FUN: hóngbāo aka “lucky money”

Monday, February 16, 2026

2026-02Feb-16

Year of the Fire Horse

Lunar New Year celebrations kick off tomorrow, ushering in the Year of the Fire Horse in the Chinese zodiac. The 15-day festivities, observed by billions worldwide, start with the new moon and end with the Lantern Festival. China anticipates a record 9.5 billion trips during the 40-day travel rush around the holiday, the world’s largest annual human migration.

The horse is the seventh animal in the 12-year zodiac cycle and symbolizes energy, independence, and ambition. Those born in horse years are seen as dynamic, courageous, and charismatic. Many see the Year of the Fire Horse as a time to take bold steps, embrace change, and pursue new opportunities. The last Fire Horse year occurred in 1966; notable births include Adam Sandler, Gordon Ramsay, Halle Berry, and Helena Bonham Carter. See your zodiac animal here.

Traditions focus on family and fortune (see our overview), including gifting lai see or hóngbāo to children—red envelopes filled with “lucky money.” See a guide to the holiday, closely associated with the Spring Festival and Chinese New Year, here.

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We can all use some “lucky money”!

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VETERANS: We are not the world’s police

Monday, February 16, 2026

https://www.stripes.com/branches/marine_corps/2026-02-09/okinawa-guam-marines-relocation-20676544.html

Think tank calls for keeping Guam-bound Marines on Okinawa to counter China
By Brian McElhiney Stars and Stripes • February 9, 2026

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The report, released Feb. 3 by the Atlantic Council, recommends keeping about 5,000 Marines on Okinawa rather than relocating them to Guam and retaining the Corps’ airfield in densely populated central Okinawa along with a replacement runaway under construction farther north.

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Sorry, but they should come home to the USA.

“A veteran is someone who at one point in his life wrote a blank check made payable to the ‘United States of America’ for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.'” -Anonymous

Time for the “American Empire” to shrink back to its Constitutional size.

“Older men start wars, but younger men fight them.” ~ Albert Einstein

Let’s bring all the girls, boys, women, and men home now! We have so many politicians and bureaucrats to send in their place if it’s really needed!

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