Guardians Or Gladiators?

Almost a year and a half ago I published a short post titled: Following Orders.  I was musing about how a future Trump administration might deploy the military within the country's borders.  Fast forward to the present and we're learning more about this almost every day; and while I am famous for bad predictions that post from April of 2024 was seemingly prescient.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

I've never served in the military; consequently I can only speak as a civilian.  What I think I know is that fundamentally there are significant differences between local law enforcement officers and army national guard soldiers.

Civilian law enforcement academies and technical colleges focus on things like criminal law, civil rights, de-escalation and community engagement.  Day-to-day law enforcement includes enforcing criminal law, traffic safety, conducting investigations and community policing.  Sheriff deputies and police officers are seen as front line guardians of law and order.  And, at least where I live, they are a familiar presence as a consequence of daily interaction with the local population.

National guard soldiers receive military training including things like combat readiness, tactical operations, discipline and a military occupational specialty.  Some military police units train for law enforcement, but their orientation is different from civilian policing.  Guard units are populated by citizen soldiers who have civilian jobs or perhaps attend school while training part-time and sharpening their readiness to act when called upon by their state governor or the President.   

Nevertheless, national guard troops do serve in temporary support roles.  This can include crowd and riot control, (civil unrest events), disaster response (hurricanes, floods, wildfires), infrastructure protection (power plants, airports, hospitals) and augmenting first responders when local resources are overwhelmed.

Mostly, the guard is our federal reserve force for wartime missions and overseas deployment.  They blow stuff-up, defeat opposing forces and achieve battlefield dominance.  Soldiers are war-fighters; modern day gladiators.  

Between you and me I think having armed troops on our main streets is unsustainable for the long term.  It is an expensive short-term fix.  Furthermore, it is poor optics; if it were to happen around here the tourists would stay home and businesses would be grumpy.  The former is fact the latter is opinion.

There has been chatter on social media including people suggesting that president Trump is seeking to accomplish a couple of things; namely the normalization of military deployments to conduct law enforcement.  Secondly, provoking some kook or nutjob to commit an act of political violence thereby escalating tensions by such means that he can invoke the insurrection act, declare martial law and suspend elections.  Sounds rather conspiratorial, eh?  Inexplicably, most of my previously self-identified libertarian acquaintances have gone silent on this subject so we can save a discussion of the Posse Comitatus Act for another day.  

I happen to believe that Donald Trump eventually gets around to attempting everything he says he wants to do.  And he has repeatedly said he would consider or invoke the Insurrection Act, including in public statements in June 2025 during his current presidency.

Meanwhile, Speaker Michael Johnson's home state of Louisiana, and New Orleans in particular, boast some of the the highest murder rates in the country.  One has to wonder why Governor Jeff Landry called-up and deployed Louisiana guard troops to Washington, DC; instead of Speaker Johnson's home district?  The correct answer is political theater; nevertheless, all of this can be combustible.  See paragraph eight (above) about the president shouting Fire! in an otherwise quiet theater.

The administration is populated with pliant sycophants who will unquestionably act on the president's orders.  Therefore, the execution of sketchy orders will fall to the next line of senior military officers.

It is gonna be interesting how this unfolds.....

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's.....

Papilio cresphontes - commonly known as the giant swallowtail; the largest butterfly species in North America!  

This really made our day as this was a first for us.  And first experiences are, as a general rule, the best of the best.  The Missus captured this video:

The wingspan on this butterfly is a whopping 4–6 inches and features dark brown to black wings with striking yellow bands forming an "X" across the wings. The underside is mostly yellow with blue and red spots near the tail.  The hindwings feature thin tails lending the species the swallowtail name.

You'll find this critter throughout the eastern and southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and into South America.  In the US it’s most common year-round in the Southeast, but its range extends into the Midwest and as far north as southern Canada during warmer years.

Larva caterpillars are called orange dogs and feed on orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit  leaves.  They have a unique defense in that they resemble bird droppings and emit a foul odor to deter predators.  

Adults have a strong gliding flight and favor flowers featuring nectar.  Around here they're generally welcome as pollinators; although if you're a citrus grower in Florida or Texas you may feel differently.

Comfort Food

There’s definitely a whiff of autumn in the air so I figured yesterday evening was a good opportunity to whip-up a batch of seafood stew.  

Sautéed onion, Conecuh Alabama smoked sausage, garlic, fresh sage, diced tomatoes, clam juice, garden tomatoes, fresh shrimp and cod, more sage, cracked pepper and sea salt. 

Comes together fast; 15-20 minutes. 

Pretty good chow if you can get it… 

 

Friday Music

Periodically described as the best blues guitarist you've never heard-of; here's Blues Hall Of Fame member Kal David! 

Former lead guitarist/vocalist with John Mayall, Kal then spent years with Johnny Rives and Etta James. Musical partner Lauri Bono was with Bette Middler and sang vocals with Etta James. 

Recorded Live @ Blue Frog Studios September 2019. 

Blue Frog Studios is Canada's hottest live multimedia recording studio and event venue, located in the west coast beach-side town of White Rock, BC (about 40 mins south of Vancouver). The studio provides world-class sound and lighting, as well as 4K video and audio recording technology with an unparalleled production team. From the 23-foot high ceilings, to the river rock walls and beautiful hardwood floors, you know you are in a special place. In the style of Austin City Limits, our 4800 sq. foot facility seats 100 lucky audience members for unique, up close and personal concerts with some of the world’s most talented entertainers. Anyone who has seen a show or recorded here will tell you that it is one of the best sounding rooms in Canada.

Kal David passed away August 16, 2022.  To learn more about Kal or to purchase limited edition albums, go to his official website.  

Hat Tip to my pal, Paul, for the YouTube link. 

Mama And The Twins

There's always some uncertainty in identifying individual deer; nevertheless this is the same general location about a month apart.

The twins are growing; rapidly... 

 

 

Nixon

Not the late president, Tricky Dick, but a place to visit if you find yourself on the Gulf Coast.  

Recent travel to visit with family found us in Mobile Alabama for a week with an opportunity to become temporary Mobilians and soak-up the history, food and ambiance of this coastal city.

Set in a 1920s-era building that housed Nixon’s Drugs for decades, the restaurant embraces a nostalgic soda-fountain vibe—wooden bar, candy jars, retro ads—with a funky vintage flair. The menu features made-from-scratch sandwiches, wraps, quesadillas, and salads.  Standouts include the Nixon Sandwich (house-roasted roast beef, caramelized onions, provolone), TBS (turkey, bacon, Swiss, honey mustard aioli), and creative items like the seared tuna steak with wasabi aioli or Thai wrap with fried-onion crunch.

If you're thirsty there are 20 draft taps offering local, regional, and global beers and ciders, plus wines and creative cocktails like the Cherry Lime Rickey or Buzzed Brown Cow milkshake.

Nighttime attracts sports fans with multiple TVs, shuffleboard and pool tables adding to the fun.  Entrées are reasonably priced—around $11 on average—making Nixon’s a frequent local haunt.  

Best of all there are all manner of vintage pharmacy posters on display for your modern-day amusement.

 

If you're in-town; check it out! 

Assault With a Deli Weapon

 

Credit - Banksy

Following Jeanine Pirro’s WWF performance a grand jury declined to indict the man who threw a sandwich at a federal officer in Washington D.C.  Further evidence a grand jury won't indict a ham sandwich after all.  

Never thought I’d live thru the American Clown Show Age…

Glamping

Recently I burned about eight gallons of diesel brushing-out 3.5 miles of trails, a six acre wildlife opening and the ancestral campsite.  Campsite, you ask?  Yup; in the early years it was there we camped.  Eventually we purchased a park model trailer home, The Villa, adjacent to Potawotomi State Park and commuted back and forth from there to here and back.  Yup; we lived in a trailer park too.  And then eventually built a house (second home) and finally moved here permanently.

Over the years the Missus and I have been acquainted (and married) we've done a great deal of camping.  We've camped across the breadth of Canada, south to the Gulf of Mexico, all of the southwestern US, most of Wisconsin and we even took a Jeep trip off-road across the rocky mountains.

With two homes, a tree farm to maintain and the creep of maturity and eventually retirement the camping itch doesn't need much of a scratch.  Nevertheless, from time to time and on special occasions  we'll still pitch a tent, and cook over a fire or a camp stove.  We've saved all the camping gear and have our own private campsite down by Silver Creek.

I can bake a campfire dutch oven pizza, the best pudgie pie on the planet and have special kind of s'mores recipe in case you're interested. 

Anyway, the ancestral campsite has been cleaned-up.  A rough-cut with the Rhino bush hog...

Followed by a trim with a weed whacker...   

The original picnic table from more than three decades ago has been returned to its proper place.  I even added a Leopold bench for good measure.

We don't have electrical or water hook-ups.  But we have clear dark skies at night, no bothersome  drunken neighbors keeping you up until 2 AM and all the free firewood you need to roast a wienie and keep your tootsies toasty.  We even have a shitter.  You have to bring your own roll; butt the view is spectacular.  Pun intended.

Think of it as the first iteration of glamping.

Raising a toast to fun times out-of-doors and around the campfire.

War Monger

Hardly a day goes by that I'm not tickled to have experienced a 1960s childhood.  This toy was produced by REMCO in the early 1960s as part of their Marine Raider series included in their Monkey Division line.

It featured a 19-inch mortar tube mounted on an adjustable bipod and base plate.  It included 5-inch plastic shells with an adjustable spring-loaded launching mechanism.  Shells were launched with a trigger.  

Regrettably, I never had one of these.  If I did, I could have raised the standard of backyard warfare to an entirely new level.

Periodically, one of these finds its way to E-Bay and Craig's List but they're usually missing the sighting optics and/or the shells.  A complete set-up sells for hundreds of dollars.

Nevertheless, I did have one of these.

A genuine REMCO Monkey Division Jungle Guerilla Warfare helmet.  Naturally, it has been lost to the trash heap of poorly executed childhood battles.

Shucks...

Breakfast For Dinner

Breakfast for dinner.  A couple nights ago.

Homemade, sourdough buttermilk pancakes accompanied by Marchant’s breakfast porkies and local maple syrup. 

BTW - the sourdough starter I’m using is from France, via a Michelin-starred chef in NYC, to Michigan, then Algoma to finally land in my kitchen. It’s about 20+ years old and enjoys pedigree and provenance. 

It’s primarily used for pizza dough but leavens a terrific loaf of bread and the best pancakes on the planet.  

Pretty good chow if you can get it. 

Raising a toast to Lactobacillus fermentation…

Blooms Butterflies and Bees

Meet Vernonia noveboracensis - commonly known as Ironweed.  It caught my eye while out bushwhacking trails and wildlife openings the other day.  It seemed a bit too early for New England Asters so I thought I better check it out.  

It is indeed a striking purple color and hard to miss.  It is a perennial native east of the Mississippi ranging from Massachusetts to Florida.  It belongs to the Asteraceae (sunflower) family and this specimen was north of four feet tall.  We didn't plant it but we're tickled to welcome it as butterflies and bees love it. 

The butterfly in your image is a 

Great Spangled Fritillary - Speyeria cybele.  It is a large, orange-brown butterflies with distinctive black markings on their upper wings. The undersides of their hind wings feature numerous large, silvery-white spots, giving them their "spangled" name.

They're commonly found in open woodlands, meadows, fields, and along roadsides across much of North America, including Wisconsin.  Adults feed primarily on nectar from various wildflowers, including milkweeds, thistles, and ironweed.  Their caterpillars feed on violet leaves - commonly found growing throughout the farm but primarily in the floodplain of Silver Creek.

Big Gubmint

Scuttlebutt around here is that the president has manifested some sort of excess meddling in business, markets and government.  I'm not suggesting what we've grown accustomed to witnessing in other more authoritarian regimes such as Russia and Communist Red China; but more meddlesome than what some may consider a classic laissez-faire, free market perspective. 

Consider that the president fired Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, earlier this month after big downward revisions to jobs data.  Similarly, he ordered Goldman Sachs to fire an economist, Intel to fire its CEO, demanded a government ownership interest in Nippon Steel's acquisition of US Steel, demanded a 15% cut of AI chip sales to China.  Invested a total of $11.1 billion in chip manufacturer Intel for a 9.9% stake.  And shook down most of our trade partners to pledge billions of dollars of investment in negotiating export taxes.  

Compounding this our tariff policy has become a tool wielded at the sole discretion of the executive branch and varies haphazardly by country, product and fit of pique.  It's manic.

By all outward appearances you'd think that we've become a hybrid of Soviet-style centralized state-run economics. 

I would argue no; not yet anyway.

Government has a long and storied history of embedding itself in business and all things economic; even in a capitalist economy such as ours.  Until Obama rolled-around we legislated restrictions on crude oil exports.  We've instituted wage and price controls and interfered with the regulation of banks and savings and loans at our own peril.  

Farm policy pays farmers to grow and not to grow.  We've subsidized ethanol production and green energy technologies. Congress legislated how many gallons per flush and never consulted a plumber.  They also instituted TARP to bail out banks, automakers and organized labor. 

Furthermore, agencies like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae artificially impact mortgage rates distorting the housing market.  Similarly, Biden pushed to forgive student loans.  Once upon a time we took an ownership interest in a civilian passenger liner.

I could go on, but I think you get my drift.

On the happen chance you believe I support this; I do not.  I'm disinclined to political busybodies interfering in free markets.  Nevertheless, I expect the president is going to continue to pick winners and losers.  Every day is an opportunity to discover he got up on the wrong side of the bed and you, your business or country may join the ranks of losers.  

All of my previously self-identified libertarian acquaintances have suddenly gone deaf and dumb.  And I continue to have a tough time figuring-out how any of this advances your and my prosperity and general lot in life.  And is the world a safer place? Yet?

August Night Sky

Dark skies on tap this evening. 

Overnight the moon will officially pass its new moon phase.  This means the moon will be between the earth and the sun. Since sunlight can only reach the far side of the moon and the moon is is in the same region of the sky as the bright sun it become hidden from view for about a day.  

Consequently, there is no moonlight to interfere with your nighttime viewing ambitions.  There may be skeeters; but no light pollution.

Fingers-crossed for good star gazing conditions...

Stir Fry

Sometimes you just have to make stir fry.  It takes a wee bit of prep work but comes-together in its final form in a matter of minutes.  Serve with rice or udon noodles and top with crispy Asian noodles.  Low fat, lots of veggies and generally healthy if you skip an egg roll course.

We like shrimp but tonight it's boneless, skinless chicken breast.

Get your wok on the stove top with some oil heating and assemble all of your ingredients. 

Mise en place; starting a nine o'clock, stock, crispy noodles, chicken (sliced in thin strips), rice, diced green scallions, onions, carrots, bok choy (coarsely chopped), sugar snap pea pods, broccoli, water chestnuts (sliced) and oyster mushrooms....

Start your onions and garlic - soften, don't burn.  Add carrots....

Then your chicken.

Give it a stir and toss in the mushrooms and veggies.

Add chicken stock followed by a slurry of corn starch to thicken.

Serve on white, basmati rice topped with crispy noodles and chopped green scallions.

Enjoy!

Leftovers make for a quick lunch.  Pretty good chow if you can get it...  

 

Summer Blooms And A Bonus

From our walk yesterday morning it was much warmer.  Nevertheless, there was Great Blue Lobelia, bumblebees on Joe Pye Weed and Pileated Woodpecker wood working.  They'll keep at it until they disassemble that snag.

 

Trails and wildlife openings are complete! 

 

Friday Food

In lieu of music this morning I bring you food.  Specifically, food from any number of vacations we taken both here and abroad.

Google Photo's AI feature feeds me unsolicited gems like this periodically.  Short video slide shows assembled from photos archived in the cloud.

Further evidence Google is a force for good.

And pretty good chow if you can get it....

 

Bushwhacking

Recent cool weather has been a welcome relief on multiple levels; including the chores list.

This is an odd-numbered year which means that several wildlife openings and the ancestral campsite receive a haircut.  Actually a close clipping with the Rhino mower hitched to the back of the tractor and connected to the Power Take Off (PTO).

At 540 RPM, sharp blades and with a five foot cutting deck you can take town brush (slowly) almost up to an inch in diameter. 

Yesterday I finished the larger of the meadows - a six acre one located on the northeast corner of the property that also sports a deer hunting tower - Clayton 2.0.  With a commanding view for hundreds of yards and a haircut no whitetail is gonna be able to sneak past a hunter with a straight-shooting deer rifle.

Anyway, it's done.  All the tall grass, emergent willow and dogwood have been brushed-out.  My casual observation is that there is an incredible amount of ash seedlings in the turf along with all sorta native wildflowers and grasses that have migrated more than a quarter mile to establish themselves.  A mowing won't hurt them.  Finally, over the last three clippings I've spared about twenty tamarack and oaks that have taken-up residence in the turf.  The oaks aren't as likely to survive the bunnies and deer unless I install a collar (tree tube) around them.  It's a low priority chore; time will tell.

In case you're wondering wildlife opening are important in that they create additional "edge habitat" important for a diverse collection off wildlife.  100% open isn't any better than 100% forest.  Variety is the key. 

Final result...

Panorama southeast

View north

Deer stand  

Volunteer swamp white oak 

 

 

Summer Blooms

It's gotten cooler the last couple of days and we've been delighted to turn-off the AC, open some windows and spend time outdoors for fresh air, exercise and chores.

From our walk yesterday morning there is stiff goldenrod, wild bergamot (bee balm), black-eyed Susans and flowering turkey foot (big bluestem)….

 

Quote of the Day

 

 

During a Tuesday call in to the “Fox & Friends” morning television show, Trump said his orders have transformed Washington into - 

 

Just an incredible place in literally four days.  Did you see what’s happening with the restaurants? They’re bursting, they were all closing and going bankrupt.

 

It's gotten easier to fact-check misinformation, lies and the president himself with Open AI.

 

And for the record, Washington Post polling reveals the 69% of DC residents want the National Guard to go home.  It's apparently a bad look and impacting local business.. 

 

Does It Glow In The Dark?

Unremarkably, as society embraced the atomic age, in 1950, A.C. Gilbert released a toy laboratory set that contained actual uranium. 

Some of you reading this may have grown-up with an A.C. Gilbert Erector Set - a fantastic toy that could keep you occupied for an entire day. 

The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was an actual children's science kit that contained small samples of radioactive materials, including uranium ore.  The kit was marketed as an educational tool to teach kids about nuclear physics and radiation. 

It included four small uranium ore samples (labeled with actual isotopes like U-238), a Geiger counter, a cloud chamber to see particle trails, a spinthariscope to observe alpha particles, an electroscope to measure radiation and a couple of manuals - "Prospecting for Uranium" and "The Atomic Energy Manual".

Pretty cool stuff and probably not precisely life-threatening.  The radiation levels were low, and the samples were sealed.  Nevertheless, even though the US Atomic Energy Commission approved the kit, by today's safety standards, it would never be allowed as a children's toy.

Regrettably, and for all the novelty, the product failed to catch-hold.  Selling for $49.50 (more than $600 in today's dollars) it was too expensive for most families.  It was too complex for most youngsters and naturally parents were uneasy allowing their kids handle radioactive materials.

Of course, if you had one of these in your attic it would be highly collectible fetching thousands of dollars on E-Bay for a complete set.

Highway Patrol

From the interweb we learn that this is a portrait of Trooper Clay W. Keith standing next to  his patrol car in Bartow, Florida.

Born on July 4, 1917 in Asheville, North Carolina. He was one of Florida's earliest troopers joining the FHP in 1941, a few years after it was officially established. He served 30 years in uniform, rising to the rank of major and becoming the state's first director of driver licensing in 1963. 

He left the FHP in 1978 to become the civilian head of driver licensing, and he remained in that post until retiring in 1987. In retirement, he became the official historian of the Florida Highway Patrol. Clay Keith died on December 18, 2000.

The automobile in the image appears to be a 1939-40 Ford Standard Tudor Sedan - commonly used by law enforcement agencies including the Florida Highway Patrol in the early 1940s.  

The rounded trunk and rear fenders are characteristic  of the 1940 Ford models .

Conspicuous Consumption

The term "conspicuous consumption" was coined by sociologist Thorstein Veblen in his 1899 book, "The Theory of the Leisure Class".  Veblen used the concept to describe the practice of purchasing and displaying expensive goods and services primarily to signal one's wealth and social status; rather than for their practical utility.

Consumer spending accounts for roughly 68-70% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This means that consumer spending is the largest component of the U.S. economy, and a major driver of economic growth.  This is known as personal consumption expenditures (PCE).  Specifically, services make up roughly two-thirds of PCE making them the primary contributor to consumer spending.  While the exact percentage changes from year-to-year - as the largest share of consumer spending this has not changed.  As for the rest of GDP, manufacturing, agriculture, government spending, net exports and investment account for the balance.

Consumption has begun to slow this year.  Adjusted for inflation in 2024 consumer spending grew almost 3%.  That fell to 1.4% in the second quarter of this year and is expected to remain tepid.  Time will tell. 

If you're wondering where I'm going with this, according to Moody's the top 10% of earners now account for about half of consumer spending.  That happens to be up from 36% three decades ago.  This is rather rarified atmosphere as these are consumers with household incomes north of $250,000 a year.  They're doing just fine.   

The bottom 80 percent of earners have maxed-out their consumption with their spending; now basically tracking with inflation. 

This may have implications for both the near and long-term domestic economy, social policy and a whole lot more.  Exactly how; we'll have to wait, see and ponder.  For all the chatter about import taxes (tariffs) and their outsized impact (positive and negative) on manufacturing, that sector of the economy is playing second fiddle.  I'm not saying it's unimportant; it is significant as it creates $2.69 of economic activity for every $1.00 spent within that sector.  But it's direct contribution to GDP is only 11%.

(Source: The Washington Post/Moody’s Analytics).

Looking at the graph, on the chance you are unfamiliar with the term; here's the definition of Revenge Spending.       

Fun Fact:  Import duties (the Trump tariffs) apply only to imported goods; not services. Outsourced services do not cross borders in a shipping container or face customs inspections.  So, whether you're tapping into global talent for customer experience or partnering with an expert team for end-to-end loan servicing; no import tax.