Random News and Notes 30 August
Fatigue errr Spirit Airlines has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The troubled low cost air carrier was intending to merge with Jet Blue, but a federal judge blocked the merger. The stated reasons were anti-trust concerns. Well, no such concerns now.
And likely no more videos like this one. Shame really, that’s quality entertainment.
We’re headed into the home stretch for Baseball. Depending on the team, there are around 30-35 games left in the regular season. There have been a couple of statistical/records oddities this year. 3 players have hit four home runs in a single game. Kyle Shwarber of the Phillies was the latest to do it. The Athletics – formerly of Oakland – Nick Kurtz and Atlanta’s Eugenio Suarez are the other two 4 Homer hitters.
21 major league hitters have hit 4 homers in a game since Lou Gehrig did it first in 1932. Prior to this year, there have been multiple 4 home run games in two years – 2002 and 2017. The ’17 season is also the last time there was a 4 Homer game before this year. You have to go back to 2012 to get to 3 four homer games.
Baseball, the game of anomalies and stats.
In another baseball note, Shohei Ohtani’s Ippei Mizuhara’s bookie got sentenced to 12 months for his role in the baseball betting scandal that saw the two way Japanese star’s interpreter take the fall for him get convicted for stealing from the NL homer leader to bet on games.
Look, let’s be honest here, Ohtani was the one betting on games allegedly. The only way to avoid another Pete Rose type situation was for the interpreter to take the fall. And take the fall he did. He’s currently doing 57 months in federal prison to save Shohei from being banned from baseball.
You may hear some talk about the US going to war with Venezuela in the next few days. The sentiment is understandable if misguided. There has been some bellicose talk out of the White House regarding Venezuela and particularly Nicolas Maduro. Some of the actions may seem provocative as well.
The Navy has moved three Burke class destroyers – the Dunham, Graveley and Sampson – as well as the USS Lake Erie, a Tico class cruiser into the southern Caribbean. There may or may not be a couple of subs in the area as well. The Iwo Jima ARG sailed for the area on the 24th and should be there soon. The ARG includes the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Sounds like a lot doesn’t it? It isn’t. The 22nd MEU has right around 2200 troops. Of that number, a bit more than half – 1200 or so – are actual combat Marines. The rest are aviation, logistics and other support personnel. That isn’t enough to invade Venezuela no matter how shitty their military is. The naval assets, three Burkes, A Ticonderoga, the Iwo – which is a baby flattop – and the two LPDs in the ARG plus at least two subs, one of which is SSN 750, the USS Newport News, a Los Angeles class attack sub are substantial, but not any kind of invasion force.
The most likely scenario is that the vessels in that area are going to conduct drug interdiction missions. I would not want to be the one driving one of the Cartels go-fasts or semi-submersibles. Between the AN/SPY-6 radars aboard the Burkes and Tico and the AN/BQQ-5 sonar on the Los Angeles class subs, there will be no hiding and no running.
Missouri governor Mike Kehoe announced he is calling a special session of the state legislature to consider redistricting the state. The new map will be a 7-1 split and give the GOP one additional seat out of the 8 in the Missouri house contingent.
The reason this is happening is because the over-coiffed, slick talking governor of California started fights his side cannot win. There are 4 states under Dem control that could redistrict, there are 15 with Republican leadership including Texas and Missouri..
Some AWFL in Maine thought it was time to find out. Olivia Wilkins decided she was going to interfere in an arrest of a pair of illegals who had been involved in a commercial vehicle accident. Bill Melugin has the details:
. . . them. Local police then pursued Olivia Wilkins, who later crashed her own vehicle. She was arrested & charged with aggravated reckless conduct, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, driving to endanger, hindering apprehension, obstructing government administration. and failure to stop for an officer. Border Patrol arrested the two illegal aliens. Jhoan Andres Ortiz-Calderon has a deportation order, and Victor Hugo Cardona-Calderon is a visa overstay who doesn’t have a work permit. DHS says this incident is the latest in a string of immigration agents being targeted. DHS statement to FOX: “These incidents come after months of smears and rhetoric by activists, politicians, and the media comparing ICE law enforcement to the Nazi Gestapo, kidnappers, and the Secret Police. This shameful rhetoric has fueled a culture of hate against law enforcement resulting in a 1,000 percent increase in assaults against them. All sanctuary politicians, activists, and the media need to turn down their temperature.”
She fucked around at a pretty high level, and she’s about to find out.
