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Word has come out that Trump appointee General Mark Milley, Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took various steps to ensure Trump did not unilaterally launch nuclear warheads after Trump lost the election. Various right-wing sources are running around claiming "treason" or "loss of civilian control of the military."

These sources are wrong. ( Read more... )

As the author Patrick S. Tomlinson (
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Yesterday, Trump's lawyers sent a letter to Congress regarding the impeachment process. On Sunday, Trump announced we were pulling out of Syria. I have thoughts.

On Impeachment1) Trump's letter repeated the claim his call with the Ukrainians was "perfectly good." Yeah, not so much ( Read more... )

Two thoughts based on yesterday's news:

Thought The First - Space Force!Comes news today that Trump ordered the Pentagon to create a separate space force. He doesn't actually have the authority to do so (it requires Congress to pass a law) and at this point in time making a space force is merely a full-employment act for flag officers ( Read more... )

The famous basketball coach Bobby Knight is alleged to have said, "it's not how hard you try, it's how hard you prepare." Now, Coach Knight spent most of his career at Indiana University, arch-rivals to my alma mater the University of Illinois, so I'm not a big fan of the coach. But, to give the devil his due, Coach Knight is right on with this one ( Read more... )

I was at the gym yesterday. It's one of those big box structures, and they have a row of big-screen TVs facing a lineup of treadmills and workout bikes. One of the TVs was tuned to Fox News, and I could tell from the video that they were having vapors over Russia's new hypersonic cruise missile. Now, said missile sounds formidable, and I have no ( Read more... )

A Thought

With Star Trek: Discovery in hiatus, there was only one SF show on offer at Casa Gerrib, The Orville. I find that the story is growing on me. Here they use the holodeck (or whatever we're calling it to avoid the Copyright Cops) in a very practical way.

A QuestionI had to buy a new winter coat this weekend. Before going out shopping ( Read more... )

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you've heard that 4 American servicemen were killed a few weeks ago in an attack in Niger. Most of the uproar has focused on President Trump's handling of the notifications. Other than to ask what would you expect of a bullshit artist, I don't have anything to say about Trump's ( Read more... )

For the first time in months, I'm having a slow day at work. This is mostly because I'm either waiting for people to get back to me or waiting until Saturday to make some network changes. Since I have a bit of time, and I can't see that I talked about this, two deep thoughts.

Statues of Confederate GeneralsThe South is littered with statues of ( Read more... )