Making a wrong turn.

Posted on by

Trump, to borrow a phrase (cannot recall where I might have heard it), must be tired of all the winning he has been doing.  It is the only explanation I can think of for the decision he and his handlers have made to double down in Afghanistan.  Well, now he will get a great big lose-burger to eat.  Sadly, it will be costly for all of us.

History is ready to teach us if we are ready to learn.

The relevant lesson to learn is that outsiders never win in Afghanistan.  You can pour in all the national blood and treasure that you want, in the end you leave with nothing.  Whether or not you are attempting nation building has nothing to do with it.  The nature of the place itself, and that of its people, dictate that outsiders lose.  Poppy crops and civil wars can come and go, but the heart of the country never changes and cannot be defeated by anyone foolish enough to wander in there with conquest on their mind.

So now the US is going to waste more money and destroy more lives by perpetuating the longest war we’ve ever prosecuted. Sad!

Apalling performance at sea.

Posted on by

Let me start off by saying that I’ve never served in any branch of the military and the most I have been out to sea is a whale watch trip over thirty years ago.  So yeah, I don’t know jack all about operating a naval warship.

Having said all of that, I still think it is fair of me to say that there is something wrong with the US Navy, especially in the Pacific. Let us review some highlights from 2017 so far:

  • 1/31/2017 USS Antietam runs aground in Tokyo Bay
  • 5/9/2017 USS Lake Champlain collides with a South Korean fishing boat
  • 6/17/2017 USS Fitzgerald collides with a container ship, 7 sailors lost their lives
  • 8/21/2017 USS John S. McCain collides with a tanker,  10 sailors missing at the time of this writing

According to the Washington Post, the Navy has ordered a “fleetwide review of seamanship and training.”  Well, duh!  I should hope so.  Right now the Navy in the Pacific looks more like F Troop Goes to Sea than the competent, seasoned professionals they are supposed to be.

I don’t know what the problems are, but I hope they successfully address them quickly.

Found Music

Posted on by

I’m always happy to find yummy new (to me) Shoegaze and Dreampop to listen to.  This week I found the Winks & Kisses: Melted Ep by Airiel.  This Shoegaze gem dates back to 2004, but it’s a new discovery for me.

Winks & Kisses

Words are important.

Posted on by

Many people will occasionally speak facetiously.

All too often, Donald Trump speaks fascistiously.

You can quote me on that.  I know, Merriam-Webster may not like my word, but I think it is better than the one they use, and mine works better above.

It seems to me that more often than not, when the White House has to walk back something Trump said and explain it away as a joke, whatever he said was quite the opposite of a joke.