Hey, Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth . . . I just found something you can cut in the Pentagon budget.

Photo above - World War 2 ends with Japan's surrender on a US battleship. The US is now bringing back a pair of 1940's era battleships to bolster our nation's defenses. Not a joke . . . for real.

Isn’t it enough that we have ELEVEN aircraft carrier groups? Each with an entourage of more than dozen support ships guarding the big enchilada? Carriers can't survive 5 minutes without submarines, guided missile cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and who knows what else.

Now a pair of 80 year old battleships are returning to duty. Commissioned in 1942-44, the Wisconsin and Iowa. Entered active duty before the end of World War 2. Before the invention of broadcast television and the hula hoop.

Generals (and admirals) always spend their careers preparing to re-fight the last war. Apparently we are getting ready for a repeat of World War 2. The Wisconsin and Iowa are equipped with 18 inch guns, the largest ever fitted to any ship. These behemoths can hit targets up to 24 miles away. Unless someone fires a cruise missile in their direction first - range 1,000 miles. Remember to watch out for torpedoes, too!

The Russians are using legacy "capital ships" against Ukraine. But a Russian heavy cruiser was destroyed almost immediately by a homebuilt Ukrainian drone. Apparently, Russia thinks it’s refighting World War 2 also.

Attention please, outgoing Biden administration (and incoming Trump administration). World War 3 has already begun. The weapons are hacking, infrastructure attacks, disabling GPS and cellular networks. Using cheap orbital payloads to kill military satellites which have no defense, and no way to shoot back. Puleeze . .. we don’t need two battleships, and the flotilla of support vehicles each will need.

The pentagon has 490 generals, and at least 62 admirals. The incoming Trump administration plans to “transform” America’s defense by forcing a bunch of them to retire. I humbly suggest that leaving the Iowa and Wisconsin in mothballs go to the top of the our spending cuts.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Iowa and Wisconsin Battleships Return to Service: A Controversial Move Amid Evolving Naval Strategy

SomeMichGuy · M

In 1928, WRGB, then W2XB, was started as the world's first television station. It broadcast from the General Electric facility in Schenectady, NY.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@SomeMichGuy wikipedia says a half dozen "experimental" TV stations began operating in 1928. They had 48 line resolution, and no civilian audience. the intended viewers were other scientists and researchers, much like the first internet use didn't reach consumers, either.

the first commerical broadcast happened on july 1, 1941, and was sponsored by "Bulova" wristwatches. It had 525 lines of resolution - 10 times that of the experimental efforts in 1928,

there were 7,000 tv sets in all of America in 1941. Most were nowhere near the NBC broadcast which took place on July 1, 1941.

thanks for being a loyal reader.