Remember When Being a Liberal Was A Good Thing?

 

Remember when being a liberal was a good thing?  I sure do.  I remember growing up listening to the news - back when the news just reported the news without an agenda - talking about these new, unheard-of changes that needed to be made in American society.  And I remember hearing all of the uptight, straight-laced conservatives saying how bad the change was, and that it would lead to the downfall of the nation and all that other crap.  Even at 6 or 7 years of age I could see that the conservatives were so stuck in their ways and so unwilling to change that they'd never see the good that liberals were trying to do.  

But thankfully the liberals got their way, and some very important things in American life changed for the better.  Things like desegregation, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Act, and more women entering the work force.  And surprise, surprise, the nation survived.  How about that.  The liberals were all about changes that would benefit everyone, not just liberals.  Of course the conservatives refused to see this, and I'm happy to say that they were proven wrong. 

Well, that was then and this is now, and things have most certainly changed.  I won't say that some of the ideas that the liberals of today have will cause the downfall of the nation, but it'll be close.  Some of the causes that the liberals of today support have been disastrous to the nation, such as open borders.  Flooding the nation with illegal immigrants who take jobs from Americans and sponge off of the system by getting benefits to which they're not entitled (such as social security and health care) have a detrimental effect on ALL American citizens because those services are paid for with OUR tax money.  I don't know about you, but I didn't give up a percentage of my pay to Social Security every payday to have an illegal alien criminal apply for and get benefits.  

Allowing non-citizens to vote in our elections is another one.  The open border policy is directly tied to this one, because the liberals (spelled Demoncrats) know that if they let the illegals in, then give them benefits that they'll vote for whatever candidate the Demoncrats put up.  This will in turn allow the Demoncrats to remain in power and give them the chance to force more of their idiotic policies on us and further fuck up the nation.

 

 

But the thing that concerns and dismays me the most is the unabated, open hatred that liberals have for conservatives to the point where they openly state on all kinds of social media how much they wish Trump would be assassinated, how they hoped that all conservatives get sick and die of covid, and other shit like that.  And this, coming from the same group of people who preach tolerance, acceptance, and understanding in one breath, then turn around and wish sickness and death on anyone who disagrees with them in the next breath.  This is the thing that concerns me the most about the liberals in our country, and is the main reason I refer to them as 'libtards.'  

 

The mere hypocrisy of the libtards in our nation today is nothing short of astounding.  One of the things I have NEVER seen on any form of social media is a posting by a conservative in which the poster says that they hope Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi get cancer and die, or anything like that.  But a five minute trek through TikTok will show you all kinds of posts by blue and purple haired libtards wishing all of this and more on Trump, Vance, and literally anyone who doesn't agree with them.

 

This is disgusting, pure and simple, and contrary to what the libtards may think this is NOT the American way of life.  There is NO excuse for this, period.  But of course the libtards will disagree with you, then tell you that they hope you die.  

 

And that's why they're libtards. 

 

Deo Vindice

IHC

 

  

Sometimes It's The Little Things That Make Me Happy

  

Every now and then it's the little things in life that make me happy, and today's blog entry is about one of those.  It's called the "Watch Mug," and it's something that I'd been trying to find for a long time.  I just wasn't looking in the right place.

First, let me tell you about the watch mug.  This style of mug was first used by the USMC around 1913 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - or at least that's the earliest proven date by the stamp on the bottom of a mug shard found on Glass Beach at Gitmo.  The mug was designed to be heavy and sturdy to withstand the rigors of military use; it was also designed without a handle.  This was for two reasons - the handle was normally the first thing to break off, so they didn't put one on it.  The second reason is that Marines on guard or sentry duty - and later sailors on watch on board a ship at sea - would use the mug of hot coffee to warm their hands.  The size of the mug (it's HUGE) and the lack of a handle made it perfect for wrapping your fingers around it to warm them up in the cold weather.  This is how the mug got its name, the 'watch mug.'

 

 

The picture above shows a Marine on board a Navy ship after the invasion of Entiwok Island in WWII drinking coffee out of a watch mug.  You can see two other watch mugs on the table behind him. 

 

 As you can see from the picture above, the watch mug wasn't exclusive to the Marines and the Navy; the Air Force and the Army used it as well.

 

The mugs became standard issue on US Navy vessels, staying in use until around the time of the Vietnam War.  I haven't been able to find anything about when the mug went out of use by the other services, but I know that by the time I joined the Air Force it was long gone.

 

As soon as I saw one of these mugs I wanted one.  I thought it was cool as hell, and the fact that it was a part of Navy history is the part that intrigued me the most.  As you may recall from my previous posts, my father was in the US Navy from 1946-1951 stationed on board the USS MISSISSIPPI AG-128, which means that he drank from a mug just like this when he was either on watch or eating chow.

 

The first time I found one of these mugs was on e-bay (of course), and it was an original Corning mug from WWII - and the seller wanted $80 for it.  Nope, not happening.  I looked around some more, but couldn't find anyone who made a reproduction mug.  And all of the originals I found were all sky-high in price, so I was just about ready to give up.

 

Then, about two weeks ago, I found a company online called Glass Beach Mugs.  They make an exact replica of the 1917 USMC mug designed from shards of broken mugs found at Glass Beach, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  They also make three other versions of the mugs, one of which has the Masonic Square and Compasses on it.  (Too bad I didn't find this one last year, huh?)  Of course I immediately bought one, and since the Centennial USMC Mug was sold out, I went for the next one in line, the Filibuster Mug.  Including shipping the total cost was right at $30, and let me tell you it's worth every penny!

 

This mug is HUGE!  It holds 13 ounces of liquid, so if you use creamer in your coffee you're gonna want to leave a little room in the mug for that.  It's also HEAVY, weighing in at 1.25 pounds!  It's VERY thick, and I'm quite sure that if I dropped it on the floor it wouldn't break.  Like I said, this mug is worth every penny!

 

While I'm very pleased with all of the attributes of this mug, the main reason I love it as much as I do is very simple.  Since my father drank out of a mug like this when he was in the Navy, every time I use it I feel like I'm having coffee with my father.

 

Like I said, sometimes it's the little things that make me happy. 

 

I love you, Pop, and I miss you.

 

Electrician's Mate 3rd Class (EM3) Raymond Craig, 1950

Deo Vindice
IHC

 

 Glass Beach Mugs