bolverk

A second cable was cut. https://bsky.app/profile/tendar.bsky.social/post/3lbauzbmses2k

Real World alumnus turns Transportation Secretary. https://bsky.app/profile/yasharali.bsky.social/post/3lbaztwvxpk2c

https://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2012/08/03/enough-fallout-for-everyone/

Sure, but that presupposes there won't eventually be an effort to start recruiting the exact types who would see heading down to the border to round up and detain brown immigrants as a positive. Trump created the "Space Force," after all, so I could see him making some similar executive order to carve out a "Border Force" from the Army/Marines to do just that.

https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3lbap7qdfcs2p

https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lb5wcx5jt22x

Worth a read in full (https://www.propublica.org/article/video-donald-trump-russ-vought-center-renewing-america-maga), but here are some lowlights: Vought does not hide his agenda or shy away from using extreme rhetoric in public. But the apocalyptic tone and hard-line policy prescriptions in the two private speeches go further than his earlier pronouncements. As OMB director, Vought sought to use Trump’s 2020 “Schedule F” executive order to strip away job protections for nonpartisan government workers. But he has never spoken in such pointed terms about demoralizing federal workers to the point that they don’t want to do their jobs. He has spoken in broad terms about undercutting independent agencies but never spelled out sweeping plans to defund the EPA and other federal agencies. ***** As ProPublica and Documented reported, Project 2025 has launched a massive program to recruit, vet and train thousands of people to “be ready on day one” to serve in a future conservative administration. (Trump has repeatedly criticized Project 2025, and his top aides have said the effort has no connection to the official campaign despite the dozens of former Trump aides and advisers who contributed to Project 2025.) ***** In his 2024 speech, Vought said he was spending the majority of his time helping lead Project 2025 and drafting an agenda for a future Trump presidency. “We have detailed agency plans,” he said. “We are writing the actual executive orders. We are writing the actual regulations now, and we are sorting out the legal authorities for all of what President Trump is running on.” ***** Vought’s preparations for a future Trump administration involve building a “shadow” Office of Legal Counsel, he told the gathered supporters in May 2023. That office, part of the Justice Department, advises the president on the scope of their powers. Vought made clear he wants the office to help Trump steamroll the kind of internal opposition he faced in his first term. Historically, the OLC has operated with a degree of independence. “If, all of a sudden, the office is full of a bunch of loyalists whose only job is to rubber-stamp the White House’s latest policy directive, whose only goal is to justify the ends by whatever means, that would be quite dangerous,” said an attorney who worked in the office under a previous Republican administration and requested anonymity to speak freely. Another priority, according to Vought, was to “defund” certain independent federal agencies and demonize career civil servants, which include scientists and subject matter experts. Project 2025’s plan to revive Schedule F, an attempt to make it easier to fire a large swath of government workers who currently have civil service protections, aligns with Vought’s vision. “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,” he said. “When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. We want their funding to be shut down so that the EPA can't do all of the rules against our energy industry because they have no bandwidth financially to do so. “We want to put them in trauma.”

https://bsky.app/profile/ronfilipkowski.bsky.social/post/3lba5y3ebr22t

France, UK Approve Ukraine’s Use of SCALP/Storm Shadow Missiles for Strikes on Russian Soil The governments of France and the United Kingdom, following the United States, have granted Ukraine permission to conduct deep strikes into Russian territory using their SCALP/Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Le Figaro reported on this. Militarnyi previously reported that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with American long-range missiles. The missiles are likely to be initially employed against Russian and North Korean troops in defense of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk oblast of western Russia, according to The New York Times. Most likely, it was the U.S. government’s decision that prompted the French and British governments to make a decision that politicians have been discussing almost since the beginning of SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Previously, French-British cruise missiles were used to hit targets in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Reports suggest that the missiles destroyed the Rostov-on-Don submarine, the landing ship Minsk, the small missile ship Askold, and the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. Strikes by SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles on important facilities in the Russian Federation can cause significant losses and contribute to the reduction of the capabilities of the Russian invasion forces. On November 10, Militarnyi reported that France was preparing an additional batch of long-range SCALP missiles and Mistral missiles for air defense for Ukraine. SCALP/Storm Shadow The Franco-British Storm Shadow/SCALP EG is a long-range air-to-ground air-launched cruise search missile. It is designed to overcome air defense systems and destroy important stationary targets, including bunkers. The 5.1-meter-long search missile has a flight weight of up to 1,300 kg, while the weight of its warhead is 450 kg. The French version of the missile called SCALP EG and the British Storm Shadow are basically identical. The difference is only in the software and type of aircraft designed to carry this missile. The stated operational range of the cruise missile is over 250 km in the export version and up to 560 km for the army of France and the UK. https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lba2zg5ufc2s

Have you forgotten the part of Project 2025 that includes firing 75,000 career bureaucrats and replacing them with political appointees (i.e., loyalists), whom they've been interviewing for the past couple of years?

Ukraine to receive 4000 German attack drones with artificial intelligence Ukraine’s military will receive 4,000 artificial intelligence-controlled attack drones from Germany. The German newspaper Bild reported on this, citing its own sources, according to European Pravda. The publication notes that the German company Helsing has received permission to supply them. It also cites the words of Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who actually confirmed these intentions. It is noted that these are HX-2 Karma kamikaze drones, which have high autonomy in the face of jamming and can very effectively hit targets at a considerable distance through the use of artificial intelligence technology. Starting in December, they may begin to be delivered to the Ukrainian Defense Forces in batches of several hundred units per month. According to Bild’s sources, some prototypes are allegedly already being tested in real combat conditions in eastern Ukraine and are being improved based on the results. It is noted that the drone’s feature was modern software that helped it navigate the terrain using many “markers” and fly to the target even in difficult weather conditions, as well as the influence of electronic warfare. Once the drone has identified the target and the operator has confirmed it, it is then able to strike autonomously, even if communication is lost, i.e., apparently, a homing system is used at the final part of the flight. The German publication also states that the range of this kamikaze drone is allegedly four times longer than that of typical Ukrainian counterparts. However, it is worth noting that the article does not specify which specific drones are used for comparison. However, it is stated that they were significantly cheaper than the American Switchblade and Russian Lancet drones. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he had been “very pleased that the delivery of these drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology is already underway” and that Ukraine would be able to use them against important enemy targets, Bild reported. In February 2024, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Ukrainian Ministry of Industry and Trade and Helsing.

I was just reading a piece about the Cabinet picks and came across this passage: Somehow disruption doesn’t begin to cover it. Upheaval might be closer. Revolution maybe. In less than two weeks since being elected again, Donald J. Trump has embarked on a new campaign to shatter the institutions of Washington as no incoming president has in his lifetime. He has rolled a giant grenade into the middle of the nation’s capital and watched with mischievous glee to see who runs away and who throws themselves on it. Suffice it to say, so far there have been more of the former than the latter. Mr. Trump has said that “real power” is the ability to engender fear, and he seems to have achieved that. Mr. Trump’s early transition moves amount to a generational stress test for the system. If Republicans bow to his demand to recess the Senate so that he can install appointees without confirmation, it would rewrite the balance of power established by the founders more than two centuries ago. And if he gets his way on selections for some of the most important posts in government, he would put in place loyalists intent on blowing up the very departments they would lead. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/11/18/us/trump-news-live/trump-signals-a-seismic-shift-shocking-the-washington-establishment?smid=url-share The bolded was new to me, so I looked it up. It apparently appeared in Woodward's book Peril and was a quote from TFG. Now, we can all argue about how he's incompetent or about how his Cabinet picks are all incompetent, but this quote betrays a self-awareness of which I didn't think Trump was capable. And it seems to confirm that his outrageous selections may very well be a loyalty test to see how far Congress (and the Senate, in particular) will allow him to go on future Executive decisions/actions, which is what's been hypothesized. To quote Susan Collins, "That's concerning."

I really need to watch "A Fish Called Wanda" again. It's been about 30 years since the last.

Very glad my daughter made it through Texas public schools before what's coming fully gets here.

It looks like Johnny, Pronghorn, and a few of our other posters had a fun weekend in Columbus. @WhatTheBuck, I hope they had the courtesy of giving you a ring while they were in town.

Not a great outing. The one bright spot was getting purple correct first on Connections. Wordle 1,248 5/6 ⬛🟨🟩⬛⬛ 🟨⬛🟩⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩⬛🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #526 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🙂 Daily Quordle 1029 9️⃣5️⃣ 6️⃣7️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ 🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟨🟩🟩🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Yeah, so...I guess this is all about sending a message: "Learn to acquiesce or else." The next time a pollster shows results that make him or his policies look unpopular with the American public, they'd better think twice. Dear Leader can't let Americans know if other Americans think he's doing a shitty job. Besides that, his ego needs good headlines.

Y'all don't know what you're talking about. It's clearly called the "Howie Mandel effect."

Wordle 1,247 3/6 ⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟨🟨⬛🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #525 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 Got me. 🙂 Daily Quordle 1028 🟥6️⃣ 5️⃣7️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟩🟨⬜🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

TD KU

Wishing for an injury on the QB1 of your own team is bottom-of-the-barrel stuff. But then again, your posting history shows you've always been happy wallowing in the slime and muck. Hell, your avatar alone reflects that, so congrats on owning the fact you're fucking sleazebag.

Courtesy of Black Lab's initiative and labor: https://cfbscoreboard.com/ Keep this bookmarked. It's a great resource for Saturdays.

Quoting this guy in case you missed it. Others can obviously neg the shit out of him too.

Should've gotten this one in four but stupidly placed a discovered letter in the same wrong postition twice. Wordle 1,246 5/6 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨⬛🟨⬛ ⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟨🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #524 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🙂 Daily Quordle 1027 8️⃣7️⃣ 5️⃣6️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜ 🟨⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜ 🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟨⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩