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Day Two of the Obama Administration. Still no rainbows, much less the gold-farting Unicorn I was promised. No bailout checks, either. Apparently, because I bought a home I could afford with a dull boring old conventional mortgage and have some money in the bank I'm expected to help people who live in nicer homes with nicer stuff than I have stay in their nicer homes and keep their nicer stuff, while I sell off guns to pay the tax bill. Heh. I just realized this was all on purpose. The Brady Bunch arranged this, in order get us gun-owners to liquidate our holdings in order to foot the bill so that over-extended yuppies could maintain their lifestyles. How diabolically clever! Bassids! -the Armorer
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A sign that the mailing list you're on is, um, rather extensive, and perhaps a little overly broad.
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This one is rather more like it.
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We really aren't off the grid (yet) but we certainly got off the bus of the cultural mainstream. As each year goes by, I understand my father's movie, TV, and reading habits more and more. Looking over the Oscar nominees this year, I find that we've not seen, nor are we interested in seeing, any of the Best Picture nominees. I did see "Tropic Thunder" which netted Robert Downey Jr a Best Supporting Actor nod, and Dark Knight, ditto for Heath Ledger (whose estate is where I would put the statue) but we *have* seen, and own, all three of the contenders in Best Animated Feature, Bolt, Wall-E, and Kung-Fu Panda. Bolt actually made SWWBO cry, and I liked it a lot, but I dunno, I really like that rascally robot in Wall-E, too. I saw Iron Man, which got a few technical nods. Ditto Hellboy II, which got a spot in Best Makeup. But that's pretty much it. We like cartoons (waving at the Pixar guy who is a regular reader of this space...)! -the Armorer
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Heh. If this were the NYT of today... I might read it more often.
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Via The Thunder Run
...Since 9/11/01 it has become quite the event to have military color guards present the colors and be present during the singing of the National Anthem at sporting events of all kinds, and at Super Bowl XLIII this will also take place. So to say I was surprised when I received this email from a distraught Marine Mom would be an understatement:
What? The Super Bowl won’t let the military color guard stay and watch the big game? Yes you read that right.
READ MORE
David M
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Heh. The Salute to Heroes inaugural ball. Just about the largest concentration of Holders of the Medal of Honor in any given year. There were, I believe, 48 of them present, pretty much the entire contingent who can still travel easily. This is an Inaugural Event that dates back to President Eisenhower. President Bush made it. So did President Clinton. President Bush the Elder. President Reagan. President Carter. 14 inagurations since 1953, when the Ball was established, one of the largest gatherings of true heroes in the country, and during a war, to boot, and all of them had a President stop by. A gathering of veterans from many wars, including the one on-going, there were a lot of people present who put their lives on the line for this nation and its Constitution. Oh, wait - this year, this inauguration, there was no President who stopped by. For the first time in the history of the Ball, the person who, if history is any guide, will be handing out at least one Medal of Honor to a hero or their grieving family, didn't have time to drop by and say hello. The Commander in Chief - who did make it to some of the service-specific Balls, to be sure, didn't make it to the one full of people who laid it on the line in ways most of us can only imagine, and vaguely.
Mr. Obama doesn't have much experience with the military, which in some respects may be a good thing, as it will allow him a different perspective. But for someone who hearkened back to a lot of history in his inauguration speech, he sure missed a chance to shake hands with a *lot* of history at the Salute To Heroes. His staff failed him there. And yes, shame on him if he made the deliberate decision to forgo that particular Ball. Your mileage may vary. -the Armorer
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Day Two of the Obama Administration. Still no rainbows, much less the gold-farting Unicorn I was promised. No bailout checks, either. Apparently, because I bought a home I could afford with a dull boring old conventional mortgage and have some money in the bank I'm expected to help people who live in nicer homes with nicer stuff than I have stay in their nicer homes and keep their nicer stuff, while I sell off guns to pay the tax bill. Heh. I just realized this was all on purpose. The Brady Bunch arranged this, in order get us gun-owners to liquidate our holdings in order to foot the bill so that over-extended yuppies could maintain their lifestyles. How diabolically clever! Bassids! -the Armorer
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A sign that the mailing list you're on is, um, rather extensive, and perhaps a little overly broad.
There. You've been warned. Um, if you're reading this place for your local Kabul News and Weather, I better get some better sources of data! -the ArmorerKMTC to conduct mortar testing today
KABUL, Afghanistan - The Kabul Military Training Center will be conducting mortar testing between 10 a.m. and noon today at the KMTC weapons ranges. People should expect to hear explosions during this time.
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This one is rather more like it.
-the ArmorerCoalition forces disrupt IED network in Zabul
KABUL, Afghanistan - Coalition forces killed six armed Taliban militants and detained one suspected militant during an operation to disrupt the Taliban's foreign fighter and roadside bomb network in Zabul province Wednesday.
In Daychopan District, approximately 150 km northeast of Kandahar City, Coalition forces targeted a Taliban commander wanted for his ties to the roadside bombing network along Highway One and recent attacks against Coalition forces in Zabul province. He is also known to traffic foreign fighters into the region.
As Coalition forces prepared to search the targeted compound, they gave specific instructions for all individuals to exit peacefully. Armed militants from surrounding compounds responded to these instructions by engaging Coalition forces with small-arms fire. Coalition forces returned fire, killing five armed militants during the engagement, while protecting 23 women and 31 children.
During the skirmish one armed militant exited a building and took up a fighting position on a nearby hill, engaging the Coalition forces from behind large rocks. Unable to neutralize the threat with small-fire and while taking effective enemy fire, Coalition forces engaged the one militant with precision air strikes, killing him.
A search of the targeted compound revealed multiple AK-47s and other weapons. Coalition forces confiscated the weapons to prevent future use by militants.
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We really aren't off the grid (yet) but we certainly got off the bus of the cultural mainstream. As each year goes by, I understand my father's movie, TV, and reading habits more and more. Looking over the Oscar nominees this year, I find that we've not seen, nor are we interested in seeing, any of the Best Picture nominees. I did see "Tropic Thunder" which netted Robert Downey Jr a Best Supporting Actor nod, and Dark Knight, ditto for Heath Ledger (whose estate is where I would put the statue) but we *have* seen, and own, all three of the contenders in Best Animated Feature, Bolt, Wall-E, and Kung-Fu Panda. Bolt actually made SWWBO cry, and I liked it a lot, but I dunno, I really like that rascally robot in Wall-E, too. I saw Iron Man, which got a few technical nods. Ditto Hellboy II, which got a spot in Best Makeup. But that's pretty much it. We like cartoons (waving at the Pixar guy who is a regular reader of this space...)! -the Armorer
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Heh. If this were the NYT of today... I might read it more often.
H/t, Jim C. -the ArmorerWhen men get in the habit of helping themselves to the property of others, they cannot easily be cured of it.
— The New York Times, in a 1909 editorial opposing the very first income tax
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Via The Thunder Run
...Since 9/11/01 it has become quite the event to have military color guards present the colors and be present during the singing of the National Anthem at sporting events of all kinds, and at Super Bowl XLIII this will also take place. So to say I was surprised when I received this email from a distraught Marine Mom would be an understatement:
My youngest Marine called me this morning. In the course of the conversation he made mention of being part of the Color Guard for the ceremonies at the Super Bowl. He has been part of other Color Guards at other games and has been able to enjoy the entire game after presenting the Colors. HOWEVER, this will not be the case this time. The 12 man/women color guard will be presenting the Colors and then will be escorted out of the stadium and therefore not allowed to see the game. Steven and the 11 others are quite upset about this and have asked that I see if I could contact someone and have that changed.
What? The Super Bowl won’t let the military color guard stay and watch the big game? Yes you read that right.
READ MORE
David M
****************************
Heh. The Salute to Heroes inaugural ball. Just about the largest concentration of Holders of the Medal of Honor in any given year. There were, I believe, 48 of them present, pretty much the entire contingent who can still travel easily. This is an Inaugural Event that dates back to President Eisenhower. President Bush made it. So did President Clinton. President Bush the Elder. President Reagan. President Carter. 14 inagurations since 1953, when the Ball was established, one of the largest gatherings of true heroes in the country, and during a war, to boot, and all of them had a President stop by. A gathering of veterans from many wars, including the one on-going, there were a lot of people present who put their lives on the line for this nation and its Constitution. Oh, wait - this year, this inauguration, there was no President who stopped by. For the first time in the history of the Ball, the person who, if history is any guide, will be handing out at least one Medal of Honor to a hero or their grieving family, didn't have time to drop by and say hello. The Commander in Chief - who did make it to some of the service-specific Balls, to be sure, didn't make it to the one full of people who laid it on the line in ways most of us can only imagine, and vaguely.
Mr. Obama doesn't have much experience with the military, which in some respects may be a good thing, as it will allow him a different perspective. But for someone who hearkened back to a lot of history in his inauguration speech, he sure missed a chance to shake hands with a *lot* of history at the Salute To Heroes. His staff failed him there. And yes, shame on him if he made the deliberate decision to forgo that particular Ball. Your mileage may vary. -the Armorer
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*A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires. Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute. Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is. The UAVs we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now. Of course, now I have to call them UAS's, because someone got a Legion of Merit for the name change.Anyway, I call the post H&I Fires because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to that particular topic. Another term of art that might be appropriate is Free Fire Zone.
I wasn't all that impressed with Wall-E. Could be because I get turned off by some of the "ADULTS ARE RUINING THE WORLD!!!" messages delivered in movies like Wall-E and Happy Feet. There's some truth to it, but I also think it's telling the kids that Mom and Dad are bad people if they don't exercise constantly, live green, avoid petroleum products and recycle everything.
Anyway... I loved Benjamin Button. LOVED LOVED LOVED it. I hope they clean up!!
I think Tom Cruise got gyped- he was GREAT in Tropic Thunder. So great that most people who didn't know he was in the movie didn't even realize it was him unless they read the credits.
I didn't realize Bolt was out in DVD yet.
Bummer.
Whatever happened to fire and maneuver?
Unless he's holed up in the Afghan equivalent of Captain Jack's Stronghold, that should be a squad mission, max.
Oh and that nonsense about the color guard not being allowed to watch the Super Bowl is just unconscionable.
Yet, in my home of New York City we felt dandy about giving Steinbrenner and all the rich Yankee goons billions of dollars for their new stadiums. But, they can't afford housing for the almost 8,000 homeless veterans in our city, they're cutting funding to the schools and police forces...
It's so sad how our nation at one time saw taxes as the enemy and now see them as a birth right (or should I say "birth curse").
On the bailout note though: just going off the original $700 billion that was dished off to banks and those that loaned money to unemployed morons with no ability to even pretend to pay it back, they were to give a piece of it to every man, woman and child in America that would be $2,290.00 per person or $9160.00 for a family of four.
If they were really concerned about helping citizens, then returning their money in this fashion instead of syphoning wealth to their campaign donors would seem the best course of action.