Iron Dome replacement missiles

 Last Arab Israeli go around, the Arabs fired a helova lot of rockets out of Gaza into Israel.  Israel's Iron Dome missile system was amazingly effective at shooting down the Arab rockets.  Most of the Iron Dome missiles launched, hit their targets in mid air.  The Israeli's launched a LOT of Iron Dome missiles.  They must be running low.  

   We were going to give the Israeli's $1 billion to buy or build more Iron Dome missiles.  Israel needs those missiles for the next time the Arabs start launching rockets at them.  Yesterday the Democrats in Congress killed the Iron Dome replacement missile funding.  Good work Pelosi, refusing to fund defensive weapons for our best (only?) ally in the Middle East.  A liberal democracy, the only one in the entire area. 

Booster shot or no booster shot?

   Biden recommended everyone get a booster shot.  On the other hand, Biden is getting senile, and knows very little about anything of importance.  In fact, much of what Biden thinks he knows is wrong.  I don’t plan to take Joe Biden’s advice on any medical issue

   Anthony Fauci is recommending booster shots.  On the other hand Fauci has changed his tune repeatedly over the last year. Why should I think he has got it right this time?

   FDA recommended against booster shots, and then changed their tune the next day and recommends booster shots for people over 65.  On the other hand FDA is mostly bureaucrats concerned with keeping their jobs.  They believe in doing more and more paper work.  The few medical doctors in the FDA haven’t treated a live patient since leaving medical school, they just do paperwork. 

   So who’s advice will I follow?  Dr Kevin Silva, my doctor who I have been seeing for many years.  He has gotten it right a couple of times over the years.  I will wait a bit, to give the information (if any) some time to circulate and then ask him if I should get a booster shot.  I plan to follow his recommendations. 

USAF starting bids on yet more tankers.

 Ten years ago Boeing won the contract for 180 new air refueling tankers.  They have not yet finished delivery on all the planes.  Boeing says they have lost $5 billion on this job.  There was a hassle over how to wire the aircraft, the Air Force thought they knew more about aircraft wiring than Boeing did. Then there is the rear view TV system.  They wanted to seat the boom operator up in the cockpit rather than back in the tail.  So they put in a TV system to let the boom operator see to steer the boom into the fuel receptical  of the refueling aircraft.  The Air Force has complained that the TV system image is not as good as the image you get looking out thru a plain old window.  Air Force has been "witholding" $12 million per plane.  Boeing has promised an improved TV system, some time in the future.

   180 new tankers aparently isn't enough.  So, USAF is going thru the  whole bidding process, pitting Boeing against Airbus all over again. New specs, new contract, and if Airbus wins,  they will furnish their own tanker, based on an Airbus airliner.  Speaking as an old USAF maintenance officer, I would much rather have a larger fleet of the same aircraft, than a mixed fleet of half Boeing, half Airbus.  The mixed fleet means I have to train my guys on both aircraft and I have to  stock different spare parts for both aircraft.  

So what's with booster shots for Corona virus?

 Yesterday the TV said that FDA does not approve of booster shots.  Today the TV says that somebody thinks boosters are needed for old folks over 65 like me.  I think I will ask my doctor what he recommends rather that taking the TV's word for anything.

What's with a Marine wearing a Class A uniform in medium blue?

 General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff, in the news a lot, over Bob Woodward's story about Milley telephoning the Chinese chief of staff and promising to give him a heads up in case Trump was planning an attack on China.  Some times he wears the traditional Marine Class A uniform in olive drab.  Sometimes he wears a blue Class A uniform, the blue is lighter than Navy blue, and darker than Air Force blue.  I am out of touch with uniform regulations now, but I am surprised about two colors for the Class A uniform.  

The Democrat’s “Freedom to Vote Act”

 After talking up a spending bill of $3.5 trillion, or perhaps $5.8 trillion, the Democrats are proposing loosening up voter laws to make it easier for Democrats to vote.  They are planning a voter law that would put the federal government in charge of a lot of stuff that is currently handled by state governments.  The want to force Republican states to make a lot of changes that will favor Democrats at the ballot box.

The Democrats want five changes that will open the doors to massive voter fraud.

1.  15 Consecutive days of early voting.  I think we ought to vote in Election Day; it simplifies counting votes, and makes it harder for out of state voters to show up, show false ID and a mail in ballot, and steal the vote of a real resident voter. 

2. Same day registration at all polling sites.  Same day registration makes voter fraud easier.  A real resident of the state has no trouble getting to town hall BEFORE the election and registering to vote.  An out of state shill, bussed up to vote, loves same day registration. 

3. Mail in voting.  Mail in voting causes millions of good ballots to be mailed out to every voter in the state.  A lot of these ballots fall into the hands of unscrupulous vote buyers, who fill them out for their party, file them down at town hall, and when the real voter shows up to vote, they get told, “Sorry, you already voted”. 

4.  Weaken voter ID.  Allow more documents including bank cards and student ID cards.  Far as I am concerned the only decent ID is a state driver’s license.  Everyone gets one; you have to have a driver’s license to drive to work. 

5. Require provisional ballots.  If the voter lacks a proper photo ID, he can fill out a ballot, the election officials are supposed to check out the voter and his lack of ID.  If the officials run out of time, and the ballot is for their party, they mark it OK, and throw it into the pile of ballots to be counted.  Far as I am concerned, if the voter doesn’t have a valid picture ID (driver’s license) then he doesn’t get to vote.

 

All Republicans ought to oppose this bill.  According to the Wall St Journal it will come up for a vote next week.  Too bad the entire New Hampshire congressional delegation is Democrat.  We need to fix that. 

 

 

 

Secretary Blinken avoids answering questions

 Congress grilled Blinken on TV all day.  He managed to dodge answering anything all day.  A fast mouth on that guy.  And I don't believe a word he said.