This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Hondo

  • More from Chuckles the Clown

    Well, good old “Chuckles the Clown” Schumer, D-NY, is at it again – opening his mouth and spouting idiocy.  Anyone surprised?

    Seems that Chuckles gave an interview with HuffPost Live the other day.  You know, HuffPo –that major online wannabe liberal media outlet that pays its authors and contributors so well?

    Here’s what Chuckles had to say when asked about whether his colleagues were “willing to admit” that the NRA is a “fringe group”:

    “Well they sure are a fringe group, but whether enough of my colleagues are ready to admit that, I’m not sure.

    They are a very extreme group.  They don’t even represent average gun holders.”

    A link to video of the interview can be found at the link above.

    A “fringe group”?  Hardly, Chuckles.  By definition, a “fringe group” is viewed favorably by a small minority, with a large majority viewing them unfavorably.

    According to the latest NBC/WSJ polling, 41% of Americans view the NRA favorably; 34%, unfavorable.  Same favorable percentage as two years ago, as a matter of fact.  And much better than in the 1990s, when the NRA was “underwater” (e.g., higher percentage of unfavorable views than favorable).

    In comparison, 24% of Americans view the entertainment industry favorably, while 39% view the entertainment industry negatively.

    Congress?  According to the most recent RCP polling (7-17 Jan 2013), try an approval rate of a bit over 15% – and a disapproval rate of close to 80%.  Now we’re getting close to “fringe group” territory.

    Hey, Chuckles – where did you say you worked again?

    Geez.  As Bugs Bunny put it decades ago:  “What a maroon!”

  • The One Classified Medal of Honor

    One of the most common lies a false claimant to military honors or decorations will tell people is, “My medal is classified; that’s why there aren’t any records of it.”

    Yes, that’s complete bullshit.  Medals and decorations are not classified, nor are their citations.  And there are always records of legitimate awards and decorations.

    But there actually was a classified Medal of Honor, once – some 60+ years ago.  Or, more precisely:  the fact that the Medal of Honor had been awarded to a particular individual was classified.   And that singular example was declassified after a period of a bit over 2 years.

    (more…)

  • LBs

    Some advocates for liberal causes are simply naive but well-meaning people.  They’re rather like the “useful idiots” of whom Soviet leaders spoke:  they mean well, but their efforts are ultimately destructive.

    But some of them are, bluntly, nothing but lying sacks of excrement who should be exposed as exactly that.  For brevity, I’ll simply refer to them as “lying bastards”, or “LBs” for short.

    Want an example?  Take a look at “The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence”, for one.

    It seems that this particular group of LBs has decided to go after Georgia Representative John Barrow.  They’ve done so by selectively editing some of his former campaign ads to remove significant parts – omissions that significantly change the meaning of the original.

    Here’s one example of what these LBs did.  In the Congressman’s original ad, he says “I’m John Barrow, and long before I was born, my grandfather used this little Smith & Wesson here to help stop a lynching.”

    In the LBs’ version, the quote is “I’m John Barrow, and long before I was born, my grandfather used this little Smith & Wesson here.”  The rest – which is kinda pertinent, in my opinion – is omitted.  And then the lying bastards cut to a video montage of coverage of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

    Both videos are available in the article cited above.  Take a look for yourself if you like.

    Talk about a hatchet job.  But that’s neither new nor surprising when it comes to causes supported by liberals.  Remember NBC’s deliberate selective editing of the George Zimmerman’s 911 call in the Trayvon Martin case?

    Being a LB isn’t limited to gun control advocates.

  • Military Bureaucracy – Ya Gotta Love It!

    All of us here at TAH probably have funny stories about run-arounds, SNAFUs, and the like involving military bureaucracy or paperwork.  So it occurred to me that posting an article on the subject and inviting comments from TAH’s readers might be worthwhile.

    Since I’m posting the article, I guess that means I’m “on the hook” for the first such story.  Fair enough; here goes.

    Each service has its own admin practices and procedures.  Most of the time, they actually work fairly well.

    Even the Army’s orders process generally works – though like a dancing bear, it often does so somewhat less than gracefully.  Once it took 3 tries for DA to slide a reporting date of mine 30 days “to the right” (later).   I guess that change must have had the same clerk-typist processing it that had trouble spelling “Fort Rucker” in this article.  (smile)

    But that’s not the funniest admin SNAFU that ever happened to me personally.

    In 2007-2008, I was ordered back to active duty for a tour in the CENTCOM AOR.  I spent virtually all of that year serving in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

    During January 2008, my duty station was in Iraq – Baghdad, to be precise.  Except for R&R, I’d been there since August and in theater since April.

    Well, in January 2008 I got the following amendment to the orders recalling me to active duty and sending me to the sandbox.  It was sent to me at my home of record; my spouse forwarded me a copy.

    I’ve redacted PII and a couple of other bits of info.  Take a look at the text in the red box.  (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

    Yep, you read that right.  I’m deployed to the sandbox, stationed in Baghdad and have been there for months, in the middle of a no-joke shooting war.  And the Army sends me an amendment to my freaking orders telling me I need to check in with Post billeting and reminding me that if I want to live “on the economy” I need a statement of nonavailability.

    I got a really good laugh out of that bit of bureaucratic idiocy.  (smile)

    — — —

    OK, there have to be better stories than that out there.  Fire away!

  • What a Surprise

    According to multiple reports (examples here and here), the al-Qaeda linked terrorists who took over the gas plant in Algeria now have a new offer.  They’re offering to trade two “American” hostages for the Egyptian “Blind Sheik” Omar Abdel-Rahman and Pakistani Aafia Siddiqui.

    For those who’ve forgotten:  Abdel-Rahman masterminded the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed 8.  Siddiqui has been linked to al Qaeda and is currently serving 30 years to life for the attempted murder of US officials who were preparing to question her after her apprehension in Afghanistan in 2008.

    Is anyone really surprised?

  • Trust, But Verify

    Jonn’s written before many times about guys using photos of fake military IDs and stories to con unsuspecting women online. For any such approach, the title of this story is generally good advice.

    It’s damn good advice regarding any online relationship, period.  And guys take note:  as the case of Manti Te’o and his phantom girlfriend shows, that advice is not just for the ladies.  (There is some thought that Te’o may have been a part of the hoax vice a victim.  The matter is under investigation.)

    “Doveryai, no proveryai“, people – “doveryai, no proveryai“.

     

  • Geez – Not Another One

    Details are scarce, but apparently there’s been another incident at sea.

    The USS Guardian, an Avenger-class minesweeper, apparently has run aground in the Sulu Sea.  Initial reports are that the ship hit a coral reef at 2:25AM (local) today.

    The ship does not appear to be leaking fuel or taking water, and there were no casualties among the crew.  At least, there were no physical casualties.  Not sure you can say the same about  careers.

    The ship’s crew are reportedly presently trying to determine the best way to free the ship.

     

  • A Morning to Remember

    Live long enough, and you’ll see some interesting things.  If you’re lucky enough, it’s possible you’ll see or be a part of something truly memorable and unusual.  Maybe even something historic.

    During my lifetime, I’ve been that fortunate twice.  The first time was when I was lucky enough to be in Korea when Reagan visited the DMZ, and to provide support for that mission (though I didn’t get to see the actual speech).   I’ll always feel honored to have been there.

    The second time occurred some 24 years later.  And it was, perhaps, even more memorable than the first.

    January 11, 2008 dawned in Baghdad.  Just another brutal, muddy, nasty, cold day – right?

    Yes, I did say cold.  Although Baghdad and surrounding area indeed gets hellish hot during the summer, during the winter it also gets colder than you might think.  Baghdad’s at about the same latitude as Columbus, GA, or Dallas/Fort Worth, TX –  and like those cities, it’s inland.  So it does get pretty cool in the winter; today’s high and low there are predicted to be 59 F and 34 F, respectively.

    Frost was not common, but was also not unknown.   And the winter of 2007-2008 was reputedly the coldest in at least a decade.

    Baghdad gets most of its rain during the winter, too.  And when that little bit of rain hits the finely-powdered silt making up the soil in the Tigris/Euphrates valley system, the result is . . . different.  Think wet, sticky paste.  Slippery, medium yellow-brown paste.

    I think I gained an inch or so in height every time I went outside that winter when things were wet.  (smile)

    But January 11, 2008 was different.  The sky was steel-grey, and it was still.  Things simply felt different than normal.  Something was up.  And around sunrise, we found out what it was.

    It began to snow.  Big, wet flakes.

    It didn’t snow much – just a dusting on exposed items and surfaces; most of it melted on contact.  And what little stuck didn’t stay around for long at all.

    But it snowed.  In Baghdad.

    Those who’ve never lived in a hot, desert climate can’t really appreciate the impact of a low desert snowfall.  It is a truly magnificent sight – if for no other reason than because they’re generally exceptionally rare.  It’s like seeing a horizon-to-horizon double-rainbow.  Yes, they can happen.  But they’re rare enough that not very many people ever get to see one.

    Snow was indeed a rare thing in Baghdad. One source said it had been over 60 years since the last snowfall in the area.  Others said it had been over a century.

    I don’t know which is correct.  And, frankly, I don’t care.  I only know I was lucky enough to see it in person.

    Snow.  In Baghdad.

    And, for what it’s worth:  during the snowfall, reportedly things were rather quiet in the city.