show highlighted UFOs - not just something that somebody said they saw - it was all photographic evidence. And why is this important? Once again, our government has lied to us. Even with tons of photographic evidence now available (much of it clear as a bell - not grainy like in the old days) our federal government still has not told us what they are. Really? Even though the eyewitness tally has grown into the millions worldwide.

Of particular interest has been the sighting in Pentyrch, which is located in Wales. In 2016, a giant pyramid appeared in the sky. It was seen by the entire town of Pentyrch. When I say this thing was a giant, it really was. Some police estimated it to be over 1,000 feet long on each side. The mass was enormous - and yet, it floated around without making a sound. Some say a smaller pyramid detached from it and was shot down by the military. Wreckage, and maybe some bodies of someone (or something) were recovered. The giant pyramid then vanished into nothingness, and things in Pentyrch went back to semi-normal. 

The Pheonix lights in 1997, the intrusion over Washington in 1952, the "Tic Tac" crafts seen by the US Navy on many occasions - and we don't know what they are? I am going to call BS on that one! Yes, my former son-in-law and I saw a floating triangle coming up out of a river about two decades ago. We were interviewed by MUFON. During the interview, the man from MUFON said he gets dozens upon dozens of credible reports of sightings in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. What are these things which people keep seeing? Why won't the government tell us the truth? 

Some think one of the crafts which has been spotted frequently is a TR-3B or also known as the Black Manta. The rumor has it the reason it is so fast and so quiet, is we have discovered how to use anti-gravity as a power source. 

 

If this is true or not is above my pay grade. However, (again) it is about time for our government to come clean on this issue. What is it? We have seen photographs of this craft. If it is not ours, whose is it? What is it? If it is ours, and truly uses some kind of anti-gravity system, we need to know.

I am not trying to be a conspiracy nut on this issue but come on! We were promised better than this. This is not transparency. Not to quote an old and tired movie line, but we really can handle the truth. Our skies are sacrosanct - if we have somebody or something flying unimpeded through our skies, we need to know. Come on President Trump - show your hand.   

Our (very expensive) trains to nowhere...

 

"As a veteran of somebody who has worked downtown when I was with IBM, I could not be happier to see that concrete jungle suffer a slow death. Everything was a hassle - nothing was cheap, nor nothing was easy. The cobweb of LRT tracks in downtown just added to the dystopian atmosphere. I am happy to be done with that chapter in my life. Now I just want to be done with paying for the trains headed into that dying city."     

At one point in time, the city planners and the Met Council in the Twin Cities had inhaled some Pixie Dust, and their vision became obscured with fantasies of riding a sleek new railroad car to work every morning. Between the Pixie Dust and the Kool Aid, the idea of riding in a train to work rather than rush hour traffic, got derailed. How so? The double-edged sword of Covid mixed in with the lawlessness of the Floyd aftermath and the ongoing "War on ICE", has left the Twin Cities with lots and lots of empty office buildings. So then - why have all these new and unfinished LRT sinkholes terminating in downtown? What gives? Who is behind this nonsense?

Don't look now, but the long (and I mean long) awaited Southwest LRT (Green Line). is finally almost done. WAY over budget and very late to the party, it should be up and running in 2027. At an unbelievable cost of just shy of $3B dollars. And who will ride it? Somali youth trying to get down to the Mall of America. Who else? Good question. Since few people work downtown anymore, is the Green Line going to go the same route as the Northstar Line? If the truth be known, the Northstar Line is still in operation - only not in Minnesota. It now runs down in Texas. What a waste of MN taxpayer dollars!

And now that the Blue Line is still a long way away from being done, some of the big spenders in MN state government are actually getting cold feet on this project. Why? With the huge overruns on the Green Line, that was only small potatoes compared to what the projected bill will be for the Blue Line. Like maybe $3.6B dollars to build another train to nowhere. And now there is a very rare kerfuffle by the different big spenders in state government. Like - who pays for this choo-choo train which nobody will ride. 

What is the future of trains in the Twin Cities? Will they be replaced by Waymo auto cars? Tesla self-driving cars? More at home employment? Many of us who do not live nor work in the downtown area, have zero desire to ride these trains to anyplace. All that money the taxpayers have spent on all these trains, are now just a sunk cost. All this infrastructure will be a monument to pea poor planning by a bunch of unelected bureaucrats.

As a veteran of somebody who has worked downtown when I was with IBM, I could not be happier to see that concrete jungle called Minneapolis suffer a slow death. Everything was a hassle - nothing was cheap, nor nothing was easy. The cobweb of LRT tracks just added to the dystopian atmosphere. I am happy to be done with that chapter in my life. Now I just want to be done with paying for the trains headed into that dying city.     

The benefits of war?

"What is our next move to counter drone swarms while we rapidly replenish our missile stockpile? The Navy's HELIOS laser system. It is just finishing field testing and could be deployed fleet wide in the very near future. And how exactly will they work in a true combat scenario? Good question - we might need to wait until the next war to find out. Until then, we will continue to learn as fast as we can." 

A different slant this morning. The 1969 song by Edwin Starr, War - What is it good for, have most of us nodding our head in agreement. War is a scourge. War is expensive. War is deadly. But in the case of the Iranian War, there is also an upside to that conflict. Experience. How do deal with the new global tool of warfare called drone swarms and AI. What our carriers are learning coupled with Aegis destroyers by their sides - is invaluable.

But have we learned enough? Not even close. But what we have learned has been hot lined back to the smart planners in the Pentagon to be assisted by DARPA. But that is what war is. A giant game of chess. Every move needs to be countered. We learn, they learn. Success in battle is being able to stay one step ahead of the other guys. And do date, we have done that very well. 

I worked on the Aegis program starting back in the late 1970's. To me, the more I learned about how this marvel of technology protected the fleet, seemed more like magic. And then in the 1990's I worked with on the Vertical Lauch Systems - (back then) a state-of-the-art weapon system which was hard wired into the Aegis battle system. I was amazed back then, and I am still amazed today. 

But the Aegis weapon system was not made to counter drone swarms. Now we are talking about an entirely new type of warfare. We have known about saturation attacks for years - mostly from missile volleys fired by Soviet Backfire bombers. But back then, that was all high tech and predictable. Drone swarms are not. They can come out of anywhere, from any direction, and overload even the most sophisticated detection system. And to keep taking out a $25k drone with a million-dollar missile is a fool's errand. But we are learning and learning fast.

What is our next move to counter drone swarms while we rapidly replenish our missile stockpile? The Navy's HELIOS laser system. It is just finishing field testing and could be deployed fleet wide in the very near future. And how exactly will they work in a true combat scenario? Good question - we might need to wait until the next war to find out. Until then, we will continue to learn as fast as we can. 

  

Why is Iran telling us to "bunker up" before winter?

"According to some of the weather guessers, we might have an early winter this year. Like maybe starting late next month. September is a great time to prep for the dark days ahead. Even without this dire or faux warning from Iran, September is a great month to prep for the dark and cold days ahead."

Does Iran know something we don't know? Recently, they have sent out pressers telling Americans to stockpile food, water and some kind of heat before the dark and cold days of winter. Now truthfully, in a very unsettled world, having enough survival items to last for at least a month in the wintertime is sage advice. But coming from an enemy? Are they trying to send a message that they have cyber technology which could turn our lights (and heat) off for a prolonged period this winter. It is odd to hear that coming from an enemy who wants us dead.

But before we lose too much sleep over what Iran could do to our power grid, I am reminded of General Jack Keane's words from many months ago. "Should another nation ever attack our energy grid, we will retaliate with our own cyber-attack - and our cyber warfare will bring eye watering results to any enemy". Hopefully Iran knows that. As bad as things are over there right now, we could make them a whole lot worse if they screw with our grid. 

That being said, it is good common sense to have at least one gallon of water per person, per day in your bunker. I know, I know - water takes up a lot of room. But remember this - we can go without oxygen for only a few minutes. We can go without potable water for less than a week. Food? We can last for many days without food - but not forever. Most survivalists suggest enough food and water to last at least a month, and firewood (or something) to last even longer.

The thing that keeps some of our federal cops up at night is worry about "sleeper cells" from Iran who are currently in our country. What kind of harm they could do to us. If there are indeed cells who are lying dormant in our country, we need to find them, dig them out, and get rid of them. It is best not to interfere with any federal LEOs as they are doing their jobs. Yes, even ICE is trying to keep us safe from hidden bad guys.

According to some of the weather guessers, we might have an early winter this year. Like maybe starting late next month. September is a great time to prep for the dark days ahead. Even without this dire or faux warning from Iran, September is a great month to prep for the dark and cold days ahead.

   

The 1982 Falkland Islands war - redux?

"As if we did not have enough going on in the world right now. Ukraine is still not at peace; Russia is threatening NATO left and right; Iran is still a problem for us and Israel. All in all, the world is a mess, and throwing the Falklands back into the mix will not help anyone. But before we give up and just let another war happen, look for Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to earn a bunch more frequent flier miles going to and from the world's newest trouble spot."     

Yes, I am old enough to remember this somewhat obscure war in the very south of South America. A group of islands called the Falkland Islands, all of a sudden became a hot spot in the world. They belonged to the UK (for some old treaty reason), but they sat right off the coast of Argentina. What is the best way to settle a dispute about contested land? Go to war, of course. For the next 74 days, a war which was never declared, was fought between the UK and Argentina.

As the saying goes, today, there is a new sheriff in town. That is, there is a new person in charge of Argentina. His name is Javier Milei, and he thinks the Falklands should be a part of his country, not England. The fact that England has dominion over the Falklands goes back into ancient history - like in the 1800's. But that was then and this is now.

What besides the location of the Falklands would be of interest to Argentina right now? For starters, a giant deep sea oil reserve called the Sea Lion Field. This is big enough to make a difference to both countries. Thus, the Sabre rattling has started once again. During the first war, the famed Exocet Anti-Ship Missile was used for the first time in anger. By Argentina against a British ship. The results were catastrophic for that ship. But the advent of that Exocet missile marked the change of sea warfare as we know it. 

If push comes to shove again between England and Argentina, it puts us in a very precarious position. Why? England is a NATO friend. But Argentina is part of our hemisphere, and our current administration has been working very hard on peace, tranquility and prosperity for all who live in this hemisphere. If war, declared or undeclared, breaks out - what do we do? Who do we support? In 1982, we had no problem with supporting our friends from the UK. Our relationship with Argentina was only so-so. Now however, it is different. It would be a friend fighting a friend. 

As if we did not have enough going on in the world right now. Ukraine is still not at peace; Russia is threatening NATO left and right; Iran is still a problem for us and Israel. All in all, the world is a mess, and throwing the Falklands back into the mix will not help anyone. But before we give up and just let another war happen, look for Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to earn a bunch more frequent flier miles going to and from, the world's newest trouble spot.     

 

Welcome to the trap...

 

"What is our path to more normalcy once again? Peace in the shire? Much lower gas prices? No shortages of fertilizer. If I knew that path, I would be shouting it from the highest mountain top. But I don't know that path. The scary part is I don't think our government knows that path either. Thus, here we sit - caught in a trap." 

Read an interesting article by CNN online. About how we have stumbled into a trip to nowhere. How so? Iran. We are starting to lose the vision on what winning will look like. So far, we have hit 10,000 targets in Iran - some more than once. We have sunk ships, disarmed mines, destroyed oil infrastructure, and so forth. And yet, the IRGC keeps on coming. Keeps on going. The drones and missiles keep on flying, mostly towards innocent ships in the Strait. 

Israel is in no better shape. Their chances of a decisive victory over Hezbollah are looking less and less likely. Dare I use this word from the past which is what both the US and Isreal are now facing going forward? We are mired down in battles of attrition. Who is going to blink first. Who can withstand the most pain. With both the IRGC and Hezbollah, reality has morphed into a game of Whack A Mole. We throw tons of ordnance on targets in Iran and Lebanon, and then a head pops up and says - "Still here!" 

Maybe that old saying is correct. An air campaign, no matter how effective, cannot win the day. You need to follow up an ariel pounding by having boots on the ground. Israel might have the stomach for that in Lebanon using the IDF, but there is absolutely zero stomach for that in the US. Why? It is blood and guts, smash mouth battle. Up close and personal fighting. All of a sudden, the Iranian War will have morphed from a video game to "no {blank} for real" fighting. Trump knows that as soon as he pulls the trigger on that kind of a war, the slim majority who approves of this war will vanish faster than snowbanks in July. 

Where does that leave us? Maybe we are caught in a trap. Unknowingly, and unwise - we have stumbled into another one of those Middle Eastern traps. And now, we are up against one of those dreaded forced choices. We can leave. Call it a day. Leave Iran to rebuild itself. Or we can stay. Keep pounding away with our aircraft and cruise missiles (until they run out). Or we can change the nature of the war by going all in. Kinetic fighting to the max. House to house, cave to cave. Shades of Viet Nam all over again.

So where does that leave us? As long as we are stuck with refineries which can mostly only process oil from outside of the USA, we will be subject to the vicissitudes of this Rubic's Cube type of oil pricing. In other words, even though Donald Trump has led us to a major supplier of oil, we are still caught in the same trap as other countries who are trying to get oil through the Strait. Until we can find harmony with our oil and the way we refine oil here in the states - disruptions in supply (via the Strait) will cause our gasoline prices to be "Biden-Ish". 

What is our path to more normalcy once again? Peace in the shire? Much lower gas prices? No shortages of fertilizer. If I knew that path, I would be shouting it from the highest mountain top. But I don't know that path. The scary part is I don't think our government knows that path either. Thus, here we sit - caught in a trap. 

  

What exactly is - Trump's fault?

"Before the torches and the pitchforks come out from the screaming mob, please remember this - the last thing Trump wanted to screw up his remake of the Biden economy was a forever war. But he needed to fix this cancer in the Middle East. Why? If Iran had made it to having a nuke, then other Arab countries in the area would have one also (for deterrence). But Iran wanted to use theirs. Why? Israel. Exterminate Israel. Trump (justifiably) was not going to let that happen. Nor should any of us - not now, not ever."   

Oh my! Diesel fuel is at an all-time high this morning. That is a huge burden for our farmers to carry. It will make the cost of many things go up - especially the items which need to be hauled by a common carrier truck, powered by diesel fuel. And why is that? Why is the price for a gallon of gas still around $4.00? Whose fault is that? Donald Trump's fault? According to many in the MSM, it is. According to many in the Democrat Party, they also ditto that feeling. But before we pull a Judge Roy Bean on Donald Trump, let's first dive a bit deeper.

Many, including myself, blame the war in Iran for this temporary runup in prices. To shut down the Strait of Hormuz was always a war strategy of the IRGC. Why? To have the American people put pressure on the Trump Administration that this was not worth it. And to a certain extent, they were right. They shut down the Strait, and the press as well as many American citizens who are getting squeezed by higher prices - bellyached. So, is this Trump's fault? Did he start this war? No - Iran started it almost 50 years ago. And now they are (were) inches away from developing a nuclear bomb with a valid delivery system. Donald Trump did not start this war - but he is sure trying to end it.

What are we learning? We can pound the IRGC back into the Stone Ages, and they still never give up. They have decades of entrenched and hidden enclaves in which to hide missile and drone launchers. That is all it takes to fire on a commercial ship or two trying to make it through the Strait. As soon as one gets hit, the rest of the shipping traffic slows to a crawl. Instead of over 100 ships a day going through the Strait, there are days we are lucky just to get four or five ships safely through. 

What are we doing to end this thing (other than a "cut and run")? Scott Bessent, our Treasury Secretary, has the economic tunicate squeezed around the financial neck of the IRGC about as tight as tight can be. Is that working? Seems to be - but for total success, this is going to take some time. Even though the Iranian economic is in tatters right now, and the IRGC should be crying "Uncle" - they won't give up. They just keep firing missiles and drones at innocent ships.

What else is Trump doing? Besides having an economic blockade on Iran via its seaports, the new motto is "a ship for a ship". Every time a commercial ship is hit by an Iranian missile or drone, we will take one of their commercial ships out. This will allow us to squeeze them even harder. Many "Hawks" (I am one of them), wanted Trump just to keep bombing the IRGC until we ran out of bombs. No pauses, no ceasefires, no negotiations, no MOU documents, nothing. Just bombs and bombs and bombs. That seems to be the only language the IRGC understands. Period.

Before the torches and the pitchforks come out from the screaming mob, please remember this - the last thing Trump wanted to screw up his remake of the Biden economy was a forever war. But he needed to fix this cancer in the Middle East. Why? If Iran had made it to having a nuke, then other Arab countries in the area would have one also (for deterrence). But Iran wanted to use theirs. Why? Israel. Exterminate Israel. Trump (justifiably) was not going to let that happen. Nor should any of us - not now, not ever.   

  

Is the Storm Shadow going to be the match which lights the fire in Europe?

"Our biggest hope for Russia is Putin gets retired, one way or another. So long as he has a finger on the 'red button', Europe remains in danger. I have said this before, if not for his nukes, NATO could take care of Russia during a weekend. But he does have nukes. And so long as Putin is willing to use his nukes to serve his purpose, we need to keep sleeping with one eye open."

   

Vladimir Putin, who has a knack for miscalculation, might be getting ready to stumble into the biggest miscalculation of his life. He is still considering attacking the UK. A NATO country. Why is he still thinking about doing that foolish thing? Because the UK (with the blessing of France), is not only going to supply more Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, BUT the UK is also going to give them the drawing package for the SCALP missiles to boot. For Russia, this might mean war - a wider war. A war which could easily develop into WWIII before anybody knows it.

Here is my biggest fear on how this could develop from nothing into something into everything in almost a wink of the eye. Even if Putin used ballistic missiles with conventional warheads and did considerable damage to London, that hothead who leads France (Macron) might respond to Russia with a nuke. Or even if it was only conventional missiles, Putin might respond to France with a nuke. And then we will have traveled down that slippery slope in a blink of an eye. 

We will stay on the brink of a wider war so long as Putin stays in power and certain countries in NATO are willing to risk it all just to give Putin a black eye. I thought from the jump that the UK selling Storm Shadows to Ukraine was a high-risk maneuver. And then to give Ukraine the data package on how to make their version of the SCALP missile - that was just frosting on the cake. At any time, Putin could exchange making threats for making war.

I am not trying to be a panic merchant when I say this, but when smaller hot wars are raging (like Iran and Ukraine), it is just a hop, skip and a jump to a bigger war. It is like leaving a smoldering cigarette in the forest. It does not mean a forest fire will start, but it sure increases the odds that it will.

Our biggest hope for Russia is Putin gets retired, one way or another. So long as he has a finger on the "red button", Europe remains in danger. I have said this before, if not for his nukes, NATO could take care of Russia during a weekend. But he does have nukes. And so long as Putin is willing to use his nukes to serve his purpose, we need to keep sleeping with one eye open.   

For the Strib, ICE is never nice

 

"What is wrong with the Twin Cities these days? They never used to be like this. They have gone from Ozzie and Harriet to The Munsters. I guess a better question would be what is right with the Twin Cities. The answer would be short and not too sweet. What is right with the Twin Cities today? Not much. Not much at all."

I am not a fan of the hometown newspaper. Have not been for years. It is yellow journalism. It makes no effort to hide its bias. But why? Simple answer - the population of the Twin Cities (proper) loves the kind of gruel that the Strib puts out. And what is the passion of the minions who live in Minneapolis and St. Paul? ICE. Anything and everything which can be made up and printed about ICE. And what does the chattering class in the Twin Cities not give a wit about? Fraud. Instead of fraud being looked upon as vile as a four-letter word, fraud in the Strib has become a "so what" topic.

For those of us who have been paying attention, ICE has been offered a very raw deal while operating in the Twin Cities. Operation Metro Surge became very difficult for any genuine law enforcement officers, local or federal, who were trying to uphold the law. Let me put this in as simple of terms that I can: The Twin Cities in general, treated ICE agents like crap. Period. Why? That is the question. All ICE was trying to do was uphold the immigration laws that Congress passed.

In response, the city unleashed their lawless thugs on them. Night after night. Doxxing. Fireworks. RESIST BS. Is there a reason that Texas not agree to send an ICE agent back to the Twin Cities for prosecution? A couple of reasons: 1) Keith Ellison, who has zero standing with law enforcement, and 2) The reputation the Twin Cities has for railroading cops. Texas did the right thing. ICE will investigate this agent, and if he stepped out of line, he will be punished. If, however, he did not, it is back to work for him.

Back to fraud. That has become a taboo term in many of the local press outlets. And truthfully, here is how I feel about fraud in the Twin Cities. Any Democrat who can even spell fraud should be disqualified from running for anything, anywhere. In most normal cities, the arsonist who started the fire don't get re-elected. But this is Minnesota, land of the fruits and the nuts. Ellison will probably get re-elected. Flanigan will get elected. Hotdish Amy will get elected. All of them are suspect for how much they knew about the years of fraud under their watch. And the local paper? It is ICE or nothing.

What is wrong with the Twin Cities these days? They never used to be like this. They have gone from Ozzie and Harriet to The Munsters. I guess a better question would be what is right with the Twin Cities. The answer would be short and not too sweet. What is right with the Twin Cities today? Not much. Not much at all.