My post from Friday (HERE) on the suicide rates elicited some interesting sidebar discussions. One of those was from Scribbler, and he’s put a very good post up responding to my post. His post is HERE.
Of note, this is his generation, so I’m glad to get his perspective on the whole mess, and he does have a cogent piece that is a bit of an eye opener…
Well worth the read. Scribbler is also a shooter and one of our ‘tribe’ so to speak, we’ve met him at a couple of events over the last two years.
I can only watch in amazement at what is going on over the Israel/Gaza incursion…
Hamas stated goal is to destroy Israel/kill Israelis. They are firing rockets indiscriminately into to kill/maim the population, in addition to sneaking through tunnels to kill or kidnap Israelis…
And they’ve been doing this for a long time, violating all the agreements/peacekeeping accords etc…
AND Hamas is siting the rockets in civilian areas on purpose, using Palestinian citizens as human shields, along with storing rockets in UN and other schools, hospitals and mosques. And this is okay???
But somehow this gets twisted to be Israel’s fault???
HERE is an article from the LA Times…
WTF???
And Israel is being accused of using “excessive” force? Since when is war supposed to be fair? They are doing their best to minimize collateral damage, but it’s rather hard when the rockets are being fired from an apartment complex…
And then there’s this-
The situation facing European Jewry is “simply intolerable, unacceptable and inexcusable,” Israeli Jewish Congress president Vladimir Sloutsker told MKs and foreign diplomats at a special session of the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee on Monday.
Calling the rise in anti-Semitic incidents accompanying Israel’s invasion of Gaza an “SOS situation,” Sloutsker warned that if left unchecked, such behavior could lead to another European genocide.
This is from the Jerusalem Post article HERE.
And this link from PJ Media HERE.
Islam is the religion of peace??? My ass…
How can any rational human being think that firing rockets into your town/country is okay??? Would YOU put up with that without reaction?
I know I wouldn’t and I’d use every means possible to stop it… And I’d bring all my friends with guns, airplanes and anything else I could lay hands on…
Actually I’d have to say I admire the Israelis for their restraint. I know they have much more capable weapons they could use, if they really didn’t care about loss of life…
But it seems the whole damn world is upside down lately… Makes me think I’ve stepped into Bizarro World or something…
Oh yeah, and Kerry’s ‘input’ to the peace process? Support a cease fire that gives Hamas every thing they want…
I gotta find that rabbit hole and get back to reality somehow!
Rant off/Kicking soapbox back in the corner…
You have 5 minutes…
The safe is open, the roads are blocked and you’re going to be walking…
For miles… Just you, your BOB (50ish lbs without ammo), and whatever you pick out of the safe…
Which pair do you pick?
Savage .22 and Ruger .22
M-1 Carbine and .45
M4 and Glock 26
Model 94 and Python
SCAR 17 and Glock 17
And grab a knife too…
I’m curious, what would you choose and why???
I’ll post my answer in comments later today…
The Times of Israel blog pretty much lays it out…
It’s worth the time to go HERE and read it…
And some of the ‘dead baby’ pictures are apparently from Syria earlier in the year…
h/t Dammit
It’s the Navy’s turn again…
Very plain by comparison to many of the other posters out there…
But one difference is the ‘reality’ of the face and expression. The artist was John Falter, an illustrator for magazines that actually enlisted in the Navy in 1943. He left the Navy as a Chief.
Nuff said…
Why are all these kids committing suicide?
A friend’s daughter, 26 and a college grad, tried to commit suicide last month. Granted she is ADHD with known problems, but still… She was on medication, but tried it anyway.
The other day, another friend told me his son’s former girlfriend (Whom I’d met), age 24, college grad, and a pretty vivacious young lady, was found dead in her car at 0100 in the morning.
The next day a third friend sent me an email, a young lady I bounced on my knee as a child had killed herself.
I know we have a lot of issues with military suicides, we saw the same thing ager Nam, some people just cannot reintegrate into society, and the VA is failing them badly…
But I don’t understand the other ones…
I was chatting with Spear about this and I think he may have ID’ed a key point. The kids that are mid 20s are the bow wave of the generation that was never allowed to fail, and pretty much got everything they wanted. Now that they are in the ‘real’ world, they cannot deal with not having the ‘success’ that they previously had.
Also, they are the lead of the ‘smartphone’ age… They didn’t grow up actually having conversations, preferring to have electronic ‘friends’ and texting rather than actual communication.
The other thing I think plays into this is they are the ‘video game’ generation, and they are the sickliest generation, with a higher preponderance of allergies, respiratory issues, and obesity. I think this is because they didn’t get outside and play and get dirty…
On a slightly different point-
The ‘little’ kids today are even worse from talking to some of the Docs I work with… Their immune systems are in even worse shape than those in their 20s…
Part of this is the fault of ‘celebrities’ like McCarthy claiming vaccinations cause autism. And she apparently continues to beat that drum even after it’s been dis-proven… Her ‘celebrity’? She showed the world her tits in Playboy… Sigh… And for THAT people listen to her???
When you combine that with what is coming across the border and the potential for disease vectors we haven’t seen since ‘I’ was a kid, are we setting this country up for an epidemic?
Apparently CBP is so overloaded, and DHS has directed they be moved ‘immediately’, so they are being relocated without even basic medical screening.
Now before you say that’s all BS, my older grandson’s HS in California had nine- count em, NINE cases of TB within his high school last year, but neither the parents nor EMS in the area were notified… When PP started digging into it, it was apparently ‘isolated’ to a different building than the one my grandson was in. I’m betting if the truth be told, that TB was brought in by illegals that were placed in Northern California in the last year or so, and THEY probably weren’t screened either!!!
I’m sorry, but this crap HAS been brought on by the edumacation system and the feel good PC world that is getting crammed down our throats…
Failure IS going to happen, like it or not, this is NOT a perfect world there snowflake…
Of the eleven men who were in Alcatraz, the most notorious Hanoi POW camp, only four remain with the death of Jeremiah (Jerry) A. Denton Jr., RADM USN Ret and former Senator. He actually died March 28th in the Norfolk area, but due to the busy schedule at Arlington, he was finally laid to rest on Tuesday July the 21st. Approved or not, the Navy did send two F/A-18s up from Norfolk for the flyover, but they were too high by the time they went over the office for me to see which squadron they were. From what I understand, there was quite a turnout for him, and a well deserved one.
Shot down in 1965 while flying an A-6 Intruder and badly injured, he was a POW for seven years and seven months. He was also the one that blinked in Morse Code T O R T U R E in the infamous television interview.
I was honored to meet him a number of years ago at a function in Pensacola, and he always said he survived through his faith in God, the USA, his family, and the Navy. He was considered by all who knew him to be a patriot’s patriot, and one that truly NEVER gave up. He wrote When Hell is in Session in 1976, and it was considered then (and probably still is) one of the definitive books on POW life in Vietnam. You can find it HERE.
Captain Denton was the first officer off the first C-141 from Hanoi in 1973. That video is HERE. Captain Denton is at 3:03 into the video.
Thank you for the example you set for us with your sacrifices….
RIP RADM Denton, you deserve it.
The NRA is starting the Trigger the Vote campaign with among other things a revamped website. Take a minute to read and check it out!!!
Fairfax, Va. – The National Rifle Association’s Freedom Action Foundation (NRA-FAF) announced the kickoff of its 2014 “Trigger the Vote” voter registration campaign, and also unveiled its captivating new ad, “Father and Son,” which can be viewed here.
The campaign once again enjoys the support of Honorary Chairman Chuck Norris, and will soon be releasing exclusive new videos featuring Norris that can’t be seen anywhere else.
One of the missions of NRA-FAF is to protect the Second Amendment through a vigorous non-partisan voter registration program. The initial “Trigger the Vote” campaign was introduced in 2009, and it has expanded in scope and reach in every election cycle since. The program uses a variety of means of communications to connect gun owners and Second Amendment supporters with tools to facilitate the voter registration process, and ensure that they are prepared to cast an informed ballot on Election Day. Trigger the Vote field teams have been visiting events across the nation since May of this year to register new voters in person.
This year, Trigger the Vote is also releasing its redesigned website, www.TriggerTheVote.org . The site has new, robust user-friendly tools to help gun owners and Second Amendment supporters easily register to vote, check to make sure their existing registration is current, as well as locate their polling place.
“The Freedom Action Foundation is one of the most critical parts of the NRA,” explained NRA-FAF President Chris W. Cox. “Through its valuable work, the NRA is able to reach millions of freedom-loving Americans and ensure that they are prepared to exercise their right to vote.”
To learn more about Trigger the Vote and how you can be a part of it, please visit www.TriggerTheVote.org .
If you’re retired military and/or have dependents with ID cards that have your SSN on it, beware…
Department of Defense ID card replacement
If you’re retired from the Armed Forces, listen up! On July 17th we drove aboard Charleston AFB about 11 A.M. to ‘check-in’ at the USAF ‘Inns of Charleston’. When I approached the gate and presented my retired ID card to the sentry there she swiped it through a reader and informed me that my ID card had been ‘terminated’ and could not be returned to me. I protested that it was an ‘indefinite’ expiration and had been accepted the week prior at Ft Gordon without any problems. Sorry ‘bout that! I was directed to make a U-turn and go back to the visitors building to get a temporary one-day pass. (My problem, not her’s.)
The problem seems to be that any ID card that has a Social Security number on it may/will be confiscated upon presentation leaving the bearer without military ID until they can get another card issued with a DoD control number vice an SSN. Had this been later at night when I came aboard, it would have been a real problem. As it was, I was directed to a building that issued ID cards and (because I had no appointment) sat for over an hour until they got around to me while my wife and grandson waited in the car.
The obvious effect is that all of your medical records, and other admin records, have your SSN, both military and civilian records. You need your military ID for Tricare medical care and for access to all military facilities. Both the retiree and their dependents will require new ID cards. To save some stress, you might consider this step. You can go to any Reserve or National Guard base that has access to DEERS and can produce new (service-specific) ID cards. Certainly, major military bases can do this but many require appointments or a long walk-in wait time. You must have at least two forms of picture ID with you (passport, driver license, VA medical card, carry-concealed ID, etc.).
Your card may be confiscated at the worst possible time (in an ER room for example) so this should be considered as an action item. Just trying to be helpful.
Semper Fidelis
Apparently the USAF has jumped squarely on the enforcement of this with no options for the service member (or dependents probably)…
We’ve all been told it was ‘coming’, but apparently the USAF has decided it’s here. Guess I better go get a new ID card most skosh quickly…
h/t Ackro