Say what???

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...

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...

Random thoughts...

I was gonna stay the hell away from the whole Health Care debacle, but after reading ppgs 424-430 I just have to say one thing!

Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time?
• Page 425: Goverment provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.
• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.

VOTE ALL THOSE BASTARDS AND BITCHES OUT OF OFFICE!!!

If anyone hasn't read it, you can go HERE.

For those of us getting up there in years, this pretty much sucks... The government is effectively telling us to go F-off and die, and tell us how via the bureaucracy...

For you youngsters, is this REALLY what you want for your parents? And yourselves in 30-40 years? Think about it!!!
-----------
In other thoughts, I spent a whole bunch of time in airports yesterday (like 9 hours between Miami and Charlotte). There are some just flat weird people traipsing through airports these days...

Yes, you DID get that ticket for lighting up that cigarette and leaning against the No Smoking sign...

The record baggage load- 7 extra large bags, four roll aboards and four backpacks- For a family of, are you ready for this??? FOUR people! Mom, Dad, two pre-teen kids!

The heaviest bag- 132 lbs and the woman was absolutely screaming at the counter agent about the overweight costs (something like $600)...

Bunches of folks high on something besides life... And badly in need of a bath...

Speaking of which, bathing in the "odor" of your choice is not attractive either...
You may love it, but the rest of us don't want to smell it from 10 feet away...

Spandex above a size 10 should be outlawed, period, end of subject...
Two puppies in a sack is cute, two Labrador Retrievers is not...

If you're 30 lbs or more overweight, short shorts and a halter top are NOT attractive...
(male OR female)

Old folks have the right of way...

Just because you're a group grope of 40, there is NO reason to block and entire concourse, there ARE people who need to get through...

Taking someone else's bag down from the overhead so you can put your POS bag up and not under your seat is a non-starter; and you're lucky your ass even stayed on the airplane...

If the SIX people sitting around you ALL complain to the flight attendant about your children, maybe, just maybe, you need to control them; the rest of us are NOT babysitters...

Cost is inversely proportional to quality in any airport food shop...

This is AMERICA- Speak ENGLISH if you work in the airport!!!

And I get to do this all over again tomorrow... sigh...

A different perspective...

I received this from a former CO of mine, who knew Cernan and the others "back in the day" when they were just regular test pilots and "working" for a living. It points out the stark (to me) difference in the way military people treat their jobs and the results of those jobs, and the way celebrities chase fame and fortune...

It's a safe bet that 100 years from now most half-way educated people will know about Neil Armstrong. It's also a safe bet that in a century the name Michael Jackson will be familiar only to five or six cultural anthropologists and, possibly, a medical historian. So what does it say about the United States in 2009 that the late moon-walker is a household name but the living one is not?

Plenty has been written about the Apollo program: the technological wonder; its place in history; the fact that we haven't gone very far since. Not enough has been written about the Apollo astronauts and, in particular, about their place in the history of American character. That's a pity: What they have, or had, is something Americans could use.

That something is "The Right Stuff," which in the movie version means fearlessness, ambition, unblinking patriotism and a penchant for understated irony. Most of us would probably think of the Right Stuff as some combination of piloting skills and a barrelful of guts.

But the really essential ingredient is personal modesty, if not in private than certainly in public. "One day you're just Gene Cernan, young naval aviator, whatever," recalls the commander of Apollo 17 in the documentary, "In the Shadow of the Moon." "And the next day you're an
American hero. Literally. And you have done nothing."

Mr. Cernan is the last man to have walked on the moon. Nobody can accuse him of lacking for courage. He is simply expressing the very human bewilderment of a sentient person caught in the blandishments of modern celebrity culture. Does America make men like Gene Cernan anymore?

Then again, Mr. Cernan is positively boastful compared to Mr. Armstrong. The flesh-and-blood "first man" is nowhere to be seen in the documentary. His media availability is nearly zero. He hasn't pitched a product on TV for 30 years, and only then for Chrysler during its last bankruptcy. When he speaks of the moon, he never fails to mention the 400,000 people who
worked to get him there. He doesn't unload about his politics, pet causes or personal "issues," including family tragedies.

None of this is because Mr. Armstrong is a recluse living in his own Neverland. He seems to have a normal family life—including divorce and remarriage. He's made money, though not the kind of money that comes from endorsing every golf ball, hemorrhoidal cream and sugar substitute thrown his way. You likely wouldn't recognize him if he sat across from you at a diner, which is just as he wants it to be.

Modern parlance allows us the term "private person" to describe people like Mr. Armstrong. Closer to the mark, I suspect, is that he abides by a private code of conduct. He understands that fate has assigned him a historic, if somewhat fortuitous role, and he means to honor the terms of
the bargain.

That this should seem at all peculiar tells us something about the age. Codes of personal conduct were once what Americans—great ones, at least—were all about. In his superb book "American Heroes," Yale historian Edmund S. Morgan writes about Benjamin Franklin and George Washington that "both men cared enormously about their reputations, about their honor. Their deliberate refusals to do things, employed to great advantage in serving their country, originated in a personal ambition to gain honor and reputation of a higher order than most people aspired to."

This is not the way we live now. Modern culture has severed many of the remaining links between merit and celebrity. We make a fetish of uninteresting, detestable, loud or unaccomplished people: Paris Hilton, Princess Di, Keith Olbermann, Michael Jackson. Disgrace can be a ticket for even greater celebrity, particularly when mixed with confession. Stoicism, on the other hand, is regarded as a form of denial, meaning borderline lunacy.

I detest anti-Americanism, but I'll concede this: It's hard to watch American celebrity culture at work and not feel revolted. By contrast, much of what made the Apollo missions such a tribute to America was the character of the astronauts: their clipped exchanges between Houston and the spacemen; or Lovell, Anders and Borman reading from Genesis on Apollo 8; or the unflappable Flight Director Gene Kranz working the problems of Apollo 13 to triumph.

These sorts of people are still around, often in the military. Perhaps too often. Great democratic civilizations can't survive on values that emerge from a single, undemocratic cultural stream. A century from now, who will be remembered as the early 21st century's Neil Armstrong, the one who had all the Right Stuff? Barack Obama? Tiger Woods? LT Matt Murphy? Somebody we have never heard of???

You tell me...

Well damn...

Tom Watson, at age 59 almost won the British Open, if just one more putt had fallen, we would be talking history being made. But it didn't happen; what did happen was he gave all of us hope and reminded us that we are capable of doing anything we desire, regardless of our ages...

When you consider that most of the commentators are YOUNGER than Tom Watson, and that Tiger Woods didn't even make the cut, it just makes the performance more special. Tom Watson won his first major golf tournament before many of the players had even been born!


Thank you Tom Watson!

In other news, 40 years ago Apollo 11 landed on the moon, and Neil Armstrong uttered those immortal words, "one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind". I remember being in a bar in Rome, off Via Barberini, sitting with a few other American kids, huddled around the bar. We were watching the landing on Italian TV, and finally found a guy and his daughter walking up the street about 9pm that spoke English. We offered him money to come translate for us, and he and his daughter came and sat in the bar until something like 2am, with him translating the Italian into English for us. I remember us cheering the landing and those first steps, but to me the iconic picture was Buzz Aldrin standing by the American flag...

The other thing I remember is walking back to the Pensione at about 3am and the streets being filled with people of all ages, and every store with a TV having that TV in the front windows of the stores with people crowded around them...

The little bar was down the street in the right background, and this piazza was filled with people. And the statue is the statue of Triton by Bernini for his patron Maffeo Barberini, who had become pope as Urban VIII (just a bit of history).

Now we have to go back to the normal battles... sigh...

Y'all have a good week and remember, you CAN do anything you want, don't let the assholes hold you back!!!

A letter to "Babs"...

Don't know if y'all saw the article last week about Barbara Boxer admonishing a Brigadier General because he addressed her as Ma'am and not Senator before a Senate hearing. Anyway this is a letter from a Guard Aviator and Captain for Alaska Air Lines. He hits the nail directly on the head. Maybe we all should send a copy of this letter to the SENATOR

Babs: {Boxer's Nickname}

You were so right on when you scolded the general on TV for using the term, "ma'am," instead of "Senator." After all, in the military, "ma'am" is a term of respect when addressing a female of superior rank or position.

The general was totally wrong. You are not a person of superior rank or position. You are a member of one of the world's most corrupt organizations, the U. S. Senate, equaled only by the U. S. House of Representatives.

Congress is a cesspool of liars, thieves, inside traders, traitors, drunks (one who killed a staffer, yet is still revered), criminals, and other low level swine who, as individuals (not all, but many), will do anything to enhance their lives, fortunes and power, all at the expense of the People of the United States and its Constitution, in order to be continually re-elected. Many democrats even want American troops killed by releasing photographs. How many of you could honestly say, "We pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor"? None? One? Two? Your reaction to the general shows several things. First is your abysmal ignorance of all things military. Your treatment of the general shows you to be an elitist of the worst kind. When the general entered the military (as most of us who served) he wrote the government a blank check, offering his life to protect your derriere now safely and comfortably ensconced in a 20 thousand dollar leather chair, paid for by the general's taxes. You repaid him for this by humiliating him in front of millions.

Second is your puerile character, lack of sophistication, and arrogance which borders on the hubristic. This display of brattish behavior shows you to be a virago, termagant, harridan, nag, scold or shrew, unfit for your position, regardless of the support of the unwashed, uneducated
masses who have made California into the laughing stock of the nation.

What I am writing, Senator, are the same thoughts countless millions of Americans have toward Congress, but who lack the energy, ability or time to convey them. Under the democrats, some don't even have the 44 cents to buy the stamp. Regardless of their thoughts, most realize politicians are pretty much the same, and will vote for the one who will bring home the most bacon, even if they do consider how corrupt that person is.

Lord Acton (1834 - 1902) so aptly charged, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Unbeknownst to you and your colleagues, Mr. Power has had his way with all of you, and we are all the worse for it.

Finally Senator, I, too, have a title. It is "Right Wing Extremist Potential Terrorist Threat." It is not of my choosing, but was given to me by your Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. And you were offended by "ma'am"?

Have a day. Cheers!

J. Hill

And then on Wednesday she offended, yes OFFENDED Harry Alford, the chair of the National Black Chamber of Commerce in front of the committee. He rightly accused her of playing race games rather than science, and called her on it... The link for that one on Hot Air is HERE.

Y'all have a safe weekend, and have fun!!!

Yep, the dems are in power, and are flaunting it for all it's worth...

I LIKE this guy...

Congressman John Fleming- Louisiana 4th District. Below is from his web site, he has sponsored a bill HR-615; see below for the content!

Over the past few weeks, members of Congress and the American people have come to know the details of the Administration's proposed health care plan. Call it whatever you like, I believe this proposal is nothing more than government-run health care. As a physician, I am amazed at the number of bureaucrats in this House who are quick to claim a government-run health care plan is the reform this country needs. In response to this, I have offered a resolution that will offer members of Congress an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is, and urge their colleagues who vote for legislation creating a government-run health care plan to lead by example and enroll themselves in the same public plan.

Under the current draft of the Democrat healthcare legislation, members of Congress are curiously exempt from the government-run health care option, keeping their existing health plans and services on Capitol Hill. If Members of Congress believe so strongly that government-run health care is the best solution for hard working American families, I think it only fitting that Americans see them lead the way. Public servants should always be accountable and responsible for what they are advocating, and I challenge the American people to demand this from their representatives.

Together we will work to ensure that any plan that is good enough is for American families is good enough for every member of Congress.

You can go to his website and view the resolution, see who is supporting it, and download a letter to send to YOUR congresscritter...

And I'm going to, since mine is NOT on the list...

In other news, I heard Frankin was really asking the hard questions today... Did Sotomayor REALLY like Perry Mason, and was he her role model?

And Chuckie Shumer actually started "crying" about how good a role model she was...

YGTBSM!!!

What a difference a century makes!!!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1909 :


The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year ..

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard'.

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school...

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said,'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

Oh yeah, and guns were worn on the hip in most places West of the Mississippi.

I don't even want to THINK about what it will be like 100 years from now...

A follow up...

As I mentioned in a post called Perspectives, we lost a number of people in Afghanistan and Iraq in June.

One of those was Sergeant First Class John C Beale.

The body of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City , Georgia , just south of Atlanta , on June 11, 2009 . The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough , Georgia .

A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time. Nowadays one can be led to believe that America no longer respects honor and no longer honors sacrifice outside the military.

This shows there are many places in this land where people still recognize the courage and impact of total self-sacrifice. Georgia remains one of those graceful places.

The link below is a short travelogue of that day's remarkable and painful journey. But only watch this if you wish to have some of your faith in people restored.

http://blip.tv/play/AYGJ5h6YgmE

THIS is the real America!

Not the politicians in D.C., not the talking heads on TV, not Hollyweird, not the screamers and yellers regardless of their persuasion; but the PEOPLE of America...

Those who lined that 30 miles of road, for who knows how long... Not to be on TV, not to be quoted in the media, for no other reason than to show their support for the family of one of their own who had fallen in defense of the United States.

RIP SFC Beale, RIP...

That is all.

Trigger time!!!

Did a mini-meet at the range today with Newbius, and it was bring an old gun to the range day...

We actually kinda sorta work together... I bitch about stuff and he actually gets it FIXED! What a novel concept :-)

Gotta say he out did me by a bunch... I only brought ONE gun that was almost 100 years old, he brought TWO!!!

We pretty much hit just about every aspect today, from shotgun patterning, to rifles (and trying to get into the black, with limited success), to pistols (both 1917 models, but HE went with that OTHER manufacturer...), to plinking with our carry pieces. Lunch break was a little long due to our own 'soup nazi', who can only do orders serially... sigh...

Mine is the pretty one on the left! And yes, I know the picture is lousy, but it IS interesting to see the comparison between two pistols built to the same requirement from two different companies! Different forcing cones, different front sight configurations, and of course HIS turns the wrong way... Of course I know Tam will like it though.

Model 37 Ithaca and yes that is a REAL Drilling- late 1800s version in 16 ga, beautiful inlays and a SMOOTH swinging gun! And I'm not even going to try to remember the caliber of the rifle, it's a wildcat I've never even heard of!

All in all, a FUN day!!! Only problem is now I gotta clean the @#&* things... sigh...

Oh yeah, my "other" old gun is a new 1954 HRA M-1. And I proved yet AGAIN I can't see straight! Bore sighted the sights in, had to go down 12 clicks and left 4 to get in the black...

Sigh...

We are looking for other NOVA bloggers (New Jovian Thunderbolt and Turk) poke... poke...

That like to shoot, and we can REALLY have some fun!

Tech Support...

The FIRST tech support guy...

Don't know about y'all but I needed a little humor this week to balance the BS...

And speaking of humor...


Roofpreading er... proofreading is a dying art, wouldn't you say?

Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
They put in a correction the next day.

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
No kidding, really? Ya think?

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Now that's taking things a bit far!

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
What a guy!

Miners Refuse to Work after Death
The-good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so's!

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
See if that works any better than a fair trial!

War Dims Hope for Peace
I can see where it might have that effect!

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
Ya think?!

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Who would have thought!

Enfield ( London ) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
They may be on to something!

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?

Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
He probably IS the battery charge!

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Weren't they fat enough?!

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
That's what he gets for eating those beans!

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Do they taste like chicken?

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Boy, are they tall!

And the winner is....

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Did I read that right?

Perspectives...

With no disrespect intended to the Jackson family, this reveals the shallowness of our value system in this country. This puts things into perspective:

While the focus today, tomorrow and for the next God-knows-how-many-days will be the death of a pop culture icon, while many will mourn, wail and quite literally make fools of themselves over it and while as many will speak endlessly about it, allow me, if only for a moment, to remind us all that others have died this month.

Others whose lives were cut short, others who leave behind loved ones and whose families will dearly miss them, families who'll suffer with much more dignity and honor than we'll be exposed to on the tube in the coming days.

Yes... it's true... we've suffered a great loss... but forgive me while I tell you that I'm not talking about the king of pop music, I'm talking about other Americans that gave ALL for their country!

These American military members died in Iraq this month:

Sergeant Justin J. Duffy
Specialist Christopher M. Kurth
Specialist Charles D. Parrish
Lance Corporal Robert D. Ulmer
Staff Sergeant Edmond L. Lo
Sergeant Joshua W. Soto
Captain Kafele H. Sims
Specialist Chancellor A. Keesling

These members of our U.S. Armed Forces died in Afghanistan this month:

Sergeant Jones, Ricky D.
Specialist Munguia Rivas, Rodrigo A.
Command Master Chief Petty Officer Garber, Jeffrey J.
1st Sergeant Blair, John D.
Sergeant Smith, Paul G.
Staff Sergeant Melton, Joshua
Sergeant 1st Class Dupont, Kevin A.
Specialist O'Neill, Jonathan C.
Chief Warrant Officer Richardson Jr., Ricky L.
Specialist Silva, Eduardo S.
Lance Corporal Whittle, Joshua R.
Major Barnes, Rocco M.
Major Jenrette, Kevin M.
Staff Sergeant Beale, John C.
Specialist Jordan, Jeffrey W.
Specialist Griemel, Jarrett P.
Specialist Hernandez I, Roberto A.
Sergeant Obakrairur, Jasper K.
Staff Sergeant Hall, Jeffrey A.
Private 1st Class Ogden, Matthew D.
Private 1st Class Wilson, Matthew W.

Let's remember and honor this day those whose deaths are truly impacting our country, not to mention those names have yet to be reported.

h/t Pop Pop

More things...

An interesting video that was forwarded to me by a friend in law enforcement in Texas...

And secondly, basically a great "Flying " story.

I wish I could take credit, but this came from a gent who runs a 2000 acre corn farm not far from Oshkosh, WI. He used to fly F4Es and F-16s for the Guard and participated in the first Gulf War... Submitted for your enjoyment, and as a reminder that there are other great, magnificent flyers around besides us.

I went out to plant corn for a bit to finish a field before tomorrow morning and witnessed The Great Battle. A golden eagle - big bastard, about six foot wingspan - flew right in front of the tractor. It was being chased by three crows that were continually dive bombing it and pecking at it. The crows do this because the eagles rob their nests when they find them.

At any rate, the eagle banked hard right in one evasive maneuver, then landed in the field about 100 feet from the tractor. This eagle stood about 3 feet tall. The crows all landed too and took up positions around the eagle at 120 degrees apart, but kept their distance at about 20 feet from the big bird. The eagle would take a couple steps towards one of the crows and they'd hop backwards and forward to keep their distance. Then the reinforcement showed up.

I happened to spot the eagle's mate hurtling down out of the sky at what appeared to be approximately Mach 1.5. Just before impact the eagle on the ground took flight, (obviously a coordinated tactic; probably
pre-briefed) and the three crows which were watching the grounded eagle, also took flight thinking they were going to get in some more pecking on the big bird. The first crow being targeted by the diving eagle never stood a snowball's chance in hell. There was a mid-air explosion of black feathers and that crow was done. The diving eagle then banked hard left in what had to be a 9G climbing turn, using the energy it had accumulated in the dive, and hit crow #2 less than two seconds later. Another crow dead.

The grounded eagle, which was now airborne and had an altitude advantage on the remaining crow, which was streaking eastward in full burner, made a short dive then banked hard right when the escaping crow tried to evade the hit. It didn't work - crow #3 bit the dust at about 20 feet altitude.

This aerial battle was better than any air show I've been to, including the warbirds show at Oshkosh! The two eagles ripped the crows apart and ate them on the ground, and as I got closer and closer working my way across the field, I passed within 20 feet of one of them as it ate its catch. It stopped and looked at me as I went by and you could see in the look of that bird that it knew who's Boss Of The Sky. What a beautiful bird!

His tag line? I love it. Not only did they kill their enemy, they ate them.

233...

Here we are again, another birthday, 233 years since the founding of the United States. This democracy has weathered many ups and downs since 1776. Wars, both internal and external have ravaged our country and our people, immigration turned this country into a melting pot of humanity; freedom allowed individuals to rise from poverty to riches through their toil and sweat equity, we have witnessed the greatest advances in science, medicine, technology and industry in history. We have traveled into space, sent probes to the stars and traveled to the deepest depths of the oceans. We have come from a military that had to have help from the French to defeat Britain, to the de facto peacekeeper for the world.

We have been a nation of checks and balances, imperfect in execution at times, slow to correct obvious faults at times, but always improving and striving to be better. Individual initiative has been a watchword and a beacon of hope for many, who arrived here penniless, or came from poverty. We have always had the ability pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, and raise ourselves to as high a level as we wished, through work, education and time.

The "American Dream" does exist; I am living proof of that- I was the first one to go to college in my family. My dad had a 5th grade education, my mother a 3rd grade education, they had a choice to succeed or to fail, and they chose to succeed. They showed me by example how to succeed, but I still had to do it. It was not going to be handed to me on a silver platter, hell we didn’t have one!

Today, I believe we are facing a crisis in the United States, both at a personal level, and a national level.

At the personal level, I believe we have lost our way. Nuclear homes are no longer the norm, parents have ceased to be role models, and are both working to pay the bills; children have become latchkey kids, farmed out to anywhere but home. Parents no longer have the capability to discipline their children for fear of arrest, schools teach what ever they want, with no discipline, and no accountability. Children are babysat by the boob tube or video games, or spend hours on “social networks” or cell phones with friends. They consider themselves entitled to everything- cell phone, car (new), high starting salary, never to fail, etc… NONE of which have they earned by honest labor…

Our basic freedoms are being curtailed by political correctness and the PC police, reactive laws that penalize the honest and do nothing to stop the criminals but meet PC guidelines. Classic example, TSA can’t “profile” Arab males exhibiting nervous behavior, but they can stop and frisk your Grandmother and confiscate her nail clippers.

Those who believed the words penned by Emma Lazarus for the Statue of Liberty and work hard to be here legally, spend years on the waiting list for a slot and do the right things are being bypassed by a flood of illegal, yes, ILLEGAL immigrants who could care less about the US, and only want money have flooded into the US, taking menial jobs, taking over entire neighborhoods, and bringing crime and gangs worse than anything seen here since the Chinese Tongs in the 1800s. Since the advent of PCism late 80s and early 90s terrorists, including the 9/11 terrorists are here illegally but the lack of personnel to do enforcement, and lack of will to upset the PC police allowed them to stay here. We know what they did… and PCism is STILL the rule, to avoid “possibly” offending someone…

On the national level, we have a different crisis, one brought on by hate- The hatred of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and the Republican administration led by the democrats and the left wing liberals, supported by the main stream media has divided this country worse than we were divided by the Civil War. I personally believe part of the hatred was caused by the fact George Bush did his best for the country as a whole, did what he said he was going to do, and was not swayed by opinion polls, political correctness, politics in general, or threats from the left.

Now we have an administration that, by its own admission, made promises it KNEW it couldn’t keep, simply to get in office. Now that they are there, and control both houses of Congress and the Executive branch, they are taking us down the slippery slope of socialism. They regard the Constitution as advisory in nature, and only apply the rule of law when they can bend it to their desires.

They passed a “stimulus” bill with over 900 pork projects, and then they went after AIG over bonuses, but never said word one about Goldman Sachs, Morgan or the others bonuses (who backed Obama). The bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler have shown they don’t care about bondholders, only about the union base, contravening laws as they gave the unions a bigger stake than the bondholders. They fired the CEO of GM, even though they had no legal right to do so, put in place unrealistic CAFÉ rules which will probably force the end of SUVs and force us into tin can cars, because they can…

They have confirmed appointees that want to overrule the Constitution and put us under UN laws and treaties no other president has considered, much less signed. They have proposed a new Justice for SCOTUS who believes experience and feelings are better than laws for decision making, and are hoping they will get to add at least two more justices…

They have passed an energy bill that will cost trillions, and result in minimal reductions in CO2, because they can- They don’t care about the costs, impacts, or who will pay the bill (our children and grandchildren), and no other countries agreed to the same limits.

Health care is their next target- they want control of all facets, and I believe they will stop at nothing to get it. Meanwhile Canada is moving BACK toward privatization of health care…

We no longer have prayers in our schools, unless it is Islam; the 10 commandments are banned; we no longer say the Pledge of Allegiance in our schools, “alternative” lifestyles are now taught in grade school, history books are being changed to reflect PCism…

The democrats on the State House floor in New York State refused to stand or say the Pledge of Allegiance last week, because they didn’t want to…

They won, as they keep repeating…

I believe we MUST take back our country in the next elections, before it is too late…

All I have to say is this:

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE
FLAG, OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA ,

AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR
WHICH IT STANDS,

ONE NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE, WITH
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

Happy 233rd Birthday to USA!

Niggling little facts...

Obama's set piece town hall meeting has stirred at least "some" of the reporters to actually ask pointed questions...

Fact- Most of Obama's questioners Wednesday were from friendly sources, including a member of the Service Employees International Union and a member of Health Care for America Now. White House aides selected other questions submitted by people on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. It's pretty easy to stay on message when you know EXACTLY what the questions are and you have the scripted answers already done...

This quote from Obama just scares the hell out of me though. "Part of that is the way the Constitution is designed. We don't have coups [de'tat] or governments collapsing. The disadvantage is it's hard for us to make great, big, bold steps."

If the Constitution is a disadvantage, and considering the adminstration already thinks it's only advisory in nature, what are they REALLY up to?

Oh yeah, the pissed off reporter? The Dragon herself, Helen Thomas! Here is part of her comment:

“Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try. “What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” Thomas said. “They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them.”

Thomas said she was especially concerned about the arrangement between the Obama Administration and a writer from the liberal Huffington Post Web site. The writer was invited by the White House to President Obama’s press conference last week on the understanding that he would ask Obama a question about Iran from among questions that had been sent to him by people in Iran.

“When you call the reporter the night before you know damn well what they are going to ask to control you,” Thomas said. “I’m not saying there has never been managed news before, but this is carried to fare-thee-well–for the town halls, for the press conferences,” she said. “It’s blatant. They don’t give a damn if you know it or not. They ought to be hanging their heads in shame.”

In other news...

Madame Pelosi wasn't happy with the small private jet that comes with the Speaker's job...no, Madame Pelosi was aggravated that this little jet had to stop to refuel, so she ordered a Big Fat 200 (well about 100 first class) seat jet that could get her back to California without stopping! It's call a C-32, which is actually a Boeing 757.

Since she only works 3 days a week, this gas guzzling jet gets fueled and she flies home to California , cost to the taxpayers of about $60,000 one way!

That is $480,000/month JUST IN FUEL COSTS, or $5,760,000/year; when you add in personnel costs this total probably approaches between $7 and $8,000,000 a year. Oh yeah, paid by US TAXPAYERS! No wonder she complains about the cost of this war...it might cramp her style and she is styling all right, on the backs of the taxpayer.

When you see the military families in this country doing without. This woman demands you and I conserve our carbon footprint, buy smaller cars, etc. and wants to force us to "upgrade" our houses to green status (on our dime) before sale (regardless of age) in the new C&T bill, it can ONLY make you wonder...

Has absolute power really corrupted absolutely, and is THIS a prime example?

My answer- Hell YES!!!