Weekend Open Thread

| December 21, 2018

Another Weekend Open Thread, and on the road again. So here comes another tune, this time from Oz.

DH has written quite a bit here about his lovely Soviet spouse – so this one seems appropriate. But Dave . . . let the late Michael Hutchence do the singing, OK? (smile)

Yeah, the video portion seems quite dated and overdone. Remember: it was made circa 1990, and still had a huge “80s-hangover” at the time. (smile)

Category: Open thread

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SFC D

FIRST!

ex-OS2

Congrats SFC D!

2/17 Air Cav

There is a dispute. Have you nothing to say, SFC D? Are you going to assert yourself? The peasants are revolting and you are the presumptive king of this week’s WOT kingdom. Speaketh, your highneth. Speaketh, sire!

SFC D

NHSparky

We are so poor we cannot even afford our own language! Just zees miserable accent!

HMC Ret

Congratulations, SFC D. Remember to lord it over all the peons on this site, including me.

Happy weekend all youse boys and girls … Y’all be safe.

Biermann

I’m here

AW1Ed

Fixed, no charge.

26Limabeans

first

26Limabeans

Well, second ain’t bad. It ain’t shit but it ain’t bad.
Congrats SFC D.

5th/77th FA

Damn Damn Damn 2nd/3rd

SFC D

Merry Christmas, dickweeds! I got my second FIRST!!

5th/77th FA

Congrats SFC D. Watch for the lawer that MCPO and ‘Beans brings up.

The empirical evidence from the broken thread may come into play.

AW1Ed

It’s all good, 5th. Look at the time hacks for the first three comments- I had just fixed the post so folks could comment and SFC D was on it like a duck on a June bug.

SFC D

I think I ruptured my F5.

I had good tone, I took the shot…

Commissioner Wretched

I’ll take what I can get.

MCPO NYC USN Ret.

First.

5th/77th FA

We wuz robbed! Hondo in a hurry to get back to the Uranus Bar.

MCPO NYC USN Ret.

I am submitting complaint to TAH World Wide HQ.

AW1Ed

Your complaint, Master Chief, has been received by the elite staff at TAH WW Hq. Unfortunately, it has been disapproved.

You may, however, resubmit your complaint in 90 days for further disapproval.

Have a great TAH day!

Elite TAH WW Hq. staff sends.

thebesig

Transcripts of the meeting held to consider your complaint:

Staff 01: Hahahahahahahahahaha

Staff 02: Hahahahahahahahahaha

Staff 03: Hahahahahahahahahaha

The rest of the staff: Hahahhahahhahahah

Staff 01: Uhhm NO! Do I get a second?

Staff 02: Second.

Staff 01: Do I get an aye?

Staff 03: Aye.

Staff 04: Aye.

Staff 01: Raise of hands for approval of “Uhm No!”

All staff: [Everybody Raises their hands]

Staff 01: AW1Ed, notify MCPO NYC USN Ret of our disapproval of his request.

:mrgreen:

AW1Ed

Why do I always get the grunt work? Sure, send me to piss off a Navy Master Chief. That never seems to end well…

*grin*

ex-OS2

Somebody has to do it AW1Ed. hahaha

AW1Ed

Yeah? Wanna play the “who has more stripes” game, -OS2?

Love ya like a brother, man.

My pet JO (Junior Officer) I’m grooming to be a flight test animal, described to me the herd of O-4s we have as a pack of llamas. They travel in a group and spit on each other.

I can work with that!

ex-OS2

Touché.

AW1Ed

I made civilian a while ago, and that’s good enough for me. All of the rest is water under the bridge, left in the wake, and long gone.

I remember the last time I pulled the rank card, and it…never mind. A sea story for another day.

NHSparky

Let me do it. I’ve always been REAL good at pissing off khakis!

Lurker Curt

I call shenanigans!!! First time in weeks I show up when there are less than 20 comments, and I can’t comment… THIS JUST IN: LC is a Sore Loser!

Cudos to SFC D, and Happy Friday to the rest of you Dickweeds!

LC

THIS JUST IN: LC is a Sore Loser!

I always knew it! 😉

AW1Ed

No surprise here, either.
*grin*

Lurker Curt

DAMMIT!!! Not callin names dad, I swear!

Ret_25X

12rd?

A Proud Infidel®™️

15rd and Honorary First once again.

(((OVER))))

Commissioner Wretched

On this, the first day of winter 2018, I’m presenting the week’s trivia column. Added to the end is an extra bit of trivia, compiled for our newspaper’s Christmas special section. (Oh, the things I will do to avoid having empty space in the paper.) Enjoy, my friends, and Merry Christmas to you all! DID YOU KNOW…? Have any U.S. presidents also been holders of patents? By Commissioner Wretched I just took a look at the calendar, and was stunned to see that next Tuesday is Christmas Day. Uncountable memories of Christmases past have been swirling through my head. (And there’s plenty of room up there for them to swirl, too.) As old as I am, it’s hard to put a finger on the exact oldest memory I have of Christmas, but one of them would have to have been a night in the mid 1960s. My family lived in a second-floor apartment in Chicago and I remember walking home from the Christmas eve church service with my siblings and our Dad. There was about a foot of snow on the ground, and my father – who loved a good holiday – noticed an airplane overhead. He pointed to its red flashing running light and told me, my brother and my sister that it was Santa’s sleigh and we could see Rudolph’s red nose blinking. Boy, we couldn’t wait to get home! And on our front steps and porch, there were fresh bootprints in the snow. I know now that it was probably Mr. Ted, the landlord, coming home from work, but … we knew it had to have been Santa! After all, we didn’t have a chimney, so how else would he get in? Sure enough, there were a lot of presents under the tree. I had wondered why Mom didn’t come to church with us that evening; now I know, of course, but for that night it was pure magic. I hope you have a very magical and Merry Christmas, and thank you so much for reading all these silly things I write. You all are my Christmas… Read more »

Mason

“I saw the movie. The iceberg did it.”

GAH. Spoiler warning next time. 😉

AW1Ed

Look up the origins of the ubiquitous Post-It notes, CW. Good trivia there, and I’ll leave it to you to discover and post.

Commissioner Wretched

Thanks … I’ll do that!

David

And that one of the longest running ad lines in history was coined by a President? When asked if he wanted more coffee at the Maxwell House Hotel, he said “Yes – because it’s good to the last drop!” Teddy Roosevelt, ladies and germs, also the only MOH awardee in the White House. (This slogan inspired Mississippi John Hurt’s song “Coffee Blues” about how one “lovin’ spoonful” of Maxwell House ‘do you more good than a whole pot of that other stuff’… which is where the band Lovin’ Spoonful got their name.

Commissioner Wretched

I had heard that, and it does rate inclusion in one of my early 2019 columns!

Claw

I’m thinking the mechanical alarm clock guy had milk cows, but 0400 is a little late to get started on that daily chore./smile

Commissioner Wretched

Man, I’m from the city. Where I come from, milk comes in bottles, not cows.

2/17 Air Cav

Oh boy! Mr. Claw’s phone will be ringing like Santa’s sleigh bells over this one. The WOT as posted allowed no comments so a WOT substitute was used: last week’s WOT. MCPO claims first, bu proxy WOT and SFC D comments “FIRST” when today’s WOT is later adjusted by AW1Ed to accept comments. Need aspirin. STAT!

AW1Ed

Hondo’s post is the official WOT in my view. Due to technical difficulties, it was not accepting comments until I tweaked it.

An alternate WOT is not the official post. There can be only one.

11B-Mailclerk

Highlander movies…

(CmcC accent)
“ there should be only one!”

A Proud Infidel®™

Some say that The Quickening happens to Keith Richards every time another Rock and Roll Star passes away.

Twist

The smartest thing they did when making Highlander 3 was pretending that Highlander 2 never happened.

ChipNASA

Oh SURE!!
I was here first but it was nothing but the post and a blank for the comments section.

COLLUSION, TREASON, DOSSIER, HILLARY, TRUMP BAD, RUSSIANS. PEE PEE ON TAH THREAD. E-MAILS! BENGHAZI!!! LAZY CONGRESS! LIBS! RHINOS! ILLEGAL ALIENS!!

Did I miss anything?

Lurker Curt

THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!

Not sure that fits, don’t care.

5th/77th FA

I dindunuffin, I was at choir practice, the junior college professer was passing out holiday homework, it wasn’t me, i wuzn’t there, distracted by mention of the Soviet, switched hands in mid F5 key stroke & sprained my wrist, where’s my puppy, coloring book,safe space, did I mention WE WUZ ROBBED!

2/17 Air Cav

This could get ugly. Very, very ugly. We have multiple claims and counterclaims now.
More aspirin needed.

Commissioner Wretched

You left out the Nazis …

11B-Mailclerk

-Moon Nazis-

SFC D

I saw that, and commenced to beating the bejeezus out of the F5. I’m all fapped out.

ChipNASA

And this is apparently TAH’s Unofficial response *smile*

AW1Ed

Yeah, no. For TAH’s complaint process please refer to the Master Chief’s dealings with the TAH WW Hq, or feel free to contact Dave directly.
Good luck with that- he never answers my e-mails, either.

Or try AW1Ed.dosen’t.care
At least I’m polite. Mostly.

Mason

No, this is TAH’s official response:

SFC D

I will give up my FIRST when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers!

2/17 Air Cav

That’s the spirit. Fight for what is yours and all that is good and holy! I knew you would, sire.

OWB

It’s all CHAOS!

Bad, bad, bad, TAH. Because…Trump.

No wall/no fence/no money. Border security is great, unless you attempt to actually secure the border.

Out of Syria! No, we can’t leave Syria, because…Trump. What is the exit plan? Oh, wait, we don’t need an exit plan. Maybe we will next week. We did last week, but not this week.

Mueller MUST investigate this mess. Just because.

5th/77th FA

No no no no, it will get worse. MCPO NYC USN Ret will contact Larsey bois bunghole’s lawer. The bunghole’s lawer will prove that the empirical evidence of the broken WOT non properly posted by hondo was superceceeded by the substitute WOT that said MCPO NYC did in fact empirically post on or about 1:11 pm TAH time as 1st/first.

It will be empirically dataed that it is not the responsibility of TAH dickweeds to prove which WOT is the proper WOT and therefore, whereby, henceforth, the 1st First would first go to the 1st Poster of the first WOT posted, whereupon as is where so is and so upon.

I think you got a case Master Chief. I wear a size top shelf sipping whiskey.

AW1Ed can claim that is not germain to this case; I say the gol-darned Germans ain’t got nothing to do with it.

SFC D

There was no way to post on the first WOT, therefore, there could be no claim of first, nullifying your argument. My first was the first first of the second WOT, and therefore was the first first. It’s good to be the King, Hillary is still not in the whitehouse, merry Christmas, holy shit where’s the Tylenol!

5th/77th FA

I feel ya Bro, and I’m on track wid ya. We green machines have to stand up to those swabbie admin types (goarmybeatnavyagain). I’m merely concerned about them lawers trying to take advantage of you. I can bonifide that your 1st/first was the first of the firsts on the real first WOT.

However there was another first WOT that the 1st was first firsted by the other firster. We may have to call the bitch of benghazi to bleach out the firsts that was 1sted on the other first WOT that Hondo first tried to drop in first before AW1Ed called hisself “fixin it.” This may be a 1st in the history of the Weekend Open Thread.

I wear a size gallon jug of apple jack.

5th/77th FA

To quote Lynyrd Skynyrd, Live in Atlanta; TURN IT UP! (grin)

AW1Ed

“…swabbie admin types.”

Look, doggie, someone has to be the adult in the room, and you ain’t it.

Don’t like my call? Feel free to complain to TAH WW Hq. and see how far you get.

NBL, Brother *grin*

ex-OS2

Terrain. Terrain. Pull up, Pull up. Terrain….

Splat.

5th/77th FA

And Lawn Dart Dani is still maintaining minus 6 feet AGL.

AW1Ed

And ambient OAT as well.

Friend

Always get the giggles…

BlueCord Dad

Much pearl clutching in the MSM over the SecDef’s resignation. The big bad Orange Man is now going to lead us over the precipice into….what exactly? Gimme a break. I’m sorry to see him go, but maybe now he may go onto bigger and better things. Chaos 2020, just sayin’

Dave Hardin

In light of recent events, I have changed my Christmas wish.

ex-OS2

Perfect!

BlueCord Dad

Amen deacon!!

5th/77th FA

Testify!

Mick

Put your hands on the computer and preach it, brother!

Graybeard

I approve.

ex-OS2

Donald Kimball, phony Silver Star, Purple Heart hero, sock-puppet, inbound.

https://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=78395&cpage=2#comment-3187179

AW1Ed

Left a love note, thanks.

ChipNASA

HAHAHAHA!!

FACEBOOK HAS OPEN COMMENTS!!!

HO HO HO MOTHERFUCKER!!!

BOMBS AWAY!!

https://www.facebook.com/donnie.kimball.3

Wilted Willy

Merry Christmas, and Daniel Bernath is Still Dead!

Friend

Always get the giggles…

HMC Ret

Guess he didn’t want the glossy finish. Wonder if store cameras got this?

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Tulsa police say a Walgreens employee with a concealed-carry license fatally shot an armed man after an argument that began at the photo counter.

Tulsa Police Sgt. Brandon Watkins says the person who died Wednesday was a 52-year-old man. He says the man pulled a gun, jumped behind the photo counter to take photos from a clerk and then climbed back over the counter.

Watkins says that while other employees tried to call police, a 28-year-old Walgreens employee shot and killed the man.

That employee wasn’t injured, and police say he hasn’t been arrested. Another Walgreens employee and customer were struck by gunfire and hospitalized. Watkins says both are expected to survive.

Walgreens said in a statement that it’s cooperating with the investigation into the shooting .

David

any money on that employee keeping his job? I didn’t think so. Walgreens has fired others for resisting.

A Proud Infidel®™

AutoZone did that to one of their employees and i haven’t shopped there since.

Dwight Schwarz

Some of us have better things to do in the morning such as exercise, at least that must be the reason there was a wreck at the south end of the block to make me get some. Oh well 2 Chevy trucks totaled. Must be a fad here as is second wreck on this street in a little over a week, other one was 73 year old guy in a semi missed stop sign and turn in road and tried to park truck in that house down there’s living room at close to midnight.

OAE CPO USN Ret

Here’s a follow-up to the perv Andrew Mitchell O’Brien.

http://www.ktlo.com/2018/12/20/kansas-man-in-mh-to-meet-with-underage-female-jailed-has-car-used-as-battering-ram/

It’s in the bottom 1/3rd of the article:

A Boone County man, Robert Lambert of Lead Hill, played a part in making O’Brien’s visit to the Twin Lakes Area even worse. Lambert was arrested Dec. 14th by Mountain Home Police at Walmart and placed in the Baxter County Detention Center. The vehicle he was driving was impounded.

When he was released Sunday, Lambert went to the impound lot to find his vehicle, but discovered the lot was closed and secured. Lambert was captured on video surveillance cameras as he crawled under the fence and gained access to another vehicle and proceeded to ram the gate open. He then went to his own vehicle and drove it off the lot.

The vehicle he used as a battering ram belonged to O’Brien, who had driven it from Kansas to Mountain Home to allegedly meet the underage female with whom he had been corresponding on social media.

It was estimated Lambert caused about $10,000 damage to O’Brien’s vehicle and property at the impound lot.

Lambert also faces new charges stemming from the breakout at the impound lot. He is charged with breaking or entering, theft of property and criminal mischief. He was arrested in Harrison Monday and he was booked into the Baxter County jail. His bond is also set at $50,000. He will reappear in circuit court Jan. 17th to be formally arraigned.

Mason

HAHAHA, that might make be believe in karma!

thebesig

He went somewhere to deliver a fucking, got fucked over multiple times instead. Definitely not the kind of Christmas he was looking forward to.

A Proud Infidel®™️

He gonna spend Christmas in the can with Bubba & Thor!

OAE CPO USN Ret

Bubba and Thor are going to spend Christmas in his can.

Fixed it for you API.

HMC Ret

Here ya go …

Please accept, with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2019, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country, nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. This wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
For my Conservative Friends:
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR !

No politics intended here. Did I cover all the bases? What did I leave out?

Veritas Omnia Vincit

From a non-believing heathen, infidel thank you and a very Merry Christmas to your and your family as well….

Mason

Nicely done, Chief. Mind if I copy that?

HMC Ret

Mason: Not at all; I stole it from someone else. Go for it, bro

HMCS(FMF) ret

Provisional Proxy First, Dickweeds!

FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US!!!

A Proud Infidel®™️

THAT’S gonna have libtard heads exploding like 4th of July Fireworks!

HMC Ret

She is both a colon cancer (15 or so years ago) and pancreas cancer (12 or so years ago) survivor. The survival rate for pancreatic cancer is usually much less than 12 years. Colon cancer patients, if the cancer is detected ‘early’ can have a long life. Lung cancer? Not so much. Hoping she retires and lives another 20 years. She’s a triple survivor. She should buy a lottery ticket.

Graybeard

87th commentator.

Off tending to other duties as assigned, but still present and unaccountable.

Y’all have a good weekend and a very Merry Christmas.

Stay warm, safe, well fed, and armed for anyone who’d threaten your or your loved ones’ chances at all the above.

NHSparky

Finally back at Casa de Sparky for a few well-deserved days of rest.

Merry Christmas to us all!

Just An Old Dog

Kinda a funny thing that shows how people just hate admitting they are wrong.
There was a post about stolen valor on another internet forum where a guy said that His now deceased Uncle was claiming some crazy shit,,, including that he was a POW in Viet of the Nam.
I posted a link to the roster of all POW from the War. When people told him he could file a FOIA and get the suspected Posers Info he said ” Most Vietnam Vets didn’t have anything because their records were destroyed.
Of course I linked the St Louis Records fire Wiki entry and told him that literally zero Nam’ vets lost records he replied by saying that he meant South Vietnamese.
I asked if his Uncle was Vietnamese,, He responded no He’s African.
Some fucking people…

Twist

It hit -25 today so it is now plugging in vehicle season. When I was stationed at Camp Atterbury, IN I couldn’t count how many people asked me about the plug in hanging out of the front of my truck. It’s cold enough now that my dog, who goes on a hours long walkabout whenever he gets loose, can now just be let outside and he does his business with a quickness and then is right back at the door scratching begging to be let back in.

Speaking of my dog, Denali (my black lab) is horrible at being a black lab. I swear he is the only one on this planet that hates water. He thinks that playing fetch is beneath him. Whenever he gets loose the only way to get him to come to you before he is good and ready is to stand where he can see you and then make a point of ignoring him, then he will come right to you. He is also so scared of the dark that he won’t go to the bathroom in it. Whenever I take him outside I have to take a flashlight with me and shine it on him in order for him to go to the bathroom. He’s weird, but I love him.

26Limabeans

“the plug in hanging out of the front of my truck”

Got one on mine. Didn’t seem to do anything until during an oil change the mechanic asked if I wanted it plugged in. Seems the other end was not plugged into the block heater.

Twist

A couple of people asked me if I had to charge my truck. When I left Indiana and moved back to Alaska I took it into the Dodge dealership for services. That winter I kept plugging it in and it still kept freezing up. It turned out that they had no idea what it was and had disconnected the block heater, oil pan heater, and battery blanket.

26Limabeans

Back in the old days I would take a shovel full of coals from the wood stove and dump them on the ground under the oil pan. Dangerous as hell but -30 required it.
Now I use a propane weed burner under the plow truck.

sj

Twist, Bruno, my chocolate Lab is just like Denali! You described him perfect. Only duck he’s interested in comes from the Thai restaurant.

OWB

So. Simply having no knowledge of an event or a thing or a person should not limit one’s freedom to discuss it anyway, right? (OK, many of us really don’t believe that, but if our betters are to be believed, that IS the way it is in spite of our opinions, observations, and experience.)

Riddle me this, then: Why has there been soooo much discussion about something which clearly did not happen? And why are soooo many folks chiming in about it?? Maybe becoming a conspiracy nut isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Hondo obviously did NOT make a mistake. Anybody who even contemplates such is clearly misguided. Therefore no mistake was made in regard to the WOT this week or any other week. What is wrong with you people intimating that Hondo made a mistake? It didn’t happen!

5th/77th FA

OWB, you mighta missed it, but it happened; and it’s not over yet. MCPO is roaring thru the Chiefs goat locker as we speak gathering up him herd. I admire AW1Eds balls for pissing off a Master Chief, that’s kinda like telling SgtMaj Basil Plumley what kind of day to have. It just isn’t done.

I’m gonna dodge the worst of it. Catching a fast mover down to see the Grand Babies. So 5/77 will be off the net dark till ’bout next Saturday. Will be back in time to see ROLL TIDE ROLL (ht to Another Pat)

Y’all have a Happy Christmas and a Merry Festivus.

SFC D

Firstly, unlike us mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals, Hondo is infallible. Which means only one thing:

I’m first, dickweeds! Through a combination of the planets aligning, the solstice full moon, and sheer fookin’ luck, I’m the supreme dickweed this week! Now, bring on the dancing girls!

AW1Ed

Aren’t you forgetting something, Sarn’t First Class? Like a “Thank you AW1Ed for fixing Hondo’s WOT so I can be King DW for a week?” Is that so hard?

Just doing a little chops bustin’ SFC D. Enjoy the crown.

SFC D

Thank you AW1Ed for fixing Hondo’s WOT so I can be King DW for a week! Always love support from you nasal radiator types! Fly Navy!

AW1Ed

We live to serve.
*grin*

NHSparky

I JUST TRANSLATED IT…IT’S A COOKBOOK!!!

Sparks

Important AR-15 question for those of you with experience in this item.

I have the opportunity to buy the following:

500rds of Federal 5.56 Nato M855 62gr Green Tip Ammo, for $100 all in.

The guy is selling off some of his stuff for personal reasons. It is loose, new and in the original Federal box. I can load them into 10 round stripper clips so the loose is okay until it goes into mags. I have been using 5.56 FMJ-BT 55 grain, lots of .223 for the range and Nexus .223 Rem 79gr ACT Hunting rounds for home defense.

What is your opinion of this Federal 62 grain LAP green tip? Also, if you know of a better home defense round, please school me.

Thanks for any help.

2/17 Air Cav

It’s going to cost you twice that w/ shipping for the same product. Get it.

Sparks

Thank you 2/17 Air Cav.

2/17 Air Cav

Armed Forces Bowl…6 mins remaining in game….ARMY 63…Houston 14

2/17 Air Cav

FINAL. ARMY 70…Houston…14

Season Record: 11-2
Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy

What a great year to be a fan of the Black Knights!

HMC Ret

Congratulations, Army, on a really great season.

HMC Ret

AMERICAN HISTORY!
TODAY IN HISTORY: 22 DECEMBER 1775:

CONTINENTAL CONGRESS CREATED A CONTINENTAL NAVY!
On Friday, 22 December 1775, the Continental Congress created a Continental Navy, naming Esek Hopkins as commander in chief of the fleet.
Congress also named four captains to the new service: Dudley Saltonstall, Abraham Whipple, Nicholas Biddle and John Burrows Hopkins.
Their respective vessels, the Alfred, Columbus, Andrew Doria and Cabot, became the first ships of the Navy’s fleet.
Five first lieutenants, including future American hero John Paul Jones, five second lieutenants, and three third lieutenants also received their commissions.
The new Admiral Hopkins, as he was dubbed by George Washington, was a Rhode Islander of some standing.
His brother was Stephen Hopkins, the state’s governor. Esek Hopkins had married well and used his wife’s fortune to buy a ship.
It proved a wise investment. He added to his wealth working as a privateer during the Seven Years’ War.
In his new position, Congress promised to pay him 125 dollars per calendar month; they also informed that he could look forward to some share of the prizes allotted to the captors.
Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina designed Hopkins’ personal standard, which flew from the first navy fleet. The yellow flag bore the image of a coiled snake and the Patriot motto, Don’t Tread on Me.
Hopkins’ first assignment was to assess the feasibility of an attack on British naval forces in the Chesapeake Bay.
After sailing south with his meager force of eight ships, Hopkins decided that victory in such an encounter was impossible. He sailed to the Bahamas instead, where he attacked the British port of Nassau, a decision for which he was relieved of his command upon returning to the continent.

HMC Ret

On this date in history, 23DEC:

23 December 1968 – The crew and captain of the U.S. intelligence gathering ship Pueblo are released after 11 months imprisonment by the government of North Korea. The ship, and its 83-man crew, was seized by North Korean warships on January 23 and charged with intruding into North Korean waters. The seizure infuriated U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. Later, he claimed that he strongly suspected (although it could not be proven) that the incident with the Pueblo, coming just a few days before the communist Tet Offensive in South Vietnam, was a coordinated diversion. At the time, however, Johnson did little. The Tet Offensive, which began just a week after the ship was taken by North Korea, exploded on the front pages and televisions of America and seemed to paralyze the Johnson administration. To deal with the Pueblo incident, the United States urged the U.N.’s Security Council to condemn the action and pressured the Soviet Union to negotiate with the North Koreans for the ship’s release. It was 11 long months before the Pueblo’s men were freed. Both captain and crew were horribly treated and later recounted their torture at the hands of the North Koreans. With no help in sight, Captain Lloyd Bucher reluctantly signed a document confessing that the ship was spying on North Korea. With this propaganda victory in hand, the North Koreans released the prisoners and also returned the body of one crewman who died in captivity. Some Americans criticized Johnson for not taking decisive retaliatory action against North Korea; others argued that he should have used every diplomatic means at his disposal to secure a quick release for the crew. In any case, the event was another blow to Johnson and America’s Cold War foreign policy

OWB

Before everyone gets too scattered, may each and every one of you have a very Merry Christmas. May your days be blessed and filled with whatever floats YOUR boat.

Sparks

Wishing a blessed and Merry Christmas to each of my brothers and sisters here on TAH. God bless and keep each of you and your families.