US Army Retired

US Army Retired

Friday, December 14, 2018

Lots of Very Good Stuff for December 14, 2018




  Trump Will Not Throw a Christmas Party for the Media This Year
Good for him!
No official announcement.

Freshman House Democrats go Back on Their Campaign Promises
He says 12 but only names a couple. It will be interesting to see what the actual vote turns out to be.

Pelosi Questions Trump's Manhood Over Border Funding
They haven’t even taken over the House yet and the whining is already going full force. It is only starting and will become far, far worse.
Hours after President Donald Trump clashed with top Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., over border wall funding amid a looming government shutdown, Pelosi reportedly questioned the president's "manhood" to colleagues behind closed doors, The Washington Post reports.
It's like a manhood thing for him – as if manhood could ever be associated with him – this wall thing," the House Minority Leader told a Democratic caucus committee meeting.
She reportedly continued, "It goes to show you: You get into a tinkle contest with a skunk, you get tinkle all over you."
Pelosi also said Trump would "proudly" take ownership for a shutdown.

Pelosi says House Democrats will begin process to obtain Trump tax returns
It’s started.
And it’ll only get worse.
This kinda goes along with the deal about Kelley leaving the White House and the president seeking a new chief of staff. Not only that but more lawyers in the White House to fight back the onslaught coming in the next 2 years.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will begin to seek President Donald Trump’s tax returns – a move likely to prompt outrage from the White House – when they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January.
The House Ways and Means Committee will “take the first steps,” said Pelosi, who has the backing of her members to become the next speaker of the House in January.
There is popular demand for the Congress to request the president’s tax returns,” she said, speaking to reporters. “I’m sure the White House will resist, so the question is where do we go from there.”

The Senate Is No Longer in Order Says Retiring Senator Hatch
He’s been there for more than 41 years. And he says he’s more than glad to be leaving. And I don’t blame him! All one has to do is watch Senate committee hearings to see the disorder and disrespect he talks about.
The Senate as an institution is in crisis,” Sen. Orrin Hatch said in his farewell address, concluding more than four decades of Senate service.
The committee process lies in shambles. Regular order is a relic of the past. And compromise…is now synonymous with surrender.” pic.twitter.com/Y66qJao33I
I was [in the Senate] when we could say, without any hint of irony, that we were members of the world greatest deliberative body. Times have certainly changed. Over the last several years, I have witnessed the subversion of Senate rules, the abandonment of regular order, and a full-scale deterioration of the judicial confirmation process. Polarization has ossified. And like the humidity here, partisanship permeates everything we do.”

Sarah Sanders Breaks Silence on Kelly’s Exit:
The Media’s trying to put a dark and menacing shade on the Chief of Staff’s departure. No surprise. It’s what they do. So, it’s refreshing to hear the truth from the WH press secretary.
He and POTUS Had Disagreements, But the General Brought ‘Structure’
During a discussion at Politico’s Women’s Leadership Summit, Sanders shared her view on the situation and what they are looking for in a replacement.
I think he brought a lot of structure to the White House that was needed at the time he came in,” Sanders said. “And has certainly, I think, been an incredible addition to the White House. That being said, I think the president is looking for somebody that believes in what we’re doing. And believes in the policies that we spend all day, every single day, looking to implement.”
While the press secretary was vague concerning what she meant about their differences, she claimed that President Donald Trump wanted someone that was outspoken about their opinions.

Four Outlandish Things Dems Said at the Google Hearing
Only four? In the 2 years to come, we’re going to see so much outlandish stuff coming out of the mouths of DimocRATs that we’ll have a hard time keeping up.
1.) Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who will be House Judiciary Committee chair in January, derided Republicans for wanting to hold the hearing at all.
2.) Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) asked Pichai why she finds pictures of Trump when she googles “idiot.”
3.) Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) complained to Pichai that when he googled himself, he didn’t see enough results about interviews he gave on MSNBC.
4.) Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) lectured Pichai, who is Indian-American, about Google’s insufficient amount of diversity.
Can you even begin to imagine what things will be like when and if Ocasio-Cortez gets a committee seat and asks questions of witnesses?

Flake Votes No, Pence Breaks Tie to Confirm Appeals Court Judge
Seems McConnell is doing an end run around the soon-to-be ex-Senator. How many more can the Senate majority leader get past this jerk?
According to The Hill, Jonathan Kobes was confirmed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals via a 51-50 vote. Pence was presiding over the Senate chamber at the time and had to give a "yes" vote to break a 50-50 tie.

Democrats Deny These Immigration Truths
Don’t all elected officials take an oath when they take office? And doesn’t this oath state that they will defend the constitution?
If that’s the case, why don’t the Dims want to defend this country against foreign invaders? Criminals who disobey the very laws they’ve enacted?
Now, Democrats are going to say, “Why is the government arresting hardworking immigrants? They are just seeking a better way of life.” Well, this is a simple, twofold answer. One, they are not here legally. Two, and just as important, they are taking jobs that hardworking Americans do not have access to.
Let’s hope that Trump is successful before Christmas in getting the wall funded. And let’s hope Congress finally gets its act together and remembers the meaning of that oath that they all took.

All of this Fuss Over a Border Wall, but Would It Even Work?
It would sure be a whole lot better than what we know have – or don’t have. There are miles and miles of nothing but barbed-wire fences and some of even less. And we don’t even need to talk about sections of the Rio Grande River where they wade across in broad daylight.
But instead of facing an old broken down chain link fence, the would-be illegal aliens faced a border wall, which had been built piece meal over the years by the Border Patrol with the public support of the congressional delegation from Southern California and other elected officials who wanted to stop illegal immigration. At that moment I saw for myself that if it wasn’t for that border wall—and the ubiquitous presence of the men and women of the Border Patrol—that the caravan would not have stopped in its tracks in Tijuana, but would instead be well within the U.S.

Media Buries Key Facts to Conceal Migrant Health Threat—TB, Hepatitis, HIV
And outlets like NBC do everything possible to shunt aside the truth of the diseases carried by these invaders.
Nevertheless, buried deep in the news article the reporter offers this important nugget from the study, only after writing that migrants are less likely than people in their host countries to die of heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases and other ills: “The exceptions are hepatitis, tuberculosis and HIV.” Last we checked those are deadly diseases and Judicial Watch has interviewed medical experts that confirm illegal immigrants do indeed pose a serious public health threat to the U.S. by bringing dangerous diseases into the country. This includes tuberculosis, dengue and Chikungunya. Just last month a prominent physician in a key border state warned that the caravan streaming north from Honduras will undoubtedly bring infectious diseases into the U.S. Among them are extremely drug resistant strands of tuberculosis and mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya that are widespread in the region.
Get that last sentence that I bolded? And the Dims want to freely let these people into our country. One of the qualifications to enter this country is being healthy and not presenting a danger to the rest of us.

VA Hospitals Outperform Others in Same Regions
This should shock a lot of people. Especially after all the continuous bad news about how they care for vets.
Researchers compared performance data at VA hospitals against non-VA facilities in 121 regions. In 14 out of 15 measures, the VA performed "significantly better" than other hospitals, according to results from the study.
"We found a surprisingly high, to me, number of cases where the VA was the best hospital in the region," said Dr. William Weeks, who led the study. "Pretty rarely was it the worst hospital."
Weeks initiated the research after reading multiple studies from recent years that had found VA hospitals performed better than other medical systems. He was skeptical of the research, he said, because it compared data on a national level, not by region.

10 Things Vets Get Wrong About Mental Health
What do most of us think we know about mental health? Dealing with PTSD? Or just plain depression?
Most of it may be wrong.
It’s not just about medications…
but sometimes it could be
PTSD and T(raumatic) B(rain) I(njury) are significant…
and veteran mental health goes far beyond just PTSD and TBI
It’s not all in a veteran’s head…
and it sort of is
Not all experiences are common…
but many experiences are more common than we think.
Mental health professionals know what they’re talking about…
and have the science to back it up

How the IRS Was Gutted
An eight-year campaign to slash the agency’s budget has left it understaffed, hamstrung and operating with archaic equipment. The result: billions less to fund the government. That’s good news for corporations and the wealthy.
Reading the headline left me with an almost warm feeling.
Until I read the full article!
Without enough staff, the IRS has slashed even basic functions. It has drastically pulled back from pursuing people who don’t bother filing their tax returns. New investigations of “nonfilers,” as they’re called, dropped from 2.4 million in 2011 to 362,000 last year. According to the inspector general for the IRS, the reduction results in at least $3 billion in lost revenue each year. Meanwhile, collections from people who do file but don’t pay have plummeted. Tax obligations expire after 10 years if the IRS doesn’t pursue them. Such expirations were relatively infrequent before the budget cuts began. In 2010, $482 million in tax debts lapsed. By 2017, according to internal IRS collection reports, that figure had risen to $8.3 billion, 17 times as much as in 2010. The IRS’ ability to investigate criminals has atrophied as well.
Is this how Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson, among so many, get away with not paying taxes on millions of dollars?
Of course, this article blames the Republicans for this.
It talks about old timers leaving. What it doesn’t talk about is whether or not the technology used by the IRS has been updated and modernized. Does it need more CPA or more IT types? It should be interesting to see what the new head, Commissioner Charles Rettig asks for in the 2019 budget.
More of the lengthy article with charts @ https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-irs-was-gutted

What it’s like to work in the biggest building in the world
472 million cubic feet (13.3 million cubic metres).!
It’s nearly impossible to get ones mind behind those numbers.
How many acres? How many city blocks?
I remember I did an interview with the BBC a few years ago, and I thought ‘I wonder what the volume of Wembley Stadium is?’ Well, it turns out you can fit 13 of them in the volume of our factory.”
The Everett factory is so big that there’s a fleet of some 1,300 bicycles on hand to help cut travel time. It has its own fire station and medical services on station, and an array of cafes and restaurants to feed the thousands of workers. Overhead are a multitude of cranes used to move some of the heavier aircraft parts as the planes start to take shape. The operators, Reese says, are some of the most highly skilled and best-paid workers at the factory.

Huge Chocolate Spill
After flowing out of a storage tank with a “small technical defect”, the chocolate quickly hardened on the pavement due to the chilly weather and settled in cracks and gaps in the road, leaving a sweet mess in the street.
Firefighters to the rescue after German chocolate factory spill https://t.co/I0NeNBN1h3 by @ReutersCarrel pic.twitter.com/RpzUemXrm3
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) 12 December 2018
Notice there’s still stuff left in the cracks. What pests will it draw?
Story @ https://sputniknews.com/europe/201812121070614364-chocolate-factory-spill-mess-germany/

British Military Transport Aircraft Lands on Beach
That certainly expands the list of possible landing site for tactical purposes.
According to Airbus, the A400M is the most advanced, proven and certified airlifter available, combining 21st century state-of-the-art technologies to fulfill the current and upcoming Armed Forces’ needs. The A400M combines the capability to carry strategic loads with the ability to deliver even into tactical locations with small and unprepared airstrips. And in addition it acts as a frontline-tanker for other aircraft. One aircraft, which can do the work of three – The A400M.

Remains of USS Bonhomme Richard Located
Captained by John Paul Jones. You might’ve heard about him.
Struck Sir? I have not yet begun to fight!’
The remains of the famous Revolutionary War frigate USS Bonhomme Richard have been discovered off the coast of the U.K., more than 200 years after it sank following a naval battle
The BBC reports that the famous warship, which was commanded by John Paul Jones, was discovered by search experts Merlin Burrows. Pieces of the ship were found off the coastal town of Filey in Yorkshire.

US Expeditionary Strike Groups
It isn’t just massive aircraft carriers anymore.
The following seems to identify them clearly:
For decades, when a crisis emerged anywhere on the globe, the first question a U.S. president asked was, “Where are the carriers?” Today, that question is still asked, but increasingly, it has morphed into, “Where are the expeditionary strike groups?” The reason for this is clear: These naval expeditionary formations — built around a large-deck amphibious assault ship, an amphibious transport dock, and a dock landing ship — have been the ones used extensively for a wide array of missions short of war, from anti-piracy patrols, to personnel evacuation to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. And where tensions lead to hostilities these forces are the only ones that give the U.S. military a forcible-entry option.
VTO aircraft for close ground support and amphibious vehicles to take troops and equipment on shore.

Gary Sinise Flys 1,000 Gold Star Kids and Their Parents to Disney World
According to KCAL-TV, the Gary Sinise Foundation filled 15 planes full of Gold Star families to go to Walt Disney World down in Florida as a special Christmas present called the “Snowball Express.”
Each one of these children who are going on these airplanes have lost a parent in military services – either combat related or illness or unfortunately suicide sometimes,” Sinise said.
We wanna take care of these kids and make sure they know we don’t forget.”
As he’s a well-known conservative figure, it would be a miracle if any of the big outlets, other than FoxNews, would give this any coverage.

The Five Grossest Kids Toys on the Market
What caring and educated parent in their right mind would buy garbage like this for their kids?
1.) Doggy Doo.
2.) Snot It.
3.) Flushin’ Frenzy.
4.) Pull My Finger: The Farting Monkey Game.
5.) Pimple Pete.
If you can stomach it, explanations of each can be read @ https://www.lifezette.com/2018/12/the-five-grossest-kids-toys-on-the-market/

10 and 2” Is No Longer the Right Way to Hold Your Steering Wheel
Surprise you?
Think about it. What happens when you get into a crash?
Blame airbags, says NBC News, in a 2012 report that recently resurfaced on MetaFilter. They’re designed to protect your head and chest in a crash. But if your arms are too high up on the steering wheel, the deploying airbag can smash them into your face, causing injury. The chemical reaction that inflates the airbag can also injure your hands, sometimes requiring amputation.
Instead, put your hands at opposite sides of the wheel: “9 and 3.” An AAA representative tells NBC News that this position is also more ergonomic in general, giving the driver better control of the car.
Lastly, when you turn the wheel, don’t do the old hand-over-hand maneuver, crossing your arms over in front of the wheel. Just pull down with one hand and up with the other, keeping both on the wheel.
Get with the times: You’re driving all wrong | NBC News

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