. . . Ten Percent Went to the Big Guy

US Navy Gives up the Ghost on Its Failed ‘Urban Street Fighter’
Asia Times

How do you build a ship without a mission? The littoral combat ship (LCS) is how.

It could not carry out its original mission because the ship is not survivable in combat. The billions wasted on the US Navy’s so-called “urban street fighter” ship could have been used to build additional missile defense AEGIS destroyers or give the Navy more firepower or finance a new generation of robotic surface and subsurface vessels.

Instead, the Navy chose to build ships it did not need and could not use. Even when they were deployed, they often broke down, deeply embarrassing the Navy and harming US prestige. Worse yet, the Navy worked hard to salvage the ships – to no avail – by improving their firepower without making them more reliable.

Neither version of the littoral combat ship (one of them is a steel-hulled ship with an aluminum superstructure; the other is an all-aluminum trimaran design) can perform the original mission, which was “envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats in the littorals.”

…

On September 8, the US Navy decommissioned the USS Milwaukee, LCS-5. The Milwaukee entered service in 2015 meaning that it was in use for only eight years. It was used primarily for intercepting drug traffickers.

The 2023 fiscal year budget calls for decommissioning nine Freedom-class LCS ships. Fourteen of the 16 completed Independence-class ships, along with the remaining Freedom class, remain in service. For how long is anyone’s guess.

Why the Navy keeps pouring money and manpower into these ships remains an open question.

Um, 10%?

Students Demand Cash-Strapped New School Sell Donna Shalala Townhouse
NY Post | 09/03/2023 | Rikki Schlott

The ultra-progressive New School university is facing a projected $85.5 million budget deficit — and things are so bad that even asked students and faculty have been asked to submit budget-cutting suggestions.

In no surprise for a school that’s produced Marxists and progressives such as Jacques Derrida and Erich Fromm, the ideas include chopping executive salaries and even selling off the school-owned Greenwich Village townhouse currently occupied by former Clinton cabinet member Donna Shalala, now serving as New School’s interim president.

The New School woke up to a harsh reality during the pandemic: operating a private university in lower Manhattan is quite expensive.

After enrollment tumbled by 15%, the college dipped into its endowment to offset a $130 million revenue shortfall.

Chief Financial Officer Josh Burgher warned in a March budgeting meeting that the projected 5-year deficit could “easily” swell to $240 million.

. . . well, so could IMAO’s . . .

But austerity attempts have been met with vociferous opposition from the ultra-progressive community.

In 2020 the school chopped top leadership salaries by 12 to 15%, cut down on library subscriptions, extended voluntary separation packages to employees and laid off 122 predominantly lower-level staffers.

. . . but ours are all so darn cute! One of them looks like MaryAnn from Gilligan’s Island. The rest look like they could be her sorority sisters.

I’m glad they inserted the word “off” at the last minute.

Boston’s Mayor Declares ‘Heat Emergency’ for High-80s Summer Day
American Thinker | 13 Sep, 2023 | Olivia Murray

… Then last week, Michelle Wu, Boston’s hardcore leftist mayor, opened her big mouth and showed (again) just how right on the money one can be when you operate under the assumption that ineptitude and uselessness are shared traits amongst elected officials.

On September 7th, Wu declared a “heat emergency” saying temperatures were expected to reach into the… ready for this? The nineties. (Turns out, Thursday the 7th peaked at 89°F and Friday reached 88°F.) From the Boston government’s press release:

‘The impacts of climate change are more palpable than ever, with extreme heat posing risk to our communities,’ said Mayor Michelle Wu. ‘Although extreme heat affects Bostonians of all ages, with the new school year starting, our Boston Public Schools staff will be following protocols to ensure our kids have an enjoyable, safe first week back at school.’

Barely out of August on the East Coast? That’s still summer, and these are normal summer temperatures. Let me guess, could one confuse “safe” back-to-school “protocols” with a mock climate lockdown of sorts? People, in this case children, padlocked inside, out of the fresh (albeit warm) air, under toxic EMF-emitting LED lights, stagnant and very inactive—two words come to mind: predictive programming.

Wu’s statement continued, noting that the city would staff “cooling centers” at 15 community centers, and she also included a list of “safety tips” on how to deal with warmer temperatures. Among the tips you could find sage advice like “stay hydrated” and “wear appropriate clothing” and “keep cool with … shade, and air conditioning or fans.”

Back in the Bad Old Days Before Harvey, Basil, Oppo, and Walrus Took Over and Money Flowed Like Champagne

Guy Second From Right Registers His Displeasure

Commenter (Back Row, Second From Left): “Wait a Minute … I Don’t Remember Ever Getting Paid.”

Interns back then weren’t what they are now.

Oath to Constitution Clearly Not “Absolute”

Builder Owes $6M to Customers for Unbuilt Tiny Homes, Blew Money on Race Cars and Vegas Trip: report
nypost.com | September 7, 2023 | Allie Griffin

A builder in Colorado owes $6 million to customers who never received their promised tiny homes after he allegedly blew the cash on race cars, real estate and lavish trips, according to new bankruptcy filings.

…

The nonprofit company spent more than $400,000 to buy and repair race cars and other vehicles in addition to $35,000 in real estate in Colorado and Alaska, according to an 81-page report filed Friday and obtained by the local Fox affiliate station.

It spent another $32,000 on meals and $55,000 on travel to Las Vegas. Just $10,000 of the travel expenses “appear to be related to the delivery of the tiny homes,” according to the court filing.

…

The spending spree happened between October 2020 and August 2022, the same time the nonprofit was collecting deposits from customers for tiny homes they never received, KDVR reported.

For an example . . .

In the following article, mentally replace

“ant” with “immigrant.”

“fire ant” with “illegal immigrant”; and

“red fire ant” with “jihadi Illegal immigrant.”

100% guaranteed humor.

Invasive Fire Ants Have Made It to Europe – and They’re Likely To Spread
Euronews | 12/09/2023 | Angela Symons

Red fire ants are one of the world’s worst and costliest invasive alien species – and they’re making Italy their home.

One of the world’s worst invasive alien species has arrived in Europe for the first time, a new study reveals.

The red fire ant has formed a mature population in Sicily, Italy, according to research published in the scientific journal Current Biology.

The study warns that, with the help of global warming, the ants could spread across the continent. The climate in half of Europe’s urban areas is already suitable for the species.

This could have devastating and costly impacts on biodiversity, crops and human health.

Why are red fire ants dangerous? As aggressive foragers, fire ants usually become the dominant ant species when they are introduced to a new territory.

…

The ants can also sting people, making public areas such as parks unsafe for children. They may also cause a life-threatening allergic reaction in a small percentage of people who react to their venom.

Through predation, competition and stinging they have also been known to impact birds and fish.

As well as wreaking havoc on local ecosystems and biodiversity, fire ants can damage crops and infest electrical equipment.

They are the fifth costliest invasive species in the world, costing almost €20 billion in damage and management between 1970 and 2017, according to one estimate published in the journal Nature in 2021.

Fire ants are listed among the 100 worst invasive alien species by the Global Invasive Species Database.

In less than a century, they have spread via human trade throughout much of the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, China, Taiwan and Australia. They often travel in infested soil, hay, mulch, and landscaping and construction materials.

Solenopsis invicta is already listed as a ‘species of concern’ on the EU’s invasive alien species list.

In the US alone, annual costs associated with the species are now estimated to be around $1 billion (€933 million).

New Zealand is the only country to have successfully eradicated this invasive ant.

Fire ants have previously been documented in products in Spain, Finland and the Netherlands but not in the wild as seen in Sicily, where 88 nests have been found.

Will fire ants spread across Europe? Locals near the Sicilian city of Syracuse have been reporting frequent fire ant stings since 2019.

Genetic analysis of the ants found in the area suggests they may have originated in the southern US, mainland China or Taiwan.

It is unclear how or when the species was introduced to the area, but it may have been through the nearby Augusta cargo port.

Researchers found that the ants could establish themselves in 7 per cent of Europe and the Mediterranean under current environmental conditions. Agricultural areas are most at risk, while half of the urban areas studied have suitable conditions.

Of these, coastal Mediterranean cities with major seaport connections are most at risk.

Future projections show that Europe’s environment is likely to become more widely suited for the ants as the climate heats up.

The researchers advise that early detection and action are key in managing this new threat. Citizen reporting of stings and nests could help track the spread of the ants.

Intern, Walrus, Ant. Pew! Pew! Pew!

i.e.,

I imagine that blonde was an absolute demon in the sack.

Stewardess: “Would you like some trash I just picked up from the row behind you?”

… Nor “Sanctuary House” … Nor “Sanctuary Kitchen”

In a “Sanctuary City,” after all, someone else can deal with them, downtown . . . maybe minimum-wage foreign social workers.

How the Hell Do You Think Us Veterans Feel Right Now?
Town Hall | 11 Sep 2023 | Kurt Schlichter

Was I a sucker? I sure don’t want to feel like a sap, but the thought that I may be one arises when I watch this endless parade of patriots – including our last conscious president – being prosecuted for their political beliefs and treated differently under a two-tier justice system as the garbage institutions attempt to quash free speech, and as the alleged president, a desiccated, corrupt, old pervert, generally drives our country into the ground. I defended this?

I did 27 years in our military. I proudly swore to defend our Constitution.  . . .

That oath I took? It never expires. And now I just need to know if I was a sucker for believing all that Constitution and freedom stuff when I raised my right hand.

If you ask me, “What’s wrong with the military today?” I can sum it up by asking you a question in response: “What is the name of the general or admiral fired because of the fiasco in Afghanistan two years ago?”

There hasn’t been one. 

But I’m sure all the generals and admirals think that’s just great. Accountability sucks when you suck, and they really, really, really feel that accountability sucks. They are currently scandalized because Senator Tommy Tuberville refuses to allow the Senate to mass promote them until the Pentagon stops its illegal expenditure of tax money to facilitate abortions. They should be scandalized about ships running into each other, by troops punching out the second their enlistments are up, and about the potential for getting sent to fight someone else’s war in Ukraine.

. . . Were all of us veterans fooled?

Absolutely not, because the America I chose to defend, and that millions and millions of veterans chose to defend, was worthy of our service and our sacrifice. The unworthy among us have temporarily taken over. The unworthy have gutted our institutions and, as Twitter legend Iowahawk memorably put it, worn those institutions as a skinsuit demanding respect. 

The further adventures of Ethel and Myrtle (thanks to Gene)!

♪ ♪

“Ethel — what are you pushing?”

“Is this the window control?”