In this time of the Novus Populares (Trump and Sanders) versus Novus Optimates (Clinton et al), this kind of language has meaning:
There
is nothing I would like more than to take on and defeat Donald Trump,
someone who must never become president of this country.
and the Glenn Beck / Brad Thor: #neverTrump and #NeverEverTrump
OK. If it is true that if you encourage your followers that Trump "must never" become president. How far do you think your followers (or an unhinged follower) might take it? Pretty easy to interpret this in a very negative and permanent way.
Told the Missus the other day that it looks as though our current time frame is beginning to rhyme with the very late Roman Republic (40-30 BCE). This is illustrative for those who might consider executive protection and being a bodyguard as a line of work. Don't do it. Early 21st Century America might become known as an era known for political assassination leading quickly into organized violence.
Lord help us have cool heads, and realize that the world won't end if someone is elected and rules are followed and everybody acts like rational adults.
Rational adults in 2016 America? Oh. We're fucked.
Crazed American, out.
05 May 2016
03 May 2016
Lying Populist Hack Demagogue v. Same
It's over! Cruz (Partisan Religious Demagogue) has FINALLY suspended his campaign after being trounced by a Lying Populist Hack Demagogue.
So the race, barring a victory by the Democratic Socialist in the race, will be one Lying Populist Hack Demagogue -R versus Lying Populist Hack Demagogue -D.
The Republican Party is DEAD. Good Riddance. One down, one to go. Your turn to eat yourselves alive, Democrats.
The American Republic has been on life support for a while. Lots of people like Glenn Beck have been asking if our current situation was closed to 1914 or 1939. I counter that currently we're skating along at about 32 BCE.
All it will take is a Caesar. None of the clowns currently running fit that bill.
Interesting times.
Build local community and local networks. We're DEFCON 4 (with option to upgrade) 'round here, and I don't say that lightly. Put some essentials aside, needs and some cash.
Crazed American, OUT
So the race, barring a victory by the Democratic Socialist in the race, will be one Lying Populist Hack Demagogue -R versus Lying Populist Hack Demagogue -D.
The Republican Party is DEAD. Good Riddance. One down, one to go. Your turn to eat yourselves alive, Democrats.
The American Republic has been on life support for a while. Lots of people like Glenn Beck have been asking if our current situation was closed to 1914 or 1939. I counter that currently we're skating along at about 32 BCE.
All it will take is a Caesar. None of the clowns currently running fit that bill.
Interesting times.
Build local community and local networks. We're DEFCON 4 (with option to upgrade) 'round here, and I don't say that lightly. Put some essentials aside, needs and some cash.
Crazed American, OUT
24 April 2016
The passing of a legendary legend.
Good night sweet Prince.
Purple Rain (the movie, the album, the idea) was one of those formative moments in life.
He will be missed.
Apparently, His Sacred Purpleness has thousands of unreleased works in a vault in his compound in Minnesota. I think I have divined the plot of the next Indiana Jones movie.
Sadly,
Crazed American, out.
Purple Rain (the movie, the album, the idea) was one of those formative moments in life.
He will be missed.
Apparently, His Sacred Purpleness has thousands of unreleased works in a vault in his compound in Minnesota. I think I have divined the plot of the next Indiana Jones movie.
Sadly,
Crazed American, out.
11 April 2016
One is on it's way down...
...in flames. The Party is OVER.
Me thinks the Democrats are next. This little kerfuffle between Bernie Sanders supporters and the DNC, which has set up their primary / caucus system to do exactly the same kind of voter nullification with Super Delegates.
But, what do you truly expect from two private corporations that have run this country virtually unopposed for 175+ years??
Damn you, peasants, you're not playing your part in Democracy Theatre 2016 correctly!
-R, -D: Both the same, just minor differences in marketing...
Crazed American, out.
Me thinks the Democrats are next. This little kerfuffle between Bernie Sanders supporters and the DNC, which has set up their primary / caucus system to do exactly the same kind of voter nullification with Super Delegates.
But, what do you truly expect from two private corporations that have run this country virtually unopposed for 175+ years??
Damn you, peasants, you're not playing your part in Democracy Theatre 2016 correctly!
-R, -D: Both the same, just minor differences in marketing...
Crazed American, out.
05 April 2016
Madame Secretary... tsk, tsk, tsk
If I, as an analyst for any of the alphabet agencies, had ever done anything even remotely similar, I'd be in prison (if I was lucky).
2016 is the year maybe everybody realizes that the US Government is beyond the point of saving. Irretrievably broken...
Crazed American, out.
***UPDATE***
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2587663/
The server was hacked. So it plays out thusly: The Russian FSB and the Chinese PLA Cyber folks have the entirety of what was on the server from inception to the day she had it wiped.
Guaranteed: If she is elected, this will come back to bite us. POTUS will be liable for blackmail on possibly 30,000 different items. Joy.
21 March 2016
I have a vote...
...but I don't have Twitter anymore...
Cute idea, but as the British have found out, if you ask the internet to name a new science ship, you get a vessel named Boaty McBoatface. Seriously.
Now the US Air Force wants to crowd-source the name of a Strategic Bomber?!?
If the B2 is the Sprit, naturally the B21 should be the Wraith. Duh.
This is a weapon of war. Why are we crowd-sourcing this??
Crazed American's not loving the state of the nation right now, folks.
Crazed American, out.
Cute idea, but as the British have found out, if you ask the internet to name a new science ship, you get a vessel named Boaty McBoatface. Seriously.
Now the US Air Force wants to crowd-source the name of a Strategic Bomber?!?
If the B2 is the Sprit, naturally the B21 should be the Wraith. Duh.
This is a weapon of war. Why are we crowd-sourcing this??
Crazed American's not loving the state of the nation right now, folks.
Crazed American, out.
17 March 2016
Mandate of Heaven
China got it right when it looked at history as a large cycle of boom and bust. We're in a volatile time. I'm afraid to consult the I Ching, cause I don't want to spook the beast.
This is not a bad thing, in the slightest, speaking of China.
Ho Chi Minh wasn't that much a communist. He was a nationalist. The communists would help him where no one else would.
Also, keep in mind the Chinese were beaten, badly by the Vietnamese. Speaking as someone who's father spent a year (1968-9) fighting the NVA, the Vietnamese should never be underestimated.
It is a relationship that should be cultivated. We need as many friends as possible right now.
Crazed American, Out.
This is not a bad thing, in the slightest, speaking of China.
Ho Chi Minh wasn't that much a communist. He was a nationalist. The communists would help him where no one else would.
Also, keep in mind the Chinese were beaten, badly by the Vietnamese. Speaking as someone who's father spent a year (1968-9) fighting the NVA, the Vietnamese should never be underestimated.
It is a relationship that should be cultivated. We need as many friends as possible right now.
Crazed American, Out.
14 March 2016
Violence
So, the Crazed American just got back on Facebook after an absence of six months.
Holy S#!+, people... there is a metric f--kton of bad mojo running around out there.
Civil discourse is ALMOST gone. Calls for violence against political opponents are PLENTIFUL.
Keep in mind a lot of this is passed back and forth by normally nice middle aged (30-50 year old) folks.
This does not bode well for the overall political health of the nation. It also provides me a touch of nausea seeing it. American politics is not supposed to be violent. No tanks, or riot police rolled during the 2000 Gore/Bush debacle. American politics can be vitriolic, can be filled with invective, but I think the accepted norms of not physically attacking your political opponents are in danger of collapsing. The tome and rhetoric have changed. Peaceful transfer of political power has been a hallmark of the American Political system. Me thinks that era might be at an end.
I think it's because the average American finally feels the disenfranchisement that has been there for a long time. The political parties and their corporate masters can't hind behind the flimsy veil much longer.
I can't predict where the battle lines will be drawn. When or if this little experiment of the USA comes apart, it is not going to be like the nice, neat USA/CSA schism (650,000 dead) of 156 years ago. This will Balkanize, with entire regions going up due to several competing factions in each area and state. Cities will be criss-crossed with opposing organizations and groups, each one clamoring for control or a piece of the overall pie. To say nothing of Russian or Chinese involvement in political developments and factionalization here. We do it to them, why the hell do we think they wouldn't return the favor??
Overseas, the Russians are running what appears to be a reasoned, well thought out foreign policy. Taken at face value (which is all we have thanks to very woeful American intelligence gathering), President Putin is marking a staged withdrawal of some of his combat forces in Syria. His goals for the mission have been met, now he will pull out just enough of his forces to allow the Syrians government to stand on it's own two feet and begin opressing the hell out of opposition groups and hopefully battling ISIS, or at least coming to a standstill and not let them expand anymore.
Contrast this with American foreign policy, which is, to put it mildly, confusing and inept. Libya is a wreck, as is our support of factions in Syria. Iraq is a mess, Afghanistan a failure. The past 30 years of American Foreign policy has been ill advised, at best. That outlook does not look to change dramatically anytime soon.
America always gets the government it deserves. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump.
One of those people will be president barring martial law or a coup d'etat.
When I look into the crystal ball, I'm not sure what I'm seeing. What I am seeing is not good. More surveillance, less freedoms, more authoritarian rule. The oligarchy is tightening the grip. The economy, or what's left of it after 8 years of "RECOVERY" is a shell of it's former self.
I am concerned, friends. There's a storm coming.
Crazed American, out.
Holy S#!+, people... there is a metric f--kton of bad mojo running around out there.
Civil discourse is ALMOST gone. Calls for violence against political opponents are PLENTIFUL.
Keep in mind a lot of this is passed back and forth by normally nice middle aged (30-50 year old) folks.
This does not bode well for the overall political health of the nation. It also provides me a touch of nausea seeing it. American politics is not supposed to be violent. No tanks, or riot police rolled during the 2000 Gore/Bush debacle. American politics can be vitriolic, can be filled with invective, but I think the accepted norms of not physically attacking your political opponents are in danger of collapsing. The tome and rhetoric have changed. Peaceful transfer of political power has been a hallmark of the American Political system. Me thinks that era might be at an end.
I think it's because the average American finally feels the disenfranchisement that has been there for a long time. The political parties and their corporate masters can't hind behind the flimsy veil much longer.
I can't predict where the battle lines will be drawn. When or if this little experiment of the USA comes apart, it is not going to be like the nice, neat USA/CSA schism (650,000 dead) of 156 years ago. This will Balkanize, with entire regions going up due to several competing factions in each area and state. Cities will be criss-crossed with opposing organizations and groups, each one clamoring for control or a piece of the overall pie. To say nothing of Russian or Chinese involvement in political developments and factionalization here. We do it to them, why the hell do we think they wouldn't return the favor??
Overseas, the Russians are running what appears to be a reasoned, well thought out foreign policy. Taken at face value (which is all we have thanks to very woeful American intelligence gathering), President Putin is marking a staged withdrawal of some of his combat forces in Syria. His goals for the mission have been met, now he will pull out just enough of his forces to allow the Syrians government to stand on it's own two feet and begin opressing the hell out of opposition groups and hopefully battling ISIS, or at least coming to a standstill and not let them expand anymore.
Contrast this with American foreign policy, which is, to put it mildly, confusing and inept. Libya is a wreck, as is our support of factions in Syria. Iraq is a mess, Afghanistan a failure. The past 30 years of American Foreign policy has been ill advised, at best. That outlook does not look to change dramatically anytime soon.
America always gets the government it deserves. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump.
One of those people will be president barring martial law or a coup d'etat.
When I look into the crystal ball, I'm not sure what I'm seeing. What I am seeing is not good. More surveillance, less freedoms, more authoritarian rule. The oligarchy is tightening the grip. The economy, or what's left of it after 8 years of "RECOVERY" is a shell of it's former self.
I am concerned, friends. There's a storm coming.
Crazed American, out.
24 November 2015
The Guns and Missiles of November
Why, dear friends, does it feel as though we are rushing headlong towards war??
Today a flight of Turkish F16's shot down a Russian Su-24 fighter-bomber. Both the pilot and Weapon Systems Officer were killed in their parachutes while descending (most CERTAINLY NOT COOL). Further more, according to reports, a rescue team of Russian Marines was sent in for a recovery and there were fatalities. The Crazed American sends love and condolences to the families of the fallen Russian airmen and Marines. I just hope they are not the first casualties of a major shooting war.
Instead of immediately requesting a dialogue at the highest level with the Russians, the Turkish Government went right to NATO, undoubtedly with a copy of the North Atlantic Treaty, Article Five nicely highlighted.
Who's to blame in this fracas??
Everybody - long and short of it.
The Russians aren't currently fighting ISIS. Sure they'll engage targets of opportunity right now, but their stated goal is to shore up the faltering and beat-up regime of Bashar al-Assad. So, in a prudent military move they will take out the weakest and most highly disorganized opponent of the Assad's. Primarily the "Free" Syrian "Army". (Quotations are not by accident). These are apparently a group of idiots the Obama Administration threw some money, a bit of training and some weapons at, and expected to ride, victorious into Damascus. So, since the Assad's have decades of being really, really mean to a lot of people behind them, there are a lot of disparate groups all fighting themselves and the Assad's for who gets to be the least dead warlord in Syria.
One of those groups is a group of people who are identified in most press as the Turkmen. These are not Turkish people by nationality, but by ethnicity. They are Syrian by nationality, and are trying to overthrow Assad, hence the Russian fighter-bombers in the area trying to kill them.
The area we are talking about is a very small area of land that Turkey claims, but Syria does not recognize the Turkish claim. Russian aircraft have strayed over this small spit of Turkey repeatedly. Turkish Air Defense has warned the Russians repeatedly about straying over their territory.
In less heated times, the Turkish government under Erdogan would have sent up a couple F16's to make sure none of those Russian bombs were landing on the wrong side of the border, and deliberately kept very good records of what transpired and lodged a formal complaint with the Russian Federation. Let the diplomats handle it. Nobody gets shot at. More importantly, nobody has a reason to escalate.
Let me tell you one possible scenario of what might happen next. Erdogan is all riled up. The Turkmen he's supporting in Northern Syria get a temporary reprieve from Russian air strikes. The Russians, figuring they have to do SOMETHING in support of their strategy change up the mix and bring in a few more of the Su34 fast movers who are more than a match for the Turkish F16 air defense fighters and support the bombers. Erdogan will move additional air defense units, meaning surface to air missiles into the area. The next time the Russians move against the Turkmen, whether intentionally, or accidentally, a Russian pilot will get painted by an air defense radar and will fire upon it. Or, the Turkmen will hightail it across the border into Turkish territory the next time the Russians come a calling.
National borders are a very inconvenient thing. The Russians will do what we (the US) ALWAYS do, ignore them. We currently just do it with unmanned armed drones. The Russians, lacking a bit in that technology will send their combat equivalent, manned ground attack aircraft and air superiority fighters to defend them.
It spirals quickly from there. Turkey is backed up by NATO, and the Article Five provisions state that all member states will act as an attack upon one is an attack upon them all.
Now is a time for sage, wise leadership and for cooler heads to prevail. Alas, I fear we are well and truly fucked, as the foreign policy skills of the POTUS and current and previous SecState are woefully lacking.
We created ISIS. In our zeal to kill another Bogey Man (Assad) we threw logistical support at anyone with a pulse. Some of those anti-Assad boys are the crafty bastards in charge of the new Caliphate. We've been dumb enough to continue to double down on bad choices. The long and the short of it, we should be figuring out a way to work with the Russians, not taking us to the brink of war with the only nation in the world that truly is an existential threat to us. No doubt the Lightbringer-in-Chief, Cooler of the Earth and Lower-er of the Seas hasn't read his Sun-Tsu.
Keep your friends close - keep your enemies closer.
Hug your families, and pray that our leaders pull their heads out of their asses long enough to not condemn us all to a long and brutal war.
RADM Joshua Painter: "This business will get out of control. It'll get out of control, and we'll be lucky to live through it."
Today a flight of Turkish F16's shot down a Russian Su-24 fighter-bomber. Both the pilot and Weapon Systems Officer were killed in their parachutes while descending (most CERTAINLY NOT COOL). Further more, according to reports, a rescue team of Russian Marines was sent in for a recovery and there were fatalities. The Crazed American sends love and condolences to the families of the fallen Russian airmen and Marines. I just hope they are not the first casualties of a major shooting war.
Instead of immediately requesting a dialogue at the highest level with the Russians, the Turkish Government went right to NATO, undoubtedly with a copy of the North Atlantic Treaty, Article Five nicely highlighted.
Who's to blame in this fracas??
Everybody - long and short of it.
The Russians aren't currently fighting ISIS. Sure they'll engage targets of opportunity right now, but their stated goal is to shore up the faltering and beat-up regime of Bashar al-Assad. So, in a prudent military move they will take out the weakest and most highly disorganized opponent of the Assad's. Primarily the "Free" Syrian "Army". (Quotations are not by accident). These are apparently a group of idiots the Obama Administration threw some money, a bit of training and some weapons at, and expected to ride, victorious into Damascus. So, since the Assad's have decades of being really, really mean to a lot of people behind them, there are a lot of disparate groups all fighting themselves and the Assad's for who gets to be the least dead warlord in Syria.
One of those groups is a group of people who are identified in most press as the Turkmen. These are not Turkish people by nationality, but by ethnicity. They are Syrian by nationality, and are trying to overthrow Assad, hence the Russian fighter-bombers in the area trying to kill them.
The area we are talking about is a very small area of land that Turkey claims, but Syria does not recognize the Turkish claim. Russian aircraft have strayed over this small spit of Turkey repeatedly. Turkish Air Defense has warned the Russians repeatedly about straying over their territory.
In less heated times, the Turkish government under Erdogan would have sent up a couple F16's to make sure none of those Russian bombs were landing on the wrong side of the border, and deliberately kept very good records of what transpired and lodged a formal complaint with the Russian Federation. Let the diplomats handle it. Nobody gets shot at. More importantly, nobody has a reason to escalate.
Let me tell you one possible scenario of what might happen next. Erdogan is all riled up. The Turkmen he's supporting in Northern Syria get a temporary reprieve from Russian air strikes. The Russians, figuring they have to do SOMETHING in support of their strategy change up the mix and bring in a few more of the Su34 fast movers who are more than a match for the Turkish F16 air defense fighters and support the bombers. Erdogan will move additional air defense units, meaning surface to air missiles into the area. The next time the Russians move against the Turkmen, whether intentionally, or accidentally, a Russian pilot will get painted by an air defense radar and will fire upon it. Or, the Turkmen will hightail it across the border into Turkish territory the next time the Russians come a calling.
National borders are a very inconvenient thing. The Russians will do what we (the US) ALWAYS do, ignore them. We currently just do it with unmanned armed drones. The Russians, lacking a bit in that technology will send their combat equivalent, manned ground attack aircraft and air superiority fighters to defend them.
It spirals quickly from there. Turkey is backed up by NATO, and the Article Five provisions state that all member states will act as an attack upon one is an attack upon them all.
Now is a time for sage, wise leadership and for cooler heads to prevail. Alas, I fear we are well and truly fucked, as the foreign policy skills of the POTUS and current and previous SecState are woefully lacking.
We created ISIS. In our zeal to kill another Bogey Man (Assad) we threw logistical support at anyone with a pulse. Some of those anti-Assad boys are the crafty bastards in charge of the new Caliphate. We've been dumb enough to continue to double down on bad choices. The long and the short of it, we should be figuring out a way to work with the Russians, not taking us to the brink of war with the only nation in the world that truly is an existential threat to us. No doubt the Lightbringer-in-Chief, Cooler of the Earth and Lower-er of the Seas hasn't read his Sun-Tsu.
Keep your friends close - keep your enemies closer.
Hug your families, and pray that our leaders pull their heads out of their asses long enough to not condemn us all to a long and brutal war.
RADM Joshua Painter: "This business will get out of control. It'll get out of control, and we'll be lucky to live through it."
20 October 2015
Bucking the Trend, by not bucking the ACTUAL trend
Great opinion piece : http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/what-if-the-new-star-wars-sucks-too-1737539377
The author of that piece brings up VERY salient points.
I'm not a fan of JJ Abrams - he's made a couple good action films, but in terms of Sci Fi - One decent Movie (Star Trek).
Star Wars: The Force Awakens might just suck. All but two of the previous 6 movies did - although I liked Return of the Jedi more than the author did, but not by much.
I'll see it, but not on opening weekend.
I, for the record, hope it does not suck.
The author of that piece brings up VERY salient points.
I'm not a fan of JJ Abrams - he's made a couple good action films, but in terms of Sci Fi - One decent Movie (Star Trek).
Star Wars: The Force Awakens might just suck. All but two of the previous 6 movies did - although I liked Return of the Jedi more than the author did, but not by much.
I'll see it, but not on opening weekend.
I, for the record, hope it does not suck.
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