Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist. 79th Edition. The Move along, nothing to see here addition.

March 24, 2025

The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen.

I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, had texted me the war plan at 11:44 a.m. The plan included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing.

This is going to require some explaining.

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.  Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic.

Predictably, the Administration denied this occurred, and rushed to discredit Jeffrey Goldberg.  However, then the government confirmed it happened, thereby making Pete Hegseth a liar, and making Karoline Leavitt look like a bigger hack than she already does.

Embarrassing.

This same administration has been threatening to prosecute "leakers".

Well. . . go right at it.

Last edition:

Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist. 78th Edition. We'd like to inform you that terrible things are being done in your name, edition.

Labels: Colorado (Denver), Conservation, Democratic Party, Denver Colorado, Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, Harriet Hageman, The Second Trump Administration, trends, Union Pacific Railroad, Zeitgeist

Sunday, November 19, 1944. Sixth War Loan.

 

November 19, 1944

The Sixth War Loan Drive that starts tomorrow is something more than just a money-raising affair.

We cannot all fight the enemy face to face. We cannot all produce the weapons and the raw materials that are so vital to our armed forces.

But there is one front on which all of us—every man, woman, and child—can serve, and serve for the duration. We can all practice self-denial. We can all sacrifice some of our comforts to the needs of the men in service; and yes, even some of our needs to their comforts.

The war in the present month of November alone will cost us seven and one-half billions of dollars. That is two hundred and fifty millions a day.

That is why every war bond that you buy is so important.

The war is not over- no, not by many a costly battle. While we have every reason to be proud of what has been done—even optimistic about the ultimate outcome—we have no reason to be complacent about the tough road that still lies ahead of us.

We have just been through a wartime election, demonstrating to the people of the world the deep roots of our democratic faith.

This Sixth War Loan, I am confident, will be a further example of democracy in action in a world at war.

There is an old saying about sticking to the plow until you have reached the end of the furrow. Every rule of common sense and patriotic thought makes that maxim applicable to our conduct in this war.

And so in the name of our wounded and sick, in the name of our dead, and in the name of future generations of Americans, I ask you to plow out this furrow to a successful and victorious end.

Franklin Roosevelt. 

The cost of the war was estimated at that point to be $250,000,000 per day.

The British Second Army gook Geilenkirchen, Germany.

The submarine USS Sculpin was scuttled off Truk after being damaged by the Yamagumo.

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Saturday, November 18, 1944. Entering Metz.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Metz, Belgian Resistance Movements, boats and ships, Imperial Japanese Navy, World War Two

Tuesday, August 24, 1943. Crossing the Dneiper

Heinrich Himmler was named Reichsminister of the Interior, replacing Wilhelm Frick.  Himmler was in the ascendant as Germany turned increasingly towards the most radical elements of its Nazi ideology.

The Quebec Conference closed.

Sarah Sundin notes:

Today in World War II History—August 24, 1943: Danish resistance group Holger Danske blows up Forum Hall in Copenhagen. Southeast Asia Command is authorized under Adm. Lord Louis Mountbatten

She also notes that German foreign service agent Fritz Kolbe met with US OSS agent Allen Dulles in Switzerland for the first time, where he'd start to supply Dulles with diplomatic cables.

He survived the war and found that after it, he had a very hard time making a living as the Germans despised him for his actions.  This was a common German reaction post-war in that those who had acted on conscience in various ways against the Nazi regime were not admired in post-war West Germany.

He died in 1971 at age 70 in Switzerland from gall bladder cancer.

A new Southeast Asia Command was authorized with Adm. Lord Louis Mountbatten as is Supreme Allied Commander.

By some accounts, the Battle of the Dnieper opened on this day in 1943 with a new Soviet offensive to regain the east bank of that river.