MORE IS BETTER: 19 is Not Enough: Inside the Air Force’s Rush Order for New B-21 Stealth Bombers.

Operation Epic Fury has yet again shown that stealth bombers are a first-night necessity for American airpower. It started on night one. “American B-2 bombers, which, again, similar to Midnight Hammer, flew a 37-hour roundtrip sortie from the continental United States, dropping precision penetrating munitions on Iranian underground facilities across the southern flank and slightly deeper,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said at the Pentagon on Mar. 2.

The success of the B-2 bombers with their stealth and precision is indispensable. The problem, of course, is that the entire B-2 fleet consists of just nineteen aircraft. 20% of the fleet was in action on the first night of Operation Epic Fury.

Fortunately, as fighters and tankers were flowing toward bases in the Middle East last week, the Air Force quietly accelerated production of the B-2’s replacement, the new B-21 Raider stealth bomber, by a hefty 25%. The Feb. 23 rush order was an unusual move, made possible by a sophisticated production line and drama-free flight tests. The B-21 is literally the first stealth aircraft ever to run ahead of schedule. But the one main reason for the surge is clear: America’s air force is desperately in need of more stealth bombers.

There’s never enough of everything to go around, but the deep cuts we made in the ’90s were dangerously foolish.

COVID SHOT LINKED TO AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASE: If you developed Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) sometime after getting the COVID19 vaccination, there is strong evidence that the latter is related to the former. Symptoms of PMR are aching joints, especially in the shoulders and pelvis, which can be debilitating, according to Focal Point’s Nicholas Hulscher.

IT’S TIME FOR VICTORIA TAFT’S West Coast, Messed Coast™ — Demo-taurs Devour Billions, Demolish Trust. “So much corruption exists here that you can’t unsee it. All along the West Coast, Messed Coast™ the Demotaurs in power have devoured billions of dollars, all while demolishing citizens’ trust. The Demotaurs’ sanity is eaten away by hubris and greed.”

BUT DON’T WORRY, LEFTIES RUN TOTALLY HONEST AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN THIS COUNTRY:

CHINA’S BIRTH TOURISM IN US: Did you know Chinese officials often arrange to have children born in the U.S., which under birthright citizenship, automatically makes them U.S. citizens? Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) says this is just one of many problems with automatically granting citizenship. The Washington Stand’s S.A. McCarthy has more from a recent Senate hearing on the issue.

SAD: Liberal Gun Owners Don’t Matter Enough to Democrats to Make a Difference. “Right now, Democrat politicians have no reason to listen to liberal gun owners, because at the end of the day, liberal gun owners still show up to vote for them. And as long as they vote for them, politicians don’t really care if you complain about them online afterwards.”

You could say the same of several traditional Democrat voting groups.

PRIORITIES:

BELMONT CLUB: Regime Change. “This is notably being tried by the second Trump administration. Instead of invading hostile states with large ground forces, it has used a discontinuous series of actions to continuously nudge states in a preferred direction, rather like a tugboat pushing a ship rather than boarding it and seizing the helm. To use a construction industry metaphor, the Trump approach to regime change more closely resembles renovating and remodeling an old building rather than demolishing it and replacing it with a new structure.”

Read the whole thing.

I had similar thoughts last week.

BATTLESWARM: Iran Strikes Day 13. “U.S. forces pass the 5,500 targets mark, the regime starts emptying the bank accounts of citizens to stay afloat, China’s weapons are (still) garbage, more Iranian planes cratered on runways, a tanker burns off Iraq, Weekend at Mojtaba’s, and the idea that our troops in harm’s way might be eating well enrages the Democrat Media Complex.”

ITS ORIGIN AND PURPOSE, STILL A TOTAL MYSTERY: “The Motive May Never Be Known” Is Now “The Motive Is White Supremacy, Somehow.”

CUBA LIBRE? Cuba confirms talks with Trump officials, raising hopes for US deal.

● Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed his government is holding talks with the Trump administration.

● The discussions are aimed at finding solutions to bilateral differences between the two nations.

● The talks could lead to a significant economic opening for Cuba and come amid escalating pressure from the U.S.

● Cuba also plans to release 51 prisoners as part of a deal brokered by the Vatican.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on March 13 confirmed his government is holding talks with the Trump administration, in the latest sign that the communist-run nation is open to signing a possible historic economic deal with the United States.

Díaz-Canel made the announcement in a video broadcast on national television and he also spoke in a subsequent press conference, where he addressed Cuba’s energy needs amid a U.S. oil blockade, saying no fuel has entered Cuba in three months. He said the talks with the U.S. have reached initial phases only.

“These conversations have been aimed at seeking solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences that exist between our two nations,” Díaz-Canel said.

The White House has not commented.

Related:

As Glenn asked last month on his Substack, “Will Cuba be Libre soon, and if so what happens next? And after that?”

THAT’S DIFFERENT BECAUSE SHUT UP:

Except it’s not a daughter:

BRAVO: