Two Crusty Old Combat Soldiers with a Microphone

R. Stanton Scott and Scott Konopasek

I chose the name Foggy Bottom Line years ago while working on a doctorate at George Washington University. I studied international relations and security there and it’s in Foggy Bottom in DC, so it made sense at the time. The Foggy Bottom Line brand focuses on the idea that the bottom line answer to most questions is rarely completely clear. A bit of fog always clouds the truth, and I don’t deal in absolutes. Background may or may not give credibility, and we have no desire to argue from authority or experience (which is always, after all, anecdotal). We're either right or wrong and will always endeavor to provide evidence – or at least logical reasoning – that supports our views and policy recommendations. But for the record Scott and I are both retired combat soldiers (tanks and intelligence) with broad military, academic, economic, political, and management training and experience. I have worked defense contracting and Scott served as a local election official for decades is several states. We bring a unique blend of conservative and liberal thought to the national debate and believe our analysis and commentary has an audience. But as always, we could be wrong.

  1. 6d ago

    Two Crusty Old Combat Soldiers: Iran War Situation Report - Are We There Yet, Daddy Trump?

    Five months into the war against Iran, the US has achieved nothing but a stalemate. After spending close to $40T in taxpayer money and launching something like have the US inventory of munitions - making the US more vulnerable to attacks from China - Iran and the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps have not been brought to heel. In fact, they've all but closed the Strait of Hormuz and could block it completely at will. Their proxies can close the Red Sea and other transportation routes. And they've announced that they'll simply wait until Trump is out of office, like they did to Carter in 1980, to negotiate. They have not lost the war and are in a strategic position to simply embrace the status quo for two years. The Iranian government is now younger and more radicalized, and the population that was close to revolution last year has now rallied around the flag. Iran has disrupted the global economy, caused higher prices on almost every consumer good, and caused a geopolitical shift away from the US toward new alliances that could impact our national security for decades. Scott and I predicted much of this after the war began, and now that most of the primaries are complete we thought it made sense to send a situation report on where we are. Trump never really shared his goals and vision for this war, but if if was regime change and stopping Iranian efforts to build a nuclear weapon, we have to ask: Are we there yet, Daddy Trump? Follow us on Socials: https://linktr.ee/FoggyBottomLine Politics VLog #Politics #Economics #Iran #Israel #Strait of Hormuz #USMilitary

    Two Crusty Old Combat Soldiers: Iran War Situation Report - Are We There Yet, Daddy Trump?
  2. Aug 2

    Two Crusty Old Combat Soldiers talk Data Centers, ft Amanda Doughty

    As billionaires and corporations push artificial intelligence (AI), developers push construction of larger and larger data centers - enormous facilities full of computer chips that require as much energy and water as a small city, destroy neighborhoods with noise and local pollution, but provide few permanent jobs or economic activity. Virginia already has more data centers than any other state but remains ground zero for new construction because of its proximity to internet trunk lines. As developers go from County to County asking local planning commissions and governments for permission to destroy green spaces, raise electricity rates, and suck water out of aquifers needed to irrigate crops and provide drinking water, local activists have energized to stop them. Scott and I sit down with Amanda Doughty (AKA CaptainAmandica on Insta and TikTok), an activist from Newport News, to discuss this issue in depth, including their pros and cons, local impacts, and why some Virginia officials support further construction despite the negative impacts. Amanda shares her expertise on environmental impacts, how these monster facilities affect neighborhoods and communities, whether we actually need them and if so where the State should allow them to go. Amanda and other activists have a simple ask: let's hit pause on data centers with a statewide moratorium in Virginia while officials and communities figure out the best way to proceed. Link to Change.org petition asking for a data center moratorium in Virginia: https://www.change.org/p/demand-a-data-center-moratorium-in-virginia Business Insider Data Center Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-8TDOFqkQA Virginia Department of Environmental Quality officials downplay data center health impacts: https://www.eenews.net/articles/emails-show-how-virginia-regulators-downplayed-data-center-health-concerns/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTTifZwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5U5DeSAaFa45Bsu4w7xrkDV8vWVOpFvSf33gwPvVNIscPhZD9Rlv8ebnlmiw_aem_g99xffUM9P0hK4rnnf7L4w Follow us on Socials: https://linktr.ee/FoggyBottomLine Politics VLog #Politics #Economics #Virginia #datacenter #AI #DEQ #Dominionenergy #dominion Follow us on Socials: https://linktr.ee/FoggyBottomLine Politics VLog #Politics #Economics

    Two Crusty Old Combat Soldiers talk Data Centers, ft Amanda Doughty

About

I chose the name Foggy Bottom Line years ago while working on a doctorate at George Washington University. I studied international relations and security there and it’s in Foggy Bottom in DC, so it made sense at the time. The Foggy Bottom Line brand focuses on the idea that the bottom line answer to most questions is rarely completely clear. A bit of fog always clouds the truth, and I don’t deal in absolutes. Background may or may not give credibility, and we have no desire to argue from authority or experience (which is always, after all, anecdotal). We're either right or wrong and will always endeavor to provide evidence – or at least logical reasoning – that supports our views and policy recommendations. But for the record Scott and I are both retired combat soldiers (tanks and intelligence) with broad military, academic, economic, political, and management training and experience. I have worked defense contracting and Scott served as a local election official for decades is several states. We bring a unique blend of conservative and liberal thought to the national debate and believe our analysis and commentary has an audience. But as always, we could be wrong.