The Old Girl STILL Has Some Life!!!

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Thanks to JP for a great pic of an old P-3A still serving…

Aero Union P-3A pictured in Colorado, probably in the last week.  Appears this is one of 6 still certified..



These are still being flown by my shipmates, and trust me they KNOW how to get down low and get the job done!  The company is not being run by real smart folks, but the grunts doing the work as still putting missions out…


3000 gallons of retardant 180kts, approach flaps and get er done!!!


I can’t help but wonder how surprised the two guys on that balcony were 🙂


Fly safe my friends, fly safe!!!

Happy Independence Day…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
I’m outta here for a few days of down time, and to celebrate the 4th of July with friends.  Hopefully this will not be the ‘last’ 4th we get to celebrate…

Tomorrow marks the 236th anniversary of America’s independence from Great Britain.  Although written centuries ago, The Declaration of Independence is a timeless document.  The principles of freedom and equality are what make our country great and inspire others to endeavor for the same liberties. 

A bit of history-

Variously known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83). In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.

Of course in ‘many’ places fireworks are now outlawed, ‘official’ celebrations are being pushed to be ‘low-key’ as some might find it “offensive”, etc…


This is a holiday that has been missed by far too many Americans while at sea, in the sandbox or deployed elsewhere around the world.  Take this time to thank a vet for all that they do – at home and abroad.  I hope tomorrow everyone will have the opportunity to spend some quality time with family and friends and unwind.

My thought-  Well, screwem… I’m PROUD to be an American, and PROUD of our heritage!!!

Light em if you got em…

Have a Happy and a Safe 4th of July, and MANY more!!!

THIS is just plain BS…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Well, the administration is bending the Navy over (again)…

The Navy has been ‘directed’ to be the test bed for these new ‘bio-fuels’, at a cost of $26/gal!!!  Full articles HERE and HERE

Yep, not $2.60, but TWENTY-SIX dollars a gallon!!!

When you compare it to the ‘expensive’ bunker fuel we now use at $3.60 a gallon, it’s a ‘bargain’ that we are being allowed to prototype these new fuels for saving the environment.

Now a bit of common sense here… Lets say a Destroyer holds roughly 35,000 gallons of bunker fuel, at $3.60/gal that is $126,000 per fillup; at $26/gal that equates to $910,000 per fillup…

Now if you figure it costs roughly $100,000 per DAY to run a Destroyer at $3.60/gal, and now you increase fuel costs by a factor of just over 7, you’ve just driven the Navy out of business!!!

The Navy is already restricting not only the speeds destroyers can run, but the number of days they can be underway to ‘conserve’ costs (which means training suffers).  What next???

And the truly sad part is there is no way to make enough bio-fuel to actually supply the Fleet anytime in the near future at any realistic price…

Range time/Mini-Meet…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Met up with Murph and Proud Hillbilly yesterday for a mini-meet/shoot it was originally going to be more than us, however work/reality/storms caused a few to drop out.


It was in the low 90’s so sweating into EVERYTHING was an issue, especially behind the shooting glasses and into the eyes.  This was a day where ‘smooth’ grips on anything was a definite disadvantage too!!!


Put a few rounds down range with various pistols, and starting with the ‘small’ dueling tree sure does make those falling plates look BIG! Ran them clean twice even… LOL


Sadly, the Model 39A did not want to feed, so it goes back to the gunsmith for repairs.


Over on the rifle range, I drug out the Garand and the M40.  Murph pointed out that the Garand was shooting low left, which reminded me I hadn’t re-adjusted the sights.  I ‘knew’ there was some reason I brought it…


He liked it so much I had to make sure it didn’t go home with him afterward…LOL



Once we got it more or less “on”, I at least got six in the black… BUT lack of trigger time, the heat, bad posture (trying to shoot off a picnic table), all contributed to LOUSY grouping.

This is the ‘head’ of the target, the two at least ‘near’ the left eye are my pretty lame attempts with the Garand.  The two on the right eye show just how badly I was shooting with the M40A1, those ‘should’ have been dead center in the eye, and should have stacked.  But again lack of time, breathing, posture etc caused me to be just “that” far off… Sigh…



And the steel at 100 yards.  I managed to put two ‘through’ the eye hole on the right, and this is the back side where I was flipping it back. Again NOT my best work, one an inch left of center, one two inches left (called that one) and finally one in the center.


At that point we decided liquid refreshment was the order of the day, and away we went.  Since it was just us three, the door prizes went to PM and Murph, with PM taking the chocolates (no surprise) and Murph taking the Kona coffee (again no surprise)…


A good day, and again a learning experience re the heat and grips.  And I really want to get that Model 39 shooting well.


Please take a moment to remember those who are STILL without power and probably will be for most of the week… You’d think the Capital Region would have better service… sigh…

Truth???

Posted on by March 6, 2013
The Dems agenda…

The theme of hiding costs is consistent throughout the progressive march to bigger and bigger government. Step number one, present great “benefits” you will bestow on the populace and present them as if you are nicer people than the other side who want to deny these benefits. Step two, hide the costs, either through the complexities of the tax system, or more overtly through off-the-books regulation like ObamaCare. Step three, continue to advance the progressive myth that if government provides something, or mandates something, it’s “free.” Step four, get the people hooked on the freebie until they are too scared to give it up even if it costs them well more than it’s worth to them. Step five, move on to destroying the next part of our economy and freedom.

And they’re pretty much on track…

And this is NOT the first time the MSM has been in somebody’s pocket…


Thanks to Cliff, the following is NOT true per SNOPES.

General VoNguyen Giap.
General Giap was a brilliant, highly respected leader of the North Vietnam military. The following quote is from his memoirs currently found in the Vietnam war memorial in Hanoi:

‘What we still don’t understand is why you Americans stopped the bombing of Hanoi. You had us on the ropes. If you had pressed us a little harder, just for another day or two, we were ready to surrender! It was the same at the battle of TET. You defeated us!

We knew it, and we thought you knew it. But we were elated to notice your media was helping us. They were causing more disruption in America than we could in the battlefields. We
were ready to surrender. You had won!’
General Giap has published his memoirs and confirmed what most Americans knew. The Vietnam war was not lost in Vietnam — it was lost at home. The same slippery slope, sponsored by the U.S. media, is currently underway. It exposes the enormous power of a Biased Media to cut out the heart and will of the American public.





However, this truism is STILL worthy of note:

Do not fear the enemy, for they can take only your life. Fear the media, for they will distort your grasp of reality and destroy your honor…
h/t- JP

FYI- Orlando Conference

Posted on by March 6, 2013

 

The 27th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) will be held in Orlando, Florida from September 28-30, 2012. This event is sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org)

GRPC has traditionally been the place to meet national gun rights leaders and activists, to develop gun rights victory plans, and allow attendees a firsthand chance to hear movement leaders and make their voices heard.

There is no registration fee and attendees are only responsible for their own travel expenses (transport, food and lodging). Participants are invited to the no host receptions on Friday and Saturday evenings and a free lunch on Saturday. Each attendee will receive over $150 of books and materials at no charge. More information can be found on www.saf.org and www.thegunmag.com

With dozens of speakers, GRPC participants will examine critical issues such as: city gun bans, concealed carry, federal legislation, BATFE policies, gun show regulation, and state and local activity. The 2010 elections will be reviewed, the 2012 Presidential race discussed and recent and pending Right to Keep and Bear Arms cases will be analyzed.

These folks do GOOD work, and it’s worth your time if you can get there!!!

Are we there yet???

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Overloaded with work, trying to get home, NOT real happy with the SCOTUS decisions this week…


THIS is all I can come up with…



Go read the folks on the sidebar, I’m sure ‘somebody’ out there has some humor up…

Posted in Meh

A different "take" on the SCOTUS decision…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Had ‘quite’ a discussion on this at the meeting this morning, and here’s a bit of a different take proposed…


I actually tend to believe this IS the longer term goal of SCOTUS, and that is to put this back in front of the voters…


Before you look to do harm to Chief Justice Roberts or his family, it’s important that you think carefully about the meaning – the true nature — of his ruling on Obama-care. The Left will shout that they won, that Obama-care was upheld and all the rest. Let them.

It will be a short-lived celebration.

Here’s what really occurred — payback. Yes, payback for Obama’s numerous, ill-advised and childish insults directed toward SCOTUS.

Chief Justice Roberts actually ruled the mandate, relative to the commerce clause, was unconstitutional. That’s how the Democrats got Obama-care going in the first place. This is critical. His ruling means Congress can’t compel American citizens to purchase anything. Ever. The notion is now officially and forever, unconstitutional. As it should be.


e.g. Commerce Clause is NOT applicable!

Next, he stated that, because Congress doesn’t have the ability to mandate, it must, to fund Obama-care, rely on its power to tax. Therefore, the mechanism that funds Obama-care is a tax. This is also critical. Recall back during the initial Obama-care battles, the Democrats called it a penalty, Republicans called it a tax. Democrats consistently soft sold it as a penalty. It went to vote as a penalty. Obama declared endlessly, that it was not a tax, it was a penalty. But when the Democrats argued in front of the Supreme Court, they said ‘hey, a penalty or a tax, either way’. So, Roberts gave them a tax. It is now the official law of the land — beyond word-play and silly shenanigans. Obama-care is funded by tax dollars. Democrats now must defend a tax increase to justify the Obama-care law.


It WAS and IS a Tax, plain and simple!  And the true cost is going to be HIGH!!! There is some BS out there that it will ‘only’ cost $95/person/year… Yeah, right…  MY employer provided insurance (which is good world wide) is $700/mo.  $95/yr ain’t gettin there…

And what about the 47% that DON’T pay taxes?  Who’s going to pay ‘their’ $95???
Finally, he struck down as unconstitutional, the Obama-care idea that the federal government can bully states into complying by yanking their existing medicaid funding. Liberals, through Obama-care, basically said to the states — ‘comply with Obama-care or we will stop existing funding.’ Roberts ruled that is a no-no. If a state takes the money, fine, the Feds can tell the state how to run a program, but if the state refuses money, the federal government can’t penalize the state by yanking other funding. Therefore, a state can decline to participate in Obama-care without penalty. This is obviously a serious problem. Are we going to have 10, 12, 25 states not participating in “national” health-care? Suddenly, it’s not national, is it?

Makes opt out a reality WITHOUT the administration being able to penalize them!!!

Ultimately, Roberts supported states rights by limiting the federal government’s coercive abilities. He ruled that the government can not force the people to purchase products or services under the commerce clause and he forced liberals to have to come clean and admit that Obama-care is funded by tax increases.

Although he didn’t guarantee Romney a win, he certainly did more than his part and should be applauded.


Hopefully!

And he did this without creating a civil war or having bricks thrown threw his windshield. Oh, and he’ll be home in time for dinner.

Brilliant.


Yep! 🙂

Sweeping Up…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Well, SCOTUS overturned the Stolen Valor Act because it ‘infringed’ on free speech… So lying about military service is now ‘protected’… WTFO??? Article HERE


AND they passed on hearing the Appeal to the 9th Circus on the Soledad Cross, so that is going back down to District Court…  Article HERE


And Congress voted to hold Holder in contempt, and the coverage is ‘interesting’… And the clowns showed up and did their “walkout” in protest, but it passed anyway…


CNN coverage HERE, NY Times HERE. LA Times HERE, and Fox HERE.  Interestingly enough, ONLY Fox mentions Brian Terry in their coverage.


I’m gonna go have a BIG Scotch and contemplate my navel for a while…

I "think" I pissed her off…

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Went to dinner last night at an old shipmate’s house.  His wife is, to put it mildly, HIGH maintenance (and doesn’t like me anyway, since I was/am a BAD influence on hubby). She’s his second wife, and bless his heart, he’s put up with her for 20+ years…


What did I do???


We got to talking about disaster preparedness… Sigh…


They have a VERY nice boat, and ‘one’ plan was to get to the boat.



It’s a 54′ Hunter, nicely updated, and will hold all four of them (him, her, two late teens kids).


Soooo…  I was asking some ‘basic’ questions.  How much food is stored aboard?


NONE was her answer, it might spoil.  No canned food? No vienna sausages?  MRE’s? ANYTHING???  Nope not allowed… Spoilage!


Bottled water?  Nope, they ‘have’ water on the boat.  When I mentioned it was only about 130 gallons, well, THAT was plenty…


Is the boat fully gased up?  It only holds about 80 gal of fuel;  Don’t know, the kids had it out last weekend…


Um… Spare clothes?  Of course NOT, the clothes get moldy smelling on board…


So how are you going to coordinate getting everybody there, WITH everything they need?  Cell phones of course (looking at me like I’m an idiot); when I mentioned cells ‘usually’ don’t work in an emergency, she got up and stomped out…  


By the way, hubby NEVER got a word in edgewise in the above discussion!  As I was leaving, he told me he’ll take me out for a good dinner next time I’m in town (and without her there)…  And he’s going to stock the boat himself, in spite of her.  He and a couple of friends did sail it from California to here, so he does know how to sail on the big pond!


On the way back to the hotel, I came up behind a big (tractor/trailer style) dump truck. On the back was a BIG sign saying Drive Safely.  Carefully (more or less) lettered underneath was the following:


Hey bro dis mean YOU!  De kine breaks on dis ting ain’t dat good.


So I at least had a laugh out of last night…