ClearedHot

With the election a hugely under reported story. As you said, this is an act of war.

You have very valid questions and observations. Obviously Putin horribly underestimated Ukraine and world resolve to help them and Russia has paid a horrific price for his decisions. That being said I don't think his entire play on Ukraine was to have a launching pad for the rest of Europe. If Putin gets Ukraine he will own the bread basket of Europe and have another major bargaining ship to shape the behavior of other countries. He is already doing that with energy, control the food supply as well and he has some big sticks to get his way.

Unknown, but zero active duty American casualties and Russia will be unable to fight a peer/near-peer for a generation.

And their losses have increased exponentially...57,000 in Oct 2024 alone.

I am more impressed by the ECIPS. Break break...As previously reported N Korea sent 8,000 troops to Russia to train then on to the front. The Ukrainians just killed the first batch in a couple of drone strikes. A staggering report just came out of the Institute for The Study of War - They estimate that Russian has lost an average of 30,000 troops (killed or wounded), every month in 2024. In October alone they lost 57,000 troops. What a meat grinder.

A gun I have always wanted and never purchased (going to fix that soon), is the Henry Golden Boy 22 MAG. A buddy had one and it was a blast to shoot. Something about the 22 Mag....hot little round.

Marine Corps Blames Pilot Error for Crash of Malfunctioning F-35 in South Carolina Forest Kind of a fucked up situation with a non-aviator Commandant reaching in to roll this dude long after the fact. A quick summary of events, some of you may know more: 1. Crap Weather 2. Dude went missed approach 3. While on going missed his HMD glitches three times going blank - the report indicates no attitude information (assuming in the HMD), but does not say nothing about primary displays 4. The report says he lost his transponder AND radios 5. "With no visible reference to the horizon or ground, and unsure of which flight instruments he could trust, he perceived that the aircraft was still not responding to his commands to convert -- and therefore was out-of-controlled flight," 6. If you read the report (which is heavily redacted), they place the blame on the pilot "The investigation concluded that the mishap was a result of "pilot error" in that Del Pizzo incorrectly diagnosed the out-of-control flight emergency and "ejected from a flyable aircraft -- albeit under extremely challenging cognitive and flight conditions." 7. The report recommends NO punitive action against the pilot. 8. Leadership reviews the report, puts him back on status and sends him to a follow on command. 9. 100 days into new Command the Commandant does a second review of the report and decides to mort this guy in what can best be described as a perception kill. 2,000' in bad weather with a malfunctioning jet and your brain stem can't determine what is up and what is down...hard to blame a dude for punching because he is Spacial D.

As the fight went on there was a lot of data that showed MANY of the fighters were coming from foreign lands. The primary motivation is as you have noted, the Americans occupying. Most of my deployments were early on and the ROE, especially in the beginning, was very permissive as compared to later in the war. My first two deployments we were often cleared into a kill container and given free reign to shoot ANY vehicles. I can't tell you how many Toyotas we zapped, once we started shooting dudes with guns would pour out like a clown car. Interestingly, at least 50% of what I shot in that time period I found with my NVGs. Sensors are great but they are a soda straw. Using my NVGs I was able to scan large areas and would usually find a target within a few minutes. There were nights I went Winchester with a full combat load two hours into the Vul, landed at Bagram or Jalalabad, took another combat load and did it again. Gun over-heating limitations were a real thing. On my last two deployments I do recall the tight ROE, that being said, I never had a deployment where I did not shoot. Impossible to know it would have changed the national debt. Remember we can't view the conflict with only a 2024 optic...In the days after 9/11 we were sure there would be more attacks unless we acted and we would be a vastly different country had we just taken that hit on the chin and turned away. Beers, whiskey, coffee at my casa anytime for anyone that needs it.

TBM 850

I've gone back and forth in my mind a thousand times, nine deployments was it a waste? Our yardstick of success tends to be the end state which is valid but doesn't tell the whole story. While it sucks the Taliban are running Afghanistan today I prefer to think about it in different terms like a relative peace at home for 20 years. Afghanistan was a flame the drew a lot of bad moths and we killed them all over there instead of here. Not necessarily the perfect metric of winning and losing but if you step back there is value to what you did, it was not a waste. I cringe when I see the Vietnam comparisons. That was a fumbling bumbling proxy war against Russia, we wasted 58,220 American lives trying to keep South Vietnam "free." Our political and military leaders were stooges who tied our hands behind our back when it came to fighting. While far from perfect, the military was allowed to truly fight in Afghanistan and we created a killing machine that eliminated a lot of horrible humans. The effectiveness of the War on Terror will be debated for many years to come. Wars always get front-page press because of the drama. A few stats for perspective: From 2019 to 2022 107,941 Americans died from drug overdoses. From 2011 to 2021 110,000 Americans died due to drunk driving. 9/11 alone we lost 2,977 Americans. In 20+ years of fighting in Afghanistan we lost 2459 American service men and women.

Flew down last minute to attend the game with some Bros from college and my boy, scored some great seats. The game was closer than the final score, FSU found a way to pressure Cam with a series of Zone Blitzes...it worked and I hope we fix it in practice. What FSU could not stop was the run and it cost them. Miami running back Fletcher lost his father this week when he died unexpectedly, he honored his dad with an unreal performance. I was surprised at how civil both teams were given the rivalry...yes there was some back and forth but in between plays I saw a lot of shaking hands and laughing, especially in the secondary. There was a point in the second half went a FSU player went down hard and stayed down for a quiet a bit (they did not show the replay but I think he got knocked out). Most of the FSU players went down on one knee and the Miami players AND coaches quickly followed suit. Refreshing even in a rivalry game. FSU's QBs showed some grit, they are both going to be sore today. Minor gloating to follow - 2024 State Champs - The U!

Homer's TDS is so bad he is completely Tumbleweed.

As of a few minutes ago Israel has started it's retribution attack and is hitting Iran with strikes in Tehran proper.

SOH's Mom dealing with a Trump sign. video_56BA7HQ.mp4

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Buenos, I am not worth $100M...yet, but to think this plan will only impact the 11,000 or so people in this category is a fallacy. The negative implications of this policy will have a huge impact on the market and our economy regardless of your net worth. There are of course varying assessments but some of the ripple effects are outlined here.

Peter Zeihan has been calling this one for some time. It looks like massive deflation and with 70% of the average Chinese citizens savings is in real estate it is going to be ugly. The Quarter-Trillion-Dollar Rush to Get Money Out of China

Israel knows how to drop a building. As per usual they've "tinkered" with some our toys to make them better...or purpose suited for their missions.

First the Teamsters Union refused to endorse Kamala now this... Meltdown at the LA Times: Billionaire Owner Denies Vetoing Presidential Endorsement, Top Editor Resigns

8 Years...crazy to think how quickly it has gone. Make the most of every day...retiring again (and for good), in March, unless Kamala wins and taxes unrealized capital gains.

Sonny? Why thanks Pappy, great to see you in full blown triggered mode.

Someone's vagina is extra sandy today.

If he said it...so many claims like this have been proven to be false but that never gets press. Instead you choose to believe in Russian collusion. You believe the dossier was real and the is was not only fake, it was paid for by Hillary. You choose to believe the laptop was fake. You choose to believe the Biden had no part in the prosecution when yesterday it was revealed Fani's boyfriend who was working on the case had MULTIPLE meetings at the White House. You choose to believe Biden today when he hand-waived his previous comments about "Lock Him Up"...he meant politically. In short, you choose to believe the radical democrats who will stop at nothing (including suppressing the 1st amendment), to remain in power.