We Made It

 We are in Fallon, NV, for the World's Championship.  No real problems o the flight, but plenty of problems with hotels.  Calling a hotel and making reservations ain't like it used to be.  If fact, it has been downright problematic.  We've managed to find a pillow for the last two nights, and have reservations at a nice place tomorrow and for the remainder of the trip.

I'm tired.  Running through huge airports ain't no fun.  Whoever assigns gate assignments is a sadistic sonofabitch.

We'll deal with airports again om Monday, but until then, it's Cowboy Fast Draw.

Going Wheels Up

 Belle and I are traveling commercial air tomorrow morning.  The last time I traveled commercial was in 2007.  We'll get to the airport in plenty of time for the bureaucratic nonsense.

I promised her that I would not do anything to embarrass her.  I love flying.  Give me a wing and an engine, and I'm a happy camper.  I have been on military flights where several hundred of my closest friends walk ed hp the back ramp of an aircraft with weapons slung and sat in web seats.  I've flown on Hueys with my feet hanging out of the door.  I have bought a commercial ticket, walked through a fence gate and climbed stairs into the aircraft.

I deplore the TSA.  Back in the day, I referred to them as Ridge's Retards.  Back when Tom Ridge ran DHS.

I haven't flown commercial since 2007.  Tomorrow should be an adventure.

Gen. Milley Testimony Before Congress

Very interesting testimony this morning in the Senate.

Some are saying that Milley threw Biden under the bus, but I'm not sure that is what happened.  Watch for yourself.

FBI Busts FBI Terror Plot

I used to have a lot of respect for the FBI, but over the past five years, not so much.

When the Babylon Bee starts parodying them, they really need to look at their corporate reputation.  It's shattered and needs t be reformed from top to bottom.

If any FBI agent has any self-respect, it's time to start looking for another agency.  

Headlines

 Evidently, Creepy Joe was misunderstood today

Biden Bizarrely (and Falsely) Claims His $3.5 Trillion Spending Agenda Has a Price Tag of ‘Zero’

What he meant was that it wasn't going to cost him anything.  The net impact on his checkbook is zero, so there is that.

If he had really meant that he intends to spend 3.5 Trillion without costing the government any money, then he would be a demented fool. - - Oh, wait.  He is a demented fool.

Brisket

It ain't that hard, guys.  Below, a clip from Young Sheldon about brisket recipes.

It ain't hard guys.  Low and slow is the key to a good brisket.  YouTube will help you  with the cooing.  It is my firm belief that all brisket needs is salt and pepper, and 225F for about 12 hours.  You can add more if you like, but all it needs is salt and pepper.

UPDATE FOR TYPO>  Commenter is right.  It should be 225F.  Fixed above, too.  Cooking at 125 would ruin a good piece of meat.

Inconsistencies

 Does anyone see an inconsistency here?

These are supposed to be the "smart people".  Yet, they can't see the inconsistencies in their day-to-day lives.  It is amazing.  

Exit question:  If YOU are fully vaccinated, how does my vax status affect you in any way?

Psaki and Patty

 I've noticed some online wags are comparing Jen Psaki of the White House to Peppermint Patty of the Peanuts cartoon strip.  I have to admit that there is a passing resemblance, but I think that the comparison is unfair.  To Peppermint Patty.  I remember Patty fondly as an honest, thoughtful friend of Charlie Brown.  Whereas, Psaki is a lying, deceitful caricature of a political spokesperson.

That's funny, right there.  But, the comparison is unfair to Patty.

Crazy

 It's been crazy around here for the past couple of days.  Not bad crazy, just life crazy.

Next week is going to be crazier.  We're leaving or Fallon, NV on Wednesday and we're trying to get life in line so that we can leave on time.  Life is resisting, but I think we have a handle o it.

I'll try to keep you guys updated.

Who Is In Charge?

You may have heard of this debacle on the news, and I admit, I caught parts of it yesterday.  It seems that our president has ceded authority to an un=elected group of handlers.  What is truly alarming is when Boris Johnson days that he'll take a few questions, and our leader quips "Good Luck".  

Joe knows that he is not going to be allowed to answer questions. Which really puts a tidy exclamation mark on the question of who is running things at the White House.  It surely isn't Joe. He's not in charge, even in his  own office.

This is a sad reflection of his leadership qualities.  He knows that he is not in charge.

No, It's Not

 Democrats Agree: Criticizing Our Behavior Is Racist, Sexist, Homophobic

No, it's not.  It's my right.  If you don't want to be called our for dumbass stunts, don't do dumbass things. If you don't want to be in the public eye, become a private citizen.

It is not only our right, it is our duty to criticize elected officials.  To reveal their hypocrisy, to put their deportment in sunshine.  If a person does not want that scrutiny, they should retire into the anonymity of private life.

If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

An Amazing Aviation Story

This is an amazing aviation story.  The pilot managed to put a Boeing 737 down on a levee near New Orleans after losing both engines in a severe thunderstorm.  The passengers didn't get so much s a hangnail.  The aircraft was completely undamaged, except for two destroyed engines.

Did I mention that the pilot in command had only one eye?  The FAA knew about it, but this guy was the type of guy who didn't let something like only one eye stop him.  

After he landed on the levee, and got the passengers out, and the company showed up with new engines, they realized that an adjacent road was originally a WWII bombe runway, so they towed the plane over, cranked the engines and flew it off.

I recall hearing about this story on the evening news and in the papers.

On The Border

 On the border, down near Del Rio, TX, we're seeing an influx of Haitian folks trying to get into the US.  Over 10,0000 the last I heard.  Most of them camped under the International Bridge.  Governor Abbot has sent a bunch of DPS folks down there to try and stem the flow.

There is liberal outage, I understand, because the Texans brought horses.  Imagine that!  Texas law enforcement on horses.  The photo below is causing especial angst because... I don't know hy.

That trooper ain't whipping anyone.  With his left hand, he is controlling the horse, with his right hand, He is grabbing the miscreant by the shirt-sleeve.  That rope-looking thing between them seems to be loose.  It doesn't appear to the rains.

Here's another photo.

Here we have what appears o be a tranquil border scene, where a bored trooper is twirling the end of a rope,  probably to straighten it prior to coiling.  I've seen cowboys do this thousands of times.  There is nothing threatening about it.  Just two stalwart cops, doing a days work.

If Kamala would like to complain, maybe she needs to get her malfeasant as down to Del Rio and do something productive.  Oh, wait,... I forgot.  She ain't never been productive.

A Lost War: Victor Davis Hanson and H. R. McMaster on Afghanistan’s Past...

It's long, at roughly two hours, but it's a very interesting discussion.

Exotics

 Something interesting from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.  It seems that during recent hurricanes, licensed growers of exotic hoofed species suffered some pen damage, and the critters got out.

I was on a deer stand years ago, and had an emu wander by.  But, in another month or so, deer season will open, and there are exotics inthe woods.  LWF's guidance is clear.  Drag 'em out.

I found this on Facebook originally, but decided to go to the LWF website to double-check.    Sure enough, the notice is here.  Interesting.  Some lucky Louisiana hunter may get an elk this year.

Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee – 9/17/2021

Termite turned me on to this video,via email  It's a full 8 hours, but there is interesting information here.  

From Termite's email: "Here's the entire 8 hr meeting.  The good parts are at 4:15:00  thru 4:28:00." 

There is one doctor from Louisiana telling the FDA panel that the vaccine-hesitant are often better educated on the relevant studies than the vaccinated, and he believes that the entire vaccine situation has become heavily politicized.

I did not listen tot he full eight hours, but I did listen to the few minutes that Termite recommended.

Problems With Primers

 I'm just going to leave this right here.

From the NRA

Grifters and Grafters

 Remember last week, that picture of AOC in her fancy designer dress that said "Tax the Rich"?  At the Met Gala?  That powerful message,speaking truth to power?  Yeah that one.

As it turns out, that designer, the gal who designed the dress and hosted AOC at the party, doesn't believe  a word of it.

The ‘Tax the Rich’ dress designer whom @AOC  went to the Met Gala with:

• Owes $103,220 in back taxes
• Received $41,666 in PPP (Payroll Protection Program)
• Has ‘legions’ of unpaid interns
• Owes $62,722 in workers comp
• Still found $250,000 for a table at the Met Gala

The hypocrisy is stunning.  What the dress should have said was "Tax Other People"

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

 It's a great question to ponder on a Saturday morning.  If you've heard of Munchausen by Proxy, you know that it is a mental issue that causes cargiers to hurt those under their care.  It's a horrible practice.

But suppose, just suppose, that some folks are practicing Munchausen's by Proxy on a societal scale.  That might explain a lot of what we have seen in the last 18 months.

The literature on Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome states that the condition is most often discovered in people responsible for family members (or sometimes pets).

But what if it were to affect individuals responsible for large numbers of people? What if it were to affect “experts” responsible for policies to protect the public from disasters, pandemics, and the like?

I started asking this question because of something I’ve noticed when I watch “experts” on television talk about disasters.

The author linked above makes an interesting argument.   The "experts" have certainly gained a lot of attention and notoriety for themselves.  Who knew who Anthony Fauci was, two years ago.  Not many of us.

My counter to her argument is that if the "experts" are exhibiting something like Munchausens by Proxy, than many of the afflicted, who blindly follow their advise, may also be exhibiting symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome.  We have to be careful.

TSA Approved Locks

 We're planning a trip in late September to the Reno, NV area for a big shooting competition.

We're flying commercially, the first time since 2009.  It was a horrid experience then, and this time we're flying with firearms, which lends itself to a whole new set of challenges and bureaucratic requirements. I have done my homework and believe that I have what I need.

I bought some "TSA approved locks" and if I had to describe them with one word, that word would be "chickenshit".  I was once responsible for security of weapons, and I know what good padlocks look like.  These are not those.  If the TSA is counting on these little locks to secure my firearms, then we are both delusional.

What am I missing?

Creepy Joe Tries To Change the Subject

 Creepy Joe, our current incompetent president was on the air an hour of so ago, talking about his new economic plan.  He's going to save us all.

However, anyone who has been in a grocery store knows that prices are up. Grocery prices to rise another 3% before the end of year, Kroger warns with cost of beef already up 14% and pork 12% since December

He seemed confused that energy prices are up too. Maybe, just maybe, his killing of pipelines and his hold on leases in the Gulf have something to do with that.  I'm just noticing.

Overseas, it seems like our influence is waning.  Situation in Indo-Pacific 'deteriorating,' says Australian defense minister.  I wonder what Milley thinks of that?  Now that both he and his boss are laughing-stocks, maybe it's time for a new team in both State and the Pentagon.

Speaking of Milley and Blinken, maybe they need to turn their eyes back to the 'stan.  There's A Hostage Crisis in Afghanistan, and We're Not Talking About It.

This country is going to hell in a handbasket.  It's Joe Biden's fault, it all happened on his watch  He desperately wants to change the subject, but we shouldn't let him.

Thursday Update

 It's a weird news cycle.  

There is this pop-culture star, Nicki Minaj, who says that people should resist bullying, pray about it, and do your research about the vaccine.  I admit that I don't know anything about her, but that seems like a totally responsible message.  Of course, she is catching flak over it.  That's a shame, it sounds like a responsible message.

General Milley is still in the news.  Details of his malfeasance continue to leak out, and evidently, President Biden is pleased with his job performance.

In local news, we're supposed to have a rodeo practice at the church tonite, and I'm checking Facebook often to see if that has been cancelled.  After three days of rain, I cannot imagine that the arena is anything hut a mud hole.  UPDATE** It's cancelled.  Now, I wonder about the rodeo tomorrow night?

Did Milley Over-Step?

 The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is the highest ranking military officer in the United States.  He answers to the Secretary of Defense.  His duties are wide-ranging.

Bob Woodward has written a book that claims that Milley did things that, while they might not amount to treason under the Constitution, certainly may result in criminal referrals under the US Code.

And, according to at least one source, certain officers who work for Milley are willing to testify under oath against him.

This story is breaking, and I have no idea whether any of it is true.  It is certainly salacious, and one wonders first about the veracity of the original allegation, secondly about the purported leak from the White House, and third abut why all this is coming to light right now?

Is Milley on the way out?  Most Chairmen are.  It is the highest raking post in the US military.  There is no where else to go.  Generally, retirement follows.  Yet, one might wonder why these stories are breaking now?

Cajun Stroganoff

 I'm not sure what this is, so I'm going with Cajun Stroganoff.  On a rainy Tuesday, I needed something filling and easy to fix for lunch.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs 80/20 ground beef
Trinity (onion, bell pepper, celery, chopped fine)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 pint Half and Half
1 can RoTel, drained
1 pound Velveeta cheese
1 pound egg noodles
Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Cook It!

In a Dutch oven, sauté the trinity and brown the ground beef. Drain if necessary.  Add salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste.  Add the cream of mushroom soup, the half and half, and the RoTel tomatoes.  Cut the velveeta into cubes and stir it into the mix.

Boil the egg noodles in salted water.  When done, drain and add to the mix. Serve with garlic bread.  Enjoy.

Empty Beds

 There is an axiom in the hotel business that an empty bed is a revenue opportunity that is lost forever.  To have a successful hotel, you need guests in the beds.  It's a fairly simple concept.

Hospitals are the same.  Empty beds mean a lost revenue opportunity.  While that may seem crass and profit-driven, it's the truth.  As much as I admire physicians and nurses, along with all the support staff  that make a hospital run, it is simple economics that if your hospital is empty, you don't need all those doctors, nurses and support staff on the payroll.  Empty beds is a lost revenue opportunity.

During the current Covid pandemic, we have come to depend on Covid hospitalizations as a valuable metric of success.  As hospitalizations rise and fall, we measure success.  However, an article in The Atlantic suggests that this metric is not as reliable as we might like it to be.

Researchers have tried to get at similar questions before. For two separate studies published in May, doctors in California read through several hundred charts of pediatric patients, one by one, to figure out why, exactly, each COVID-positive child had been admitted to the hospital. Did they need treatment for COVID, or was there some other reason for admission, like cancer treatment or a psychiatric episode, and the COVID diagnosis was merely incidental? According to the researchers, 40 to 45 percent of the hospitalizations that they examined were for patients in the latter group.

So, a patient goes to the hospital for a routine colonoscopy, and during the intake, is found to be Covid positive.  That's good to know, but that patient suddenly becomes a Covid patient.  The patient is later admitted.  So, the question becomes: was the patient admitted for colon, or Covid?  That is a legitimate question.

Our big regional hospital here shows Covid hospitalizations every day, with a count of vaccinated and un-vaccinated.  They give no other breakdown on the numbers,and as a regional medical center, they are known to accept patients from other hospitals.  I've also noticed that their numbers tend to hover between 50-70 Covid patients.

I'm not pointing fingers here, and certainly not ascribing any nefarious intent.  I'm simply highlighting what other folks have noticed.

Kamala Barks

 It seems that Kamala Harris continues to expose her ignorance.  

Okay, Dr. Harris, (I assume you are a doctor, you keep giving medical advice), just exactly how does someone else getting the jab protect me?  I'm already vaccinated.  Why should I ask someone else to protect me when I am alrady vaccinated and perfectly capable of protecting myself?

And, if the vax status is so important, why aren't you vaxxing everyone who comes across the southern border?  You are the border czar.  Your vaccine messaging is totally inconsistent and un-scientific.  Please go back into hiding and leave us alone.

Edwards Declares Emergency

 Our petty tyrant governor, John Bel Edwards has declared an emergency in advance of the presumed impacts of tropical storm Nicholas.  I'm sure that the declaration is tied to federal money, and our governor loves federal money.  Loves it so much that Louisiana has been in a state of  emergency for one thing or another since March of 2020.  If it isn't a weather emergency, it is a public health emergency.  

God love him, he must enjoying declaring emergencies, he does it so much.  He ought to just go ahead and declare Louisiana a general disaster until the end of his term.

Now, It's Nicholas

 It appears that a tropical system in the Gulf we have been watching has now become Tropical Storm Nicholas, the fourteenth named storm this year.  It may or may not become a hurricane, but all indications are that it is going to be a rain-maker.  Some models show as much as 25 inches in some unlucky localities..

It looks like it is mainly going to affect south Texas, but it is supposed to slide into Louisiana as a depression later this week.  We're mainly on the "wet" side of the storm, so we are going to get rain for a couple of days before it dissipates.

CC: Silent Wings - The American Glider Pilots of WW II

Glider troops during WWII.  Something that few know about and most don't consider.  But, they were an extremely useful and a big part of delivering troops to the battlefield.

It's almost two hours, so get a cup of coffee or another nice beverage.

Red Beans

 Belle and I were looking for something easy and filling and settled on Red Beans.  It's an old familiar Southern recipe, and we have it down to a science.  This is the slow-cooker version and takes about 12 hours, but while the cook time is long, the prep and work time is short.

Take a pound of dry red beans, a pound of good sausage (your choice), some salt, and six cups of water.

Rinse and sort the beans.  By "sorting", I mean to stir then with your fingers as you rinse them, and look for stray bits of gravel. Cut your sausage into bite-sized and them put beans, sausage, and water into your slow cooker.  Put it on low, and ignore it for 12 hours.  Stir it occasionally, if you must.

I put these beans on last night at 7:00 and went to bed.  After coffee this morning I gave them a stir.  In a couple of hours, we'll make a pot of rice and some cornbread.

This is a basic recipe.  You can add to it, if you like.  Chop an onion, maybe.  Or add garlic.  Whatever you like, they are your beans.  Or, you can do this with pinto beans, or white beans.  Add ham instead of sausage.  This is just about as basic as it comes.

#joeisajoke

It seems to be an anthem.  At college football stadiums around the country, the stands erupt with a chant indicating that our president is not as popular as he might like to think.

According to several sources, such chants erupted at Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Louisiana State and others.

Inflation Under Control

 According to Jen Psaki, inflation is under control.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Press Secretary Jen Psaki took time during today’s briefing to address worries about inflation, comforting Americans with the news that prices are totally under control – outside of the things necessary to live.

Yeah, except for things like food, gasoline, electricity,  I was shocked yesterday to see that some (not premium) bacon was almost $10.99 per pound, at the discount grocer where I often shop. 

Instapundit weighs in:

Is it the Bee? Or the New York Times? Admit it, no one can tell anymore.

Heh!  Indeed.  At least the Babylon Bee is honest enough to forewarn the reader that it is a parody site.  The New York Times?  Not so much.

Sleepy Joe Speaks

 While I was flipping burgers yesterday for a church function, I understand that Sleepy Joe decided to listen to his puppet masters impose a sweeping mandate on the American people. One that he opposed just eight months ago.  From the article:

“No, I don’t think it should be mandatory. I wouldn’t demand it be mandatory,” Biden said of vaccines. “But I would do everything in my power — just like I don’t think masks have to be made mandatory nationwide — I will do everything in my power as president of the United States to encourage people to do the right thing. And when they do it, demonstrate that it matters.”

Today, of course, he wants to impose vaccine mandates on every employer who has 100 or more employees.

It's outrageous,and I suspect that lots of people will oppose it.  It's probably also unconstitutional.

Belle, who works for a home health company, believes that it is an over-reach.  She is a registered nurse and says that everyone has the right to decline medical treatment.  That right to decline treatment certainly extends to inoculations of any kind. 

I think that Biden's puppet masters desperately want to distract us from the continuing crisis of leaving Americans behind enemy lines and will do anything to distract the 24-hour news cycle.  Joe Biden is a cynical politician who has evil puppet masters pulling his strings.  His presidency is a slow-moving train wreck.

Chipman Is Out

 Fox News is reporting that the White House has withdrawn the name of David Chipman as their nomie for ATFE director

The White House is withdrawing the nomination of David Chipman to run the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco (ATF) and Firearms, Fox News has confirmed.

That is good news.  Although I suspect that whoever they next nominate will share many of the views that Chipman held. 

Our State Department

 Our State Department is filled with un-serious people.  Nothing is more important to them tan left-wing ideology, and they don't seem to care that they have become a laughing-stock.  It is bad enough that they left Americans behind in Afghanistan, but now they are criticizing the new Taliban government for not being inclusive.

A State Department spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Hill that although the Taliban “has presented this as a caretaker cabinet,” the U.S. “will judge the Taliban by its actions, not words.” 

“We have made clear our expectation that the Afghan people deserve an inclusive government,” the spokesperson added. 

I had to check and make sure that I was not reading a Babylon Bee article.  That statement above reeks of lunacy, and it appears that our State Department has devolved into caricature.

So, a quick note to the idiots in the State Department.  The Taliban beat you on the field of battle, and they really don't care what you think.  The Taliban believes that the Biden State Department is a paper tiger, undeserving of consideration.  They would just as soon behead you and sell your women into slavery than to consider your expectations.  They won, and you let them win.

The Nation's Paper of Record

 The nations paper of record says that we might need a new variant of the Covid disease to distract American from the Afghanistan disaster.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Officials at the CDC said today that the surprising virulence and persistence of Afghanistan news may require a whole new COVID variant to distract the country from it.

The Babylon Bee has been fairly accurate in their prognostications lately.  I don't put anything past Fauci and crew when it comes to creating disaster for the American people.

Benefits Expired?

 So, your federal unemployment benefits expired?  Too bad, go get a job.

I heard on the radio today that there are 11 million jobs in the US looking for workers.  Go get a job.

I know one outfit that was paying $11/hr for unskilled workers, back in July.  Now, in September, they're paying $9/hr.  If you wanted that $11/hr job, you should have come to work in July.

If you are unemployed, you are not a victim.  Go get a job.  

Young Men and College

 Folks are starting to notice that enrollment of young men is dropping in college.  For example, this article.

There are a variety of reasons, but I happen to know three young men who dropped out of college this past year.  All graduates of the high school class of 2020.  All three went to the first year, 0-21, and alll stayed home for the fall semester of 21.  Their reasoning is as follows.

1.  Covid sucks.  Covid on a college campus really sucks.  They can take classes online, but do it from home and save the cost of dorms and feeding plans.

2.  Student debt sucks.  Even with a variety of scholarships, they were going in the hole.  They didn't want to get out of college awash in debt.

So, they made other plans.

Young Man 1 is in the Guard, working full time and taking classes online.  He's putting money in the bank.

Young Man 2 is working at a small manufacturing concern.  Starting at the bottom, learning to be a tool-and-die maker.  He's putting money in the bank, trying to figure out what his career will be.

Young Man 3 is doing community college and working part time.  He will figure it out as well, and land on his feet.

These three guys are doing fine.  But, they are not paying for an over-priced college education.

What Fresh Hell?

 What fresh hell is this?  Evidently there is something called a "telephone pregnancy termination".

Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota signed an executive order banning the procedure.

But I can't even figure out.... it sounds like pure evil.

Glenn Beck Explains Who Stopped Afghan Refugees From Leaving | Pat Gray ...

Glen Beck, whatever else you may think about him, has been "over there", doing the work, getting people out.  He has a unique perspective.

Louisiana Covid Hospitalizations Decline

 It appears that the hospitalization rate in Louisiana is declining.  That is good news.  Despite the best efforts of Governor Edwards to keep us under his tyrannical thumb, the Covid count is getting smaller.

NEW ORLEANS — The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Louisiana continues to decline after reaching record-setting levels in mid-August.

According to the Louisiana Department of Health, there were 2,003 COVID-19 positive patients hospitalized across the state on Monday. That is down from the 3,022 reported on Aug. 17. The LDH said that 90 percent of those hospitalized were unvaccinated. 

Edwards might claim that is mask mandate helped to slow the spread, but he's fooling himself.  I haven't sen a mask worn in weeks.  Almost universally, people are ignoring the mandate If anything slowed the spread, it was the natural bell-curve of a standard distribution.  In the end of this pandemic, we may well learn that old-fashioned math and the way that numbers work were as much at play as anything else.

The Biden Presidency Is A Disaster

 The American presidency can put up with a lot of things, but we can't put up with a lot of things all at once without noticing that there seems to be a lack of adult leadership.

If the border were the only crisis we faced, we might tend to give the benefit of the doubt.

If our military leadership could point to actual successes, we might feel a little better about some domestic challenges.

If our public health professionals had a coherent, consistent message on Covid, and had not turned this pandemic into a political weapon, we might cut them some slack when we learned new things about this disease.

If our economy was strong, if our cities were not awash in crime, then we might be optimistic about solving some of the other problems that seem to plague us.

But none of these things are being handled under the Biden presidency.  The military leadership is morally bankrupt, leaving Americans to the mercies of a fanatical foe, the economy is sputtering, the pandemic still rages, and the border is a damn mess. Congress is run by juveniles, and Biden's appointees seem only to be interested in a 24-hour news cycle.

This country is in a helluva mess.

Quothe For Truth

 Been there, done that.

Condoleezza Rice

Condoleeza Rice talks about 9/11 and our involvement in Afghanistan.  I always liked her, and when friends ask me if I'd ever vote for a black woman for President, she is the person I name.  Of course, she has enough sense not to run for President.

Update** Misspelling fixed.  Thanks!

The M219 Machine GUn

 The M219 machine gun is a (sort-of) blast from the past.  I say (sort of) because I remember it as a gun that never really ran.

The M219 was a derivation of the M73 machine gun.  It was a n air-cooled, recoil operated machine gun that fired the linked 7.62 NATO cartridge.  It was designed to be coaxially mounted in armored vehicles, including the M60 series tanks, the M551 Sheridan ACAV, and the Engineers M728 CEV.

Oh, what a turd this little gun was.  A coaxially mounted mounted machine gun is mounted beside the main gun of an armored vehicle, and is linked mechanically to the main gun so that it points along the same axis as the main gun.  The tank gunner controls the coax from his position in the vehicle.

This little gun was supposed to be a product improvement of the M73 gun, but seemed to take all the design flaws of the M73 and amplified them. Perhaps the ones I was using were worn out (this was during the Carter years) but the gun just never seemed to work.  Sometimes it would fire a whole belt, sometimes it would fire single-shot, and sometimes it wouldn't fire at all.

I got out of tanks in 1977, assigned to push troops in the 4th Brigade at Knox.  Thence to a variety of staff positions.  When I got back to Knox in the mid 80s for the Advanced Course, the Army had scrapped the 219 in favor of FNs new M240 machine gun.  The M240 was a delightful little weapon that could be mounted as a coax, or dismounted and used in other roles.  

M240 mounted in M1 Abrams

The M240 is still in use today, and by all accounts is a fine machine gun.  I thought it was a huge improvement on the M219, if for no other reason that it fired when the gunner asked it to fire.

The M85 Machine Gun

 The M85 machine gun was well-known by soldiers of my generation, especially tankers who used it in the M60 series tanks.  It was a belt fed, recoil operated heavy machine gun that fired the .50 BMG cartridge.  It was lighter than the M2, weighing 65 pounds.

It mounted in the command cupola of the M60 series tanks and was considered the commander's weapon.  It used a push-through belt, unlike the pull-through link belt used by the M2. The gun did not have the familiar butterfly trigger of the M2, but fired either by pulling a handle on a chain, or by a solenoid attached to the elevation handle.

The M85 didn't make the jump to the newer M1.  The Army said that it was unreliable and maintenance-heavy.  Although I never had any issues with the gun.  The ones I used ran fine.  The commander's cupola had an optical sight for the gun, but most of us simply stick our head out of the hatch and watched the tracers 

In my opinion, the M85 had two major drawbacks.  First, it used a link system that was not compatible with the M2 ammo system.  Same cartridge, different links, so the crew had to be sure that they were drawing the appropriate ammo from the ammo point.  Second, it was a gun designed to be mounted in a vehicle.  It simply did not have the versatility of the familiar M2 Browning.

The ones I used ran good.  If the tank commander took the time to align the gun  with the optical sight, it was very accurate, but most of us simply watched the tracers.

I looked for a YouTube video of the M85, but can't seem to find one. It was pretty much out of service before YouTube was invented.

Nursing Shortage

 My love, Belle, is a registered nurse.  We know several registered nurses.  There is a shortage of registered nurses in the US, and a capable, hard-working nurse is a God-send to any organization.  They command a good salary and are indispensable to our health care system.

And, some organizations are firing nurses who refuse to get the Covid vaccine.

That is short-sighted.  And, it's probably not going to hurt the nurses.  There is another job, just down the street.

Spider Lily

 While mowing this morning, I found a white spider lily near the fence.

I have several of these planted near the fence, and I mowed around it, to let those bulbs flower.  Around the oak tree in the front yard, I have several of the red variety.  They signal the coming of autumn, and while I know that we still have hot weather in September, they are a harbinger of cooler temperatures.

Anvil 0103: M60 "Pig" maintenance, description of operation

Mark Novak goes down the rabbit hole on the M60, affectionately known as "the pig" to my generation of GIs.  It was the light machine gun of the US Army during Vietnam, and when I got in service in '72, and when I went to Desert Storm in 1990, and when I retired in 98 we still had these in the arms room.  The Wiki page says that they are still in service.

The next time I see grandson Quinton, I'll have to ask if he's trained on these old guns.

Folk Medicine

 Folk medicine isn't witchcraft.  It is a compilation of acquired knowledge that seems to work, most of the time.  Like all medicine, it doesn't work 100% of the tie, but it seems to work most of the time.

Like, for instance, willow bark is a great treatment for curing a headache.  Chewing a twig with the green bark releases a pain-killer that works like aspirin.  In some rural areas of the South,  the common willow tree is known as a "headache tree".

Like for instance, crushing an aloe vera leaf releases a gel that is wonderful for light burns, like sunburn.

Like, for instance, the mucus between the stalk and leaf of the common cattail is a powerful numbing agent.

None of these folk remedies are FDA approved.  That doesn't make them any less effective.  They are simply not approved treatments.

Another common remedy which is in the news is the use of ivermectin as a treatment for Covid-19.  It's not FDA approved, but anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that it works.  Ivermectin is commonly available from animal supply stores.  It's apple-flavored, and the preferred treatment seems to be to smear it on a Chips Ahoy cookie  Read the label for dosing information, which is by weight.

Famously, Joe Rogan was recently diagnosed with Covid, and used ivermectin as part of a broad treatment.  Of course, the left is going crazy.  It's not FDA approved. I know a handful of other people ho have used the same regime as part of their Covid battle.  I don't know if it works or not, but you won't be wormy.

The larger idea is that each of us is responsible for our own health care.  Hopefully, in consultation with your physician.  But, if someone wants to take a worm medicine to treat Covid, it's okay with me.  At least they won't be wormy, and there is some evidence to support their decision.

Ida Claims More Victims

 Hurricane Ida, whether she is listed today as post-tropical, or a depression, is wreaking havoc in the Northeast, as Fox News reports:

Eight people were confirmed dead in New York City, including a 2-year-old boy, a 48-year-old female and a 50-year-old man who were all found inside a home in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens as a result of the severe weather. In New Jersey, a 70-year-old man was reported dead and a 19-year-old man was found dead in Maryland.

I'm sure that Disaster Declarations will soon follow.  We'll add those people to the prayer list tonight at services. 

The Taliban's Arsenal

 According to several reports, the Biden administration is scrubbing lists of equipment that it provided to the Afghan Army.  Much of this equipment fell into the hands of the Taliban, providing them a windfall of military goodies.

Forbes reports that the State Department is telling other federal agencies to scrub their websites of lists of weapons the U.S. provided the Afghan military over the years.

So, to protect the record, it may be useful to store this little graphic right here.

 That is a pretty good haul.  But, as it turns out, the US forces who departed the Kabul airport did destroy some equipment before departing. It seems that the Taliban is angry that the US destroyed their "national assets".

The Taliban expressed their anger at the US for destroying military equipment before their withdrawal from Afghanistan saying Americans destroyed their “national assets”.

National assets, huh?  That's rich.

Impeachment is a Pipe Dream

 Mitch McConnell says that no one is impeaching Biden over Afghanistan.  And, he's right.  It's a pipe dream, and the Republicans should get over it.

1.  They don't have the votes in the House.  Pelosi will never let it get that far.

2.  They don't have the votes in the Senate.  It takes 67 votes to convict, and if anyone thinks that they can get to 67, they are dreaming.  Ain't gonna happen.

Republicans need to concentrate on what will increase their chances of taking both the House and the Senate in 2022.  Nothing else matters.

Carbon Monoxide is a SILENT KILLER

Generators are life-saving devices under conditions where the grid goes down,  Either hurricane or ice storm

But, generators accounted for over half the deaths associated with Hurricane Laura last year.  

Please, people, twenty (20) feet from the house, not under cover.  Not in your garage or patio, certainly not in the living room.