It’s that time again…
Don’t expect to see much here until Monday… Little to no commenting either. Go read the folks on the sidebar! They rite gud!!!
Was the only US sub in WWII to ‘sink’ a train…
“Now, there’s a target I would like to blow up.”
In the closing months of World War II, Commander Eugene Fluckey saw a familiar scene through the periscope: trains running up and down the remote eastern coast of Japan’s Karafuto Prefecture. As skipper of the USS Barb (SS-220) on patrol in the Okhotsk Sea, Fluckey watched the feathery stream of locomotive smoke against the mountains, trains no doubt loaded with troops and supplies to thwart an American invasion. But how could the Barb stop them?
Fluckey’s comment about wanting to blow up the target perked the ears of Chief of the Boat Paul Golden “Swish” Saunders. He had some ideas. At a plotting table the captain unrolled a topographic map of the province showing the rail lines. Perhaps Barb Sailors in rubber boats could go ashore, plant explosives under the tracks, then detonate one of the sub’s scuttling charges under a moving train. Imagine, offered Saunders, the crew of a submarine “sinking” a train. The skipper smiled: “Well, let’s get on with it.”
Full article, HERE from the Naval Institute Press
As most folks who’ve studied WWII know, they did just that!
Members of the submarine’s demolition squad pose with her battle flag at the conclusion of her 12th war patrol. Taken at Pearl Harbor, August 1945. During the night of 22-23 July 1945 these men went ashore at Karafuto, Japan, and planted an explosive charge that subsequently wrecked a train. They are (from left to right): Chief Gunners Mate Paul G. Saunders, USN; Electricians Mate 3rd Class Billy R. Hatfield, USNR; Signalman 2nd Class Francis N. Sevei, USNR; Ships Cook 1st Class Lawrence W. Newland, USN; Torpedomans Mate 3rd Class Edward W. Klingesmith, USNR; Motor Machinists Mate 2nd Class James E. Richard, USN; Motor Machinists Mate 1st Class John Markuson, USN; and Lieutenant William M. Walker, USNR. This raid is represented by the train symbol in the middle bottom of the battle flag.
Amazing sub, crew, and CO, ‘Lucky’ Flucky! The Barb survived 12 patrols both Atlantic and Pacific.
Although it’s not listed, CDR Flucky did in fact author a document for the US Navy categorizing all submarine actions in WWII using official reports and interviews with CO’s and crews.
They were truly the greatest generation!
She is an embarrassment to Texas…
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a member of the far-left group of progressive lawmakers known as “the Squad,” told congregants at a historically Black church that America needs robust immigration because “we done picking cotton.”
Crockett, who represents Texas’s 30th Congressional District, made the remarks during Connecticut-based Grace Baptist Church’s 125th anniversary celebration held over the weekend. The comments were part of Crockett’s broader attempt to slam the Trump administration for cracking down on illegal immigration.
“So I had to go around the country and educate people about what immigrants do for this country, or the fact that we are a country of immigrants. The fact is ain’t none of y’all trying to go and farm right now,” Crockett said, garnering a sheepish laugh from a few members of the audience.
Full article, HERE from Fox News.
Hell, she’s an embarrassment to EVERYBODY with the BS she spews then tries to say she never said it…
Of course she represents Texas’ 30th District, which is Dallas and parts of Tarrant County HERE. Just like Houston and Austin, it is a ‘blue’ area in a red state, and it is not representative of the majority of Texans.
One wonders what she thinks she is accomplishing by spouting the stuff she’s saying? Is this the Dems policy? Or is this the ‘Squad’s’ policies? Or is it something else entirely?
She’s a lawyer, just like Sheila Jackson Lee, who represented Harris Co (Houston) was, and seems to have adopted her ‘ideas’ and outrageous behavior as the ‘norm’ rather than the exception.
You would think lawyers would know better, but I guess not…
One helluva game!!!
Florida vs. Houston turned out to be a game that lived up to the hype! Seesawed back and forth all night long, and sadly, somebody had to lose.
Last night, it was Houston. The stunned expressions said it all, and you have to feel bad for them. But at the same time, they never gave up, so kudos to them for that. It literally came down to the last seconds and a block by Florida and loose ball that decided it in the last 3 seconds. Final score, Florida 65, Houston 63…
Florida was down 12 at one point, but fought back. Boy, did they ever fight back!
Now back to your regularly scheduled stuff…
To start your week… The weather not withstanding, it’s time for Golf!!!
aONLY A TRUE GOLFER WILL UNDERSTAND THIS…
- Don’t buy a putter until you’ve had a chance to throw it.
- Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.
- When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit one more club or two more balls.
- If you’re afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: you can immediately shank a lay-up or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there.
- The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about the golf swing.
- No matter how bad you are playing, it is always possible to play worse.
- The inevitable result of any golf lesson is the instant elimination of the one critical unconscious motion that allowed you to compensate for all of your many other errors.
- If it ain’t broke, try changing your grip.
- Everyone replaces his divot after a perfect approach shot.
- A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponents’ luck.
- It is surprisingly easy to hole a fifty foot putt for a 10.
- Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of his own haircut.
- Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.
- It’s not a gimme if you’re still away.
- The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree.
- There are two kinds of bounces; unfair bounces and bounces, just the way you meant to play it.
- You can hit a two acre fairway 10% of the time and a two inch branch 90% of the time.
- If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.
- Since bad shots come in groups of three, a fourth bad shot is actually the beginning of the next group of three.
- When you look up, causing an awful shot, you will always look down again at exactly the moment when you ought to start watching the ball if you ever want to see it again.
- Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.
- If you want to hit a 7 iron as far as Tiger Woods does, simply try to lay up just short of a water hazard.
- To calculate the speed of a player’s downswing, multiply the speed of his back-swing by his handicap; i.e., back-swing 20 mph, handicap 15, downswing = 300 mph.
- There are two things you can learn by stopping your back-swing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which one is wearing the glove.
- Hazards attract; fairways repel.
- You can put a draw on the ball, you can put a fade on the ball, but no golfer can put a straight on the ball.
- A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.
- If there is a ball on the fringe and a ball in the bunker, your ball is in the bunker. If both balls are in the bunker, yours is in the footprint.
- It’s easier to get up at 6:00 AM to play golf than at 10:00 to mow the yard.
- Sometimes it seems as though your cup moveth over.
- A good drive on the 18th hole has stopped many a golfer from giving up the game.
- Golf is the perfect thing to do on Sunday because you always end up having to pray a lot.
- A good golf partner is one who’s always slightly worse than you are… that’s why I get so many calls to play with friends.
- That rake by the sand trap is there for golfers who feel guilty about skipping out on lawn work.
- If there’s a storm rolling in, you’ll be having the game of your life.
- Golf balls are like eggs. They’re white. They’re sold by the dozen.
- And you need to buy fresh ones each week.
- A pro-shop gets its name from the fact that you have to have the income of a professional golfer to buy anything in there.
- It’s amazing how a golfer who never helps out around the house will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his sand traps.
- If your opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven, he probably shot an eight (or worse).
- You probably wouldn’t look good in a green jacket anyway! A sweatshirt will do just fine.
- It takes longer to learn to be a good golfer than it does to become a brain surgeon. On the other hand, you don’t get to ride around on a cart, drink beer, eat hot dogs and fart if you are performing brain surgery.
SUCKS!!! High 30s, rainy, windy, and occasionally spitting sleet…
And it was my turn to cook supper for the group. What to have? Something WARM!
Garlic shrimp soup, Caesar salad, and fresh bread. It was hot, filling, and Peter and Dot did a couple of desserts to go with it! Many thanks to them!
The soup is really simple, and one I made up years ago…LOL
Since I was feeding a large group, it was 8 cans of New England clam chowder, 3 cans of stewed tomatoes, and two cans of Rotel mild chilies and tomato. Add garlic (and more garlic), simmer and stir for 15-20 minutes until hot through and well mixed.
6 lbs of 31-40 count shrimp, cooked in Zatarain’s shrimp boil until just pinking, add to the chowder mix, simmer another 15 minutes to finish and serve!
And get out of the way…LOL
The ‘average’ was two bowls for everyone, and nobody went home hungry! The discussions, as always, were wide ranging, interesting, and we all learned something(s).
Hopefully, the weather will start breaking today, otherwise, I’m going to start molding…sigh
This one is real… Sometimes the truth works…
On July 20, 1967, Petty Officer 1st Class David Jarvis Anderson submitted an unusual special leave request. His plea was simple.
“My wife is planning on getting pregnant this weekend,” he wrote, “and I would sure like to be there when it happens.”
Full article, HERE from Military Times.
Sometimes, ya just gotta take the bull by the horns, and be ‘perfectly’ honest with your Chiefs…
And most of the time it will work!
The Navy Chiefs had, by and large, been there and done that, so there wasn’t much they hadn’t seen or done in their careers. By the time they were Chiefs, they knew all the tricks the junior enlisted would try, and most of them would tromp on the ‘outlandish’ special requests.
I’m guessing this PN1 had his s**t together, and his department was caught up on the paperwork, so his Chief was fine with him getting a few days off. I went back and looked and he was asking for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off. So really only one ‘workday’ per se.
One wonders what the ‘outcome’ of the weekend was??? 🙂
Seems that Israel is now ‘getting’ Hamas attention…
Even as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are busily engaged revoking the birth certificates of Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and while Israel’s air force is likewise engaged in changing Hamas terrorists’ pronouns to “over here” and “over there,” Hamas is admitting they are feeling the pinch. Now they are offering to release all of the remaining 59 hostages taken in the October 7th, 2023 attack, in return for a permanent cease-fire with Israel. Less than half of those hostages are thought to still be alive.
Full article, HERE from Red State.
Although I have not been watching it closely, it appears the latest IDF incursions into Gaza, along with the loss of the Syrian and Lebanese funding and ammunition streams has the remnants of Hamas on their back foot, in addition to the IDF’s continued strikes removing leader after leader.
At ‘some’ point, there won’t be anybody foolish enough to ‘step up’, and hopefully that comes soon.
Those remaining 59 families deserve to be given closure with those who were taken hostage, even if they are dead. Closure is closure, as long as the families ‘know’ what happened to their loved ones.
If Hamas is allowed a ‘permanent’ cease fire, it won’t actually be that…It will just give them time to rebuild their forces once again. At least that is my opinion.
OBTW, has anybody wondered why NO countries in the Middle East will take Palestinian refugees? The AP has one idea, HERE. HERE is another look from Politico. Lastly, a look from the Arab Center in DC, HERE.
IMHO, the bottom line is that none of the countries ‘trust’ the refugees to not start crap in ‘their’ countries…
Cedar Sanderson has a new book out with a series of short stories- A Garden of Stars
As always, click on the cover for the Amazon link!
The blurb-
A collection of short stories, which range from fantasy, to science fiction, and some which defy specification. Two brand new stories never seen anywhere else!
Family, cats, chickens, gardens, little old ladies… these are a few of my favorite things, and you will find them here. There are young people finding their way in the world, and learning that independence doesn’t mean you can’t rely on friends, like in the story of the Long Commute. The humor of The Great Chicken Escape is followed by its prequel of sorts which is a philosophical treatise on why space exploration – with gardens and roosters – is so very important in Gardener to the Stars. I’ve been wanting to write cozy stories recently. Not a lot of drama and conflict. The world is still a dark place at times – you’ll catch a reference to the Armenian Genocide in Rubber Duckie if you look hard enough, and Mouse Office is surely not anything beside a warning to the young and overconfident.
I won’t go over all of the stories you’ll find in here. I hope I have intrigued you to read onward. Please, step into my whimsical world, and enjoy your journey!
Next up is my friend Ben English with the second in his Templar family series- ¡Cristeros!
The blurb-
At sixty years old, Gideon Hood Templar rides into Mexico on his final adventure. In doing so a rediscovery occurs involving redemption, faith and honorable enemies who become more honorable friends.
Making their way across the Estado de Chihuahua and into Texas through the unpredictable fog of rebellion, Gideon and his little band of refugees pit themselves against an unforgiving desert, bandits, the American army and a special Mexican cavalry unit tasked with the capture of those he is responsible for.
Along the way a bond is formed between old antagonists now sharing an unwavering belief in their common mission. Men, as well as women, who together struggle for something far larger than themselves, and against an insidious evil attempting to eradicate God from the collective conscience of a nation.
From a blood soaked land where there is no Bill of Rights, no freedom of speech or religion, or peaceful assembly, they seek a new life in the final act of a revolution that was never quite over to begin with.
This is their story, the story of ¡Cristeros!
Much like Louis L’Amour, if Ben describes a location in the book, he has visited it and walked that land. I highly recommend not only both books, but the other books both these folks have written!!!
The left said about the Wisconsin judges race…
The City of Milwaukee is running out of ballots due to “historic turnout” on Tuesday night, as Badger State residents stand in line at polling places to decide whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court will lean conservative or liberal.
FOX 6 Milwaukee reporter Jason Calvi reported the developments on Tuesday night. At least seven polling sites have run out of ballots, per the Milwaukee Elections Commission.
The sites are expecting more ballots soon, though the polls closed at 8 p.m. Milwaukee officials also noted that Wisconsin residents in line by 8 p.m. are still eligible to vote.
Full article, HERE from Fox News.
I don’t remember ‘where’ I saw it, but I remember how one of the MSM was talking about how off year, off cycle, and ‘unimportant’ little race would have a low to very low turnout.
Funny, isn’t it, how a unimportant race drew so 90 million dollars of war chest, and how much got spent on TV ads etc.
Well, ‘I’ think the people are speaking, and maybe we’ll have an answer tomorrow…
In other news, the AP has called both House of Representatives races in Florida for the Republicans, HERE. Patronis was ‘outraised’ 10:1 by his democrat opponent but won the race anyway. I can’t help but wonder how much money Soros et al spent on those two races…
So, the Republicans will hold a larger majority in the House going forward, which will make things more interesting, considering that the Pubs are not prone to vote in lockstep like the Dems…