the gratitude campaign

A great idea for saying thanks to anyone. But especially nice to pass along a thanks when you see one of our current active duty service men and women.

KING MIDGET JAMBOREE 2007

View this on LiveDigital
IKMCC has a three day get-together each year. This one in Holland Michigan showed off 75 cars built between 1946 and 1969 in Athens, Ohio. You can learn more about the King Midgets at kingmidgetcarclub.org . A 90 minute DVD of the event with lots of car footage is available by contacting poorpete (at) optonline (dot) net. Pete lives in NW New Jersey.

WWII Veteran - The Ball Turret - B-17

Click to Play

Earl Mills tells his story about one particular raid over Germany. Eventually, Mill's B-17 was shot down on his 28th mission. He explains his disability in the full interview. He is 100 percent disabled for a chronic nervous condiion. His full interview from ME3TV.org is on an hour long DVD. These interviews are designed to become a part of the collection of Veteran Histories at the Library of Congress.  Volunteers are encouraged to participate.

Seizing Destiny

Just finished Seizing Destiny-How America Grew From Sea to Shining Sea by
Richard Kluger (won the Pulitizer).

600 pages-easy read; would make a great college sophomore survey
course. Covers from Britian/France/Spain, through colonial times; the
addition of the "Old Northwest" from Virginia; the La. purchase/the Great
Lakes region/Florida (East and West) from Spain/Oregon Territory (54/40 or
fight!)/the War with Mexico/the Gasden purchase/Alaska/stealing
Hawaii/stealing Phillipines/trying to steal Cuba/with all respect to Ronald
Reagan: "the Panama Canal is ours, we stole it fair and square!" etc etc.
Gives the historical contex of each expansion, and our growing
"Manifest Destiny" philosophy. Did you know that President Polk added more
territory to the US than any president before or since?

I really enjoyed it-I knew practically nothing about the Mexican
War, except that there was one. (Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor, Santa
Ana, etc).

I am now moving on to Blood and Thunder-An Epic of the American
West-by Hampton Sides; picks up in the New Mexico territory in the middle of
the Mexican War with Kit Carson and the impact on the Navaho. To be followed
by Path Between the Seas by David Mccullough regarding building the Panama
Canal.

Reading books is easy if you don't have a life.!

Girl in wedding Dress Bud Light Ad

This is how ads should be made. Enjoy.

Compelling Interest: Military

http://compellinginterest.typepad.com/compellinginterest/2007/11/military.ht
ml?cid=90996128#comments
some interesting book reviews.

Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band : Rosa Majeur

You cannot avoid smiling with Zyedeco music. Here are some masters!

World War II TAILHOOKER

http://www.navy-tailhooker.com/
An autobiography. Looks good!

11-15-07 Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (CALM) | Wallstrip

CalMaine Foods - Wallstrip
I learn more about the market here than in many hard boiled business magazines. Enjoy this episode and learn. this is one of my favorite websites to visit regularly. No - I do not invest in all the stocks they mention, but you learn a lot from just watching and enjoying the way business is presented. Hint: because Wallsrip's focus is on trending stocks that are at new highs - there is
always a strong potential for them to find a peak and take a bad tumble with any market dips (like recently).

Fauxtography (Military)

http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/military.asp#embrace
an interesting analysis of the many photos that come in our email.
Some are accurate - some are big-time fake.

Why do we think the USA is eternal?

Take a look and this history of the Middle East and consider how many different empires have ruled the same real estate.
http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

Obama from Bill Lear - LEAR JETs

A serious comment by Bill Lear (Lear jet) a smart, successful business man and an Independent.
Most Americans are aware of Bill Lear, because of his Lear Jet business; His opinions are worth a read:
A Humble Plea to McCain and Obama Supporters:

Dear friends,
I am truly astonished by the ignorance Obama supporters have displayed in their quest to get someone - ANYONE - into the White House. Now, wait a minute. I can well understand your dislike or even hatred of our clown, GWB, but he is not the root cause of all of our problems. Our Congress is. And a change there would be welcomed by all. You ain't gonna get it done with Obama. You gotta fire the whole damnable crooked Congress. (Read my book, "BERNIE'S WAR!").

Perhaps I'm looking at all of this from a different perspective than you because my life experiences have been so different from yours. I'm 80-years old and have traveled the world where I've seen a great deal. I spent five years on active duty as a fighter pilot in the USAF and another seven years flying with the Air National Guard in California and Texas as well as a few years flying in the USAF Reserve. I spent three years on active duty in Germany flying Czech border patrol with "cold guns" in aircraft inferior to the MIG during the Korean "Police Action" when it was thought that Korea was a diversion for a Soviet invasion of Western Europe.

I lived abroad for a total of 28 years. Three years in Germany, twenty years in Switzerland and five years in Great Britain where I was based doing "spook" work for the U.S. behind the Iron Curtain before it fell. During that era of the Cold War I ventured to Moscow, Prague, Warsaw, Bucharest, Peshawar, Pakistan and Bulgaria posing as a Swiss French-speaking arms dealer purchasing weapons we surreptitiously supplied to the Afghani Mujahedeen in their successful fight against the Soviets - all of which came back to haunt us. I've been there and done that and have had close associations with top government people in Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain. I've had more foreign affairs experience than Obama could ever dream of and, yet, wouldn't have the temerity to deign myself "Presidential" material; although I feel eminently more qualified to judge who would NOT be best for our country. My long-time world experience should count for something in my plea to you to abandon this flake. You will only be doing yourself and our country an enormous disservice if you persist in your support of this flash- in-the-pan opportunist. On this, you MUST trust me.

I've associated closely with European royalty and African politicians. I've traveled to the Far East to observe their cultures. My point is that Obama, although formally well educated and a brilliant orator, is a neophyte when it comes to understanding the world and is uniquely unqualified for the job as President of these great United States. His knowledge of economics is nil and his tax proposals absurd and life-threatening to the U.S. not only in economic terms but in preserving our national security as well. I don't want a "citizen of the world" to be President, I want a citizen of the good old USA to be President. Screw the rest of the world as they have well and truly screwed us. The time has come for us to awaken and start looking after ourselves. Now THAT would be CHANGE if that's what you're looking for.

While McCain has abstained from playing "the race-card", Obama is playing it to the hilt even though he's technically not an African-American. To qualify for this distinction you must be at least one-sixth black. Obama is only one-eighth. His father would be, as he was one-sixth. No, Obama is more Muslim than black yet he trades on his blackness.

The larger question I have about him is that we really don't know much about him other than what HE tells us, what we read on blogs and from some serious non-partisan investigators whose factual reports are, unfortunately, generally ignored and which receive precious little media exposure.

I, as a registered Independent, a military veteran and a patriot, beseech you to put aside party considerations and vote for the lesser of the two evils. Yes, I am NOT a McCain supporter, but he is, at least, not a flake, doesn't carry Muslim baggage and is a PROVEN hero and patriot WITH experience. It's not a party issue. It's all about electing the best we can trust with what we've got to work with. Mr. Obama is NOT that guy.

Please, please rethink your voting position. Thanks for reading my innermost thoughts. I care about all of you, but I care more about our country. Please help me to do both.

William P. (Bill) Lear, Jr.

PR Opportunity Missed by alQaeda

It appears some very motivated soldiers - some who would not survive - had the honor of taking away a Photo Op from alQaeda only days before General Petraeus testifed before congress. This is a PR war as much as a blood war. Often our own press chooses to take the bait offered by the enemy and ignores the results from our own soldiers. Here is a close look at a battle for the headlines that might have highlighted enemy success.
http://www.spectator.org:80/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12233

Vic's LIST OF TEN THINGS

I would have never expected these folks to support McCain.

This is a true story. (SEE THE END) Names and location not clear to permit privacy.

Ours is a BLUE state. Solid blue. No hope here for a McCain victory that I can see.

REGARDLESS - some will do their best to help the McCain/Palin ticket win. Today is November 1, 2008.

This is from TWO HOMELESS PEOPLE - explained that they were well aware of the news. They watch TV. They read papers. They understand completely the relationship between the Democrat agenda in past administrations and congress to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac destruction that contributed to the current economic crisis. They understood a LOT!

1. Democrat cronies placed in FRE and FNM made hundreds of millions in bonuses that fed back to support Democrat agendas and more cronyism that loops again and feeds off the less fortunate in our country. Many of the "high bonus financial executives" are ardent Democrats too. it PAYS !

2. Democrat congressmen blocked oversight and regulation of FRE and FNM when it was proposed by Bush and later by McCain - and other Republicans. Why? See #1 above.

3. They understand the difference between giving people a thousand dollars today versus leaving multiples of $1000 in a small business that will invest in more production and more jobs that can provide people with $30,000 a year plus health benefits - thereby not needing a hand-out.

4. They are fearful of an Obama presidency because they have not seen any record on his accomplishments. They have only heard platitudes in his speeches.

5. They do not believe he has been vetted for the job even as well as someone who might apply for the job of scoutmaster of a local cub scout den.

6. His history of associations tells them he is not likely to understand the nuances of capitalism and how it creates wealth for everyone. The McCain-Palin ticket exhibits strength here.

7. His vague disassociation from militant people in his past does not soothe their concerns that he might view some terrorists as morally justified in their acts.

8. They understood that Bush has made some poor choices in his administration, but he also made some good ones - that the economy after 9-11-2001 was due for an immediate crash except for some of his actions. So they understand the crash is partially a delayed effect of the Al-Qaeda attacks.

9. They think that McCain and Palin have none of the baggage associated with Obama and that their approach to job creation in the private sector is far more effective long-term than the Obama plan to create more government subsidized jobs. They know private sector job growth means more government revenue down the road whereas more government subsidized jobs mean more government spending down the road. It starves the chicken that lays the eggs. McCain includes ENERGY intelligence in the team. Oil and Nuclear are priorities with significant development assistance to bring along solar, wind, geothermal, clean coal and tidal energies.

10. McCain and Palin are known entities with track records that can be verified. McCain's is a long one - not all perfect - but well known. Palin's is a short record but with a lifetime of consistency - none of which is out of character to mainstream America.

These homeless women are greatly concerned about an Obama administration. While in a life crisis mode - when they would be assumed by many to be thoroughly on the side of an Obama ticket --- YET - they are expressing themselves as ardent supporters of McCain / Palin.

I hope that more people in dire straits in this difficult economic period are thinking like these ladies.

And, I really hope things work out for them soon.

I do understand they will be able to move into subsidized housing in another week.

(Subsidized housing -- see -- there are sometimes things the government does that can be helpful).

Name Witheld

State Witheld

Blue State - Businesses and people leaving in droves for two years now since the state is among the highest taxed states in the nation. You may have noticed there are a number of states in this mode ... especially in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes region. You might also note that these states are in rapid economic decline beyond explanation by the current economic emergency. And they are all controlled by Democrats. You would think this would be obvious to the residents of those states who vote -- but maybe they never read "Free to Choose" by Milton Friedman (the "Chicago School of Economics" - a mis-identification if there ever was one since the "Chicago Machine" is behind the current "Obama Economics School".

I Vote Democrat Because

I'm voting Democrat….

Liberals are so elite, and I don't want to be jealous anymore. They are just never wrong about anything. Read along and you will know why!

I'm voting Democrat because English has no place being the official language in America .

I'm voting Democrat because it's better to turn corn into fuel than it is to eat.

I'm voting Democrat because I'd rather pay $4 for a gallon of gas than allow drilling for oil off the coasts of America .

I'm voting Democrat because I think the government will do a better job of spending my money than I could.

I'm voting Democrat because when we pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq , I know the Islamic terrorists will stop trying to kill us because they'll think we're a good and decent country.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe people who can't tell us if it will rain in two or three days, can now tell us the polar ice caps will disappear in ten years if I don't start riding a bicycle, build a windmill or inflate my tires to proper levels.

I'm voting Democrat because it's alright to kill millions of babies as long as we keep violent, convicted murderers on death row alive.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe businesses in America should not be allowed to make profits. Businesses should just break even and give the rest to the government so politicians and bureaucrats can redistribute the money the way they think it should be redistributed.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe guns, and not the people misusing them, are the cause of crimes and killings.

I'm voting Democrat because when someone with a weapon threatens my family or me, I know the government can respond faster through a call to 911 than I can with a gun in my hand.

I'm voting Democrat because oil companies' 5% profit on a gallon of gas are obscene, but government taxes of 18% on the same gallon of gas are just fine.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe three or four elitist liberals should rewrite the Constitution every few months to suit some fringe element that could never get their agenda past voters.

I'm voting Democrat because illegal aliens are not criminals, are not sucking up resources through government aid, hospital services, education, or social services, but are just people trying to make a better life by coming to America illegally. We can't blame them for that, can we?

I'm voting Democrat because I can now marry whatever I want, so I've decided to marry my dog Peanut.

Makes you wonder why anyone would ever vote Republican, doesn't it?

Vietnam Veteran Navy

Click to Play

Starting in submarines, this navy veteran eventually came to a staff function that gave him a good deal of exposure to many outposts in Vietnam. His observations of events in Vietnam about 1970 are interesting and instructive. See more veteran interviews at ME3TV.

Ralph Fronczkowski is now retired from the Navy and lives in New Jersey.

How Come People are So Stupid? Ethanol

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE ... at Helium
This is the first in Uncle Vic's "HOW COME PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID" essays.

Global Incident Map

When you click on the website link below, a world map comes up showing what strange & dangerous things are happening right now in every country in the entire world & is updated every few minutes. You can move the map around, zero in on any one area & actually up-load the story of what is going on. Global Incident Map: There is a lot happening in our world every minute. This 'map' updates every 300 seconds...constantly 24/7.
http://www.globalincidentmap.com/home.php

Young Americans Documentary

http://patdollard.com/young-americans
OK.. these guys are in the real war.
This video blog gives them a voice.
If you have a problem with bad language-
these American Kids who are fighting and
dying in Iraq are probably not for you.

A great animation - Hillary for Prez

Hillary for Prez
http://jokelibrary.net/yyPictures/m/2008b.html

WWII_Army Nurse - A.Quick

Click to Play

Alice Quick of New Jersey was a nurse in the Army in WWII. Her full interview for the "Veteran's History Project" is on a DVD and is provided to the Library of Congress, her family and the local library. Her service was in England -in Westminster (see the Chapel) and in France and Germany after the Allied Invasion. She did not work in surgery (wounded soldiers) but in the sick wards where she helped in the treatment of both American and German soldiers that came to her care. More veteran interviews are located in the ME3Tv.org website and in this Blip-TV channel for ME3TV. Volunteers are encouraged to help with videotaping and other tasks. See the website for details.

A LOT OF GREAT short Vids

commercials you'll never see in USA and more
pick and choose
http://www.rock103.com/pages/crew/twisted/

Hillary Exposed - election fraud

Hillary_Exposed_Promo.mov
<http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7007109937779036019&pr=goog-sl>
Thanks, Jerry .. Very interesting.
"Hillary and Bill kill Spiderman"
"Hillary skirts all bounds of election fundraising - nobody squeaks a note"
...
analysis...

She is very powerful. Most powerful of any candidate of any party in
America.
She will BE the next president.
Even Spiderman cannot stop her.

A Veteran Perspective

Not a timely artilce. More than 15 years old. A Navy buddy that served with the Swifts sent it to me this week. A good read (Tom) .
http://www.pcf45.com/master.html

Thanks, Tom .. (respected upper classman at www.chumuckla.com - my rural high school - and former naval officer) .

This piece is very instructive. As people in the Navy at that period, it really paints a picture of the time. This man left Newport RI the year I went to OCS for my first ROC summer - (I was commissioned in 1971). In 1970 there were hundreds of Vietnamese Officer Candidates in training at Newport in some of the same classes I was taking. These are the ones that were replacing his boat crews in late '70 and '71. I've talked to a lot of swifties over the years and realize they were in quite a different war than most anybody else there. My time there in '72-'73 was nowhere near the delta - but way way North on the DMZ - in at Tin Can (Destroyer) gun platform. Different kind of war for sure. But this writer's history is very clear. I do think it is relevant to many veterans of all wars - even the current one. I recently interviewed a Vietnam Vet on tape (soon on the web at www.me3tv.org) (from about this period of time - '69-'70. He actually talked about this river base in his narrative. He also talked about the Cua Viet River - near Quang Tri which was no longer a secure outpost in late '72 (when I was there) . The only people there were South Vietnamese Marines who were promptly massacred after our ships stopped all fire support on January 27, 1973 (the official end of US Combat operations in Vietnam).

Interviewing a WWII vet yesterday - A B-24 bomber crew (and POW) from the 15th Air Force - I was reminded again of the challenges many veterans have in taking their lives forward - or in being simply understood. This article describes the same issue. The WWII vet explained that - often - very early after returning from the war, he was asked what he saw and what happened. He told them. The reactions and expressions from those who listened were consistantly disbelief or a touch of fear that one might have touched a nerve - a nerve better left untouched. SO - after a few experiences like that - these WWII vets closed up and never talked about it again. While some could tell their stories - many reached the conclusion that silence was best. The man yesterday explained that - now, after well over 60 years - he has a mission - not to tell HIS story - but to tell the story of those who died beside him. Their voices will never be heard except by those who were with them. (some of his story will soon be on www.me3tv.org as well).

The volunteer veteran interview project is quite rewarding. It feels as if there is a treasure of memories here from which future generations can learn. I hope to develop a systematic interview program that will make it easier for students and others to participate in capturing these life treasures on video tape.

Vic Campbell
www.ussocallahan.org www.navalorder.org www.chumuckla.com www.me3tv.org

The Republican Collapse - New York Times

Well written but largely misguided by assumptions...
One chord he strikes that is common among all those who see the last 6 or 7 years as a republican wasteland... the huge budget deficits....

But they miss several things in their analysis..

1. The bubble burst under Clinton began a long tech slide that blew away any of the future surpluses the dems endlessly brag about under the same president.
2. The 9/11 attack killed off the rest of the economy in one fell swoop. It was the major intent of the terrorists who did it.
3. What would have been HUGE domestic progress with massive tax-cut-induced, free-flowing-revenue to the government and huge surplus funds making for an idyllic period of world history were WIPED out in one day.
4. To salvage the nation and the economy (of the WORLD) the USA (Bush) fired up MASSIVE government spending to flood cash into the economy through homeland security and to fight a war. THIS CASH FLOW pumped the whole economy in a Keynesian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_economics way - much as is the traditional method of Democrats. Add a couple of bad weather events and this task becomes even harder to accomplish. Sometimes even Republicans must turn to the Keynesian solutions when things get THIS bad.
5. The problem with the Keynesian solutions is that they tend to never come to an end ... and the spending never seems to stop (ie. government programs are expanded - entitlements go on forever and whole departments (homeland security) come into being and remain in place. But in THIS case and in others in history - there was no OTHER choice at hand. You must take the bad
with the good.
6. The massive influx of funds to the government because of the TAX CUTS (see above) were essential to keep the Keynesian solution funded -- so they never did more than "creep up" in their contribution to erasing the "9/11 - Bubble" deficit. But they ARE, amazingly, reducing the deficit - a little every year regardless of the Keynesian solution.

The deficit will be a political issue - blown up huge by the Democrats in their battle for supremacy. But don't you know - THEY would have done the same thing (spend money like crazy by the government) with less results because THEY would have also RAISED taxes and REDUCED the flow of revenue to the government (raised taxes stymie the private sector from which the taxes are flowing - and which has never been a concern of Democrats since their
intent seems to be to "control business" not "stimulate" it.

SO .. the article below has points to bear in mind .. about conservatives and the economy .. but one must look at the history of the last 10 years to fully appreciate the value of the Bush and Republican contribution to solving problems arising in the course of this time frame.
Vic Campbell
www.me3tv.org
RE: Subject: The Republican Collapse - New York Times