"Apparently, armies need supply spirit because sometimes fighting spirit alone won’t cut it..."
It goes way farther than that. There is a word for the many, many armies that promote fighting spirit as the be all and end all of the military arts. That word is LOSER. The French raised a culture of "Elan" for nearly a century, and consistently got their asses kicked, losing four out of five wars and almost getting overrun TWICE in the one war they did manage to survive long enough to win.
Supply wins wars, not aggressiveness or even tactical competence. U.S. battlefield performance was lackluster in the first years of both world wars (e.g., ALL of the first one), but we paid close attention to supply, and our ample armaments made good our tactical fuckups. That's what it does.
I'm glad you enjoyed your time on Oahu and the Big Island. I wish you'd had a meetup for your Hawaii subscribers so we could raise a glass... or maybe you did and I just missed it. Anyway, a hui hou!
Hawaii is so full of treasures. Amazing to think Europe and Asia and the Americas didn't know it existed, and was inhabited by human beings, until the English mariner James Cook "discovered" it in 1778 while on his way to Alaska to find a northwest passage.
This book is a highly enjoyable account of those events:
HuffPost: "In letters dated May 11, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. notified the two doctors who chaired the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that he was terminating their appointments immediately, before the end of their multiyear terms.
The Department of Health and Human Services already had largely sidelined the task force, indefinitely postponing scheduled public meetings over the past year and thus leaving some long-expected updates on cervical cancer screenings and other topics in limbo.
The panel, first created in the 1980s, is composed of experts who scrutinize the latest evidence behind a wide array of disease prevention tools, such as depression screenings ad the use of statins to prevent heart attacks. The panel updates guidelines with letter grades showing the strength of the science. Under the Affordable Care Act, most insurance plans must cover preventive services given an “A” or “B” grade without requiring a co-pay."
WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill late Wednesday to force public school teachers to out transgender students to their parents. It wasn’t a party-line vote, either: Eight Democrats voted for it.
Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Donald Davis (N.C.), Cleo Fields (La.), Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) and Eugene Vindman (Va.) all voted for this bill.
What’s more, three of those Democrats — Gillen, Gluesenkamp Perez and Vindman — are members of the Congressional Equality Caucus, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights.
Helpful Dr. Oz health tips for Medicare recipients "3 ways to stay strong this spring":
1) Visit your doctor regularly.
2) Build strong bones in the kitchen. Aim for 1,200mg of calcium daily.
3) Move your body. Walking, gardening, aerobics — any weight-bearing activity helps keep you strong. Grab a chair and follow along with me for a gentle, quick at-home squat workout! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxnNJogS5OQ
Beautiful hula! I've got my 'ukulele group doing a bunch of Hawaiian songs even though I've never been to Hawai'i (yet). We played in the Hawaiian pavilion at a local festival here in Spain earlier this month, which wasn't the same as a Wonkette party but I was with you all in spirit.
Lovely pics! The video reminds me of my hula lessons. The instructor kept shouting "unlock your hips". I did, she said "this is ethnic dance, not erotic dance". Yes I felt stupid.
Baby elephant Sam in the hed gif. More swimming action here: https://martiniambassador.substack.com/p/sam-swims
And your meme chat: https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/c31fab68-dcf8-4c69-9239-be56ab504920?utm_source=share
Mommy, I’m gray! Is something wrong with me? I thought I was tan, like dust!
I already did The Elephant so here's The Armadillo
The Armadillo
has a hard hard shell
which you will never mistake
for your pillow
Lucy had a busy day, too: https://substack.com/@paulomatic/note/c-262563494
A singularly satisfying splash for wee Sammy and his mum.
Love the elephants.
I once sat through Hatari! twice (hate John Wayne) just to watch the elephants.
The hell with ponies! I want a baby elephant for my birthday. 🥰
Little Sammy looks adorbs swimming with mommy.
So cute! And i just saw the AP report that there is a new baby pygmi hippo at the Berlin zoo! So many baby giant mammals!
I saw that too! He’s adotable!
Adorable, whatever 😝
I prefer adotable. Capable of being doted upon.
Joy.
Snorkels? We don't need no stinkin' snorkels!
They were like the poor man's Smurfs right?
Snorks?
Yes, I also think they only had one female as well.
When the humans die out I hope that elephants are the next dominant species. It would be a wonderful world.
Elephants are my favorite babbies, I think. Look at him splishing and splashing!
Up periscope!
I assume El e' Phant means "the babby elephant" in French?
Swimin' Sam!
Heffalumps!
And not a woozle in sight!
"Apparently, armies need supply spirit because sometimes fighting spirit alone won’t cut it..."
It goes way farther than that. There is a word for the many, many armies that promote fighting spirit as the be all and end all of the military arts. That word is LOSER. The French raised a culture of "Elan" for nearly a century, and consistently got their asses kicked, losing four out of five wars and almost getting overrun TWICE in the one war they did manage to survive long enough to win.
Supply wins wars, not aggressiveness or even tactical competence. U.S. battlefield performance was lackluster in the first years of both world wars (e.g., ALL of the first one), but we paid close attention to supply, and our ample armaments made good our tactical fuckups. That's what it does.
Love all of this. Thank you for sharing!
Your photos made me smile.
I'm glad you enjoyed your time on Oahu and the Big Island. I wish you'd had a meetup for your Hawaii subscribers so we could raise a glass... or maybe you did and I just missed it. Anyway, a hui hou!
John, there were two! One on the Big Island and one in Honolulu! How did you miss all the notices???
And we got to meet an actual GODDESS. Thank you, Rebecca & Shy.
Hawaii is so full of treasures. Amazing to think Europe and Asia and the Americas didn't know it existed, and was inhabited by human beings, until the English mariner James Cook "discovered" it in 1778 while on his way to Alaska to find a northwest passage.
This book is a highly enjoyable account of those events:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wide_Wide_Sea
I'm glad my money got to go to Hawaii, even if 'll never get there myself! Aloha!
How adorable is that Hula video?!
Hawaii is magic!!
Just familiar and foreign enough!
A perfect place for a vacation!
HuffPost: "In letters dated May 11, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. notified the two doctors who chaired the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that he was terminating their appointments immediately, before the end of their multiyear terms.
The Department of Health and Human Services already had largely sidelined the task force, indefinitely postponing scheduled public meetings over the past year and thus leaving some long-expected updates on cervical cancer screenings and other topics in limbo.
The panel, first created in the 1980s, is composed of experts who scrutinize the latest evidence behind a wide array of disease prevention tools, such as depression screenings ad the use of statins to prevent heart attacks. The panel updates guidelines with letter grades showing the strength of the science. Under the Affordable Care Act, most insurance plans must cover preventive services given an “A” or “B” grade without requiring a co-pay."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rfk-health-panel_n_6a0f190fe4b084c012e39939
WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill late Wednesday to force public school teachers to out transgender students to their parents. It wasn’t a party-line vote, either: Eight Democrats voted for it.
Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Donald Davis (N.C.), Cleo Fields (La.), Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) and Eugene Vindman (Va.) all voted for this bill.
What’s more, three of those Democrats — Gillen, Gluesenkamp Perez and Vindman — are members of the Congressional Equality Caucus, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/8-democrats-pass-bill-forcing-teachers-to-out-trans-students_n_6a0f2d3ee4b084c012e3b6d4?origin=home-latest-news-unit
Helpful Dr. Oz health tips for Medicare recipients "3 ways to stay strong this spring":
1) Visit your doctor regularly.
2) Build strong bones in the kitchen. Aim for 1,200mg of calcium daily.
3) Move your body. Walking, gardening, aerobics — any weight-bearing activity helps keep you strong. Grab a chair and follow along with me for a gentle, quick at-home squat workout! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxnNJogS5OQ
Does cutting and stacking firewood count?
Beautiful hula! I've got my 'ukulele group doing a bunch of Hawaiian songs even though I've never been to Hawai'i (yet). We played in the Hawaiian pavilion at a local festival here in Spain earlier this month, which wasn't the same as a Wonkette party but I was with you all in spirit.
What happened to Donna? She's like a real person. I remember when she was a lion.
Don't mind me, I'm just trying to find the exact point where I lost my mind.
Lovely pics! The video reminds me of my hula lessons. The instructor kept shouting "unlock your hips". I did, she said "this is ethnic dance, not erotic dance". Yes I felt stupid.