Really Right – Page 84 – Religion, Politics, and Culture: Explained and Defined

Dems Might Unfriend Facebook

The media doesn’t think they are biased. They are Democrats in their thinking regardless of their voter registration. When something benefits or advances the Democrat agenda that is not remarkable to them, it is “normal”. Anything that goes contrary is concerning and perhaps newsworthy.

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal published a shocking news article that Facebook and “big tech” might not be the friends Democrats thought after all. The article has lots of pop-culture mythology in it that illustrates that many still bitterly cling to the Russia interference myth created by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and Facebook accidentally helped Republicans in 2016. Please note that Facebook helping Democrats in 2008, 2012, 2016 is not newsworthy because that is what is expected of them thus “normal” behavior. The article quotes many leading Democrats—mostly Senators where they are the minority—decrying that “big tech” may need regulation. The author shockingly concludes that Facebook, Google, et al are just corporations and not the friends that Democrats thought after all.

Sadly, the WSJ article is buried behind their pay firewall

Movie Recommendation: Ragamuffin

I found an obscure gem on Amazon that you can stream this weekend while you are hiding out from the smoke. (FYI I will be outside mowing the lawn and walking the dog because I already saw this movie and refuse to wear a face mask.) If you search for the title on Amazon, you will find two movies about the same person, one is a documentary that is free and the other is the movie that I’m writing about today.

This movie, Ragamuffin, is a dramatic portrayal of Christian singer/song writer Rich Mullins. It stars Michael Koch as Rich Mullins. It costs money to rent the movie (about $4) but is well worth it.

A lover of Jesus and a rebel in the church, Rich refused to let his struggles with his own darkness tear him away from a God he was determined to love. As he struggled with success in Nashville and depression in Wichita, Rich desired most of all to live a life of honest and reckless faith amidst a culture of religion and conformity.

IMDB: Ragamuffin

The descriptions of the movie found on the internet are not really on point with one part of the story, Mullins did develop a relationship with a Navajo Indian reservation but contrary to the reviews, did not quit the rest of the world to go live with the Navajos.

The movie is about how Mullins faced his demons head-on and challenged others in the church to honestly live their faith.

This movie can be compared and contrasted with I Can Only Imagine

Both movies are about Christian musicians/song writers that wrote breakout hits, both feature dramatic portrayals of Amy Grant who’s shadow looms large over both men’s stories, and both men had problems as adults due to broken relationships with their fathers. The similarities end there.

Mullins was a broken soul that was deeply flawed and knew it. Instead of anger at God, he tenaciously cling to his faith. Many will be offended that this guy claimed to be a Christian in good standing. He chain smoked, is alcoholic, and often refused to obey authority figures in his life. Mullins followed the beat of a different drummer as only an artist or genius would. Mullins reminds me of King David in the Old Testament; a deeply flawed individual that God calls “a man after his own heart”.

Mullins once described his faith like this:

Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in a beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken-hearted.

Wikipedia: Rich_Mullins

Mullins was influenced by Brennan Manning. Manning wrote The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out.

Brennan Manning wrote The Ragamuffin Gospel “for the bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out,” the marginalized folks to whom Jesus ministered: the children, the ill, the tax collectors, the women. In other words, the ragamuffins. Manning understands better than most that behind our facades of order and self-assurance are inadequacies that can find healing only in Jesus. While the powerful and religious elite challenged him, Jesus embraced and healed and fed the needs of the ragamuffins. Jesus delivered love, healing, and, most of all, grace.

Grace is defined as “the freely given and unmerited favor and love of God.” But, as Manning points out, we have “twisted the gospel of grace into religious bondage and distorted the image of God into an eternal, small-minded bookkeeper.” In reality, God offers us grace immeasurable. Brennan Manning gently encourages us to embrace that grace in the face of our greatest needs. And Manning certainly knows whereof he speaks, having taken a journey from priesthood and academic achievement through a collapse into alcoholism. Manning came face to face with his need, finally abandoning himself to grace. And he invites us now to join him in a life of grace.

The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out.

The other thing that I really appreciate about this movie is that the music is not lip-synced. The guy playing Mullins, Michael Koch, is actually singing Mullin’s songs. I can’t tell you how rare that is in any movie.

This movie is about a real person with real problems, many of which you’ve experienced or know someone who has. It is about a real relationship with God not something you do once a week so you can live how you will the rest of the week.

God loves you as you are right now. If you have trouble believing this or wish you could, I encourage you to spend two hours watching this movie. In the final analysis, we are all ragamuffins needing God’s grace.

Paradise Fire

Camp Fire map November 16, 2018

It’s a week since Paradise was Lost. I wanted to recap on what we think we know thus far and what’s next.

In a nutshell this is it:

At about 6:15 AM last Thursday (November 8th), Pacific Gas and Electric electrical sensors reported a fault in a line near Camp Road. At 6:33, a fire was reported in the area of this fault.

Thursday morning at 6:43 a.m., Butte County firefighters called dispatch after seeing flames across the Feather River from Poe Dam.

“It is on the west side of the river, underneath the transmission lines,” the firefighter went on to say. “Probably about 35 mph sustained wind on it.”

CBS13 obtained a report that PG&E made from the California Public Utilities Commission. It described an incident at 6:15 a.m., 28 minutes before that call from firefighters. It read: “PG&E experienced an outage on the Caribou-Palermo 115 kV Transmission line in Butte County.”

CalFire records show the Camp Fire started at 6:33 a.m., just 18 minutes later.

PG&E Could Be to Blame For Sparking Camp Fire In Butte County

Whether the fire caused the fault in the electric line or the line caused the fire will be determined first by investigators and secondly in some as yet to be filed lawsuit on behalf of victims.

It was a windy day. The wind was blowing from the mountains into the valley. Before noon that day, the city of Paradise—population about 28,000 souls—and the surrounding area were burned to a crisp. By sunset, 70,000 acres had burned.

The lands to the west of Highway 99 are agricultural and thus a natural barrier to further spread of the fire in that direction. Much of the area is used for rice production. Maintained lands have less fuel available to be burned. Also, the growing season is over and fields are traditionally plowed and left fallow during the winter months.

As of this writing, 142,000 acres have burned, 63 people are confirmed dead and over 600 are listed as missing. Most of the missing are elderly and were likely indoors going thru their regular routine when the fire struck their homes. They were not warned in time or unable to escape the flames.

Authorities searching through the blackened aftermath of California’s deadliest wildfire have released the names of about 100 people who are still missing, including many in their 80s and 90s, and dozens more could still be unaccounted for.

List Of Missing In Camp Fire Includes Many In Their 80s And 90s

For readers not familiar with this area, this part of northern California is rural and poor. Unemployment is chronically high. There once was a thriving timber industry in this area but it was run out of the area decades ago. Now, government is the only employer offering middleclass wages to most folks in this area. Paradise was the type of place folks could go to get more for their money in terms of housing. You could get a place with a view or at least some pine or oak trees on your property. Chances are that a house there had no sidewalks and is on a septic system not connected to a city sewer. Many driveways are gravel not paved. The pace of life is slower than the big city and folks like it that way.

The rural lifestyle is part of the reason for the loss of life. Another is that communication with citizens is more difficult in today’s society. We get our information from a varied and decentralized network of sources.

In the wake of the political season, how many of you would answer a phone call from a number that you don’t recognize? If the sheriff’s office called me with a warning, I’d probably let it go to voicemail. We all know telemarketers can spoof the name and number of the call so caller I.D. has limited effectiveness. Plus old folks might not answer the phone because they didn’t hear it ring.

Anything short of a welfare check on your neighbor had limited effectiveness. Many people were heading to work or school when the fire struck Paradise. People didn’t know who was home and who was not. Often they didn’t have time to check on their neighbors. Often they grabbed the car keys and left with nothing.

Today, the south and east sides of the fire continue to burn. The area near Highway 70 and Oroville Lake is inaccessible and contains lots of fuel so it will be a while before this part gets firm fire lines.

Let’s talk about rebuilding.

· Roads must be cleared and burned structures must be removed and disposed somewhere.

· Land must then be surveyed to mark property boundaries.

· Basic infrastructure—power, water, and sewer—must be restored before structures can be rebuilt. Concurrently, communication is also necessary whether that be cellular or land lines.

· FEMA, CalOES, and insurance companies must get all their paperwork organized so money will be available to rebuild.

· State, county, and local officials need to find a way to fast-track permits for all this to happen and of course winter is coming.

Unless you opt for a mobile home, you are probably a year or more away from occupying a rebuilt house. Even with insurance, who can afford a year in temporary housing waiting to get their life back?

I know people that have lost everything short of their lives in the fire and others that were evacuated and still don’t know if they have a place to return to when they are able.

I have more to say on this tragedy but I will refrain until a later date. Meanwhile my heart goes out to those suffering loss. Let the smoke be a reminder that whatever inconvenience you think it is causing, it’s nothing compared to what people in Butte County are experiencing now.

Omens of Newsom Reign

One of my old pastors used to say that one of the ways that God judges people is to give them what they want (as opposed to what they need). Given the anointing of Gavin Newsom on Tuesday by the voters along the coastal part of the state, look at the news since then. Coincidence or an omen of things to come?

Coastal counties vote overwhelmingly for Gavin Newsom (Lt Green areas)

Wednesday begins with Gavin interacting with various folks in the media as he promises once again to do battle with Washington and resist President Trump.

California cemented its role as a defiant counterweight to the federal government Tuesday as the state’s voters elected Gavin Newsom, an enthusiastic adversary of President Trump, as their next governor.

With Gavin Newsom as governor, California’s battle with Trump intensifies

That night 12 people are slaughtered by a military veteran with mental health issues.

What to Know About Thousand Oaks Shooting Suspect Ian David Long

Mental health issues are the main reason for homelessness; an issue which has dominated much of the news of San Francisco in the last two years. Ironically, Gavin has promised to bring his San Francisco track record to Sacramento to do likewise for the rest of the State. He claimed to reduce homelessness during his time as mayor but the statistics don’t prove it.

Newsom cherry-picked his numbers when the reality is that the number of homeless was about the same at the beginning and end of his term as mayor despite shipping 5,000 homeless folks to other communities via Greyhound Buses.

Newsom has said his policies reduced the homeless street population in San Francisco by 40%, an accurate claim for the years 2002 to 2009, according to city statistics. But Newsom was mayor from 2004 to 2011, and the city didn’t perform a count of its homeless population the year he took office, making it difficult to determine the exact number of homeless who left the streets during his tenure.

San Francisco’s homeless count was 7,499 in 2017, compared with 8,640 in 2002, according to the San Francisco Human Services Agency.

The state’s homeless population topped 134,000 in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a 13.7% jump from the previous year and the largest increase in the nation.

Gavin Newsom’s approach to fixing homelessness in San Francisco outraged activists. And he’s proud of it

It’s important to note, however, that the city used Homeward Bound, a bus ticket program, to move about 5,000 of those people out of San Francisco.

Gavin Newsom’s Half True claim on reducing San Francisco’s homeless ‘street population’

Thursday California’s only Paradise was wiped off the map. Yes, in a single day, the city of Paradise was burned to the ground.

The entire town of Paradise was under evacuation as several homes in the area became engulfed in the fire, Cal Fire Public Information Officer Scott McClean said at a press conference Thursday. McLean said the town was largely destroyed and while it was impossible to know the exact number of buildings destroyed, it was “a couple of thousand or more.”

Paradise destroyed as Camp Fire burns 20,000 acres in Northern California

PARADISE LOST: Cal Fire Says Camp Fire Has Wiped Out California Town

“[Paradise] is devastated, everything is destroyed. There’s nothing left standing,” said Scott Maclean, the state’s forestry and fire protection spokesman.

Paradise Fire: California wildfire leaves town in ruins

Folks, Paradise Lost is about the shortest summary of Democrat rule that you will ever read.

Gavin is coming for you…

California Conservatives Voting with Their Feet

Many years ago, a young man seeking to improve his lot in life was given the advice to “go west, young man”.

Now, a hundred odd years later, folks in California are echoing Davie Crocket, “you may all go to hell and I will go to Texas”.

About 130,000 more residents left California for other states last year than came here from them, as high costs left many residents without a college degree looking for an exit, according to a Sacramento Bee review of the latest census estimates.

They most often went to cheaper, nearby states — and Texas. Since 2001, about 410,000 more people have left California for Texas than arrived from there. That’s roughly equivalent to the population of Oakland.

California has seen more than 15 consecutive years of net resident losses to other states. The trend was sharpest at the height of the housing boom between 2004 and 2006. It slowed markedly during the housing bust but quickened again during recent years.

California lost more residents to other states than it got last year

Folks the conservative trickle will become a tsunami under Gavin Newsom as the middleclass seeks refuge elsewhere as Gavin does for the State what he did to San Francisco.

However, lest you think the grass is greener, this warning from Texas.

When economist James Gaines gave a talk recently about the economy and the real estate market, his biggest audience response came from an unexpected topic.

Gaines, chief economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, told hundreds of local real estate agents what to expect in the years ahead regarding the state’s population growth and demographic changes.

“Do you know what Texas looks like in 30 years?” Gaines asked the audience.

“California,” he offered as the whole ballroom of folks groaned and rolled their eyes.

Nothing gets a bunch of Texans more riled up than to tell them they are turning into California.

“I’m serious about it,” he said. “The problems, the issues, politically, socially, economically, land use, housing resources — go down and tick off the issues. We are going down the same path.”

A house in Texas’ most expensive metro area — Austin — that will cost you just over $300,000 will go for twice that in Los Angeles and more than $1.5 million in San Francisco.

With soaring home and apartment prices on the West Coast and a shortage of affordable labor, no wonder everyone, from recent college grads to Amazon’s top brass, is looking east for greener pastures. And Texas is at the top of their shopping list.

Say it ain’t so: Is Texas turning into California?

Bottom line: Liberalism doesn’t work here so don’t take it with you when you leave. Don’t turn the rest of the country into a third world cesspool like California. If you aren’t willing to adopt traditional American values, stay home.

A Tale of Two Californias

The maps below tells the tale of two Californias. These are from the Secretary of State website. If you’re serious about splitting the state, its clear where to draw the lines.

2018 Superintendent of Public Instruction

Apple Foreshadows Correction?

The Luster is off the Apple brand.

Nobody would seriously argue that Tim Cook is anything other than a caretaker of the company. The brand that Steve Jobs built, is running out of steam. Jobs was good at looking at other people’s ideas and making refinements. Jobs then would market stuff as if Apple was the inventor of the gizmo. They have been successful in selling their products at double or triple what competitor products are sold for.

Until the bail-out by Microsoft many years ago, Apple was on the brink of collapse. Microsoft needed to prop-up Apple to defend themselves against accusations that they had a monopoly on PC operating systems. Following the cash infusion from Microsoft, Apple began marketing the iPod. Other folks sold MP3 players for a fraction of the cost but Apple created an exclusive ecosystem in conjunction with the introduction of the Apple Music Store.

This change from relying on revenue from Apple computers to other more profitable products, helped to diversify the company. The introduction of the iPhone was a game changer for Apple. Now, a decade after its introduction, the bloom is falling off the iPhone.

The smartphone market is mature, saturated, or whatever term you wish to use. Sales are declining and the phone industry is lacking innovation. Many companies are working with new technology and other form-factors but Apple, as usual, is lagging behind the competition. Five years after its introduction, Apple may finally be deploying USB-C connectors of their next generation of phones. They still don’t allow SD cards and are behind in a number of other ways in comparison to Android devices.

Android manufacturers are investing heavily in foldable smartphone screens, 5G technology, and platform independent technology but Apple’s name is not associated with any of these things which are already available for Android phones. These are among the product features that will be displayed by most phone manufacturers in the first quarter of 2019 if they haven’t already.

Strangely, Apple’s name is not associated with any patents or innovation in these areas. Apple says they would like to have a 5G phone in two years but again they appear to be lagging behind everyone else in these areas. Heck, Microsoft’s Andromeda device has a better paper trail than anything Apple may be tinkering with.

In conjunction with their earnings report a week ago, Apple declared that they will stop publishing any sales numbers on their iPhones.

Investors sold off Apple stock on Friday after the company gave weaker-than-expected holiday sales guidance and said it would no longer disclose unit sales of iPhones and other products.

Apple (AAPL) fell 6.6% to 207.48 on the stock market today. It was the steepest single-day drop for Apple stock in nearly three years.

Late Thursday, Apple reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that topped analyst estimates. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company earned $2.91 a share on sales of $62.9 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 29. Analysts expected it to earn $2.78 a share on sales of $61.57 billion. On a year-over-year basis, earnings per share rose 41% while sales climbed 20%.

But Apple predicted sales of $91 billion in the December quarter. That is short of Wall Street’s estimate of $92.91 billion.

But the news gets worse as you continue reading this article:

On a conference call with analysts, the consumer electronics giant announced it would stop providing unit sales figures for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers starting with its current fiscal first quarter.

Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said hardware unit sales figures are no longer a good measure of the health of Apple’s business. This is largely because of the growth of Apple’s services business, he said.

The change in reporting is likely to fuel speculation that Apple’s iPhone unit sales will decline in the current fiscal year.

It is “typically not a good sign” when a company reduces its financial disclosures, BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said in a report.

“Not reporting unit data effectively eliminates any discussion about rising and record ASPs (average selling prices),” Piecyk said. “This was a positive point for investors, but perhaps a risk to Apple, as press reports about squeezing more money out of its loyal customer base is not a good look for the company.”

Jefferies analyst Timothy O’Shea said the change is “fueling fears the company has something to hide.”

Apple Stock Dives On Light Outlook, Move To Hide iPhone Unit Sales

Today, this follow-up by the New York Post

Market research firm Strategy Analytics is out with new data showing a year-over-year decline of 360 million units, the equivalent to an 8 percent dip, in the third quarter, with Strategy Analytics director Linda Sui going so far as to declare the smartphone market “effectively in a recession.”

“The smartphone industry is struggling to come to terms with heavily diminished carrier subsidies, longer replacement rates, inventory buildup in several regions, and a lack of exciting hardware design innovation,” she said.

Samsung, no surprise, is still the king of the global smartphone hill. It’s got a 20 percent market share and shipped a little more than 72 million units during the third quarter — but that was 13 percent less than the third quarter of 2017. Huawei, meanwhile, is continuing to nip at Samsung’s heels, shipping almost 52 million smartphones during the quarter (a 32 percent gain). It only has a 14 percent global market share, in part because its phones have little to no presence in North America.

Apple, meanwhile, rounds out the top three, having shipped almost 47 million units during the quarter. That was basically flat with where Apple was a year ago and gives the Cupertino-based company a 13 percent global market share.

We’ve officially reached peak smartphone

Apple hiding their sales figures is not a good sign, especially for a company flirting with a valuation of one trillion dollars. They’ve been living off of goodwill for a while but maybe this is a signal that Tim Cook should be looking for a golden parachute and a graceful exit.

Why Democrats Lose Tomorrow

Blue Wave or not tomorrow, the Democrats lose anyway. But what a preposterous claim you ask? Not really. Let’s discuss the dynamics.

Right now, conventional wisdom says that Democrats lose a few seats in the Senate and take control of the House.

Senate
I agree that the Republicans will likely increase their majority in the Senate. Please note that this is unusual for a midterm election following a new President taking office. The new Republican controlled Senate looks to be more conservative than it was when Trump took office. John McCain and Jeff Flake are gone, and Lindsey Graham seems to have grown a spine. Who would have predicted that? Ted Cruz owes his reelection to Trump and many of the newly elected Senators as well.

This victory insures that Trump will populate vacancies in Federal Courts with conservative jurists. Look for the Ninth Circuit to move from being an accomplice to our crazy laws in California to becoming an obstacle and a check on the nuttiness here in the once Golden State. Remember too that Trump will likely be replacing Ginsberg and Thomas with younger, conservative judges.

Conclusion—Trump wins tomorrow and Democrats lose.

House
If Republicans hold the House tomorrow, they owe it to Trump. Trump has remade the House and the new members elected tomorrow will be more conservative than the previous group. Remember that over 40 Republicans quit and did not run for reelection; including, Speaker Paul Ryan. Thank you, Lord.

Trump has had an openly adversarial relationship with the Republicans in the House and either way that ends tomorrow. Trump has crushed any talk of a Democrat wave sweeping the country. He was greatly assisted in his efforts by Senator Dianne Feinstein’s attacks on Brett Kavanaugh.

Yes, tomorrow Democrats will do well in New York, California, Illinois, and other Liberal places but that don’t really matter. The voter turnout thus far seems to suggest that Republicans are voting in high numbers and there is a definite undercurrent that the models used to project Democrat dominance tomorrow might be overly optimistic. But let’s suppose they take the House. How does that translate to a Trump victory?

When Republicans control the House, Trump can’t go around calling the members of his own Party “the enemy”. Politically that doesn’t fly even though we all know it is true. However, if the Dems win, he can go to war with the House all he wants and since they are the opposition Party such rhetoric is expected.

If the Dems win, what is their mandate? We don’t like Trump? Impeach him? OK, so now what?

Trump will probably get more done with Democrats in charge than he could with Republicans running the place. Trump will wheel and deal like Monty Hall.

He will peal off some for this and others for that. Once Dems start working with the guy it will be terribly hard to demonize him when many areas of traditional party gridlock don’t happen.

At the same time, Trump gets to do what I have been saying he wants to do; run a slate of his own people in 2020. Guess what, this slate may not be a Republican only slate. What if he puts forth a bipartisan slate? Any slate that Trump puts forth also nationalizes the election. This neutralizes the impact of the “all politics is local” mantra and makes the Contract with America look like a middle school scrimmage.

If Republicans keep the House Trump gets the credit. If they lose then Trump gets a green light to remake the Republican Party with his own slate and will take back the House in two years. With Democrats in charge, Trump will get to school the country on “The Art of the Deal”.

Unlike Obama, Trump has a positive track record of accomplishments creating jobs and boosting the economy. His job in the next few years is to convert his Executive Orders during the last two years into legislation approved by the Congress so that when the next guy comes along, he can’t undo what Trump has done. Much of Trump’s wheeling and dealing will be to get these changes codified into Federal Law.

Thus, whatever happens tomorrow, Trump wins. A win for Trump is a win for America.

Believe it!

James Carville Exposes the Deep State in College Football; ESPN Responds by “hitting its knees”

The Ragin’ Cajun’ himself was in rare form Saturday morning, serving as a celebrity guest picker on ESPN’s College Football Game Day. I use the term celebrity very loosely, I doubt he profiles as a “D” list celebrity, but I digress. The show airs every Saturday morning at the site of a major college football game to be played later that day, in this case #1 Alabama vs #3 Louisiana State University (LSU). Since LSU was the home team, ESPN always picks a local “celebrity”–in this case it was James Carville–to make a pick of who will win the game. What ensued, we will just call it the rant of the year that exposed both the deep state in the SEC (Southeastern Football Conference) and at ESPN.

Carville:

“Tennessee’s best defensive player couldn’t play against Alabama because of the SEC,” Carville said. “Missouri’s best defensive player couldn’t play against Alabama because the SEC kicked him out. A&M’s best defensive player couldn’t play against because Alabama because he was taken out and now the best defensive player in the conference is not going to play in the first half for nothing. For nothing.”

He has a point; Tennessee’s Alontae Taylor, Missouri’s Terez Hall, Texas A&M’s Donovan Wilson, and LSU’s Devin White were all ejected for helmet to helmet hits either during the Alabama game or the game before the Alabama game. Keep in mind all ejectable plays are reviewed by a crew in the league office, led by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. Carville is on to something here. Alabama is a dynasty winning 3 of the last 4 national championships and pulling off a remarkable feat three years ago of not getting called for a holding penalty all year long. Just to let you know holding can be called every play, most teams are flagged several times in a game, but somehow, someway, Alabama never was called for it. This is the deep state! As a Tennessee fan, I am completely in agreement with Mr. Carville.

So, Carville goes on this rant, then the show ends and the early games start. Then the game is interrupted by something called a Chris Cotter to say the following

“We have an apology to make on behalf of ESPN. While appearing as a guest on College Game Day earlier today, James Carville offered his thoughts on SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. As we regularly demonstrate here on ESPN, diverse opinions are encouraged. However, his actions were over the top, and we would like to apologize to Commissioner Sankey for them.”

Huh? You encourage diverse opinions? Like Jemele Hill and worthless Michael Smith ripping Donald Trump with opinions devoid of any facts? Or that you fired Curt Schilling because he tended to be pro-Republican? Most importantly, why are you apologizing to the SEC, their TV contract rights for the best games are held by CBS? Carville was simply pointing out a disturbing trend. Also, you should have known this, Carville like most political types are known more for hot takes then for anything else. By the way Alabama won 29-0.

This callous political correctness from “the world-wide loser” annoys The Chief.

Especially because in Alabama, Ancestry.com and Match.com are the same thing.

Navy’s 13 Billion Dollar Cruise Ship

I don’t write too often about the Navy even though I spent six years of my life wearing the uniform but this story is so ridiculous that I can’t let it pass without comment. It concerns the contracting and construction of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford. What you learn from reading the story is that the newest carrier in the fleet can’t launch aircraft, can’t safely land them, and can’t equip them with weapons; other than that, it’s a fine vessel.

The $13 billion Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy’s costliest warship, was delivered last year without elevators needed to lift bombs from below deck magazines for loading on fighter jets.

Previously undisclosed problems with the 11 elevators for the ship built by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. add to long-standing reliability and technical problems with two other core systems — the electromagnetic system to launch planes and the arresting gear to catch them when they land.

Costliest Carrier Was Delivered Without Elevators to Lift Bombs

The article continues

The Advanced Weapons Elevators, which are moved by magnets rather than cables, were supposed to be installed by the vessel’s original delivery date in May 2017. Instead, final installation was delayed by problems including four instances of unsafe “uncommanded movements” since 2015, according to the Navy.

While progress was being made on the carrier’s other flawed systems, the elevator is “our Achilles heel,” Navy Secretary Richard Spencer told reporters in August without providing details.

Technology Risk

The elevator system is “just another example of the Navy pushing technology risk into design and construction — without fully demonstrating it,” said Shelby Oakley, a director with the U.S. Government Accountability Office who monitors Navy shipbuilding.

In the above we learn two more facts, this ship design was the responsibility of Presidents not named Trump since construction takes years to accomplish and second and more importantly, the ship relies on untested technology. Sorry folks but that is not how the military; especially, the Navy did things in my era.

The Navy is in the unique position of traveling wherever they are needed without a traditional supply chain which for them can be stretched or even nonexistent for long periods of time. This forces them to be self-reliant and needing to improvise because parts could be thousands of miles away. Traditionally, they have used lower and more proven tech.

I was in the Naval Nuclear Power Program and the control systems that we used on the reactors were purposely not based on solid-state electronics. If you can believe it, there were zero transistors on any reactor protection systems! Hyman Rickover, who started the Navy’s nuclear powered ship program, did not believe in implementing this technology. I think it was both a supply chain issue and one to prevent propulsion from being crippled by EMP. Instead we used magamps. Magamps are something that was so old-school in the 1980’s that my friend with an electrical engineering degree had never even hear of them in any of his classes.

The only propulsion supply issue that we ever experienced was getting a replacement fuse for the reactor protection ABT (Automatic Bus Transfer). Reactor protection systems had two independent supplies of electrical power available and this switch was able to go from one to the other fast enough not to scram the reactor. The fuse for this switch blew during a routine test. It took ten days to get a replacement. The fuse was about eight inches long and over 3/8th of an inch in diameter; it’s not your typical off the shelf part from Ace Hardware.

Using unproven designs for the catapult system and weapons elevators is not something they should be deploying for all four Ford class carriers currently authorized for construction. As a result, the Navy owns a ~~warship~~ cruise ship ready to go anywhere in the world that can’t conduct war and has a capacity of 10,000 passengers. On many levels, the Ford sounds like the Democrat military model to me.

This is another in a long series of failures by the Navy in recent years. They can’t build ships that work and can’t drive ‘em once they set sail.