#Washington State Convention Center

[otakunoculture]

Emerald City Comic Con 2024. It's Great To Be Back!

There's lots to do at this year's Emerald City Comic Con. Despite some repeat guests and lack of industry exhibitors, it was still a great time! #ECCC #fandom #pacificnorthwest #convention report at:

Emerald City Comic Con certainly exploded in size since 2019. Instead of occupying one building and a quarter during the time I last attended, it’s a full building and a half! I’ve heard stories about last year’s and am glad I didn’t go. Folks had problems navigating around and getting used to the new space. And although the pandemic caused this event to lose momentum back in 2020, it continued…

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Mother Jones:

When a man with painful cystic acne came to dermatologist Eva Rawlings Parker for help in a Nashville clinic, she couldn’t prescribe him doxycycline or minocycline, two medications she’d typically use to treat this condition. This is because the man was a roofer, says Parker, and these medications would have impacted his ability to tolerate heat. 

Parker’s patient was far from alone. Other common medications for physical health, like beta blockers, can impact people’s ability to handle heat. Many medications for mental health do, too.

Conventional wisdom tells people with conditions that make them unusually vulnerable to the sun, like the autoimmune disorder lupus, or are on medications that lead to heat sensitivity, to avoid staying outside when the sun is at its strongest.

But for the one-third of US workers who must spend regular time outdoors, that advice bursts into flames. For some, such as farmworkers, hours and hours of heat exposure, with minimal or no reprieve, are just part of the job. Increasing heat waves and more frequent wildfires point to the need to find real solutions for outdoor workers—and highlight how labor and climate change are intertwined. 

Edward Flores, faculty director of the Community and Labor Center at the University of California, Merced, specializes in the conditions of low-wage and immigrant workers in California. He says the need for heat safety policy reform is acute. “We know that workers have been dying,” Flores says, “because of chronic conditions that accumulate through heat stress over many years and decades that lead to shorter life spans.”

Parker, the dermatologist, is acutely aware of how heat can trigger or worsen skin problems. She is co-chair of the American Academy of Dermatology’s group on climate change and environmental issues, and was an author of a 2023 review on the ways climate change can contribute to dermatological issues, including triggering flares of conditions like hidradenitis suppurativa—which causes painful lumps deep in a person’s skin—and skin cancer.

Workers do have some legal rights to breaks and water, depending on the locale. California, Oregon, and Washington are the only states that mandate those breaks. And roughly half of crop farmworkers have no legal work authorization. That lack of legal status, and the threat of deportation, gives many workers reason to fear complaining about working conditions.

In July, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed a new set of rules which would help protect more than 36 million workers from heat-related illness or death. The proposed OSHA rules would require employers to monitor their workers for heat exhaustion symptoms, provide adequate water and shade, designate break areas, and provide mandatory rest breaks, among other things. 

[sayruq]

The Vietnamese leadership measured the impact of its military actions by their political effects rather than by conventional military measures such as men and materiel lost or territory gained. Thus Henry Kissinger’s 1969 lament: “We fought a military war; our opponents fought a political one. We sought physical attrition; our opponents aimed for our psychological exhaustion. In the process we lost sight of one of the cardinal maxims of guerrilla war: The guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win.” That logic has Jon Alterman of the not-exactly-dovish Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., to see Israel as being at considerable risk of losing to Hamas: Hamas’s concept of military victory…is all about driving long-term political outcomes. Hamas sees victory not in one year or five, but from engaging with decades of struggle that increase Palestinian solidarity and increase Israel’s isolation. In this scenario, Hamas rallies a besieged population in Gaza around it in anger and helps collapse the Palestinian Authority government by ensuring Palestinians see it even more as a feckless adjunct to Israeli military authority. Meanwhile, Arab states move strongly away from normalization, the Global South aligns strongly with the Palestinian cause, Europe recoils at the Israeli army’s excesses, and an American debate erupts over Israel, destroying the bipartisan support Israel has enjoyed here since the early 1970s.

[wilwheaton]

Current data debunks the conventional wisdom that younger Americans don’t vote (and therefore can be ignored). Young voters turned out where it mattered most in 2022, namely in swing states with competitive races. The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tuft University’s post-2022 election study found that youth turnout in Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon and Pennsylvania exceeded 32 percent. Atrocious turnout rates below 20 percent in states such as Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia dragged down the national youth turnout rate. The significance of the youth vote shouldn’t be underestimated. “If the elections had been decided by voters 45 and older, Republicans would have won the House by an even greater margin and likely taken the Senate,” polling analyst John Della Volpe wrote in the New York Times after the election.

Tennessee's expulsion of two lawmakers might reshape politics - The Washington Post

If America is going to be saved from Fascism, we will have Zoomers and Millennials to thank for it.

I’m just one Old, but I’m here to support y’all. Just tell me where the barricade is and I’ll show up.

[panther-os]

absolutely in fucking love with @scarlettohairdye 's name for mianmian's husband, it just Fits in a sort of mouth feel and brain clicky way. however I cannot for the life of me find anywhere on the internet where scarlett mentions what characters are used in his name so I went hunting for the most likely suspects. there are approximately a million different ways to write fan wenxin, including two common surnames and one that has to do with trading/merchant-ship, but this one made me laugh and also just Feels Right

凡温馨

(fán wēn xīn)

google will tell you this means "where warmth" but Google is a liar and my actual Chinese English dictionary written by actual Chinese people says it means "common/ordinary/mundane comfort" (if you are also actually chinese and this is wrong please dm me)

but I do think "common comfort" is an amazing name for a non-cultivator who's just a stable presence supporting his wife

I'm also working on a list right now of English names for mdzs characters, for me to reference if I ever write a fic where they need to use them (somewhat likely, writing fic is hit or miss rn, but I live in an area with a ton of exchange students, immigrants, and visiting overseas businessmen so those situations are familiar to me) and I took the liberty of putting down "William Fan/Wendy Fan" for Fan Wenxin. 😅

anyways scarlett is my current favorite author when it comes to fic for my special interests. recs include:

Covered in Bees | T, Wangxian | Beekeeping au with tons of bee fun facts, one of my favorites long before I read scarlett's other stuff

leave all your love and your longing behind | E, Wangxian | Modern au feat. An Asshole Dog (TM) and some of my favorite modern characters dynamics ever

i know who i want to take me home | E, Wangxian | Su She and Jin Zixun are assholes and bartender Wei Wuxian rescues drunk Lan Wangji

There's a Baby Loose in the Burial Mounds! | T, gen | a-Yuan is very loved

My Zhiji's On Broadway | E, Wangxian | the most amazing of drunk Lan Wangji shenanigans, feat. the Washington State Convention Center as Sir Not Appearing In This Fic

stray cat strut | E, Wangxian | Wei Wuxian is cursed (ish) as a cat, Lan Wangji finds a random cat on a night hunt, aka the fic that gets vocal trash's cover of stray cat strut stuck in my head every time I read the title

[thislovintime]

With Jennifer McLeod at the Hands Across America chain on May 25, 1986. Photo by Maryellen Fleming.

“Taking a stand in Pennsylvania to help the hungry and homeless were Peter Tork of the Monkees, stationed atop Laurel Mountain.” - Pittsburgh Post Gazette, May 27, 1986 “Starting at the Pacific Ocean in Los Angeles, the home base of the organization, the human chain will proceed through the Southwest and Midwest and enter Pennsylvania near Beaver Falls. It will continue through Pittsburgh and leave the state near Waynesboro on its way to Washington, D.C. […] [and to] the final destination of New York City. […] Celebrities on the line in Pennsylvania will include singers Dionne Warwick and Teddy Pendergrass, actors Kevin Bacon and James Darren, and musicians Grover Washington Jr. and Peter Tork.” - Indiana Gazette, May 23, 1986 “All of us [fans] joined the line at 3:00 p.m., and afterwards Peter went to a clearing to sign autographs and pose for pictures for a half hour. At 3:30 p.m. Peter went back down the mountain to the center of town. A local group called The Bitter Route was playing, and Peter jumped on stage with them to perform ‘Kansas City.’ He then spoke briefly about the worthy cause and signed autographs for nearly two hours until the last person in line had gotten an autograph! […] It was really wonderful that Peter and Jennifer took the time out of their hectic schedules, especially during the very busy pre-tour period, to take part in this kind of an event!" - article by Maryellen Fleming, fanzine, 1980s “Look at those of us here, right now. We are incredibly fortunate, we’re really very, very lucky. All of us know — I mean, just to take care of the physical side of things — we all know, you know, where we’re going to eat next, and where we’re going to sleep next, and a lot about who our friends are, and a lot about what we’re going to be doing for the next few days, if not weeks, months, and years. And there are people in this world who don’t have any of that. […] [In society] it’s like, ‘I’m taking mine, I’m cutting…, I don’t care what anybody else…’ And it’s like, I don’t know where this all came from, but it seems to be happening everywhere. […] You know, I see… what I think I see is people, they have homes and money, and they think that makes them more human than people who don’t.” - Peter Tork, Q&A at the 1989 Monkees Convention “Those of us [in the ‘60s] who were truly interested in liberty, fraternity and equality, however, knew we were onto something good and real. What had been called democracy was, and to some extent still is, a pretext for wrapping the will of the greedy and aggressive in a mantle of public acquiescence. Now, the business of wresting power away from those who make a specialty of wielding it will be a long and protracted struggle, with a lot of setbacks along the way. The outlines of the new style of governance are only dimly perceivable, and won’t become clear for a long time to come. In the meantime, our job is to practice the principles of fairness and service to the extent possible. One thing is clear: there is a much higher joy in service than there is in acquisition of wealth. (Remember that it isn’t money that’s the root of all evil, it’s the love of money.) Hanging together in brother — and sisterhood is so happy-making you want to sing right out loud.” - Peter Tork, Ask Peter Tork

[fastlikealambo]

national anthem:older!steve x black fem!reader

summary: steve harrington is running for president of the united states as the democratic nominee. he's polling well, people like him because he actually intends to keep his campaign promises, he's got great hair and a cute dog.

there's one problem: he doesn't do relationships, he's been seen doing the walk of shame too many times and his campaign manager has had enough. he needs a wife, or a least someone to smile and wave his messy ass through election season before disappearing into obscurity.

that's where you come in.

you're a sweet virgin kindergarten teacher who looks like disney animated birds help you get dressed in the morning. on paper you're perfect for the job and you have student loan and medical debt so you will silk press and laugh your way to the democratic national convention.

here's the thing:

you can't stand his pompous ass and he gets all tongue tied and sweaty when he gets within 2 feet of you.

it's gonna be a long fucking campaign.

bonus: here's two songs that are the background music in this chapter. can you figure out which song goes with what scene? I'd love to know your guesses.

angel - halle bailey

death of me - pvris

chapter one: washington, d.c.

“They’re calling you The Future Slut in Chief, Steve.”

Erica threw a paper in Steve’s lap, pinching the bridge of her nose before sinking into a chair to drink her iced coffee,  the only thing to keep her from reaching across the table and throttling the future President of The United States.

Steve looked down at The New York Post, a picture of him in his boxers leaving someone’s apartment dead center. He shrugged, putting his feet on the table and leaning back in his chair. 

“I look great and besides it’s the New York Post, nobody reads The New York Post, Sinclair. After the speech today no one will give two shits about that, nothing to worry about.” He said, shoving his sunglasses back on his face to block out the fluorescent lighting.

Four more newspapers with nearly identical pictures knocked the sunglasses right off his face and the forty year old nearly fell out of his chair.

“You can’t throw things at me, that’s treason.”

“Not yet.” Erica said sweetly.

“They’re making fancams of you and I quote, ‘ your slutty little waist.” Holly Wheeler said, Erica’s assistant said with a giggle, showing her boss her phone, the same bridge of some Cardi B. song filling the conference room over and over again.

“Send me that to me, won’t you Holly?” Steve said, reaching for his coffee.

“Do not send that to him Holly.” Erica sighed, pushing Steve’s legs off the table before standing up.

“Look Harrington, I joined this campaign because I believed in you. You had feasible ideas, a moral compass, the hair of a Kennedy and so much money I sometimes want to call the IRS for fun.”

“What was that last one-

“Never mind that. Everything about you screams all american but because you don’t have a partner or spouse,  to the general public it also screams ‘I may or may not have people in my basement.’ Nobody likes a single male president.”

“James Buchanan never married.” Steve grumbled.

 Steve Harrington didn’t do relationships, he had his fun every night, came home to his dog and empty apartment and focused on doing some good in his community with the outrageous inheritance his father left him. 

 There was no time for wives or husbands and that’s exactly how he liked it. 

“James Buchanan thought a dime was enough money to live on so maybe not the best example. Steve, you have a chance to be the next leader of this country but doing the walk of shame at your prehistoric age is not going to get the votes you need.”

Erica was absolutely right but Steve would be damned if he said so.

 “You need someone at your side for the last leg of the campaign and I’ve taken care of it. She’s been checked out and briefed, you’ll meet her on stage tonight when you introduce her, I’ve had Nancy edit your speech.”

“What the fuck Erica!” Steve yelled but Erica ignored him.

“She’s smarter than you, beautiful, and most importantly, she’s likable. So if you want to sit in the Oval Office for the next four years, you’ll wear the Tom Ford suit and act like this is the greatest love story ever told. You don’t have to talk to her outside of events if you don’t want to but you will do this. I have yet to fail you so trust that I can do the job you pay me handsomely for. Got it?”

No.

Absolutely not.

There was no way he was going through with this.

“To wrap up my speech so we can all get home safely, I want to introduce you to someone. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, to this campaign, to this country! I’m so proud to finally introduce my fiancée, let’s give her a big hand!” Steve said with a big smile at the cheering crowd, proud of the fact that he didn’t immediately vomit when the word fiancée came out of his mouth.

The click-clack of your heels coming up a staircase had Steve’s heart in his throat. At some point his clapping was no longer forced as he waited for the worst blind date of his life to appear on stage. 

“Get it together Harrington, turn on the charm for two minutes and get the fuck out of here.” He thought to himself.

He could handle this.

Two seconds later, he was wrong.

So, very, wrong.

If there were words to truly describe how beautiful you were, Steve did not know them. 

How could he?

How would ecstasy describe ecstasy?

Fuck.

Like Erica drilled into him a thousand times before the DC rally began, he reached out his hand to you, now enveloped in the scent of orchids and shea butter, and brought you into his arms for the world’s gentlest and fastest embrace. Your lips met with Steve’s cheek with a sweet laugh that made the crowd go wild as you pushed him forward towards the mic.

But no words came out.

That man was so busy looking at you he didn’t know the closing to his speech, the stump speech he had been giving for months now, the one he could recite in his sleep and accidentally yelled out during sex that one time.

A full ten seconds of uncomfortable silence with a sweaty man had you suddenly in front of the mic.

“I’m so happy to be a part of this once in a lifetime event supporting Steve! We’ve got a lot of work to do to get to the ballot box but we are ready to elevate and encourage our beautiful country towards a brighter future! Good night everyone, drive safe!” You nearly yelled into the mic, applause bursting through the audience.

You were quickly ushered backstage away from journalists, happy to get out as just as quickly as possible but Steve followed right with you.

“I-I had that back there!” Your fiance and future president choked out.

“Oh, so you can talk, wonderful! A thank you for saving your ass or a nice to meet you would suffice. I didn’t know a presidential nominee much less an adult man could drool like an infant but you’re full of surprises Mr. Harrington.” You said, rolling your eyes. 

“I was not drooling!”

“My shoulder’s all wet Mr. President.  Are we done here, can I go now?” You asked, turning your attention to Erica.

“I’m so glad you two are getting along! One more picture for all the socials and then you are free to go, Hopper and your security detail will make sure you get to your hotel safely.” Erica said, grabbing her phone for the picture.

“Big smiles, you two!”

You still couldn’t get over the fact that 24 hours ago, you were crying yourself to sleep wondering how you were going to pay your bills and get back on your insurance and now you’re prom posing with America’s Next Top Leader.

“I couldn’t have possibly drooled on you, you wanna know why?” Steve said through a frozen smile.

“Not really.”

“If I got the next First Lady of The United States all wet, you’d know, honey.” He whispered in your ear. 

Motherfucker.

Next stop: Maryland! I hope you enjoyed this, I’m not too sure if it's any good :)

[therogerclarkfanclub]

Roger's* 2024 Comic Con Schedule

Interested in knowing if Roger is coming to your city or town? Check the listings below. Updated as new info becomes available.

If you've been waiting for the opportunity to meet Roger & The Gang, or you would like to meet him/them again, feel free to bookmark ("Like" 😉) this post if you want to keep up with Roger's Comic Con appearances. I will update and reblog this list as soon as new info becomes available.

Alternatively, you can always keep tabs on Roger's social media for the latest dates.

*This is listing is not limited to just Roger, it will also include any other cast members attending a specific Con.

⭐ LAST UPDATED: October 01, 2024 ⭐

JAN 07 - Added: Fanboy Expo

JAN 25 - Added: FANEXPO Cleveland

JAN 31 - Added: RetroGameCon

MAR 04 - Added: Fanboy Expo Orlando

MAR 06 - Added: Washington Gaming Expo

APR 10 - Added: Florida Supercon

APR 21 - Added: Stellar Con York

APR 22 - Added: Sci-Fi Valley Con

MAY 04 - Added: Fanboy Expo Orlando (Alex, Roger)

MAY 04 - Added: WonderFest 2024

MAY 07 - Added: Rob to Sci-Fi Valley Con

MAY 15 - Added: New York Comic Con

JUL 02 - Added: Brasil Game Show

JUL 26 - Added: Pittsburgh Gaming Expo (Roger)

JUL 28 - Added: Pittsburgh Gaming Expo (Benjamin)

AUG 06 - Added: FanEXPO San Francisco (Rob)

AUG 11 - Added: Soda City Comic Con (Roger)

AUG 26 - Added: Rhode Island Comic Con (Alex)

AUG 31 - Added: Comic Con North East (Roger, Rob)

OCT 01 - Added: Rhode Island Comic Con (Benjamin, Roger, Rob)

─────────── ��⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────

🌟🌟 Animate! Raleigh 🌟🌟

Dates: January 5-7, 2024 City: Raleigh, North Carolina Venue: Raleigh Convention Center 500 S Salisbury St. Raleigh, NC 27601 Confirmed attendees: Roger, Benjamin, Peter Cancellations: Rob

🌟🌟 Fanboy Anime Toy Gaming Knoxville 🌟🌟

Dates: March 9-10, 2024 City: Knoxville, TN Venue: The Knoxville Convention Center 701 Henley Street Knoxville, Tennessee 37902 Confirmed attendees: Roger, Rob

🌟🌟 GameOn Expo 🌟🌟

Dates: March 15-17, 2024 City: Phoenix, Arizona Venue: Phoenix Convention Center - North Building 100 N 3rd St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 Confirmed attendees: Roger & Rob

🌟🌟 Washington State Gaming Expo 🌟🌟

Dates: March 29-31, 2024 City: Puyallup, Washington Venue: Washington State Fair and Events Center 110 9th Ave SW Puyallup, WA 98371-6811 Confirmed attendees: Roger & Rob

🌟🌟 FANEXPO Cleveland 🌟🌟

Dates: April 12-14, 2024 City: Cleveland, Ohio Venue: Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland 300 Lakeside Ave E Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Confirmed attendees: Roger and Rob

🌟🌟 PopCon Indy 🌟🌟

Dates: April 26-28, 2024 City: Indianapolis, Indiana Venue: Indiana Convention Center 100 South Capitol Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46225 Confirmed attendees: Roger and Rob

🌟🌟 WonderFest 2024 🌟🌟

Dates: June 1-2, 2024 City: Louisville, KY Venue: Crowne Plaza Louisville Airport Hotel 830 Phillips Lane Louisville, KY 40209. Confirmed attendees: Rob

🌟🌟 Sci-Fi Valley Con 🌟🌟

Dates: June 7-9, 2024 City: Altoona, PA Venue: Blair Country Convention Center One Convention Center Drive 100 South Capitol Ave. Altoona, PA 16602 Confirmed attendees: Roger and Rob

🌟🌟 Stellar Con York 🌟🌟

Dates: June 15, 2024 City: York, Pennsylvania Venue: York Fairgrounds 334 Carlisle Ave York, Pennsylvania 17404 Confirmed attendees: Roger

🌟🌟 Black Hills Redemption 🌟🌟

Dates: June 21st - 23rd, 2024 City: Deadwood, South Dakota Venue: The entire town of Deadwood Panel will be held at: Homestake Opera House Meet & greet sessions: Saloon No. 10 Confirmed attendees: Rob, Steve, Benjamin, Robert Bogue, Mick, Peter, Alex, Jim Santangeli, Howard Pinhasik, Kaili, Meeya, Jim Pirri, Curzon, Roger, Samantha, Jo, Gabriel, Penny O'Brien, John Hickok, Sophia Marzocchi Cancellations: Gabriel

🌟🌟 Florida Supercon 🌟🌟

Dates: July 12 - 14, 2024 City: Miami Beach, Florida Venue: Miami Beach Convention Center 1901 Convention Center Drive Miami Beach, FL 33139 Confirmed attendees: Roger and Rob

🌟🌟 Comic Con Wales 🌟🌟

Dates: August 10-11, 2024 City: New Port, South Wales Venue: International Convention Centre Wales Coldra Woods Newport South Wales NP18 1HQ United Kingdom Confirmed attendees: Roger and Rob

🌟🌟 Soda City Comic Con 🌟🌟

Dates: August 24 & 25, 2024 City: Columbia, South Carolina Venue: Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center 1101 Lincoln Street Columbia, SC 29201 Confirmed attendees: Roger

🌟🌟 Fanboy Expo Orlando 🌟🌟

Dates: September 6-8, 2024 City: Orlando, Florida Venue: Orange County Convention Center - West Concourse 9800 International Drive Orlando, FL 32819 Confirmed attendees: Benjamin, Roger, Alex, Rob, Peter, Kaili

🌟🌟 Pittsburgh Gaming Expo 🌟🌟

Dates: October 4-6, 2024 City: Monroeville, Pennsylvania Venue: Monroeville Convention and Events Center 209 Mall Plaza Blvd Monroeville, PA 15146 Confirmed attendees: Roger, Benjamin

🌟🌟 Brasil Game Show 🌟🌟

Dates: October 09-13, 2024 (10th and 11th only for Roger) City: Sao Paulo, Brazil Venue: Expo Center Norte Rua José Bernardo Pinto, 333 Vila Guilherme São Paulo - SP 02055-000 Brasil Confirmed attendees: Roger

🌟🌟 RetroGameCon 🌟🌟

Dates: October 11-13, 2024 City: Syracuse, New York Venue: The Oncenter Convention Center 800 South State Street Syracuse, NY 13202 Confirmed attendees: Roger and Rob

🌟🌟 New York Comic Con 🌟🌟

Dates: October 17-20, 2024 City: New York City, New York Venue: The Jacob Javits Convention Center 429 11th Avenue New York, NY 10001 Confirmed attendees: Roger, Rob, Benjamin, Peter, Alex, Kaili, Meeya, Mick, Curzon, Noshir, Robert Bogue, Gabriel

🌟🌟 Comic Con North East 🌟🌟

Dates: October 26-27, 2024 City: Newcastle upon Type Venue: Utilita Arena Newcastle Arena Way Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne & Wear NE4 7NA, UK Confirmed attendees: Roger and Rob

🌟🌟 Rhode Island Comic Con 🌟🌟

Dates: November 1-3, 2024 City: Providence, Rhode Island Venue: Rhode Island Convention Center & Amica Mutual Pavilion 1 Sabin Street Providence, RI 02903 Confirmed attendees: Alex, Benjamin, Rob, Roger

🌟🌟 FanEXPO San Francisco 🌟🌟

Dates: November 29, 30, and December 1st, 2024 City: San Francisco, California Venue: Moscone Center West 800 Howard Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Confirmed attendees: Rob

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Gus Is Us

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

August 22, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Aug 23, 2024

The streets of Chicago have been bustling with visitors, law enforcement officers, and a few protesters for the Democratic National Convention. This is the twenty-sixth convention that’s been held in Chicago, first because the Republican Party was centered here in its early days and because Chicago was a major railroad hub, and then because Democrats had a power base here in the twentieth century. Baltimore, Maryland, is second on the list of host cities, with thirteen conventions under its belt. 

While we are now so accustomed to political conventions that they seem to be part of the landscape, they were not part of the original framework of American democracy. They grew out of the expansion of the suffrage in the early 1800s, and their development was an important part of the evolution of our democratic system. 

In the early years of the American Republic, political leaders were faced with the practical problem of how, exactly, to create a democratic government. The Constitution provided a framework for how such a government should work, but it didn’t lay out how voters would interact with that framework. At first, that gap between voters and the machinery of politics didn’t seem to be much of a problem, since George Washington was so popular he essentially ran unopposed and the presidential electors voted for him unanimously. But then President Washington announced he would not run for a third term, and there was no consensus on who should take his place.

The men who framed the Constitution opposed political parties, but partisanship had sprung up during Washington’s administration nonetheless as voters divided into the Federalist Party, which generally supported the Washington administration, and the Democratic-Republicans, who worried that Washington’s supporters were leading the country toward aristocracy. (Despite their name, the Democratic-Republicans were not analogous to today’s Democrats or Republicans.)

In 1796 the congressional delegations of each party met informally to figure out which candidate they would support. The rule of “King Caucus,” as its detractors would call this system, was short lived. The Federalists flirted with secession in 1815 and never recovered. By 1820, they didn’t even nominate a candidate, permitting incumbent president James Monroe, a Democratic-Republican, to run virtually unopposed. 

Many political observers believed that the triumph of the Democratic-Republicans would mean that the nation had finally outgrown partisanship, and they boasted of Monroe’s “Era of Good Feelings.” With politics seemingly in harmony, states extended the vote far more widely than they had done before, dumping the property qualifications that had previously excluded significant numbers of white men. By the 1840s, virtually all white men could vote. (By 1858, free Black men could vote only in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and women could not vote.)

Universal white male suffrage changed the American political scene. Early political leaders had assumed that elites like them would always run the government, but that idea exploded in 1824 when the dominant Democratic-Republican party split into factions. Only a quarter of the party’s congressmen showed up at that year’s caucus, and four different candidates ran for office. 

Andrew Jackson won a plurality of both the popular vote and the electoral vote—although not enough to win—and yet lost the election when it went to the House of Representatives. Americans watched as established politicians overrode their votes in order to put John Quincy Adams, the son of former president John Adams, into the presidency. For all politicians talked of equality, it seemed a wealthy elite was taking over the country. 

When Jackson handily won the 1828 election, he declared that the president is the direct representative of the people. 

Voters approved that sentiment and began to demand more of a voice in the choosing of their presidential candidates. In 1831, using a convention model that men used at the state and local level for choosing political candidates, the Anti-Masonic Party called supporters together to choose a presidential and vice presidential candidate. Jackson’s new political party, the Democrats, and the party that rose to oppose the Democrats, known as the Whigs, followed suit. 

Conventions did more than give voters a say in their presidential and vice presidential candidates, though. They created a national party structure that whipped up enthusiasm for candidates, so that all those new voters would work to get their candidates into office. That structure and enthusiasm, in turn, brought ordinary voters into the previously bloodless machinery of democracy the Framers engineered. 

Campaigns ceased to be dignified affairs in which elite politicians allowed themselves to be drafted to serve. While until the end of the nineteenth century it would be considered unseemly for a candidate to campaign personally, other political leaders barnstormed the country on behalf of their candidates, and voters held parades and barbecues and vocally demonstrated their support for candidates who worked to show that they were men of the people. The patrician William Henry Harrison set the standard for such a show when he won the White House by adopting the symbols of hard cider and a log cabin. 

But for all the growing reputation of political conventions as the place where voters made their will heard, professional politicians still carefully managed delegations to jockey their candidates into the best possible positions for nomination. Famously, Illinois lawyer Abraham Lincoln began plotting his own elevation at least by early 1860. In his insightful and thorough examination of the 1860 convention, political historian Michael S. Green laid out how Lincoln outmaneuvered the many more popular candidates contending for the Republican presidential nomination that year:

In 1859, Lincoln worked with a colleague, Norman B. Judd, to get the Republican convention of the next year held in Chicago, where Lincoln would have a home court advantage. Then his friends helped push the Illinois Republicans to support him unanimously and, in keeping with the idea that he was a man of the people, dubbed him “The Railsplitter.” Still, Lincoln knew he was not a leading candidate. “My name is new in the field; and I suppose I am not the first choice of a great many,” he wrote to a political operative in spring 1860. “Our policy, then, is to give no offence to others—leave them in a mood to come to us, if they shall be compelled to give up their first love.” 

When Republican delegates met at the hastily constructed hall at the intersection of Lake Street and Market Street in Chicago that held about 10,000 people, Lincoln’s allies sang his praises and negotiated. Perhaps as important, as Green explains, one of Lincoln’s key men got the right to seat the delegations. He isolated New York’s, whose members were strong for their own William Henry Seward, keeping it apart from the state delegations that might be persuaded to climb on board the Seward bandwagon. Those undecided delegations Lincoln’s ally kept close to the Lincoln supporters. 

As the balloting got underway, the first ballot had Seward ahead with 173.5 votes but without enough to get the nomination, and Lincoln second with 102. On the second ballot, Lincoln’s numbers climbed until they were almost equal to Seward’s, and midway through the counting of the third ballot, it was clear Lincoln would be the 1860 Republican nominee.  

The minutiae of politics had given the country a candidate who would change the course of history. 

Green quotes journalist Murat Halstead, who was at the convention: “There was a moment’s silence,” Halstead wrote. “The nerves of the thousands, which through the hours of suspense had been subjected to terrible tension, relaxed, and as deep breaths of relief were taken, there was a noise in the wigwam like the rush of a great wind, in the van of a storm—and in another breath, the storm was there. There were thousands cheering with the energy of insanity.”  

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[catdotjpeg]

Supplying arms to Israel to bomb, destroy, kill, and maim Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and also in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem has taken center stage in the past weeks. A UN report concluded that states should cease immediately from transferring arms and ammunition to Israel or supplying it with intelligence that could be used in the Gaza Strip, risking the violation of international law. So far, the U.S., Germany, the U.K., France, Canada and Australia have been at the helm of supplying weapons to Israel since October, with Washington and Berlin as the largest exporters of munitions.  “States must accordingly refrain from transferring any weapon or ammunition – or parts for them – if it is expected, given the facts or past patterns of behavior, that they would be used to violate international law,” the UN experts said. They added that “as long there is a clear risk” of violating the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty and that arms will be used to commit crimes, exports of weapons and munitions to Israel should not go ahead.

This also extends to sharing military intelligence. The U.S. and the U.K. have reportedly fed Israel with intelligence, dispatching military personnel to advise Israel early in October and operated reconnaissance flights over the Gaza Strip, eavesdropping on Palestinians in a bid to locate Israeli captives and help Tel Aviv destroy Hamas movement. “Military intelligence must also not be shared where there is a clear risk that it would be used to violate international humanitarian law,” the UN experts wrote.

They added that there is a need for an arms embargo on Israel following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on January 26 ordering Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza. However, Israel has killed nearly four thousand Palestinians since then.  “This necessitates halting arms exports in the present circumstances,” the experts said. Belgium, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands are the only EU countries to halt arms transfers to Israel, while Japan trade giant, Itochu Corporation, has suspended an agreement to supply Israel with military technology.

Early in February, the Netherlands halted a deal to export F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel following a court decision that found that Israeli forces would use these parts “to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.” “There are many indications that Israel has violated the humanitarian law of war in a not insignificant number of cases,” the UN report added.

-- From "‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 142" by Mustafa Abu Sneineh for Mondoweiss, 25 Feb 2024

[mariacallous]

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for nuclear weapon drills went public on May 6, the day after Orthodox Easter—a bitter irony since he styles himself a fervent guardian of Christian values, which do not include the simulation of nuclear annihilation the last time I checked. I wonder whether he signed the order before or after his much-publicized attendance of Easter service at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

The exercises will simulate “theater,” or regional, nuclear attacks, in contrast to “strategic” nuclear exercises simulating war with the United States. These theater exercises will be centered in Russia’s southern military district, likely targeting not only Ukraine but also NATO members Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. The message coming from Moscow is that the exercises are in answer to loose talk from French President Emmanuel Macron and other NATO leaders about possibly sending alliance forces to fight in Ukraine.

The Kremlin appears to be reinforcing, in no uncertain terms, a red line against NATO boots on the ground in Ukraine. Fortunately, it is a red line that most NATO leaders share, including U.S. President Joe Biden. From the very outset of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Biden made it clear that the United States and its allies would send military assistance to Ukraine but not engage in the fighting. His goal was and remains crystal clear: to avoid a direct fight between Russia and NATO in Europe that could escalate to World War III and nuclear conflict.

Putin also wants to avoid a direct fight between Russia and NATO. For him, that means avoiding strikes against NATO territory or reconnaissance aircraft patrolling the airspace over the Black Sea. NATO deliveries are fair game for attack once they arrive on Ukrainian soil, but not while they are still transiting NATO territory.

The United States and Russia thus agree on one thing in this terrible war: They do not want to risk a nuclear holocaust. Why, then, do the Russians keep claiming that the world is facing one?

Part of it is evidently the Kremlin’s effort to derive value from this very brinkmanship—a pattern of behavior rarely seen since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, the last time the world came to the brink of a nuclear exchange. During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union fought proxy wars in many places, from Angola to Vietnam, but threats to use their nuclear forces rarely played a role. Neither side used such threats to achieve conventional battlefield goals, the way leading Russian officials have been doing throughout the war in Ukraine.

Instead, Washington and Moscow first built up their strategic arsenals—the long-range nuclear weapons by which they threaten each other directly—sustaining essential parity as they went. So long as neither side built significantly more than the other, and as long as both sustained a high level of readiness, the two superpowers had a nuclear deterrent that both considered stable.

This stability became so boring and reliable that people more or less forgot about nuclear annihilation. Once policymakers in Washington and Moscow began to control and limit their nuclear arsenals in the 1970s—starting with the first U.S.-Soviet détente and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty—the rest of the world was glad. No one wanted to think about what would happen if the nuclear superpowers “pressed the button.” And they did not have to: The superpowers were heading in a different direction, reducing their reliance on nuclear weapons.

The war in Ukraine has thrown this complacency into turmoil, because Putin and his minions have insisted on rattling the nuclear saber throughout the invasion. Now the rest of the world has to think again about nuclear weapons and what Russia might do with them.

This bizarre game of nuclear look-at-me is linked to the Kremlin’s equally bizarre complaint that its act of invading Ukraine has created an existential threat to Russia. In this telling, NATO support to Ukraine is tied up with strategic defeat of Russia. As commentators in Moscow claim, Russia only wanted the best for Ukraine—its liberation from a “Nazi” regime and a fake idea of statehood. However, once NATO began to aid Kyiv, the bloc’s goal was not helping Ukraine, but destroying and dismembering Russia.

Some leading officials in NATO member states have indeed voiced Russia’s strategic defeat as an objective for what they are trying to achieve in assisting Ukraine. But again, Biden has been crystal clear that the bloc has a limited objective that does not threaten Russia itself. In May 2022, he said: “We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow. So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces.”

But Putin and his chief ministers have not been mollified. They continue to go on and on about how the United States and NATO are seeking the strategic defeat of Russia and its demise as a nation. Their motivation is obvious: If its people believe that the country is facing total destruction, they will stay in the fight for the sake of survival.

So there is a lesson here for leaders not only in the United States but also in Europe and Asia: The fabric of nuclear deterrence is changing, its mind game adjusting to a new era of nuclear brinkmanship. So far, Putin and those around him have been the most active practitioners, but North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, whose nuclear capacity now extends beyond his regional neighbors, has been not far behind. Beijing, although it has sustained a nuclear good-guy image with a policy of no first use, could be tempted to follow Putin’s example as its nuclear force structure becomes more modernized and its ambitions extend throughout Asia.

With so much loose nuclear talk in the air, the United States and its allies must think hard about how to sustain stable and strong deterrence. In other words, they are going to have to focus on how to talk responsibly to the global public about nuclear weapons. The most important audience in deterrence, of course, are the potential nuclear aggressors.

The first rule should be to maintain discipline about using terms such as “strategic defeat,” so as not to pander to claims that it is Washington and its allies that are posing an existential threat. If the United States does not seek the destruction of the aggressors’ regimes and the dismemberment of their countries, it should say so. If Washington is not clear about the objectives in a conflict, then it should say nothing at all.

The second rule should be to sustain the effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear deterrent and the reliability of its command and control systems. That means consistent, solid support for the ongoing modernization of the nuclear triad. It means continuing nuclear training and exercises in a transparent manner and testing nuclear delivery systems—missiles and bombers. All of these actions should not be articulated in a threatening manner—the United States should not be the one rattling the nuclear saber—but convey quiet confidence in the country’s nuclear deterrence forces.

Third, Washington should be pursuing with assurance the mutual predictability that comes from controlling and limiting nuclear weapons at the negotiating table. Of course, Russia, China, and North Korea show little interest in coming to that table today, but the United States should not be the side that is quitting it. The global public wants to see continued progress on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, not a descent into a new nuclear arms race. And importantly, the table of nuclear talks is a good place to deliver deterrence messages. As difficult as it may be, the United States and its allies must continue to lead in this arena.

Finally and most importantly, the United States and its allies must sustain steady progress in military assistance to Ukraine. The most serious implication of the delayed funding vote in the U.S. Congress was that the United States could be halted in its tracks by a bully brandishing nuclear weapons. U.S. leaders need to convey quiet confidence in the country’s nuclear deterrent and keep their promises to Ukraine. Together, these two elements make up the critical message that must go to others who might try nuclear threats to get their way.

In each of these steps, Washington has great potential to bolster its nuclear deterrent. The United States’ naturally open system facilitates communicating deterrence messages when a president speaks to the nation or military and political leaders testify before the U.S. Congress. The national budget process permits the country to convey openly and clearly the process of its nuclear modernization. And working together with allies, the United States can drive nuclear statecraft forward in ways that preserve nuclear predictability and, at the same time, strengthen deterrence. The fabric of nuclear deterrence may be changing, but determining its future must not be left to the aggressors.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Amee Vanderpool at SHERO:

Donald Trump is now trying to claim that he knows nothing about the controversial conservative agenda that is meant to go into place on “Day One” of another Trump presidency. The extensive plan, which was developed by the prominent Trump supporting Heritage Foundation, lays out a blueprint for a complete overhaul of the federal government, detailing a strategy for immediately firing thousands of civil servants, expanding the executive powers of the president, halting all sales of the abortion pill, and much, much more. Although Trump has recently attempted to distance himself publicly from his own custom-made agenda, he has continued for months at his rallies to make dog whistle promises that include the main tenants of this conservative policy. [...]

Contrary to recent protests, Donald Trump also knows exactly who is behind Project 2025, because it was created by many of his most trusted allies and former advisors, who ultimately wrote the plan for him. The plan sets out four main policy aims to install an extreme, far-right agenda that includes: restoring the family as the center piece of American life; dismantling the administrative state; defending the nation's sovereignty and borders; and securing God-given individual rights to live freely. Look for Trump to manipulate the language of these basic tenants in his ongoing speeches, which are ultimately a signal to his support of the 2025 agenda. In January of 2018, just a year into his first term, the Heritage Foundation bragged that the Trump administration had “embraced nearly two-thirds of the policy recommendations from the “Mandate for Leadership,” which ultimately became “Project 2025.” But the team that created the project is chock full of former Trump advisers, including director Paul Dans, who was chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management while Trump was president. Russell Vought, who was the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump from July 2020 to January 2021, wrote a key chapter on future executive branch staffing for Project 2025, and also serves as the Republican National Committee’s 2024 platform policy director. The Heritage Foundation touts that “more than 350 leading conservatives” contributed to the plan, including many that would be hugely influential in Washington if Republicans take back the White House.

[...] In the last few weeks, the Biden Campaign has made a point to direct the public to the goals of the conservative plan — which is backed by more than 100 far right groups — to warn of the potential danger involved with a second Trump presidency. The increased concern over the far right agenda, which appeared to rise in tandem with Trump’s slight edge in the polls following the presidential debate, has now gone viral and is getting a lot of backlash. This has made it a little more difficult for the Republican Party to outwardly adopt Project 2025 as planned at the RNC this week. Most party platforms tend to average between 50- to 75-pages, according to historians. The Republican Party has issued a formal platform that is 16 pages long, and it makes extensive use of capital letters to somehow mirror Donald Trump’s own speaking and social media posting tone. Many of the concepts and directives seem intentionally vague, as if to be filled in by a more substantial, 900 page companion agenda that fleshes out the real intentions of the Republican Party under Trump’s continued leadership.

While it may have been the intention of RNC Director Russell Vought and other key Heritage Foundation members for the GOP to formally adopt Project 2025 at the convention this week, they might just keep the connection between the two agendas implied and forgo drawing more attention to the unpopular far right plan. Using the Project 2025 agenda as an Appendix to the Republican Platform put forth this year is the only thing that explains why anyone would put forth such a slapdash and incomprehensible official agenda like the one presented by the RNC this week. Despite Donald Trump’s attempts to distance himself from the substantial conservative opus generated by the Heritage Foundation that he has publicly praised and acknowledged in the past, nothing happens on a large scale within the GOP without Trump’s express consent. Moving forward we can expect the rhetoric to change slightly and become even more obfuscated, as Trump and JD Vance continue to sell Project 2025 under a more generic premise that they think distances them from the conservative manifesto.

DJT can claim to disavow Project 2025 all he wants, but a large part of it was influenced by Trump staffers.

See Also:

Public Notice: Project 2025 is the GOP platform

[fishrpg]

Coming This December on FishRPG...

The Routes of '66!

Buckle up, because we're going on a road trip!

For the final month of 2024, I decided to roll twice among the remaining genres and combine them. The results were "Modern" and "Spooky," and I split the difference to come up with my own setting. We'll be exploring a network of roads in the US that don't quite align with how reality works. I'm also setting it in 1966 because I've really wanted to have an excuse to use some of the wonderfully-detailed tables from Daniel James Hanley's The Uncanny Highway.

I'll be creating some of my own lore, so hopefully this will exist as something that is distinct from the Uncanny Highway.

About The Routes

In 1966, the US Interstate system was a little over halfway complete and covered about 33,000 miles. Below is a map of the completed sections of interstate in use in 1966. Traveling across the country required many detours and long stretches across smaller state-maintained highways.

However, many of these non-interstate roads had mysterious junctions that lead to roads that didn't always correspond to reality. Distances could be much longer or much shorter than the odometer reading, and getting lost was quite easy to do. Most of these junctions appeared in rural areas, and didn't impact large numbers of people.

Such anomalies were known to a small group of engineers, travel enthusiasts, and surveyors as early as 1937. These individuals helped draft an initial proposal for an interstate highway system that largely avoided navigational inconsistencies and it was first described in Bureau of Public Roads report to Congress in 1939. In following years, those with knowledge of the most reliable paths often found employment with a small organization in the federal government known as the Bureau of Transportation Standardization and Consistency.

Eventually the BTSC proposed an expanded road system that did not exhibit distance anomalies that would be supported by executive order from President Eisenhower in 1955 and established in law by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.

One side effect of the growing interstate system was that travelers began visiting more distant places with more regularity. Informal interactions with fellow travelers at truck stops and gas stations disseminated bits and pieces of folk knowledge about the stretches of road outside the interstate that made trips faster and which junctions should be avoided. Such information is incredibly valuable for people who frequently travel long distances, just as it is valuable for smugglers and people looking to disappear. These alternate road networks became known to those familiar with it as simply "The Routes."

Traveling on these alternate roadways reveals an entirely different set of landmarks than a traditional map would indicate. Entire towns that don't exist in the "real world" could be found among The Routes, along with amusement parks, gas stations, and anything else someone might find on a remote stretch of road. Keep in mind, though, that any attraction on The Routes exists independently of the real world!

Most travelers along The Routes depict it as a hexagonal spiderweb that has 6 entry/exit points on the edges and another such point in the center. Each point emerges in a remote stretch of road in a different state: California, Georgia, Kansas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming. Once inside The Routes, a traveler doesn't usually get to leave unless they reach one of the abovementioned points. These paths have been honed over the years to balance ease of travel with speed. Even one of the longest trips possible on The Routes (a cross country trip from Pennsylvania to California) only takes about 28 hours of driving time (each hex on the map takes about 4 hours to drive across), while sticking solely to conventional roads will more than double the drive time.

Unfortunately, questionable reality of The Routes means they present some different threats than may be seen on traditional roads. Ghosts, cults, monsters, and even some kinds of magic may be found along The Routes.

Travel at your own risk!

[dertaglichedan]

Fencing erected at White House, VP residence as D.C. braces for unrest

Rings of new security fencing enveloped the White House, U.S. Capitol and Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence on Sunday as federal and District authorities braced for potential unrest in Washington following Tuesday’s presidential election.

For weeks, D.C. officials have sent messages of reassurance to residents and businesses still scarred by damage incurred during some 2020 racial justice and post-election protests. Authorities know of no credible threats, Washington’s police chief said at a news conference, adding there is “no need for any alarm.”

Still, signs of caution proliferated this weekend, as the Secret Service erected new, eight-foot-high metal fences around the White House and Treasury Department complex, and adjacent parts of Lafayette Square, as well as outside the Naval Observatory grounds and Harris’s residence. The Capitol reintroduced temporary bicycle-rack barriers posted with signs stating, “Police Line: Do not cross,” surrounding its perimeter. The agency also is installing physical security measures outside the West Palm Beach, Florida, convention center where Donald Trump will hold his election-night party, not far from his residence at Mar-a-Lago.

“The Secret Service is working closely with federal, state and local partners in Washington, DC and Palm Beach County, Florida to ensure heightened levels of Election Day safety and security,” the agency said in a statement Sunday. “These enhancements are not in response to any specific issue but are part of wide ranging public safety preparations for Tuesday’s election.”

[todaysdocument]

Credentials of A. Pickney Henderson as Special Agent of the Republic of Texas

Record Group 59: General Records of the Department of StateSeries: Notes from Foreign Missions

[Text seen (nearly midway between top & bottom edges of Image) near left edge of Image (written perpendicular to main text in Image (but parallel to both the Image's left edge & to the apparent fold) & appearing "sideways" in Image as it is presented here; seeming to be on a separate page to left of a binding fold:] 21st [?] February [?] 1844. Grimsby's [??] expedition [text transcribed below from main part of/page seen in Image:] Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas. To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: Know Ye, That for the purpose of confirming between the Republic of Texas and The Government of the united States a treaty of Alliance and annexation, and reposing especial trust and confidence in the integrity, prudence and ability of General J. Pinckney Henderson, Special Agent of the Republic of Texas, near the said Government of the united States, I have invested him with full and all manner of power and authority in conjunction with the Hon Isaac Van Zandt, Chargé d'Affaires of this Republic, resident near the said Government of the United States, for, and in the name of the Republic of Texas, to meet and confer with any person or persons duly authorised by the said Government of the United States, being furnished with like power and authority and with him or them to agree, treat, consult, and negotiate of and concerning a treaty of Alliance and annexation, and of all matters and subjects connected therewith, and to conclude and sign a treaty or treaties, convention or conventions touching the premises transmitting the same to the President of the Republic of Texas for his final ratification. In testimony whereof I have caused the Great Seal of the Republic of Texas to be hereunto affixed. Given under my hand at the Town of Washington this Fifteenth day of February A.D. One Thousand Eight hundred and forty four and of the Independence of the Republic the eighth. [circular Great Seal of the Republic of Texas -- with a single star in its center -- seen to left of the text (within this Image) transcribed above] [signature (huge, with decorative flourishes below it):] Sam Houston By the President [signature (smaller; also with decorative flourishes below):] Anson Jones Secretary of State

[usafphantom2]

Article argues that B-21 appears smaller than an insect on the radar

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 12/27/2023 - 09:30 in Military

An article advocates the large-scale acquisition of the B-21 and a Washington thinktank claims an unprecedented stealth capability for the new U.S. stealth bomber.

The article by several authors of the Hudson Institute emphasizes the strategic deterrence potential of the Northrop Grumman B-21 based on its ability to penetrate the most sophisticated access area denial (A2/AD) anti-defenses, in its long range and flexibility.

By citing these qualities, the institute's article argues that a planned purchase of only 100 Raiders is too small to effectively deter U.S. opponents or perform the necessary missions to defeat them.

The slow and limited pace of the planned acquisition of B-21 was observed in a September article that conveyed the maximum production rate of B-21 projected by the U.S. Air Force in just ten per year, a decade in the future.

Hudson's document calls for the duplication of the original purchase "as a starting point" and the clear awareness of Congress of the need for more B-21, so that it can adjust the funding and plan additional production.

The authors note that another Washington-based thinktank, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, recommends the construction of a Raider force capable of defeating two major powers simultaneously, suggesting that the U.S. acquire 288 B-21 bombers. They added that "a prominent former national security officer projected that the number would vary between 300 and 400".

His argument depends both on the nuclear threats of U.S. opponents and on the Raider's ability to penetrate his defenses.

The latter turns to stealth and in the article, Dr. Christopher Bowie, a former RAND researcher, USAF strategic planner and former Northrop Grumman analyst, states that the B-21 should have a radar signature smaller than the B-2 that the Air Force "revealed 30 years ago" having the radar cross section of an insect."

Radar cross-section levels of some aircraft compared to a bird and an insect.

The B-21 followed a non-traditional route of defense acquisition, according to Hudson's document, acquired through the Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) of the U.S. Air Force and, therefore, has been subject to less public scrutiny, allowing more secrecy. This makes it difficult to judge Bowie's statement, but technological progress suggests that it is possible.

The stealthy invisibility to which he alludes probably supports the statement of another of the authors of the article, Kari Bingen, former deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security of the U.S.

In her section of the document, Mrs. Bingen states that, "With the range, survivability and ammunition discussed earlier, the B-21 can threaten military and war infrastructure throughout mainland China. The B-21 could remain inland, watch the ground and wait for updated information about targets to carry out additional attacks or pass target coordinates to other networked platforms."

One B-2 and two F-117, two aircraft with very low radar cross-section values.

The statement that the B-21 could operate deeply within Chinese territory and remain there is an important - although currently unverifiable - suggestion of their A2/AD penetration capacity. Bingen suggests that a B-21 fleet raises fundamental questions for military planners and China's leadership, reinforcing its deterrent potential.

With optional conventional or nuclear payloads with precision impasse capability and deep underground penetration, the B-21 could jeopardize highly sensitive Chinese military infrastructure and also threaten its growing navy fleet in blue waters.

Like its co-authors, Bowie points to a substantial range without replenishment of the bomber that, if the approximations in the article are accurate, could be located in the region of 4,500 to 6,500 nautical miles (or more), despite being smaller than the B-2.

This could allow him to reach targets from unpredictable points on the map, without the need for an air refueling meeting.

These and other statements in the article about the flexibility of the manned (or potentially unmanned) bomber and its synergy with other parts of the U.S. nuclear triad (missiles, submarines), as well as with conventional combined weapons, present a strong justification for buying it in large numbers.

Mackenzie Eaglen, a senior researcher at the American Enterprise Institute, presents a cost and support argument for the acquisition of more B-21 using B-2 for comparison.

Adjusted for inflation," she says, "the average unit cost of acquisition (APUC) of a single B-2 was 1.38 billion dollars, while the APUC of a B-21 is estimated at 706 million dollars, about half the price. But the initial purchase cost is only half the battle."

Although the estimates of the label price of the B-21 are different, there would be no major obstacle to overcome in improving the operating cost and functionality of the B-2.

Eaglen states that, for each hour of flight, "a B-2 costs the U.S. Air Force something between $110,000 and $150,000, plus 60 additional hours of aircraft maintenance. In addition, B-2s must be stored in specialized air-conditioned hangers, valued at $5 million, that protect their stealth coating."

We do not know what the comparable operating costs of the B-21 will be, Mrs. Eaglen says that technical innovations have made its stealth coating easier and cheaper to maintain. "Northrop Grumman has continuously improved its coating of radar absorbent material, and its latest development will allow the aircraft to be maintained and housed in the flight line, rather than in cooled hangars."

She could add that such durability would dramatically increase the number of places where a larger fleet of B-21 could be based, further complicating the responses of China or Russia.

Obviously, buying in bulk allows you to leverage economies of scale, reducing the unit cost of each B-21 with a larger global investment. The B-2 is partly harmed by the exorbitant cost of the ridiculously insignificant 21 copies produced.

A larger purchase could also help compensate for the fleet without deterrence of only 133 B-52, B-1, B-2 and B-21 bombers that the Pentagon plans to have in operation by 2033. Calling the force above "irrelevant", given the existence of readiness rates and considerations about tactical reserves are an understatement.

Checking the capabilities suggested in the Hudson Institute article is simply not possible at the moment. But even if they represent a familiar argument of the U.S. defense establishment to expand the acquisition of one of the weapons systems it favors, the strategic deterrence and the U.S. armed forces have atrophied in such a disturbing way that a bomber that seems smaller than a radar insect looks very good now.

Source: Forbes

Tags: Military AviationNorthrop Grumman B-21 RaiderStealth technology (discretion)USAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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