The American Revolution, a Read

Good morning Stroock's Books kibbutzim and shabbat shalom. And happy Friday. 

Yesterday we saw a racoon crawl out of our garbage can and meander away like it had every right to be there. Dang varmints. 

We have a follow up appointment after our doctor's visit last week over some (ahem) stomach issues. Let's see what those four vials of blood told them. Ironically we have not had this stomach problem since last Friday.

War of the ants....we spotted many live, dead, and dying ants yesterday. We also spotted a line of small ants on a windowsill. This is a new development. We shall deploy ant traps on that side of the house. 

Lebanon ceasefire...no the three week ceasefire doesn't worry or bother us in any way. Israel can use the respite to comb for Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. And no, Hezbollah isn't 'rearming' during the ceasefire, idiots. That takes years of effort. Oh, and Trump said Iran has to stop funding Hezbollah in any deal with the US. 

The Hezbos did fire some rockets at Israel yesterday. We saw some clips of the IAF destroying those rockets. Maybe we're misinterpreting, but we didn't see any counterbattery rockets. Are the Israelis using Iron Beam?

The Daily Caller reports, 'Republican New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who represents a highly competitive district Democrats are targeting in the midterms, has reportedly not been seen by colleagues for over a month and has missed dozens of votes.' Kean's office says he's dealing with some health issues. Our 7th Congressional District is highly competitive. We've been getting anti-Kean mailers focused on affordability about once a week. Kean is inoffensive, mid even, but with high name recognition as his dad was a popular governor back in the 80s. 

Reading the American Revolution... For the story of the Revolution in the Carolina Back Country, this blog recommends Walter Edgar’s Partisans & Redcoats: The Southern Conflict That Turned the Tide of the American Revolution. This is a short, sharp book about the people of the Backcountry and the bloody partisan war they fought against one another. That war was essentially a civil war between Patriots and Loyalists, and just as vicious as Lebanon or Ireland in the 1980s.* 

What Will's Watching: the NFL draft. We admit to enjoying the spectacle. Why not? There's something endearing about these young men thanking their mama, their high school football coach, Jesus Christ, etc. One young man broke down and had to take a knee to compose himself before taking the stage. The Giants drafted a linebacker and an offensive lineman. As to whether these were good picks, we've no idea. We always like drafting linemen. Of course in 2004 we would have taken Robert Gallery (who?) over Eli Manning, so... 

DOGE report. 

Meet Oberst Wolf Baur, Nationale Volks Armee...former panzer officer and military attaché at the shuttered East German embassy in Managua. He may be a man without a country but he still has a profession; panzers. 

*While sensationalized, Mel Gibson's The Patriot captured the feel and viciousness of the war in the Carolinas. We need to watch this with fresh eyes, don't we? The Patriot really isn't a bad introduction to the war down there. Related...we've been watching The Crossing. Haven't seen it for 25 years.