TGIF…

Posted on by July 10, 2025

I got nothing, so you get random stuff…

Oh yeah, a new Raconteur Press antho is out! Vice Noir

As always click the cover for the Amazon link!

The blurb-

When we opened the call for Vice Noir, I wrote:
“The protagonist I am looking for in Vice Noir is a little different than the standard noir central character. Your standard noir detective knows the abyss and has armoured himself against it. He fights monsters, because someone has to, and his moral code demands that someone stand in the breach. His moral code is more externally focused: ‘Someone has to do it.’ The Vice Noir protagonist, on the other hand, has looked into the abyss … and the abyss winked. He lives in the bright sunshine, among pretty people — because the night, the alleys, and the adrenaline are way too attractive, too addictive, too comfortable … and he knows it. He is Sonny Crockett, living on a yacht with a gator named Elvis; he is Fiddler, in his beach cottage, with his lime tree, and his koi; both of them trying to build up the antibodies before the abyss whispers, and they leap headlong. Again.”

Of the forty stories I received, I had to pick ten that conveyed the spirit I was looking for; and I’m not going to lie – it was damned difficult doing so.

I hope this selection hits the right notes. If it does, that’s all on the authors. If not, that’s all on me.

Buckle up, gentle readers. Grab your Ray-Bans, fire up your 1980s pop hits, and get ready to smile back when the teeth come out.

I give you: Vice Noir.

And I have a story in this one, I’ll be curious as to what you think of it…

In other ‘news’ h/t to Gerry for this one. I knew we didn’t put ‘many’ people on the moon, but dang… And those who got to circle it made it even worse…

And last but not least, a little humor…

Enjoy your weekend, and stay safe folks…

This is NOT right…

Posted on by July 9, 2025

I will admit I don’t follow music/musicians anymore because of hearing loss, and never really paid attention to yet another Hall of Fame. I knew who I liked, and didn’t care about awards, etc…

There’s something off about applause that arrives 30 years too late.

This year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will finally open its glitzy doors to Cyndi Lauper. And yes, the girl who just wanted to have fun earned it. No question. You could argue she should’ve been inducted before now, and you’d be right. But her long-overdue invitation isn’t the only story.

While cameras will flash, and industry types will slap backs and nod as if they saw it coming, there’s an ugly truth hiding in the lights: some of the greatest women in music history still haven’t made it into the Hall. Not because they lacked talent. Not because they lacked influence. But because the Rock Hall has a long, slow habit of forgetting the very women who built the foundation beneath its stage.

Full article, HERE from PJ Media.

When you read the article, and look at who is NOT there based on their music, or how long it took for them to get there, it becomes obvious they are slow rolling the women… ALL the women…

Much like the record labels took advantage of the bands over the years, and the continuing ‘scuffles’ over royalties/contract payments/ASCAP fees, etc. This is, to me, just one more money grab at the top levels, and to hell with the artists…

Grrrr…

Above the law???

Posted on by July 8, 2025

I think not…

Like neon lights in the fog, five words we’ve seen and heard everywhere, along with the self-righteous posts:

“Nobody is above the law!”

We heard those five words more than we heard “Good morning” or “Have a nice day.” 

They echoed from tote bags, blared across chyrons, and rang out in chants from crowds cheering FBI raids on pro-life activists and conservative school board members—repeated so often that we began to believe they meant what they said.

However, when progressive Milwaukee Judge, County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan helped a man here illegally slip out the side door with hopes of dodging ICE like a rabbit outrunning a cheetah, those five very sacred words vanished.

Suddenly, without a preamble, those five words were replaced by:

“She was acting in her official capacity.”

Full article, HERE from PJ Media.

Interestingly, a federal magistrate has recommended the case go forward, HERE.  Magistrate Joseph said, “A judge’s actions, even when done in her official capacity, does not bar criminal prosecution if the actions were done in violation of the criminal law.”

Funny how the shoe is on the ‘other’ foot and suddenly those words aren’t applicable…

Personally, I’m glad to see it, as had it been one of us peons, we’d already be in jail for breaking the law. I did notice this pretty much disappeared from the MSM in a big hurry, and really hasn’t had any ‘in depth’ coverage.

So, now we wait… and hope…

This…

Posted on by July 7, 2025

Is double plus ungood…

The next Ford-class aircraft carrier is facing a two-year delay that will leave the Navy with ten carriers for about a year, USNI News has learned.

The future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) will now deliver in March 2027, according to the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget justification documents. The carrier was supposed to deliver this month, according to last year’s budget plans.

“The CVN 79 delivery date shifted from July 2025 to March 2027 (preliminary acceptance TBD) to support completion of Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) certification and continued Advanced Weapons Elevator (AWE) work,” reads the latest FY 2026 shipbuilding budget book.

Those two technologies – the system used to catch aircraft landing on the carrier’s deck and the weapons elevators that move ordnance through the ship – are new systems incorporated into the Ford class. A spokesperson for General Atomics, which makes the AAG, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Ford was two years late, not delivering until 2017, and did not deploy until 2023, six years later! This was due to numerous ‘problems’ with new systems and the plumbing on the ship…

I can see the same thing happening with the Kennedy. So effectively, the USA will be down a carrier (actually down three from the 13 we need to maintain OPTEMPO/PERSTEMPO), not for just a year, but potentially for seven years…

When you add in the ‘tensions’ in the world right now, and the fact that more and more countries are getting well ahead of us in not only shipbuilding, but in total numbers of Navy ships, this does not bode well for the Navy’s mission of freedom of the seas and freedom for commerce at sea.

China for one, is pushing to kick the Navy outside the ‘first island chain’, e.g. out of Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. And they are determined to claim everything inside the infamous 9 dash line as Chinese property…

The US Navy, along with other NATO, Australian, and New Zealand navies routinely do FONs (freedom of navigation) between Taiwan and China, and down through the SCS to Brunei, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

USS Nimitz just did a ‘speed run’ to get to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf area. If they had not been able to ‘cut the corner’ as it were, that would have added roughly a week to the trip.

And being down another carrier will put a lot of stress on the remaining ships, crews, and the small boys that accompany them…

Sigh…

A little humor…

Posted on by July 6, 2025

To start the week!

Q: Where can single men over the age of 60 find younger women who are
interested in them?
A: Try a bookstore,  under Fiction.

Q: What can a man do while his wife is  going through menopause?
A: Keep busy. If you’re  handy with tools, you can finish the basement.
When you’re done, you  will have a place to live.

Q: Someone has told me  that menopause is mentioned in the bible… Is
that true? Where can it be found?
A: Yes. Matthew 14:92: “And Mary rode Joseph’s ass all the way to Egypt …”

Q: How can you increase the heart rate of your over-60 year-old  husband?
A: Tell him you’re pregnant.

Q: How can you avoid that terrible curse of the elderly  wrinkles?
A: Take off your glasses.

Q: Seriously! What can I do for these crow’s feet and all those
wrinkles on my face?
A: Go braless. It will  usually pull them out..

Q: Why should 60-plus year  old people use valet parking?
A: Valets don’t forget  where they park your car.

Q: Is it common for 60-plus  year olds to have problems with short term
memory storage?
A: Storing memory is not a problem, Retrieving it is the  problem.

Q: As people age, do they sleep more  soundly?
A: Yes, but usually in the afternoon.

Q: Where should 60-plus year olds look for eye  glasses?
A: On their foreheads.

Q: What is the most common remark made by 60-plus year olds when they
enter antique stores?
A: “Gosh, I remember these!”

And a bonus one…

The graveside service just barely  finished, when there was massive clap of thunder, followed by a  tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder  rumbling in the distance…

The little old man looked at the pastor  and calmly said, ‘Well, she’s there…

No kidding…

Posted on by July 4, 2025

And no real surprise over here…

The first six months of the Trump administration have not been kind to the experts and the degree-holding classes.

Almost daily during the tariff hysterias of March, we were told by university economists and most of the PhDs employed in investment and finance that the U.S. was headed toward a downward, if not recessionary, spiral.

Most economists lectured that trade deficits did not really matter. Or they insisted that the cures to reduce them were worse than the $1.1 trillion deficit itself.

They reminded us that free, rather than fair, trade alone ensured prosperity.

So, the result of Trump’s foolhardy tariff talk would be an impending recession. America would soon suffer rising joblessness, inflation–or rather a return to stagflation–and likely little, if any, increase in tariff revenue as trade volume declined.

Instead, recent data show increases in tariff revenue. Personal real income and savings were up. Job creation exceeded prognoses. There was no surge in inflation. The supposedly “crashed” stock market reached historic highs.

Full article, HERE from PJ Media.

This falls right in line with the loss of trust in the main stream media, and most of the politicians.

Personally, I think a LOT of this relates directly back to the whole WuFlu debacle. From the ‘experts’ who had no real idea of what to do, to those who suppressed data, to the power hungry who closed schools, businesses, etc. on the ‘whims’ of the elites, ad infinitum.

For many of us ‘peons’ it seemed that common sense solutions were immediately tossed to the winds, and we saw many instances of ‘not invented here’ syndrome. All of this caused many of us to do the cocked head look and go away mumbling to ourselves.

And I don’t think it’s getting any better…

Your thoughts?

Happy Independence Day!!!

Posted on by July 3, 2025

Happy 249th birthday America!!!

Well, the big bill passed…

Congress has officially passed President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” on Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate.

The massive agenda bill now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.

The bill – which advances Trump’s policies on tax, the border, defense, energy and the national debt – narrowly passed the House of Representatives in a mostly party-line vote. All but two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voted for the bill, which passed 218 – 214.

Full article, HERE from Fox News.

But we still got screwed…

What we ‘didn’t’ get that was promised, was SBR/Bs and suppressors were NOT removed from the NFA. Granted, the ‘tax’ has been reduced from $200 to 0, but we still have to jump through the ‘mother may I’ hoops… And the promise of no tax on Social Security got chopped too… Supposedly, we’ll get a ‘tax break’ of up to $6000 for 3 years… Whoop de do…

Now it’s time for all those 2A groups and NRA to step up and get what we were promised if they want our support in 2026!

And all of us old farts should be writing letters, calling, and calling out our congresscritters at those townhalls!

Both of these ‘should’ have been easy… Sigh…

Ummm…errrr…

Posted on by July 2, 2025

Say whut???

On June 11, 1942, disease, and perhaps an increasing desire not to use one’s own hand to wipe one’s nether regions, drove Lt. Cmdr. James Coe of the submarine Skipjack to send an “urgent” message to the powers that be.

Since July 1, 1941, a requisition had been submitted for 150 rolls of toilet paper to replenish the dwindling supply aboard the Skipjack. However, as the boat patrolled the Pacific, no sign of the all-important bathroom item appeared — even as other war materiel came in.

In March 1942, according to the National WWII Museum, Coe took command of the Skipjack and learned of the dire, and no doubt malodorous, situation. To make matters worse, Coe received a canceled invoice for the TP alongside a stamped July 1941 message stating “cancelled-cannot identify.”

Full article, HERE from Military Times.

Actually, this doesn’t really surprise me…

The military is REALLY stupid sometimes, as anyone who has served knows. That is why every squadron I was in had at least one ‘good’ scrounger…

A good scrounger could come up with those supposedly unobtainable items. You just didn’t ask ‘where’ they came from, especially if you were an officer…

In talking to WWII vets, it was apparent there was a LOT of ‘trading’ equipment, either voluntarily or otherwise, among squadrons, ships, and submarines. When a unit got ready to deploy, the scroungers got a little list… And as long as the unit got out of town before the SPs came calling, it was all good.

I’m betting the Skipjack’s crew were pretty good scroungers, and knowing Pearl Harbor, I’m betting the clubs and officers quarters ‘mysteriously’ ended up short of toilet paper every month… 🙂

What do you Vets say???

PSA…

Posted on by July 1, 2025

Killer bees in the US…

Officials in Alabama say they euthanized a feral swarm of Africanized honeybees, also known as “killer bees,” and precautions are now being made in an attempt to protect communities in the area and the local honeybee population.

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADIA) said on Monday that the swarm was found in Barbour County by local beekeepers, close to the Alabama-Georgia state line in the Southeast.

The ADIA said that as a precaution, targeted monitoring efforts are now underway to assess and contain the presence of Africanized honeybees. Those precautions include deploying traps within a 5-mile radius of where the killer bees were found to attempt any additional activity.

Full article, HERE from Fox News.

Last month, there was a bee attack west of Lubbock, TX that killed three horses HERE.

One of our Legion members is a bee keeper, and he’s had two encounters with Africanized swarms in the Itchy Paw Falls area, so far this year. He and his partner have killed both hives in an abundance of caution, in addition to reporting them to the state.

Folks, these things WILL chase you and kill you. NOT a joke! If you’re not sure, call a professional to come check the hive out. And yes, they can and will build a hive inside the walls of a house, including brand new houses! All they need is a way in, as long as it is ‘one’ bee wide, you can end up with 20-30000 bees in your wall!

With more people with allergies, it is incumbent on parents to be a little more careful about where your kids are playing, especially as the heat builds, because ‘that’ seems to set these suckers off.

As always, common sense dictates… Stay aware, and stay smart.

Posted in PSA

The weather…

Posted on by June 30, 2025

She be weird yesterday…

Coming back from my eye appointment yesterday afternoon in Lawton, I saw a number of small, medium, and large cells moving west to east.  Rather than a contiguous line of cells, they were…broken…with gaps between them (unusual in itself).

Even more so was the rain pattern…

From left to right, you see a large cell, a medium cell, a small cell, and a supercell on the far right. Each one was dumping rain, but notice the gaps between them! And we drove into a fifth cell that rained for maybe a mile. Going further south, I saw two more small cells, probably 10-15 miles apart, merrily raining with the sun shining between them…

Then the whole ‘line’ turned ESE, and a hour later, turned back to the WSW, backing up on us from the East… Strange… To put it mildly.

And as usual, it pretty much split around Tiny Town. We got a few spritz of rain, and a bunch of lighting, including one that hit either a tree or a house just down the street.

By 2000, the whole mess turned again, and was going ENE… And supposed to trail through until 2300. Sigh…

Enough with the weird stuff already!!!