Perspective

Perception and Reality

I PLEDGE - Week 2

I PLEDGE - Week 2
We pledge an allegiance to a flag ... or is it to an idea or a country or a nation or a government?
Maybe some discussion and thought will help us all come to a better understanding. This series is dedicated to finding some of the great voices of America's past and examining a few of the words they leave with us.

George Washington Bridge NYC.
Washington needed this bridge in
1776 when he lost the
Battle of Brooklyn 

"A more perfect union" ... a clear indication they wanted to try to improve on the way a nation is governed. It was obvious there would be issues. IF more than one person is involved - there will be differences of opinion on how to proceed on any given issue. This spawns discussion on how to proceed. Governments of all kinds make some effort to get the input from the people involved to come to a decision about what to do next. So there are many voices and many proposed solutions.

Every voice has some OTHER agenda attached to it, ranging from selfless concerns for welfare to an edge in the structured solution to gain power toward future solutions. Thus has humanity resorted to political discussion. Polarized Debate to find resolution. So, as we look into our own issues or those of the nation, we need to hope consideration is given to alternate views. Sometimes OUR  view is the alternative.

George Washington, in 1795 was retired and living at Mount Vernon when he wrote this. His life was full and he had served as America's first President. "The man who could have been King". This quote is from that period:

"When one side only of a story is heard and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it insensibly."
LETTER TO EDMUND PENDLETON | THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 1795 (George Washington)

He is telling us to seek out more than one source of information. In the polarized POlitical world of our nation's government - power bases and allied interests, including the greater part of media sources - are eager to make THEIR voice the successful argument. So, it is important that an EDUCATED citizen pursue several information sources - especially when one voice alone appears to dominate the space.

In the formation of The Constitution, the founders included an encouragement for ROBUST debate in all the media. We know it as "Freedom of Speech" and it is the very FIRST amendment to the Constitution among the "Bill of Rights".

When we Pledge Allegiance to "the flag" - we can take pride that our founding principles included a freedom of speech. It even means if you want to protest your own nation by some kind of snub to the flag ... as long as you don't harm someone doing it - then you are free to do so without fear of government retribution. (Bear in mind the public is not the government and -- as at a dinner table - there are reasons why politics and religion are often forbidden topics even among family)

Questions for the week 

DAILY -- Read the quote only (above) - and write a paragraph
by the end of the week on one daily question

Day 1 -- Does Washington suggest we are overly impressed by constant repeated messages?
Day 2 -- Was Washington predicting the rise of demographic advertising methods?
Day 3 -- How can you get more views on a given subject related to elections or policy?
Day 4 -- Is your ability to discern motives and passion critical to your judgement?
Day 5 -- Can you suggest a few instances where you SHOULD listen to a single voice?

George Washington served as America's first president from 1789-1796.He died at the age of 67 

 When we say a PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE to the Flag -- is it because we expect our nation to tell us what to do? Or is it the other way around and that is why we - as a large group of divergent thinking people - show this respect? (discuss this)

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
A project of 12ponder.com and me3tv.org

I PLEDGE - Week 1

copyright 2018 - Vic Campbell

I PLEDGE

A Weekly theme for school reflection time to coincide with or even replace the pledge to the flag. The concept is to build on the great thinkers over the ages (from all parts of the world and of many backgrounds and experiences) who contributed to the thought behind the US Constitution.

What was behind their thinking as they created a nation that has a system of civil government that is WORTHY of making a pledge to support and defend. If we do not understand WHY we would pledge to an IDEA, then why do it?
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I PLEDGE

WEEK ONE
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CICERO --

A mind without instruction can no more bear fruit than can a field, however fertile, without cultivation.
Cicero
Roman author, orator, & politician (106 BC - 43 BC)



The people who founded the United States of America were well read. They studied the literature and philosophies and governments of thousands of years. Cicero was not just a few quotes to them. His life writings were one of the required elements of their classical instruction. But - by reviewing some insightful quotes from Cicero (and many others), we can gain a little perspective of the serious thought given to the structure of the government these founding leaders would envision.

This quote is found in many forms from many writers and thinkers in history. The concept here is that education is critical to progress as a person AND as a nation. The debate then becomes - WHAT constitutes a good education? Who shall have access to this treasure?

Questions for the week 

DAILY -- Read the quote only - and write a paragraph

 by the end of the week on one daily question

Day 1 -- Who is responsible for your education? Is instruction not the same as "education"?
Day 2 -- Should everyone receive some minimal standard of instruction?
Day 3 -- How did Cicero get his basic instruction?
Day 4 -- How can you get more knowledge about what YOU want to do?
Day 5 -- Is education a right? a privilege? a gift? a requirement? a certificate? A goal?

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman politician and lawyer, who served as consul in the year 63 BC. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. (wikipedia)

When we say a PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE to the Flag -- does that mean an allegiance to our government or our nation? Is there a difference? Why? 

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

A project of 12ponder.com and me3tv.org

BOOKS of our Region - Rock

BUY THE BOOK

BOOKS THAT ROCK ! 

Look for ROCKS that promote the books available from our region. Especially those that are from the store at the Jay Historical Museum.   Here are links to more about the books you might see on some rocks or in the museum.  Some are available from Amazon. Some are available from the author.  The Jay Museum is open every Saturday from 10-3. The books there make excellent gifts and you might consider getting a supply to gift through the following months as occasions arise.

When you find a rock, please post a photo to you social media and share the title and any information you might learn about the book itself. Then re-gift the book to the wild for another person to find and enjoy !

Tastes and Tales of the Great Pine Level -- Not just recipes but some heritage to go with them !
.................. These are available at the museum and select shops.

From The Heart of Jay -- Available at the Museum.  A much loved collection of columns written by Janice K. Watts when she lived in Jay and met many of the core families.

CAPTURED MEMORIES from SANTA ROSA COUNTY

BOOKS AND DVDS from Vic Campbell Recommendations - All Topics

Book By Bruce EWING

More rocks are added regularly to add to the exposure for local writers and historians. The rocks pictured below are recently added by placing with people who came to the talk on LOGGING THE MILL by Tom McMillan.  This superb book will also become a rock find soon.

New Jersey WW2 Book Club

New Jersey WW2 Book Club



These folks have some great new selections.

The Churchill Project - Hillsdale College

The Churchill Project - Hillsdale College

I could stand to educate myself here.

EBAY to order these challenge coins.





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Interviews with Veterans

This is one of my favorite veteran interviews. Mr. Mills responded to a notice I put out in NJ (when we lived there). He telephoned me one day and talked to me in this voice you hear on this video. He told me where he lived which was some distance away and asked if i could come to him. I said I could but I had some interview sessions set up in my town at an assisted living facility meeting room (Sparta) in the next week and if he could show up, please do. He said "Well, we need to get a move on this -- we (WWII vets) are dying like flies out here!"

 I interviewed a lot of these heroes long before the official USA push to collect interviews for the National Archives. Actually, I got started with these interviews sometime after I left the corporate world. My first few attempts were with some Tin Can sailors from a group I joined from my own military experience. Once at an annual meeting of those veterans, I heard a man speak about that day of INFAMY, December 8, 1941. My initial response was the same as most of the sailors there (poor man, he is losing is mind).

Then Mr. Otto Schwarz explained his ship the USS Houston, was the flagship for the Asiatic Fleet and THEY were in Philippine waters when the coordinated attacks occurred across the Pacific. The international date line separated their calendar day to Monday, while the middle and Eastern Pacific were still Sunday. But by chronological time order, the attacks across the Pacific occurred in the same block of time. The other thing that startled me in Mr. Schwarz's talk was his mention of "The Bridge on The RIver Kwai". The Asiatic Fleet was destroyed along with the British and Australian and Dutch fleets in the Western Pacific and many of the survivors became slave labor for the famous "Death Railway" and "the bridge".

The Asiatic Fleet fully expected an attack. They were ready. They were prepared to battle the Japanese until help arrived from Pearl Harbor. That was the plan ... before December 7, 1941. The entire multinational force of Allied fleets in the Western Pacific only lasted about 3 months before resting on the bottom of the sea.

I respectfully asked Mr. Schwarz if I could visit him and help him get his slide show transferred with narration to a VHS tape. He agreed and the next five or six years as time permitted I interviewed him and his shipmates and eventually produced a DVD which is available from buzzcreek.com . From that point on, I interviewed veterans of all kinds every chance I had. A few are sampled for just a portion of the whole interview, like this one with Mr. Mills, and are placed on my youtube channel at www.me3tv.org .

Well --- now I have hundreds of DVDs in my collection (many of them these veteran interviews and some are duplicates of those sent to the National Archives - like the one for Mr. Mills). I need to find a GEEK who will transfer ALL my DVDs - maybe a thousand or more - to a set of external hard drives for posterity. Is there a Geek out there that would volunteer to do this for the benefit of owning a copy? or maybe for a small fee like $2 per disc to transfer? I provide the external drives.

Let me know. All my contact information is at www.savethecollards.com . After having this done, I plan to donate ALL my DVDs to the UWF Panhandle Archives where they will be cared for and anyone can reference them into the future.

https://www.youtube.com/user/me3tv/search?query=mills+wwii

Jersey Boys London

It was a great show. Different performers - basic same show in Pensacola

I Was Reading --- and Then

I was reading -- and then .....

It was (is) a great book too.
By Sharman Burson Ramsey.

Fort Mims

The book, Swimming with Serpents is historical fiction that evolves about the massacre at Fort Mims in 1813, just a few miles from here up the Tensaw River, North of Mobile - in Alabama. Awful Massacre. Over 500 victims and maybe a hundred of the Perpetrators, the Red Stick Creek Indians (Allied to the British (white people) to kill off the White Folk who were despoiling the Indian ways).  Tecumseh from Ohio is a cousin to several of the Red Stick leadership among the Creeks. He stomps the earth when southern tribes balk at his admonition to kill all the white people. The great Mississippi River runs backwards, the earth shakes and village structures in North Alabama fall to the ground. Scientists tell us this was the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811, but the Prophet,Tenskwatawa, a brother to Tecumseh - was not having that explanation.

See Fort Mims? The fire arrow strikes THERE

Blood affair.  People were educated at Oxford on both sides of the conflagration. Family divisions. Brother and Sister and Aunt against Brother and Uncle and son. Godawful mess to sort out - even to this day. This is one of those un-highlighted events in history whose significance is the RESULTING HISTORY. Threatened citizens of Tennessee (including David Crockett and Sam Houston) joined with Andrew Jackson to come down to Alabama and erase the problem. Jackson in Pensacola. War of 1812 in progress. New Orleans. Florida becomes a US Territory. Jackson is Governor  then President. Destin Florida and 30A become a condominium destination.

Indians never lived down the massacre and by 1835 they are well on their way to being deported (along with the US Allied tribes of the war, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and more) to the new frontier - Oklahoma. Well, not all of them. A large contingent remained (mostly from the White Sticks- the other side of the Creek Civil War). Generations of intermarriage with the evil usurpers puts genetic markers in every family here with roots back 100 to 150 years. The Seminoles: Well, they were formed up by many of the Redsticks that got away.

What we KNOW

Disney gets a movie about Davy (Davy) Crockett and at the very start of the Disney series is an faux antique map of the Southern Frontier. A flaming arrow strikes the map just above Mobile - and the map burns. So ---that is all America remembers about Fort Mims.

I had just gotten through the massacre and was recovering with some of the characters in Ramsey's book, when my cat demanded I come to join Karen to watch Inspector Lewis - a BBC concoction of the uncivil murdering community of Oxford England.

I begin to wonder if the commanding enemies at Fort Mims were not immersed in the art of blood-thirst in the village of Oxford, in England. (Several of them, sons of Creek chiefs studied there) I've counted the deaths in Oxford associated with the murders in these connected series. The death rate in Detroit cannot hold a candle.

Lewis (detective inspector) is a spinnoff of the last episodes of Inspector Morse.  After Lewis, the BBC went back to the young Morse and ran a whole other detective series based on the young Detective Morse (Endeavor). My cat and my wife LOVE this BBC series.  I enjoy gathering the statistics from the episodes as the deaths in Oxford pile up - urging a satisfactory end to each episode with the guilty party undone.

John Thaw - Morse

Inspector Morse ran from 1987-2000 ( 13 years 33 episodes) - still not as prolific as America's PBS productions of Barney - but a good effort for the British).

Lewis ran from 2006-2015 for 43 episodes.  Kevin Whatley is the promoted version of Lewis who was the sidekick to Morse in the prior series. Whatley is supported by Laurence Fox who is Detective Hathaway.

A character consistency of these detectives for all the series is their quirky depth of education; at Oxford usually and their preponderance for  Opera and Wagner and Mozart and good wine and an occasional flare of deep wit regarding the philosophies of life.  Not unlike my own preferences in music, Chopin and Ray Stevens and John Anderson. I wax philosophical as well and relate to their deep thoughts out of my education as an Agricultural Economist. It was UF (Florida), not Oxford, but still  .... I am nearly always right regardless of my lack of an all convincing English Accent.

And the final series - still in production is ENDEAVOR, in which we return to the early years when Inspector Morse was just a detective - and NEVER appreciated.  Endeavor is running now from 2012 - 2018 (22 episodes so far) and the dead continue to pile up in Oxford.

While the actors are important, they could be replaced by trained monkeys because the writers for these series are the heart of it. They build complex characters and plots that make the whole program an education and a pleasure to watch.  I do sometimes miss the predictability of my other favorite detective show (of the American variety), Hawaii Five-Oh. The Brits always have someone posted at the back door and the suspect never escapes from that direction. Car chases are rare.

The British Accent could be improved. Sometimes, I need to watch these BBC productions with English captions because they cannot speak good clear English like the Indians can (from India).

When PBS is finally done with Barney, and have some money left over from the rights they pay BBC for good programming --  I'd like to introduce them to a stable of Southern writers who have magnificent stories to tell - set in our US South.  The periods of pre-European, European Contact and Pioneer settlement are woefully under represented in the colorful history of America.  Their works should begin populating good films and series for TV.

READING LIST
Sharmon Burson Ramsey
Gaylier Miller
Dr. Brian Rucker
Sharon D. Marsh
Brian Sullivan
Tommie Lyn
ALL REFERENCES at FORT MIMS Website
Death Statistics for Oxford England
MORE BOOKS - LOCAL AUTHORS
STUFF YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT

A Korean War Vet Memory

While collecting and sorting the affects of my cousin, Rogene Kilpatrick, to be stored, moved or tossed forever - his brother-in-law, Walter Mullins (A Vietnam Vet) came upon an envelope in the 
bottom of a box with this note - handwritten - inside.  For those who know the history of the Korean War and the Chosin Reservoir and the heroic stand of Marines there, this note will bring a chill.  God Bless all those souls who suffered there. 

For those faced with similar sorting of family treasures and histories, consider museums, the university archives and simply taking digital photos of the articles that have to be discarded. UWF Archives and the Jay Museum are receiving much of these materials.

Obituary      Chosin Battle  NEWSREAL   NEWSREEL2   A personal Account  FILM

WW2 in the air

 is a bit of interesting military history and probably not known by many  today, particularly the millennials.

 

    In those days the military & naval services didn't have civilians looking over their shoulders telling them what was not PC and how to conduct operations.  Comparatively speaking we have a lot of fuzzy thinkers in this country today.

 

    The North American A-36 was mentioned.  I'd never heard of that plane, but apparently it was an early model P-51 with dive brakes and used as a dive bomber. 

Back in the day when America was in the "Big War" WWII, these planes were flown by young boys.

Politically correct was go to war to break things and kill the enemy. Apparently no one worried about nose art on the bombers. BTW. More airmen died in WWII than Marines. At the bottom after the pictures there are amazing stats for the Army Air Corps in WWII.

Probably would not be allowed to leave the ground today

WWII Statistics Army Air Corps.

 

Almost 1,000  Army planes disappeared en route from the US to foreign locations.

But an  eye-watering 43,581 aircraft were lost overseas including 22,948 on combat missions (18,418 against the Western Axis) and 20,633 attributed to non-combat  causes overseas.

In a single 376  plane raid in August 1943, 60 B-17s were shot down. 

That was a 16 percent loss  rate and meant 600 empty bunks in England ..

In 1942-43 it was  statistically impossible for bomber crews to complete a 25-mission tour in  Europe .

Pacific theatre  losses were far less (4,530 in combat) owing to smaller forces  committed.

The worst B-29 mission, against Tokyo on May 25, 1945, cost  26 Super Fortresses, 56 percent of the 464 dispatched from the Marianas.

On average, 6,600 American servicemen died per month during WWII, about 220 a  day. 

By the end of the war, over 40,000 airmen were killed in combat theatres and another 18,000 wounded.

Some 12,000 missing men were declared dead, including a number "liberated" by the Soviets but never returned.

More  than 41,000 were captured, half of the 5,400 held by the Japanese died in  captivity, compared with one-tenth in German hands. 

Total combat casualties were pegged at 121,867.

US manpower made up the deficit. The AAF's peak strength was reached in 1944 with  2,372,000 personnel, nearly twice the previous year's figure.

The losses were huge---but so were production totals.

From 1941 through 1945, American  industry delivered more than 276,000 military aircraft. 

That number was enough not only for US Army, Navy and Marine Corps, but for allies as diverse as Britain, Australia, China and Russia.

In fact, from 1943 onward, America produced more planes than Britain and Russia combined.

And more than Germany and Japan together 1941-45.

However, our  enemies took massive losses.

Through much of 1944, the Luftwaffe sustained uncontrolled hemorrhaging, reaching 25 percent of aircrews and 40  planes a month.

And in late 1944 into 1945, nearly half the pilots in Japanese squadrons had flown fewer than 200 hours. The disparity of two years before had been completely reversed.

Experience  Level:

Uncle Sam sent  many of his sons to war with absolute minimums of training. Some fighter pilots entered combat in 1942 with less than one hour in their assigned aircraft.

The 357th  Fighter Group (often known as The Oxford Boys) went to England in late 1943 having trained on P-39s. The group never saw a Mustang until shortly before its first combat mission.

A high-time P-51 pilot had 30 hours in type. Many had fewer than five hours. Some had one hour.

With arrival of new aircraft, many combat units transitioned in combat. The attitude was, "They all have a stick and a throttle. Go fly “em." 

When the famed 4th Fighter Group converted from P-47s to P-51s in February 1944,there was no time to stand down for an orderly transition. The Group commander, Col. Donald Blakeslee, said, "You can learn to fly `51s on the way to the target.  

A future P-47 ace said, "I was sent to England to die." He was not alone.   

Some fighter pilots tucked their wheels in the well on their first combat mission with one previous flight in the aircraft.

Meanwhile, many bomber crews were still learning their trade: of Jimmy Doolittle's 15 pilots on the April 1942 Tokyo raid, only five had won their wings before 1941.  

All but one of the 16 copilots were less than a year out of flight school.

In WWII flying safety took a back seat to combat. The AAF's worst accident rate was recorded by the A-36 Invader version of the P-51: a staggering 274 accidents  per 100,000 flying hours.  

Next worst were the P-39 at 245, the  P-40 at 188, and the P-38 at 139. All were Allison powered.

Bomber wrecks were fewer but more expensive. The B-17 and B-24 averaged 30 and35 accidents per 100,000 flight hours, respectively a horrific figure considering that from 1980 to 2000 the Air Force's major mishap rate was less than 2.

The B-29 was even worse at 40; the world's most sophisticated, most capable and most expensive bomber was too urgently needed to stand down for mere safety reasons.

The AAF set a reasonably high standard for B-29 pilots, but the desired figures were seldom attained.

The original cadre of the 58th Bomb Wing was to have 400 hours of multi-engine time, but  there were not enough experienced pilots to meet the criterion. Only ten percent had overseas experience.

Conversely, when a $2.1 billion B-2  crashed in 2008, the Air Force initiated a two-month "safety pause" rather than declare a "stand down", let alone grounding.

The B-29 was no better for maintenance. Though the R3350 was known as a complicated,troublesome power-plant, no more than half the mechanics had previous experience with the Duplex Cyclone. But they made it work.

Navigators:

Perhaps the greatest unsung success story of AAF training was Navigators. 

The Army graduated some 50,000 during the War. And many had never flown out of sight of land before leaving "Uncle Sugar" for a war zone. Yet the huge majority found their way across oceans and continents without getting lost or running out of fuel --- a stirring tribute to the AAF's educational establishments

Cadet To Colonel:

It was possible for a flying cadet at the time of Pearl Harbor to finish the war with eagles on his shoulders.That was the record of John D Landers, a 21-year-old Texan, who was commissioned a second lieutenant on December 12, 1941. He joined his combat squadron with 209 hours total flight time, including 2 in P-40s. He finished the war as a full colonel, commanding an 8th Air Force Group --- at age 24.

As the training pipeline filled up, however those low figures became exceptions. 

By early 1944, the average AAF fighter pilot entering combat had logged at least 450 hours, usually including 250 hours in training. At the same time, many captains and first lieutenants claimed over 600 hours.

FACT:

At its height in mid-1944, the Army Air Forces had 2.6 million people and nearly 80,000 aircraft of all types. 

Today the US Air Force employs 327,000 active personnel (plus 170,000 civilians) with 5,500+ manned and perhaps 200 unmanned aircraft.

 

The 2009 figures represent about 12 percent of the manpower and 7 percent of the airplanes of the WWII peak.IN  SUMMATION:
Whether there will ever be another war like that experienced in 1940-45 is doubtful, as fighters and bombers have given way to helicopters and remotely-controlled drones over Afghanistan and Iraq.

But within living memory, men left the earth in 1,000-plane formations and fought major battles five miles high,  leaving a legacy that remains timeless.

2015 was a nice year. PHOTO TOUR

PHOTO BOOK FROM 2015

PHOTO BOOK FROM 2017

PLATT - MISC News

CURATED HEADLINES from 12ponder.com
Vist that blog regularly for superb curated news headlines.

GENERAL INTEREST

The Week in Good News: The Garlic Girls, Rhodes Scholarships and an African Funk Pioneer

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/briefing/the-week-in-good-news-garlic-girls-rhodes-scholarship-black-panther.html?emc=edit_nn_20180223&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=58935408&te=1


Inside New York's oldest store in Chinatown – photo essay

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/23/inside-new-yorks-oldest-store-in-chinatown-photo-essay?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=265337&subid=24222148&CMP=GT_US_collection

Seattle Residents Complained About A 'Confederate Flag.' It Was Actually The Flag Of Norway.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/27472/seattle-residents-complained-about-confederate-emily-zanotti

Justin Trudeau Makes A Fool Of Himself Again, Insults Entire Nation Of India With Condescending, Ethnic Attire

https://www.dailywire.com/news/27482/justin-trudeau-makes-fool-himself-again-insults-jared-sichel

News Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Week’s Headlines (10/11)

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/23/briefing/23weeklynewsquiz.html?emc=edit_nn_20180223&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=58935408&te=1

HEALTH

What’s better for you: a low-fat or low-carb diet? Scientists have an answer

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/whats-better-for-you-a-low-fat-or-low-carb-diet-scientists-have-an-answer-2018-02-22

Good news: you’re not getting older, you’re getting better

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/good-news-youre-not-getting-older-youre-getting-better-2018-02-23

BUSINESS

US bank halts NRA credit card, car rental firm ends discount

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/enterprise-ends-car-rental-discount-060216050.html

FINANCIAL

OOPS! Teachers in 12 states have pension funds invested in gun stocks

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0218/teachers_pensions_guns.php3

ENVIRONMENT

Rare Footage of Wolverine on the Hunt in Montana

https://weather.com/news/trending/video/rare-footage-of-wolverine-on-the-hunt-in-montana?pl=pl-the-lift

Rare Fossils Discovered on Lands Cut From Bears Ears National Monument

https://www.ecowatch.com/bears-ears-fossils-2538047979.html?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=f5152ec092-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-f5152ec092-85328381

WEATHER

Storm Unleashes River of Rushing Rocks in New Zealand

https://weather.com/news/trending/video/storm-unleashes-river-of-rushing-rocks-in-new-zealand?pl=pl-the-latest

AIR FORCE

Eyes On Vulnerable AWACS, Rivet Joint, Etc., Air Force Studies replacements

https://breakingdefense.com/2018/02/eyes-on-vulnerable-awacs-rivet-joint-etc-air-force-studies-replacements/?utm_campaign=Breaking%20Defense%20Air%20&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=60902950&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--ninJbmJ4KwIyynLKO41GfaAp4SdvST635E5Ct8Tx3lXBCkoCOf0ph2u-wdLmGm0WljDKFEeSECteasPU6IsyH0-VsAw&_hsmi=60902950

MARINE CORPS

Marine Corps again lowers requirements for Infantry Officer Course ( “[The change] was not about lowering attrition, it was about making students more successful to complete the course,” ... It's difficult for me to believe that he actually said that ... it's just nonsense.)

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/22/marine-corps-again-lowers-requirements-for-infantr/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=2018&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=newsalert

GOOD GRIEF

Louisiana school bars student who said math symbol looks like gun

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/23/school-bars-student-who-said-math-symbol-looks-gun/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=2018&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=newsalert

GUN CONTROL

Democrats Say America Is The Worst Western Country For Mass Shootings. That's [not true]

https://www.dailywire.com/news/27401/democrats-say-america-worst-western-country-mass-hank-berrien?utm_source=shapironewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=022218-news&utm_campaign=position4

US gun control advocates exaggerate benefits of Australia's gun restrictions

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/02/23/us-gun-control-advocates-exaggerate-benefits-australias-gun-restrictions.html

Trump and the GOPers have a great opportunity to steal a key issue from the Dems

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0218/morris022318.php3

The Four Reasons Congress Won’t Do Anything About Gun Control

http://www.newsweek.com/four-reasons-congress-wont-do-anything-about-gun-control-818075?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=yahoo_news&utm_campaign=rss&utm_content=/rss/yahoous/news

IMMIGRATION

Their daughters were held at the border – then the blackmail from fake Ice agents began

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/23/immigration-detention-ice-border-fake-scam?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=265337&subid=24222148&CMP=GT_US_collection

NORK

US Tightens Sanctions On North Korean Shipping

http://start.att.net/news/read/article/the_associated_press-trump_to_announce_new_nkorea_sanctions-ap/category/news

RUSSIAGATE

Why Richard Gates is a key player in the Mueller probe

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/375183-why-richard-gates-is-a-key-player-in-the-mueller-probe

-- "Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality of those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change." - Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), A Farewell to Arms, 1929

reveille

MOH -Cpl. William T. Perkins, Jr. USMC

Combat Photographer - Medal of Honor. 

Swingin - John Anderson

Sometimes we just need a laugh.

Marine From WW2 interview

My friend, Don Schuld interviews Jonathan Mendes in NYC for the Naval Order of The United States.  This episode brought to you by the NYC Commandery of the Naval Order.  Selected for this page by 12ponder.com . The Naval Order is one of the oldest oldest organizations in America to promote the knowledge and history of Americas Sea Services. The New York Commandery is particularly active and promotes excellent Authorship of history through its annual Samuel Eliot Morison Awards. 

https://youtu.be/rWc5RIcQL9U

A few years ago when still in High School, my son, Alex Campbell met Mr. Mendes at the Naval Order Luncheon in NYC. Alex enjoyed talking with several of the Marines there and after his degree in History from Auburn U. he eventually enlisted and now serves in the reserves.

THE NAVAL ORDER OF THE UNITED STATES
was begun by founding members that included Admiral  George Dewey and Teddy Roosevelt.

To learn more and to inquire about membership you may inquire HERE or email Don Schuld,

DON SCHULD and UNCLE VIC last summer when Karen and I made a trip to visit our old town of Sparta NJ.  Don sparked me to get involved with the Naval Order once he became a member. He knew me from some Rotary Club activity in the mid 90's. I was already a member because my friend Otto Schwarz of the USS Houston brought me in. I Knew Otto because of hearing is talk on the USS Houston and "The Bridge on The River Kwai" at a meeting of Tin Can Sailors .... which ..... led to my making a documentary about the Houston.   But I did not like to drive into NYC for those luncheons  superb though the were.  Don became my "driver" and good friend along with another navy vet Roy DeFranco who was another soul thirsty for history. Roy is a retired school principal. Don is a retired investment counselor.  The trips into NYC became some of my fondest memories of our time in NJ.

Here is a photo of me and Don last summer. I presented him with one of my ship challenge coins that constitutes an IRISH BLESSING from the history of Fr. O'Callahan and the ship named for him. 

Facing it Together | Si & Tempy

What else to say. GOOD SOULS HERE.

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