Today I received the above hit from a member of the Army. This soldier was checking out Friday's "The Meaning of Memorial Day" post. To his reader I have the following message; all of us here at the RWE household thank you for your service. We know that your sacrifices ensure our freedom, and we are eternally grateful.Monday, May 31, 2010
Government Visit
Today I received the above hit from a member of the Army. This soldier was checking out Friday's "The Meaning of Memorial Day" post. To his reader I have the following message; all of us here at the RWE household thank you for your service. We know that your sacrifices ensure our freedom, and we are eternally grateful.
Memorial Day
Happy Memorial Day to all. Again, as you go about your Memorial Day activities, spare a thought for those who gave everything for our freedom, and those who continue to do so at home and abroad.
P.S. There will be a slight change in the posting schedule this week. Since Tuesday will be the start of the work week for most of us, the Joke of the Week will move to Tuesday, Patriots and Heroes will move to Thursday and Global Warming Wednesday will remain the same.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
The Meaning of Memorial Day
With the start of another Memorial Day weekend, I want to remind everyone what this long weekend is really about. I probably should have written this post sooner, apparently some have already forgotten.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Plumbing Turns Political
Last night I was doing some DIY plumbing, apparently no one ever told my wife that when you water your plants in the sink, you should be careful about the loose potting soil going down the drain. With this project, and the aftermath, fresh in mind this morning, I came across this little beauty, and I just had to share. Have a Great Memorial Day weekend.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Memorial Day: The Chosen One Style (I Mean The Chosen One Has No Style)
Tip O' the Hat to Ray Schneider over at Political Brambles for this. I could not have said it better myself.
SEE HERE "... The truth is that no president has missed the Arlington ceremony on Memorial Day since 1992. ..." Obama is a relatively young president. He's never served in the military. In fact he's never really worked for a living in anything most of us would recognize as a real job. He has about the same sense of the military as Bill Clinton I'd expect. It's a symptom of the liberal leftist, collectivist mindset. They all view the military as sort of a lower form of life. So is it really any surprise? I don't think so, but coming from a military family virtually every member of which has served the country, it pisses me off! This guy leaves no opportunity to denigrate America, no rock unturned. No enemy is so wrong as not to be worth listening to and no friend so good as not to be criticized. In truth this president is a great disappointment. I didn't expect anything different since I thought he was an empty suit from the get go. Everything he has done since has pretty much confirmed it. This is just the latest travesty in a long list. November Is Coming!
SEE HERE "... The truth is that no president has missed the Arlington ceremony on Memorial Day since 1992. ..." Obama is a relatively young president. He's never served in the military. In fact he's never really worked for a living in anything most of us would recognize as a real job. He has about the same sense of the military as Bill Clinton I'd expect. It's a symptom of the liberal leftist, collectivist mindset. They all view the military as sort of a lower form of life. So is it really any surprise? I don't think so, but coming from a military family virtually every member of which has served the country, it pisses me off! This guy leaves no opportunity to denigrate America, no rock unturned. No enemy is so wrong as not to be worth listening to and no friend so good as not to be criticized. In truth this president is a great disappointment. I didn't expect anything different since I thought he was an empty suit from the get go. Everything he has done since has pretty much confirmed it. This is just the latest travesty in a long list. November Is Coming!Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Global Warming Wednesday
Last night I had an interesting conversation with several commenters on a libby blog I sometimes read. The thrust of the article was about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but some of the denizens and I got into a discussion about the power crisis. The Chosen One is going on about alternative energy sources, specifically, you guessed it,wind and solar. "The president has long said renewable sources of energy, like wind and solar, will play a vital role in the nation's energy future. He is asking Congress for $9 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects[.]" We discussed these topics to some degree but here is the gist of my argument.
Wind and solar do not pencil out, at least not without huge government subsidies. I know it will seem anathema to any and all conservatives for me to say this, but not all subsidies are a bad thing on their face. The problem with these technologies, and the attendant subsidies, is that without the government, or some other suitably rich entity, these technologies are not likely to be cost effective in my lifetime, if ever. Additionally, they are unlikely to solve our energy needs, ever. For starters the requirements of where you can put the blasted things is limited, and the complexes large and/or sprawling. Add that to the price gap to break even, and they are just not viable solutions. Geothermal and tidal power production are even more limited in suitable locations. On top of all of that, you cannot even spit without filling out, in triplicate, an environmental impact statement, and god forbid a few birds with lousy eyesight get hacked up in the blades. The Green Shirts would have you believe that this is worse than The Holocaust. To them I say, you are the ones that want non-polluting power, to get that, some birds are going to have to die, and some dirt roads are going to need to be built, you can not have it both ways, pick one, sit down, and shut up while the adults who are able to think rationally decide what to do.
So solar, wind, tidal and geothermal are out, at least for the time being. Nuclear power could solve most if not all of our power needs, but it too has issues of its own. The first issue with nuclear is the staggering PR problem. Most of the bad press for nuke plants is fear mongering on the part of the Green Shirts, and the Three Mile Island disaster. TMI happened over three decades ago, and since there has not been a nuclear accident, in the western world, since. To some that merely means that we are due, but in all of the history of American Nuclear power, we have TMI and the SL-1 accident in Idaho Falls, ID. Currently there are, or will be within ten years, roughly eighty-five American nuclear submarines of all classes, and thirteen aircraft carriers, each with a nuclear reactor, and some of the carriers have two, and thirty-three nuclear power plants, many with multiple reactors. If you throw in the addition test reactors and whatnot, you are looking at two hundred to two hundred and fifty reactors. There have been two accidents. Seems like a relatively safe technology to me, at least in that regard. The other big problem is what to do with the poisonous sludge left over from producing the power. That is easily solved, though slightly more expensive, to reprocess the goo back into nuclear fuel. This would reduce the amount of waste by around ninety percent for fuel rods, and sixty percent for other byproducts. Thanks to that idiot Ford, the even bigger idiot Carter, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, this is no longer viable.
Unusually, I have no solution to offer. I despise pointing out issues without giving at least a hint of a way to solve it, but in this case it will take someone much smarter than me to solve the problem. What I do know is, the Luddite Paradise will not work, and the lefties do not understand, nor have the stomach for, the die off of millions (billions?) or humans. I also know that the "Green Energy Sources" will not fix the problem either. Some would say, why change anything? Petroleum is too useful a resource for us to be wasting it as a fuel, especially when we can not replace it once it is gone. Coal might work, but I do not know if "Clean Coal" is viable or a pipe-dream, but it will also not last forever. Resources are finite, even nuclear fuel, an argument for recycling the stuff, so we Must either find a new technology, or new stocks of resources. Can you say asteroid mining? This definitely feeds my belief that the future, and salvation, of mankind lies not just here on Earth, but in the stars. That however, is a post for another day.
Wind and solar do not pencil out, at least not without huge government subsidies. I know it will seem anathema to any and all conservatives for me to say this, but not all subsidies are a bad thing on their face. The problem with these technologies, and the attendant subsidies, is that without the government, or some other suitably rich entity, these technologies are not likely to be cost effective in my lifetime, if ever. Additionally, they are unlikely to solve our energy needs, ever. For starters the requirements of where you can put the blasted things is limited, and the complexes large and/or sprawling. Add that to the price gap to break even, and they are just not viable solutions. Geothermal and tidal power production are even more limited in suitable locations. On top of all of that, you cannot even spit without filling out, in triplicate, an environmental impact statement, and god forbid a few birds with lousy eyesight get hacked up in the blades. The Green Shirts would have you believe that this is worse than The Holocaust. To them I say, you are the ones that want non-polluting power, to get that, some birds are going to have to die, and some dirt roads are going to need to be built, you can not have it both ways, pick one, sit down, and shut up while the adults who are able to think rationally decide what to do.
So solar, wind, tidal and geothermal are out, at least for the time being. Nuclear power could solve most if not all of our power needs, but it too has issues of its own. The first issue with nuclear is the staggering PR problem. Most of the bad press for nuke plants is fear mongering on the part of the Green Shirts, and the Three Mile Island disaster. TMI happened over three decades ago, and since there has not been a nuclear accident, in the western world, since. To some that merely means that we are due, but in all of the history of American Nuclear power, we have TMI and the SL-1 accident in Idaho Falls, ID. Currently there are, or will be within ten years, roughly eighty-five American nuclear submarines of all classes, and thirteen aircraft carriers, each with a nuclear reactor, and some of the carriers have two, and thirty-three nuclear power plants, many with multiple reactors. If you throw in the addition test reactors and whatnot, you are looking at two hundred to two hundred and fifty reactors. There have been two accidents. Seems like a relatively safe technology to me, at least in that regard. The other big problem is what to do with the poisonous sludge left over from producing the power. That is easily solved, though slightly more expensive, to reprocess the goo back into nuclear fuel. This would reduce the amount of waste by around ninety percent for fuel rods, and sixty percent for other byproducts. Thanks to that idiot Ford, the even bigger idiot Carter, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, this is no longer viable.
Unusually, I have no solution to offer. I despise pointing out issues without giving at least a hint of a way to solve it, but in this case it will take someone much smarter than me to solve the problem. What I do know is, the Luddite Paradise will not work, and the lefties do not understand, nor have the stomach for, the die off of millions (billions?) or humans. I also know that the "Green Energy Sources" will not fix the problem either. Some would say, why change anything? Petroleum is too useful a resource for us to be wasting it as a fuel, especially when we can not replace it once it is gone. Coal might work, but I do not know if "Clean Coal" is viable or a pipe-dream, but it will also not last forever. Resources are finite, even nuclear fuel, an argument for recycling the stuff, so we Must either find a new technology, or new stocks of resources. Can you say asteroid mining? This definitely feeds my belief that the future, and salvation, of mankind lies not just here on Earth, but in the stars. That however, is a post for another day.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
American Patrot/Hero of the Week
Head east from Carthage on Mississippi 16 toward Philadelphia . After a few miles a sign says you're in Edinburg . It's a good thing the sign's there, because there's no other way to tell.
On June 15, 1919, Van T. Barfoot was born in Edinburg -- probably didn't make much news back then.
Twenty-five years later, on May 23, 1944, near Carano, Italy, Van T. Barfoot, who had enlisted in the Army in 1940, set out to flank German machine gun positions from which fire was coming down on his fellow soldiers. He advanced through a minefield, took out three enemy machine gun positions and returned with 17 prisoners of war.
If that wasn't enough for a day's work, he later took on and destroyed three German tanks sent to retake the machine gun positions.
That probably didn't make much news either, given the scope of the war, but it did earn Van T. Barfoot, who retired as a colonel after also serving in Korea and Vietnam , a Congressional Medal of Honor.
What did make news last week was a neighborhood association's quibble with how the 90-year-old veteran chose to fly the American flag outside his suburban Virginia home. Seems the rules said a flag could be flown on a house-mounted bracket, but, for decorum, items such as Barfoot's 21-foot flagpole were unsuitable.
He had been denied a permit for the pole, erected it anyway and was facing court action if he didn't take it down. Since the story made national TV, the neighborhood association has rethought its position and agreed to indulge this old hero who dwells among them.
"In the time I have left I plan to continue to fly the American flag without interference," Barfoot told The Associated Press. As well he should.
And if any of his neighbors still takes a notion to contest him, they might want to read his Medal of Honor citation. It indicates he's not real good at backing down.
This 1944 Medal of Honor citation, listed with the National Medal of Honor Society, is for Second Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry:
"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy, With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17. Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun. He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of point blank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers."
On June 15, 1919, Van T. Barfoot was born in Edinburg -- probably didn't make much news back then.
Twenty-five years later, on May 23, 1944, near Carano, Italy, Van T. Barfoot, who had enlisted in the Army in 1940, set out to flank German machine gun positions from which fire was coming down on his fellow soldiers. He advanced through a minefield, took out three enemy machine gun positions and returned with 17 prisoners of war.
If that wasn't enough for a day's work, he later took on and destroyed three German tanks sent to retake the machine gun positions.
That probably didn't make much news either, given the scope of the war, but it did earn Van T. Barfoot, who retired as a colonel after also serving in Korea and Vietnam , a Congressional Medal of Honor.
What did make news last week was a neighborhood association's quibble with how the 90-year-old veteran chose to fly the American flag outside his suburban Virginia home. Seems the rules said a flag could be flown on a house-mounted bracket, but, for decorum, items such as Barfoot's 21-foot flagpole were unsuitable.
He had been denied a permit for the pole, erected it anyway and was facing court action if he didn't take it down. Since the story made national TV, the neighborhood association has rethought its position and agreed to indulge this old hero who dwells among them.
"In the time I have left I plan to continue to fly the American flag without interference," Barfoot told The Associated Press. As well he should.
And if any of his neighbors still takes a notion to contest him, they might want to read his Medal of Honor citation. It indicates he's not real good at backing down.
This 1944 Medal of Honor citation, listed with the National Medal of Honor Society, is for Second Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry:
"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy, With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17. Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun. He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot's extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of point blank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers."
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