Saturday, April 25, 2009

At last: Democrat-approved interrogation methods


Having revealed all of America's secrets regarding interrogation, President Obama has published an official list of "approved interrogation methods".

The following MAITS (or "mildly annoying interrogation techniques") have been approved by Democrats until its practitioners are prosecuted. Read it and weep, neocons:

Tickling rapidly with a feather (provided that tickling is performed by a child);

Allowing the detainee to watch only reruns of Gilligan's Island;

Limit dessert selection to Apple Pie Cobbler (whipped cream is not permitted);

Cancel the detainee's Delta Skymiles (interrogators may not alter the prisoner's Medallion status, however);

Have Michael Bolton perform in the detainee's cell;

Restrict club selection to irons at the Gitmo golf course, even on par fives;

Prevent thermostat that controls cell air-conditioning from being set lower than 72°;

Embroider prayer mats with tiny pictures of George W. Bush;

* * *

Keep it up, Al Qaeda, or the Democrats will really start playing rough. Can you say "Richard Simmons?"


Linked by: Unreligious Right. Thanks!


Blue Dog Democrat Database: We Shall Fight Them


You know what really p*sses me off about Blue Dog Democrats? Besides the fact that they have to pretend they're Republicans to get elected, that is.

No, what really fires me up is that most of them have a "federal deficit clock" counting up on their websites.

Consider: in 100 days of the Obama administration, Democrats have already tripled the deficit. They've nationalized the banks and the auto industry. And despite running Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid into the ground (with $55 trillion in unfunded liabilities), they're now poised to shove socialized medicine down our throats, obliterating the finest medical system in the world.

Using a procedural loophole that inhibits debate and suppresses amendments, Democrats are bludgeoning socialized medicine into place (although a better name for their program might be "Illegal Alien Care") without a bit of transparency. That's change you can disbelieve in.

And let me repeat: the Democrats' socialized medicine program includes free health care for illegal aliens.

Folks, it's time to save our country. Call radio shows, write letters to the editor, tell neighbors, do whatever it takes to get the message out.

And call the Blue Dog Democrats: I've included the contact information for all of these pretenders, below. These faux-cons need to make a choice: either get with the program -- or face eradication at the polls in 2010. Call 'em now and relay the message. Make your voice heard.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill:

We shall fight them on the beaches,
We shall fight them in the city,
We shall fight them in the fields and in the streets,
We shall fight them in the hills;
We shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, America or a large part of it were subjugated and starving due to Marxist-Democrat policies, then our children will carry on the struggle until, in God's good time, this land is returned to the tenets of the Framers and the Constitution.

It's time to smash the Pelosi-Obama-Reid Marxists, before our children have to. Years from now, after Obama is retired and living the life of a wealthy jet-setter, our kids will still be paying off his ACORN/SEIU stimulus package. So call now, bookmark this page, call tomorrow and then call the next day and the day after that. Write it in your calendar if you have to. And stop the Democrats' disastrous and underhanded destruction of our health care system.
 
A
Congressman Parker Griffith
Alabama, 5th District Phone: (202) 225-4801
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
Arizona, 8th District Phone: (202) 225-2542
Congressman Marion Berry
Arkansas, 1st District Phone: (202) 225-4076
Congressman Mike Ross
Arkansas, 4th District Phone: (202) 225-3772
Begich, Mark - (D - AR) (202) 224-3004
Arkansas
Lincoln, Blanche L. - (D - AR) (202) 224-4843
Arkansas
Pryor, Mark L. - (D - AR) (202) 224-2353
Arkansas

C
Congressman Joe Baca
California, 43rd District Phone: (202) 225-6161
Congressman Dennis Cardoza
California, 18th District Phone: (202) 225-6131
Congressman Jim Costa
California, 20th District Phone: (202) 225-3341
Congresswoman Jane Harman
California, 36th District Phone: (202) 225-8220
Congressman Adam Schiff
California, 29th District Phone: (202) 225-4176
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez
California, 47th District Phone: (202) 225-2965
Congressman Mike Thompson
California, 1st District Phone: (202) 225-3311
Congressman John Salazar
Colorado, 3rd District Phone: (202) 225-4761
Udall, Mark - (D - CO) (202) 224-5941
Colorado
Lieberman, Joseph I. - (ID - CT) (202) 224-4041
Connecticut

D
Carper, Thomas R. - (D - DE) (202) 224-2441
Delaware

F
Congressman Allen Boyd**
Florida, 2nd District Phone: (202) 225-5235
Nelson, Bill - (D - FL)(202) 224-5274
Florida

G
Congressman John Barrow
Georgia, 12th District Phone: (202) 225-2823
Congressman Sanford Bishop
Georgia, 2nd District Phone: (202) 225-3631
Congressman David Scott
Georgia, 13th District Phone: (202) 225-2939
Congressman Jim Marshall
Georgia, 8th District Phone: (202) 225-6531

I
Congresswoman Melissa Bean
Illinois, 8th District Phone: (202) 225-3711
Congressman Joe Donnelly
Indiana, 2nd District Phone: (202) 225-3915
Congressman Brad Ellsworth
Indiana, 8th District Phone: (202) 225-4636
Congressman Baron Hill
Indiana, 9th District Phone: (202) 225-5315
Bayh, Evan - (D - IN)(202) 224-5623
Indiana
Congressman Leonard Boswell
Iowa, 3rd District Phone: (202) 225-3806

K
Congressman Ben Chandler
Kentucky, 6th District Phone: (202) 225-4706
Congressman Dennis Moore
Kansas, 3rd District Phone: (202) 225-2865

L
Congressman Charlie Melancon **
Louisiana, 3rd District Phone: (202) 225-4031
Landrieu, Mary L. - (D - LA) (202) 224-5824
Louisiana

M
Congressman Mike Michaud
Maine, 2nd District Phone: (202) 225-6306
Congressman Collin Peterson
Minnesota, 7th District Phone: (202) 225-2165
Congressman Gene Taylor
Mississippi, 4th District Phone: (202) 225-5772
McCaskill, Claire - (D - MO) (202) 224-6154
Missouri

N
Nelson, Ben - (D - NE) (202) 224-6551 **
Nebraska
Shaheen, Jeanne - (D - NH) (202) 224-2841
New Hampshire
Congressman Mike Arcuri
New York, 24th District Phone: (202) 225-3665
Congressman Mike McIntyre
North Carolina, 7th District Phone: Phone: (202) 225-2731
Congressman Heath Shuler
North Carolina, 11th District Phone: (202) 225-6401
Hagan, Kay R. - (D - NC) (202) 224-6342
North Carolina
Congressman Earl Pomeroy
North Dakota, At-Large Phone: (202) 225-2611

O
Congressman Dan Boren
Oklahoma, 2nd District Phone: (202) 225-2701
Congressman Zack Space
Ohio, 18th District Phone: (202) 225-6265
Congressman Charlie Wilson
Ohio, 6th District Phone: (202) 225-5705

P
Congressman Chris Carney
Pennsylvania, 10th District Phone: (202) 225-3731
Congressman Patrick Murphy
Pennsylvania, 8th District Phone: (202) 225-4276
Congressman Tim Holden
Pennsylvania, 17th District Phone: (202) 225-5546

S
Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
South Dakota, At-Large

T
Congressman Jim Cooper
Tennessee, 5th District Phone: (202) 225-4311
Congressman Lincoln Davis
Tennessee, 4th District Phone: (202) 225-6831
Congressman Bart Gordon
Tennessee, 6th District Phone: (202) 225-4231
Congressman John Tanner
Tennessee, 8th District Phone: (202) 225-4714

U
Congressman Jim Matheson
Utah, 2nd District Phone: (202) 225-3011

V
Warner, Mark R. - (D - VA) (202) 224-2023 **
Virginia

W
Kohl, Herb - (D - WI) (202) 224-5653
Wisconsin

** Indicates member of budget committee




Hat tip: TCUNation.

Democrats dismantling the legal system, piece by piece


Would it be okay for you to break into an empty home because you needed a place to stay?

Would it be acceptable for you to invade a family's home because they had a spare bedroom and could be looking for a live-in nanny?

Or would it be reasonable to crash a party at the Playboy mansion because Hef had plenty of extra food, free drinks and lots of gorgeous females hanging around?

And would it be fair to sneak into the local YMCA to lift weights because you didn't want the hassle of signing up and paying membership fees?

Would it be justifiable to sneak onto a large corporate campus and steal food, office supplies and computers?

No?

So why do Democrats believe in open borders, allowing millions of non-citizens to illegally enter the country without sanction, while American taxpayers fund their health care, food, living expenses and other social services?

Put simply, when it comes to Democrats, laws do not matter.

In fact, the entire legal system -- like the Constitution -- is "living and breathing" (i.e., malleable) when it benefits Democrats; they endlessly claw for more power, more influence and more personal rewards.

At this very moment, Democrats are rushing socialized medicine through Congress without debate, without vaunted "transparency", without an impact analysis and without a word of protest from the mainstream media.

And the Democrats' new socialized medicine plan includes free health care for illegal aliens.

We must fight these bums tooth and nail. And me must throw them all out in 2010. Every last Democrat must go. And you hack "Blue Dogs"? You're first on the list.


True Tales of Canadian Health Care


Anonymous writes (partially redacted to protect the author's identity):

I am an American living and working in [Canadian City]. Please do not use my name, but I am a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Consulate here... working in the... visas section. I could get in big trouble professionally for telling you this.

...I had numerous opportunities to work on cases in which Canadians were attempting to emigrate to the U.S. primarily for medical procedures. In one case, a U.S. citizen father was petitioning for his [Canadian adult] son to join him in [state]...

...His son had a non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and was unable to obtain the necessary treatments in Canada. In the U.S., two physicians had examined him and basically concluded that, because the disease had not spread above his neck, that he could be saved. In Canada, this young man was under a death sentence. Once I was satisfied that his medical costs would not be borne by U.S. taxpayers, I got him his visa and (hopefully) another chance at life.

* * * * * * * * *

[There was another] case of a young Canadian mother, in tears, who had recently given birth to a child with cerebral palsy. Her husband, a U.S. citizen working in Canada, was able to transmit U.S. citizenship to his infant son and he was petitioning for his wife so that the family could move to Chicago. Why? So the boy could get the treatment that he needed in the U.S., which was superior to that in Canada.

* * * * * * * * *

[We all] had several cases of nurses, doctors, and [X-ray] technicians who emigrated to the U.S. for professional reasons. Sometimes it was for the opportunity to earn more money (one doctor, earning about $85K annually Canadian, had a job offer at a clinic in Buffalo for $300K U.S.). For others, it was a chance to to do what they were trained to do - in the U.S., [an X-ray] technician has the equipment and facilities to ply his trade, whereas in Canada the opportunities to do so are quite limited.

* * * * * * * * *

I realize that this is all anecdotal and not statistically based, but in my experience the only Canadians who are satisfied with the system here are people who are healthy. I do not mean that in a snide attempt to be funny, I am serious - it is a good program for young healthy couples with one or two children who need vaccinations and routine appointments.

However, if you get sick, this is not the place to be.

Lastly, a comment - U.S. health care is a good value for the money. Would you rather have 2009 health care at 2009 prices, in the U.S., or 1970 health care at 1970 prices? The answer is obvious, and even our own Congress knows it. I am pretty sure that Ted Kennedy would not choose to have his brain cancer treated anywhere but the U.S., and the same is true for John Kerry's prostate cancer.

Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: Gingrich crushes Gore

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email!

Economy


A Tripartite Social Democratic Agenda: Hammer
Busted: Barney Frank Speech Ties Him To Housing Collapse: Gateway
Kickin' Butt at a Tea Party: Scott N.
Inhofe Warns TARP Recipients on ACORN: B&M
Regulators fell one bank, spare a rival: WSJ
Government bullying a serious matter: PJM (Rubin)

National Security


Al Qaeda, Oil Facilities, and a Global Economic Crisis: EnSec
Administration's loathing of the military accelerates: BH
McCain Does A "Napolitano": Bloviating Zeppelin

Socialized Medicine


Obamacare: UK denies “free” maternity care: Surber

Climate


Gingrich schools Gore: C-SPAN
Dear Greens, You Want To Save the Earth?: AmerDig
Al Gore's Money-Making Scam Exposed: JWF
Lisa Jackson Steals $11,000 from Every American Household: Heritage
Waxman buying votes on Carbon Scam: Examiner

World News


Rupert Murdoch on Israel: Shayne
Video: UAE Royal Tortures Victim: Jawa
Friends of Barack: Surber

Law


Tyranny Rising: Assault on Firearms: Langbert

Media


44's Poll Numbers Trail Those of 43: Gallup Covers It Up: HNN

Tech


1950's educational film: Facebook, electronic friendship generator: ManiacWorld
So Long, GeoCities: We Forgot You Still Existed: PCW
Rate of Fire: The Automatic Handgun: Military

"I think we have an excessive degree of concern right now about home ownership and its role in the economy. Obviously, speculation is never a good thing. But those who argue that housing prices are now at the point of a bubble seem to me to missing a very important point. Unlike previous examples we have had, where substantial excessive inflation of prices later caused some problems, we are talking here about an entity — home ownership, homes — where there is not the degree of leverage we have seen elsewhere.

This is not the dot-com situation; we have problems with people having invested in business plans for which there was no reality. People building fiber-optic cable for which there was no need. Homes that are occupied may see an ebb and flow in the price at a certain percentage level, but you’re not going to see the collapse that you see when people talk about a bubble. And so, those of us on our committee in particular, will continue to push for home ownership."

-- Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), 2005

Friday, April 24, 2009

Giant Mystery Blob Discovered Near Dawn of Time


A startling discovery is shaking the very underpinnings of space science. An exclusive photo depicts an enormous space "blob" that exists at the very edge of the universe.

A newly found primordial blob may represent the most massive object ever discovered in the early universe, researchers announced today... The gas cloud, spotted from 12.9 billion light-years away, could signal the earliest stages of galaxy formation back when the universe was just 800 million years old...

...Himiko holds more than 10 times as much mass as the next largest object found in the early universe, or roughly the equivalent mass of 40 billion suns. At 55,000 light years across, it spans about half the diameter of our Milky Way Galaxy...

Lyman-Alpha blobs remain a mystery because existing telescopes have a hard time peering so far back to nearly the dawn of the universe.

Himiko sits right on the doorstep of an era called the reionization epoch, which lasted between 200 million and 1 billion years after the Big Bang. That's when the universe had just emerged from its cosmic dark ages and had begun brightening through the formation of stars and galaxies. Hot, energized hydrogen gas from that time period has allowed astronomers to begin seeing some objects — as much good as it does to squint at such fuzzy blobs.

...[New] research hinges upon the future success of a risky repair mission to the aging Hubble. Astronauts are slated to blast off with the space shuttle Atlantis in the attempt next month...

To be fair, the illustration is my own depiction, representing a gaseous blob of enormous proportions.

Click here to see a grainy photo of the real primordial blob.


Woman


Dave W. sent this one in... and it's good blackmail material I can threaten him with.

One day, long, long ago, there lived a woman who did not whine, nag or bitch.


But it was a long time ago, and it was just that one day.

The End

 

Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: Crossing a Red Line

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email!

National Security


Outrage: Some torture more acceptable than other: Protein Wisdom
White House: No independent interrogations probe: Examiner
Goss: Obama Decision "Crossed a Red Line": WklyStd
Pelosi: I Don't Know Nothin' About Waterboardin' No Jihadis: Ace
He's got the launch codes, but not the clearance: CFP

International Affairs


Welcome To The Real World, Professor Obama: LegalIns
Team Obama Will Release Photos of Abused US Detainees: Gateway

Law & Crime


Change You Can Believe In: Limiting Defendants' Rights : JWF
Barack Obama, Legal Scholar: AT (Lasky)

Activism


The Ron Paul Nutbags' Tea Party Nightmare: LGF

Energy and Climate


Obama's Red Sea: Driessen
Your Energy Future Is In Good Hands: LegalIns

Economy


Wall Street’s 1929 Scams Return in Geithner Plan: Bloomberg
Feds Threatened BofA Execs to Conceal Merrill Problems: LegalIns
Cuomo's letter on regarding BofA/Merrill concealment: Instapundit

Media


Fact-checking the Times: JOM
How to produce high approval ratings for Obama: AT (McCann)
AP’s “Glass Half Full” Interpretation of Latest Poll: Flopping Aces
MSNBC's Maddow suffers catastrophic ratings drop: BaltSun

Tech


Massive Botnet infects 2M PCs: Dark Reading

Culture


And Spengler Is...: Spengler
Gold investor booted from Kitco due to conservatism: Langbert
Two novels Obama should read: Gingrich

Bloggers now outnumber Lawyers: Yahoo!:

"...Demographically, bloggers are extremely well educated: three out of every four are college graduates. Most are white males reporting above-average incomes. One out of three young people reports blogging, but bloggers who do it for a living successfully are 2% of bloggers overall. It takes about 100,000 unique visitors a month to generate an income of $75,000 a year. Bloggers can get $75 to $200 for a good post, and some even serve as "spokesbloggers" -- paid by advertisers to blog about products. As a job with zero commuting, blogging could be one of the most environmentally friendly jobs around -- but it can also be quite profitable. For sites at the top, the returns can be substantial. At some point the value of the Huffington Post will no doubt pass the value of the Washington Post..."

100K monthly unique visitors translates to $75K annually? What the...? Perhaps someone far wiser could explain to me what I'm doing wrong.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

I have a new nickname for Ramirez


I just call him The Truth.

RED ALERT: Terrorist Bill Ayers Scheduled for College Speech


Brandeis College in Boston has scheduled our favorite terrorist, Bill Ayers, for a speech. Brandeis is a typical liberal institution and -- apparently -- uses the term "College" loosely.

And Brandeis takes its role as a bully pulpit for terrorists seriously.

"This is about freedom of educational opportunity," said Brandeis spokesman Dennis Nealon. "The university has made it clear that it is not going to bar the talk despite the controversial nature of the speaker."

What Ayers has to do with 'freedom' in any form is a mystery for anthropologists of the future to figure out, as Ayers and his wife are quite open about their Communist leanings.

Apparently Hitler was unavailable.

Due to vocal opposition, Ayers' recent trips to speak at Naperville High School in Illinois, an indie bookstore in the same town and at Boston College have all been canceled.

By the way: does it seem like Ayers is trying to get out of house a lot these days?

But if you were married to the despicable shrew Bernadine Dohrn, you'd be heading out on weekly road trips too.

Let's get out the word: here's some contact information for the relevant parties:

Dennis Nealon, Executive Director, Media and Public Affairs
(781) 736-4205       nealon@brandeis.edu

Jehuda Reinharz, President, Reinharz@brandeis.edu

Joanna Gould, Assistant to the President
781-736-3001       gould@brandeis.edu

Dr. John Hose, Executive Assistant to the President and Assistant Secretary of the Corporation
781-736-3005       hose@brandeis.edu

Max Pearlstein, University and Media Relations Specialist
781-736-4206       maxp@brandeis.edu

Charles Radin, Director of Global Communications & Operations
(781) 736-4210       radin@brandeis.edu

Call or email... and politely express your opposition to the likes of Ayers indoctrinating our youth with despicable and anti-American leanings.


Message relayed by: Beach Girl, Mitchell Langbert and Nice Deb. Thanks!



ACORN scrubs its website to erase Union ties


The Spectator's Matthew Vadum and The Washington Examiner have been pursuing the kind of investigative journalism that has long since been abandoned by the dying mainstream media. Tracking the troubled, "non-partisan" voter registration group ACORN, the Examiner's Kevin Mooney called attention to Vadum's work.

Political activists who masquerade as non-partisan community organizers have joined with organized labor to pressure elected officials into supporting left wing causes, according to a top analyst with the Capital Research Center (CRC)...

“ACORN claims to be non-partisan but there are mountains of evidence that show it is flagrantly partisan,” Vadum said. “It celebrates the most left-wing politicians and endorses Democratic Party candidates. Whenever ACORN is called out for activity that might violate their tax status, the standard operating procedure is to deny responsibility and to place the blame on rogue actors. Their network is deliberately set up to avoid scrutiny and to create confusion...”

Shortly thereafter, Vadum discovered that ACORN had scrubbed its website, erasing ties to the SEIU and other hard-core union bosses.

A photo retrieved from SEIU Local 100's website today. The original photo caption reads: "Organizers from Local 100, ACORN, and SEIU, supporters and attorneys celebrate our victory on February 3, 2002." The man with the sandy hair to the right of the microphones is Wade Rathke, founder and then-chief organizer of ACORN.


It scrubbed its website of references to two of its key affiliates, Locals 100 and 880 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), an event reported by Kevin Mooney of the Washington Examiner.

Why would the radical left-wing ACORN do that? An observer I spoke with earlier today speculated that organized labor doesn't want to be associated with ACORN, which is pure PR poison, right now as it presses for the most important item on its legislative agenda: the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) also known as "card check."

ACOfRN, which until recently proudly listed Locals 100 and 880 of SEIU as affiliates, removed the short blurbs and logos of the two entities from its allied organizations page.


As of April 20, one day before Mooney's article on ACORN and its ties to unions ran in the Washington Examiner, the ACORN website page looked like this. [PDF]

From the same website, here is a copy that I made on Oct. 24, 2008 of an official list of ACORN's affiliates, a document called "ACORN, ACORN Affiliate, and COUNCIL Offices."

Moreover, SEIU Local 100's most recent publicly available IRS Form 990 shows ACORN founder Wade Rathke as that local's chief organizer (see page 5 of above linked PDF file)...

Vadum wraps up with an effective summary of this egregious abuse of the federal non-profit tax laws.

ACORN claims to be non-partisan but there are mountains of evidence that show it is flagrantly partisan... It celebrates the most left-wing politicians and endorses Democratic Party candidates. Whenever ACORN is called out for activity that might violate their tax status, the standard operating procedure is to deny responsibility and to place the blame on rogue actors. Their network is deliberately set up to avoid scrutiny and to create confusion.

ACORN's reported abuse of both the voter registration system and the tax code have reached legendary status.

Every legal means possible should be used to eradicate this disgraceful group from the face of the Earth.


Terrifying Roller Coaster in Northern Ohio


This is one serious coaster at Cedar Point.






'Nuff said.

Update: Commenter Bill Frank says it was built in 2003.


The SEALs misunderstood President Obama's orders


Behind the Scenes at the Rescue Off Somalia


Papa B forwards this one.

Your "Real" story is not exactly the way I heard it, and probably has a few political twists thrown in to stir the pot. Rather than me trying to correct it, I'll just tell you what I found out from my contacts at NSWC Norfolk and at SOCOM Tampa.

First though, let me orient you to familiarize you with the "terrain."

In Africa from Djibouti at the southern end of the Red Sea eastward through the Gulf of Aden to round Cape Guardafui at the easternmost tip of Africa (also known as "The Horn of Africa") is about a 600 nm transit before you stand out into the Indian Ocean. That transit is comparable in distance to that from the mouth of the Mississippi at New Orleans to the tip of Florida at Key West-- except that 600 nm over there is infested with Somalia pirates.

Ships turning southward at the Horn of Africa transit the SLOC (Sea Lane of Commerce) along the east coast of Somalia because of the prevailing southerly currents there. It's about 1,500 nm on to Mombassa, which is just south of the equator in Kenya. Comparably, that's about the transit distance from Portland Maine down the east coast of the US to Miami Florida. In other words, the ocean area being patrolled by our naval forces off the coast of Somalia is comparable to that in the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River east to Miami then up the eastern seaboard to Maine.

Second, let me globally orient you from our Naval Operating Base in Norfolk, VA, east across the Atlantic to North Africa, thence across the Med to Suez in Egypt, thence southward down the Red Sea to Djibouti at the Gulf of Aden, thence eastward to round Cape Guardafui at the easternmost tip of Africa, and thence southerly some 300 miles down the east cost of Somali out into the high seas of the Indian Ocean to the position of MV ALABAMA is a little more than 7,000 nm, and plus-nine time-zones ahead of EST.

Hold that thought, in that, a C-17 transport averaging a little better than 400 kts (SOG) takes the best part of 18 hours to make that trip. In the evening darkness late Thursday night, a team of Navy SEALs from NSWC (Naval Surface Warfare Center) Norfolk parachuted from such a C-17 into the black waters (no refraction of light) of the Indian Ocean-- close-aboard to our 40,000 ton amphibious assault ship, USS BOXER (LHD 4), the flagship of our ESG (Expeditionary Strike Group) in the AOR (Area Of Responsibility, the Gulf of Aden). They not only parachuted in with all of their "equipment," they had their own inflatable boats, RHIB's (Rigid Hull, Inflatable Boats) with them for over-water transport. They went into BOXER's landing dock, debarked, and staged for the rescue-- Thursday night.

And, let me comment on time-late: In that the SEAL's quick response-- departing ready-alert in less than 4 hours from Norfolk-- supposedly surprised POTUS's staff, whereas President Obama was miffed not to get his "cops" there before the Navy. He reportedly questioned his staff, "Will 'my' FBI people get there before the Navy does?" It took the FBI almost 12 hours to put together a team and get them packed-up-- for an "at sea" rescue. The FBI was trying to tell him that they are not practiced to do this-- Navy SEALs are. But, BHO wanted the FBI there "to help," that is, carry out the Attorney General's (his) orders to negotiate the release of Captain Phillips peacefully-- because apparently he doesn't trust GW's military to carry out his "political guidance."

The flight of the FBI's passenger jet took a little less than 14 hours at 500-some knots to get to Djibouti. BOXER'S helos picked them up and transported them out to the ship. The Navy SEALs were already there, staged, and ready to act by the time POTUS's FBI arrived on board latter that evening. Notably, the first request by the OSC (On Scene Commander) that early Friday morning to take them out and save Captain Phillips was denied, to wit: "No, wait until 'my' FBI people get there."

Third, please consider a candid assessment of ability that finds that the FBI snipers had never practiced shooting from a rolling, pitching, yawing, surging, swaying, heaving platform-- and, target-- such as a ship and a lifeboat on the high seas. Navies have been doing since Admiral Nelson who had trained "Marines" to shoot muskets from the ship's rigging-- ironically, he was killed at sea in HMS VICTORY at the Battle of Trafalgar by a French Marine rifleman that shot him from the rigging of the French ship that they were grappling alongside.

Notably, when I was first training at USNA in 1955, the Navy was doing it with a SATU, Small Arms Training Unit, based at our Little Creek amphib base. Now, Navy SEAL's, in particular SEAL Team SIX (The "DevGru") based at NSWC (Naval Surface Warfare Center) at Little Creek do that training now, and hone their skills professionally-- daily. Shooting small arms from a ship is more of an accomplished "Art Form" than it is a practiced skill. When you are "in the bubble" and "in tune" with the harmonic motion you find, through practice, that you are "able to put three .308 slugs inside the head of a quarter at 100 meters, in day or night-- or, behind a camouflaged net or a thin enclosure, such as a superstructure bulkhead. Yes, we have the monocular scopes that can "see" heat-- and, draw a bead on it. SEALs are absolutely expert at it-- with the movie clips to prove it.

Okay, now try to imagine patrolling among the boats fishing everyday out on the Grand Banks off our New England coast, and then responding to a distress call from down around the waters between Florida and the Bahamas. Three points for you to consider here: (1) Time-Distance-Speed relationships for ships on the high seas, for instance, at a 25-knot SOA (Speed Of Advance) it takes 24 hours to make good 600 nm-- BAINBRIDGE did. (2) Fishermen work on the high seas, and (3) The best place to hide as a "fisherman" pirate is among other fishermen

Early Wednesday morning, 4/8/2009, MV ALABAMA is at sea in the IO about 300 miles off the (east) coast of Somalia en route to Mombassa Kenya. Pirates in small boat start harassing her, and threatening her with weapons. MV ALABAMA's captain sent out the distress call by radio, and ordered his Engineer to shut down the engines as well as the ship-service electrical generators-- in our lingo, "Go dark and cold." He informed his crew by radio what was happening, and ordered them to go to an out-of-the-way compartment and lock themselves in it-- from the inside. He would stay in the pilot house to "negotiate" with the pirates.

The pirates boarded, captured the Captain, and ordered him to start the engines. He said he would order his Engineer to do so, and he called down to Engine Control on the internal communication system, but got no answer. The lead pirate ordered two of his four men to go down and find him and get the engines started.

Inside a ship without any lights is like the definition of dark. The advantage goes to the people who work and live there. They jumped the two pirates in a dark passageway. Both pirates lost their weapons, but one managed to scramble and get away. The other they tied up, put tape over his mouth and a knife at his throat.

Other members of the crew opened the drain cocks on the pirates boat and cast it adrift. It foundered and sunk. The scrambling pirate made it back to the pilot house and told of his demise. The pirates took the Captain at gun point, and told him to launch one of his rescue boats (not a life boat, per se). As he was lowering the boat for them, the crew appeared with the other pirate to negotiate a trade. The crew let their hostage go to soon, and the pirates kept the captain. But, he purposefully had lowered the boat so it would jam.

With the rescue boat jammed, the pirates jumped over to a lifeboat and released it as the captain jumped in the water. They fired at him, made him stop, and grabbed him out of the water. Now, as night falls in the vastness of the Indian Ocean, we have the classic "Mexican" standoff, to wit: A life-boat that is just that, a life-boat adrift without any means of propulsion except oars and paddles; and, a huge (by comparison) Motor Vessel Container Ship adrift with a crew that is not going to leave their captain behind. The pirates are enclosed under its shelter-covering, holding the captain as their hostage. The crew is hunkered down in their ship waiting for the "posse" to arrive.

After receiving MV ALABAMA'S distress call, USS BAINBRIDGE (DDG 96) was dispatched by the ESG commander to respond to ALABAMA's distress call. At best sustainable speed, she arrived on scene the day after-- that is, in the dark of that early Thursday morning. As BAINBRIDGE quietly and slowly, at darkened-ship without any lights to give her away, arrived on scene, please consider a recorded interview with the Chief Engineer of MV ALABAMA describing BAINBRIDGE's arrival. He said it was something else "... to see the Navy slide in there like a greyhound!" He then said as she slipped in closer he could see the "Stars and Stripes" flying from her masthead. He got choked up saying it was the "...proudest moment of my life."

Phew! Let that sink in.

Earlier in the day, one of the U.S. Navy's Maritime Patrol Aircraft, a fixed wing P3C, flew over to recon the scene. They dropped a buoy with a radio to the pirates so that the Navy's interpreter could talk with the pirates. When BAINBRIDGE arrived, the pirates thought the radio to be a beaconing device, and threw it overboard. They wanted a satellite telephone so that they could call home for help. Remember now, they are fishermen, not "Rocket Scientists," in that, they don't know that we can intercept the phone transmission also.

MV ALABAMA provided them with a satellite phone. They called home back to "somebody" in Eyl Somalia (so that we now know where you live) to come out and get them. The "somebody" in Eyl said they would be out right away with other hostages, like 54 of them from other countries, and that they would be coming out in two of their pirated ships. Right-- and, the tooth fairy will let you have sex with her. Yea, in paradise. The "somebody" in Eyl just chalked up four more expendables as overhead for "the cost of operation." Next page.

Anyway, ESG will continue to "watch" Eyl for any ships standing out.

The Navy SEAL team, SEAL TEAM SIX, from NSWC briefed the OSC (Commander Castellano, CO BAINBRIDGE) on how they could rescue the captain from the life boat with swimmers-- "Combat Swimmers," per se. That plan was denied by POTUS because it put the captain in danger-- and, involved killing the pirates.

The FBI negotiators arrived on scene, and talked the pirates into sending their wounded man over for treatment Saturday morning. Later that afternoon, the SEAL's sent over their RHIB with food and water to recon the life boat but the pirates shot at it. They could have taken them out then (from being fired upon) but were denied again being told that the captain was not in "imminent danger." The FBI negotiators calmed the situation by informing the pirates of threatening weather as they could see storm clouds closing from the horizon, and offered to tow the life boat. The pirates agreed, and BAINBRIDGE took them under tow in their wake at 30 meters-- exactly 30 meters, which is exactly the distance the SEALs practice their shooting skills.

With the lifeboat under tow, riding comfortably bow-down on BAINBRIDGE's wake-wave ("rooster tail"), had a 17-second period of harmonic motion, and at the end of every half-period (8.5 seconds) was steady on. The light-enhanced (infra-red heat) monocular scopes on the SEAL's .308 caliber Mark 11 Mod 0 H&K suppressor-fitted sniper rifles easily imaged their target very clearly. Pirates in a life boat at 30-meters could be compared to fish in a barrel. All that was necessary was to take out the plexiglass window so that it would not deflect the trajectory of the high velocity .308 round. So, a sniper (one of four) with a wad-cutter round (a flaxen sabot) would take out the window a split second before the kill-shot-- no change in sight-picture, just the window blowing out, clean.

Now, here's the part BHO's "whiz kids" knew as well as the Navy hierarchy, including CO BAINBRIDGE and CO SEAL TEAM SIX. It's the law in Article 19 of Appendix L in the "Convention of the High Seas" that the Commanding Officer of a US Ship on the high seas is obligated to respond to distress signals from any flagged ship (US or otherwise), and protect the life and property thereof when deemed to be in IMMINENT DANGER. So, in the final analysis, it would be Captain Castellano call as to "Imminent Danger," and that he alone was obligated (duty bound) to act accordingly.

Got the picture?

After medically attending to the wounded pirated, and feeding him, come first light (from the east) on Easter Sunday morning and the pirates saw they were being towed further out to sea (instead of westward toward land), the wounded pirate demanded to be returned to the lifeboat. There would BE NO more negotiations-- and, the four Navy SEAL snipers "in the bubble" went "Unlock." The pirate holding Captain Philips raised the gun to his head, and IMMINENT DANGER was so observed and noted in the Log as CO BAINBRIDGE gave the classic order: WEAPONS RELEASED! I can hear the echo in my earpiece now, "On my count (from 8.5 seconds), 3, 2, 1, !" POP, BANG! Out went the window, followed by three simultaneous shots. The scoreboard flashed: "GAME OVER, GAME OVER-- NAVY 3, PIRATES 0!"

I hope you found the above informative as best I know it-- and, please excuse me in that after more than 50 years the Navy is still in me. I submit that AMERICA is going to make a comeback, and more than likely it'll be on the back of our cherished youth serving with honor in Our military. So, let's
Look Up, Get Up-- and, Never Give Up!

Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: Billions to ACORN, zero to DOD

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email!

National Security


Inhofe: Obama slashing defense budget: Bixby
So long, F-22: Morrissey
Real torture in the UAE: LGF
Top Legislators Knew of Interrogations: Times
Napolitano must go: Allahpundit
Landmark Legal throws down the gauntlet: Levin (4/21/09)

International Affairs


World is Laughing at 100 Days of Failure: Greenroom
Ahmadinejad Hijacks Durban II: Kilgannon
President Borat Obama: PJM (Fleming)

Crime


Feinstein hubby's firm 'awarded' $25B in taxpayer funds: Times
Exclusive: ACORN: Can We Trust Anything They Say?: FSM

Energy and Climate


Eco-fuzzy math: Debunking a cap-and-trade debunking: Malkin
Blogger Investigates $27B Lawsuit Against Chevron: BMW

Business


GE shareholders slam Olbermann, MSNBC: Gateway
GE: "...we can buy your level of incompetence for a hell of a lot less": MoneyRunner
Failed radio hack fails on MSNBC, too: Equalizer

Tech


Email: still the one for developers: LinuxNews

Culture


Kitco Metals bans personal opinions on gay marriage: Langberg
Miss CA and Obama share the same views on gay marriage: Brutally Honest

"The left has whined about McCarthyism for more than fifty years, yet it does not hesitate to apply McCarthyite tactics, ruining careers with ideological litmus tests, when an individual's views do not conform to left wing... dogma." -- JJC, in a letter to Kitco Metals.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Power-to-weight ratio in the Lotus position


Edmunds Inside Line has the inside scoop on the Lotus Exige, a thinly disguised racing vehicle that barely crosses into street-legal territory

There are a lot of triggers for pure driving endorphins, and each of us is certainly entitled to his or her preferred sources thereof. When the road or circuit to be tamed is a technical one on limited real estate and there's (ideally) a crowd of small-displacement competitors having at it, the Lotus Exige is very difficult to shake off. The fact that so few modifications are needed to make the midengine Lotus track-worthy also makes it an instant favorite...

We spent most of our time — as we normally spend most of our time whenever we show up at the Lotus doorstep on Potash Lane — happily perfecting our cornering strategies on the 2.3-mile test track in back of company HQ. It's almost meditative out there as we get further and further into the Lotus Zone and start hitting most of the drifting sections spot on. With the 2009 Lotus Exige S 260 Sport, nirvana is possible.

...Take the proven riveted and bonded all-aluminum 111S-type chassis for this generation Exige and then add 84 pounds of lightness, as it were, in the assembly of this car versus the 2008 Lotus 260 Exige (sold only outside North America). This gives the taut and low-lying 257-horsepower Exige S 260 Sport (the "S" is for supercharged) a curb weight of just 1,962 pounds and a weight-per-hp ratio of 7.63 pounds per horse. This pretty simply demonstrates why the compact midengine Exige is such a terror... A Porsche Cayman S hauls 9.45 pounds per pony and the Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works coopers around 12.77 pounds for every cooper.

This Exige is a veritable dart; just point and shoot...

Daddy like.


Liberal Energy Dreamland


He's just chock full of good ideas, ain't he?


By 2025, Barack Obama:

...would like 25% of U.S. electricity to be generated from clean, renewable sources including wind, solar and geothermal with a Renewable Portfolio Standard. Obama calls for $150 billion to be invested over 10 years in clean energy and infrastructure to support it.

And I'd like 25% of U.S. electricity to be generated from unicorn droppings.

Doesn't this liberal dreamland seem familiar? Let's rewind to June 20, 1979:

President Carter announces program to increase Nation's use of solar energy, including solar development bank and increased funds for solar energy research and development.

In the little land we like to call reality, our economy runs on oil. No matter how many green initiatives we sponsor, there will be significant time required to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels. And the free market will create these alternatives, not ACORN, the SEIU, and the other anti-American moonbats who are on the receiving end of a cash leaf-blower.

Ignoring the shortfall puts our entire economy -- and, by extension, our national security -- at risk.

Contact your representative today and demand an end to tyranny; demand that government unlock free-market energy solutions.


Diane Feinstein's egregious conflict-of-interest sends millions in taxpayer funds to her husband's firm


Today, The Washington Times published new revelations regarding Democrats' proclivity for raping taxpayers. As if the ethics challenges of the Obama administration and Congressional hacks like Dodd, Frank, Rangel, Mollohan, Reid, Murtha and Waters weren't enough, Diane Feinstein turned some new tricks that helpfully enriched her husband.

In May of 2008, the FDIC began an RFP process to help manage and resell its immense portfolio of foreclosed real estate. It received proposals from 18 firms.

Feinstein wrote to the FDIC head on Oct. 30, as her husband's firm (CBRE) was still competing for the contract. Bair responded in November, noting that she had not been able to convince Treasury to fund her plan for handling foreclosures.


Click to zoom

On November 13th, the FDIC inked a contract with CBRE that could yield tens of millions of dollars (or more) when most commercial real estate firms are dying on the vine. CBRE was suffering greatly; its share price had hemorrhaged from $24.50 in May to $3.77 in November.

Feinstein's husband's partnerships bought 10.6 million shares at a price of $3.77.

Several days later, the FDIC announced CBRE had won the contract. Foreclosure management experts call the contract "highly unusual" and stated that some of its fees were "egregious".

For example, CBRE can collect $7,500 on the sale of a property worth $25,000 or less (a commission of 30 percent or more). Experts state that competitive commissions for similar properties are between $2,000 and $2,500... a third of the fee.

On January 6th, Feinstein introduced a bill seeking $25 billion from TARP to help bankroll the FDIC's unfunded proposal. Her intervention was "unusual" since she isn't a member of any relevant committee and the FDIC operates using insurance payments from banks.

Gee, I'm sure Feinstein and her husband had no earthly idea what the other was doing. It was all just a coincidence that Feinstein intervened with the FDIC just before her husband's company won a "highly unusual" management contract with "egregious" fees.

Together, Feinstein and her husband are worth north of $52.3 million, according to her 2007 financial disclosure. Maybe you and I can pay higher taxes to get them up to, say, $250 million or so.


Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: A Rahm bomb for Jane Harman?

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email!

National Security


What would you not do to stop a nuke?: HuffPo (Lionel)
CIA: we stand behind our actions, and results: Morrissey
Who are the terrorists?: MoneyRunner
A Rahm bomb for Jane Harman?: AT (Lewis)
Take a deep breath, clarity to follow: Shrinkwrapped
Festivus Summit of the Americas: RCW (Fausta)

Terrorism


Worse than Neville Chamberlain: Steyn
The Madness of Durban II: LGF
AQ #2 claim's Obama's election as a 'victory': Gateway
Durban II Diary: UN folds its cards: PJM (Simon)
Domestic Terrorist added to FBI list is NOT a Veteran!: BMW
One more time! KSM waterboarded 183 times: Gateway

Moonbats


Thought Police Muscle Up in Britain: RCW
Obama's EPA declares CO2 a poison: PJM (Lewis)
Congratulations! You may be a terrorist!: Reason
Obama vs. the Navy SEALs: 4-block

Media


The Times' Pulitzer Surprise: Surber

History


A Lenin's Birthday Story: AT (Atbashian)
It was about hope, and change: Crittenden
The only way to prevent genocide: S, C & A
Patriot's Day: Surber