BFM this

While I can like your post for going deeper than [I just read headlines to fuel my rage], my leanings still tilt toward the soon to be DNI nominee. That particular interview was a couple of years ago, but most of what formed the basis for her positions on things like geopolitical affairs was already cemented, namely her education in congress. For a deeper dive and expanded presentation of her positions, I'd recommend giving her book a try; you can get it on audiobook from DoD MWR library. I would even go so far to say that she is not an isolationist, but rather holds to a FAFO military readiness posture (speak softly but carry a big stick), that runs contrary to contemporary DC's never met a conflict they didn't like mentality. And I wholeheartedly subscribe to her supposition that had this election gone the other way, we would have found ourselves in a nasty brawl, purely out of a need to assert the image of strength by a weak individual. I believe we dodged a big fucking bullet.

Unless this is some next-level sarcasm that is sailing over my head, I cannot disagree more.

Mostly gee-whiz/thread derail, but: Any reason why the T-7 is subsonic? Is there still DT/OT wickets to clear?

Just listened to this interview. I’m pretty stoked. DJT has talked a lot about how he porked away picking the right people starting his first term. I really think there is a stark contrast emerging with this second team.

Potentially a great thing. Could be a renaissance for defense leadership and mission focus. A witch hunt is equally possible, leading to a brain-drain that will take a generation to repair.

All valid points. But Occam's razor suggests the biggest element that led to us being in country for 20 years, accomplishing what should have taken months at best. At the end of the day, Smedley Butler would have called it a Racket, plain and simple. Trillions of dollars was spent. And trillions of dollars was made... And it continues...while I watch closely the hotspots smoldering around the world today through a lens of at least entry level geopolitical education, I cast a jaundiced eye toward the tendency to pour cash into the hole vs defined outcomes.

Nice ride 🙌

lol, I'm several orders of magnitude off that net worth figure, but even I know that my wallet is well within the WEZ of that dumb-fuck idea. But hey, unsustainable spending isn't going to sustain itself ya know!

There’s a bunch of rules her team would insist on that JR would laugh at.

Executive compensation not gonna inflate itself...

Sure. At the very least, it recalibrated my expectation management when I saw that.

2013 hires…ahead of 2001 hires. not joking

Lol yes, yes it has. still doesn’t answer the question: wtf is a “Space Force Guardian”

Is this a National Guard branch or just a catchy recruiting gimmick? Google results confused me even more. https://www.yahoo.com/news/space-force-guardian-command-mission-201854275.html

Handle of Don Julio ‘42 says he doesn’t see the inside of a jail cell.

In more banal news: Media clutching pearls over JDV “eyeliner” Nixon - JFK debates called: they want their news flash back

I have yet to shoot a match with them, but indoors I still want another layer. That said they are WAAAYYYY better for a walk around than my Bose earbuds.

Listened to an episode of Honestly today going over the NY Trump verdict. In the discussion was a comparison of the NY prosecutor's zeal and the prosecution of Capone, an alleged murderous mobster convicted of whatever investigators could grasp onto at the time--tax evasion. This seems to fall into the same broad metaphorical bucket but at the other end of the spectrum; given what is known via Hunter's laptop and witness statements, the gun charges are token at best; more realistically just a distraction from the reality that no meaningful justice will be pursued. Move along, people.

Also having a hard time remembering that place...but maybe for different reasons? First overwater trip in the FRS, so first stop after LPLA. Great watering hole for several fantastic trips in the next few years. 🍻

Next they’ll suggest stripping clearances for sending SCI over private email. Crazy talk! Just madness!

Wife: sends me lake cabins "oooh look, I almost think we can afford it" Me: oh hey, a fighter pilot W: wait, what? how could you tell that? Me: amongst other nondescript military memorabilia, a bottle of JW on the shelf W: ...