It seems that the truck convoy made it to Ottawa today, and the area around the Parliament is gridlocked.
But, PM Trudeau is not in town. He has fled to an undisclosed location.
And, reports have come in that Trudeau, despite being fully vaxxed, has tested positive for Covid.
Oh, Canada. I wish you luck.
I'm no strategist. My military career was spent at battalion level troop leading, but I've beentot he schools, and I've been thinking about Ukraine. Terrain is terrain, and we battalion-level officers tend to think of terrain as a guiding force in the deployment of military power. Terrain dictates tactics, and whatever else you might say about the art of war, terrain has always been known to hold advantages or challenges to an invader or defender.
War is politics by the use of force, and whatever else we may think about Vladimir Putin, he is a political animal. He looks at risk and reward through a political lens. As much as he might like to assert influence over the Ukraine, there are political considerations that might conspire against him in the coming month.
The Beijing Olympics starts next week, and as much as Putin might like to move soon, he doesn't want to move until the end of the Olympics. The political cost would be too great.
Spring is coming in the Ukraine, but it won't come until at least mid-March, when the ground thaws. Armored forces don't farewell in mud, and if he's going to move, he needs to move while the ground is frozen. Russian military formations are no stranger to winter and do very well in it. If Putin waits till after the spring thaw, he will probably have to wait until summer, when the ground dries enough to support heavy mechanized forces. He doesn't want to get bogged down in the mud, or limit his forces to paved roads.
If he's going to invade, the time to do it would be after the Olympics, and before the spring thaw.
I'm just spit-balling here, and there is a good analysis at the Center for Strategic Studies. Go read it, if you are interested.
We took him to the vet's on Friday. Routine puppy meds, etc. He has doubled in weight in the past three weeks, from nearly four to nearly eight pounds.
According to out local TV station, our local Army post, Fort Polk is on standby for the Ukraine.
Ain't much at Fort Polk, unlike during the Cold War when it was a divisional post. Nowadays it hosts the Joint Readiness Training Center and has several resident units, three infantry battalions, one Field Artillery battalion, and one squadron of Cavalry. Oh, and an Engineer battalion.
It's mainly a training post, and I don't know which units have gotten the warning order.
No one called to ask me what I thought about this Ukraine foolishness. It seems that Biden wants to distract us fro the problems we face here at hoe, and I can only pray that a Ukraine adventure doesn't end like his Afghan withdrawal.
It sees that public confidence in the CDC and in Dr. Mengele Fauci has dropped significantly.
Well, yeah, they will both lie to us. They have been caught in lies, distortions and errors, all while dragging the goal-posts up and down the field. From he first denials on the source of the Wu Flu, to the cover-up abut gain-of-function, to the wreckage of the economy,and the silencing of critics, Mengele Fauci and the CDC have been waist-deep in it.
The biggest take-away fro the article is not so much that confidence has plummeted, but that anyone at all listens to them.
Ferriday, LA is a small town in east-central Louisiana, and is evidently going through some budget disruptions. The police department has been locked by order o the State Auditor.
According to Ferriday police, they had “just received orders per the State auditors that until a budget is adopted by the Town that all town functions including Ferriday Police Department must lock it’s doors and discontinue all service calls
It sounds like all the services in Ferriday are disrupted. Louisiana law requires that all political subdivisions have a budget and live within it. This sounds like not so much a case of Defund The Police as a case of Defund The Whole Town.
The mayor and town council need to get busy and adopt a budget. Or not. Whatever.
Only in Louisiana.
I don't think he wrote the tweet, but whomever is writing in his name made some weird choice of pronoun
Is he planning to nominate a group? At this point, he only gets one pick. Odd choice of pronoun.
As it stand, she will be the first affirmative-action nomination. When you boil it down to race and gender, it is not abut qualifications, it's about race and gender. That is inescapable.
That she will be a liberal is also inescapable. I'm sure Joe could find a qualified conservative to nominate, but his base would go insane. Presidents should be very careful in vetting their nominees. GWB thought John Robers would serve as a conservative, but his record is more of simply being a political squish. I deplore the man. And, from what I've seen of Kvanaugh, he ain't much better.
My pick for SCOTUS is a textualist. One who reads the text of the Constitution and rules on the basic meaning of the document.
It seems that Associate Justice Stephen Breyer has announced that he will soon retire, meaning that Crazy Joe will get to appoint a replacement. I can't wait to see how this turns out. I'm sure it's going to be a shit-show, and some people are even bandying Kamala's name as a possible candidate.
A bunch of lab monkeys were involved in an accident in PA. It seems that some of them got loose after the crash, but have now been accounted for. By "accounted for", I understand that the Pennsylvania State Police shot them. Evidently, these monkeys were slated for lab research, and somehow, the CDC was involved.
It's a weird story.
In the coming days, I'll have to be cutting steel tubing into lengths for a project, and a chop saw is the only way to go with a project like this, so I went to Harbor Freight to see what was available.
Harbor Freight was out of chop saws. Evidently, the boat from China hasn't been unloaded yet.
I had some other errands to run, and they took me close to a Lowe's box store, so I stopped there. They had exactly one chop saw in stock, and while the price was a little higher than the Harbor Freight Chink special, the price wasn't totally out of line.
Then I thought about my veteran's discount that Lowe's offers to those who have honorably served, and loaded that chop saw in my buggy.
With an extra blade, I got out of Lowe's for just about the same money I would have paid at Harbor Freight. And, I think I got a better machine. While it's true that DeWalt is made in Mexico, that's better than buying Chinese.
If you are a veteran, take a copy of your DD214 to the service desk at Lowe's and get set up for your discount. It's worth the few minutes it takes and for big-ticket items, it's really handy.
I was about worthless today. Of course, being fully retired gives me that option. The only things I did today was turn on the lights and heat in the shop, and fire up the stove. It has been a cold, rainy, drizzly Tuesday and we decided that it was time or a pot of chili.
Of course, the dawg was out there with e, and he decided that he needed his ration of scratching.
Evidently, President Joe called a Fox News reporter a "stupid son of a b*tch.".
The old man is getting testy.
I was at the grocer's today and was struck by the number of empty spaces o the shelves. I bought the last can of red beans at that particular store. There were plenty of dried beans, but no canned red kidney beans.
Things like baby formula are in sort supply.
I ordered some steel tubing this ring. Prices are high, and I couldn't get just exactly what I want, but what I ordered should work fine. Prices are higher, on everything fro square tubing to canned beans.
During the last year's attempts to defund the police and reduce the number of violent encounters on the street, Baltimore kicked off what they call the Safe Streets Project.
The city’s Safe Streets program aims to reduce gun violence and homicides using “violence interrupters.” Members are trained in conflict mediation, counseling and mentorship.
Sounds like a great idea, but these folks go out unarmed, and for at least one of these fine people, it didn't work out as planned.
“Baltimore, enough is enough. What happened tonight was a horrific tragedy. We cannot and will not allow violence to continue to plague our city,” Scott said. “Our Safe Streets workers put their lives on the line day in and day out because they believe in a better future for our city – a future we all should believe in. I ask that we keep the loved ones of those we lost tonight in our thoughts and pray that the person in critical condition pulls through. If you know anything that may help us make an arrest in this case, say something.”
This whole scenario is a damned shame.
I see that Meat Loaf passed away yesterday.
Today, they're reporting that comedian Louis Anderson is dead at age 68.
I'm still kicking. I spent a great part of the day making reservations for Cowboy Fast Draw and doing other coordination for our state shoot in July.
I'll say a prayer for both those folks, and their families. No cause of death for Meat Loaf, and and I understand that Anderson died fro complications fro cancer.
I have an old Ford F150. It's not my daily driver. I use it as a utility vehicle, when I need a truck. It moves quite a bit during the warm months, but not so much during the cold months, and today I realized that I haven't moved it in several months.
Of course, the battery was dead as a hammer, but that battery is not yet one year old, so I hooked up the charger while I checked all the fluid levels.
It fired right up, which is what a truck is supposed to do. People ask me why I keep it. And, the truth is I need a truck sometimes, but I don't need a truck every day. I do need to remind myself to give it a little loving once in a while, to keep the battery charged and the seals lubricated.
It's served me well for nearly a quarter-million miles, and I don't see any reason to sell it.
The weather weenies tell us that there is a winter str coming to the bayou country. Coing through tonight, about midnight.
This just might get interesting.
It seems that there is a brouhaha building between the cell phone industry and the commercial flight industry. Evidently, the roll-out of 5G technology might affect flight-safety technology.
(AP) - AT&T will postpone new wireless service near some airports planned for this week after the nation’s largest airlines said the service would interfere with aircraft technology and cause massive flight disruptions.
From what I understand, the 5G towers use a frequency band that is close to the band used by radar altimeters. The airlines are worried that spurious signals from the 5G towers could play havoc with their altimeters, which are used for landing and terrain avoidance.
Slamming a plane into the ground is a major flight disruption, no doubt about it.
I'm no aviator, but seems like it might be a problem.
UPDATE** Blancolario explains the issues.
Not much going on today, running errands. The cleaners, the grocers, and home to throw together a pot of spaghetti and meat balls. I suspected that the dawg might like meat balls, so I offered him a sample. I was right. I got a tail-wag vote of approval.
Tomorrow, Belle has an old friend coming into town, and Belle is making chicken and dumplings for lunch. I'm sure that the dawg will get involved in that operation too, especially when we're cutting up the chicken.
Either the FBI or the AP believes that we are idiots. Probably both.
I wonder what that Paki-Brit-Muslim dude thought he was going to find when he entered a synagog during worship services? A bunch of Pentecostals? Or Latter-Day Saints? Let's think for a inute? Who normally goes into a synagogue during Shabbat?
Both the AP and the FBI have become laughable.
As it turns out, there are a bunch of Nazis in the Deocratic party. According to a recent Rasmussen poll.
– Forty-five percent (45%) of Democrats would favor governments requiring citizens to temporarily live in designated facilities or locations if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Really? Nearly half of Democrats are okay with locking people up over a medical decision? That's kind o harsh.
- 47% of Democrats favor a government tracking program for those who won’t get the COVID-19 vaccine.
It looks like nearly half of Democrats favor a system of gulags, or concentration camps, along with government surveillance.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some firearms maintenance on my schedule.
Reading Instapundit this morning, we come to this bit of lefty lunacy regarding this weekend's Congregation Beth Israel incident.
First of all, Kyle turned himself in to the police. He literally walked into a police station and surrendered to the desk sergeant. Second, murder is a legal term. A jury f 12 says that Kyle murdered no one.
Turning to the Paki-Muslin guy, if he had followed Kyle's example and turned himself in, he'd be getting breakfast and mental-health treatment. He decided on a less productive course of action.
As Belle says, "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."
Belle and I were honored to be invited to a Mardi Gras Ball last night, with the Krewe of Mystique. So, I broke our my tux and shined my shoes. Mardi Gras balls are formal events, with formal attire. Lots of revelry, music and dancing.
One mystical creature, the Rou-ga-rou made an appearance at the ball last night. The Rou-ga-rou is the bogey-man of the swamp culture. Belle managed to hold him long enough for me to get a photo.
Benji has been with us for three weeks and the little fur-ball is settling in. We know that he still has a lot f "puppy" to work through and that will pass with time, but 'm convinced that Belle's slippers won't survive the puppy stage. Belle has these fuzzy, pink slippers and the dog will steal them right off her feet. Between steps. It's really quite amusing.
The US Supreme Court issued two per curia rulings yesterday. Basically, the same set of facts, yet two entirely differing conclusions. According to Victoria Taft:
Here’s the quick and dirty take of the U.S. Supreme Court’s two COVID-shot mandate decisions on Thursday: If one works for a private company with more than 100 employees, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) may not order them to get jabbed with a COVID shot, but if you’re a health care worker at a health facility that receives Medicare and Medicaid funding, you can. Apparently, Americans cease to have bodily integrity and religious rights if they work at hospitals that serve Medicare and Medicaid patients, but not if they work for private companies. There’s a word for that: incoherent.
It is easy to understand when you realize that Chief Justice John Roberts was in the majority on both rulings. He and his sycophant Kavanaugh (who has never, evidently, had an original thought) flipped from the first to the second, even though the facts are remarkably similar.
We truly don't know if this was a win, or a a loss, because both cases were sent back tot he lower courts for a full hearing.
The Roberts court is incoherent because Roberts is incoherent. If I ever have the opportunity, I will spit on the man's shoes.
It seems that Senator Kyrsten Simema is letting folks know that she will not vote to end the filibuster. That is good news, but we have to always guard against mob rule.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said Thursday that she will not vote to weaken the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold, bucking her party leaders yet again and dealing a major blow to Democrats' election reform effort.
That is good news, but the Dems should be very careful about changing the rules of the game. At some point, the Dems will be out of power, and if the GOP maintains those same rules, the Republicans will be able to do whatever they want to do.
Be very careful with mob rule. Eventually, the power shifts, and anything that one mob does can be undone by the next mob.
I've seen this before, generally before a hurricane. People stock up.
I've never seen it during normal weather. This is an indication of a severe supply crisis. I blame our president, and I blame the electorate who foisted this idiot on us.
I don't see any mean tweets on those shelves. This is the end result of your Democratic overlords and their petty policy decisions.
I need some 3/4" square tubing to build a range for CFDA. I got my material list together today and called my go-to metal supplier. They ain't got none, and don't know when they'll get some. Well, hell.
I'll find some, there is more than one supplier in town. I still have six months before that range needs to stand up, but I didn't want to wait until the last minute. I have some cutting, welding, and fabrication to do.
This supply-chain crap is aggravating. Biden really needs to get his head out of his ass.
Sonia Sotomayor, an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, evidently has a problem wit basic reading comprehension and constitutional theory. She said recently that:
"If it's within the police power to protect the health and welfare of workers," she said, "you seem to be saying the states can do it, but you're saying the federal government can't, even though it's facing the same crisis in interstate commerce that states are facing within their own borders. I'm not sure I understand the distinction—why the states would have the power but the federal government wouldn't."
It's right there in the document, Sonia. You know, the one that you are sworn to uphold.? The one under glass at the National Archives? The Constitution?
It is laughable that Sonia doesn't understand the limits placed on the federal government by the Constitution. But, that's what we are faced with. I won't call her evil, because one should not ascribe to evil that which can be explained by simple stupidity, but we're faced with one or the other.
It's about tie to get ff the Covid shaming bandwagon. It seems that Representative Alexandria Ocasion-Cortez has tested positive, and the news is blowing up. Who cares, really?
Days after being photographed maskless in Florida, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has tested positive for COVID.
This chick is a laugh-a-thon in most circumstances. Unbelievably banal, she is a left-wing lunatic, better suited by tending bar than she is as a US Congress-critter. She really is a joke who gets way more media than she deserves. But, she got Covid. So what. She and a couple of hundred thousand other people. That's not news-worthy.
If she had tested positive for the clap, that would be news. But Covid? Gimme a break.
Many of my readers may recall that we flew to Reno in late September to attend the World Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw. I had to break the code on airline travel with firearms, and it wasn't as bad as I anticipated.
We used an Apache hard case from Harbor Freight, and the pick-apart foam liner did not perform very well. It was flimsy, and while it made the trip, it soon also made the trash can. However, a buddy of mine makes work aids for helicopter mechanics, and he makes quite a few hard cases to ship high-dollar product in. His CNC table is set up to cut high-density foam for shipping boxes, and he saw an opportunity, so he took my case and guns for a little design work.
The case is an Apache (Harbor Freight) and the insert is high-density foam from Helicopter Work Aids.
It's fine work, cut on CNC machines. I'm pleased. They are branching out into other patterns of firearms. They will soon be able to cut Glock, 1911 and other patterns. For more information, call Alan, at 318-308-0643.
We took the critters to the vet's office this morning, for routine stuff. Not to worry, everyone is fine.
Te cat, Tiger, a gray Tom, is an asshole cat. He's okay, generally, as long as you leave hi alone, and he likes his scratching and cuddling on his terms, but as soon as you grab him to stuff hi int a pet carrier, he howls piteously until he is released. A constant meow that grates on the nerves. He also doesn't appreciate acceleration, so when the car moves, he increases the tempo of the mewling. It's quite disconcerting.
The dawg and the cat normally get along fine, but I think that the dawg was a bit embarrassed for the cat this miring. It was a disgraceful performance.
Our vet, Dr. Ashley, is a young woman who went to high school when I was a Resource Officer. She remembered me, but it took e a few minutes. I haven't seen her for 10 years and she has changed fro a young adolescent to a poised professional. It's good to know that at least one of y students has done something productive.
We paid the toll, loaded the critters and came home. I thought that when we got home, I'd open the pet carrier and the cat would un-ass on his own, but that was not to be. I had to reach in, grab him by the scruff of his neck and drag him out of the pet carrier. At this point, he pride has been wounded considerably. He will get over it.
One year ago, today, a Capitol tour group went strangely awry. The tour group got a bit boisterous.
You wouldn't know that fro listening to the news today. You would thin that there was some nefarious coup attempt. An insurrection, as it were. You would be wrong. I note for the record that as of this date, no one has been charged with treason, sedition, or any other such charge. The only person killed during this event was a veteran, Ashley Babbit, who was murdered by a Capitol Police officer.
Today, the Democrats and select Republicans are participating in political theater.
Not much going on today.
The Democrats are crazy, Omicron is surging, and Joe Biden is inept. In short, nothing new.
There is some drama going on at the church, and I don't do drama. I haven't done drama for years. It's not worth the time.
My big mission today is to use up some hamburger meat that I thawed earlier this week. Belle has asked me to do a stroganof, and I'll get cranking on that in an hour of so.
It looks like it's going to be Wednesday all day long.
It seems that there are some footprints in the rock of an Italian volcano hat have people wondering.
According to legend, the devil once took a walk down the side of a volcano in southern Italy, each step preserved forever in solid rock.
Like I said earlier, folks are wondering.
Since 2001, researchers have sought to explain the dozens of impressions left by a small group of human ancestors and even a few animals snaking their way down the mountainside.
Humans have always been curious, and sometimes fail to exercise good judgement. If he walked across lava that was soft enough to leave a footprint, I bet he danced the last couple of steps.
It seems that Louisiana is the eight highest state for people un-assinng and going elsewhere.
Louisiana had the eighth-highest percentage of people moving out, according to a report released today by United Van Lines. Just over 53% of moves were households leaving Louisiana, with more than 50% of people leaving saying it was for a new job.
That is a testament to our governor, John Bel Edwards, who is only interested in federal money. Not the business climate, not the tax structure, not anything that has to do with jobs or prosperity. If you want good jobs in a state, you have to make it attractive to good business. You need good roads and other infrastructure, and Louisiana is known nation wide for poor roads and overly complicated taxation.
I love this state, I really do, but being last in education, last in jobs, and eighth in out-migration says a lot about our Governor. It's not the barely literate poor folks who are leaving, it's folks with skills and education. They are going to Texas, or the Carolinas, or Tennessee.
Shame on ur Governor, and the RINS who let him get away with it.
This country was discovered by explorers, settled by pioneers, and founded by revolutionaries. None of those people were content to play by the rules. Or pay attention to the rules set by tyrants.
Nowadays we are told, "It's for your own health", or "."If you comply, it's only fr a little while." or "This isn't political, it is abut public health". If you believe any of that, you are one of the useful idiots they are counting on in their quest to extend their power.
Last week, a dear friend packed a U-Haul trailer and moved to Texas, the latest in a long line of people I know who have left Louisiana seeking opportunity. It's a damn shame because Louisiana has a lot of potential. But, the best and brightest are leaving because the business climate, tax regime, and government bureaucracy conspire against innovation and prosperity.
I have a son who is out of state, and was talking about returning to Louisiana. I advised against it. Whatever else may be true, he's better off where he is. He has a good job and a nice home in a state that, while not perfect, is certainly better than Louisiana at the current time.
Our governor is currently a Democrat whose only interest is in federal money and disaster declarations. He has done nothing to address the business climate, to reduce taxes, or shrink government. His only interest is that population who is on the public dole. Our legislature is awash in RINOs who let him do whatever he wants.
I do have faith that we can turn it around, and I work with the opposition to do just that. But, in the meantime, we're fighting the good fight. I believe that at some point in the future, we'll see the dividends of the work we're doing today, but right now it's hard to know when we'll turn it around.
The pup is settling in, and we're training him to mind his manners.
We have learned that he is not afraid of fireworks. This neighborhood lights up on holidays and th past two days were quite busy with celebratory artillery. He also doesn't seem to be afraid of gunfire. We did some shooting in the shop and he didn't seem to be bothered one bit. That is good news.
He does seem to be afraid of a flushing toilet. If he is in the room when we flush a toilet, he un-asses the room quickly.
The weather is changing outside. When I came in last night, it was 80F and I was wearing a simple tee-shirt. Today is going to be all about flannel. The temps have already dopped 40F since sundown and are continuing to drop. It will be a great day for a pot of chili, and I just happen to have a coupe of pounds of ground venison in the fridge.
It's New Year's Day, and while I don't make resolutions any more, it may be time to set a few ground rules.
Years ago, when I was writing for various publications, I learned that I cannot ethically defend a piece of written work once it is committed to the publisher. It must stand on it's own. I would run my work through a trusted group of editors, who would critique it and make recommendations. I would take those recommendations and make the appropriate changes.
Blogging is different, as is all publishing these days. I still trust commenters to make reasoned, critical arguments. I realize that I don't have a monopoly on rational arguments, and I read all my comments as I find them.
Here on the intertubes, we have commenters we call "trolls". And, like most bloggers, I have mine. These are sometimes people who make calculated, reasoned arguments that enhance the conversation. Other trolls are simply stirring up crap, with ad-hominem attacks and name-calling.
I don't intend to moderate comments, as I do this at my pleasure, and can't be tied to a keyboard. This is a hobby, not a career. This blog covers a range of subject, from the ridiculous to the sublime. But, I expect my commenters to be gentlemen, not jackasses.
So, henceforth, any comment that I don't like, for reasons that are solely my own, will be summarily deleted. With neither appeal or recourse. I enjoy differing views, I revel in spirited discourse. I will not tolerate rudeness. Whatever else might be said, I will assume that no rudeness is accidental.
Y'all have a happy and prosperous New Year.
