FORTRESS, etc.

You may have seen recent news coverage of the new initiative by Secretary of Defense (not War) Pete Hegseth to require military bases in the United States to be able to operate for at least 90 days without relying on civilian power, fuel, water or supply lines. The program is being called "FORTRESS" - short for "Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability." 

Now, that's an acronym.

I think that other federal agencies should have programs with catchy acronyms, too. Here are a few suggestions:

What's left of the Department of Education could have "GRADES" - "Greatly Reducing Aid to Deteriorating Educational Systems."  

The Department of Justice could have "COURTS" - "Criminally Obvious Use of Resources for Trump Sycophants."

The Department of the Treasury could have "GRAFT" - "Giving Regular Aid to Friends of Trump."

The Department of State could have "TREATIES" - "Trump Requires Every Ally To Immediately Embrace Submission."

The Department of Commerce could have "TARIFFS" - "Trump's Alternative to the Rational International Free Flow of Stuff."

The Department of Housing and Urban Development could have "FORECLOSE" - "Federal Operation to Remove or Evict Citizens Living On Small Earnings."

The Department of Homeland Security could have "WALL" - "We Are Legally Lawless."

Any other suggestions? Leave a comment.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Monday Mountains

 

If you're like me, your spirits have already been uplifted by the results of last week's midterm elections. If you need something else to lift your spirits, here's this week's collection of Monday Mountains ...

1 - 

2 - 

3 - 

4 - 

5 - 

6 - 

7 - 

8 - 

9 - 

10 - 

Have a good day and a great week. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Poetry Sunday

 

Both my wife and I love to cook, which is handy on those days when one or the other of us is not in the mood (to cook). This poem by Jane Hirshfeld is for all those other amateur chefs out there ...

Cook

by Jane Hirshfield

Each night you come home with five continents on your hands:

garlic, olive oil, saffron, anise, coriander, tea,

your fingernails blackened with a marjoram and thyme.

Sometimes the zucchini's flesh seems like a fish-steak,

cut into neat filets, or the salt-rubbed eggplant

yields not bitter water, but dark mystery.

You cut everything into bits.

No core, no kernel, no seed is scared: you cut

onions for hours and do not cry,

cut them to thin transparencies, the red ones

spreading before you like fallen flowers;

you cut scallions from white to green, you cut

radishes, apples, broccoli, you cut oranges, watercress,

romaine, you cut your fingers, you cut and cut

beyond the heart of things, where

nothing remains, and you cut that too, scoring coup

on the butcherblock, leaving your mark,

when you go 

your feet are as pounded as brioche dough.

Speaking of chefs and cooks ... I'm hooked on a series of superb suspense novels by Sam Eastland* set in Russia during the time of the revolution and World War II. One of the characters is a young officer of the Cheka (secret police) who ended up in that role because the Bolsheviks shut down the school where he was learning to be a chef. Every time someone calls him a "cook," he gets very upset and insists on being called a "chef."

Words matter.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* The Eye of the Red Tsar, Shadow Pass, Archive 17, The Beast in the Red Forest, Red Icon, The Red Moth, and Berlin Red.

Cartoon Saturday

What a week it's been!

American voters decisively rejected Der Furor and his MAGA agenda in a huge Democratic Party victory that seized control of both houses of Congress and numerous governorships; Idaho residents selected the Winchester Model 1873 as the official state gun and English as the official state language in Tuesday’s election; in an attempt to protect his garish Liberaceization of the Gilded House, Der Furor issued a royal decree executive order designating the Oval Office as a national monument protected from future change; enraged by the historic smackdown of the GOP and anxious to identify a suitable scapegoat, Der Furor announced that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is being replaced by former Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Senior Nazi Consultant Stephen Miller*; and in Belgium, a 36-year-old man who was arrested after he tried to rob a supermarket while wearing underwear on his face as a mask has also been charged with assault, arson, attempted extortion, carrying a weapon, cocaine possession, and car theft, all committed in the span of a few hours during a single night.

This week, a collection of cartoons inspired by the events of the past week in politics ... 

It must be another of Der Furor's press events at which he crows about his ballroom ...

How, indeed? ...

I think there's less fear of that now than there was a few days ago ...

Let's see if the new Democratic majority is really able to do something about the problem ...

I think Dad is probably grousing about other things by now ...

I'd always wondered where Der Furor came up with some of these people ...

The Gilded House responds to the emergency ...

I think she can probably hold off on things other than the weather ...

I think this guy has a great future in government until January 3rd ...

This just in ... apocalypse indefinitely postponed ...

The voters have handed the Democrats an historic victory. We just have to make sure they don't squander it.

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts tomorrow, when Poetry Sunday gets cooking in the new month. See you then.

Bilbo

* The best comment on Miller's elevation was delivered by Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal, who described it as "a giant middle finger to every single voter who came out to the polls and demanded a change from the corruption and cruelty of the last two years."

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

 

It's your first collection of editorial and signage ya-ha's for the new month! Let's get rolling ...

I'm not sure that's a suitable substitute, but what do I know?

I'll bet those antlers hurt on the way out ...

I think this is my dentist ...

Uh ... no ...

I guess this is for those who plan on orgies in the kitchen ...

I think there's a reporter in Iowa looking for a new job ...

"Slightly used?" ...

You have to wonder how many people are dumb enough to fill it in ,,,

I wonder what the criteria for "fine" are ...

Worst case of mistaken identity, ever ...

That's it for this week. As always, if you find a Great Moment in your travels or reading, take a picture and send it to ol' Bilbo - I'll give you credit if I use it.

Have a good day, and be sure to come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Thursday Trees

 

New month, new trees! Welcome to Mike's Thursday Trees!

1 - a "Mayan Tree" (Albizia niopoides) in Mexico ...

2 - a "nurse log," raising a whole new forest ...

3 - this tree might look good at a nudist colony ...

4 - I think this tree is in need of an arboreal chiropractor ...

5 - leaves against the blue sky ...

6 - you know it's coming ...

7 - a tree's gonna grow where a tree's gonna grow ...

8 - this tree looks like a diagram of what passes for MAGA logic ...

9 - an olive tree, reminding me of those times when I've really gotta go and there's no rest room around ...

10 - a quiver tree forest in Namibia ...

And that's it for our first edition of Thursday Trees for November - I hope you enjoyed it.

Have a good day, and be sure to come back tomorrow for the first November collection of Great Moments in Editing and Signage. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Presidential Qualifications, Revisited

Last Tuesday I published a post on some of the experiences I thought a President ought have. The reactions to that post (and there have been many, both on the post itself, on Facebook, and via email and PM) have been largely critical, and most of them seem to assume that I would want any presidential candidate to have lived all of the experiences I listed.

In hindsight, I think it went off the rails when I used the not-quite-accurate word qualifications in the title. 

My bad.

As I wrote in that post, "Nobody is likely to check all these boxes, but the more, the better." Anyone who had all of the experiences I suggested would probably not be available for the presidency, having his (or her) sights set on a more prestigious office, like Pope.

I believe that, over time, we've created a presidency that can be held only by those rich enough to buy it (or have it bought for them by the Elon Musks of the world), and that most of the people who are able reach that office have not the least understanding of the day-to-day challenges of the people they were elected to lead. What I'd hoped to convey was my belief that a person who aspires to the presidency ought to have had at least a few of the life experiences of those of us in the Great Unwashed. 

In retrospect, I think that the actual qualifications, rather than desired life experiences, ought to include the upper age limit and documentation of having paid taxes. I think there might be enough support for a constitutional amendment to add those. As for the remaining experiences, I'd hope we can agree that at least a few of them are reasonable.

Heaven knows, we've got to do better.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Election Day, 2026

Today is Tuesday, November 3rd - the day of the 2026 midterm elections. Emotions are running higher than usual, given the condition of the economy and the corruption and ineptitude of many incumbents, and early mail-in and in-person voting numbers are near historic levels in many localities.

I don't care who you vote for. Well, actually, I do, but the decision is yours. You know your own situation. You know what you expect from your elected officials and can compare it to what you see them deliver. The choice is yours.

Don't vote on the basis of promises. Anyone can promise anything ... that's pretty much how we got the crowd in power we have now. What's important is not what they promise they'll do, but the actual measures they propose to turn those promises into action. Ask how they plan to fulfill their promises, and think about how plausible ... and even moral ... those plans are.

Vote, but be an educated voter. Don't let yourself be swayed by wild accusations and crazy conspiracy theories. Vote with confidence in the security and accuracy of a system administered by your friends and neighbors under the laws of your state. Just vote.

As I have since 2016, I will be working today as a county Officer of Election at my local precinct. I've had many hours of training and have sworn my oath to conduct the election honestly and lawfully. Ask yourself how many of the people howling about "rigged elections" can say the same.  

Exercise your power today. Vote. Accept the results, even if you're disappointed, and hold your newly elected officials to account. It's not enough to throw the bums out ... you need to keep the new bums honest.

Have a good day. Vote.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Monday Mountains

New month, new opportunities to admire the beauty of the world's mountains ...

1 - Chamonix, France ...

2 - Along the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway in Wyoming ...

3 - Colchuk Lake in the Cascades ...

4 - Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska ...

5 - San Juan Mountains, Colorado. I spent a month hiking in the San Juans in the summer of 1969 ...

6 - the Selkirk Mountains, Idaho ...

7 - Marguzor Lake in the mountains of Tajikistan ...

8 - The Tatra Mountains of Poland ...

9 - "The Sleeping Witch," a famous formation in the Lattengebirge range of the Berchtesgaden Alps in Germany ...

10 - the Zinalrothorn in Switzerland ...

November is off to a flying start! I hope you enjoyed these beautiful examples of glorious mountains around the world.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo