Arthur thinks maybe the Atlantic is being used to pass along some information about our attitude toward Europe and the NATO alliance. Check it out and see what you think.
Category: Guest Contributors
Guest Contributor – Tregonsee – 24MAR2025 – Heinlein Juveniles
Hmm reording in my preference
Have Space Suit—Will Travel (1958)
Citizen of the Galaxy (1957)
Starman Jones (1953)
Time for the Stars (1956)
Farmer in the Sky (1950)
Tunnel in the Sky (1955)
The Rolling Stones (1952)
The Star Beast (1954)
Space Cadet (1948)
Rocket Ship Galileo (1947)
Between Planets (1951)
Red Planet (1949)
And yes Space Nazis is silly NOW but it was written in 1947 and so is a reasonable period thing. That said it still is a bit of a loser as a story:-) . Have Space Suit is clearly the best of the best. I read both Between Planets and Red Planet, but other than the Venusian Isaac Newton I remember little. For a Heinlein piece of writing that tells me it was unremarkable (although likely superior to many “Hugo” award winners since the early 2000’s)
As to Starship Troopers that is a special case and I need to recuse myself from that judgement. You see it was the first Heinlein I read when I purchased it for 75 cents at a book fair in 6th grade. So I did read it in the time period for a Juvenile. It certainly has many of the Heinlein juvenile tropes with a just out of teenage protagonist (The literary types if they deigned to read Heinlien might call it a Bildungsroman). There is NO sex and perhaps a little romantic/sexual tension.
One might argue that Starship Troopers being an intentional polemic to duty is of a larger import than the Juveniles, and yet Have Space Suit deals with the complexities of who rules and how they rule with Three Galaxies, Citizen of the Galaxy takes on slavery and the fact of people ignoring it for their own profit, Starman Jones deals with the issues of having cheated to break out of an unfair system and the consequences (admittedlythey DO get Deus ex Machinaed out of the way), I can’t say I wouldn’t give Starship Troopers to a young person (Having myself benifitted from it although the powered armor was more of interest than the politics to a 6th grader). And it sits closer to the Juveniles in style and feel than either Stranger in a Strange land or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. If I must put it in the Juveniles it goes before Have Space Suit. But as I noted I am biased and one never forgets their first love.
As a separate issue should Podkayne of Mars be in this list. It is an oddball (and not published for the same publisher) but yet other than a female protagonist it certainly fits the mold as well as Starship Troopers.
Guest Contributor – Milo Mindbender – 23MAR2025 – The Vote
I am of the belief that voting is one of only two times the government actually asks for your opinion, the other being jury duty. If you don’t vote you shouldn’t bitch about what the government does, since you chose not to express any of your ideas.
I also do not believe that the franchise should be free to all. If you are not a taxpayer, but are voting you are asking the public to cash checks you have no financial standing in. By limiting the franchise to tax payers you reduce the influence of those who do not contribute. I can hear the gnashing of dentures now “What about the retirees?”, they earned the franchise during their working years and should retain it in their “Golden Years”, maybe establish something similar to the 40 quarters to be eligible for SSI, require 3 years of being a net tax payer in order to establish the franchise right. Make everyone “Get some skin in the game” to quote a former President.
Guest Contributor – War Pig – 18MAR2025 – True Patriotism
When they swore their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor, they weren’t just ,making noise.
The brave and noble 56 signers
In the midst of America’s current summer of discontent, this is an appropriate time to reflect on the nation’s founding, some 244 years ago. On Independence Day, July 4, let us not forget to think about the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence – and the prices many paid for their respective commitments to forming a new nation.
The Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They’d been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2 and finally agreed on all of the edits and changes.
• Five of the 56 Declaration signers were captured by the British and tortured as traitors.
• Nine of the 56 Declaration signers fought and died in the American Revolution.
• Four other of the 56 Declaration signers lost their sons in the Continental Army or had sons who were captured.
• At least a dozen of the 56 Declaration signers had their homes looted and destroyed.
• Declaration signer Richard Stockton, a New Jersey State Supreme Court Justice, returned to his Princeton estate to find that his wife and children were living like refugees after being betrayed by a Tory (an American colonist who supported the British) sympathizer who also revealed Stockton’s location. British troops captured him and threw him in jail, where he almost starved to death.
When he was finally released, he went home to find his estate had been looted and burned. He had been so badly beaten in prison that he died before the war’s end. His surviving family lived the rest of their lives off charity.
• At the Battle of Yorktown on the York River in Virginia, Thomas Nelson, Jr.’s home had been overrun by British Gen. Charles Cornwallis, who had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. Nelson urged Gen. George Washington to open fire on his own home. This was done, and the home was destroyed. Cornwallis later surrendered the British forces at Yorktown in 1781, ending the fighting in the American Revolution.
Nelson, one of the brave and noble 56 signers, died bankrupt.
The 56 Declaration of Independence signers in July 1776 came from various walks of life. Most were considered well-educated for the time. They 56 included lawyers, store merchants, farmers, teachers, one surveyor (Abraham Clark) and even one poor soul who was a printer (Ben Franklin).
All knew without a doubt what would happen if they were caught by the enemy or exposed by a traitor. Still, they signed that wonderful and (thus far) lasting document that, along with the U.S. Constitution, is the basis for the greatest nation on earth.
Let’s read from the National Archives for a moment as we observe and celebrate Independence Day 2020 and remember our nation’s Founding Fathers:
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The brave and noble 56
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton.
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry.
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery.
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott.
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris.
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark.
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross.
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean.
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton.
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton.
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn.
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton.
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton.
By the way, George Washington was not one of the 56 signers, as he was otherwise occupied. Gen. Washington and his troops were in New York preparing for the British invasion.
All Americans ought to respect, appreciate and try to emulate the efforts of these Founding Fathers.
Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press.ble 56 signers
Guest Contributor – War Pig – 07MAR2025 – Turkey Trot
They run through the woods in a flock like a small stampede, making a lot of noise. I was squirrel hunting before turkey season. I was sitting on a fallen log in full camouflage with a ..22 rifle. I heard a flock approach and saw them coming my way. I waited until they were close, took off my hat with camouflage face net, stood up, waved my arms and shouted at them. Pandemonium. They ran in all directions, some flying, hitting trees, and falling to ground before taking off on foot. I laughed until my sides ached. If it had been turkey season, I’d have taken two of the toms or jakes. In fact I returned to the area in season and took two single toms . Wild turkey is much better than farm raised, just as I prefer wild rabbit to tame rabbit. Wild turkey giblets make the very best gravy.
Tom’s World – 28FEB2025 – Photo
Super Power Relations
Glenn W sent an email with a link to a podcast where Jeff Nyquist and Alex Benesch discuss how Donald Trump’s election impacts the global power struggle between the United States, Russia and China (link below).
https://youtu.be/OOiVNxt9I0M?si=bUOHY_mfan-wEOGu
It’s an analysis of the Chinese strategy to undermine Trump’s domestic political coalition. There is also discussion of how Trump’s handling of the Ukraine war will impact Chinese/Russian relations.
Thank you, Glenn for passing this along. It’s interesting to know how much the Chinese think about and plan to undermine the American domestic political situation. And if the CIA were any good at their job, they’d have all of this intel available for Trump in a useful and convenient form as soon as it is available. But, of course, they’re so busy trying to undermine him themselves that they can’t get around to something like that.
Watching the video made me think about how American domestic politics is viewed in such different places as Putin’s Russia and Xi’s China.
But it didn’t change my belief that almost all the problem in our country and most of the problems in the world are a result of the dysfunctional and even destructive system and culture that has taken hold of our country and by extension is being imposed on the rest of the world. The adoption of a culture that celebrates above all else aberrant sexual identities and practices, but also emphasizes the vilification of European peoples and cultures and the need to eliminate their identity from their own countries, is singlehandedly bringing about the destruction of Western civilization.
I believe that most of the problems in this country stem from these two cultural projects of the Left. And I think if these programs are eliminated it will cure most of the social dysfunction, we see around us today.
And that is why I believe that if Trump continues on with his program to eliminate things like the recognition of multiple “genders” and DEI and other affirmative action programs from the US federal government he will single-handedly solve the majority of societal ills that we find ourselves engulfed by.
Now as far as foreign policy goes, I see a clear linkage between the war in Ukraine and these same cultural dysfunctions. Russia is a pariah for the Left because it eschews the LGBTQ movement absolutely and refuses to accept the “white shame” culture within its borders. Whereas Ukraine was willing to accept the rainbow flag as the price it paid to get CIA and State Department funding for its color revolution. And you can see a similar dynamic in Hungary where Orban refused to bend the knee to the homosexual mandate and so he also became an enemy of the left. They tried to overthrow him in a recent election, pouring in all kinds of USAID money into the effort. But he won and now he’ll benefit from Trump’s reform of the State Department and foreign relations in general.
It was heartening to see JD Vance meet with the AfD candidates for parliament in Germany and confront the government there with their refusal to stem immigration and their anti-free speech polices and attitudes. It’s this kind of confidence in the advantages of a free and populist society that will advance our point of view in many places.
And that brings me to the question of what I think American policy should be toward the powerful countries like China and Russia. We should be neither fearful of nor bellicose toward them. The United States has ample enough stockpiles of nuclear tipped ICBMs to ensure that neither Russia nor China will attack us or our allies. But by the same token, what business have we rattling sabers at Putin or Xi? Our neocons in the State Department initiated the color revolution in Ukraine and then provided massive military aid and convinced the Ukrainians that the Russians would just capitulate to Ukraine joining NATO. Up until Obama’s administration it was understood that attempting to bring Ukraine into NATO would be crossing a glowing red line that Putin would retaliate against. So, they did it anyway and he invaded. Now he’s been bloodied by our Ukrainian proxies using our most sophisticated weapons systems and so we’ve turned this into a war of attrition where Russia will lose a million men and Ukraine will lose two million men and a third of their country and we’ve possibly made the Russians our bitterest enemies for generations to come. And they’ve embraced China because of it.
If Trump can figure out a way to blunt some of this damage, he should get a Nobel Peace Prize for sure. But in general, I hope Trump’s foreign policy is guided by the precept that our foreign policy should be primarily concerned with improving the security and prosperity of the American people. That’s it. We’re not out to spread democracy and we’re not trying to save the world. Climate Change and Ending World Hunger are not our priorities. Evicting the illegal aliens and bringing the price of a dozen eggs down are. So that explains my myopic vision of foreign policy. If the Chinese try to get involved in undermining the Trump voter coalition, I’m guessing they’ll be a lot less effective than the Democrats are. The Left knows the American lingo better and they’re much better liars than the Chinese are.
So, Donald Trump, just keep pummeling the Left and everything else will follow along like a master plan.
Tom’s World – 23FEB2025 – Gold Bricks Off the Titanic
Remember 4 and a fraction years ago during the BLM riots when there were entire city blocks filled with parked charter busses just around the corner from the riot site?
Also, there were Craig’s List recruiting ads for paid “rioters”. Somehow, nobody bird dogged the lead back to the source, not publically anyway. I’ll bet you that the ultimate money source was US.gov very possibly through USAID and a couple of cutout NGO’s.
…
The analogy used by a senior EPA employee recently was, “throwing gold bricks off the stern on the Titanic”.
Even now, I suspect that if we ever learn the true scale of the corruption, we will be stunned, at least initially. After the initial shock, I think there would then be some public hangings.
So Joe Biden sold his office of the Vice Presidency for somewhere in the $30 million range?
What a small time piker.
…
($4.7 trillion)
“That’s supervillain scale theft.” I don’t think there is even a word for corruption on that scale because the word has never been needed before.
Guest Contributor – War Pig – 23FEB2025 – Theft on a Cosmic Scale
Excuse me. It was $4.7 TRILLION untraceable.
$4,700,000,000,000
That’s a whole lot of decimal places.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14407689/Elon-Musks-DOGE-Treasury-payments-untraceable.html
There are also other sources, this was at the top of the list and I’m lazy.
$4.7 TRILLION unaccountable. Incredible fraud and graft at that scale. That’s about 5 times the defense budget. That’s supervillain scale theft. Every Democrat in congress during the last 4 years, and likely a sizeable numbers of Republicans as well, should be flogged on the Capitol steps, then stoned by the taxpaying public.
That’s enough one dollar bills laid to end to reach to the sun and back 4.78 times. Theft on a cosmic scale.
Tom’s World – 22FEB2025 – DOGE, Blessed Be Their Name
I think it amusing/horrifying that the DIMs have finally identified their base principle, their hill to die on that MUST NOT be breached. DOGE has revealed the nature of that principle. And it is not DIE, open borders, green energy, climate change, transgender, etc., etc.
The hill that that they have chosen as the location for their apoplectic battle is the continuation of graft and corruption on the $trillion dollar scale.
Example from yesterdays news- Though it’s difficult, I’ll try not to get too pejorative here but that FAT ***** Black Georgia “woman”,Stacey Abrams, was in the news. DOGE (blessed be their name) uncovered that a PAC formed by Stacey a couple of months ago for environmental justice received a $2 billion (read $2 thousand million) grant from the nightmare Biden admin.
Understand that this PAC was 2 months old and had no employees and had a capitalization of $100 before the grant. Also understand that the grant had no conditions, no oversite, no monitoring, no auditing.
That precisely is the base principle of what the Dims have become and will “die” to protect.