The Stories and Novels By Derek Ward
All available boats, this is the United States Coast Guard aboard the pilot boat New York; anyone wanting to help with the evacuation of Lower Manhattan report to Governors Island.
If you want a good documentary on the boatlift, take twelve minutes and watch this.
Or at least our current involvement.
There was no way to win the war. That was clear in the papers released by the Washington Post in 2019. We could prop up a corrupt government and possibly help some of the people. We could keep a relatively small military presence in the hopes that it would allow us to deter larger terror attacks, and allow us to gain intelligence on our next biggest rivals. What we weren’t going to do is create a modern state out of the graveyard of empires. The institutions weren’t there, nor was the will/desire of most of the population.
It was always going to end this way. Maybe faster, maybe slower, but it was always going to end this way.
Last week President Biden signed legislation designating Juneteenth as the newest federal holiday. Of course, like everything in the news, this gets politicized. I’m kinda getting tired of it. We commemorate momentous events. Please explain to me how the end of slavery is not a momentous event. Yes, technically, slavery wasn’t officially ended until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment. However, that’s not the tradition that has arisen. Kind of like how we celebrate Independence Day on July 4 instead of September 3.
So, instead of letting the chattering class whip up dissent, how about we remember those who suffered under that terrible institution and those who fought and died to end it.
This week marks one hundred years since the worst race riot in US History. And I hadn’t heard about it until a few years ago when it was mentioned on a podcast. (Stupid memory. Dude making a version of the VP9. Included stuff from the memorial in the box. Stupid memory.)
Let’s steal from Wikipedia:
More than 800 people were admitted to hospitals, and as many as 6,000 Black residents were interned in large facilities, many of them for several days. The Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics officially recorded 36 dead. A 2001 state commission examination of events was able to confirm 39 dead, 26 Black and 13 White, based on contemporary autopsy reports, death certificates and other records. The commission gave several estimates ranging from 75 to 300 dead.
Just a couple of links for today’s post.
This first one came across the Book of Face about how a mostly Swedish unit’s command culture led to better mission outcomes during the early Bosnia peacekeeping mission. Highly recommended both as a leadership piece as well as writing a military culture.
This second link goes into how Star Wars influenced Robotech, and then how Robotech influenced Star Wars. As a lifelong fan of both franchises, it was an interesting read.
This is the fourth year I’ve reviewed which podcasts I listen to, how I listen to them, and when I listen to them. Part of it’s my own curiosity at how my podcast habits change. I’m also curious what others think about the same podcasts and which podcasts come and go. Here are my previous years’ entries:
I listen to my podcasts in Overcast. I prefer Overcast because the app deletes podcasts I’ve listened to, plus it has a smart speed feature which will speed up if it hears dead air. Generally, I listen to my podcasts at 2X speed.
An issue I ran into last year was podcasts that fit into multiple categories. So, instead of trying to put each podcast into one category, I’m adding all the applicable categories to each podcast. I also used to designate a podcast as promotable. What I’ve found is that I’m trying to get podcasts around current events (i.e., have a shelf life) up to the top. The rest I listen to as I have time.
Comedy – One of the central themes of the podcast is making me laugh
Debate – The podcast uses a formal debate format
Economics – Discusses economic theory and impacts
Entertainment – Main subject matter is an entertainment form or persons
Free Speech – Discussing the current issues and assaults on free speech culture and laws
Government – Discusses the review of government operations
Guns – Discussing gun hardware and associated technology and skills
History – Delving into history in general or one facet/era
Legal – Discussing legal cases and theories
Libertarianism – Discusses libertarian theory
Interview – Substantial episodes interviewing guests
Opposing Views – Hosts regularly espouse politics or theories that are substantially different to my own
Prepping – Discussing prepping gear, methods, and skills
Politics Of The Day (POTD) – Discussion of current political events
Right To Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA) – Discusses issues around gun rights
Science – Discussing current science news and skepticism-related issues
True Crime – Podcast is a narrative/story of real crime events
War – Discusses issues surrounding armed conflicts
Writing Improvement – Helps me improve my writing
My podcasts as of March 2021:
13 Hours Inside the Nova Scotia Massacre (True Crime, Writing Improvement) – This podcast relates the events surrounding an active shooter event in Nova Scotia in 2020.
Advisory Opinions (Legal, POTD) – David French and Sarah Isgur discuss legal issues and theory on the politics of the day. With some pop culture on the side.
Alienating the Audience (Entertainment, Libertarianism, Interview) – Andrew Heaton brings on guests to discuss different aspects of various science-fiction properties.
All the Presidents’ Lawyers (POTD, Opposing Views, Legal) – I picked this one up because Ken White is one of the hosts. It’s a different perspective on Trump’s – and soon to be Biden’s – legal issues than most of my normal feeds.
Angry Planet (War, Interview, Opposing Views) – Formerly known as War College, this podcast is an interesting look at politics and military issues through interviews with specialists.
Assorted Calibers Podcast (RKBA, Guns, Entertainment, Interview) – Weer’d Beard and Erin Pallette are the real reason I listen to this, but the other segments are generally surprisingly good. I’m also a patron, and listen to the Mag Dump round tables, Film Tracks, and Blooper Reels.
Black Man With A Gun (Guns, RKBA, Interview) – After an almost year-long hiatus, Kenn Blanchard continues his musings on gun rights, the black community, and other issues. Yes, I have a fondness for Kenn’s podcast since I wrote the Zombie Strike segment for a few years.
Blocked and Reported (Free Speech, POTD) – Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal discuss the various social media dust-ups with occasional interviews.
Bound By Oath (Legal, Libertarianism) – From the Institute for Justice, this podcast focuses on specific issues. The current season is focusing on the myriad of protections and immunities public officials enjoy.
The Bradenton Times Podcast (Interview, POTD, Opposing Views) – This podcast is focused on my local area. I’m using it to get better acquainted with the ins and outs of Bradenton, Manatee County, and the Sarasota area. It’s still new enough that I’m not sure if I have all the categories correct.
Bribe, Swindle, and Steal (Interview, True Crime, Opposing Views, Writing Improvement) – This one popped up when I was searching for podcasts on white-collar crime. It focuses on issues, challenges, and items that are of note for compliance officials.
Cato Daily Podcast (Libertarianism, Economics, Interview, POTD) – A good quick podcast that covers various topics from a libertarian viewpoint.
Cato Events Podcast (Economics, Libertarianism, POTD) – Recordings of various panels put on by the Cato Institute. I’ve heard a lot of very interesting discussions and arguments. Some, not so much. I would recommend listening even if the subject doesn’t seem interesting. I’ve been surprised by what I learned.
Clockwise (Tech) – Two hosts and two guests discuss four tech topics in thirty minutes. Sometimes those topics on current tech news. Sometimes it’s just musing on tech and life. Generally enjoyable.
Daily Tech Headlines (Tech) – Good fast summary of the big tech stories.
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History (History, Writing Improvement)- Dan Carlin’s storytelling on various historical events is spellbinding. Unfortunately infrequent, which can be a bit daunting since he does multi-part stories. I highly recommend, when possible, going back and relistening to the previous parts before continuing onto the new one.
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: Addendum (History, Interview, Writing)- A companion to the Hardcore History podcast where Dan Carlin does segments outside his normal narrative style.
The Dispatch Podcast (POTD, Interview) – The flagship podcast of The Dispatch network, the Wednesday show has the main hosts discussing the politics of the day, while the Friday show is an interview with a newsmaker, thought provoker, or just someone the hosts like.
Econtalk (Interview, Economics)- Economist Russ Roberts does great interviews with a wide variety of guests and topics. I’ve been learning a lot on economics, and even more on some wildly different topics.
The Economist (POTD, Opposing Views)- I listen to the Economist, because it provides a different perspective and reports on areas that barely hit my normal feeds.
The Editors (POTD) – Editors from National Review discussing the issues of the day. Part of my keeping an idea of the conservative side of the issues of the day.
FBI Retired Case File Review (Interview, True Crime, Writing Improvement) – A former FBI Special Agent and current author interviews retired FBI agents about the cases that had a unique impact on them.
The Femsplainers (Interview, POTD, Free Speech, Opposing Views) – The hosts discuss free speech, free thoughts, and feminism of the issues of the day.
The Fifth Column (POTD, Free Speech, Opposing Views) – This is an excellent roundup focusing on the issues of the day and how the media reports them. They also bring on guests who will disagree with them and have excellent discussions.
Firearms Nation (Guns, Interview) – Interview podcast with leading competition shooters and others to discuss both competition and practical shooting techniques and strategies. I’ll be honest, if they’re just discussing how to make you a better competition shooter, I’m more likely to bypass it. However, they have had some great interviews on self-defense and self-defense scenarios.
Free Thoughts (Interview, Libertarianism) – The hosts interview authors who promulgate new books that cover or intersect with libertarian issues and theories.
GAO Podcast (Interview, Government) – The Government Accountability Office discussed some of their reviews they’ve done on federal agencies.
Geeks Gadgets and Guns (Guns, Tech, Entertainment, POTD, RKBA) – A couple of geeks discussing guns and other geeky stuff – with sometimes politics intruding.
GLoP Culture (POTD, Entertainment) – The hosts muse on the POTD, and the entertainment industry.
Gun and Gear Review (Guns) – This is a good review podcast for new stuff in the gun world. I enjoy the reviews and the banter between the hosts.
Guns Guide To Liberals (RKBA) – This is a good podcast focusing on techniques to use when talking about guns and RKBA to those who don’t share our views.
Handgun Radio (Guns, Interview) – Delving more into the history and technological aspects of guns – mostly handguns. Also, just fun musings on different aspects of guns. Sometimes they bring on interesting guests.
Handgun World (Guns, Interview, RKBA) – Bob has good information on carrying and self-protection, but sometimes his views annoy me, particularly when he goes off on rising evil.
High Caliber History (Guns, History, Interview) – Logan Metesh interviews specialists on the history of guns, as well as lending his own vast expertise.
The History of WWII Podcast (History, Interview) – This one is going through WWII chronologically, with interview episodes interspersed.
The Incomparable Game Show (Comedy) – Rotating panels playing rotating series of ostensibly board games. Often hilarious, sometimes dangerously so when driving.
Left, Right, & Center (POTD, Opposing Views) – This covers the week’s political events with a progressive, a conservative, and a host who’s a left-leaning centrist. Guests are brought on to provide additional commentary – who have been overwhelmingly on the left-side of the aisles.
Mad Dogs and Englishmen (POTD) – Charles Cooke and Kevin Williamson opine on the issues of the day and other things that amuse them.
Make No Law (Free Speech, History, Legal)- Ken White delves into the case law around the First Amendment and free speech. Unfortunately infrequent.
Managing Uncertainty (Prepping, Writing Improvement) – This podcast is mainly focused on risk management from an organizational standpoint, but I find it’s useful as a prepping exercise as well.
The Michael Shermer Show (Interview, Science, Opposing Views) – Michael Shermer interviews scientists, scholars, and other intellectuals on a variety of topics.
The One With Greg Gutfield (POTD, Interview, Entertainment) – Sometimes Greg interviews a variety of guests. Other times, it’s just clips from his tv show.
Part of the Problem (POTD, Libertarianism)- Rabid anti-war libertarian comedian Dave Smith is interesting. He’s certainly challenging some of my ideas. Particularly when he veers over to the conspiracy theories.
Polite Society Podcast (RKBA, POTD, Interview, Opposing Views) – The hosts interview people in the RKBA movement, while also discussing news (often gun-related), and self-defense analysis.
The Political Orphanage (Interview) – Andrew Heaton interviews a variety of individuals to discuss issues. Not necessarily just the POTD.
Pop & Locke (Entertainment, Libertarianism, Opposing Views) – This one looks at pop culture media (books, TV, movies) through the libertarian lens. Sometimes the panel goes a little more woke than I appreciate.
Popular Front (Interview, War, Opposing Views) – A look into smaller conflicts going on or unusual aspects of modern warfare.
The Portal (Interview, Free Speech, Economics) – Eric Weinstein discusses a variety of subjects with guests. Very high-intelligence demanding.
Power Problems (Interview, Libertarianism) – A Cato podcast focusing on foreign affairs.
The Pursuit (Libertarianism) – The first season was a great overview of government seizures of private property, with the second going into various abuses of power by the government.
Quillette Podcast (Interviews, Free Speech) – Interviews and articles focusing in on free speech issues and cancel culture.
The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie (Interview, Liberatarianism) – Reason editor interviews a variety of guests. This would be an even better podcast if they had a different host.
The Reason Roundtable (POTD) – Four editors from Reason discuss the issues of the day.
The Remnant With Jonah Goldberg (Interview, POTD) – The Wednesday show is interviewing pundits, politicians, and others. The Friday show is Jonah musings.
Revolutions (History, Writing Improvement) – Really good series on various revolutions. Each season goes through one of the more pivotal revolutions in history, starting with the English Revolution.
The Rewatchables – (Entertainment) Variety panel of guests discussing a movie that is considered highly rewatchable. Depending on what movie they’re reviewing, if it’s one I haven’t seen, I’ll delete it.
Roboskull Cast – (Entertainment) A Robotech podcast where the hosts go through the episodes and the new comics. One has seen the series, one is watching it, and neither were old enough to watch in ’85. The hosts are finished up with the series and the movies, so new podcasts are going to be light on the ground unless/until something Robotech-media breaks (new comics, movies, etc)
Self-Defense Gun Stories (Guns) – I like the analysis of what went right and wrong from a variety of professional trainers. This is another I recommend to new shooters and those who are thinking about using a gun for self-defense.
Short Circuit (Legal, Libertarianism) – From the Institute of Justice, this one discusses notable cases that IJ is arguing. I put it under libertarian theory rather than politics because it discusses legal libertarian arguments rather than issues of the day.
Skeptics Guide to The Universe (Science, Opposing Views) – This was my first science podcast and really helped forge my skepticism.
Skeptoid (Science) – Another one that helped in developing my skeptical outlook. It takes a particular pseudo-science claim and investigates with a skeptical eye.
So To Speak (Free Speech, Interview) – FIRE’s podcast discussing free speech issues. The guests and legal theories put this more into theory although it sometimes delves into the issues of the day.
The SoHo Forum Debates (Debate, Economics, Libertarianism, Opposing Views) – Oxford-rules debates on a variety of issues.
Techmeme Ride Home (Tech) – This is a relatively short, but thorough examination of the big news in tech.
The Tom Woods Show (Economics, Libertarianism, Interview, POTD) – A mainstay of the Mises wing of the libertarian world interviews and discusses events and theories.
Unregistered with Thaddeus Russell (Interview, Libertarianism, Free Speech, Opposing Views) – Thaddeus interviews a varied list of guests he finds intriguing. Some are very interesting, some less so.
The Way I Heard It With Mike Rowe (Entertainment, History, Writing Improvement) – After growing up with Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story”, this one is a wonderful substitute.
Words & Numbers (Economics, Libertarianism, POTD, Interview) – An economist and a political scientist discuss different aspects of economics from a libertarian perspective. Sometimes dipping into issues of the day.
This has been a year the likes of which will go down in the history books as momentous. There will be historians publishing books on 2020 for decades. Particularly as the long term effects become apparent.
It is also a year where we have been at each others’ throats far too much. Sometimes over petty bullshit. Sometimes over significant disputes. Sometimes because of ginned up controversies so others could make a buck.
Yet, let us look back one hundred and six years ago. When men locked in a life and death struggle took the moment of a shared holiday to remind each other of their common humanity. Maybe we could take their example and just pause. Just try for a little while to not to kill each other.
It won’t last. The 1914 Christmas truce didn’t either. Yet, even a day or two of respite would be good for this country.
It’s been a while since I did a link post. And right now, I’m not in the mood to do a bunch of hard thinking.
First up, we have an article from Popular Mechanics musing if the Army’s super-secret 1,000 mile super gun could herald the return of the battlewagons. I’m skeptical, but I do like the concept of the battlewagons returning to dominance.
Next is a somewhat humorous post about a Portland gunfight in 1989 between Army Rangers and the Crips. Seems a young man in the Army decided to dabble in the real estate market, tried to turn a neighborhood around by documenting the criminal element, and when they came a-callin’, followed the important rules of gunfighting. Namely have a gun and bring all of your friends and their guns. In this case, the friends were members of the Second Ranger Battalion.
Finally, a local story about two men going to the burn ward after a bad thing happened while reloading. This kinda put paid to The Wife signing off on me having a reloading bench in the garage of the new house.
While everyone is searching their 2020 bingo cards for President Catches COVID, there were some other things that came up.
The ILOH highlighted a Reason article with the title “The Conservative Trans Woman Who Went Undercover With Antifa in Portland”. You really need to RTWT. A few of the key takeaways. First, as the author describes, violence is fun! Or at least violence in groups can be exhilarating. I think that’s something we know intellectually anytime we watch riots following a sports victory/loss, but I don’t think we’ve internalized that when it comes to political violence. Second, Antifa/Black Bloc is very much a decentralized, distributed insurgency organization. There may be some influencers, but there’s no central commintern handing out orders. Even with that, Point Three is that the black bloc is very united in their MO to keep the violence at the simmer level to make the police and private citizens “overreact” to their provocations. Just in time for sympathetic journalists to capture images for Antifa agitprop. Very “heads we win, tails you lose.”
Speaking of the 2020 bingo card, who had Azerbaijan and Armenia go to war? I heard about the tensions in the region about a year ago from the Popular Front podcast, but I was still caught a bit off-guard to see it explode like this. I’m a little concerned that this conflict could widen. From the Reuters article: “Ignoring a French attempt to mediate, the opposing sides pounded each other with rockets and missiles for a seventh day in the newest flare-up of a decades-old conflict that threatens to draw in Russia and Turkey.” (Emphasis mine).
Speaking of France and Turkey, a little over a month ago, France sent some of its navy down to exercise with the Greeks, Italians, Cypriots. Why is this significant? From the article, “Tensions between Turkey and Greece escalated after Ankara sent its Oruc Reis survey vessel to disputed eastern Mediterranean waters this month, a move Athens has called illegal.” I’m checking my bingo card for either Greco-Turkish War or Turkey Leaves NATO.
September 11, 2001, revealed heroism in ordinary people who might have gone through their lives never called upon to demonstrate the extent of their courage.