DNI Tulsi Gabbard Gives Update Following Surgery for Husband Abraham Williams

8/21/26:

Mrs. Gabbard gives an update on her husband's progress in recovering from this disease. He must have a tremendous pain tolerance to avoid painkillers. I'd like to think I'm not that big of a wuss. By the way, I kinda wonder why they refused radiation. Was proton therapy not an option? Hard to see that it wouldn't have been. If he had chosen radiation, he would've had a lot easier time of it. Tough guy, eh?

6/4/26: The original post follows:

The Conservative Treehouse

Comment:

Same thing I was diagosed with--sacral chordoma.

He had a surgery, I elected to have proton therapy, which is a type of radiation.

He seems rather young. But I suppose this condition can crop up at any age, but most likely than not, at an older age than what he appears to be.

Chordomas can happen at young ages, but those who get it in younger ages tend to get it closer to the skull according to age. That is to say, a young person gets it in the skull, someone older, perhaps the neck, and someone OLD like me, in the sacrum.

Every case is different, I suspect. I have survived mine by nine years so far. The average lifespan after diagnosis back when I got it was five years. Let us hope Mr. Williams will have a lot of life left.

Some favorable political news for the GOP

8/21/26:

Folks have not caught on to what Trump is doing for the country. Other countries have been living off our generosity. Trump is changing that. What does this do? It makes life more affordable, which the Democrats claim that they want to do. One thing that will show up soon, but maybe not soon enough to get the message out, is to reduce prescription drug prices.

The left-wing noise machine is making out the inflation as out of control, but it isn't really. Even with higher gasoline prices, the CPI is not showing those kind of increases. Inflation is still well-controlled, and it will get better and better.

The Democrats have no answers. Just complaints, fear, and loathing.

8/15/26: The original post is below:

President Trump doesn't enjoy great favorability numbers. So he needs a boost where he can find one. Even though Trump is not on the ballot, a popular president cannot hurt the party in control. An unpopular president might well hurt the GOP's chances.

Here's some good news for the GOP: There's a manufacturing boom that isn't getting much attention. That's not surprising, since the media won't report anything that might help the president.

Another snippet of good news for the midterms: Prescription drug prices have seen the largest drop in more than 60 years. Since Democrats are running on affordability, this should blunt their message.

The rise of the wacko element of the lunatic-fringe-left doesn't hurt either. The down side to that news is that there may be too many who no longer think these people are bad news. But they are.

I guess this explains a few things

8/21/26:

There's a follow-up on Barnhardt on this crypto-Jew business.

I spent about an hour listening to this, and decided that's enough.

At some point, a person can jump the shark. It may be too early to say, but Miss Barnhardt may have really done it this time. But maybe not. I kinda doubt that anybody can take over in the manner she is saying UNLESS there is a curtailment of free speech.

If Trump ever does anything like that, I'd say it is a red flag.

But get this: Even if this was the case, and everything she says is right, he cannot do it without essentially wiping out the checks and balances in the Constitution. But she knocks the founding of America, too. Trump cannot be the Devil that casts himself out of hell. A Kingdom Divided against itself cannot stand.

In other words, you cannot "save" America by destroying it.

Yesterday:

It seems that Barnhardt has always been against Donald Trump. He's a crypto-Jew, or something like that.

I never got it, so I must be from Rio Linda.

Maybe the press will ax him if he's a crypto-Jew. That is, if the press actually gave a flip one way or the other.

One has to ax oneself this one: What if he IS Jewish? The one thing that MIGHT get me a bit riled is if he expected me to worship his ass.

I think he's a good president, maybe even the best we've had since I've been around. But I don't worship anybody, including him.

That's all for me on this subject.

SpaceX Starship Towed Near Christmas Island

8/21/26:

What's going on with shipping guy again...

8/20/26:

If SpaceX can get it into the Harbor at Christmas Island, then perhaps a semi-submersible ship can be slid underneath the ship and thus placed aboard the re-floated ship for shipment back to the States. This is how the USS Cole was retrieved after a terrorist attack on Columbus Day 2000.

Yesterday:

Which is a territory of Australia, if memory serves. Is that the plan? Or what's the plan now?

AI discussion of the joint:

please give information about christmas island

**Christmas Island** is an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, located approximately 224 miles (360 km) south of Java and 870 miles (1,400 km) northwest of Australia. The island covers 135 square kilometers (52 square miles) and is administered by Australia, with its capital at **Flying Fish Cove**.

**Naming and History**: The island was first sighted by Europeans in 1615 but was officially named on **Christmas Day, 1643**, by Captain William Mynors. It was annexed by Great Britain in 1888 due to its rich phosphate deposits, administered by Singapore until 1958, when it became an official Australian territory.

**Geography and Environment**: Christmas Island is the summit of an underwater mountain, with its highest point being **Murray Hill** at 1,184 feet (361 meters). The island is covered largely by tropical rainforest, with two-thirds designated as a **National Park**. It is often called the "**Galapagos of the Indian Ocean**" due to its high level of endemic species and minimal historical human disturbance.

**Wildlife**: The island is world-famous for the annual migration of the **Christmas Island red crab** (*Gecarcoidea natalis*), with populations estimated in the tens of millions. These crabs migrate from the rainforest to the coast to breed. The island also supports unique seabirds, reptiles, and insects, though the Christmas Island shrew was declared extinct in 2025.

**Accessibility and Culture**: Travel is primarily via **flights from Perth, Australia**, which take about three hours, or by yacht/cruise ship. The population is approximately 1,700–2,200 people, consisting mainly of ethnic Chinese, European, and Malay communities. The official language is English, though Malay and Chinese dialects are widely spoken. The economy relies on phosphate mining, government services, and growing tourism.

There's not much there. Maybe there's a harbor?

Yes, **Christmas Island** has a harbor located at **Flying Fish Cove**, which serves as the territory's main settlement and primary port.

### Harbor Facilities and Operations

The harbor is the only safe anchorage on the island, characterized by a steep underwater drop-off and deep-water approaches. It does not feature traditional alongside wharf berths for general docking; instead, it utilizes a **catenary buoy mooring system** with three main berths:

* **Phosphate Loading Jetty:** The main berth, capable of accommodating vessels up to 180 meters in length for exporting rock phosphate.

* **General Cargo Berth:** Located inshore, used for importing supplies and general goods.

* **Fuel Berth:** Situated at Smith Point for refueling operations.

### Accessibility and Limitations

Access to the harbor is **weather-dependent** and can be restricted by swell and surge, as the cove is open to the north.

* **Commercial Shipping:** The port handles bulk mineral exports and containerized imports, with a maximum vessel draft of approximately 6.1 meters for general cargo operations.

* **Yachts and Visitors:** Visiting yachts are welcome but must use designated mooring buoys (fees apply); **anchoring is prohibited** to protect coral formations. There is no marina, haul-out facility, or significant repair yard, making the harbor suitable only for short stopovers.

* **Cruise Ships:** Large cruise vessels cannot dock and must anchor offshore, tendering passengers to a basic cargo pier near London Village (note: this refers to Kiritimati/Christmas Island in Kiribati; for the Australian territory, facilities are similarly limited to cargo jetties).

Comment:

Not sure what's the plan here, but there's bound to be one, right?

Anyway, here's a video:  

Don't look now, but Trump may win in a landslide

8/21/26:

Doggone! There wasn't a landslide in the popular vote, but he did get about the same number of electoral votes in the actual election. He didn't get the number of black and Latino voters, but he got more than the usual GOp nominee gets.

Looking back on this, the left has managed to hold on to their voters just enough to avoid catastrophe. But how they did it is something that should worry patriots. All the phony scandals and lawfare. The disappointing part is that people fall for the nonsense.

Trump has got the be the best president in my lifetime. Better than Reagan. So what's the deal with Trump?

He's a constant promoter. Perhaps that turns people off. Well, there's that abrasive quality about him, too. If he was like Reagan in the Teflon coating department, there's no telling what he could have accomplished.

As for yours truly, I am of a practical bent. I don't give a hoot's hell about somebody's STYLE. I look for results. Which reminds me of what Lincoln was supposed to have said about General Grant. When folks objected to Grant's drinking, Lincoln replied that he understood that it was no longer a problem. But if he was still drinking, he'd inquire around and see what he was drinking and he'd give a barrel of it to the rest of his generals. Lincoln liked Grants results. He didn't give a flip about his drinking. I'm with Lincoln in that regard.

12/29/15: The original post starts just below:

What is the basis of such a speculation?  It comes from none other than the 538 site that I linked to awhile back.  Also, a poll, which claims that Trump could get 40% of the black vote and 45% of the latino vote.

That seems like a big stretch, but maybe not.  Considering that Trump is running something of a populist campaign, his appeal could result in a big victory that includes non-college educated whites, blacks, and latinos.

Testing that theory, I plugged in turnout numbers and voting percentages that came close to the poll.  What the poll didn't indicate is turnout, so I played with that number a bit.  The numbers I used were the following:

• college educated whites vote in same percentage, but turnout falls to non-college educated whites
• non-college educate whites vote in same percentage, but turnout rises to college educated whites
• blacks 61-39% in favor of Dems, but with turnout of college educated whites
• latinos 57-43% in favor of Dems with turnout the same
• asians unchanged

results  Trump wins with 53.3% of the vote and 322 electoral votes.

Thus, a populist campaign can win.  It would rely upon the demographic breakdowns that were in the poll, and a smattering perhaps of wishful thinking.  The wishful thinking relates to how this poll stacks up to anything in the real world.

If Trump is actually doing better than this poll, especially amongst whites, it's a landslide.

Storage shed

8/20/26:

If you're going to do it yourself, why not go whole-hog? Indeed, there was a change in plans back then, as I went with the quonset idea. It was attempted, with not great results.

Having attempted the quonset, would I try it again someday? Let's answer it this way: If I went out there again, I just might do it that way with the lessons learned from the first time.

The quonset idea seemed to be cheaper at the time, but there were some downsides discovered, as events unfolded. Solutions for those downsides would need to be found.

I haven't thought about it all that much recently. Once I got a travel trailer, the idea became to take it out there. But that went away, as I had to dispose of the trailer. Getting another trailer would cost too much.

I still have the 5x8 foot trailer. There were thoughts of using that one at one time as well. It would need some work. It has been outside in the elements for the last several years, and looks like it.

But not real thought has gone into it lately. The off-grid project is in deep limbo.

8/17/14: The original post below:



Link to storage shed on sale in Houston at a Home Depot.

This may be modifiable to be turned in living quarters.  This is actually quite interesting proposition.  Watch the video supplied at the site.

It is 8 by 12, which is nearly 100 sq ft.  Some of these micro houses are about the same size.  The price is affordable.  Yep, I just may be able to use this thing.  It's designed to be a do-it-yourself assembly project.

The downside is that I may need help in putting it together.

This will be incorporated into the going off-the-grid series, along with a companion post here.

Update on 8/17/14:

Other companion posts

1. Power requirements could be made with a Solar City Installation or Build your own system
2. You may want to dig some post holes in order to anchor the "RV"/Storage Shed.
3. Sewage systems would be a composting toilet and recycling of grey water.  Idea: water the grass driveway with the grey water system.

In summary, build the RV on top of a trailer.  Modify it so that it can become habitable.  Secure it to the ground.  Power it and provide water to it.  Obtain water from rain harvesting and recycling.  Looks like the plans are nearly complete.


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Wonder how many people fall for this propaganda

The Fox news link's headline on Free Republic appears to paint a rosy scenario for the President, but the commentary isn't rosy scenario. If you disregard the talking heads, you'll see a dwindling ability for Iran to affect oil prices. At this time, they can rattle the sabers and scare people in the Persian Gulf. That's about it. Oil prices are elevated, but nothing like the nightmare scenarios once envisioned.

To be sure, prices are still elevated. Even so, inflation remains around targeted areas.

So I'm wondering if all the negativity will affect the midterms.

The crazy Democrats are being taken over by the even more crazies. If folks think these crazy loco weeds are going to do anything useful or positive, they're going to be disappointed.

But that's how politics goes. Some folks are disappointed in Trump. But the disappointment is unwarranted. There's has been been plenty of good developments. The ones like this story, with higher prices at the pump, are likely not to last. Indeed, the way out of this is already in the works. It may taken until after the election to see the results, but it will happen.

Iran cannot be saved by the Democrats anyway. Not unless the Dems win 2/3rds of the Senate and the House. No way that happens even in the worst case scenario. Trump can still be Trump for a couple more years in any case.

But a smashing win would be nice.