I'm just tired and I don't want to talk about it any more.....

   There is soo much going on in the world right now, and there is soo much that I want to say

We have rumblings of Putin invading the Ukraine and adding "The Breadbasket" to Mother Russia, and our "Betters" are pushing sanctions and other things and beating the drums of war, talking about committing troops and I am horrified, I am an Army Cold War Veteran, I was part of VII Corp in Southern Germany and I also went to the Persian Gulf as part of Desert Storm, so as they say "I smelled the smoke and saw the elephant" That isn't what concern me, I was part of a highly trained green machine that had all the branches of the services that were well equipped and highly trained in warfighting, now the Army and the Military in General has newer equipment and in a lot of cases, better equipment, but the leadership flatout sucks, they are more concerned about "Diversity and Inclusion" then warfighting skills, whereas our near peer enemies don't have that problem and we will get our asses handed to us.  Our troops are fragmented, the ones that believe in this country are forced to either get vaxxed or get out, and the ones that stay in are the ones that will be ideologically pure to the left in this country, but they can't fight worth a crap, but by God they check off all the boxes.  And our "Betters" that are pushing for a confrontation, it won't be their kids fighting and dying, it will be "Flyover Countries" kids fighting and dying.  Our"betters" have no skin in the game unless the payouts they have in any Ukraine companies *Cough*Hack* Hunter Biden's  Gas Company sponsorship*Cough*Cough*. If there is a fight, we will have China watching and

either getting ready to carve up Taiwan or they will while we are embroiled in the Ukraine dealing with Russia.  They will be studying how we fight and figuring out countermeasures  and right now I don't have faith in the leadership military, Civilian, and political to do whats is in the best interest of our country, but I am too tired....

Meanwhile Stacy Abrams announced her plan to run again for Governor of Georgia, she narrowly was defeated in 2018, but then she was instrumental in getting both Georgia Senators democrats by her political organizations and harvesting the votes.  I am concerned, Brian Kemp is the present governor of Georgia, he did a good job overall of running Georgia especially during the pandemic, but he blew off President Trump and the  another candidate, the defeated senator Perdue whom former President Trump has endorsed is going to try to primary him.  This is a mess, Kemp has the support of the never Trumpers, and if he defeats Perdue, the GOP that supports President Trump will be lukewarm at best about supporting Kemp making it easier for Abrams to win, especially with the democrats proclivity of "finding the Votes"

 it is a real possibility my state will go democrat and that is a real concern, and unfortunately moving is not an option for a few years because of my and the spousal units job..But I am too tired....

    We have the latest variant to hit the shores, and of course the "CovidKarens" are shrieking in fear demanding more "masks" and more "lockdowns" and of course certain countries have gone total totalitarianism, like Australia, that is sending their infected citizens to "Covid Camps",

 

 and in Europe the Austrians, Germans and Italians have locked their unvaccinated citizens in their homes and fining them if they are caught outside, and if you are outside you better have either an app that shows your vaccine status or "your papers"

    I remember version 1.0 of this stuff where the undesirables and others were shoved into camps after being stripped of their rights as citizens, had their property seized by the state and millions killed and I keep wondering how the people today don't see it.  I know that the people in Germany in 1938 were blind to history, but we know what happened and we are careening down that same road again, I keep trying to explain what is going to happen if they keep pushing, but the people pushing are on a mission, you can see it to get  "everyone Vaxxed"...For our own good mind you and they don't understand what lies down that road when they strip a persons freedom and autonomy from them and say "You must obey or else".   But I am too tired.....

   Meanwhile we have the Grinch Dr Fauci himself telling everyone that they must get the boosters or "They don't get Christmas", now this is the problem, Fauci who is the face of "Our Betters" have decreed that we must get boosters to have our freedom back...well this is the problem sport...our freedom were given to us as a gift from God, not the State or a bureaucratic hack, and what the state don't give, the state can't take, but unfortunately so many people who don't know any better because of the abysmal education system in this country gave our sovereignty to the state, that which was a gift from God, many surrendered to government hacks and now they go hat in hand and beg for crumbs of their former freedom back from these same hacks.  I am ashamed of my countryman....how the mighty have fallen......but I am too tired.

Meanwhile these mandates have been a boon for certain companies, I normally don't have an issue with any companies making money the honest way, Adam Smith was adamant about the "flow of commerce", but what is going on here is government interference in the market by demanding that we take and "accept" a vaccine that isn't really a vaccine.  Now if someone wants to take "The Jab" , fine have at it, you have to judge the pro and cons of the "jab" and decide if it is right for you...or not.  The Individual is the most important person in this, the rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution are Individual rights, given by our creator and the governments job is to make sure that it isn't interfered with, but instead, you have the same people that scream "My womb, My choice" are trying to force me to accept "the Jab", all in the name of "Safety."  They can't have it both ways, you are either free or you ain't.  And these companies that are profiting are making a killing, just so happen that a lot of congressmen own stock in them...But I am too tired to explain to these people.......

Meanwhile the mandates about "vaccines" from the Usurpers administration keeps getting knocked down by the court system, and I hope this continues...I have filed for exemptions because I don't want to take the jab, I have had Covid 2 times now, I am having to fill out a petition at work for a waiver not to have to take the "Vaccine", at my place of employment, I have a job that pays exceeding well and I have to worry about losing that job because I am standing up on my principles on "Who Owns You" I am concerned despite the court order telling the Xiden administration that they overreached, he is telling companies to proceed anyway and most of them are proceeding despite the court order.  What is going on? why are all these companies rolling over and showing their bellies to the Xiden administration.  Does anybody have a spine anymore? 

I want to tell people to stand up....but I am tired of screaming into the wilderness......Just tired.

     Meanwhile "Our Betters" are totally tone deaf, Xiden picked the most incompetent people in D.C on the Potomac for his administration, they have no clue how regular people live, they are so insulated in their blue bubble around D.C they have no concept or worse they don't care what happens to the American people and this is criminal.  All they care is how much they get from the federal trough as they stick their nose in as they parrot "Da Narrative", and whatever the narrative is to the modern left and it totally disgust me.  I wish there was a way to cleanse the place, and replace the people with people that actually want to serve, rather than try to enrich themselves art the expense of the American people and worse try to start up a near feudal society with them as "Gentry" and us as Serfs or Kulaks where we know our place and tug on our forelock and bow down to our master as they walk by, this is the dream that they have, but it is not the dream that I have and it is totally diametrically opposed....and if this continues...there will be collision of dreams and this will not end well, ...but I am soo tired of trying to explain to people that don't want to listen what the cost will be....

Meanwhile in Waukesha Wisconsin a Mr. Brooks decided to run through a Christmas parade and killed 6 people and wounded 50+ others, he was given a really low bail for running over the mom of his kid a couple of weeks earlier, and he had had many run ins with the law, and he kept getting chances and more chances and rather than staying in prison where he belonged, he kept getting released into the street.  Because the DA supported social justice type bail reform, Mr. Brooks was able to be on the street to literally ride havoc on the streets of that town in Wisconsin.  When I first heard of it, I first figured he was suffering from "Sudden Jihadi Syndrome" because the denizens of islam love to take vehicles and drive through Christmas parades of the infidels, it is something they do in Europe.

   Mr. Brooks believed in Black nationalism and he didn't like police or white people, from his many social media post.  Hey it is his right, he can believe what he wants, bigots gotta bigot.

 

 But it somehow funny to watch the twisting of the media as they downplay the race and social media activities of the driver of that red SUV that caused so much carnage in that Christmas Parade....the Double standard of the mainstream media is galling...

      When "Da Narrative" is threatened, the media buries the information and pretends it don't exist, then they ofiscate and gaslight you.......But I am soo tired and don't want to talk about it any more.

   And speaking of the Media, it is coming out that the New York Times and other legacy media were complicit in the "Russia Conspiracy" hoax that they used to savage President Trump during his time in office, to the point that the Pulitzer prize they won for journalistic excellence for the totally debunked story should be returned, but despite the call for the Pulitzer Prize committee to revoke the award, they will not do anything because when ideology trumps the truth, there is a problem with the institution, and they don't recognize it and don't care.  this shows the effect of being in the bubble and twisting facts to support a narrative and facts be dammed, this is further splitting the country, we are no longer 1 country, but 2 totally different country and I see a divorce in the future, but I am tired of trying to explain.

    Soo many people wish President Trump was still President, I know I wish I do, I wonder how many Xiden supporters are having buyers remorse,  Sure President Trump can be an asshole, but his policies were good for the country, he loved the country, and unlike the current crop of donks ain't trying to tear it down.  I don't know if he will run in 2024 or if he will be behind the scenes anointing Desantis or some other GOPer in his image, but I am soo tired of trying to explain to people, I am just burned out, my people switch is toast and I have no give left in me...all I have left is push back.

Monday Music "Just Got Lucky" By JoBoxers

 

 I am continuing my "What songs would I play if Sirius/XM  would let me host a segment for an hour and these are the songs that I could play over and over again 3 or 4 times before continuing to the next song.  I will continue the *Boogaloo* theme after Christmas, that poor theme I had started November of 2019 and rode it hard like that little burro that carries the really fat lady down the grand canyon in July and back up again so it is still recharging in the pasture eating grass and grain before use it again.

 

   

JoBoxers was a predominantly British new wave group formed in 1982, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitarist), Dave Collard (keyboardist), Chris Bostock (bassist), and Sean McLusky (drummer) teamed up with American singer Dig Wayne (born Timothy Wayne Ball, 20 July 1958, Cambridge, Ohio). Wayne had previously fronted the New York based punkabilly band, Buzz and the Flyers as Buzz Wayne.

Like Gangbusters is the first studio album by British new wave band JoBoxers, first released in 1983^[and featuring five chart singles.

The first single "Boxerbeat", the group's anthem, worked its way up the UK charts while the group were the opening act on the Madness 'Rise and Fall' tour,reaching number three. It was kept off the top slot by David Bowie's "Let's Dance" and Duran Duran.

Their next single, "Just Got Lucky", became an international hit. This single sold over 250,000 copies, made the UK top 10, and cracked the U.S. top 40, reaching #36 during November 1983, and has been featured in a number of films including Just My Luck and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

The third single "Johnny Friendly" is a homage to the Marlon Brando film On The Waterfront. British boxer Frank Bruno appeared in the promotional video for the song.

"Jealous Love"/"She's Got Sex" was released as a double A-side. "Jealous Love" was performed on the UK TV show Loose Talk introduced by the actress Diana Dors in one of her last TV appearances,while "She's Got Sex" was covered on Samantha Fox's double platinum selling album Touch Me (as "He's Got Sex"

The band's debut single, "Boxerbeat" found success in Britain, peaking at number three in the UK Singles Chart. However, it was their next hit, "Just Got Lucky," that truly broke the band internationally. This single also sold 250,000 copies, made the UK Top 10, and cracked the U.S. Top 40. It remains the band's only American top-40 hit to date, and the group are often branded as one-hit wonders in the U.S.

Subsequent singles "Johnny Friendly" and "Jealous Love" did less well. JoBoxers' debut album, Like Gangbusters, featuring all of the abovementioned hits, reached the Top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. The band released another single "Is This Really The First Time" and a second album Skin and Bone in 1985, but then split up, with McLusky joining Marche and Paul Wells in the indie-dance band called If? and Bostock joining Dave Stewart's post-Eurythmics group, The Spiritual Cowboys.
Meanwhile, Wayne remained in London and briefly attempted a solo career, releasing the album Square Business in 1987, featuring fellow former JoBoxer Dave Collard on keyboards. One single, "Mastermind" was released from this album. After his solo efforts proved unsuccessful, Wayne began pursuing an acting career. He would go on to appear in several stage productions (including a starring role in the successful West End musical Five Guys Named Moe) in the UK. In 1995, he returned to the U.S., settling in Los Angeles, California, to continue pursuing his acting/television career.

 

 

Was the Bismarck a failure? or was the decisions of the Captain a failure.

 

Why did Germany’s epic battleship Bismarck fail so quickly? Was it inevitable that such a creation would be an immediate lightning rod for all of the Allied forces?

Despite being the largest battleship that the Germans had ever built, the Bismarck’s failure was expected by many. The ship itself was built to manifest German greatness in the eyes of the Führer and to act as a motivational tool for the German public.

The British Royal Navy boasted the world’s greatest navy entering World War 2 and despite losing over 50,000 sailors to the Germans, had a considerable upper hand on the German navy throughout World War II. Bismarck was an attempt by Germany to try and match the greatness of the Royal Navy.

If we analyze the situation that Bismarck faced, we might find some internal reasons regarding the Germans that led to the failure of the famous battleship. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss some of the mistakes that the Germans made which ultimately sealed the fate of Bismarck.

A significant factor of the failure was that the Germans made crucial mistakes when designing the battleship.

Because the German battleship designers lacked experience, they followed outdated design philosophies that were used in battleships during World War I.

Consequently, the design of Bismarck had inferior defensive capabilities. For example, its main belt armor was thin and installed vertically, decreasing its horizontal defensive ability. Similarly, the Bismarck’s upper and main armored decks were not strong enough, as evidenced by the lack of protection on its turrets.

Moreover, likely due to the anachronistic designs, its defenses against air combatants was subpar, leaving it open to Allied air strikes. Therefore, even with an advanced manufacturing process, the Germans were not able to produce a battleship that was powerful enough because of their outdated design.

On the other hand, the Royal Navy had only built 2 battleships, HMS Rodney and HMS Nelson, and no battlecruisers between 1918 – 1939, thus their fleet was almost all WW1 vintage.

The HMS Rodney was built in 1927, while only the HMS Prince of Wales was in any sense modern. However, the Prince of Wales was still so fresh that in fact she still had dockyard workers on board. The Royal Navy hardly possessed an elite and modern battlecruiser unit.

In addition to the outdated design of Bismarck, the Germans had not realized that battleships were no longer the preeminent weapon.

The importance of the air force increased exponentially during World War II. On May 22nd 1941, the Royal Air Force spotted that German battleships had left the harbor.

Multiple days later on May 26th, more aircraft had found and tracked the Bismarck, something that traditional vessels would not be able to do.

During the final battle, the aircraft dealt the nail in the coffin for the mighty German vessel. The skies were now where wars were won due to wartime innovation, and the British had caught on to this trend, manufacturing two aircraft carriers to assist in the war effort and ultimately proving that they were superior to traditional approaches.

As a result, aircraft carriers would become the overlord of the sea.

Another serious mistake was that the German military did not emphasize the importance of information security. Prior to the sinking of Bismarck, during the Rhine Exercise, the British military had already deciphered Germany’s military codes and destroyed several German replenishment oilers. This had ruined Germans’ Rhine Exercise.

Then, on May 25th 1941, after Bismarck was damaged and on its way back to the harbor, a German admiral on the ship, Johann Günther Lütjens, sent a telegram out from the ship to the military command. Even though Johann Günther Lütjens’ tactics were successful and created opportunities for Bismarck to retreat, his decision of sending this telegram was the most serious mistake he had ever made. It was so deadly that it finally led to Bismarck’s sinking and his own death.

When the admiral sent out the telegram, he was too confident that Bismarck had already escaped from the Royal Navy.

However, the Royal Navy captured this and successfully captured Bismarck’s location. Had the admiral never sent this, the British military would have resorted to searching blindly on the sea by navy and air force for the Bismarck. Then, Bismarck may have been able to have retreated safely.

But, was retreating really an option? We must also remember that Lütjens was under orders to attack British shipping, so he wouldn’t have wanted to retreat. His signal gave his general location, but it was patrolling aircraft that located Bismarck.

Had Bismarck retreated, HMS Hood, the largest battlecruiser in the British Navy, would have been spared being sunk by the Bismarck on May 24, 1941. Hood was sunk in a matter of minutes, losing all but 3 of its 1,418 crewmembers. The legendary battle between Hood & Bismarck was chronicled in Theodore Taylor’s book, H.M.S. Hood Vs Bismark: The Battleship Battle.

One more important mistake that the Germans made was regarding Bismarck’s fuel. At that time, Bismarck was designed with a maximum speed faster than most of the British ships. In addition, Bismarck’s fuel capacity was designed for an eight-day sailing while maintaining its maximum speed. Therefore, even if Bismarck had lost the battle, it would still have had the ability to retreat safely.

Bismarck under construction by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, 1938

Lütjens’ signal was instrumental in helping the Royal Navy locate Bismarck, and the damage received from the Prince of Wales was significant, but it was the airstrike that damaged the screws and the rudders that was the decisively fatal blow in the end. Once Ark Royal’s aircraft (open cockpit biplanes) had hit, Bismarck needed repairs, and there was only one dock she could go to in France. The Royal Navy then had a good idea of her course and intercepted her as a result.

Moreover, after deciding to retreat, Bismarck had been sailing with high speed for three days. As a result, when it was found by the Royal Navy, there was not much left in its fuel stores. So that maintaining high-speed sailing was not possible even if the crew had been able to repair the broken rudder.

The significant factor wasn’t Bismarck’s fuel state, but the ship’s inability to maneuver, which doomed her. Ark Royal’s airstrike damaged the rudders and in the sea state it proved too difficult to steer by engines.

This left her vulnerable to Rodney and King George V and their attendant cruisers and destroyers. At the end, Rodney closed to 3000 yards (point blank range for 16 inch guns) to finish off Bismarck. ‘After the sinking, Admiral John Tovey said, “The Bismarck had put up a most gallant fight against impossible odds worthy of the old days of the Imperial German Navy, and she went down with her colours flying.”‘ (wiki) Bismarck’s great threat to the British nation was her great power.

Had she escaped into the North Atlantic she and her consort, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, would have been free to savage the vital convoy routes between North America and the UK.

HMS Rodney firing on Bismarck, which can be seen burning in the distance

In fact after close observation by the explorer Robert Ballard when he found Bismarck at the bottom of the sea in 1989 it was discovered that despite being bombarded at close range Bismarck was mostly intact. “A detailed underwater survey of the wreck in 2002 showed that the sustained close-range shelling was largely ineffective in the effort to sink the ship, the many torpedoes launched at Bismarck were also almost completely ineffective, and the massive plating of the armour deck was also found to be virtually intact.” (Wiki)

Both ships were vastly faster and vastly better armed than convoy escorts, which would have fought gallantly and died futilely defending their convoys. The scattering merchant ships themselves would have been easy prey to the battleship and her heavy cruiser attendant. U-boat henchmen lurking nearby would have completed the destruction – PQ17 is evidence enough of that.

HMS Dorsetshire picking up survivors

Small wonder then that the Royal Navy mobilized every available capital ship north of Gibraltar to deal with the menace. In addition continued to devote disproportionate levels of effort to counter Bismarck’s sister, Tirpitz until she too sunk. The British Admiralty has known since the days of Pepys that command of the sea is what kept Britain safe from invasion and was the anvil of victory over oppression in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries.

Qatar Airways and Airbus, an ugly disagreement got worse

 I don't know if this is a concern with the other carriers of this airplane, but it is a concern because this is a trend, the A350 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are mostly composite airplanes, they are made such a way to save weight, and which increases fuel economy and lessens "carbon emissions" despite the jokes is actually a big deal with many carriers pledging to be "carbon neutral by a certain date and the composite fiber planes from Boeing and Airbus is a big part of that promise.

    I got this article in my email, it pertain to my industry and I like to keep up ti date on the latest trends, I may be just a chemtrail Technician, and we "Just bang rocks" as they say, but the rocks we bang in the future will be carbon fiber.

 

The pictures shown around informally in the industry look ugly: a myriad of small cracks in the paint around windows, paint peeling off the fuselage, exposed and worn expanded copper foil (ECF), the lightning protection layer visible below the surface paint, unprotected fasteners. 

And worst of all—20 Airbus A350s grounded by the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA), turning one of the manufacturer’s most important customers, Qatar Airways, into a very unhappy one for the time being. The carrier refuses to take delivery of any additional aircraft from Airbus.

 

                                               Airbus A350 in Qatar Livery
 

Airbus is adamant that the paint flaws and the ECF damages do not compromise protection against lightning as “we incorporated substantial margins.” Airbus also sees “no effect on the structure of the aircraft” and stresses that “this is not at all an airworthiness issue.”

Most operators appear to agree. Lufthansa and Finnair refer to “cosmetic” issues that have been fixed. But Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker holds a different view. 

“We don’t know if it’s an airworthiness issue. We also don’t know that it is not an airworthiness issue. This is also a conclusion that was accepted by EASA inspectors that came in and met our regulators,” Al Baker said at a recent Aviation Club meeting in London. He also criticized that “Airbus has made a very large dent in our widebody operations,” a statement that raises the prospect of claims for compensation.

Now Airbus is hitting back. In a highly unusual statement Airbus wrote Dec. 9: “In the face of the ongoing mischaracterization of non-structural surface degradation on its fleet of A350 aircraft by one of its customers, it has become necessary for Airbus to seek an independent legal assessment as a way forward to resolve the dispute, which the two parties have been unable to settle during direct and open discussions.” 

The independent assessment is based on a clause in the contract between Qatar and Airbus that comes into force when the two parties disagree.

“The attempt by this customer to misrepresent this specific topic as an airworthiness issue represents a threat to the international protocols on safety matters,” the manufacturer added. And “while Airbus regrets the need to follow such a path, it has become necessary to defend its position and reputation. Airbus has worked actively with its customers in order to minimize the impact and any inconvenience caused by this in-service surface degradation on the aircraft. These solutions have all been dismissed by the above-mentioned customer without legitimate justification.”

The issue of why A350s operated by several different airlines—including Qatar, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Finnair and Lufthansa, among others—are experiencing premature paint wear to varying degrees has kept Airbus busy for more than a year. Finally, the company claims it has identified the two main root causes—differences in thermal expansion and lack of adhesion to titanium fasteners—and is working on fixes.

The A350 paint system consists of multiple layers that cover the carbon fiber structure and the ECF on top of it. The first layers are the so-called basic primers—all of which are applied before final assembly of the aircraft. Several more are added after final assembly in the paint shop: an adhesion promotor, an external primer, intermediate coat, the basecoats and the clearcoat.

The important learning for Airbus from all the troubles is that the way paint is applied to an aircraft has to differ greatly depending on whether the fuselage is made of metal or composites. The A350 is Airbus’ first aircraft that has an (almost) all-composite fuselage. Aircraft are exposed to very high temperature differences, leading materials to expand and contract substantially. As Airbus found out, it gets vastly more complicated when different materials don’t react in the same way. And that is exactly what appears to be happening on the A350: the carbon structure essentially does not expand at all; its so-called thermal expansion ratio is 1. For the titanium fasteners, the ratio is 10. For the ECF, it varies between 15 and 40. And for the primer and paint, it is between 30 and 40. 

Airbus says that the “thermal cycling”—many times going from hot to cold and expansion to contraction—can lead to early surface wear and even expose the ECF, which then gets damaged further with no paint protection. One reason why the problem has been so significant for Qatar Airways is that its aircraft are exposed to particularly large temperature variations between cruise flight and time on the ground in the Gulf summer.

The other issue a phenomenon called “rivet rash”—the paint does not stick well to the titanium fasteners, an experience shared by Boeing and its 787s.

Airbus EVP of Programs and Services Phillipe Mhun told Aviation Daily that “a wide range of solutions is available in the maintenance manual.” These include local and full repainting of the aircraft as well as ECF repair instructions. There were also “continuous product improvements” and Airbus is sharing “detailed instructions about how to paint.”

EASA inspectors had visited Qatar some months ago, which is when the agency also made the statement quoted by Al Baker. In a new statement, EASA is backing the Airbus view. “Airbus has identified the root causes of the paint issue. Paint process have been further optimized and additional enhancement initiatives have been launched in accordance with these findings,” an EASA spokesperson stated. “We are in contact with Airbus on the matter and are aware that the root-cause analysis has not identified any safety issue that would have an impact on the continuing airworthiness of the affected aircraft.”

The issue is unrelated to the recently published proposed EASA airworthiness directive affecting 13 A350s that lack some heavy ECF patches in some parts of the wing lower and upper cover.

 Article compliments of Jens Flottau

Based in Frankfurt, Germany, Jens leads Aviation Week’s global commercial coverage. He covers program updates and developments at Airbus, and as a frequent long-haul traveler, he often writes in-depth airline profiles worldwide.
 

 

America's First Sniper Rifle

 

I clipped this from "American Rifleman", I thought the subject matter was fascinating, and I had never heard of this.

Even before the term “sniper” came into widespread use, the U.S. Ordnance Dept. developed and tested a rifle that predicted the task. It was identified with the following nomenclature: “United States Military Rifle – Krag-Jorgensen – Equipped with Sharpshooters’ Telescopic Sight.”

The American Civil War was the first conflict in our nation’s history in which telescopic-sighted rifles were employed in combat to any appreciable extent. These muzzleloading, percussion rifles were fabricated by a number of civilian gunsmiths and gunsmithing firms, primarily for benchrest shooting matches. Such rifles normally weighed from 25 to 35 lbs., had heavy barrels (of generally between .50 and .58 cal.) and were capable of surprising accuracy. While many, if not most, had iron sights, a number were fitted with long sheet-metal or brass telescopes, typically two to three feet in length. When war erupted, limited numbers of these civilian benchrest match rifles were procured by both the Union and Confederate armies for issuance to select “sharpshooters” and were used throughout the war, often with notable success. Curiously, after Appomattox, the U.S. Army showed virtually no interest in telescopic-sighted rifles, despite their proven effectiveness during the recently concluded war. Such was the case for the next three-and-a-half decades.

Muzzleloading, percussion-fired “sharpshooting” bench- rest rifles, such as this one, circa 1860, were the first American rifles to employ telescopic sights in combat.

Then, on June 8, 1900, a board appointed by Lt. Col. Frank H. Phipps, commanding officer of Springfield Armory, was convened by order of the U.S. Army Ordnance Dept. to evaluate a Model 1898 Krag rifle fitted with a telescopic sight designed and manufactured by the Cataract Tool & Optical Co. of Buffalo, N.Y. The rifle was described as “United States Military Rifle – Krag-Jorgensen – Equipped with Sharpshooters’ Telescopic Sight.” The likely reason for the renewed interest by the American military in a telescopic-sighted rifle after remaining dormant for so long is that the Krag was the U.S. Army’s first standardized smokeless-powder service rifle. Its .30-40 Krag cartridge possessed a flatter trajectory and better ballistic performance than the larger-caliber blackpowder cartridges previously in use. Presumably, a telescopic sight would be able to enhance the long-range accuracy of the rifle. A couple of nondescript rifle telescopes were reportedly looked at previously by the Ordnance Dept. in 1896-1897, but none were deemed to be suitable for further consideration.

The minutes of the Ordnance testing board related the following regarding the Model 1898 Krag with the Cataract telescope:

“The sight consists of a telescope which is attached by means of brackets to the left side of the rifle. The front bracket is secured to the lower band by two screws, and the ring through which the telescope passes has a horizontal motion to provide for drift and windage. A ball-and-socket joint in this ring allows the telescope to be moved in any direction … The rear bracket is screwed to the side plate of the receiver, and the ring which holds the telescope has a vertical movement for changes of elevation.

“Telescopes of three different powers are submitted for trial, viz. 8 diameters, 12 diameters, and 20 diameters. The medium power (12 diameters) gave the best results.

Evaluated Cataract riflescopes (l.) were held in mounts that featured mechanisms designed to allow for both windage and elevation adjustments (below, l. and r.). The Model 1898 Krag rifle pictured (above) bears Serial No. 262506.

“The telescope is of practically universal focus; that is, it does not require readjustment for different marksmen or for different ranges. The eye can be placed close to the eyepiece or several inches away without any apparent difference in the focus. Danger of being struck in the eye when the piece recoils can therefore be avoided.

“The lenses are large and are held in place by having the metal of the tubes in which they are mounted spun over their outer edges. The telescope is light, but at the same time strong. The brackets for attaching the telescope to the rifle are strong and durable and there appears to be no tendency to jar loose.

“The sight was tested by actual firings up to a range of 2,000 yards, each member of the board participating in the firings. As a result of this test, the board is of the opinion that the use of this telescopic sight appears to be of especial value in hazy or foggy weather and at long ranges. In either case the target can be seen with remarkable clearness, and the marksman can be absolutely sure that he is aiming at the proper object. This would be of especial importance to sharpshooters acting independently. [Author’s note: Since the word “sniper” was not in widespread use in 1900, the terms “marksman” or “sharpshooter” were used instead].

The final inspection stamp (right) on one of the test rifles denotes its “1900” assembly date. The markings on the left side of the “sniper” Model 1898 Krag’s receiver (left) indicate that it was made by Springfield Armory.

“The ordinary sight is useful for accurate firing at a regular target up to about 2,000 yards; but it is impossible to see a man or even a small body of men clearly at that range unless projected against the sky or under other very favorable conditions. It is for this reason that volley firing is so largely resorted to at long ranges.

“With a telescopic sight a man could be distinguished easily at 2,000 yards, even with an unfavorable background.

“The board is of the opinion that this sight is suitable for use in the U.S. service, and recommends a number of them be purchased for trial by troops in the field. If found to be satisfactory, a sufficient number should be purchased to supply such a number of the sharpshooters of each organization as experience in the field shall indicate to be desirable.”

Following the favorable report of the test board, the findings were forwarded to the Chief of Ordnance on June 14, 1900. It is reported that the rifle used in the test was subsequently sold to the Cataract company.

Upon receipt of the report, the Chief of Ordnance approved the manufacture by Springfield Armory of six additional Model 1898 Krag rifles fitted with Cataract telescopes for field trials. In the summer of 1901, four of these rifles were sent to Manila in the Philippines and one each to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and Fort Monroe, Va. The testing consisted chiefly of firing on regulation targets at known ranges and comparing the scores with standard Krag rifles (without telescopes) fired by the same marksmen.

Despite never being utilized by the military beyond the seven test guns, the Model 1898/Cataract rifle represents the first step toward the development of a purpose-built telescopic-sighted sniper rifle. The Springfield Model 1903 rifle with a Model 1908 Warner & Swasey “Musket Sight” (above) would go on to become the U.S. Army’s first standardized scope-equipped sniper rifle.

The results of the testing were varied. Some of the soldiers involved in the testing were quite enthusiastic about the performance of the telescope-equipped rifles—others complained that the offset position of the scope, which was necessitated by the upward ejection of the fired cartridge cases, was cumbersome and uncomfortable. It was reported that a couple of the Cataract telescopes suffered damage during the testing, including front lenses that were dislodged due to the force of recoil.

After the conclusion of the field testing, further development of telescopic-sighted Krag rifles was dropped, even though there were demonstrable advantages to the use of telescopes. In 1901, the assets of the Cataract Tool & Optical Co. were acquired by the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co., which may or may not have had any bearing on the decision to drop further consideration of the Cataract telescopic sight. Regardless, the primary reason for not pursuing the matter further was the ongoing development of the Model 1900 bolt-action rifle that eventually culminated in the adoption of the famed Model 1903 Springfield a few years later.

Five years after the adoption of the Model 1903, the Army tested and subsequently adopted a telescopic sight for the rifle. However, this sight was totally unlike the Cataract design tested with the Krag. Developed by the Warner & Swasey Co., the “Model of 1908 Musket Sight,” was of a rather unusual prismatic design and was small and compact as opposed to the long and slender Cataract scope. A slightly improved “Model of 1913” Warner & Swasey sight was the standard U.S. Army sniper riflescope, teamed with the Model 1903 rifle, during World War I, but it was dropped from service in the mid-1920s.

Only seven Model 1898 Krag rifles fitted with the Cataract telescopic sight were ever fabricated under U.S. government auspices and were never utilized by our armed forces beyond the limited testing in 1900-1901. Nevertheless, the Model 1898/Cataract rifle was, however haltingly, the first step toward the future development of purpose-built telescopic-sighted rifles for our armed forces. It has the distinction of being America’s first prototype sniper rifle of the 20th century—even before the term “sniper” came into vogue.

December 7th 1941," A Day that Lives in Infamy"

 80 years ago, The attack that propelled us into the World stage and made us into a World Power when the War was over. 

At 0755 a bomb exploded on the seaplane ramp at Ford island, this signified the start of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  When it was done, the American Pacific fleet was crippled, and 0ver 3000 Americans were dead.  The sinking of the fleet at Pearl Harbor galvanized the Americans, and since it was a sneak attack it was considered "dishonorable and underhanded".  This infuriated the Americans sense of fair play.  The Japanese had planned on attacking right after the ultimatum was delivered, but the secrecy that the Japanese demanded forced the Ambassador himself to decode it slowing the response down so they delivered the message to Secretary Hull after the attack has started.  The attack gave the Japanese several things...It was a tactical victory, it allowed them to move against the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies with the rubber and oil that the Japanese war machine needed to build the stuff that a modern nation needs to wage war. The Japanese Admiral Yamamoto who lead the attack on Pearl Harbor had studied the Americans at length while he was a naval attache and he told the General Staff who was pushing for the war "I will be able to give you 6 months, after that I cannot guarantee victory.   And true to events, the Japanese raised hell for 6 months until the Americans smashed 4 of the Japanese fleet carriers at Midway, a blow that the Japanese Naval aviation never recovered from.  The attack also forced the Americans to utilize the carriers to do any offensive work against the Japanese.   Also the Japanese didn't launch the 3rd strike against Pearl Harbor, the drydocks and the fuel farms were still intact.  The victory was a Pyrrhic victory because it ended on August 6 and August 9 of 1945 4 years later when the Japanese cities were the site of the Atom bomb and a small part of the logic of the bomb drop was to pay Japan back for the sneak attack.

   The attack on Pearl harbor was a huge shock to the Americans, for the fleet and the Army air corp to be so woefully unprepared for battle left a mark on the American psyche.  Never again would we be so defenseless.  Also the end results was that out of all the ships sunk and damaged at Pearl Harbor, all but 3 were repaired and returned to service. 

 

Monday Music "Got A Hold On Me" by Christine McVie

 I have been Super busy at work...again and haven't been able to post like I want,

I grabbed it while I could.  I have a couple of days off now.

 I am continuing my "What songs would I play if Sirius/XM let me host a segment for an hour and these are the songs that I could play over and over again 3 or 4 times before continuing to the next song.  I will continue the *Boogaloo* theme after Christmas, that poor theme I had started November of 2019 and rode it hard like that little burro that carries the really fat lady down the grand canyon and back up again so it is still recharging in the pasture eating grass and grain before use it again.

 

Christine McVie is the second solo album by the British Fleetwood Mac vocalist / keyboardist Christine McVie, released in 1984.
It was McVie's first solo recording since her 1970 self-titled release (under her maiden name). It features two U.S. top-40 hit singles, "Got a Hold on Me" (US#10) and "Love Will Show Us How" (US#30). The album itself also achieved modest success in the United States, peaking at #26 and spending 23 weeks on the Billboard 200.In the UK, the album entered at #58 on chart.
The band on this album includes Christine McVie (keyboards, percussion and vocals), Todd Sharp (guitar and backing vocals), George Hawkins (bass and backing vocals), and Steve Ferrone (drums and percussion).

Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham sings backing vocals on tracks 2, 7 & 10, plays guitar on tracks 3 and 6, and plays lead guitar on track 10. Mick Fleetwood plays drums on track 5. Eric Clapton plays lead guitar on "The Challenge," and Steve Winwood shares lead vocals on "One in a Million" and contributes backing vocals and piano to "Ask Anybody," as well as playing synthesizer on several tracks.

The video for the song was produced and directed by Jon Roseman and premiered in February 1984. Shot in both black-and-white and color, it is a pseudo-performance video showing Christine McVie in a mansion-like room singing at her piano while a backup band appears in silhouette shadows on the walls around her.

 

Black Friday Gun Sales Can best be Summed up in Two Words ....

 

 From what I have seen, the market is still very hot, according to my friend Mack "it is F**king crazy right now". 

 

Source: AP Photo/Andrew Selsky

Holy shrimp! No, that’s not the two words I’d used to describe Black Friday gun sales, but it’s close. It was a good day for the gun industry and American civil rights. With Democrats back in power and acting like idiots, they’re back to being the best sales team for the number one item they hate: firearms. Seriously, it’s hilarious to see such an anti-gun party do everything they can to make sure that everyone rushes to buy firearms and thereby forever killing chances of shredding the Second Amendment. Democrats pay for their anti-gun antics. We’ve seen it.  

With economic security in doubt, lawlessness in our cities, and violent crime spiking, it’s no shock why Americans are rushing to gun stores to procure means of protection. With a new COVID lockdown possible, it just gives Americans yet another reason to stock up. Stephen Gutowski of The Reload wrote about the Black Friday sales, which could be summed up with two words: “truly remarkable” (via Reload):

Additionally, the total for the week leading up to Black Friday topped 687,788 checks.  The numbers indicate the demand for guns has not decelerated significantly since last year, according to the industry.

“We’re still seeing a very strong appetite for firearm ownership in America,” Mark Oliva, a spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told The Reload.

While most months in 2021 have seen lower gun sales numbers than 2020, they haven’t dropped far and still occasionally outstrip 2020 demand. That indicates the new normal for gun sales will remain well above what it had been pre-pandemic. In fact, more guns were sold through September 2021 than all of 2019.

“This figure of over 687,000 background checks is truly remarkable,” Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President and CEO, said in a statement. “This year has already been shaping up to be the second strongest year for firearm sales on record, second only to 2020’s record-breaking number of 21 million background checks for a firearm sale. We anticipate, based on annual data, that firearm sales will rise during the final month of the year coinciding with hunting seasons and holiday sales.”

The industry has struggled to keep up with the unprecedented demand seen throughout the country since March of last year. Long lines formed, and store shelves were stripped dry as the coronavirus accelerated the urgency to provide for their own safety while facing meat and supply shortages. When rioting came in summer 2020, the lines started up again, and millions more Americans became first-time gun owners.

The surge has left manufacturers scrambling to increase production. Many of the biggest gun companies have been able to significantly increase production and profits. Smith & Wesson banked the first billion-dollar year for a gunmaker in American history.

Bartozzie said the number of sales on Black Friday “underscores” not just sustained demand but the “resilience of the firearm and ammunition industry to meet that demand.”

It’s as American as apple pie. Yet, the supply chain issues might put a wrinkle in some purchases. On top of that, there was already a massive ammunition shortage. Due to the COVID pandemic, we saw some nine million new gun owners in 2020. These first timers put pressure on the ammo market, which already doesn’t have 9mm and .223/5.56 ammunition readily available. The price of copper and materials have hit 50-year highs. Both calibers are some of the most used by gun owners—and we could see these shortages last for another 18 months to two years. 

Still, great to see Americans go out and continue to exercise their constitutional right to own firearms.

 

Give The Leftist Thugs All The Due Process They Can Handle

 

 I pulled this off "Townhall",   I want to give the sleezebag all the "Due Process" because as much as I am angry at the bigoted piece of crap, he still has rights under our system, the same system that the left tries to deprive us our "rights" under.   I believe that the craphead suffered from, Allah, Snackbar Syndrome,  Black Nationalism, anger at the Rittonhouse verdict which I blame the media for, and don't even get me started on the mental gymnastics the legacy media is doing to avoid mentioning the guys name and race, now if he had been a white dude, the same media would have trumpeted that fact far and wide.

The loathsome anti-pallor rapper known as “Mathboi Fly” is accused of driving an SUV through a parade of pallor people in Wisconsin, and as conservatives we need to aggressively demand that he given every bit of due process he can take. Despite the media’s – if you pardon the expression – whitewash of what seems likely to be a racist vendetta spurred on by the garbage cesspool of Marxist/BLM/CRT lies he swam in, the evidence we have seen seems to point inextricably to this being a racial terror attack by a criminal degenerate.

Which is why is it so important, so transcendently vital, that we make sure this person gets every right due him as an accused.

We want him to have a terrific lawyer who will zealously seek to show that the state has not made its case (unlike the garbage public defenders of the January 6th defendants who appear eager to sacrifice their clients in order to own the Trump).

We want the prosecutor to turn over every scrap of evidence to the defense, especially potentially exculpatory evidence, in a timely fashion and without burying the most important stuff so defense counsel overlooks it. We want the prosecutor not hide witnesses, pull stunts like referring to the accused’s exercise of his right to remain silent, misstate the law, or alter video evidence.

CARTOONS | Steve Kelley

View Cartoon

We want a judge who will lambaste the prosecution if it lies or plays games.

We want a jury that will put aside its preconceived notions and look only at the evidence, apply the law, and come to a true and fair verdict.

If the atrocity that was the Kyle Rittenhouse persecution taught us anything it is the vital importance of due process when a significant portion of the population hates the accused. Look, I’m no fan of this Waukesha guy. The evidence I have seen looks damning. The presumption of innocence means the state must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt; it does not mean that those of us not sitting in the jury box can’t come to our own conclusions (though even we need to be open to evidence that might undermine what we think we know). But we, the normal people who the establishment wants to get rid of due process in order to oppress, must be the most forceful advocates for it.

We need to love due process like Brian Stelter, who is a potato, loves carbs. We need to be as committed to due process as Joy Reid is to her bizarre racist insanity. We need to be bigger fans of due process than President * is of Matlock.

Part of it is self-preservation. Due process keeps the revolutionary justice fans of the left/media cabal from passing their bills of attainder upon us. Did you catch the fury of the haters over the fact that Kyle had a chance to make his case and have it considered by a panel of unbiased citizens instead of him just being hauled away and imprisoned because the consensus of the morons on MSNBCNN was they he was bad? The hallmark of revolutionary justice is that it is not about objective facts but about the narrative – they needed Kyle to be guilty because they could not afford to have normal citizens be allowed to defend themselves against their military wing of criminals and pedo perverts. Due process rejects any criteria except the facts and the evidence, and forces the government to prove individual cases as opposed to decree collective guilt. It is a bulwark – not the kind of Bulwark that involves invertebrate sissies but the kind that means a defense – against tyranny.

And defending due process is also morally right. It is essential for a free people to ensure that everyone gets a fair process to determine guilt. Look, if this degenerate – and his rap sheet shows that he qualifies for that title – is convicted, he is going away forever. The people of Wisconsin, for reasons I don’t understand, chose not to have mass murderers of kids and dancing grannies swing from a gibbet, but they will lock him in a cage permanently. That is a big ask by the government – to take away the freedom of a citizen forever. The government must prove the facts showing guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and we must demand that the accused citizen get every chance to tell his side of the story.

Maybe he doesn’t have one. The evidence looks conclusive, but that is not the point. The point is that we conservatives must be absolutely and unequivocally militant about demanding that this man receive every bit of due process he is entitled to. Concepts like due process matter most when the accused is unpopular, just like free speech matters most when the speaker is an ass. That’s why it was so important decades ago, before it became another woke leftist scam devoted to protecting the Marxist narrative, for the ACLU to defend the Nazis marching in Skokie, Illinois. Everyone hates Illinois Nazis, and that’s the point. As a practical matter, you fight at the fringes, for the rights of the weirdos, losers, and mutations, because if you don’t fight for their rights, then you’re going to be fighting for your own rights.

Just ask American hero Kyle Rittenhouse.

So, let’s stand up for Mathboi Fly. Let’s stand up for his right to an attorney, to his right for the DA to be honest and forthright, to a judge who will guard his rights, and for a jury who will be unbiased and fair. Is he objectively guilty? Is Joe Biden senile? That makes no difference. There is one place the truth must come out – the courtroom, and we must make sure that it is done fairly and squarely. Because when we stand up for the likes of Mathboi Fly, we are really standing up for ourselves.