Weekend Open Thread – “I’m getting out of here to the West, anyone want to come along?”
I wrote last week about Harry Deterling’s escape from East Berlin by crashing through the Berlin Wall in a train. Well, a bit over 16 months later another East German decided that crashing the wall was a good way to escape to the West. And he too made it – though only barely.
. . .
Wolfgang Engels was an East German civilian working for the East German Nationale Volksarmee, the NVA (English acronym and translation, NPA – National People’s Army). He’d had a thoroughly Socialist upbringing; unknown to him, his mother was an administrative worker for the Stasi.
But in his late teens, Engels began to lose his faith in Socialism. And an incident in which two of his friends were falsely accused of Republikflucht (attempting to escape to the West) – which carried a minimum 2 year prison sentence – sealed his disillusionement.
The friends were detained one night, but later let go. The finally convinced the authorities that they were not trying to flee West. And in truth were not; they were trying to find a concert being held in a venue near the Wall.
Engels mentioned the incident to his mother. His mother agreed with the shabby treatment given to his friends – because ”the Party is always right”.
Engels decided then and there to leave East Germany at his first opportunity.
His duties for the DPA were as a driver. And in mid-April, his duties brought him in contact with a group of soldiers who had new PSW 152 6-wheeled armored cars.
On seeing them, Engels decided that one of these would likely breach the wall. So he befriended the soldiers, letting them take his staff car for a spin. In return, the soldiers showed Engels the PSW 152 and explained how it was driven.
Engels was sure he could drive the PSW 152. So when the soldiers went to lunch, Engels impulsively acted.
He got into one of the PSW 152s. He started it, then drove off.
He had to stop to secure the rear hatch. While stopped, he offered passers-by a ride West. None accepted.
This might have been for the best – because in acting impuslively, Engels damn near ended up dead.
Although Engels gunned the PSW 152 and crashed partly through the wall, the PSW 152 didn’t make it completely through. Additional reinforcements had been added to the lower portions of the Berlin Wall which prevented the vehicle from passing completely through the wall.
Engels climbed out and attempted to cross over. He was shot twice at the wall: once in the chest, and a second time in the hand by fragments from a ricocheting bullet.
The gunfire, however, attracted the attention of West Berlin police; stone fragments and stray rounds landed near them. So they fired back.
Then a group of men drinking at a nearby West Berlin bar sprang into action. They heard the gunfire, and saw what was happening. While the East German border guards were taking cover due to gunfire from the West Berlin police, they formed a human chain and pulled Engels across the wall. They then took the badly-wounded Engels into the bar, where they laid him on a counter until medical personnel arrived.
Engels survived, though he was hospitalized for three weeks while recovering from his wounds. He then started a new life in West Germany as a free man.
. . .
Sources:
https://www.thelocal.de/20141031/wolfgang-engels-berlin-wall-25-years-daring-escape
http://listverse.com/2017/08/12/top-10-remarkable-escapes-across-the-berlin-wall/
—–
OK, enough Cold War history. Enjoy the WOT, everyone – and the weekend.
Author’s Note: The subtitle of this article is the English translation of what Engels asked passers-by while stopped to secure the rear hatch of his stolen PSW 152.
Category: Historical, Open thread
First!
Congrats dude!!!
Thanks VOV, I reign supreme again!!
Congratulations WILTED WILLY on your coup. You da man!!
Way to go, Willy!!!
WW. Laying low. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting…Pounce! Looks like…victory.
Congrats, Willy!
Now rule like 5th/77th FA would if he had been first and was sitting on the throne.
Wait…that doesn’t sound right. (grin)
A happy,safe and merry weekend to all of the Weeds & Weedettes!
I detected the insinuation you did there.
Congrats WW!
Again you take the coveted Throne. I just hope there is enough TP stocked in the receptacle beside said Throne.
First for the repeat!!
Well clearly not first…nicely played sir, nicely played.
Eat it Dickweeds! I am on the throne again!!!
Congrats WW. Welcome Home…to the Throne. Now maybe we can see some proper lording over again. Love Brother VOV, but he’s a little lacking in his lording over. Nature of the beast. I was playing playing catchup with my beef beast orast in the Crocked Pot and let the time slip by. It did drop a few minutes early today.
And laughing you ass off as you see me slipping and sliding pushing 2 shopping carts on the icy sidewalk toward your place with your winnings and supplies. @&*%^&&$#@>>(%$#^%&&
Quitcha bitchin, you gonna take your cut straight off the top.
Somebody needs to do a welfare check on Jeff LPH. We really need that spare Brinks Truck.
Congrats Wilted Willy.
I don’t stand a chance at this but I’ll keep trying and bow to the holder of the title. It’s only fair.
Wolfgang Engels
Balls of steel to risk life and limb for a chance at freedom and now we have dipshits willingly giving up theirs for an illusion of safety.
I am far too often amazed at the increasing lack of intestinal fortitude shown by my fellow Americans in ever greater numbers.
They are leading the sheep to the slaughter!
Maybe if they had their own “country” (planet), they’d leave the rest of us alone.
^word^ You are correct, again, VOV. The sheeple of this country are giving up their freedoms for supposed security. Wonder how they gonna act when they wake up and realize that they no longer have neither….Sad.
Thanks Hondo! Really enjoying these stories.
Be off the net for awhile ‘Weeds and ‘Weedettes. Trot line placing and Class VI Supply consuming detail is calling my name!
(((OUT)))
Once they take our guns, the end is in sight and it will not end well for those of us who value our freedoms more than the ‘security’ the libtards will promise us if only we agree with their takeover.
What in the hell makes you think that they will be able to take our guns and live to tell about it ???
The Second Amendment is the only reason our country hasn’t been turned into a third world shithole, with the exceptions of the cities, counties and states under d-rat rule for decades…
For some reason or another people obviously enjoy living in shitholes like that as they continue to vote for the clowns that got them to the shithole in the first place…
Well shit. I have a rare snow day and forgot it was Friday. Present! Congrats, Willy!
Thanks Brother! The drinks are on me!!!
I really wish I could enjoy a drink with everyone of you, except Lars!!
I hope you all enjoy your weekend!!!
Same here SFC D, I think my last snow day from work was in Buffalo. Still coming down steady here S/E of Tucson
Our second of the season. I think Cochise County owns 1 snowplow. Where I grew up , today’s storm wouldn’t be a snow day. It’d just be an average Friday in February.
Really wish I could comprehend what you are all going through, but here in Florida it is 90 degrees in my AO. I think I will take a break and go for a swim with my grandson!
Have a great weekend all of my minions I will issue my WOT policy on Monday, giving you all a chance to get to the range for a little practice!
Take care all!!!
WW, I think the forecast here for next week is the 70s.
Have a great weekend as well!
I see it got a little interesting in your area, Eggs!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156092349263531&id=91556588530
Top 10ish.
I wondered how this term originated and now I know. I recall toeing the line in boot.
Trivia: What does the term “Toe the Line” mean and what’s the origin of that term?!
ANSWER: The term means that one should obey social rules.
In the days of wooden warships, when Sailors were required to muster at quarters, it was customary to arrange them in neat ranks, using the tar-filled seams in the deck as references for straightness.
When the division Petty Officer stood at one end and checked out the alignment, any man not properly located would be ordered to “toe the line.”
And with midshipmen and boys, young fellows in training to be officers or Sailors, standing for long periods toeing the line was a punishment for minor misdeeds.
Too late to be first in the WOT again, I console myself – and you who also weren’t first – with this week’s excursion into trivia. Hope you enjoy it! DID YOU KNOW…? Was a Major League baseball player once traded for himself? By Commissioner Wretched There’s a holiday this week, and it’s one with a weird history. I speak of President’s Day, of course, which was Monday. Here’s a little fun for you … what was President’s Day originally called? (I mean other than Monday, of course.) Well, first it was a day honoring our first President, George Washington, on his birthday, February 22. But his birthday wasn’t always February 22; in fact, during his early years, he celebrated on February 11. See, the British used the Julian calendar until 1752, but old George was born in 1732 (or 1731 in the Julian). That year, they chopped 11 days out of September to bring in the Gregorian calendar, the one we all use now. That shifted George’s birthday to Feb. 22, 1732, and that’s what the original holiday was to celebrate. It also moved New Year’s Day from March 25 to January 1. Then, in the early 20th century, the Feb. 12 birthday of Abraham Lincoln was also honored, and with the passage of the Monday Holiday Act in 1968, the two were combined into President’s Day. Voila! Now that I’ve bored you with that, let’s move on to the really exciting stuff … this week’s collection of trivia! Did you know … … the United States once was almost nuclear bombed by itself? In 1961, a U.S. Air Force B-52 carrying two nuclear bombs crashed over a farm in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Investigators discovered that during the plane’s descent, one of the bombs completed six of the seven steps required for detonation. Had that seventh step – an arming switch – been triggered, Goldsboro – and pretty much the rest of eastern North Carolina – would have gone up in a nuclear blast 250 times more powerful than the bomb that took out Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. (Talk about… Read more »
Sorry Commish, but I have to disagree with you on a couple of the trivia items? The sex of the alligator is determined by the temperature of the ground that the nest is located in. As for the salmon and also trout, the pink in their meat comes from their diet of snails and other small shellfish, the pink color comes from the iodine in their bodies! So let it be written by the exhaulted Throne of the WOT
I will be glad to debate with you?
King Willy
Another Animal fact I remember is that Pink Flamingos are not naturally pink, their color comes from the amount of Beta Carotene in their diet.
Did you know that no matter where you are on this planet or any other celestial object, you are still directly above the center of the Earth !!!
I taught that to a Second Lieutenant while instructing him how to read a USGS map of Sun Top at Huck Creek !!!
He rode off into the sunset on a pair of Silvretta Cable Bindings and lived happily ever after !!!
Speaking of the planet and celestial objects, I read this recently:
“The universe is expanding faster than the speed of light (which does not violate Einstein’s speed limit because the expansion is of the universe itself, rather than of objects traveling through the universe). Also, the universe is accelerating in its expansion.”
This is from a March 20, 2018 article by Elizabeth Howell in Science and Astronomy.
Google says: “Recent estimates of the number of galaxies in the observable universe range from 200 billion (2×1011) to 2 trillion (2×1012) or more, containing more stars than all the grains of sand on planet Earth.”
And that’s just the observable universe. Estimates are the universe is about 13.8 billion years old. I can’t wrap my mind around that. All the grains of sand on Earth.
I’ll say it again … put me on a craft into space, doing any scut work and I’ll gladly go. That, folks, is my idea of a great job. Beam me up, Scotty. Given my current age and weight, about all I would be useful for is ballast. Interesting stuff, to me.
As an Uber driver I haul all kinds of people.
My favorite are the physicists where they always leave my car fuming…
I always ask them to define gravity and if it a particle or a wave.
Another good one is ask them to explain the magnetic attraction of a refrigerator magnet. How does a refrigerator magnet perform work, defying gravity, without any exp[ending any energy…
Lots of them flip you off and give you one star….
ROFL !!!
First.
Sorry Chief, I hope you all will excuse me for deserting my duties for a while. I have to go pick up my pain meds, then run to the bank.
I will return to my throne shortly!
At Ease All!
Pain meds, then to bank.
DO NOT BRING A GUN.
Are you kidding me?????
I never leave the house unarmed!!!!
I can carry concealed, but not open, in my banks and drug store here in Texas. My brother’s nursing home put the almost-legal notice outside the doors to stop open and concealed carry inside.
I can also carry when picking up my grandkids at school.
God bless Texas.
First!
Not true
Read this interesting article and thought “Wow…Just Wow”.
Wanted to share it…it’s worth the read…
“Media’s Gaslighting Assault on White Males Is Beyond Mendacious”:
https://www.amgreatness.com/2019/02/21/medias-gaslighting-assault-on-white-males-is-beyond-mendacious/
#whitemanbad…..#orangemanbadder
I love hearing stories of the daring-do to get the fuck out of East Germany.
Ditto
I remember reading an article in Popular Mechanics about an East German Family that escaped via a homebuilt hot air balloon, early to mid-eighties IIRC.
SOCIALISM, a form of Government so terrific that it has to be enforced at gunpoint with people risking life and limb to escape it.
I saw a movie about that some years back.
And socialism just hasn’t been done right yet. /sark
I have both an aunt and a Scouting friend who escaped from the Russkies into what became West Germany. Listening to their stories is humbling.
If the socialists actually win in a Presidential Election, they will demand a wall be built on both the northern and southern borders to keep people in as nobody will want to come here after a couple of years and America will become the new USSR with a Berlin Wall style enclosure with shot towers for the guards to stop people from escaping….
I am absolutely serious too…
Nah.
Things would get a trifle noisy before then, eh?
Because -this- time, when they finally declare “game on”, we put the -tyrants- in the relocation/re-education centers.
No way
@Hondo,
I love these stories (and read about a lot of them while growing up as an Army brat during the Cold War). Please make these a regular weekly addition. I’m sure that there are more of them than I (or we) know about.
This article and the picture are funny.
BTW…the woman in the picture turning her head toward the Marine is a WAVE:
“The Motivated Marine Corps Origin of the ‘Distracted Boyfriend’ Meme, ‘Rah?”
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2019/02/21/the-motivated-marine-corps-origin-of-the-distracted-boyfriend-meme-rah/
‘pears like the WAVE is looking for a few good men too….Well, at least one good man.
Top Thirty and Honorary First once again.
(((OVER)))
Might be a Bushmaster M4 LEO trade in coming home this weekend, don’t tell the MP.
Nice! My first AR was a Windham made Bushmaster M4. It’s a solid rifle that I still love taking to the range. Is it from the old Windham factory?
Yup! Its an older one.
Just got my Colt Firearms M4 Carbine MPS about a month ago and haven’t stopped touching it to go to the range yet. Weather is a factor, plus the range doesn’t allow green tipped LAP, so I have to go out to the farm of a friend. I have been more than satisfied with the rifle. Plus I got it for 955.99 all in, including the FFL transfer fee. Things I’m adding are a QD sling, a 4″ Samson Vertical Grip and a reflex sight, (once the wife unit calms down about the stuff below I bought).
On another shorter note, pun intended, I JUST got my FH FNX-45 Tactical in black and it is a beauty. Natural aim point, 3-15 round stainless mags, nice toolset and range bag. It is no bigger in my hand than my CZ-P09, which was my only concern since several people (must have been women or very small people) kept reporting it was too big for their hands. I admit it could be hard to CC but I have a Trijicon RMR Type 2, 3.5 MOA on order for it and both an Aliengear OWB and IWB that work with the RMR. My size, I could carry either way with my designated carry jacket and not print. So comes spring time I’ll get some sighting in for it.
Guns are just so much fun ain’ they? Fun to shoot, fun to clean, fun to just sit, hold and play with. And at my age, I need anything I can find to shoot, clean and just sit, hold and play with.
$595 done deal. Lots of long term crude, it was dirty from the LEOs still. but its like buying used car that’s already scratched up, now we enjoy.
OMG do cops ever clean their rifles or just get new ones? The “LEO only” stamped on the lower is a nice touch.
Answer NO!
Good deal Sapper3307.
All the MagPull, Troy industries and GG&G goodies on it add up about $482.00 on line, so YIPPY!
Weeeeeeee WEEEEEEEEEEE
Maxwell is better at weeeee-weeeeee:
Let’s see maxwell do it with a mouthful of leaves
This Breaking News just in:
Obviously, those are false teeth.
Found these two remarks.😉
Robert Kraft:
– 2001 Super Bowl Ring
– 2003 Super Bowl Ring
– 2004 Super Bowl Ring
– 2014 Super Bowl Ring
– 2016 Super Bowl Ring
– 2018 Super Bowl Ring
– 2019 Prostitution Ring
“Another ring for this guy. Damn. What an overachiever.”
Thanks Dave, just threw up … and had to swallow it.
PLEASE Dave, never do this again without a SPEW Alert! You now owe me a keyboard and monitor!! Now bark like a Dog!!!
Ring a bell, WW, and he’ll salivate on his monitor
It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again
Does kinda look like him, doesn’t it?
Don’t you hurt my dog!!!
that there was funny stuff
Scariest movie I have seen. Scared the beegeezes out of me.
Ha ha…at least I had skin in the game
I posted this late yesterday, Thursday, on Wednesday’s WOT. It was specifically for SARC since it concerns his area of expertise. Putting it here today so it may get some traction: This is what I posted on the WOT: I found this and thought it interesting and thought HMCS (FMF) and SARC might also be interested, as may others. It appears that the purpose is to give a certain number of NEC 8404 Corpsmen advanced training. I think this is a good thing. I went through Field Medical Training (8404) at Pendleton the first (? second) class of 1970. I learned a great deal, but wished there had been more hands-on training. The headline is shown below and the response is after that. “AFRICOM Marines have signed up Air Force PJs to do Corpsman work.” “Corpsman training may be in the same base at Ft. Sam but it is not affiliated with Army medic training. Different commands, and different buildings. PJ’s are operators capable of austere care and except for the few RECON IDC SARC’s, who’s numbers are in the 150 range, they are a great bridge until the Navy can get their SARC numbers up. Formal paramedic certification is not needed to function in this environment. You can piecemeal it and have a final product that is great. The Air Force simply chooses to put their PJ’s through civilian paramedic training for whatever reason. A lot of the training is unnecessary. It’s not like any of these guys are going to leave the service to take a low paying, terrible civilian medic job. So I like the way Navy SARC’s do their pipeline better. The bottom line is a basic 8404 corpsman is not trained well enough to perform Prolonged Field Care. It takes more knowledge which is why all the new Navy SARC accessions will be rated RECON IDC’s upon completion of the 123 week pipeline. Google the ‘HM ATF’ program. The Navy is ramping up the numbers of these guys because of exactly what this article is saying. But in truth the needs of MARSOC, JSOC, and… Read more »
Damn, 123 weeks! That’s gotta be close to a bachelor’s degree worth of education.
Bachelor degree is only 120 hours … thats like being TAD for two weekends.
Big difference between 120 college hours and clock hours. Normally college hours describe course hours per weep…per semester. So a 15 hour semester is 15 class hours for about 15 weeks, or 225 hours. Your 120 hours is more like 1800 class hours.
And don’t forget that a college student is expected to spend 2-3 hrs in activities directly related to the class in question (prep, study, homework, etc . . . ) for EACH classroom hour.
In theory, anyway. (smile)
“PJ’s are operators capable of austere care”
Yeah…I remember when they turned their back on SOCM at Bragg because they had too high an attrition and didn’t want their folks trained to that high a standard. They took copies of Bragg’s lessons and stood up their own school. Years later they reconsidered and reintroduced Paramedic level training into the curriculum.
The SARCs have always had a 2 tired system, same as SEALs until SEAls stoppped making operator IDCs. Short (non-IDC) and long course(IDC).
Not sure what this implies, but right now the SARC8427 and SARC8403(IDC) are still training through the same pipeline as always.
One problem in getting the numbers up is that the medical training is only a small part of the skills needed for the job.
It’s a physically intensive occupation Air/Land/Sea. The sea shore rotation is pretty harsh too compared to other NECs.
No such thing as finding a desk job at the Division Surgeon’s Office.
“Formal paramedic certification is not needed to function in this environment.”
Nothing is needed…until it is and ya don’t have it. I’ve seen that pendulum swing for decades.
What skills specifically…of course they never say…just speak in meaningless generalizations.
Another problem with fielding a large number of IDCs is the fact that the Navy mandates that a Corpsman must be minimally an E-5 with 2 years time in grade to attend that training. That further undercuts the number of guys you can pull from that want to or are capable to attend the training.
That’s one reason the training has been two-tiered. It gave the junior guys access to high speed training, though a more limited scope than an IDC.
How far off is an IDC from an LPN or a PA? From what I’ve read about you guys, you’re pretty much it for all medical needs except major surgery in your units, right?
I saw too many times where a junior IDC was put into a bad situation or did not have a “Sea Daddy” available to him/her to help with getting their skills up to speed when they showed up at their first command right after IDC school – too many got relieved and lost their NEC because they were overwhelmed and didn’t ask for help. Some may be “book smart” to breeze through school, but don’t have the skills/maturity to take on the responsibility of the programs they are supposed to manage.
I remember that there was a “Baby Doc” program for NEC 0000 that were going to a ship to work with an IDC, and that seemed to be a good program – they were able to show up and be an asset when they reported in, instead of being an additional burden for the IDC.
At least Robert Kraft isn’t implicated in a pedo ring with Jeffrey Epstein, just sayin’.
Have a GREAT weekend y’all!
And he’s not killing off young black men with meth in his apartment like Ed Buck.
Or injecting meth into his ass like a certain (late) Los Angeles newscaster.
Cool story, Bro.
More former US military officers joining the ranks of domestic enemies in the goal of removing 2nd amendment rights. Some of Obama’s top men hate you, hate you’re armed, and want to rule you. What else is new, right?
Fight or die.
And this may be one of the reasons for the “Victim Syndrome”.
Wonder if Corey Booker feels the same? He went to Stanford and Yale ($$$$$):
“Dem 2020 Hopefuls Harris, Warren Say They Embrace Idea of Reparations For Black Americans: Report”:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/harris-warren-embrace-reparations-for-black-americans
I am not at all certain why reparations to the descendants of slaves should ever be considered, other than as more free shit for the FSA. Slavery was legal and slaves were chattel to be sold, bought, and traded. Slavery, at least in large part, gave rise to a Civil War and, afterwards, slavery was banned by law. I had nothing whatsoever to do with slavery. I carry no sin of enslaving others. I have no guilt and reject any that might be assigned to me regarding slavery. My personal wish is that slavery never have happened not because of some moral superiority to that of our white ancestors but, rather, because of the problems that cash-and-carry crowd left as part of their legacy to the nation.
What about reparations for everyone else descended from slaves, because slavery was endemic across the planet. I have distant ancestor who was captured by the Indians (feather not dot) and was a slave to the band that captured her. Am I entitled to some of that sweet gambling money from the casino now operated by the tribe? What about all those slaves of the Romans. Are their descendants entitled to reparations at the expense of Italian tax payers?
I’m Irish. Slaves for centuries. Someone owes me money.
Spot on what you wrote, 2/17th Air Cav. Thank you for providing your feedback.
Am not surprise that the American Indian Warren is pulling this stunt, thinking she will get votes.
Just more identity politics of the Democrats. Divide and alienate, while blaming Trump for all the racial divisions.
https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/02/22/trayvon-jussie-poll-media-hoaxes-killed-race-relations/
And now a word about that great country, Liberia:
“[A]ccording to a 2014 household survey, only 4.5% of Liberians use Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) power, 4.9% use a community generator, 4.4% have their own generator, 3.9% use vehicle batteries, and 0.8% use other sources of electricity, and 81.3% have no access to electricity….” CIA World Factbook
Sounds to me the descendants of slaves who remained in this horrible land just might have it a tad better than those who escaped it.
“Thank God my granddaddy got on that boat!”
– Muhammed Ali
It’s paradise. I know some race-baiting trash I’d like to send there for an extended vacation. Kind of until the end of time vacation.
We already have reparations for slave descendants and have since the Johnson era. It’ called welfare and EBT cards.
“We have to be honest that people in this country do not start from the same place or have access to the same opportunities,” Harris said…
Really. Then what have all the racial equality programs instituted since the 60s been for? They’ve been given welfare, a leg up in college admissions, job preference, you name it. Yet, have they afforded and availed themselves of these benefits. In a word, NO! Because as long as they are paid to sit on their asses, they have and will.
Kameltoe Harris.
The woman who got her political start sitting on Willy Browns staff.
I have no problem with reparations for folks that were actual slaves. They would need to prove it just like vets have to prove combat related. My son doesn’t get shit just because I bathed in Agent Orange.
An aunt researched my mother’s side of the family back to the beginning of the universe. Two great xxxxx, who were brothers, each owned 600 acres of land near Salisbury, NC. They farmed tobacco. To do so with 600 acres, they HAD to own slaves. I detest slavery to the core. I personally could not have owned another person. But … do I feel guilty or do I feel I owe anyone, anything b/c of my ancestors? Not a chance. I’ve been tired of the ‘woe is me’ bullshit for a long time. But … as long as it’s possible to do squat and get paid, that is what a certain element of the population will do, while others work to support them. When the government runs out of money? Well, it hasn’t stopped the government yet. Just create more money on paper and the problem is solved. Easy peasy
What about those of us descendant from strict abolitionists that had relatives that fought to end slavery in the US.
All us Yankee’s fought against slavery.
My relatives ran an underground railroad stop in the Manchester Iowa area for runaway slaves on their way to Minnesota and Canada.
What about me, can I get reparations for that ???
The only Civil War Ancestors I currently know about are two Great Great Grandfathers, both of whom served in the Union Army. That and I have NO slave owner Ancestry, thus I feel that I don’t owe any of them JACK SHIT!
Come to think of it, chattel slavery is still practiced in Libya and Sudan (muzzie countries, what a shock!) among other places. Would that mean that they’re for liberating those currently enslaved instead of another “slick brush” empty campaign promise for the “gimme” crowd? Meh, I’m thoroughly convinced it’s the latter.
If reports are to be believed, Harris’ great grandmother was a slave owner in Jamaica. Now great grandparents isn’t that far removed. My kids know one of their great grandparents!
BTW. I have been retired for a week.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6502591682045833216
Congrats, Master Chief, thanks for you dedication and many years of faithful service to our great nation.
Sorry I dropped the “r” from “your.” And I might add that I hope your only regret from your 39 years of service is the fact of that POSer Randy Voepel being re-elected to the Commiefornia legislature.
Happy retirement Master Chief.
Huzzah!
Thanks all. Been out in the field all day.
Congratulations on your newly acquired and hard earned unemployment. Now enjoy.
Hoisting a Lager in your honor, Master Chief!
That is great Chief! Thank you for your years of service and I hope you have a very long and healthy retirement! I hope you live to be at least 120 and milk them for all you so rightly deserve!
Jealous, and congrats.
Congrats, Master Chief! Enjoy your hard-earned and well-deserved retirement!
Congratulations Master Chief! Enjoy!
Congratulations…to Mrs. MCPO NYC USN Ret. Now, stay out of her way. While you were running around the world and taking care of your piece of the Navy, she was keeping home and hearth together.
Congrats, Master Chief…thank you for sharing your video.
When is the party?
😉
👏👏🎊🎉
Congrats! Live long and prosper.
Congratulations Master Chief! Well done Sir.
Congrats, amigo.
Slacker. The Soviet just says I refuse to work…I keep trying to explain the concept of retirement.
Congratulations, Master Chief!
CONGRATS Master Chief, you’ve more than earned it!!!
Ya done good, Sir. Now … whatcha gonna do?
Congrats and welcome to the land of endless naps, waking up late and going to the gun range whenever you want !!!
I retired at Christmas last year !!!
Man, that was fun !!!
Congratulations Master Chief. I’m still many years from that. Fortunately I like where I work now. Hope I can stay till retirement.
Congrates and Thanks Master Chief. Now that you’ve got all this spare time you could hire on as an extry admin article submitter.
I understand the position/promotion comes with a corresponding cut in pay.
I totally see you as a Walmart greeter.
YMMV.
New York Air National Guardsman busted for impersonating a CIA secret squirrel.
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/new-york-air-national-guardsman-accused-of-impersonating-cia-agent-to-impress-woman-1.569316
Couldn’t get laid telling girls about how he was a drone operator? Sheesh
Sounds like someone who couldn’t even get laid in a Women’s Prison with an ounce of coke and a $100 bill taped to his forehead!
Al Gore has had a similar problem with wimmins, for a long time.
Some chick named Ellen Page was on TV the other night saying that she hates Mike Pence as well as Christians in general because, apparently, we hate her. We apparently want her to die, don’t want her to achieve happiness, that’s so awful and hurtful to her, etc. I was surprised to be informed that I hate her, seeing as how I didn’t know who the hell she is (the interwebz say she was the teenager in “Inception”; saw the movie, still didn’t recognize her—possibly because Marion Cotillard is way hotter). Apparently I hate her be a she’s a lesbian. Okay, on top of not knowing she exists, I also was unaware that she’s into muffdiving, and don’t particularly care, either.
I wonder what I would do if far-left Hollyweirders and other snowflakes didn’t tell me what I believe and how it makes me such a bad person. I would never have known that I hate Ellen Page or that I hate her because she’s gay if she hadn’t gone on TV to announce that information. I also find it strange to discover that I hate her when I don’t actually have any hateful feelings towards her. Honestly, I feel nothing concerning her, as if I don’t give a shit about her or her thing for other chicks one way or another. I would’ve thought that I would feel actual hatred towards someone I hate. Is that the “white privilege” they keep going on about?
I’m so very confused…
“bigot: one who regards or treats the members of a group . . . with hatred and intolerance.”
Kinda sounds like what Page is admitting to in her article to me when she says she hates “all Christians”.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, well . . . .
Page recalled being told that people “cannot know you’re gay” as her career began to take off…
Really. She’s in the queerest and most scissor sister, trans anything town in the universe and they told her to hide her queerity? I’m laying out and out bullshit on that. This is just a ploy to keep her mug in the news for acting work. Victimhood 101 Manual, page 1.
She’s playing the queer card. Everybody gets a card except old white males. I want a card. Never know when I might have to whip it out (the card) to get my way.
Is she someone whose opinion I should care about? I’m thinking not so much.
I have a card. It says NRA.
I got one of those, too!
I have several…my two favorites are my “License to Drink at Work” card and my “Stud Club: Long-standing Member” card. Good times, good times.
Not caring is no longer an option. You are not allowed to not care what they do and with whom they do it. And, when they force you to know that which you know not and don’t care, if you react to their telling it, you hate them.
See how easy that was?
She sounds like someone full of self-hatred engaging in Projection.
But, and this is the critical question, would our very own IDC SARC hit it?
Was off making school children cry because I enforce school rules.
Got to see the doc for our annual checkup. His verdict is that besides the prostate cancer – which is in the “don’t worry ’bout it” stage – I am disgustingly healthy.
Mrs. GB as well.
We may live to spend all the kids inheritance after all.
Always great to hear good news..happy to hear you & Mrs. GB are doing well.
Hope your Brother is doing ok as well.
Thanks, AP.
He is, thanks be to God, and is in good spirits. We finally got his cataract surgery done, and a couple of follow ups later he has binocular vision for the first time in 3+ years.
We are grateful.
Be careful about the prostate cancer GB, been thru that 15 years ago, they gutted me like a trout. Cut out the prostate and 27 lymph nodes. I never had that much pain in my life! Now my brother went thru the same thing 3 years ago, surgery done by a robot and he strolls out of the hospital the next day! I would at least get a second opinion on the matter? Now I have had bladder cancer for the last 5 years, 3 surgeries and 9 rounds of chemo! My last doctor 4 years ago wanted to remove it, but I got a referral from a friend at work, and the new doctor knocked it back with some serious chemo and has kept me kicking for the last 4 years! I do have to go get it checked again next month, so wish me luck!! Feel free to call me if you have any questions or concerns? Dave can give you my contact information.
Wishing you well GB, Take care!!
I wish you the most luck, Willy. That cancer is a bitch. That was my work for 30+ years as a nuclear medicine technologist. I’m convinced we might not die from cancer, but we all die with cancer.
Good for you WW.
I was wondering how you’re doing, glad to hear you’re still kicking ass.
Piss everybody off, live forever !!!
My Grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer at 84.
Her Dr told her she had to quit smoking….
She looked at him and laughed, she said she had been smoking since the early 1900’s and wasn’t going to quit for anyone until she died.
She lived to 92 and died a happy woman.
God Bless You Gramma Fay !!!
I’m not understanding that particular phase of prostate cancer. I’m down to 3 more radiation treatments, hot damn!
I heard Jussie Smollett has come out with a new line of clothing, particularly hats. They will be MAGA hats, with a slightly different meaning than we are accustomed to:
My
Ass
Got
Arrested
Also, since he used his Race Card, he will be issued a new one. Don’t want to leave home without it, especially when downtown, 0200, bitterly cold, in a predominately black neighborhood. Don’t ever know when you might encounter a couple of skinheads.
Idiots like him and idiots such as the CG LT do great disservice to whatever cause they are trying to promote. And BTW, neither ’cause’ is worth a shit. Just too stupid to breathe.
If guilty, the GC dummy is doomed. The Smollett guy? Maybe some time in the slammer or suspended sentence, followed by talk shows where he can blame his behavior on Trump and generations of institutionalized racism which caused the PTSD. Either that or lead paint. Bank it.
I myself heard rumor that Smollett fooled so many people so quickly that CNN is contemplating hiring him as one of their reporters!
He’s lies are stacking up so much that pretty soon the only job he’ll be qualified for is governor of Virginia.
Good one, Mason!!!
👍👏
No. Don’t give him any ideas. I don’t want him polluting my beloved state.
API, well, he and that Don Lemonade ARE good buddies…😉
When even the Rev Sharpton waves the bullshit flag, that is a clue
YES indeed.
He made a mistake.
He didn’t need to beat himself up over it.
I guess that’s why he apparently hired two guys to beat him instead. (smile)
Been under the weather all week. Have to go out of state tomorrow to run an errand; not looking forward to it. Y’all take care…
Hope you feel better, CH…have a safe trip!
Safe trip, CH. Hope you stay well, and the errand is accomplished with a minimum of trouble.
Wishing you well CH, I hope you feel good for your trip. I hope it is something very worth while for you or your family? Stay safe and drive careful.
IF you’ve been UNDER the weather, bundle up. This winter is NOT over yet, so dress accordingly. Wear a freakin’ hat and gloves!!
Got back from my trip last night. Got the errand done, but my under-the-weatherness has now turned into a bad case of the winter cruds, complete with sinus congestion, sore throat, coughing, and impending laryngitis. I already missed church this morning, and will call in sick for work tomorrow. Have antibiotics standing by in case I need it. Wish me luck…
CH…am wishing you a speedy recovery…please get some well deserved rest.
Remington 721 BDL
Just got one today, in 30.06. It is missing the original sling and the bolt could be polished up a wee bit but the original iron sites are in good condition.
From stuff on the internet, the rifle was probably made between 1955 and 1957. It was one of those “love at first site” situations because I was thinking about shooting coyotes. Checkered stock, original finish.
Goddammit, I need to hunt and kill something. The rifle was cheaper than a well dressed Ruger 10/22–which is perfectly adequate for shooting coyotes.
Might put a Nikon Buckmaster on it but not before enjoying it just the way it was built to be enjoyed.
A touch too much for squirrels or rodents but a 90 pound coyote, with a pink flea collar in its teeth, should be worth $.75 per shot.
Good find! Hope you have good hunting on the song dogs.
It’s not too much for rodents. You just have to shoot from 100yds to keep it sporting!
I envy you Brother! That’s a real tack driver and stops big things.
Thanks for checking in on the 721. I have the damned thing sitting in the kitchen just so I can look at it. The checkered stock, alone, was worth the price of admission.
There was not a lot of ammo to choose from at Four Season’s Guns in Woburn, MA so I just got a box of Hornady Deer loads, $15.99 for 20 rounds.
Dialing in my last 30.06 took about 12 rounds before it was “lined up”. That was at least 15 years ago and even back then it hurt. This time I’ll let someone bore site it for me.
Recollection is that the device to get things lined up was called a collimator. Were I 50ish, I’d just buy one and do it myself.
Surely, one of the fellows at the local rod & gun club will have one. If not, I’ll bite-the-bullet and buy one for general club use.
First…. I have a drinking problem.
Cheers!
Are you out of beer? There’s an app for that!
As for me, I DO NOT have a drinking problem. I drink, I get drunk, I fall down and sometimes pass out, NO PROBLEM!!!
Sir, I don’t know you well enough to know if this is a joke. If it’s not, please get help. I’m dealing with a family member who has a problem and it sucks. She’s really messing up her son.
If you’re joking, God bless you. I’m at a pub now.
charles w; put down the stapler and step away from the Macho Grande memories.
Here is the headline of an article out today and which I feel is interesting: “Supreme Court: Retirees Can Be Court-Martialed for Crimes Committed After Service” The Article: 22 Feb 2019 Military.com | By Patricia Kime The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Defense Department’s authority to prosecute retired service members for crimes they commit, even after retirement. The court on Tuesday chose not to hear the case of a retired Marine who was court-martialed for a sexual assault he committed three months after leaving the service in August 2015. By not accepting the case, Larrabee v. the United States, the court upheld the status quo: that military retirees are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The denial of Larrabee’s petition marks the high court’s second rebuff in a year of a case involving a military retiree accused of non-military crimes in retirement. Retired Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Steven Larrabee was convicted of sexually assaulting a bartender, the wife of an active-duty Marine, at a bar in Iwakuni, Japan, where he worked as a civilian. He had been retired — technically, placed on the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve status list — for three months. Following a general court-martial in which he wore civilian clothes, Larrabee was sentenced to eight years’ confinement, a reprimand and a dishonorable discharge. In a pre-trial agreement, Larrabee’s prison term was reduced to 10 months. Larrabee served his sentence but tried to have his conviction overturned on appeal, arguing that he should have been tried in a civilian court, as the offenses occurred after he was retired. The case closely resembles that of retired Gunnery Sgt. Derek Dinger who, also while living on Okinawa and on the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve list and, later, the Active Duty Retired List, was found to be in possession of and producing child pornography. He was arrested and initially indicted within the civilian courts, but his case ended up in the military court system, where he was convicted and sentenced to nine years’ confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Dinger appealed his discharge, arguing that the case should not… Read more »
Anyone one know a lawyer that wants to represent retired Service Members in lawsuits against States that limit Second Amendment Rights of their citizens?
Here in CT the stupid, un-Constitutional ‘Assault Weapons Ban’ has a carve out for law enforcement and military.
I’m going to look into it but I think they say something to the effect of military is partiality defined as ‘someone subject to UCMJ”. There may be other provisions but that’s the thing about laws, jurisprudence is a chisle, and a crack is enough.
I know my state lists military as on active duty and in the performance of duties. So being a weapons courier you can be armed, but just because you’re on orders you cannot.
I don’t watch “The Daily Show”; however, I found this article that has a humerous Video embedded within that is mocking the Smolett fiasco.
“Daily Show’s Jaboukie Young-White Plays Jussie Smollett In Fake Movie Trailer”
https://deadline.com/2019/02/jaboukie-young-white-daily-show-jussie-smollett-jussies-lie-fake-movie-trailer-1202562793/
Gigglesnorrrttt!
Now THAT was funny,… AND GAY!!!
Here’s the YouTube version, just as funny… AND GAY!
This is for API: Virtual Railfan camera is now installed at the Laramie, WY passenger depot, which is no longer in business for passengers.
I like watching that one from time to time, check their Flagstaff AZ cam out, they just got a bunch of snow! My favorite to watch after it snows is La Plata Mo, a 70 MPH freight train really kicks the stuff up! Virtual Railfan will also feature a “Camera of the Week” normally only available to their subscribers and among those my favorite is Chattanooga TN, right there at TVRM where you can watch them run steam on summer weekends.
There’s an Infobyte video of LARGE trains with several linked engines driving snowplows ramming their way through just about any depth. That was fun! Awesome stuff!
Here’s the link:
Yeah, some good plowing action along with a few Jordan Spreaders!
That train at 0:22. Windshield completely covered. Crashing into those snowbanks I wonder how would they even know if they hit something? It’s gotta be a rough ride.
Good stuff. You can tell which of the folks with cameras had seen this happen before.
Here’s the Big Bad Boy of Railroad Snowplows: the Rotary. This one is owned by Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), is diesel-electric with a 3000 HP prime mover which drives a generator providing 600VDC to the electric motor throwing the snow, you’ll also see the likes of this battling snow in places like Donner pass:
Hi Ex, this one really hits home for me! My dear departed Grandpa used to be an engineer on the Denver Rio Grande Western Railroad. I used to play in the switchyard in Laramie! Those were the good old days! He used to ride me around the yard in an old switch engine! Now that was fun! I still have his old railroad watch and his engineers manual for his Mikado 2-8-0 steam locomotive, complete with centerfold!!! Thanks again Ex!
Actually, a 2-8-0 is a “Consolidation”, a 2-8-2 is a Mikado. Was the locomotive you’re referring to built by Alco or Baldwin? Come to think of it, maybe even Lima!
Hi everyone. Trying not to be a stranger. Working a new job near Savannah,Ga. If anyone is in the area, let me know. Like my job. Trying to get back in law enforcement as a reserve. Got two new puppies. Teaching taekwondo. No where to play hockey though. 🙁
Overall, can’t complain.
Welcome Home Brother. I’m between Macon and Dublin. All kinds of LEO jobs in Central GA. State DNR and GSP screaming for Vet applicants. Good luck. I got people down in your AO, Guyton, Rincon, Pooler, Springfield, Richmond Hills. You been by the NineLine warehouse yet?
Not yet. I do drive by Daniel Defense occasionally and try not to drool ion my shirt.
Hey, that makes three of us in GA! I live in Waverly Hall, just north of Columbus.
Okay, I though folks were fooling with me when I was asked to post some railcams,but here’s Flagstaff, AZ, it’s on the former AT&SF (now BNSF) “Transcon” high speed mainline between CHicago and LA, formerly home to AT&SF RR “Chief”and “Super Chief” along with the all-chair “El Capitan”during the heydays of passenger trains. One can see a Westbound train pass through La Plata Mo and see the same one again passing through Flagstaff about 24 hours later! When you’re watching it, pass your mouse pointer over the screen, that suitcase-shaped icon will let you swap between their East and Western cameras (not available when you’re watching via a tablet or phone). ENOUGH of me running my mouth, here it is:
*WHOOOT!* numma 200!!!
Kim is on his way to Hanoi.
Note the handcuffed Catholic Priest in the train window begging for his life.
https://news.yahoo.com/north-korean-leaders-train-arrives-china-reports-145112519.html
26Limabeans:
IMHO, don’t think that guy is a Catholic priest..
Please start at the 1 minute mark:
https://youtu.be/t4blLDfNrSo
All you real grunts here need to read the Duffel Blog post “Fossils of Prehistoric Staff Officer Found…” linked above. It is a classic.