Author Archive
Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta visits with members of a delegation of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts from across the country Feb. 13, 2012, at the Pentagon. The delegation was visiting Washington, D.C., to present the annual report of the Boy Scouts of America to U.S. government officials. (DoD photo By Glenn Fawcett/Released)
Murdoc is a huge supporter of Scouting.
The guy in the green uniform is a Venture Scout, a program that not a lot of people are familiar with. It’s a co-ed program run by the Boy Scouts of America open to young men and women ages 14 (or 13 if they’ve completed 8th grade) through 20. It focuses more on “high adventure” style activities and less on weekly meetings, basic things like knot tying, and merit badges. It’s a great program for those who want to be involved in Scouts but maybe aren’t as interested in all the rank advancement focus or who have aged out of Boy Scouts. Plus it’s got girls. More info on Venture Scouting here.
A U.S. Navy aviation boatswain's mate handling taxis an AV-8B Harrier II aircraft on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) during Iron Fist 2012 in the Pacific Ocean Feb. 7, 2012. Iron Fist is a three-week bilateral training event held annually between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force designed to increase interoperability between the two services while aiding the Japanese in their continued development of amphibious capabilities. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Russell, U.S. Navy/Released)
UPDATE: Here’s another:
A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II aircraft prepares to land aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA 5) during Iron Fist 2012 in the Pacific Ocean Feb. 7, 2012. Iron Fist is a three-week bilateral training event held annually between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force designed to increase interoperability between the two services while aiding the Japanese in their continued development of amphibious capabilities. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Russell/Released)
Hmmm. I’m not at all convinced that the whole incident where that dad made a big old YouTube video of him shooting his daughter’s laptop after she badmouthed him and his wife on Facebook is genuine. And if it is, I’m not at all convinced that his approach was a good one.
Sure, everyone likes to high-five each other and yell “Take THAT, you whiny spoiled ungrateful kids!” But is that really good parenting? I’d have to know a whole lot more about the situation before I’d say it is.
Anyway, I just saw over on Dean’s World (in the comments) that the laptop he shot was PAID FOR BY THE DAUGHTER. So after all of his blah blah blah about how she can have another one when she can buy it herself, he shot one she bought herself.
That pretty much makes him a jerk in Murdoc’s humble opinion.
FWIW, I pretty much agree with most of Dean’s thinking on the subject.
Thoughts?
Tea Party and OWS Protest Side-By-Side Against Obama in San Francisco
The unthinkable finally happened last night in San Francisco: the Tea Party shared a protest with the Occupiers, both groups angry with the same person.
And who was this unifier, the only man who can bridge the divide and bring together all sides of the political spectrum? Why, President Obama, of course.
Via Instapundit.
Disaster at Sea: The Story of the USS Truxton and USS Pollux
18 Feb 1942. Check out the photo gallery.
Italy scales back its F-35 order
Will buy 90 instead of 131.
A year after uprising, militias hold sway in Libya
Shocker.
First Re-Winged A-10 Delivered
233 wing sets to be delivered through 2018.
Spangdahlem A-10 squadron to shut down
A-10 squadron in Germany victim of budget cuts.
US intelligence officials offer grim words on Afghanistan
Operational commanders don’t agree.
Lockheed Unveils F-16 Viper Variant
F-16V includes AESA radar and other improvements.
USAF cancels AMRAAM replacement
Pulled the plug on the Next Generation Missile for budgetary reasons. No AMRAAM or HARM replacement is in sight.
Russia, Vietnam to Jointly Manufacture Anti-Ship Missiles
SS-N-25 Switchblades.
Navy announces destroyers to be based in Spain
USS Ross, USS Donald Cook, USS Porter and USS Carney will be forward-deployed to Rota in 2014 and 2015.
Navy plan to move carrier from Va. to Fla. on hold
No money in the budget.
‘If lost, the Falklands would be extremely difficult to re-take’
Andy Smith, CEO of the United Kingdom National Defence Association (UKNDA), argues that current UK force levels on the Falkland Islands are inadequate to defend against a determined invasion
LCS Diplomacy: A New, Old Option When Facing China
New Asiatic Fleet of Littoral Combat Ships?
A red flag for the ‘great green fleet’
It costs a lot to save money.
State Agent Tells Preschooler She Can’t Eat Home-packed Lunch
Because it didn’t meet USDA guidelines. Gave her chicken nuggets (?!?) instead of a turkey an cheese sandwich. The taxpayers of America are funding this stupidity.
Economical Target-1
Low-cost rail-launched ballistic missile target.
Detroit: The Triumph of Progressive Public Policy
In 1950, Detroit was the wealthiest city in America on a per capita income basis. Today, the Census Bureau reports that it is the nation’s 2nd poorest major city, just “edging out” Cleveland.
The Veil War
The Great American Goblin Invasion Novel.
From a collection of Soviet space propaganda posters.
New LCS named for Gabrielle Giffords
In yet another break with tradition, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced Friday that a new Littoral Combat Ship would be named for Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman who survived a January 2011 assassination attempt.
“The selection of Gabrielle Giffords, designated LCS 10, honors the former Congresswoman from Tucson, Arizona, who is known for supporting the military and veterans, advocating for renewable energy and championing border security,” the Navy said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
No disrespect intended, but what sense does that make?
Naming of Navy ships has gone way downhill, and the fact that there are so darn few of them coupled with the fact that a lot of them seem to be getting substandard names means that a lot of good traditional names are going to go unused in order to suck up to someone politically.
LCS 10 is one of the General Dynamics trimaran designs.
It’s takers versus makers and these days the takers are winning
“After a while, people who pay their bills on time start to feel like suckers.”
Maybe there’s something to the idea that Eastwood’s Chrysler commercial was an Obama campaign ad?
Sounds made up.
P-8A makes debut in Bold Alligator exercise
Currently being tested.
Marine scout snipers used Nazi SS logo
This is utterly ridiculous. They’re saying that maybe the Marines didn’t realize it was an SS logo, but it apparently went on for several years.
The Navy faces reality
Everyone has always known the 313 ship goal was a joke. They’re just into the “start publicly admitting it to set up the next stage” phase.
The Himalayas and nearby peaks have lost no ice in past 10 years, study shows
Scientists thought that the area had lost 400,000,000,000 tons of water from 2003-2010. The actual loss looks like it was about 0.
Love the Constitution? Hate government regulations? New DHS “lexicon” brands you a “militia extremist.”
A recently published “lexicon” distributed to thousands of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) targets citizens concerned about their Second Amendment rights and the steady encroachment of the federal government, categorizing such as “militia extremists.”
Mileage Moment of Truth: We Put 40 Mpg Claims to the Test
Popular Mechanics looks at the numbers on some 40 MPG cars.
The Last Raptor
Will be delivered in May.
Aussies’ modest proposal: Sell us F-22s, mate
Not overly thrilled with the F-35, mate?
Supreme Court should limit Congress’ copyright power
Well, ALL of Congress’ power. But copyright power is a good one to curtail.
Ford pulls out of JLTV competition
Ford’s interest in the contract has defense analysts fascinated at what their manufacturing muscle could bring to the Army tactical wheeled strategy even if it means the car and truck company doesn’t compete to build the JLTV.
10 years in prison for Sudafed?
Seems crazy, but aren’t we all glad that the restrictions have put an end to the availability of meth?
Teacher pleads guilty to raping student
Life in Prison! Execution! Oh, wait, it’s a woman. Probation should do it. No sex offender list necessary.
Nuclear Reactor Approved in U.S. for First Time Since 1978
Appears that we’ll have fewer nuclear reactors (due to retirements) before we have more.
North Dakota produced 534884 barrels of oil per day in December 2011
Not a lot, big picture wise, but definitely good.
Frankfurt airport shooter gets life in prison
He decided to kill US troops after he saw a video of Americans raping a teenage Muslim girl…turns out the video was from Brian DePalma’s anti-war movie “Redacted.”
A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 100th Air Refueling Wing prepares to fuel a flight of Royal Danish Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility Feb. 1, 2012. (DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace, U.S. Air Force/Released)
More on that Clint Eastwood Chrysler commercial last night which was so good that Murdoc refused to watch any more Super Bowl commercials.
At first Murdoc was “Wow! That’s Clint Eastwood!”
Then Murdoc was “Oh, my God…I think this is one of those Detroit Chrysler commercials.”
Looking online after the fact, Murdoc sees that there was a lot of talk about this beforehand. He wishes that he would have seen some of this so he would have been prepared.
But seeing Eastwood up there being a huckster for that crap was sure disheartening.
Murdoc doesn’t know why these “Detroit rocks” commercials drive him so nuts. But they do. I see firsthand a lot of what these celebrity spokesmen like Eastwood and Eminem are talking about, and the reality ain’t pretty.
(Aside: Who would would have ever thought we’d see “Eastwood and Eminem” in print?)
Halftime America! Clint Eastwood Makes It All Better! Ugh.:
So, bringing in the city of Detroit as some city on the ‘comeback’ after being knocked down, and blah blah blah, was a bit disingenuous as it fails to mention they knocked themselves out. Detroit and the American car industry would not have made it to ‘half-time’ if it wasn’t for the Bail-Out ™. They were carried by the taxpayer to half-time, beaten and bruised by building inferior products, bloated management and union mismanagement and over-the-rainbow promises to it’s retiring workforce.
Exactly. Especially the “blah blah blah” part. (via Instapundit)
I know that Eastwood has long been a solid Conservative in an environment where being open about being such a thing is usually fatal. And I know that this is just a commercial. And, for what it’s worth, I DO hope Detroit and the American automakers get their crap together. But this commercial is a crock, and it’s disappointing to see Clint Eastwood starring in it.
Actually, it’s more “disheartening” to me than “disappointing.” A little of the shine just disappeared from so many of those movies and characters that I like so much and, to be honest, have been influential on me in many ways.
I hope I’m just over-reacting and feel better about it tomorrow.
