Tired of Winning Yet?

Here's a quick summary of some of the American military problems revealed by the war with Iran. Even though the fancy hardware has worked well, for now, we might not have the staying power required for successful asymmetric war. The longer we fight, the less likely we'll "win" (whatever that means when Donald Trump changes the goalposts every day):

The United States for many years has exhibited a deep-rooted bias toward quality over quantity. The same tendency, to a lesser extent, was on display at the beginning of World War II, when the Navy preferred to build large fleet destroyers instead of the vessels it needed to defeat German submarines. As a result, even Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, the wartime chief of naval operations, concluded that “the Navy did not obtain adequate means to deal with the U-boat until late in 1943.” The solution lay in shifting production to smaller destroyer escorts, the ancestors of contemporary frigates—smaller, slower, cheaper, and quicker to build. More than 500 were built for the Navy alone during that war. In the current case, the Navy now has so few vessels that the loss of even one ultra-valuable major warship would be a humiliation; the loss of several, a catastrophe. But history suggests that in naval wars, ships sink.

My Latest Jigsaw Puzzle

This mid-century America themed puzzle had 750 pieces. The previous two puzzles I assembled had 1,000-pieces. So, this puzzle was much easier to do than the previous two, taking just two days, rather than two weeks for the first puzzle and a week for the second. And because this puzzle was easier to assemble I didn't refer to the picture for direction nearly so much. So, it was not quite "commando-style," as Walt put it, referring to the picture not at all, but heading in that direction.

Jesus Christ Superstar - Music Circus - March 21, 2026

Gabe took me to see this. Excellent show. I thought the ensemble needed to be a bit bigger; in particular, I think they needed more singers on "Superstar," but I appreciate that the stage is not infinite in size.

 

Butch Ware's Campaign Post

I make a brief appearance here in Butch Ware’s (Green Party) California gubernatorial campaign post:

 

@fabfloresfox Butch Ware with the People Dr. Butch Ware came out to join the ICE protest at Sunrise and Greenback and Arden and Howe, Saturday, March 21, 2026 @Butch Ware #greenwave2026 #butchware4gov ♬ original sound - Sayra

TSA and Project 2025

Trump’s treatment of the TSA mirrors its treatment of the National Weather Service. Break the government service first, then promote kickback-paying private contractors to take over the service.

 

@erikajordanmft Share your thoughts.. #airport #Psychology #Travel #Airplanes #sociology ♬ original sound - Erika Jordan

“Sirāt”

Fairly late at night out in front of Safeway. A well-dressed middle-aged man was bullying shoppers to give him money to break dance. Shoppers scurried past without making eye contact with him. “Ah,” I thought, “but for the grace of God, that’s me.” 

Still, the god of dance demanded attention. So, I went to see “Sirāt” at the Tower Theater (March 20th). Excellent movie about Spanish ravers on a road trip, plunging deeper and deeper into the Sahara. Apparently the movie is controversial for its superficial treatment of Saharan politics, but that didn’t bother me. I loved its portrayal of rave culture, and the various characters in the film.