Do We Want a Bonehead Military?
Interesting article from AP today about a military unit no longer creating, practicing, working with drones, at the direction of the current leadership.
A strong military relies on capability. Capability relies on adaptation, mastering new strategies (and equipment), as well as intent, and will. You can only go so far on physical strength; today’s military challenges require mental agility and a big picture of the kinds of ways wars will be fought in the future.
We have recently witnessed The Mouse that Roared, a small, smart country that has stymied a giant for six months. When you don’t listen to your most experienced advisors, this kind of situation happens. When you fire your most capable leaders because they have the courage to disagree with you, and you don’t like people disagreeing with you, these things happen.
Lawmakers ask Army to explain why it told a military unit to stop specializing in drone warfare
BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN AND BEN FINLEY
Updated Wed, September 2, 2026 at 9:10 AM CDT
19
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is pressing the Army to explain why it told a unit based in Europe to stop specializing in drone warfare, an order that comes as the world’s battlefields rapidly evolveand military tactics increasingly rely on uncrewed systems to fight.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade was building its own drones and practicing the kind of warfare that Ukraine has pioneered against Russia and that Iran has fought against the U.S. — warfare that has killed and wounded American troops. The brigade of 600 soldiers was set up in November to be deployed anywhere that drones were needed.
“We have deep concerns that eliminating this specialized drone unit will limit our ability to learn from allies, particularly the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and hinder our efforts to modernize drone warfare at the speed necessary to compete on the modern battlefield,” the lawmakers said in a letter shared with The Associated Press.
It requests a briefing from the Army to explain its decision and was sent Tuesday to departing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s acting chief of staff. It was signed by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, independent Sen. Angus King of Maine and Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio.
“This specialized unit was a prudent response in a moment when the character of warfare is changing faster than a conventional formation’s ability to adapt,” the lawmakers say.
They said they were particularly keen to understand the data, analysis and process behind the change after less than a year of the drone unit being active. They also want to know if the decision was based on guidance from Pentagon leadership or made internally by the Army.
LaNeve, who is filling in as the Army’s top uniformed officer, recently ordered the battalion to refocus on its core mission of being an airborne infantry unit. The move followed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s sudden ousting of the Army’s prior chief of staff, Gen. Randy George.
Integrating drones into the Army’s tactics was a major focus for George. Last year, he and Driscoll had rolled out what they called the Army Transformation Initiative, which pushed to add “modernized (unmanned aircraft systems) into formations.”
George, who became Army chief of staff under President Joe Biden, regularly spoke about the need to accelerate development of new drone systems and get them in the hands of regular soldiers, not just specialized units. Driscoll supported such efforts and focused on cutting the red tape for military contractors to quickly develop more drones.
After George was ousted by Hegseth without explanation in April, he was replaced by LaNeve. This week, Driscoll submitted his own resignation and later said on social media that Wednesday would be his final full day on the job. A reason for his departure was not publicly revealed, but he was an ally of George, and his tensions with Hegseth have been widely reported.
“We are supportive of the transformative initiatives the Army has taken under Secretary Driscoll’s leadership in this area and would like to see that momentum maintained even as uniformed leadership changes,” the lawmakers wrote.
___
Toropin reported from Nuremberg, Germany.
One Compassionate Captain Changed Lives
From today’s Lectionary readings:
DAVID PENDLETON OAKERHATER
DEACON AND MISSIONARY (1 SEP 1931)
David P. Oakerhater (born around 1850) was a warrior and leader of the Cheyenne Indians of Oklahoma, and led a corps of fighters against the United States government in a dispute over Indian land rights. In 1875 he and 27 other military leaders were taken prisoner by the U S Army and sent to a military post in Florida. There, thanks to the efforts of a concerned Army captain, they learned English, were encouraged to earn money by giving art and archery lessons to visitors, and encountered the Christian faith. David and three others were moved to become Christians and to go north to study for the ministry. David was baptized in Syracuse, New York, in 1878, and ordained to the diaconate in 1881. He returned to Oklahoma and there founded schools and missions, and continued to work among his people until his death on 31 August 1931. When he first returned to Oklahoma in 1881, he said:
You all know me. You remember when I led you out to war I went first, and what I told you was true. Now I have been away to the East and I have learned about another captain, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is my leader. He goes first, and all He tells me is true. I come back to my people to tell you to go with me now in this new road, a war that makes all for peace.
by James Kiefer
Note: the “military post in Florida” is Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, now a National Monument. Should you visit, you can learn more about his imprisonment there.
Intlxpatr: One brave captain, unnamed, had compassion on a group of indigenous Americans and encouraged them to earn with their skills. He treated them with respect and won their respect in return. Such gentility influenced them to adopt and spread the Christian faith to others. One unnamed captain, reaching out his hand in loving charity, produced more influence than government policies.
The Wisdom of Don Tzu
Sometimes, the news just gets so crazy that if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. Today I discovered the Don Tzu memes- fake Sun Tzu quote formats taking a humorous observation or deliberately terrible piece of advice and presenting it as ancient strategic wisdom from “Don Tzu.”
Have a laugh on me, from the wisdom of the Internet 😊
Friday Date at Joe Patti’s
Joe Patti’s is a gem, but not an undiscovered gem. We like Joe Patti’s for a lot of reasons, not least because of their great variety of seafood. It is also our go-to for a quiet Friday evening supper of clam chowder or gumbo, fresh-baked sourdough bread, a smoky tuna dip, and assorted gourmet items we love.
Joe Patti’s has been around for a long time, with a prime location on the Pensacola Bay waterfront, a huge pirate ship and a huge-er American flag facing Main Street road, and a genuine Joe Patti-made fishing boat parked next to the store, great for photos. I’ve never seen that ship leave the dock.
It isn’t just tourists and out-of-town guests who get a kick out of Joe Patti’s. I learned on my first Christmas Eve in Pensacola that getting there at 6:30 a.m. was not early enough; most of Pensacola had representatives already in line to pick up seafood they had pre-ordered for Christmas weeks ago. I knew another Patti outlet, which saved my Christmas. The lesson stuck. I order ahead and pick up before Christmas Eve day.
Joe Patti’s has a lot of touristic memorabilia, a deli, a great selection of spices, herbs, condiments. charduterie items, a dessert section, all kinds of frozen delicacies and – an ice cream and coffee bar. And that is where Adventureman and I head after we pick up our chowder and sourdough bread for supper. My first time at the ice cream bar, several years ago, I tried the raspberry sorbet, and was blown away. It was so tasty. I did not let the taste blind me to the sweetness; I watch my sugar intake. I ordered a small cup, and only one scoop. It’s enough. Joe Patti’s charges for ice cream by the weight – Adventureman and I each get a cup of ice cream and we never spend more than $5. What a deal.
Joe Patti’s also has small sample sizes of ice cream free for children – this isn’t just a spoonful; it’s maybe a couple of ounces of ice cream.
You can pay for your ice cream right at the coffee/ice cream counter, and not have to wait in the lines waiting to pay for fresh fish on ice.
We take our ice cream out to the car, which we park on the dock, and eat it as we look out over the inlet, the fishing boat, and the new land fill being created just a short distance across the water from Joe Patti’s.
Friday, we watched an oil services boat come in – holding our breath that a storm wouldn’t blow up suddenly; the circular thing towers over the boat, making for a top-heavy load. Someone knows how that circular wheel functions, but not us. It’s just a novelty, scrolling across our view, entertaining us as we finish our ice cream. Normally, we only see herons and egrets and assorted small water birds flying in and out.
Always worth a trip:
“The Cruelty is the Point”
I was singing to the choir, complaining to my old high school friend about the tactics and strategies employed by the Trump administration, against immigrants, against the press, and against any citizen disagreeing with this administration’s viewpoint. “It all seems so intentional, so cruel,” I said.
“The cruelty is the point,” he responded. It was short, pithy, but that was weeks ago and I continue to ponder the phrase. I wondered why it sounds familiar – my friend used quote marks – so this morning, I googled it and got this very thorough AI response:
“The cruelty is the point” is a political phrase coined by The Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer in a prominent 2018 essay. [1, 2]
Origin and Meaning
- Coinage: Adam Serwer used the phrase in his October 2018 essay, “The Cruelty Is the Point”. [1, 2, 3]
- Core Argument: Serwer argued that the policies and public behavior of the Trump administration and its supporters were not accidentally harsh or crude, but intentionally designed to cause pain to marginalized groups. [1, 2]
- The Bond: He wrote that inflicting this pain creates a powerful sense of unity, pride, and shared identity among political supporters, binding them together through common opposition to outsiders, immigrants, and minority groups. [1]
Book Adaptation
- Publication: Serwer expanded his essays into a book titled The Cruelty Is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump’s America, published in June 2021. [1, 2]
- Themes: The book examines how modern political conflicts connect to deeper historical currents in the United States, including white supremacy, migration debates, police unions, and the legacy of the Lost Cause. [1, 2]
Usage and Legacy
- Political Lexicon: The phrase became a widely adopted descriptor in political commentary to characterize populist movements, harsh immigration rules (such as family separations), and rhetoric directed at political opponents. [1, 2, 3]
- Broader Application: Analysts and commentators frequently invoke the phrase outside the Trump administration to describe political strategies that rely on outraging rivals and signaling hostility toward specific demographic or social groups. [1, 2]
The original article in The Atlantic states:
“It is not just that the perpetrators of this cruelty enjoy it; it is that they enjoy it with one another. Their shared laughter at the suffering of others is an adhesive that binds them to one another, and to Trump.”
I urge you to read the October 2018 essay, and the book. From the beginning of the second Trump term, from the the very first day with the horrifying Presidential Edicts, the cruelty has been increasingly woven into public policy. The policies are Anti-American, anti-immigrant, anti-women and anti-everything I was taught to believe as I grew up – That we are created and born with equal rights, male and female, black, white, yellow, red and all the glorious colors in between. “Red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight.”
Our priest told us from the pulpit this week that we are “to carry the light.” Each one of us, individually and together, carries the light. We can choose to be kind. We can reflect “the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Shampoo Ginger
When we had a bathroom renovated, our contract manager became our friend. Hugo was a great gardener and loved the variety we had planted in our backyard. We shared cuttings and rootings, and he introduced us to Shampoo Ginger, also known as Zingiber zerumbet, pine cone ginger, and pine cone lily.
Our first winter, we thought we had lost the plant entirely to the cold, even though we had wrapped and sheltered it. Late in summer, we began to see signs of life, and by winter, it was fully growing again. By last Spring, we had so many sprouts that we divided the bulbs and shared them with numerous friends. This year, I can see that we will again have plenty to share next Spring. This is a lush, productive plant! We keep ours in big pots because it is a bamboo like plant, will spread out of control if not contained. It loves reproducing!
A bee came by as I was grabbing the photo!
The information below is from our local Extension Office, a part of the University of Florida:
Shampoo Ginger
Shampoo ginger (aka pine cone lily or pine cone ginger) adds a tropical flair to the landscape and can be used in the shower. Its foliage looks comparable to other gingers, but the inflorescence is where it gets interesting. In the fall, the flowers appear within bracts that resemble red pine cones. As the name implies, squeezing these cones causes them to release a clear liquid that can be bottled and used as shampoo!
Characteristics
Shampoo ginger (Zingiber zerumbet) is semi-evergreen and grows in large clumps that are up to seven feet tall and six feet wide. It thrives in zones 9 through 11 and will die back in the winter. The leaves are 8 to 12 inches long and lanceolate in shape. Foliage appears in the spring, and it can be either solid green or variegated depending on the variety. ‘Darceyi’ is particularly showy with green and white foliage.
In the fall, three- to five-inch-long inflorescences resembling pinecones appear on stalks that are just under a foot tall. They start out green with white flowers, then ripen to scarlet and fill with liquid. The cones have a sweet fragrance and are highly favored for floral arrangements. They will persist for weeks if left on the plant.
Planting and Care
Photo courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr.
Shampoo ginger can be planted year-round. It works as a specimen plant, border, or accent plant. You can also plant it in containers indoors or outdoors.
The ideal planting site is in partial shade to partial sun, with moist, fertile soil. Shampoo ginger is moderately salt and drought tolerant. Pests and diseases are rarely an issue, but you may encounter mites. Shampoo ginger makes an excellent passalong plant since it is propagated by division.
Once your cones have turned red, they’re ready to harvest! To collect the “shampoo” liquid from the cones, gently squeeze them over a container. They will refill by the next day if they aren’t squeezed too hard. You can also harvest the cones and then firmly squeeze them over a container to harvest all the liquid. Just keep in mind that the cones will be spent after this method. If you’re harvesting in advance, you can freeze the shampoo liquid for later.
GROUNDED: Behr’s Color of the Year
This is what Behr has to say: Today, Behr Paint Company revealed its 2027 Color of the Year—a calming neutral that falls somewhere between moss and olive, with brown undertones, fittingly named Grounded. “Grounded is a reminder that the most meaningful spaces are the ones that help us connect with the rhythms of everyday life,” said Kayla Kratz, head of color at Behr. “The shade’s organic warmth creates a sense of calm and renewal, making every room feel inviting and effortlessly livable.”
This is what it looks like:
I love color. I hate this color. If I had to walk into a house painted this color, it would feel like walking into a cave. I could not live with “grounded.” For me, it is depressing!
Trump and Mail In Voting
The man gave us all the information we needed to see this coming. He claimed he won the 2020 election, losing by over 8 million votes.
He was filmed telling a gathering of Evangelical Christians in the 2024 campaign that if they voted for him, they would never have to vote again. (Even then, it sounded ominous.)
Once elected, his first day in office, he fired the Election Oversight executives. Then, he fired everyone working for the federal government in his power who certified that he had lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
This man is corrupt. He has wrecked the guardrails that keep us from stepping over the lines of moral behavior. He has taken away penalties for law breaking. He has pardoned the very sort of people that he states he doesn’t want coming into our country.
But, most cynically of all, he works to deprive those of us who vote regularly, and vote by mail, of the very privilege he himself utilizes – voting by mail.
A selection of cartoon comments for your enjoyment:
Monsoon Season
August in Pensacola is brutal. I walk in the early mornings, trying to get a majority of my daily steps in before the sun even rises. We run from our air conditioned house to our air conditioned car to the air conditioned store when we need groceries,
Between three in the afternoon and six, we have a tropical rainstorm almost every evening, We wait for it. We welcome the booming thunder and the sharp, blinding flashes of lightning. We love the sounds of the raindrops pounding on our roof. And then, when it is over, we have a brief respite from the heat.
21 August 2026 Ship Traffic Density in the Strait of Hormuz
Traditional wisdom at this point is to declare victory and walk away. Six months and no progress. Like the doctors say, “Do no harm.” Listen to your high-ranking military officers. Back away.
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Early Voting in Florida
Here There and Everywhere 