Update no.1185

 Update from the Sunland

No.1185

23.9.24 – 29.9.24

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

 

To all,

 

Well, my friends, it was another barren week for this humble forum. I offer my meager but respectful apologies. This too shall pass. After all, the silly season is not yet over.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1184:

Comment to the Blog:

“The lawsuit over the Key Bridge collision is too small. Why shouldn’t the full costs be recovered? Also, I’m all for criminal charges for those responsible for the container ship.

“I suggest using a name for the villain of your writings. In the Harry Potter series and many other writings, the villagers not naming the scary entity embodies the fear of personal retribution. I’ll stick to nicknames for Little Fingers, at least here.

“I agree with the description of Little Fingers’ operations by Anita Chabria of the Los Angeles Times. I’m amazed I’m not hearing ‘awaiting sentencing’ or ‘convicted of 34 felonies’ in every Democratic Party communication.

“The pager and walkie-talkie bombs are booby traps per Protocol II of the Conventional Weapons Convention, as extended to apply to non-international conflicts https://lieber.westpoint.edu/exploding-pagers-law/, item 4 under “Weapons Law”). The second paragraph of that discusses Israel’s position concerning that.

“Israel’s claim of targeting military people doesn’t excuse its genocide of all Palestinians or the recent shift to terrorist methods.

“Also, the exposed vulnerability of the supply chain poses a threat to the entire world. The whole supply chain as it exists today can’t be secured.”

My response to the Blog:

Agreed, and I hope so as well. Based on the narrowness and focus on the current legal action, I suspect it is only the beginning for those two companies . . . and rightly so. I agree. Criminal charges are definitely warranted for negligent homicide at a minimum.

Thank you for your counsel. I can no longer bring myself to utter or see his name. He is not worthy. Agreed. I thought the Chabria observation was spot on the money. He is a freakin’ conman. I also agree with your advice to the Democrats referring to that man. Perhaps they are holding those shots until closer to the election to have the most effect.

An interesting and thought-provoking article. Well done to Boothby. Like it or not, war is killing. In the last passel of decades, we have striven to minimize collateral damage in the process of war, but war is still war. Unfortunately, our adversaries do not subscribe to the same morality as we do. Time comes on occasion when extraordinary action is required, e.g., Truman’s decision to deploy nuclear fission to end a horrific war. I still believe the pager attack was an ingenious effort to focus their effort on the perpetrators.

You continue to use a word I believe is inaccurate and inappropriate, but emotionally charged. I have and continue to recognize your freedom to do so, but I still believe it is wrong. ‘Nuf said.

Yes, the supply chain is exposed—always has been, always will be. We try to have safeguards and deterrence to avoid compromise of energy supply, food supply, water supply, et al, but where there is a will, there is a way. Semper vigilantis!

 . . . Round two:

“Your discussion of ‘our enemies are evil’ is particularly inappropriate with Netanyahu as the ‘good guy’ (not related to the Jews as a whole or the Israeli people). The Zionists' long-stated goal is to get rid of anyone else in Palestine. And the definition of genocide directly addresses that goal. None of that would change international law.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Ooopsy daisy. I do not believe I have ever tried to portray Netanyahu as a ‘good guy.’ I have long opposed most of his policy positions and actions. In fact, I place him a few small steps shy of Little Fingers status in my book. The radical-right may dominate the Israeli government at present as a consequence of an odd confluence of political forces in Israel, but respectfully, they do not represent the majority of Israelis, e.g., the large popular protests against the government and Netanyahu specifically. The ultra-right in Israel is quite like the ultra-right mindset in other countries including the United States. Little Fingers has given voice to and fed the ultra-right in this country, but they have always been among us at least since the Civil War. The ultra-right genocidal inclinations in Israel do not represent the majority of Israelis any more than white supremacists represent the American people. They are a minority. Netanyahu has done what Little Fingers is trying to do in this country. I am absolutely convinced the majority of Israelis want peace, not genocide; let’s not forget that.

“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”

 . . . Round three:

“I thought I’d addressed the ‘good guys, bad guys’ mentality. My apologies. You referenced ‘our enemies’ in justifying violations of the treaties governing warfare, and I wanted to point out that the ‘good versus evil’ framing doesn’t justify wrongful death and destruction on the part of the ‘good guys.’

“I’ll also note that the specific term ‘extraordinary action’ you used is a favorite of war criminals. I’m a pacifist, Cap. I never approve of war crimes.

“We got a little rain in the past day, but nowhere near enough. We are 7 inches or more in deficit now; it will take months to catch up, but at least the growing season is over. Maybe we’ll have a wet enough winter to help.”

 . . . my response to round three:

You are spot on correct. No argument. I was only pointing out in counterpoint that there are often extenuating circumstances that require very difficult decisions. War is nasty business. I wish war was never necessary, but alas we do not control what bad men choose to do.

I am a pacifist as well. I never want war. I condemn war crimes in all forms. Just as with a burglar who chooses to enter my house for nefarious purposes, none of us can control what criminal minds seek to do. Our choices is to succumb or defend our loved ones & property.

A little rain is better than none. I hope Helene does not bring too much too quickly for many areas of the nation. We both could use a wet winter.

 . . . Round four:

“None of us control what ‘bad men’ (supported by their countries) choose to do, but there are courts for that. Nuremberg, for example. We need much more of that.

“Our rain here is predicted to be 2 inches at most, and maybe enough in Southern Ohio to make the drought level drop from ‘exceptional’ to ‘extreme’ or merely ‘severe.’ I'll be checking in with family in Tennessee, though.”

 . . . my response to round four:

I don’t think ‘supported’ is the correct word. ‘Dominated and oppressed by’ might be more appropriate. The Russians I knew once upon a time wanted nothing to do with dominating others. It is the far-right-wing that seeks to dominate, to restore the dominance of the former Soviet Union. Yes, you are correct. Unfortunately, Nuremberg tribunals happened after 20 million people died. We cannot prevent atrocity; we can only punish it.

Good luck with the rain. I do not like the track of Helene. Stay safe, my friend.

 . . . Round five:

“‘Supported’ versus ‘dominated’ is a question of spin. If the populace didn't rebel, they supported the Establishment of their place and time.

“We're getting a little rain here and a little more in Southern and Southeastern Ohio, where it's needed the most.”

 . . . my response to round five:

The radar suggests you are getting significant rain from the remnants of Helene. I hope it is not too fast and too much, which leads to runoff. Stay warm and dry.

We shall respectfully disagree. The two words are vastly different. Rebellion is quite like war, the choice of last resort. But I give you point taken. It is up to the Russians to banish their far-right to the shadows of the fringes, just like it is our responsibility to do the same here.

 . . . Round six:

“We got just over 1" of rain here yesterday, with light rain or showers ahead for most of the week. Part of southern Ohio got too much, as much as 4". The forecast for October offers lower than average rainfall. Flooding or no flooding, the drought will continue. 

“It matters in any authoritarian regime whether there's active resistance. Israel parallels Nazi Germany, and Israel has an active resistance. Netanyahu is a war criminal.”

 . . . my response to round six:

Droughts do not end with one rain. Hopefully, this rain will dampen and put a dent in your drought.

Oh my! Way too far! Netanyahu may be a war criminal, although I think that is a stretch, but Israel parallel to Nazi Germany? Surely you jest.

 . . . Round seven:

“Seen through the lens of authoritarianism, the comparison is valid. Netanyahu overrides the will of his people at every turn. He is also on trial for crimes somewhat similar to some of the Orange Menace's convictions. Authoritarians use different words, but the processes closely resemble one another.”

 . . . my response to round seven:

Perhaps so. I simply cannot go that far. Netanyahu is not Israel. He is the leader of a right-wing coalition. He is not the choice of the people. If we are not careful with our vote in November, the “Orange Menace” as you call him, may well win the Electoral College in December for a far worse déjà vu in January.

 

Another contribution:

“Good day Cap, trust you both are well. Thanks for the update.

“Reading, I expect like myself it’s like the incoming tide it’s always there. I’m on the second of your books ‘To So Few’ he’s now in the RAF waiting to complete his flying training. I can’t wait to get him on operations-that must be coming. 

“Well we’re in the thunderstorm season so I had better go outside and secure the garden! It’s getting rather black…”

My reply:

Yes, indeed, the tide is constant. But, this silly season will end eventually. In the past, I would have said the silly season would end on election day. Unfortunately, as long as that conman felon is involved in any way, I now say it will end someday.

Oh my, yes, Brian & Jonathan get deep into operations . . . coming up. I felt obligated to present the Phony War. Enjoy your reading.

Our monsoon (thunderstorm) season is over—very dry this year.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Good day Cap-yes, just like the tides seasons come and go.

“Indeed your silly season will prevail for a while yet but surely sense and good planning will win the day. Personally, I’ll be 100% pleased to see that day and I will join you in a toast of a good plonk! Of which I have a cubby-hole full! Keep smiling over there, the sun will rise!”

 . . . my follow-up reply:

I would like to think saner minds will prevail, but I must acknowledge that the crazies could obtain control of the instruments of state. We just never know until it’s done. My generation has really screwed things up, and unfortunately, the next generation has been infected. We have a long, bumpy road to travel toward recovery. I remain guardedly optimistic. We have overcome many previous societal traumas. I still expect we will ultimately overcome this one. We will get our first big clue in a few weeks.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1184

 Update from the Sunland

No.1184

16.9.24 – 22.9.24

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

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- USG filed US$103M suit against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the Singaporean corporations that owned and operated the container ship MV Dali, the massive vessel that impacted the Key Bridge and caused its collapse [1159]. The bridge collapse closed the harbor for weeks, caused significant economic impact The charges claim negligent operations on multiple levels and placing profits over safety. This particular legal action seeks to recover the salvage operations costs involved in opening the harbor and specifically does not include potentially criminal charges for the deaths of six workers on the bridge that night nor the costs of restoring the Key Bridge.

Frankly, based on what we know about the condition of the ship before and during the incident, the companies should be denied an operating license for any commercial shipping. This is not about correcting bad management; it is about willful negligence and irresponsible maritime operations that led to deaths and millions, if not billions, in economic damage. The Dali had been unsafe for months, not just that night. I hope and trust this suit is only the beginning against these two companies.

 

Anita Chabria of the Los Angeles Times provided an exceptionally accurate observation of you know who. “Eight years of demonization, dehumanization, desensitization and denial. That’s the foolproof diet for growing an average Joe into a political vigilante, and Trump and crew has mastered how best to serve that meal, steaming hot and full of lies.” Spot on! ‘Nuf said! Drop the mic!

Chabria described the kind of person who should never be allowed remotely close to even the most basic instruments of state. He has no morals, no integrity, and no compassion. Add to that, he is a convicted felon who is still facing additional serious felony and civil charges, and he has not yet been sentenced for his last felony conviction.

 

On Tuesday, at 15:32 [lcl] in Lebanon, a signal went to an estimated 5,000 pagers held by Hezbollah leaders, operatives, and their supporters. The devices contained three grams (0.1 ounces) of PETN explosive material with a precise trigger mechanism and exploded near simultaneously. At least 12 have died so far, thousands were injured, and the death toll is expected to increase. The following day, it was walkie-talkies that exploded under similar circumstances. While innocent people were injured, the exploding electronic devices were targeted at the Hezbollah command and control network.

The sophisticated, well-planned attack was ingenious, well-thought out, and expertly executed. Hezbollah had abandoned smart phones and cellphones because of their perceived vulnerability and chosen instead pagers for internal communications. The attack demonstrated Israel’s meticulousness in planning and long-range thinking, and denied Hezbollah yet another means of communication. Fairly soon, they will be relegated to couriers, slowing their communications substantially. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate although Israel has not claimed responsibility. Three grams of explosives accurately applied may have done more to disable Hezbollah than dozens of 2,000-pound bombs.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1183:

Comment to the Blog:

“According to Google Maps, I live 36 miles down US 40 from Springfield, Ohio. Most of Little Fingers’ blathering and Just Don’t Vance’s poison I don’t take too seriously, but they are harming my neighbors a great deal with the latest vile accusation, which I won’t repeat. The local word is that the Haitians re-settled (legally) in Springfield specifically because they were needed to fill jobs. Almost everyone was happy with that, but rural America has always had the lunatics that have come out in public as MAGAts.

“The left (including me) is casting doubt on this assassination attempt, too.

“I’m glad the booster landed safely. It’s a shame they couldn’t bring the humans back with it.

“Life tip: never debate an experienced prosecutor unless you have extreme debating skills. If the MAGAts had any insight whatever, they’d be deeply embarrassed by their boy’s performance.

“Our drought continues with no sign of breaking before November.”

My response to the Blog:

Oh my, you got that right! The exact same phenomenon has caused similar damage and harm in many other areas as well. Little Fingers and his MAGAts have enabled the far-right fringe to come out of the dark shadows into the mainstream of political vitriol. Now, they feed on each other. One ultra-right-wing whacko makes a foolish, unfounded accusation and Little Fingers and his sycophants reiterate the false claim multiple times because it serves their political purposes. And . . . they point their crooked fingers at the opponents for inciteful rhetoric. Go figure! There are seven more weeks of this silly season; it cannot end soon enough.

To be clear, this latest shooter was laying in wait. He did not have a clear line of sight from his location. But . . . Little Fingers and his entourage were playing toward the shooter when he was engaged by the Secret Service. You highlight one aspect. I am concerned that these criminal actions will instigate an escalation that could quickly spiral out of control. This has got to stop. Let us defeat Little Fingers at the polls. We must vote.

I imagine Boeing wanted to bring them home. NASA took a more cautious approach. The future of Starliner is now in serious question.

Excellent life tip. Little Fingers does not possess that level of debate skills.

I hope your drought passes soon. Nature is like that.

 . . . Round two:

“I’m inclined to think Little Fingers has an advisor similar to G. Gordon Liddy, but more successful.

“My absentee ballot has been approved and will be on its way in due time.

“Boeing is in deep trouble. The US Government ought to think about replacing them, one way or another. Among other things, they’re a major defense contractor. Oops.

“The drought is with us for the foreseeable future. Showers from the storm in the Carolinas have reached the Ohio River, but not enough to help us here.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Perhaps so. I have no idea. Regardless, we do not need him injured in any way. We need him as healthy as his old age can give him. We do not need a martyr. We absolutely need him decisively defeated at the ballot box in November; thoroughly embarrassed so that his MAGAt base is reduced to the minimum size possible.

Our mail in ballot will not arrive for another few weeks. We will post our votes as quickly as possible. We will have judges that must be researched.

Yes, Boeing is in deep trouble of their own making. This situation has been brewing for at least 30 years. The bill has come due.

Well, I hope not. We got some relief last winter. It could happen again.

 . . . Round three:

“I’d rather Little Fingers not be martyred. Making him a sympathetic figure would be the object of a Liddy-esque operation, and we’ll see if it works.

“The remedy for Boeing must not be left up to Boeing.

“The ‘foreseeable’ future isn’t the eternal future. We’ll get some rain or snow sometime. In the meantime, crops are lost and the metropolitan area uses a water reserve set up after the drought of ‘88.”

 . . . my response to round three:

If such an operation is afoot, I hope and trust it will not be successful. He needs to be soundly and embarrassingly defeated at the ballot box, convicted in court with due process, and sentenced to a prison cell.

Perhaps not. Boeing’s problem started with the Board of Directors.

I wish you relief soon.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1183

 Update from the Sunland

No.1183

9.9.24 – 15.9.24

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

 

To all,

 

Sunday, 15^th of September, Battle of Britain Day, we remember the extraordinary service of The Few in the epic aerial battle over Great Britain, English Channel, and North Sea. The Royal Air Force Fighter Command defied the horrendous odds against them to defend the nation against the overwhelming German Luftwaffe during the summer months of 1940. As Hitler’s Nazi Germany dominated virtually all of Continental Europe after defeating France, Belgium, and the Netherlands and nearly trapping the whole of the British Expeditionary Force, Prime Minister Winston Churchill mobilized the English language with comparatively few fighter pilots from multiple nations, including seven American citizens to stop the impending cross-Channel invasion. To be clear, the fighter pilots fought the battle with the vital and essential support of countless ground crews, refined command & control and early warning systems, and a vulnerable nation inspired by their defiant Prime Minister and resilient King. The heroic efforts of The Few have forever been immortalized in the words of Sir Winston Churchill.

“Never in the field of human conflict have so many, owed so much,
to so Few.”

Lest we ever forget.

 

The patently false, xenophobic tripe of the despicable [person who shall no longer be named] must stop immediately. His false words in public are causing serious and demonstrable injury to citizens and legal immigrants. He must be condemned, ridiculed, ostracized, and banished from public life and any instrument of public influence available to him. That man is a contemptible entity that no longer qualifies as a human being. Only Adolf Hitler was worse in the category of xenophobia. He must retire to the oblivion of one of his golf courses, or more appropriately a prison cell. He is apparently listening too much to Laura Loomer, who Marjorie Taylor Greene calls a nut case; GO FIGURE!

 

Early Tuesday morning, 10.September.2024, before my return to consciousness, SpaceX Polaris Dawn capsule finally launched into space at 05:23 [R] EDT (0923 GMT) from the historic Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC). I had to watch the video of the launch. There was too much cloud coverage in the area; however, the video offered an incredible view as the nine first-stage Raptor engines lit up the various cloud layers in an odd, almost nuclear detonation sort of way.

As has become so commonplace for SpaceX and its Falcon 9 booster, they stuck the landing on the downrange droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. No matter how many times I watch those boosters land at sea or on land, they are majestic to witness.

The crew should get some great, new, photographs of Mother Earth. I eagerly await the results.

On Thursday, at a distance of 470 miles above Earth’s surface, twice the height of the ISS, the crew conducted the first in history non-governmental spacewalk. The capsule was completely depressurized, and two crewmembers used SpaceX developed suits to make tethered exterior tests of the suits in the vacuum of space and well into the Van Allen radiation belt.

They successfully returned to Earth on Sunday splashing down safely in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida at 03:36 [R] EDT (0736 GMT). Mission complete.

 

Tuesday evening, the first (and perhaps only) debate between Vice President Harris and [the person who shall no longer be named] took place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, moderated by David Muir and Lindsey Davis of ABC News.   The ‘debate’ was only 90 minutes long, but it was interesting.

Vice President Harris was gracious, cogent, poised, and yet tough. While I will make no claims that she was flawless, for the most part, she conducted a master class in debate performance. Some of the criticism leveled against her scarcity of policy responses and avoidance of a few questions.

In contrast, he was all over the place with sentence fragments and disjointed, jumbled thoughts that popped into his consciousness—a stream of consciousness from a muddled, wandering, and puzzled mind. He spewed conservative conspiracy theories like legal immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating dogs and cats. He was demonstrably emotional, scatter-brained, and angry, striking out at anything and everything. Of course, he simply cannot resist spouting his bevy of lies and falsehoods. Worse, his statements about Ukraine are offensive, disgusting, and terribly revolting. He is throwing away the independent sovereignty of another nation very much as Chamberlain did with Czechoslovakia in 1938, and we know how that turned out. He clearly has no respect whatsoever for Ukraine or the Ukrainian people, and apparently subscribes to Putin’s proclamation notion that Ukraine has been, is, and always will be part of Russia. He is patently wrong and must be denied any power to inflict that outcome on the Ukrainian people. They have a right to be free and enjoy all rights and privileges of free and independent states.

When your opponent is known for aggressive actions, whether in football, combat, politics, or whatnot, you poke him to induce a forceful response that leads the adversary directly into an effective ambush. That is exactly what happened repeatedly Tuesday evening. Vice President Harris executed a masterful plan to goad her opponent to make very foolish statements that were easily parried and served only to make him appear and sound as foolish as he is. Worse for him, she used the maneuver repeatedly and effectively.

In reality, the pre- and post-moments spoke volumes about the two candidates. [The person who shall no longer be named] sauntered out, while Vice President Harris walked out confidently and smoothy, first in front of her podium and then behind his podium, extending her hand to him and introducing herself. He eventually shook her hand but saw no need to introduce himself to her; after all, he has thought of himself as king Donald I for eight years. At the end of the debate, he turned and sauntered off with no one waiting to greet him. She walked off assuredly with her husband waiting to greet her. He was alone before, during, and after; need we say more! The optics of the pre- and post-moments remind me of the disgraceful action of [the person who shall no longer be named] on 25.May.2017 in Brussels at a NATO conference, pushing aside Prime Minister Duško Marković of Montenegro, so he could puff himself up and stand in front, after all he sees himself as king Donald I—above all others.

If I had to summarize the performance of each candidate with one word . . . 

Vice President Harris = stability (positive, forward)

[The person who shall no longer be named] = chaos (negative, backward).

It is just that simple.

Or, as Whoopi Goldberg said the next morning, “There was a booodywhoopin’ last night.” Yes, there was! It was embarrassing watching him fumble and tumble. But, the reality is, it does not matter what I think. I do not decide anything. Only We, the People, will decide. What will be, will be.

 

During this silly season, there has been, is, and will be prodigious yammering on both sides about change and freedom. I offer no argument to the notion that [the person who shall no longer be named] offers the most change. But, respectfully, that is not the issue. The question all of us should consider is what kind of change does he offer?

[The person who shall no longer be named] and his sycophants love to wrap themselves in the flag and declare they are the defenders of freedom. They may well be said defenders—their freedom. Their freedom to do what they wish, when they wish. Their definition of freedom in that context is absolutely nothing like freedom as I understand it and believe in. His form of freedom resembles nothing even remotely similar to the freedom the rest of us love and enjoy. Frankly, what [the person who shall no longer be named] offers is ‘doublespeak,’ ala Nineteen Eighty-Four. Freedom means their freedom, which is oppression for the rest of us.

If you like freedom and change as ‘Big Brother,’ or [the person who shall no longer be named], or more likely as Project 2025 defines freedom and change, then I suppose you have you man, or rather conman. Go for it! As for me, I know emphatically that their definitions of freedom and change are nothing that I can recognize or accept. I want nothing to do with a future as they define it. I will choose stability and compassion every second of every day over chaos, retribution, revenge, and turmoil. I want nothing to do with chaos. 

 

On Sunday, a week ago, the accomplished wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins (formerly for the Kansas City Chiefs) Tyreek Hill was pulled over for speeding in his dark grey Lamborghini with heavily tinted windows on his way to the stadium before a game in Miami. The police officer asked him to lower the driver’s door window, so the officer could ensure the interior of the automobile did not pose a threat to his safety and he could effectively communicate with the driver. Hill refused to comply. The officer repeatedly asked him to lower the window. Hill repeatedly refused. The officer then repeatedly warned Hill that he would be removed from the car if he did not comply. Hill continued to refuse to comply. The officer, with back-up, did exactly as he said he would. Hill was on the pavement in handcuffs and detained, but he and his car could be safe-ed. Hill objected, said he was concerned about being photographed by fans passing by. He called for the officer to be fired.

I have no sympathy for what happened to Tyreek Hill. He was pulled over for allegedly speeding in his expensive Lamborghini. He had absolutely no right to do what he did, and he endangered that police officer’s life. Failure to comply with law enforcement instructions is a direct threat to the safety of the officer. It is unfortunate that he was embarrassed or afraid, but what he did by refusing to lower his door window was absolutely wrong. That officer had no idea what was behind that tinted glass. There are far too many videos of police officers being shot to death during routine traffic stops. This resistance and failure to comply has got to stop. Hill screwed up bigtime. He needs to own it and move on. Stop making excuses for his conduct. If you act suspiciously, a law enforcement officer has no choice but to assume the worst. That means neutralizing the suspect to ensure he can do no harm to himself, anyone else, or the police officer.

Hill asked for the officer to be terminated. NO! The officer was doing his job.

 

Thursday midday, Attorney General Merritt Garland gave a magnificent speech in his direct support to the Justice Department and debunk the corrosive, destructive, and outright false public accusations of [the person who shall no longer be named] and that man’s disgraceful sycophants on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. The fact that he had to give such a speech to bolster his department is a direct measure of the damage [the person who shall no longer be named] does done to the nation. That man is never to be forgiven for what he has done.

 

There was another apparent attempt on the former president’s life, Sunday morning, this time, while he was playing golf near his Mar-a-Lago home. The shooter was engaged and fled; he was swiftly apprehended. No one was harmed.

Regardless of what any of us may think of the former president, these incidents are wrong in every possible way and must be condemned. I trust the shooter in this case will be prosecuted swiftly to the fullest extent of the law and suffers the appropriate punishment for his contemptible conduct. This must stop. He should only be defeated at the ballot box. Put the guns down and vote.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1182:

Comment to the Blog:

“The privatized space program is suffering. I wish the crew was home and safe.

“If the Democrats find it necessary to focus on Little Fingers, why don’t they emphasize his felony convictions? ‘Awaiting sentencing on thirty-four felony convictions’ makes an excellent reason not to vote for him.

“President Biden has at least come out against nepotism, unlike the Orange Menace.

“Dick Cheney was the brain behind the evils of the Shrub Administration. His endorsement of Harris casts a shadow on her.

“The Apalachee shooter’s mother has stated that she did her best to warn the authorities of her son’s intentions. Georgia has nearly unlimited firearms ownership. There will be plenty of blame to go around.

“Our drought continues. We’re hoping for some rain off a tropical storm that might come our way, but the crops are dead. Weather.com tells me your forecast isn’t much fun either. Good luck to all of us.”

My response to the Blog:

The Boeing privatized space program is suffering. Blue Origin is a distant third. SpaceX carried out a near perfect launch of their crewed Polaris Dawn mission early this morning. It is a very ambitious mission and will set a number of firsts before its done. Yes, we need the Starliner crew home. To that end, I am grateful for NASA’s extra caution.

Good point. We shall see how Harris handles that fact tonight.

President Biden has integrity. Little Fingers has never had integrity, and I doubt he even knows what the word means.

I do not share your opinion of Dick Cheney. Whether you like him or not, his defection from the Little Finger’s Party is a monumental indication of the dissatisfaction within the former Republican Party and the present Little Finger’s Party.

I am not convinced of the mother’s innocence.

Yes, indeed. We had a fairly dry monsoon season this year. We could use a nice, slow, soaking rain. Regardless, we shall endure.

 . . . follow-up comments:

“The space program drags on. I’m deeply skeptical about capitalism doing it better than good government.

“I would use the phrase ‘felon awaiting sentencing’ at least three times. It’s a marketer thing.

“Dick Cheney is a villain.

“Investigations continue. I’m not convinced of anyone’s innocence, including the State of Georgia (gun laws).

“We have had the driest summer on record going back to about 1870. The rain chances for the weekend keep being lowered as the expected track for Tropical Storm Francine goes west of us. We have burn bans and we’re beginning to have water shortages.”

 . . . with my follow-up response:

Skepticism is good. We should constantly offer constructive criticism. In the most recent example, Boeing’s engineers were correct; the Starliner was safe for reentry and landing. Yet, as I stated previously, I am grateful for NASA’s conservative stance to remove the crew and bring them home by other means. It is nice that we now have other means. NASA made huge mistakes with Challenger and Columbia; we do not need a repeat.

I agree with you. In last night’s debate, I think she did a sophisticated job of just that without getting blatantly offensive.

Perhaps so. However, in this instance, I am reminded of the Roman phrase "Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei" ("my friend, the enemy of my enemy"), or in more contemporary translation, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Yes, indeed, and we will learn more ahead. What will be, will be.

Our water situation is not uncommon (to use a double negative). Yours is to my knowledge. Hopefully, you will get some fringe rain from Francine as it passes.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1182

 Update from the Sunland

No.1182

2.9.24 – 8.9.24

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

 

To all,

 

Polaris Dawn was delayed yet again due to an unacceptable weather forecast in either the launch or landing areas for the planned five-day duration of the mission. Because of the mission’s unusual orbital trajectory, the crew will have no divert place, like the International Space Station (ISS), to save the crew if something goes wrong; thus, the need for acceptable forecast weather at the anticipated time of landing. The current launch estimate is now Tuesday, 10.September.2024.

ERRATUM: In Update no.1181, I stated the mission’s planned farthest apogee was 827 miles. That was incorrect. The planned farthest away from Earth is 870 miles out there on Day 1, and then stabilized at 470 miles thereafter, still well beyond the orbit of ISS at 200 miles. My apologies for the error.

 

The follow-up news items:

-- Boeing Starliner successfully undocked from the ISS without a crew. They had launched in early June [1169] and remain on the ISS with a planned return as extras aboard a SpaceX capsule in February 2025.

Boeing declared the Starliner was safe for the return. NASA decided to take the most conservative approach, bringing the capsule back without the crew. Accordingly, they remotely undocked the Starliner from the ISS at 18:04 [R] EDT (2204 GMT), Thursday, completed a successful reentry burn, and safely landed at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 22:01 [T] MDT. The landing was passed my bedtime, so I watched the video coverage the following morning. We are not likely to see another Starliner flight for a year or more as they assess what happened, make appropriate corrections, and rigorously test those changes.

-- The federal election interference case against [the person who shall no longer be named] {United States v. Trump[USDC DC Case 1:23-cr-00257-TSC (2023)] [1125]} is now back in the preliminary phase as Judge Chutkan considers the new superseding indictment. Special Counsel Smith filed the revised indictment {USDC DC Case 1:23-cr-00257-TSC (2024) [1181]} intended to comply with the Supreme Court’s recent presidential immunity ruling—Trump v. United States [603 U. S. ____ (2024);] [1173]}. The defendant’s lawyers decided to spar with the judge as they sought to further delay the case. Judge Chutkan was having none of it. She parried, “This case has been pending for over a year. We’re hardly sprinting to judgment here.” Chutkan went on to say, “It strikes me that what you’re trying to do is affect the presentation of evidence in this case so as not to impinge on an election.”  Most poignantly, Chutkan declared that she was “not talking about presidents of the United States,” but rather a “four-count indictment” against a citizen for alleged federal crimes. Chutkan made it clear that she intended to proceed to trial as quickly and deliberately as possible.

-- [The person who shall no longer be named] was in court in New York City to hear the judge’s decision on his motion to delay his schedule 18.September.2024 sentencing until after Election Day. Unfortunately, District Attorney Bragg officially responded in essence that he did not care. Judge Merchan acted accordingly and postponed the sentencing until 26.November.2024.

Frankly, I am disappointed that Bragg and Merchan did not display more stalwart conviction to the judicial process against a common citizen more like Judge Chutkan. The convicted felon is no different from any other common felon. He deserves no special treatment, and yet they caved . . . regrettably. Oh well, we move on.

 

Hunter Biden surprisingly changed his plea in the tax evasion case to guilty and placed himself at the mercy of the court as his trial was set to begin. District Judge Mark Scarsi accepted Hunter’s Alford plea over the special prosecutor’s objections. He is now scheduled to be sentenced on 16.December.2024.

Daddy has already publicly stated he would not pardon or commute his son’s sentence when it comes . . . and rightly so. Although I must confess that doing so would be very tempting. Nonetheless, I am grateful the president placed integrity over fatherly compassion.

 

The latest Republican to publicly oppose the Party’s current candidate and announce their intention to vote for the Harris-Walz ticket is former Vice President Richard Bruce ‘Dick’ Cheney of Wyoming, father of former Representative Liz Cheney, AKA Darth Vader to Democrats of the era. Cheney made a public statement declaring [the person who shall no longer be named] as the singular greatest threat to the Republic and democracy in the nation’s 248-year history. I do not recall ever seeing so many party politicians abandon their party’s candidate in favor of the opposing party’s candidate. We are not talking about neutrality; we see a display of outright opposition. Incredible! And, I suspect we are not at the end of the defections, which is an indication of how despicable the Republican candidate is. Yet, all that aside, what matters is the Electoral College vote in December. All citizens must do their duty . . . to fulfill their obligation . . . and VOTE!

 

The 14-year-old shooter in the Winder, Georgia, high school attack that killed four (two teachers and two students) and wounded nine others was arraigned in court on Friday. He was followed by the arraignment of his father on similar charges. An arrest warrant has reportedly been issued for the boy’s mother as well. The arrest of the parents follows the charging, conviction, and punishment of the Chumley parents. Legal accountability of the parents for these teenage shooters should have started with the Columbine shooting [20.4.1999] and is long overdue; but, better late than never. I hope the trend continues until we gain some relief.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1181:

Comment to the Blog:

“SpaceX has a good rate with booster landings. I’m more concerned about Boeing’s ongoing failures and the fate of their astronauts.

“My current concern about Little Fingers is that he might have enough troops to try to take the White House by force when he loses the election. Most of us don’t believe his rants about the 2020 election, but an armed and committed militia probably still follows him.”

My response to the Blog:

Yes, they do. It will still be interesting to see what the final accident report says. SpaceX is planning to catch the massive, first-stage, super-heavy booster with the tower chopsticks at Boca Chica as part of the IFT-5 test flight, which should be an incredible event.

Oh my yes, the Boeing situation is a tragedy in progress. I never would have imagined such a great engineering company to have fallen so far and virtually across the board. Very sad!

That is a valid concern in many ways. I share your concerns. Well, frankly, it does not matter what you and I think about Little Finger’s persistent BIG LIE rants; we do not believe anything he says. We do not take up arms against the U.S. Government. His radical believers do believe him, and that is the problem.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1181

 Update from the Sunland

No.1181

26.8.24 – 1.9.24

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

 

To all,

 

SpaceX twice delayed the launch of its Polaris Dawn mission; the first delay due to a reported helium leak, and the second postponement for forecast weather on the planned return date and landing area. Then, a Falcon 9 first stage booster missed its landing somehow and toppled over on a drone ship, which induced an FAA investigation and suspended the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch license. It was the first landing failure after 267 successful booster recovery landings on land and at sea. The video of the failed landing does not cover the best angle, but it appears one or two of the four alighting legs failed to lock into place and collapsed. They will sort out this landing failure in short order.

Apparently, SpaceX satisfied the FAA the causal factors of the landing failure are known, and corrective action is agreed. As a result, a new launch date has been set for the Polaris Dawn mission—03:38 [R] EDT, Wednesday, 4.September.2024. The mission plan calls for an unusual elliptical orbit with an apogee of 827 miles, well into the Van Allen radiation belt where they expect to conduct an open capsule spacewalk to gather data about that particular environment.

Just an FYI: the expected launch date of the SpaceX IFT-5 mission is now no earlier than Ocotber.2024.

 

The follow-up news items:

-- On Tuesday, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a superseding criminal indictment against [the person who shall no longer be named] in the election interference case {United States v. Trump [USDC DC Case 1:23-cr-00257-TSC (2023)] [1125]}. Smith pared down the evidence in the original indictment to comply with the Supreme Court’s recent presidential immunity ruling [Trump v. United States [603 U. S. ____ (2024); No. 23–939] [1173]]. The evidence removed from the original indictment deals with predominantly the former president’s attempt to pressure or engage Justice Department official in his BIG LIE. Now, it will be up to Judge Tanya Chutkan to make her determination of what is official and unofficial in the case before her against Little Fingers. From my reading of the superseding indictment, Smith has gone the extra mile to comply with the Supremes’ immunity ruling. How quickly this case can be brought to trial is yet to be determined.

Regardless of the outcome of this case, Little Fingers persists with his BIG LIE, now publicly claiming that he would have won California if they had counted the votes properly . . . just another aspect of the BIG LIE—no facts whatsoever. I cannot attribute such falsehoods to being delusional, since I believe the evidence shows amply that his BIG LIE is purposeful and intentional. While Little Fingers perseveres with his BIG LIE, he is corroding confidence in our election systems and electoral process. He does not care. We do! He will never be forgiven for the destruction he has brought to this once grand republic. I continue to have faith we will eventually overcome that man’s malignant narcissism, but my faith is under constant pressure.

It must be remembered that the felonious activities of [the person who shall no longer be named] occurred after he had exhausted all legal remedies to his claims of electoral malfeasance. He could not win in court, so he engaged a mob of radical, right-wing, extremists to do his dirty work. He deserves what is coming to him . . . eventually . . . and slowly.

Lastly, if the protesters had remained behind police barricades on 6^th of January [2021], we would not likely be in this mess, and the former president would not be charged with federal crimes. Alas, he encouraged the more violent elements among his supporters to disrupt the electoral process he told them was fraudulent. He must be held accountable for his criminal conduct.

 

While on a campaign tour in Georgia, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz sat down for an interview with Dana Bash of CNN. It was a fairly vanilla event. What was noteworthy or remarkable was what did not happen. Walz sat through the entire hour interview with only one question put to him. It was not a good look for the Democratic ticket. Both candidates handled their questions quite well. Harris avoided several bait questions, as rightly she should have. From my perspective, they passed the test.

My recommendation for future events, for what it is worth, they should avoid situations where Walz appears like a lump on a log. I doubt there are any concerns about them being on step together. So, take the leash off, and let Walz have his time in the sun.

In the disgusting footnote category, after the Harris-Walz interview, [the person who shall no longer be named] spewed another one of his idiotically juvenile epithets. That adolescent bully referred to Governor Walz as Tampon Tim. And, that man wants to be president of the United States of America. Worse yet, there are millions of good citizens who think he was and will make a good president. I do not see how they can arrive at such judgments, but hey, that is the nature of democracy.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1180:

Comment to the Blog:

“George Santos is contained and gets no more of my attention.

“Some of us don’t think of it as ‘the good book.’ Your discussion of controlling knowledge to control the public is spot on. The State Governments of Florida and Texas (among others) would like to re-live the Dark Ages with their GOP in authority.

“The Democrats support the genocide in Palestine and its extension to at least Lebanon.

“Being a dictator looks easy, but carries enormous personal and national risks.

“I’m sad for the astronauts who have been stranded by their Boeing craft. Boeing and the bureaucrats who enabled Boeing should immediately be removed from positions of responsibility over that and their other failures.

“We continue experiencing climate change here in Ohio, currently as a late-season heat wave with an air quality alert and ongoing drought. Our generation has lived to see some of the consequences of not acting.”

My response to the Blog:

Quite understandable.

That is my opinion as well. It is also one of myriad reasons I will not likely ever vote for a conservative candidate at any level again. Moral projectionists should be kept as far away from the instruments of State as possible; I shall do my part as long as I can.

Come on. Surely you do not believe that. I find no evidence to even remotely hint at such a position. Genocide . . . really?

Oh yes it does, but that does not stop ambitious men from seeking such power, despite the fact that most of them end up like Moammar Qaddafi.

Quite so. The problems at Boeing seem to be far more widespread than publicly understood, and they most emphatically had enablers, especially in the FAA. I am all for accountability.

The whole world is feeling and seeing the effects of climate change. It has only just begun. However, we must also remember that a single natural event like the Chicxulub impact could thrust us into another ice age.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Genocide of course. I don't know where you get information, but I've seen an enormous amount of it. The history of Israel tells me it was the goal from the beginning (and back to Biblical writings). Netanyahu has added personal motivation, but Zionists have long sought extermination of everyone else in Palestine. Journalism abounds with evidence that genocide is underway.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

With respect, I do not think it is a matter of information, rather the interpretation of information. That said, even the facts are debatable based on the source. Hamas estimates of civilian fatalities have to be questioned by the source alone; they want inflated numbers to inflame world opinion in their favor. And apparently, their campaign is working. It is rare to see any military give up the element of surprise before executing combat operations, and yet, that is precisely what the IDF has repeatedly done. To me, “genocide” involves the purposeful targeting of civilian (non-combatant) personnel for the purpose of killing them. Putin’s operations in Ukraine are a prime contemporary example. I may be blind to the signs you perhaps see, but that is how I see Gaza to date.

“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”

 

Another contribution:

“We need to teach this stuff in grammar school.”

My reply:

Grammar school may be a smidge early for this kind of discussion. I strongly reject the conservative penchant to seriously restrict knowledge, science, and public debate in our public schools. We need children to learn respectful debate. But, all this political stuff is a bit heavy for elementary school children. Much of it should be taught by parents, but we know how that has gone so far.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)