I met Chip when he came to Omaha to try to get a feel of the landscape of politics here. Chip and I immediately hit it off, he was such an easy guy to talk with. He had met with two of the politicos in the area, and was less than impressed until he talked with me.

The both of us traveled around the city and beyond, meeting with various people as we could get a hold of them. Chip went away, with promises to help when we needed it against those he had ‘ratfucked’ previously.

Football was another area where we hit it off, him with his #rolltide loyalty, and myself with my #huskers. We sent messages back and forth constantly during football season, and I became a small Bama fan because of his enthusiasm. (My Huskers are still #1)

Then, it was Game of Thrones. We spent hours on the phone, talking about Game of Thrones up until recently. He loved the books, and was afraid George RR Martin would pass on before finishing them. Unfortunately, it was Chip who passed so never learned how the story would end.

I recently contacted Chip about helping against the campaign of Jim Suttle, the progressive mayor of Omaha up for reelection. I had sent him information about how the anti-Keystone Pipeline forces were being funded through a Warren Buffet surrogate.

The last time I texted Chip was just Thursday. He was one of the people I messaged about my termination at work, thus finally freeing me up to get fully immersed into politics instead of having to couch everything I had done. I sent him a note saying I’d love to get into more writing, or if any conservative group he discovered needed IT work, I’m available. He told me he would look for me.

That was the last time I talked with Chip. Hearing about his passing has just devastated me. I may not have known him as well as some like Dana Loesch or Robert Stacy McCain, but he was still my good friend.

I am really going to miss him.

Tags: breitbart, chip gerdes

North Korea has been rattling their sabers pretty good the past couple of weeks. Everyone is speculating they want more money, they want nukes, they want power, they want to take over the world, and all sorts of other ideas about what is going on.

Here is an idea very few are proposing: Kim Jong Un, the young leader of the country, is trying to prevent a coup.

Why is this plausible? By rattling sabers against real and perceived enemies on the outside, how does this help protect against a coup?

First, think of Un as his country’s Caesar. Under this scenario, he’s looking at actually trying some reforms for his country. The problem is he serves at the whim of the all powerful military. If he does not keep the generals placated, he would easily be ousted. The military doesn’t want reforms, for the most part. They like their nice and cushy position in control of the country, where they get all the luxury goods and the peasants are poor and starving.

Un catches wind the military is getting unhappy listening to a ‘boy’, who the media makes up all sorts of baloney about. Five holes in one during one round of golf? North Korea claims Un did it on the first round of golf he ever played in his life. Why, he may even be better at golf than Obama! But, I digress.

Un has to do something to get those who he thinks are plotting against him. He has no loyal Praetorian Guard, which the Roman Emperors used to do that sort of dirty work. By mobilizing the army against some perceived threat, real or not, now those generals sitting in Pyongyang are forced to move out with their troops. Due to the ‘condition of war’ Un implements, communications between units are limited out in the field. Kim Jong Un has just isolated the generals not only away from Pyongyang, but away from each other as well.

The problem with this strategy is if no attack is imminent, the generals are going to start grumbling again and eventually cross the Rubicon in an attempt to get rid of Un. This is the worst case scenario, because Un either has to flee, abdicate, or actually force the issue with someone on the outside in order to spark an actual shooting war.

We’re getting to this point. Obama’s White House thinks Un is bluffing, while the Pentagon is seeing this scenario mapped out above and having to plan for the worst. Un is in serious trouble no matter which way this turns at this point. The world is on edge seeing which way things will go. It is possible Un does have some loyalists available to protect him and eliminate his currently isolated enemies among the military, but with each rattle of the saber, that possibility dims.

Un’s caught in a trap of his own making. Maybe he should come room in the states with Rodman after raiding the treasury. That might be the only scenario where Un survives.

Tags: kim jong un, North Korea