January 15, 2024

US interdiction activity in the Gulf of Aden leads to missing NAVY SEALs... probably dead.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ships-aircraft-search-2-navy-seals-missing-after-106386023

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Navy ships and aircraft combed areas of the Gulf of Aden for two missing U.S. Navy SEALs on Monday as details emerged about their mission to board and take over a vessel carrying components for medium-range Iranian ballistic missiles headed for Somalia, a U.S. defense official said Monday.

The official said crew on the dhow, which did not have a country flag, were planning to transfer the missile parts, including warheads and engines, to another boat off the coast of Somalia. The Navy recognized the boat as one with a history of transporting illegal weapons from Iran to Somalia, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not made public.

The SEALs were on the USS Lewis B. Puller, a Navy expeditionary sea base vessel, and traveled in small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare crew to get to the boat. As they were boarding it in rough seas, around 8 p.m. local time, one SEAL got knocked off by high waves and a teammate went in after him. Both are missing.

January 12, 2024

Inflation jumped in December, complicating Fed aim of interest rate cuts.

Biden really needs the Fed to cut rates once or twice before the election...

Right now the smooth landing is not assured.

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/inflation-expected-risen-slightly-december/story?id=106222654

Consumer prices rose 3.4% in December compared to a year ago, accelerating markedly from the previous month and defying a smooth path down to normal levels, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Thursday showed.

The Federal Reserve stands poised to dial back its inflation fight by cutting interest rates this year, but the latest inflation data could complicate those plans.

Interest rate cuts would ease borrowing payments for everything from credit cards to mortgages, but they risk stoking consumer demand and driving up inflation.

January 6, 2024

I don't think Democracy and Insurrection should be major campaign fodder in 24.

Yes I know today is an anniversary and it's going to be on everyones mind...

But sometimes it seems like politicos think these concepts motivate the average voter.

IMHO... they don't.

Why doesn't Biden go after a solid chunk of the Trump base, seniors?

Start talking about raising SS benefits and I don't mean COLA. In 2020, Biden talked about it...

How about the cap?

Seniors have taken the brunt of the inflation monster.

Kitchen table, kitchen table. maybe propose increased EITC for parents?

Maybe make EV credits easier and not harder to get?

USED EV's?

First time home buyer FED programs at sub 4% interest rates?

January 6, 2024

If it ain't Boeing... am i going?

In the 90's and 00's when I was traveling a LOT...

I always went out of my way to pick Boeing aircraft when possible.

Sometimes I didn't have a choice, I've flown on Tupolev and Ilyushin aircraft...

Nowadays... I'll lean to the Airbus NEO craft for short to mid haul and look for A350-900 for long haul.

I don't know what's going on with BA... a plane that can't fly without a software patch counteracting the "non airworthiness"???

Window/Doors flying off...

Maybe obsession on profits?

January 4, 2024

Clark County NV Judge viciously attacked in Court (warning graphic)

Don't see that every day...

https://twitter.com/DigAdvice/status/1742683857902842127?s=20

December 29, 2023

Biden comes through again... deadline to consolidate Student Loans for forgiveness extended 120 days.

In January of 2021 I said all Biden has to do is...

Good Governance. Everything else will fall in place. I won't go over the edge like some of my brethren and call him the best POTUS of my lifetime, Id rank Obama and Clinton higher...

But this guy GETS THE JOB DONE.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamminsky/2023/12/19/education-department-unveils-big-updates-for-student-loan-forgiveness-adjustment/?sh=32b0a5ef3c2d

The deadline to apply for a Direct consolidation loan to benefit from the account adjustment had been December 31. However, the department has now extended the deadline to April 30, 2024, giving borrowers an additional four months.

December 29, 2023

Random musings about the origins of the US Civil War...

Ask me "What was the cause of the US Civil War?"

And my answer is, a group of Southern States "illegally seceded" and proceeded to militarily attack "Union" military property.

Lincoln called up volunteers to put down a rebellion.

The "secession" was motivated by a number of factors, mostly slavery and the social and economic apparatus tied in with it.

In 1862, Lincoln clearly said:

As to the policy I “seem to be pursuing” as you say, I have not meant to leave any one in doubt. I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be “the Union as it was.” If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.

The whole "Civil War was fought over slavery" is a 7th Grade classroom version of history and there is a LOT more to understand.

Having said that... Nikki Haley or anyone else, when asked her question must ALWAYS include slavery as a primary cause of the rebellion, the attempted secession.

December 27, 2023

Russia's electronic warfare tactics are helping it turn the tide against Ukraine

Sorry for the "non-happy news story"... but it's reality.

Those of us who watch closely... Russia has been extensively using EW tools on the battlefield the last couple months.

https://news.yahoo.com/russia-electronic-warfare-tactics-helping-200000085.html

At first, Ukraine noticed its GPS-guided 155mm Excalibur artillery shells suddenly started veering off target. Then rockets fired with Himars, which Kyiv once boasted had “scalpel-like” accuracy, began missing their targets. In some areas, they almost always missed.
The same happened to JDAM guided bombs supplied to Ukraine’s air force by the United States.

Frantic investigation eventually discovered they had all fallen victim to a new threat – Russian jamming. Moscow has quietly developed a knack for taking out some of Ukraine’s most prized missiles and rockets.

It is a rare but crucial example of Russian technological advantage in a war that has been slowly tipping in Moscow’s favour.

December 23, 2023

Russia's economy is going strong despite sanctions from the U.S. and its allies.

This, in part explains why Russia has been surging in Ukraine... with even AFU sources now saying they have wide advantage in drones, ammo and troop numbers.

https://www.npr.org/2023/12/17/1219882734/russias-economy-is-going-strong-despite-sanctions-from-the-u-s-and-its-allies

Russia has been hit with huge economic sanctions since it invaded Ukraine nearly two years ago. But the Russian economy has remained strong, defying many economists' expectations. We wanted to understand why that's happened, so we called Alexandra Prokopenko, a fellow at Carnegie Eurasia Center. She used to live in Moscow and advised the Russian central bank, but left the country after the invasion because of moral objections to the war. We started by asking her what she was hearing from friends and family back home about how life has changed.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/russias-q3-gdp-growth-confirmed-55-rosstat-2023-12-13/#:~:text=Russia's%20economy%20is%20on%20course,grew%204.9%25%20in%20the%20second.

Russia's Q3 GDP growth confirmed at 5.5% - Rosstat

MOSCOW, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter was confirmed on Wednesday at 5.5% compared with the same period last year, when it shrunk 3.5%, the state statistics service Rosstat said.

Russia's economy is on course to recover this year from a 2.1% drop in GDP in 2022, as the West imposed sweeping sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

In January-September, GDP grew 3% Rosstat said. In the first quarter of this year, GDP decreased 1.8% and grew 4.9% in the second.

December 21, 2023

IMHO... and I'm not a lawyer and didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn last night... the Colorado thing

Wouldn't this open the door for ANY State to exclude ANYONE from a ballot just by getting a State Court to agree with it?



Tan suit? That's insurrection.

Open borders, aiding with the enemy.

People frequently forget that doors swing both ways.

For this reason... and the future chaos that would come... I think SCOTUS kills it.

And I think 9-0

I could be wrong, just my opinion.