Archive for April 22, 2023

Not that long ago, I punished a Sailor for disclosing classified information. He was a pretty nice guy with a nice family. Unfortunately for him, he liked to brag, and so he bragged to more than a few people about some of the cool things he did while he was deployed. Had it been one or two innocuous items, it might have resulted in a severe a$% chewing, some signed papers and “never do this again” speech, but his material was high enough that these actions weren’t sufficient for NCIS. After busting him down a rank, he was separated from the military, and although he avoided jail time, he did have to pay back significant bonus money.

Flash forward only a year and Hillary Clinton gets away with gross violations of compartmentalized information. Not just something that is Top Secret, but items that are secured in such a fashion that maybe only hundreds or even tens of people are read-in to see it. No punishment. None. Not even a red-shirted staffer offered to appease the FBI-gods (and they like to think of themselves as gods, hence cracking down on good Catholics that don’t worship them). That case made me pause and wonder if I had booted a good Sailor by mistake.

And here we are today, with the rapid arrest of a National Guardsman for spilling what I’m guessing is the Chairman’s Daily Brief, which for anyone familiar with it, is posted daily on a website on a classified system. At other commands I’ve sent intelligence items for inclusion on that brief. It’s a pretty good daily laydown of big issues, and like most intelligence products produced by real intelligence people (i.e. not the FBI in Richmond) it should be accurate, even if that accuracy isn’t popular.

After all the leaks by political hacks and all the bad storage practices by people from both parties, I don’t know whether to care anymore. In bureaucratic fashion the Navy put out ALNAV 032/23, reminding. everyone of their responsibilities to protect classified data. I personally wouldn’t disclose anything because I care about my country. But if a young Sailor asked me today about the disparity between the “important” people in power, who get away leaking whatever information they want, and the little people, who get swiftly arrested and punished, I wouldn’t know what to say in response. How do you answer that question?

Nothing is going to change until we start protecting classified materials like they actually matter. Until that happens, its just an opinion subject to the whims of the people in power.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other government agency. To the FBI and NCIS people reading this, NO, the author doesn’t condone disclosing classified information, and has never disclosed classified information, because unlike the FBI and NCIS, the author actually cares about this country. If you’d like to get an understanding of the author’s character, why don’t you go to Amazon and purchase his book?

Well the cards are released and the protected list are made so today we get ready to start the expansion draft for the 1971 Dynasty draft league.

Two teams will be drafting the Chicago Cubs and the Minnesota Twins. Because the twins got first choice of franchises the Cubs will get the first pick.

Expansion teams must draft a minimum of 4 players up to a max of 12. The number of players they draft will determine where they draft in the regular season from position 3 to position 20

Each existing team was able to protect a Maximum of 7 players from the expansion draft. Here are the players who were protected

TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7
Kansas CityRalph GarrHarmon KillebrewWillie Stargell.Bert BlylevenNelson BrilesLew KrausseBill Stoneman
AtlantaAl OliverCesar CedenoRon SantoBob WatsonMike CuellarCatfish HunterFergie Jenkins
BaltimoreJerry JohnsonMickey LolichAndy MessersmithBobby MurcerBoog PowellFrank RobinsonBilly Williams
BostonWillie DavisRay FosseFrank RobinsonRico PetrocelliPhil NiekroGary NolanRick Wise
CaliforniaTom BradleyTommy JohnSandy AlomarFelipe AlouMatty AlouGeorge MitterwaldLou Piniella
CincinnatiDick AllenJohnny BenchJoe MorganJoe RudiDon GulliettPete MikkelsenFritz Peterson
ClevelandRon ReedMel StottlemyreSal BandoDave CashTony PerezPaul SchaalJimmy Wynn
Los AngelesReggie SmithRollie FingersSparky LyleMike MarshallNolan RyanDon SuttonDon Wilson
MilwaukeeAl DowningJim RayKen SandersFrank HowardTommie AgeeTommy HarperPete Rose
MontrealTug McGrawLuis TiantJerry GroteChose notto protectany others?
NY MetsHank AaronNorm CashRichie HebnerTed SimmonsCarl YastrzemskiSteve CarltonTom Seaver
NY YankeesDave RobertsWilbur WoodRoberto ClementeThurman MunsonGraig NettlesAmos OtisRoy White
OaklandPaul BlairReggie JacksonDon MincherVida BlueJim BrewerBill HandsSonny Siebert
PhiladelphiaStan BahnsenClay CarrollLarry DierkerDick DragoLarry BowaJoe TorreFelix Milan
PittsburghJohnny BriggsRod CarewGeorge ScottDavey JohnsonJim McGlothlinGaylord PerryBill Singer
San FranciscoDock EllisDave McNallyJim PalmerBobby BondsLou BrockDon BufordLee May
St LouisVic DavalilloTommy HelmsCleon JonesCesar TovarBob GibsonReggie ClevelandClaude Osteen
WashingtonJoe ColemanPat DobsonJim KaatJuan MarichalWillie MaysJim NorthrupChris Cannizzaro

One a player is picked off a team they will be able to protect five additional players, if a 2nd player is picked they may protect five more. No team can lose more than 3 players. I will be liveblogging the picks as they are made.

RoundTeamPlayerPositionFrom
1CubsSteve Garvey1BWashington
1TwinsBobby Grich2BBaltimore
2CubsRusty StaubOFKansas City
2TwinsNate Colbert1BNew York Yankees
3CubsManny SanguillenCSan Francisco
3TwinsMarty PattinPAtlanta
4CubsClyde WrightPPhiladelphia
4TwinsSam McDowellSP Cleveland
5CubsRudy MayPYankees
5TwinsSteve BlassPMilwaukee
6CubsRay SadeckiPMontreal
6TwinsJoe HornerPBoston
7CubsFreddy PatekSSLos Angeles
7TwinsMerv Rettmund OFCincinnati
8CubsJerry KoosemanPOakland
8TwinsAndy EichabarrenCLos Angeles
9CubsDave LaRoachePCalifornia
9TwinsTom Hall PSan Francisco
10CubsDiego SeguiPSt Louis
10Twins Richie Hebner3BMets
11Cubsdropped outdrafting 16th
11Twinsdropped outdrafting 15th

Teams that have not submitted a list of additional players to protect once they lose a man prior to the draft will have five minutes to list additional players to be protected. Those additional protected players will be liveblogged here

TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Round
Kansas CityKen Henderson Bud Harrilson Claude Raymond Jim Rooker Duke Sims 2
AtlantaTony Oliva Tom Burgermier Ron Hunt Deron Johnson Fred Scherman 3
Baltimore Mark Belanger Ray Culp Rich Reichhart Eddie Waitt Woodie Fryman 1
Boston Jack Billingham Wes Parker Vada Pinson Ted Sizemore Jay Johnstone 6
California Bob Locker Don Money Bill Russell Don Kessinger Carl Morton 9
Cincinnati Dave Concepcion Ted Abernathy Jack Aker 7
Cleveland Al Kaline Carlos May Roger Repoz Steve Mingori Roy Foster 4
Los AngelesWillie McCovey Willie Horton Joe Pepitone Steve Renko Daryl Evans 7
MilwaukeeKen Holtzman Ron Fairly Jack Haitt Bob Miller Denny LeMaster 5
Montreal
NY Metsdraft complete 10
NY YankeesJoe Gredenza Dick Dietz Gary Gentry Steve Kline Clay Kirby 2
OaklandBert Campanaras Woody Woodward George Stone Darold Knowles 8
PhiladelphiaOllie Brown Tony Taylor Bob Robertson Denny McLain Dick Selma 4
Pittsburgh
San Francisco Glenn Beckett Bill Melton Jose Cardinal Bill Freehan John Cumberland 3
St LouisBlue Moon Odom Jerry Reuss Fred Norman Hal McRae Rick Monday 10
WashingtonOrlando Cepeda Eddie Brinkman Billy CowanCookie Rojas Ken McMullen 1

If a team loses a 2nd player they may protect up to five more from their roster. Those names will be liveblogged here if necessary.

TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Round
Kansas City
Atlanta
Baltimore
Boston
California
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Los Angeles Davey May Skip Lockwood Bill Buckner Mike Andrews Tom timmerman 8
Milwaukee
Montreal
NY Mets
NY Yankees Dave Gusti Mel Queen Jim Spencer Bill Sudakis Dave Nelson 5
OaklandOscar Gamble Gail Hopkins Leo Cardanals Gene Tenace 9
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
San Francisco
St Louis
Washington

As teams can only retain 4-12 player you might ask: Why bother to protect any players beyond what they can keep? The answer: Protecting such players means they will go into the main draft giving said team a chance to pick them up again.

Since there are only two teams drafting I suspect it will go pretty fast. This post will be updated as picks are made.

I remember sitting next to Ace of Spades at the Scott Brown Victory Party in the press area. Even then he was a person who did not mince words nor had any patience or qualms about saying what was on his mind and what is on his mind about Trump is that he’s finally crossed the line:

 Trump is now repeating all the left wing Democrats’ lies that Florida is a place of “misery and despair,” enlisting, get this, a leftwing blogger to write the hit piece on DeSantis, who in turn gets his “facts” from leftwing sources.

This frankly is Trump’s nature. He has always fought like a Democrat and it’s a lot of fun when his target is a Democrat, but right now he sees Ron DeSantis as the greatest threat to his campaign to return to the White House so anything goes. Ace concludes thus:

I’d also point out that we know for a fact who is the most uncomfortable with the Culture War — cultural liberals like the The Bulwark Boyz and The Dispatch Boyz. They hate the Crazy Christians fighting all the time with their gay frenz, and they want them to stop.

Well, guess who else is cultural liberal who doesn’t want the Crazy Christian fighting the trans extremists.

Is this True Conservatism, Trump-style, now? Is this “populism” — adopting all the cant and tactics of the leftwing, trans-crazy Ruling Class?

And he’s going to be the one to take on The Regime? LOL. He’s repeating every single point of their catechism!

This frankly is Trump nature and you can’t have the good problem solving Trump without putting up with this one but read the whole thing anyways any more than you could get the pragmatic Bill Clinton without the womanizing or the Politically savvy Lyndon Johnson without the temper and corruption.


On the same subject let’s compare and contrast two tactics in “support” of the Donald Trump campaign. A stupid one that relies on falsehoods:

And the smart one that takes the advice in my tweet to heart:

When you’ve got the best record of any president in the last century and a quarter why not run on that record?


At Town Hall Brad Slager has written a must read post which should be posted on the wall of every marketing division of every corporation that considers caving to the woke agenda:

I found Kristin Kroepfl, chief marketing officer for Quaker Foods North America, stating that in the year 2020, the Aunt Jemima brand had $350 million in sales. Okay, this gives us something of a baseline.

Throughout 2021, the Quaker Foods division saw the pancake mix and syrup sales plunge. The period following the introduction of the name switch that summer reported “a double-digit decline in pancake syrup and mix.” This was matched in the final quarter of that year – when the name change had gone into full effect – with “double-digit declines in pancake syrups and mixes.” 

Ever hear how compound interest grows wealth, well compound losses takes it away

This downward trend continued through last year. Quarter 1 delivered another “double-digit decline.” In Q-2, Quaker saw unit volume grow 2% across all of its products but was weighed down by another “double-digit decline in pancake syrups and mixes,” something also seen in the Q-3 reports. The only glimmer of positivity is that the former Aunt Jemima brand saw its bleeding slowing in Q-4, as that line only saw “a high-single-digit decline in pancake syrups and mixes.”

Considering the vagueness of these reports (since “double-digit” can range anywhere from 10 to 99%), even applying the rosiest measurement, by only counting a ten percent decline in each of those six quarters, the former Aunt Jemima brand declined by at least -50% since the name change. It is very likely much worse.

Small bit of advice to Bud Light and all those other who cave to the woke, don’t cave to people who aren’t your customers anyways.

And for the record I haven’t bought “Pearl Hill pancake mix” since the name change.


One fo the things I’ve noticed over the last few months at Hotair are the interesting Notes that Ed Morrissey adds at the end ofo posts by various authors commentating on their point. This one on Abortion and the states is so good that it bears listing here:

The problem for both parties is that the end of Roe also means the necessity of governance on the issue of abortion. That means applying principles in an effective manner and garnering the broadest support for those principles without having to compromise too much on them. While much of the scrutiny of this issue has fallen on Republicans, Democrats have the same issue with their commitment to the extremist position of legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. The side that figures out how to engage the center most effectively will win, but that requires real patience and risk taking — and neither quality is in large supply in American politics. — Ed

That’s it in a nutshell. SCOTUS has forced states to actually make real world decisions, forcing political animals to actually do the job that they’ve begged the voters for and that involves making some people angry.

You can’t go wrong reading Ed Morrissey, ever.


Finally I noticed that the media has done all it can to marginalize RFK JR. in his run for the Democrat nomination, suggesting he is a fringe candidate, however I think they are terrified of him.

USA Today’s confident use of the word “debunked,” however, can’t mask a growing suspicion among an increasing number of Americans that the authorities aren’t being honest with us. The COVID vaccine debacle, with what was originally touted as a single shot that would protect you from a deadly disease becoming multiple shots and boosters that carried side effects that were often worse than COVID itself, only fueled that suspicion. So the establishment media’s confidence that voters will dismiss Robert F. Kennedy Jr. because they dislike this vaccine skepticism may be whistling in the dark.

Kennedy also said something extremely interesting in his announcement that he was running: “My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign and throughout my presidency, will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now – threatening now – to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country.” Well, yes, and no one else is talking with this kind of clarity and consistency about the kind of collusion that we saw in the Twitter Files between the massive corporations and the government. Not even Donald Trump.

And that more than anything else is why the Democrats have announced that there will be no debates between the Democrat candidates for President.

Robert Spencer is a smart guy and thinks it’s pretty much done

They’re going with Biden for reelection, and they know that he can only hurt his own chances by standing toe-to-toe against a man who can actually articulate a coherent sentence and defend his positions, as well as against a woman who, however loopy she may be, looks like Madame Curie next to Old Joe.

And so despite the fact that RFK, who has never been a national figure, immediately jumped to 14%, there will be no real Democrat race. There will just be a coronation. No one should have ever expected that anything would be different. After all, these people have made it abundantly clear that they don’t really like disagreement and want to silence dissent. Why would they allow it within their own party?

I’m not so sure, while changing the primary schedule will certainly help I suspect that RFK Jr. will do a whole lot better than anything thinks in the primaries because he doing what Trump was doing in 2016, saying forbidden truths aloud and promising to address the problems they bring and while the activist class that gets it’s funding from the machines are unlikely to be with him I suspect normal democrats who would never vote for Trump might just decide to hitch their wagons to a Kennedy.