Moral bankruptcy???

Posted on by November 29, 2017

Who’s next???

Weinstein, a senior executive at Amazon, O’Reilly, Tambour, Halperin, Rose, Franken, Spacey, Conyers, more Hollyweird types, Clinton redux, another NPR executive, Garrison Keillor, and now Lauer…

And Moore’s accusers are no longer on the front page, but the fallout is ‘rather’ interesting.

The Dems leadership (Pelosi) are continuing to ‘excuse’ the behavior, BUT…

A bill was introduced today to expose all the secret settlements, and get that information out.

“Enough is enough,” Hawaii Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, one of the bill’s sponsors, said. “For far too long sexual predators have roamed freely through the halls of Congress — the people’s house  — while survivors of sexual harassment and assault have essentially been isolated, bullied and shamed into silence.”

Full article, HERE. Interestingly, this effort is being led by a young female Dem!

And apparently there is/was yet another set of hush funds, HERE.

The oddity is that the pedofile cases seem to have ‘disappeared’ from the news, but I’m betting they will be back, and Hollyweird will have some house cleaning to do in short order.

It seems the swamp is a LOT deeper than anyone knew… Personally, I think there should be some recalls starting up, and the silent majority voting them out. As the old saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely…

And it’s sadly being proved true, yet again,  not only in politics, but the MSM, the entertainment industry, and big business.

Personally, I find the behavior abhorrent, and I think every damn one of them needs to go to jail for their actions, regardless of who they are, where they are from, or who they represent.

Yea???

Posted on by November 29, 2017

SECDEF is making some moves in conjunction with the Navy to move forward on the shipbuilding front… And it’s NOT LCS!!!

The RFI states that one of the FFG(X)’s two main purposes is to “relieve large surface combatants from stressing routine duties during operations other than war.” It goes on to say later that “this ship will reduce demand on high-end cruisers and destroyers that currently conduct [anti-submarine warfare], [surface warfare], and theater security cooperation missions, allowing for an increase of more capable assets to maintain a stabilizing presence in regions where tensions with nations that have highly capable naval forces may exist.”

Full article, HERE at USNI.

This is not a recapitulation of the requirements that generated LCS, but a follow on to FF(X)21, e.g. a ship that can actually defend itself, and still do ASW and surface missions, albeit in a smaller, shallower draft ship than the current DDG/Cruiser configuration.

If you’re really bored, HERE is the actual solicitation for information. This is literally a ‘sea change’ from the previous administration and the continuation of the Little Crappy Ship design, that should have died a quick death many years ago, after the first cost overrun and underperformance…

As a reminder, HERE is a link to the last ‘real’ Frigates the US Navy had, The Oliver Hazard Perry class. The ‘FIGS’ as they were known, were damn good ASW platforms, with tails and helo dets, they worked ahead of the battle groups, and also on independant ops with ‘other’ assets when required. At 29 kts, they were pretty quick, and they had no problem going ‘in harms way’ to get the job done.

GRRRRRrrrrr…

Posted on by November 27, 2017

Yesterday was Monday all #%_*]{^ day!  Went out and got extra Christmas lights to fill out the front of the house, and of course, with my luck the new ones don’t blink!

And the Internet went down about 10 o’clock in the morning, and when I went to bed last night it still wasn’t up. So go read the folks on the sidebar, and maybe I’ll have a real post tomorrow!

Well damn…

Posted on by November 27, 2017

Sorry, scheduler didn’t go on time this morning…

That nice ‘clean’ yard I had on Saturday…

Yeah, now… Not so much…

The wind came up Saturday, and boom… And the Oaks are getting ready to drop even more leaves…

So yesterday was up and down the damn ladder, pressure washing the downspouts out, and putting leaf guards on the gutters… What a PITA! And of course Lowes didn’t have enough of the good ones, so I’m about 6 or 8 short…

Interestingly, seems like kids no longer rake leaves, I guess it’s ‘beneath’ them…

I know I’m old, but damn, I made good money raking leaves in the fall, to go with mowing lawns! I bought my first car that way!!!

And I’m sure as hell NOT paying $50 a month for somebody to come rake leaves. Grumble…

Go Fund Me/Gun raffle update…

Posted on by November 25, 2017

Five days left… We will end the gun raffle at midnight on the 30th, with the drawings to be held December 1st, but the Go Fund Me WILL CONTINUE. Right now we’re at about 61% of our goal, not as far along as we wanted, but at least this should give Andi a good start on the therapy she needs.

Andi, a member of our Blogorado family, has suffered a stroke, which was misdiagnosed initially, leading to complications.  She doesn’t have medical insurance, and is having to fund her rehabilitation on a pay-as-you-go basis.  Several of us have pooled our resources by donating guns from our personal collections, and we’re offering them as an incentive to raise funds for her, along with some non-gun prizes (jewelry, books, etc.) for those who’d prefer them.  The Go Fund Me is HERE. Jenn as a personal post up on Andi, HERE.

You’ll find photographs of all the prizes in three parts:  here, here, here, and here. There is an additional package it’s number 14!  A full polish on a stainless or nickel plate on a blued handgun. This is from Reflections Chrome Plating up in Maine! Remember, donate to the Go Fund Me, HERE, and email your receipt to  [email protected] in the raffle!!!

The drawing will be via a random number generator on 1 December. First number drawn gets their pick, second number gets their pick, and so on.

Thank you to all that have contributed both packages and donations!

Erf…

Posted on by November 24, 2017

Okay, I’m turkeyed out…

Yesterday was a second tryptophan coma, courtesy of a ‘team’ effort on the food and desserts…

And there was a Honeybaked ham, not pictured… Plus the leftovers from Thursday (about 1/3 of each dish was left). 

And dessert- A trifle, cheesecake, and a pecan pie… Groan…

Yesterday, I ‘had’ to do something… So it was the battle of the leaves… 2 1/2 BIG trash bags full…

Round 523, and I won ‘this’ round, but those three Oaks are going to be dropping another butt ton of leaves shortly. But at least for today, the yard looks good! 🙂

And hopefully, I’ve mowed the yard for the last time this year.

This is ‘interesting’…

Posted on by November 23, 2017

Tens of thousands of people wanted by law enforcement officials have been removed this year from the FBI criminal background check database that prohibits fugitives from justice from buying guns. The names were taken out after the FBI in February changed its legal interpretation of “fugitive from justice” to say it pertains only to wanted people who have crossed state lines. What that means is that those fugitives who were previously prohibited under federal law from purchasing firearms can now buy them, unless barred for other reasons.

Since the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was created in 1998, the background check system has prevented 1.5 million people from buying guns, including 180,000 denials to people who were fugitives from justice, according to government statistics. It is unclear how many people may have bought guns since February who previously would have been prohibited from doing so.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent a memo Wednesday to the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives instructing them to take several steps to improve NICS. The system, he said, is “critical for us to be able to keep guns out of the hands of those … prohibited from owning them.”

Supposedly, for more than 15 years, the FBI and ATF disagreed about who exactly was a fugitive from justice. The FBI, which runs the criminal background check database, had a broad definition and said that anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant was prohibited from buying a gun. But ATF argued that, under the law, a person is considered a fugitive from justice only if they have an outstanding warrant and have also traveled to another state.

Full article, HERE.

Now this is really interesting, considering the current ‘issues’ with background checks, and how they have been handled (or not) in the past. It’s not just the mental adjudications that aren’t getting in there, a number of blue states don’t provide any inputs on mental or domestic convictions, from what I’ve been told by people in the know.

In other news, Walter Williams has a column up at Townhall.com on diversity, and it’s worth the read…

The bottom-line question for black parents and black people in general is:

Which is better, a black student’s being admitted to an elite college and winding up in the bottom of his class or flunking out or being admitted to a less prestigious college and performing just as well as his white peers and graduating? I would opt for the latter.

Full article, HERE.

Personally, I believe Mr. Williams hits a home run with this one, pointing out the pretzels colleges/college presidents twist themselves into…

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Posted on by November 23, 2017

Thanksgiving Day is a unique American holiday that brings together this nation of all faiths and cultural backgrounds around a common theme of thanks. Traditionally, we gather with family and friends to reflect on the year past, and give thanks for the blessings and freedoms we enjoy. It’s a time when we stop for a moment in our busy schedules to share bounty, food and fellowship.

We need to be mindful that for lots of Americans it has been a tough year. Hard times can serve to remind us to be more thankful, and if you have a chance, reach out to someone less fortunate this week.

Also, many of the Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines are away from home on Thanksgiving Day. I ask that we all keep them in mind as we gather around the table on Thursday. Please include a thought of gratitude in your grace for the freedoms they defend, and those we enjoy as a result of their dedication and sacrifice.

I want to thank those who take the time to drop by and read my chicken scratchings, I appreciate every one of you and all of your comments. I also appreciate the chance this blog has given me to meet both literally and figuratively so many outstanding people, whom I may not always agree with, but that I know I can have an intelligent conversation with!!!

I learn something from y’all every day…

Take care, be safe, drive safe, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

54 years ago…

Posted on by November 22, 2017

John F. Kennedy was shot this morning, November 22, 1963 in Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas.

I was in the 7th grade, sitting in math class, when the teacher came in, in tears. She had a transistor radio with her, and turned it on. We heard those words no American ever wants to hear, “The President has been shot.”

A couple of weeks ago, more data was released on that fateful day, and I’m sure the conspiracy theorists are combing it to prove their crackpot theories…

A number of years ago, I met a TV producer/director who was with NBC back in the day, and he told me a rather interesting story concerning the arrival back at Andrews of Air Force One. He had been told to get out to Andrews, and a camera crew would be sent ASAP.

He got out there to find it was just him and a cameraman from ABC, who had his gear set up, and nobody else. Then Air Force One landed…

Max said he and the cameraman huddled and decided what the hell, at least they would get some stock footage that could be shared later. So the cameraman followed the airplane in, focused on the door, and they saw Jackie come down the steps, still in the blood stained pink dress.

He told the cameraman to follow her, as the ambulance backed up to the cargo area, and captured the casket being removed from the airplane and placed in the ambulance. He then told to cameraman to follow the ambulance as it disappeared in the distance…

Now what, asked the cameraman, and Max told him to pan back to the door of the airplane. A couple of seconds later, Lyndon Johnson appeared in the door, the first time he’d been seen in public as the President. They followed him down the stairs, and when he was gone, they left.

It wasn’t till Max got back to the studio that he found out all the networks had been broadcasting the feed they had provided. He said he asked LBJ later (when he appeared on Meet the Press), why he stepped into the door of Air Force One when he did. He said he was stunned to hear LBJ say, “I figured that was my cue.”

All I could do was shake my head in wonder, and thank him for doing what he did. Those video clips are a part of the visual history of that day, and one my generation will never forget.

 

Achmed…

Posted on by November 20, 2017

In lieu of yet another rant, how about a ‘new’ Achmed the dead terrorist, with Jeff Dunham?

Get it now, before the leftists decide (insert wrong whatever here) isn’t politically correct/racist/something ism/etc…

h/t

JP