Blog: If I understand this

The Pentagon has used more than 1,500 Patriot interceptor missiles in the war and has fewer than 1,700 interceptors left, according to two people briefed on the stockpile levels who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military details. The United States produced about 600 interceptors in all of 2025.

Worth noting: Each interceptor missile costs about $4 million and takes more than two years to make.  The U.S. has also lost about a quarter of its Reaper drone fleet during the war. Each one costs between $30 million and $50 million. – MSNOW

Maybe Hegseth is bad at math . . .  if we use a $4 million missile to down a $400. drone, eventually . . .

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Trump, who never served in the military:  Trump Says Prolonged Deployment of USS Lincoln Has Been ‘Not Nearly Long Enough’

Related:  Happy two-month anniversary to the completion of the Iran-deal-that-wasn’t. – Has Congress declared war yet?

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” President Donald Trump proclaimed on June 14. “Congratulations to all!”  “I hereby fully authorize the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade,” he added. “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

— Did you know the war was over two months ago?  How could I have missed that?

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Trump also wants to get rid of our carriers catapults and go back to steam powered one, which would cost billions to change . . . so, he knows about ships because . . .??

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Trivia:  The last U.S. president to serve on active duty in the regular armed forces was Jimmy Carter, who served as a U.S. Navy officer from 1946 to 1953. – I think he was on a nuclear sub, at least part of that time.

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“California billionaire Sergey Brin would rather spend $100 million to fund a shady opposition campaign than simply pay his fair share in taxes so millions of Californians don’t lose their healthcare. That’s shameful. Billionaires already pay much lower tax rates than what working families pay out of every paycheck,” SEIU-UHW Vice President Debru Carthan said in a statement.  — This is about that one-time 5% tax on billionaires in California.  What I have learned over many years is that the really rich do not want to pay ANY TAXES.  None.  Screw you for being so stupid that you have a job and they take your taxes out.

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I wonder what the job prospects are now for hand writing experts – with so many kids not learning cursive.

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Corrupt investors welcome:  On Tuesday, the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that businesses formed in the United States would no longer need to disclose their actual owners, and that nearly all the data already gathered on such companies would be destroyed. – The Atlantic — Ah, Trump the Businessman at work again.

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Department of the Treasury has ended ownership-reporting requirements for U.S. businesses and purged the existing database of ownership information. This seemingly technical-sounding change is a huge gift to financial crooks, who can now store and launder dark money in U.S. financial institutions with less risk of detection.

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The U.S. government has refunded more than $100 billion in tariffs to businesses following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down sweeping emergency trade measures. This amount represents roughly 60% of the total duties originally collected from importers. Hey, did you get your share, as a consumer, back yet?  You don’t think they would keep it as “extra profits” do you?

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Doctors are urging Americans to ignore Trump’s vaccine order.

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Think we have the best health care system?

Universal Health Coverage for Every American Could Save $1 Trillion: Yale Study

Adopting a single-payer universal health care system in the U.S. would cut annual health expenditures by $1 trillion, even while covering every American, including those uninsured or underinsured, a new study found.

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Odd Thing Dept.:  William Shakespeare may have helped shape the English language, contributing hundreds of words to our modern lexicon, but he was seemingly unconcerned with standardizing his own surname. The playwright spelled — or at least signed — his name several different ways during his lifetime; in fact, no surviving document shows him using the now-standard spelling of “Shakespeare.”

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I named my dog Five Miles, so I can tell people I walk Five Miles every day.

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The U.S. Postal Service has issued a “final order” to restrict mail-in voting, carrying out President Donald Trump’s executive order about two months ahead of the November midterm elections.  In its rule, the agency said it would deliver mail ballots only in states that provide voter information to the Trump administration. – MSNOW

So now the PO will decide what mail to deliver?  Maybe they can figure out how to deliver only Republican ballots. . . well, the Supreme Court, you know, wink, wink.

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This might be a repeat, but it’s worth the chance . . .

“A woman on the train was rude to me, so I Goggled the book she was reading and told her who the murderer was.”

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I did some more research, and the results all agree that the amount of water on Earth is finite.  Which means if we keep increasing our population, eventually . . .

Dunno about oxygen or food, but if the water thing happens, it won’t matter.  What’s the old saying?  Leave the world a better place for you having been here?

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I read that a more accurate figure of labor would include those “functionally unemployed.” This includes not only people who are unemployed and looking for a job, but also those who are involuntarily working part-time and who are earning poverty-level wages, or less than $26,000 annually before taxes. 

Functional unemployment across the U.S. has climbed four straight months and stood at 24.9% as of July, although that’s down from 25.2% in December, according to the Ludwig Institute. 

–So, one person out of four either does not work or works for too little.

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And, from CNN:  Natalie Harp, President Donald Trump’s unusually close aide, cheered on those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, saying it was time to “FIGHT FOR TRUMP!”

The since-deleted tweets were first picked up by CNN on Saturday. On the day of the attack, Harp praised Trump supporters at the Capitol as “patriots.”

“Today we STOP THE STEAL!” another tweet read.

Following the attack, Harp shared tweets claiming that those who rioted were not Trump supporters but instead antifascists. – Or FBI agents?

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The National Debt hit $40 Trillion.  Didja know that $10 Trillion of that has been added while Trump was president?  Do your Republican friends (if you have any) know that?  Wait, maybe Trump’s ballroom, er, military shelter, is more important . . .

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All for today. Take care,

Kevin