TBT…

If only…

F8F 1976

F-8 on the pedestal at NAS Barber’s Point, July 1976 painted by volunteers of all races from the various squadrons. And yes, it was taken with Kodacolor and yes, it’s changed colors over the last forty years.

We still had the pride in America we had then…

Americans of ALL races, creeds and colors pulled together. We were AMERICANS…

Not like what we are seeing today…

War against the police, the apologists who say this was ‘inevitable’ because of the militarization of the police, yada, yada, yada…

Everyone seems to forget the drug pushers started the gang war against the police by uparming with automatic weapons, and all the police did was try to keep up, so they could go home at night.

War, and I don’t have a better word for it, against Trump, frothing at the mouth hatred, from supposedly ‘conservative’ people… Never Trump plays right into Hildabeast’s hands. I guess that is what they really want, 8 more years of the crap we’ve just lived through.

A coming race war…  Jackson/Sharpton/et al have been agitating for this for years, and made lots of money off those they were ‘supposedly’ helping. It’s already occurring in Chicago between the blacks and Hispanics for control of the drug trade up there, and the same thing is happening in SoCal, and probably starting in Atlanta, NYC, Baltimore and Philly.

Add in the muslim extremist issues (and ISIS/ISIL adherents), the illegal aliens (and their gangs), and America has become a powder keg waiting for a match…

ALL lives matter! White, black, Hispanic, Asian, pink, purple, polka dotted, I don’t care. We need to get the politicians and agitators out of it, and get PEOPLE talking to people.

At this point, I think this year will be a turning point in the history of the US, either better or worse. Ignore the strident bloggers/facebookers/commentators and do your OWN research, then make your decisions.

Posted in TBT

Word games…

It’s us against them…

I had an interesting chat with Alan Korwin at the NRA AM, and had forgotten about it until I was listening to the Pub’s convention tonight, and it reminded me of our conversation…

Words have meaning. Use your words wisely, especially when countering the antis…

They say:

Guns kill

We say:

Guns save lives

Guns cause crime Guns stop crime
Guns are bad Guns are why America is still free
Assault weapons are bad Assault is a type of behavior
Guns are so dangerous Guns are supposed to be dangerous
Guns are too dangerous to own You should take a safety class
People shouldn’t have guns Maybe you shouldn’t have one
Guns should be totally outlawed Let’s try that with drugs first
The purpose of a gun is to kill The purpose of a gun is to protect
People don’t need guns Only good people need guns
Guns should go away Then you should personally sign up
to never have a gun in your life, as
you would ask of me
They should take away all the guns Bad guys first
They should take away all the guns
because they’re so dangerous
Who exactly is “they” you would give
all these dangerous guns to?
Gun owners should be registered Bad guys first
Gun owners should be registered
to help stop crime
So, how would writing my name on
a government list help stop crime?
We need more gun laws Criminal activity is already banned
Why would anyone
want to own a gun?
You’re kidding, right? You mean you
really don’t know? Well, why do you
think we give guns to the police?
I’m not against people having guns What sort of guns do you think
people should have, and why
Do you really have a gun? Of course, don’t you?

Courtesy of Alan Korwin at GunLaws.com

Teetering on the tipping point???

The shooting of at least six more LEOs in Baton Rouge yesterday (three dead) has pushed us yet closer to a tipping point I don’t think the left really understands IS inevitable if they continue pushing the multiculturalism (where everyone is supposedly equal), as they support BLM, and continue pushing Muslims are peaceful people mantra, while pushing gun control and disarming legal gun owners.

IMHO, anybody with two brain cells to rub together can see through these ’emotional’ pleas and understand this is all about pushing an agenda where the government gets more and more control through freebies, entitlements, and other handouts that will ensure people will willingly give up freedoms and vote democrat until they die, while conservatives are left to wither and die on the vine as they support the 47% of moochers.

If one actually does the minimal research into the crime stats in Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Philly, Atlanta, Memphis, LA, San Francisco and other democrat run cities, the crime stats have spiked over the last couple of years. As LEOs, frustrated with the push from BO’s administration, the local dems, et al, to stop prosecuting drug offences, stop ‘profiling’ blacks, even when they were caught in the act, etc. Many agencies have backed off on enforcement and patrols (or doubled up cars, reducing the number of cars on the street by 50% per shift) and the perps know it.

The Treyvon Martin lawsuit failed, the whole Ferguson mess (hands up, don’t shoot) was disproved, the Freddie Gray thing in Baltimore has led to no convictions and three acquittals, and the current ‘crop’ of cop shootings are falling apart under investigations. The DOJ has been politicized, are now one of the more divisive agencies out there, as they too push the administration’s agenda, including the ‘selective’ prosecutions where criminals caught with guns were, in some cases, back on the streets in 72 hours.

The real problem is it takes time for the truth to actually get put out there, in the meantime, the lies, slanders, race baiters (Jackson/Sharpton/et al) are out there stirring it up as hard as they can. And as usual, BO is blaming the cops, pushing gun control, basically ANYTHING other than actually addressing the problems.

As an aside, how many of the black on black shootings in Chiraq have made the main stream media??? 2200 to date shot, and 362 killed JUST IN CHICAGO!

Oh yeah, and the ‘mantra’ that blacks were unfairly targeted- Check the research HERE. Note where that research came from…

Bottom line, this week could (and I hope to hell it doesn’t), spark multiple riots in Cleveland if somebody snipes the police, or does something else stupid. LEOs are a hair’s breadth from being cut loose (my opinion), and John Q Public is getting tired of the road blocks, face offs, and stepped up violence as the usual suspects take advantage of the LEOs backing off/changing patrol profiles.

If it comes down to it, I believe John and Jane Q Public WILL take up arms, to defend themselves and their families, and what the left doesn’t understand is the number of veterans that will drag those ARs out of the closet and WILLINGLY use them. Make no mistake, the veterans can and will use the weapons and won’t hesitate to pull the trigger. They have done it before, and will do it again.

I can also see them backing up LEOs, and stepping into the line with them if required. At that point, words and hand wringing on the left will be too little, too late.

Edit- It appears the Baton Rouge shooter was actually a black from Missouri, tied to an anti-cop, anti-government group… So the administration will blame the gun, as usual…

Sigh…

Time to go back to the .45 as the carry piece of choice, and spare mags…

Aviation Art…

24

I have actually seen this one more than once, and it is IMPRESSIVE! This image is the 25 foot high by 75 foot wide mural in the World War II Gallery of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

The B-17G, 42-38050, “Thunder Bird” of the 303rd Bomb Group, based at Molesworth, England, is seen at 11:45 AM, 15 August 1944, over Trier, Germany, on its return to base from a mission to Weisbaden. B-17Gs “Bonnie B”, “Special Delivery”, and “Marie”, are seen below as a Messerschmitt 109G and Focke Wulf FW 190 attack “Thunder Bird’s” element. Jeff Ethell’s research for the mural revealed the names and aircraft identities of all U.S. and many German participants in this battle in which the 303rd lost nine Fortresses in this attack by Luftwaffe fighters.

Achievement unlocked…

While other areas were dealing with “Day of Rage”, Wichita Falls was doing a first responder appreciation today.

flag flying

Thanks to the Elk’s Club and about 50 volunteers, a variety of first responders- LEO’s, Fire, EMS, from Wichita Falls and some of the surrounding small towns, along with DPS, Rangers, Possum Cops and others got a lunch and dinner for free as a thank you.

Quite a few brought along family members, and between lunch, dinner and the take outs for the jailers, dispatch, and those manning firestations and other critical infrastructure, a little over 1100 meals were served between lunch and dinner.

I was basically a gofer… go fer this, take out that, set up those tables and chairs, etc… But it felt good to see those first responders come through the door and hear their thanks.

A couple of the volunteers were also Patriot Guard riders, who had been in Dallas Wednesday supporting those officers funerals, and they said the procession was over five miles long. Not only that, the other side of the freeway stopped in salute as the procession was moving through.

I’ll probably STILL be soaking my feet when you read this, but I’m glad I got a chance to give a little bit back to those who DO lay their lives on the line every day.

Another hit…

France, Nice this time, was ground zero for another attack last night. This time it was a truck mowing people down along the beach promenade. 70+ dead and over 50 injured as of the time I went to bed.

No assignment of ‘blame’ yet, as the French police shot the driver dead. BUT there were apparently grenades and guns found in the vehicle. I’m wondering how long it will be before the dancing in the blood begins, along with the calls (again) for a gun ban…

What about a truck ban??? Of course not…

Today is supposed to be the ‘Day of Rage’ marches all over the US. I can’t help but wonder if one of them is going to turn into anarchy when John Q Public has finally had enough, or has a medical emergency and either can’t get an ambulance, or said ambulance or transport is stuck in traffic caused by the protesters…

Or, God forbid, there is another sniper sitting out there deciding to kill Whitey, and just ‘happens’ to be in the vicinity…

If I had the choice, I’d be sitting at home and not pushing my luck today. I ‘hope’ things stay peaceful, but I’m guess maybe 50-50 chance, which truly sucks.

Stay safe folks.

TBT…

Traditions…

This post won’t make a lot of sense to most people, but go with me here…

It’s a ‘tradition’, origin lost in time, that the last flight to the boneyard is always at max power…

This is a P-3 panel (steam gauges) on a bird going to the boneyard at Tucson. 1010 is the max allowable TIT in non-emergency situations, and this crew did it in style. 390 TAS with a 10Kt headwind at FL280, so they took the old girl out in style!

1010 TIT

Photo courtesy of TC Sherman

The birds are old and tired, most are over 50 years old (this one is ONLY 46 years old), as you can tell from the flaking paint, but they all have stories to tell. Thousands of flight hours, hundreds of crewmen, pilots, navigators and maintainers sweated over these birds on the ‘hot’ deployments, and froze their asses off on the ‘cold’ deployments all over the world.

And they pretty much brought us home every time… Thankfully…

 

 

It’s SUMMER in Texas…

The most coveted parking space…

Texas parking space

In the SHADE!!!

I don’t care if it’s a hundred yards to the store… Nope, not a bit… because SHADE! 🙂

I’ll try to get an AAR up for tomorrow on LibertyCon, if anyone is interested. Sleeping in one’s own bed IS more restful than the best hotel bed.

Just sayin…

Peter and DaddyBear have their respective AARs up HERE and HERE.

 

 

ZZzzzzzz…

Gah…

Not only was I late, the post didn’t go either… Sorry bout that!

16 hours, 856 miles, my ass is draggin’ and hopefully I’m still asleep when you read this.

Blogging will Resume tomorrow, after I’m coherent again. Go read the folks on the sidebar.