24 Comments

Alexander Hamilton Federalist Paper #11 should be required reading for anyone serving in Congress.

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Being able to read should be required for anyone serving in Congress…

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Being able to read is one thing, taking the time to read is another. And, well, actually studying an issue, piece of proposed legislation, or a proposed policy directive is yet another endangered animal indeed.

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In English!

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Counting to eleven should be a prerequisite also.

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THEY SAID THERE’D BE NO MATH!

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I am looking forward to this Midrats. It is looking like Labour is poised for a major sweep in Parliamentary elections this year. If it is hard to get a pound for defence now just wait until the Labour manifesto is enacted. If Israel has not exterminated the Hamas threat by the time the government changes, we are likely to see yet another anti-Israel vote on the UN Security Council. https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/prediction_main.html

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Labour is committed to achieving 100% wind and solar electricity in the UK by 2030 and also to replace all gas heating in the UK with heat pumps. The latter program will impact four out of five households in the UK while possibly doubling the overall demand for electric power.

When 2030 arrives, after five years of Labour rule, the average UK citizen will be concerned mostly with staying warm and HMS Queen Elizabeth will become a floating shelter for the cold and homeless.

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Winter is coming.

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If the British people are dumb enough to vote Labour into power after watching the modern labour party’s international arms in action in Canada, Australia and New Zealand then the British people will see serve everything they have coming for them.

People have to stop voting for coke and Pepsi and then not complain when they get cola.

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Just in the interests of full disclosure...I don't vote Labour...

What Labour manifesto? There hasn't been one published...

They were actually pushing for a defence budget increase far ahead of the Conservatives....their Shadow Defence Minister, John Healey, appears to have a real grasp of his brief as well...which is more than you can say for Grant Shapps...

Are the Labour Party good for defence? Many would say that they're not, they've certainly had issues in the past but over the last 70 years they've had a better record than the Conservatives...

Remember the Conservatives have been in charge of the country for 70% of the last 75 years....the buck stops there.

Of the post war defence reviews the ones that have done the most damage, gutting British military capability and industrial capability have all been undertaken by Conservative Governments....1957 Defence White Paper.....1981 Nott Review.....1992 Options for Change....2010 SDR....2015 SDSR....all enacted by the Conservatives....

The last SDR that was vaguely coherent was actually drafted by the Labour Party....in 1998. It was by no means perfect but it led to things like the QE Class, Type 45, Point Class etc. It's progress was affected by the 2003 Iraq War and Afghanistan....which Labour also got us into (no issue with Afghan but Iraq was a mistake). All the good things we have now come from that era....and admittedly some big issues (fall in SSN's from 12 to 10 that then dropped further...).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defence_Review

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Thanks Rudeboy. The manifesto is not yet published and I was only going off the draft platform from last year. https://labourlist.org/2023/05/labour-manifesto-2024-election-what-policies-npf-party/

I understand how platform adoption by parties gets turned into policy on this side of the pond. I should not assume it would be similar. Happy to be wrong in this case. As to our parties, we seem to get questionable policies no matter which is in charge. The graft continues unabated.

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Wet Tories. Not a Churchill or Eden or a Mountbatten in sight. Let alone a Thatcher. The only good thing about Sir Keir is that he’s not Jeremy Corbin or George Galloway.

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Feeling sorry for the Tories is like feeling sorry for the Rinos.

When Britain has sunk back into the Dark Ages then maybe the King will summon Neil Farage to make her great again.

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Going to listen in to this one. I'm actually in the middle of writing about how we should expand the AUKUS nuclear submarine framework to include a military and commercial vessel component. Each nation cannot compete with China's shipbuilding industry alone, but together, it's possible.

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For the commercial component, we would need Japan and the ROK. They are great examples of what can happened when you dedicate national resources over decades into shipyards, shipbuilding and supply chains. Robotic welding and the shaping of bulbous bows are just a couple of examples of their expertise.

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The only problem with Japan and ROK is their proximity to China. We likely won't have access to or be able to use their facilities to repair and rebuild during a conflict. Australia's northern ports and cities, in particular, provide a useful location closer to the fight, but outside PLA rocket and missile range.

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Maybe Western Civilization really is in its late stages and is ready to be replaced...

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I am getting a "Web site under maintenance screen". Is it just me?

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England will be conquered by Islam in the near future. Now they are tailoring their justice system to avoid offending Islam.

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Thank you (Sir) Tony Blair.

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Editor's Note: Blogtalkradio's server failed again, so we were not able to do the live show. As Emma is a pro's pro, we shifted to zoom and did a recorded show. Refresh and you'll see the updated links. Great show.

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Pretty soon there will not be a Royal Navy as their frigates are being retired faster than the Type 26 and Type 31 ships can be built. The RFA is almost non-existent due to manning issues. The Type 45 DDG's are getting older too and may not be replaced by new construction before they depart service. All the same issues the USN has in fleet size, only taking place at an exponentially-faster rate in the UK.

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