Tuesday, October 14, 2008

I received this in an email:

Subj: Government Run Bailout??????

Back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we are trusting the economy of our country to a pack of nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling booze?

Monday, September 22, 2008

Somewhere in the past few days I heard Sarah Palin was unqualified for the Vice Presidency due to her lack of education, B.A. only.

Where would this country be if this had been applied to Washington, Franklin, Lincoln, Reagan and the many other patriots who didn't possess the ways or means to continue formal educations?

Understanding and working with real people has more importance than sitting in some lecture hall agreeing with some Ph.D who has no real life experience.

There once was a Navy saying, "As dangerous as an Ensign with a pen." Most of Sarah's detractors fall into this category. For the uninformed, pens have no erasers.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Similarities to JFK good or bad?

How was JFK assigned to Pacific Area? Fraternization with female suspected of being axis agent.

How was PT 109, with speed capability of 40 Knots + , run down by Jap Destroyer which could maybe make 32 knots considering injection temperatures and days out of dock? Try using an old farm truck to run over a Corvette in a very large open field with both drivers sober and following orders. Good luck.

Explain voter discrepancy of Cook Co., Ill which gave JFK the State of Illinois and the Presidency.

Explain the Bay of Pigs, JFK's meeting with Khrushchev and the USSR missiles being placed in Cuba.

Experience, leadership and strength of the military bailed him out of this total boo boo.

Take a serious look at the build up in Vietnam, during his term. The press was either bought off, duped or so star struck they refused to report.

Yes, someone else reminds me of JFK. No real experience except the ability to smile and speak without saying anything.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

By the time I had been aboard ship a couple weeks,
I had learned to not go to sea on a planned voyage
without a full load of fuel.

Somewhere, somehow the party of grasshoppers

have failed to learn this. They have proposed universal
health care for many years yet I have heard no plans
to increase the number of doctors, nurses and other
related trades. As I understand, it takes about 10 years
from high school to being a doctor, longer for different
specialties.

Now the magic cure is alternative energy sources which

generate electricity without any plans for a delivery
system. The grid cannot handle the present load as is
proved by the black and brown outs caused by weather
conditions.

Before believing any of the B.S. put forth by con men or

women, check their background, associates, friends,
parents and yes, their education and accomplishments.
Then look for the lack of planning in the proposals.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Once I Was A Navyman

I like the Navy. I like standing on deck during a long voyage with sea spray in my face and ocean winds whipping in from everywhere - The feel of the giant steel ship beneath me, it's engines driving against the sea is almost beyond understanding - It’s immense power makes the Navyman feel so insignificant but yet proud to be a small part of this ship - A small part of Her mission.

I like the Navy. I like the sound of taps over the ships announcing system, the ringing of the ships bell, the foghorns and strong laughter of Navy men at work. I like the ships of the Navy - nervous darting destroyers, sleek proud cruisers, majestic battle ships, steady solid carriers and silent hidden submarines. I like the workhorse tugboats with their proud Indian names: Iroquois, Apache, Kiawah and Sioux - each stealthy powerful tug safely guiding the warships to safe deep waters from all harbors.
I like the historic names of other proud Navy Ships: Midway, Hornet, Princeton, Sea Wolf and Saratoga. The Ozark, Hunley, William R. Rush and Turner, the Missouri, Wichita, Iowa, Arizona and Manchester, as well as The Sullivan’s, Enterprise, Tecumseh, Cole and Nautilus too- all majestic ships of the line - Each ship commanding the respect of all Navymen that have known Her - or were privileged to be a part of Her crew

I like the bounce of Navy music and the tempo of a Navy Band, "Liberty Whites", “13 Button Blues”, the rare 72 hour liberty and the spice scent of a foreign port - I like shipmates I've sailed with, worked with, served with or have known: The Gunners Mate from the Iowa cornfields; a Sonarman from the Colorado mountain country; a pal from Cairo, Alabama; an Italian from near Boston; some boogie boarders of California; and of course, a drawling friendly Oklahoma lad that hailed from Muskogee; and a very congenial Engineman from the Tennessee hills.

From all parts of the land they came - farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England - the red clay area and small towns of the South - the mountain and high prairie towns of the West - the beachfront towns of the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Gulf - All are American; all are comrades in arms - All are men of the sea and all are men of honor.

I like the adventure in my heart when the ship puts out to sea, and I like the electric thrill of sailing home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and friends, waiting on shore - The extended time at sea drags; the going is rough on occasion. But there's the companionship of robust Navy laughter, the devil-may-care philosophy of the sea. This helps the Navyman - The remembrances of past shipmates fill the mind and restore the memory with images of other ships, other ports, and other cruises long past. Some memories are good, some are not so good, but all are etched in the mind of the Navyman - and most will be there forever.

I like the sea, and after a day of work, there is the serenity of the sea at dusk. As white caps dance on the ocean waves, the sunset creates flaming clouds that float in folds over the horizon - as if painted there by a master. The darkness follows soon and is mysterious. The ship’s wake in darkness has a hypnotic effect, with foamy white froth and luminescence that forms never ending patterns in the turbulent waters - I like the lights of the ship in darkness - the masthead lights, the red and green sidelights and stern lights. They cut through the night and appear as a mirror of stars in darkness - There are rough stormy nights, and calm, quiet, still nights where the quiet of the mid-watch allows the ghosts of all the Sailors of the world to stand with you. They are abundant and unreachable, but ever apparent - And there is always the aroma of fresh coffee from the galley.

I like the legends of the Navy and the Navymen that created those legends. I like the proud names of Navy Heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Beach, Farragut, John McCain, Rickover and John Paul Jones. A man can find much in the Navy - comrades in arms, pride in his country - A man can find himself and can revel in this experience.

In years to come, when the Sailor is home from the sea, he will still recall with fondness the ocean spray on his face when the sea is angry - There will come a faint aroma of fresh paint in his nostrils, the echo of hearty laughter of the seafaring men who once were close companions - Now landlocked, he will grow wistful of his Navy days, when the seas were the largest part of him and a new port of call was always just over the horizon.

Recalling those days and times, he will stand taller and say: "ONCE I WAS A NAVYMAN !”

E. A. Hughes, FTCM (SS), USN (Retired)
Copyright, 1958, 1978