Never Interrupt

 

Welcome back to the Scuttlebutt, have a seat, and let’s talk.

 

As usual, lately, we’re going to talk about a wide range of events, but with a common theme: Fuckups by our enemies. 

 

Now make no mistake, I consider these people to be my enemies, and in most cases the enemy of mankind.  This is not rhetorical. Most of the folks we’re going to be discussing are trying, either through intentional malice and greed, or vast stupidity and lack of understanding of the basic human condition, what real science looks like, or how the world works, to set back human progress and the world in general. (Or in some cases “just” set back the United States, which this not so humble scribe considers to be, for all its faults and pimples, the best chance for human progress existent in the world today.)

 

That said, the guy pictured above, one Napoleon Bonaparte, arguably one of the most successful generals in history once said: “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”  

 

Sound advice.  

 

After all, if interrupted, your enemy might just stop and consider his or her actions further, and revise their actions.  If their actions are detrimental to their long-term strategy, (in other words, if they’re about to shoot themselves in the crotch,) well by all means let’s not slow them down and let them reconsider!

 

So let’s start the list of mistakes:  

 

First for those of you that might have missed it, the fat little idiot running the PDRK; Kim Jung UN, in a continuing effort to be considered a “playa” in the international game, has been firing off rockets again, including one he says can carry nukes and reach Guam. He’s also announced that he isn’t interested in “an End Of War declaration” (EOW) between the combatants in the Korean War. (A war I’ll remind you, that has never ended officially, it’s running on the longest “ceasefire” in the history of modern war.) Conveniently for him, (not) Japan is ALSO not interested in an EOW, because they no longer think it will get him to put away his toys, they see it as a “concession” according to Politico’s NatSec daily for Monday the 31 of Jan.

 

Why you ask, is that a mistake? 

 

Because it’s got Japan considering for the first time, changing their constitution (or finding wiggle room by redefining some things, much like they redefined their Aircraft Carrier as an Anti-Submarine Helicopter Destroyer.) to allow the US to post MQ-9 ground attack drones, and intermediate range ballistic nuclear missiles on Japanese soil.

 

Why is that significant?  First, Nukes on Japanese soil?  Yeah, these guys have been the most anti-nuke bomb nation in the world, for obvious reasons. Having been the proving ground for Atomic Bombs, they’ve been a little dubious of the concept.  Second, from a tactical and strategic perspective, that would put US hydrogen bombs within five- or ten-minutes flight time of Pyongyang. (The capital of North Korea.)  Significantly, it would also put all of China’s major population areas, major industry, and their capital within reach, which significantly complicates China’s calculus for victory in the event of a military assault on Taiwan.  The fact that the party in power in Japan, the “Liberal Democratic Party” is considering such an action tells you how nervous Japan is about the shenanigans being played by both China and North Korea. 

 

While we’re talking about China, according to the same source (Politico 1/31/22) “China has weighed in (on the shit going down over Ukraine) and advises Biden to “Meet Russia’s demands.”  No doubt expecting Putin to provide a quid pro quo on their desires to take Taiwan.  The problem (for China) is that they weighed in on Monday, with their “you should just give him what he wants, so he doesn’t stomp you into the ground.” Then yesterday, in a globally covered speech Putin claimed that “the United States was trying to pull Russia into an armed conflict over Ukraine that his government did not want and signaled he was prepared to engage in more diplomacy.” While of course claiming that this would all have been unnecessary, had the US and NATO just given in to Russia’s very limited and reasonable security demands…  https://poiticaldiplomacy.com/putin-signals-openness-to-diplomacy-while-blaming-us-for-crisis/

 

Now let’s be clear here that “Russia’s very limited and reasonable security demands” are that NATO pull back to where they were before the collapse of the Soviet Union, cede all of Eastern Europe to Russia, stop trying to “contain” Russia’s “development” (which means: just shut up and let us invade who we damn well please. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, all of the parts of the former nations of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and all of the various ‘stans, welcome back to the Russian party, you all got purty mouths.)  

 

This, of course, is damn unpopular with most of the citizens of the nations just mentioned.  

 

Imagine if, in 1790, France and the rest of Europe said: “Hey, England, listen, in the interest of peace, and getting along, we’ll just stand aside and let you take back those silly colonies, so that you can feel secure, and in turn how about you let us carve off some of Russia and China?  The war of 1812 happens early and without England having to fight Napoleon at the same time… 

 

Having been in that part of the world a couple of years ago, there is no one that the Baltic republics hate more than Russia.  They were not exactly the best overlords in the world. And as someone who played during the cold war up close and personal, let me assure you that this will not be enough in the long run.  

 

Russia has an inferiority complex the size of the moon, and they overcompensate for it by figuring that “you can never have enough buffer between you and the rest of the world.” When they owned East Germany, they wanted all of Germany.  It’s very much a case of “all I want is a little lebensraum.”  Fortunately, the people who have been under the Russian jackboot before, get a say in this. 

 

So, the way I read this, Putin has found himself in a situation where the west didn’t cave as fast as he thought they would, and his moving troops up to the border is expensive and getting more so.  He’s realized that, unlike the first invasion of Ukraine, where he took the Crimean, this one has too many eyes on it, and too much resistance to get away with on the cheap.  Now he’s trying to find a way to salvage this with what he can sell as a political victory.  If that means leaving China with their ass hanging out, well, welcome to the big leagues pal!

 

This is in our best interests.  A China and Russia that are united would be a real pain in the ass, like WWIII pain in the ass.  Let’s encourage Putin to find a way that he can sell a political victory at home without giving him anything real.  Of course, I could be reading him wrong, and by the time you read this, T-80s could be rolling across the border.

 

On the same vein, Russia had to back-pedal a little already this week.  The Russian Navy had announced a Naval Wargame using live ammunition inside the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).  Now, this is not illegal, but it is FAR above the level of brinkmanship that a Freedom Of Navigation (FON) exercise is.  

 

In an FON, you sail through the water some other nation claims as their own in violation of the standard agreed 12 NM limit.  You’re basically saying “Oh, you claim this as your waters and everyone must stay out? Prove it, come make us leave.”  

 

The EEZ on the other hand is “these are waters that we make our money on, they’re where our fishermen fish, our oil derricks sit and so on, if you’re going to make money in them, we GET a cut, and we get to say no.”  To hold a live fire exercise you are telling the world: “Notice to mariners, we’re going to be shooting, dropping bombs, firing missiles, and firing torpedoes here, if you want to not be hit by live ammunition, stay the fuck out!”  This sort of thing gets done in your own waters, not someone else’s.  To do it in someone else’s EEZ says “we are preempting your economic rights in this area, and if you stick your nose in, it just might get shot off.”

 

Well, The Irish Fishermen said, in typical Irish fashion, “The FUCK you say, you borsht eating bastard!” declaring that they would keep 60 trawlers in that area at all times, fishing, and the Russians would just have to make sure they followed the COLREGS (international rules of the road for mariners.) Since Fishing Vessels with nets out have the right of way over anything but a sailboat or a vessel not under command… And since they had said they would have ships on standby to make sure that there were 60 boats in the area at all times; if the Russians hit them, well “we’ll see you fuckers in court!”  The fishermen had legitimate cause for concern, this is part of their major fish production area for Whiting and Tuna.  Russia, in the form of the Russian ambassador to Ireland, said that “they would be relocating their exercise outside of Ireland’s EEZ as a ‘gesture of goodwill’.” For the long version of this, you can go to  https://americandefensenews.com/2022/01/31/irish-fishermen-force-putin-to-move-provocative-russian-naval-live-fire-drills/

 

There’s a few more things I’ve seen about Russia and China’s recent miss steps, but I want to also talk about some things closer to home.  We’ll start with the fact that the San Francisco Bay area has apparently been invaded by pigs.  NO, I mean OTHER than Nancy Pelosi and company!  

 

Like real no shit wild hogs : https://www.sfexaminer.com/fixes/the-rampaging-pigs-of-the-san-francisco-bay-area/

 

If you’ve never seen the devastation that can be done by a few dozen wild pigs, let me tell you, those fuckers make an entire football team worth of highschoolers, or frat boys, look like a tea party by comparison.  We shoot pigs because they DESERVE IT.  The fact that they’re tasty is also nice, but really, they destroy shit like there’s no tomorrow.  And before anyone sounds out about “well they were here first!” Uh, NO. No, they were not. Pigs are not native to North America.  

 

Why is this on a “Don’t interrupt your enemy” post? Because a significant part of why Porky and the boys are in ‘Frisco, even though it’s not “fleet week” is because they’ve made hunting, and shooting anything damn near impossible in CA.  Oh, there’s a theory in S/F that “maybe we can bring back more wolves and cougars, maybe some jaguars, and that will take care of the pig problem for us…  

 

Does anyone else remember the rhyme about “There was an old woman who swallowed a fly?” That’s what you get when you try to bring in predators to eat the pigs.  Look, pigs are mean! And they have no fear of anyone or anything.  A sounder (group) of wild hogs will kill a pack of wolves if Mr. Big Bad tries to have pork for dinner.  cougars are solitary hunters, as are jaguars.  They may get a pig or two, but since pigs can have 6 litters a year, and even a cougar up against 5 or 6 (or more) pigs is NOT a sure bet… those predators are more likely to go after Fluffy and Bowser.  Now you have pigs, and your cat or dog eaten, maybe you get munched on while you are jogging in your Izods and Nikes. 

 

Serves you right, for trying desperately to take away the right to hunt in CA.  Personally, I hope the pigs utterly destroy every golf course, and winery in CA, then maybe folks will reconsider their position on guns.

 

Next up, speaking about pigs, there’s Trudeau, who had to flee from Ottawa because the big bad truckers frightened him he tested positive for COVID.  Let’s see, because you tested positive for COVID you had to flee the capital and hide out with your family in an “undisclosed location?”  Uh-huh, Sure pal, whatever makes you feel better.  But let’s take this apart just a little… 

 

The reason the truckers showed up, (a couple hundred thousand of them.  The last time there were this many Canadians pissed off about something, it was when Quebec threatened to leave the nation. As I recall that was a major part of what took Trudeau’s DADDY down and made Trudeau a swear word for a couple of decades in Canada. Sigh, yet the stupid bastards went and elected another one because once again they believed the pretty lies.) 

 

Anyway, the reason they showed up is because Trudeau was trying to make it mandatory to get the jab in order to cross the border.  Now Trudeau has the jab, and the booster, and the booster to the booster, and yet he got COVID, but he wants to force people to get the jab so that they don’t get COVID, and so that they don’t pass it on, though he had to leave the capital because he had the disease even though he had the jab, and might get someone sick with the disease that he was vaccinated against… 

 

If none of this makes sense to you, you’re paying attention.  Not to leave dumb enough alone, Trudeau then proceeded to double down and wants to make it mandatory to have the jab to cross provincial lines!  Keep it up boy, we’ll find you hanging from a light post. In your case that would be an improvement.

 

Then we have the censors.  Both sides lately have been on this kick, and both sides need to be slapped over it. (In the face. With an ax.) 

 

Ilya Shapiro, a Law Professor at Georgetown has been suspended for having the audacity to say in a tweet: 

 

“Objectively best pick for Biden is Sri Srinivasan, who is solid prog & v smart,” Shapiro wrote. “Even has identity politics benefit of being first Asian (Indian) American. But alas doesn’t fit into the latest intersectionality hierarchy so we’ll get lesser black woman. Thank heaven for small favors?” Shapiro added, “Because Biden said he’s only consider[ing] black women for SCOTUS, his nominee will always have an asterisk attached. Fitting that the Court takes up affirmative action next term.”

 

See you don’t dare say that picking someone based on their skin color and plumbing instead of being the best person for the job is wrong, IF the selection is made because they’re black, or female, or any of about 57 other sexes…  There’s a hierarchy to this victimhood bullshit, and you must honor it, or you’re about to be non-personed by the left.  And comrade, the hierarchy changes daily, you better keep up!

 

Along with this, we have the Right demanding that books be banned… In Texas, it’s the Abbi Glines books (no, I have no idea if they are “sexually explicit” as claimed.  I don’t care.) The student body lost their collective shit, and showed up to speak to the School board.  There they were labeled “Radicals,” who were trying to “gaslight” everyone. (this is in Granbury TX)

 

Tennessee’s McMinn County Board of Education, is also in the mix trying to ban a graphic novel called Maus.  Maus is written by the child of a Holocaust survivor, and tells the tale of the child of a Holocaust survivor trying to understand what his father went through.  The Jews are mice, the Nazis are cats.  It’s got “vulgar” words, and it depicts subjects thought to be “too mature” for 8th graders.  (As a side note, this little stunt made Maus the #1 seller on Amazon this week.  The law of unintended consequences is a bitch.)

 

Not to be outdone, the increasingly irrelevant has-been Whoopi Goldberg (Not her real name, no she’s not jewish.) made the statement live on TV that “the Holocaust wasn’t about race!”  In reaction her network put her on suspension and is considering firing her ass.  Of course she made a Mia Coupa afterwards, but the damage was done.  

 

Then of course we round it out with the whole Joe Rogan bit, where multiple artists who apparently used to be radicals (of course they were LEFTIST radicals, so when they were facing censorship, banning them was bad, banning right-wingers is good…) have demanded that Spotify (a music streaming service) pull Rogan’s VERY popular show, or they’ll pull their stuff.  Spotify, following the money, said “well, we’ll miss you. Have a good life!”  They did however agree to put a disclaimer on the front of Rogan’s show.  It seems that’s not good enough for the Whitehouse though. Here’s the money quote: 

 

JEN PSAKI, PRESS SECRETARY: “Sure. Well, last July, I, you probably know, but the Surgeon General also took the unprecedented step to issue an advisor on the risk of misinformation in public health, which is a very significant step. And amid that, he talked about the role social media platforms have, so our hope is that all major tech platforms, and all major news sources for that matter, be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the American people have access to accurate information on something as significant as COVID-19. That certainly includes Spotify. So this disclaimer, it’s a positive step, but we want every platform to continue doing more to call out misinformation and disinformation while also uplifting, accurate information. I mean, look at the facts, right? You are 16 times more likely to be hospitalized if you’re unvaccinated and 68 times more likely to die than someone who is boosted if you’re unvaccinated. That’s pretty significant. And we think that is something that unquestionably should be the basis of how people are communicating about it. But ultimately, you know, our view is it’s a, it’s a, it’s a good step. It’s a positive step, but there’s more that can be done.”  Yes, this is an accurate transcript. Yes, she is that illegible.  I’m not sure how she got to be press secretary unless it’s the same way Kamila got her start…

 

In short, the Whitehouse wants him censored.

 

Look, let me make something clear.  Censoring is WRONG.  There has never been a situation in history where the people who wanted to shut other people up, who wanted to ban books, or burn them, or de-platform someone, was the good guy.  The answer to speech you don’t agree with is to point out where they are wrong or to laugh at their ass depending on how wrong and stupid they are.  

 

SO, at this point lets all have a laugh at several boards of Education, NBC, a few has-been or never was musicians, and that stupid redheaded bunt from the Whitehouse.

 

OK, I’ve blathered on more than long enough.

 

Take care, watch your six, 

Until next time I remain,

Yours in service.

William Lehman.

 

9 Comments

  1. They didn’t ban Maus. The stories reporting so are all lying. They removed it from the curriculum for 8th graders (13 yo’s) because it had profanity and a nude picture in it. Kids are still free to read it, they just won’t be the ones giving it to them in class.

    • Well, when you take it, not just out of the curriculum but also out of the library… you can call it a turnup if you want, but it looks like a ban to me. As to “nude pictures” ah it’s a drawing of a mouse… Shit in 8th grade 47 years ago, half of my class was sexually active already. I don’t see a nude drawing of a mouse as a big deal, sorry. It’s censorship. It’s wrong.

  2. Good discussion!

    I agree that censorship is wrong. I’m not sue that what is going on with the Maus book is actually censorship. Proper content for a school curriculum has as many opinions as there are people. Who gets to decide on what is appropriate? I believe the books kept in the school library falls into this category. Keep in mind that no school library has room or budget to store every book ever written so they have to make choices about which books to have on the shelf and which ones to not have.

    I think part of what’s going on with that book is biased reporting – do we actually know what all the reasons were for removing the book from the library? Perhaps reporters are highlighting the ones that make one group look bad? I haven’t been interested enough to dig further so don’t know one way or the other but I do know that most reporting these days tends to be biased in one direction or another.

    I do not think there is a clear demarcation between acceptable books and unacceptable books given the variety of opions on what is appropriate for a particular age group. I don’t see an easy answer unless it is to figure out if there is any subjects that everybody can agree on as being acceptable and restrict the public education to just those subjects and let parents and other organizations handle all of the others… but I doubt it is that simple.

    Do the kids still say “Sticks and stones mya break my bones but words will never hurt me”?

    • Good morning Paul,
      I think you have an excellent point on the Cherry picking by reporters. I’m sure that for every book that is removed for reasons of right-wing complaints, there are three books removed, due to left-wing complaints that we never hear about. I’m against all of those removals. I’m also not terribly enthusiastic about keeping the library in a “only what everyone can agree on” status.
      My opinion both as a writer and as a parent is that the purpose of school libraries is to expose children to the marketplace of ideas. If we limit that to “what everyone agrees to” soon (about next Tuesday) the Church of Christ Scientists will demand that we remove any book that discusses evolution. BLM will demand that we remove any book that uses the N word, or glorifies anyone who ever owned slaves… Since that includes such worthies as G. Washington and Thomas Jefferson, well I have a little bit of a problem with that.

      I propose a different perspective though, how about this as a model? Any book that any group feels should be in the school library and is willing to pay for, goes in the school library. Any group that has an issue with that book is welcome to submit their own position’s book, also to be put in the library, as a counterpoint.

      • I would accept your proposal. It is certainly balanced. My approach probably wouldn’t have had anything in the library at all.

        What happens when the shelves i the library are full?

  3. I don’t know about your school, but mine always had Extremely old and unused books. so once the shelves are full, start looking at what isn’t being checked out. If it hasn’t been checked out in a decade, you get rid of it.

  4. School libraries have always been censored- though it’s never been called that. Limited number of book shelving compared to a public library. (Well, not OUR public library in ruralville, but usually.) And there needs to be books for each reading level that’s in the school. So for a 4 year inner city Baltimore high school you need books that can be read by K-6, probably not anything more advanced than that.

    My HS had a very small amount of science fiction, and usually the books were on a waiting list. Lots of historical novels and “literature” which were never checked out. And AFAIK- nothing that parents would object to their kids seeing. The public libraries did. But some also had age restricted checkout for books. Usually based on reading level. My mother had to explain to the replacement librarian one night that I checked out books from the adult section because I was past anything in the young adult and children’s section.

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