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In the Army Now - The joy of the Armed Forces
I've never been a soldier. I was an air cadet once, but that mostly involved sitting in a mouldy hut learning about aeroplane engines with the hint that one day we might go flying.
Yet, anyone who has spent time defending their nation, or at least drinking bromide-laced-tea for their nation, must have stories to tell. Tell them now.
( chthonic, Thu 23 Mar 2006, 18:26)
This question is now closed.
A guy at my school
stole a bullet from the cadet force and spent the whole afternoon sitting under the school stage threatening to hit it with a hammer and kill himself.
( MartinH, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 12:11, Reply)
So many stories, so little girth
"Black up, lads", said WO Simmons as we lay in a ditch on some maneouvre out in the English countryside.
The enemy were due any minute, and even in the dead of night, our peachy clean white faces would stick out like sore thumbs.
So, I scooped up a handful of mud and smeared it liberally around my chops to hide me from those bigger, nastier boys and their great big guns.
At least, I thought it was mud.
"Corporal Scary - what the fuck is that smell?"
"Oh shit."
And it was.
Good: no bugger came within twenty foot of me that night.
Bad: three days of the galloping squits.
( Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 12:01, Reply)
Not me but...
I have an uncle that has been in the armed forces for years, for the purpose of this story, lets call him Bob. Bobs head officers 50th birthday comming up, so there was gonna be a party, and what better way to celebrate then have a fancy dress party! So one night Bob decides to go have a beer with the head officer, while in the pub discussing what to wear, Bob suggests that the head officer should go as mr T, and bob go as a member of the KKK, head officers wasnt too sure, but bob said that he already had the whole outfit ready, so why not! so the head officers agrees, and carries on drinking. At the night of the party, bob arrives at HO house to get ready, sorts out the outfit, both of them look pretty funny, so they deicide to head off to the mess, (where the party was being held) Head officers walks in to find that every one of the 150+ officers has come as a member of the KKK...
Sorry for length and girth, but you love it...
WOOO! first post!
(if_only, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 12:00, Reply)
i was on the british side in WW2, i killed like 10 germans in a row once, then they started shouting at me "OMG SPRAYING NOOB!" and stuff like "AIMBOT H4XoR!!1", then i got kicked from the server and i was like "WTF!?11oneoen"
( northernwifeb3ta is going to Dubai in December :D for "work", Fri 24 Mar 2006, 11:31, Reply)
Joining Up
I signed up for the army at 17. The first 3 days of basic training were brillant - down the pub every night -picking up kit - sitting around smoking - no drill - not having to make our beds.
Then 72 hours into it everything changed.
The corporals and sergeants who obviously been acting went absolutely mental. We were sitting on our beds and they stormed into the room screaming to get changed into our running kit and to get outside. Thirty of us lined up thinking what the fuck was going on.
The commanding officer then walked into view and said
"Your dental records are inorder, you have been passed fit by the doctor, your pay records are inorder...now you're fucking mine."
We then were taken on a ten mile log run, 7 people left the next day.
In my 3 years as a squaddie nothing was as scary as that
(noggin, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 11:18, Reply)
Different kind of army
In the seventies, Belfast was a rather troubled place. One morning my granny went out the back to empty the bin and there was a sniper sitting on the back wall, waiting for one of the frequent brit patrols that went through the area.
She threw coal at him until he pissed off.
( VampireMonkeyOnSpeed a super sexy sexual sex terrorist sex, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 11:12, Reply)
WAR! never been so much fun de-diddle WAR!
Cannon fodder. Great game.
never been in the army
( Gilgamesh gazed in wonder as Frampton came alive, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 11:04, Reply)
They promised me I could beat up queers and darkies.
I didn't get to do that very much, but at least I got lots of sex on account of all sailors being bummers.
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 10:54, Reply)
I was nursing my wounds after a messy marriage break up and decided to take my uncles advice and try to join the Royal Marines. My idea was to join the RM Band and travel the world. Problem was, I was a fit fucker then, and got an A1 fitness pass so I ended up being selected for special duties, ended up in the SBS and went to the Falklands. My story is here. I'm back in the music business now.
( Captn Hood-Butter Now living in Orkney. Smashing., Fri 24 Mar 2006, 10:50, Reply)
When I was in 'Nam I hid some bloke's watch up my bottom. When I got home I gave it to his son. Little bugger didn't look too impressed with it, though. What a waste of time and effort.
(stusut79, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 10:37, Reply)
Millions of years ago
I was in the army bit of CCF at Bradford Grammar School because I wanted to have a go at playing with guns. They have an armoury there, should you choose to start an armed revolution using 22 and 303 rifles it would be the ideal place to steal from. Anyway, they sent us on a jaunt up to a place called Warcop in Cumbria to run around blow stuff up, just the sort of thing any right minded 13 year old boy would want to do. What they didn't tell us was that one person would be singled out for brutal treatment throughout the weekend by the sixth formers who were pretending to be officers. I seem to recall one bloke who is now a copper in a former colony in Asia being beaten and sexually assaulted by an older lad who was called Matthew something or other, all under the noses of the teachers. In loco parentis indeed. Character building I've no doubt. In conclusion; pseudo military boys' club = bummer's paradise
(bogus official shove it up your cunt, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 10:31, Reply)
Navy Horridness
I was a Matelot (thats a Sailor in the Royal Navy) for a while back in the early -mid 90's back when I didnt know any better...
Basic Training: so mind and body numbing that Id forgotten what my parents and my girlfriend's faces looked like after just a week. I was also unable to go for a shit for nearly 2 weeks and unable to get an erection for nearly 6 weeks- and they reckon they dont use bromide anymore.
After passing out the rest of my time was spent alternating between picking up leaves for an OCD suffering base commander and waving ping pong bats at Harriers(I was a aircraft Handler in the fleet Airarm)I then decided I wanted to do the Royal Marines psycho all arms course (a course so tough the best the US Marines had couldnt do it), buggered my knee up and bought myself out to become a forklift driver.
The Royal Navy- James Bond it AINT
In WW2 my Grandad, a private in an Italian Artillery regiment, was-true to the stereotype-,captured in the desert by the British army. He was playing cards at the time and went to his deathbed bitter at not being able to win back the money some 'dirty Sicilian' had won off him
( bigmeuprudeboy is using powerpoint or paint...have MERCY, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 10:30, Reply)
Sort of on topic in that it involves someone in the Army, which isn't me nor is it strictly an Army-related story or, indeed, at all.
My grandad was a Sapper in the war. He built the Basra pipeline that we're fighting over all over again, he was responsible at the age of seventeen for keeping the entire South East's contingent of Bristol Blenheims in the air, was a part time rally driver and mates with an agent of the SOE (not Sony Online :P). He is also very much a product of Empire. He's not racist, as such, but he can't quite wrap his head around modern attitudes to race. He is a dinosaur. An example:
He recently went into hospital for a triple heart bypass, he wasn't, as I'm sure you can imagine, in the finest fettle and was somewhat disconcerted to have a black male nurse looking after him. His concerned conversation with my mum went along these lines.
"Jude, I'm not sure whether I should say anything, but I really think I should have a qualified nurse, not an orderly"
"Er, Dad, he is a proper nurse."
"Oh really? They're allowed now are they? Well, that's jolly good, isn't it?"
Now, he considers himself to be a pretty progressive sort of a chap and decided he'd strike up a conversation with his nurse. In the interests of racial relations, you see.
The poor nurse was somewhat disconcerted the next morning to find his patient jabbering away at him in tongues. My grandad was trying to talk to a lad born and raised in South London in fluent Swahili.
( Kroney, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 10:08, Reply)
I was in the Venture Scouts
got buggered senseless though.
does that count?
(nappy rash, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 9:50, Reply)
Seen a lot of them through being in air cadets, so you'll see a fair few from me this week.
The first I shall tell will be the tale of about five people being locked in a under-floor storage cupboard in a moving caravan at an RAF gliding station.
Following a good day's gliding, it came time to pack away the gliders and the caravan and toddle off to the mess. Now we were all in fairly high spirits, and the idea came to two of the bigger instructors to stick one of the female cadets into this underfloor cupboard, which was absolutely tiny. They then think "why stop there" and throw in one of the instructors, a six foot tall grinning ginger lunatic. He points out that it's against the rules for him to be locked in a cupboard with a female cadet in case he accidentally sexes her. So to counter this they throw me in. Two more cadets were thrown in after as well. Now it was all rather cramped but we'd had the laugh. Unfortunately the storage door was then locked from the outside. And the caravan started moving.
Spent the next five minutes with my head between the girls' legs bouncing up and down. This might have been slightly more erotic if 1) I had been 100% sure it was the girl at the time (for the first half of the journey I was only guessing) 2) if it hadn't been pitch black, and 3) if I hadn't had said ginger lunatic's leg compressed against my crotch.
Got out a few minutes later and were told "never tell anyone about this, it could lose me my job" by ginger nutter (who I later discovered had a habit of getting on very very well with female cadets).
( Noit happy baby orangutan, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 9:41, Reply)
My parents met in the Army...
... my Dad says nobody fires a machine gun quite like my Mum. Must have been love at first sight!
(golddust QOTW now revolves around being a cunt, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 9:21, Reply)
Cadets were rubbish
I was in army cadets and they were crap. Every once in a while we'd go out on MOD ranges for detachment weekends where girls from other platoons would generally get their tits out and try and impress the real soldiers. People got kicked around, the sergeants (who were in their twenties) verbally and physically abused us and we spent our whole time swearing. We were only 14-15. That probably why the Leiutentant (sp?) of our platoon was paedophile. And he was. Was found in a caravan with the girl who ran our NAAFI sweet shop. She was 14, he was about 50. Fair play to him.
( Fray Brentos *mega-belms*, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 9:02, Reply)
War Bastard
I was shooting alien geese in the plains of Nicaragua when one of my buddies goes limp "noooooooooooooooooooooooo" I shout like I've seen in the films, and I rush over to him.
"are you ok Mitchell?" I yell in his face
"no Brady, I've been slotted"
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" I scream again. This time for a bit longer. "who was it?" I demand, shaking him and with his last breath he manages to mutter "Boy....... George".
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" says I once more.
From then on I made it my life's mission to track down and kill that cross dressing fat necked ponce, but alas he evades me still.
He is a karma chameleon I suppose after all.
(Andrew Avetoom, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 8:11, Reply)
January 18th 1990, my second day in the RAF, I nearly ripped me bollocks off.
Whilst 'doubling' back to the domestic half off RAF Swiderby (Swinditz), I caught myself about 1" to my left of me nadgers on the upright resty thing that those pivoty wotsit barriers rest on.
I now have a scar about 10" long on my left leg, although it has faded well with time.
We also had this fuck off huge lad who was christened honey monster, along with this lad who was on permanent drill, due to the fact he couldn't walk, nevermind march.
I cannot put words to describe how well he marched, but he was known throughout Swinderby, if not the entirety of Lincolnshire, as Robocop.
I could tell you more, but I'd have to kill you.....
( the wild elk Freeing excellence affects reality, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 7:51, Reply)
My grandfather fought in WW2. Yes for the "bad" side.
He wasn't exactly supporting the nazis or anything. Before the war he owned a farm and he would often hide Jewish slave workers in his barn and secretly feed them out of view of the nazi guards. His ethic on the matter was if you didn't get fed right and treated well you wouldn't work hard. But in a nice way.
He also lived somewhere near a death camp. With some vague idea on what was happening he approached an old friend, now nazi. Him "I'm not blind, I see the trucks. I can smell, I know theres smoke. What the fuck is going on there?". He was told he better shut up and pretend nothing ever happened or him and his family would be 'taken care of'. So just a normal hardworking farmer with strong work ethic and human decency, but also wanting to look after himself and his family and his country.
He was East Prussian, so when the war got going he was pretty much on the front. At some point the Russians came and they all evacuated, with great loss.
While he was a soldier he had a few interesting tales, from what he's told me. Once a grenade or mine exploded near him. He's still got the shrapnel in his eye-lid.
Once he got chucked in an American concentration camp. They didn't feed him for a week or two. People started dying. Then they gave them some peaches or something. Apparently many more died from burst stomachs or something trying to eat after such a large fast. He started slow and made it. He didn't really escape I think, the war just kinda ended and he gradually went south from job to job until he settled down near the Swiss border.
Sorry for length and hope I haven't confused or omitted anything.
(riedacher_bertram, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 6:04, Reply)
Life in the Royal Australian Navy
i joined the navy through ADFA, and got my aviation degree, well currently i am flying Seahawk helicopters out of Nowra, when i am doing patrols out on the north coast of australia (you know to stop illegal fishing)
its funny looking at the fishermen's face when i buzz them. i also was on stand-by during the disposal of the ship pong su that was taken from some drug smugglers,(i was watching over the pilots just in case anything went wrong) they got two RAAF F-111s to blow the living shite out of it. i could hear the pilot on the radio as he was pulling away when he dropped the bomb, let me tell you he was having too much fun.
(Seahawk, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 5:12, Reply)
I'm currently serving in the US Army.
I'll tell you now, most of the laughs I get from my job are in-jokes that 99.9% of the rest of the world wouldn't understand, so I'll tell a story that one of my Sergeants told me about one of his tours in Iraq.
His platoon had run into some contact and the lieutenant had called in for close air support (by the way, when someone farts in the army he is obligated to say "Lieutenant who?" or "Keep talking sir, we'll find you".) Except he called in for his location instead of the enemies. My Sergeant hears a roar of propellers and looks up to find an Apache attack helicopter headed straight at him. Then he sees the cannon on the front swing around and point at him and seconds later a pair of rockets fired... sailing safely over towards the enemy. After the skermish with great relief he stood up to feel a slight squish in his pant leg. He commenced to walk 10 Km back to the FOB (forward operationg base) with a piece of shit kicking around in his pant leg. He would later be told that when the gun points at you it's because the pilot is looking at you. The gun goes where his head points.
(The Ross, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 4:07, Reply)
Basketball camp-- ARMY style!
My mother was in the US Army and spent a tour teaching at West Point. Which gave me the opportunity to spend a month there one summer learning to play basketball The Army Way, which is closer to being in the Army than I ever want to be again. Of course, The Army Way and teenage girls are a pretty sorry mix. Up at 5am! Lights out at 9pm! Chipped beef on toast! Scary hairy lesbian instructor!
Of the five girls in my room, I was the only one who a) lasted the entire month, and b) went home without a concussion or a broken bone. They played basketball there the way other people play field hockey.
Also relating to my mother's stint at the USMA at WP, there's a ski slope at West Point that we would frequent. I was only 15 or 16 but could easily pass for 18. Whenever I'd ride the chairlift with a cadet, I'd ask him (or her) if he had any classes with Major West. If they said yes, I'd try to see how much shit I could get them to say about her before announcing that Major West is my mother and skiing away really fast.
I never relayed their comments to my mom though. I'm not a farking narc.
( madrabbit is fully prepared, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 3:35, Reply)
Not much to say
I've mentioned these stories before, but they're topic-appropriate so here they are again.
My grand-uncles (my dad's mom's brothers) were both in the army during WW2, although there probably was some conflict since one was in the Japanese army - he had gotten drafted because he had to get Japanese citizenship in order to become a sumo wrestler (seriously) - while the other fought for the US (in Italy, thank goodness). I think there's a movie, or at least a History Channel special in this story...
My dad and one of his friends were both drafted into the army in the 60s (they'd gone to college to avoid the draft but graduated just in time to join). They spent that time defending Texas from the Viet Cong and honing their typing skills. Dad managed to "borrow" an extra army jacket to take home by claiming he'd lost the first one. I can only imagine what other mischief he had gotten into...
(Kitsune-chan I'm not a bunny I'm a grownup girl, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 3:33, Reply)
Leave nothing behind
Not my story, told to me by a friend of mine in the TA.
Basically out on training exercises you are meant to act exactly how you would in an actual combat situation. Anyway... you are supposed to leave as little evidence of your passing as possible. No pans, no food and of course... no big steaming turds. This would mean that you either bury it or lay your chocolate log on some clingfilm/plastic (im not entirely sure of the details), wrap it up and save it for disposal later. At the end of one long exercise everyone has built up a fair few pounds of brown cable and they are just about to head off into the sunset when my friend gets a wonderful idea.
Some poor sap had left his pack unattended so my friend and few others set about removing his kit... and replacing it with their plastic wrapped poo.
This guy must have had the shock of his life when he opened his backpack at base to find he had literally been carrying everyone elses shit including his own.
There are plenty of other stories from this nut... such as beer prizes for hitting sheep with mortar fire and him purposely being given the heaviest and largest weapon possible (hes only small you see), but Il save them for later.
(infernios, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 2:54, Reply)
I guess I'll start with my friend Verv, who would have qualified for last week's question too (the one before as well). He contacted me a little over a year ago while studying Korean in a military intelligence institute in the US. He's basically everything you'd name in a typical American: extremely pro-Bush, fundamentally religious, and thinks his way is right. I knew coming to this country would open his eyes up. Oh yeah, and he looks like Radar from MASH.
A month after getting here, he made the announcement that he knew the US government was just fucking him around, so he denounced Bush and proclaimed his new belief: "I think this is the underlying premise of a conservative, yet socialistic stance, or inflammatorily known as national socialism."
Verv is the kind of guy drawn to anything a bit nationalistic. He has band together with a small group of very xenophobic Koreans. He also revealed once that he has a fundoshi, that Japanese diaper that sumo wrestlers wear. He loves Asians, but he isn't crazy about blacks and Arabs. But he's the sort of guy more likely to hug someone than punch them. He always uses unnecessary British slang (like "oi" and calling everyone "mate") because he's a skinhead. And he generally sounds like a Klingon on ecstasy. "Tonight, mate, we will drink. For honour!"
The first time I met him, he was the typical annoying foreigner. He got really drunk and assumed every girl wanted to bone him just because he was white. They didn't.
Recently he got two things he really wanted: a Korean girlfriend and a Rock Against Communism shirt. I took this picture that shows off his personality pretty well (http://indecline.net/korea/archive/20060225/RAC.JPG).
That night, he was in the park with the girl on the left when they started snogging in full view of everyone. His uber-nationalist Korean friends showed up, and when they saw Verv with his tongue down this girl's throat, they were pissed. The biggest guy started muttering "What in the fuck?" Verv saw them, stopped kissing the girl, and yelled "Hey guys! Look at my shirt!" One of them nearly kicked his ass.
Later that night he got his nose broken in an inpromptu bare-knuckle boxing match against two of his friends.
I'm gonna cut it off here. Expect any future stories to have more of a point. And no apologies for length because this was just the foreplay.
(racetraitor has an alibi for, Fri 24 Mar 2006, 2:53, Reply)


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Student Health and Counseling Services offers a variety of outreach programs that empower students to achieve wellness. We are available to develop presentations for student organizations, residence life programs and the classroom. Some examples of topics include suicide awareness, stress management, sexual health, women's health issues and depression.
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text:
Mom's Mad
I am sick with a sore throat and a fever, after a long weekend of taking to the streets with millions of other women and mothers to give Donald Trump the "Knock it off or I will take your ass outside for a talk so damn fast" mom look on a global level.
And I had a delirious dream that I walked into the White House and it looked like a college party had just taken place. I followed the detritus to the Oval Office where I found our president sitting at his desk with an empty chip bag, the floor covered in potato chip crumbs that had been spilled and crushed into the carpet.
"This is the EXACT kind of thing I knew was going to happen! You have been here for ONE day -- ONE DAY -- and this place is trashed. How hard is it not to spill the chips? Or to clean them up when you do? Who do you think is going to get all of this out of the carpet now? Huh? You? Not you. You know it won't be you. You live like a freaking pig and who has to deal with it? The rest of us. It's disgusting and you should be ashamed, you're like a spoiled child who cares about no one but himself."
I don't remember his reaction to this scolding, just my strained mom voice and utter disgust about the trail of chips. I knew they wouldn't vacuum up easily and I wasn't cleaning up his mess.
I told Big Kid about it on the drive to school. "That's funny and something the both of you would do -- him spilling chips everywhere, and you yelling at him for it. He has really messed up making moms mad, that's a group you don't want to fight. They don't forget and talking back will just make it worse."
Yep. Clean up the crumbs, Trump, or we won't let you play with Putin anymore.
Posted by Unknown No comments:
Labels: clean up in aisle oval office
Grapes on a Plane
So, today is the coronation of our new dictator.
I'm not happy about it, and as a result, I'm not happy with people in general. Add rushed airport travel into that general demeanor and I just wanted the whole rest of the world to go away as I sat in the O'Hare airport two full hours before my flight yesterday, bored to tears and ready to snap the neck of the next motherfucker who snapped their gum.
Just lovely and charming all around, I'll admit it. Being frisked twice in 24 hours will do that to you.
I had moved seats four times in the search of a more comfortable spot, before acquiring a highly coveted end row seat with a small table attached, with an empty seat beside it where I deposited my bags, creating my own personal moat to keep people at bay.
I was reading and some guy lumbered up, approaching the seat beside the one my bags were in. In a moment of softness, I emptied the chair between us in case a companion was joining him.
He set his grapes and water on it. I gave it a sideways glance and returned to my book.
"Thanks so much for making room for me," he said, too loudly.
"Not a problem. Always a long day in places like this," I said, barely looking up.
"I'll share my grapes since you shared your space."
I looked into the container his germy hands were in and looked up at him to politely decline.
He was older, maybe mid-60s, and his face was badly scarred, like it had been cut off and sewn back on. He was smiling broadly and obviously eager to talk. He reminded me of my dad. I set down my book and asked where he was going.
He told me about his youngest son who had just become a doctor and moved out to Phoenix. It's too hot for him in Phoenix but he's so proud of his boy and his new wife that he goes as often as possible.
I told him that I was there for a job interview and that it was too cold for me in Chicago and he agreed, despite living there his whole life, and we talked about Florida and how he dreams of retiring there -- "although I'll never be able to actually retire," he clarified. Same, I said.
I described our beaches and he grilled me about the humidity and the differences between coasts. We talked about our favorite beaches around the world and the places we had traveled and what we loved about each.
He did something in sales involving waste management that was becoming obsolete due to government contracts and I joked that it sounded like the Sopranos and he laughed a big belly laugh and said, yes, not far off but less glamorous and asked what I did. "I'm a writer specializing in content marketing," I explained. He shook his head and said he doesn't do computers but he could tell I liked my work by how I smiled when I said that, and he bet I was good at it, whatever it was.
About half an hour into our conversation, he said, "You know, this is nice. No one ever wants to talk. Everyone's on their little computers all the time. Seems like the only strangers who want to talk are the ones who want something."
He clarified that he wasn't hitting on me and I assured him that I knew and was very taken anyway, and that I was enjoying his company too.
"You sure you don't want some grapes? We got an awful long time left."
I took some grapes, mostly because he really wanted me to and also because I was hungry.
He told me how he was in Vegas and a guy approached him while he was playing a machine, and gave him a sob story. "I'll give you 20 bucks to go away, I told him. Don't come back. And I looked down and won $27,000. He came back."
"NO WAY! It was karma!"
He scoffed. "It wasn't. I wanted to get rid of him. I give lots of people $20 to go away."
"Would you give me $20 to go away?"
"No, because I don't want you to go away. I'd give ya $20 if you need it though. Do you?" He asked with concern and I laughed and assured him that I didn't, just checking.
We ate more grapes.
"So what did you do with the $27,000?" I asked. "Save it or spend it on something big?"
"If I was the kinda guy to save it, would I be flying Spirit?" Probably not, I agreed.
He told me about his past as a bookie, and how you had to call a dedicated number and all of the guys' code names like Joey Monkey Nuts and Billy Ball Buster. About how the internet had ruined it all, and that's one of the many reasons he hates computers. Then he hastily added, "Sorry, I know it's your work and all," as if I might take that personally.
"I get it," I said. "And sounds like Goodfellas or something."
He laughed again and nodded. "But less glamorous." He added. "It's all fun and games until you owe someone meaner than you lots of money." I told him that I've had that same experience myself, on a much less glamorous level.
"Yeah, life ain't easy, is it? You're a good girl, though, you've got a good head on your shoulders. You'll do alright."
We were on separate flights and mine left first. I stood up to leave and he told me his name was Randy and asked for mine. I extended my hand and introduced myself.
"Ashley, I hope this isn't creepy but I'm gonna miss you these next 15 minutes while I wait. Have a good life and when I don't retire in Florida, I'll swing by Naples."
"I'll miss you too. This was nice. Come golf and enjoy the warmth."
I'm glad he made me put down my drawbridge so he could set his grapes there.
No matter who is in charge or what is happening on a grand scale, there are millions and millions of nice people who are genuine and kind just like Randy and my job is find them and love them, even if they're kind of annoying at first.
Let's all be the kind of people who would share our grapes and our lives at the airport.
Labels: Snacking with the mafia
Invisible Intruder
My mornings are normally like something out of a scene from the movie Groundhog Day.
little kid comes in to snuggle me, he starts getting ready, I have coffee, Mr. Ashley wakes Big Kid up, he gets himself ready as I drive little kid to school, I come home and get Big Kid and drive almost the same route I just drove to drop him off at his school and return home the same way.
I'm leaving town tomorrow and my brain was full of to-do lists so I started my morning productively, packing and gathering what I needed instead of waiting until even more last minute than I already had. I did some laundry, cleaned the house, and was doing stuff in my bathroom when I heard footsteps.
I knew I was home alone. I also knew no one had opened any of the doors. I froze for a moment to see if it was the cats and my overactive imagination and the footsteps continued to approach.
My heart hammered in my chest and I looked for my phone which was out on the bed, which would put me in line of sight of where I thought the footsteps were. Someone must have come in the unlocked house when I was dropping the kids off and was now waiting for me, and I was trapped and defenseless.
Once in Key West a stranger cornered me while I was alone in a bathroom stall and flashed me, with the intent to do more. In my trapped panic, I charged straight towards him and pushed by him -- laughing hysterically, which I guess was a weird and convenient side effect of my shocked terror since it wasn't funny but it definitely is now -- and he was so taken aback that he flinched a little, allowing my escape.
So the plan was to scream like a maniac, hoping the grandpa next door would hear and come to my rescue, and charge this motherfucker in a flurry of fists and fingernails and feet.
The footsteps paused at the threshold of my room and my blood was roaring in my veins and I took a deep breath and leaned forward on my toes -- and saw a sleepy and confused Big Kid.
Mr. Ashley never woke him up and my brain forgot the second part of my trip.
"Oh my God. You just scared the crap out of me, I almost attacked you."
"What's going on?"
"I forgot about you."
"That's reassuring."
"You're telling me."
Much to his dismay, I made him get ready and go to school anyway. As we pulled up, I offered to go inside and explain why he was tardy.
"What would you say?"
"That I forgot I had two kids today and I'm sorry."
"No, that's okay, I'll just tell them I overslept."
Then I had to call my husband and explain.
"What the hell, Ashley?"
"Can't we just all be thankful that I didn't punch him in the face?"
But no, I guess not.
"There was a change in routine! This is how babies get left in cars, at least he was at home in bed."
"Well, and he's 13, I mean, even if you left him in the car..."
"Right. This isn't really a problem at all. Glad we agree."
Parent of the year right here. And by year I mean decade. Plus three years. And those 10 months of pregnancy.
It's a lot to remember, guys.
Labels: notes to his future therapist chapter 678 part c
Notes for their Therapist
Last night Big Kid wandered into my room holding his toothbrush and came over for a hug.
"Goodnight hug before teeth brushing?" I asked, since this is not the order the nighttime routine goes.
"Nope. Two hugs," he answered. "If that's okay," he quickly added.
"Uh, yeah, that's okay. I'm like the Oprah Winfrey of hugs -- YOU get a hug, and YOU get a hug, and YOU ALL GET HUGS!!"
"Mmkay. You're not like Oprah though."
"Actually, I am. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want it to go to your heads, but I am actually Oprah Winfrey."
They stared back at me, unamused and unaffected because they've been raised with this bullshit.
"But you're not."
"Prove it."
"Prove that you are."
"Well, have you ever seen Oprah and I in the same room?"
"No. But I've seen Oprah fully dressed in front of a live studio audience while you were sitting on that couch in your stretch pants."
"Yeah, that's pre-recorded though. I do that while you're in school. And these are yoga pants, I'm an athlete."
"Alright. There's the fact that you're not rich."
"I'm humble. Modest. Classy about it."
"Okay. Well, I think the main issue is with you not being black."
"Prove that I'm not."
"Mom."
"It's a state of mind, really. And stage lighting is tricky to get right."
"Okay, well, you're not Oprah."
"I am."
"I'll skip the second hug."
"You still have to pay taxes on that first one, though."
Labels: why can't I be oprah though

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


About a year and a half ago, we got Esmerelda, the younger cat in the household. When she first arrived, she was super needy. She kept crawling into my lap while I was eating, she kept shoving her face under my hand at night, and she meowed around the house when she wanted attention.
Nowadays, she doesn't need attention at all. In fact, she requires so little attention, I've nicknamed her "The Hermit" because she mostly stays in an upstairs bedroom and lazes around under a chair. She only occasionally comes out for attention, and that's late at night (and maybe in the morning while we are eating breakfast). Otherwise, she pretty much hangs out there and we don't see her unless we go in there to bug her. Contrast that to Ruby who almost always has to be in our vicinity, and there's a strong contrast between the two cats.
Of course, it's not always that Zelda doesn't want attention. Once in a while, she will jump onto my lap and stay with me. Usually it's for less than five minutes, but in a blue moon she'll stay for about 40 minutes. In addition, roughly 2 days out of 7, I'll wake up in the morning and she'll be sleeping on our bed.
Finally, late at night, she's figured out that when the wife comes home, she starts meowing loud, as if to say "Let's play with the stick under the blanket!" She has figured out that I'll play with her at this game after the wife comes home. She starts to meow at roughly 9:50 pm.
So, she still likes attention some of the time. The below pictures are four separate occasions.
I haven't really written that much about it so far, but this past January the wife and I visited the island of Maui in Hawaii.
I had last been to Hawaii in 1995, so 22 years had elapsed between visits (closer to 21 years and 2 months since I went in December 1995, and returned in January 2017).
One of the activities that the wife and I did was go up Haleakalā, which is the tallest mountain on Maui. There's one road that goes to the top, and it takes about an hour and a half to get up there since the road is fairly narrow and windy. On the way up, you go through multiple climate zones – from lush rainforest at the bottom of Maui, to temperate 2/3 of the way up, to a moonscape at the very top.
The coast of Maui, of course, is at sea level while the top of Haleakalā is at about 10,000 feet. The map below shows you the geography of the island, although obviously there is much more elevation distortion than what you can see on the map. I just couldn't figure out how to make Google Maps make the elevation even more obvious. The red pin below is the top of the mountain.
To me, Maui looks like a turtle with the head in the northwest, and the body in the southeast. It has two sets of mountains – Haleakalā in the middle of the big part of the island (the turtle's body) and then a set of mountains in the northwest (in the turtle's head). Eventually as sea levels rise, the island will split into two, between the head and the body.
The rainiest part of the island is between Haleakalā and the town of Hana on the far east coast, about halfway up. That is, Hana itself is not nearly as rainy as the rainforest that is halfway up to the top of Haleakalā. This is one of rainiest places on earth, getting more than almost anywhere else in the world. You can see above how dark green it is, while the other edges of the island are more beige indicating how comparatively dry it is. It's because the big mountain prevents rain clouds from getting over it, so to lighten up they have to dump their precipitation.
Anyhow, at the top of Haleakalā, there is a visitor center and you can go for a hike. But it's cold. And windy. I brought along a winter jacket, and a couple of tuques, because I knew it would not be pleasant weather conditions at the very top.
I decided to take a picture of me at the top. I've done a number of hikes but this is the highest I have ever gone hiking. You can see in the picture below I've taken refuge out of the cold to take this picture in the visitor center to prove I'm up at ~10,000 feet above sea level.
So what's the top of the mountain like, besides being cold and windy? Well, we went and January but there was no snow, so I'm assuming that snow at the top is rare. But if you wish, you can go for a hike and that's what we did.
Now, some people for whatever reason can get altitude sickness. This is a general feeling of having the flu – fatigue, nausea, and headaches. I don't get altitude sickness (at least, not at this height) but the wife did. We went down about 1500 feet on a hike (about 2-3 miles or so, I can't remember) but on the way back up the wife took way longer than normal whereas I felt fine. There were other people on the trail as well who were clearly feeling the effects of altitude. I don't know why I felt okay… but I did.
Anyway, on the way up I took a handful of pictures with my phone, and you can see it looks like what I imagine the surface of Mars looks like – all desert-like. The picture below looks pretty bad because I took three different photos and then tried to reconstruct them by globbing them together, whereas I should have just taken a landscape photo.
The point is that (a) iPhone cameras are merely okay, and (b) the top of Hawaii looks way different than the bottom.
Believe it or not, the wife is on that long trail downwards. I'm not sure where, but it's somewhere. Keep in mind that while it looks like a nice, sunny day, I'm wearing a fleece jacket and a pair of tuques to keep my noggin from freezing.
On the other hand, this landscape doesn't look completely different than other places that we've hiked. I'm pretty sure I've seen this type of geography on other mountains that we've climbed in either New Zealand, Patagonia (South America), or even in Oregon or Washington.
The wife didn't enjoy this hike nearly as much as I did. I kind of liked being at the top of the world (even though it's still only 1/3 as high as Mt Everest). We eventually made our way back to the car, and headed back down the mountain where the wife felt better (I was fine the whole time).
And that's the story of the time we went to the top of the highest mountain in Maui.


text:
Places Known For
written quot
Les Cayes
&client cdip Repartition of the surname Audubon in France beginning of the 20th century and his mistress Jeanne Rabine Somestimes, it is written "Rabin" , a 27 -year-old creole chambermaid from Les Touches in the same Province of Britanny (now in the modern région Pays de la Loire).
task was to find a place for building of new seaport. In the autumn of 1824 the captain Kritsky, supervising this expedition, in the report has informed on several prospective places, but the best was a place closed from the sea by the Berdyansk Spit. In an official report to Vorontsov Kritsky has written: "the Berdyansk Spit surpasses extremely by quality Obitochnaya Spit, and on it you can get landing stage and port which unless will concede to Sevastopol..." And here on 3 November
making with this city a unique built up area of more than 5 million people. The Jinmen (Kinmen) Islands administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan) are less than ), possibly referring to its position at the mouth of the Nine Dragon River. The Zhangzhou dialect of Min Nan
usually written "Fastnacht", there are many local spoken varieties: Fasnacht, Fassenacht, Fasnet etc.
Chelyabinsk Oblast
Europe and Asia is carried out mainly by dividing ridges of the Ural Mountains. Near the station Urzhumka (8 km from Zlatoust), the pass Uraltau, there is a stone pillar. On one of its sides is written "Europe", on the other - "Asia". Zlatoust city, Katav-Ivanovsk, Satka are in Europe. Chelyabinsk, Troitsk, Miass - in Asia, Magnitogorsk - in both parts of the world. Area of the Chelyabinsk oblast is 88.5 thousand square
... Rumsfeld authorized these specific techniques." He said that this was contrary to the Geneva Convention and quoted the same "Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind". According to Karpinski, the handwritten signature was above his printed name and in the same handwriting in the margin was written: "Make sure this is accomplished". There have been no comments from
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Farragut ; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who is said to have penned "The Building of a Ship" while in Pascagoula (although his stay is more local folklore than truth); and Nobel Laureate (Nobel Prize in Literature) in literature William Faulkner who is believed to have written "Mosquitoes" while summering in Pascagoula. The Nite Riders, also got their start in Pascagoula in the 1950s. Many of the original members still perform
tollfree fax hours price content Hairui Tomb is a key national cultural protection unit. Hairui, a famous official in the Ming dynasty, was born in Qiongshan and was known as "Hai Qingtian" (incorruptible official). The tomb was built in 1589 and it is said that when people was carrying Hairui's coffin, suddenly the rope broke, and then people decided that this should be the place. Hairui Tomb has an area of 7.4 acre. In the middle, there is a high archway on which is written
"Yue Dong Zheng Qi". The grave path is paved with granite and there are three memorials on the way. On the sides of the path leading to the tomb, there stands stone statue shaped like sheep, horses, lions, tortures, and human beings. Hairui Tomb was completely built by granites at three meters and formed like an ancient bell. Evergreen trees are planted around the cemetery. Hairui Cultural Exhibit Hall is also in the cemetery. *
; One historian has written, "No extravagance, however absurd, deterred" the rubber barons. "If one rubber baron bought a vast yacht, another would install a tame lion in his villa, and a third would water his horse on champagne." Robin Furneaux. ''The Amazon: the Story of a Great River''. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1969. Page 153. The decadence extended to a grand opera house, vast domes and gilded balconies, and marble, glass, and crystal, from around
, Kuwait DATE OF DEATH '''Maktoob Inc.''' (Arabic: مكتوب) is an Arab Internet services company, founded in Amman, Jordan known for being the first Arabic English email service provider. "Maktoob" in Arabic (Arabic Language) means "letter", "written", or "Destiny". Maktoob today has more than 280 employees with offices in Amman, Dubai, Cairo, Riyadh, and Kuwait (Kuwait City). On Aug 25, 2009, Yahoo! Inc. announced


Guess Who Made Team Of The Week With Last Night's Performance?
Guess Who's Named Championship Manager Of The Month?
Only Aleksandar Mitrovic with his excellent display and two goals at Preston North End on Saturday made the EFL team of the week for last weekend.


✓ air dump. 50% of brakes and drums remain. Clean body.
White painted aluminum with black tarp and graphics, front and rear platforms. Deluxe light kit.
11R24.5 tires with aluminum rims. New 2017 38' spring ride hopper with deluxe light package. Electric tarp with remote. Double ridge strap, front and rear platforms.
Driver's side sliding winch track.
Spread axle and LED lights. Drivers side tool box.
New 2016 trailer! LED Lights, 24" kingpin setting. Triple heavy duty ramps.
LED deluxe light package. New lower price. Painted aluminum with black tarp and graphics. Front and rear platforms, 2 sight windows.


stoborrobots writes: Google Fiber is leaving Louisville, as reported in The Verge: "Google Fiber's attempt to roll out its gigabit internet across the city of Louisville, Kentucky has apparently failed so spectacularly that the company has decided to completely shut down the service and leave town altogether. CNET has a report on the news, which Alphabet's Access division confirmed in a blog post on Thursday. 'We'll work with our customers and partners to minimize disruption, and we're committed to doing right by the community, which welcomed us as we tested methods of delivering high-speed internet in new and different ways,' the Fiber team said."


text:
Tag Archives: founding principles america
Peace through Strength
A Free People will not Survive unless they stay Strong
It is the business of America to take care of herself. Her situation, as you justly observe, depends upon her own virtue. ~Samuel Adams
A free people in a civilized society always tend toward prosperity. In the case of the United States, the trend has been toward a super-abundant prosperity. Only as the federal government has usurped authority and intermeddled with the free-market economy has this surge of prosperity and high production of goods and services been inhibited.
But prosperity in the midst of thriving industry, fruitful farms, beautiful cities, and flourishing commerce always attracts the greedy aspirations of predatory nations. Singly, these covetous predators may not pose a threat, but federated together they may present a specter of total desolation to a free, prosperous people. Before the nation's inhabitants are aware, their apocalypse of destruction is upon them.
It was the philosophy of the Founders that the kind hand of Providence had been everywhere present in allowing the United States to come forth as the first free people in modern times. They further felt that they would forever be blessed with freedom and prosperity if they remained a virtuous and adequately armed nation.
Franklin's Philosophy of Defense
Peace was the goal, but strength was the means. Franklin envisioned the day when a prudent policy of national defense would provide the American people with the protection which their rise to greatness would require. Benjamin Franklin wrote:
The very fame of our strength and readiness would be a means of discouraging our enemies; for 'tis a wise and true saying, that "One sword often keeps another in the scabbard." The way to secure peace is to be prepared for war. They that are on their guard, and appear ready to receive their adversaries, are in much less danger of being attacked than the supine, secure and negligent.
Franklin further saw that those in authority have the inherent responsibility to initiate the means by which adequate defenses can be provided. He declared:
Protection is as truly due from the government to the people, as obedience from the people [is due] to the government.
Our security lies, I think, in our growing strength, both in numbers and wealth; that creates an increasing ability of assisting this nation in its wars, which will make us more respectable, our friendship more valued, and our enmity feared; . . .unless, by a neglect of military discipline, we should lose all martial spirit, and our western people become …tame, when we may expect the same oppressions; for there is much truth in the Italian saying, "Make yourselves sheep, and the wolves will eat you."
George Washington urges Vigilance
No American occupied a more substantive position, either then or now, to proclaim what he considered to be a necessary posture for the preservation of the nation.
He had literally risked "his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor" for the cause of freedom and performed that task under circumstances which would have smothered the endurance of men with lesser stamina and courage.
He fought the Revolutionary War with no navy of any consequence, no trained professional army of either size or stability, and no outpouring of genuine support from the very states he was striving to save. He could have retired in bitterness after Valley Forge and Morristown, but that was not his character. He did not relish the anguish of it all, but he endured it. To George Washington, it was all part of "structuring a new nation."
Washington's position on national defense was in terms of grim realities experienced on the field of battle. No man wanted peace more than he. And no man was willing to risk more in life and property to achieve it.
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
Washington also saw the fallacy of waiting until an attack had occurred before marshalling available resources.
A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite.
Washington felt that neither politics nor world circumstances should lure the American people into a posture of complacency. He felt that vigilance was indeed the price the price of freedom, and unless it was promoted with firmness and consistency the future of the United States would be in jeopardy.
Washington could foresee threats to American Security
Washington could already see the predatory monarchs of Europe planning to slice up the United States and divide it among them unless the people alerted themselves to the exigencies of the day.
Therefore he told the Congress:
There is a rank due to the United States among nations, which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.
A Duty to the Creator to Preserve Freedom and Unalienable Rights
Samuel Adams emphasized the moral responsibility of Americans to preserve the heritage of freedom and unalienable rights with which the Creator had endowed them.
Once these blessings have been vouchsafed to a human being, Sam Adams felt it was a wicked and unnatural thing to allow those great fruits of liberty to languish by neglect or apathy.
The grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defense of those very rights; the principal of which …are life, liberty, and property. The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift voluntarily become a slave. ~Samuel Adams
The American Inheritance
Thus the Founders passed on to their posterity a policy of peace through strength. They were peace-loving, but not pacifists.
They called for a rugged kind of strength bolted to a broad base. They saw the foundation for their security in a bustling, prosperous economy with a high standard of public morality; and they saw the necessity for a level of preparedness which discouraged attack from potential enemies by creating a rate of risk so high that the waging of war against this nation would be an obviously unprofitable undertaking.
Founding Principles of America 25: Avoid Entangling Alliances
By C A Davidson • Posted in History	• Tagged 2nd amendment, american history, founding fathers, founding principles america, government, peace through strength, united-states-constitution, us constitution
US Constitution Series 20: Majority Rule, Minority Rights vs. Radical Ideologies
US Constitution Series 20:
Majority Rule, Minority Rights vs. Radical Ideologies
Majority Rule tends toward moderation in elections. Although the Founders instituted Majority Rule for practical reasons, perhaps a bonus is to protect us from dangers of radical ideologies that are dangerous to the very freedoms safeguarded in the Constitution. C.D.
President Trump was elected by the majority of the American people. The Democrat Party was defeated because of its radical extremism. It is now in the political minority, by the will of the American people. Rights of minority citizens are respected by the Constitution. However, this does not mean that the American people as a whole are to be ruled by a minority of politicians whose policies threaten the very freedoms safeguarded in the Constitution.
Founding Principles of America #20
From 5,000 Year Leap
Majority Rule
Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but Constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
One of the most serious mistakes in the structure of the Articles of confederation was the requirement that no changes could be made without the approval of every one of the states. During the Revolutionary War several vital changes were suggested, but in each instance a single state was able to prevent the needed change from being adopted.
Basis for the "Majority" Rule
Delaying action until it had the unanimous approval of all concerned can be disastrous in a time of emergency. It even inhibits healthy progress in normal times. Unanimity is the ideal, but majority rule becomes a necessity. P.229
Majority Rule a Necessity
It has sometimes been argued that a bare majority of one person scarcely justifies the making of a final decision for the whole body. It has been argued that it would be better to have a substantial majority of perhaps two-thirds or three-fourths. In the Constitution a provision of this type was incorporated in the text for the purpose of initiating amendments. A two-thirds majority is also required for the purpose of overriding a Presidential veto.
Minorities Have Equal Rights
Nevertheless, the American Founders had suffered enough from the tyrannical conduct of Parliament to feel highly sensitive to the rights of minorities.
It is the responsibility of the minorities themselves to learn the language, seek needed education, become self-sustaining, and make themselves recognized as a genuine asset to the community. P 231-232
President Trump was elected by the majority of the American people. The Democrat Party was defeated because of its radical extremism. It is now in the political minority, by the will of the American people. Rights of minority citizens are respected by the Constitution. However, this does not mean that the American people as a whole are to be ruled by a minority of politicians whose policies are dangerous to the security of the nation. C.D.
By C A Davidson • Posted in History, national security, patriotism	• Tagged american founding fathers, american history, founding principles america, majority rule, minority rights, radical ideologies, us constitution
Constitution Series 18: Rights from God protected by Constitution, Records of History
Constitution Series 18:
Rights from God protected by Constitution, Records of History
Founding Principles of America:
28 Great Ideas that changed the world
Our Unalienable Rights from God are Best Protected by Written Records of History
They had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator. ~Omni 1:17
No written records, no history
The one weakness of the Anglo-Saxon common law was that it was unwritten. Since its principles were known among the whole people, they seemed indifferent to the necessity of writing them down.
"Until the Anglo-Saxon conversion to Christianity it was unwritten and like all customary law was considered immutable. " (Lovell, English Constitutional and Legal History, 7)
However, the Norman Conquest taught the Anglo-Saxons in England a bitter lesson. Many of their most treasured rights disappeared in a flood of blood and vindictive oppression. In fact, these rights were retained very slowly over a period of centuries and gradually they were written down. In A.D. 1215, during a national crisis, the sword was virtually put to the throat of King John in order to compel him to sign the Magna Charta, setting forth the traditional rights of freemen.
During that same century the "Model Parliament" came into being, which compelled the King to acknowledge the principle of no taxation without representation.
Through the centuries, the British have tried to manage their political affairs with no written constitution and have merely relied upon these fragmentary statures as a constitutional reference source. These proved helpful to the American Founders, but they felt that the structure of government should be codified in a more permanent, comprehensive form.
It will be appreciated, therefore, that the tradition of written constitutions in modern times is not of English origin but is entirely American, both in principle and practice.
Beginnings of a Written Constitution in America
The first written charter in America was in 1620, when the Mayflower Compact came into being. Later the charter concept evolved into a more comprehensive type of constitution when Thomas Hooker and his associates adopted the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut in 1639. It is interesting that the Connecticut charter makes no reference to the Crown or the British Government as the source of its authority. (Skousen, 217-218)
American Constitution Represents Wisdom of Many
Montesquieu pointed out that when it comes to legislating (which includes the setting up of constitutions), the writing of the statute or charter is "oftentimes better regulated by many than by a single person." In harmony with this same sentiment, the American Founding Fathers considered it wise to "legislate" their constitution by filtering it through the wisdom and experiences of many delegates assembled in a convention rather than leaving it to the genius of some individual.
It is always difficult to operate through a committee, a group, or a convention as the Founding Fathers did. Nevertheless, the history of the convention demonstrates that the final product was far stronger than any individual could have written it. Time has also proven the tremendous advantage of having a completely written document for reference purposes rather than relying upon tradition and a few scattered statutes as the fundamental law of the land. (Skousen 220-221)
Why Young Adults need to know about Judeo-Christian Heritage and Freedom of Religion
Principle 19: Only Limited Powers should be delegated to Government; all others being Retained in the People
By C A Davidson • Posted in History, Judeo-Christian culture	• Tagged american, american history, founding principles america, history, magna carta constitution, no written records no history, rights from god, unalienable rights constitution, us constitution, written records of history
Electoral College Facts: Electoral College, Why We Need It to Safeguard our Liberty
Electoral College Facts:
Electoral College, Why We Need It to Safeguard our Liberty
Critical Thinking Dinner Topics. As you read this history, watch for:
Why there are two houses of Congress
Why the Census is important
How the Founders insured that states with low population still have a voice in national policy
Abolishing the Electoral College Is Unconstitutional and Wrong
By Michael Busler
Recently, Elizabeth Warren and a number of other Democratic candidates for president have suggested that the Electoral College be abolished. Right now, a candidate for president must win a majority of Electoral College votes regardless of the outcome of the national popular vote.
President Donald Trump in 2016 and President George W. Bush in 2000, did not win the popular vote, but they did win a majority in the Electoral College. The Dems claim that this is not fair and that the president should be elected by popular vote.
Therefore my people are gone into acaptivity, because they have no bknowledge.~ Isaiah 5:13
In fact, a number of states are trying to change their Electoral College votes based on the national popular vote rather than the vote within their state.
National Decisions: Theory and Fact
In theory, a democracy or a constitutional republic makes major decisions based on the desires of the majority of the people. Indeed, it was rule by a generally elite minority, rather than the majority, that was the basis for the founding of our country. However, our forefathers also recognized that the United States of America, while honoring rule by the majority, also realized that individual states must have basic rights and a should have a voice in presidential elections.
Why did our forefathers establish two chambers of Congress?
City Folk vs. Country Folk: The Founders' Solution
When Congress was formed there were two bodies created: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Realizing that it would be impossible to have a direct democracy where each citizen voted on each issue, a representative democracy was established. In theory, voters elect representatives who will vote in Congress on issues in a manner that reflects the views of their constituents.
The House of Representatives was set up to reflect the majority of the population so that heavily populated states like California have 53 votes while lightly populated states like Wyoming have only 1. While this configuration ensures that votes passed in the House reflect the majority of the national population, it does ignore what the majority of states may want.
The total of 435 seats is reallocated after each census to reflect the current population.
The Senate was established to correct this. Each state, regardless of population, has two votes in the Senate. This means that Wyoming, with just over half a million people has the same voice as California, with nearly 40 million people. This ensures that a majority of states must approve of a law before it is passed.
While this protects states' rights, it is possible that 82 senators from 41 states vote to approve a law with those senators representing less than 50% of the population, even though that total represents a large majority of states.
That's because the population of the nine largest states (18 senators) is about 51% of the total U.S. population. If the 18 senators from those nine states are the only ones to vote no on a bill, the bill passes with less than 50% of the population's support.
The Electoral College recognizes both needs.
The Electoral College was established to try to balance the popular vote with the need for states rights.
There are 538 electors in the electoral college. Each state is given one elector for each member of the House of Representatives (435 in total) plus one additional electors for each of the two senators (100 in total). The District of Columbia gets three electors.
If the Electoral College was abolished and the president elected simply by a majority in the national vote, the majority of people from smaller, less populated states would lose their voice in presidential elections.
A number of states have already considered having their electors vote for the candidate who gets the majority of the national vote. This would mean candidates would campaign mostly in densely populated states while ignoring the less populated states.
The Electoral College process has worked very well for the U.S. With a few exceptions the Electoral College vote reflected the will of the majority of American voters. For the few exceptions, the results reflected the design of our Constitution by giving all states a voice in the electoral process.
Our legislative system with two chambers of Congress to determine national laws and with the Electoral College to determine the president of the United States has worked well in the past. This system reflects the will of the majority of the people, while allowing for all states to have a voice in the presidential election. There is no reason to change.
CALLER: Well, I'm calling today because something outraged me on the way to work. Andrew Cuomo's salary's going up to a quarter million dollars, making him the highest state governor in the nation when he's touting that New York state's in a financial crisis. And what really adds on to that is Trump was recently hammered for supposedly looking to cut funding for the Special Olympics. And New York state just took away 50 grand from them to put in his pocket. So I know you spoke about hypocrisy. I don't get tired of calling them out on it.
CALLER: If there's any example of the Electoral College and what it's needed for, take a look at New York. Most of the state is red.
RUSH: Well, a large part of is. It's the same way with the country. Most of the country, 85% — you ready for this one? — 85%, maybe more, of the square footage or mileage of this country is red. But the population centers, the urban areas are blue. As you say, it's a great illustration of the validity of the Electoral College.
By C A Davidson • Posted in Critical Thinking, History, justice, patriotism	• Tagged critical thinking topics, electoral college facts, electoral college history, electoral college map, electoral college why we need it, founding fathers of america, founding principles america
Founding Principles of America 28: Patriotism and American Exceptionalism
Founding Principles of America 28: US Constitution Series American Exceptionalism From The 5,000 Year Leap—A Miracle that Changed the World By W. Cleon Skousen This is the final part of the American Founding Principle series. Do not believe the corrupt … Continue reading →
By C A Davidson • Posted in History, Judeo-Christian culture, patriotism	• Tagged american culture, american history, exceptionalism, founding fathers, founding principles america, history, judeo-christian culture, patriotism
Founding Principles of America 27: Avoid Debt Bondage
US Constitution Series 27: Avoiding the Burden of Debt Bondage
Slavery or involuntary servitude is the result of either subjugation by conquest or succumbing to the bondage of debt. The Founders had undergone sufficient experience with debt to see its corrosive and debilitating effect, which tends to corrupt both individuals and nations.
There is also the sense of waste—much like the man who has to make payments on a dead horse.
The Founders' Attitude toward Debt
The Founding Fathers belonged to an age when debt was recognized for the ugly specter that it really is. Nearly everyone finds it to his advantage or absolute necessity to borrow on occasion. Debt become the only available means—a necessary evil. Nevertheless, the Founders wanted the nature of debt to be recognized for what it is: evil, because it is a form of bondage.
The kind of frugality for which the Founders were famous was rooted in the conviction that debt should be abhorred like a plague. They perceived excessive indebtedness as a form of cultural disease. (Skousen, 291-294)
"Ah, think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty."
Should One Generation Impose Its Debts on the Next?
The fact that the indebtedness is shared by the whole people makes it no less ominous.
The Founders felt that the wars, economic problems, and debts of one generation should be paid for by te generation which incurred them. They wanted the rising generation to be genuinely free—both politically and economically. It was their feeling that passing on their debts to the next generation would be forcing the children of the future to be born into a certain amount of bondage or involuntary servitude—something for which they had neither voted nor subscribes. It would be, in a very literal sense, "taxation without representation." Clearly, they said, it was a blatant violation of a fundamental republican principle.
Jefferson Considered an Inherited Debt Immoral
I, however, place economy among the first and most important of republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared.
That we are bound to defray [the war's] expenses within our own time, and unauthorized to burden posterity with them, I suppose to have been proved in my former letter . . . We shall all consider ourselves morally bound to pay them ourselves; and consequently within the life [expectancy] of the majority . . .We must raise, then, ourselves the money for this war, either by taxes within the year or by loans; and if by loans, we must repay them ourselves, proscribing forever the English practice of perpetual funding.
The History of the American National Debt
When we trace the history of the national debt, we find that the policy laid down by the Founders has been followed by every generation until the present one. We notice that after every war or financial emergency involving heavy indebtedness there was an immediate effort to pay it off as rapidly as possible. This policy was followed for the sake of the rising generation. The adult citizens of America wanted their children born in freedom, not bondage.
Today We Are Spending the Next Generation's Inheritance
It will be noted that the nationl budget was less than a hundred billion dollars in 1960. Today we spend almost that much just for interest on the national debt. And that is more than the entire cost of World War I in real dollars!
[Today the national debt is soaring past 18 trillion.]
The Problem of the "Fix"
As a result, American taxpayers now discover themselves playing a role almost identical to that of an addict on hard drugs. The addict denounces his "habit" and despises the "pusher" who got him into it, but when he is confronted with the crisis of needing a "fix" he will plead with tears of anguish for the narcotic remedy.
The "fix," of course, is not a remedy at all. The real remedy is "withdrawal."
By returning to the fundamental principles espoused by the Founding Fathers, we can reverse the trend and get America back to a formula of prosperity economics without a major crunch or depression. (Skousen, 297-303)
Founding Principles of America 28: American Exceptionalism—the Founders' sense of Manifest Destiny
Founding Principles of America 26: Protecting role of Nuclear Family
By C A Davidson • Posted in Book Review, History, patriotism	• Tagged american history, debt bondage, founding principles america, history, history facts, liberty, truth, us constitution


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text:
/* global describe, it, require */
'use strict';

// MODULES //

var // Expectation library:
	chai = require( 'chai' ),

	// Module to be tested:
	filled = require( './../lib/arrayarray.js' );

// VARIABLES //

var expect = chai.expect,
	assert = chai.assert;

// TESTS //

describe( 'filled multidimensional array', function tests() {

	it( 'should export a function', function test() {
		expect( filled ).to.be.a( 'function' );
	});

	it( 'should return a filled array of arrays', function test() {
		var actual, expected;

		actual = filled( [2,1], 2 );
		expected = [ [2], [2] ];

		assert.deepEqual( actual, expected );

		actual = filled( [2,1,3], 'a' );
		expected = [ [['a','a','a']], [['a','a','a']] ];

		assert.deepEqual( actual, expected );
	});

});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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text:
Federal Support Ends For Coronavirus Testing Sites As Pandemic Peak Nears
By Jeff Brady
Published April 8, 2020 at 12:38 PM CDT
A health care worker talks with a patient at a COVID-19 testing site in Philadelphia. The site will close Friday when the federal government ends support for this site and others around the country.
Some local officials are disappointed the federal government will end funding for coronavirus testing sites this Friday. In a few places those sites will close as a result. This as criticism continues that not enough testing is available.
In the Philadelphia suburbs, Montgomery County has a drive-through site that has tested 250 people a day since March 21.
"It has been a very successful site. We are hoping by the time it closes Friday afternoon that we will have tested a little over 5,000 individuals," says Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, who chairs the commission in the county of more than 825,000 people.
Montgomery County has been hit hard by the pandemic. By Tuesday the county identified 1,294 positive cases and reported 32 COVID-19-related deaths.
Arkoosh says local officials staffed the site and the federal government provided much-needed testing supplies and access to a lab. "This site came with a contract with LabCorp, who accepted 250 samples from this site every day," and she says the county is not able to secure the supplies and tests on its own.
Arkoosh says the site, located on a local college campus, will shut down Friday. Similar announcements have been made in Colorado Springs, Colo., and nearby Philadelphia.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tells NPR, "Many of the Community-Based Testing Sites (CBTS) are not closing, but rather transitioning to state-managed sites on or about April 10."
The agency and a spokesperson for FEMA say the CBTS program originally included 41 sites. It was intended as a stop-gap to bring testing to critical locations, especially for health care facility workers and first responders.
"The transition will ensure each state has the flexibility and autonomy to manage and operate testing sites within the needs of their specific community and to prioritize resources where they are needed the most," the HHS spokesperson said.
But that doesn't satisfy Arkoosh in Montgomery County, who says, "I am understandably disappointed that the supplies and federal contract for lab testing is ending just as we are heading into the surge here in southeastern Pennsylvania."
Arkoosh says local hospitals do have their own testing sites set up now, but it's not yet clear if they will be able to handle the extra testing now that the federal help is being withdrawn.
Jeff Brady
Jeff Brady is a National Desk Correspondent based in Philadelphia, where he covers energy issues, climate change and the mid-Atlantic region. Brady helped establish NPR's environment and energy collaborative which brings together NPR and Member station reporters from across the country to cover the big stories involving the natural world.
See stories by Jeff Brady