President Zelenskyy's Victory Day Speech

Putler Punts

I am glad to see that I was wrong about what might happen today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin used a major patriotic holiday Monday to again justify his war in Ukraine but did not declare even a limited victory or signal where the conflict was headed, as his forces pressed their offensive with few signs of significant progress.
...
But his much-anticipated speech offered no new insights into how he intended to salvage the grinding war — and instead stuck to allegations that Ukraine posed a threat to Russia, even though Moscow’s nuclear-armed forces are far superior in numbers and firepower. He steered clear of battlefield specifics — failing to mention the potentially pivotal battle for the vital port of Mariupol or even uttering the word “Ukraine.”

No doubt that the soldiers defending what little they still control of Mariupol were well aware that Putler may have declared victory over the city if they had given up and that they wanted to deny him that.

You Know This is Coming, Don't You?

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves on Sunday hedged when asked if his state would consider banning certain forms of birth control if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, only offering that it's "not what we are focused on at this time."

"And while I'm sure there will be conversations around America regarding [birth control] it's not something that we've spent a lot of time focused on," Reeves told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" when asked if his state would consider targeting intrauterine devices and Plan B -- amid some Republican calls to ban forms of birth control.

Oh, he may say they have no plans to do it, at this time, but you know, Gentle Reader, that's just bullshit.

Republicans like to bleat that they believe in freedom and the right to make one'sown choices, but that only seems to apply to measures against a lethal pandemic. Otherwise, they are just fine with inserting their version of religious morality into people's lives.

Which makes them different from the Taliban in Afghanistan only in a matter of degrees.

The Orcs Celebrated Mother's Day in Their Own Way

Dozens of people are feared dead after a bomb hit a school in east Ukraine, where government forces are battling Russian troops and separatists.

Luhansk region's governor, Serhiy Haidai, confirmed two deaths, saying 60 people were feared dead under the rubble of the school in Bilohorivka.

About 90 people had been sheltering in the building and 30 were rescued, seven of them wounded, he added.

The Russian way of war, in this century, amounts to state terrorism. For there is no pretending by anyone who isn't parrotting Kremlim propaganda that they are even pretending to only hit military targets.

Happy Mother's Day, to All of You Mothers

That salutation got some radio DJ in trouble, back in the day.

If you're a mom, hopefully somebody has done something nice for you today. If your mother is still around, at least give her a call.

Your Sunday Morning Prop Noise

A B-17 and four P-51s:

John Deere Thwarts the Russian Orcs

The Russians looted millions of dollars worth of farm machinery from a John Deere dealer in Mariupol.

The machinery, like most modern farm machinery, is computer-operated. John Deere bricked them.

The Russians like to claim that they are liberators. They are most assuredly not. They are murderers, looters and rapists.

Caturday

"My name is not Tripod!"

New Heater Update - VII

(Last post)

The gun is back from the Mothership. The first thing that I did was to take an old S&W sight-adjustment screwdriver and see whether or not I could change the elevation adjustment. I could.

I'll take it to the range one of these days. But truth be told, I'm in no rush to do so. Between the two guns, I've had four failed range trips and I am not eager to head over for trip #5. Maybe, if I lived as close as I did to one before I moved, I would.

Everything these days is a fucking fight. The gun came back by FedEx. I paid FedEx a skosh over five bucks for an evening delivery. The delivered it just after noon, not long after I had dragged my ass out of the shower after cleaning up from a hike in the woods. I threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt to get the delivery. FedEx gave me some story about how they have to process the invoice in order to credit me, which I don't understand, as they had no problem with dinging my credit card.

This isn't the most expensive revolver that I have ever bought. That title belongs to a Model 29 that I bought new forty years ago for $400, which would be about $1,170 in today's money. (MSRP is $1,240.} But ever since then, I've bought used guns.

I intend to use this gun hard. This one is more like a hammer than a fine piece of New England craftmanship to be carefully maintained and cherished.

Still More Proof That Dolt-45 Was Nuttier Than a Boxcar of Almonds

[Former president Donald] Trump once proposed launching “missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs”.

According to [Trump's Defense Secretary Mike] Esper, Trump said “no one would know it was us”, because he would simply deny responsibility. Esper said he would have thought Trump was joking, had he not been looking at the president as he said it.

Trump was just nuts. As time went on in his administration, The TOFF kept losing more and more of his mind.

He was not helped by people like his Staff Nazi, Stephen Miller, whose idea of a good time was committing atrocities:

Miller is also alleged to have suggested severing the head of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an Islamic State leader killed by the US, dipping it in pig’s blood and parading it as a warning to other terrorists.

Esper says he told Miller that would be a “war crime”. To the New York Times, Miller denied the episode and called Esper a “moron”.

But let's not honor Esper for telling the truth. He had plenty of opportunities to tell the American people what a dangerous and unhinged lunatic was sitting behind the Resolute Desk. Esper could have talked to a reporter the day after he was fired and said "look, this guy is totally unhinged" and explained why that was so. But he didn't. Esper kept his yap shut for eighteen months until he could profit the most from telling his tale. Which is a move that is almost Trumpian in its avarice.

My recommendation is that if you want to read his book, get it from your local library.