Presidential Debates

by on October 19, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

So we all know that the President got sick with COVID after the first Presidential debate. So we know that then the debate commission decided they wanted to change the rules for the next debate to make it virtual. And we know that the President said no to that idea. And he questioned whether the moderator could even be trusted to be neutral. Which was when the moderator reached out to a Trump detractor, asking if he should even respond to that. Then the commission canceled the debate entirely. Claimed their moderator’s account had been hacked. But he admitted to lying about that later, and was suspended.

So thanks to all of that, we got to see an entirely different debate this week than we had thought we were going to get. Biden was off getting a nice soft interview on another network. And instead Trump got to debate a reporter. Yes, it was billed as a Town Hall meeting, where normal people could ask questions of the candidate. But it was really the reporter who did most of the asking, and she did an excellent job of channeling a Democrat contender so she could interrupt Trump, talk over Trump, and tell him what he was really trying to do every time he answered one of her questions about what he was trying to do. He actually had to fight to get his answers out over her interruptions, and when he said things to the handful of people they allowed to ask questions that got applause, the reporter jumped in over it to say what the real truth was as she saw it.

One of my favorite lines in the debate was when she was haranguing him over something he was supposed to know because she’d just told him what it was, so he couldn’t say he didn’t know what it was anymore. And he just responded, “You told me, but what you tell me, doesn’t necessarily make it fact.” And that was glorious. The main stream media doesn’t get told enough that we just don’t believe their every word simply because they say it. They need to prove it. They need to show their work, as my teachers used to tell me, because we’ve learned long ago that they are simply not to be trusted. And it was good to hear a candidate say that straight to their face.

So overall, I think it was a good debate. Though next time I’m hoping Biden shows up for the debate instead of some random reporter. He really needs at least one good round of questions before we go out to protest on November 3rd. I mean vote.

Yeah. Vote.

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The Republic of Texas

by on October 18, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Republic of Texas Navy entered a new era of power projection when they began deploying the Dallas-class heavy cruiser. It was larger than the competition, carried more fighters than the competition, sported more missiles than the competition, and was built around twin spinal gravitic cannons. What it lacked in total was the heavy laser array that most warships of the time used. Powerful deflection grids that could withstand even major missile bombardments had become more common since the halfway point of the century, and Texas wanted a warship that could break them wide open with a single, concentrated salvo. The twin gravitic generators left them without sufficient mass and energy to support a heavy laser array, but Texas considered that a price they were willing to pay for the capabilities it gave them. The Dallas proved less capable of independent deployment due to this lack, though, and therefore always acted as a fleet flagship when in Texas service. Those in United States Navy deployment often acted as flagship escorts as well, a job they fulfilled well throughout The War and beyond.

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The Republic of Texas

by on October 17, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

There is an old saying about the Republic of Texas. “Everything is bigger in Texas.” That was not generally true of the Texas Navy due to their reliance on smaller ships that carried fighters. Yes, they did buy some cruisers, battlecruisers, and even battleships, but those ships were generally shorter-legged than their homegrown designs and were relegated primarily to system defense roles. The Dallas-class heavy cruiser would change that. She was the largest Pre-War cruiser of the era, the first cruiser to carry twelve starfighters into combat, and boasted the largest capital missile array of any cruiser for a time. But her true claim to fame was as the first mass-production warship to carry a paired-array of spinal gravitic cannons. The Texans wanted a long-legged flagship for their far off detachments. What they got was loudly praised as the biggest, baddest cruiser of the era.

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The Republic of Texas

by on October 16, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Republic of Texas Navy continued their mission of carrying Space Force or Marine starfighters to battle after Contact. The vast majority of their ships were Houstons or Laredos, though they also kept limited numbers of light carriers like the Republics or the Rangers. The new gravtech gave both ships and fighters far longer ranges than before, and offered entirely new doctrines in every phase of warfare. Texas was quick to test the fighter combat doctrines, and the lessons they learned were quickly incorporated into the United States Navy as well. While never the heaviest navy by tonnage in the United States, the Texas Navy’s starfighter doctrine became second-to-none in the decades leading up to The War.

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The Republic of Texas

by on October 15, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Republic of Texas Navy’s Abilene-class long-range exploration cruisers were spread out all over explored space, dedicated to expanding that area in the last two decades, when the Peloran made Contact. They brought with them hyperdrive and gravitic technologies that made the Abilene obsolete overnight. But the Abilene fleet was a significant investment in time and materials, so they were ordered home to Earth or Dallas for refitting. Once operational with the new technologies, they went back out to explore space again for decades more to come. The newer Houston and Laredo designs replaced them eventually, leaving them to molder away in the reserves. Then one day a Texas Ranger needed a fast ship and no questions asked. He requisitioned an Abilene for a trip that would change the Abilene’s fate forever. He liked the ship, he wanted to keep the ship, and he convinced Texas Ranger leadership to purchase the remaining Abilenes for Ranger use. The Rangers have used them ever since.

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