Second is the eyepiece under the fancy shades. Just thinking about trying to use that is giving me a headache right now.

I got to see an Apache Longbow up close once. On the ground of course. Even though it’s a two-seater, no civilian passengers allowed. (IIRC, no military ones either unless they are also Apache pilots or training to be one.)

During Operation Desert Storm, I also got to take a tour of (parts of) a B-52. And because I live near an AF base, I get to see A10 Warthogs flying above my house occasionally. Years ago, it was common to see KC-10s regularly. Rarely do the B-52s fly near my house, but I do remember feeling and hearing them when they got home from Desert Storm as they took a celebratory tour of the area.

But I’m fascinated by helicopters because… well, because to me they still look like they shouldn’t be able to fly!

Third are some Apache helicopters in action, set to the theme from Airwolf.

I admit it, I liked that show.

military expressions like “elvis has left the building”

Has the military co-opted the phrase without telling me?

Cassandra at Villianous Company has a nice roundup of USMC Birthday posts. Check it out and donate to Valour IT while you’re there.

Hmm… where else did I read about the military taking over the U.S. today? That’s right, Newsmax, as noted here at Memeorandum. But even Newsmax columnist, John L. Perry, didn’t say that it was a sure thing like Vidal, but just that is wasn’t ”unrealistic.”

Via Villianous Company, where Cassandra apparently has a stronger stomach than I, as she appears to have actually read Perry’s column:

There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America’s military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the “Obama problem.” Don’t dismiss it as unrealistic.

To further quote Cassandra:  “All right, moron. I won’t call it unrealistic. How does batsh*t crazy strike you?” I couldn’t agree more and the same applies to Gore Vidal.

But… back to Vidal’s interview and something even a bit more batshit crazy:

Vidal raises his fingers to signify a gun and mutters: “Bang bang.” He is referring to the possibility of Obama being assassinated. “Just a mysterious lone gunman lurking in the shadows of the capital,” he says in a wry, dreamy way.

Now that’s holy batshit crazy.

Cui bono? Should Obama die in office (even if of natural causes) it will be the left and their policies which would most likely benefit. That would assure his status as hero, martyr, or both. It would assure no Republican president for at least 8 years, probably more.

UPDATE: It’s possible this post should be titled “Loony Left Meets Loonier Left”.  John L. Perry, the author of the now-removed Newsmax article worked on the White House staffs of both LBJ and Carter.

Today, I visited the USS Arizona through the words of Neptunus Lex.

Soldiers’ Angels is one of the best all-volunteer military support groups and their Project Valour-IT is my favorite project of theirs. It provides laptops and other technology that supports physical and psychological recovery for severely wounded service men and women.

The fundraiser is fueled by friendly competition among the services, but all the money goes to same cause, not to a specific service. I hope John and Al understand why I’m putting up the Marine Corps button instead of Army or Air Force.

Kick in a few bucks, OK?

This is one of the days I honor my Uncle Willie. He joined the Marines before Pearl Harbor and was either in or sent to Manila immediately after the raid and ended up on Corregidor.

After the fall of Corregidor, he spent the next several years in the Japanese prison camp at Puerto Princessa on Palawan and was one of eleven to escape the massacre there on December 14, 1944. You can read the story of the prison camp and the escape in Last Man Out by Glenn McDole.

My grandmother’s three sons all served during WWII. Here they are, Uncle Willie in the middle:

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UPDATE: GoDaddy sends a birthday card to the Marines. Also on an old blog of mine, my 2005 Marine Corps birthday post.

If Sarah Palin was snide and sarcastic, then I like snide and sarcastic. No, I love snide and sarcastic.

If Sarah Palin is wrong to treat her “special needs” child as normally as possible, then I’m wrong too in treating my “non-special needs” children as normal. Good grief, what is a mother to do when faced with any child — set him or her up to fail due to “special” treatment? And, yes, I do speak from experience here as the mother of a special needs child who is now a special needs adult. He is still his own entity, not an extension of me.

Admiration is something I have for few people. My mother and father have earned it. My grandmother and step-grandfather have earned it. A few very special aunts, uncles, and cousins have earned it. My children — they too have earned it, each in their own special way. But… to bestow any semblance of this admiration to a politician is unheard of in my world. Yet, Sarah Palin has earned, at the very least, a consideration that she might possibly deserve my admiration.

Oh yeah, and I want to adopt Piper and Trig. Would that be OK with you Sarah?

The idea is that R&R activities promote morale. CAUSE maintains a library of DVDs, video games, and equipment at Walter Reed and Brooke Army Medical Center. They plan libraries at Landstuhl and the Naval Medical Center this year.

CAUSE has an Amazon Wish List, so contributing is very easy. I’ve sent a season of Scrubs.

Rarely do you find a photo that says so much. Let’s analyze it on the basis of the differences between male and female. Or perhaps on the differences between the sacrifices of the spouse staying in the U.S. and the one serving in a war zone. Or on the artistic merits of how much our feet say about us and our situation. Or maybe, just enjoy and appreciate.