But, no. That's not the world we live in.

We should also be very, very thankful that most of the 'bad guys' on our radar are busy elsewhere, either strategically bolstering positions or building up their own armed forces in anticipation of an eventual clash with us...

The election of President Donald Trump is welcome news. Yet, while Americans have rightly been focused on the election and its aftermath, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has not been idle. The hyper-aggression of the PRC has continued unabated against the U.S. and its allies and partners.

During this election season, the PRC’s hyper-aggression has been predominantly directed against our treaty ally, the Republic of the Philippines. Our mutual defense treaty with the Philippines is important from an America First perspective because of the strategic location it provides to our forward-deployed military forces in the Far East. Thus, Beijing’s ongoing aggression against Manila, which has been occurring for years, is not just a threat to the Philippines, but also to America’s national security.

The loss of access to bases in the Philippines puts the safety of our commerce, naval, and other military forces in the South China Sea at greater risk. With one-third, or approximately $5 trillion, worth of goods transiting the South China Sea each year, this is a strategic channel for the U.S. and allies like Japan. Given the actions by the PRC in the last few weeks, Beijing understands this well. The PRC has intensified its campaign of coercion, which is directed at compelling the Philippines to acknowledge and accept the PRC’s illegitimate claims in the South China Sea.

...furtively plotting attacks like Shelob in the back of a cave rank with the rotted, fetid remains of dismembered, eviscerated orcs...

Iran is readying for war with Israel while at the same time seeking to avoid one, according to a Thursday report, and its next steps will be determined by Israel’s response to Tehran’s October 1 ballistic missile attack, the outline of which was said to have been approved in recent days.

...or expending much of the resources and human treasure our traditional adversaries have previously stockpiled for action against us in conflict they started elsewhere.

The Russian military suffered the loss of 1,610 troops, 17 tanks, and 153 vehicles between November 18 and November 19, according to figures sourced from Ukraine's Armed Forces.

The data, posted to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense's official X, formerly Twitter, page also said Russia lost 46 artillery systems, 38 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a cruise missile, and 17 pieces of special equipment within the same time frame.

The latest figures, if accurate, would bring Russia's total losses, per Ukrainian reporting, of troops, tanks, and vehicles since the 2022 invasion began to 724,050, 9,382, and 48,640 respectively.

Total artillery losses would be 20,632, while drone and special equipment losses would total 19,111 and 3,672 respectively.

It doesn't sound like much of a blessing having all these bad actors occupied with other pursuits. Considering what the progressive machine has done to our formerly formidable armed forces in a few short years, it is most assuredly a big break.

Watching the convulsions of this subversive military movement with the specter of the incoming Trump movement hanging over their previously undisturbed march to remake the American military in its image has been fascinating and terrifying.

Fascinating because the panic was immediate and tangible, and the viciousness of the resistance rearing its ugly head almost the second the election results were locked on could, I guess, have been anticipated. But holy smokes. 

Once Trump's Secretary of Defense pick was announced, and the Pentagon princelings had their absolute worst fears confirmed, well? 

Katy bar the door for an all-out assault on both Hegseth personally and everything he represents as an American military veteran whose warrior ethos will once again become the standard. To be emulated and the model to build on, even if it takes rebuilding from the ground up if necessary.

But sure as Hell, it will take tearing it apart from the top down to start with.

Knees are quaking at the thought.

It is terrifying because the initial hysteria and ensuing aftermath reveal how deep the woke rot goes. How entrenched the stench of woke culture is, along with how many partners have facilitated senior military leadership in such a wretched transformation.

The CYA scramble is on inside the five-sided snek den. Responsible senior military leadership is desperate to be able to pull a Bullwinkle "Nuthin' up muh sleeve!" answer when the incoming SecDef comes for the culpable ones.

The Pentagon is in “absolute disarray” with “generals scrambling” due to the incoming Trump administration’s plans to fire woke senior military leaders who prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) over combat readiness, according to sources.

One source compared it to a hornet’s nest being kicked over and that “DEI pages are starting to disappear off the main websites.”

"They’re being archived as we speak. They are full-bore focused on cleaning up anything DEI-related,” the source said.

Another source said people are trying to find out if they are on the list to be cut. “They are in panic mode,” the source said.

Outside the building and the military itself, forces who paint themselves as associated military enterprises are doing their damnedest to help the effort, both by hammering Hegseth unmercifully and the legitimacy of any Trump order unceasingly.

I posted about that the other day, with one offender in particular getting mentioned.

...I have found Military.com to be more left-of-center in general, but there is no gainsaying that some of their reporting has been stellar. And they do a great job of keeping the Pentagon on its toes as far as issues with the troops go.

But their coverage of the Trump win has me narrowing my eyes.

The Nov 6 column is worrying aloud to military members whether Trump will be using them to gun down fellow Americans in the street.

Trump Won. Here's What That Could Mean for the Military.

...While Trump has been vague on exactly how he would carry out his plans, he spoke repeatedly on the campaign trail about using the military for domestic purposes, including to help carry out mass deportations, target political rivals, and quell any protests while he's in office.

He, like other Republicans, has also railed against so-called "woke" military policies -- such as those aimed at making the military more welcoming to minorities, LGBTQ+ people and women -- and vowed to fire generals and others whom he considers "woke."

Lots of seemingly helpful links about what constitutes a legal order, opinions of the Insurrection Act, etc. - all sorts of information that was slanted in one direction: to make service members question any Trump order's legality and whether they should follow it.

I thought that was pretty awful for a publication that claims to "serve" the military - but has no actual ties TO the military other than its name and its focus.

But they outdid themselves today, and I will admit blowing a gasket.

Feast your eyes on this headline:

What's your initial impression? 

Probably pretty similar to what mine was. It implies that some feisty young lieutenant or recently released from active duty , no doubt raging toxic white guy Naval officer had run amok, ripped down a rainbow flag for whatever reason. And his HATEFUL actions besmirched the Academy, his service, and proved once again everything Thoroughly Modern Milley warned and led witch hunts in the service for.

You have to read down a bit in the story to find out the miscreant was FORTY-FOUR YEARS OLD.

Not, say, twenty-five or six.

He got out of the Marine Corps in 2013 - ELEVEN YEARS AGO and had only spent a total of 9 years in the service. 

...A spokesperson for the Naval Academy said Michael was a member of the Class of 2004. According to a Marine Corps spokesperson, Michael served from 2004 to 2013, ending his career as a captain at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Holy mother of God, what does ANY of this have to do with either the Naval Academy or the Marine Corps?

This clown is so far removed from either that the only reason Military.com makes an issue of it is to twist it into a testimonial on gays in the military. It's their revolting way of protesting the incoming clean-up effort and wiping the DEI/woke virus out of the place.

SEE WHAT TRUMP WILL DO? HE'LL TAKE US BACK TO THIS!!! 

As I said in my Xtweet this morning, which I can't embed here because it's...a little spicy:

No one ever says "44 year old Berkeley GRAD burns American flag" to impugn the school even though, schmaybe, they should.

There are enough battles to fight in the next few years without this sort of gaslighting crap being spewed.

God, it burns my butt.