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

Category: Geezer Alert!

  • Nothing New Here – John Kerry is STILL a Traitor

    Midst the fallout from our last Presidential election it IS a bit hard to single out one particular thing that is especially grievous, but…

    Let me allow my friend (a retired Army Colonel) to help (via email):

    For a man to dishonor, lie, invent fabrications, purposefully and falsely accuse Viet Nam warriors of the most vile and vicious atrocities, should result by any humanitarian standard in incarceration with prejudice.  My heart weeps, my soul cries out for justice, my mind tells this cannot be happening in America…what have we become?
    John Kerry, a war criminal just a few days away from a congressional hearing and vote that could confirm his as Secretary of State…a man with the character of a rat, snake, roach, gaining through perjured testimony he gave Congress forty years ago is now deemed worthy of honor…a thought that has me shaking between weeping and puking…
    Our friend, Captain Bailey, is of a similar mind and sent this along:

    Sad.

  • Our Navy – Some Reflections

    Hondo, and the comments his post engendered,  set me to doing some soul searching and you get to monitor that process – sort of.

    When I was in (64-69) “Rocks and Shoals” was still a topic of conversation.  This was well after the adoption of the UCMJ in ’51, but that thread existed still.

    In no small part part it was maintained by the Chiefs. The Goat Locker seemed a vestige of that era to lesser mortals.

    I don’t think the other branches (outside of the Coast Guard) have a similar hierarchy?

    Mind you… At my age I AM dealing with memories, and memories of memories, but I found this article that suggests I ain’t far wrong.

    The time honored rite of the U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer (CPO) initiation process has been eliminated. Political correctness has won out over more than 100 years of having gotten it right in the Chief’s Mess.

    What has the U.S. Navy done? Will it prove harmful, or will it even matter in the grand scheme of things? My prediction is that this will exponentially increase the number of glorified managers in the Navy’s senior enlisted ranks.

    With Jonn’s forgiveness let me cite one other item from the article:


    I DO believe we still have that kind of man in Our Navy along with what ever the PC crowd allows. Not sure where the tipping point might be though?

     

  • More of the Same – Some Guns Are Just Evil

    I’m jaded and frustrated about this whole gun thing. Folks use words that mean different things as if they are the same. Nobody seems interested in the basic debate premise, that would be an agreed upon definition of the starting point.

    That said:  OWB sent this along from here in WV:

    Saddens me…

    Bumped from the comments – Exemplifies well the nearly bizarre nature of the process too much to miss.

    Too many gun posts today, so I’ll just piggyback here. California’s Rep. Mike Thompson calls the “high capacity magazines” “assault magazines“. I guess the term worked so well to demonize the rifles, he wants to try it on magazines now. More emotion-inspiring bullshit.

    Also bumped from the comments… a glimpse of reason:

    I am trying to create a letter to send to my state and federal representatives. Here is a first draft, any comments?

    Please oppose any legislation or regulations to confiscate firearms, ban firearms, register firearms, or anything that further complicates the existing regulatory environment with respect to firearms.

    I am an Army veteran (1970 to 1976) who stood up for you, carried a weapon, and took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. No legitimate government would deprive me of the ability to defend myself, my family, and my country. Confiscation and bans tie my hands and reduce my ability; registration identifies law-abiding people for future confiscation and identifies weapons owners for criminal activity. These are not theoretical or rhetorical concerns, in my lifetime large modern countries have disarmed their populations. Millions died including nearly half a million from the US.

    I will watch what you say and how you vote and act. If you betray my trust then you do not represent me, my family, or my country. We still have the ballot and I will donate $1,000 where I think that it will do the most good. Remember 1994.

  • Sunday Silly – Or is it?

    Stolen from FB.

    Sounds like it was scripted by a lawyer to me. I don’t think they missed any possibility save alternate universes and time warps?

  • Paranoia Strikes Deep

    Noted a trend here at TAH.

    There IS some fun in being an old guy.

    Please ignore the direct Viet Nam references.

    I keep seeing  this tune as a glimpse of what we face.  It really could easily be OUR song.  Them Brits did get annoyed when our predecessors said similar to what we are hearing just now.

  • A Politician Is Born

    Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal backed banning assault weapons on Tuesday, saying guns like the M4 and M16 belong in the hands of soldiers, not on the streets.

    By way explanation he adds:

    “I personally don’t think there’s any need for that kind of weaponry on the streets and particularly around the schools in America. I believe that we’ve got to take a serious look — I understand everybody’s desire to have whatever they want — we have to protect our children and our police and we have to protect our population. And I think we have to take a very mature look at that.”

    Sounds like a politician spouting half-truths don’t he?

    I did try to find any statistics that suggest how many people in the US have been killed by an M4 or an M16 since they were introduced. My Google-Fu failed me miserably, I’m afraid.

    However, I did find one reference that sort of  applies.

    Since 1934, there appear to have been at least two homicides committed with legally owned automatic weapons. One was a murder committed by a law enforcement officer (as opposed to a civilian). On September 15th, 1988, a 13-year veteran of the Dayton, Ohio police department, Patrolman Roger Waller, then 32, used his fully automatic MAC-11 .380 caliber submachine gun to kill a police informant, 52-year-old Lawrence Hileman. Patrolman Waller pleaded guilty in 1990, and he and an accomplice were sentenced to 18 years in prison. The 1986 ‘ban’ on sales of new machine guns does not apply to purchases by law enforcement or government agencies.

    Perhaps one of you folks will have better luck uncovering how many crimes have been committed BY Civilians (legally purchased) in the USA with such evil weapons? There MUST be hundreds of such cases.

     

  • Let Us Talk About Guns.

    Most here sort of collect firearms so we are well aware of the recent spate of headlines that have the potential to impact us. From outright confiscation to declaring  just what sort of guns we can own; the simmering fear is there for any gun owner that follows  the news.

    Some are genuine collectors. John over at The Castle comes to mind, but most (I think) have other motives.

    So…

    Question #1:  Motivation? I’m genuinely curious, BTW. I’ve bought guns for decades. Being one of them paranoid “prepper” types my interest begins at home.

    Question #2: Numbers? I have more than one SKS, for example.

    Question #3: Ammo, how much is enough?

    I dunno, in the current climate it is perhaps better NOT to discuss such things. OTOH if we’re lucky Jonn will be laughing his ass off at folks trying to bust him, and he’ll give us a warning.

    ETA: Question #4: How will the MSM portray you if…. Coupla comments made me wonder (I give a shit) so I added THIS question. Being a ‘Nam vet I’ve heard it before.

  • Travels With Ponsie – Wherein An Old Sailor Makes a Road Trip South

    With apologies to John Steinbeck.

    “We need a vacation”, The Wife explained. “We’ll head down to Florida for Christmas and New Years and bask on some warm sunny beaches instead of freezing up here on the ridge in West Virginia”, she elaborated.

    Murphy was ready too… Much more below the break.

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