Mike

Songwriter and video creator

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

My folks always were teaching me about civics. Here, in 1958, my pop wired the chair with 110 volts (low amps ) to show me how the electric chair works at the prison.

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

I wrote this after the election- fearing the worst in 2027.

Static and sirens
Freeze the machine
More noise, less teeth
Know what I mean?

I'm see the fracture lines
Running all over the country side
I read the scrolling dead
A shadow algorithm fever in your head

Panic in the checkout line
Everyone’s on a different side
No flag to light a pyre
towers fall with electric wires

The country's catastrophic failure
No help, no peace, just lies, Just jailers
The country's catastrophic failure
No help, no peace, just lies, just jailers

Seems like a jigsaw cut
Pieces don’t fit
while the bleeding don't stop
Seems like a constant rage
Suicidal chip in a digital cage
Don't trust the screen your on
It programs your mind from dusk to dawn
Into a psychotic burn
Try and tear it down just to watch it return

The country's catastrophic failure
No help, no peace, just lies, Just jailers
The country's catastrophic failure
No help, no peace, just lies, just jailers

Infrastructure at high threat
Tear it all down And there's no regret
we hear cheers from the crowd
They got no brain, but their so dam loud
Stop
Stop
Backward
Forward

I'm just the leftover man
Watching it go and I got no plan
I am the last real noise
Before silence breaks, I have no voice
I want the power back
I see blood in the streets as everyone attacks
Left
Right
Up
Down

The country's catastrophic failure
No help, no peace, just lies, Just jailers
The country's catastrophic failure
No help, no peace, just lies, Just jailers

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

The Citrus King

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

@nado_tor77 Yeah, it was a long afternoon.

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

My mom teaching me water boarding in 1956.

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

The moving moon went up the sky and nowhere did abide….

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

Today is my birthday. I wrote this song thinking about the years I left behind.

I was driving in the dark
Giving ghosts a lift
Old friends and some family
They told me “man you gotta split”

Scorpio blood running through my veins,
Bible verses burning telling me don’t be afraid

Went to the bottom of the bottle and the bottom of the bed
Darkness started talking, told me I was already dead
I’m a therapist dream and I’ve been straight to hell
Can’t right the ship, don’t know and can’t tell

Used to Love the high, but all of that is done
I’m just speeding through the dark thinking thoughts and having fun

Jesus found me on the road with mud still on my boots
Said the lost ones get the blessing and the proud ones get the noose

I asked Him please clean me up
still chasing in the night

Still got the family history burning like a fever I can’t fight
He put His hand on the hood and the engine settled down
He said keep driving, son, the ones who’ve been through hell know to turn around

I’m a therapist dream and I’ve been straight to hell
Can’t right the ship, don’t know and can’t tell
Used to Love the high, but all of that is done
I’m just speeding through the dark thinking thoughts and having fun

Somewhere past the county line I was running out of gas
I was four days on the road with nothing left to pass
Lost another friend last winter, buried with a song
Now I’m chasing the ghost just to keep from going wrong

But I felt the blessing settle when the sun broke on the hill
Still a therapeutic dream , still off center , still God’s will

I’m a therapist dream and I’ve been straight to hell
Can’t right the ship, don’t know and can’t tell
Used to Love the high, but all of that is done

Working much as I can till the good Lord calls me home

Till the good Lord calls me home…
Been straight to hell…
And He blessed me anyway.

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

Old VW in 1968

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

Part of the fleet sorties out of the harbor in San Diego, passing North Island. 2002

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

Russia's Missile Deal With IRGC LEAKS As U.S. Military UNLEASHES SPY Plane https://t.co/7QGYJaqVkn via @YouTube

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

Me (in white tie) explaining my company’s advanced surveillance systems to potential customers at a UAE trade show…march 2001

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

Just read the original article and thought I would pass it along. My personal take is that if we move from a 21st century environment to a 19th century environment in a flash..... very few people come out the other end. Urban areas spiral into chaos. People in the rural areas are not ready to cope without electricity. I don't see the point of preparing to live in that world. Kiss medical care goodbye. Of everything mentioned here, the two most probable are a super Carrington event (LONG overdue) and the possibility of error attacks on a relatively small number of key extra high voltage substations that could cause a widespread blackout lasting 18 months. Either of these is game over for everybody except some well trained military or ex military with experience and tools (weapons). I spent 2 years working in "catastrophic Operations Research" in the late 80's. We are far more dependent on infrastructure now. Not an easy read before bedtime.

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse,

There is growing anticipation that something really big is about to happen. Social media is buzzing about the fact that so many governments around the world are urging their citizens to stockpile food, water and other essential supplies right now. Why have all of those governments suddenly developed such a sense of urgency? I wish that I knew, but without a doubt global events have begun to spiral out of control.

Our world is facing crisis after crisis, and most of them have erupted in the last 12 months. The U.S. and Israel are preparing to bomb the living daylights out of Iran after the midterm elections, and the Iranians are making all sorts of apocalyptic threats in response. The Russians and the Ukrainians are absolutely pummeling one another with missiles and drones, and European leaders are being encouraged to consider sending troops into Ukraine. Cyberattacks have become much more sophisticated and much more frequent, and AI agents are infiltrating financial systems worldwide. Meanwhile, we are facing a global energy crisis, a global fertilizer crisis and a global food crisis simultaneously. On top of everything else, the most powerful Super El Niño ever recorded is causing monster storms, epic droughts and horrific wildfires all over the planet.

Unfortunately, many are warning that things could soon get far worse.

A former Defense Intelligence Agency official named Farijah "Doc" St. Clair has ominously warned that our "window to prepare" is rapidly closing...

A former Defense Intelligence Agency staffer is warning Americans that time is running out to prepare for a crisis. His post has been viewed more than 1.7 million times."Your window to prepare, even with the basics, is closing," wrote Farijah "Doc" St. Clair on X. "For those tracking the indicators that an event is increasingly likely, you know that it is now undeniable that something is brewing."

This is not just some random former DIA employee.

He is currently the head of technology and intelligence at a firm that produces "an AI-driven intelligence product built with Palantir that gives corporate executives a daily briefing modeled on the President's Daily Brief"...

St. Clair is head of technology and intelligence at Crisis24, a GardaWorld-owned risk firm. There he leads AiiA, an AI-driven intelligence product built with Palantir that gives corporate executives a daily briefing modeled on the President's Daily Brief. A combat-wounded Army veteran, he says he spent more than a decade in the Army and the "Defense Intelligence Enterprise," including a stint at DIA around 2015 and 2016. His company bio says he supported efforts to counter Russian influence and deployed to multiple combat theaters. In his post, St. Clair wrote that during his intelligence career he worked on "counterintelligence threats to Continuity of Government (COG) and Continuity of Operations (COOP)."

It is literally his job to know the risks that are ahead.

Corporate executives trust him to provide the key intelligence that they need to make wise decisions, and so the fact that St. Clair is officially freaking out is a very big deal...

"Something I can say for absolute certain is that once governments signal that their citizens need to prepare, those preparations have already been conducted for national leadership," he wrote.He pointed to European governments urging citizens to keep supplies on hand. He also cited reports that the Pentagon wants U.S. military bases to be able to sustain themselves for 90 days, which he called "the loudest signal concerning how significant the situation is.""The gravity of this can't be understated," he wrote. "The calls for preparedness will escalate in their time frames. 3 days will turn into a week. A week will turn in to a few weeks. A few weeks into a couple months."

I wrote about Project FORTRESS yesterday.

For some reason, our leaders suddenly feel a very strong sense of urgency to make sure that the U.S. military will be able to continue to operate normally if all civilian infrastructure were to go down for a period of 90 days...

Every major military base in the continental US would be expected to maintain essential operations, including independent access to electricity, water, fuel and communications for 90 days.The plan envisions portable nuclear reactors, large battery systems and independent local power grids to keep bases running during blackouts.Civilian factories would also be prepared to switch to defense production, backed by stockpiles of ammunition, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts and medical supplies.

To me, it sounds like they are preparing for a grid down scenario.

There are several ways that the U.S. power grid could be taken down for an extended period of time.

A "kill shot" from the Sun similar to the Carrington Event of 1859 could do it.

Nuclear explosions in the atmosphere above the United States could also fry our grid.

And there is also one possibility that I don't think is talked about nearly enough.

Simultaneous terror attacks on a relatively small number of key extra high voltage substations could cause a widespread blackout lasting 18 months or longer.

Most Americans do not realize this.

Robert James Woolsey was one of the leading experts in this field before he passed away earlier this year.

What he once told the U.S. Senate about what would occur if the U.S. power grid went down for an extended period of time is extremely chilling...

When a large electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) event occurs - which, according to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), there is "100% certainty" will happen at some time in the future - as many as 9 out of 10 people in the U.S. could die.Johnson, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, posed questions to witnesses testifying on Capitol Hill before his committee. He asked R. James Woolsey, chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, what would happen to society if the electrical grid were to be down for an extended period of time, such as a year or two, following an EMP event?Woolsey responded, "It's briefly dealt with in the commission report of [2008]. There are essentially two estimates on how many people would die from hunger, from starvation, from lack of water, and from social disruption. One estimate is that within a year or so, two-thirds of the United States population would die. The other estimate is that within a year or so, 90% of the U.S. population would die. We're talking about total devastation. We're not talking about just a regular catastrophe."

We are far more vulnerable than most people realize.

Personally, I am entirely convinced that someday the U.S. will be facing a long-term grid down scenario.
What will you do when that day suddenly arrives?

Our enemies know that taking down the power grid would be one of the fastest ways to get our society to collapse.

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

https://t.co/EOHxcGbxJa

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

@JacobWeinbergR To paraphrase Sarah Silverman.... "What are you talking about? That is absurd. Six million Jews died in the Holocaust, not 12 million. 12 Million would have been unforgivable!"

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

The porch light flickers on the pine
My father's ledger in a drawer
He never trusted banks or bonds
He buried jars beneath the yard

He said a man who counts his worth
In paper only counts his fear
I laughed at him for thirty years
Now I sit out here every year

Let the ticker climb and fall
Let the talking heads explain
I got jars out in the yard
And a garden full of rain

(And a garden full of rain)

My neighbor bought a second truck
On credit that he couldn't hold
He waved at me from down the road
Then one morning he was gone

I don't pretend to know the math
I just know what a hollow sounds
When you knock it with your knuckle
And there's nothing coming back

I never learned to gamble
I never liked the odds

Let the ticker climb and fall
Let the talking heads explain
I got jars out in the yard
And a garden full of rain

(And a garden full of rain)

Old men in the feed store
Argue like it's church
They say the ground is honest
They say the ground is first

My daughter calls from Denver
Says she's doing fine
Says the city's always building
Says she'll visit in the spring

I tell her bring a jacket
I tell her bring the kids
I don't tell her what I'm thinking
I don't tell her what I did

Let the ticker climb and fall
Let the talking heads explain
I got jars out in the yard
And a garden full of rain

(And a garden full of rain)
(Full of rain)

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

Tornado Warning from last night on the Arkansas border. Boston Mountains.

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

If you are anything like me, you have been bombarded with political spam for months. I let it all accumulate in a junk folder and delete it once a week. Personally, I have never seen anything like it in my lifetime. The spam comes from all sides and directions - liberal, conservative, Fed, State and local. Last week took the cake. An engineer I used to know in Texas texted a prefilled-out ballot of how I should vote. We knew each other in L A years ago before she moved to Texas with Lockheed. I was surprised to hear from her. She was a cheerleader for her college and high school back in the day (1970's). We met each other in 87, so while we know each other we were never really friends. I don't even live in the same state as she does, so that tells you how close we were. She doesn't know where I live but knows how I should vote. Vote anyway you like. It is your decision and right. I wrote this song about what I think is odd "Karen" like behavior.

How to Vote

Seventy something and still on the field,
Pom-poms swapped for a ballot she filled.
Circled the boxes, posted on line
Like the rest of us don't have a mind

Ex-cheer leader with a megaphone mouth,
Acting like we’re lost without her now.
Didn’t ask once, just told us the play—
That’s not a tip. That’s a lecture today.

People make up their own damn minds.
We don’t need the hall monitor’s line.
You tell us how, like we’re too damn slow,
Like an adult with a brain can’t fill in a row.
No respect for a thinking soul,
Just an ego that never let go.
What little respect I had is gone—
Evaporated in the morning dawn

Rightoues in the comments, same old squad,
Spirit-team voice, fake honest façade.
Still thinks the room goes quiet for her,
Still thinks her take is a gold standard pure.

Posted her sample ballot like homework due,
Like we skipped class, and she’s the only one who knew.
We can read a name and pick a side
Without a room monitor standing astride

You didn’t share a sacrosanct truth
No conversation, just emotional youth
That scrap of respect I used to spare
For somebody I used to know somewhere—
It’s gone. Not faded. Not “we’ll see.”
Gone because you never mattered to me.

And you still don't

People can make up their own minds.
Quit grading ballots from the sidelines.
You don’t get to coach the voting booth
Even if you think you're right and know some 'truth".

You have no respect for intelligence here,
you're just a self-important auctioneer.
What little respect we had is gone.
As you post the next one, everyone yawns......

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

Tunnel under Mobile Bay

[Mike @CombatSentR8]

In the 1990s, first dates followed a familiar script. Women arrived polished, smiling easily, and projecting warmth that felt almost rehearsed. They spoke of stable jobs, close families, and simple hobbies—hiking, movies, quiet evenings. Their laughter came at the right moments, and their interest seemed genuine.

After a while, I started calling it “glass teeth.” The smile was bright and perfect on the surface, but thin and brittle underneath. Once the second or third date arrived, the shine cracked. One woman who had described herself as easygoing turned out to be managing waves of anxiety. Another who talked about wanting a calm relationship later revealed a pattern of sudden absurd arguments. A third presented herself as independent until she began relying on constant reassurance that no amount of attention seemed to satisfy.

Looking back, the pattern was consistent. The glass teeth worked because they reflected exactly what someone wanted to see: stability, charm, possibility. They simply could not hold once ordinary life applied pressure. The 1990s gave me plenty of first dates that started well and ended with the quiet realization that the smile had been the most durable thing about the evening.

Glass Teeth

You came in hard
With your clean black coat
Left your name
On the cheap front glass
I saw the crack In your practiced smile
You said stay calm
Then you moved too fast

Keep your hands down,
keep your mouth shut
I know that look,
I know enough
You want the door,
I want the cut
One more word and it all comes up

Glass teeth, glass teeth, glass teeth
Bite down slow Glass teeth, glass teeth
Now you know Glass teeth, glass teeth
I don't break first Glass teeth, glass teeth
Let it show

You held that stare
Like a stolen key
Tapped your heel
On the tile floor
I counted steps
You counted me
There was a lock
I was the trapdoor

Keep your hands down,
keep your mouth shut
I know that look,
I know enough
You want the door,
I want the cut
One more word and it all comes up

Glass teeth, glass teeth, glass teeth
Bite down slow Glass teeth, glass teeth
Now you know Glass teeth, glass teeth
I don't break first Glass teeth, glass teeth
Let it show

No grand plea
No soft repair
Just the scrape
Of the chair
You blink one, one, one...
I don't move, move, move...
Same cold room
Same old rules

Glass teeth, glass teeth, glass teeth
Bite down slow Glass teeth, glass teeth
Now you know Glass teeth, glass teeth
I don't break first Glass teeth, glass teeth
Let it show