Bayou Renaissance Man

Assassination and sabotage just became much easier to accomplish...

2026-11-10T04:51:27.714-06:00

I was intrigued to read about quadcopter drones being used to carry short-range missiles that could be fired against incoming drones.

A modified version of Malloy Aeronautics’ T-150 Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS), designated TRV-150, intercepted multiple one-way attack drones during trials at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in late September, according to BAE Systems. The U.K.-developed platform fired laser-guided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rockets from a three-pod launcher, engaging successive targets without landing to reload.
The test took place as part of a Mission Capabilities Joint Readiness Experimentation exercise of the Department of War’s (DoW) Office of the Under Secretary for Research & Engineering, or OUSW(R&E).
The latest test builds on an earlier APKWS firing demonstration at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah in 2025. On that occasion, the drone conducted single-shot engagements against both air and land targets, while the new trial introduced a three-pod launcher designed to engage multiple aerial targets in succession.

There's more at the link.

I'm sure the drones and their missiles will add another very useful layer of protection against incoming enemy drones. However, there's another aspect to this that worries me.

These drones are small enough to get close to an intended target without being detected by most current defensive systems. A quadcopter drone can fly down a narrow road, or along a firebreak in the forest, so low that it can't even be seen. It can literally fly behind something like a delivery van if desired, and the crew of the van would never know it was there. As soon as it got within range of the target, it could pop up over surrounding terrain, launch its missiles (and, if need be, designate their target with a laser beam), then duck down and make its escape the same way it arrived.

Think of the targets that could now become much easier to strike, because nobody would know the threat was approaching in time to do anything about it:

A refinery, processing plant, etc.;
An armory or aircraft on a military airfield;
Oil tanks or vital equipment in a harbor;

and so on. The list is almost endless. In fact, one of the most worrying aspects will be the physical security of our leaders, both political and military. If a national figure is scheduled to deliver an important address or be present at an important function, or a senior military commander is to visit units in the field, what if several such drones could approach unseen and salvo their missiles at him without warning? His chances of survival would be minimal at best.

Terrorist groups and foreign powers will have no trouble at all getting their hands on such equipment. (In fact, the guidance system used by APKWS has already been fitted to non-US rockets with complete success. How many other nations have access to such rockets, even factories to produce them? The number must be in the dozens or scores by now. Even if compatible rockets are not available, there are competing rocket systems from several countries that can do the same job, and can presumably be launched in a similar manner.)

More and more, technology is a two-edged sword. We can't do without it, that's for sure, but how long can we live with its proliferation?

Peter

Fighting the crud, and heightened flood danger

2026-11-09T05:22:00.000-06:00

I got nailed Friday by the latest wave of flu sweeping the country, and spent most of the weekend feeling like death warmed up. It hasn't improved much, so I haven't had the time or mental capacity to sort through likely memes for Monday. I'll do my best to have an improved crop next week.

However, I do want to make an urgent suggestion for those in the path of the increased winter precipitation forecast for the Super El Nino scheduled to hit us over the next few months. I did some research. It looks as if rainfall in large parts of the South will be much heavier than usual, possibly causing flooding in areas that have not previously been at risk for it. Add to that danger the rapid expansion of suburban construction: for example, we have a new subdivision going up within a mile of us, and uphill from us at that. All the rain that falls on its roofs, concrete, roads, etc. will no longer have all that empty land for a runoff. Instead, it's going to head downhill . . . towards us.

My wife and I got on the phone to our insurers and discussed options. FEMA's flood insurance isn't available everywhere, and is pretty basic - no cover for contents of your dwelling, outbuildings, etc. and restrictions on total coverage. Flood insurance through private insurers can be much more comprehensive, but is also more expensive, depending how much coverage you want. We ended up spending well over what FEMA would have cost us, but with much better coverage. Premiums have to be paid in advance, which can be an unpleasant hit to one's wallet. Also, FEMA makes you wait thirty days from the policy being issued before it takes effect; private insurers usually only make you wait a week. If you're looking for flood insurance at the last minute, that's something to bear in mind.

At any rate, I just thought I'd pass on this "heads up" warning to my readers. I suspect some of us are going to need it over the next six months or so . . .

Peter

On the road again

2026-11-06T05:10:00.000-06:00

My wife and Alma Boykin are both big Sabaton fans, and have been looking forward to their next live appearance in Dallas for months. We're on the road today, headed for the Metroplex, where I'll be their chauffeur and dogsbody tonight.

No blog for today, but I'm sure you can amuse yourselves with the bloggers in the sidebar.

Peter

Confusion all round

2026-11-05T04:38:00.000-06:00

I'm cynically amused at the reactions popping off like fireworks all over the political scene after the results of Tuesday's mid-term elections. I expected the Democratic Party to do well, although not as well as it did. I expected the Republican Party to lose ground, but not as much as it did. The signs were not hard to see, and not hard to read.

Unfortunately, this means many topics of importance to conservatives, particularly the transsexuality brouhaha, the battle for Second Amendment rights, the reform (or otherwise) of our political and judicial system, etc. are going to be very much in play during the second half of President Trump's second term in office. Sure, he has a veto, and he's threatened to use it: but if he does so every time a bill reaches his desk, his political opponents will (quite rightly) portray him as a man who cares nothing for his country, but only for getting his own way. Similarly, if his opponents try to bedevil him by passing bills that are in direct opposition to all he stands for, they need not be surprised if he refuses to play their game. There's going to have to be compromise, and a lot of it, if our nation's government is to fulfil its purpose. Can compromise be achieved? One wonders . . .

I fear greatly that a culture of revenge may take root. Block us when we're a minority? Then we'll do exactly the same to you when we're a majority. Work in an enterprise to which we're ideologically opposed (cough*SpaceX*cough)? Then we'll do our best to undermine and overrule your enterprise at every opportunity. Both sides have been guilty of this in the past. If Democrats try to do it again, in a country as bitterly divided as is ours right now, sparks may fly - literally.

I dropped in at a local gun store on Wednesday morning, deliberately, to try to assess the reaction of staff and customers. I was the second person in line, and within half an hour there were eight or nine more. Almost without exception, they all wanted to look at - and many bought - the suppressors on display at one counter. They all expect the Democratic Party to try to legislatively re-enact the tight controls over suppressors that were suspended a few months ago. They were making sure to buy theirs, even if the models available weren't exactly what they wanted or cost more than they could immediately afford, for fear they might not be able to do so in future.

While we were there, the store owner received notification that two suppressor manufacturers had just implemented steep price increases; and he told us that others had said they would not be able to increase production in a hurry to cater to a sudden increase in demand. What's in stock right now will have to last, with some additional production, until the New Year. I don't think that gun shop will have any suppressors at all in stock by Thursday morning. Ammunition, too, is selling fast. SGAmmo, my favorite online vendor, announced yesterday:

"We have seen a surge in ammo sales this past week, with a massive increase in the number of consumers placing orders, as well as the size of those orders, with daily sales numbers double to three times normal over the past 7 days and demand continuing to rise, reaching its highest point since March or 2026 ... With nothing expected but more factory price increases in the months ahead, and very significant potential for demand to spike, I can say with certainty that it would be a wise time to stock up. Conditions and pricing in the ammo market are not going to get better any time soon as high copper and energy prices continue to translate into increased manufacturing costs and reductions in stockpiled materials and products. If demand continues to stay high for much longer, there would be major shortages on popular ammo products very soon."

Their warnings have proved prescient in the past. Fortunately, I don't need to worry. I've already got mine.

Uncertainty always does things like that. Stock up on what one considers essential, for fear the "others" may make it less available, or not available at all. I guess we'll be seeing a lot of that for a while.

Peter

EDITED TO ADD: From SGAmmo this morning:

"Yesterday, demand reached its highest point since March or 2020 when Covid-19 kicked off the biggest rush to buy ammo in history. It would be wise to buy sooner than later while we still have good options in stock. At this point I can almost guarantee that there will be a series of factory price increases in the weeks months ahead with many of the major factories following the lead of others. If demand continues to stay high for much longer, there would be major shortages that will last months to years before the market can be replenished."

Creating a crisis - or responding to signals we can't yet hear?

2026-11-04T04:32:00.000-06:00

I'm sure many readers are aware of the sudden rush of articles and media reports, recommending that we make sure we have enough supplies stockpiled to take care of sudden, unexpected shortages. Periods range from a week to 90 days, depending on who's talking. The quality and trustworthiness of the warnings varies widely. The more alarmist ones I tend to discount. The ones that are based on solid evidence and knowledgeable analysis, I listen to more carefully.

One of the very best analyses I've read recently is "The Coming Food Crisis May Look Nothing Like a Crisis Until It’s Too Late". It doesn't speak about the short term so much as how a long-building crisis will reveal itself over time. As such, it'll repay reading more than once as you think about it. You won't agree with all the author's points, but I suspect most of them are carefully thought through. Here's a brief excerpt.

This article rests on three kinds of claims, and it is worth keeping them apart. First come the demonstrated problems: measured facts about the age of farmers, the drawdown of aquifers, the concentration of meatpacking, the cost of inputs, the price of food. Then comes an interpretation, which is mine and can be argued with: the suggestion that these separate trends, taken together, are eroding the system’s ability to absorb a shock. Last come scenarios, which are conditional rather than predictive, describing what could happen over the next decade or two if several pressures arrive at once and little changes. The text will say which is which as it goes.
What follows is not a forecast of collapse. It is an attempt to look past the grocery aisle at the people who grow the food, the water and soil they depend on, the infrastructure that moves it, and the habits of a public that has rarely had a reason to worry.

There's a lot more at the link. Highly recommended.

As for more immediate problems and how to prepare for them, there are literally dozens of articles, both mainstream and otherwise, that address the issue. Here are a few that caught my eye.

A Reminder from Kim du Toit.
"The Fear Mongering Going On Right Now Is Near Covid Levels" from Bustednuckles.
"5 countries. 6 warnings. 1 week..." on X.
"Government advises households to prepare national crisis ‘emergency kit’ " from the Telegraph in Britain.
Also from Britain, " 'State-sponsored attacks' may cause food shortages, Streeting warns", from the Independent.
"Nine Days from the Dark: What Sixty Million People Learned About Water, Warmth and Medicine During Spain’s Ten-Hour Blackout" by John Walter.
"Fortress America - Outside the Gates - Why 90 Days Matters" on YouTube from Monkey Werx, referring to the US Secretary of War's warning that all military bases must prepare to sustain themselves without input from the local population for up to 90 days.

I'm not wanting to panic-monger here. I've prepared for trouble for a long time, and I'm reasonably sure that my wife and I can weather up to 90 days of deprivation - apart from critical supplies such as water - without too much difficulty. However, I know many people are nowhere near as prepared for trouble. If things went badly wrong, very quickly - for example, urban unrest cutting off incoming food supplies in the wake of a disputed election result, or something like that - the more people who are prepared to look after themselves, the better.

One of the things that far too few "preppers" have adequately considered, IMHO, is the question of local authorities and law enforcement agencies seeking to confiscate the supplies of those who've prepared for an emergency. They'll be labelled as "hoarders" and "selfish" for refusing to share. The mass of the population, who won't have prepared as they should, will almost certainly echo such sentiments and demand that our supplies be handed over as our "fair share" towards coping with the disaster. How are we going to handle such a situation? If you think you can shoot your way out of it, you're living in cloud cuckoo land. You might be able to fight off the first couple of police officers, but when a dozen of them show up, supported by a couple of dozen armed people from your neighborhood? Not a chance. There are ways to minimize the risk, and the loss, under such circumstances, but I won't go into them here.

Meanwhile, I suggest we all read at least a few of the articles mentioned above, particularly the first one, and behave like wise virgins rather than foolish ones.

Peter

Computer bugs, legacy programs, and the coming crime wave

2026-11-03T04:15:00.000-06:00

Eric S. Raymond, well-known computer systems author and commenter, recently commented on the potential usefulness of artificial intelligence to detect and fix errors in computer software. He observed on X:

I have to agree with him: if we turn a blind eye to the capacity of AI to fix past errors, we basically give in to cybercriminals who will have no hesitation in using AI to find such errors, and then to exploit them rather than fix them.

The scale of the problem was recently revealed.

The prevalence of COBOL is hard to overstate. Created in 1959, the “common business-oriented language” is still widely used today. According to IBM, COBOL underpins over 40 percent of online banking systems, facilitates 80 percent of in-person credit card transactions, and manages 95 percent of ATM transactions. It also supports various government systems, including Social Security and IRS operations. One estimate suggests that COBOL’s inefficiencies cost the US GDP around $105 billion annually.
However, replacing COBOL is no easy task. The same goes for other legacy programming languages like Fortran, which are still utilized in scientific computing, weather forecasting, and critical nuclear security codes. These systems are often too vital to risk breaking, and many of the programmers who once understood them have retired or passed away.
. . .
In its latest update, OpenAI shared encouraging results in migrating COBOL code to more contemporary programming languages such as C++, Java, Kotlin, Python, and Rust, all while preserving the original software’s functionality ... “These evaluation results demonstrate progress toward more accurate, affordable code migration for teams modernizing the software their businesses depend on,” OpenAI stated.
. . .
Experts ... caution that the advancements highlighted by OpenAI are still far from enabling the safe replacement of critical legacy systems ... When dealing with systems as critical as those running on COBOL, experts stress the need for absolute certainty that replacements function correctly. “In many cases, even minor differences in system behavior before and after migration are unacceptable,” Zaytsev noted. While AI can certainly provide efficiencies and speed, the complexity of legacy systems means that partial automation isn’t sufficient.
“Suppose you have a magic AI wand that handles 99 percent of your code,” Zaytsev said. “What do you do with the remaining 1 percent? That 1 percent can be a million lines of code, scattered throughout the system and potentially failing in ways you can’t even imagine.”

There's more at the link.

I couldn't agree more, particularly given that "legacy" code - originally written years or even decades ago, and since then updated and maintained in operation because of various pressures that made it uneconomic to replace - can now be almost impossible to update any further, because of the myriad internal cross-references and patchings over the years. Let me give you an example.

Way back when, I wrote the main computer program for BP South Africa's Price Book system. Every day, this program ran in batch mode to update the price charged for every single item sold by BP - engine fuels, lubricants, chemicals, whatever. When I was given the task to write it, I recommended that I do so in modular fashion: one program for fuels, one for lubricants, one for chemicals, one for specialized products, and so on. That way, if any one category needed a major update, its specialized program could be modified and updated without affecting the rest of the Price Book system. However, I was told that wasn't acceptable. I had to write one program covering every product in BP's catalog. Rolling my eyes a little, I set to work.

By the time I finished, if I recall correctly, the program was 6-7,000 lines of COBOL code. It called in dozens of computer files, moved data around through hundreds of working-storage entries to hold interim calculations and results, and had a test data file of over 5,000 product entries. It took almost a year to write, test, correct, re-test, etc. and get it into production.

By the time I left South Africa in the mid-1990's, I was told that the program now had a team of three programmers permanently assigned to it; a lead analyst/programmer designing the updates and fixes, and two programmers to implement them. It had grown to more than twice the original size, and all of the documentation I had left with it was so far out of date it was almost useless. The source code and diagrams of section activity were filled with handwritten notes, exclamation points, and even a few profanities. That wasn't due to anything lacking in the program as I'd handed it over: it was because so many modifications and changes had come down the pike that one single, monolithic program could not cope with their rapidity. It wasn't unusual for one fix to be in preparation (design), one to be in the implementation phase (programming and testing), and one going into production - simultaneously. If it was that bad then, I shudder to think what it's like today . . . assuming it's still in use, of course.

Now, imagine trying to analyze a program like that using AI. It's comparatively small compared to some very large systems out there, yet I think most AI agents and systems would battle to follow all the convolutions of the design, the code and the output. Whether authorized or malicious, they'd have a doozy on their hands!

Unfortunately, there are a lot of systems like that out there. As Mr. Raymond says, "the only way out is through". We have to gain control of the mess of our legacy systems, because if we don't, malicious actors will use them to rob us blind. Let the battle begin!

Peter

Memes that made me laugh 334

2026-11-02T04:28:00.000-06:00

Gathered from around the Internet over the past week. Click any image for a larger view.

More next week.

Peter

Halloween, courtesy of Stephan Pastis

2026-10-30T04:19:00.000-05:00

Click the image to be taken to a larger version at the "Pearls Before Swine" Web page.

That made me cackle loudly . . .

Peter

On the road again

2026-10-29T05:12:00.000-05:00

My wife and I are heading to Arkansas to join friends for the celebration of a significant wedding anniversary. It's a day to get there, a day to celebrate, and a day to get home again.

Blogging will resume on Monday, God willing and the crick don't rise.

Peter

Exercise assistance - but could they help pain management, too?

2026-10-28T05:09:00.000-05:00

Apparently exoskeletons (frame sort of things with an electric motor that one wears to augment muscle power) are becoming more and more popular in the fitness culture. The New York Post reports:

E-bikes gave cyclists a major boost. Now, a wearable robot wants to do the same for your legs.
Meet the exoskeleton, a battery-powered gadget that straps onto your body and promises to make running, hiking and everyday movement feel like less — or more — of a workout.
Robotic exoskeletons have been used in medical rehabilitation for decades, helping people practice walking following illness or injury.
Now, companies are bringing lighter-weight versions to the consumer fitness market, with ambitions that go beyond restoring mobility: They’re helping healthy, active people move farther, faster and with less effort.

There's more at the link, including closer examination of various models.

I think it's a given by now that exoskeletons help recovery from injury, allowing one's muscles to get back into training without over-exerting themselves. However, what about someone like me with ongoing, permanent pain issues?

A particular problem for me is that if I start walking, I'm already at a baseline level of pain. The further I walk, the greater the pain becomes, forcing me to walk ever more slowly until eventually I have to stop - and, if possible, sit down - until the pain reduces to a manageable level. At that point I can start walking again, but inevitably the pain comes back, and the cycle repeats. I can't walk for more than 5-10 minutes before I have to stop. I doubt I could cover half a mile, even including frequent breaks, without having to quit, or use a mobility scooter or wheelchair.

Does any reader with a "pain problem" like that use an exoskeleton to help? Could they extend the period one can walk until the pain increases to an unbearable level? I've been looking for feedback on that, but so far haven't found any. If you, dear reader, can provide information from your own experience, or know where to find it, I'd love to hear from you in Comments.

Thanks in advance.

Peter

Skippy, renewed

2026-10-27T04:25:00.000-05:00

I'm sure all of my veteran readers know of Skippy's List: "The 213 things Skippy is no longer allowed to do in the U.S. Army". Some examples for those who haven't encountered it:

7. Not allowed to add “In accordance with the prophesy” to the end of answers I give to a question an officer asks me.
10. Not allowed to purchase anyone’s soul on government time.
18. May no longer perform my now (in)famous “Barbie Girl Dance” while on duty.
29. The Irish MPs are not after “Me frosted lucky charms”.
33. Not allowed to chew gum at formation, unless I brought enough for everybody.
34. (Next day) Not allowed to chew gum at formation even if I *did* bring enough for everybody.

Go read all the rest at the link.

Friend in cyberspace and meatspace, fellow author and blogger, Tom Rogneby, has now added his own extensions to Skippy's List. Examples:

3. Tom is not allowed to tell the Bundeswehr liaison officer that he has moral issues with doing gas chamber training at a German base in Bavaria.
8. Tom is not allowed to whistle the James Bond theme while walking across Red Square.
15. Tom is not allowed to sign a flag-rank officer’s government BMW sportscar out of the motor pool for a nighttime run across Stuttgart and back.

I giggled all the way through, remembering some of the "war stories" Tom has exchanged with the other vets of the North Texas Troublemakers (and honorary members from elsewhere) during LibertyCon. Go read them all for yourself.

Those veterans' story-telling sessions at LibertyCon have gone on for years at each annual gathering. You could see in the faces of some listeners that they thought we were making up most of them; but then, one of us would say something to totally jar them out of their disbelief, and make them realize that "Holy s***, these guys are for real!" It's a lot of fun to see that reaction. For example, I served in the South African armed forces way back when. I once told the tale of tracking a Soviet submarine across the South Atlantic. This produced visible skepticism from my audience . . . until a former US Naval Flight Officer among our number took up the tale. He described getting orders from Norfolk, VA to take off at once if not sooner, fly to point X, and drop a sonobuoy pattern. He landed it right on top of the same submarine we'd earlier advised Norfolk was on its way there. Neither the US officer nor I even knew the other existed until a couple of decades ago, when I began telling the story and he exploded, "So it was you who dragged us off our scheduled assignment that day!" We both still laugh about it. Small world, small transatlantic ~~war~~ ~~skirmish~~ unpleasantness . . .

Peter

Memes that made me laugh 333

2026-10-26T04:29:00.000-05:00

Gathered from around the Internet over the past week. Click any image for a larger view.

More next week.

Peter

Sunday morning music

2026-10-25T05:19:00.000-05:00

I'm sure many of my readers have heard of comedian and musician Rob Paravonian. From his Web site:

With the mind of a comedian and the soul of a musician, Rob Paravonian seamlessly fuses sharp comedy performances with top notch musicianship. This perfect blend is evident everywhere from his viral Pachelbel Rant, his observations on popular music, to his well-crafted original songs.
Rob’s act is accessible and he works with minimal profanity so there are few limitations on where he can perform or where his albums can be played. He regularly works comedy clubs and cutting edge venues in New York, as well as cruises, all-ages venues and corporate events.

For those who don't know his Pachelbel Rant, it's coming up on its 20th anniversary of going viral next month. Again, from his Web site:

In November of 2006 I uploaded a video to the relatively new site YouTube and it’s hard to imagine what my life and career would be had The Pachelbel Rant not become as popular as it did. Looking back over 20 years I’m grateful for the fans it helped find me, the friends and peers it helped me connect with, and the opportunities it opened up.
If you knew me before YouTube, or are a fan of the Dr. Demento Radio Show, you probably know that the Pachelbel Rant is even older than 20. It was a bit I started doing shortly after moving to New York and it was a regular feature of my sets at The Big Bad Music Show at Catch a Rising Star. An audio recording from Catch made it onto my 1998 CD American Cheese, simply titled “Pachelbel,” and it got played on Dr. Demento in 1999, making the Funny Five in the summer and the Funny 25 at the end of the year.
I had a few other songs make it onto Dr. Demento in those years so I didn’t realize the unique potential the piece had until YouTube came along. And I didn’t know what to expect from posting it, videos of over 5 minutes were rare in those early days.
In 2006 I recorded video of a bunch of live shows to get the most current version of the ever-changing and constantly updated rant. I chose to upload the version from a show at Penn State because the audience was really energetic and, most importantly, the audio turned out really good. (For you tech nerds: I used an Audio Technica wireless lavalier mic, omnidirectional. I think I chose the make and model because Doug Stanhope recommended it in a newsgroup)
In the first few weeks of YouTube it got a few hundred, then a few thousand views. These were the days before social media allowed people to blast out posts to millions of people at once so word spread more slowly and organically. I plugged it on my blog and on MySpace (ahh, wistful sigh for MySpace), but it was when YouTube chose it as a featured video on their front page that it really took off.
A lot of college students started finding the video, either having it sent to them by friends or finding it on a site like College Humor. One of those college students was the granddaughter of George Carlin’s manager, who sent it to her dad and grandfather with the suggestion that I could fill in for Carlin’s regular road opener, fellow guitar comic Dennis Blair. That led to me opening about a dozen shows for Carlin between 2007-2008, which led to opening for Lily Tomlin in 2009 at the MGM Grand.

I enjoy his music precisely because he keeps it clean. He doesn't need profanity or innuendo to be very funny indeed. Congratulations to him on the two decades of success sparked by his Pachelbel Rant. Here's the original 2006 version.

You'll find more of his music and comedy at his YouTube channel.

Peter

Issues that should be addressed in the election, but are being ignored

2026-10-23T04:24:00.000-05:00

Coyote Blog has been published since 2004 by Warren Meyer, making it even older than this blog (which I began in January 2008). It's been an interesting and thought-provoking read for most of that time.

In his latest article, Mr. Meyer addresses "Six Meta Problems That Should Be Issues in the Election, But Are Not". It's a lengthy piece, but well worth the time for those interested in analyzing what our leaders should be addressing, but for various reasons are not. He identifies these six issues:

The US Federal budget deficit, source of inflation, high mortgage rates, and even the trade deficit;
Federal Reserve Policy, which has created the recent K-shaped binodal prosperity profile;
K-5 public education, which has hurt everyone but particularly people of color;
Conflation of race with culture, which hinders discourse on everything from immigration to education;
Complete misunderstanding about how political power works;
Special Bonus Meta Issue: Wars of choice.

I can't possibly do an excerpt incorporating all of those elements, so I recommend (highly!) that you click over there to read them for yourselves. To whet your appetite, here are the author's thoughts on public education. Emphasis in bold print is mine.

If there is a true example of systemic racism in this country it is the crime against black children perpetrated by the public k-12 education system, and probably in K-5 (once kids get to 6th grade without reading or math they are likely never going to recover). There has been no worse crime committed against African Americans in this country since Jim Crow. And the craziest part is that some of the worst examples are in cities with all-black mayors, city council, and school board members.
Take the example of East St Louis. Here is the school board in E. St Louis -- not many proud boys there. East St Louis spends over $25,000 per student and has a 12:1 teacher ratio (the national average is about $18,000 per pupil and 14:1). Teachers earn beetween $70,000 and $80,000 a year before benefits for about 9 months a year of work. The student body is 96% black and US News report that in E. St Louis "4% of high school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 7% tested at or above that level for math." Well no surprise that Blacks are struggling when freaking 96% of them graduate from public school systems like this without being able to read. This is a f*cking crime, and it has nothing to do with white leadership or funding.
This has to be fixed, but in large part the various governments in this country have focused on working hard to NOT fix it. That is because every time there is a standardized test that points out this failure to educate black children well, it is first dumbed- down, and then made optional, and then eliminated. Which is insane – its like deciding that the solution to too many cancer diagnoses in some particular area is to stop testing for cancer.
Politicians are often susceptible to cargo-cult thinking and nowhere is this more obvious than in education. At some point years ago politicians looked at successful people and noticed that successful people typically had college degrees. Most of us would have said, “Sure, that is because a college degree means they have gained some knowledge, demonstrated critical thinking, can write and do math at some minimum level, can be focused and complete tasks responsibly, and have dedicated themselves to achieving difficult goals over long periods of time.
But politicians don’t think this way – they are not very good at parsing cause and effect. So if successful people have college degrees, they figured that if we handed out lots more college degrees then there will be more successful people. But since the K-12 education system could not produce enough qualified people to get into college, then standards had to be lowered, testing requirements eliminated, and high school grades inflated. To help unprepared folks graduate, new majors with absurdly low standards were invented, grades were inflated and use of AI was winked at. Not surprisingly, none of this has helped black well-being very much. All the college DEI and affirmative action in the world is not going to help most black kids because it is 10 years too late -- they were failed by the system way back in K-5.
To complete the sad irony, the very traits that contribute to prosperity and for which college degrees were a proxy – hard work, focus on long term goals, critical thinking, discipline, deferring gratification – have now been labeled by supposed “supporters” of the Black cause as representing whiteness and to be avoided as racist. Had the KKK come up with a plan to screw the black race in this country, I don’t think they could have done a better job.
Unfortunately, change is difficult since the teacher's unions have an iron grip on public education and many blue state politicians who owe their elections to union cash and get-out-the-vote manpower. All the extra money we have poured into public education over the last 20-30 years, and there has been billions of it, has mostly been captured by public school employees, both teachers and especially the growing cadre of administrators. The only possible way is to break the monopoly -- a monopoly far more destructive than companies like Comcast Cable ever were -- is with school choice. Parents have got to be empowered to move their kids out of the failing monopoly schools. As a bonus, school choice would quiet the culture war in that parents who want their kids taught there are 53 genders or just 2 can find appropriate schools for their children.

There's much more at the link.

I don't always agree with Mr. Meyer on everything, but in this article, I think he's hit several home runs. I doubt our current crop of ideologically blinkered politicians will benefit from it, but nevertheless, go read the whole thing. If enough of us make enough noise about these things, perhaps we can begin to change the calcified channels of politics . . .

Peter

Listen for the still, small voice

2026-10-22T04:31:00.000-05:00

As the mid-term elections draw near, the political turmoil around the world is being reflected in our own national politics. There's order, counter-order and disorder; there are threats and counter-threats; there's propaganda and publicity material out the wazoo. Sometimes it's hard to think straight, what with all the noise about the past, and the present, and the future.

Speaking as a Christian, I think it's very important for us to understand that the wisdom of God is not to be found in the midst of all this shouting and tumult.

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

(1 Kings 19:11-13)

Ignore the political winds, and earthquakes, and fires. For we who believe (and even for those who don't, for that matter), God is still in his heaven and is still in command of all that is. It's his voice we need to heed, not the screeches and cacophony of those who love their own voices too much.

Peter

When "concealed" firearms carry isn't

2026-10-21T04:29:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Tom's Hardware, a well-known information technology Web site, informed its readers that WiFi technology can now detect a concealed firearm, even if it isn't visible in any way.

The full system comprises a Wi-Fi transmitter, a Wi-Fi receiver, and the WiFireNet AI.
When ordinary Wi-Fi signals encounter an object in their path, they penetrate and bounce off in ways specific to that object, based on its shape, orientation, and material. This data, the channel state information, can be analyzed to identify the object with high accuracy. Security researchers previously disclosed a technique that lets ordinary Wi-Fi routers identify people with 99.5% accuracy.
. . .
After training, the final AI system, WiFireNet, could detect concealed handguns solely based on Wi-Fi CSI, with varying accuracy. In controlled trials tracking up to four moving individuals in a small indoor space, the system achieved an average handgun-detection precision of 72.5%. However, under stricter localization requirements, such as pinpointing the weapon’s exact location on the carrier, precision dropped to 53.8%. The neural network also struggles to perform accurately in unfamiliar, untested indoor layouts.
That said, the system is still experimental, with a roadmap of planned improvements.

There's more at the link.

There have been previous claims that other systems can do the same, but as far as I'm aware, none of them have been as rigorously tested as this new development. We should assume that such systems are more likely than not to be deployed at any place where security requirements are likely to be high all, or some, of the time (e.g. law enforcement agency offices, arenas and other public performance centers where high-profile figures may be speaking or in attendance, etc.) It's likely that as such systems become more affordable and more widespread, they'll be deployed at sports venues, cinemas, hotels and other sites as well.

We may find more and more regulations in public places, or in private venues that impose restrictions upon those using them, that if a concealed firearm is detected, we may be denied entrance unless we can demonstrate a good reason why we need to be armed there. The Second Amendment and/or preparedness to defend ourselves against crime are not likely to be acceptable reasons. If we advance them, we're likely to be labeled as right-wing extremists, kooks, or paranoid survivalists.

In that light, David Codrea asks:

With no reasonable expectation of privacy in public places, technologies employing CCTV cameras, facial recognition, license plate scanners and the like generally don’t cross a “plain view” legal threshold, although there’s movement to reconsider how much is allowable, especially when surveillance becomes prolonged for tracking purposes.
But what if it’s a real bad guy? Since when has requiring you and I to be disarmed done anything but give predators the advantage?
Naturally, those intent on controlling not just guns but their fellow man, will be all for expanding the surveillance state if they can seize the power to do it. What laws to do that can we expect them to enact, and how will the courts react to challenges, especially if Democrats win the midterms , then take over in ’28, and start reshaping the Supreme Court to reverse Bruen, McDonald, Heller, and more?

Good questions!

I can see a market emerging for a sort of pouch or flat box, that can be carried inside a jacket or handbag. It would be made out of, or lined with, X-ray-proof material, similar to the pouches made to protect exposed photographic film when traveling by air; they prevent the undeveloped film from being blackened by security X-rays. I presume that such material will also work against WiFi signals - can anyone confirm, please? If not, one could add another layer of anti-static and/or or RFID-blocking material to the container. Working together, they may protect what's inside against detection, offering a way to conceal a gun even in the face of such intrusive security measures. It won't be ideal, being slower to get to than a simple holstered firearm, but it'll be a heck of a lot better than nothing for those of us who value our personal security and that of our families.

Peter

Why France's "progress" threatens to derail America

2026-10-20T04:28:00.000-05:00

Brivael Le Pogam is a French entrepreneur and co-founder of a Paris-based artificial intelligence video generation platform. He's in the middle of the social and cultural turmoil that's currently destabilizing France from within, and writes in two posts on X that it's a lesson from which we should learn. I'm going to publish his remarks in full, as I think they're very relevant.

His first post describes how bad the situation in France really is.

I’m French. I want to talk to Americans who are about to vote Democrat. Not to insult you. To warn you.
I come from your future.
In France we did everything your progressive politicians promise. Free healthcare, free college, generous welfare, strong unions, heavy regulation, high taxes on the rich, a state that takes care of everything. Public spending close to 57% of GDP, one of the highest on the planet. On paper, it’s the dream.
Here’s what it looks like from the inside. France hasn’t passed a balanced budget since 1974. Our debt is above 3,300 billion euros. Interest on that debt is becoming one of the biggest items in the national budget. Our hospitals are collapsing despite record funding. Our schools rank lower every year. Young people with degrees can’t afford an apartment in the city they were born in. Our best engineers leave for London, Zurich and San Francisco. And the rich you wanted to tax? They left too, and took the jobs with them.
The promise was protection. The result is stagnation.
The worst part is that nobody in France voted for decline. Every single step sounded generous, compassionate, reasonable. One more program. One more regulation. One more tax to fund it. Each step alone makes sense. Fifty years of them, and you wake up in a country that can no longer build a nuclear plant on time or keep its streets safe.
I love America because it’s the one place on earth where people still believe they can build something from nothing. I came to Silicon Valley as a self-taught kid and it changed my life. That spirit is the most precious thing your country has.
Before you vote, ask yourself one question: is the program you’re voting for making America more like America, or more like France?
Trust me. You don’t want to be France.

He followed that 24 hours later with this review of how things got that bad.

My dear American friends, in my last post I gave you a snapshot of where France stands today. Now let me show you how we got here. I want you to see the whole movie before you buy the ticket.
After the war, France was a machine. We called it the Trente Glorieuses, thirty glorious years. We built Concorde, the most beautiful aircraft ever made. We built a fleet of nuclear reactors in about fifteen years and gave ourselves some of the cleanest, cheapest electricity in the world. We built Ariane and put Europe in space. We built the TGV, the fastest train on earth. We invented the Minitel, an online network in millions of homes before most of you had heard of the internet. We were not a museum. We were builders.
Then came 1981. François Mitterrand. Think of him as our Bernie Sanders, except he actually won. At his side, in the office next to his at the Élysée, sat a 37-year-old prodigy named Jacques Attali, his special adviser for the next ten years. The brightest minds of the left, convinced they could run an economy from a ministry.
Here's what they did. They governed with Communist ministers. In 1982 they nationalized dozens of banks and the biggest industrial groups in the country: Paribas, Suez, Saint-Gobain, Thomson, Pechiney, Rhône-Poulenc. They lowered the retirement age to 60. They cut the work week to 39 hours and added a fifth week of paid vacation. They created a wealth tax. They hired massively into the public sector.
Reality hit in less than two years. Capital fled, inflation ran wild, and the franc was devalued three times. In March 1983 Mitterrand had to slam on the brakes and impose austerity just to stay in the European monetary system.
But here's the trick: the brakes never reversed anything. They just slowed the ratchet. The so-called right came back with Jacques Chirac, and nothing was undone. Under Chirac's presidency, France passed the 35-hour work week. Left or right, every government added one more program, one more rule, one more tax, and nobody ever took one away.
At the same time, the political class did something even more destructive than bad economics. It turned the youth into a political instrument. Instead of teaching young people, including millions of children of immigrants, to love the country they lived in, it taught them a story of guilt and grievance: France as the oppressor, France as the thing to resent. You cannot integrate people into a country you've taught them to despise. We are living with the consequences of that narrative today, in our schools, our suburbs, our streets.
Then forty years of slow decline, all the way to Macron. And the story has a perfect ending. In 2007, Jacques Attali chaired a commission on how to unleash French growth. Its deputy rapporteur was a young civil servant named Emmanuel Macron. The commission proposed more than 300 reforms to free the economy. Almost none were ever implemented. Even the men who built the system knew it wasn't working, and even they couldn't undo it.
No balanced budget since 1974. Public spending around 57% of GDP. Debt above 3,300 billion euros. Growth stuck under 1%.
Now the number that should keep you up at night. In 1995, GDP per person in France was about $27,000. In America, about $29,000. We were neck and neck. Today France is around $49,000. America is around $90,000. You are now nearly twice as rich per person as we are.
What changed? Not our talent. Not our engineers. Not our schools of mathematics. The only thing that changed is that we went all in on socialism. The 35 hours, the endless regulation, the taxes that chase out anyone who builds, the belief that the state should do everything and the individual should ask permission for everything.
There's a line people love to attribute to Einstein: insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. We tried. For forty years, we tried. Every government promised that one more program, one more tax, one more regulation would finally fix things. You just saw where it got us.
So if you choose the Democratic Party, which is literally turning socialist in front of your eyes, you will deserve what comes next.
Let me tell you exactly what will happen if you go down that road. Nobody will vote for decline. Every single measure will sound generous, compassionate, reasonable. Your builders will slowly leave or stop building. Your state will grow every year and never shrink. Your debt will compound. And in thirty years, your kids will look at a chart like the one I just described and wonder when it all went wrong.
You still have something we lost. You have Elon Musk sending rockets to orbit and landing them on their tail. You have Palmer Luckey building the defense industry of the future. You have Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang, and thousands of founders nobody has heard of yet, building in garages right now.
Trust your entrepreneurs. Don't trust your politicians.
I come from your future. Don't make it yours.

We can already see for ourselves what such standards will produce in our country. Go and live in the inner city and poorer suburbs of Seattle, or Portland, or San Francisco, or New York City, or Detroit, or Chicago, and you'll be able to experience it for yourselves. It's precisely what we don't want in our country as a whole, and what we should strive with might and main to drive out whenever and wherever possible.

I sincerely hope and pray that Americans will heed these warnings.

Peter

Memes that made me laugh 332

2026-10-19T04:41:00.000-05:00

Gathered from around the Internet over the past week. Click any image for a larger view.

More next week.

Peter

Sunday morning music

2026-10-18T05:08:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of traditional Chinese instruments, and an ancient and two modern settings for them. First, the guzheng.

The zheng or guzheng is a Chinese plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is 64 inches (1.6 m; 5 ft 4 in) long, and is tuned in a major pentatonic scale. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from Paulownia wood. Other components are often made from other woods for structural or decorative reasons. Guzheng players often wear a fingerpick made from materials such as plastic, resin, tortoiseshell, or ivory on one or both hands.
It can have nylon, steel, or silk strings depending on the genre.

Next, a very similar instrument, the guqin.

The guqin is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted by the quote "a gentleman does not part with his qin or se without good reason," as well as being associated with the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius. It is sometimes referred to by the Chinese as "the father of Chinese music" or "the instrument of the sages". The guqin is not to be confused with the guzheng, another Chinese long stringed instrument also without frets, but with moveable bridges under each string.

There's quite a lot of music on YouTube featuring both instruments. Here's a traditional Chinese piece for the guqin called "Flowing Water" or "Running Water". The video description states:

In the first paragraph, the whole song starts to flow, which vaguely implies the theme tone of the whole song. 2、 The third paragraph uses overtone to write all kinds of spring sounds of mountains, streams and waterfalls. 4、 The fifth section shows that the spring of thousands of gullies flows out of the mountain and into the flood, and gradually has a turbulent trend. Since the sixth section, the water flows into the vast ocean, and the rapids cross the gorge and beach, forming a momentum of rough waves and surging unstoppable, conveying the character of fearing difficulties and dangers and forging ahead bravely. 7、 The eighth segment is the afterwave after the climax, which is slow and urgent, released and closed from time to time, and gradually calmed down. The ninth paragraph is the finale of the passing weather. This piano song is full of the harmony between man and nature, and exudes the atmosphere of the harmony of nature, earth and people. This song has both lyricism and simulation, the combination of virtual and real, the integration of scenes and the lofty atmosphere.

A copy of this piece was launched into space aboard Voyager 1 in 1977, to be found by any race or entity that might one day intercept that spacecraft.

In lighter vein, I found some modern songs that have been rescored for the guzheng. First, Hotel California by The Eagles.

And finally, Thunderstruck from AC/DC.

An interesting contrast between ancient and modern, and between two very similar instruments. Explore both of them on YouTube.

Peter

How do you persuade a fanatical fighter that it's not his duty to die?

2026-10-16T04:31:00.000-05:00

During World War II almost all Japanese military servicemen died in action, refusing to surrender. They regarded it as their sacred duty to the Emperor of Japan, whom they regarded as having divine origins and authority. However, in the Marianas campaign, one Marine, Guy Gabaldon, began to go out beyond friendly lines and persuade Japanese soldiers and civilians to surrender rather than fight to the death. His efforts were extremely successful, and led to anything between 1,000 and 1,500 Japanese surrenders (the exact figure is disputed). He was awarded a Silver Star in recognition of his efforts, which I think was to undervalue them significantly. The Marines clearly felt the same, because some years later his award was upgraded to a Navy Cross: and now, after his death, there are proposals to upgrade it further, to the Medal of Honor.

This twenty-minute TV documentary examines his activities and achievements, as well as how other service personnel began to take the idea further. I'm told that after the Marianas campaign, when the war moved on to the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, such tactics were more widely used, but I haven't been able to confirm that.

If you're interested in World War II, and the Pacific War in particular, this documentary is a must-see.

That's an episode of World War II combat history of which I'd never heard before.

Peter

Musical notation as a tool of espionage?

2026-10-15T04:51:00.000-05:00

It sounds weird, but it actually happened in the 1980's.

Imagine this as the scenario for a thriller. Four folk musicians with a social conscience decide on a daring humanitarian mission. They'll visit a country famous for its cruel repression, and risk arrest and imprisonment by secretly meeting with persecuted individuals to smuggle out vital information about them disguised as musical notation.
It seems too outlandish even for a film. Yet it actually happened. Forty years ago, in 1985, when the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was still freezing, and no one suspected the Soviet system would collapse within four years, a quartet of American Jewish musicians visited the Soviet Union. Their aim was to help some of the millions of Jewish people who wanted to leave but were being denied the necessary exit visas. One of the four was Merryl Goldberg, who in the mid 1980s was a keen student of the saxophone and passionate about a form of Jewish folk music called klezmer.
Now she's co-authored a book, Notes of Deception, that describes those extraordinary few days when she and her fellow musicians defied the might of the Soviet Union.

But how would the information be smuggled out under the noses of the KGB officers, who would be sure to confiscate anything they deemed suspicious? The answer was: convert the names, addresses, telephone numbers and other information into musical notation, via a secret code. Goldberg admits it wasn't complex. "The important thing was it just looks like music, though anyone who read music would see it's kind of strange. It sounds like bad Schoenberg."
Vince Houghton, whose expertise in the history of spying and espionage made him an ideal co-author for the book, says there are two reasons it worked. "One is that hopefully there would be no KGB officer who was a professional musician who might realise that this is just garbage. The other is that the people using it were musicians. The code was actually a form of steganography, which means something that hides in plain sight, that no one would ever think was code. So it didn't need to be complex. I asked a cryptologist colleague how long it would take him to crack it, and he said he could do it over lunch."

There's more at the link.

The full article makes a fascinating read, and includes an example of the musical code. I love the ingenuity of mind that could think of musical notation as a hidden-in-plain-sight form of cryptography, one that the most draconian of security states in the world at the time would be unlikely to detect. That's really thinking outside the (music) box!

Peter

Two interesting bits of news, and a question for my readers

2026-10-14T04:40:00.000-05:00

Two news reports caught my eye, both illustrating how dependent we've become on technology rather than older, mature methods.

Fridges in French supermarkets hit by cyber attack
Hundreds of French supermarkets have been hit by a cyber attack that caused their fridges and freezers to heat up, spoiling fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros.
Hackers gained control of the software that regulates the temperatures of the refrigeration units, forcing some to warm to 50C (120F) overnight, according to one supermarket chain affected.
The chief executive of Coopérative U said several of its supermarkets had been hit by the "extremely serious and unprecedented" attack.
More than 100 of the chain's supermarkets were targeted, while 180 stores from Intermarché and its Netto brand were affected, with a spokesman saying that another 100 shops were urgently disconnected from the internet to prevent the same thing happening to them.

Britain urges ships to prepare for life without reliable GPS
Britain has warned shipowners that satellite navigation can no longer be taken for granted in some of the world’s busiest shipping regions, urging crews to practise navigating without GPS as jamming and spoofing become increasingly widespread ... interference across the Baltic, Black Sea, Middle East Gulf and parts of East Asia means satellite-derived positioning, navigation and timing information can no longer be relied upon everywhere.
The warning extends well beyond electronic charts. The agency identifies a long list of potentially vulnerable equipment, including ECDIS, AIS, autopilots, dynamic positioning systems, radar, gyrocompasses and GMDSS communications equipment. Ashore, vessel traffic services, pilotage systems, port management platforms and automated logistics systems are also exposed.

That navigation warning applies to any and every form of transport, of course, not just ships. Some airlines now routinely double-check at least two, if not more, global navigation satellite systems such as GPS, GLONASS, BDS and Galileo against each other while in flight. If too many of the systems show errors, they go back to taking star sights and navigating by what they can see on the ground.

As for the Internet-linked refrigerators . . . I can see that a large commercial enterprise might want to monitor its refrigerators and freezers in real time, so that repairs can be ordered immediately if something goes wrong. However, what about security? Isn't a major business vulnerability like that something that should have attracted serious attention long ago? I'm sure it will get that attention now, but it's too late to avoid substantial losses.

I'm not by any means opposed to technology, provided it remains a reliable servant. If it becomes a master instead of a servant, or if it can be corrupted and misused by criminals or other hostile actors, its usefulness has to be reassessed. I can remember being taught navigation off the coast of South Africa back in the '70's, using compass bearings on shore objects, sextants, star sights, and the good old Decca Navigator system, first used to mark and sweep German minefields off Normandy prior to D-Day in 1944. Decca has long gone now, of course, but there may come a time when something old but reliable like that will be sorely missed.

FIREARMS QUESTION

With the recent relaxation of regulations for the purchase and use of suppressors, I'm considering getting one or two of them to safeguard what's left of my hearing. However, I note that most .30-caliber suppressors list their bore diameter as .308-inch. That works fine for standard American ammunition, but several overseas equivalents (including the British .303-inch and the Soviet 7.62x39mm) are sized to .311-inch. Can anyone tell me whether American .30-caliber suppressors have sufficient "safety margin" in their bores to allow their use with .311-inch bullets? If not, do you think US manufacturers could supply their models slightly "bored-out" as a special order? Alternatively, if one went up a bore size in the suppressor, what alternatives are there? I don't know if suppressors are made for (say) the 8mm Mauser round, which would be .323-inch bullet diameter, and I'm not sure what the barrel threading would be. What others might be suitable?

Peter

As with Britain, so with the USA???

2026-10-13T04:06:00.000-05:00

So-called "welfare" payments (including entitlement programs, disability funding, and a host of other benefits) have all but crippled the British economy. Here's how the Wall Street Journal views Britain's current crisis.

Disability payouts are no longer just for those most in need; they have become a financial crutch for a large swath of the population as wages stagnate and prices rise.
It’s blowing up Britain’s welfare bill, hamstringing its politicians and imperiling its long-term financial stability.
Some seven million people—more than 10% of the population—now claim at least one or more sickness or disability benefits. The numbers are growing fastest among working-age people who should be powering the country’s economy, surging more than 60% in the past six years to 4.7 million from 2.9 million in 2019.
. . .
Many of the newer disability claims are for mental-health issues like depression, anxiety and ADHD, which can be harder for the government to verify than a physical disability. Between 2017 and 2025, disability claims for cancer doubled. But benefits claims for all psychiatric issues surged fourfold.
One benefit, created to help those with disabilities be more mobile, allows people to give up part of their welfare cash handout in return for a new car lease every three years. It now accounts for around one in every seven new car sales in the U.K. Among those who got new cars last year: 40 people whose primary medical condition was tennis elbow, 50 with wheat intolerance and 320 with dyslexia, according to government figures.
The scale of the payout has become a scandal. No other western country has seen such a rise in disability claims. In the U.S., the number of people getting federal disability payments has fallen in the past 15 years. The most recent figures show some 10.6 million working-age people in the U.S. claimed one or both main Social Security programs for people with a disability, in a country with a population five times bigger than the U.K.

There's more at the link (may be paywalled). Whether the British economy (indeed, the British nation as we know it) can survive this ever-increasing burden remains to be seen. Anytime any politician or party talks about reducing welfare expenditure, the beneficiaries of such welfare rise up in vehement, vocal opposition: so the politicians dare not touch the subject, for fear of never being elected again (and/or of being un-elected as soon as the next election comes around). The whole nation is caught in that trap. Can't afford to pay for the benefits, and can't afford to cut them.

In the USA, the federal government has done a lot to cut back on entitlement spending, as the last paragraph above shows. However, many states have implemented their own entitlement programs. For example, a couple of weeks ago it was revealed that California is spending up to $11 billion every year on benefits for illegal aliens, who are not entitled to federal benefits at all. "All told, a family of five in California with two illegal-alien parents, two US-born children and one illegal-alien grandparent can receive public services worth more than $100,000 per year." That's just one state, out of 50 in the Union. How many others are taxing their citizens - and claiming refunds from Washington D.C. - to run their own such programs? How much is it costing us, the taxpayers of this country?

The mainstream media is strangely silent about such matters, even when they're exposed through other sources. Anyone would think that the media wants to grow the "dependent economy" at the expense of the market economy, and make taxpayers liable to support the millions who don't pay taxes. There's a word for that. They call it "socialism".

If you pay taxes, remember on November 3rd, and vote accordingly.

Peter

Memes that made me laugh 331

2026-10-12T04:42:00.000-05:00

Back from vacation, with memes collected from the Web while on the road and in our hotel. Click any image for a larger view.

More next week.

Peter

Vacation update 2

2026-10-06T11:14:15.506-05:00

Nothing exciting to report - which is the point of a vacation, after all!

We've spent a while on the beach, enjoying the pleasantly warm (rather than ridiculously hot) weather and the equally warm Gulf water. To my unpleasant surprise, my difficulties with balance (due to my spinal injury and nerve damage) turn out to be magnified as I get into deeper water; if I lose my balance when waves are pulling me around, it's difficult to get to my feet again. I really don't like that, but there's nothing much I can do about it. I'll be starting another round of physiotherapy when I get home, so I'll mention it to the therapist as another symptom to be addressed.

We spent a few hours yesterday aboard the USS Lexington, an Essex-class aircraft carrier that was the last World War II-era carrier to be retired from active service in 1991. This was my second visit to her, having seen her a couple of decades ago during a visit to southern Texas, but my wife's first. Due to my mobility limitations, this time I restricted myself to the hangar and flight decks, where everything is on a level. The ladders and stairs below decks don't lend themselves to using a walking-stick! My wife went through them all while I enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the flat bits. We enjoyed our visit.

We've taken the opportunity to visit several local restaurants. The fresh seafood is great - we both enjoy it. (I'm sorry, but fresh water fish is not "sea" food - it's just fish, not sea fish. The real thing tastes much better, IMHO!) There's also a German restaurant in town, where we tucked into schnitzel, strudel and Black Forest cake. So much for our diets . . .

We're thinking of driving down to SpaceX Starbase tomorrow or Thursday. It's about three hours from here, making for a long return drive, but we're much closer to it now than we're ever likely to be again, so it seems like a good idea to take advantage of that. The main road goes right past the SpaceX compound, so one can see almost everything going on around the launch complex. Furthermore, the upper stage from Starship flight test 13 is due to return to Starbase this week, after splashing down in the Indian Ocean and being recovered intact. It'll be great if we can see it coming home. We're both big fans of SpaceX and Elon Musk.

The nicest part of this break is that we don't have to do anything. We can sleep late, go where we wish, eat whenever and wherever we want, and ignore our normal daily routine. Just what we needed! Of course, come next Monday it'll be back to normal, with my wife returning to work and me heading for another physiotherapy session, but we'll take what we can get this week.

Peter