OlDawg

Opinion: Trump Brilliantly Calls Iran’s Bluff [Hidden Content]

For an ex JAG, he’s definitely a war monger. He and McCain went together like hand in glove.

My thoughts on this whole issue and in general...

I ignore trolls for the most part.

Yes. WTI—which is actually light, sweet crude—will remain slightly elevated against Brent simply because of access. It can’t elevate in price too much because it’s almost a byproduct for the U.S. We have more than enough light, sweet crude and our refineries are mainly set up to process heavy, sour. What many don’t understand is that it’s actually more expensive to refine the heavy, sour that we import. But, because of environmental policies through the recent decades, we don’t use as much oil as many think. Also, heavy, sour can be refined into multiple more products like diesel, asphalt, pharmas, and other petrochemical products whereas light, sweet is primarily only for gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel. It actually becomes more cost efficient to import heavy, sour and export the sweet. Plus, it’s a way of using our oil exports as diplomacy, and steadying the global market. WTI never really gets that much separation from Brent simply because global buyers know the U.S. has to pretty much just unload a lot of it because we can’t use it all. Hopefully, my comments are helping make more sense to some out of a hard to understand commodity market. If nothing else, y’all are learning more about the overall business. There’s a lot more to it than most know. They just see gas prices and hear the price of oil. They’re not getting a bigger overview.

It's not evil according to the zealots in control of Iran. They believe that by attacking and destroying Israel, they will initiate the second coming of their Mahdi, and Allah will return to reward them. So, they actually want a major war that kills however many it kills. Reading your posts these past few months, you should read the link. I think you--and others--may find it very interesting. (Of course, you have to separate the Iranian people from this view as many--if not most--aren't believers of these ideas.) Dr. Tim Orr isn't a 'Fly-By-Nighter.' He's a well known scholar with multiple degrees and decades of first-hand experience between religions. [Hidden Content]

Swalwell Staffers Stand with Accusers [Hidden Content]

Good link for those wanting actual, true, verified info direct from CENTCOM without going through any partial news sources. [Hidden Content]

If anyone is interested, Navy Divers also made the news for something positive yesterday. Good read. [Hidden Content]

Been mowing on this beautiful morning by the Bay. Just saw this post. Not sure which questions you want me to try to address. So, I’ll touch both best I can. Supertankers are coming to the U.S. because the Gulf facilities are operating at a capacity they can process, and still have enough to export—for a substantial profit I might say. Of course, this is a double-edged sword for us. Since a better price can be paid by foreign customers in a global market, we wind up paying a higher price at the pump when it’s all said and done. The only way to stop that would be to regulate how much U.S. companies can sell outside the U.S., and that would be a very bad idea for multiple reasons. The Panama Canal is now back in Panama & U.S. control instead of China, so passage to the Asian/Pacific region is actually safer for insurers. But, the total time will increase as supertankers have to be transloaded from U.S. facilities. You will also need smaller vessels with shallower drafts to reach most of the U.S. offloading facilities to then transport to the transloading stations to load the supertankers. In other words, a multi-stage process. As far as the Strait being cleared, I have no direct knowledge. But, as I described in an earlier post, Navy Divers are the EOD experts for all U.S. military activities. They are the unsung heroes that—many times—accompany our more known SpecOps groups as they are the experts on anything to do with underwater activities. If a mission requires any type of diving, an ND will be involved, and possibly accompany the Teams during the mission. Clearing the Strait will not involve SpecOps as most think of them. (No Seal Teams, or their counterparts.) It will strictly be handled by Navy Dive Teams, and their support groups. Navy Divers are a very specialized part of Special Ops. ND’s physical and tactical training is second only to the SEAL Teams in the Navy, and is actually tougher from the water related activities as that is the focus. ND’s are a proud group. Very few have the cajones to disable explosives in conditions that are somewhat less than ideal. Think of some of the recent movies you’ve seen with EOD personnel on land. Now, think of being underwater, with—sometimes—limited visibility, heavy currents, and various sea life interfering while diagnosing and disposing of an unknown explosive device. Add in possibly having to do this without being known. Jumping out of perfectly good helicopters 40/40 and naked doesn’t sound too bad at all after that. 😉 **NOTE- So I don’t get flagged for saying ‘naked’, 40/40 and naked means jumping from a helo that’s speed is 40 mph, at 40 feet, with no chute, into the water. Quick entry. 😂🤣

La Porte has one District game left in 20-5A, but they’ve already claimed the DC (21-3, 9-1). The Lady Dawgs will be taking on the Baytown Sterling ladies in the first round.

Details, vessels included, and times have been added & updated. [Hidden Content]

DCTX has 9-5AD1 as one of it's Districts to watch for 2026.

Far be it from me to say exactly what's going on. I will say that Navy Divers are the experts in underwater EOD, and have been known to exit flooded tubes to perform mine clearing duties. Yes. It's one of the most dangerous jobs in any Branch of the Service. That's why ND's receive hazardous duty pay from Day 1 after A school. One day, you may be exiting a sub in an unconventional manner. One day, you may jump from a perfectly good helo. One day, you may be at 300 feet below, and the next, you may be clearing a landing zone with a rebreather. You have to be qualified on every type of dive equipment from bare, to a snorkel and fins, to rebreathers, to scuba, to Mark 16's (or whatever they are on nowadays), and gas mixtures. In addition, small arms quals are very rigorous. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if some investigative/clearing type activity wasn't taking place right under everyone's collective noses right now.

The Houthi’s can—and have—hit ships in the Strait as well.