related to Balze post above

Six U.S. Navy warships were conducting drills with US Army Apache attack helicopters in international waters off Iran last Wednesday when they were repeatedly harassed by 11 Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Navy vessels, the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet reported.

The Iranian ships repeatedly crossed in front and behind the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds, including multiple crossings of one ship, the Puller, with a 50-yard closest point of approach and within 10 yards of another ship, the Maui's, bow, a 5th Fleet statement said. The Navy also reported that the USS Paul Hamilton, USS Firebolt, USS Sirocco and USCGC Wrangell, as well as the Puller and Maui, were involved in the exercises.

The U.S. crews responded by issuing multiple warnings via radio—including five short blasts from the ships’ horns and long-grange acoustic noise maker devices, but received no response from the IRGCN, the Navy’s 5th Fleet said in a statement.

After approximately an hour, the Iranian vessels responded to the radio queries, before maneuvering away from the U.S. ships and increasing the distance between them, according to the Navy.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/...an-gunboats-n2567387

This nonsense has been going on for years. It will continue until we actually do something about it.

Wonder if a few dozen 40mm rounds would impress them.

Was just reading the President has instructed the Navy there to destroy them. This will get interesting soon.

That is an outstanding response.

good news - put a dent in their 'Navy'

we don't have to play nice, and we shouldn't

I dunno, is this a Trump thing or a COVID thing..

Task force members sent Birx to convince Trump to denounce Kemp's Georgia reopening decision, source says By Jim Acosta, Kristen Holmes and Dana Bash, CNN Updated 1:44 PM ET, Thu April 23, 2020

(CNN)Members of the coronavirus task force had to convince President Donald Trump to change his view on Georgia's Republican governor's decision to reopen businesses in his state later this week, a source close to the task force told CNN.

At a meeting before Wednesday's briefing, task force members discussed the likelihood of being asked about Gov. Brian Kemp's controversial move to open up many businesses such as nail salons and bowling alleys, the source added.

Trump has been publicly encouraging the county to "reopen," even in the face of his own administration's guidelines released last week that outlay benchmarks that few regions of the country have met. On Tuesday, when asked about Kemp's decision, Trump had said: "He's a very capable man. He knows what he's doing. He's done a very good job as governor."

During the meeting, Dr. Anthony Fauci and other task force members said if the scientists were not in agreement with Trump on the Georgia issue during the news conference it would pose a problem.

"I cannot defend this publicly," Fauci said to others at the meeting, the source said. Members of the group agreed it was necessary to attempt to change Trump's mind on the subject.

Trump says he 'strongly' disagreed with move to reopen Georgia -- contradicting source who said he agreed with it

Trump says he 'strongly' disagreed with move to reopen Georgia -- contradicting source who said he agreed with it

They then asked Dr. Deborah Birx, the panel's coordinator, to try to convince Trump to oppose Kemp's move. She had a private meeting with the President just prior to the news conference and successfully convinced him to denounce Kemp's decision.

Trump's public stance on Kemp marked an about face. Just the day before, on Tuesday, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence told the Georgia Republican via telephone that they supported his decision on reopening the state and praised his work as governor, according to a separate source with knowledge of the call.

But the President, around the time Birx met with Trump, had a second call with Kemp, according to two sources familiar with the situation. This call was brief and struck an entirely different tone than the first: Trump asked the governor to slow down his reopening plan, to which Kemp said no, according to the sources. The President said he'd call Kemp back later to discuss, but never did.

To the relief of members of the task force, Trump proceeded to say he disagreed with Kemp's decision during the Wednesday evening briefing.
"I told the governor of Georgia Brian Kemp that I disagree strongly with his decision to open certain facilities which are in violation of the phase one guidelines for the incredible people of Georgia," Trump said.

He suggested he would intervene if he saw "something totally egregious."

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied Trump had changed his position.

"No one 'changed' President Trump's view. I was with him all throughout the day. His mind was made up. His priority has always been to reopen the country SAFELY," she tweeted on Thursday.
According to a source familiar, Fauci thanked Trump after Wednesday's news conference.

But it wasn't just the task force who was relieved with the President's reversal. Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, had expressed concern about Kemp's plan to reopen business. The longtime senator issued a statement praising Trump's words denouncing Georgia's plan.

And the President's new chief of staff, Mark Meadows, was fielding calls from outside Trump supporters pleading with him to change the President's mind, according to one source. After the briefing, many around the President were breathing a sigh of relief, after believing it could have gone either way.

Kemp, a staunch ally of Trump, announced Monday that Georgia would allow nail salons, massage therapists, bowling alleys and gyms to open Friday. In-person church services were always allowed, and restaurants and movie theaters are set to open Monday. His order also bars cities from imposing their own restrictions on businesses.

It's the most aggressive move yet to reopen a state's economy as Trump optimistically pushes for a May 1 end to some statewide lockdowns. It also came as a surprise to mayors and some members of Kemp's own coronavirus task force.

Kemp made the decision to reopen the state's businesses at least a day before announcing it but did not inform the White House beforehand, a source familiar with the matter said.

Data collected by Johns Hopkins University shows that as of Wednesday, Georgia had seen 20,166 confirmed cases of coronavirus and had recorded 818 deaths resulting from the virus.

"In the same way that we carefully closed businesses and urged operations to end to mitigate the virus' spread, today we're announcing plans to incrementally and safely reopen sectors of our economy," Kemp told reporters Monday.

Kemp's decision has drawn criticism from public health experts who have repeatedly stressed the dangers of relaxing social distancing measures too early.

Georgia hit its projected peak for daily deaths on April 7, according to an influential model often cited by the White House.

But that same model, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, says that Georgia shouldn't start relaxing social distancing until after June 15 -- when the state can begin considering other measures to contain the virus, such as contact tracing and isolation.

Mayors in Georgia are pushing back against Kemp's decision.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to accurately reflect in-person church services were always permitted in Georgia.

The really annoying part of all this is how much it is being driven by politics, not science.

quote:

The Iranian ships repeatedly crossed in front and behind the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds... within 10 yards of another ship, the Maui's, bow, a 5th Fleet statement said.....

Might be time to reintroduce the old fashion torpedo, say a 100' one on the front of ships around 12' under the surface with a proximity detonator.

quote:

The really annoying part of all this is how much it is being driven by politics, not science.

I hate to disagree with you, my friend, but the REALLY annoying part is how much is being driven by media panic.

quote:

The Iranian ships repeatedly crossed in front and behind the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds... within 10 yards of another ship, the Maui's, bow, a 5th Fleet statement said.....

Close enough to put a few well-thrown grenades aboard?

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:

quote:

The really annoying part of all this is how much it is being driven by politics, not science.

I hate to disagree with you, my friend, but the REALLY annoying part is how much is being driven by media panic.

I’m not sure that we’re in disagreement. Were the Magic Muslim president during this little rodeo, the GDCs in the media would not be spinning like mad fools. I firmly believe that their TDS is one of the drivers of their pushing the narrative that this is a crisis.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:

quote:

The Iranian ships repeatedly crossed in front and behind the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds... within 10 yards of another ship, the Maui's, bow, a 5th Fleet statement said.....

Close enough to put a few well-thrown grenades aboard?

flashguy

Well, an M79 would increase the range, and probably be more accurate than hand tossed ones.

More good news/rulings for Trump from the SCOTUS

Supreme Court Hands Trump Administration a Win in Immigration Case

The Supreme Court has given President Donald Trump a victory in his efforts to deport immigrants who have committed crimes.

The 5-4 ruling Thursday upheld a lower court decision in which a legal permanent resident facing deportation for his crimes was not allowed to evade deportation under a U.S. law that lets some longtime legal residents avoid being deported, according to Reuters.

That law gives green card holders a chance to stay in the U.S. if they have been living here for at least seven years.

However, the law also provides that if a noncitizen has committed crimes within his or her first seven years of residence in the U.S., something called a “stop time” provision kicks in that then renders the person ineligible to claim protection under the law.

In its reporting, Reuters said the major impact of the ruling could be on other legal immigrants who commit crimes that could then render them eligible for deportation.

The case involved Andre Martello Barton, 42, a noncitizen from Jamaica who was convicted of drug and gun crimes in Georgia and faced deportation.

The ruling was supported by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote the majority opinion, as well as Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch. It was opposed by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan.

“Barton’s aggravated assault offenses were crimes involving moral turpitude,” which would have rendered him inadmissible to the U.S., the ruling said.

“He committed the offenses during his initial seven years of residence and was later convicted of the offenses, thereby rendering him ‘inadmissible.’ Barton was, therefore, ineligible for cancellation of removal,” it said.

The ruling noted the logic in the law.

“If a crime is serious enough to deny admission to a noncitizen, the crime can also be serious enough to preclude cancellation of removal, at least if committed during the initial seven years of residence,” Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion.

“Removal of a lawful permanent resident from the United States is a wrenching process, especially in light of the consequences for family members. Removal is particularly difficult when it involves someone such as Barton who has spent most of his life in the United States.

“Congress made a choice, however, to authorize removal of noncitizens — even lawful permanent residents — who have committed certain serious crimes. And Congress also made a choice to categorically preclude cancellation of removal for noncitizens who have substantial criminal records. Congress may of course amend the law at any time. In the meantime, the Court is constrained to apply the law as enacted by Congress.”

In her dissent, Sotomayor wrote, “At bottom, the Court’s interpretation is at odds with the express words of the statute, with the statute’s overall structure, and with pertinent canons of statutory construction. It is also at odds with common sense.”

She said the court ruling failed to give preference that is due noncitizens who are in the U.S. legally.

“Because of the Court’s opinion today, noncitizens who were already admitted to the country are treated, for the purposes of the stop-time rule, identically to those who were not — despite Congress’ express references to inadmissibility and deportability,” Sotomayor wrote.

“The result is that, under the Court’s interpretation, an immigration judge may not even consider whether Barton is entitled to cancellation of removal — because of an offense that Congress deemed too trivial to allow for Barton’s removal in the first instance,” she said.

https://www.westernjournal.com...tent=libertyalliance

good

looking at that decision - its obvious who supports law and order and who doesn't

its the same old gang of four that forgets why they're there

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
good

looking at that decision - its obvious who supports law and order and who doesn't

its the same old gang of four that forgets why they're there

I'm fairly sure that a couple of them know exactly why they're there--and were put there to do it.

flashguy

A big fan of that "gang of four," Governor Wretched Witless has just announced that Michigan residents have to stay quarantined until the Lions Win the Super Bowl!

I am hoping that there are a few democrats out there that are looking at the state of things and asking themselves if they want to continue to be associated with the winners or the losers.

Greg, I’m not sure how many winners are going to come out of this mess.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
A big fan of that "gang of four," Governor Wretched Witless has just announced that Michigan residents have to stay quarantined until the Lions Win the Super Bowl!

It's true, Bob.

It's true.

We're imprisoned in our homes, forever...






As of yesterday, the bitch whitler has us locked down until May 15th.


May we please begin the revolution, now?