Category: Defense and Security

Ten Short Notes

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A Lot Is Going On. Let’s Keep Track, Even Of The Ones Easy To Miss

Minnesota Leads the Way – But Do Not Be Fooled

The people of Minneapolis and many others who came to support them have done it right; we should all be inspired. But understand this is far, far from over. The Administration took a bit of a bloody nose and is making noises about easing back a bit, but the evidence is pretty thin. There are still thousands of federal forces in Minneapolis (and in lots of other places). Some confrontational methods seem less used,

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Murder in Minneapolis

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Murder, And So Much More

We all would rather talk about anything other than what is going on in Minnesota and elsewhere, but we really do not have that option, do we? This cannot stand and only the citizenry – you and I – can stop it.

As Bad As It Could Be

Renee Nichole Good was shot 3 times and denied medical assistance as she died in the front seat of her car.

Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the local VA hospital was shot as many as 10 times. When medical personnel arrived,

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The Circus Continues

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Greenland – The Mind Boggles

Of all the things and places someone as distorted as Trump might fixate upon, he decides on Greenland. Really? Greenland? It gets weirder by the day.

A few days ago, Donald Trump announced that the United States (meaning him, Trump, since Congress has so far given away its power to approve tariffs) will impose a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland beginning February 1. That tariff will increase to 25 percent on June 1 and will remain in place, according to Trump,

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History Calls

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Will we Answer That Call?

Today’s Blog – A Change in Plans

The plan for today’s blog was to start a conversation on the economy, economics, and the interrelation with politics. That is always an important set of factors, and more so today than in many other times in our history.

But what surely looks like the murder of a woman by an ICE agent in Minneapolis and the shooting of two people by ICE in Portland demand our attention. Lots has been and will be written about all of this, but some things demand attention by us all,

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It’s a New Year. What Awaits Us?
     

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A Few items to Consider

What Kind of Year Is Upon Us?

Thanks to everyone for your patience on the day+ delay on this posting. Still working through a few technical issues but looks like we are pretty much back on line, so here we go.

Too soon to tell, of course. There continue, and in some cases increasing, worrisome things afoot, but also some promising indicators have begun showing up. We will not try to list all those possibilities, but let’s take a look at 10 events/indicators worth observing and we will see how things go from there.

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December 2, 2025

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A Cold, Hard Month is Coming In Many Ways

In terms of the actual weather, it has been all over the scale of severity around the country. My neck of the woods has had a pretty mild, if brisk, winter approach, while much of the country has endured really cold, tough weather. But the weather provides a good metaphor for the “climate” we humans construct- lots of turbulence, many storms, some rays of hope. Let’s take a look at some of the current sightings on our “weather map.”

How Could the Shooting of Two National Guardsmen Be Made Worse?

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Where Things Stand in and Around Gaza

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And Why We Should Care

Credit Where Due

Before getting into the substance of current events, let’s give a bit of credit where it is due, in three observations:

  • The Biden Plan. What is outlined in the current documents is largely what the Biden team drew up almost two years ago. Taken as a whole, it is a reasonable foundation upon which one could build lasting peace in the region. The Biden team gets credit (although not from Trump) for laying out the framework that the key players could accept.
  • Trump’s Squeeze on Netanyahu.

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October 7, 2025

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A Happy Note, A Sad Note, A Cliffhanger – Three Unrelated Observations

A Happy Note

We had the great pleasure this past weekend of attending the International Storytelling Festival, in nearby Jonesborough, TN. This is a tradition with us since our first exposure years ago revealed a unique and marvelous experience. It is a happy experience and one with lessons for us all.

This small town, of about 4,000 people, hosts an international celebration of the great art of storytelling. About 14,000 of us show up every year to join the party.

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Five Very Different Observations This Week

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No Shortage of Things to Think About, Is There?

The Roll Up of Senior Military Leaders

This mysterious call up of all senior military commanders and their senior enlisted members, all for a mysterious meeting with the Secretary – and now including Trump – is a bad thing in about 9 different directions.

Of course, no one has a clue as to what this is all about. We will, likely, by the time many of you read this posting. Could be to announce firings, to demand loyalty, to call for the reapplication of a bunch of 1950s standards – no one knows except the perpetrator.

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A Mix of International & National Items

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Never a Dull Moment, Is There?

 Alaska Talks

We don’t know what took place or who said what, since Trump, breaking what had been a 100% precedent with all other presidents, talked with Putin with no note takers present and no transcripts published.

The fact that the meeting ran about half the allocated time and that there was no Q & A at the “press conference” at the end, indicates that at least Trump perhaps did not give away everything, but time will tell, especially from the meetings with the president of Ukraine and NATO leaders this week,

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