Un-American???

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Nepolitano and DHS put out alert to Law Enforcement on military right wing extremists, gun owners and people flying certain ‘flags’ and bumper stickers.

From the White House blog–

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to [email protected].

Pelosi (and Steny Hoyer, who co-wrote a USA Today column making this claim) stated, “Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American.”

And the above the fold headline from USA Today in today’s issue-


By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY
Federal authorities have launched an effort to detect lone attackers who may be contemplating politically charged assaults similar to the recent murders of a Kansas abortion doctor and a Holocaust museum security guard.
The effort, known as the “Lone Wolf Initiative,” was started shortly after President Obama’s inauguration, in part because of a rising level of hate speech and surging gun sales.


Diametrically opposite of the rhetoric before the Dems got in power- Then “political dissent” was ‘patriotic’!


Now I’m just a dumb ol’ country boy, but I DID read not only the Cap and Trade, but also the Health Care Reform bills (hey, all those hours on airplanes are good for “something”). I will be the first one to admit I didn’t understand much of it, but I can read and it was notable the number of what I’ll call “paybacks” in both bills to union and special interest groups for their support.


I also saw a whole bunch of what I can weasel wording, leaving room to drive your average tractor trailer rig through the holes possible in interpretation!!!


I also read other than US papers, and know people in a number of countries that have socialized medicine (Canada, GBR, and Germany to name a few) NONE of the people I know are happy with the “care” they or their families receive under those plans. In GBR, in fact they have calculated the young and old are worth about $45,000 a year in care, and that’s it… Long lines, long waits (up to 10-12 weeks) to see a doctor, limited capabilities in hospitals (not every hospital has CAT scan/MRI), lack of specialists.


Also, the “numbers” being spouted by the Administration are being called into question on just about every aspect; and the White House is directly targeting any media that disagrees with it…


Also, I find it interesting that we, the bitter clinging gun owners and veterans are rather blatantly being targeted as extremists because we don’t hew to the left wing mantras and agenda.


We all have heard the calls for increasing limitations on gun purchases, adding the “no Fly” list to the NICS data base, adding the “mental health” data base to the NICS data base (coincidently putting many veterans who have stress related issues in a position to longer be able to own or buy a gun).


Now throw in what is happening to the Dems in their town hall meetings- Depending on which honest polls you believe, 60+% of the people DON’T want health care reform as it is currently planned. But remember dissent is now un-American; so that’s yet another list…


Now a little what if… Since the White House is directly collecting the “fishy” data via emails, all the data they collect could be considered under executive privilege! What happens if THAT data base is added to the NICS with NO ability to find out the truth of any accusations???


What if DHS and the FBI pull VA data to put together the ‘Lone Wolf’ list? Obviously they aren’t doing real well, since we have had a number of shootings since the inception of it… Personally, I think that list is specifically targeted at those who would, God Forbid, take a shot at the President. That is really the LAST thing we need…


What if the DHS memo or ‘Lone Wolf’ list is added as, oh say, an “adjunct” to the NICS??? AFTER the DHS memo has been proved via FOIA the whole of the research for that memo was basically done via search words on the Internet and via crackpot websites???


Where am I going with all this???


Well, I have a slightly different twist than Stretch Pelosi…


I believe what the administration is doing is UN-AMERICAN, collecting questionable data through “report your neighbor” emails brings to mind both the Nazi party in the 30’s and the Soviets from 1917 to the 1980’s…


I believe what the administration is NOT doing to investigate the special interest groups like ACORN, the dropped lawsuits against the New Black Panthers, etc. are UN-AMERICAN (again like the Nazis and the Brownshirts)


I believe what the administration is doing is UN-AMERICAN in labeling those who do not agree with their plans and policies, and calling them on it, as extremists…


I believe what the administration is doing is UN-AMERICAN by weaseling ways to take away the 2nd Amendment rights upheld by SCOTUS.

I believe what Pelosi and Hoyer are doing UN-AMERICAN for wanting to quash our 1st Amendment right to free speech.


And lastly, I believe the actions of the congresscritters who are NOT listening to their constituents are truly UN-AMERICAN. They have completely forgotten who elected them and their absolute power has corrupted them to the point they are delusional…


A ‘good’ bad example is McCaskill in Missouri… When she gets up and says, “Do I have to use my parent voice”? rather than answer a question she doesn’t like; that is just flat insulting, not only to her constituents, but to every American.


I believe the administration is doing it’s damnest to take over the US, turn it into a socialist nanny state, a single party country, and really and truly make Obama the “ruler” of the US…


I believe WE, John Q. Public, have to fight back legally. By voting them out of office in 2010 and 2012, by standing up in public sessions and asking (politely) those questions we REALLY want answers to, not allowing the special interest groups to control the agendas, the census, the media or any thing that benefits them directly to the detriment of average Americans.


That is all.

On the road again #976…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Sigh… It gets pretty bad when the hotel management is worried because I didn’t show up ‘on time’ to get my room… I’m doing this WAY too much when I’m that predictable!


Had an interesting chat on the airplane with a Sports Medicine (orthopedic) specialist. Other than damn near foaming at the mouth over the BS in the bill, his take was that without tort reform (which is NOT mentioned anywhere in the bill), and he is paying 6 figures in malpractice insurance!!!

And on the humorous side, the AMA has weighed in on the new economic stimulus package and the idea of socialized medicine plus Medicare reform….

The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception and the Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

Pathologists yelled; “Over my dead body!” while the Pediatricians said, ‘Oh, Grow up!

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it. Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, “This puts a whole new face on the matter.”

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington!


Now back to your regularly scheduled BS…

Woo Hoo! Trigger Time!!!

Posted on by March 6, 2013


We FINALLY got a weekend on Range 4 at Quantico, and since this is my token day home, what better way to “celebrate” than to go shooting!

Well, first I had to GET there… sigh…

DC drivers can be the biggest idjits I’ve ever seen… An hour 10 to go 30 miles at 0800 in the @#&* morning no less!

Anyhoo, on to better stuff-

Took my 1940 Winchester Model 70 in 30GOVT06 out to play today. I sighted it in at 100 yards and it was pretty much dead on!

Not bad for a 69 year old rifle (and a shaky old shooter that had WAY too much coffee this morning)! The round at 4 o’clock was a called flyer, by the way… 🙂


We immediately jumped back to 300 and then 600 yard lines before backing ALL the way to the 1000 yard line. Needless to say, I didn’t try to shoot the Model 70 at those ranges, so I got out the big stick… M-24 in .308… Since I was asked in an email what it looks like, here is the following for your ‘enjoyment’

On the line at 600 yards…

Here’s a look at the target butts from 600 yards without any zoom. Those white things are NOT the targets, they are the lane boards…

Here’s a (lousy) pic through the scope, the little white square below the 5 and 6 is the target.

Here is the 600 yard target- Winds were gusting 4-5 kts almost direct tailwind. I only guessed right Twice out of eight rounds… Dammit…
Basically I managed to prove (yet again) the gun shoots MUCH better than I do. If I take the groups as one group, it’s MOA, if I take the groups separately (removing wind function) it’s 1/2 MOA.

We went on back to 1000 yards, but all you see in those is a green blur, and we were shooting steels so I don’t have a target- I was 5/10 so I didn’t do any better from the back line with the wind.
And yes, I was high right on my misses again…
Now off to do penance, er…cleaning… sigh
Enjoy your weekend folks!

PSA…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

The boss sent this around this morning- For those of you who are interested, when you watch this, I would ask that you remember two things.

1. EVERY person you see in uniform is a VOLUNTEER.

2. This was NOT scripted by the Navy!

If you watch, take a minute and give thanks that these young men and women are out there on the pointy end of the stick for YOU!!!

From: CHINFO

I would like to give you some background on this weekend’s airing of Discovery’s Military Channel 3-part documentary entitled “At Sea.” We approached Discovery late last year and pitched them on doing a major documentary about the Navy and the Maritime Strategy. As part of our pitch, we offered tremendous access to the Navy and proposed that, in addition to the major documentary to air on Military Channel, they would produce a 30 minute documentary that could be shown at the Navy Memorial and the more than 100 nautical/maritime centers around the country. Additionally, we pitched that they produce twelve 3-5 minute videos that will tell the Navy story and could be used during speeches, presentations, etc. They accepted and the main product will air beginning Sunday night.

Edit- I’m dumber than dirt, forgot to put a link in, so now the link is HERE.

SECNAV and CNO have both viewed the aviation hour and came back with very favorable reviews. And this past Monday evening at the Navy Memorial, the Under SECNAV expressed his excitement about the documentary after viewing the premiere screening with 150 other guests.

For six months, Military Channel production crews captured rarely documented operations, weapons, and technologies across the breadth of naval operations, while embarked aboard U.S. Navy ships, submarines and aircraft.

The first part of the project was originally due to be complete in late fall. During the spring we asked to accelerate the product in order to get our story out there. We were able to coordinate schedules with C4F and C5F for OPS in that AOR, but due to the compressed production timeline we fell shy of capturing OPS in C6F and C7F. However, Military Channel made the impossible – possible, and produced a three-hour mini-series (Aviation, Surface, and Undersea) that demonstrates the entirety of the US Navy’s power, flexibility and interoperability within today’s global maritime environment. It is a great snapshot of what the US Navy brings to the fight – today – around the world.

“At Sea” will highlight operations such as: antipiracy efforts; drug smuggling interdiction; control and international terrorism prevention. Some of the ships and aircraft that were featured are:

USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) – San Diego, CA USS Boxer (LHD 4) – San Diego, CA USS Annapolis (SSN 760) – Groton, CT USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) – Norfolk, VA USNS Comfort (T AH 20) – Baltimore, MD USS Florida (SSBN 728) – Kings Bay, GA USS Chinook (PC 9) – Manama, Bahrain

Carrier Air Wing 7, NAS Oceana, VA
Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 143 Pukin’ Dogs NAS Oceana, VA Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 103 Jolly Rogers NAS Oceana, VA Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 83 Rampagers NAS Oceana, VA Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 131 Wildcats NAS Oceana, VA Carrier Airborne Early Warning (VAW) 121 Bluetails NAS Norfolk, VA Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 140 Patriots NAS Whidbey Island, WA Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS-5) Nightdippers NAS JAX, FL Patrol Squadron (VP-45) Pelicans NAS JAX, FL

Military Channel will begin airing the series Sunday-Tuesday, Aug. 9-11 at 10 p.m. Sunday will focus on aviation dominance, Monday will focus on surface dominance, and Tuesday will focus on undersea dominance.

And if the P-3 looks like the one at the top of the page, it’s because it’s the SAME model I flew, and I did 10 years in Jax (hell I probably flew on that BUNO at some point or the other)!

Go. Watch. Enjoy!

Ring… Ring… It’s 0300 again….

Posted on by March 6, 2013
Just an FYI, Norman Polmar really IS an expert…

WASHINGTON — A pair of nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines has been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States in recent days, a rare mission that has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and intelligence agencies about a more assertive stance by the Russian military.

The episode has echoes of the cold war era, when the United States and the Soviet Union regularly parked submarines off each other’s coasts to steal military secrets, track the movements of their underwater fleets — and be poised for war.

But the collapse of the Soviet Union all but eliminated the ability of the Russian Navy to operate far from home ports, making the current submarine patrols thousands of miles from Russia more surprising for military officials and defense policy experts. “I don’t think they’ve put two first-line nuclear subs off the U.S. coast in about 15 years,” said Norman Polmar, a naval historian and submarine warfare expert.

The submarines are of the Akula class, a counterpart to the Los Angeles class attack subs of the United States Navy, and not one of the larger submarines that can launch intercontinental nuclear missiles.

According to Defense Department officials, one of the Russian submarines remained in international waters on Tuesday about 200 miles off the coast of the United States. The location of the second remained unclear. One senior official said the second submarine traveled south in recent days toward Cuba, while another senior official with access to reports on the surveillance mission said it had sailed away in a northerly direction. The Pentagon and intelligence officials spoke anonymously to describe the effort to track the Russian submarines, which has not been publicly announced.

President Obama spoke by telephone with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia on Tuesday, but it was not clear whether the subject of the submarines came up, although another source of friction between the two countries did. Mr. Medvedev called Mr. Obama to wish him a happy birthday and the White House said the president used the opportunity to urge Russia to work through diplomatic channels to resolve rising tensions with Georgia.

The submarine patrols come as Moscow tries to shake off the embarrassment of the latest failed test of the Bulava missile, a long-range weapon that was test fired from a submarine in the Arctic on July 15. The failed missile test was the sixth since 2005, and some experts see Russia’s assertiveness elsewhere as a gambit by the military to prove its continued relevance.
“It’s the military trying to demonstrate that they are still a player in Russian political and economic matters,” Mr. Polmar said.

One of the submarines is the newer Akula II, officials said, which is quieter than the older variant and the most advanced in the Russian fleet. The Akula is capable of carrying torpedoes for attacking other submarines and surface vessels as well as missiles for striking targets on land and at sea.

Defense Department officials declined to speculate on which weapons might be aboard the two submarines. While the submarines have not taken any provocative action beyond their presence outside territorial waters of the United States, officials expressed wariness over the Kremlin’s motivation for ordering such an unusual mission. “Anytime the Russian Navy does something so out of the ordinary it is cause for worry,” said a senior Defense Department official who has been monitoring reports on the submarines’ activities.

The official said the Navy was able to track the submarines as they made their way through international waters off the American coastline. This can be done from aircraft, ships, underwater sensors or other submarines. “We’ve known where they were, and we’re not concerned about our ability to track the subs,” the official added. “We’re concerned just because they are there.”

‘Scuse me while I throw the Bulls**t flag here… They’ve cut the Navy budget, using those funds to pay for the Army, so less days at sea, less money for maintenance, less for training; and what ever else the Soviets, er… Russians are putting their “best” drivers out there, not the trainees…

Once among the world’s most powerful forces, the Russian Navy now has very few ships regularly deployed on the open seas. Moscow has contributed warships to the international armada searching for Somali pirates. In addition, a flotilla of Russian warships participated in exercises with Venezuela last year.

But they are NOT our friends, don’t believe for a minute they will not take every opportunity to go right back to trying to do the same stuff they did as the “Soviet Union”. Putin is a former KGB officer, and he IS a hardliner. Russia now has real money, from oil, and have the capability to succeed where they failed before.

Hmmm…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Looks like the silent majority is no longer silent… Average Americans are getting up in their congresscritter’s faces, and they are NOT being polite about it in these town hall meetings when the congresscritters try to read their talking points and ignore the questions coming from the audience (also known as their constituents).


The congresscritters are whining about not being “respected” in these meetings.
Gee, I wonder why...

Note to the congresscritters- You have to EARN respect, and y’all haven’t done a really good job of that over the last few years…

Some Democrats are blaming Republicans and lobbyists for stirring up the hornet’s nest. Yeah, right…

Brian Smoot, who served as political director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, warned Republicans about engaging in these kinds of ambushes. Excuse me???

“It’s a risk that they align themselves with such a small minority in the party … They risk alienating moderates,” he said.

Press Secretary Gibbs said today this is “manufactured anger”, and admitted the Lightbringer hasn’t and won’t read the bill…

Interestingly, I got a call from a friend at one of the three letter places, he heard on the radio yesterday that one of MD’s finest is going to hold a “town hall” but its by invitation only and all questions must be submitted in advance.


Anybody else see something wrong with this???

Go over to Cranky Prof she has an excellent post up about equal treatment… 🙂

Back to your regularly scheduled BS…

A blast from the past…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Does anybody have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter Administration waaay back in 1977?

Anybody?

Anything?

Beuhler? Beuhler??

No?

Didn’t think so!

Bottom line… we’ve spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency, the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember.

Ready?

It was very simple … And at the time everybody thought it very appropriate.

The ‘Department of Energy’ was instituted on 8-04-1977

TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL!

Hey, pretty efficient, huh? We still don’t have any more nuclear power plants, we still can’t drill off Florida, California, Texas or in the Bakkan field in the Northwest…

AND NOW IT’S 2009, 32 YEARS LATER AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS $24.2 BILLION A YEAR, IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE!

THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOURSELF AND SAY “WHAT WAS I THINKING???”


Ah, yes, bureaucracies. They take our tax dollars in and we get NOTHING in return.

And NOW we are going to turn the Banking System, Health Care & the Auto Industry over to government???

Just my .02, but I “think” we REALLY need to look at that again…


But I’m just a dumb ol’ country boy, so I don’t know anything…

Hell in a handbasket…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Well, I’m stumbling back through home for one whole day before I leave again, but based on the last trip, we ARE going to hell in a handbasket…

Sat next to a fleamale environmental lawyer (you know the type, frizzy hair, fat, hairy legs, dressed in her height of fashion hemp stuff and Birkenstocks; needing a bath), who was reading the new cap and trade bill and chuckling, hi lighting and sometimes even mumbling something to the effect of “we got em now”.

When breakfast got served she complained to the flight attendant about MY meal, because she objects to people eating meat around her!!!

Since I decided to eat it anyway, she became even more obnoxious, snapping each page as she turned it and taking over the armrest/center of the seat. When I told her I didn’t appreciate it, she complained to the flight attendant that I was harassing her!

The flight attendant basically told her there was nothing she was going to do, as she HAD noticed the noise all the way up in the galley; now the fleamale was pissed, so she wanted to speak to the purser, since she wasn’t getting the answer she wanted…

Soooo, the flight attendant went and got the purser, who came mincing up and was roundly criticised for his “delay” in responding to a customer complaint!

Now that got HIS panties in a wad, so he unloads on her to the effect that, “Honey, we ALL have to get along, but obviously you are NOT trying, and you are NOT one of our elite fliers like this gentleman, and if you don’t like it up here, I’m sure I can find a seat in back for you with open space so you can spread out to your little heart’s desire”.

I damn near choked trying to keep from laughing… Especially when she came back in a whiny voice with, “But WE WON”!

Needless to say, I spent the next three hours getting up about every 20 minutes, just to continue to piss her off…

When we landed in SFO, she stormed off (and forgot her stuff in the overhead)… When I deplaned she was trying, without success, to push her way back on…

In other news-

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul , Minnesota , points out some interesting facts concerning the Presidential election:
• Number of States won by: Democrats: 19 Republicans: 29
• Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000 Republicans: 2,427,000
• Population of counties won by: Democrats: 127 million Republicans: 143 million
• Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Democrats: 13.2 Republicans: 2..1
Professor Olson adds: “In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare…”

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the “complacency and apathy” phase of Professor Tyler’s definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation’s population already having reached the “governmental dependency” phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twelve million illegals and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years…

And lastly…

By Dr. Paul Williams, in the Canada Free Press.

Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady – and she does not perform any official duties, but this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an UNPRECEDENTED NUMBER of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy HER every request in the midst of the ‘Great Recession’.
Just think, Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing CHINA for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for HER (1) personal secretary.


If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these ‘servants’ of Miz Michelle are the same as members of the National Security and Defense Departments – and the BILL for these assorted LACKEYS is paid by YOU and ME:
1. $172,2000 – Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff & Assistant to First Lady, Michelle)
2. $140,000 – Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and ‘Director of Policy & Projects’ For The First Lady)
3. $113,000 – Rogers, Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and ‘White House Social Secretary’ for Miz Michelle)
4. $102,000 – Johnston, Camille Y. (Special Assistant to the President and ‘Director of Communications’ for our First Lady, Michelle)
5. $100,000 – Winter, Melissa E. (Special Assistant to (the President) and ‘DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF’ to FIRST LADY, Michelle)
6. $90,000 – Medina , David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady Michelle)
7. $84,000 – Lelyveld, Catherine M. (Director & Press Secretary to the First Lady, Michelle)
8. $75,000 – Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady, Michelle)
9. $70,000 – Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Projects for First Lady, Michelle)
10. $65,000 – Burnough, Erinn J. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary For First Lady, Michelle)
11. Reinstein, Joseph B. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary for First Lady, Michelle)
12. $62,000 – Goodman, Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator For First Lady, Michelle)
13. $60,000 – Fitts, Alan O.. (‘Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director’ for First Lady, Miz Michelle)
14. Lewis, Dana M. (‘Special Assistant and Personal Aide’ to First Lady, Michelle)
15. $52,500 – Mustaphi, Semonti M. (“Associate Director and Deputy Press Secretary” To First Lady, Michelle)
16. $50,000 – Jarvis, Kristen E. (“Special Assistant for Scheduling and Traveling Aide” To First Lady, Miz Michelle)
17. $45,000 – Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (“Associate Director of Correspondence” For First Lady, Michelle)
18. Tubman, Samantha (“Deputy Associate Director, Social Office” for First Lady, Miz Michelle)
19. $40,000 – Boswell, Joseph J. (“Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff” to First Lady, Michelle)
20. $36,000 – Armbruster, Sally M. (“Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary” for First Lady, Michelle)
21. Bookey, Natalie (“Staff Assistant”)
22. Jackson, Deilia A. (“Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence” for the First Lady, Miz Michelle)
There has never been anyone in the White House AT ANY TIME who has created such an Army of “staffers” – whose sole duties are the facilitation of the First Lady’s social life.
One wonders why she needs so much help – AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE – that means YOU and I are paying all of these people!! –
Even Hillary had only three;
Jackie Kennedy had only one;
Laura Bush had only one;
Prior to Mamie Eisenhower, social help came from the President’s own pocket
Note: This does not include makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Miles, 49, and “First Hairstylist” Johnny Wright, 31, both of whom travelled aboard Air Force One to Europe with Miz Michelle, her mom and the two daughters. You wouldn’t even WANT to know what the tab was for THAT excursion!

Courteous of: canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12652

You know, ya just CAN’T make this stuff up, nobody would believe it… sigh…
And I get to spend the next three weeks in various places on the Left Coast… Oh joy…

Say what???

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Some “interesting” WWII facts…

The first German serviceman killed in WW II was killed by the Japanese ( China , 1937), the first American serviceman killed was killed by the Russians ( Finland 1940); highest ranking American killed was Lt Gen Lesley McNair, killed by the US Army Air Corps… so much for allies.

The youngest US serviceman was 12 year old Calvin Graham, USN. He was wounded and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age. His benefits were later restored by act of Congress.

At the time of Pearl Harbor, the top US Navy command was called CINCUS (pronounced ‘sink us’), the shoulder patch of the US Army’s 45th Infantry division was the Swa stika, and Hitler’s private train was named ‘Amerika.’ Al l three were soon changed for PR purposes.!

More US servicemen died in the Air Corps than the Marine Corps. While completing the required 30 missions, your chance of being killed was 71%.

Generally speaking, there was no such thing as an average fighter pilot. You were either an ace or a target. For instance, Japanese Ace, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80 planes. He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.

It was a common practice on fighter planes to load every 5th round with a tracer round to aid in aiming. This was a mistake. Tracers had different ballistics so (at long range) if your tracers were hitting the target 80% of your rounds were missing. Worse yet tracers instantly told your enemy he was under fire and from which direction. Worst of all was the practice of loading a string of tracers at the end of the belt to tell you that you were out of ammo. This was definitely not something you wanted to tell the enemy. Units that stopped using tracers saw their success rate nearly double and their loss rate go down.

When allied armies reached the Rhine, the first thing men did was urinate in it. This was pretty universal from the lowest private to Winston Churchill (who made a big show of it) and GEN Patton (who had himself photographed in the act).

German Me-264 bombers were capable of bombing New York City, but they decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

German submarine U-120 was sunk by a malfunctioning toilet. Correction thanks to PE- Sunk by a toilet?
In many sources it is stated the U-120 was “sunk by a toilet” (probably a very bad way to go! :). However this story should be attributed, with changes, to the U-1206 which was one of the late war boats fitted with the new deep water high-pressure toilets (enabling the boat to use its toilet at greater depth than before).

On 14 April 1945, only 8-10 miles off the British coast line, the boat was safely cruising at 200 feet when the commander, Schlitt, decided to use the toilet without the help of a trained specialist (the system was complicated). Something went wrong and when the specialist arrived he misunderstood something and opened the wrong valve with the end results that large amount of seawater got into the boat. The seawater reached the batteries directly under the toilet causing chlorine gas to form and the boat had to be surfaced immediately right under the enemy. When the boat reached the surface they managed to blow clean air into the boat but at the same time an aircraft bombed the boat causing extensive damages leaving the boat unable to dive. Seeing the hopeless situation Schlitt had no choice but to destroy his secret material and abandon ship to safe his crew. (Brennecke, J. (2001). Jager and Gejagte)

Thanks PE!

Among the first ‘Germans’ captured at Normandy were several Koreans. They had been forced to fight for the Japanese Army until they were captured by the Russians and forced to fight for the Russian Army until they were captured by the Germans and forced to fight for the German Army until they were captured by the US Army.

After the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, a lone Japanese pilot crashed his plane on Niihau and took the entire village of Puuwai hostage. Two men, Hawila Kaleohano and Beni Kanahele, were able to disarm and kill the intruer. Kanahele, who was shot three times in the incident, later received a Purple Heart for his heroics. This was probably one of the few times civilians took matters into their own hands. Even today, Niihau is a restricted area, it is privately owned and the Robinson family does not allow tourists and visitors…

Following a massive naval bombardment, 35,000 United States and Canadian troops stormed ashore at Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands. 21 troops were killed in the assault on the island. It could have been worse if there had been any Japanese on the island…

Open letter to Obama…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America ‘s true living legends- an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world’s highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as “partnering.” Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:
You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you. You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American. You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll. You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don’t understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and ‘class’, always blaming others. You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the ‘blame America ‘ crowd and deliver this message abroad. You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one. You scare me because you prefer ‘wind mills’ to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves. You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use ‘extortion’ tactics against certain banks and corporations. You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals. You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people. You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do. You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O’Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view. You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett


And if you think this a fake, here is the link to Snopes… http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.asp


I’m still on the road, now in Hawaii. Got in yesterday afternoon, woke up at 0430, and that was it…

Meetings early and all day, just got back to the hotel and lemme tell ya, I thought the spandex was bad at the airport; well I didn’t realize Omar the tentmaker worked in Spandex… I saw ‘things’ walking through the parking lot that make we want to get a brain scrub… sigh…

It’s also interesting to sit on the balcony and just people watch…

Newly married- hanging on to each other for dear life, never more than three feet from each other…

Married vacationers- walking together, kinda sorta…

Families with young kids- Mom’s trying to control the kids who are running in opposite directions, Dad is draggin the bags…

Families with teens- Mom is screaming at the kids, who are ignoring Mom and acting like they are by themselves; Dad is draggin the bags…

Retirees- I have to caveat this that Hilton DOES take good care of military retirees with good rates; a number of older couples, he is usually wearing a gimme hat from a ship, squadron, submarine, Army unit, Marine unit. They are moving slowly, but obviously enjoying themselves. Some of them have Grand kids, the kids are surprisingly well behaved, they may wander off, but always come back to the Grandparents.

Japanese tourists- EVERYWHERE… stand out mainly because they run in groups of 4-40, all of them have cameras, and take pictures of everything (including others in the group taking pictures of something else). Japanese wedding party just walked by in full dress Kimonos (that’s gotta be hot) it’s 94 and a little bit of breeze…

Now comes the struggle to stay up long enough to eat dinner, and hopefully NOT go face down in the plate, crash for a few hours, and get up and do it again… sigh…