tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post687063065616731855..comments2024-03-28T02:54:46.537-04:00Comments on The TOF Spot: A Blast from the PastTheOFloinnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14756711106266484327noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-68567866207638335642019-08-12T14:05:21.201-04:002019-08-12T14:05:21.201-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.ahihihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07336279424350585335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-34750519340636972612019-08-06T13:26:28.137-04:002019-08-06T13:26:28.137-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13574093608642992968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-72220270981794939092019-07-15T14:35:24.105-04:002019-07-15T14:35:24.105-04:00I lived in El Paso for several years, and the olde...I lived in El Paso for several years, and the older neighborhoods often had house with bars on all the windows and cages around the doors due to the problem of Mexicans coming over and breaking into residences. By the time I moved in the crime rate had plummeted due to the wall and the massive BP presence. Mr Wibblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14174081635037647888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-77505101755775769752019-07-15T14:31:24.807-04:002019-07-15T14:31:24.807-04:00I think the Maginot Line gets a bum rap. The Frenc...I think the Maginot Line gets a bum rap. The French always knew that a German attack could come through Belgium, because they were planning on it. The point of the line was to allow the French to concentrate their forces in a set piece battle in Belgium. The real French failure was in believing that the Germans couldn't penetrate the Ardennes as quickly as they ultimately did. Mr Wibblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14174081635037647888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-12541417524880966202019-06-26T18:51:47.105-04:002019-06-26T18:51:47.105-04:00In re: Quote 1.2:
"Middle" always a sub...In re: Quote 1.2: <br />"Middle" always a subtle pejorative -- implies the thing so named can't be better identified except as being between two name-deserving things. Among those who come to praise the Middle Ages, not to bury them, what better name than "Middle Ages" do they propose to designate the era? Early Eurowest? Insula Europa? (hemmed in on all sides til 1492ish) Maybe Hothouse Europe or Pressure-Cooker Europe would serve to set the stage for the succeeding outgrowth/explosion.<br /><br /> -- Occasional Correspondent Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-88763927126538337212019-06-20T17:18:01.742-04:002019-06-20T17:18:01.742-04:00I disagree with only one point: There are managers...I disagree with only one point: There are managers and managers. Most of what we generally think of as management is stuff Trump would hire somebody to do, and fire them at the drop of a hat if he was displeased. Put out fires, execute routine plans, get good people, keep them focused. Most good governors do nothing more than that. <br /><br />But there's also managing to an overriding goal, which requires, most essentially, trimming away the nonessentials and prioritizing. But most especially, it requires very high clarity on what the goal is. It might be wishful thinking on my part, but Trump seems to have that skill set, which is the skill set one needs to build the kind of empire he built. <br /><br />I don't exactly trust Trump, but I've long speculated that one, if not the major, goal of his is to humiliate those who said he couldn't do it. To do that, he needs to undo Obama, remake the courts in a less liberal activist mode, rein in federal agencies, and, preferably, help some people who ought to be in jail get thrown in jail. These are mostly things I'm down with, so, so far, so good, in a white-knuckle sort of way.<br /><br />He also manages to make me suspect, despite my natural reluctance, that he really is a lot smarter, in the sense of more cunning, and patient than he seems on first glance. If his goal is to humiliate his enemies - and taking power is what, to Trump, humiliation means - he might very well, for example, allow the border situation to drag on right up until the election, as the visuals hurt his opponents more than they hurt him. Open borders is an insane idea - and the visuals prove it. If he had instead merely had the army build the wall starting day 1, then the news would be all about what a tyrant he is - without the endless pictures of hordes of people stampeding across the borders to keep the problem fresh in the minds of the so called independent voter. Similarly, his low-key focus on judicial appointments and some rumored work among the lower, less treasonous levels of the FBI, etc., suggest he's playing a longer game: can't go after the perps if the courts will throw out the cases or federal law enforcement simply refuses to make them in the first case. <br /><br />Simply speculating, I just don't know. In the meantime, Trump mostly makes the right heads explode, which makes the rest of it much easier to endure. Joseph Moorehttps://yardsaleofthemind.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-2111548599651908752019-06-20T09:17:15.886-04:002019-06-20T09:17:15.886-04:00As a New Jerseyan, I supported Christie and can as...As a New Jerseyan, I supported Christie and can assure you that the reason he lost my support was not because he was not a rich Manhattanite but because he ended up being an incredibly disappointing and unbelievably corrupt trainwreck whose greatest virtue is that he is not our current governor.<br /><br />He was also all talk and no substance at all.<br /><br />Trump is much, much, much, much better.Bellomyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13772021462887676959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-58029342969404703602019-06-19T14:49:36.712-04:002019-06-19T14:49:36.712-04:00Some pictures:
https://www.facebook.com/National.B...Some pictures:<br />https://www.facebook.com/National.Border.Patrol.Museum/photos/a.169844733071907/2117221251667569/?type=3&theater<br /><br />https://www.facebook.com/National.Border.Patrol.Museum/photos/a.169844733071907/2098066633583031/?type=3&theater<br /><br />https://www.facebook.com/National.Border.Patrol.Museum/photos/a.169844733071907/2090324321023929/?type=3&theater<br /><br />(Really great little museum, nice folks.)Foxfierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161683096247890834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-62583906322759194782019-06-19T14:45:15.632-04:002019-06-19T14:45:15.632-04:00My husband's work down there was in support of...My husband's work down there was in support of border patrol. Nothing I'm going to say is anything but public knowledge, but it means I had someone to run stuff by to find out how screwed up news stories managed to get. <br /><br />It makes things much harder for the cartels-- in no small part because you don't go <i>anywhere</i> without paying the local cartel, or your body if it's found will be a warning to others.<br />A very popular smuggling method is to charge the civilians for crossing, then the cost for "helping" the cross the border is that they pack your drugs. The Border Patrol Museum in El Paso has one of the pot packs for kids-- it's serious hiker sized. You get caught, then you owe the cartel for the drugs, too. <br /><br />Boats aren't very popular because it's hard to hide; on the other hand, they did catch a sub down in South America. More popular is smugglers pipes-- it's like a smuggler tunnel, but smaller. <br />They did try tunnels, but they're too easy to find. Both are very expensive in time and effort, which puts stress on the cartels and makes them vulnerable to other cartels, cuts down their power. <br /><br />I forgot, walls also make it harder to get <i>back</i> to Mexico, which is really nice when they steal your car or something. Foxfierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161683096247890834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-72989617646083079642019-06-19T14:28:16.587-04:002019-06-19T14:28:16.587-04:00You may be right. They discourage casual civilians...You may be right. They discourage casual civilians. They do not keep out the barbarians, like drug smugglers, who simply use boats or other techniquues.TheOFloinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14756711106266484327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-24753790160730561322019-06-19T13:22:32.015-04:002019-06-19T13:22:32.015-04:00The reason the ladies in my group know what kind o...The reason the ladies in my group know what kind of numbers are involved is because one of those attempts that was successful resulted in a guy jumping her back fence and trying to get in to the house. Foxfierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161683096247890834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-80706627131742688132019-06-19T13:21:36.097-04:002019-06-19T13:21:36.097-04:00Incidentally, the walls do work. Not perfectly, b...Incidentally, the walls do work. Not perfectly, but they are a vital tactical element. If they didn't work, the cities on the Mexican side of the border wouldn't be so pissed about 'em. <br /><br /> According to our neighbor in El Paso, things got a LOT better when they put the wall in there-- walls weren't needed to keep your stuff from growing legs, almost nobody disappeared on the Texas side of the border anymore-- and according to the ladies in my homeschool group, the kinds of numbers that are needed to bypass it when it's in good condition are big enough to be hard to hide.<br /><br />Problems come in when there are things like some agencies actually chaining gates open, or guys on the Mexican side using gov't authority to bypass it, or stupid political tricks mean that it's in such bad repair that a pickup full of illegals can ram through it and not ruin the pickup. (Actual event there, too-- they got caught.)<br /><br />Incidentally, the Ming dynasty's wall worked fine. They didn't fall until after a huge series of disasters happened and their soldiers were roving around trying to get food instead of defending. (There was smallpox and a famine, too.)<br />https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-china/ming-dynastyFoxfierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161683096247890834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-45364638770179681472019-06-19T12:05:13.264-04:002019-06-19T12:05:13.264-04:00Even more than the Maginot Line, the Ming Dynasty&...Even more than the Maginot Line, the Ming Dynasty's walls didn't even slow <i>down</i> the Manchurians (who would go on to found the Qing Dynasty, either the most murderous regime prior to communism, or second only to Mughal India).Sophia's Favoritehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02871625814389904112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-87859758538069853572019-06-18T13:08:24.850-04:002019-06-18T13:08:24.850-04:00Good to keep a lot of these thoughts front of mind...Good to keep a lot of these thoughts front of mind. It's too easy to forget in these crazy times. Zachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09454555770949951135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-447603865959500290.post-79185048357510342722019-06-17T22:16:33.765-04:002019-06-17T22:16:33.765-04:00Held up fairly well, honestly; I voted for Trump b...Held up fairly well, honestly; I voted for Trump because a cup that said "poison" but had it crossed out was a better choice than a pistol where I could SEE it was fully loaded-- and not only was I shocked he won, but I was shocked that he seems to be doing his best to actually live up to the spirit of what he's been hired for.<br /><br />It's like the used van we bought; <i>the salesman wasn't lying!</i> Not perfect, no, but not actually LYING. Foxfierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10161683096247890834noreply@blogger.com