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

Category: Who knows

  • James Ring

    James Ring

    Someone sent us their work on this James Ring, who passed away on July 18, 2017. His obituary read;

    After graduating from Rosedale High School in KCK, Jim enlisted in the USMC where he proudly served his country during the Korean Conflict and the Viet Nam War, earning a Navy Congressional Medal of Honor. He rose through the ranks and retired as a Master Sargent in 1979.

    A search of the Medal of Honor awardees failed to turn up his name, so we got his records;

    He didn’t join the Marine Corps until 1956, so he missed the Korean War by three years. He went to Vietnam in 1967 and again in 1970, he earned a Combat Action Ribbon, but no Medal of Honor.

    I’m chalking this up to family confusion, I’m pretty sure that a Master Sergeant with twenty years of honorable service wouldn’t leave his family to clean up this mess. So I’m not calling this stolen valor, we’re correcting the historical record. I wish only the best for the grieving family.

  • 21 August 2017

    Sorry for the delay in posting this article. I ended up spending substantially more time on the road today than originally planned.

    They say a picture’s worth 1000 words. So for the purists out there, here ya go.

    Taken IVO Sumter, SC, approx 1844 UCT

    Ausgezeichnet.

    I can’t claim credit for the photo – mine didn’t turn out that well.  An in-law took this one.

    The next total eclipse visible in the USA will occur in a bit less than 7 years – on Monday, 8 April 2024. That one will sweep SW to NE across the US, starting at the Rio Grande NW of Laredo, TX, and passing through San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth, Little Rock, small portions of OK and MI, rural Missouri and Illinois, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Burlington (VT), northern NH, and Northern ME. Totality will also be visible in parts of Mexico and eastern Canada.

    If you missed this one, see the next one if at all possible. Yes, it’s a pain. But it’s well worth it.

     

    (C’mon – once you saw the photo, you had to know that particular tune would be featured in this article. [smile])

  • Young Min Burkett; Texas judge is not a US citizen

    Young Min Burkett; Texas judge is not a US citizen

    Bobo sends us a link from Corpus Christi, Texas where folks discovered that one of their municipal judges wasn’t a citizen. Young Min Burkett was placed on unpaid lave and given 90 days to get her US citizenship before she could return to the bench;

    “She’s a great lady. She’s a hard worker. Very smart. Very, I mean, just great person, but because she doesn’t have that qualification, you know, unfortunately, we had to tell her that she couldn’t, be removed from the bench and she could not serve,” [Lucy Rubio, chairman of the Municipal Court Committee] says.

    Rubio says it’s city policy and state law, but doesn’t know how human resources missed the fact that Burkett isn’t a citizen. Rubio agrees with the unpaid leave, but doesn’t question any of the judge’s rulings.

    “She’s a very fair lady. I’ve gotten no complaints from her. Everybody that has worked with her says she’s very pleasant. She’s a hard working individual and would rule very fairly,” Rubio says.

    So, Burkett couldn’t vote, but somehow she ran for office.

    UPDATE: She’s returned to her job.

    After being removed from the bench in May, Burkett was given 90 days to obtain her citizenship. Burkett successfully applied for an expedited decision and became a citizen 51 days later.

    “Although I lacked one requirement, now I am qualified,” Burkett told the council members.

    Community and council comments on Burkett’s citizenship has been mixed.

    Some contend it was the city’s fault for hiring Burkett to the approximately $98,000-position without checking her qualifications.

    Still…

  • The “Disco Decade”? Yes – and No.

    Longtime readers know that Jonn tolerates an occasional “walkabout” from me on various and sundry subjects.  Well, consider yourself warned.  Here comes another.

    . . .

    The 1970s are considered by many  a “lost decade” in popular music.  And in truth, the 1970s did give us that abomination called “disco” – which IMO indeed royally polluted the popular music scene for much of the decade.  Derision for that is IMO deserved.

    Still, the decade wasn’t musically a total loss.  Besides those musicians who sold their souls for a quick buck in the disco/dance craze, many other artists were making some memorable music.

    Here’s some of what IMO is that decade’s better music – none of which is disco – at one song per year, along with a few comments on each.  I’ve intentionally omitted songs from that decade I’ve featured here in previous articles.  There’s plenty more from each year worth listening to.

    Without further ado:  yer 1970s non-disco popular musical sampler.

    . . .

    1970:  Mississippi Queen (Mountain)  – inspired when Corky Laing (later to become Mountain’s drummer) saw a Southern beauty wearing a near see-thru dress during a power failure at a gig on Nantucket Island – and pulled out all the stops (with a hour-long drum solo) to keep her dancing.  The song is one of two (along with BOC’s Don’t Fear the Reaper) responsible for making the cowbell a fixture in rock music.

    1971:  Riders on the Storm (Doors) – the Doors’ final recording, and the final Doors single released in Jim Morrison’s lifetime.  Hella good finale.

    1972:  Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple)  – the lyrics literally tell the story of a fire, stared by “some stupid with a flare gun”, at a Frank Zappa concert in Switzerland in Dec 1971.  The song’s intro is gripping – I still remember where I was the first time I heard it.

    1973:  Time (Pink Floyd) – from Dark Side of the Moon.  Perhaps the best (and my favorite) track on the album.

    1974:  Free Man in Paris (Joni Mitchell) – well before she became Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter, Joni was one helluva good singer/songwriter.  One of her best tunes.

    1975:  Rock and Roll All Nite (Kiss) – the lads could rock. From the live album that did a great deal to establish them as major stars.

    1976:  Lido Shuffle (Boz Scaggs) – an absolutely great tune from his greatest album, Silk Degrees.

    1977:  Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett) – hard call between this and another great Buffett tune from the same year (and title tune of the album containing both), Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes.  Pretty sure most of us can identify with either tune.

    1978:  Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits) – from their debut album.  Introduced a guy named Mark Knopfler, who plays a fair guitar.  (smile)

    1979:  Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) (Neil Young) – regardless of his politics, when he wanted to the man could flat-out rock.  One of his best.

    . . .

    OK, that’s all for today.  Time to head back to the ‘res.

  • Canadians donate to widow

    We discussed Prom Minister Trudy Trudeau’s US$8 million gift to Gitmo grad Omar Khadr last week. It turns out that not all Canadians agree with the payment to the terrorist who killed US soldier Christopher Speer. According to Huffington Post, a radio host has attracted donors who are giving money to the soldier’s widow, Tabitha Speer and her two children Taryn and Tanner. More than two thousand donors have contributed $134,000;

    Ottawa-based talk-radio host Brian Lilley, co-founder of right-wing Rebel Media, who started the fundraising campaign, said he shared the anger of many Canadians over the settlement and wanted to channel the outrage into something positive.

    “It’s trying to show generosity out of a political situation,” Lilley said.

    […]

    The current campaign aims to raise $1 million over a month. Donors who give at least $2,500 will have their names engraved on a “solidarity” plaque that will be sent to Speer but most donated amounts range from $10 to $100. Lilley could not say how many donors were from the United States.

    Thanks to Chief Tango for the link.

  • CMP reunites Pat Farmer with his rifle

    CMP reunites Pat Farmer with his rifle

    Dave sends us a link from Buckeye Firearms Association which tells the story of Pat Farmer who, thanks to the efforts of the Civilian Marksmanship Program, was reunited with his basic training M-1 Garand #4305638 56 years after he left the rifle in basic training. It seems like most of us, he kept every little piece of paper from his Marine Corps years and he found a hand receipt for the rifle in his box of stuff. He contacted the CMP to see if it had passed through through their hands;

    In October 2013, he contacted CMP customer service and was put in touch with Jennifer Smith, the serial number/inventory clerk. To Pat’s amazement, he soon learned that the very same rifle he used in boot camp was being stored at the CMP facility, but was still Army property. Unable to distribute the rifle until the Army formally turned it over to the CMP, Jennifer informed Pat that it may take some time until he’s able to see his rifle again.
    […]

    Then, a little over three years later on March 20, 2017, true to her word, Jennifer contacted Pat and told him the Army had released more rifles – including his.

    After a short period of processing and grading, on April 24, 2017, Jennifer contacted Pat again, asking him to send in his paperwork so he could, after 56 years, be issued his rifle again.

    Finally – a few weeks later, on May 8, 2017, Pat was reunited with M1 Garand #4305638.

    Mr Farmer says he found a piece of tape in the trigger guard marked with his name and 500 yard “dope” after all these years. He says that, after firing off a few rounds for old time’s sake, he’ll store it to pass on to his progeny.

  • Capotorto Vitantonio; suicide by parachute

    Time reports that skydiver, Capotorto Vitantonio, 27 years old, an Italian national left a video message for his wife that he wasn’t going to open his parachute on his 13,500 foot jump at Skydive DeLand in Florida last Tuesday. She arrived too late at the airport to stop him and he kept his promise.

    Before Vitantonio’s fatal jump, his wife Costanza Zitellini, 25, ran into the hanger and told employees not to let her husband go up in a plane, according to the report.

    Zitellini said she received a video message from Vitantonio telling her that he was “not going to pull the cord and that he was going somewhere wonderful.”

    A Skydive DeLand employee told police that the plane had already taken off, but she immediately radioed the plane and told the crew not to let Zitellini jump. It was too late.

    Mike Johnston, the general manager, told The News-Journal that Zitellini’s message came just “moments” after he jumped.

    Both Vitantonio and Zitellini worked for United Parachute Technologies in DeLand.

  • China establishes base in Djibouti

    China is sending troops to it’s new “support base” in East Africa in the nation of Djibouti according to the Telegraph;

    China started building its base in Djibouti just over a year ago.

    It is stationed just a few miles from a US camp, and France and Japan also have bases in the nation, which is about the size of Wales.

    A report by China’s official Xinhua news agency said the decision to set up the base was “made by the two countries after friendly negotiations”.

    The report added: “The base will ensure China’s performance of missions, such as escorting, peace-keeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and west Asia.

    “The base will also be conducive to overseas tasks including military cooperation, joint exercises, evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese and emergency rescue, as well as jointly maintaining security of international strategic seaways.”

    Stars & Stripes reports that China is currently engaged in live fire exercises in preparation for training with the Russians in the Mediterranean.

    In a demonstration of the Chinese navy’s expanding global reach, the country’s latest-generation warships conducted live-firing drills in the Mediterranean Sea this week while en route to joint exercises with the Russian navy, the defense ministry said Wednesday.

    The destroyer Hefei, frigate Yuncheng and support ship Luomahu took part in Monday’s drills involving the ship’s deck guns and small arms, the ministry said in a notice on its website.

    If I remember correctly, Tom Clancy predicted this in one of his last novels before he passed – that China would establish bases in Africa. They also have a sizable corporate presence in South America which will eventually require military support.