Category: “Your Tax Dollars At Work”

  • Pentagon unveils new cartoon to recruit for the military.

    Pentagon unveils new cartoon to recruit for the military.

    Several people sent in this article and I have no idea what to make of it.  I hope there is some backstory that explains what this is about.

    This is being explained as part of the 5 Sided Insane Asylum’s new website update.

    According to the Pentagon, the video is intended to serve as an entry point into the rest of the website, which “finally matches up with the way Americans view news and content online” by providing more visuals and interactive content.
    “All year, the DOD’s #KnowYourMil campaign has been working to let the public know that our service members are no different from you,” the website states. “And while military jargon can be confusing to ‘civilians’ — also known as people with no military connection — the public can still be engaged without needing a translator to decipher that jargon.”
    I have no idea what they paid for this… thing.
  • All Hands!! Attention On Deck!!! Listen Up!!!!

    You should all be aware that the “Me Too” movement by women regarding sexual harassment and misconduct started about one year ago. Furthermore, this next week, there will be an investigation by the FBI as ordered by dTrump, as well as a one week delay on the confirmation vote.

    .https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-judiciary-committee-prepares-to-vote-on-kavanaugh-this-morning-1538134779

    The drama is not over yet, but may be reaching a peak shortly.

    Why? An astrologer would said it has to do with Venus (women) retrograde in Scorpio and square to Saturn in Capricorn, no longer retrograde but moving forward. Capricorn is the control freak sign in the zodiac. Saturn symbolizes structure and authority, which applies to control freaks. I should know. My sister is a Capricorn.

    So we can go with the astrological explanation, or we can take a different and more prosaic viewpoint.  They seem pretty much the same.

    Whether or not you believe in karmic influence is immaterial. Per karmic law, the energy from whatever you do goes out into the Universe and comes back to you nine times over. It ‘s another way of saying ‘What goes around, comes around.’

    Bearing in mind that the Democrat side of the Senate is dead set on controlling everything, the reality is that their control is slipping, and they may know it but refuse to recognize it. However, their behavior is clearly saying ‘we know we are losing control here’. Why else would Pelosi put out a begging letter already?

    Sen. Flake has asked for an investigation and a one-week delay on the vote. Pres. Trump has asked the FBI, as I said, to pursue an investigation.  What will happen next?

    In one week, the SJC will be required to vote ‘Yes” or “No”, like it or not. Nothing will be found impugning Kavanaugh. The “guilty until proven innocent” is as Medieval as you can get, and I once said ‘Do NOT go Medieval on my ass!’  I meant every word of it.

    Therefore, should Mr. Kavanaugh not receive the vote to seat him on the SCOTUS bench, the next candidate is Amy Barrett. 

    Barrett is, as we all know, a Catholic, which means that her view of things like abortion may be even less acceptable than Kavanaugh’s history. The fact that Roe v. Wade, passed in 1967 and tested several times since then, has not yet been overturned is immaterial to them. The first thing they will pounce on, like the fools they are, will be that issue, which in my view is, and for 50+ years has been, a non-issue. To say that it will be automatically overturned is utter nonsense boiling out of pure ignorance.

    By delaying the vote instead of holding it, and letting everyone know that they are the most obnoxious control freaks on the planet, the Democrats are setting themselves up for what can only be termed the most laughable and obnoxious public decision they have ever inflicted on themselves.

    They had a good choice with Kavanaugh, but trumped-up fantasies from “this one time in high school…” have had them chasing themselves and their stubby, wrinkled, little tails in entirely the wrong direction. And now, unless I’m informed otherwise, they will have to vote for someone, whether or not they like it, or leave SCOTUS in an unbalanced and untenable position.  While I realize that there are other candidates waiting in the wings, they and Barrett all have the advantage of witnessing the biggest, and possibly most egregious clown show since Bozo left the circus.

    And frankly, the leftreds and Democraps brought it on themselves.

    “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” : Puck to Oberon, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3, Sc. 2.

    Chin up! It is not over yet.

  • I Am Tired of the Fraud

    Yesterday, a report showed up on one of the weather-related websites that the people of various towns in the province of in Alberta have received snowfalls and the temperature was hovering around 1C (about 32F).

    There was also the news that one of Iceland’s nastier volcanoes appears to be preparing to give the whole planet what-for, because the volcano’s last eruption was in fact 100 years ago, and is long overdue.

    Meantime, the head of IPCC is being chastised for his overuse of luxury travel, jetting from one conference to another, from one important meeting to another, and for the “size” of  his carbon ‘footprint’, never mind his excessive expenditures. In addition, people in the fields of weather and climate are being blocked from meetings that they would normally be able go to, if they have the temerity to question the “belief” system that has become a blatant  attempt to gain control of governments and make them fall in line behind this twaddle.

    This idiocy has, through the auspices of the IPCC, become an expensive and sometimes fatal burden on taxpayers who have no say in the matter, and cannot afford to pay their heating and electric bills in Europe, never mind pay for food, thanks to Angela Merkel’s fumbling attempts to control what ordinary citizens in Europe are allowed to do to simply survive brutal winters.

    The people in charge of this hogwash are arrogant enough to not give a flying fart in space who suffers for their self-centered cupidity. They don’t have to give a shit. They are, somehow, better.

    Well, no, they aren’t. They aren’t better than anyone else. They don’t suffer in the winter, nor do they have to try to choose between food and heat, especially if the ‘heat’ in question is generated by natural gas, a forbidden product. It is so bad in Europe now, especially in Germany, that new coal-fired power plants are being built. Merkel[‘s asinine control freakishness is not in her favor. When Brexit takes place, that will be the chink in the weakening dam, although Theresa May is still facing some opposition from people who are afraid of being independent of the E.U. And we saw someone’s take on that earlier this week.

    The people who are responsible for making these abominably stupid decisions that are detrimental to the very people they supposedly govern are not the kind who will go to a marsh late in an October evening to watch the geese and ducks coming in to land for the night. They don’t produce anything of any use to anyone. They have repeatedly revised and moved the “projected” dates for whatever disaster they deem will occur, so that by the time the goal comes and is passed, they’re dead and no longer responsible for the con job they’ve been foisting on people for many years.

    However, if you disagree with them, and question their chokehold on climate science and the despicable crap that says ‘the world is drastically heating up’ when it ain’t, you are likely to not only be ostracized, but also lose your grants and possibly your position in the field. This is no longer ‘publish or perish’. It is ‘convert or perish’, which means the end of your career if you refuse.

    Remember when I said ‘Do NOT go medieval on my ass!’? Well, that is exactly what is happening now, mostly in Europe. This is as medieval as you can get. It is happening here, also.

    And do these jerks sitting on their pedestals care about the general populace or what really does happen? No, they do not. They only care about how much cash and support they can con out of the naïve and gullible and uninformed.

    The newest claim is that Atlantic hurricane numbers are up, when in fact, records show that they are down. This is why it is bullshit.  It is a con job, a con game and has always been that and nothing more. And our tax money has been going into this charade for far too long.

    Pres. Trump has already slashed climate change funding to the UN, to put that money to work here at home where it is needed.

    If these anxious con artists think they’ll miss out on their luxury travel and lodging accommodations in places like Davros, Switzerland, that’s just a damned shame. They’ll can go hit up Soros for cash. Our money belongs here at home.

    And yes, migration started very early this month, because it is getting cold up there in the Great Frozen North. Why is it cold earlier than usual? Hudson’s Bay did not melt out until late in July.  The so-called Northwest Passage, and access to it, did not clear out this past summer, and students who rented a Russian ship to go see how much “warming” was going on got stuck in the ice.  In addition, we’re in a solar minimum now and have been for some time. The next solar cycle, Cycle 25 was supposed to start months ago and has not. The Sun’s surface is as blank as an egg, no sunspots, but the occasional hole in the corona appears on magnetograms.

    If, as I mentioned yesterday, Iceland’s queen bitch volcano Katla decides to blow – and like any female with a bulging belly, she is long overdue – she may produce nastier and more damaging damaging effects, such as volcanic fog and a volcanic winter, never mind shutting down Iceland’s hydropower system. And the effect of this? Yes, it will go worldwide, and it will happen, regardless.

  • Corey Booker Does Not Know Spartacus

    Mr. Booker made a scene, which some of you may have witnessed if you were watching the hearings for Judge Kavanaugh’s SCOTUS appointment. As Mr. Kavanaugh was leaving under his own power, Booker jumped up and hollered something about ‘Spartacus’, demonstrating both his ignorance of history and his desperate need for attention.

    The Hill has a good article about this, and why it was so important to realize that Mr. Booker is now a genuine twit.  I have copied it to this post, but you can find it also at the link.

    From The Hill regarding Corey Booker’s “Spartacus” episode:

    http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/405685-the-spartacus-moment-in-senate-fuels-troubling-trend-of-theatrics

    It was a moment that would have made actor Kirk Douglas blush. During the hearings into the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, Cory Booker (D-N.J.) announced that he would defy the Senate Judiciary Committee by releasing a nonpublic “committee confidential” document, regardless of the consequences. “This is about the closest I’ll probably ever have in my life to an ‘I am Spartacus’ moment,” he declared, recalling the memorable line spoken by Douglas in the 1960 film.

    First, and foremost, the key to having a “Spartacus moment” is not to declare your own Spartacus moment. Second, you actually have to expose yourself to a lethal threat. It turned out that the document in question already had been released and Booker was informed that it was public before the hearing. However, Booker was right on one point.

    The hearing procedures were questionable and this really was a Spartacus moment. It was just not the one Booker thought it was. He and other Senate Democrats have had a legitimate gripe about the unusually high percentage of material withheld from review and the unilateral use of “committee confidential” markings to control documents. It is troubling to have a largely unknown private lawyer removing hundreds of thousands of documents based on a privilege assertion that has not actually been formally made by the White House.

    Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also had a good point about the Democrats failing to ask for the release of documents and possibly engineering the confrontation in open committee. Yet, in the end, Democrats had the better case about the hearings being substantially different from past hearings in the method and the scope of withheld material. If Democrats had the better argument, it was lost in the atmospherics of the hearing. Indeed, for those lost in the theatrics, the story of Spartacus is instructive as suggested by Booker.

    In history, gladiator turned rebel Spartacus was pursued by not one but two Roman senators turned generals, Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, who wanted to be the next consul of Rome. The point of the war was not just defeating Spartacus and his gladiator army but to be the one credited with defeating him. Crassus succeeded and proclaimed his victory at Capua. Magnus, however, claimed the honor by reaching Rome first, illustrating the danger of Crassus stopping to crucify 6,000 prisoners on the road to Rome as a statement.

    The Kavanaugh hearings were like watching a contest to be consul of Rome. Booker and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who sat next to each other, are viewed as leading contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Like their Roman predecessors, they knew that whoever slayed or injured Kavanaugh would be a celebrated Democratic hero. Harris effectively accused Kavanaugh of perjury, collaboration against special counsel Robert Mueller, and other unsupported misdeeds. Not to be outdone, Booker jumped up to declare himself Spartacus.

    The problem is that someone actually did kill Spartacus. In this case, Kavanaugh walked from the hearing on his own power with a presumed Senate majority of support. It is certainly true that Republicans prevented access to information that might have undermined him, but neither Booker nor Harris made a convincing claim as future consul of the Democratic Party. One moment, however, did leave Booker looking a bit like a consul wannabe. In an uncharacteristic move for the usually mild mannered senator, Booker had a confrontation with reporter Byron Tau, who asked if his Spartacus moment was a political stunt. Tau said Booker told him he was “violating the Constitution by being in his way.”

    That comment was unlikely meant as a real threat, as it is neither within the character nor authority of the senator. Presumably, Booker was referring to the fact that he was on his way to a vote and the speech and debate clause under Article I states that members of both Houses of Congress “shall not be questioned in any other place” when going to and from Congress. However, this is meant to deter the government, not reporters, which is why there is an exception case of “treason, felony and breach of the peace.” Given the grilling over the uncertain constitutional interpretations of Kavanaugh and support of imperial presidential authority, it was a sharply discordant moment. If you are Spartacus, you should not be denouncing reporters like a Roman consul.

    Booker later went on television, trying to reinforce his Spartacus bona fides. He struggled to establish that he was actually breaking Senate rules by releasing other documents. He has now released more than 20 documents uncleared by the Senate Judiciary Committee. It was like claiming to be a retroactive Spartacus after the battle. That could subject Booker to admonishment after a Senate Ethics Committee investigation, still far short of staging crucifixions between on the way to Rome.

    Putting all of the theatrics aside, the Kavanaugh hearings left a troubling and damaging precedent for a process that already lacked substantive content. I have been a critic for years of the modern confirmation hearing, which is largely about senators rather than nominees. The hearings drained what little substance remained in the process. The unilateral denial of documents and theatrics of the opposition left the hearings as little more than a stunt by both parties. There was not a Spartacus to be found but, instead, an overabundance of would- be Roman consuls.

    Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley.

     

     

  • Copycat Recruiting Sites?

    I admit that I am puzzled by the idea of a 3rd party acting as a recruiter for the military, when all you have to do is look up recruiting offices for the various military branches and go see the people there.

    https://www.militarytimes.com/pay-benefits/2018/09/06/feds-shut-down-alleged-copycat-military-recruiting-sites/

    From the article:

    The government has shut down at least eight “copycat” military recruiting websites run by companies accused of using deceptive practices to entice potential recruits into providing their personal information, then selling the information to post-secondary schools.

    According to the Federal Trade Commission’s complaint, the companies’ websites appeared to be official recruiting sites — such as  army.com, armyenlist.comairforceenlist.commarinesenlist.comnavyenlist.com,coastguardentlist.comairguardenlist.comnationalguardenlist.com and armyreserves.com. The companies agreed to give up the domain names and stop the alleged deceptive practices.

    “Those who are considering a military career deserve to have confidence that the recruitment site is legitimate and their personal information will not be misused,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons, in an announcement about the FTC action. “The FTC will take action against any party in the lead generation ecosystem — from sellers to purchasers — that fails to comply with the law.”

    As I said, I’m puzzled by this.  There are military recruiting offices within a very few miles of most of us. In fact, if you’re near NAVSTA Great Lakes, you could probably just call the MEPs people there and apply to join the Navy over the phone. They might even send a driver to pick you up. They graduate recruit classes every week now, from what I’ve been told. Or if you’d rather get the literature and discuss your possibilities, you can find the real recruiters online and pick up the phone.

    For example, call one of these, if you’re really interested:

    Marine Corps Recruiting –

    934-N N Green Bay Rd · (847) 662-0947

    Closed ? Opens 8AM Mon

    U.S. Army Recruiting Office

    932 N Green Bay Rd · (847) 662-5260

    Closed ? Opens 9AM Mon

    US Naval Reserve Recruiting

    2834 Green Bay Rd B · (847) 688-7100

    Or you could simply drive there. There might still be a place downtown in Chicago. Used to be one on South Clark Street, but that’s gone now. They’re scattered all over the place. But the REAL recruiters are the people you should be talking to, not some questionable 3rd party who, as the FTC has indicated, is asking for your personal info and selling it.

    As I said, I cannot imagine what would possess anyone who is even thinking about going into any branch of the military to go through a 3rd party, at all. The real recruiters are the people you should talk to.

  • 24th Marine Expeditionary Heading to Norway for NATO

    https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/09/06/24th-marine-expeditionary-unit-will-head-to-norway-to-join-40000-troops-strong-nato-exercise/

    Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, are slated to participate in one of the largest NATO exercises later this fall hosted by Norway, according to Marine officials.

    The exercise, dubbed Trident Juncture, is one of the largest for NATO in more than a decade and will feature nearly 40,000 troops, over one hundred aircraft and dozens of allied ships — all in close proximity to the Russian border.

    But the extent of the 24th MEU’s participation is currently unknown. Marine officials cited operational security concerns and would not provide any further details. – Article.

    Per the article’s author, the presence of several thousands of US Jarheads appearing in Norway for a joint NATO MEU exercise is likely to upset the digestive systems of the Russian people who occupy the highest seats in the Kremlin. That would be Vlad Putin, and whoever his upper level military officers may be at this time.

    I’m sure they will be watching closely with the best binocs they can get from China. Doesn’t China also make long distance visual equipment for US troops and sailors and GIRines? Maybe we should move manufacture of that stuff home now. I can’t tell, for example, if my glasses are made in Beijing or in the back of the Lenscrafters shop, but I’m sure there is an Oriental connection there somewhere, because plastics!!!

    Just glad to know that they announced it so that we know that they know that we know that they know that we know that they know!!!

  • ACLU Defends The NRA Against Andrew Cuomo’s ‘Blacklisting Campaign’

    NRA
    The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defended the National Rifle Association (NRA) by opposing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s attempts to put the gun advocacy group out of business.

    The ACLU has submitted an amicus brief in federal court, weighing in on the on-going battle between the Democrat Governor and the NRA.

    Wait, what?

    The Daily Caller reports the NRA filed a lawsuit against both Cuomo, and the state’s financial regulatory bureau contending that the agency instituted a “blacklisting campaign” by threatening insurers and other financial institutions that interacted with the organization. The bureau warned that by continuing to do business with the NRA, banks and insurance companies could face regulatory action.

    The NRA has subsequently been deprived of basic insurance and may be “unable to exist as a not-for-profit or pursue its advocacy mission.”

    While the ACLU has disagreed with the NRA on the meaning of the Second Amendment, the friend-of-the-court brief supported the NRA on behalf of the First.

    “Those allegations [made by the NRA] represent a blatant violation of the First Amendment,” the ACLU states. “Although public officials are free to express their opinions and may condemn viewpoints or groups they view as inimical to public welfare, they cannot abuse their regulatory authority to retaliate against disfavored advocacy organizations and to impose burdens on those organizations’ ability to conduct lawful business.”

    Cuomo has been a voracious critic of the NRA and has admitted to “proudly” trying to strong arm the group out of existence.

    “When an organization that is normally on the opposite side from you, joins you in a huge fight against a devout enemy, you know the gun-hating, gun-banning, bullying, anti-Second Amendment, enemies of Freedom are way out of control,” Marion Hammer responded on behalf of the NRA.

    I’m not a litigious type, normally. But I hope, after the NRA wins this court battle its lawyers sue the crap out of Cuomo and New York’s financial regulatory bureau for this egregious misuse of power.

  • Introducing A New and Improved Amphibious Vehicle

    In my search for new ideas from the Dept of Defense, I came across this particularly interesting presentation.

    This is an experimental amphibious vehicle capable of carrying at least 10 personnel in all terrain, including swamps and bogs. Note that the tail, while dragging in the photograph, is quite capable of being used as a means of clearing opposing personnel, and the spikes on the tail can easily be used as cutting edged weapons. The beak up front, on the snout, is at the very least, a lethal weapon in itself, being capable of snapping off limbs and other extruding body parts.

    In addition to this multipupose creation’s uses as a weapon of war, it can reproduce at will as long as there is a male example in the vicinity. At least one dozen offspring can be produced at one go.

    Maintenance of the amphibious all-terrain SNAPR is extremely cost efficient. Fuel consists of frogs, fish and the occasional small bird stupid enough to admire itself in a pond’s surface. Mechanical issues are zero, and the working lifespan of a well-maintained SNAPR is about 25 years.

    All in all, I’d say this is probably the smartest idea yet in armored amphibious/all-terrain transporation.