Ramps

Allium tricoccum - wild leek or ramps.  The leaves and bulbs are used in cooking, pickling, seasoning, salads and much more.  Years ago we owned a trailer home in the woods adjacent to Potawatomi State Park and there was a patch of these growing beside our shed; a handy source of wild onion.

They're found in the rich, moist soil of deciduous woodlands ranging from southern Canada to Appalachia.  Commonly fried-up with potatoes in bacon fat or scrambled eggs served with beans and cornbread they are a tasty and renewable wild edible used as a substitute to onions and garlic.

So, the first week of November last year a decided to plant some in our woods as an experiment.  Why I didn't think to do this twenty years ago is beyond me.  I wish I had.  Nevertheless, I figured better late than never.

Anyway, I sourced dormant root stock from a native nursery and planted a dozen bulbs in four locations along with an ounce of seed for good measure.  I figured the location was perfect and I crossed my fingers hoping the critters wouldn't eat the bulbs.  I figured the seeds would scarify over the winter during the freeze-thaw cycle and with a bit of luck some might germinate.  I marked the location with fluorescent flag tape so I could locate it again.

Yesterday we were out in the woods cleaning bird boxes and running the trail camera trapline and wouldn't you know it; they're up!  A whole bunch of them.

 

Who Wants To Make A Deal?

Last week a buddy and I were pondering the Iran war, the nuclear deal (or lack thereof) and was Iran cheating when Donald Trump exited from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018.  And for some strange reason a day later it occurred to me that Mr. Trump's situation is similar to that of the popular game show Let's Make a Deal that aired from 1963 to 1976.

If you're old like me you may recall that costumed audience members had to deal with fast-talking host Monty Hall in choosing what might be lurking behind up to three doors or curtains.  Was it a fabulous prize - like an automobile?  Or a lesser prize - called a Zonk?

Unexpectedly called-off yesterday, if nuclear talks resume in Pakistan sometime soon President Trump will be facing a similar conundrum mostly a consequence of his own making.  The President had previously characterized the JCPOA as "a horrible, one-sided deal."   And now he has the opportunity to make a new deal.  Will it be Door Number One, Two or Three?  But first, let's put to bed anything about cheating back in 2018.

Whether Iran was cheating at the time Trump withdrew from the JCPOA is debatable.  At the time, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was monitoring sites on the ground and had confirmed that Iran was staying within the limits allowed for uranium enrichment and stockpile size.  Senior officials in the Trump administration, including Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, testified to Congress that Iran was in technical compliance with the agreement.  Consequently, the consensus among both international monitors and the US intelligence community was that Iran was not cheating.

That the agreement had flaws and shortcomings is not debatable. Everyone knew that; including the Iranians.  Trump's primary argument for withdrawal wasn't that Iran was breaking any rules but that  the agreement itself was fatally flawed including a sunset provision that would allow Iran to pursue enrichment activities after the passage of fifteen years and that the deal did not address Iran's ballistic missile program.

So Trump tore-up the agreement and walked away.

And in the absence of a replacement agreement Iran set in motion an enrichment spree and expansion of their ballistic missile program leaving them closer to a bomb than ever before.  Today, the IAEA tells us Iran likely has a total of 11 tons of uranium at various enrichment levels.  With further purification that is sufficient to build up to 10 to 11 nuclear warheads.  All of this happened in the open and without an inning of cheating.

It is noteworthy to remember that Iran had previously lived up to its pledge under the JCPOA to ship to Russia 12.5 tons of its overall stockpile of enriched uranium.  After which, Iran's weapons industry didn't have sufficient material to build even a single bomb. 

The actions of president Trump have had all manner of consequences; intended and otherwise.  Going back to 2018, ask yourself, was the original deal an OK deal?  Was abrogating it a better deal?  And who owns the results?  

From 2021 to 2025 the Biden administration was unsuccessful in negotiating new limits.  And throughout the negotiations Iran kept enriching and expanding its cache of enriched uranium.

Then, in June of last year, Trump bombed Iran's enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordo including underground storage tunnels and facilities at Isfahan.  He famously declared to the world that Iran's nuclear program had been "obliterated."   

But probably not.  

In very short order, Operation Epic Fury was launched in late February of this year.  Two months later the Straits of Hormuz are blockaded and effectively closed and presently the US and Iran have entered a period of tentative diplomacy.  President Trump has previously dispatched Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan; and until yesterday planned to send real estate developers and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Islamabad to conduct indirect talks presumably to secure a replacement nuclear agreement. 

A fragile ceasefire has been extended.  The president tells us that the military operation has decimated Iran's industrial base, ballistic missile production, drone manufacturing and sunk the navy.

President Trump's decision to unilaterally go to war with Iran without consulting Congress, the American people or (excepting for Israel) any of our global allies; set in motion a cascade of destabilizing events that have dangerous consequences for global stability, security and the world's economy.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has explicitly ruled-out direct talks with Witkoff and Kushner leaving Pakistan serving as an intermediary shuttling messages between the US and Iran. 

The administration is wise to seek an agreement that permanently eliminates any path to nuclear weapons, including restrictions on ballistic missiles and a cessation of support for Hezbollah and Hamas.

Intelligence reports suggest Iran still has its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.  The president has to come up with a plan for that and Iran has to agree to it.  

Iran has signaled an openness to discussing nuclear concessions contingent-upon sanctions relief, reparations and a formal end to hostilities.  The missile program appears to be a non-starter.  

I'd love to be a fly on the wall of the Oval Office inasmuch as a rushed-deal (to end the war) has a high probability of being a sloppy deal.  I do not think that Trump has the attention to detail or the patience for arduous negotiations that would lead to a real deal.  I have little faith in Trump getting this right.  I think he wants to save face.  He wants to say his deal is better than Obama's.  He wants to get the heck out of this morass as soon as he can; slapdash deal notwithstanding.  Furthermore, with a decapitation of Iranian leadership and wholesale destruction of Iran's economic base what are the implications for a civil war and expansion of unrest in the Middle East?  Would you agree the situation is disordered and chaotic?

And, of course, the Strait remains effectively closed leaving global supply chains seriously messed-up with all sorta unintended consequences.  So, I'm still waiting on President Trump to improve your and my prosperity and general lot in life.  Along with making the world a safer place.

I sure hope he gets this right....

 

Southern Poverty Law Center In The News

 

 

Some days the White House Information Minister, Karoline Leavitt, is beginning to sound more and more like Baghdad Bob, dontcha think?  She's off on maternity leave now so we're gonna score a break from it.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been indicted.  An indictment is not a conviction it is simply the Department of Justice's (DOJ) allegation that donor disclosures around its informant program were misleading. The organization’s defense is that it used confidential informants in extremist groups as part of legitimate intelligence gathering to prevent violence; a practice that overlaps with standard law-enforcement practices all day long. The legal question is not whether informants were used, but whether donor communications were sufficiently transparent to meet nonprofit fraud standards.

Until trial, claims that this proves intentional wrongdoing or “funding extremism” remain unproven allegations, not established fact.

This is the same DOJ that indicted James Comey and Letitia James, only to have those indictments dismissed once they made it to the legal system. The John Brennan and John Bolton indictments are also stuck in the mud. 

In my view, the odds are better than even that this is just another poorly-conceived retribution indictment. It alleges that the SPLC was supporting the Ku Klux Klan by paying confidential informants who happened to be members of those organizations.  I am not a lawyer but the entire premise seems a stretch.

As for their donor disclosures, since SPLC has used CIs before, I think they'll be able to successfully argue they're not actually "supporting" the Klan, Nazi or White Supremacist organizations.  I think the hypothetical reasonable person would expect that this practice would continue - unless the SPLC explicitly promised in the solicitation that it wouldn't (which also seems unlikely.)   Time will tell.

 

Any good prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. 

- Associate Judge Sol Wachtler 

Vacation Cruiser

Spotted in the wild of a grocery store parking lot:

A 1985 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser complete with fake wood vinyl siding.

Ubiquitous in the 1980s, stumbling across a genuine land yacht in pristine condition is exceedingly rare.  They enjoy something of a cult status as not many of them are left 40 years later.  GM's Oldsmobile Division assembled fewer than 15,000 Custom Cruisers in 1985 and only a few are left on the road.  Driven into the ground hauling kids, dogs and groceries most rusted-away from Midwest winters long ago only to be replaced by more popular minivans and SUVs.

Without peaking under the hood this model is likely equipped with a 5.0L (307 CID) V8.  At 140 HP it wasn't a speed demon but a steady and quiet cruiser.  It sits on a GM B-body frame shared with the Buick Estate and Chevrolet Caprice.  This model has a three-way tailgate.  The body panels are straight, the chrome is perfect and the rear window isn't sagging from the massive tailgate speaks to terrific maintenance.  Even the 'Got Wood' window decal is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the vinyl woodgrain paneling.

A quick check on the interweb reveals this boat retails between $6,000 and $12,000 - compared to an MSRP of $14,500 - $15,000 as new.  Low-mileage exceptional specimens can fetch up to $20,000 at auction.

Sounds like a fair price to me for a genuine National Lampoon Family Vacation ride.

Happy motoring.... 

Friday Music

This Irish rock band came together in 1989 composed of Niall Quin, Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler.  Dolores O'Riordan replaced Quinn in 1990.

Tragically, O'Riordan struggled with depression and bipolar disorder and died in 2018 as a consequence of accidental drowning due to alcohol intoxication.  

Following her death the group released In The End, highlighting her final recordings; after which the group disbanded.

From a 1999 live performance in Paris, O'Riordan and the Cranberries - Dreams 

First Communion

For your Throwback Thursday historical amusement there is this.

That's me - May of 1963.  First Communion.

No, I am not wielding a sword or a pistol.  That is my candle and missal.

For any heathens out there - in the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith a missal contains everything you need (scripture, prayers,  chants, texts, etc.) to attend Mass.

The candle is symbolic. 'He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have light and life' (John 8:12).

Booyah

Some of you reading this may already know that actor Tony Shalhoub has deep, lifelong roots in northeast Wisconsin.  Specifically, Green Bay, where he was raised as the ninth of ten children in a Lebanese-American family.

Tony's mom is a Seroogy and if you're from around here you know all about Seroogy's Chocolates in De Pere.  Tony's father, 'Big Joe' Shalhoub was known as a distributor of meat and sausages to local groceries throughout the region.

Tony, himself, is a graduate of Green Bay East High School and was an extra in the school's production of the King and I which coincidentally led him to the Yale School of Drama and eventually to his acting career and resulting fandom in our northeast Wisconsin household.

This past winter Shalhoub released a documentary series titled: Breaking Bread; an episode of which eventually led to this stop.  

The Booyah Shed.

Returning home at the end of last week following a trip to the Naked City I asked The Missus if she was interested in lunch.

Almost immediately she mentioned the joint introduced in Shalhoub's documentary and the onboard navigation indicated we were only 17 miles outbound.  So we checked it out.

For anyone unacquainted with booyah it is hearty chicken and vegetable stew of Belgian origin and is ubiquitous to northeast Wisconsin and happens to be a signature dish during Belgian Days in my hometown.  Booyah at the Shed is first rate.

They also serve-up an extensive menu of specialty burgers, sandwiches, hand-cut fries, adult beverages and more.  Fast and friendly.

 

Enter the shed, go to the window and squeeze the rubber chicken to summon the cheerful lady to place your order.

With only a couple of four-top tables and six two-tops, in-door seating is limited, but turnover is quick with patrons bussing their own tables.  Carryout business is brisk.

If you find yourself in Green Bay and want some local comfort food; this joint comes highly recommended.

Hat- tip to Tony....    

April Astronomy - Meteors On Tap!

The month of April brings us the Lyrid Meteor Shower which will reach its peak the evening of April 21-22.

This meteor shower is made up of the remains of the Comet Thatcher and could produce up to 10-20 meteors per hour. Your best viewing opportunities begin late night tonight until sunrise on tomorrow when they're expected to peak.  They'll hang around to a lesser extent for the remainder of the week.  

 

 

 

Lyrid meteors radiate from near the brighter star Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp.  The key is knowing that the constellation rises in the northeast sky before midnight.  Look to the northeast for these shooting stars to originate from the radiant from midnight until dawn.  While not as impressive as the Perseids (last August) the Lyrids don't require anything but the naked eye in order to enjoy them.  They're also known to produce fireballs, which are impressively bright meteors characterized by leaving a glowing trail of ionized gas in their wake.    

 

Moonset is around midnight so you can count on dark skies.  Fingers-crossed for good viewing conditions..... 

 

Spring Turkey

Braumeister and I drew permits for spring turkey this week.  With skilled calling we're hopeful to lure a long-beard within range of our place of concealment and hopefully get a couple of turkey birds in the freezer.

The boys have loving on their mind this time of year which makes them vulnerable to a skilled hunter with a steady hand and good aim; and isn't napping.

They're on the move.....

 

 

Gobbler Romance

The resident long beards around these parts have got lovin' on their mind.

And both Braumeister and I have valid permits for second season next week...

 

Hero

Earlier this month, Cambodia unveiled the world's first statue honoring a landmine-detecting rat.  Who knew?

Magawa the rat was trained by the Belgian charity Apopo before moving to Cambodia to begin his bomb-sniffing career.  He lived to eight years of age and identified more than 100 landmines and other explosives from 2017 to 2021.

There are more than 100 African pouched rats deployed in detection operations such as this across the world.  The rats are trained to sniff out explosive compounds like trinitrotoluene (TNT) as the rats are not hefty enough to trigger a detonation.  

Following decades of conflict it is estimated that in Cambodia alone there are as many as six million undiscovered landmines.  Consequently, since 1970 more than 20,000 people have been killed and another 40,000 wounded and maimed by this lurking ordnance.

Magawa cleared more than 1.5 million square feet of land and could search a tennis court-sized area in 20 minutes compared with four days by a human.

In 2020, Magawa was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal - the George Cross for animals - for his 'life saving devotion to duty'.  He was the first rat to receive the award in the charity's 77 year history.

And that's not all.  Learn more about the African pouched rat's ability to detect tuberculosis here.  

Chorale

Further evidence that there is more sign of spring and less of winter there is this chorus in the evening.  

They’ve been singing for almost a couple weeks now unless the overnight temps drop to freezing.  If I step out on the porch, rap on a pillar and in my deepest director voice announce:  ‘AHEM!’  The chorus stops immediately.

It resumes in short order so clearly sway over my subjects is limited; consequently I’ll not let my authority go to my head.

I recorded this last Sunday evening - so turn-up the volume for some chorus frogs. 

(The flashing hazard lights emit from towers on Brussels Hill)

 

Friday Morning Bible Study

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just prayed over the Iran war; and he used a fictional Bible verse.

From the previously unknown Book of Pulp Fiction.

At the Pentagon's monthly worship service on Wednesday, April 15, the Secretary of Defense stood up, told military leaders what they hear in worship should  'inform' their war decisions and then read a prayer calling for 'great vengeance and furious anger' on Iran. He said the prayer was called  'CSAR 2517,' which stands  for Combat Search And Rescue, and was based on Ezekiel 25:17.

Only it wasn't.

It was from Pulp Fiction. Specifically, it was the speech Samuel L. Jackson's character recites before executing an unarmed man.

The actual Ezekiel 25:17 has one sentence. The rest, including 'the path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,' was invented for Tarantino's 1994 film.  

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

- Quentin Tarantino 

The Secretary of Defense read a fictional hit man's execution speech to bless an actual war.

And then he said this: 'Fifteen minutes ago I was talking about blockades with Admiral Cooper, and now we're going to study the Lord's word. May what we talk about, how we worship today, inform the remainder of our day and the remainder of our week.'

The man coordinating a naval blockade and potential strikes on Iran is citing Bible verses that don't exist. 

From Hollywood. 

To bless a war that has killed men and women in service to our country, thousands of Iranians and threatens order, security and the entire global economy.  

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Pope Leo responded to Hegseth's earlier violent prayers on Palm Sunday. The Pope quoted actual scripture, Isaiah 1:15:'  Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.' 

Archbishop Reinhard Marx of Munich called Hegseth's sermons 'shameless blasphemy.

This is the man in charge of American military.  You know; the good guys.

The Crusader-tattooed former Fox News host who prayed for 'overwhelming violence' at his confirmation.  Who has fired Army leadership out of paranoia. Who invoked a movie as scripture to justify killing more civilians.

Too be clear, I have no sympathy for the Iranian Mullahs.  But this mash-up of God, guns and country implies Hegseth belongs back in rehab.  

Why your ask?

Because you can’t make this shit up.

Peanut Eaters

We witnessed a nasty blizzard four weeks ago leaving something on the order of 36 inches of snow on the level.  And we're not in the clear either as we had a couple years where spring now storms basically cancelled my spring turkey hunt which is next week.  Anyway, I learned from that storm that more birds than expected will avail themselves of peanuts for the fat and protein they offer including redwing blackbirds.  Who knew? 

It won't be long before I'll have to remove the peanut and suet bird feeders.  Not because the birds want me to; rather as a consequence of seasonality.  With warming conditions and rain instead of snow leaving peanuts out invites mold and mildew.  And leaving suet out invites rancidity.  Both of which would be bad for my feathered friends.

Nevertheless and coincidentally this will mark the arrival of the orioles so new feeders featuring an oranges and grape jell will be deployed.

Meanwhile here  are some recent photos of some of the peanut eaters... 

Hairy Woodpecker

 

Downy Woodpecker and Chickadee

Couple of Hairys

The Help

Bluejay

Flicker

Red-breasted Nuthatches

Leap of Faith

There is nothing more graceful than a running deer.  Actually, they leap more than run and are capable of vaulting over obstacles up to 8 feet from a standing position.  With a running start, they are capable of soaring over fences as high as 10 to 12 feet; although 8-foot fences are generally an effective deterrence.  They are also capable of horizontal leaps (forward motion) spanning up to 30 feet.  Which is quite remarkable.  

When I uploaded this photo from a trail camera recently a couple of things occurred to me.  If a hunter was in the stand pictured would the deer run towards the hunter?  And would the hunter be able to get-off a shot and knock one down?  The animal furthest away is roughly 40 yards distant and hauling ass.

I have personally been witness to the unpredictability of the direction startled deer will move and as a general rule they do not run towards hunters; unless, the wind in in the hunter's favor.  If upwind it is possible a hunter will remain undetected; the deer will not smell or 'wind' him. 

Although in the image here a deer running head-on at the hunter (likely caught unaware) and and closing the distance rapidly it is a leap of faith and the deer has the advantage. 

For the hunter this is a low probability shot situation and also would be a leap of faith to take a shot with a high probability of wounding.

I would pass; and await for a broadside shot at an unsuspecting whitetail standing or strolling.    

You? 

Is It Real...

...Or Is it AI? 

The first time I saw the imagery I thought to myself 'is that who I think it is?'

Guess I wasn't alone.

Lighten-up people and have a laugh for a change. 

Eating Outside of Football Season

One of our favorite meals happens to be venison tacos.  Naturally, there will be leftovers.

 

 

Which are resurrected in the form of custom nachos.

 

Layer chips in a pan and top in this order: reheated frijoles and venison taco meat. Top with shredded cheddar and bake at 300F until cheese is melted.

 

Remove from oven and top with chopped onion, lettuce, tomato and queso cheese.

 

Serve.

 

Leftovers vamoosed.

 

And it's not even football season. 

Choosing Your Battles

'Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace.  Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue.  Not with the desire to dominate others, but to counter them.  We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it and becoming indifferent.  Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people.'

-Pope Leo XIV 

In the abstract these words might apply to any number of the world's leaders, including Iran's Mullahs.  Nevertheless, I suspect that the Pope was taking a shot at Donald Trump. Why do I think so you ask? 

Because of the response.  In relatively short order Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Holy See's ambassador to the US, was summoned to the Pentagon and given a lecture warning that the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants and that the church had better get on board with American foreign policy.  Yup, like hoodlums shaking-down a neighborhood shopkeeper.  

Catholic leadership is attempting to frame the conflict in Iran in terms of Augustinian just war theory including civilian protection and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has infused the war with Christian nationalist rhetoric and a maximal lethality approach.

Is it just me, or does the the notion of going to war with a blood-soaked collection of nutty clerics who believe God is on their side all the while invoking God is on our side seem a bit nutty?  The irony is not lost on me.  It's the same God after-all.

What I know is this.  President Trump is losing support among Catholics - even white, non-Hispanic Catholics who supported him only a short couple of years ago.  Furthermore, The Pope's favorability rating overshadows that of the President's. 

Just between you and me I wouldn't pick a fight with the Vatican.  This blogger ain't dying on that hill.  And I'm not gonna embrace any God is only on my side bullshit dogma either.

Just like Pope Leo is a Sox fan, Jesus was a peacemaker.  These are known facts.  

It's The Economy Stupid

A strategist in Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against incumbent George H. W. Bush; the title of this post was coined by James Carville as a missive to campaign workers. 

As we began the second year of Donald Trump's second term in office by traditional measures our economy was in decent shape.  Most forecasts put 2026 GDP growth around 2 - 2.5% with a solid, steady expansion and little risk of recession.  

Interest rates were expected to ease or stabilize while tax and spending policies supporting business and consumers took effect.  

Productivity gains and demand would lead to business - technology in particular - to post record profits.  All while artificial intelligence would boost efficiencies, margins and long term growth potential.  

The labor market was expected to remain near full employment levels with the prospects for American business and consumers looked much brighter following SCOTUS' striking-down of the president's import taxes.

Then President Trump unilaterally decided to go to war with Iran.  He did not ask for, nor receive the approval of Congress.  The president did not take the matter before the American people to make the case for war; although roughly a month later he did did make a formal prime time address to the nation on April Fools Day.  We heard a restatement of already-familiar talking points and were told the war was near completion and wrapping-up along with something about bombing them into the stone age.  With the exception of Israel, the president did not consult with our European allies or other global partners.  

Why is any of this worthy of mention?  The year 2026 had bright prospects  and by the end of February the president set in motion a cascade of destabilizing events that have dangerous consequences for global stability, security and the world's economy.  I think the president has stepped in it this time.

With the exception of Trump's war-loving MAGA base most of America disapproves of the war.   

Consequently, it should come as no great surprise that recent surveys of self-reported well-being have suggested that Americans are feeling discouraged and possibly becoming grumpy.   

Why is this important?  I hate to sound like a broken record but the American economy is not driven by manufacturing; it is a service economy.  With summer approaching the expectation at the beginning of the year was that of consumers spending more on travel and entertainment than last summer.  Accounting for two-thirds of all economic activity, it is consumer spending that fuels the US economy.  With the global disruption of energy supplies and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz all bets are off.

I've blogged on this subject from time-to-time and mentioned the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey which came in with preliminary results late last week.

The Consumer Sentiment Index plummeted 11% to a historic low of 47.6.  If these numbers hold by the time complete data is announced at the end of this month this represents the lowest reading in the survey's 74 year history.  In case you're interested, the previous record low of 50 was at the peak of Biden-era inflation.  

I'm not at all surprised.  I may be a retired financial guy but I know that average folks struggle with wrapping their mind around abstract economic data such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP), but everyone understands the gas pump.  Last week national prices for a gallon of regular gasoline hovered around $4.15 with diesel at $5.50; up roughly 39% from before Trump went to war.  Oh boy howdy.

Additionally, according to the US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index, small business optimism fell for a second consecutive quarter this past week.  Just 28% of small business owners say the economy is in good health; down 10 points from the previous quarter.

Finally, driven by sharp spikes in energy costs, this last week we learned inflation is up Big Time. Raspberries and blueberries and fresh produce in general have risen in price as a consequence of increased transportation costs.  So when I suggest the President Trump has stepped in it; I'm doing so because his unilateral war in Iran may turn out to be a serious-bad unforced error.  While I may grouse about the increased cost of fresh produce the impact of Trump's excursion in Iran is being felt in both myriad and profound ways across the globe.

I don't want to come across as the skunk that showed-up at your garden party but these are three data points that are blinking like glaring red warnings on the instrument panel of the airplane you are piloting over a vast uninhabited rain forest without a landing strip in sight.

While not much of this is life altering to me; that is simply not the case for a many of my countrymen.  Worst-case, people are nervous about making ends meet. Best-case, they're anxious about possibly altering or canceling a summer family vacation.  Between you and me I think the president actually cares.  Less about anyone's hardships; but more about the midterms and polling. 

The missus purchased airline tickets since the war began and both wartime fuel and baggage surcharges were assessed.  So yeah, I'm feeling a wee bit grumpy too.  Hardly at all as a consequence of cost; but mostly because none of this nonsense has so far improved my lot in life and made the world any safer.  For my sake and yours I sure hope Trump fixes this.  

You can learn more about the University of Michigan data here.

American Culinary Dominance

As the resident food snob here at The Platz it is noteworthy that the price of Rao's pizza and pasta sauces have near doubled in the last year.  How do I know this?  I am the chief grocery shopper and resident Pantry Warrior in our household.  I am also a fan of imported Italian bottled sauces as a consequence of their quality ingredients (San Marzano tomatoes) and unlike American manufacturers their scorning of sugar and preservatives in their recipes.  

Some of the cost increase is a consequence of Donald Trump's taxes on imported goods and the rest is a consequence of inflationary pressure on raw materials, packaging, logistics and labor.  Some of it is what I attribute to the 'Snobbery Premium' or the cost of high demand for a quality reputation and the balance to the $2.7 billion acquisition of Sovos Brands by Campbell's.    

Which leads to this walk down memory lane.   

This image is a print advertisement from 1964-1965 for Chef Boy-Ar-Dee Spaghetti Sauces that were part of a mid-century marketing campaign that ran during the 1950s and 1960s.

Not surprising is the emphasis placed-upon the slow-simmered, hand-stirred, 'Old Italian Way' of authentic Italian sauces directly from Nonna's kitchen stove in Naples to your own kitchen from an American tin can.  Mind you, the theme is that this is a recurring 'secret' as no self-respecting American housewife would dare reveal the ease of which such gourmet results could be obtained simply by opening a can and rewarming the contents on a stove top and pouring it over boiled noodles.  Microwave technology improved-upon the concept by the 1980s.

Chef Boy-Ar-Dee was a real person - his name phonetically spelled so salesmen could pronounce it correctly - Ettore 'Hector' Boiardi (1897-1985) was a honest-to-goodness world-renowned chef. Born in Piacenza, Italy, he immigrated to the states at age 16 and was employed at the prestigious Plaza Hotel in New York City.

Striking out on his own he opened his own restaurant in Cleveland in 1924 - Il Giardino d'Italia.  His sauce was such a customer favorite that he bottled it in repurposed milk bottles for customers to take home. Due to high demand he and brothers Paul and Mario opened a small canning operation in 1928 producing a Ready-To-Heat Spaghetti Kit.  Included was a small can of grated Parmesan cheese making Boiardi the largest American importer of the product at the time.  By 1938 operations had outgrown the Cleveland facility and moved to Milton, Pennsylvania where it could grow its own tomatoes and mushrooms to keep up with national demand.   

In 1942 Chef Boiardi transformed his highly successful commercial pasta business located in Milton into a massive 24/7 operation supporting the war effort producing beef ravioli and other canned pastas for C rations.  At its peak the operation employed 5,000 workers producing roughly 250,000 cans of food per day.  This immigrant chef encouraged his employee with the patriotic slogan: Keep 'em flying! Keep 'em rolling! Keep 'em well-fed!  In 1946 the War Department awarded Hector Boiardi with the Gold Star Order of Excellence - one of the highest honors a civilian can receive from the military. 

Post-war Boiardi faced a dilemma: his factory was too large for civilian demand and he did not wish to lay-off the thousands he hired for the war effort.  He sold the company to American Home Brands in 1946 and remained the public face of his brand until his passing in 1985.  

Immigrant child laborer, chef, entrepreneur, patriot and promoter of affordable canned pasta and sauce.  This is the stuff that made America great!

Friday Music

Born of the American rock band Guns N' Roses in 1987 it was released on their debut album - Appetite for Destruction – later in 1988.  The tune topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart to become the band's only number 1 US single.    

Various covers of this tune have found their way here from time to time.  And for something completely different; this is a really fun cover of Sweet Child o' Mine... 

Wireless

I've previously blogged about REMCO (Remote Control Manufacturing Company) and toys from the 1960s.  It was a golden age and Remco dominated the marketplace for creating toys that made children feel like a cold war spy, a scientist or a backyard warrior.  Including fun stuff that you could assemble like a radio.

Before the age of microchips Remco sold a kit that a kit that included all of the components - transistors, capacitors and resistors - that a kid could put together by means of spring-terminals and screws to create a working AM radio.  

To keep costs down most models used a one-transistor circuit requiring a long antenna wire that you could clip to a metal window screen or bed frame to enhance reception.  Most included a single crystal ear plug while others used a speaker.  An entire generation of baby boomers found their way into an engineering career or became ham radio enthusiasts as a consequence of Remco radios.

And if you have a working model with the original packaging and instructions you would learn that collectors and radio hobbyists will pay handsomely to get their hands on it.

Spot The Critter

Unless it happens to be wild turkeys, birds aren’t easy to photograph on a trail camera without something to attract them.  Which is an OK idea.  Every summer I've been putting a camera on the oriole feeder to record who's visiting and this winter I've been doing the same with a peanut feeder.  But if you really want results put a camera on a road-killed whitetail.  Oh boy howdy.

Anyway, I captured a rare photo of this bird recently and I figure it likely pounced on some prey animal to trigger the camera shutter.  It also took me awhile to ID it and I ended-up emailing the photo to a wildlife biologist for verification.

It's a red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus); a very rare winter sighting as this raptor migrates south to the gulf coast and at least to Illinois for the winter. This bird is characterized by striking black-and-white checkered wings and a loud 'kee-aah' call.  Their red shoulders are visible when perched or in flight. 

Their diet includes small mammals, amphibians and reptiles.  While this sighting is a first, they do nest here and are highly territorial returning year after year to the same location to breed.

This bird requires large, contiguous blocks of mature forest, particularly bottomland hardwoods near rivers or wetlands.  As a consequence of habitat fragmentation this bird’s status in Wisconsin is threatened.

Every once in a while the trail cameras deliver a real keeper image.

And this is a bonus. 

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

On the subject of cigarettes there is this:

A perfect example of Yankee Ingenuity - a cigarette holder for nudists.

If a smoker finds their self at a nude beach, colony or camp what do you do besides carry a purse or a fanny pack (pardon the pun) when you haven't any pockets?

I am told by the Gemini AI that historically this device was pitched by a delegate to a nudist convention.  A sporty leather case that holds a standard pack of cigs to the wearer's leg by means of an elastic band.

Brilliance!

Happy Easter

Once upon a time we would watch the President and his family walk across Lafayette Square to attend Easter morning church services.

Today we get potential war crimes.

Happy Easter, Passover, or whatever or however you celebrate the season.

How to Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

A funny thing happened on the road to the White House.  The president who turned-up isn't the same guy as the candidate.

The US war against Iran is unpopular and becoming more unpopular as it continues; furthermore, the latest Economist/YouGov Poll also finds few Americans support deploying ground troops to the conflict.

Or do other Americans see it differently?

Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper - Dr. Strangelove

It depends-upon whom you ask.

Only 30% of Americans strongly or somewhat approve of President Trump's handling of the Iran war with 60% disapproving for a net approval of -30.

Almost all Democrats (88%) oppose the war while independents oppose it by a 3-to-1 ratio.  

But there is this: Collectively, most Republicans support the war (62%) yet there is a huge gap in support between MAGA Republicans and non-MAGA Republicans (70% support vs. 33%).  Inasmuch as there are more than twice as many MAGA supporters as non-MAGA supporters among the GOP, MAGA opinion is basically settled science.   

Furthermore, a recent CBS News poll found that 92% of MAGA Republicans expressed support for military action against Iran, compared with only 70% of non-MAGA Republicans.

Amongst my MAGA acquaintances, and mostly on account of my unwavering support for arming Ukrainians in defending their country from a Soviet invasion, I have been characterized as everything from an armchair general to a warmonger.  

Naturally, beginning three years ago and following Vladimir Putin's unprovoked assault on Ukraine these same individuals reminded me at most every opportunity that supporting Ukraine's defense was distinctly at odds with candidate Trump's America First platform.  I quote:  'No foreign entanglements', 'We haven't won anything since WWII', 'Donald Trump is the greatest patriot ever' and 'You like war too much'.    

Candidate Trump may have ridden to reelection with a pledge to avoid forever wars yet systematically blowing alleged drug-running vessels and crews out of the Gulf of Mexico, a birthday military parade, deploying the military on America's streets, Houthis in Yemen (Operation Rough Rider), 529 air strikes across the middle east, Africa and central Asia, aerial strikes against Iranian sites last summer including ISIS in Iraq, threats to take Greenland by force, masked and unidentified federal paramilitary forces killing three American citizens, a military toppling of Venezuela's government, seizure of Venezuelan oil at the point of a gun, threats against Cuba, the current Iran war and recent musings to ditch NATO suggest that America First pretty much means whatever President Trump says it is; on any given day.  My impression is it is exceedingly warlike.

I had always figured that MAGA supporters preferred candidate Trump's populist pitch while bemoaning old-school Reagan neocons and their propensity for an assertive foreign policy.  Deservedly or not it is a fact I have been derisively called a neocon; yet the polling seems to suggest that MAGA world agrees-with and, only a short fourteen months into a second term, seems to have developed a powerful thirst for Trumpian military adventurism - both domestically and abroad.  

Just as with the CBS poll, if you dig thru the data, MAGA world is overwhelmingly in favor of mounting a war with Iran; and, when specifically asked if the war counts as an America First policy, only a mere 9% of the president's loyalists say it does not.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute's 2025 National Defense Survey reveals that self-identified MAGA supporters were also the most supportive of all sorts of interventions in Taiwan with two-thirds supporting 'committing US forces in defense of Taiwan.'  That doesn't sound like isolationism does it?

Speaking for myself I happen to think that the Iranian Mullahs are a dangerous collection of twisted religious revanchists who would represent a threat to a peaceful world order if they had nukes and the capacity to deliver them.  I generally lose no sleep over dealing with bad actors by means of force.

Nevertheless, dealing with security threats deliberately and with forethought is not the same as impulsiveness.  And the world has no shortage of bad actors.  Most days I think the president has stepped in it this time and unleashed a cascade of destabilizing events that have dangerous consequences for global stability, security and the world's economy.  Let there be no misunderstanding, it is in my own self interest that things somehow work out for the best.  I'm also smart enough to know that five weeks into this the president's excursion is nowhere near a forever war.  Oh; and we don't have the highly-enriched stuff in our possession either.  Yet anyway.  There is that as a denouement.  

I have yet to hear what the exit strategy is.  You?

So for now I think we might be in for a stretch of rising energy costs, inflation and possibly some economic stagnation or contraction.  Only the passage of time will write the end to that chapter.

Meanwhile, there's a pile of the US population becoming grumpy over rising gasoline and diesel, increasing grocery prices due to supply chain disruptions and escalating transportation costs.  I'm beginning to believe that post-election MAGA world doesn't really care about that as much as they did a couple-three years ago.  Nobody's bitching about it at all on social media and not a single sole Trump supporter I speak with on a daily basis has yet to bring it up.  Loyalists are called that for a reason after-all.  Which is just fine; and it is perfectly OK to own what you have wrought.

It has occurred to me this might have something to do with ideological principles; dictated by whatever president Trump tells us to believe and the possibility that the beliefs of some reading this might be insincere.  Which is fine too; people are disingenuous all day long.  I understand that sometimes it is difficult to admit making a mistake.  I get it.  I make mistakes too.  Get over it.  Own it.

Or perhaps at its core the principle is to agree with the president in every respect; even if his actions contradict what he promised in order to get a voter's support.  No matter it damages their business and costs them the actual farm.  On that matter I can only speculate.

So, for any of my MAGA acquaintances reading this; if you want to call me an armchair general or a warmonger; have at it.  Throw neocon my direction for good measure.  I have a thick skin and since you're doing it from the warming glow of your device and not personally to my face I understand the context. Water off a duck's back.  Das macht nichts aus.  

Polling is science.  With growing awareness the rest of the world is learning that MAGA world likes war; and way the heck more than me.  Does MAGA like it too much?  That's hard to know as we're only fourteen months into President Trump's military adventurism.  I think we ain't seen nuthn' yet.  But I'm perfectly happy to be wrong.

I'm old enough to remember back to 1965 when a certain general famously pledged to eschew ground troops and use naval and air power to bomb the Vietnamese - Back into the stone age.  In his April 1st address to the nation it was fascinating to see and hear President Trump invoke the very same oath - verbatim.  Curious about from whom the president is taking his cues? 

A general splendidly associated with ruthless scorched-earth tactics against civilians.

Stay-tuned.....