My wife briefly mentioned the prime contenders for chief executive. My incomplete comprehension categorized them as Worse and Worst. I hope the election is more blessed than that.

I've always liked Dennis Quaid, and this is one more good reason. "...But he's my asshole." That is almost a battle cry.

I am incredulous that this can proceed without the citation by statute of any law by which Trump was alleged to have committed a crime. If there is no law broken, there can be no crime. To prove the breaking of a law, the elements of the crime must be specified and proven by evidence and/or testimony. These proceedings have all the probity of a mob meeting in a parking lot.

In order to inspire "panda-monium"?

The article is overwrought. It takes for granted that area denial weapons of an adversary are recent news. The fact of the matter is that the Navy was concerned about supersonic sea-skimming antiship missiles in the 1970s (that was a problem I was informed about during my work at Boeing). It is also the reason for the existence of a carrier battle group, which provides "defense in depth," multiple layers of defense.

To crib the catchphrase from Arte Johnson of "Laugh-In": "Veeery interesting."

This also would seem to put Pompeo in a good light, retrospectively.

Thanks. I like your take. It seems to fit the bill of the strong controversy and the absent media coverage. But it is something to monitor, because the NGOs seems to be spoiling for a fight (which should alarm the host nation's population).

You are wrong in this. I was with the Party since its inception in 1972, and the quality of its spokesmen was generally high, and persisted for some presidential cycles. But I had to part ways in the 1990s after conducting an investigation of a major financial corruption event in the Washington state chapter of the Party. And during all this time, the anarchist faction was gaining influence over the direction of the party. Since they were opposed to government per se---even Constitutional government---there was no way they could connect with people who loved this country (and still can't). It has now degenerated into a boutique where personalities vie for followers.

So, a good and promising start, but stumbling and dissolution afterward.

These radars are emplaced for more than just a warning notice. They obtain distance, azimuth, altitude, and velocity vector information essential to predicting possible target impact and cueing active defense systems. Overhead surveillance (satellites) does not provide any of these data, and may not detect airborne threats.

Smith started the game by his motion, and Trump returned service, so two motions are in play. It wouldn't make sense to deny Smith's motion but entertain Trump's motion, so this is just cleaning off the kitchen counter. (I think.)

Hospers was a professor of philosophy at USC and a friend of the novelist Ayn Rand. I was privileged to be acquainted with him through the publication of a national-defense-related newsletter for libertarians. He literally wrote the book on libertarianism ("Libertarianism---A Political Philosophy for Tomorrow," 1971). I participated in MacBride's campaign and met him in passing, but never knew him very well. He was a very hale sort of character.

All good points. I was expecting "No riots. No vandalism. No looting." (all true)

Reality is generally less exciting than imagination, which has been the case for all classified activities or material I have been exposed to. Don't hold your breath. There are no energy miracles.

A colleague of mine developed some techniques for repairing composite structural surfaces (stealth material) and those became the basis for classified patents. And appropriately so. Without doubt, much of the Act was prompted by the profusion of new technology resulting from the development and testing of nuclear weapons. There are some kinds of information which would be highly imprudent to leave uncontrolled.

I had one invention that the security guys wanted me to "vanish." Since I was an employee, I complied. But I reflected on the fact that any bright Iranian grad student could stumble across the same idea. Another invention application was requested to be rewritten to avoid discussion of a sensitive mission application. Mainly so the boobs would not catch on with only a single thought on the subject.

There is only so much that classification can accomplish, but there are legitimate reasons for controlling national defense information. The problem is how to parse the dividing line, and circumstances tend to favor erring on the side of secrecy rather than openness. The corruption is when classification is used not to legitimately control actions and information, but to illegitimately conceal actions and information.

I beg to say that the LP's first presidential candidate (1972), Dr. John Hospers, was an impeccable libertarian of great sagacity and reason. The next candidate (1976), Roger MacBride, was also pretty good.

After 52 years of existence, it has never been taken seriously. There was some promise at the beginning with credible presidential candidates, but the anarchists swarmed over the Party and they are simply anti-government, so the Party became a non-starter. This was evident to me when the LP was totally absent on controversies surrounding 2nd Amendment issues. Lots of talk, but no walk. And a conception of foreign policy that was essentially childish.

Thanks for the sympathy. As part of the estate culling process, I collected all of his Navy fitness reviews. He always had high ratings, and every single one was recommending accelerated promotion. His daughters didn't care a whit. He was a good brother, a good man, a good officer, a good husband and father, and a good engineering manager. And I miss him.

Think the message through. I've learned that a lot of life, maturity, and sanity rest on recognizing what is true. Godspeed.

When I was in the LP decades ago, it was mostly conservatives and free-marketeers. Then the anarchist element got in and pushy (Rothbardians) and basically poisoned the party against government per se. So, I expect Trump's detractors in the LP would have been fossil anarchists.

So far, so good. That should be red meat for most libertarians. If they are smart, they should endorse him as their presidential candidate.

Horrible situation. I think you are getting some good hard-line advice. I don't like the soft-line advice because it all amounts to "bottle it up and swallow it." That is never good.

You are in a family where you are not the husband and you are not the father, inasmuch as they do not respect your priority of authority and their dependence on you. It might be useful to simply proceed with smashing their assumption that they can walk all over you and kick you around. For example, about the tardy dog sitting fee payment: Tell your wife, very simply and quietly, that the deadbeats will be contacted and the only option is whether it will be her or you who does it. And you will do it tomorrow if it is not already done by then. End of message.

As for the family emotional mayhem, find your master power panel and see if it has provision for a lock to be applied. If it does, get one. When the mayhem sets up, just go to the power panel, open it, open the master switch to power-out the entire house, and lock the panel shut. Go back to their newfound bewilderment and tell them that until they want to make peace and stop raising a ruckus and apologize to you, they can think their thoughts in darkness. Be sure you are the only one with a flashlight. This will get Real whenever anyone needs to make a bowel movement in complete darkness. If the house starts to get cold, let them decide how much chill they want to experience before they change their tune. (Admittedly, this is based on the premise that they are so shallow, they would not experience very much discomfort before they would surrender their own position.)

When I was growing up, I was impressed with the fact that my parents were Forces of Nature. There was no argument. There was only compliance, and if disobedient, punishment and remorse. Your wife has evidently decided to act like a child, but a child who has learned to like being a bully. So, you have three girls cat-fighting for pecking order. You are the only adult.

My brother fell into a similar problem and it got the better of him. He had two daughters, and the wife and the daughters, being the majority out of a family of 4, were always making the decisions on what recreation or entertainment they would pursue. His wishes were simply IGNORED. Eventually, he took to visiting an old school friend who lived 100 miles away, and they would set up a roaring campfire and drink a pack or two of beer. He got to the point where he would go through a six-pack of beer watching evening television. No problem. He was a respected and competent aeronautical engineer, so there was no problem, right? It turns out that binge drinking does not allow the metabolic products of alcohol to be entirely disposed of by the body and some intermediate products wound up being excreted by the kidneys. Some of these are carcinogenic. He wound up with bladder cancer and had to have it removed and replaced by a construct made from some of his lower colon. And then he got peritonitis from the incomplete healing from the surgery, and needed to have 80% of his bowels resected, living on a bag in his side. By about this time, he and his wife had divorced. He was still looking forward to having a life, but then was found near death in his apartment from kidney failure. So, on to a life of dialysis, 3 times weekly. That was the time at which I was starting to re-connect with him, as we had lost touch when he was withdrawing from his family problems. And, finally, after he had bought a new house and made plans for what to do next with his life, he was found in the morning, dead before the fireplace in his beanbag chair from heart failure (which, unaccountably, tends to follow those who are into long-term dialysis). I was the executor of his will. The ex-wife was no longer in the will, but she acted like she had rights in the matter. The daughters were all about what they could plunder from his estate, and even resorted to open theft of his goods before I could begin disposition (they were the heirs). No one was interested in any artifacts or records testifying to his exemplary performance as a Navy officer and as an engineering manager. The daughters got married and moved away to be near the mother. My brother's memory and our side of their family was left behind to drift over the horizon.

So what is the moral of the story? If you don't act on your own behalf, no one will do it for you. If you can't make your position stick as head of the family, pull out the plug and make it clear who is dependent on whom. (Clamp down on the bank account, or make a new one in your name only, and move all the joint funds into it. If they want to eat, they must mollify You. Rip up the coloring book in front of them, and throw it out with the crayons.) Insist on being heard, or else. It's up to you to understand what "or else" must be, or you will have to realize you are holding a worthless hand of cards. Maybe you will not be loved...by bratty, immature, self-centered predators. In all things, it is first necessary to be respected. Without respect, there can be no love. If they try to whine or berate you or guilt trip you, let it wash off like the sewage it is. You can have a grave with a tombstone that they will never look at...or you can have a life. You have to make some very searching choices. You do not have to put up with this shit. They are dependent on you, so draw in the reins---sharply---to get their attention.

At least think this over. Can I say this is the Right thing to do? I think it is, but you need to agree in your heart that it makes sense. Godspeed.

Trump appearing in Seattle proper would be a phenomenon. I wonder if the local Powers would feel compelled to clean out the "homeless" scum---before the MAGA people took care of the problem. I can easily envision the entire city being in gridlock.

That practice began for them in World War I. South Africa used the process when it was faced with embargoes over apartheid.

The ZANU-PF party and President Emmerson Mnangagwa (Mugabe's party and his former right-hand man). The spirit of Mugabe is still in control.

There has been some economic progress, but it is limited. Plenty of white Zim farmers escaped to Zambia and live there. They would love to return, but only to their rightful lands. They don't have the remaining life, energy, and taste to come back to nothing.

Racial hatred and socialist pipe-dreams are the problem. South Africa is repeating the experience. The racial hatred extends to immigrants or workers from other black nations. (The current SA election seems to be a choice between Worse and Worst.)

In a nation where Joe Biden is President, we have little justice to point fingers.

If we had a surplus of electrical power, it would make more sense to continue with burning geologic fuels anyway. They are energy-dense and easy to handle. If there is any shortage, they can be synthesized from any carbonaceous material and water.

Even a Ponzi scheme makes money for the early participants. The endgame is that the "value" of the currency must be maintained by "mining" operations---which require electric power to run computers. Eventually, the required growth in "mining" cannot be supported and the enterprise collapses.

I've seen the value histories over time. They look like seismographs.

This is disappointing. Crypto isn't worth the paper it's not printed on.