THIS is now the guy that is Chief of Staff for the President. After you listen to this tell me the 2nd Amendment is not going to be under fire in the near future.
The senior military judge overseeing terror trials at Guantanamo Bay has dropped charges against a suspect in the 2000 USS Cole bombing.
The legal move by the Hon. Susan J. Crawford upholds President Obama’s Guantanamo order to halt court proceedings at the Navy detention center in Cuba.
You can go to this link from the NYT and read the entire 38 page docket.
There is a lot more to this than meets the eye. First and foremost, this puts everything back to square one. If this gets brought to the US Justice system rather than a Military Tribunal, all the previous evidence (above) will be null and void. Basically this means Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri could walk!
The Lightbringer has graciously invited not only the families of the USS Cole victims, but also the 9-11 families to the White House tomorrow. I’m wondering if they are going to pull ALL the charges against everybody to prevent the judges like Col. James Pohl from doing their jobs.
If I were Skipper Lippold, I’m afraid I’d be beating on his desk…
Here is the memorial to those who men and women who died on the USS Cole. It is titled We Will Never Forget, but it’s obvious some people have.
Just as a reminder- Here is a picture of the damage that killed 17 of our sailors.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I’m going to be on the phone as soon as I get to work, calling my Senator and raising hell about this. I consider this a grevious insult not only to the families of the men and women who were killed Oct 12, 2000, but to those who wear the uniform today, and all of us who wore it in the past.
After 8 years, just about to finally put the culprit on trial and now this…
You can go here and get their phone numbers.
Sorry for the rant, but I’m just absolutely pissed!!!
A Must read…
Via Fuzzy, from JPFO
JPFO, not all that long after its founding, presented an essay by Gus Cotey in a popular magazine of the time. I read this article and shook my head in disbelief. Cotey had NAILED it! I did something I’d never done: I tracked down the author’s phone number and called him and congratulated him on what was a terrific breakthrough in understanding. It was a breakthrough that all gun owners could use as “high impact” intellectual ammunition.
What Cotey had done, with marvelous perception, was identify the seven personality types that make up the victim disarmament crowd. Cotey saw through the emotionalized preaching and posturing and pandering and put the true motivations of these dangerous buffoons under a microscope.
Go read the entire article here JPFO .
h/t Fuzzy
I’m wondering if this might not be a test case for restrictions here in the US later this year…
From the Canadian Shooting Sports Association January 2009 Newsletter
AMMO, BUY AMMO!
We have it on good authority that the U.S. State Dept is cutting off all Export Permits for certain calibers of ammunition, namely .50BMG, 7.62x39mm Soviet, 7.62x51mm NATO, .308 Winchester , 5.56mm NATO and .223 Remington. They may also expand the list to include 6.8mm SPC, 69mm Parabellum, .40 S&W and .45 Automatic, amongst others. As well, there may be blanket export bans on certain types of firearms and DSP-83 End Use Certificates (with a $250 Export Fee) attached to all other types. Already, many firearms-related companies are refusing to ship product to Canada because the U.S. required paperwork is simply too excessive to make it profitable and a number of Canadian distributors have had U.S. Export Permits refused for simple sporting arms in “prohibited” calibers.. Don’t be terribly surprised to see reloading components added to the list too!
It appears the anti-gun bureaucrats in the State Department have found a kindred spirit in President-Elect Barack Obama and are revving up the jets on us already. We have to emphasize that this information comes from a very reliable source and has been independently confirmed but at present, it is still being fought and the battle isn’t over yet. Lots of us are working on this and remember, this is U.S export only and does not affect EU imports. Firearms and ammunition exported from Europe will be unaffected (at least so far.) We’ll keep you informed as this unfolds. In the meantime, we suggest you consider stocking up.
When you get this, along with the comments from Gordon Hutchinson (the author of The Great New Orleans Gun Grab, who was on Gun Nuts blog talk last night) confirming the New Orleans PD along with other LE agencies in Louisiana have routinely confiscated weapons from people INCLUDING licensed CCW holders, then telling them they could have the weapons back when they produced a receipt of ownership. Most of the time when the individual showed up with a receipt, no gun was found… The officers had stolen the weapon… AND this has been going on for years!
With all due respect to my LEO friends who read this, NOPD is probably the most corrupt law enforcement agency in the United States, if not the world…
I am NOT surprised by this, nor was I surprised by the fact the Eddie Compass, et al, were augmenting their salaries with phantom cops (which came out during Katrina) when “hundreds” of cops didn’t report to work, etc. How could they? They didn’t exist…
When you add in HR 45 SUMMARY AS OF:1/6/2009–Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 –
Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act and such license has not been invalidated or revoked etc…
They road to hell is being paved with legislation and ignorance and we are in front of the steam roller…
I’ m tired and grumpy, so no sweetness and light tonight…
CBO states approximately 25% of $900 BILLION stimulus is actually going into economy-
But yet, the Las Vegas paper’s editorial says only 90M$ or 10% is stimulus, the rest is pork barrel.
The WSJ is down on it too all kinds of pork barrel…
And then there is Daschle- Oops my bad… I REALLY got $5.2 million from the Health and Human Services community (for lobbying Congress, shhhh!) in the last two years, not the $2 million I originally claimed. Oops, I paid my back taxes of over $100,000. Now today, he has a closed door meeting with former colleagues…
The White House both underscored the magnitude of the problem and tried to downplay it in the space of seven words. “Nobody’s perfect,” said press secretary Robert Gibbs. “It was a serious mistake. …”
WELL NO @#$&* KIDDING!!! Lemme see I seem to remember something like this being said in the NATION magazine in 2001…
The most dangerous lesson that can be taken from the Chavez fiasco (see David Moberg, page 12) is the theory that Bush’s Cabinet picks can be blocked only if they have failed to keep their personal affairs in order.
And yet this whole crowd is getting a free ride… Holder, Clinton, Geithner, Daschle
All I’ve got to say is it does NOT bode well for the 2nd Amendment or the economy (unless you’re a union employee).
In other news, 55 are now dead and still 470,000 without power in the ice storm in the Midwest, and still no FEMA help, “Because the situation is unsafe.”
Where is the main stream media on this, were are the calls for the Lightbringer to do something??? Where are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton? Oh wait a minute, these are predominantly WHITE people… never mind…
Conservative Scalawag has a link here to one of the reports.
Oh yeah, and while all this is going on, the Lightbringer is serving $100 a pound Wagyu (read Kobe beef) steaks in a black tie affair at the White House (being kept at 72 degrees so the Lightbringer doesn’t get cold…
Sigh… Oh well, I’ve probably pissed off a few people with this post, so lemme do one more thing to piss people off!
Got this “safety poster” today. It DOES make a good point, ya know… 🙂
Finally got home and got to the right cable, so here are a few pics from yesterday’s blog meet at Phlegmmy’s place…
Yes, there was food 🙂 Actually there were three tables covered with food…
Goody counter early in the day… And yes, that IS the Para Ord Gun Blog .45 center left in the picture!
Goody counter later in the day, that bottle of tequila gives a WHOLE new meaning to the word shooter…
Comparison of Matt and Farmgirl’s hands. As they say in Texas, Matt is a big ol boy…
And one last picture of the goody table after EVERYBODY had gotten there… At that point, we were having to climb up on a chair to get everything in the picture 🙂
Oh yeah, all but two of these were carried concealed to the party…
And last but not least, Pig candy! Thanks to Breda for the recipe! Now as a few others have said, AEpilot Jim kinda went overboard for bacon, both at dinner and at the party…
Well, the ‘short’ blog get together at Phlegmmy’s is now history, but trust me, it was an INTERESTING day… There were goodies galore, and oh yeah, there was food too 🙂
We had Phlegmmy (the hostess with the mostest), JPG and Holly, Matt from Better and Better, Blackfork and friend, Lawdog, Farmgirl (who won for the longest drive), The Keyboard part of the .45, 2Amusing, aepilot-Jim, Peter from Bayou Renaissance Man, Alan from Snarkybites, Rabbit (a frequent commenter), and Ambulance Driver.
And yes, we had Breda’s pig candy…
And it disappeared faster than I could believe.
Oh yeah, the goodies… well, ya know how you ALWAYS forget something… sigh… Well I got the camera, I just forgot the @#$^ cable to connect it to the computer!!!!
ARRGGHHHHH!!!! No ^&*(( way to post them… I’m sure SOMEBODY will post one or two of the goodies shots…
Anyhoo– the goodies consisted of every bodies carry pieces and knives ending up on the kitchen counter, with numerous photos as others arrived, pistols got cussed and discussed, Farmgirl’s valentines present (Walther PPK) was shown around, trigger jobs compared, sight types, and stopping power discussed. If I remember correctly, we had wheel guns from .22 to .44, semi-autos from .380 to .45 and everything in between. I don’t remember seeing two identical pistols 🙂 We also had a couple of rifles around just in case…
We discussed shooting competitions, with Blackfork giving an impromptu lecture on competition rifle shooting, JPG talking about shooting IPSC back in the 80’s at the national level, Peter talking about being in South Africa during the end of Apartheid and MANY various conversations (at one time I think we had at least three simultaneous ones going).
Alan Skiped Breda and Mike at one point, so we got a chance to see/try to talk to them. It was a little noisy, so I don’t know how much they actually were able to hear.
One of the more interesting conversations that took place was why we write blogs… I really wish I had a tape recorder, as the reasons were many and varied. That discussion degenerated into HOW people write, from multiple rewrites to stream of (un)consciousness (me).
Another interesting conversation was over what people thought was a good post and the reaction, and what they did as a throw away post, that people went nuts over. The consensus was that NONE of us are sure why or what really trips people to read/comment on certain posts.
I was also interested to find how many of us have been on TFL and THR through those iterations. We all pretty much agreed Tam is the queen of bloggers, and has really been a leader in the blogging sphere and had been responsible for a number of blogs starting
(blogmama :-)).
To sum it up, I was impressed with everyone I met, both individually and collectively. People ranged from thoughtful to sarcastic to humorous in a heartbeat, very down to earth, knowledgeable in many areas, damn smart about guns, and confident in themselves, what they do for a living and at ease with the world.
Thank you for the invite Phlegmmy and the privilege of attending. I hope that we can do this again in the future!
For those who have ever had the pleasure of flying in, or even watching a Mickey D’s F-4 of any model in action, I give you following…
In their own words…
GOOD-BYE PHANTOM
They’re coming one after the other now. Each day seems to bring another heartache – articles in professional journals, invitations for “the last of” events, calls for yet another “Old Guy Reunion”, order forms for coffee table books. I’m beginning to realize that there’s no putting off the fact that one of the most revolutionary, capable, and elegant airplanes ever to dominate the skies has gone away.
I refer, of course, to the F-4J Phantom II. Over the last several years the grand old boy has taken his leave. With the F-4J goes the notion of variable Intakes, radar intercept officers, and 2.0 indicated Mach number on the airspeed gauge. And with the F-4 also goes a big part of what made my life noteworthy, dare I say, the stuff of novels.
The Phantom had an amazing run: thirty-plus years, the Vietnam war, dozens of brushfires and contingencies. Few airplanes in the history of aviation have adapted as well to the tactical landscape over their years in the inventory. The F-4 was designed by McDonnell Aircraft Company as an interceptor aircraft round the radar missile system, a long-range air superiority fighter that pushed out the boundaries of fleet defense. The early portion of my flying career was about launching on the Alert 5 and escorting Soviet bombers and transports. Those were the days of the 1+45 cycle, the days when the Phantom was the fuel critical jet in the air wing. The thought of dropping bombs was anathema to us then.
But the threat changed as the Viet Nam War dragged on and other mission requirements meant the Steely eyed fighter pilots had to load Mk-82’s on the wings and prove they were capable of beating up the dirt almost as good as any fully trained attack puke. Suddenly the Phantom, with its two-man crew and newly received upgraded radar was the platform of choice for air superiority in high threat areas.
But now the F-4’s time is over. Emotions stir in the face of this reality. Thousands of hours of my adult life were spent strapped into the front seat of the “Big Ugly Fighter.” It was there that challenges were met, friendships were forged, and the nation’s will was carried out. From that lofty perch I looked up at the heavens and down on hostile lands. I didn’t always realize it then – youth, of course, is lost on the young – but each sortie was a gift.
So, too, was the time spent in the company of greats. I think back on chain-laden plane captains who loved the airplanes as much as we did, those like Sam, who kept the aviators going with their enthusiasm in the face of long days that promised nothing but more hard work. I remember the maintenance master chiefs who taught me not just how the Phantom works but how to be an officer and a man. And for their caring they asked for nothing in return. In their countenances I saw my responsibilities.
Anyone familiar with Naval Aviation has a defacto doctorate in pilot personality types. Any RIO with 1,000 hours or more in the airplane possesses a similar degree. And as I flip through the pages of my weathered logbooks and read the names – Smith, Crenshaw, Southgate, Driscoll, Ensch, Roy, Bouck and hundreds more – I think of their skill, skill that boggles the mind even now, and the teamwork between cockpits that made flying the F-4 so rewarding. I know few things as surely as I know that U.S. Navy carrier-based pilots are the best in the world.
And what of the down times between sorties? In my mind’s eye I conjure up a gathering in the eight-man stateroom where problems are broached, dissected, and solved. This is where I learned about trust. This is where I realized I could survive the trial that was life at sea – hell, life period.
Now I close my eyes and hear the clack, clack, clack of the shuttle as it moves aft for the next launch. The exhaust from the powerful and reliable J-79 engines fills my nostrils until we drop the canopies and bring our jet to life. Air roars through the ECS. Systems power up. Soon we’re parked behind the cat, waiting our turn. I roger the weight board – 56,000 pounds, buddy, 56,000 pounds. Grasp that, if you can. The jet blast deflector comes down and we taxi into place, deftly splitting the cat track with the twin nose tires.
And then – even after decades of doing the same thing – the adrenaline starts to flow as we go through the deck dance unique to the Phantom: The nose strut extends, giving the fighter the look of a beast ready to leap into the air by itself; the director moves you into the holdback. Wings spread. Flaps lower. Our hands go up as the ordies arm the missiles, bombs.
There’s the signal from the catapult officer. I put the throttles to military power and wipe out the controls – stick forward, aft, left, and right; rudder left and right.
“You ready, C-ball?” I ask.
I run the fingers of my right hand across the top of the lower ejection handle (for orientation purposes) and hear from the back, “Ready Queenie, I’m right behind you.”
I salute. We both put our heads back slightly. (forget once and you get your bell rung by the head rest). A couple of potatoes later we’re off. Airborne.
And for the next hours we stand ready to bring this machine, this manifestation of American know-how, to bear however it might be required. Or maybe today isn’t our day to save the world, so we accommodate one of the small boy’s requests for a fly-by or break the sound barrier — just because we can (and we’re far enough above our fuel ladder to get away with it).
We’re flying a Phantom. And we’re getting paid to do it.
Alas, I speak of days gone by. What remains of what once gave my working life purpose is now only found in front of main gates, aviation museums, and VFW halls around the country. In the blink of an eye I have become the white haired guy with the ill-fitting ball cap and the weathered flight jacket who bores young ensigns (and anyone else who happens to make eye contact) with his tales of derring-do. “VF, dang it!” I rail. “Those were real fighter squadrons.” And they were. Fighting Falcons, Jolly Rogers, Swordsmen, Pukin‘ Dogs, Tomcatters, Grim Reapers, Diamondbacks – mascots of an adventure. At the center of it all was the airplane itself, and when an airplane has so much heart, personality, and character it ceases to be inanimate to those who climb into it on a regular basis.
So it’s goodbye, dear friend. Forgive my depression. I’ve heard the promises of a brighter future, but my time in the arena was with you. I watch you launch into the sunset and wonder how it all could have passed so quickly. It doesn’t seem like that long ago when we were together, inextricably linked, one defining the other. Ours was a world of unlimited possibilities and missions accomplished. Ours was a world of victory.
So goodbye, Big Fighter, blessed protector of the American way and our hides. We who knew you well will miss your class, your swagger, your raw power. Even in the face of technological advances, you bowed to no other. Thanks for the memories. They are indeed the stuff of novels.
AND the stuff of legend. The last aces in the US Military were made flying Phantoms!
And a personal remembrance from a friend of his last Phantom flight…
“Moe” and I flew the absolute last squadron/station F4 out of Oceana. Both Moe and I were stationed at Pt. Mugu at the time. We were tasked with flying a USMC F4N from El Torro back to Cherry Point.
There was an F4 that had been used by some school at Oceana for a number of years, even after they were totally gone from the tarmac. The Dallas reserves took about a month or so to get it flyable and had one of there crews do the test hop. Moe and I were tasked to drive up to Oceana from Cherry Point and fly that F4 back to Mugu. It was one of the newer F4S models with all of the goodies etc, etc, and Mugu wanted it for flight test. Moe was in Targets Directorate at Mugu, and I was the Ops Boss for flight test.
So, being the Sierra Hotel true Mach 2 fighter crew that we were, we had to depart Oceana in the appropriate manner. Now remember, this was after the edict had been sent down from on high about NO HIGH PERFORMANCE ANYTHING etc, etc.
Yeah, right!!! Moe and I “visited” the tower for a little conversation etc, etc. Once we cranked up and departed the VF101 line, there were a couple of Turkeys in the hold short area and we were given takeoff clearance before them.
Asking for an immediate right turn after take off along with an immediate down wind and a 180 call without gear and flaps (full blowers of course), we were cleared and also cleared for an “unrestricted” climb to 20K after the departure end of the runway.
I think I remember seeing about 550 crossing the approach end at about 100 feet and then when we passed the tower it was max g’s into the vertical with a “couple” of victory rolls thrown in for good measure. Ya should have heard the hooting and hollering from those Turkey drivers, and the rest of the folks on the radio as well!!!
Still brings tears to these “old” RIO eyes!! I hope we did all of “us old” F4 guys proud. Oh yes, no flight violation either since ATC and Oceana Tower cleared us for the right down wind pass and “unrestricted” climb!!!!!
Wish we could do it again! Not sure the gut would take it though! We can still dream can’t we!!!
“Frito”
While these events may be 20+ years in the past, to the men who flew them, it’s as if it was yesterday… On a historical note- The Turkeys referred to in the last letter were F-14A Tomcats, they too are gone from the inventory as of last year.
While the US no longer flys F-4s, they are still in service around the world. In Japan, it is considered a highly prestigious posting to be allowed to fly the Phantom, and it’s about a 3 year waiting list. Once a JMSDF pilot qualifies and does a tour in Phantoms, I have been told regardless of what else they fly the rest of their careers, the Phantom II patch always stays on their flight suits in tribute.
Awright… stop the $%^& world I wanna get off, it’s getting too small…
So I’m sitting in this little bar in Narita City, Japan (little bitty town near Narita Airport), minding my own business, drinking a beer with one of my cohorts before we go grab a bite to eat.
A bunch of pilots from a major airline come in, and set up across the bar along with some of their flight attendants. One older pilot is kinda sitting off by himself, and the rest of the folks are deferring to him. I glance over, he looks kinda familiar. Oh well, probably saw him at the airport, right?
About this time, I see a flare of a lighter, look back over, he’s lighting up a cigar; he looks over at me with a quizzical expression, like he knows me. We nod to each other and go back to what we’re doing.
About five minutes later, I look around again, he’s standing on the other side of the bar, looking at me; I know I know this sumbitch now… About this time, he starts around the bar, I get up, and we meet in the middle- He’s yelling at me, I’m yelling at him, we’re pounding each other on the back, to the amazement of his group and my cohort.
I flew with Pat in 1976-78 in the Navy, doing “fun” things, but haven’t seen him in 20 years!
So we proceed to play catch up for about 20 minutes, and his co-pilot comes over to find out if he’s going to eat. We decide to go along with them, and I gather up my cohort and off we go.
Of course, we are now the center of attention, since Pat is not known as a demonstrative individual; and as I find out, he is also an instructor Captain, and is giving a check ride on the flight out here and back on the 29th.
We start telling stories on each other (trust me, we DO have pictures), much to the amusement of all at the tables, and my cohort is just sitting there shaking his head.
After dinner, we get back to the hotel, my cohort just looks at me and says, “I don’t believe you! We’re in a bar half way round the damn world and YOU run into somebody you know. Is there ANYPLACE we can go that you don’t know somebody?”
Beats the hell outta me 🙂 But tonight made the whole trip worth it! The really funny part is, we pretty much picked up where we were 20 years ago. This time, I will NOT lose touch.
Well, it appears Obama and crowd never learned about plagiarism…
This is absolutely hysterical! Gotta love the liberal re-packaging!
http://msunderestimated.com/2009/01/21/daily-show-what-differences-between-bush-obama-video/
On another note- The new adminstration is going to pay for abortions world wide… Hello Mr. Pope, guess what, we don’t give a crap about the Catholic stance, we’re Muslim…
In the Japan issue of the IHT today was an article about how the Obamalamabots are going to let each state set their own CAFE requirements for vehicles. Since the technology DOESN’T EXIST to actually allow the car companies to meet the proposed California requirements, if I were the head of GM/Ford/Chrysler etc. I’d be going here’s your electric car California (it only goes 40 miles between charges), we will no longer build/sell gasoline or diesel cars in California.
Oh yeah, California also had issues with the previous electric cars and actual places to charge them…
OBTW, the Japanese are worried also, because the requirements for emissions vs. mileage means NONE of the Japanese cars meet it either (including the Prius). Have a nice life California, since you don’t need anymore gasoline, we won’t be refining any out there either…
Looking at CNNj, it looks like the bailout is up over $850 Million. Hmmm, I thought there was only $350M of TARP money left… WTFO??? Also, Citigroup is spending $50M for a new corporate jet after laying people off!
Hey Barney Fwank, hey Chris Dodd- What the hell are you people doing at the banking committee??? Y’all promised oversight! Or… Did you get your cut to keep quiet??? Again???