Ballrooms, Bankruptcy, and Bullshit

 

by Pa Rock

Veteran

Donald Trump missed his opportunity to put on a uniform and go to war for his country sixty years ago because of those danged ol' bone spurs - so now, with his  current gig as "Commander in Chief" of our nation's armed forces, Trump is making up for lost time by imparting his military genius directly on our nation's fighting forces.

Someone about ten years ago (perhaps a golfing partner, or one of the pay-to-play club members at Mar-a-Lago) got into Trump's ear about the catapult systems the Navy uses to sling fighter jets into the air from the decks of aircraft carriers.  Trump liked what he heard - an argument that the Navy should scuttle its current electronic catapult system and revert back to the old mechanical steam catapult system used in the 1950's.   Trump, who is not a fan of intellectuals or ideas that are beyond the bounds of his private school education, was quickly sold on the idea and has been promoting it ever since.

But now he has stepped up his game.

This past Thursday Trump signed a national security memorandum that directs the Secretary of Defense, Tattooed Pete Hegseth, and the acting Navy Secretary, Hung Cao, to come up with a plan within 60 days to equip an aircraft carrier in production, the USS Doris Miller, with steam catapults instead of the modern electronic ones currently in use.  (Construction of the USS Doris Miller is already two years behind schedule.)

But while Donald Trump was cheated out of his opportunity to serve because of those awful bone spurs, there are numerous veterans currently in Congress who have served, some even in wars, and they have opinions on military matters, too - and most of them aren't bashful about expressing their own opinions.

Take US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, for example.  

Senator Kelly, a retired Navy Captain and former NASA astronaut, was also a Navy combat pilot who flew 39 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm.  He knows more than a few thinga about the Navy and fighter jets.  When Senator Mark Kelly heard of Trump's direct meddling in the design of catapults aboard Navy aircraft carriers, he had this to say in a post on X:

"I've launched off the front of aircraft carriers hundreds of times, have a Master's degree in aeronautical engineering, and am a test pilot, and even I wouldn't suggest to the Navy how to engineer specific systems on its ships.   Donald Trump should stick to what he knows best - ballrooms, bankruptcy, and bullshit."

Well said, Senator Kelly. Well said!  Salute!