Archive for 2022

Tom Hagen: Right now we have the unions and we have the gambling and those are the best things to have. But narcotics is a thing of the future. If we don’t get a piece of that action we risk everything we have. Not now, but ten years from now.

The Godfather 1972

A few years back 2016 to be precise I wrote a piece called: The Ghastly Tom Hagen Math Behind the Democrat response to Orlando where I wrote the following:

Right now the left has the Gays and the Transgenders and the Hollywood elites & media in which they are overrepresented and they figure that’s the best things to have, but in America Islam is a thing of the future.  In 20 years the children of Muslims now being raised on the tenets of Sharia law in America will be old enough to vote and Democrats going to make sure they get those votes when the time come, not now but 10-20 years from now.

Well the first real manifesting of this turned out in the city of Dearborn Michigan when the Democrat woke LGBT agenda clashed with Muslim parents who don’t want that stuff pushed on their kids:

A school board meeting in Dearborn, Michigan, had to be shut down when a mostly Muslim crowd of parents (with some Christians as well) became outraged by what appeared to be resistance by the school board to their demand that various books advocating the queer agenda be removed from the public school libraries.

Twitchy notes how this has caused a bunch of confusion for the left:

Remember when Attorney General Merrick Garland, Biden’s Department of Justice and the FBI allegedly targeted parents as terrorists for showing up and speaking out at school board meetings? That era may be over, as a result of a breakdown in the left’s system of intersectionality. You see, for the left, it’s fine to call a bunch of mostly white and suburban parents racists and terrorists, but when Muslim parents start showing up and protesting the same issues, things get… difficult.

This tweet says it all:

This is a crisis for the left who has completely embraced the Groomer agenda but doesn’t want to risk alienating the growing Muslim population.

the chant “Vote them out!” that closed the meeting is not merely a chant, it is a clear prediction. When next this school board comes up for election expect the large Muslim community of Dearborn to run its own slate, and expect that slate to win handily. Expect that victory to force major changes in the curriculum at the city’s public schools, including if necessary the removal of many administrators and staff.

When the time to make a choice comes, do not doubt for one second that the Groomer LGBTQ agenda will go under the bus because the last thing the Democrats want is the growing Muslim population voting for the GOP due to the culture wars.

For over forty years the M1 Abrams has been the absolute best tank.  It outclasses all others when it comes to firepower, armor protection, mobility, and accuracy.  The M1 Abrams is the gold standard all other tanks are measured against.  Thanks to Joe Biden and his climate change obsession, this will come to an end.

As you can see from this Federalist Papers article, the Pentagon is turning the next generation of the M1 Abrams into a pussified green clown car.

The tank’s “hybrid power pack” will also consume half the fuel that current versions do and run more quietly; it “even allows for some silent mobility,” according to the company.

There’s only so silent a multi-ton vehicle is ever going to be when it’s on the move, of course, but things are relative on the battlefield.

This may be making a virtue of necessity, as the U.S. military — like every branch of an out-of-control federal government run by un-elected bureaucrats and increasingly left-leaning idealogues — has climate-change-related goals it must meet.

“The AbramsX’s hybrid power pack supports the U.S. Army’s climate and electrification strategies,” the company announced.

Not only is the engine being replaced, the M1 Abrams will shed a significant amount of armor protection.

Described in the company’s news release as the “main battle tank for the next generation,” GDLS says the newest Abrams version will weigh significantly less than those currently in service, which could make the tank both more mobile and more easily transported to far-off battlefields.

The engine of the M1 Abrams is one of the  primary factors responsible for the success of this tank.  It is described  here on the M1 Abrams Wikipedia page.

The M1 Abrams’s powertrain consists of a Honeywell AGT1500 (originally made by Lycomingmultifuel gas turbine capable of 1,500 shaft horsepower (1,100 kW) at 30,000 rpm and 395 lb⋅ft (536 N⋅m) at 10,000 rpm and a six-speed (four forward, two reverse) Allison X-1100-3B Hydro-Kinetic automatic transmission. This gives it a governed top speed of 45 mph (72 km/h) on paved roads, and 30 mph (48 km/h) cross-country. With the engine governor removed, speeds of around 60 mph (97 km/h) are possible on an improved surface. However, damage to the drivetrain (especially to the tracks) and an increased risk of injuries to the crew can occur at speeds above 45 mph (72 km/h).

The tank was built around this engine[ and it is multifuel–capable, including dieselkerosene, any grade of motor gasoline, and jet fuel (such as JP-4 or JP-8). For logistical reasons, JP-8 is the U.S. military’s universal fuel powering both aircraft and vehicle fleets. The Australian M1A1 AIM SA burns diesel fuel, since the use of JP-8 is less common in the Australian Army.

 The gas turbine propulsion system has proven quite reliable in practice and combat, but its high fuel consumption is a serious logistic issue (starting up the turbine alone consumes nearly 10 US gallons (38 L) of fuel). The engine burns more than 1.67 US gallons (6.3 L) per mile (60 US gallons (230 L) per hour) when traveling cross-country and 10 US gallons (38 L) per hour when idle.

No traditional type of power plant comes close to matching the horsepower to weight ratio of a gas turbine engine.  This has given the M1 Abrams an unmatched top speed. The new green engine, although more fuel efficient, will perform significantly worse than even a traditional tank engine, drastically reducing the performance.  This will greatly endanger the tank crews.

The armor protection of the M1 Abrams is second to none.  Because of this no Abrams has been destroyed by enemy fire.

Similar to most other main battle tanks, the M1 Abrams feature composite armor only on the frontal aspect of the hull. However, the Abrams’ turret features composite armoring across both the front and the sides. In addition, the side skirts of the frontal half of the hull are also made of composite, providing superior ballistic protection against chemical energy munitions such as HEAT rounds. The composition of the Abrams’ composite armor consists of sandwiched plates of non-explosive reactive armor (NERA) between conventional steel plates. The NERA plates feature elasticity, allowing them to flex and distort upon perforation, disrupting the penetrating jets of shaped charges and providing more material and space for a kinetic round to pass through, thus providing increased protection compared to conventional steel armor of similar weight….Armor protection was improved by implementing a new special armor incorporating depleted uranium and other undisclosed materials and layouts.[31] This was introduced into the M1A1 production starting October 1988. This new armor increased effective armor particularly against kinetic energy rounds but at the expense of adding considerable weight to the tank, as depleted uranium is 1.7 times denser than steel.  

The only way to significantly reduce the weight of tank is to significantly reduce the armor of the tank.   That will unconscionably reduce the protection for the tank crews, endangering them,

Yes the M1Abrams is a fuel hog.  Fixing that will turn the Abrams into third rate fighting vehicle.

This story is not a shock:

Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Leigh Chapman on Tuesday said meaningful election results probably won’t be available on election night on Nov. 8, and she and a Republican spokesman traded accusations of who is to blame.

It’s very simple. Until election night Democrats will not know how may votes would be necessary to steal in order to guarantee victories in the governors or Senate Race.

Once they know the number then the call can be made if it is plausible to steal it or if the number is just too high to be credible.

Do you really think that Trump would have won PA, WI or AZ in 2016 if the left wasn’t convinced he was going to lose and didn’t bother to get their steal in place? Why do you think it took so long to call in 2016?

One of the things that has really been revealed by the war in Ukraine is just how weak and unready the Russian Army is. Moreover a lot of Russians were in favor of the war in Ukraine when it looked like it would be a cakewalk to retake the territory that until the breakup of the Soviet Union was part of Russia proper since the days of Napoleon, but once it became clear that it would involve actually fighting, actual causalities and a mobilization the whole pride thing went out the window.

It’s amazing how much harder war is when people are willing to shoot back rather than roll over. I would not be surprised if this lesions the fear of China’s untested military as well.


It’s a tough call for Ukraine when it comes to how the war ends.

They have a good point that they don’t want to reward Russia with any gains but the longer the war goes on the more likely Putin decides to play the tactical nuke game. Ukraine can likely get the best deal it could get right now but in the words of Lincoln if they consider this war for a purpose they see no reason to end it before that purpose is achieved.

Since it’s their blood that being spilled it’s their call, as long as I don’t have to keep paying for it.


This story via Gateway Pundit made me smile:

I predict that in the woke sweepstakes Muslims trump gays, drag queens and transsexuals’ for two reasons:

  1. The Muslim population of the US continues to grow
  2. There have been unfortunate and unhealthy consequences for those who defy those communities

One of the reasons why Sicilian American’s like myself don’t mind people associating us with the mob is it make people less likely to try to mess with us (also we don’t give a damn what others think). With the reputation of Islam backed up by 30 years of shall we call them “incidents” I suspect school committees are going to think twice before they mess with them.


Sometime in the next month we are likely going to see a pivot in tech companies.

Once they decide they can not stop the GOP from winning the House and perhaps the Senate they are going to be a lot more hesitant to oppress members of the GOP when there is a prospect of lawmakers striking back.

Now of course as long as they control the White House and the Justice Department they have a modicum of protection and I’m sure they’ll go all in no matter who the GOP nominee is but most companies don’t want grief and don’t want scrutiny and when it becomes clear who is going to win I suspect these firms will decide to be on the winning side.


Finally a lot of people I know have dropped Paypal like a hot potato. Being a person who is a tad more deliberate I’ve decided to wait till after the first of the year.

This will give me time to decide what I’m replacing it with, to contact donors to see if they wish to switch to whatever service I go over to and to evaluate my opitions.

Also in terms of taxes and their preparation it will be easier to have the account active through at least January.

This does involve some risk but if I’m right about the tech pivot that should give me enough leeway to move deliberately without a lot of worry. If I’m wrong, then it’s on me.