Afghan/Vietnam Comparisons

As time goes by, I can’t help but notice the way that people like to say, it’s another Vietnam; it’s another Saigon.

It is true that it would appear that history has somewhat repeated itself. There are many differences. Because others haven’t, I do feel it necessary to point out a few of these differences. The war in Vietnam was won. In essence it was over until the dems pulled the financing out. With the money gone, there was no way to maintain the victory. The war in Afghanistan was never won. The enemy simply went into hiding. There was never a real effort to win. I suspect that many Taliban went into hiding in the ranks of the Afghan army.

Perhaps the most important thing is that Vietnam ceased to be a problem for the US. Indeed, in the long run, the Vietnamese have become somewhat friendly with us. The Taliban will never tolerate us. Their two main goals are to destroy Israel and eliminate the US and that will never change. Eventually, like it or not, we will have to continue to deal with them and others like them. We simply gave them room to plan, train and build up their armies.

There is another aspect that I have never heard suggested that should have. As long as we had a good foothold in that area, we had a base of operations. We had a base from which we could strike anywhere in Asia. That just might be worth the price we paid. It does make me wonder if anyone considered that. Then again, maybe they did. They just might not have liked the idea. Then again, the Chinese and Russians wouldn’t like the idea either.

One more difference. As bad as the Vietnam communists were, they don’t hold a candle to the Taliban. Those Afghan women are very likely going to be treated just a little better than dirt. Those that went to school and learned to read and write will be treated worse.

The Message

In my last post, I suggested methods of sending messages. A short time ago, I saw an image on the TV. I hope that Biden and his friends saw that image on a nice big TV screen at the highest possible resolution. Indeed, I would hope he saw those people desperately trying get on those planes in 3-D.

It just maybe, might send them the message loud and clear that the bunch of them made a mistake. This isn’t a fender-bender type mistake. This isn’t like hitting your thumb with a hammer.

You, Biden. You, FOCs made a mistake that will kill thousands, maybe millions. Then again, dems don’t care about such things. After all, they are just people. You don’t know them. You never did meet them and you never will.

I would guess the only way they will be able sleep at night is to make sure they never see the message. They need to make sure they never hear the name of so much of one of those who will die. They need to be on their guard to never hear the story of the life of any of them.

I didn’t cause it, and it bothers me. How can they live with themselves?

YELL IT FROM THE MOUNTAINS!

There is a long history of communications. In Africa, I have been lead to believe they used drums. A couple of centuries ago, the Indians used smoke signals. In European countries, various methods were used: light generated from fire, horns or simply yelling from the mountain tops. From what I understand, that is how yodeling began. I don’t know, just what I heard.

Regardless, it does seem to be effective, assuming you conveniently have a mountain around. It wouldn’t work well in places like Kansas or Florida. I suppose drums and smoke signals would have worked better there.

Some might find it odd, but ships used to use flags… in two ways. They used semaphores, that is, a man using the position of two flags to spell out words. I would guess this method is rare today, but men learned the method up until a few years ago. Nowadays, they are more apt to use radio or, during radio silence, lights.

I must admit my ignorance of how, but sailors also hung flags from the masts of their ships. I don’t know if the flags represented words or letters, maybe both. None the less, the light, the flags, the smoke and the sound all had their simple limits. The message source had to be seen or heard.

Sometimes, in the old days, when a message was particularly important, they yelled it from the mountains. It did have its limits, but it was effective. They used relays. One person would call from one mountain, then when he heard it, another person would relay it from his mountain. It was faster than carrying a message by hand or even by Pony Express.

So it is that there is now an important message, one worthy of yelling from the mountain tops. There is a new version of the China virus. It is spread faster and more easily. The number of cases is going up fast.

And so it is that the message is being spread far and wide, “Get your shot!” The warning is being distributed far and wide, “Wear your mask! You must protect yourself and you must protect you children!”

In one case it was reported that already three teachers from one school came down with it. The hitch is that the school was not yet in session. The news report I heard did not say if the teachers were wearing their masks. My guess is that they did not wear their mask 24/7. It is just impractical.

There are problems with the messages. First, those yelling about the increase in cases, say nothing about those coming across the border spreading the disease all over the country. Every place they set foot, they are a biological bomb. I wonder why they leave that part out. Could it be that it is inconvenient to their goals? Could it be that they just don’t know about it? Do they know how saying the one thing while ignoring the other both nullifies the message and makes the messenger look pretty dopey?

Then there is the message about the mask. It would seem that it is horribly important that everyone over 2 should wear a mask to stop the spread.

Now I find that interesting. The China virus has been in our presence for over a year now. People seem to assume that they can slow the spread with the masks, but no one knows it. Not so much as one scientific study has verified it. A doctor, the one that should be put in prison says it, and it is taken as fact. (By the way the doctor has lied a lot.)

You would think after a year, someone would have done a study. Maybe someone did. It is possible. If they didn’t come out with the results they wanted, they just might put the results in the circular folder. I mean, if I were selling masks, really neat and expensive ones like Pelosi wears, and I did a study that showed that the results were negligible, maybe I would pretend I never did the study.

On the other hand, if I were an FOC, I might not want anyone to know the masks are not effective. It would remove the reason for my message I have been yelling for the last year. By the way, it just might also make me look pretty dumb.

Maybe it is time for those FOCs to get down off those mountains and seal the border, the real source of the new cases.

BUILD THE WALL!!

The Buck Stops Where?

My best guess is that Biden and his crew have but one goal right now. Figuring out who and how to blame this Afghan disaster on. To some degree, they already started to try to blame the former president. It did not take them but a few seconds to realize that won’t work. President Trump has not been in office since January. I think he is going to have to own this one. After all, he can only put so much on the shoulders of Kamala.

I just wonder who will be the unfortunate one to receive the blame.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

The chapter and verse are easy to remember, the date of the attack on the World Trade center. The meaning of the word, Ecclesiastes is traditionally teacher or probably more accurate, preacher. Being as preachers do teach, it might mean both. Most attribute the book to Solomon. If, after going to heaven, we find out he was not the author, we will be a little surprised.

In the passage of 9:11 and a little beyond, the preacher tells us something a little unusual. He says in many ways that the winner of a contest is not always the one best equipped to win. The swiftest might not win the race. It does not give a reason, but my is guess three fold. First, desire does play an important part in winning any contest. Indeed, even the training is prompted by desire. Second, the swifter just might pull a muscle. It has happened. Third, the faster contestant just might trip or stumble. Even a momentary loss of footing can slow the runner enough to lose the race.

In the passage, the preacher attributes it to chance. Now let’s see. I’m 73. do you really think I stand a chance against a well trained 20 year-old. I don’t think it will happen. Yet, when David slung his stone, he brought down a giant much larger, better armored and better trained then himself. The Bible is full of passages where the Israelite armies overcame armies much greater than their own.

I think we can say, without doubt, God can and does determine the outcome of battles and wars. I do believe that our Revolutionary War is an example, though it is not written in stone. On the other hand, look at how the Jew did battle with those who tried to push them out and into the Med. I mean, that first effort by those Arabs was ridiculous. The Arabs had all the training, all the tanks and planes. On the other hand, the Jews didn’t even speak the same language. If you can’t accept that God had a part in that, you can’t see too well…and I don’t mean with your eyes.

I am not saying that God takes a direct part in all wars, though he always knows and permits the results. Sometimes, as the preacher said, it is coincidence. However, when a small army overcomes a large army, I think we can attribute it to divine intervention, poor training or a matter of desire.

Let’s look at how quickly the Taliban overtook the larger and better equipped Afghan army. I’m not sure, but I don’t think God played a direct role in it. Nether the the Taliban nor the Afghan worship the one true God. I may be wrong. God might have had another reason to intervene, one I don’t see.

However, looking at it from the purely human aspect, I attribute it to desire and training. The Taliban, might not have had the equipment but they did have experience and desire. The Afghans certainly had the equipment, but as soon as the fighting started, they turned and ran. That is lack of desire and training. To some degree, from my own experience, desire is part of training.

I do think it does say something about our generals. As one anchor person said today, while the Taliban were busy overrunning the Afghans, our generals are busy teaching woke-ism. It would appear that we are too busy performing social experiments in our military today to teach fighting. If we don’t stop it, we will look just as bad as the Afghans. Our enemies will be able to walk over us and they will not even need the help of the Almighty…nor coincidence.

The priority of our military should be to train to fight. That means teaching. That means toughening, mentally as well as physically. That means making those who fight for us to be as steel. We should always put our faith in God, but not luck. Coincidences will not always work in our favor, especially if we turn away from God.

The Cost of Thievery

Most of us never completely consider the cost of stealing. There is the loss of revenue for the businesses. In the case of theft from an individual, it is difficult calculate, especially when someone is killed in the act. Businesses go through all sorts of things to cut down on theft but their success is limited. They use cameras, security guards and all sorts of other little things.

They use those annoying blister packs. I don’t know what they cost but they do increase cost of shipping and displays. In addition they use those little electronic alerts on some things. One time I went in the men’s room of a Walmart and found an empty blister pack with the alert device still on it. So, Walmart paid for the blister pack, the alert device and still lost the DVD. For what it was worth, I took the evidence to the manager who thanked me.

Whether you know it or not, it effects us all. It drives the costs of the products up. They have to cover the loss of the product. They have to pay for the packaging as well as the alert device. Then, of course, before you can go out the door after you purchase it, the alert device must be removed or disabled. I don’t know how many times I have set off those alarms after a legal purchase. It can get frustrating for both the store management and customer.

Then, when you get home, you need to get out your scissors and sharp knife to get the blister pack off. I wonder just how many people went into emergency rooms after cutting a finger or two in this process. That too is a cost of the theft.

On the other hand, not all theft occurs at the point of a gun or knife. Not all theft is perpetrated in stores. In the operetta “The Pirates of Penzance,” the pirate king suggests that his vocation is a relatively honest one. At least when he shows the skull and cross bones, he is honest about what he is and what he does. On the other hand, the man in the business suit will steal you blind, all the while maintaining his respectability.

Every day, I hear ads on TV, “Come to us and we will show you how to get a bunch of money for nothing.” The country is full of ambulance chasers seeking deep pockets. On the other side of the coin, there are businessmen trying to get money from the unwary. I saw an article about a man who saw an ad in a paper. “Portable digital computer, $25 dollars. Guaranteed.”

He knew there was something wrong but he figured it was worth the $25 dollars to find out what. A week later the man was the proud owner of a new abacus. To be sure, the abacus does meet the criteria of the ad. None the less, it truly was a misleading ad. In this case, there was little loss. The man kept the device and even learned to use it.

However, men in suits do rob people of their hard earned money every day. Nowadays, they use your phone instead of the newspaper or TV. I even had occasion where my doctor had to deal with a robocall right in the middle of talking to me. That doctor’s time is valuable. It is not just an annoyance. They steal valuable time from him…and his clients.

From what I understand, some men in suits ever steal entire houses. On the other hand, there are those who advertise they can stop it…for a slight price.

The last few months, we have a new type of thief. He just walks in, takes what he wants and walks out…right in front of the store security man. This adds even more expense. First, it causes the vendors to close down. Sometimes they open somewhere else. Sometimes they do not re-open at all. Either way, the honest people in the area must go somewhere else to do business. That means driving farther and paying more in gas.

I suppose, eventually, it could lead to the old method of trade. You want something from the store keeper, you go in the store, two or three at a time with a list. You pay for your purchase in advance and it is shoved out a secure window to you. I don’t know if it will ever reach such a point, but to me it is looking like it.

Then you have the worst crooks of all. They are the politicians who call themselves democrats. They steal your money by exorbitant taxation; they steal your land under eminent domain when they have no legitimate reason. Then, as if that is not enough, they steal your vote supposedly under perfect elections.

I hope you will pardon me, but what is wrong with you folks in New York, California and New Jersey. How can you even consider to vote for a FOC. Who in their right mind would vote for people charging you $12,000 a year to educate your children and then settle for kids who can’t read or do simple math. (I can do that for you at half the price.)

Biden Is a Very Poor Commander in Chief!!

Some time in the last few hours, Biden announced that he was sending thousands of troops into Afghanistan. Why did he do that? Why did he telegraph his intentions. What he should have done was to keep his mouth shut and send them in.

I was just a S/Sgt in the Marines and I wasn’t even in the infantry gut one thing I knew was that armies go to great extremes to gain intelligence and to keep the enemy from knowing what you are going to do. Look at the methods that they went to to make Hitler think we were not landing in Brittany. The allies went to enormous steps to think we were going to land north of Brittany. Now tell me, what idiot would broadcast over national rational radio our actual intent.

The deception saved saved thousands of allied lives and greatly shortened the time for the landing.

So, what did Biden do. He called out, “Guess what fellas. You need to get ready because we are sending over a bunch of troops.” Who in their right mind does stuff like that. That stunt likely cost the lives of maybe a dozen or so lives, maybe more.

On the other hand, if the marines just showed up on their doorstep, it just might have thrown them into a little panic and they just might have withdrawn a little, at least until they figured it out.

It is not the first time he did such a thing. He said, “We are going to withdraw on 9/11. Isn’t that neat. It allows the enemy to plan his activities pretty much to the day.

Actually, it was also a mistake from the beginning. This one I blame on President Bush. Instead of going in there as he did, he should have said, “Guess what. We are here to stay for the next 100 years. We are going to establish our government and we are going to establish our courts. The official language will be English and there will no longer be an Afghanistan. This would send a message to the troublemakers that it just might be time for them to pack up and go somewhere else.

Then, in twenty years, maybe thirty, we could turn their nation back over to them and they just might be able to take care of themselves. The way it was, the Taliban knew it was simply a matter of playing the waiting game. They knew we were there for a while and leave. So instead of us encouraging them to giver up or leave, they encouraged us to give up and leave.

Regardless, you never tell the enemy what you are going to do; you never tell the enemy how successful or how unsuccessful he has been. Mostly, you never let your enemy know your strength. If you do, you are aiding him at your own defeat.

Certainly, knowing this and this alone, you must agree with me that Biden makes a bad general. Not only that, it would appear he has a few bad generals serving under him. They should have alerted him to his error.

Let’s Hear it for the Commodore 64!!

I had a Commodore Vic-20, mostly because I could not afford the Commodore-64. However, I assure you I was well aware of the abilities of the Commodore-64. I believe that, with some modifications, they would make good voting machines.

  1. The operating system was on ROM (Read Only Memory). You turn it off and turn it back on, it came up the same way every time, unless an application cartridge was installed. Mostly, the application was on ROM too. There was simply no way to alter it.
  2. They are inexpensive. In today’s world, they could be produced at about $200 per unit; You’d need to add maybe a C note for the application. The app, written specifically as a voting machine, would be on ROM and would not be alterable.
  3. They are small, about the size of a keyboard, including the keyboard.
  4. They use very little power, not near what the current voting machines do.
  5. They would be easy to set up. Plug them in, install the app cartridge, and turn them on. Okay. There would be a little more to it, but not much. You would need to install a printer and floppy disk.

I will admit to being a little ridiculous but the little machines have some things for us to learn. Before I go on, let me explain, Commodore actually did make serious computers which were used in thousands of businesses and no one ever hacked even one. It can’t be done without opening the case and replacing parts. Also, Radio Shack built the TRS-80, affectionately called trash 80. Thousands of them also found their way into offices. Again, they relied heavily on ROM, which is not alterable.

The thing we can learn from the above is this. All voting machines should run from a special operating system that would be on ROM, not disk. As long as you have the right ROM, your system is in tact. There are some cautions that should be made, such as recording each time the machine is restarted. Also, you would not want a modem within a mile of the thing.

For those who have not figured it out, this is a continuation of the previous post. The one big problem with all the current voting machines is that, when you open them up, they are PCs. also know as personal computers. They all use the same basic parts and they all use the same operating system, Windows XX. It is well known that Widows is easily hacked. Hence, it is easily altered. Then, if the hacker is good enough, he will cover his tracks as if he was never there.

If one and all are going to insist on using the PC based system, let’s not use the Widows OS and let’s put the OS on ROM instead of disk. That way, no one will be able to alter it. To be sure, let’s make sure the systems have no outside connections, period. No modems, no Wi-Fi and no Blue Tooth. Simply, there is no need for it.

To be sure, data does need to be transferred. That should be by CD-ROM and the serial number for the CD should be written down in two places. The CD should be enclosed in a box, sealed and the box should be locked in the presence of two deputy sheriffs. When it is open, it should be opened in the presence of two deputies and the serial number should be verified.

There is, of course, a simple alternative to the above… Paper ballots and hand counting.

And, by the way, a printer should be used to print a copy of all votes, which should be verified by the voter. Then the copy should be put in a sealed box and retained for recounts, spot checks and audits. To be sure, the copy should be on special paper and it should be serialized.

If we do nothing, then our right to vote will only be as the man said, to be determined by those who count them.

To be sure, let me add one more comment. Maybe there was no fraud, but you don’t know that. No one does. By doing the above, we could have much more confidence. By doing the above, we also keep the honest man honest, as they like to say. It removes the temptation to cheat.

Voting Machines and the Internet

If a voting machine has a cell phone in it, it can be connected to the net. If a voting machine is Wi-Fi capable it can be connected via Wi-Fi to the net. If a cell phone is in the same room as the Wi-Fi voting machine, It has a potential Wi-Fi connection to the net.

My Kindle cannot be directly connected to the net. Put it next to my phone and, through the Wi-Fi on my phone, I can use the Kindle to surf the net. For that matter, I can and have used it for my computer.

An air gap is a good way to keep people from accessing a voting machine via the net. However, be sure of the air gap.

In the end, paper is the best. You take ten pieces of paper, let ten people vote on them, toss them in a hat and count them, you have a virtual perfect vote. However, as the number of papers increase; and as the number choices increase (For instance not just president but also governor, senator and dog catcher) the difficulty of keeping it all honest becomes more and more difficult.

For instance, going back to the hat, if you pulled out eleven votes, you would know someone was trying to cheat. And so it is that care must be taken to make sure that you don’t end with more ballots than people eligible to vote.

Also, in the case of the hat, we knew ten people were eligible. We permitted only ten ballots. When we are talking millions of ballots, it isn’t so simple. Hence, we insist that people resister and we insist that they are properly eligible before we allow them to register.

At one time, it was required to register about a month in advance, in the day before computers. To make sure voters were registered, lists of registered voters were sent to the proper precincts. Nowadays, with computers, the register can be updated more quickly so some states allow people to register the day they vote.

On the downside, it also makes it easier to cheat. For me, I don’t have much money so I am somewhat limited. However, I could easily register and vote in 5 states, maybe 6 likely without being caught. If I’m the only one, statistically, it would not be significant. On the other hand, I 2 or three thousand are involved, it can tilt the scales, especially in local races.

On the other hand if I had a private jet, who knows how many states I can register in. It is a simple matter of distance and time. With the plane, distance would become less of a problem.

By the way. I am a republican. No need checking on me. We republicans don’t do things like that, but dems do. They can do it because it doesn’t bother their consciences.

By the way, that is against the law. However, FOCs can get away with it all the time. While evidence of it has appeared in many cases, no one seems to be interested in prosecuting it. That means, IF I wanted to do such a thing, I would first need to change my party affiliation.

At any rate, I said all that to say this. “The first step in making sure you run a clean election is to make sure you have a clean registration. That means, you make sure voters live where they say they do. That means you make sure they are citizens of the US and preferably the state in which they preside. Also, that means, making make sure all other of all other requirements for the state are made, such as, not being in prison.

Of all the weaknesses in our voting system, registration is the worst and the FOCs have done all they can to insure to take advantage of it. I would suspect the result of motor-voter registration has done more to destroy our voting in this country than any other one thing. If a true investigation were made, I suspect that there are thousands who were illegally registered in that way. Get a driving license, and poof, you are a voter, even if you don’t want to be. Even if you are not even a citizen.

And, by the way, when that freshly registered voter is investigated, he would be found to be guilty of a felon, though no fault of his own.

Registration must be done with care. Else the rest matters very little. Personally, I believe everyone should be required to re-register every 4 years. Those who don’t should not be permitted to vote. Also, let’s go back to the 30 day minimum. There is no sense making it simple to break the law.

Moreover, it is a well-known fact that there are many on the current registrations who are dead. Also, there are many who have moved out of the county, out of the state, and possibly out of the country. It might still be legal for them to vote, but not in the county in which they are registered. That makes a difference in local elections, such as mayor and dog-catcher.

Then again, I am one of those folks that believes a vote matters. As the fella said, he who counts the votes, wins the election. Let’s not make it so true. Let us do our diligence to make it difficult to cheat. Moreover, when we see something suspicious, investigate it. Just because it did not change the outcome of the election, that doesn’t make it okay. It certainly does not make it right. Also, the broken window rule of Giuliani applies. The first two go to jail for cheating, the third one will decide not to cheat.

Finally, will someone please fit Fauci for an orange jump suit. He is proof positive that you can kill millions and get away with it. What I don’t understand is how he can live with himself. You might have to put me in a rubber room if I were to accidentally kill 2 or 3.

Nothing to See

Immediately after the election, the FOCs started the mantra, “Nothing to see here, folks. Nothing to see. It was a fair election. The was absolutely no fraud.” Two things that they did not say was that it was legal and that it followed the law. No where did they say that all the chains of evidence were complete. Had they said that, we could have immediately proved the wrong and they knew it.

Now, they have changed their blurbs. They still say that there is nothing to see, but they have added, “By the way, do not check our offices. Do not check our safes. And for sure, don’t check the voting machines or ballots! By the way, we had nothing to do with all all the alterations. That had to be done by someone else! Not me.”