Seven
September 2251
Tarbos – the Senate Main Chamber
President Cochet had only once addressed the Senate directly in full session, and that was three days after her inauguration. That had been a hopeful occasion, marked with good will and good cheer.
Not so this time.
She strode to the polished black podium at the front of the Senate chamber, a tiny silver disk barely visible in her hand. The silver disk fit into a tiny recess on the podium top, displaying her speech in tiny, red holographic text a few centimeters off the podium top, invisible to the audience and the recording videos from a hundred different media outlets.
“Senators, Selectmen, ladies and gentlemen, my fellow Confederation citizens.
“Sixteen days ago, our Confederation suffered an attack. This was an unprovoked attack, an attack directly on the ships and the brave men and women who have volunteered to defend our way of life. This attack was aimed deliberately at our capacity to defend ourselves, at our ability to protect our rights to live as free people.
“This attack was launched by agents of a hostile race, by the military forces of a tyrannical culture bent on conquest. Let us make no mistake; the Grugell Empire have no interest in ‘dialogue,’ or in ‘peaceful co-existence.’ The incident of the attack on the Orleans Task Group proves that to be true. This incident, the Orleans incident, marks the first known instance of an act of war committed in space.
“A free people, to remain free, must on occasion fight to preserve their freedom. We acknowledge that necessity, even as we seek to prevent it. To that second purpose, we will meet tomorrow with a special envoy from the Grugell Empire, whose ship is in orbit about this planet as I speak to you. The envoy will land tomorrow for a meeting with myself, selected members of the House and Senate, and selected members of my Cabinet.
“To the first purpose, should it come to a fight, I have requested the Senate to authorize increased funds for Naval construction and personnel. Details of that funding request are being provided to all House and Senate members and to the media now.
“To the Grugell I can say only this. In the long history of humanity, we have learned many lessons, but the greatest lesson of our history is this: A free people, fighting to preserve their freedom, will bear any hardship, overcome any obstacle, face any danger, to defeat those who threaten our way of life. Think well on that.
“Thank you.” President Cochet spun on her heel and strode from the room, ignoring the shouted questions of reporters.
The Confederate Senate Office Building
“I’m glad you came to see me, Admiral.” Senator Crider poured a cup of coffee, handed it over to Admiral Gauss. As he poured a second cup for the Admiral’s ever-present aide, he examined the pair closely. He liked what he saw.
“Thank you, sir,” Gauss replied. He sipped the coffee, and his eyebrows shot up. It was considerably different than the stuff served on the Fleet spacedock far above Mountain View.
“Forestian coffee,” the Senator explained. “Here, Captain, a cup for you. I import it for my office. Our soil is remarkably fertile; we can grow just about anything. I’ve never found coffee like it anywhere.”
“I’d like to have some for my flagship, once it gets out of dock, anyway.”
“I think I can probably arrange for a few cans.” The Senator sat down at his desk and poured a cup for himself. “But I get the feeling you didn’t come all the way down here to talk about coffee, Admiral. So, what can I do for you this morning?”
“Sir,” Gauss began, setting his cup down on the arm of his chair. “You saw the President’s speech last night, right? I don’t know about you, sir, but that read to me like a virtual declaration of war. We are at war, sir, in case the Congress hasn’t figured it out yet.”
“I can’t speak for the whole Congress, or even the Senate. But I have figured that out myself, Admiral. In fact, my whole family has. My sister is in your command. She’s an A-66 pilot on the Mountain View.”
Admiral Gauss surprised the Senator by suddenly snapping his fingers. “Crider. That’s right! I thought I recognized the name. I should have put it together sooner – it’s not a common name. Your sister is the reason I’m sitting here today, sir. How much has she told you about the battle we were in?”
“Not much. I only spoke to her for a few minutes after the carrier docked. She just wanted to let me know she was all right.”
“I’ll say she’s all right. Senator, your sister is in for a Distinguished Flying Cross, and at my request. She and her wingman saved the Orleans from being completely destroyed. They attacked and blew away a Grugell cruiser that was beating us to pieces. We would never have made it to the subspace transit if they hadn’t taken that ship out.”
Senator Crider leaned back in his office chair, his coffee cup cradled in his hands. He brought the cup to his face, inhaling the aroma of the coffee, a reflective expression on his face. “Well,” he said quietly. “That would be my sister. She always was a little wild. I could tell you stories… But I digress.” He set his coffee down untasted. “You wanted to talk to me about funding for the Fleet, am I right?”
“That’s right, sir. How’d you know?”
“Admiral, you’re an admirable tactician, but I can tell you’re not a politician.” Crider grinned. “I’m the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and the Navy’s Appropriation bill is in front of my committee right now. It’s not that hard to figure out, is it?”
The two men locked eyes for a moment. Each recognized the other as an equal, in strength, in skill, in determination.
“Sir,” Admiral Gauss said at last, “No, I’m not a politician, and I’d have to say I’m glad I’m not. On the other hand, sir, I’d have to say I’m glad you are. The Navy needs a few friends in Congress right now. Everybody else seems to be a bit too worried about bean-counting, and a not worried at all about protecting the Confederacy from a hostile outside force.”
“I’m glad you’re not a politician, too, Admiral. You’re doing very well where you are. You did well in getting as much of your Task Group back as you did. That was no mean feat, you know – I looked at the telemetry, and you were outnumbered and outgunned. I don’t know what Fleet Admiral Kosake told you” – the politically astute Crider didn’t miss the sudden frown that flashed across Admiral Gauss’ face – “but I’ll tell you that I’m pretty impressed.”
“Thanks, sir.”
“Admiral, I want the same thing you want. I want this Navy properly funded and equipped. If this is going to be a war, I want to win it. We have to win it.”
“I wish more people saw it that way, sir.”
“If they’d been raised by Mike Crider, hearing the stories of the Grugell invasion of Forest, they might. Admiral, I’d like you to come testify to the Budget Committee meeting tomorrow morning. Can you stay down in Mountain View until ten-hundred tomorrow?”
“You bet, sir. Captain Jensen and I can get transient quarters at the Fleet logistics base on the edge of town.” “Good. It’s settled, then. More coffee?”
To see more of Animal’s writing, visit his page at Crimson Dragon Publishing or Amazon.
WAR!
War
WAR!
What is it gooood for?
Nothing!Kicking some Grugell ass! Say it again!The original title of Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
Conundrum
And yet, while we do not outright oppose the taking of AI company stock, or of a US sovereign wealth fund, there are better ways to achieve Sanders’ stated goals.
Public ownership of these companies entangles corporate profit and valuation with the public interest. It would incentivize the government to clear regulations, permit the exploitation of workers and users, suppress competition, encourage AI adoption regardless of the responsibleness of the implementation or appropriateness of the use case, and otherwise act on behalf of corporate interests.
——-
A better answer is to separate the two goals. The standard way to share private rewards with the broader society that made them possible is taxation. Senator Elizabeth Warren has proposed an excise tax on datacenters’ energy use. Others have proposed an AI token tax, which has much the same effect.
How do we extract maximum number of golden eggs from the goose without either killing it or becoming its willing accomplices?
“Sharing is hard,” says Wealth Inequity Barbie.
There’s no problem that can’t be solved by throwing more money at me and my cronies.
“Public ownership of these companies…” and also “Donald Trump is a facist” from the same crowd. Who wants to tell them?
I can convince my dog before I could convince them. They’re just that dumb.
War
WAR!
Creative Labs lack of concern here suggests there is no need for me to buy another one of their products.
How a USB-connected speaker can infect a PC without ever being touched
Seller of the Sound Blaster Katana V2X doesn’t consider the behavior a vulnerability.
https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/06/highly-reviewed-speaker-can-be-hacked-over-the-air-to-infect-connected-devices/
One of the world’s biggest data center projects was designed to be nearly three times the size of Manhattan, stretching across multiple Utah sites… O’Leary said, while confirming that he “was not expecting this kind of intense blowback from the public.” He claimed that he and state officials anticipated that “people would be excited” about the major local investment and “made huge mistakes” by not involving the public more in discussions, based on that “assumption.”
I can’t understand why in a location where water is a concern the public had a desire for more information and was hesitant about the development.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/we-pissed-off-a-lot-of-people-giant-data-center-plan-cut-50-amid-protests/
These AI execs keep stepping on rakes don’t they?
Comments note this may have been a Trump type negotiation. Ask for the everything and settle for what you wanted in the first place.
Isn’t that the NSA’s facility?
[Bill Clinton], while confirming that he “was not expecting this kind of intense blowback from the public.” He claimed that he and state officials anticipated that “people would be excited” about the major local investment and “made huge mistakes” by not involving the public more in discussions, based on that “assumption.”
AI fears are no different than offshoring fears, just a different class of workers.
Having actually lost a job to offshoring, I’m not willing to dismiss the damage it does.
I had access to the data on the work being done and saw how poorly the offshore agents did in comparison, both in quantity and quality of work – but they were cheaper than dirt, so the company didn’t care that one of the most common things I heard when I answered a call was “Thank god you’re not Indian”.
I don’t know if they’ve since reshored the services.
I can’t find the clip.
Groucho: “Go and break through the lines. And while you’re out there risking life and limb through shot and shell we’ll be in here thinking what a sucker you are.”
He claimed that he and state officials anticipated that “people would be excited” about the major local investment and “made huge mistakes” by not involving the public more in discussions, based on that “assumption.”
Fucking ingrates. Those dumb hicks can’t recognize a good thing when it’s staring them right in the face.
A good thing for raising their electric and water bills.
OT – https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/06/not-the-next-r8-audi-reveals-mid-engined-plug-in-hybrid-v8-nuvolari/
They should have made the CAD software use more polygons so that it doesn’t look like a bunch of boxes. Plus nothing says excitement like “mild hybrid”. Just look at the 2nd generation Honda NSX and its success.
Did they hire all of the Jaguar designers?
Seriously, the lack of design diversity is really annoying. Seems like it’s been that way since the late 1980s.
That has a certain Cybertruck vibe.
OK, now I want my indoor ranges to have a treadmill.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/X0YsM_hAEn8?feature=share
Also, love the quad-loading at a walk.
Interesting demonstration, but I’ve tried running on a treadmill while dryfiring. It does absolutely nothing to improve your ability to shoot (or reload) on the move.
Tom Castro has a 30-day series on movement for practical shooting that I like a lot. But he wants a $20/month membership for it – not a bad price all in all.
I got this freebie at Area 8 two years ago, crossing the path of Tom’s squad
Tom Castro: “Here’s a free lesson for the next stage: aim hard!”
I don’t hate him like an awful lot of ROs but the man has zero chill.
He is very intense.
But I gotta say, if you’re (the editorial ‘you’, not you in particular) RO’ing a lot of majors, you should probably be used to type-A borderline autists by this point.
There’s a guy at our gym training for tactical games. He does some interesting things, but no shooting. I keep telling my wife we need to add a range to better server our customers. She is unconvinced.
Spin it up as a separate company if you do to isolate the risk of rabid anti-gunners from also damaging your main business.
A friend of mine’s wife is a Tactical Games competitor. I personally find them to be a little too much working out and too little shooting, but they’re popular, no question. You should definitely go ahead with opening the range.
This one is local to me: https://xcal.com/ So there is a market…
Joking aside, we just don’t have the space, and we’re renting the building, so no additions.
I wouldn’t worry about anti-gunners, we have a huge gun store right next door and people seem to be just fine with that.
It’s funny – I rarely ever see anti-gunners picketing any of the ranges I’ve been a member of. There are usually a handful of dead-end boomers waving signs at the NRAAM and the SHOT Show, and I remember once some protesters at the indoor range at the NRA Headquarters in Fairfax…but that was probably twenty years ago. You would think that shooting ranges, especially public ones, would be a popular target for the Antifa/Protest Warrior types…
I was more concerned about regulators, government agents, lawfare, that form of harassment and troubles.
Except that the antifa style of “protest”, which involves provoking and assaulting people in various ways, would be highly inadvisable someplace where literally everyone is armed.
This is the obvious answer, which reality proves incorrect. Unless you think that police stations and ICE detention facilities are completely bereft of armed personnel.
Harassing retail firearms locations will not get the camera coverage, so the people funding it doesn’t bother. Also, it’s easier to point the useful idiots and hired protesters at one simple villain.
Police and ICE are handcuffed by rules and politicians.
Nah. Local, state, and federal police have qualified immunity and taxpayer-funded legal protections. They’re far less handcuffed, as a rule, then armed private citizens.
There’s a reason, but I don’t think that’s it.
This might be closer to the mark.
Still, it’s something I wonder about.
The police are not handcuffed by personal liability. They are handcuffed by the local political machinery.
I am disappointed that ICE hasn’t shot more people by now.
OK, now I want my indoor ranges to have a treadmill.
Not a nordic skate-ski simulator?
We can’t all be Simo Häyhä.
The Biathlon event would be a lot cooler if the competitors used M/28-30 sniper rifles and Suomi KP/-31 submachine guns, and all the targets looked like Russian soldiers in arctic camo…
“That’s either a snowshoe rabbit or a Russian soldier in arctic camo”
/Biathlon hunter
Go with the hares – smaller targets. These are supposed to be the best.
Can I plow my driveway with that Audi?
Dust off your shocked face
Roughly 130 million U.S. adults read below a sixth-grade level, according to adult literacy estimates.
About 43 million U.S. adults cannot read, write or do basic math above a third-grade level, according to ProLiteracy.
More than 90% of jobs require some form of computer literacy, Sharon Bonney, CEO of the Coalition on Adult Basic Education, told Axios.
Zoom in: Low literacy at work is showing up in emails, safety instructions, training materials, math-heavy trades, health benefits forms and computer-based tasks.
Bonney said adult education programs often see learners who want better jobs but lack the basic reading, math, English-language or digital skills needed to enter apprenticeships, community college or higher-paying work.
“If you can’t read, write, speak the language, can’t use a computer, your chances of being gainfully employed are pretty slim,” Bonney said.
If only we paid our degreed educator class a living wage.
And they’re all eligible to vote.
Eligible? No, they’re registered to vote automatically (drivers license/vehicle reg, snap enrollment, etc..) and voting.
You’re correct, I should have said “enrolled” to vote.
50% of the adult population?.. I call bullshit.
Bullshit statistics from a company that wants public money for their services.
Give real data.. not scare-bait.
By definition each literacy level should be achievable by over 50% of the cohort (more likely 70-80%.. one standard deviation?).. so how did you set a level for 6th graders, that later none of them can pass?
Less than “college level math and literacy” perhaps.
Well…if you account for 50m+ illegal savages…
Achievable is not the same as achieved.
Well, if you wanted an example of a failing education system…
But, yeah, BS. In my entire life I have only met one person who was illiterate, but a lot who just aren’t interested in reading. Now, fractions, on the other hand…
Adult life, other than specialized professions, largely doesn’t require literacy or math skills above the third grade level except for limited periods.Third grade competency is not the same as illiteracy or ignorance.
I don’t agree with that unless you’re planning to live under a bridge and do day-work for cash wages.
I keep telling my wife we need to add a range to better server our customers. She is unconvinced.
A Nerf gun shooting gallery!
Tactical Nerf games? We might be able to do that. We could set the whole thing up in our parking lot. Now you have me thinking.
I heard the “American Gladiators” theme as I read that…
You could do an airsoft force-ex, combined with the workout competition…that could be pretty cool.
Tactical Nerf Games is a great idea.
I doubt you could do an airsoft/paintball even in your parking lot.
I’m sure we could come up with some type of tissue paper targets in a cardboard frame.
And I though the CrossFit folks were annoying…
They are….
An all-vegan Tactical Games competition might just usher in the singularity.
Inside South Carolina’s Forgotten River Towns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IYDiN3knQc