Update no.1235

Update from the Heartland

No.1235

8.9.25 – 14.9.25

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

 

To all,

 

On Tuesday evening, circa 23:30 [A] CEST, the Russians launched at least 19 drones from or across Belarus into Poland. Four of the 19 drones were reportedly shot down by Polish air defenses with the assistance of Polish F-16 and Dutch F-35 fighters. No one was injured, although several buildings were damaged. Then, on Saturday, the Russians launched another set of drones into Romania. These incursions were NOT an accident. They were an intentional provocation and purposeful probe most likely to locate air defense systems. This is another step closer to war. Putin is playing a very dangerous game, and he apparently feels he has the upper hand to do what he wants in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, we are left to wonder whether the orange one is up to the task. There should be little doubt that Putin will exploit perceived weakness, which was probably the rationale for the drone probe in the first place.

 

Let us be crystal clear! Tariffs do not punish foreign exporting businesses or states, at least not directly or immediately. It is only through reduced demand that other countries eventually feel the pinch, but that is a protracted affair. Tariffs do, in fact, punish American consumers and companies directly and swiftly. Tariffs are not on other countries; they are directly on us—We, the People. Tariffs are a tax by another name. We, the People, shoulder the burden. We pay the taxes. No matter what the orange one and his lackey minions say, tariffs punish us, not other countries. The orange one’s foolish and rather ignorant contention that tariffs punish exporting countries is quite akin to his persistent assertion that Mexico was going to pay for the border wall.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1234:

“Greetings from a sunny U/K! Not that it will last!

“How are you keeping Cap-you never seem to slowdown mate.

“I must admit I do have problems following your politics, ours indeed are difficult enough. I guess I was never trained in that direction! I guess you know what direction I’m speaking about.

“I’m trying to throttle back somewhat but not getting far as yet.

“Keep striving on Cap, we enjoy your blog.”

My reply:

In contrast, we have had an abundance of rain here on the Great Plains. Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.

I am glad it seems that I have not slowed down, but the reality here is I am not as productive. I am currently confined to my laptop as I struggle to get my desktop running properly. It has not functioned properly since the move.

Heck, my friend, we are immersed in politics, and we have trouble understanding it. The current fellow is doing things that have never been done before, and I truly hope are never done again after he is gone. These are very trouble times in which we live. Putin seem determined to start World War III.

Good luck throttling back. At our age, we all need to do more of that . . . smell the flowers and enjoy the warmth of the Sun.

I’ll keep writing as long as I am able . . . and my tools work. ;-)

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Good day my friend. Yes getting older isn’t that much fun but we both do what we can while we can, I’ve been nursing one or two stubborn bugs but I’m doing battle with them. I feel we’re of the same age-I was born during the battle of Britain and I remember ‘Doodle Bugs’ buzzing over.

“I’m still reading your books Cap and wish I had more time! I intend to stand down from some the work in the village and then I can play ‘catch-up’.

“I trust your good lady is well and surviving.

“Keep going Cap, there is always something to do.”

 . . . my follow-up reply:

I hope you beat your bugs soon. I fear this has become the new normal for us. Keep fighting, my friend.

I can’t imagine listening to those pulse jets and knowing what was coming. Today, we have different things to worry about.

I hope you are enjoying the stories. You have always done so much for your community and veterans’ groups. You are a generous citizen.

Jeanne is holding up well so far, but I constantly fret about becoming too much of a burden for her. We keep pluggin’ away. Never give up.

Thank you for your generous words, my friend.

 

Comment to the Blog:

“I remember noticing at some point that Bill Clinton’s people changed the method of taking unemployment numbers, which changes national news to this day. It was my first big clue that Clinton wasn’t a progressive. The Felon deals in personalities, so his method failed.

“The Felon knows how he beat the draft and nothing else military. His ego wants the Department of Defense’s name change, but I see no point in arguing the semantics unless there’s policy change.”

My response to the Blog:

If we cannot have truly independent analysis, then it would be better to have nothing. Injecting politics in data analysis is just as bad as injecting politics in the law.

There is no policy change I am aware of. It is just another foolish brainfart like the Gulf of Mexico thing. I am afraid these are not the last of his moves like this. It remains the Department of Defense as original configured to me.

 . . . Round two:

“Clinton and the Felon both played politics with the employment numbers. Clinton’s method worked; he changed the mechanism. The Felon expected to change the personality in charge and so make the math different. Nope.

“I agree that ‘Department of War’ is mostly semantics, but such things sometimes matter in international relations. The attack on the Venezuelan boat, however, is consequential. Rand Paul has clarified that.

“I can’t let the moment go by without commenting on the shooting of Charlie Kirk, who wasn’t a government or campaign official but was a major advocate for the Felon. I hope he doesn’t become the Horst Wessel of our time. In a poetic irony, Kirk advocated against gun control and died by the gun. Snopes verified a quote from him,

"I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."

“It’s being a big week in news, but I’ll note that the Epstein issue hasn’t gone away at all.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Very well described. The orange one does not care about the process or mechanism. He only cares about the result as long as it compliments him.

Yes, indeed, such things matter. So much is a question of perception rather than fact. The attack on the Venezuelan boat was a unilateral extrajudicial murder. We do not know what was on that boat. We are taking the word of a convicted felon with a long established record of falsehoods.

I did not agree with many of the things Kirk espoused, but he did not deserve to die. The right to bear arms was not among “certain unalienable Rights,” endowed by our Creator. The right was granted by the Constitution.

I suspect the Epstein affair will not go away any time soon, despite the efforts of the orange one and his minions to make it disappear.

 . . . Round three:

“The Evergreen High School victims deserve our sympathy, not Charlie Kirk. Homicide is wrong, but Kirk wasn’t bothered by it (see quote above). The Kirk case is getting more interesting as the shooter’s background emerges. I believe the Second Amendment was meant to enable a ‘well regulated Militia,’ not homicide.

“We’re still learning more about Epstein’s operation, including revelations about Ohio’s wealthiest person, Leslie Wexner, who lives in Central Ohio and has major influence here. Epstein owned houses near Epstein’s mansion for the sole purpose of visiting Wexner.”

 . . . my response to round three:

No argument on that, but like the New York Times article headline, we may not agree with him but he espoused his beliefs the correct way—peaceful debate. He did not advocate violence.

Yes, we will probably learn more . . . as facts, trickle out. It is interesting to note that the British are handling the Epstein fallout for their citizens more aggressively than the United States. The British ambassador to the U.S. was dismissed for his involvement.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)