man of the hour: Treasury Sec. Mnuchin

Tuesday, 25 April:

They were really pumping up this week.

The 'magic 100 day mark' which is really just a minor signpost, happens Friday. So, both his supporters and critics are talking this week up to either live up, or not, to expectations.

First of all, Healthcare reform won't happen this week. They're close, but after the first misfire it won't be brought up until Speaker Paul Ryan knows he has the votes. Expect a vote in 2-3 weeks.

There will be no government shutdown. Trump will concede on the border wall, but expect him and his surrogates to lay any and all blame of illegal immigrant crime right at the Dem's doorstep. 

According to the media most people don't want the wall, none of the congresspeople who represent border districts want it, it's too expensive, immoral and won't work. Translated, that means people do want it, it's needed and it will stanch the flow of illegals.

The Border Patrol wants it. Simply put, there is SO much disinformation about it out there that it's time to set it straight. Trump never intended to build the Great Wall of China Part Two.

A 1989 mile (3201 km) border exists. Some of it needs a barrier, which is what they will build; not necessarily a brick and mortar wall. Some is mountainous, some has river (Rio Grande) and there are some lakes as well.

Much of the complaints you hear are exaggerated. They don't want to spend money needlessly; if there are private property concerns that don't make sense to buy out you just address  the security issues with more patrols.

But there are large swaths of open desert mesa that needs it. This is where the major drug and coyote operations are, and the border patrol is overwhelmed by them.

So, Trump can win by losing on this in the short term. Illegal border crossings are already down, 70% in some cases, and AG Jeff Sessions is all over deportations. The opposition hates this too, but they focus their ire on the wall.

Meanwhile, Trump is securing the border by 'other means'.

No government shutdown will occur. The Dems will allow some money towards border enforcement, which will be spent wisely. It's a 'win/win'.

Art of the deal? You make the call.

As far as taxes, they can't do the total package until they resolve health care. There's a lot of money in cost savings once that is finished. For now expect them to separate the business taxes from the personal.

Lowering the corporate rate from 35% to 15 would be HUGE, as The Donald likes to say. There are trillions of dollars sitting offshore, as many as six trillion waiting to be repatriated to the US.

This money will now flow into the country as the big players find all sorts of opportunity to invest in local business. This alone could bump the growth rate from it's moribund  current 2% to over 3.

That is a major development. The Democrats are expected to go along with this; 60+ votes should be easy to find and this could be law in a month. Now, if Trump can just keep the deep state from starting a war -some mystic out there is predicting one on 13 May- we should be in much better shape financially, and soon...

Trump: Battered but not broken.

Monday, 24 April:

The pathetic effort to drive President Trump out of office in the 100 day mark has failed dismally.

Russiagate is collapsing of it's own nuclear weight; being hollow at the core doomed it. One suspects most of the well informed readers who visit this site either knew, or suspected this would be the outcome.

The very best the Rachel Maddow decoder ring crowd can expect is Carter Page to be convicted on a charge of lying; he will be called to testify and he's a big enough weasel to contradict himself at some point.

His will be most likely the only scalp they get -IF they get anyone- and it still proves nothing other than a foreign power was trying to gain influence with an incoming administration.

Certainly not anywhere near as dire as this was:

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3713478/ANOTHER-90s-scandal-returns-haunt-Clintons-Chinese-billionaire-illegal-donations-Bill-s-election-campaign-faces-Congress-quiz-arrested-FBI-bribery.html

This has always been a Hail Mary pass thrown by the punter.

Everyone who has seen all of the evidence saw zero connections to Mr Trump. Zero.

So, while no doubt of much entertainment value to snowflakes miserable over losing power, it had no other real meaning. Unless the abject humiliation of Russia and the marginalization of Vladimir Putin was desirable.

John ('I want a WAR and I want it NOW') McCain may think so.

The rest of the sentient universe doesn't. So, where does this take us now? The Big Week that everyone is buzzing about. Healthcare, tax cuts, Debt ceilings and other such bits are all coming together at once.

The Next Phase has two aspects to it.

One is the President's. He wants to get things done. His opposition wants to stymie him at every turn. However, the folks are getting restless.

They want tax cuts, the health care system to at LEAST make some sense, a secure border and infrastructure repair. The bridges in this country are rotting and unsafe.

The bad actors on the foreign scene need to be dealt with. At some point, the Democrats will have to fish or cut bait; they can't keep catering to a 25% minority with money and a big set of lungs.

They will get their asses handed to them again in 2018. The people have spoken, Donald Trump is the president; he's not here for either Russia or the  money. These are losing issues.

Chuck Schumer is smarter than this. He's ridden the Trump hatred train for 3+ months. Soon, they will have to look at governance if only to save their hides. And if they think they can run Sanders style socialists and win in '18, well, good luck with that.

Bring it on.

Their next phase is already presenting itself. They hope to use their control over the media to destroy any pro Trump voice out there. So far they have gotten the biggest scalp ever in Bill O'Reilly.

They have taken Alex Jones' divorce and used that to smear him, just like they did to Steve Bannon. Using a progressive network of boycott sites, they are driving advertisers away from these channels, all of which are successful.

They now have #1 Trump cheerleader Sean Hannity in their sights:

http://lawnewz.com/high-profile/despite-reports-fmr-fox-guest-now-claims-she-was-never-sexually-harassed-by-sean-hannity/

This, and TV and movie programming will be overtly political and will ridicule the Trump administration for being racist, fascist, anti-science, etc.

Classic projection, of course. It is their movement that is all of these things. Science cannot exist without honest debate or else it's just propaganda. Political hack Bill Nye got caught again:

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/330068-bill-nye-criticizes-cnn-on-air-for-having-climate-change-skeptic

HOW DARE you bring in a real scientist to debate me? He howls. Instead, get the creator of the hockey stick and his pals. Nobody will deny that a clean planet is a good one.

And that moving on past fossil fuels is a priority.. But it's coming; maybe 20 years away. Until then there are mouths to feed and economies to run. The Paris Accords are a surrender of US sovereignty and allowing China and India to pollute freely while the US scales down it's one economic engine.

It's a suicide pact for capitalism, which is it's actual purpose...

Spy vs Spy: Who's on First?

Friday, 21 April (Weekend Edition):

Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water again.

In what appears to be a final tidbit thrown to the 'Russiagate' fans out there, insiders (read: 'leakers') are saying there is some evidence of 'collusion' with Russian officials to try to influence the Trump campaign.

Now, the usual outlets are beating their chests a little bit on this; HuffPo has the breathless 'big break for Democrats', and CNN had their usual panel of so-called experts solemnly intoning as to the 'seriousness' of it all.

However, after listening to 15 minutes of rumor and innuendo on CNN they all admitted, sadly, that there was 'no evidence any crime was committed'.

As if. Keep in mind this was always about criminalizing a policy difference. The United States is not in a state of war with Russia. Trump ran on better relations.

What this has been, though, is a weapon the Intelligence Community has used against the new President who wanted to drain the swamp, and these people are the 'swamp keepers'. And a good deal of them were last minute appointees from the Previous Occupant.

You know. The one who had Susan Rice do his lying for him.

This is all the fallout from this unholy alliance of the deep state, neocons and bitter progressives, all who had an axe to grind with Mr Trump. They liked the way things were going before.

So, to keep him from steamrolling them while they built their so-called 'resistance', this phony issue was ginned up to 'keep Trump in his place'.

It's had some impact. Russia has been insulted, humiliated and sidelined. They're no angels, but they do not deserve the dumping their getting. China has hurt the US far more than they have.

But they're Communists, so the progressives are OK with their criminal conduct. So, Trump and his inner circle took a look at the lay of the land and said 'how do we turn this into an advantage?'

The Syria strike was the first real example. Then realizing that the deep state and neocons were now charged up, he could start moving the ball elsewhere. They are much closer on major legislation like health care and tax reform than you think.

Trump doesn't think in politician terms. They see everything in relation to their term in office. He sees things as needing to be fixed ASAP.

This will serve him well, contrary to popular opinion. This town needed a sense of urgency.

As far as Russia and spies and the hapless Carter Page, there just is nothing 'there' there. Page is a two bit opportunist that thought by sucking up to the Russians he might get a foreign policy ride on the Trump train, and they might have an agent of influence there.

That's really it. If you see a crime there, please share. And even here the evidence of any wrongdoing is just non existent. Those who hate Trump will look for what they WANT to see, not what's actually there.

Just like his tax returns. He could be innocent as the driven snow but those who want bad things will create them given enough ammunition. And make no mistake.

The destruction of Bill O'Reilly and the attempted ones on Alex Jones and Steve Bannon are just the start. The opposition HAS no 'other life' to get on with.

Politics is their religion, and to them the antichrist is in power. When he walks out on the Paris Accords -and he will, Ivanka and Jared won't win that- they will think Trump shredded both Testaments, the Koran and the Dead Sea scrolls.

The wailing will be intense. They really, really believe all the nonsense they've been fed, and to admit being wrong just ain't in their DNA.

So, Russia as a sworn enemy of our democracy will fade over the next six months. But those who oppose Trump will never give up. That's why he has to run the table a little.

Marginalize them. And you know what?

He's doing a pretty good job under the radar...

Marine Le Pen. They say she won't win. Don't be so sure.

Thursday, 20 April (Late Edition):

In Paris a man drove up next to a police car, pulled out a Kalashnikov and fired several rounds into the cruiser, killing the officer and seriously wounding two others. The suspect, a 39 year old recently released from prison was shot and killed by Paris police.

The spokesman for the police seriously intoned that the man 'pulled out an automatic weapon, a 'weapon of war' as if that made some sort of difference. But what was truly audacious about all this was it happened on the fabled Champs Elysees.

That's the equivalent of Times Square in New York, or the Magnificent Mile in Chicago.

Claimed by ISIS, which may or may not be so, it was not only an attack on the French people, their authorities, and the police but the economy in particular. Like the truck mowing down the people in Nice.

A beautiful resort town flush with well heeled tourists, a stolen truck killed 84 people. There are plenty of other incidents, but these are aimed at the economy of the country.

And for the French people, who go to the polls tomorrow, some very big decisions have to be made. They like to consider themselves enlightened, and that somehow the whole world falls in love with France.

Just a matter of a dose of their 'liberty, fraternity, and equality'. Noble thoughts, perhaps. But not to those who do not share your culture.

This is the huge mistake being made with these migrations of peoples to different continents. Forced relocation is not organic, and there are all sorts of societal repercussions. Donald Trump was elected in part to prevent this from happening in the US.

Now, will the French turn to their version, Marine LePen?

This incident should move the race, which is (supposedly) tied between establishment toady Emmanuel Macron and the firebrand nationalist.

They vote in rounds, the first also has a 'conservative' Francois Fillon, and a unrepentant socialist the French 'Bernie Sanders', if you will, Jean Luc Melenchon.

The media is saying that middle of the road marshmallow Macron will win in the second round, easily beating Le Pen. Don't make book on it.

These are the same people who said Hillary Clinton and the failure of Brexit were locks. The world is waking up, now, albeit some slower than others. Looking out for your own doesn't mean being hostile to others.

What Trump and Le Pen have in common here, is that they love their countries, their people and their way of life. To just arbitrarily subvert it because endless wars with no outcome are displacing millions makes no sense.

End the wars, stabilize the area and allow the people to stay in their home country. Now, if you're an open borders type, which is a pretext for world government maybe this makes sense.

Overwhelm the locals, flood the region with poverty stricken people who share nothing in common with the folks, and then pass all these 'anti-discrimination' laws. Force the locals to adopt THEIR culture.

And their religion, too by the way. You get the point. There is something behind all of this that stinks to high heaven, and only a return to constitutional rule of law is the answer...

BTW

This just in on the election.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-21/analyst-who-predicted-trump-ascendancy-is-betting-on-le-pen-win

anybody seen Adam Schiff? The truth is looking for him.

Thursday, 20 April:

Missing person(s) alert:

Has anyone seen 1) Adam Schiff, 2) Devin Nunes, or 3) Jackie Speier lately? How about Carter Page, Paul Manafort, James Comey, the Russian Security Service (FSB) or, for that matter Russian ambassador Sergei Krisilov?

Or even Vladimir Putin?

If you have, please inform our editorial staff. For now, NBC, which has been the principal head hunters on Donald Trump as far as advancing the 'collusion' meme, this is the latest:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/russian-hacker-busted-spain-latest-global-u-s-roundup-n744911

A cursory reading shows none of the principals above even mentioned. 

Now, some of you may think that the Susan Rice involvement, which she (automatically) lied about and then not only admitted but through the friendly, and unquestioning media, to be 'routine'.

Make of this what you will. It does show several things, though. One, is this whole affair, including Carter Page's FISA warrant, were based on a very thin report from a former MI6 agent hired by the Clintons.

They passed on the report, which then was scarfed up by John McCain, who dispatched an aide to London to obtain it. Now, Senator Chuck Grassley wants to know if the FBI paid for it. This is, of course, the famous 'golden showers' report.

It did have the rumor that the FSB either recruited, or tried to recruit Carter Page. You know, the same Page who went on every TV set in the nation for a week saying they were based on lies.

Most people accused of spying for a foreign power lawyer up and hide. Just saying.

Right after the MOAB strike on Tora Bora, the deep state leaked the Manafort stuff, saying he was paid by the Russians. But, keep in mind ALL these leaks are based on secondary intel caught up in these FISA sweeps.

They may not amount more to than rumors, or speculation. Then what happened?

Nothing. Not a peep; all the players have retreated. Schiff and Speier both accused by Judicial Watch of leaking secure intelligence, after a left wing group had done the same to Nunes. The duo of Democrats have since gone underground.

Schiff, particularly, would never miss an open microphone.

Then, all of a sudden, the progressive 'stop Trump' machine moved seamlessly to 'release your taxes', which is like going from 'you stole my house' down to taking a can of soda out of the fridge without asking.

No matter what one thinks of the President, he obviously pays his taxes and his dealings are probably quite complex. But it sure isn't colluding with a foreign power to knock off an opponent.

Then THIS book was released, and it became pretty damn apparent the Clinton campaign was doomed from the start. For an example, Time was chosen because you don't even need the other side's take on the debacle.

http://time.com/4747256/hillary-clinton-shattered-book/

So now the spying scandal, if not dead, is in deep freeze, as the 'resistance' now moves meekly on to the thinnest of all hopes; that Trump's business dealings will be made public and the populace will be so horrified with the ties to the House of Saud or some Russian banks that they will demand his removal from office.

This has now gone from about a 2% chance down to as close to metaphysical zero as it can. Of course, most, if not all, of our brilliant readers have been assuring their acquaintances that this whole Russia affair was utter nonsense.

And that Susan Rice might have been WAY to close to the Previous Occupant, who certainly wants none of his fingerprints on this. Yep, seems to be pretty obvious now.

Just a matter of letting you know that you were RIGHT all along...

Pinch Sulzberger's toady NY Times editor Reilly's scalp.Baquet gets O'

Wednesday, 19 April:

The progressive control of the media has it's downsides.

The lockstep thinking and talking point description of the news has hurt them terribly. More than they know. It cost them an election they thought they had fixed and in the bag.

And they still are in denial about it. They really think people believe these nationwide protests are just a left wing tea party, which of course is demonstrably false. Seeing the pre-printed signs and the quasi-Marxist sloganeering is sort of a dead giveaway.

But make no mistake. They still have a potent bite, and the Alinsky playbook still has a few tricks in it's rotting pages. Thanks largely to a campaign by the NY Times, FOX stalwart and #1 cable TV star Bill O'Reilly was just fired by the Murdoch clan.

Not Rupert. The Kids, James and Lachlan.

The allegations against O'Reilly, the predictable lot of unwanted advances against women are once again, being advanced straightfaced by the same people who covered up the sexual attacks of a president who's politics they liked.

Some guy named Clinton. You might have heard of him. He liked to draw a little blood, too according to some of his victims. But those were 'bimbo eruptions'.

There is little doubt that O'Reilly was out of line a few times. Money and power are quite the aphrodisiac. And don't think for one second that some of these complaintants didn't start the whole issue with a flirtatious move or gesture.

None of this matters. It's two very simple things.

One, is he was, and is, a very convincing voice for conservative values yet managed to stay politically neutral. This allowed him two interviews with the Previous Occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania.

Not to mention his show was good.

His years with 'Inside Edition' taught him the tight, half hour format and he adapted that to his show. Short segments, interesting and often non political guests, and a solid infusion of humor made him the sin qua non of cable TV.

He also, recently, became Donald Trump's number one defender on the major media, with apologies to cheerleader Sean Hannity. He recently took on the whole Russia spygate issue and forcefully, and effectively, took it apart.

So, the toadies at the New York Times did an 'investigation' into O'Reilly's $13 million in settlements (his friend Donald Trump said 'never settle'; now you know why) and found some unhappy -but intact- women who resisted his charms.

They managed to get some wind behind it, and the younger Murdoch clan, more in tune with the liberal Manhattan crowd, felt the heat and made the move.

O'Reilly, who's best shows were a mixture of reporting, commentary, interviews and humor will be missed. His interviews with people from Barney Frank to James Arness were often memorable.

His obvious love for James Bond films and his NY Irish beat cop solution to all of life's issues made him hard to dislike, and like Rush Limbaugh he invented a form of media often imitated but never duplicated.

May he be well, and not disappear from the scene entirely.

So, O'Reilly, check. Alex Jones, check.

Steve Bannon? Too bad, so sad on that one; try harder NY 'fake news' Times... 

Karen Handel in runoff with Ossoff; not good news for Dems

Wednesday, 19 April:

Have you heard ANYTHING on 'Russiagate' lately?

Now, to preserve what little sanity left, the author of this piece does NOT watch the screwballs on MSNBC, so it's possible they are still carrying the torch.

But everywhere else, nary a peep.

Instead, the anti-Trump forces moved on to the release of his tax returns as the new crusade. Now, ordinarily releasing the tax returns for a politician is routine; most of them career bureaucrats with little to show.

For President Trump this is a different affair. He's obviously following the law; he's been audited just about every year. No, this is about the convoluted financial dealings of someone who runs a world wide consortium.

Keep in mind his foes have suggested he be impeached for violating the emolument clause, this for the major crime of having foreign leaders stay at his hotel in Washington. The suggestion being that a $400 a night suite would affect how Trump negotiates with these leaders.

To suggest a multi billionaire would sell out his country for hotel fees is an insult. But it is indicative of where his opponents are. They want him OUT of office, and as soon as possible. They intend to resist every aspect of his administration, and to take back power and restore the globalist welfare state being gestated under the Previous Occupant.

He releases his tax returns and 500 liberal lawyers will examine every bit of it looking for something they can twist to fit the narrative that already exists.

It would just give them fodder. He would be smart to resist this. The Russia issue is fading, not certain whether it will be resolved conclusively or just allowed to slip into the ether.

The fact has been leaked that James Comey based his criminal probe on the dossier that has been widely criticized for being crafted solely of innuendo and unsubtantiated rumor.

With John McCain taking it from the Clinton's hands and pressing it. McCain is no patriot here.

These elaborate fictions were always doomed to fail. The 'now what' phase seems to have arrived...

BTW

Here's a little no brainer assertion:

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2017/04/18/honeymoon-hell-liberal-media-vs-president-trump

Putin and Xi. The Yin to Trump's Yang.

Tuesday, 18 April (Early Edition):

The Force Five tornado that is the Trump presidency has calmed down a little.

Key word being 'little'. The foreign policy issues have stabilized a tad; Russia has returned to it's neutral corner, chastened, and N Korea wants to launch more missiles. They just hope the next one actually works.

China is sort of happy; they are using the Koreans to get the trade deals they want. But by the same token, their lack of actual control over the rogue state could still bite them in the rear.

The only road to success there is regime change, and your humble editors here believe it is a FULLY operational plan in development. General Jack Keane 'hinted' at it with his favorite contact, Martha McCallum on FOX.

She pointed out it was against US foreign policy to assassinate a foreign leader. Keane asserted it would be 'Chinese in origin'.

You bet. Frankly, if these people have any common sense at all they will moderate their tone. But considering the only way they keep a grip on power is by being one note/utterly ruthless, they may not have much choice.

To moderate would pave the way to replacement. So, all roads lead to either war, or a handful of nutjobs getting 'suicided'. Logic seems to favor the latter...

The President is off to Wisconsin to rally his base once again. The reality that his opposition will not stop for one second until he leaves office, at least for now, makes it imperative that he maintain faith with his followers.

However, Rasmussen has him at 50%, which is about where all successful presidents operate at. The MediaBloc onslaught makes it seem he isn't either as popular or successful. But that does fly in face of the truth.

Trump is having pretty good success with half of a divided country. He is also resetting the foreign policy table for the world; he'll get credit for that down the line if it keeps resonating like it has.

The healthcare issue is still alive. The media wants it dead and buried.

However, it isn't. They actually could vote on this in a couple of weeks...

doh!

Monday, 17 April (Early Edition):

It sure looks like a lot of people in the Korean peninsula woke up with ten fingers and ten toes and none of them glow in the dark.

In spite of a lot of braggadocio and saber rattling by the leader(s) of North Korea not only no attacks occurred but one of his missiles mysteriously exploded shortly after liftoff.

In front of dignitaries (let's use that term lightly, here) and the rest of that lot, it disintegrated into a fireball instead of hurling a warhead into the sea of Japan. Now, after President Trump and his newest, bestest buddy Xi made their 'deal' at Mar a Lago, and five days later a NK missile blows up on the launching pad there isn't necessarily a connection.

But in the military there is a saying:

'Coincidences are for civilians'. If you see a pattern, be assured one exists.

So much for fatboy Kim. One suspects his future to be both rocky, and short. Just a hunch...

In other pertinent news Drudge's banner has Trump at 50% approval; no details yet but Rasmussen has him at 48% which is about average for a President. The 'fake news' meme has always been mitigatiing his popularity, which while not universal by any means is quite a bit better than the news reports show.

They rely on Gallup which is the lowest, no surprise. Now, you may ask why. Good question.

Polls are only as good as their statistical models. Rasmussen uses a more modern rolling method that is automated, the people hear the exact same voice. Gallup uses a traditional operator assisted system.

Trump's supporters have been, well, criticized. Many were reluctant to identify theirselves during the campaign, and that hasn't changed. There's a few percentage points there. Add to it that Gallup still oversamples big city Democrats.

Historically they turn out in higher numbers. Not this time around. This explains how Gallup can be at 38% while Rasmussen was in the 44-46% range. The MediaBloc, not fond of The Donald, continue to report the most negative takes they can find.

They are still trying to turn over rocks and find Trump supporters who are ready to turn on the man after 90 days. When you keep in mind that he delivered his number one promise, which is the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, that might prove difficult.

Trump's military adventurism is completely overblown; the missile strike pure opportunism out of a set of tough choices, the MOAB allowing General Nicholson to reset the Afghan border by putting the Tora Bora tunnel complex out of action.

He did it because he finally had a President who would cover his back.

But the natterings of the neocons are to be taken with a grain of salt. Already, John McCain is calling for a 'strategy'; meaning he wants a declaration of future combat actions. The Democrats on the hill want to know a 'strategy' so they can 1) micromanage it, and 2) take equal credit.

They all decry a 'lack of strategy' and that the President is careening from once incident to another. There most definitely IS a strategy, and it is based on two things:

One is 'is it good for the United States', and the other 'what's our opportunity'. This is what Trump means by 'being flexible'; thinking on your feet as a government is something not usually done.

Spokesmen like Jack Keane and Sebastian Gorka are telling everyone Trump is 'not Bush 2.0', and this is 'no neocon' administration. They are inside and should know.

Right now he's been thrust into the world's geopolitical landscape. This is through no choice of his own. So, with a very talented group around him -and make no mistake, this is much higher powered circle than the last bunch- backed by a president who has no problem making decisions and you have a recipe for success.

And the polls are starting to show it. This means that expect just a whole scad of leaks about Russian spying this week...

fearless leader #3 Kim Jong Un. Just as creepy as he looks.

Friday, 14 April (Weekend Edition):

There is sort of an eerie silence out there.

The constant hubub of the Trump administration's first 80 or so days has been almost a constant stream of information. Both sides fighting for the next 24-48 hour cycle.

Trump launches a missile strike on Syria. The next day the leak machine media throws Paul Manafort and Carter Page out as stooges of the Russian government. It's been like that since Day One.

Don't forget the six billion woman parade or whatever it was called. It was his FIRST weekend in office. So, the hostility has been 24/7 since, and his people have to fight tooth and nail to get the narrative back.

The Russians are backed into a corner. They aren't very happy about it, but ultimately that will work itself out. Putin is too smart an operator; he'll survive somehow.

Then there's North Korea.

Many don't know the Korean War, which really wasn't a war but a 'police action', one of the early UN forays into politically correct speech. But to the 36,914 US troops who died it certainly seemed a 'war' to them.

It was brutal. Before it settled into a static trench style war in late 1952, it was a violent see saw affair that saw the US forces almost driven into the sea, only to have MacArthur's bold invasion at Inchon cut their forces in half and drive them back past the 38th parallel.

The winter fighting was terrible, subzero temperatures that US forces, wearing summer gear, had to endure. The dead would freeze solid in place. The 'Frozen Chosin', the Chosin Reservoir, might have been the finest moment in the notable history of the US Marines.

This all came to a close, sort of. A truce was signed at Panmunjon July 27, 1953.

That truce is still in effect today. It was just a cessation of hostilities, i.e., a 'cease fire'. Literally nothing has changed since then. The DMZ is the most fortified strip of land in the world, and it is in it's 63rd year of being a trip wire.

But something has changed the situation. The North Korean government, or what passes for it, is a bizarre mix of Stalinism and pseudo royal oligarchy. The grandson of thhe first Fearless Leader is now the titular head.

Kim Jong Un. He's a piece of work. His past is shrouded in typical N Korean secrecy; he did go to school in Switzerland for a while but so did his brother, Kim Chong Chul. There is doubt which one was which. 

He may soon have the fate of the oldest brother Kim Jong Nam, who was just poisoned at an airport in Malaysia by two female assasins. They claimed innocence, and of course were released instantly to North Korean officials.

That's just how these people roll.

Sunday is the birthday of grandpa Kim, he of the Korean war. They usually celebrate this with either a real big parade, or lighting off some major firework. Rumors have them possibly testing a nuclear weapon.

The US would not like that one bit. And this is no joke.

We have the terrible possibility of a limited nuclear war in the Korean peninsula. They are in a 'use it or lose it' category with an aging military, and almost all of the senior military is in it's 70's. They are determined to hang on to power NO MATTER WHAT.

The Special Operations community is abuzz with a possible coup. Rumors are flying that China is not only good with it but might even cooperate. Kill him and his inner circle.

Find someone mid level who can rally the nation and help them slowly rejoin the world. It's a plan, it is 'doable'  because if you take them out there is no autonomous command structure, and you just have a bunch of drones awaiting orders.

It would be THE commando Op of all time. It probably won't happen, and this weekend will pass. But just the fact that this is an actual option shows you HOW much change Trump has brought to the table.

This dynamic with the NK's cannot be sustained. They must either be taken over or destroyed; it''s always been a matter of time. And allowing them time to build more nukes and ballistic missiles is insane.

This is what happens when the doctor lances a boil. It's messy, can hurt a lot but ultimately the patient gets better. And 'lancing the North Korean boil' just might happen,and it could be with their only benefactor turning on them.

Intersting times, indeed...