The Media's Political Circus

As the facts unfold in the Parkland, FL massacre case, the media has turned the coverage of the tragedy into a circus by focusing the public on the diversion regarding the real problem. To better understand this point, I ask my readers to view this video of Brittany Hughes explaining the situation.

Better yet, Brittany Hughes calls "BS" on liberals feigned caring for lives of people in this video in reaction to what been learned over the past week since the tragedy at the Parkland, FL high school.

The hypocrisy is so thick in so many different ways on this matter that it's absurd! On the other hand, there's county sheriffs like Patrick Jones in Ohio who offered free concealed carry training to teachers, thinking there would be only a few, but was surprised to learn differently at the response he got. Then, there's the Chicago incident where a neighbor used his AR-15 to stop a knife wielding assailant until police could apprehend him.

We have a Broward County Sheriff Scot Israel, who's in charge of the largest law enforcement entity in the country, shirking any responsibility for the high school deputy sheriff staying outside the high school building while he heard shots going off inside, plus the other three deputy sheriffs claiming they were just following the directive to not enter the building because of a department policy that they must have body cams on, but which they did not have with them at the time apparently, while appearing as if he's running for a political office. He's arrogant, cocky, and states that the NRA is responsible for this tragedy, is beyond rational.

The CNN's Town Hall with Jake Tapper as the moderator aired a few nights ago with a totally stacked audience of youth, most of which wouldn't know which end of a gun the bullet comes out of, screaming vile and despicable remarks at Dana Loesch who represented the pro-self defense side of the discussion that was more of an emotional rant by the Sheriff and students up on the platform together.

I've got to note here the absence of any points being made by the media of the possible culpability on the part of the students in the high school in most likely creating or doing things which enhanced this mass murder's rampage against them; namely, bullying. No, if any of them were engaging in such behavior, they, most likely, are the ones who are yelling the loudest into the cameras of the local and national news outlets, or at the town hall on CNN, about how it's the guns' fault that these tragedies occur.

2/28 Update: I couldn't believe what I saw in the video when I linked to a local news page about the Parkland H.S. students returning to school today. Let me be clear on this, I grieve with the families and students who lost loved ones and friends in this tragedy. I'm just as frustrated about this obviously mentally disturbed individual as the rest of us are. But given the way the media has evolved over the decades into "overkill" hyper-coverage, I wasn't surprised to see another display of the "media circus" this day of returning to school was.

I know that the police, sheriff, and state troopers present want to show their support, and I respect them for that sentiment, but this is, in my view, a ridiculous joke! I mean, how many law enforcement officers does this one high school need? From the camera shots I saw, it didn't appear there were any empty areas of ground to park a vehicle on! And, how soon will it be before 99% of them are no longer around, and this all forgotten after the next bullied student goes on another rampage? This is over reaction! I would be willing to bet that there are many residents of Parkland, FL who are quietly thinking, "Dear Lord, I just wish all these law enforcement people would go away and leave us in peace!", or, "Why weren't they here when we needed them?"

My personal take on why this "circus" is happening is because the media knows all too well that they not only must cover this event today, but that those showing up want to be seen on their cameras for the personal ego trip that's generated by being seen on national news. Just consider how teenagers behave when they know a television camera is pointed at them. Poses, faces, screaming, "Oh look how special and wonderful I am!" This is a phenomenon of a mass media culture that pervades every aspect of out society today, which wasn't present when I was going to school back in the 1960s. No humility, or modesty. After all, they're hoping to be discovered and become the next Beyonce, or Jay Z... you name 'em.

Opaque Transparency

That's essentially what the state legislators did in 48 minutes; passed a bill touted as aiding in government transparency to skirt around a court jude's ruling, while at the same time effectively hiding public records from media and other entities seeking to keep check on law makers activities.

Here's a link to a MyNorthwest article calling on Gov. Inslee - "Sleepy Jay" as some know him - to veto the bill.

Below is a response to an email on this issue I sent back to one legislator who listed multiple excuses that supposedly would make it too onerous for them to function... I ask, what's new? They don't when Democrats are in power anyway!

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Rep. Shelly Kloba,

Since you've sent me a communication, I wish to respond on a few points from it for your feedback.

First, the Taylor's beautiful child, Brayden, is obviously in a loving and caring family. However, as a retired public school teacher, I'm confused that you state he's being discriminated against by being segregated from a "regular" class experience. There were students like Brayden at my school who were regularly integrated into our daily activities.

Second, your hypothetical situation is very weak. The state legislature has all the funds and means necessary to sufficiently protect a potential hacker from harvesting data for malicious intent. In an age of technology, it's not difficult to hire competent IT specialists to construct a "cloud" arrangement which could allow access to only those with a viable need to know in order to access records which are pertinent to their work, while requiring them to not use or divulge personal information of any innocent parties not related to the matter under penalty of prosecution. How is that so different than the already onerous bureaucracy of our state's government?

Third, I'm also unconvinced that this ruling produces unworkable results. Legislators have done fine thus far in an ever increasingly bogged down process for achieving results, what would be any different with having to appoint your own public records officer? Work in the 147  legislative offices are already slow, so it doesn't seem things would be much different if this ruling were in effect.

Fourth, I don't buy the excuse about the timeline forcing such a quick decision. It  does not take into consideration the fact that constituents were not consulted, or communicated that it was even happening; 48 minutes has got to be a record for the legislature's House and Senate to pass this bill. Listing excuse after excuse for not adhering to the ruling is only an admission that there's ulterior motives involved here. The people can smell corruption, or nefarious motives, are  going on, when such things happen the way it did.

If you view these changes as a significant step toward transparency, then I view moving out of state to avoid onerous taxation as my only remaining prerogative to escape such a corrupt governing body.

Respectfully,

Human Decency of Privacy And Respect

The title of this post comes from the remarks made on the floor of the House in Olympia by Rep. Manweller (R) of Ellensburg, WA. And why do I find this significant? Because it touches on a topic which I dealt with as a teacher during my last full-time year in the past. And now, it appears the Democrats want to do the same thing they've managed to do to teachers over the decades, to other union workers in other professions. It seems they're scrambling to keep unions alive.

What is this issue? Here is the pasted text from the section of Rep. Manweller's update email I received today:

"A bad union bill

It wouldn’t be a legislative session without some bad bills. Last week, House Democrats passed House Bill 2751, which essentially sanctions the theft of a public employee’s paycheck. The legislation would allow unions to automatically deduct dues from a public employee’s paycheck, unless that employee provides written authorization against it."

Here's the link to that video of his comments on the House floor last week. I urge you to watch it.

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You see, when I accepted employment as a teacher in this state, I was surprised to learn that it was a law the state teacher's union - W.E.A. - got the legislature to pass some time in the past (I'm uncertain exactly when, the point is, they got it through.) which created a required membership and payment of dues to the teacher's union, in order to work in public education. Happy to have been offered a position fresh out of college, I took it without much of a qualm then.

However, as I progressed through my career and became familiar with how the union operated and got things done, I began to resent that my dues were going to political causes I didn't sanction. Then, in my 29th year, while teaching an 8th grade science class, an incident occurred which required me to have representation by the union with the district administration; you know, the type of instance where the union had told us for all the prior years, that if you get in some kind of bind, we'll be there to defend you when anyone asked why we had to pay dues all those years.

Well, with the local union president sitting by my side, over the duration of the meetings we had, it became crystal clear that the union wasn't coming to my defense on this incident, and they were leaving me out to twist in the wind. So, after being exonerated and negotiating an agreement to resign after putting in my 30th year, I began researching this issue and discovered something that gave me a small measure of justice.

You see, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation in Olympia had fought and won a teacher's case in court over on the east side of the state challenging the union's ability to not only continue collecting dues on a monthly basis from any teacher who requested being removed as a member of the union, but they also could designated, or pick which organization of charity those dues were required by law to go to. The court ruled that since those dues were the teacher's property in the form of wages, the teacher should be allowed to designate or choose which organization or charity the dues went to.

So, I resigned my union membership during my last full year of teaching and chose my own charity the those dues which were still deducted that year, went to. So much for unions respecting the rights and privacy of the individual.

The Intimidation Wasn't Intentional

In response to this post's title, I say, "Oh really? You mean like, the chair of this committee just can't restrain her compulsion to control those who oppose her?" Read on, and you'll understand this remark once you get to that point in this message from Tim Eyman.

From the action described in this email message I'm posting here below, it seems the liberals in power in Olympia this session are going for broke in attempting to get their agenda implemented.Tim would very much appreciate your sending email messages to all legislators about this to let them know your feelings. Thanks!

I post Eyman message to illustrate just how onerous things are getting with the leftist/liberals here in our state. It's obvious to me that, in order to appear they're adhering to the requirements and protocols for getting bills passed, they're merely going through the motions under the supposed justification that this is a short session and there's only so much time left. While that may well be true and factual, what they're seemingly not caring to realize, is that we folks out here pullin' the wagon at work every day, aren't even aware of what they're doing in Olympia to take more "lifeblood" away from us.

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Tuesday, February 20th, 2018

To: Our thousands of supporters throughout the state (cc'd to the media, house & senate members, and Governor, and other candidates for office)

From: Tim Eyman, Jack Fagan, & Mike Fagan, Fighting for Taxpayers for 20 years, 425-493-9127, tim_eyman@comcast.net, www.VotersWantMoreChoices.com

Definition of fascism: "A government system that forcibly suppresses opposition and criticism."

At Friday's 8 am hearing on House Bill 2967, the capital gains income tax, I wore a suit and tie and carried with me a stack of written testimony sent by supporters opposed to the bill. 

They only allowed us 1 minute of testimony. After just 20 seconds of me talking about our supporters' written testimony and explaining why the folks pullin' the wagon can't, on a work day, drive to Olympia for a hearing, a security guard was called over, stood over me, glared down at me, and said: "Mr. Eyman, your time is up, the light is red, you need to leave now." Right away, Mike Gustavson, the man next to me, immediately responded "The light is not red, it's yellow, his time isn't up. This is unacceptable." You can watch it all here:

Here's the link to it (starts at 00:17:52 and ends at 00:19:44): https://tinyurl.com/y7prnmrk I didn't let the government stop me, I finished my remarks (big thanks Mike Gustavson for backing me up). After I delivered the huge stack of written testimony to staffers (you can see how high the stack was at the 00:19:43 mark) who then distributed them to legislators, I sat down. I then got a text from one of the legislators on the committee who wrote: "The chair is very touchy and has control issues." [Ya think?] Next thing I knew, while the next panel was testifying, the chair of the committee, Rep. Kristine Lytton, came over and sat next to me. My facial expression pretty much captures whether I believed her assurance that the intimidation wasn't intentional.

There's no doubt that the system is totally stacked against us. So that makes it absolutely critical that you NEVER, EVER BE INTIMIDATED BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR EXPRESSING YOUR OPPOSITION TO THEIR LEGISLATION. Tell all 147 legislators how you feel. Send them an email that says this or something like this (tell 'em what you think): "I will not be intimidated. Your thuggish tactics on Friday to quash dissent was reprehensible. I strongly oppose House Bill 2967 because I don't want an income tax, especially a capital gains income tax. We're taxed enough already and all of us have every right to express that sentiment at a public hearing without interference or intimidation. I am also viscerally opposed to anti-initiative bill SB 5397 because requiring government registration and licensing and criminal background checks on people collecting signatures for initiatives is blatantly unconstitutional and unAmerican. You people should be ashamed of yourselves. Stop your flagrant fascist attacks on citizens for simply expressing their opposition to your bills." Subject line: I will not be intimidated. I oppose HB 2967 (cap gains income tax) and SB 5397 (government registration and licensing before people are allowed to collect signatures for initiatives) Cut and paste these email addresses into the To line of your email -- here's the 98 House members for the 2018 session: [As a Comcast user, I found the semi-colons between each address needed to be changed to a comma before they'd work in pasting into the "To:" address bar.] sherry.appleton@leg.wa.gov; andrew.barkis@leg.wa.gov; steve.bergquist@leg.wa.gov; brian.blake@leg.wa.gov; vincent.buys@leg.wa.gov; michelle.caldier@leg.wa.gov; bruce.chandler@leg.wa.gov; mike.chapman@leg.wa.gov; frank.chopp@leg.wa.gov; judy.clibborn@leg.wa.gov; eileen.cody@leg.wa.gov; cary.condotta@leg.wa.gov; richard.debolt@leg.wa.gov; tom.dent@leg.wa.gov; beth.doglio@leg.wa.gov; laurie.dolan@leg.wa.gov; mary.dye@leg.wa.gov; carolyn.eslick@leg.wa.gov; jake.fey@leg.wa.gov; joe.fitzgibbon@leg.wa.gov; noel.frame@leg.wa.gov; roger.goodman@leg.wa.gov; paul.graves@leg.wa.gov; mia.gregerson@leg.wa.gov; dan.griffey@leg.wa.gov; larry.haler@leg.wa.gov; drew.hansen@leg.wa.gov; mark.hargrove@leg.wa.gov; mark.harmsworth@leg.wa.gov; paul.harris@leg.wa.gov; dave.hayes@leg.wa.gov; jeff.holy@leg.wa.gov; zack.hudgins@leg.wa.gov; morgan.irwin@leg.wa.gov; bill.jenkin@leg.wa.gov; laurie.jinkins@leg.wa.gov; norm.johnson@leg.wa.gov; ruth.kagi@leg.wa.gov; christine.kilduff@leg.wa.gov; steve.kirby@leg.wa.gov; brad.klippert@leg.wa.gov; shelley.kloba@leg.wa.gov; vicki.kraft@leg.wa.gov; joel.kretz@leg.wa.gov; dan.kristiansen@leg.wa.gov; john.lovick@leg.wa.gov; kristine.lytton@leg.wa.gov; drew.macewen@leg.wa.gov; nicole.macri@leg.wa.gov; matt.manweller@leg.wa.gov; jacquelin.maycumber@leg.wa.gov; joan.mcbride@leg.wa.gov; gina.mccabe@leg.wa.gov; bob.mccaslin@leg.wa.gov; joyce.mcdonald@leg.wa.gov; jeff.morris@leg.wa.gov; dick.muri@leg.wa.gov; terry.nealey@leg.wa.gov; ed.orcutt@leg.wa.gov; timm.ormsby@leg.wa.gov; lillian.ortiz-self@leg.wa.gov; tina.orwall@leg.wa.gov; mike.pellicciotti@leg.wa.gov; strom.peterson@leg.wa.gov; eric.pettigrew@leg.wa.gov; liz.pike@leg.wa.gov; gerry.pollet@leg.wa.gov; kristine.reeves@leg.wa.gov; marcus.riccelli@leg.wa.gov; june.robinson@leg.wa.gov; jay.rodne@leg.wa.gov; cindy.ryu@leg.wa.gov; sharontomiko.santos@leg.wa.gov; david.sawyer@leg.wa.gov; joe.schmick@leg.wa.gov; mike.sells@leg.wa.gov; tana.senn@leg.wa.gov; matt.shea@leg.wa.gov; vandana.slatter@leg.wa.gov; norma.smith@leg.wa.gov; larry.springer@leg.wa.gov; melanie.stambaugh@leg.wa.gov; derek.stanford@leg.wa.gov; mike.steele@leg.wa.gov; drew.stokesbary@leg.wa.gov; monica.stonier@leg.wa.gov; pat.sullivan@leg.wa.gov; gael.tarleton@leg.wa.gov; david.taylor@leg.wa.gov; steve.tharinger@leg.wa.gov; javier.valdez@leg.wa.gov; luanne.vanwerven@leg.wa.gov; brandon.vick@leg.wa.gov; mike.volz@leg.wa.gov; jim.walsh@leg.wa.gov; jt.wilcox@leg.wa.gov; sharon.wylie@leg.wa.gov; jesse.young@leg.wa.gov; tim_eyman@comcast.net Send a separate email for the Senate -- here's the 49 senators for the 2018 session: jan.angel@leg.wa.gov; barbara.bailey@leg.wa.gov; michael.baumgartner@leg.wa.gov; randi.becker@leg.wa.gov; andy.billig@leg.wa.gov; john.braun@leg.wa.gov; sharon.brown@leg.wa.gov; reuven.carlyle@leg.wa.gov; maralyn.chase@leg.wa.gov; annette.cleveland@leg.wa.gov; steve.conway@leg.wa.gov; j.darneille@leg.wa.gov; jeannie.darneille@leg.wa.gov; manka.dhingra@leg.wa.gov; doug.ericksen@leg.wa.gov; joe.fain@leg.wa.gov; phil.fortunato@leg.wa.gov; david.frockt@leg.wa.gov; bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov; brad.hawkins@leg.wa.gov; steve.hobbs@leg.wa.gov; jim.honeyford@leg.wa.gov; sam.hunt@leg.wa.gov; karen.keiser@leg.wa.gov; curtis.king@leg.wa.gov; patty.kuderer@leg.wa.gov; marko.liias@leg.wa.gov; john.mccoy@leg.wa.gov; mark.miloscia@leg.wa.gov; mark.mullet@leg.wa.gov; sharon.nelson@leg.wa.gov; steve.oban@leg.wa.gov; mike.padden@leg.wa.gov; guy.palumbo@leg.wa.gov; jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov; kevin.ranker@leg.wa.gov; ann.rivers@leg.wa.gov; christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov; rebecca.saldana@leg.wa.gov; mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov; timothy.sheldon@leg.wa.gov; shelly.short@leg.wa.gov; dean.takko@leg.wa.gov; kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov; keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov; maureen.walsh@leg.wa.gov; judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov; lisa.wellman@leg.wa.gov; lynda.wilson@leg.wa.gov; hans.zeiger@leg.wa.gov; cyrus.habib@ltgov.wa.gov; ltgov@ltgov.wa.gov; tim_eyman@comcast.net Sending these 2 emails will really help -- BUT IT'S ONLY EFFECTIVE IF WE ALL DO IT. If you have any problem, just email me the message you want sent, and I'll forward it to all legislators (and I'll cc you). OK?

After 20 years of fighting for taxpayers, we've learned that the most effective way to fight the Democrats' tax-hiking schemes is by taking our case directly to the people. That's why we're moving full steam ahead with We Don't Want An Income Tax. It prohibits the state and local governments from imposing any kind of income tax, especially a capital gains income tax. Jack, Mike, and I are committed to protecting taxpayers. But we can't do it alone. We need everyone's help.

We're gonna fight for taxpayers in 2018 -- help support our efforts and help us with our "We Don't Want An Income Tax Initiative". Please send us a donation for $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, $2500, $5000 or more (there are no limits on how much can be given). You can go to our website right now www.VotersWantMoreChoices.com and make a secure on-line contribution by PayPal or VISA or M/C. OR, you can print this form, fill it out, and return it with a check or credit card information.  We've done so many amazing things over the past 20 years, but that's only been possible thanks to successful benefactors like you. We ask you to please help us help taxpayers. Please donate TODAY. Thank you.

Nose Art of WWII

This is not my work. However, in honor of my Dad who served in Navy during WWII, I post this piece shared by one of my Air Force friends. Thanks, George!

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America was in the "Big War" (WWII), these planes were flown by young boys. Political correctness was 'go to war, break things, kill the enemy'. Apparently no one worried about nose art on the bombers. [I've read that these were allowed by the Army-Aircorps of that day because they realized how much of a moral booster it was for these young men to be sacrificing their lives to defend our freedoms & liberties; it was the least they could do.]

BTW. More airmen died in WWII than Marines. At the bottom after the pictures there are amazing stats for the Army Aircorps in WWII.

Probably would not be allowed to leave the ground today.        

 

 WWII Statistics Army-Aircorps.

Almost 1,000 Army planes disappeared en route from the US to foreign locations.  But an eye-watering 43,581 aircraft were lost overseas including 22,948 on combat missions (18,418 against the Western Axis) and 20,633 attributed to non-combat causes overseas.

In a single 376 plane raid in August 1943, 60 B-17s were shot down. That was a 16 percent loss rate and meant 600 empty bunks in England.  In 1942-43 it was statistically impossible for bomber crews to complete a 25-mission tour in Europe .

Pacific theatre losses were far less (4,530 in combat) owing to smaller forces  committed.. The worst B-29 mission, against Tokyo on May 25, 1945, cost  26 Superfortresses, 5.6 percent of the 464 dispatched from the Marianas.. On average, 6,600 American servicemen died per month during WWII, about 220 a  day. By the end of the war, over 40,000 airmen were killed in combat theatres and another 18,000 wounded.  Some 12,000 missing men were declared dead, including a number "liberated" by the Soviets but never returned.  More  than 41,000 were captured, half of the 5,400 held by the Japanese died in captivity, compared with one-tenth in German hands.
  
Total combat casualties were pegged at 121,867. US manpower made up the deficit.  The AAF's peak strength was reached in 1944 with  2,372,000 personnel, nearly twice the previous year's figure. The losses were huge---but so were production totals.  From 1941 through 1945, American  industry delivered more than 276,000 military aircraft. That number was enough not only for US Army, Navy and Marine Corps, but for allies as diverse as Britain, Australia, China and Russia.  In fact, from 1943 onward, America produced more planes than Britain and Russia combined.  And more than Germany and Japan together 1941-45. However, our enemies took massive losses.  Through much of 1944, the Luftwaffe sustained uncontrolled hemorrhaging, reaching 25 percent of aircrews and 40  planes a month. And in late 1944 into 1945, nearly half the pilots in Japanese squadrons had flown fewer than 200 hours.  The disparity of two years before had been completely reversed. 
 
Experience  Level:
Uncle Sam sent many of his sons to war with absolute minimums of training. Some fighter pilots entered combat in 1942 with less than one hour in their assigned aircraft. The 357th  Fighter Group (often known as The Yoxford Boys) went to England in late 1943 having trained on P-39s.   The group never saw a Mustang until shortly before its first combat mission. A high-time P-51 pilot had 30 hours in type.  Many had fewer than five hours.  Some had one hour. With arrival of new aircraft, many combat units transitioned in combat.

The attitude was, "They all have a stick and a throttle.  Go fly “em." When the famed 4th Fighter Group converted from P-47s to P-51s in February 1944, there was no time to stand down for an orderly transition.  The Group commander, Col. Donald Blakeslee, said, "You can learn to fly `51s on the way to the target. A future P-47 ace said, "I was sent to England to die."  He was not alone.  Some fighter pilots tucked their wheels in the well on their first combat mission with one previous flight in the aircraft.  Meanwhile, many bomber crews were still learning their trade: Of Jimmy Doolittle's 15 pilots on the April 1942 Tokyo raid, only five had won their wings before 1941. 
 
All but one of the 16 copilots were less than a year out of flight school.. In WWII flying safety took a back seat to combat.  The AAF's worst accident rate was recorded by the A-36 Invader version of the P-51: a staggering 274 accidents  per 100,000 flying hours.  Next worst were the P-39 at 245, the  P-40 at 188, and the P-38 at 139.  All were Allison powered. Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive.
 
The B-17 and B-24 averaged 30 and 35 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, respectively-- a horrific figure considering that from 1980 to 2000 the Air Force's major mishap rate was less than 2. The B-29 was even worse at 40; the world's most sophisticated, most capable and most expensive bomber was too urgently needed to stand down for mere safety reasons.
.
The AAF set a reasonably high standard for B-29 pilots, but the desired figures were seldom attained. The original cadre of the 58th Bomb Wing was to have 400 hours of multi-engine time, but  there were not enough experienced pilots to meet the criterion.  Only ten percent had overseas experience.  Conversely, when a $2.1 billion B-2  crashed in 2008, the Air Force initiated a two-month "safety pause" rather than declare a "stand down", let alone grounding. The B-29 was no better for maintenance. Though the R3350 was known as a complicated, troublesome power-plant, no more than half the mechanics had previous experience with the Duplex Cyclone. But they made it work. 

 

Navigators:
Perhaps the greatest unsung success story of AAF training was Navigators. The Army graduated some 50,000 during the War.  And many had never flown out of sight of land before leaving "Uncle Sugar" for a war zone.  Yet the huge majority found their way across oceans and continents without getting lost or running out of fuel --- a stirring tribute to the AAF's educational establishments.
 
Cadet To Colonel:
It was possible for a flying cadet at the time of Pearl Harbor to finish the war with eagles on his shoulders.  That was the record of John D Landers, a 21-year-old Texan, who was commissioned a second lieutenant on December 12, 1941.  He joined his combat squadron with 209 hours total flight time, including 2 in P-40s.  He finished the war as a full colonel, commanding an 8th Air Force Group --- at age 24. As the training pipeline filled up, however those low figures became exceptions. By early 1944, the average AAF fighter pilot entering combat had logged at least 450 hours, usually including 250 hours in training.  At the same time, many captains  and first lieutenants claimed over 600 hours.
 
FACT:
At its height in mid-1944, the Army Air Forces had 2.6 million people and nearly 80,000 aircraft of all types. Today the US Air Force employs 327,000 active personnel (plus 170,000 civilians) with 5,500+ manned and perhaps 200 unmanned aircraft. The 2009 figures represent about 12 percent of the manpower and 7 percent of the airplanes of the WWII peak.
 
IN SUMMATION: 
Whether there will ever be another war like that experienced in 1940-45 is doubtful, as fighters and bombers have given way to helicopters and remotely-controlled drones over Afghanistan and Iraq .  But within living memory, men left the earth in 1,000-plane formations and fought major battles five miles high,  leaving a legacy that remains timeless.

The Clinton-Obama Immigration Policies

Just watch... no more needs to be said about the current situation in "the swamp" when it comes to immigration.

Planned Parenthood's Biggest Enemy is Truth

This issue alone has got to be the liberal/leftist's most successful scam on the nation after managing to "gray" the moral standards of our society since time of Margaret Sanger; founder of Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood bills itself as one of “the nation's leading providers of high-quality, affordable health care” and claims that federal defunding of the organization would leave millions of women “without a place to go for needed care.” Do these claims accurately reflect what Planned Parenthood does? Or does it have another reason for being? In this week’s video, Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, lays out the differences between the way Planned Parenthood presents itself and the reality.(Text provided by Prager U.)

Interviewing a Millennial

You may have already seen this video of an older business owner interviewing a millennial aged female - yea, I realize this is most certainly a staged clip for the purpose of making the point while generating some laughs - but I share it because I can totally relate to this type of experience when I was still teaching full time eight years ago and more recently, substituting in a local community high school.

Anyway, watch it. I think you'll see what I'm getting at here.

Ignoring the Obvious - Part 2

I have deliberately been staying away from watching the aftermath coverage of the Parkland incident. If I didn't, I'd be even more upset and screaming at the screen regularly from the coverage the liberal/socialist media is pushing with its anti-gun agenda. 

Please, it's the person controlling the tool, not the tool, which is the issue in a crime, whether it's a rock, bat, club, screwdriver, automobile, etc.; the tool does nothing until handled by the person controlling it. So, for the liberals to focus on firearms as the reason so much killing is happening, I ask... why aren't they as upset at all the automobile accidents which kill people every day? Eliminating guns aren't the solution, just as our "war on drugs" hasn't eliminated addiction to them.

I just checked out a post by Bill O'Reilly covering it to get up to speed on the latest developments. Here's the synopsis on the teaser email about the article:

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Killer Had Been Evaluated

A little more than a year ago social workers received an ominous tip about Nikolas Cruz, who is now suspected of mowing down 17 people in Florida on Wednesday.  They were warned that Cruz was depressed, had cut himself on both arms, and talked about buying a gun.  After visiting the Cruz home, the Florida Department of Children & Families determined that he was receiving adequate mental health care and was "stable enough not to be hospitalized."  The facility at which Cruz was being treated added that he "was not at risk to harm himself or others."

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In reading this article within his commentary, I discovered that the social workers who were in contact with this young troubled man - I refuse to use his name; he's already getting more than enough name recognition as it is - are most likely feeling pretty nervous right now. If you check the link to the report O'Reilly's provided in the teaser piece above, and read the first few paragraphs in this Miami Herald report, you'll understand why I say that they're most likely feeling nervous.

But, what's even more interesting to me is the two things I saw in the first video within the article. First, was the lawyer representing this young man. She speaks to the real cause of this incident; the mental health and emotionally crippled state this young man was in at the time leading up to his shooting 16 high school classmates and one teacher. Yet, this article also reveals how the prosecuting attorney's office is conflicted about whether to go for the death penalty, or not. Herein lies the ideological conflict, while revealing the disconnect behind the true cause of the crime, for the liberal; the evil intent within the person. Second, she describes this admitted killer as a broken, remorseful, sad person who regrets what he did. My personal conclusion as to why she describes him this way is that she's being careful to not say anything to the press to jeopardize her defense case for him, while feeding the media what they want to hear for its sensationalist value. Remember, the primary motivator for news and entertainment today is to solicit emotional reaction in its audience.

However, after letting the video play to the end and not stopping it, another one began - apparently randomly chosen - that had a woman who, according to the text on the bottom of the screen was the state president of the American Federation of Teachers, ranting about the gun violence in some meeting. What she screams with extreme emotional fervor, was about the loss of lives of these children and the need to eliminate guns. But what strikes me as odd is that there is not the same emotional fervor from liberals in general for those children killed in car crashes as a result of some illegal alien without a license who hit them with the vehicle they were driving. No, instead they come to their defense and argue in favor of the illegal aliens' unfortunate circumstances. Excuse me?

P.S. If any reader believes I'm "all wrong" when it comes to saying what I have about this incident, think again. What they may not know, is that I lost my next older brother - only 18 months older - to a senseless 17 year old gang member who was pushing crack on the street corner and shot him. While he may be incarcerated a second time for an unrelated crime, he's STILL ALIVE, and my tax dollars are supporting that against my will? That's soft tyranny by government in my book.

P.S. Another blogger's commentary on this topic... a more extensive perspective on the issue.