Some Humor

I am still working my Veterans stuff at work post but I have some humor for y'all

       This is a new twist on the Hitler parody video that I and many others have used for the past several years   In this case it is Hitler singing "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC, whooda thunk that Hitler is a metalhead.

To those that always lose a sock in the dryer, this is understood...LOL

   And I was challenged to send a B&W pic and I quickly scrolled past the various political pics and guns, I decided to use this pic instead..

Monday Music "King Tut" by Steve Martin

I remember when the King Tut extravaganza hits the United States, I was living in Alabama in the late 70's when the museum tour arrived.  There was a lot of hype and excitement about the tour partially because the sheer amount of treasure because the tomb was never pillaged by grave robbers.  The sheer craftsmanship of the items on display was incredible.  I had this picture on the wall in my room, I had clipped it off a magazine and pinned it up.

"King Tut" is a novelty song performed by Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons (actually members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). It was released as a single in 1978, sold over a million copies,  and reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  Martin previewed the song in a live performance during the April 22, 1978 episode of Saturday Night Live. The song was also included on Martin's album A Wild and Crazy Guy.
"King Tut" paid homage to Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun and presents a caricature of the sensational Treasures of Tutankhamun traveling exhibit that toured seven United States cities from 1976 to 1979. The exhibit attracted approximately eight million visitors. In the Saturday Night Live performance of "King Tut," loyal subjects appease a joyful King Tut with kitchen appliances. An instrumental solo is delivered by saxophone player Lou Marini, who steps out of a sarcophagus—painted gold—to great laughter.

In the book Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, authors Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad write that the sketch was one of the most expensive productions the show had attempted up to that point. Martin had brought the song to the show and asked if he could perform it, not expecting the production that occurred—producer Lorne Michaels put everything behind it.
Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers recorded the song in a bluegrass version for their 2011 album, Rare Bird Alert.
The song is the subject of in-depth analysis in Melani McAlister's Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and U.S. Interests in the Middle East, 1945–2000.
It is also referenced in a dialogue in the video game The Lost Vikings (1992) at the end of one of the Egyptian themed levels of the game.
Chicago radio superstation WLS-AM, which gave the song much airplay, ranked "King Tut" as the 11th biggest hit of 1978. It spent four weeks at the number-one position on their chart during the time the Tut exhibition was on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in downtown Chicago.

Pushing the signal...Yeah, I'm using my blog like a repeater..

I shamelessly cribbed this from "The Godfather" and am reposting the signal.  I am arguing with a cold/flu and this came on the heels of my pneumonia/bronchitis and this crap sucks, I have absolutely no energy.  I am working the Veterans day post from the stuff that was at my employer's location and I will add one pic

KC-135  Plane has been upgraded with the CFM56 series engines(Same kind used on Airbuses A319/320/321 and the Boeing 737 600-900 series Aircraft

Well here is the signal that I am updating.

Update and a bleg…
Andi, a member of our Blogorado family, has suffered a stroke, which was misdiagnosed initially, leading to complications.  She doesn’t have medical insurance, and is having to fund her rehabilitation on a pay-as-you-go basis.  Several of us have pooled our resources by donating guns from our personal collections, and we’re offering them as an incentive to raise funds for her, along with some non-gun prizes (jewelry, books, etc.) for those who’d prefer them.  The Go Fund Me is HERE.
You’ll find photographs of all the prizes in three parts:  here, here, here, and here. There is an additional package it’s number 14!  A full polish on a stainless or nickel plate on a blued handgun. This is from Reflections Chrome Plating up in Maine! Remember, donate to the Go Fund Me, HERE, and email your receipt to  4anditherapy@gmail.comto participate in the raffle!!!
As I write this, we are at almost $12,000, so a little less than half way there. The raffle will continue until the end of November, and the drawing will be via a random number generator on 1 December.
Thank you to all that have contributed both packages and donations!

Veterans Day 2017

My employer had a Veterans day celebration at my job and it was pretty neat, I will post pics in a day or so.  I have to go to work tonight so I don't have time to set it up.

I and many Veterans  appreciate this day, we don't go looking for praise but it is nice to have a day where our duty and sacrifice is celebrated.  We Veterans get together with our fellow brothers and sisters and share stories and memories of stuff that usually we don't talk about except with each other.  Our experiences are unique and with 1% of the American population that serves or have served our experience are different.  Veterans with few exceptions know people most likely family members that have served and this is the trait that defines us.  We are basically the warrior class of our society.  I have served as have my brother, My dad, granddad served, uncles, and cousins.  People who walk the rampart have had family do the same for it is a family tradition.
    To my fellow Veterans....I Salute you

Some more pithy thoughs....DNC,to the church shooter, to President Trump

I will be bouncing around....kinda like...

Yeah kinda like that...

    Well Last week there was the publication from Politico magazine from Donna Brizile about the links from Hillary and the DNC, you can read the story Here.

I knew the DNC was in real trouble from back during the 2012 elections.  I remember reading that the long time DNC fundraising staffers were pissed at President Obama because his groups that he formed as a parallel organization called "Organizing for America" and "Organizing for Action"was sucking up all the fundraising dollars.

Money that would normally go into the DNC coffers was instead flowing into President Obama organization that would be used for his purposes, and not the DNC.  This caused a lot of anger and anxiety for the democrats with the DNC.  There was danger of losing autonomy and being too linked to the current occupant of the white house rather than the long term goals of the DNC.  Well there was much truth to the anger..

President Obama left office with high approval numbers, but the democratic party was decimated, especially on the national and local and state elections.  President Obama placed Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the head of the DNC and the DNC had carried a lot of debt from the 2012 election helping President Obama get elected and his organization got most of the fundraising dollars and the DNC didn't.  Well Debbie Wasserman Schultz , didn't pare the staffing down of the DNC between the election cycle and adopted a very hands off approach and the debt burden was substantial and there was no attempts to save money.  Well the 2016 election cycle approaches and the presumptive democratic candidate Hillary Clinton organization before the primaries finally floats money to the DNC to pay off the debt, but to get the money, the DNC had to sign an agreement with the Hillary camp to run all money through the Hillary campaign and vice versa, this allows the Hillary camp to run vast amounts of money for her through the DNC clearing house and evade federal laws stipulations on donations.  This was money laundering on a vast scale and somehow the Clinton camp gets a pass and Bernie Sanders got the shaft during the primaries.  I honestly believe that if there was a Trump/Sanders runoff, the possibility of Bernie winning was high,

The democrats ran a candidate that was an establishment candidate in an outsider year and the reason that she got the nomination was that it "was her turn".  That was the sole criteria for her selection...First Black man elected President, now it would have been the first women, this was pure identity politics writ large.  But Hillary and her campaign had to make sure that she secured the nomination, so the fix was in from the super delegates and other establishment support from the print and news media and of course the Hollywood group that are so politically correct that they don't have an independent thought for fear of being cast out.  Bernie Sanders is a socialist, I would not have voted for him, but he is far more likable than Hillary was and Hillary was disliked more than President Trump was.   The Democrats are blaming each other and trying to use the old standby "it is the past and don't matter anymore."
     On a different subject, we had this asshole go into a church and kill 26 people, and of course the left being the left immediately..

before the bodies were cold pushing "common Sense" gun restrictions.  What is with the democrats..it is like they have a prepared script when there is an islamic terrorist attack involved "don't blame the religion for the action of one that defame the religion."  Now if we get some squirrel who shouldn't have been able to buy a rifle because he has a domestic violence on his record and a big chicken dinner from the Air Force, and the Air Force admits that they dropped the ball on notifying the NCIC.  Now this squirrel goes into the church and shoots people because they are related to his ex wife's family.  The democrats being democrats immediately blame guns and not the shooter, WTF, if it wasn't for double standards, there would be no standards with the democrats...I guess whatever it takes to push an agenda. And to boot, they blame the NRA and it was an NRA instructor that shot the bad guy.

      Now we have President Trump visiting the pacific rim and of CNN being CNN releases a doctored video of President Trump Here and Here and the actual results.   Now CNN just has to double down on sleezy to try to score political points on an administration that they don't like.  the problem is that this rush for sleezy journalism is hurting the CNN brand and the news industry in general.  When there is enough evidence of shoddy reporting, it will effect the CNN and the news reporting for a generation or more.  I want the news to be accurate, for an accurate news is a bulwark against government oppression and overeach, but when the media is more concerned about being a political hacks than honest reporting then this is a danger to the American republic.

The Battle for Berlin(Gotterdammerung)

I have an attachment to Berlin, I have Blogged about the city quite a few times.  I would like to see the city now and see how much the city has changed from the Cold War days.  I heard that "Checkpoint Charlie" is now a museum to the Cold War.  I had to get a book to talk about the Soviet offensive to take the city.  So I bought one 10 years ago

I took a picture of the book from my collection.

For a war that left 60 million dead, countless lives permanently destroyed and hundreds of thousands homeless and in need, the Battle of Berlin proved to be a satisfactory climax and a victorious ending for the Allies. Right from 1933, when the Third Reich came into power, Berlin was always thought of as the epicenter of evil and a city a prime target for the enemies of the Reich.
Hitler with his blitzkrieg style warfare had overrun most of Europe and a large part of the Soviet Union until Stalingrad. On top of that, he was threatening British and American merchant ships with his state-of-the-art U-boats. However, his success was short-lived after he failed to provide the strategy and manpower for such a multi-front conflict.
The summer of 1944 was the first time Hitler faced defeat on a massive scale from the Western Allies, with the US, Free French, British along with others storming the coasts of Normandy.

The Soviets had already proved that they would defend their motherland until their death. The Soviets had successfully defended their territories and were now pushing their forces towards Berlin.  The Battle of Kursk had given the Soviets the will and initiative to push back the Wehrmacht and Hitler, despite his early victories, couldn’t muster the strength to make a comeback.
A meeting between the Allies that decided the fate of post-war Germany it was made clear that Berlin was to be taken. The heartland of Nazi Germany was to be awarded to the Soviet Union. The Western Allies, primarily the Americans, decided not to risk thousands of casualties and let the Soviets do their thing.

German soldiers fighting in the East  By Bundesarchiv – CC BY-SA 3.0 de

It was a complete “The guys, the guns; the lime pit’s already dug” for the Germans as they knew the Soviets weren’t going to show any mercy to them after what they did in the Soviet Union. And they were right…
On the 16^th April 1945 the Soviets started their final operation, the plan was to move in from the Oder river 60km from Berlin by forming two fronts, one moving in from the East and the other from the South. Encircling the city was the number one priority for Soviet Commanders, and a lot of manpower was put into this objective.
A third division was formed specially to overrun the heavy duty German forces positioned to the North. A total of 2.5 million soldiers were put in for this operation along with 6000+ tanks, 7500 aircraft and 50,000, artillery pieces.

From the German side, such an attack was anticipated and preparations had begun a month earlier under the orders of newly appointed Commander of Army Group Vistula General Gotthard Heinrici, one of the last able Generals in the Wehrmacht. The German army had very few professional soldiers left and was mostly composed of disorganized Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and Hitler Youth, a special class of soldiers!
Apart from being poorly supplied and equipped, they were morally in disarray as there was little hope for victory left.  Still, the Germans managed to amass a significant force of 800,000 soldiers, 2000+ aircraft, and 9000+ artillery pieces. The youth wing of the Nazi party, the Hitler Youth contributed a total of 40,000 young boys and girls between 14 and 18 years of age.

Civilians pressed into military service carrying Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons. By Bundesarchiv – CC BY-SA 3.0 de

On the 20^th April 1945, the guns from the 1^st Belorussian Front of the Soviet Army starting shelling the city’s center and areas of importance, something that wouldn’t stop until the German army had completely surrendered.
The tonnage of ordnance and artillery dropped by the Soviets was more than the total weight of the bombs dropped by the Western Allies previously on the city during their raids! Such was the level of destruction.
In the meanwhile, the 1^st Belorussian Front advanced towards the East and North-East while 1^st Ukrainian Front hammered the German forces North of Berlin. The 2^nd Belorussian Front was tasked with dealing with Hasso von Manteuffel’s III Panzer Army, already famous for its ability to survive under siege.
From the Axis, Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner’s Army Group Centre tried to break through the encirclement from the South. The strategy was successful to some extent and the forces engaged the 2^nd Polish Army quite successfully.
However, quickly the strength of numbers proved decisive and the Soviets were once again on the offensive. Later the outspoken Field Marshall explained to Hitler that manpower was the main factor that was now becoming the biggest worry of all and the war was almost lost if a pull-back was not ordered, Hitler went into a tearful rage.

The ever popular Hitler Video

The scene has been popularized by the film “Downfall”, and Hitler blamed his Generals for such a result; he announced that he would stay until the end and commit suicide! In desperation, Hitler tried to move his troops along the Elbe Rivers where the Americans were stationed in a defensive position as a final move to rejoin two of his IX Armies.
When the Soviets broke through the city’s defenses the German Command and Control was in complete confusion as all of the major buildings and offices were under gut wrenching artillery fire. A total of 45,000 soldiers and 40,000 elderly men were available for the defense while calls were being made for civilians to bear arms.

Hitler still had the energy for one final push left and appointed SS Brigadier Wilhelm Mohnke as the commander for the defense of the central district including the Reich Chancellery and Fuhrer Bunker, the two key points in the entire city. With over 2,000 men under his command he tried to carry out his duty in a well-organized manner and proved to be a ferocious commander, often pushing the Soviets back for a short while.
On 23^rd April, the 5^th Shock Army and 1^st Guard Tanks of the Soviets stormed the city from the South-East and overcame an attack by the Germans. Without meeting any more resistance, they captured the Berlin S-Bahn ring railway.

Three days later 8^th Guards Army and a tank contingent raided the Southern suburbs in Berlin.  Soon enough the Germans holed up in the center were facing 5 separate Soviet groups.
The early hours of 29^th April marked the entrance of the 3^rd Shock Army into the Reichstag area.  The Reichstag building had colossal importance in the hearts of Germans as it had rich cultural history tied to it. Both the Soviets and the Germans engaged in hand to hand combat in the streets and alleys. No corner or hiding spot was safe from grenades filled with all kinds of explosives.

The remains of the Reichstag after the fighting ended. By Bundesarchiv – CC BY-SA 3.0 de

When the flag was raised over the Reichstag by the Soviet Army, Hitler lost all faith and signed his will. During the early hours of 30^th April, Hitler was informed that defenders would run out of ammo by nightfall. That night was Hitler’s last and he gave authorization to his troops to break out of the encirclement in any way they want.
That afternoon, Eva Braun, whom Hitler married a few hours earlier, both committed suicide. Their bodies were cremated nearby. This was the most momentous moment of the entire war and the Allies had clinched a great and definite victory.
The only thing left now was clearing out the last few pockets and bring the conflict to an end, for once and for all. The Soviets fanned out into all the parts of the city, and any building that couldn’t be cleared was reduced to rubble.
The clearance operation was carried out for the remaining duration of the war and by 1^st May, the Germans tried to make a final run for it. However, the attempt was unsuccessful, and most of the remnants were either killed or taken prisoner after surrendering. General Wiedling, the last remaining commander of Berlin, surrendered too and officially signed the instrument of surrender to the Soviets.

A final count revealed that Soviets sustained 81,116 dead while another 280,000 were wounded. A total of 2000 armored vehicles were lost. Whereas the Germans lost a total of 500,000 men and most of its armor.  The Soviets were in no mood to go easy on the Germans so stole whatever they could and took a total of 470,000 men as prisoners.
The world as a whole had gone through hell and came back.
Many thought of this victory as something that would usher the world into a vast period of peace and prosperity, but another confrontation was about to kick off between the East and West, the Cold War.

Monday Music "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow

I remember this song, it was on one of my "Ronco Disco Records" that I had as a kid.  I am not a huge fan of Barry Manilow, but the song is very good and I will give Barry Manilow props for staying power where other acts have come and gone, he has stayed relevant.   I was driving to work and I was listening to my 80's channel on my Sirius/XM and a song by UB40 came in called "Red, Red Wine", well that song was number#1 but I hate that song, so I changed it to the 70's channel and this song came on.  I started singing the lyrics I knew this song from when I was a kid.  I do have a question, I am sure that many have asked....Does Old NFO have a leisure suit and was Barry Manilow his inspiration?


Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1943, Barry Manilow attended the Juilliard School in New York City before writing music for television and advertising. In the 1970s, Manilow's voice could be heard singing "You Deserve A Break Today" on ads for McDonald's. His big break came when he teamed up with Bette Midler for a nightclub act, leading to solo hits like "Mandy" (1974), "I Write the Songs" (1975) and "Can't Smile Without You" (1978).

Born Barry Alan Pincus in Brooklyn, New York, on June 17, 1943, Barry Manilow is best known for his romantic and borderline saccharine songs. But before achieving stardom, Manilow was a whipping boy for the critics throughout much of the 1970s, even as he sold millions of albums and gained a huge audience base. Though he didn't always write music, even when recording work by other artists, Manilow cultivated a lush and melodic musical style that was popular during the pre-rock era. His style evolved during the early 1980s, from tame, string-laden, AM-radio pop to a more classic, jazzy sound influenced by both swing and 1930s and '40s Broadway show tunes (many of which he later covered).

Unabashedly embracing a sentimental style that appealed primarily to white middle-class women of the working and homemaking sort, it is unsurprising that this Brooklyn-born and -raised songwriter was frequently denounced by the male-dominated rock and rock critic worlds. Because female-associated forms of entertainment such as soap operas and romance novels have historically been devalued, entertainers catering to that audience have routinely been dismissed by mainstream critics

Unlike his ragtag rock 'n' roll world counterparts, however, Barry Manilow's resumé has "professionalism" written all over it. After taking up a variety of instruments at an early age, Manilow attended both the New York College of Music and the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, and became the musical director of a CBS network television show in 1967.
Thereafter, Manilow remained busy writing a successful off-Broadway adaptation of The Drunkard, doing musical arrangement work for Ed Sullivan Productions and writing a number of well-known commercial jingles for Dr. Pepper and Band-Aid, among other large companies. In the 1970s, Manilow's voice could be heard singing the McDonald's jingle "You Deserve a Break Today." He even released a medley of his commercials on one of his '70s albums.The 73-year-old singer, who has a dedicated, mostly female fan base called 'Fanilows,' said he was thinking of his fans when he kept his personal life private for most of his career. “I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything,” Manilow said. “When they found out that Garry and I were together, they were so happy. The reaction was so beautiful — strangers commenting, ‘Great for you!’ I’m just so grateful for it.”
Barry Manilow got his foot in the door of the pop music world while working as part of a duo with the then-unknown Bette Midler. Working out of New York City gay bathhouses as her pianist, Manilow soon became her musical director and arranger, co-producing and arranging her Grammy Award-winning debut album and its follow-up. His own debut album, on the other hand, went nowhere, but his second album featured the number one Billboard Pop single, "Mandy," laying the groundwork for his rise to fame throughout the rest of the 1970s. Many more hit songs, including "I Write the Songs," "Looks Like We Made It," "Could It Be Magic" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)," followed, as did Grammy and Tony wins for a Broadway performance.

In the early 1980s, Manilow began to position himself as a modern interpreter of show tunes and pop standards, working with singers Mel Torme and Sarah Vaughan and veteran jazz instrumentalists Gerry Mulligan and Shelly Manne on 1984's 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe. He followed this same path on 1987's Swing Street and 1991's Showstoppers, on which he sang with Michael Crawford and Barbara Cook. One of Manilow's self-described career highlights was scoring music to a collection of unpublished lyrics by Johnny Mercer, the famed lyricist who penned a multitude of pop standards from the 1930s to the 1950s. From pop standards to show tunes, Manilow has captured a devoted audience who continue to maintain his importance to American music and popular culture.
As testament to his musical significance, Manilow was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June 2002, alongside Sting and Michael Jackson.

• From the Even Now album: Barry Manilow recalls that the music for "Copacabana" came incredibly fast. "I remember putting the lyric on the piano's music stand, punching the "Record" button on my tape deck, and writing the song in less than 15 minutes." Co-writer Bruce Sussman adds, "We THOUGHT we were writing the novelty cut for Barry's Even Now album. "Copacabana" surprised everyone - certainly us, and especially Arista Records, for they were faced with the first of Barry's hits that was forced off an album. This put Barry in the unique position of having three hit records in the Top 40 at once. It earned for him his first - and believe it or not, only - Grammy Award, his first gold single for a song he composed, his first international hit record, and the first song to inspire projects in other media (a made for TV film, and a stage musical). So much for novelty cuts!"
• The Copacabana is a famous nightclub in New York City named after a district in Rio de Janeiro, which is where the song takes place. True to the song, the club did become a Disco in the '70s.
• The story told in this song about the showgirl Lola and her bartender boyfriend Tony goes along with the joyous melody for the first half of the song, but the story takes a tragic turn when Tony is shot and killed and we find Lola 30 years later insane and despondent over her loss. The music remains upbeat for this section, as does Manilow's delivery, creating a drastic juxtaposition of words and music.
• A parody of this song was used in an episode of The Simpsons. In the episode "Tales From The Public Domain," one of the three shorts involves Homer (as Odysseus), along with Lenny, Carl, and Moe (his companions). They travel to the "Island of Sirens," where Patty and Selma (Homer's sister-in-laws) portrayed sirens singing a drawing song that had the same tune as the song "Copacabana."
• A popular parody version was played on several radio stations in the US in the mid-90s during the re-release of the Star Wars trilogy called "The Star Wars Cantina." The lyrics were rewritten so that they were about the movies ("Her name was Leia, she was a princess,..." etc.) and featured sound clips from the films ("Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, your my only hope..."). 
• This won the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. Surprisingly, it is Manilow's only Grammy win, and it comes in a performance category, not songwriting.

Pushing the signal

I am rebroadcasting the signal, if y'all havn't already donated, please consider it.   I shamelessly cut and pasted this from Old NFO's blog.   So blame him, LOL


I know this is a lousy time to ask for money, but one of our extended Blogarado family is in need. FarmFam’s daughter-in-law, Andi, 33 and the mother of two small boys, suffered a stroke in mid August. Unfortunately, it wasn’t diagnosed correctly for two weeks, delaying treatment.
She’s facing a year to 18 months of physical therapy to get back to full function. 
Therapy costs are running $200-500 per session, and she needs therapy once a week. Andi has not been able to afford health insurance, because she her husband own a small business that makes too much money for them to get assistance with health insurance, but not enough for them to be able to afford health insurance, and raising two boys.
Any help will be much appreciated, as Andi has begun physical therapy, and without health insurance she has to pay the full cost of every session.
In order to help her out, we are doing another gun raffle to try to help her with her therapy. One change from what we did for Tam is to run this through a Go Fund Me, https://www.gofundme.com/andrea-keenan-medical-fund, so that the money is immediately available to her for her therapy. One IRS change is that Go Fund Me $$ are now counted as income for the family, so we are shooting for a goal of $25,000 to offset the tax burden they will be hit with.
Here are the ‘rules’ $10 per chance, $50/6 chances, $100/12 chances, etc. Make your donation to the Go Fund Me above, and copy your donation receipt to 4anditherapy@gmail.com. This will count as your entry into the raffle. If you have already donated, we will accept prior donations to the Go Fund Me.
The raffle will run from now through the end of November, with the drawing to be held 1 December via a random drawing program. First number gets their choice, second gets their choice, etc.
The raffle packages are-
Note: All guns are used, not new.

1. Taurus .44 Magnum pistol
2. Ruger MK-II bull barrel .22
3. Custom sub-MOA AR-15
4. Remington 870 pump in 20ga
5. Chinese copy of a 12ga coach gun
6. Springfield Range Officer .45 with 7 magazines and custom holster
7. Springfield Range Officer 9mm with 7 magazines and custom holster
8. Lawdog’s personal Rock Island 1911 9mm, reworked by Joe Speer with 6 magazines
9. A ladies package consisting of a ring (late-Victorian-style design with either high-quality glass or mid-grade garnet stones. The mount is jeweler’s metal, size 6 3/4 or 7).  A unicorn necklace, late 1980s-early 1990s James Avery sterling silver charm on a silver chain. A coin necklace, an 1904 Indian Head penny, silver dipped in a gold-plated mount with a gold-plated silver chain. And a handmade necklace and earrings from Phlegmmy.
10. Signed copies of Lawdog’s, Peter Grant’s, Dorothy Grant’s, JL Curtis’, and Tom Rogneby’s books
11. TBD (other possible packages are being discussed)

All guns will be shipped FFL to FFL for winners. Pictures of the various packages will follow in the next couple of days.
Thank you in advance, I know she will appreciate the help, and this will take a little pressure off the family!

Some Pithy Comments

Well several pithy comments on this blog post.  First off I aged officially another year, and well I don't feel older...but my friends did have fun with me...Oh well

Well a muslim no surprise there   rented a truck and like in Europe run down a bunch of civilians.like they did in London, Berlin, Spain, France and other places.  Several other bloggers including myself have commented that the radicalism espoused by the Wahhabi sect of islam and the prevalence of using vehicles as methods to kill as many unbelievers as possible.

Apparently this clown was allowed entry on a diversity visa program and they say that he was radicalized here in the states.   Well the democrat mayor Deblasio and his henchman tried to tie this into gun control to push an agenda

They totally gloss over the root cause being the guys belief system.  You know that they will not blame other islamist for the action of one...but let it be a gun owner...and we all get tarred by it.  If it wasn't for double standards, there would be no standards.

 

So far the Huuuuuge witch hunt investigation for Democratic collusion between Trump and the Russians.    All they got is Manafort and this is for stuff that he did before he got involved in the Trump campaign.  I honestly believe that they pushed indictments to push the Uranium One stuff off the front page to protect Hillary and the Democrats.

There is a civil war going on inside the democratic party, there are the Bill Clinton Economic democrats, there are the new age identity politic Obama operatives and you have the Bernie Sanders Socialist chapter.

People think that the GOP has issues, and they are broadcast by the gleeful media any chance they can and the same media covers for the democratic infighting.  Most people believe that the democrats are united and strong, that is totally smoke and mirrors.  If they keep doing what they are doing, Trump will win in 2020.  So far the economic democrats from the Bill Clinton era are being pushed out by the Obama operatives and identity politics and the Bernie Branch.  in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and other states, the disenfranchised middle class blue collar that traditionally voted democrat voted Trump, and if the democrats keep pushing the identity politics and punishing the blue collar workers that are mostly white people to the back of the line in the name of identity politics and imagined slights, the democrats will engineer another Trump win. Personally I hope they keep doubling down on stupid.  They didn't learn their lesson in 2016, it was the Russians, not the crappy candidate and the clueless campaign ran by the democrats that cost them the election.   that interfered to the media and the democrats because they can't believe that they lost to the "Great Cheeto".  Trump had a better message out there and he fights not rolls over like the other GOP candidates did in the past.

I have Blogged several times in the past about the Falkland War, it was the first war to me that I really paid attention to.  I was a sophomore in High school and also in JROTC and we used the lessons of the Falklands as lessons, especially with logistics and what is called "The Intangibles" in this case morale and fighting spirit.  By all rights the British should have lost the war, they were operating on shoestring logistics string, their military was worn out by years of neglect because the British government had other priorities rather than their NATO commitment.  It was a malaise that had affected all of the west.  The United States had started to rearm under President Reagan after years of neglect and Britain had just elected Margaret Thatcher, the "Iron Lady", and she was trying to bring back the British after years of failed socialist policies. 

The Falklands War is looked back on by many as a foregone conclusion. Lasting only ten weeks, and it resulted in a clear British victory. But this war between Argentina and Britain could have gone either way. As Major-General John Jeremy Moore, commander of the British land forces in the war, put it, “It was a very close-run thing.”

Before the war, Britain was reducing its commitment to the Falklands and nearby South Atlantic territories. Many Falkland Islanders had lost their British citizenship in the 1981 British Nationality Act. More important militarily, British naval power was being withdrawn from the region. Ice-breaking ship HMS Endurance, the only Royal Navy ship permanently stationed in the South Atlantic, was about to be scrapped. Wider cuts, including the impending loss of two aircraft carriers, indicated a retreat by Britain’s navy.

Argentina had a huge advantage in manpower. During the initial invasion, the Argentines committed 600 ground troops against a British garrison of 85 Royal Marines, 25 members of the Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF), and around a dozen retired members of the FIDF.

With their homeland so much closer, the Argentines were more easily able to get troops into the combat zone.

HMS Sheffield, which was sunk during the conflict. Nathalmad – CC BY 3.0

Faced with overwhelming odds, the British put up little defense. Sir Rex Hunt, the British Governor, negotiated a surrender within 12 hours of the invasion. Though a group of Royal Marines initially remained uncaptured, they destroyed their weapons and surrendered rather than risk civilian lives in a fruitless fight.
In less than a day, the Argentines had gained control of the islands, and so the advantage of holding defensive positions.

Given the distance from Britain to the Falklands, the Chiefs of Staff of both the British Army and the Royal Air Force believed that retaking the islands was unrealistic. Lack of political confidence could have led to an instant Argentine victory, if not for the strong views of others, in particular, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

French-built Super Étendard of the Argentine Naval Aviation. Martin Otero – CC BY 2.5

The Falklands War was enough of a conventional conflict for bombing raids to be important, against both enemy ships and land-based targets. Again, geography gave the advantage to the Argentine forces. Bombers could reach the Falklands from Argentina and hit their targets in a single run. Reaching the Falklands from the UK involved a complex refueling operation, in which around a dozen aircraft set out for every one that got as far as the target.

The British forces suffered several setbacks. An attempt to retake South Georgia, another of the islands seized by Argentina, led to failure on 21 April. Elite troops were landed, but had to be picked up again due to extreme weather, and two helicopters were lost in the operation.
Plans to attack the air base at Tierra del Fuego, on the Argentine mainland, were abandoned before they even began, and a similar mission led to a British helicopter crew surrendering themselves to Chilean authorities.

HMS Antelope smoking after being hit, 23 May 1982.

In the Falklands, the British Royal Navy suffered its first losses of ships since the Second World War, nearly four decades earlier. The HMS Sheffield was lost on 10 May, HMS Ardent on 21 May, HMS Antelope on 24 May, HMS Coventry and MV Atlantic Conveyor, a cargo vessel carrying helicopters and other important supplies, on 25 May. The loss of the Atlantic Conveyor was particularly significant, as it forced the army to advance on Port Stanley by foot.

Superior morale helped bring the British victory, but even in this, the sides were closer than expected. When the British attacked Mount Longdon on the night of 11 June, they expected little resistance due to poor morale.
The spirit of the Argentine defenders was strong, and instead of an easy victory the attackers faced a grueling twelve-hour battle, from which Brigadier Julian Thompson almost called the retreat.
The war was fierce and brutal, often fought at close quarters with bayonets and grenades. During the fighting at Two Sisters, Private Oscar Ismael Poltronieri held up a whole British company with gunfire, for which he won the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross, Argentina’s top medal for courage.

The Battle of Goose Green was the first major British victory of the war, but it was almost blown by a news report. The BBC World Service, hearing of plans for the attack, reported them to its global news audience. This almost led to the assault being called off. It could easily have led to stronger resistance at Goose Green, if not for the fact that the Argentinians believed the report was a British bluff.

British Royal Marines arriving at Goose Green.

If the British were expecting an easy win at Goose Green, then they were mistaken. Argentine troops put up a strong defense, stalling the initial assault. The first attempt to give the attack fresh energy failed, and its leader, Lieutenant-Colonel “H” Jones, was killed in the fighting.

Conducting a war so far from home, the British could not easily be resupplied. By the end of the war, they were low on food and ammunition, many down to a handful of bullets. If the Argentine forces had held out a little longer, the British troops would have run out of resources with which to fight.

If not for a failure of discipline, the Argentine forces would have held out long enough to wear down the British. Their Army Code forbade surrender while they retained 50% of their men and 25% of their ammunition, and on 14 June they were specifically ordered not to surrender.
They surrendered that very day, rather than face the poorly supplied but fierce looking British.

Monday Music"Far from Over" from Frank Stallone

This song popped up in my 80's channel on my Sirius/XM and it is one of the forgotten hits.  I actually liked the song, but the movie that it was based off of was horrible.  It was the story of John Travolta character after Saturday Night Fever and it probably would have been a good movie, I guess but they released the movie during the anti-disco backlash that was prevalent in the 80's.  The movie got panned brutally and even now it is considered one of the worse sequels ever.  

"Far from Over" is a song by Frank Stallone that appeared in the 1983 film Staying Alive and was also featured in the film's soundtrack. The song was written by Stallone and Vince DiCola. It was a top-ten U.S. single in September 1983, peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his only major hit. The 7" single version is slightly different from the LP version, and it was the 7" version which was played on most radio stations in the US while on the Billboard Hot 100.
The instrumental version was used as the theme for Starrcade from 1983 to 1987, and makes a memorable appearance in the famous 1984 Saturday Night Live "synchronized swimming" segment with Martin Short and Harry Shearer. Also, WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina used it for their Football Fridays broadcasts during the mid-1980s. as did WDIV-TV in Detroit, Michigan for its Sunday sports wrap-up show Sports Final Edition, which is still currently used today. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. The song had renewed popularity in 2010 when Australian comedy duo Hamish & Andy proclaimed on air that the song gave the listener an extra burst of energy and dubbed the phenomenon as "The Frank Effect". A special one time concert was held in Australia as a result.
In the U.S., the song became RSO Records final top 10 single and top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100

Staying Alive is a 1983 American dance film starring John Travolta as dancer Tony Manero, with Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Joyce Hyser, Julie Bovasso, and dancers Viktor Manoel and Kevyn Morrow. The sequel to 1977's Saturday Night Fever, it was directed, co-produced and co-written by Sylvester Stallone. The title comes from the Bee Gees song of the same name, which was used as the theme song to Saturday Night Fever and is also played during the final scene of Staying Alive. The choreography was arranged by Dennon and Sayhber Rawles It also goes hand-in-hand with Tony's new lifestyle, in which he is barely surviving as he pursues his dream of making dancing his career. This is along with Homefront, one of only two films which Stallone has written without being the star (although he does have a cameo).
The film received generally negative reviews from critics, and holds a score of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes as of 2016.

New Book!!!! and I got a story in it!!

A couple of goings on, I went to a Band performance of my son's High School Band, and they won, they were the "Grand Champions" of the competition.  I recorded the video and disregard the occasional yelling, the parents are very enthusiastic, LOL, . 
   I went and found the performance on Youtube, My recording because of the wind picked up the video, but I lost a lot of the sound.   Here is the performance "The Last Train Out"

According to my son, even with the audio limitations, he said that it was a better video.

My blog buddy the "GodFather" Old NFO, whom is a class act by himself but we don't tell him this BTW.  Old NFO published a book called "The Morning The Earth Shook", The book talked about the Calexit movement from the Military point of view around San Diego after California seceded from the United States.   The book was well received and rated well.  Well Old NFO mentioned to me that he was thinking about doing another book with other people writing stories based on the book.  I was intrigued and came up with a story and sent it to Old NFO whom edited my random brain squeezing into a workable story.   I was totally humbled that my story made the cut, the people in that book are very good.   Go buy the book Calexit "The Anthology"

I cut and pasted this from the Amazon link

When California declares independence, their dreams of socialist diversity become nightmares for many from the high Sierras to the Central Valley. Follow the lives of those who must decide whether to stand their ground, or flee!

In San Diego, the commander of Naval Special Warfare Group One finds his hands tied by red tape, even as protesters storm the base and attack dependents.
In Los Angeles, an airline mechanic must beg, borrow, or bribe to get his family on the plane out before the last flight out.
Elsewhere, a couple seeks out the new underground railroad after being forced to confess to crimes they didn't commit.
In the new state of Jefferson, farmers must defend themselves against carpetbaggers and border raiders.
And in the high Sierras, a woman must make the decision to walk out alone...

Featuring all-new stories set after Calexit from JL Curtis, Bob Poole, Cedar Sanderson, Tom Rogneby, Alma Boykin, B Opperman, L B Johnson, Eaton Rapids Joe, Lawdog, and Kimball O'Hara.

A favor for a friend.

I cut and pasted this from "Old NFO" you know the "Don" and we cannot refuse the reasonable request of our "Godfather".   Seriously if y'all can throw a few bucks at this it will be appreciated.  I will post occasional reminders to keep it in peoples mind.

I know this is a lousy time to ask for money, but one of our extended Blogarado family is in need. FarmFam’s daughter-in-law, Andi, 33 and the mother of two small boys, suffered a stroke in mid August. Unfortunately, it wasn’t diagnosed correctly for two weeks, delaying treatment.
She’s facing a year to 18 months of physical therapy to get back to full function. 
Therapy costs are running $200-500 per session, and she needs therapy once a week. Andi has not been able to afford health insurance, because she her husband own a small business that makes too much money for them to get assistance with health insurance, but not enough for them to be able to afford health insurance, and raising two boys.
Any help will be much appreciated, as Andi has begun physical therapy, and without health insurance she has to pay the full cost of every session.
In order to help her out, we are doing another gun raffle to try to help her with her therapy. One change from what we did for Tam is to run this through a Go Fund Me, https://www.gofundme.com/andrea-keenan-medical-fund, so that the money is immediately available to her for her therapy. One IRS change is that Go Fund Me $$ are now counted as income for the family, so we are shooting for a goal of $25,000 to offset the tax burden they will be hit with.
Here are the ‘rules’ $10 per chance, $50/6 chances, $100/12 chances, etc. Make your donation to the Go Fund Me above, and copy your donation receipt to 4anditherapy@gmail.com. This will count as your entry into the raffle. If you have already donated, we will accept prior donations to the Go Fund Me.
The raffle will run from now through the end of November, with the drawing to be held 1 December via a random drawing program. First number gets their choice, second gets their choice, etc.
The raffle packages are-
Note: All guns are used, not new.

1. Taurus .44 Magnum pistol
2. Ruger MK-II bull barrel .22
3. Custom sub-MOA AR-15
4. Remington 870 pump in 20ga
5. Chinese copy of a 12ga coach gun
6. Springfield Range Officer .45 with 7 magazines and custom holster
7. Springfield Range Officer 9mm with 7 magazines and custom holster
8. Lawdog’s personal Rock Island 1911 9mm, reworked by Joe Speer with 6 magazines
9. A ladies package consisting of a ring (late-Victorian-style design with either high-quality glass or mid-grade garnet stones. The mount is jeweler’s metal, size 6 3/4 or 7).  A unicorn necklace, late 1980s-early 1990s James Avery sterling silver charm on a silver chain. A coin necklace, an 1904 Indian Head penny, silver dipped in a gold-plated mount with a gold-plated silver chain. And a handmade necklace and earrings from Phlegmmy.
10. Signed copies of Lawdog’s, Peter Grant’s, Dorothy Grant’s, JL Curtis’, and Tom Rogneby’s books
11. TBD (other possible packages are being discussed)

All guns will be shipped FFL to FFL for winners. Pictures of the various packages will follow in the next couple of days.
Thank you in advance, I know she will appreciate the help, and this will take a little pressure off the family!

I got this off "Angry Staff Officer", Like I have stated in the past, you can blame my friend Mack for steering me onto this guy.  He likes to use Star Wars and other cultural icons like Harry Potter.  I thought it was a pretty good transferring the change of command ceremony from the Star Wars era and modern Army issues.     The Pics are Compliments of "Google"




Scene: Interior of a First Order Star Destroyer. A First Order Army officer takes a seat at a desk, apparently well pleased. There’s a knock at the door and another officer walks in.

Captain Arlis: Come on in XO, how are you today?

Lieutenant Fivret: Good morning, sir, I’m fitter than a Mandalorian helmet, thanks. Congratulations on taking command of the armor company of the 501st. As you know, this unit carries on the lineage of the 501st Imperial Legion, “Vader’s Fist,” so you’ve got command of the best unit in the entire First Order Army.

Captain Arlis: Thanks, LT. Really excited to take over this outfit and work with you. So what I really want to do is start implementing some of my ideas for training that I’ve been thinking about for a while now.

Lieutenant Fivret: Yes, sir, I understand that. But as a new commander, you’ve got about 150 appointment memos to sign, for everything from Droid Inspection Officer to Blaster Maintenance NCO. You’ve also got to get your policy memos out there. Battalion is really pushing to see your policy in reference to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, based on the last time one of our troopers was found operating under the influence of too many Bantha-blood Fizzes. Had to impound his speeder and resulted in a lot of paperwork. And then there was the fight that shut down the cantina…needless to say, you’ll need to sign the memo that places it off limits, as well as a policy memo dictating the need to respect Navy personnel and not call them “filthy Calamari.”

Captain Arlis: Oh, okay, yeah, sure, I can get on that.

Lieutenant Fivret: Good, sir, because you also need to get your command hologram done. According to your First Order Officer Record Brief, you are entitled to an additional star on your Death Star II Campaign Medal from when you were enlisted and another First Order Commendation Medal, so we’ll get supply to get you hooked up with those. A protocol droid from the S-1 will be in later to take care of the hologram.

Captain Arlis: Ok, yep, I’ll go do that.

Lieutenant Fivret: But also, sir, we’ve got that New Equipment Training for the AT-M6 which we’re getting fielded in the next quarter. That’s a full replacement of the old AT-ATs, by the way. So you know what that means: new gunnery tables, new equipment for the maintenance section, reorganization of our table of organization & equipment. So that’s beginning tomorrow.

Captain Arlis: Wait, tomorrow? But I thought tomorrow was a field day where I could observe training?

Lieutenant Fivret: No sir, tomorrow the company begins the new equipment fielding and as part of that we have full components inventory. Which works out well, since you need to conduct your change of command inventories. And yes, you’ll have to inventory all of the AT-ATs prior to turn in and then the AT-M6s.

Captain Arlis: Got it, inventories until I’m more tired than a Hutt after a brisk walk. That should keep me busy for the foreseeable week or two.

Lieutenant Fivret: Well, it would, sir, but you’ve also got your command climate survey to do for the unit. Battalion wants to know what the feelings are down at the trooper level, so we’ll be hosting several droids down here that will be initiating feeling scans on our troopers right after first formation. Should be able to see the results of that by tomorrow afternoon in time for the safety briefing.

Captain Arlis: Safety briefing? What the hell is happening to this force? Back in my day we loaded up in our walkers and went out and broke things and killed people!

Lieutenant Fivret: Yes sir, but then Yavin 4 happened and then our armor failed at Endor, and so the First Order Center for Lessons Learned has us do mandatory safety stand-down once a week to examine our armor tactics. Lose a few death stars, as you know, not to mention all your key leaders, and it’s no wonder that the present leadership requires safety briefs. Well, that, and all the lost trooper-hours from twisted ankles when troopers dismount their walkers improperly.

Captain Arlis puts his head in his hands

Lieutenant Fivret: I understand, sir. You wanted to come in here and make change and conduct training, but really, the only thing the First Order needs you for is as someone to sign things and take the blame when things go more sideways than a Jawa crawler. It’s not you, it’s the system.

Captain Arlis: Thanks, LT. I really thought this would go differently.

Lieutenant Fivret: I know, sir. But that’s just the way of the Army. Now, here’s the counseling packets for all the troopers who failed height/weight and can no longer fit into their armor, as well as the discharge paperwork for a trooper who was found trying to have intercourse with a Bantha. If you can get all those signed before our Unit Training Plan meeting in half an hour, I’d appreciate it. Also, you’ll probably be wanting to do your initial counselings, but unfortunately the first sergeant will be unavailable today due to a custody battle over a droid. Oh, and Captain Phasma stopped by from battalion S-3 – she said she’s reviewed our training records and has some suggestions to make concerning indoctrination of new troopers to the First Order. Oh, and there’s a new First Order Policy Directive out forbidding the kind of swearing against higher that you’re doing right now, sir. Welcome to command, sir.