Milley Over The Horizon Surprise

A new book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa claims Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told his Chinese counterpart, “If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise.”
A month ago an Afghan family was surprised by a U.S. drone strike that killed 7 children and their father, an Afghan worker for a U.S. aid agency. The attack was part of President Biden’s “over the horizon” strategy to fight terrorism.
Gorilla Mask Egg Caper Draws Crickets

After repeated intimate exposure to Bokbluster, I decided to self-quarantine for the summer. But now I’m back. While away I still drew cartoons for paying customers and will spend the fall backdating the ones I liked.
This one is from shortly before the California recall election. A white woman in a gorilla mask threw an egg at Larry Elder. I know it’s California – but still – pretty much media crickets. Apparently California voters were ok with it too. Gavin Newsom won handily.
Pipeline Shakedown

Cyber-hackers, known as DarkSide, broke into the Colonial Pipeline’s computer system. Once inside they encrypted the operating system and held the company hostage. That was a big deal because Colonial pumps refined fuel from the Gulf to the eastern United States. Gas prices immediately skyrocketed and people lined up 1970s style. Some stations even had to shut down. Joe Biden put on a cardigan sweater and told people to turn down their thermostats. Ok, it didn’t get that bad. But it was bad enough that Colonial paid DarkSide a $4.4 million ransom to get back on line.
Thousands of trucks had tried to carry the load for Colonial but Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat and former governor of Michigan, said pipelines are the best way to move oil and gas. That was a big deal too because Green New Dealers love to shut down pipelines. In fact, one of President Cardigan’s first acts in office was to kill the Keystone XL pipeline.
The current Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, also a Democrat, didn’t get her predecessor’s message either. She’s demanding that the Enbridge pipeline which passes underwater from the UP to the lower peninsula shut down immediately. And she’s threatening to take all the pipeline’s revenue if the company doesn’t obey her.
Gas Hoarding: Latest Craze Since Pandemic

I get why people would stock up on gas after the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline. But the toilet paper thing during the pandemic I never quite figured out.
Palestinians Restore Middle East Conventional Wisdom

Conventional wisdom said there could be no peace in the Middle East until there’s peace with the Palestinians. The Trump Administration did an end run around conventional wisdom and brought peace by signing the Abraham Accords . However, Iranian proxy Hamas had other ideas and fired over 3,300 rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from Gaza.