What Yankees Don't Understand

 

Not only Yankees, but people in general, I guess, don't understand this one most important thing about why people such as myself admire and celebrate the South and the soldiers who fought for it.

No one in their right mind North or South will defend the preservation of slavery - not in this day and age, and I'm certainly one of them.  But one of the things - not THE thing of which I'm speaking, but one of them - that people don't understand is that the Southern states didn't secede to keep the black man in a form of subjugation; they seceded because if slavery was abolished then they would lose their work force and their economy would crumble.  And since at that time the South was producing 70% of the world's cotton and the Federal government was getting rich off of it, the crumbling of the Southern economy would also mean the crumbling of the Federal economy as well. And a little factoid that Southern detractors choose to ignore that the people of the North in general and Abraham Lincoln in particular held the same dim view of the black race as the Southerners did.  Lincoln himself said that he considered the black man physically and mentally inferior to the white man, and that he would not like to see the races intermingled.  

So the quote by Woodrow Wilson shown above pretty much sums up how, to quote the Kennedy brothers in their book "The South Was Right!" the South got put up on the "stool of eternal repentance."  This is what I call 'selective ignorance' because people choose to believe only this one thing about the conflict, intentionally refusing to research it on their own and become educated as to the whole picture of what caused this most tragic of conflicts.

But the one thing that I'm talking about is this:  I celebrate the Confederate soldiers who fought for their land and homes.  That's it.  Period.  

I don't celebrate the South's secession, even though I disagree with the Supreme Court opinion of 1869 in the case of White v. Texas in which the Court found secession to be unconstitutional.  I don't celebrate it because while I understand that the South had no choice, I think it was a national tragedy to be mourned rather than celebrated.

I certainly don't celebrate the efforts of the Confederate government to preserve the institution of slavery, even though I realize why they did it.  It was a necessary evil, and I'm certain that slavery would have died out on its own sooner than anyone would have thought - especially once Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.  It died out in the North because that area of the country became industrialized and didn't need the labor force (not when they had the Irish to abuse, anyway, but we won't talk about that), while the South remained an agricultural area that needed the massive labor force required and which slavery provided.  

What I celebrate is the average Confederate soldier who was fighting for one reason and one reason alone - to defend his home from the Yankee invaders.  Hell, the average Confederate soldier was either a merchant or a farmer, most of whom didn't even own slaves.  

You have to realize that during that period of our country's history the people put allegiance to their home state above allegiance to the country as a whole, and this is how our Founding Fathers intended it to be.  This is why, when Robert E. Lee was offered the command of all Federal forces in 1861 he turned it down.  He knew that Lincoln was going to invade the South, and since his home state of Virginia was closest to DC he knew that Virginia would be the first state to be invaded.  (And he was right, by the way.) 

 So that's why I fly the Confederate flag.  I won't say that the Confederate government was perfect - far from it, actually - but I will defend to the death the noble efforts of the brave Confederate soldiers who fought to protect their homes and family.

Call them traitors if you want, but to me they're heroes.  Always have been, and always will be.

Deo Vindice

IHC

 

  

The Day The World Changed Forever

 

It's Thursday, November 22, 1963, and President John F. Kennedy accompanied by his wife, Jacqueline, are sitting the in back of the Presidential limousine riding through Dallas.  A few minutes after this picture was taken President Kennedy was shot and killed when his motorcade traveled through Dealy Plaza, and the world changed forever.

In my humble opinion, JFK was the last Democratic president we've had that was worth a shit.  He genuinely cared about the country and the people in it, as did the Democratic party as a whole.  But when that bully from Texas, Lyndon Baines Johnson, was sworn in as President a little after 2PM that horrific day, that was the moment that the Democratic party that had taken the country through WWII died forever.  It has taken 62 years for it to happen, but the Democratic party has gone from the party of peace to the party of hate.  The party whose members demonstrated in the streets to end the carnage of the Vietnam War is now the party whose members riot, loot, and burn whenever a criminal is killed while trying to kill a police officer.  The party whose members spoke of peace and harmony is now the party whose members spew hate and division, espousing inclusion while excluding, deriding, and insulting those who disagree with them.

JFK would be ashamed to see what has happened to his party and the country in general, and he'd be even more dismayed to realize that it was his party that ruined America.

I remember when this day was always recognized in printed news media, on the radio, and on television.  The 25th anniversary of his assassination was a big deal, but the 50th anniversary barely saw any coverage at all.  And I'm sure that today we might hear a one line closing statement on some of the news programs, but I wouldn't bet on it.

The country has forgotten JFK and what he did for us, and that is our national shame.

But as a person who was only a small child when he died but who has studied up on what he accomplished, I'll never forget.  He was a great man and a great President, and we should never forget him.

I won't.

Deo Vindice

IHC

 

  

I'm DONE with Amazon!

 

As the title says, I'm DONE with Amazon, and here's why.

I got a flurry of text messages last Saturday morning from both of my credit card companies AND from my bank that issued my debit card alerting me to possible fraud purchases on Amazon.  So I made all of the necessary phone calls and got both credit cards changed to new account numbers and my debit card closed as well.  But the bad news about that was that I had NO access to any money because the credit cards were closed and I didn't have the new ones, and I couldn't get a new debit card until Monday morning - and this on the day that my sister was coming down for the weekend.  So I pulled the Amex card out that I keep for emergencies and used it for the weekend.  Problem solved.

The new Discover card arrived Tuesday, and as of this morning (November 20th) I have not received the new Capital One card.  I went and got a new debit card yesterday, so we're good, right?

Or so I thought.  Last night at 10:45PM I got a text message alerting me to a possible fraudulent transaction on my wife's credit card that was linked to my old Discover card - the credit card that she has NEVER used.  She's never even carried it - I gave it to her years ago and she put it away, where it sits to this day.  So the text message told me to respond with 'yes' if I made the transaction, and 'no' if I didn't - and I immediately sent NO.

Someone else replied YES.  On my TEXT MESSAGE program.

But since I had replied 'no' they locked the credit card anyway.  When I got up this morning I went into my Amazon account (which is where my wife's card was used) and saw that not only was that fraudulent purchase listed, there were FOUR other purchases that had been denied for possible fraud as well, and those four purchases were made with - hang onto your underwear - THE CREDIT CARD THAT I HAVEN'T RECEIVED YET!

So I immediately called Capital One to find out what the fuck was going on, and during the conversation I was told that they have an agreement with Amazon and several other companies that whenever a credit card being used on their site was upgraded or changed, THEY AUTOMATICALLY SEND THE INFORMATION ON THE NEW CARD TO AMAZON.  

Whoever hacked into my Amazon account had the information on my new credit card before I did, and used it to try and make purchases.   

Yeah, I said the same thing as you just did.  I immediately called Amazon and told them what was going on, and told them to close my account and delete all data in it immediately.  That process usually takes ten days, and I had already set the process in motion two days ago, but as you can see someone still tried to use my account to make fraudulent purchases.  When I told the guy from Amazon Customer Service this I also told him I wanted the account closed IMMEDIATELY, and that I was NOT going to wait ten days.  I wanted it closed RIGHT FUCKIN' NOW.  

And he did.  My Amazon account is now gone, never to return.

So now my only issue is the one where someone else replied to a text message on my phone.  So I called Spectrum and talked with a very nice lady who told me that Amazon sends out 3 kinds of notifications of possible fraud - an e-mail, a push notification, and a text message.  She asked me if I had gotten them, and I told her I had received the e-mail and the text message, but had not gotten a push notification (I never use push notifications).

She then told me that whoever hacked into my Amazon account had set up push notifications to go to THEM, and when they responded 'yes' to the push notification about the fraudulent transaction, their response also showed up on my text message. That's how push notifications work.

So no, my phone wasn't hacked which was my last concern.  I then told her what Capital One had told me about automatically updating credit card information with Amazon, and she was as astounded as I was. 

As it stands right now, I have yet another new Capital One card coming (which is being expedited so I should have it tomorrow or Saturday at the latest), my Discover card is good because I haven't entered it into ANY electronic database (nor will I), and I have a safe, secure, functioning debit card.

The common denominator in this is Amazon.  One of THEIR employees hacked into my account and made a bunch of fraudulent purchases at my expense, and when I asked the guy from Amazon Customer Service what they were going to do about it, I got the scripted tired old response of "we'll conduct an investigation and take the appropriate actions."

Which means they won't do shit.  But that's fine, because I'm done with Amazon for good.  My account is closed, the data is erased, and that's that.

If you have an Amazon account I strongly encourage you to either close it or use something like Google Pay or Apple Pay to buy things.  But under NO circumstances should you use your debit card or a credit card!  If they used PayPal I maybe would have kept my account, but they don't, so that's that.

Now to get on with the rest of my day.  It's going up into the 70s today and I hear my bike calling me.

I must answer the call.

Deo Vindice

IHC

 

  

 

A Brief Southern History Lesson

 

And here it is.  I'll try to be brief, but this is a topic of which I am VERY well educated and could talk on for hours, but I won't.

1.  White people didn't invent slavery.  Slavery has been around since Biblical times. The Old Testament contains laws that regulate slavery, which was a common practice in the ancient world. For example, Leviticus 25:44-46 allows Israelites to purchase slaves from other nations as inherited property. The Bible also lays out rules on how both slave owners and slaves should act, even calling for Israelite slaves to be released after six years.

2.  Blacks in Africa were enslaved by other blacks, and were then sold to other countries.  The common misbelief is that the slave traders would conduct raids into Africa and capture the locals, then ship them off to other countries (specifically America) and sell them.  The truth is that the African tribes - specifically the Zulus - would raid villages of other tribes, enslave the people, then sell them to the slave traders.  The slave traders never went any further into Africa than where they were docked.

3.  At one time slavery existed in every state of the Union.  Yes, even though it was admitted into the Union as a free state, Slavery existed in California.  People who moved to the state brought their slaves with them, and California did nothing to prevent it.  The state even adopted a version of the 1852 Fugitive Slave Act which helped return runaway slaves to their owners.

4.  Blacks owned slaves, with one of the wealthiest Southern slave owners being a black man.  Antoine Dubuclet of Louisiana owned approximately 100 slaves and was only one of several wealthy black slave owners.  William Ellison Jr. was a former slave who became a blacksmith, and by 1860 he was one of the wealthiest property owners in South Carolina, owning 63 slaves and 900 acres of land.

5.  The average Confederate soldier was fighting to protect his homeland, not to preserve slavery.  Sure, they knew that the Southern politicians were all about preserving slavery and they knew the reason for it, but the main reason they fought was to protect their homes and their lands from the "Yankee invaders."   If you want to read something that tell you why the men on both sides fought, then I strongly suggest you read "For Cause and Comrades."  It's a book made up of letters, journals, messages, and diaries from men on both sides of the conflict and it tells why each of them fought.  (Hint:  Most Yankees were fighting to preserve the Union, not free the slaves - including General US Grant.)

6.  Most slave trading companies were based in Boston.  Yes, there were several in the South, but the biggest and most successful slave trading companies were based in Boston.

7.  The Confederate flag never flew from a slave ship.  Every slave ship from America flew the Stars and Stripes, not the Stars and Bars.

8.  The Confederate States of America outlawed the slave trade before the United States did.  When the Confederate Constitution was drafted and approved in 1861 it specifically outlawed the importation of any new slaves into the Confederacy.  But it did nothing, however, to abolish slavery entirely as it allowed current slave owners to keep their slaves.  The United States didn't abolish slavery until AFTER the war with the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution.

9.  Harriet Beecher Stowe never saw a Southern plantation.  She actually never set foot in the South at all.  She wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin" based on the interviews with former slaves and stories in the Yankee newspapers that she had read.  In other words, her book was based not on facts but on heresay.

I could go on, but I think you get the point by now.

I'm just as proud of the South as I am of the United States, and for the same reasons.  Both have made HUGE mistakes (like how the US treated both the Irish and the American Indians, for example), but in the entire history of the world there has never been a 'perfect' country or one that didn't make mistakes.  Americans have always believed in standing up for what they believed in, and that's true even today.  While not all of the people of the South believed in slavery, they did believe in defending their homes from an invader, so they went to war for it - just as their grandfathers went to war to repel the British invaders 85 years prior.

That's why I'm proud to be both an American and a Southerner, and that's why I fly both the Stars and Stripes AND the Stars and Bars.

And if you have a problem with that, then that's a 'you' problem and not a 'me' problem.

Deo Vindice

IHC 

 

 

The Beginning of the End

 

Every now and then something happens to prove to me just how truly stupid people can be, and last night's election in New York City is the latest incident. I remember in the days following 9/11 everyone saying that they wouldn't forget what happened on that day, but it's apparent by the election results that the people of New York City have indeed forgotten.

Now that Mamdani has been elected mayor, one of two things is going to happen - he's either going to fulfill his campaign promises and gut the city and its programs or he won't. If he's successful and carries out his programs then you can expect to see a mass exodus of rich people from New York City because they're not going to stay there and let him increase their taxes to pay for the handouts that he wants to give to all of the people who are too lazy go get a job. That means rent prices are going to fall through the floor because there's going to be more real estate available than there is demand for, and once he finishes gutting the social programs and defunding the police crime is going to skyrocket which will drive the average person out of New York City.  His efforts to take over the grocery stores will result in mom and pop businesses either banding together to fight him or closing shop and moving to another location where they don't have to fight him. Either way, you can count on seeing shortages of food and long lines for the food that will be available, just like in every other Socialist-led country.

Or after six months when he hasn't been able to do anything that he promised he was going to do he'll blame it on the legislature. He'll say that he tried to do this and this and he tried to do such and such, but either the legislature or the New York Senate have stood in his way.

What I think he will probably do is blame it on Trump. One way or the other he will follow the liberal playbook and find someone else to blame his failures on; that is, after all, the way liberals do things – and their favorite person to blame their failures on at the moment is Trump.

All I know is that the once great city of New York is now on its way to becoming one great big third world shithole. I'm just glad I don't live there and have to deal with it firsthand.

We've got to stop asking the liberal left how stupid they could be because they're beginning to take it as a challenge.

Deo Vindice

IHC  

 

 

It's Time to Go Nuclear

 

It's time for the Republicans in Congress to grow a pair of balls and hit the button for the Nuclear Option.  Past time, actually.

The Demoncrats have shut down the government and have been holding the American people hostage for 31 days now, using the plight of the Americans who depend on the government as 'leverage' to get what they want.  If you think this is wrong, then consider these quotes from prominent Demoncrats:

"There will be families that are going to suffer…but it is one of the few leverage times we have.” 
– Representative Katherine Clark

“[if] we reopen the government and lose our leverage...” – Senator Bernie Sanders

As is their usual style, the Demoncrats in Congress are using the people and making them suffer just to get what they want.  And of course, they're not affected by the shutdown because their salaries are coming from a different source, so what do they care if SNAP benefits are denied and people can't buy food?  There was a time when the Democratic party was a party for the people, but those days are apparently long gone.

In case you don't know, the "Nuclear Option" is a tactic that can be invoked to allow a simple majority vote on an item to be sufficient instead of requiring a 60% vote.  This option also disallows discussion on the item being voted on, which eliminates the use of a filibuster to stall the vote and affect the outcome.  Both parties have used this option in the past decade or two, so one side can't call the other out for doing it.

But considering that the Demoncrats are unwilling to budge on the CR unless the Republicans let them spend money for all kinds of stupid shit that don't benefit Americans - like the elimination of a $50 billion investment in rural health care and reinstating taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants (that Trump shut down his first week in office). Altogether, Senate Democrats' unrealistic demands would cost American taxpayers nearly $1.5 trillion without benefiting a single American citizen.

The Republicans have voted for the clean CR ('clean' meaning that there were no add-ons included like the ones listed above) a total of fourteen times now, and the Demoncrats have voted against it fourteen times.  The vote has been 60 in favor and 54 not in favor, with two Democrats voting in favor and two Rhinos voting against it.  The Republicans need an additional 8 votes in order for the CR to pass, and it's clear by now that the Demoncrats have no intention of giving it to them.

So it's time to hit the big red button and go Nuclear.  If they do that, the next time they vote all they need is ONE more vote than the other side, and the CR passes - which means the government opens up, people go back to work, and the SNAP benefits kick in again.

And the American people stop suffering, which is the whole point.

Grow some balls and get it done, Republicans!

Deo Vindice

IHC

 

  

Watching the Train Wreck Happen

 

Sometimes you just have to sit back and watch the train wreck happen.  You know it's going to happen, you know it's going to be very bad, and no matter what you say or try to do, you can't stop it because no one will listen to you.  So you have to just sit back and watch it happen, then pick up the pieces while hoping that the victims have learned their lesson.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm talking about that Socialist/Communist/Muslim asshole who's running for Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani.

Make no mistake about it, if this asshole wins the election, it's going to be the end of New York City as one of the major cities in the United States.  One look at his platform will tell you everything you need to know - unless you're a libtard, of course.  In that case you're gonna love what he's saying he's going to do because - well, because you're a libtard.  Which is to say that you're an idiot.

Mamdani has said that he has all of these 'social programs' that he's going to introduce, giving away all kinds of free stuff.  And as every single Demoncrat who has ever drawn breath has said before him, he's going to raise taxes on the rich to pay for it all.

I guess he's never heard of 'cause and effect,' and never paid attention in Physics class when they explained that 'for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.'  Because if this clown gets elected, the very first thing that the 'rich' are going to do is pack their bags and GTFO out NYC.  They're gonna be leaving in droves, and where do you think they're gonna go?  Why, Florida, of course, where there's NO personal income tax and the tax rates for businesses are at least sane.

Mamdani has said that he will defund or reduce funding for the police, again funneling the money into social programs.  Do this, and the immediate reaction will be that crime in NYC will skyrocket, and NYC will once again become a crime-ridden shithole like it was in the 1970's and 1980's until Rudy Giuliani came in and cleaned it up.  

He also says that he's going to freeze rents in the city.  While I'll be the first to say that rent in NYC is sky high for no good reason other than it's NYC, the equal and opposite reaction to this stupid move is that landlords will have to shut down their buildings because they won't be able to afford the ever-increasing cost of maintenance.  And that means you'll actually have LESS housing available, which will lead to more people leaving the city and more homelessness in a city that is already struggling with it.

Another promise he's made is that he's going to make all buses and public transportation in NYC free of charge.  OK, sounds good, but how are you going to pay the drivers, mechanics, technicians, and all the other people who work in the industry?  And how are you going to pay for the increased maintenance costs, because everyone knows that the moment you make something free nobody respects it, and vandalism will skyrocket.  OH, he's going to tax the rich, right - the rich who, by this time, will have packed up and left the city to avoid the high taxes.  

And in what may be the most laughable idea yet, he's going to have the city take over all of the grocery stores, allegedly to make them 'more affordable' for the residents.  So what about the 'mom and pop' grocery stores in the city?  You gonna put them out of work?  And do you really think that the big grocery store companies are going to just sit back and let you get away with this?  Hell no, they won't.  They'll close their stores and do just what the rich folks did - GTFO of the city, which will lead to shortages of food throughout the city.

Two things never cease to amaze me (besides the utter stupidity of the average libtard, that is).  The first is that after watching socialism fail in every single country that has ever tried it for the past 100+ years, people still think it'll work and want to give it a try.  The other thing is that enough people believe this drivel to elect Mamdani in the first place.  Trust me when I tell you - as all of the experts will say - if this socialist asshole gets elected, it's gonna be the end of New York City as a thriving major US city and will become just another Demoncratic shithole, just like Detroit.

Just you watch.  In the mean time, hand me some popcorn, willya?

Deo Vindice

IHC

 

  

Tales From The Dorm - The Things You Hear over the Intercom

 

When I was first assigned to the 3711th BMTS as an MTI, the squadron was co-ed.  This was a big change for me because when I went through BMTS a short 7 years earlier in 1975 the squadrons were segregated by sex.  The squadrons were either all male or all female, and never the twain shall meet.  (Except on Base Liberty and Town Pass, that is!)  So it took me a little getting used to, especially when the second flight I was assigned to was a female flight.  But I had a good teacher with that flight (not as good as Pat Barrett, but still good) and caught on pretty quickly.

Fast forward a year.  It's the 15th DOT (Day of Training) out of a 30 day training schedule, which means the flight is half finished.  The MTI has become pretty familiar with the flight and vice-versa, and the yelling on the part of the MTI has diminished to commands on the drill field as this was the only time it was necessary now.  The 15th DOT also meant a formal Open Ranks Inspection, and since I had the duty that afternoon and the inspection was schedule for 1300 hours (1PM for you civilians), I was the one doing it.

I was working the afternoon shift because the night before I had Charge of Quarters duty and spent the morning sleeping.  The CQ is an MTI who stays in the squadron overnight since regulations required there to be at least one permanent party member in the squadron area at all times.  The CQ has two runners assigned to him from one of the senior flights, and these two runners would change out every 2 hours.  The CQ had to wait for at least an hour after Lights Out before he could go to bed himself, and during that time period he was required to make at least one walking tour of the outside of the building.  I would also use that time to listen in on the intercom system to see if any of the flights were staying up after Lights Out to work on the dorm, shine shoes, iron uniforms, etc.

I was working in Dorm A-4 at the time, and in that dorm the intercom box was right over the Dorm Guard stand, which was right next to the entrance door to the dorm.  The Dorm Guard is the airman who controls access to the dorm as the door doesn't open from the outside.  If your name isn't on the Entry Authority List or if you don't have an Access Authority badge, you're not getting in the dorm.  Period.  This was done for the safety of the flights, and it worked VERY well.  The Dorm Guard also served as a fire watch, making a tour of the inside of the building once an hour for their 2 hour shift.

When I turned on the intercom for my dorm the first thing I heard was the two Dorm Guards talking in hushed voices.  I had a female flight at the time, and when the flight members were the opposite sex from the MTI they were required to post two Dorm Guards as to prevent the trainees from being alone in the dorm with an MTI of the opposite sex (for obvious reasons).  I wasn't all that surprised to hear them talking about me, but I was kind of surprised at the conversation.  It went something like this:

First trainee:  "So I wonder what kind of lingerie SSgt Craig likes?"

Second trainee:  "I don't know.  Do you think he likes lacy things?"

First trainee:  "What man doesn't?" followed by some light giggling.

Second trainee:  "I wonder if he likes red?"

First trainee:  "I don't know, but I've got a set of red lingerie that would knock his socks off!"  More giggling.

That was about the time that I turned the intercom off to keep the trainees from hearing me laughing.  I recognized the voices so I knew who the trainees were; my big challenge was going to resist the temptation to let them know I had overheard them - at least until after the evening meal on the last day of training before they shipped out, that is.

I held out until the next afternoon during the Open Ranks Inspection.

When you conduct an Open Ranks Inspection, the MTI's procedures are to march over to the first airman, do a left face to face them, look them over slowly from head to toe and make corrections along the way, then cut an abrupt right face, step over to the next airman, and cut a left face to face them.  That process is repeated down the squad until you get to the end, then you march to the head of the next squad and repeat it.

So when I found myself standing in front of the First Trainee, I gave in to temptation.  The Second Trainee was standing behind her and one person to the right, so I could see both of them.  I looked the First Trainee over very slowly from head to toe, dragging it out on purpose.  Then I lifted my head, looked her square in the eyes, and in a voice just loud enough to where the Second Trainee could hear, I simply said "I love red."  I immediately cut a right face to move on to the next airman, but not so fast as I didn't see the First Trainee's eyes go wide and almost pop out of her head.  The Second Trainee had just about the same reaction, and she was visibly shaking when I got to her.  I said nothing, which only confused her more.

Fast forward to the evening of the 30th DOT.  The flight has been fed and is in the Dayroom for the final mail call, and I'm doing what I always did on that evening - I'm taking questions about BMTS from the trainees, the questions that they wanted to ask but didn't dare while training was going on.

As soon as I sat down (which I NEVER did in the Dayroom except on the last night of training) and opened the floor up to questions, the First Trainee raised her hand and stood up when I recognized her.

"Sir, I only have one question for you - how did you know?" she asked.  The rest of the flight knew by this time what had happened, and they were just as curious as she was.

"Well, you may not remember this, but I was the CQ the night that conversation took place."

"Yes, sir, I remember that, sir."

"Well, you know that the CQ always listens in on the flights after lights out, right?"

"Yes, sir, we suspected as much, sir."

"Well, we do.  And where did this conversation take place?"

"At the Dorm Guard stand, sir."

"So just where is the intercom box located?"  The dawn of realization came over the trainee's face.

"Over the dorm guard stand.  Oh, shit!" The flight couldn't help but laugh at her, and one of the trainees called out, "See, I told you so!"

In the 18 months that my squadron was co-ed and out of the many times I had CQ duty, this was the only time something like this happened.  But I think once is enough!

Maybe one day I'll tell you about the 'presents' that female flights would leave behind for the male MTIs when they shipped out after training.

Use your imagination.

Deo Vindice

IHC

 

  

How To Lose An Election

 Hate to come back so soon with another serious posting, but this one deserves it.  I've got another humorous one lined up next, so don't despair.  But right now let's talk about what the Demoncratic party is doing to ensure they lose at least the next Presidential election and possibly the one after that.

I was always taught that in order to win an election, you had to have more votes than the other guy.  I mean, that's how it works, right?  And common sense would tell you that in order to get more people to vote for you than the other guy you have to prove to them that you can do a better job, right?  And one would think that in considering the results of the last Presidential election in which Trump won the electoral college, the swing states, and the common vote, the main goal of the Demoncrats would be to get enough people to change their minds about voting Republican and decide to vote Demoncratic instead, right?

And this is no small task.  Trump won 77,302,580 votes while Harris won 75,017,613, which means that the Demoncratic candidate would have to convince at least 2,284,967 people to abandon the Republican party and vote Demoncratic.  And this is just the number needed to TIE, not win.  That's where the 'at least' part comes in.

So far this year, the Demoncrats have lost an estimated 2.2 MILLION voters, while the Republicans have gained 2.4 MILLION.  Now you can change that number of voters the Demoncrats have to convince to switch sides to a whopping 4,684,967.

And just how are the Demoncrats going to do this?  What's their campaign strategy to win over those 4 million-plus voters they need?  

Is it to reduce inflation?  No.

Is it to reduce the cost of healthcare?  No.

Is it to level the tariff playing field and make the US competitive again?  No.

Is it to lower the cost of housing?  No.

Is it to secure the border?  No.

Is it to lower crime in major cities?  No.

Is it to make government more efficient and reduce wasteful spending?  No.

The Demoncrats have only one strategy:  HATE TRUMP.

That's it.  That's all they have.  And this is exemplified by Eric Swalwell demanding that the next Demoncratic candidate swear that they will demolish the ballroom that Trump is currently building for the sole reason that Trump built it.  Never mind that every President in modern times has said we needed a ballroom (including NObama) and that not a penny of taxpayer money is being spent for it.  The Demoncrats would rather blast its construction and demand it be torn down simply because it was Donald Trump's idea than admit he's doing a good thing.

This is liberal lunacy at its very finest.  It's also the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my entire life.  But the really sad thing is that there are people out there who actually think this is a good idea - and they vote.

But then, that's what the Demoncrats are counting on.

Well, let me tell you, friends and neighbors, this is how you lose an election.  If your entire platform is based on opposing anything that the Republican nominee does just because you don't like him, then you are almost guaranteeing that the Republicans will win the next Presidential election.

And if the Demoncrats nominate Harris, Sanders, or - God forbid - AOC as their candidate, that's a lock for the Republicans.   

But for the next three years, we get to listen to the Demoncrats bitch, whine, moan, and complain like a bunch of spoiled brats about everything that Trump does.

Thank God for bourbon.

Deo Vindice

IHC

 

  

Tales From The Dorm - You Did WHAT?

 

And in today's tale from the dorm I'm gonna tell on myself.  I mean, you have to be able to laugh at yourself, right?  And trust me, you're gonna laugh at this one!

I graduated from the Military Training Instructor School (MTIS) on December 17, 1982, which just also happened to be the night of my squadron Christmas party.  As I was at home that afternoon I got a phone call from the squadron telling me that I had been assigned to Dorm B-3 under a firebrand of an MTI by the name of SSgt Patricia D. Barrett (now Barrett-Kennedy).  Pat was a short little black woman who was without a doubt the finest MTI it was ever my pleasure to meet, let alone work with.  She had a level of professionalism that was second to none, and she taught me things about training and supervision that I used for the rest of my military career and again into my civilian career as well.  I admire the hell out of her, and I'm not afraid to say it.

I was also told that we had been 'alerted,' which means that we would be picking up a brand new flight of recruits that night - or rather, very early the next morning.  I was told that SSgt Barrett had already set up the dorm, and that I should be available when the phone call came letting me know that my new flight was on the way to the squadron.  So my wife and I went to the Christmas party, had a good time, and were back at the house by ten PM.  An hour later the phone call came, so it was into uniform and off to the squadron for me.  

I must admit that I was both proud and nervous as hell as I got out of my car in the squadron parking lot, putting on my brand-new campaign hat and adjusting it 'just so.'  I just hoped that I didn't foul things up too badly on my first night picking up my first flight, and I was really nervous about letting SSgt Barrett down.

I had no idea what was coming.

SSgt Barrett was there as well; I had graduated from MTIS, sure, but I still wasn't allowed to train the troops by myself.  I had to have a certified MTI with me, so that's why SSgt Barrett was there.  We met the recruits as they ran off of the bus, called roll, went through the mandatory stuff that happens when a new flight gets there (more on that later), and then it was up to the dorm.  Once we got them into the dorm, all 55 of them, we assigned each of them to a wall locker and a bunk.  The dorm was divided into two bays, 'A' Bay and 'B' Bay, with half of the flight in each bay.  I was working 'A' Bay while SSgt Barrett was working 'B' Bay.  All we had to do was get them to lock up their valuables, then go take care of the "Triple S" - shit, shower, and shave.  So as I walked up and down in the center aisle that ran down the center of the dorm with the beds and wall lockers on each side, I told the new recruits what they had to do.  I told them that they had 30 minutes to shit, shower and shave, then be back at their beds so we could inspect them.  I distinctly remember saying, "and when I say shave, I mean remove all facial hair!"

Can you see what's coming?

30 minutes later the new troops are in their underwear standing at attention in front of their wall lockers at their beds while we walked up and down the aisle looking them over to make sure no one was bleeding to death.  For a lot of the recruits this was the first time they'd ever shaved, so we had to make sure they weren't cut up and bleeding all over everywhere.

I got to this one trainee, and something about this kid just didn't look right.  I looked at him again, shook my head and rubbed my eyes, then looked once more.  Nope, something's definitely not right, but I can't figure out what it is.  So I walked up to the head of the bay and called out to SSgt Barrett, asking her to come here for a minute.  When she got there I leaned over and said very quietly, "There's something wrong with one of these trainees, but I can't put my finger on what it is.  Something just isn't right!" She asked me which one I was talking about, so I took her over to where the trainee was standing.

"This one," I said, nodding towards the airman.  SSgt Barrett walked up to the trainee, got really close, looked up at him, and in a loud, clear voice, shouted out, "BOY, WHY DID YOU SHAVE YOUR EYEBROWS OFF?"

The trainee immediately replied in a voice just as loud, "MA'AM, BECAUSE SERGEANT CRAIG TOLD ME TO!"

"I did not!" I shouted, quickly walking over and standing less than a foot away from the new airman, with SSgt Barrett moving out of the way as I did.

"SIR, YOU SAID THAT WHEN WE SHAVED WE WERE TO REMOVE ALL FACIAL HAIR, AND SINCE MY EYEBROWS WERE ON MY FACE I SHAVED THEM OFF LIKE YOU TOLD ME TO!" the airman replied, still shouting.  

The reason SSgt Barrett moved out of the way was not to get out of my way, but to keep from laughing at the trainee's initial reply.  But when he said that second part, she lost it.  She choked and struggled to keep from busting out laughing, heading for the door to get out of the dorm before she completely lost it.  I could hear some of the trainees snickering as well, so I knew I was cooked.

"Well, shit!" was all I could say.  I could hear SSgt Barrett laughing her ass off as she went down the stairs out of the dorm, and I can't say as I blame her.  Looking back on it now, 40+ years later, I laugh at it too.

Eight hours later when we got the flight out of bed to take them to processing, SSgt Barrett called the airman into the flight office and gave him specific instructions as to what he was to say whenever anyone asked him about his eyebrows - and they most certainly would.  His reply for the next six weeks was, "Sir/Ma'am, I misunderstood the instructions given to me by my Military Training Instructor!"  

For the next 6 weeks this trainee must have given that response a hundred times, if not more.  I kinda felt sorry for him, but not too much. 

But I can guarantee you that I never used that phrase again for the next 4 years and 21 flights!

Deo Vindice

IHC