Now here's a huge surprise.

 After the prison systems in New Jersey started to allow male prisoners who considers themselves "transgender" to be housed in women's prisons, two inmates are pregnant in a facility that apparently already has a long history of sexual abuse of prisoners by staff.

What a shocker.   Well, I guess it is something of a shocker that in a state with over 20,000 prison inmates, only a few of them actually figured out that they could play "The Dating Game" in the women's prison by declaring themselves to be transgender.  Hopefully those playing this game do not end up "playing the guards" by actually committing sexual assault.

Really, our level of thinking is a step below what my level of thinking was back in middle school, when I and my friends contemplated (in a rather vulgar way I'll not repeat here) what would end up happening when girls started to join wrestling teams.  Why is it that 13 year old boys seem to have a better feel for what the results of a policy might be than our policy elites do?

Hats off to the Washington Post

Now I don't write those words often, but this column (summarized here by WND) is a wonderful addition to the debate over being "trans positive" and such.  More or less, Mr. Cohn transitioned to "female" at age 19 after being estranged from his family and believing himself to be homosexual--and he thought he'd have better luck with the men if he appeared outwardly female.  

This parallels one of the big theories about gender disphoria--that a significant portion of those suffering it are really homosexuals, and the end game of surgeries is that it changes intact homosexuals into nonfunctional homosexuals, really.  What Mr. Cohn learned as well is that a "synthetic vagina" doesn't quite have the same, err, "performance" as the real thing, and so what he's experienced is an extremely painful and expensive way of becoming incapable of enjoying sex while making one dependent on serious medical treatment to function for a shortened lifespan.  He's also learned the hard way that--as the Babylon Bee hilariously spoofed--men can generally tell what gender the doctor announced, and what the doctor announced determines what they're going to be attracted to.

Really, just about exactly what most of us suspected from the moment we learned that this was a thing, no?  Unfortunately, it's probably going to take our country thousands of needless mutilations to figure it out and start taking more action.

Strong action on ghost threats?

Apparently the Biden administration is set to take action to crack down on "ghost guns".  For the uninitiated, "ghost guns" are guns without serial numbers, constructed from a receiver kit with a barrel and stock added, and it takes a fair amount of expertise and tools to construct one.  Since they're hard to track, the administration wants to classify the receiver as a gun (which it is not) and require background checks to sell them.

Lost in the debate is the question of exactly how many people are murdered using "ghost guns" each year, and the answer, according to Brady/Everytown for Gun Safety/Handgun Control Inc./whatever they're calling themselves now is "maybe 20 per year." 

If you really wanted to save lives and stop gun violence, what you'd do is work with states and cities to hire more homicide detectives and start solving murders, but apparently security theater is more the speed of President Biden.  

Diplomatic horsefeathers

Today, apparently Russian foreign bullshit artist foreign minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that Belarus, from which Russia launched her attack on northern Ukraine, and from whence Russia is launching a ton of rockets at civilian targets to this day, is somehow a good candidate for a nation to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine.  In related news, Adolf Hitler, Antiochus Epiphanes, and Haman have called from Hell and are volunteering to protect the national security of Israel.

It is perhaps understandable that the Russian foreign minister might do this, but let's take a look at reality vs. the security guarantees that were given to Ukraine at independence.  More or less, in exchange for the nuclear weapons that were in Ukraine, the signing nations (including Russia) agreed to guarantee the territorial integrity of Ukraine.  It sort of made sense to the diplomats at the time, but anyone with functioning neurons ought to have imagined this scenario.

Diplomat: Mr. President, Russia has invaded Ukraine.  It's time for us to do what we can to guarantee their territorial integrity.

President (of either party):  Are you (redacted) nuts?  They have nukes.

Which is, of course, exactly what's gone on, and it's exactly why someone needs to have something of a "come to Jesus moment" with diplomats and politicians, telling them if you have no intention of ever enforcing the provisions of an agreement, please don't write it down and sign it.

The reason is simple; if Ukraine had figured out that their security guarantees were worthless (and to be fair, they should have), they likely would have made some very different decisions regarding national security, perhaps looking much more like the Swiss model.  And so we might add another proverb; if you know a diplomatic agreement is nonsense, don't act as if it is binding.

And of course, as always, Putin delenda est!

Shades of Tannennberg

 Apparently the German intelligence service has repeated its exploits from 1914 by intercepting Russian soldiers talking about their war crimes near Kyiv.  (part of the horrific loss at Tannenberg was because Samsunov and Rennenkampf broadcast battle instructions in straight AM)  Hopefully this leads to meaningful prosecutions, and of course, Putin delenda est.

Paging Julie London

 Apparently Russia is really, really offended that somebody--they believe somebody from Ukraine--has hit an oil depot in Russia.   Oh, the poor dears, they could never have known that when they invaded Ukraine, the Ukrainians might fight back and hit military targets, specifically a fuel depot that was necessary for getting their troops out of Kharkiv, Ukraine and on to other assignments.

Yeah, cry me a river, Vladiie-poo, or perhaps, "Crimea River", as P.D.Q. Bach joked.  If Russia wasn't ready to have consequences to their war of aggression, they made the wrong choice back in February.  And quite frankly, maybe they could take a lesson from their opponents and restrict their targets to militarily significant targets instead of stocking up on war crimes by targeting schools, hospitals, and residential areas?

So here's a bit of Julie London, and of course, Putina delenda est.

How to win it?

The Russian army apparently is only moving "from gloaming to gloaming", and that suggests that one way to really take the war to them would be to provide night vision goggles/scopes to select Ukrainian units....perhaps along with some true sniper rifles chambered, say, in 6.5mm Creedmoor to "share the love" at over twice the effective range of a Kalishnikov.

Or perhaps if we could get someone into Moscow with that outfit.....Putin delenda est.

And the purge begins?

Not only are his mistress and (?) children in Switzerland (my guess; hiding from him), but he's had his green energy spokesman quit and flee the country, and his minister of defense, among others, appears to be missing.  In related news, apparently the reason five Russian generals have been killed is because for whatever reason, communication with front line troops is tenuous, and hence the generals need to make an appearance.  In a nutshell, Russian coordination and  are on a par where Alexander Samsonov and Paul von Rennenkampf could say "Da, I've been there."

(these Russian generals were victimized by a lack of couriers and codes and suffered horrific defeats because battle plans were broadcast in straight AM, and Paul von Hindenburg just happened to have a few officers on staff who knew Russian)

Pray for Russia, because indications are that the wheels are coming off leadership, and this could lead to horrific results for Russia and the world.  Again, pray that God would take out Putin and his inner circle soon.

Putin delenda est.

Back in Karelia

It appears that the logistics for the invasion of Ukraine were so well done, Russian soldiers are increasingly suffering from....frostbite.   One would have thought that after WWII, they'd have learned how to cope with "Comrade Winter", but apparently they've done Schicklgruber one better by sending troops into battle wearing summer gear....in February.

This may help my prayers come true.  Putin delenda est!

Oy, weh!

Fox is reporting that Russia is sending military academy cadets to fight in Ukraine.  OK, probably makes good press in Moscow, but it's worth noting that this is what Germany did in WWI when the Schlieffen Plan (their offensive plan in 1914) ran into the Black Watch Infantry, the famous "Ladies from Hell" (named so by the Germans because of their kilts).

End result was not good for the German corps of cadets, and was even worse for Germany and for the world as a whole.  You see, as the corps of cadets was virtually annihilated, so were the future intellectuals of Germany--the ones that would have, had some of them lived, been able to speak forcibly against a certain corporal who'd grown up in Austria.

Long and short of it is that Putin is not in a position of strength, because men in a position of strength do not eat their seed corn for the future.   For the sake of Ukraine, Russia, and the world, pray that Ukraine manages to put Putin in the same position as General Samsonov in the battle of Tannenberg, and of course, as usual, 

Putin delenda est! 

Two pictures of the war

First, it appears that Putin's mistress and children have escaped to Switzerland.  I've even seen hints that some in Switzerland are campaigning to have them expelled, but reality is that that might be a mistake; she and her children are likely there on asylum, and this is the closest thing to a public breakup that she can manage.  After all, people who embarrass Mr. Putin have a disturbing habit of ending up dead.

Put differently, I don't think that the Swiss government issued their passports at Vlad's request.  There is something else going on here.

Also of interest is this picture of the results of Russian shelling (courtesy National Review) near Kharkiv.  Hopefully it doesn't disappear soon, but what it shows is primarily shell craters in a field and forest near a residential area.  

In other words, some Russian artillerymen aren't even aiming for targets.  What remains to be answered is whether they're firing indiscriminately, or whether they're deliberately aiming away from the targets they've been told to hit.  Since the Ukrainian army seems to be hitting their targets pretty well with about the same equipment (just 30 years older), it's almost certain that the Russians could be more accurate if they wanted to.

It's giving me some hope that Ukraine is going to pull this one out.  Keep praying that this one doesn't go nuclear, and that somebody with a conscience gets to Putin and takes him out.  And as always, 

Putin delenda est.

It goes without saying,

...but the proper response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine comes from Cato.  Putin delenda est.  Not terribly worried about whether the man gets a massive dose of polonium, dies of a hangnail infection, or gets jailed for unpaid parking tickets, but I'm praying that he (and his minions) are removed from power as soon as possible.

And here's an opportunity for sticking it to Putin; Russia apparently wants to hire mercenaries from Syria to attack Ukraine now.  There are a bunch of things we can say about this, starting with "huh, close to a million Russian soldiers, and they've got to hire Syrians?", then "OK, so Syrians would be willing to fight for Russia after Russia basically leveled Aleppo?", but the thing that comes to mind for me as this is considered is "huh, to get to Russia, those planes need to fly over Turkey or Iraq, and I seem to remember we've got a little bit of "pull" with both countries."

We may not feel safe flying F-16s over Ukraine itself to stop the bear, but I think we are well within our rights and good sense to say a firm Nyet to Russia provisioning themselves this way.   A glimmer of hope here as well is that sources are indicating that Russian logistics are about ten days away from collapse.  

And this is a glimmer of hope for Putin's removal, since this error is more or less the same error that a previous Russian ruler, Nicholas II, made at the outset of World War One.  We know how it turned out when he had one rifle for every three soldiers facing Paul von Hindenburg, and may Putin's end be no less emphatic. 

Now there's a blessing

 As my step-father gets on in age--he's 84 now and has outlived the age his father got to by half a decade or more already--we have the sweet and sometimes sad time where we are handing down items that belonged to our ancestors so that their descendants can enjoy them.  And so now I am the proud possessor of a number of "tea leaf ironstone" plates, bowls, and other items. I'm soaking a number of them now in hydrogen peroxide to remove some of the brown stains that have come with age.

As I've opened these up, I found something else that binds my mother, my grandmother (who died last year at age 101), and some wonderful memories of childhood at my grandparents' truck stop.  How so?  

Well, as I looked a the cloth--about 12 inches wide with selvedge at each end in a coarse cotton cloth, I figured out that it had come from those old hand driers that used to be found at truck stops and rest areas--you'd have a loop that you pulled through as you dried your hands, and you would of course pray that the process of drying was enough to sanitize them before your hands touched them.  (thank you to those who invented electric hand driers and affordable paper towels for drying!)

Somehow this memory of a family business and the thrift of my mother and grandmother means as much to me as the vintage earthenware.  I think I'll use it in their honor.

Just call her Jadis?

 President Biden's spokeswoman, Jennifer Psaki, is stating that--as about a foot of snow is falling in my part of Minnesota--that parents are "grateful" for the opportunity to eat outside to "stop the spread of COVID."  Apparently lost on Ms. Psaki is the fact that children by and large do not contract or spread COVID to any great extent, and such the major effect on children exposed to this "wisdom" of public health officials is, well, exposure, to include "frostbite" when cities like Edina (a Minneapolis suburb) do this practice.  Yes, imagine your kids outside with hat & gloves, trying to eat their PBJ without completely ruining their gloves and coats.

I guess her proper name is "Jadis", and I remember reading about her in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Maybe she'll come up to Edina and offer the kids some Turkish Delight?

I am not quite sure whether that's better or worse than my other thoughts about her work, which is that it resembles little so much as this.  I've become used to Presidential spokesmen lying to us, but Jadis is, well, something special in this regard.

Now the supply chain crisis is real

When it was just that Wal-Mart and Target couldn't get "junk" toys for Christmas, I wasn't too worried.  I didn't care that much, either, when fast fashion shops were having trouble getting pre-ripped jeggings in for teenagers to use for risking frostbite in the Minnesota winters.  Who knows?  It might have gotten people to learn to enjoy decent toys like those I grew up with, and perhaps there's even a tiny chance that young people would learn that the "fashionable" damage to jeans that construction workers and such show off is done "on the job", not "at the factory", and that pants without extra holes are generally warmer and more comfortable than those with those extra holes.  On a real stretch, we might wonder whether people might remember how workers at Bangladeshi factories were given a sandblaster, but no eye and lung protection--yes, resulting in fatalities.

So in certain ways, I've viewed the supply chain crisis as something of a good thing....well, until very recently, when the local liquor store didn't have any of this year's Beaujolais Nouveau.  OK, so NOW the supply chain crisis is for real!

Seriously, we might remember that historically, trade is supposed to be for the things that are difficult to make at home, and I would hope that we would remember after this debacle that maybe, just maybe, long supply chains for necessary products are a bad idea when we can avoid them.