Do we have DUMB, or what?

"Do we have underground bases? Underground cities? Most of us will never know. This might just be urban legend and rumor-mania, or there could be some truth involved in it. Do I have any superior knowledge on this subject? Not a shred. That being said, I am still interested in the stories about these things - true or not."   

Every now and again, the old rumor mill starts to buzz like crazy. Which topic? Oh, there are quite a few. But one of the topics which really catches my glance is DUMB (Deep Underground Military Bases). Now before you hang up the phone, let's take a bit of a longer look at this issue. First off, is it even possible that we do have some military bases underground? The short answer is yes. We have had the technology for years on how to safely and securely construct underground facilities. But the next answer is the most vexing - can we develop these bases without being noticed or heard? Maybe, maybe not. 

The current narrative on our underground bases makes their existence seem actually quite possible. Shortly after the Soviet Union exploded their first atomic bomb, it scared the pants off our military planners. So much so, they started being concerned about how to have our military continue should we ever be attacked by nuclear weapons. We know from our government, they have a continuation of government plan by having POTUS, most of his cabinet and Congress go to an underground secured and safe location in time of national emergency. This is fact. Weather Mountain is fact. Cheyane Mountain is fact. There are some others, but then we lose the factual information and start getting into conjecture and rumor.

If you look at what has been discovered in Gaza, what we know about what is in Iran, burrowing underground in cities and storage areas is common. If these backward areas of the world can do it, why can't we? There have been stories about tunneling machines with plasma cutters on them, which can make miles and miles of tunnels with no debris evident. What about the purpose and location of these bases? If they exist, I am sure the security rating on them is sky high. So much so, some of them might have been around for decades, and decades yet to come.

One year, my wife and I went up to a Minnesota State Park called Soudan. It is a mine deep underground. Currently, it is used for research by the University of Minnesota as well as other agencies. Why bring this up? It was spooky and weird to be that far underground. I suppose if someone was stationed in a DUMB, they would get used to it. But like it said, to us it was nothing but strange and unnerving.

Do we have underground bases? Underground cities? Most of us will never know. This might just be urban legend and rumor-mania, or there could be some truth involved in it. Do I have any superior knowledge on this subject? Not a shred. That being said, I am still interested in the stories about these things - true or not.   

You can't cure stoopid!

"To have a secure homeland, we need enough water for all to drink, and to use for agriculture. We need a secure and almost limitless supply of electricity. We need enough gas and oil in reserve to use in a national emergency. And we need enough ammo to ensure we can fight off bad guys."

I am going to do something this morning I very rarely do. I am going to take a swing at our country. Not every part of our country, but at some things which has been a burr under my saddle for a long time. One problem has been a huge problem for decades and is still a huge problem. But now that problem has been made even worse by another problem is which just as huge and just as serious. In short, we have an electrical grid which is held together by spit and chewing gum, and now a huge area of our country is running out of water. Why does this make us stoopid? Because we are doing NOTHING about either problem.

I am going to talk about our water issue first. Israel has a lot less water than we have, so they have taken this on this problem with urgency. They have used the unlimited supply of water which comes from the sea. Now, things are going so well with the water they are harvesting, they are even able to start refilling the Sea of Galilee. Seriously - they really are!

We are losing Lake Powell and Lake Meade. Both are dependent of the Colorado River, which is starting to lose its punch. Since tens of millions of citizens in the desert southwest are dependent on that river for just about everything, it is time to think about a Plan "B". Like desalination - and lots of it. But no - we have done zip. Nada. And if we don't hurry up and take this problem seriously, we will have a mass migration of citizens headed northward, out of the desert.

Then we have our very fragile electrical grid. We have been so very lucky in the past that this grid had not failed. And if it did fail, due to natural or manmade causes, we would be in big, big trouble. People would die. To make matters worse, we are going to need much more electricity in the near future to power the proliferation of data centers. Ironically, many of these new AI data centers are being built in Arizona. And what do these data centers need the most? Water and electricity. Duh!

There are other issues also which need attention. Like our Strategic Petroleum Reserve being at historic lows. That is inexcusable. That need to be fixed like yesterday. And to have some of our smart ammo and missiles now being in short supply. Where was the planning on that? We can't fight a war against Russia or China and run out of ammo in the first week. Both of these issues also need to be fixed - like now.

To have a secure homeland, we need enough water for all to drink, and to use for agriculture. We need a secure and almost limitless supply of electricity. We need enough gas and oil in reserve to use in a national emergency. And we need enough ammo to ensure we can fight off bad guys. In short, it is time to start fixing some of these vexing problems before they become beyond vexing and a catastrophe. We are smarter than this. We have no time for stoopid. 

Who likes Iran these days? Hint: Nobody who knows them

"D-Day is coming soon for Iran. Trump is starving them out right now, but soon we might have to mix in some of our kinetic fire power to boot. BTW - what Trump said is true. We may be a wee bit short of some of our super smart munitions, but we have an almost unlimited supply of bombs and missiles which are not quite as smart - but smart enough."

What a bunch of jerks. Who? The IRGC. Yesterday, just for kicks and giggles, besides hitting two tankers in the Strait, the IRGC launched some missiles at the UAE. At the same time, they instructed their proxy (Houthis) to fire ballistic missiles at Saudi. If they are not killing their own people, they are shooting at their neighbors, or they are taking pot shots at commercial shipping. No wonder nobody wants to go to the prom with them.

What happened yesterday was the last straw for the good folks who rule the UAE. They have cut off any ties which remained with Iran. If Iran wants to be another hermit kingdom, just like the Norks, they are doing a fine job of getting there. And just to be clear on one very important point - it is Iran and Iran alone who has bottled up the Strait of Hormuz. That is why the best thing Trump has done for a while, is announce to the world that the US just might make the Strait a territory of the US. Where we can control it. Why? Iran had their chance - and blew it.

USA Today had an opinion piece about Iran today. I won't go into all the details, but to me, the punch line was as follows: "The war with Iran came as no surprise. They have been baiting the USA for decades." BINGO! A real truth bomb that was! Whose fault was this (as the Dems call it), Trump's "unnecessary war"? Iran's fault. Pure and simple. Rather than being a truculent nuisance in the neighborhood, attacking Isreal whenever they could, and threatening us - they could have played nice. But no - baiting us is the least of their sins.

Iran does not know this as yet, so let me help them out. You sirs, the members of the IRGC, are like a dead man walking. Your time is up. The millions of normal Iranians who you have imprisoned in your theocracy are ready to take their country back. And Trump is ready to take over the Strait. Why? You have shown you are cruel dictators to your own people and have shown you have no clue on how to leave well enough alone with commercial traffic in the Strait. And you have riled up our president, which is never a smart play.

D-Day is coming soon for Iran. Trump is starving them out right now, but soon we might have to mix in some of our kinetic fire power to boot. BTW - what Trump said is true. We may be a wee bit short of some of our super smart munitions, but we have an almost unlimited supply of bombs and missiles which are not quite as smart - but smart enough. For the IRGC - your day of reckoning is almost here. As they would say in the wild west, "you better git while the gitting is good." 

Birds of a feather no longer flock together....

"When the dust settles in November and the ballots are counted, what will be the lessons learned? Since few will be happy with the outcome, the lesson learned will be to do better in 2028. Until then (as the old saying goes) - suck it up, buttercup!"

One RINO person I know, recently lamented about the fact that Republicans are not like they once were. Let me see if I can translate that for all of us. A few decades ago, Republicans and Democrats got along much better than they do today. Why? They were all colored the same. Not red and blue as much as Democrats were a darker gray and Republicans were a lighter shade of gray. When they expressed opposing positions, they often were more alike than different. One was constantly reminded of that old axiom - "Birds of a feather block together." Oh, those were the days! (NOT!)

Fast forward to today. Many Republicans have taken a crash course in advanced conservatism. It started with the Tea Party, and then (thanks to Donald Trump), has morphed into the MAGA movement. No shades of gray here! But on the other side of the coin, are the Democrats, who have gone from liberal to progressive to Socialism to out and out Communism. Ergo, here is the problem at the ballot box. Do you choose the Ozzie and Harriet party to rule, or do you take a chance and vote for crazy?

Right now, many are not happy with this developing "forever war" in Iran. This "one and done" war is turning into Iraq 2.0. How and why is this happening? First off, we may want it to be done, but Iran is willing and able to stretch thing out for months (years) to come. Why? They know how impatient the American People are. Anything to hurt or seriously wound Donald Trump and the party he came from.

But on the other side of the fence, we have crazy. The DSA is trying to make their foothold into the Democrat Party more of a stronghold. And their platform is straight out of Lala land. The establishment Democrats are trying to minimize and marginalize this group of upstarts. However, this new breed of Communists, is starting to win the day the old-fashioned way - they are winning the primary races. That is how they take over the Democrat Party - one precinct at a time.

This is going to be a very interesting election. Some are going to punish the Republicans because of this developing "forever war" which is causing almost Biden like inflation, and others are going to punish the Democrats for allowing "crazy" to take over their brand. In other words, this will be an election (in my opinion) where many will vote against something more so than voting for something.

When the dust settles in November and the ballots are counted, what will be the lessons learned? Since few will be happy with the outcome, the lesson learned will be to do better in 2028. Until then (as the old saying goes) - suck it up, buttercup!    

 

Is this war over, or is this just the start?

"BTW - even though there is very little kinetic activity going on right now, something strange is happening in Iran. Upper levels of the IRGC keep turning up dead. This is due to either some Iranians on the inside who are no longer drinking the IRGC Kool aide, or maybe Massad? Or USA operators? Or Kurds? Bad things come to those who deserve it."

When I was growing up, and after conquering most of my boyhood fears, there was still something that I was afraid of. And that is getting in a fight with somebody who had nothing to lose. Hard to beat somebody like that. That is something I think about in our fight with Iran. The IRGC does not give a whit about how much we bomb, what they lose, how many of their people are killed, what kind of poverty and inflation they are now living in. They just keep on fighting.

Let me be clear on one issue. And this issue is one of the reasons the Iranians (the IRGC) will NEVER want peace. They HATE Israel. They will never accept Israel as a neighbor. They will always seek to have proxies who can carry out dastardly deeds against the Jewish state. And us? They hate us also. They will do anything to drive us out of the Middle East. Remember - in the eyes of the IRGC, we are still the big Satan. 

Today is the expiration date on the sixty-day MOU. Big whoop. The MOU, just like all the pauses and cease fires, have been there only to stall for time. Not having any agreements is just fine by most of us, thank you. And for Trump to keep our boot on the financial neck of Iran (via our Naval blockade) is good medicine. As Trump has said, he prefers not killing any more people but will delight in killing Iran's economy.

Meanwhile, yesterday a couple of Shahed Drones somehow made it into Egypt. Since that is outside their range, the thought is they could have been launched from some ship close by. It is no secret that Iran would love to pull Egypt into this fray. If Iran starts to launch drones from ships against friendly nations, this war in not going away soon. If anything, it will get bigger.

BTW - even though there is very little kinetic activity going on right now, something strange is happening in Iran. Upper levels of the IRGC keep turning up dead. This is due to either some Iranians on the inside who are no longer drinking the IRGC Kool aide, or maybe Massad? Or USA operators? Or Kurds? Bad things come to those who deserve it.

When will this war end? Will it end? My thinking is it will only end when the good people of Iran retake their country. And then we can be friends again. Until that day comes, we need to stay buckled up. Why? The IRGC types never give up.

What is up on the Abe? Fact or fiction?

How tough do I think the men and women of the USS Abe are? Plenty tough. Our sailors are well trained. I would put my money on the men and women of the United States Navy any day of the week - and twice on Sunday.

 

Before I went in the Navy, the motto I kept hearing was "join the Navy and see the world". Sounded good to me. I really wanted to go to sea. Make my own memories. I signed up for all "bird farm" (carrier) ratings I could when I was in boot camp. As luck would have it, my scores on the battery tests showed I had some kind of aptitude to do a different kind of work other than aviation. And that work led me away from a sea billet. Out of 21 years in the Navy/Naval Reserve, that was my biggest disappointment.

Lately I have been wondering, if I had gone to sea right out of boot camp, and was stationed on a pre-Nimitz era carrier off the coast of Viet Nam, could I have toughed it out? That being said, if I were younger, and in the Navy today, and stationed aboard the USS Abe Lincoln, could I have handled a 265-day deployment without going bat poop crazy? It is easy to sit back in my easy chair and judge what is happening off the coast of Iran right now, but I wonder how many of us have the mental toughness to "soldier up" and keep on mission like we are asking of the crew of the USS Abe.

For a young man or woman, 265 days is like an eternity. I get it. I do, however, have a hard time believing that with today's underway replenishments, that the Abe was running out of food - especially milk. When I was stationed on an Army Base in Okinawa, the chow hall only served powdered milk. The good news? The milk never ran out (until we could not get water during the drought). The bad news - powdered milk tastes like crap. But nobody starved and we all made it to the end of our duty rotation.

I know time drags when you are on station doing an important job. I know for young men and women they are wondering if this will ever end. But it will end. And good or bad, they will be part of a record setting deployment. As time goes on once this deployment is over, they will have a story to tell. For some, it will be bragging rights. For others, they will just want to get out.

It is times like these, that the leadership of the ship's CO, XO, Chiefs, Officers and lead petty officers must be as sharp as a tack. Yes, leadership. This is when real leaders, lead. Is it tough being on station for 265 days? Heck yes, it is tough. But the young sailors who endured this record setting deployment could or should come out of this deployment tougher and better. 

How tough do I think the men and women of the USS Abe are? Plenty tough. Our sailors are well trained. I would put my money on the men and women of the USS Abe any day of the week - and twice on Sunday.

One heck of a summer!

 

I was not going to mention this fact, but what the heck - I am surprised and honored by it. I have addressed this before - because it amazes me. My blog, the Very Angry Bird, has been read in over 2/3 of the countries on Earth. As such, the number of my views keep going up. I try to make my posts to be not only family friendly, but also about freedom and liberty, with a bit of faith stories thrown in for good measure. That being said, then there is this summer.

The number of views I have on my blog site have gone from the thousands per day to the tens of thousands per day. One day, I went over 110,000 views. This month, I am about ready to hit one million views for August - and the month is not even half over.

I have been asked in the past how and why I write what I do. My answer is always the same. First, it must interest me. And then comes the most critical part - it must (in my opinion) interest others. It can't be too long, nor too boring. And at times it can be even pithy. But that is it. In a nutshell. Oh, and I do a lot of reading from different sources, watching a lot of news, and at night, before going to bed, watching some YouTube. 

For those who read my ramblings from time to time - thank you. For those who don't, give it another try. I have thick skin - if you disagree with me - let me know. I any event, I have blathered on long enough. I put my article for the day was on the site earlier this morning. You might want to check it out. Hint: It is not about flowers.

Why we can't (won't) win

"Here is what the DFL does that the MNGOP does not do. Once the dust settles and the primary is over, they gather around the winner. It really does not matter to them how corrupt or imperfect their candidates are. They vote lock, stock and barrel. Meanwhile, many in MNGOP are still bemoaning the imperfect flowers in the bunch, as they wonder how and why they lost (again)."

The story goes as follows. Every two or four years, a man goes into a flower shop to buy some flowers for a lady friend. One shop which he goes into, has vastly superior flowers to any other shop, and his lady friend much prefers them to any others. But this man is very particular. Quite often, he will spot one flower in a perfect bunch which is less than perfect. For that reason alone, he leaves the shop empty handed. He instead, goes to a flower shop down the road which has flowers which are far less attractive. Many are diseased. But to keep from getting that one imperfect flower at the other store, he (out of spite) - buys the far less attractive and diseased flowers. And this happens over and over and over again.

Welcome to MNGOP. This is the land where (believe it or not), we still have enough registered Republicans to win statewide elections. Proven fact. But (and this is going to sting a bit) - we have far too many of the MNGOP voters who are like the man who did not buy the nice bunch of flowers with one flower which was imperfect. And the stink of how we vote is already in the air. How so? The DFL, which are running pretty much the same bunch of fraud infested losers they have had for years, out voted MNGOP by a margin of 2 to 1 in the primary. THAT - does not bode well for the general election.

I am a lifelong Republican. I have never been a Democrat. That being said, Republicans frustrate me in this state. Why? The knives are already out for Lisa Demuth. RINO! Loser! All kinds of names which should never be used for our candidates. Is Lisa the best candidate for governor we have ever had? Maybe not - but in my book she is pretty darned good, and hundred times better than Hotdish Amy. But we have many MNGOP folks, some even being state delegates, who will SIT THIS ELECTION OUT, rather than vote for Lisa. Is that cutting off your nose in spite of your face, or what. We will lose another election just because many MNGOP types have hurt feelings and will either vote third party, or not at all. Same outcome.

And we can't forget about Michele Tafoya. Oh my gosh - she is or was pro-choice. Now my preference is that she is not, but she still has the best chance of winning that open senate seat. However, there are MNGOP types who will SIT THIS ELECTION OUT, rather than vote for Michele. By the way, as the old expression goes, you can't govern if you don't win. The trifecta rule of the Democrats in 2023 gave us the immoral abortion law which is now law in MN. You know - the same type of law that MA just passed. It is a satanic law, and we had no Republicans who could stop it. Again, if you don't win, you can't govern.

Here is what the DFL does that the MNGOP does not do. Once the dust settles and the primary is over, they gather around the winner. It really does not matter to them how corrupt or imperfect their candidates are. They vote lock, stock and barrel for their candidates. Meanwhile, as many in MNGOP are still bemoaning the imperfect flowers in their bunch, they wonder how and why they lost (again).

 

No class, no morals, no kidding

 

"I have always said that one of the things I love about this country is that we have an open-door policy. Open borders to an extent. Open borders? Yes - whomever wants to leave this country which they hate so much - can do so freely." 

Did you see the latest and the greatest disgrace which was done by disciples or fans of Hassan Piker? Why do I say that? Because when every other word out of your mouth (like it is with Piker's) besmirches or degrades America, some loose nut kids will take that crap to heart. Yesterday, filled with rage against the machine (so to speak), they defaced the nation's World War II Memorial in Washington DC. These young punks, whom without the duty and sacrifice of those heroes who fought and died in World War II, would living in tyranny and speaking another language. It makes me sick to my stomach.

What has happened to our great country? Why are our national monuments no longer sacrosanct? I know this started under Obama and then went hog wild under Biden - but come on folks - these monuments mean something special to the normal folks who live in and love this great land. Is it the schools these days, which are filling this young heads full of this vile hatred for America? Teaching faux history and civics?

How about this past primary election season. Some of these Commies which were running for public office, proclaimed loudly they hate America as well as some of our holidays. Why do they say that kind of crap? Because they don't belong here. Not one bit.

Or is it the churches? Some liberal denominations have strayed so far from the Gospel they are preaching things which are antithetical to Biblical teachings. Like pride. Like gender reassignment. What will be next? Polyamorous marriages? Same sex marriages? (sorry - we are already there). Are these the days that Ezekial had prophesized about? 

Are we at the point right now that the majority cannot have nice things in this country, just because some minute minority hates it here? A small minority who feels guilty that we won wars, that we invent things, that our standard of living is higher than most? Is that what the message was with the damage done at our World War II Memorial yesterday? Well guess what? There are more of us than there are of them. Plenty more. And when we catch these vandals, mercy will be in short supply.

I have always said that one of the things I love about this country is that we have an open-door policy. Open borders to an extent. Open borders? Yes - whomever wants to leave this country which they hate so much - can do so freely. That being said, those who want to come here need to do it the right way. That is freedom in my book. Living in a free and open country. As the old saying goes - "America, love it or leave it". 

The gravity of the situation

"Rumor has it that DARPA is working on an anti-gravity propulsion system. I find that very interesting. Why? How can we do that if we don't understand how gravity works in the first place? Bottom line? The gravity of this situation really escapes us. Love it or hate it, gravity keeps us here and prevents us from floating away. Does gravity suck, as the hippies from the 60's would say? Not in my book."   

For those who survived the close call with the seven seconds of no gravity yesterday - congrats. The seven seconds of free floating never happened. And that is a good thing. Why? As the old saying goes, what goes up must come down. There was even a fictitious name for this fictitious event. Project Anchor. Somewhere, many light years from here, there was a disturbance in the gravity field. It was going to hit Earth yesterday, and if you were not hanging on to something which was firmly attached to the ground, you were in for the ride of your life. Probably the last ride of your life. 

If you ever want to have fun with a scientist, here is a series of questions to ask him or her which will put that person in a box canyon. Question One: What is gravity? Answer: It is the force which keeps us on this (or any other) planet. Question Two: What causes gravity? Answer: It is caused by the mass of something in the universe. Question Three: (And this ends the discussion) - What causes gravity? How does it work? Answer: We are still working on it.

Gravity is one of those things which is real, yet unexplainable. Thus, to have this gravity wave hit the Earth yesterday and nullify our gravity for seven seconds, was a good story at best. Why? How would NASA know that, if they can't even figure out what gravity is in the first place? The interesting part is even after this seven second story had been debunked, some still believed in it. But those who still believed in it, still had a shred of truth to do so. Really?

Trying to get an absolute answer on why this could not nor would not happen from experts who can't even fully explain the how and whys of gravity is a problem. Sure, the seven seconds came and went with nothing happening - but was it only because it was a fable, or were we just lucky? 

Rumor has it that DARPA is working on an anti-gravity propulsion system. I find that very interesting. Why? How can we do that if we don't understand how gravity works in the first place? Bottom line? The gravity of this situation really escapes us. Love it or hate it, gravity keeps us here and prevents us from floating away. Does gravity suck, as the hippies from the 60's would say? Not in my book.   

 

But- Is Amy even beatable in this brainwashed state?

"One more thing which we need to look out for. The Minnesota Yellow Dogs. And there are zillions of them in the metro area. Will they vote for Amy? Sure will - most Yellow Dogs would vote for a Yellow Dog if that who was on the ballot. Hang on - more on this to come."

Okay Earthlings - grab onto something as I believe I am going to lob some truth bombs at you this afternoon. Already the odds makers are giving the election to Hotdish Amy, even though the ink is still drying on the election certificates. It does matter who won for the Republicans - Amy was going to dispatch with any one of them. But hold the phone - even though all candidates the Republicans ran were good and capable, there is a reason why I voted for Lisa. Simply put - she knows where the bodies are buried. She had her fingers in the dirt during the debacles of having so many Democrats trying to hide the absolute theft going on with government and state dollars. Whereas Hotdish is going to try and rise above this cauldron of crap, Lisa will pull her back into it. Why? This has Democrat written all over it. Period.

Okay Republican readers, here is your first truth bomb. Take a look at the voting numbers. The Republicans were outvoted by the Democrats in very large numbers. Why does this matter? Enthusiasm. Motivation. We are going to tie graft and theft onto Amy's leggings; the Democrats are going to tie (not Trump) but ICE onto our team. You know, the two murders of Good and Pretti. That will be the great diffusion and confusion. Never mind the billions the Somali community stole from us - the Democrats are much more concerned about ICE.

I really can't wait until the first debate between Hotdish and Lisa. If Hotdish thinks she can roll over Lisa, she might be a bit surprised. That being said, remember what used to be called the "Fourth Estate" - the media. If we had an honest media, that would be one thing. But we do not. That could be why the Democrats will have a 8 point advantage in this race even before it starts. 

One more thing which we need to look out for. The Minnesota Yellow Dogs. And there are zillions of them in the metro area. Will they vote for Amy? Sure will - most Yellow Dogs would vote for a Yellow Dog if that who was on the ballot. Hang on - more on this to come. 

Primary aftermath...

"Congrats to Michele Tafoya. Nice job. Congrats to Lisa Demuth. You will do fine in the general. To rid this state of Amy, you will get lots of help. But today is a new day, with new battles coming up. To save America from the DSA wackos, we must first vanquish the DSA wackos in the primaries. Just saying..."

Sometimes, things work out as they should. Other times, not so much. In Minnesota, I would be lying if I said I was disappointed or surprised in the outcome. But it is what it is. I did support Lisa Demuth for reasons of electability. I liked Kendall a lot. Quality guy. But his campaign was a bit too stealthy. People did not know him. Lisa on the other hand, was all over the airwaves. Every other day I got a mailer about her POSITIONS. But here you go - whereas both Mike Lindell and Kendall know business very well, Lisa is bathed in political experience. And in my opinion, that is what led to her margin of victory.

And what happened last night in Wisconsin was nothing less than a gift from the sane crowd. Fransica Hong, who came out of the DSA jar of nuts, got beat when the media had almost crowned her days before the election. She did not get beat by much - but enough. David Crowley, a man who may not be my cup of tea, (but is fourteen times more normal than Hong) - will advance to the general.

Back to Minnesota. Omar won again. What a shock! Since her district is right in the middle of the Minneapolis version of Dearborn Michigan. Ellison the questionable AG for MN, also won again. I think the big shock was the auditor race. Dr. Scott Jenson, who may know how to set a broken bone, will now need to put on a green eyeshade and look at how the books were cooked under Walz. 

Now we go forward. The general is coming up soon - very soon. We will have a different discussion before that election. The important part of the entire election (in by book) is Hong is gone. Hopefully, gone and forgotten. But there are more in the bushes just like Hong. Maybe worse than Hong. And if Bernie Sanders want any of these America haters to run for an office - they might just win.

Congrats to Michele Tafoya. Nice job. Congrats to Lisa Demuth. You will do fine in the general. To rid this state of Amy, you will get lots of help. But today is a new day, with new battles coming up. To save America from the DSA wackos, we must first vanquish the DSA wackos in the primaries. Just saying...

Vote like your life(style) depends on it!

"Hang on tight folks. This cancer has already started. It will spread. 2028 will be a very important year. This year is just a test case for them - in 2028, it will be for absolute real. What are we fighting for? Our country. Only this time, we are not fighting in some jungle in a faraway land. The enemy is not at the gate - the enemy is inside the gate. And he/she/they/it is coming for you and your stuff."

Oh my! The day is finally here! The primary day, which not that long ago, was a huge nothing burger in Minnesota. Why? It was only a formality (for the most part), as the endorsement process showed the masses whom to vote for. But today? Too many are wondering if the delegates had a clue on who to vote for. The voters will handle it themselves, thank you very much. Thus, this year's primary is the most expensive in state's history. And it is very, very important.

Who is on the ballot in Minnesota? A former SEAL, a CEO of a pillow company, a retired insurance executive, a sportscaster, and some political folks. The question is - who is the best to lead our state out of this morass of fraud and deceit? Most have had it with this goofball carpetbagger who is our current governor. We need somebody who is serious to run this state. Not a flake who is unserious, who is out to ruin this state. 

You would have to be living under a rock not to know the Commies and Socialists are out to tort our system of governance. Hasan Piker, who came out of nowhere, an extreme foul-mouthed person, is leading the charge to take this country down the path of ruination. For some reason, unbeknown to most normals, this rather tall and gregarious person, is attracting loose fitting nutty balls from all over the nation. And because true history is no longer taught in our colleges and universities, the young minions believe ever work of crap this guy spews.

I titled this article; we need to vote like our life(style) depends on it. That is not hyperbole. That is fact. If we let the Commies and Socialists, under cover of the DSA, take over the reins of government in either state or federal - watch out. Right now, most are just loud and not so proud, standing on a soap box and yelling into the street. But give them power, and all of a sudden, your life will no longer be your own. Your money, your guns, your house, your cabin, your RV - all up for grabs. Why? To even out the playing field. Those who work and succeed are not supposed to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Hang on tight folks. This cancer has already started. It will spread. 2028 will be a very important year. This year is just a test case for them - in 2028, it will be for absolute real. What are we fighting for? Our country. Only this time, we are not fighting in some jungle in a faraway land. The enemy is not at the gate - the enemy is inside the gate. And he/she/they/it is coming for you and your stuff.     

The big showdown on Tuesday!

"Step one is the primary. We will vote early in the morn tomorrow and then forget about it until supper time. Then we shall see the returns come in. If Kendall loses, I hope he runs again. Same with Lisa. Mike, however, is doing fine with his business."

Here it comes. The big showdown. The endorsement conventions? That was so yesterday. All of that does not mean spit right now. And it is not just one party. Both parties seemed to have given the middle finger to the endorsement process. Five states, with primary elections coming up - like tomorrow. Who do you favor? Personal choice. I know many in this state will use inherited preferences and vote for Amy for governor - even if she it not the right choice. But voting without fraud is one of the things our brave men and women fight for. For without honest voting, we have little to nothing.

Truthfully - I thought that with all the massive fraud going on in this state, this election would be a joke. How so? The Republicans could have run Bozo the Clown for any office and won. But - remember the curse of the Yellow Dog. Yellow Dog Democrats would vote for a corpse, even if there was no sign of life. And it is the Yellow Dogs who actually put Hotdish Amy in the Governor's chair. I know - I know. Hard to believe. But never underestimate the curse of the Yellow Dogs.

Who is running for governor who would be good for this state? All three. But in the order of precedence, it would be Lisa, Kendall and then Mike. Why Mike in third place? He would still be good, better than Amy, but not as good as Lisa nor Kendall. However, Mike also has the ear of POTUS. That is not nothing (as the saying goes). In any event, we need a street cleaner in office who can clean up all the crap. Not another gets along, go along type of career politician. 

Step one is the primary. We will vote early in the morn tomorrow and then forget about it until supper time. Then we shall see the returns come in. If Kendall loses, I hope he runs again. Same with Lisa. Mike, however, is doing fine with his business. Adam, running for Senate, is going to get crushed by Michele. But Adam is a good man - just a bit unknown at this time. Maybe next time?  

 

The "Socialism Works" canard

"Here is the interesting part of this entire DSA debacle. There still are some Democrats in the old-style Democrat Party who still have a modicum of common sense. And guess what? These folks want nothing to do with these starry-eyed socialists. Some even have threatened to leave the Democrat party." 

Tomorrow, in Wisconsin, yet another one of these little lost children, who want to be a tin dictator spewing the "Socialism Works" canard - is running to be the next governor in Wisconsin. Francesca Hong, the 34-year-old former Thanksgiving Day hater, thinks that with a resume being thinner than paper, she could run this large midwestern state. But as a member of the new and upstart Democratic Socialists of America, she has ideas - boy does she have ideas. Nutty ones, but never-the-less, ideas.

Like most fringe Democrats/Socialist/Communists, she is consumed with ideas of race. For example, during her time as a cook/dishwasher while working at a restaurant, Ms. Hong admits to having a tryst with a white gentleman. And out of that tryst, came a child. Since Ms. Hong is Korean by birth, the child was of mixed race. By her own admission, when she looks at her son, she does not understand the white in his mixture. Huh? Could somebody please play that one again???

Like AOC, she went from being a cook to a bartender. She did a bit of college but dropped out. One might ask then the most uncomfortable question - what gives you the right to think you are qualified to have this job? Besides the fact, this young lady thinks that being a socialist is "cool", she brings nothing to the party. I could only imagine what a mess she would make out of Wisconsin in short order. But - in a state without cops, that does allow ICE to do their jobs, a state which has free food, healthcare and childcare - what could possibly go wrong.

Here is the interesting part of this entire DSA debacle. There still are some Democrats in the old-style Democrat Party who still have a modicum of common sense. And guess what? These folks want nothing to do with these starry-eyed socialists. Some even have threatened to leave the Democrat party. But here is the thing which I find the most vexing. In most (if not all states), there exists a huge number of independent voters. And many of those independent voters are not brainwashed. To vote for a 34-year-old bartender who promises free rides on unicorns and ice cream after each meal - might just be a bridge too far.

Hong will win the primary tomorrow. That goes without saying. However, the general will be a different story. Stay tuned for that one. But as the saying goes, we reap what we sow. Or better yet - we get the government we deserve. Remember that you Badger fans!        

So long as there remains IRGC, so shall the war remain

"With Russia knocking at the door of NATO, with China getting ready to do something awful to Taiwan, and with the Norks still eyeing South Korea - we don't have the time nor the resources to put up with an adventuresome Iran. The smart money still lies on finishing these guys and doing it before August is over."

It hit me hard this weekend. I think I have figured out the endgame for the thugs in the IRGC. Maybe it was because they read the comic strip Peanuts when they were younger and understand that Lucy and the football trick. Iran is going to survive for two reasons. First - they keep changing the goalposts. Every time we think we might be getting close to a "deal" that slippery little thing called peace squirms away from us. And second (and this is a big one) - our government keeps changing. As such, the IRGC plays our politics better than we do.

Many are now asking, why can't we just finish this? We could I suppose, if our POTUS would stiffen his spine against the headwinds and allow our military to do their thing. But Iran keeps playing for time. Playing for control of the Strait. Playing for time so that they can continue on with their nuke research. Heck, they finally confessed they have a missile which has the range to hit our homeland. Our reaction to that has been crickets. Nada. 

Meanwhile, the IDF and the Mossad keep knocking certain IRGC baddies off the chess board. Not enough to make a huge difference in this war, but every little bit helps. What would help even more? For Saudi to grow a pair. Lean into this fight instead of begging us to stop the bombing. I would think that if any country, outside of Isreal, could benefit from a neutered Iran - it would be Saudi Arabia. I guess I might have been wrong. 

Then the question I have been pondering really hit home. What if we don't finish the job? Leave Iran just the way it is right now. What would the future be like? I think most of us know that Iran is not going to change. Until the people rise up and overthrow the IRGC, we are stuck with the status quo. And what the IRGC wants more than anything else right now is to survive. Survive to become strong again, so they can practice hegemony in the region. And yes - to rid the world of the Big Satan (us) and the Little Satan (Israel).

With Russia knocking at the door of NATO, with China getting ready to do something awful to Taiwan, and with the Norks still eyeing South Korea - we don't have the time nor the resources to put up with an adventuresome Iran. The smart money still lies on finishing these guys and doing it before August is over. But to finish them means real war, not just this ariel target practice. What does real war feel like over there? Maybe we should ask the Israelis. They have been doing it for years. 

Water - our uncoordinated mess...

"I know I had addressed this before. But things in Puerto Rico are getting serious. We have unlimited water in the oceans surrounding us. We need to fix this water issue and do it soon. Anything mentioned during this campaign season about this most vexing problem? Not yet. The problem is real and the solutions are fleeting."

Who is having water problems these days? How about Europe? How about Puerto Rico? How about the desert southwest in the USA? What are we doing about it? Not much. Ground water is shrinking, reservoirs are drying up, and farmers are struggling. But water? Who needs it? Especially potable water - they kind we drink to stay alive. Here is the rub - humans can go anywhere from a half a week to a full week without water. Then if no water is consumed - we die. Simple fact. First comes air, then comes water to stay alive. Food - further down the scale.

I have told this story before. I went through a real drought when I was stationed in Okinawa. It got so bad, water was only available once every three days. Then if you wanted a drink of that water, it needed to be boiled. One-minute showers were available once every three days. To say it sucked in 90-degree weather, would be an understatement. Why bring this up? On my off days, I would sit on a hill and look out at the East China Sea. Water, water everywhere. And yet - no water for the island. When I rotated duty stations in July of that year, and got home on leave, I drank water like there was no tomorrow.

I really can't believe that our water issue is not an issue. We need to come up with a Plan "B", Plan "C", and so forth. But instead of working on different ideas and strategies to bring in more fresh and potable water, what are we focusing on? Data centers. BTW - data centers, the way we are building them now, drink lots of water. And many of these data centers are being built in the arid desert. Call me stupid, but does this make any sense? Any sense what-so-ever?

I don't want to sound like a panic merchant, but we need a Manhattan Project for more water. The bad news is many of our aquifers are starting to run out of water. Rivers (like the Colorado) are running low. Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell) and Hoover Dam (Lake Meade) are close to "dead pool" status. Guess what? There is no alternate source of water for the millions of folks living down there. If the faucets run dry - then what?

I know I had addressed this before. But things in Puerto Rico are getting serious. We have unlimited water in the oceans surrounding us. We need to fix this water issue and do it soon. Anything mentioned during this campaign season about this most vexing problem? Not yet. The problem is real and the solutions are fleeting.

 

  

Stuck, really stuck in Hormuz

"I know, I know. I am just an old retired sailor, who listens to the news every day. There is much more which I don't know than I do know on this war. That being said, I still believe we have the firepower in theater to end this thing. Our president said he would prefer not killing any more people. That is like water off a duck's back to the Iranians. If Trump said he was going to grind each and every one of the IRGC members into dust, now that - might get their attention." 

There is an old saying in the world of negotiation. When things get stuck in a protracted negotiation, after a while, it seems as if you are only negotiating with yourself (and/or with your team), and not the other guys. I hate to say it, but the best negotiator in our land appears to be stuck. How do I know? Iran the other day said their negotiations with Oman on how to manage the Strait of Hormuz were about done. Wait - what? Oman has nothing to do with anything here! The negotiations on opening the Strait back up is between us and Iran. What gives?

The "deal" which has been reached between Iran and Oman (you are going to love this one), is for one shipping channel to be controlled by Iran, and a shipping channel going the other way to be controlled by Oman. The United States and Israel (and maybe Saudi Arabia) will be persona non-grata. No US ships, or Israeli ships will be allowed to use the Strait. Say what?

Correct me if I am wrong, I thought the war started out with us telling Iran they must give up any idea of having a nuke. Israel went into this war with one objective - decapitation of the IRGC regime. After Iran started to muck up the shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, we had an additional objective - open the Strait to international shipping traffic. We figured that we were on the side of the angels on that one, since the Strait has been determined by a world court, to be open and free, for all to use. In the eyes of Iran however, they are telling us and the world to "stick it".

Then I thought POTUS gave these guys until Wednesday to agree to our terms or all you know what was going happen after Wednesday. Here it is Friday, the Strait is still closed, and the nuclear "dust" remains in Iran. The "big attack" to finish the job? I guess not. 

Maybe the new strategy is to kills these guys by a thousand cuts. In other words, the economy in Iran is in tatters right now, and keeping our boot on the neck of Kharg Island (via our blockade) is putting the big hurt on them. Meanwhile, Israel keeps hammering away at Hezbollah in Lebanon and the IRGC in Iran.

Here is the interesting part of where we are right now. We think we have Iran over a barrel. We are just waiting for them to cry "Uncle" and surrender. Iran knows that Trump's ratings fall every week the Strait is closed and the price of gas stays high. The IRGC does not give a tinker's dam on how much this hurts their people. Just so long it hurts us more.

I know, I know. I am just an old retired sailor, who listens to the news every day. There is much more which I don't know than I do know on this war. That being said, I still believe we have the firepower in theater to end this thing. Our president said he would prefer not killing any more people. That is like water off a duck's back to the IRGC. If Trump said he was going to grind each and every one of the IRGC members into dust, now that - might get their attention. 

Meanwhile, as we would say in the Navy - hurry up and wait.        

If Project Thor is real, how about Pickaxe?

 

One more thing about using Project Thor against Iran. Should we do this, what a message to the other bad guys in the world. Yes, we have stuff in our weapons locker which nobody knows about. Project Thor would be a good place to start. It is after all, peace through strength.  

Project Thor. This idea has been kicked around since the Cold War. Is it even possible? Maybe. Probably. Do we have one as yet? Unknown. But if we did, it might be the answer to a big problem we have right now. And that problem is Pickaxe Mountain. That granite beast which might be holding the secret sauce to what Iran is really cooking up. And if that secret sauce is a nuke, we need to act - now.

We have another solution for Pickaxe Mountain, which President Trump is reluctant to use. We do have a nuke which is on the tip of one of our bunker busters. But that in and of itself - is the problem. It is a nuke. If we did use that nuke on Pickaxe, which would really fix the problem, it would change warfare from now on. And the United States would be the only nation in the world to use atomic or nuclear bombs - three times. Not good.

But Project Thor, if it is real, could solve a problem without creating another one. We could destroy whatever evil lies buried under hundreds of feet of granite - without using a nuclear device. In other words, the tungsten material, which a rod from Project Thor is made out of, when released from orbit, will reach a speed of Mach 10 by the time it hits the ground. These 20-foot-long rods, with a one-foot diameter, would carry quite a punch by the time one hit the ground at Mach 10.

What about the ethics of using such a weapon? Against Iran? After the attack on Israel a few years ago, Iran and its proxies no ethics. No - I would be fine in using Project Thor against the country which has been yelling "Death to America" for almost 50 years now. And all it would take is one rod, if they have the precision of our bombs, to do the trick. And in the aftermath? Iran would know that hiding bad stuff underground no long works for them.

One more thing about using Project Thor against Iran. Should we do this, what a message to the other bad guys in the world. Yes, we have stuff in our weapons locker which nobody knows about. Project Thor would be a good place to start. It is after all, peace through strength.  

 

Washington whispers about our ammo supply

"Is the pause in the action really just a time to get an agreement hammered out with these recalcitrant Iranians? Or is it to catch our breath and stockpile more needed munitions. Or is it a little of both? Meanwhile, stay tuned to what is going on in the Middle East. The dynamics seem to change daily."

Imagine having a neighbor who loves to collect new and used guns. You go visit him, and he often takes you into his gun room. It is quite impressive. Just when you think he has it all, he tells you he has another pistol and a long gun on order. One day, you ask him if he would take you out shooting. If you could pick the gun of choice and then try it out. With an embarrassing silence, he stammers and then confesses - "I would love to, but I have very little ammo left. I can't get any more for a while, so now I have to be careful on how I use what I have left."

The Washington whispers are getting louder. We had enough missiles (especially the SM3 missiles for our VLS ships) to fight a certain type of warfare. What we did not have, were counter measures cheap enough, and prolific enough, to counter a constant stream of drones and missiles. If an order of battle for Iran was to overwhelm an invading Navy (like us) with cheap drones, it almost worked. We are not out of missiles as yet, but if rumors are true, to fight a different kind of war in the near future (like against China over Taiwan), things could look iffy.

Here is the dichotomy. We build some of the best and most sophisticated missiles in the world. Our bombs are no longer "dumb" - on the contrary, they have absolute guidance built into them. Now here is the other side of the coin. Money and time. Each missile or round costs money. Some, a lot of money. For example, some SM-3 interceptors cost almost $30M/each. Depending on the variant, some are cheaper, but all are expensive - quite a bit more expensive than the drone it takes out. And the time to build one of these missiles, is many times longer than the time it takes to use one. Ergo, some of our weapon lockers for these expensive missiles are starting to look like Mother Hubberd's Cupboard. Not empty, but far from full.

Even though the state of our weapon inventory is something most commanders keep close to their vests, enough leakage has happened in the press (and otherwise), to know there is a problem. POTUS has authorized a full speed ahead order with some of the nation's largest munitions manufacturers, but that still is not fast enough. Will this issue last forever? Of course not - but it is here now.

Is the pause in the action really just a time to get an agreement hammered out with these recalcitrant Iranians? Or is it to catch our breath and stockpile more needed munitions. Or is it a little of both? Meanwhile, stay tuned to what is going on in the Middle East. The dynamics seem to change daily.

Is this the end of the Democrats?

"Let me one of many to be the first to offer a welcome to the more normal Democrats who are looking for a new perch to land on. The past is in the past, and you will all be welcomed as fellow travelers on this journey."

I remember watching a show years ago called "The Season of the Witch". I was a good, scary Halloween type of movie. Today, a new movie could be made called "The Season of the Crazy". As goofy as the Democrats have become as of late, this new crop of Socialists and Communists in the new, upstart Democrat Socialists of America (DSA) - are way off the reservation. Right now, many are yearning for the good old, same old and plain Democrats. Talking to anybody from the DSA is about as strange (maybe stranger) than talking to an alien.

Last night, even though it is still close, it looks like the alien (I mean the DSA candidate) is going to win the open seat in Michigan. Now the alien (who talks gibberish) will square off against Mike Rodgers in the general election. It will be Rogers (who is like Norm Normal or Sam Standard) will be up against the alien. Right now, the odds makers are thinking this race will not even be close. Why? Many in Michigan are still normal people, and don't understand alien talk.

After the dust settles in November, what will all of this really mean? The DSA types will pick up some seats, only because America still has some of the dumbest voters in the universe. But what will happen to the Democrat Party is where the real story is. Many light blue Democrats will become dark blue Democrats. As such, look for defections in large waves going from blue to red. Even James Carville said the other day, if some of these aliens win and become part of his current party - he is out. He did not say he would turn red, but he sure said he would no longer be a Democrat.

Wait - what? I thought the Democrat Party was the "big tent" party, that might have been the story from yesteryear. Today (thanks in large part to Donald Trump), the Republican Party is much more "big tent" than either the current blue party, or the former blue party. Doe the Republican Party have some crazies? Ya, sure - maybe a wee bit. But our crazies are only a "one off", compared to the "otherworldly" nut balls that are streaming into the Democrat Party.

Let me one of many to be the first to offer a welcome to the more normal Democrats who are looking for a new perch to land on. The past is in the past, and you will all be welcomed as fellow travelers on this journey. However, if you are a DSA alien and want in - keep on walking. Only freedom loving, red blooded Americans welcomed here. Most of our people eschew Socialism and Communism. Many have fought in wars against such. Get the picture? We don't care about the color of your skin, but we do care about the color of your politics. 

 

What is it with Norks and nukes?

"Will North Korea ever become a seeker of peace instead of a god of war? Maybe not in my lifetime. I do know this - life in North Korea is very hard. Will the North Korean people finally wake up and decide this is not the way to live a good life? One can only hope and pray they will."

North Korea. The hermit kingdom. The land in which time forgot. The "why" in North Korea is what really interests me. They are the bad boy of the WestPac. Normally, I could look at this country and blow it off. As the saying goes, "not give it no never mind". But we (I) can't. One simple reason. While the US presidents were asleep at the switch, the Norks got nukes. It started small, but then it seems like almost overnight, North Korea became a nuclear power. Now it is a country with 50 nuclear bombs, run by a madman.

It has been a while since I have addressed this issue. The "rich man - poor man" issue of the Korean Peninsula. Why is this such a big deal that the hermit kingdom has now garnered nukes? Has anybody had the forethought to ask Kim what he plans to do with all those nukes? And because he has free reign to do as he wishes over there, he is building an additional five to eight nukes a year. Why? To use of South Korea? To us on us? Japan? What is going on in his twisted mind? 

Donald Trump is fighting like crazy right now to keep Iran from developing nukes. Why? He has seen what nukes have done to the tipping point over in Korea. He does not want a repeat of that in Iran, happening under his watch. Trump knows that should Iran get a nuke, right behind them would be the Saudis. Or UAE. Or Jordan. Or who knows who would be next. Israel has nukes but are quiet as church mice about it. Their nukes would only be used as absolute last option. North Korea on the other hand? His nukes might be for his recreation. His power plays. Basically, the fact the Norks have nukes right now is a mess - a real hot mess.

As poor and misguided as North Korea is, is how balanced and successful South Korea is. South Korea is a powerhouse of technology and innovation. It is a rich country with a wonderful future. North Korea is a dead country with no future. During his first term, Donald Trump tried every which way to convince Kim there is a better way. For a short time, it almost looked like Trump was getting through to Kim. But he did not. And now Kim is back on that lonely road to becoming a bigger and much badder despot.

Where do we go in the future? What is to become of the Western Pacific? The ascending stars are for sure South Korea and Japan. Both have shown that should push comes to shove with any of the bad boys in that region of the world, they can take care of themselves. But then there is the question of nukes. Neither Japan nor South Korea have nukes. But North Korea does. China does. Russia does. India does. And Pakistan does. That makes the balance over in the Indo-Pacific become very unbalanced. VERY unbalanced.

Will North Korea ever become a seeker of peace instead of a god of war? Maybe not in my lifetime. I do know this - life in North Korea is very hard. Will the North Korean people finally wake up and decide this is not the way to live a good life? One can only hope and pray they will.

  

The art of the deal? Or is this a no deal?

"As Shakespeare said, "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!" Our troops are tired sir. Let them finish the job and then go home."

I know this is going to look like a Deja vu all over again. We have a deal; we don't have a deal. We are close to the framework of a deal; we are not even meeting for a deal. For the love of Pete President Trump, listen to your military advisors. They are telling you (in gentle and respectable language), that this bunch of Persians are playing us like a fiddle. I am going to make this short, to the point - and blunt. There is ZERO interest for Iran to make a deal with us. We may want a neat and tidy legal document with all the "T's" crossed and the "I's" dotted - but the other side could give a whit about any paper produced. They just want Israel and the USA dead. It is as simple as that.

I think it is time to show the back side of our hand like it has not yet been seen by these guys. I could see a parade of B-52s, B-1s, B-2s, Warthogs, F-35's, F-15s, Super Hornets - you name it. Throw everything but the kitchen sink at them. When the call up and say "please stop bombing us" - tell them tough toenails. They had their chance for peace. Now it is war up until they sign the surrender papers. We will never have a better chance than right now. Stalling makes no sense - none.

They have played us long enough. We have seen this movie, played this game. We need to end this and end it quickly. Heck, they are still shooting at ships in the Strait! Enough already! We will never return to normal at this rate. And another thing - if they are this dishonest putting an agreement together, do you really think they will honor it once the ink is dry? No way, Jose! Like I said - there is no better time than the present to end this. Tell the Saudis if they want to help us end it quickly, fire up your jets. 

My biggest fear is if Trump keeps getting played by Iran, he will have "TACO Don" as his legacy. That would be unfair to him, but if he can't get us out of this rut, it might be earned. As Shakespeare said, "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!" Our troops are tired sir. Let them finish the job and then go home.