Update no.1223

 Update from the Heartland

No.1223

16.6.25 – 22.6.25

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

Another excellent and stimulating article by Robert Reich . . .

“The Democrats’ ‘Great Un-awokening’ is a Giant Political Diversion – Democrats should not play on Republican turf”

By Robert Reich

Published: Jun 17 [2025]

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/where-the-hell-is-the-moderate-middle

Mister Reich hits the nail square and drives it home. I used to think of my political inclinations as fiscally conservative, socially liberal. In the turmoil of the last few decades, I have abandoned any element of conservatism. The contemporary Republican Party has left me with nothing whatsoever. I identify far more with ‘woke’ than MAGA. Mister Reich emphasized that aspect for me brilliantly.

 

Wednesday night, circa 00:37 [S] CDT, SpaceX was preparing for a static fire test of the engines on the Super Heavy Booster in advance of Integrated Flight Test number 10 (IFT-10) later this month or early July. The booster and Starship on top were fully fueled. The booster exploded on the test stand creating a massive progressive fire ball as the entire vehicle disintegrated. As best I could determine from the vidclip, the explosion appears to have originated at the top of the support & service tower, which in turn, would suggest a fuel feed rupture of some sort. As SpaceX is inclined to do, they declared the booster "experienced a major anomaly." Disintegration certainly qualifies as a major anomaly. The immediate objective was safing the test zone. No injuries have been reported, and the extent of damage has yet to be assessed. If the engineers can quickly determine the cause, they may be able to recover the test plan quickly.

By the end of the week, the investigation determine that the explosion began with the rupture of a gaseous nitrogen Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) located in the payload bay of the Starship. The concussion initiated a cascade of ruptures of the Starship fuel tanks and finally the booster fuel tanks. The entire stack-up was loaded with 4,600 tons of volatile fuel (liquid methane and liquid oxygen). The sequence created quite the impressive explosion fireball. What they have not told us as yet is why the COPV failed.  I do not know the precise structure of this particular design, but in general, COPVs do not spontaneously rupture. I eagerly await the full story.

 

On Saturday [circa midnight local], the United States carried out air raids on three key Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Fourteen GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator [MOP] bombs, the so-called ‘bunker buster’ bombs, were delivered by B-2 bombers as part of Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER. In addition, 30 BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile were fired from submarines into Iran. The president and his administration claimed that Iran’s nuclear facilities were ‘obliterated.’ I suspect such a claim is rather a stretch, given the nature of the professed targets. The action appears to be the president’s desire to assist Israel rather than a ‘clear and present danger’ to the nation. The isolationist MAGAts immediately got all riled up over the president’s unilateral attack—an act of war. Whether the president’s action is justified or authorized by the Constitution remains unclear. It is arguable both ways.

 

The Supremes dropped another love-bomb from the conservative movement on Wednesday—United States v. Skrmetti [605 U.S. ____ (2025)]. I have not been able to read the decision due to the exigencies of our lives at the moment. Thus, my reading of the ruling shall have to wait until next week. The case centers upon a recent Tennessee state law that forbids transgender medical intervention to underage children (less than 18 years of age). I shall withhold comment until I have read and absorbed the words of the precisely ideologically divided Court in the 6-3 rendering.

For those who may clamor that anything related to transgender and non-heterosexual individuals is a distraction and waste of the Court’s time, I shall say simply bunkum. Like it or not, this case deals with the fundamental human rights of a small fraction of our population, and that alone makes such judgments of vital importance to all of us.

 

What were the exigencies of life referred to in the section above some of you may ask? Well, our household goods were finally delivered to our new home this week. It was not a smooth, organized, or problem-free process. The now-empty trailer remains parked in front of our driveway, partially blocking our access (but not entirely). We are not happy campers. At least, we are finally and fully in residence. Another vital phase completed. The final arduous and laborious phase of unpacking, situating, and downsizing our stuff has begun. At our age, this last phase will also be rather slow and tortuous at times, but at least, it will be on our timetable—no one else’s. Fortunately for us, our children and grandchildren have provided incalculable assistance in the unpacking, but we have a very long way to go. They will also be vital in our downsizing efforts.

That said, I am not optimistic what we shall settle into our routines of life anytime soon. I shall endeavor to keep up with this humble forum as best I can and hope to return to my routine as soon as possible. I desperately need to get back to regular exercise for my general health. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding in these last few months and also in advance for the months ahead. This too shall pass.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1222:

Comment to the Blog:

“With respect to the protesters in Los Angeles, I support neither the ‘what’ of repressing them nor the ‘how’ of the Orange Clown’s methods. Extensive video and first-hand reports support Mayor Bass’s and Governor Newsom’s statements that they were peaceful and legal protests. The LAPD performed admirably in policing those. ICE, on the other hand, was and is obeying the Orange Clown’s unconstitutional response to a trumped-up crisis. Unless and until due process takes place, we can’t know how few of those kidnapped from our nation by ICE have actually committed any crime. The National Guard and the Marine Corps have no legitimate role in the whole thing.

“The No Kings protests are separate actions, with other actions coordinated by the same group going back to February. The Orange Clown merely played into their hands.

“Congratulations on finding permanent housing. I hope the balance of the process goes well.

“Your other commenter’s rampant emotions and grotesque misinformation concern me. People who blindly follow a leader are dangerous.”

My response:

If anyone enters this country (and many other countries, I might add) without permission, i.e., with a visa of some sort, then that individual is here illegally and is eligible to be permanently deported. ICE has a duty to detain and deport those folks who are here illegally. Because POTUS unilaterally declared his focus on the criminal subset does not alter the fact that all illegals are eligible to be deported. Thus, I do support the ‘what.’ I cannot support the ‘how.’ I agree, [no name]’s deployment of the National Guard and active duty Marines to a local police action against the governor and mayor is wrong in so many ways—part of the ‘how.’

Also agreed, the “No Kings” protests are far more expansive than the ICE protests, but they grew out of the ICE protests from my perspective.

Thank you very much. Progress by jerks.

You are not alone in that comment. I try to respect all sides.

. . . Round two:

“Without due process, we don’t know whether those being kidnapped are here with permission or not. Reports keep coming of citizens and legal residents being detained, that is, kidnapped. ICE agents are our brownshirts. Their targets are chosen with no regard for legalities.

“Cap, your ‘perspective’ isn’t accurate. The ‘No Kings’ protests go back to February; the ICE protests in Los Angeles are much more recent. The ICE protests energized the most recent No Kings events, but they’re not the cause. You might need to find more sources of information.

“Respecting all sides is a fine concept, but it’s unwise to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent. The audience can’t tell who’s who.”

. . . my response to round two:

Precisely the point of my objection to the administration’s current immigration actions. They were ordered to take such aggressive, indiscriminate action. It is [no name], Noem, and Lyons who are responsible for this travesty of justice.

My sources are just fine. My mistake was not fully describing the conditions. I was not arguing the genesis of “No Kings” protests. ‘Energized’ is a good, applicable, descriptive verb. The error is mine, not my sources of information.

Oh, I think you can tell who is who.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)