Politics

[Red Leg]

How they ended up with F5's to begin with is a pretty interesting story involving several countries and Carter bypassing congressional approval to make it happen (sent to Yemen initially, later taken by the Hourthis)..

The Intriguing Story Of How Yemen Got F-5E Tiger II Fighters

Yemen's F-5E Tiger II saga is a geopolitical jigsaw puzzle of a story that involved Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.

www.twz.com

the fact that they have been able to keep one of them flying all of these years (they only got 12 to begin with) honestly is pretty impressive.. they've essentially cannibalized all of the other aircraft over a 4 decade period and have been able to figure out how to modify or fabricate parts as well to keep the one aircraft airborne... whether or not they still have any ordnance for it is questionable..

The Houthi air force has a single fighter jet — an ancient F-5. The US is very much not afraid of it.

The Houthi rebels apparently have just one F5 jet, and the US says it's nothing to be afraid of.

www.yahoo.com

While an Army Attaché in Riyadh in the eighties, a good friend was the Attaché in Sanaa, Yemen. I took the family down there for Christmas week to visit (not many people can claim that). It really was stepping back into the fifteenth century. Every third person was carrying firearm from a French Berthier musketoon to AK, every male had a Jambiya shoved into the front of his waist scarf or belt, and the whole country was high as a kite on Khat by noon. The terrain, particularly in the north is beautiful, and we had a grand time exploring ruins that dated to the time of Sheba. Virtually no true archeological work has ever been done there.

To your point, Sanaa was a fascinating location during the Cold War. A US military assistance team occupied half the joint use Airport/Air Base fielding and training F5E pilots and ground crew, while a Soviet mil group did the same thing on the other side of the apron with their new Mig-21's.

We attended a Christmas diplomatic reception while there and had fun playing spy on spy with our Russian Attaché and GRU counterparts. I really need to digitize some of that photography.

 

[Red Leg]

I agree these 80,000 JFK documents will show nothing. It was a stunt and most of these 80,000
documents have already been released.



This secret recording just in.

Hey, nefarious players in various agencies give us all the dirt you have on yourselves.

Response- Ok, here is all the dirt we have on ourselves.

It is somehow comforting to know somethings are permanent. Conspiracies will live forever unaffected by actual evidence.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Never been on that tributary but have been on a couple similar north of there just across the Kilbucks. Judging by the topo map looks too small, braided and flat on lower end for jets. That’s a good thing as it regulates pressure and maintains quality.

Float only waters with stretches requiring dragging (“lining”) with small inflatables does tend to self-regulate over-use. Those type waters with good fishing are not as common as one would imagine.

A real WTH wake up call happens when floating a remote, small stream then have an airboat come roaring by! Had it happen a long time ago.

Another category of my favorite small fishing water is walk-in only with no way to float A to B. Fly in then go on foot. Pic of one of those… also in SW AK.

View attachment 672898

"Float only waters with stretches requiring dragging (“lining”) with small inflatables does tend to self-regulate over-use. Those type waters with good fishing are not as common as one would imagine."

Bingo. And we still have a reasonable amount of such waters on the refuge.

 

[Red Leg]

Actually the Department of Education Organization Act was passed by Congress and signed by Carter in 1979.

Exactly. Implemented by executive order and then codified in law by an act of Congress.

 

[KJE81]

If you have any Lockheed Martin stock, dump it. Future doesn’t look good.

Denmark official reveals Trump’s possible blackmail plan to get Greenland — NJ.com

Published: Mar. 19, 2025 President Donald Trump talks as he meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 13, 2025. A Danish politician floated a possible plan on Wednesday for President Donald Trump to take over Greenland. Rasmus...

apple.news

After US disabling (for all practical purposes) Ukraine’s F16s hard to prove a negative regarding F-35s or any other computer/digital driven weapons that rely on US satellites or radar.

It seems that many buyers of F-35 are changing or thinking about changing their minds, Portugal decided not to proceed with the F-35 citing Trumps policies as the main reason and apparently Canada is considering not to buy it either. India also seems to be thinking about the french Rafaele instead.

As far as I understand it some nations has had the idea of their buying american would make the US more likely to protect them and therefore choosing for example the F35 over an alternative fighter.

NATO countries are having second thoughts about buying America's F-35 as the 'predictability of our allies' is doubted amid Trump's seismic shifts

"There are several options that must be considered, particularly in the context of European production."

fortune.com

I think that stocks in european defense contractors might be a better bet then Lockheed presently, if nothing else because of the EU initiative to buy european when rearming Europe.

 

[Wheels]

Trump and the Lower Courts

Some thoughts about what he's doing and what he might do

instapundit.substack.com

a reasonable article written by a law professor that has practiced in the criminal courts on how Trump should take on these lower courts and their rulings.. (worth the 5 minute read I think)..

Margot Cleveland has done a great job in staying on top of the multitude of cases against Trump.

Congress is the balance against "inferior courts". They are the ones that created them. They should start passing some rules. ie: SDNY which is primarily Manhattan, Bronx, Westchester County and a couple others passing a TRO that binds the President across the country, even trying to make planes in international waters return to America. If a judge only has jurisdiction in SDNY over habeas corpus, how does he have the ability to turn planes around in international waters. Roberts and SCOTUS also have the ability to rein in this show of force by inferior courts, which they might do. They just want to do it through the normal process which may take a couple years. In the mean time this is hamstringing the administration. SCOTUS is the Constitutional push back against the Executive Branch. Not the inferior courts. Roberts is putting the credibility of the Judiciary on the line if he continues to allow District Courts to make wide ranging decisions not specific to their districts or elevating the cases to SCOTUS at a quicker pace than 1-3 years for a decision.

 

[rookhawk]

As I said. The wonderful nature of a conspiracy theory is that it is immune to any and all evidence to the contrary.

I've always had great respect for our US military as an institution and those that served or led our troops.

Every known, disgustingly vile thing associated with the US armed forces I have swept into the CIA and other 3-letter agencies abusing and misusing our military as part of their actions. This could be allowing a million people to die in Guatemala on behalf of Mr. Dulles and the American Fruit Company, or Bay of Pigs, MK-Ultra, the Branch Davidian massacre, and all the other unchecked nonsense that we know has occurred in the last 80 years, much less the stuff not fully sorted out in the history books where dirty fingerprints of these other agencies is all over the exposed records.

Calling discrepancies in the JFK account and other similarly shady conspiracies that don't add up "nonsense" feels a lot like gaslighting to me and others. It erodes the earned credibility of the armed services rather than taking the position most American's believe the evidence supports: Most shady things we can ascribe to the military is likely just the point of a spear run by the CIA and other agencies where some element of the military got tangled into it peripherally.

I state the above because I respect you @Red Leg but your defense of mainstream narratives that at minimum had unchecked CIA ancillary involvements makes me uncomfortable. It feels like you're an apologist for the intelligence aparatus rather than an apologist for the US military.

 

[Wheels]

Actually the Department of Education Organization Act was passed by Congress and signed by Carter in 1979.

Good catch. I am wrong. I was only remembering the Executive Order.

 

[DillonG]

What? Are you serious? Schumer all but called for Kavanaugh’s head! Impeachment and loading (expanding) the SCOTUS were called for by lots of liberals.

I still remember the idea by Dems in 2022 to end the filibuster and increase the Supreme Court headcount. I believe the previous,
notable attempt was by FDR. Of course, I was educated in rural IL. I could be wrong. Perhaps there were other Presidents since him.

 

[DillonG]

Average citizen in US is only capable of reading at the 8th grade level.
Do you think they'll invest the money if they opt out of SS and Medicare?

Perhaps the better question is why Americans are illiterate. I would still rather freedom and liberty be the main construct of this country than government mandate. I’m probably alone in that sentiment.

 

[DillonG]

It is somehow comforting to know somethings are permanent. Conspiracies will live forever unaffected by actual evidence.

Was the Hunter Biden laptop a conspiracy? Perhaps the media coverup of what his previous business dealings were as well.

 

[Doubleplay]

It's actually sad to see discussions about the law, scotus and justices.
Law should be blind and without bias no matter which side of the aisle you're on.
Trying to stack the justice system with people partial to your views is wrong and would lead to failure of the system in the wrong run.
I don't care if you are conservative or liberal no one should try to shape our legal system one way or other.
All we need to follow is the constitution.
You can't pick and choose to your liking.
My two cents.

 

[WAB]

[emoji[emoji6]][emoji6]" data-quote="Fastrig" data-source="post: 0" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

Believe we use F[emoji6]'s for target practice today

Yeah, and what’s so cool is that the Houthis have agreed to fly them for us!

 

[Scott CWO]

I said Biden not Democrats.

Biden openly talked about packing the SCOTUS. You are correct that he did not exactly call for impeachment but let’s not pretend that he wasn’t irresponsible with his rhetoric about the court and the Justices.

 

[Red Leg]

I've always had great respect for our US military as an institution and those that served or led our troops.

Every known, disgustingly vile thing associated with the US armed forces I have swept into the CIA and other 3-letter agencies abusing and misusing our military as part of their actions. This could be allowing a million people to die in Guatemala on behalf of Mr. Dulles and the American Fruit Company, or Bay of Pigs, MK-Ultra, the Branch Davidian massacre, and all the other unchecked nonsense that we know has occurred in the last 80 years, much less the stuff not fully sorted out in the history books where dirty fingerprints of these other agencies is all over the exposed records.

Calling discrepancies in the JFK account and other similarly shady conspiracies that don't add up "nonsense" feels a lot like gaslighting to me and others. It erodes the earned credibility of the armed services rather than taking the position most American's believe the evidence supports: Most shady things we can ascribe to the military is likely just the point of a spear run by the CIA and other agencies where some element of the military got tangled into it peripherally.

I state the above because I respect you @Red Leg but your defense of mainstream narratives that at minimum had unchecked CIA ancillary involvements makes me uncomfortable. It feels like you're an apologist for the intelligence aparatus rather than an apologist for the US military.

You may feel free to "erode" me however much you like. I truly won't sit up nights worrying about whether I offer contrary commentary to something you choose to believe. However, I would suggest broadening your reading base to some of the cites I suggested. There are many others that also don't attract the attention of the typical conspiracy devote. I also would suggest it is perfectly possible the majority of Americans have been conditioned to believe nonsense on this subject just as they have on a number of other topics - several discussed here - as I remember, the cause of climate change seems to be one about which you, as do I, object to the general narrative? I have yet to see any real evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald was anything but a lone assassin.

Your "comfort" is also of relatively little interest to me with respect to what I believe and what the evidence with regard to any subject supports. In this case, six years of my three decades in the military were spent within the DIA. That included fairly extensive training at a facility in Tidewater. During that period, I worked directly and not always harmoniously, with several Station Chiefs across the Middle East and officers in Washington. I have very little patience for much of the intrigue ascribed to Central Intelligence or sister agencies.

I suppose one could now conclude to simply write my opinion off as having been coopted by CIA? Perhaps. However, I choose to think of it as having some real world experience in the subject matter.

Finally, I am not an "apologist" for anything or anyone. CIA, DOD, and the US Army have all presided over serious catastrophes over the decades. The Bay of Pigs and Task Force Smith are two obvious ones. But, none of those have anything to do with the subject at hand. With regard to it or any other, I simply offer my interpretation of events or information based on my experience base. Feel free to challenge or ignore it.

 

[Red Leg]

It's actually sad to see discussions about the law, scotus and justices.
Law should be blind and without bias no matter which side of the aisle you're on.
Trying to stack the justice system with people partial to your views is wrong and would lead to failure of the system in the wrong run.
I don't care if you are conservative or liberal no one should try to shape our legal system one way or other.
All we need to follow is the constitution.
You can't pick and choose to your liking.
My two cents.

This conflict and debate has been going on since the founding and led by all political bases.

 

[SaintPanzer]

Overheard on the Camp Pendleton Rifle Range in 1992:

"My Target went down, and I didn't fire. Someone else is shooting on my target!"

Comment from further on down the line: "Oh, now we're getting into the Grassy Knoll Theory..."

 

[Scott CWO]

Generally agree with you, however on the ballistic studies I've watched documentaries that support the various views on the matter. The most recent one was a couple of year ago, sorry can't remember which one it was, where they created a live mock-up of the scene, had target dummies to scale/composition, and proceeded to execute shots from all the different "theories" locations and how each would play out, comparing to the footage of the assassination. That documentary's commentary was the shot from Oswald's position would not have ended in the way JFK's head moved on impact. Believe they concluded that the "grassy knoll" angle would have been more conducive to that movement. Not agreeing or disagreeing, just passing this along as it was a very well done study from what I could tell.

Another reenactment also with ballistic gel dummies had the opposite conclusion and also supported the single bullet theory.

 

[Red Leg]

Another reenactment also with ballistic gel dummies had the opposite conclusion and also supported the single bullet theory.

Read Lucien Haag's study that I posted above. I admit, his analysis wasn't on the internet, but was peer reviewed and published in a major medical journal.

 

[Fastrig]

Another reenactment also with ballistic gel dummies had the opposite conclusion and also supported the single bullet theory.

Seen it both ways from different "experts"....reason I brought it up. That was just the most modern/recent one I've seen over the years. It was a tragedy, no matter how it all shook out....sad day for our country.