Will a war dog like Putin ever want peace?

 

"Some say that because of Russia's history (warlike history), armed conflict is in their blood. If it is not Putin calling the shots, then it will be the next guy up. In Russia, there will always be a next guy up. After WWII, Russia is paranoid about being conquered and massacred once again. Now that paranoia is in Russia's DNA. It runs through Putin's blood. Will Putin ever truly want peace? Stay tuned..."  

"Never trust a Russian!" That was a shirt I had printed up back in 1983. Why? After doing what I did in the Navy, I knew how Russians thought. How those thoughts often times turned into actions. What happened in 1983 that prompted me to have that shirt made? KAL flight 007. For no reason whatsoever, this flight from New York to Seoul was shot down by a Russian fighter jet. All 267 souls on board were lost. Why did Russia shoot down a Boeing 747 passenger jet? It had accidentally strayed over Soviet airspace and the Russians did not recognize it was a passenger jet. Really? That was typical Soviet BS.

The current KGB trained leader of the Russian Republic is a chip off the old Soviet bloc. This time, instead of shooting down an innocent airliner full of passengers, he surrounded a neighboring country with armor. Then at the right time, he attacked. Without mercy, he attacked. For the next three years, the Russian meat grinder ground up portions of Ukraine. Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were killed. Schools were bombed. Hospitals were bombed. It was straight out of the Soviet, now Russian, playbook.

Now we stand at the threshold of peace. Ukraine has agreed to some terms which involve having trust that Russia will abide with those terms. That will be a stretch. Putin has some cards on the table right now which show he is large and in charge. He has a bunch of Ukraine soldiers surrounded in that small area of Russia Ukraine was able to take over. Now, the Ukrainians are going to be slaughtered if that is the directed that Putin wants to go down. Putin said if the Ukranian fighters put down their arms and surrender, they will be spared. Really Putin? Just like the passengers on KAL 007 were spared.

Don't get me wrong, I want peace in Ukraine. This is an opportunity for everyone. It is an opportunity for the US and Ukraine to develop some Rare Earth minerals deposits. It is an opportunity for Russia to repopulate after losing over 100,000 troops. It is a chance for Ukraine to once again become the "breadbasket" of Europe. Or - it is the chance for Putin to once again show what a two-faced dictator and butcher he is. This is make or break time for Europe. A wider war or a cease fire. 

Now is the time not to poke the bear. Yesterday, it was reported that President Duda of Poland would like the US to deploy nukes in his country. I really don't think that is a good idea right now. Putin is way, way too unstable to have this kind of provocation this close to his motherland. If we do get to a peace, it will be as fragile as fragile can be.

Some say that because of Russia's history (warlike history), armed conflict is in their blood. If it is not Putin calling the shots, then it will be the next guy up. In Russia, there will always be a next guy up. After WWII, Russia is paranoid about being conquered and massacred once again. Now that paranoia is in Russia's DNA. It runs through Putin's blood. Will Putin ever truly want peace? Stay tuned...  

 

The mother of all food fights - coming soon!

"Maybe the progressives can build an alter to government in one of the deserted park and ride lots. Might as well - nothing else happening there. Just miles and miles of empty concrete."   

I need to start off with a moment of confession. My wife and I were invited to ride the North Star on its inaugural trip downtown to the Target Center. It was a big deal, as this was going to be the crown jewel of the train system which would fix the traffic on Highway 10. From the get-go, it never had the projected ridership. It was expensive to run. And then Covid hit. Then the Floyd riots happened. Then the lack of law and order in downtown Minneapolis became the norm, so nobody wanted to work downtown anymore. Now the North Star is a ghost train, going nowhere.

But - during the glory days of the choo-choo trains, many bought the snake oil the Met Council was selling. So much so, gigantic park and ride lots were built by North Star stations. High density housing was built. Some shopping amenities went up. Collectively, the northern burbs stuck a zillion or so dollars into this dream. BNSF, who owns the tracks was also involved. So was the federal government. Money flowed like water in the streets after a Minnesota thunderstorm. And then yesterday, in the local paper, it was announced that the Met Council was soon to pull the plug on this failed train.

Now the fun starts. Everybody wants their money back - and there is a lot of money that went into this lemon. Think the fed is going to take a laissez faire attitude on the money they put into this thing? Not with DOGE running around! Who do we sue? Where do we go to get our money back? The Met Council, who were the villains behind this train? The unelected, unaccountable Met Council, who so many citizens and patriots despise? Good luck suing them! They get their money from - us. It would be suing ourselves.

Most companies, if they had a horrible investment like the North Star go south - they would have learned from it. They would have fired people and then moved on. Not the State of Minnesota. What did the state learn from this debacle? Nada. Zip. They could or would do it again. Why? Our money is like Monopoly money to them. Whereas these days, every dollar is make or break to many families, the state does not care. Their pet agency, the Met Council certainly does not care. Thus, the citizens are stuck squeezing this lemon, right next to the empty North Star park and ride lots.

This is a great civics lesson. Who pays when everything turns up crap instead of roses? Do we all take a financial bath? What about all that infrastructure, which now looks like a ghost town? Here is the lesson most of us citizens and patriots already know. Government sucks at most things. And yet, many progressives worship government.

Maybe the progressives can build an alter to government in one of the deserted park and ride lots. Might as well - nothing else happening there. Just miles and miles of empty concrete.   

What is "Kill Switch"?

"Each one of these jets are awesome and have their supporters. And (this is the buzz kill) - each one is very expensive. How to choose and what to choose from what is available right now. I know which of the above I like - all of them."

Like many Minnesota "red" activists, I got to know Pete Hegseth. He is a good guy, a loyal and dedicated American. And, like many Minnesotans, I was delighted when President Trump picked Pete to run the Pentagon. My opinion? Running the Pentagon these days might be the toughest job in Washington. Not just because the last crew made such a DEI mess of it, there is a lot going in right now. So much so, I am finding out new stuff about what the DOD folks are up to all the time. I can only imagine what Pete is learning.

Not too long ago, it was decided as good as the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning are in air dominance, they soon will not be dominant enough. The Pentagon needed something faster, stealthier, and loaded with AI. A bidding competition was held, and it was kept very secret. It went under the code name Kill Switch. The winning design would have a new nomenclature. It was to be a new fighter jet called the F-45 Condor.

Once the cat was out of the bag (so to speak), and some were seeing this UFO like jet flying around at breakneck speed, it was decided to disclose just a bit of what this new jet was. "Show some leg", as the expression goes. For example, this new jet is almost invisible on radar all the time. It can fly at Mach 2.0 without using afterburners. Its ceiling is around 75,000 feet. The person giving this briefing said the reason only some of this jet's capabilities were disclosed in the public realm, is simply this - if we are willing to disclose this much, just imagine how much of this jet's prowess is still kept under wraps. Let the Russians and Chinese stew about that!

Back to the dilemma at the Pentagon. There are folks who still think the F-22 Raptor is the best of the best and want to keep upgrading it. The supporters of the F-35 Lightning think with the addition of the Block 4 upgrade, this jet might be the best. The Navy loves the newer F-18 Super Hornet, and it is awesome. Plus, there are the old timers who think the newest version of the tried-and-true F-15 Eagle might still be a very tough fighter and good to have around.

We can't forget about the new bombers such as the B-21 Raider and the SR-72 Darkstar.  Finally, those who are looking over the horizon at tomorrow, still want us to invest in the NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) fighter jet, along with its accompanying fleet of AI robotic Loyal Wingman jets. Wow! That is an impressive list!

Each one of these jets are awesome and have their supporters. And (this is the buzz kill) - each one is very expensive. Hegseth has been asked to give the Pentagon a small "haircut" to help out the DOGE initiative. How to choose and what to choose from what is available right now. I know which of the above I like - all of them. But pay no attention to me - I am just an aviation fan. Hey, I even still like the F-4 Phantom. Noisy but deadly, that was one heck of a plane.

What is Kill Switch? It is an old name for a new jet. If you ever run across an article or YouTube on this jet, give it a read or a view. To say it is impressive would be an understatement.     

You do you; I will do me

"For my liberal friends who are pro-choice, here is another pro-choice option. You do you; and I will do me. Choices. What a fine word to use in every context except abortion. How am I going to do me? Support Donald Trump and all his forward thinking."

Interesting story about the federal tax on Social Security (SS). As most of us know, Donald Trump thinks a huge boost he could give to our seniors on fixed income is not taxing SS. Instead of just pennies on the dollar yearly increase with a SS COLA adjustment, taking the tax off of SS would do wonders for many. The other day, I posted that only an idiot who receives SS would not be excited about this needed change. And I got some responses on that.

One or two of my more liberal friends thought that was a terrible idea. Why? It was Trump's idea. The reasoning of the liberals was that most seniors could afford paying this needless tax. Why pay it? To keep the largess of government just that - largess. It is not just they would volunteer to keep paying this tax for themselves - like true progressives, they want ALL of us to keep paying this tax. To this idea I respond with a modern day cliche' - "You do you; and I will do me". In other words, if you want to keep paying this tax - go for it. As for my wife and I, we CAN'T WAIT until this tax goes away.

Most liberals bristle at two of Trump's ideas which have great merit to the patriots and citizens. First, like just stated, no federal tax on Social Security. The second, is the "DOGE Dividend". That one really causes Democrats hackles to stand at attention. But then yesterday, an idea was floated by the administration which would eclipse the other two. This one will really drive the loony left bat poop crazy. No tax on any family making under $150k/year. That would cover just about every senior family I know. A game changer? HECK YA!

Here is something for those who think that Donald Trump is taking us over a financial cliff. He is not. His only problem is he is a very high valued thinker who comes up with great ideas long before the rest of us do. And the bed wetter's who watch the stock market hour by hour, should do themselves a favor - start looking at the long game. The market is doing just fine. Cutting the size of government, normalizing tariffs to be fairer, bringing more industry on shore, and changing our source of national income from internal to external, are MASSIVE changes to our norms. But they are necessary changes to our norms. Having a national debt of almost $40T is NOT a norm we should accept! Expensive and bloody endless wars are NOT norms we should accept! Once again, Trump is right, and the statists are wrong.

For my liberal friends who are pro-choice, here is another pro-choice option. You do you; and I will do me. Choices. What a fine word to use in every context except abortion. How am I going to do me? Support Donald Trump and all his forward thinking. Hero of the middle class. Hero of the working man. Hero of America.   

Largess - that needle in the arm thing...

"Meanwhile, the mega growth in government continues in Social Secuity, Medicare and Medicaid. How are we going to stunt the growth in these big three and growing items? No clue. But something does need to be done."     

For many years of my upbringing, I would often hear about the dangers of Big Government. Not knowing much about politics back then, I didn't give that much thought. However, as my life progressed, I started to see how the tentacles of Big Government got into our everyday life. How Independence Day started to be "Dependence Day" instead. The federal government, which was first created to be the protector of the states, slowly became the "Nanny State". That was all cool until we found out it take over $37T in debt to own it. And that is a country killer.

The saying I keep hearing recently is "when you cut the fat, the pigs squeal." Ronald Reagan wanted to get rid of much of our largess in government back in the 1980's. He did okay, but the "swamp" had already grown to Herculean proportions. Today however, it is much worse. Enter Donald Trump term one. Trump also decided it was time to drain the swamp. Again, the swamp fought back. The swamp went after Trump. Impeached him twice. Rigged the next election. Then we had Joe Biden who did nothing but pour gas on the fire. Now things were really a mess.

Here we sit, with the proverbial needle stuck in our arms. Suprise! Donald Trump got elected once again. This time he brought Elon Musk with him to help drain the swamp. Get rid of government largess. Easy job? Absolutely not! For those who are addicted to the "needle of government", getting the needle out of the arm is not going to be easy. "Leave it alone!", the clamoring masses would shout. "You are killing our kids, throwing grandma off the cliff, and making our water and skies dirty." All that sophism without one grain of truth. But who cares about the truth? This is the new narrative of the loony left. Leave our government alone!

Been people try to "get clean" after years of drug addiction, it is seldom easy. In fact, it is damn hard. But when drugs are ruining your life, taking the cure becomes very important. Usually a matter of life and death. So, it is with shaving down the size and largess of government. The size of government is not the enemy to many who are addicted. The enemy are those in the DOGE group. What once was sacrosanct, are now cuttings, laying on the floor.

Currently, the Department of Education is being whittled down. Eventually to be totally eliminated. Why? Waste of space. Waste of money. Who then, will educate our kiddos? Not the feds - they suck at it. It will be done by the states. In an ideal world, it would be done by the individual school districts. That is called decentralization. It has been proved to work much better than largess. Why? Puts the power closer to the people.

This fight to "right size" our government will take years. Trump wants the DOGE group to be done by our 250th anniversary as a country. I have doubts that will happen. This fight will go on ad nauseum. Meanwhile, the mega growth in government continues in Social Secuity, Medicare and Medicaid. How are we going to stunt the growth in these big three and growing items? Maybe first, getting rid of people who are over 150 years old. Other than that - no clue. But something does need to be done.     

As the axe man comes for the Department of Education

"It took a guy like Trump to stand up to the largess of the swamp and find driftwood for the axe man to take care off. Reagan tried getting rid of the Department of Education, and as good as he was, he did not get far. But Trump will finish the job. Make America Smart Again. That is part of MAGA - right?" 

Wait - what if Trump can't close the Department of Education without some Congressional approval? What is Trump does not get that approval? Starting last night, Trump is doing the next best thing. He has notified people who work at this waste of space, that about 50% of them will be defined as "excess" and will be laid off. That is a lot of people, and that is the first step. The layoffs started last night and will continue on through the week. This might be the playbook for other areas that Trump wants to cut, when the courts are making it difficult to do so. In reality, all Trump wants to do is return the control of education to the states.

Every time somebody in the press questions why it is important to get rid of this "most cherished" federal institution, all Trump does is quote statistics. Number 40 out or 40 in developed nations, number 1 out of 40 developed nations in money spent per pupil. Plus, every year we graduate young folks who don't know a Dit from a DUH! Many kids drop out, many are habitual truants, and many just don't care. As we go into a time where knowledge is king, the way we educate kids will allow them only to become serfs. It is disgusting and without merit.

Besides the largess of the Department of Education, who else is to blame for the flame out of our once revered education prowess? Teacher Unions. In this state, Education Minnesota. Many who work for teacher unions are loads at best. At worst, they are enemies of the state. They do NOTHING to help teach kids. They are only interested in lining their own pockets. The sooner they go away, the better off our kids will be.

I read an article this morning telling how nervous each and every person who works at the soon to be extinct Department of Education is right now. Good - they should be. This gravy train is about over. Working for the federal government, once thought to be the best "forever job" in America, is soon to be thought of otherwise. Once the axe man is done with the Department of Education, the only thing remaining will be bad memories and trillions of dollars squandered.

It took a guy like Trump to stand up to the largess of the swamp and find driftwood for the axe man to take care off. Reagan tried getting rid of the Department of Education, and as good as he was, he did not get far. But Trump will finish the job. Make America Smart Again. That is part of MAGA - right? 

 

Market built on globalism; main street built on MAGA

"In any event, whether goods are made by man or machine, it will be better to have them made on shore. But to get them back over here, might be like "pulling the needle out of the arm" for some industries. Trump knows that. That is why he is incentivizing companies by offering them zero tariffs to make stuff here."

Donald Trump's ship of state is starting to make its big turn. And it will be painful for some. Why? Our stock market is built on two things - instant gratification and globalism. Why is that? That is just the way we are. Trump has told us the Chinese are in for the long haul, and they have a long view on many things. We don't. A friend of mine, every time there is a market correction or significant downturn, will say things like, "Trump cost me a fortune the other day." Not he didn't. It did not cost you a penny, unless you sold.

An instructor I had in business school would always say this about the market - "It is like a roller coaster. Sometimes up, sometimes down. The only people who get hurt on a roller coaster are those who jump off while it is down." In other words, hold tight and don't get your undies in a wad. For reasons of national security and in order to have many more domestic jobs, it is good to onshore what has been offshore. BTW - we are getting socked with tariffs and other taxes (like VAT) when we buy or manufacture overseas. And if China and India ever stop producing many of our meds, we would be screwed, blued and tattooed (as we said in the Navy).

How long will it take to switch our economy to almost 100% onshore manufacturing? Long after Trump's term is done. But much can be done while he is still president. Will the stock market come back? Even to where it is over-valued. Maybe. However, if this correction means that the ERS will help offset the IRS, we will all develop more wealth by keeping more of what we earn. All of a sudden, we are talking about help for main street and not as much for wall street.

There is however, one fly in the ointment with manufacturing here or abroad. AI and robotics. Jobs that were to go to the American worker, might go to an American bot instead. A technologist I follow (Julia McCoy), often talks and writes about the coming work revolution. How many of our jobs in the next five years will NOT be done by humans. Millions of jobs, performed flawlessly by this army of bots, which will be made before 2030. Elon Musk alone wants to make millions of Optimus bots. Some to run his factories, others to sell to the public.

In any event, whether goods are made by man or machine, it will be better to have them made on shore. But to get them back over here, might be like "pulling the needle out of the arm" for some industries. Trump knows that. That is why he is incentivizing companies by offering them zero tariffs to make stuff here.

When will the market get better? Are we all going to be poorer? My advice - start looking at the calendar and not the clock. As was said in the TV show Kung Fu, "Patience grasshopper". Plus, as our president would say, "Things will be fine. We have the cards." And we do.