The weapon works kind of like a shotgun and hits an area of about 100 by 100 yards. Donated by Czechoslovakia. It’s several days old. Probably Donetsk separatist forces were targeted.
Ukrainian RM-70 MLRS, donated by the Czech Republic, in use in eastern Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/AVa33m3VT7
And according to my geeks, this is a pretty major loss of equipment for Russia – first of the war.
#Ukraine: Apparently we have the first loss of a very potent 2S4 Tyulpan 240 mm self-propelled heavy mortar – the Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian example in Rubizhne, #Luhansk Oblast recently. A catastrophic explosion included. pic.twitter.com/ftwlhpNUj6
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) May 21, 2022
Well, he has yet to confirm the Republican primary let alone defeat John Fetterman, but if Dr. Oz wins the general election for the Keystone State Senate seat will be one of the more colorful races. As the linked article mentions, there is so far no screaming about fraud and stolen election from the Trumper camp, though that will probably change if McCormick comes out the winner. Trump has advised Oz to declare victory to frame the win – because that worked so well for Trump in 2020.
Check out the graph in the article – only a small number of Republicans voted by mail. As I mentioned elsewhere, Republicans used to rule the absentee ballots. But Trump knew he was in trouble in 2020 and so created a whole stigma around it because he really thought he could benefit from the “Red Mirage” and discredit the “Blue Shift,” to finesse artificial wins in several states. Right now, the Republicans seem to have complete confidence in the counting for their own primary, though both Oz and McCormick have their lawyers ready.
I’m plugging for Oz – not because he is less electable as I actually think the Republican brand in Pennsylvania is damaged anyway (thanks Purple Anonymous) – but because it will be a more interesting race. The crazy guy the Republicans chose for Governor is going to hurt Republicans in both races as the state actually does have a “vital center” in the Philadelphia suburbs which determines statewide elections.
This is likely to be a pickup for the Democrats in the Senate and even though they are likely to lose the House, they may very well gain ground in the Senate because of some very bad Republican nominee choices. Imagine a Senate Democratic majority where Sinemanchin becomes irrelevant. If the Democrats can manage to hold the House, maybe we bet BBB in 2023. If only they would run on that.
Progressives always seem to believe they can appease reactionaries in a fear-and-anger based political climate. You don’t earn any points as the edited screenshot below indicates. It’s taken from a hate KPD Facebook group and this person’s posts blame Mike Wilson and Madrone for what they believe to be KPD’s failures. Thankfully fewer than 200 are members, and many of them are CAO and DHHS employees. I’ve been amazed at the vitriol and deliberate misinformation, but I shouldn’t have been.
It reminds me of the McCarthy Era, where the progressives who took a stand against the authoritarianism paid for it with their careers and sometimes freedom. Helen Douglas was called “the Pink Lady” and lost her House seat to Nixon. Actors, writers, and producers went to jail. Meanwhile, left institutions like the Nation, New Republic, and the ACLU (except for the still notorious northern California chapter!) all cowered (credit the liberal Catholic magazine Commonweal for bucking the trend and standing up to Biship Fulton Sheen). Robert Kennedy would actually join McCarthy’s hatchet men and rub elbows with Roy Cohn, though he would later claim they didn’t get along. “Liberal” 1968 candidate for President Hubert Humphrey and most liberals in Congress voted for both the Subversive Activities Control Act and the Emergency Detention Act (which set up potential concentration camps for radical dissenters). Did they actually want to pass these bills or were these votes for political survival?
Eventually, the liberals did turn on McCarthy – when it was politically safe to do so. I’m hoping the same will happen if the Board majority flips.
I was only able to catch the last half of last night’s forum. I want to thank Lauren and Stella of KMUD News for an excellent presentation.
I’ve had some discussions before and after the forum, and whatever happens this election it’s clear that KPD has cornered the elders of the Back-to-the-Land movement. I was at a memorial in the Community Park this last Saturday where everyone was thanking me for my RHBB piece and one of the “originals” told me: “You know Eric, everything in your article and everything this woman says rings true to my experience with the County for over 40 years. The people have changed, but the county attitude and practices haven’t.”
The discussions following last night’s forum involved the difference in depth between the two candidates and one person (not currently living in Sohum) said that Ms. Dillingham came across like a “lightweight” by comparison. Unfortunately, the older hippies have always been a small minority of voters (even when they were young) in this county. There have been times when I’ve found the stubborn independence of so many Sohummers annoying and counter-productive, but I’ve always respected it and I respect it even more now. They can see through the smokescreen of crap the county admin throws up. They’ve seen it before.
I believe that Ms. Dillingham is a sincere and nice person. I also get the feeling that she really didn’t want to be in this race. During the forum she admits that county personnel contacted her and asked her to run. Nothing illegal about that (as long as it wasn’t on county time), but it’s telling.
Ms. Dillingham spent about 8 months in the position after the Board appointed her to serve interim from the prior AC’s resignation to the transfer in January. KPD would go out on maternity leave a few months later, and there was an attempt to keep her out of the loop with everything, including the transfer of Payroll out of the office pending KPD’s taking office. But KPD did try to help her out, and the following email came to light with Thomas Edrington’s PRA.
I mean, I think this email goes to the core issue of this race – whether the AC office remains independent. Ms. Dillingham’s campaign slogan should be “I’m not familiar with it but I will sign.”
I’m told that it’s unfair because I don’t have the full context of the email. But in what context is it appropriate for an AC to sign something she’s not familiar with?
Sohummers do not trust the system. Despite their leftism, they don’t trust the government. The elders moved here in the wake of the Vietnam war and all the associated lies and coverups. Watergate. The deaths of MLK, two Kennedys, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Dow Wilson and a dozen others where the killings raised questions as to the involvement of power in covering up if not in the killings themselves. “Speaking truth to power” is a tired phrase, overused. But that doesn’t mean it never applies.
Regardless of the outcome, the issues aren’t going to end with the election. There is a push to revoke the elected status of the AC – so that the Board (and the admin through the Board) can exert control over the office. Control that they haven’t had for four years.
Is the government covering up visits from little green persons? Are there secret weapons systems being tested? Access Humboldt’s Aron Donaldson will join me to discuss the Congressional UFO hearings, speculations on extraterrestrial life; and other cosmic topics on Thursday evening at 7:00 on KMUD.
Last week’s Redwood Wonk. At about 42 minutes in we began talking UFOs and it inspired tonight’s show.
Sohum Parlance II 
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