turning AMERICA into a paper tiger part 1

it's in the news almost daily. someone attacks AMERICAN interests either here or abroad and the administration does nothing about it. 2 airmen were killed and 2 wounded at frankfort airport last week by what the shooter's family describes as a "devout" muslim and the president's spokesman can't bring himself to call it terrorism.

a jet skier gunned down by mexican "pirates" on a texas lake, not terrorism. 1 ICE agent killed, his partner wounded in san luis potosi, mexico, no terrorist at work there. a border patrol agent killed in arizona by a mexican gang suspected of robbing mexican drug smugglers, of course these two groups have nothing to do with terrorism.

the word terrorism has french origins derived from latin-terroisme -great fear or dread. it showed up in the english language in 1798 and is defined as the systematic use of terror as a policy.

anyone who doesn't think that the mexican drug cartels operating along and inside of our borders are a terrorist organization, should be working for the obama white house. david hartley was killed on falcon lake, texas on september 30 2010. the lead mexican investigator on the case was beheaded. other incidents of piracy on the same lake were reportedly carried out by ZETA members, a drug cartel made up of former mexican special forces troops, identified by victims because of their distinctive tattoos.

i first wrote about the ZETAS back in march of 2009 over on good buddy SKI's GLOBAL DOMINATION site. we, the UNITED STATES, or rather our government, initially trained and equipped these guys. they were supposed to fight the narco-terrorist, but instead joined up, or more correctly eliminated much of their competition and started cashing in. most of the homicides in the border towns of tijuana, nuevo laredo and juarez can be attributed to the work of the ZETAS and the cartels they work for/against. the mexican government estimated that the death toll nation wide between 2006 and now is estimated at 35,000.

so what does that mean to us? how does it affect those of us who don't live along the border? how can i say that it is turning us into a paper tiger? read part 2 to find out.

the return of the WWI fighter ace

so i got a new game i've been playing. those of you who are gamers know it's an old title, but it is new to me, and i really enjoy it. BLAZING ANGELS-SQUADRONS OF WWII is a first person shooter game which allows you to" fly" lots of different aircraft from the war, in air to air combat, and ground attack/bombing missions.

i grew up reading as much as i could about the aces like GABBY GABRESKI, CHUCK YEAGER, BUD ANDERSON, RICHARD BONG, PAPPY BOYINGTON and JOE FOSS. i also read about the german aces, like RUDI GALLAND and GUNTHER RAHL. the stories they tell are fascinating, funny and frightening. if you get a chance pick up one of these guys books and prepare to be wowed.

i got to meet an ace who lives here locally, HORST PETZSCHLER. the old gent came into where i work one day, and we struck up a conversation over his accent. he was somewhat reluctant to talk about his past until i told him about my german jump wings. i found out that he was a german ace with 26 victories to his credit, who had to survive 4 years of soviet captivity, before he was able to emigrate to canada and then the STATES. he's a really neat guy and he even gave me an autographed photo.


HORST used to be a fixture at the local gun shows with lots of folks gathered around asking questions and having autographs signed. i understand he is in very poor health now so he can't come out any longer. it's very sad when you think about all the veterans on both sides we are losing daily. so much history.

i really like the old warbirds and attend airshows as time allows. of course the kids like to go which right now makes for long hot days. can't wait 'til they're a little older. the last time we went the youngest fell asleep as the thunderbirds were preforming.







in another life, i thought about staying in the army when the military was kicking around the idea of transferring the A-10 from the air force to the army. probably a good thing for me that idea fell through.




for now i'll have to content myself turnin' and burnin' in the recliner as the kids cheer me on.

how can this be?

i see that one of the arizona shooting victims has gone off the deep end. after photographing tea party leader, trent humphries, james fuller told him "you're dead", and was taken into custody. according to pima county sheriff spokesman jason ogan, fuller will undergo a psych eval and faces misdemeanor charges for threats and disorderly conduct. fuller was pissed over humphries stance on gun control.

a couple of things here; who knew that the pima county sheriff department had a spokesman? after a week of nothing but clarence dupnik all day, everyday, i honestly felt he was handling this duty all by himself. i mean the guy psychoanalyzed every conservative and tea party member, solved the shooting, uncovered sarah palin's and sharron angle's complicity , and told AMERICA how we need to play nice, or else. why from just seeing clarence on the tube, i got the impression that he was a true one man band, the very glue holding arizona's pima county together.

i'm not saying that james fuller, who was shot in the leg and back has no reason to be pissed, but someone tell me why he is mad at trent humphries. whoever trent is, he is not jared loughner.
trent isn't the guy with the glock who shot rep. giffords, or who had made threats to other members of the community, that do not appear to have been investigated. trent is not the one who failed to inform the fbi of loughners mental instability, which might have stopped him from getting the gun, during the background check.


why only the misdemeanor? did anyone look into fullers ability to carry out the threat? does he have the ability to carry it out? does he have firearms? if so, is he prohibited from having them, due to mental deficiencies or criminal history?

i think most of the answers lead back to the same place. dumbass dupnik and his incompetence.
remember, it was dupnik who said that arizona had become a "mecca for hatred and bigotry".
time for a bit of self reflection sheriff. looks like your vitriol has found a home in the head of a potentially unbalanced person. hopefully trent humphries, or some other innocent tea party member, won't pay for it with their life.

the death of a great soldier

late today it was revealed the Major Dick Winters has died. AMERICA was introduced to him by the hbo miniseries Band of Brothers. those of you who did not see it, should check it out, or read it or his memoirs Beyond Band of Brothers.

Winters was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, and Parachutist Badge with 2 gold stars, signifying his jumps into normandy and holland.



the above picture is a painting by artist john shaw in which Winters tells his troopers to HANG TOUGH during the Battle of the Bulge. i have often found his and their example to be inspiring and uplifting. the world is a smaller place with his passing. CURRAHEE sir, and GOD speed.

winner, winner, chicken dinner

according to my kids, my brain juice is strong. some of you should come over to JUST WAFFLING next friday and challenge me.

Merry Christmas

i win again...of course

hope that doesn't sound too conceited, but it aint bragging if you can do it. i asked friend" the cambridge lady" to put the friday mystery pic competition back in play, and she did.

cuz she loves me and my humble ways. or not. no matter, she started it again anyway.

it's good fun and her blog is loaded with interesting pics of her travels in great britain and europe. she also has a different take on world events which is refreshing.

so have some fun next friday and go pay her a visit, it will be worth your time.