Hey, clod-busters, howzat "free market" workin' out for ya?Don't bother listening, it's all whining jerkwads. Have I mentioned I have a compassion deficit as far as your foul & foolish species?Farm-state lawmakers are concerned that political fighting about the "Farm Bill" could endanger a critical rural safety net and deepen a growing mental health crisis among farmers. Suicide hotlines have seen an uptick in calls as farmers worry that Washington politics over trade, tariffs and the bill could make it harder to keep farms afloat.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Fuck The Farmland (& Their Feelings)
Please do kill yourselves, farm tools. Take your ugly stupid families w/ you when you chicken out, too.
Compare & Contrast
The fake news,
& the boring old facts:Michael Bartiromo / Fox News:
Trump supporter attacked at Cheesecake Factory over MAGA hat: report
Discussion:
Greg P. / twitchy.com: Cheesecake Factory blames the media for blowing incident with black customer in a MAGA hat ‘out of proportion’Carlin Becker / IJR: Cheesecake Factory Releases Statement After Man Wearing MAGA Hat Is Harassed — It's Dropped the HammerTom Tillison / Conservative News Today: Cheesecake Factory where staff attacked man for wearing MAGA hat has had prior incidents reported
If you can't take the heat, snowflake, stay outta the Cheesecake Factory w/ your Chump hat.A brave, free-speech MAGA warrior is under attack, America. Eugenior Joseph, a Miami native and former Westwood Christian School basketball star, says he walked into the Cheesecake Factory at Dadeland Mall with his girlfriend's family on Mother's Day wearing a "Make American Great Again" hat, sat down, and was — we can barely muster the strength to utter these words — ridiculed by the staff for supporting President Trump.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Making America Great Again,
One Industry At A Time
"Woops!! Voted against my own interests again. How fucking stupid am I, anyway?" a still-too-large minority of the bitterly clinging & deplorable American public fails to ask itself.
Trump-voting crab town left shell-shocked by his visa changes — HOOPERS ISLAND, Md. — This community voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. But now his immigration changes are killing its livelihood — legendary crabs that are a mainstay of the local economy and a regional delicacy.Discussion:Summer Meza / The Week: Maryland's Trump country wants its seasonal workers back
Bureaucracy & Bombing Continue
SAT 15 MAY 1943
TRIDENT Conference begins, with President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and the Combined Chiefs of Staff meeting in Washington, D.C.
Pacific
Naval Advanced Base and Naval Air Facility, Russell Islands, Solomons, are established.
Naval Air Station, Adak, Aleutians, is established.
Submarine Gar (SS-206) attacks Japanese convoy screened by escort vessel Matsuwa, at eastern entrance of Verde Island passage, and sinks Japanese army cargo ships Meikai Maru and Indus Maru between Dumali Point, Mindoro, and Marinduque Island, P.I., 13°07'N, 121°49'E.
USAAF B-24s, flying from Midway, bomb Wake Island.
Atlantic
OS2U/OS2N (VS 62) and Cuban Submarine Chaser 13 sink German submarine U-176 off Cuba, 23°21'N, 80°18'W.
Day Late, Dollar Short
The commies at Shareblue MEDIA are either lazy or stealreading us.
This can't go on forever. How long before the Big Crash? (Can't wait, personally. I can live on the street.)Once again, those who supported Trump find that he's uninterested in returning the favor. Instead, his policies seem designed to make their lives worse.Trump’s policies often end up hurting his own supporters, as Lucerne International CEO Mary Buchzeiger confirmed at a trade hearing this week.
The hearings, held by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), covered Trump’s proposed tariffs on goods imported from China. On Tuesday, Buchzeiger gave her stark assessment of what the plan would do to her livelihood.
“The tariffs proposed by President Trump would cripple my business and many like it in the Midwest,” Buchzeiger, a Republican who refers to Trump as “my president,” said at the hearing. “The beating heart of what often is called ‘Trump Country’ would be stifled by the unintended consequences of these tariffs.”
She added that under Trump’s tariffs, she would be “essentially forced out of business.”
Buchzeiger is just the latest apparent Trump supporter to get the shaft from his trade war. Wisconsin-based motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson took a hit to its stock price, just months after the Trump tax scam caused it to close its Kansas City plant.
SPAM®, Spam, spam ...
From your good friend Anonymous, found in the spam trap.
Huh? Ignatius Piazza, the Millionaire Patriot? Can't be real ... can it?
Toys For A Tuesday
Making America 1949-ish again.
Schmuckface & Dickwad
Be Best and Butthead pic.twitter.com/mLtuQQtpA9
— Kanisha J (@KaniJJackson) May 7, 2018
Monday, May 14, 2018
Bombs Away!
FRI 14 MAY 1943
Pacific
Motor torpedo boats PT-150 and PT-152 sink Japanese submarine RO 102 in Vitiaz Strait, New Guinea, 06°55'S, 147°34'E.
USMC TBFs (VMSB 143) damage Japanese army cargo ship Houn Maru and force her aground off Tonolei, Bougainville, 06°48'N, 155°49'E, a total loss.
Minesweeper Dash (AM-88) rescues 25 survivors from U.S. freighter Phoebe A. Hearst, torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-19 about 240 miles southeast of Suva on 30 April 1943. With this recovery, all hands from the lost freighter (including the 16-man Armed Guard) are accounted for.
Atlantic
PBY (VP 84) sinks German submarine U-657 threatening convoy ONS 7, North Atlantic area, 60°10'N, 31°52'W.
European
USAAF B-17s and B-24s bomb harbor installations at Kiel, Germany, sinking submarines U-235, U-236, and U-237.
Today In "One Lies, The Other
Swears To It"
Tweet Of The Day, Also
Further hackery: John Solomon, whose stories "lacked context and rigor" steps in more horsepoop, fake news outfit Gateway Pundit picks it up. pic.twitter.com/4DYDw0ya7r
— M. Bouffant (@MBouffant) May 15, 2018
Trump Chump Pwns Self, Company, Whines For Exclusion
Once More, The Schaden Freudes Itself
Sad scared & angry chumpette not very gruntled, either. (NB: Does not actually admit to having voted for Lumpy.) |
| Mary Buchzeiger, CEO of Auburn Hills-based Lucerne International Inc. |
Note to Crain's Detroit Business: As your website wouldn't let me copy a few paragraphs of this brain-dead mark's "I didn't think the Face-Eating-Leopard Party would devour my face!!" worry-fest, I stole it all & you can go eff your mom!I am a business owner, a proud Republican, and a voter who supports President Donald Trump's campaign to level U.S. trade imbalances.
I am also angry, frustrated and a little scared, because the unintended consequences of the president's $50 billion tariffs on China would cripple my business in Auburn Hills and strip my 50 employees of their good-paying jobs.
This is crazy.
My company, Lucerne International, makes cast, stamped and forged components and assemblies for the automotive and heavy truck industries. Our largest contract is for the Jeep Wrangler. As one of the world's only companies producing Class-A forgings, we make the door, hood, windshield and tailgate hinges that sit outside Wranglers like polished jewels.
It starts overseas — we have seven plants in Asia, where the hinges are manufactured. They are shipped to the Lucerne plant outside Detroit, inspected, repackaged and sent to another auto supplier for assembly before being shipped to Toledo for installation on the vehicle.
That's a supply chain: Thousands of American jobs.
Billions of American dollars.
And it's all in danger.
For some strange and destructive reasons, the proposed Trump tariffs include an obscure provision calling for a 25 percent tax on "iron or steel, aluminum, or zinc hinges and base metal parts … designed for motor vehicles."
Those are our hinges. As far as I know, no other company falls under this provision buried in a $50 billion list of products. For every $2,000 in duties proposed by the U.S., $1 directly impacts Lucerne.
For the life of me, I can't figure out why my certified woman-owned company in the heart of Trump country is being targeted.
Beijing will pass that tax onto me. My customers — other U.S. auto suppliers and U.S. auto companies — will not absorb the cost, nor will U.S. auto buyers. It's a tax on my Michigan company and my Michigan employees, and we can't absorb it.
Ninety-percent of our more than $40 million in revenue is tied to products that fall under the new tariff provision. Unless the president grants an exclusion, Lucerne will fold.
I'm angry and scared.
Scared that my president is about to make a terrible mistake.
Scared for my employees, who love their jobs, who make good money, and who get their college tuitions paid.
Scared for my community and my country, which is about to be blindsided by a bad policy forged of best intentions.
On the big picture, the president is right: U.S. trade deficit needs to be tamed. But, please, not this way — and not when Lucerne is poised to grow to $50 million in revenue next year and expand its Michigan workforce by 25 percent.
Grant us an exclusion, Mr. President. Give us time to finish our work and bring manufacturing back to Michigan.
Because there is not enough capacity to make these parts anywhere in the United States, we were planning on opening a manufacturing plant in central Michigan to reshore this work. But it takes time to bend the arc of economic change — much more time than allowed under the administration's trade strategy. It also requires a re-engineering of the American workforce.
With 4 percent unemployment, we have a hard time finding people to work in our plant outside Detroit today.
One of the reasons for the strong Trump economy: More workers in the U.S. make products that are made from steel than make steel itself. Billions of dollars are pumped into the American economy by the unique and ingenious ways U.S. companies use steel and aluminum components — like we do at Lucerne.
I wonder: Does President Trump know that his tariff on imported components threatens almost every manufacturing job in Michigan?
Does he know that my little company in my little corner of Michigan would lose 90 percent of its business overnight? Does he understand that a 25 percent tax on the components Lucerne uses would evaporate my profit margins? That it would shut us down?
I don't think he does. Because I know my president cares — and I've got to believe he will change his mind, grant sensible exclusions, and help companies like Lucerne make America great again.
Speaking of effing, who's getting it good & hard here?
Trump vows to help China save Chinese jobs. Really.
Beyond Pathetic
Are there even words for this sort of thing?
Can you imagine any (other) gargantuan zillion dollar operation being run by a chief executive who sat on his lard ass until 1100 watching television & spraying & arranging his damn hair-weave every day? Let alone that his flunkies have to trick him into not hate-watching something that may raise his blood pressure &/or start WWIII, but have steered him to Fox, like every other wretched, demented & almost (14 June, if he lives that long) 72-yr. old honkie.Trump and Hannity don’t usually speak in the morning, which the president spends alone, watching TV and tweeting. During the first months of the administration in particular, the tweets launched at the beginning of the day landed like bitchy little grenades directed at the programming and personalities that angered him on MSNBC and CNN. “Early on, usually we could count on the president watching Morning Joe first thing, at 6 a.m.,” one White House official told me. “He’d watch an hour of that. Then he’d move on to New Day for a segment or two. Then he’d move on to Fox.”
Senior staffers worried about this pattern of behavior: By the time his day was formally under way with the daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office — scheduled as late as 11 a.m. — the whole world was often thrown off course, wondering whether there were “tapes” of his conversations with a fired FBI director (May 12, 2017, 8:26 a.m.) or if a TV host had been “bleeding badly from a face-lift” at Mar-a-Lago (June 29, 2017, 8:58 a.m.).
With the hope of calming him down, then–chief of staff Reince Priebus and then–press secretary Sean Spicer began a subtle campaign. “It got to the point that they were just like, ‘We need to get him off these channels and onto Fox & Friends or else we’re going to be chasing down this crazy-train bullshit from MSNBC and CNN all day,’ ” one former White House official said.
Like all other ideas, this had the highest chance of implementation if Trump believed he’d thought of it on his own. Priebus and Spicer worked talking points about the network’s high ratings and importance to his base of supporters into conversation until, eventually, it stuck, so that the president’s television consumption is today what the current White House official called “mainly a complete dosage of Fox.” The former official added, “Trump’s someone who loves praise more than he likes hate-watching Morning Joe.”
But the current official acknowledged that it has created a different set of problems: “Sometimes on Fox, a lot of stories are embellished, and they don’t necessarily cover the big news stories of the day. When they cover the smaller stories, if that gets the president riled up, then that becomes an issue. Whenever he tweets, all of us do a mad dash or mad scramble to find out as much information about that random topic as possible. We’re used to it in a lot of ways, so it’s part of our morning routine.”
One is reminded of Howard Hughes. Is germophobia part of the aging idiot package?
Read the whole interminable thing; besides Trump being the easiest-to-manipulate dimbulb one could imagine, one can learn more than one wants about Sean Hannity (Born to the thug life; both his parents were state-sanctioned bullies: "They were born 15 years apart — Trump at Jamaica Hospital to rich parents and Hannity at Metropolitan Medical in upper Manhattan to a county-jail official and a family-court officer".) & his junior-high-BFFs relationship w/ Lumpy.
Have I ever mentioned just how damn much I fucking hate this shithole country, & welcome everything Trump does to make it more of a shithole? I only hope the whole shithouse goes w/ a bang rather than a whimper.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
75 Yrs. Ago In Gun Safety; A Blimp; Tunisian Surrender Ends Resistance
THU 13 MAY 1943
Pacific
TF 18 (Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth) bombards Munda and Vila airfields, Solomons, while minelayers (TG 36.5) sow mines across northwestern approaches to Kula Gulf. Light cruiser Nashville (CL-43) is damaged by turret explosion, Solomons, 08°28'S, 158°49'E, and destroyers Chevalier (DD-805) and Nicholas (DD-449) are damaged by gun mount explosions, 08°30'S, 158°01'E.
Battleship Idaho (BB 42) and destroyer Phelps (DD-360) silence enemy batteries on Attu, permitting U.S. Army artillery units to move up at Holtz Bay.
Atlantic
German submarine U-176 attacks convoy DM 69 in the Greater Antilles, sinking U.S. tanker Nickeliner and Cuban-registry tanker Mambi, 21°25'N, 76°40'W, and eludes destroyer escort Brennan (DE-13), eight submarine chasers, and a blimp. There are no casualties on board Nickeliner (23 merchant sailors, seven Armed Guards and one passenger), whose survivors are rescued by a Cuban submarine chaser.
Mediterranean
USAAF aircraft sink Italian submarine Mocenigo at Cagliari, Sardinia.
Enemy resistance in North Africa ends with surrender of German and Italian forces in Tunisia.
Darwin Awards: Old & In The Way
First we'll grab your guns, you fucking morons, then we'll confiscate your cars. For your own good, as usual.
(No, I've no idea why "we" bother or care.)
(No, I've no idea why "we" bother or care.)
Deadly Convenience: Keyless Cars and Their Carbon Monoxide Toll
Weaned from using a key, drivers have left cars running in garages, spewing exhaust into homes. Despite years of deaths, regulatory action has lagged.
A shame younger cretins aren't as likely to succumb thusly, but we do have an excess of old idiots in this shithole country, & this is certainly easier than finding ice floes on which to send them to their doom.On a summer morning last year, Fred Schaub drove his Toyota RAV4 into the garage attached to his Florida home and went into the house with the wireless key fob, evidently believing the car was shut off. Twenty-nine hours later, he was found dead, overcome with carbon monoxide that flooded his home while he slept.
“After 75 years of driving, my father thought that when he took the key with him when he left the car, the car would be off,” said Mr. Schaub’s son Doug.
Mr. Schaub is among more than two dozen people killed by carbon monoxide nationwide since 2006 after a keyless-ignition vehicle was inadvertently left running in a garage. Dozens of others have been injured, some left with brain damage.
[...]
But weaned from the habit of turning and removing a key to shut off the motor, drivers — particularly older ones — can be lulled by newer, quieter engines into mistakenly thinking that it has stopped running.
Today In Foreign & Economic "Policy"
Trump is circling the toilet, again.
Making Choi-nuh Great Again, one job at a time, & attacking Yurp. Who are our allies again, & just how fucked is everything?Trump's decision to blow up the Iran deal is a massive attack on Europe — Few ideas are as holy in President Trump's international liturgy as the concept of national sovereignty. His National Security Strategy speaks of a “beautiful vision—a world of strong, sovereign, and independent nations …Discussion:Barbara Slavin / Axios: Without Iran deal, U.S. sanctions tool will lose forceRELATED:Trump team sends mixed signals to Europe — National security adviser John Bolton on Sunday carefully doubled down on President Donald Trump's threat that European countries could be sanctioned by the United States if they continue to be involved with Iran.Trump Vows to Save Jobs at China's ZTE Lost After U.S. Sanctions — SHANGHAI — President Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday that he was working with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to prevent the collapse of the Chinese electronics giant ZTE, which shut down major operations …
100 Yrs. Of U.S. Air Mail Postage!
 |
| All you need to know. |
The Nix, 60 yrs. ago. Enjoy the suck-uppery here:And Friday the 13th arrives on Sunday this yr. Happy Mothers Day to all you Mothers out there.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Attu Action
WED 12 MAY 1943
Pacific
Battleship Pennsylvania (BB 38) neutralizes Japanese positions on the west arm of Holtz Bay, Attu Island, while battleship Nevada (BB 36) renders Japanese positions at head of Massacre Bay, Attu, ineffective. Japanese submarine I-31 attacks Pennsylvania nine miles northeast of Holtz Bay but the torpedoes miss their mark; I-35 likewise conducts an unsuccessful attack against light cruiser Santa Fe (CL-60). Destroyer Edwards (DD-619), assisted by destroyer Farragut (DD-348), subsequently sinks I-31 about five miles northeast of Chichagof Harbor, Attu, 53°00'N, 173°21'E.
Submarine Gudgeon (SS-212), despite her quarry's being skillfully camouflaged and moored close inshore, sinks Japanese army cargo ship Sumatra Maru off Bulusan, Luzon, 12°43'N, 124°08'E.
Submarine Steelhead (SS-280) lays mines off Erimo Zaki, Japan.
Mediterranean
Advanced Amphibious Training Base, Bizerte, Tunisia, is established.
Indian Ocean
U.S. freighter Cape Neddick, bound for Suez, via Durban, South Africa, is torpedoed by German submarine U-195 in the South Atlantic at 23°21'S, 01°22'W; she eventually reaches Walvis Bay, South Africa, under her own power. There are no casualties among the 51-man merchant complement or the 25-man Armed Guard.
Lying In The Bed They Made
Chump: It rhymes w/ Trump.
Bend over again, jerks who are too dense to understand cause & effect, or to plan ahead! Did they think they could get native-born Murkins to work their fields for shit wages?
Haw haw haw. Never has a more deserving group of pinheaded morons been so thoroughly fucked in their unlubricated asses. What the hell did they think would happen?
‘Tricked by the devil.’ They backed Trump. Now, his foreign labor cuts may ruin them. — Eddie Devine voted for President Donald Trump because he thought he would be good for American business. Now, he says, the Trump administration's restrictions on seasonal foreign labor may put him out of business.Discussion:
Bend over again, jerks who are too dense to understand cause & effect, or to plan ahead! Did they think they could get native-born Murkins to work their fields for shit wages?
Friday, May 11, 2018
Attu Attack
TUE 11 MAY 1943
Pacific
Army troops (Seventh Division) land on Attu Island, Aleutians in Operation LANDCRAB; TF 16 (Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid) and TF 51 (Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell) cover the landing. Submarines Nautilus (SS-168) and Narwhal (SS-167) land scouts on Attu Island.
Submarine Grayback (SS-208) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking collier Yodogawa Maru about 125 miles northwest of Kavieng, 00°47'S, 149°02'E.
Submarine Plunger (SS-179) finishes off abandoned Japanese transport Kinai Maru, damaged the day before east of Saipan, 14°29'N, 149°00'E.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
"Damaged In Collision" x2
MON 10 MAY 1943
Pacific
Destroyer MacDonough (DD-351) and light minelayer Sicard (DM-21) are damaged in collision about 100 miles north-northwest of Holtz Bay, Attu Island, Aleutians, 54°34'N, 173°58'E.
Submarine Plunger (SS-179) attacks Japanese convoy tracked since the day before, sinking merchant passenger/cargo ship Tatsutake Maru and damaging transport Kinai Maru about 200 miles east of Saipan, 14°29'N, 149°00'E; the latter is abandoned. Torpedo boat Hiyodori is damaged in collision with Tatsutake Maru and Kinai Maru, probably during the rescue of survivors.
"Seems Confused"? IS RETARDED!
A lying, ignorant & loud-mouthed buffoon. Will no one rid us of this sub-human moron before it's too damn late?Trump seems confused about military pay,
claims troops received no raises for a decade
A member of Trump's family then wiped the drool from his slack jaw & escorted him from the podium w/ a promise of some "executive time" if he can manage not to poop his pants before leaving the room.WASHINGTON — Speaking to a crowd of military spouses on Wednesday, President Donald Trump incorrectly claimed that his administration gave service members their first pay raise in 10 years, a moment he was “proud” to oversee.
In fact, troops have seen a pay raise of at least 1 percent every year for more than 30 years. The 2018 military pay raise — which was 2.4 percent — was the largest for the armed forces in eight years.
On Wednesday, at the signing of an executive order to increase military spouse hiring among federal agencies, Trump called the raise this January the “first time in 10 years” that troops had seen a paycheck boost.
“Today, I’m here to tell you that my administration is totally committed to every family that serves in the United States armed forces,” Trump said. “That is why, earlier this year, I was proud to sign that big pay raise that I’ve already spoken about. And I am proud of it.
“And I guess there will be others, too. Would you like one sooner, or do you want to wait another 10 years? I don’t know.”
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Over For Fascisti In Afrika
SUN 9 MAY 1943
Pacific
Submarine Gar (SS-206) sinks Japanese gunboat Aso Maru southeast of Cagayan Island, 09°09'N, 122°50'E.
Submarine Pogy (SS-266) damages Japanese transport Uyo Maru off Iwaki, Japan, 37°05'N, 141°06'E.
Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ships Takao Maru and Jimmu Maru off Kone Zaki, northeastern Honshu, 38°57'N, 141°49'E.
Atlantic
Light cruiser Marblehead (CL-12), on patrol in the South Atlantic, rescues the crew of a crashed USAAF B-26, 06°42'S, 21°35'W.
Mediterranean
Organized German and Italian resistance in North Africa ceases. Although resistance on land has ended, opposition from air attacks continues. Axis planes bomb Allied shipping in harbor at Bone, Algeria. A fragment from a near-miss ignites a portion of the cargo (7,000 tons of drummed gasoline) on board U.S. freighter Daniel Huger; although the efforts to fight the blaze (initially conducted by two Merchant Marine cadet-midshipmen and a volunteer) are ultimately successful (aided by efforts of a well-equipped British firefighting party), one merchant sailor and one of the 27-man Armed Guard perish in the attack.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
U.S.S. Plunger
SAT 8 MAY 1943
Pacific
Japanese destroyer Kuroshio is sunk by mine laid the day before, Blackett Strait, Solomons; destroyer Oyashio, damaged by mine off Rendova, is sunk by Navy aircraft; destroyer Kagero, damaged by mine off Rendova is sunk by USMC aircraft; destroyer Michisio is damaged by aircraft, Blackett Strait.
Submarine Plunger (SS-179) sights Japanese Saipan-bound convoy about 60 miles northwest of Truk (see 9-11 May 1943).
USAAF B-25s (5th Air Force) sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Tomioka Maru and army cargo ship Sumida Maru, Madang harbor, New Guinea, 05°12'S, 145°50'E.
Mediterranean
U.S. freighter Pat Harrison is mined in Gibraltar Bay; she is later written off as a total loss. One merchant seaman dies in the incident, but there are no casualties among the 26-man Armed Guard or the two Army security officers.
Allied forces occupy Sfax, Tunisia, capturing Italian water tanker Pro Patria.
Monday, May 7, 2018
Vichy French Steamship Sunk
FRI 7 MAY 1943
Pacific
TG 36.5, composed of light minelayers Gamble (DM-15), Preble (DM-20), and Breese (DM-18), covered by destroyer Radford (DD-446), lays minefield across Blackett Strait, western approaches to Kula Gulf, Solomons. Four Japanese destroyers encounter the field later that night (see 8 May 1943).
Submarine Snook (SS-279) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ships Tosei Maru and No. 3 Shinsei Maru in the Yellow Sea, 36°05'N, 123°21'E.
Submarine Wahoo (SS-238) sinks Japanese merchant passenger/cargo ship No.5 Tamon Maru off Benten Zaki, Honshu, 40°05'N, 141°53'E.
Net tender Catalpa (YN-5), escorted by minesweeper Dash (AM-88), brings damaged U.S. freighter William Williams, torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-19 on 2 May 1943, into Suva, Fiji Islands.
Vichy French steamship Gouverneur General Pasquir is sunk by mine off coast of French Indochina, 20°14'N, 107°00'E.
Atlantic
U.S. freighter Samuel Jordan Kirkwood, torpedoed by German submarine U-195 in the South Atlantic the previous day, sinks (see 16 May 1943).
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Gar
THU 6 MAY 1943
Pacific
Submarine Gar (SS-206) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kotoku Maru, Tarakan, Borneo, harbor, 03°14'N, 117°58'E.
Atlantic
U.S. freighter Samuel Jordan Kirkwood, bound for Bahia, Brazil, is torpedoed by German submarine U-195 in the South Atlantic at 15°00'S, 07°00'W, and abandoned (see 7 May 1943).
Fourteen survivors from U.S. freighter James W. Denver, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-195 in the North Atlantic on 11 April 1943, reach Port Etienne (see 16 May 1943).
Covered lighter YF-575 founders after grounding off Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
More War 75+
WED 5 MAY 1943
Pacific
Submarine Permit (SS-178) damages Japanese transport Tokai Maru, Apra Harbor, Guam, 13°27'N, 144°35'E.
Submarine Sawfish (SS-276), despite proximity of escort vessel, sinks Japanese gunboat Hakkai Maru off Ise-Wan, Honshu, Japan, 34°11'N, 137°41'E.
Submarine Snook (SS-279) attacks Japanese merchant shipping in the Yellow Sea, sinking cargo ships Kinko Maru, 38°39'N, 122°35'E, and Taifuku Maru 38°38'N, 122°39'E.
Twenty-three survivors from U.S. freighter Phoebe A. Hearst, torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-19 about 240 miles southeast of Suva on 30 April, reach Tofua Island; motor minesweeper YMS-89 picks them up and transfers them to Tongatabu (see 14 May).
Atlantic
German submarine attacks upon ships of convoy ONS 5 continue: U.S. freighter West Madaket is torpedoed by U-707 at 54°47'N, 44°12'W, and abandoned. British frigate HMS Pink rescues the 39-man merchant complement and the 22-man Armed Guard and then scuttles the crippled vessel with depth charges.
Wisconsin Jarhead Up-Date
Oh Kee-rist, not this asshole again! Yes, & all the other skunks are in on the pissing match too, as high-lighted below.
The Associated Press 4 May 2018 By Scott BauerMADISON, Wis. — A defiant Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Wisconsin who is a former Marine refused to apologize Thursday amid a growing bipartisan backlash over comments he made about the military, including his questioning the "cognitive thought process" of veterans who are Democrats.
Nine Republican veterans called on Kevin Nicholson to apologize for comments he made related to his military service during a debate last week with his primary challenger, Leah Vukmir, saying they were disappointed with his behavior in the race.
The letter from the veterans, all of whom support Vukmir, came a day after Nicholson, in a radio interview, questioned the "cognitive thought process" of Democratic military veterans. Nicholson also said the Democratic Party had "wholesale rejected the Constitution and the values that it was founded upon."
Nicholson, whose campaign slogan is "Send in the Marine," refused to back down or apologize, telling supporters in an email Thursday that "liberals can try to twist this all they want, but I stand by what I said: The Democrat Party has LONG lied to vets."
Nicholson, 40, said that while he respects Democratic veterans, he doesn't understand how they can vote for Democratic politicians "who routinely demean and belittle" the Constitution.
"I'll never apologize for saying that, ever," Nicholson said.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in November.
Nicholson has largely centered his candidacy on his military background, saying his experiences on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan led to his conversion from Democrat to Republican and made him qualified to serve in the Senate.
The remarks disparaging Democratic veterans generated criticism from a wide array of veterans, including Democrats Tom Palzewicz and Beau Liegeois. They are running for Congress in Wisconsin against Republican incumbents Jim Sensenbrenner and Mike Gallagher, who is also a veteran. Gallagher did not return a message seeking comment.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said he's going to leave it up to the voters to decide what to make of Nicholson's comments.
"I value all of our veterans, they are the finest among us," Johnson told The Associated Press. As to whether he agreed with Nicholson or thought he should apologize, Johnson said, "I'll let the voters make their own judgment."
Nicholson faces Vukmir in the Aug. 14 primary. Vukmir, whose son is in the Army, has not commented on Nicholson's statement about Democratic veterans. The two candidates did spar in a debate last week over Nicholson's record, after Nicholson said his military service "doesn't mean much to certain politicians." Vukmir demanded he apologize for inferring she didn't respect his service in the Marines.
"If it makes you feel better," Nicholson said, "I feel respected."
The Vukmir-supporting veterans, including state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, said in the letter Thursday that Nicholson can't shield himself from questions about formerly being a Democrat by citing his military service.
"It is beneath you to claim that legitimate comments about your statements in the public record are inadmissible because of your service," they wrote. "It flies in the face of decades of established political discourse."
They said not even Democratic Sen. John Kerry, of Massachusetts, "used his military experience as an excuse for far-left positions on abortion, taxes, and immigration."
The veterans said Nicholson's statements were disrespectful to veterans who support Vukmir and he should apologize. Nicholson spokesman Brandon Moody said he would not apologize.
"What would we apologize for - not being a career politician?" Moody said. "We've simply called out Leah Vukmir for running a campaign focused almost exclusively on questioning Kevin's personal character and values, which includes his service in the Marines."
© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reversed. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
All Hail Marx-Lennon!
Commie crap on the First Commie's second centenary.
The Independent:Karl Marx 200th anniversary: The world is finally ready for Marxism as capitalism reaches the tipping point
The philosopher predicted that centralisation would lead to revolution and give birth to a post-capitalist society – globalisation has led us to that point
It's time to normalize Karl MarxDiscussion:
Robot Roll Call
Speaking of robots, can't they get the Romneybot lexicon in standard American English? First "sport", now this:Alex Jones: Trump Is Fighting A Computer Program That Has Decided To Kill Humans
Right Wing Watch, obvs.
Romney is “brilliant” in his ability to analyze complicated problems and formulate solutions and “sophisticated” in his understanding of politics, those in his orbit say. Yet he is not a complicated person, with simple tastes that can seem out of place with a man worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“My favorite meat is hot dog, by the way. That is my favorite meat,” he told a gathering of supporters as they joined him recently for a casual dinner organized by his campaign. “My second favorite meat is hamburger. And, everyone says, oh, don’t you prefer steak? It’s like, I know steaks are great, but I like hot dog best, and I like hamburger next best.”
Discussion:Haley Britzky / Axios: NSA got more than 530 million U.S. phone records last year
Friday, May 4, 2018
Torpedo, Torpedo, Torpedo
TUE 4 MAY 1943
Pacific
Submarine Gudgeon (SS-212) sinks Japanese merchant trawler Naku Maru west of Panay, P.I., 10°11'N, 121°43'E.
Submarine Seal (SS-183) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking fleet tanker San Clemente Maru about 50 miles southeast of Palau, 06°30'N, 130°30'E.
Net tender Catalpa (YN-5) begins towing damaged U.S. freighter William Williams, torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-19 near Suva on 2 May (see 7 May).
Atlantic
German submarine attacks on ships of convoy ONS 5 continue: U.S. freighter West Maximus is torpedoed and sunk by U-264 at 55°00'N, 43°00'W; during the abandonment, one sailor of the 21-man Armed Guard drowns, while five of the 39-man merchant complement are lost with the ship. British trawler HMS Northern Spray rescues the survivors (who also include two Army passengers).
Portuguese fishing trawler Albufeira rescues 11 survivors from U.S. freighter James W. Denver, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-195 in the North Atlantic on 11 April (see 16 May).
Cynic's Corner
Since you didn't ask, yes, we were absolutely correct that clusterfuck would be far too understated a description for FacebookWatch's pathetic attempt to stream Thursday afternoon's Dodgers at Diamondbacks game. (They insisted on the added assholery of a superimposed lozenge giving the number of sucker-ass chumps viewing; we don't remember it going over 35-odd thousand.)
Not that we don't suspect Spectrum of throttling our iNternet speed, & the laptop is a little old (purchased 10 yrs. ago next Hallowe'en); video hasn't been videoing as it used to & time spent waiting for requests to be processed & secure connections to be established has increased considerably since Microsoft's "Fall Creators Update", but not only couldn't we get a stream that lasted more than 15-20 secs., it wouldn't even load on the bigger screen using Chromecast, just a gray screen w/ that stupid "f" logo. Later, dots streaming back & forth appeared so idiots could pretend it'd be fully buffered at any sec., but by then I was listening on the radio (better than the Facebook announcers, if you couldn't guess) & eventually the Chromecast gave up & started w/ the slideshow of inoffensive photographs.
Mitigation: As the game went to the bottom of the ninth, w/ the former Brooklyn Bums having come from behind (On wild pitches & a balk; don't get your hopes up.) & leading 5-2 w/ Kenley Jansen on the mound we decided to take another shot at watching, & the Chromecast worked. But, to keep kvetching, the picture was not, to these eyes, quite as good as Spectrum's narrowcasting.
In conclusion, today's entry in bloggery at Crooks & Liars is the "Moron or Idiot?" Edition (& May The Fourth Be W/ You Day, which is not usually on our space-radar.)
Not that we don't suspect Spectrum of throttling our iNternet speed, & the laptop is a little old (purchased 10 yrs. ago next Hallowe'en); video hasn't been videoing as it used to & time spent waiting for requests to be processed & secure connections to be established has increased considerably since Microsoft's "Fall Creators Update", but not only couldn't we get a stream that lasted more than 15-20 secs., it wouldn't even load on the bigger screen using Chromecast, just a gray screen w/ that stupid "f" logo. Later, dots streaming back & forth appeared so idiots could pretend it'd be fully buffered at any sec., but by then I was listening on the radio (better than the Facebook announcers, if you couldn't guess) & eventually the Chromecast gave up & started w/ the slideshow of inoffensive photographs.
Mitigation: As the game went to the bottom of the ninth, w/ the former Brooklyn Bums having come from behind (On wild pitches & a balk; don't get your hopes up.) & leading 5-2 w/ Kenley Jansen on the mound we decided to take another shot at watching, & the Chromecast worked. But, to keep kvetching, the picture was not, to these eyes, quite as good as Spectrum's narrowcasting.
In conclusion, today's entry in bloggery at Crooks & Liars is the "Moron or Idiot?" Edition (& May The Fourth Be W/ You Day, which is not usually on our space-radar.)
Thursday, May 3, 2018
A Year Passes Like Nothing W/ ...
Earlier & elsewhere I noted some who seem to give more of a flying fuck.
Poor Seamanship & Mystery Explosions
MON 3 MAY 1943
Pacific
Oiler Neches (AO-47) is damaged when she accidentally runs aground at entrance to Cold Bay, Aleutians.
Atlantic
Tank landing craft LCT-23 is destroyed by explosion of undetermined origin off Algiers, Morocco.
Cog Diss
Once Again, Compare & Contrast
If you care, Politico Magazine was on this jarhead last yr.:“Those veterans that are out there in the Democrat party, I question their cognitive thought process because the bottom line is, they’re signing up to defend the Constitution that their party is continually dragging through the mud.”
— Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson (R), in an interview on WTMJ.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch ...He’s the Republican Dream Candidate. There’s Just One Problem ...
Two decades ago, Kevin Nicholson was a rising star in the Democratic Party. Then he disappeared. Now he’s running for U.S. Senate — as a conservative Republican.
 |
| Australian soldiers fire an M3 Carl Gustaf rocket launcher at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, July 20, 2014. (MATTHEW CALLAHAN/U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTO) |
Just saying.Gunners Using Shoulder-Borne Heavy Weapons at Risk for Brain Damage
Troops in training or combat who use shoulder-supported heavy weapons are at risk for brain damage from blast pressure, a report commissioned by the Army found.
Servicemembers exposed to high levels of "blast overpressure" from heavy weapons, such as the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle, have experienced problems with memory loss and decision making, according to the report released this month by the think tank Center for New American Security.
[...]
"We were quite honestly shocked to find that there are these negative cognitive effects that are also coming from firing heavy weapons," said Paul Scharre, a co-author of the report and director of CNAS's technology and national security program.
The report was part of a larger project for the Army Research Laboratory that looked at emerging technologies to improve soldier protection and survivability, such as body armor and robotics, he said.
A former Army Ranger, Scharre has fired heavy weapons that give off blast pressure, such as AT4 anti-tank guns, the M72 anti-armor LAW and .50-caliber sniper rifles.
"They have quite a punch, and soldiers who have shot them will tell you there's a big pressure coming off the weapon, but there wasn't a depth of understanding about some of the cognitive deficits that can come from very small amounts of exposure," he said.
As the NFL has come to understand, Scharre said, it's not just the big concussions you need to think about. "It's the routine hits people are getting that put them at risk."© Copyright 2018 Stars and Stripes. All rights reversed. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
P.S.:
[Political Wire/via Military.com]THE APPEARANCE OF CANDIDATE IN MILITARY UNIFORM DOES NOT IMPLY OR CONSTITUTE ENDORSEMENT BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
First I'll Pray To Jesus ...
...then I'll cut your face!
Today In First Amendment Violations: Nat'l. Day of Prayer
[Crazy Nutty Broad Casting]Trump leads National Day of Prayer event after saying he repaid lawyer Michael Cohen for hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels
- President Trump gave an address for the National Day of Prayer at the White House on Thursday.
- Hours earlier on Twitter, Trump said his lawyer, Michael Cohen, was reimbursed for a pre-election payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump said the memorandum gives equal access to government funding and equal rights of expression to faith-based organizations. The order also establishes a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative to serve as a liaison between the Trump administration and faith-based programs.
"Faith is more powerful than government, and nothing is more powerful than God," Trump said.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Adding Insult To Injuries*
It was bad enough when baseball disappeared from broadcast telebision & ensconced itself firmly on cable tee vee, 'though I didn't really give a damn because I'd have cable either way (This reporter is fortunate to live in the area served by Spectrum, which paid the Dodgers billions for their narrowcasting rights, but won't sell them at a price any other local cable service is willing to pay.) but this game-available-only-on-Facepuke bullshit is going too damn far.
*Dodger injury report: Three or four (can't even keep track anymore) starting position players out, one for the season, starting pitcher Ryu was pulled from tonight's game w/ a left groin strain. What fucking next?
We'll let you know tomorrow if "other streaming devices" includes personal computers. Or if there's any way to put the stream on the big screen for people who don't have a 'phone w/ the fucking Facebook app constantly reporting everything one does to Zuckerberg & his fascist minions.This week, MLB offers fans another unique viewing experience with the continuation of its digital-only broadcasts. Thursday's Dodgers-D-backs matchup will air live in the United States exclusively on Facebook. The finale to the four-game series at Chase Field is one of 25 streaming broadcasts scheduled for 2018 as part of MLB's partnership with Facebook this season.
Fans can catch the 3:40 p.m. ET contest by logging onto Facebook's MLB Live page from their phones, tablets, smart TVs or other streaming devices. MLB Network will produce the game, with play-by-play announcer Rich Waltz, analysts Orel Hershiser and Eric Byrnes -- who played for the D-backs from 2006-09 -- and in-game reporter Alanna Rizzo.
*Dodger injury report: Three or four (can't even keep track anymore) starting position players out, one for the season, starting pitcher Ryu was pulled from tonight's game w/ a left groin strain. What fucking next?
Wotta Maroon!
Noun, verb, 9-Eleven doing his usual bang-up job.
W/ that dumb crooked cousin-fucker Giuliani (& George "You've covered your ass" Bush) in charge we're lucky Manhattan didn't look like this after 11 September 2001.
Now, we'll be lucky if only one American city is destroyed while that shitheel Trump occupies the Executive Mansion.
Explosions, Occurred & Averted
SUN 2 MAY 1943
Pacific
Submarine Gar (SS-206) sinks Japanese guardboat No.12 Jimbo Maru in Makassar Strait, 00°41'S, 117°50'E.
Submarine Stingray (SS-186) attacks Japanese convoy off Wenchow, China, sinking army transport Tamon Maru about 12 miles off Nanki Shan, 27°18'N, 121°38'E.
U.S. freighter William Williams is torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-19 near Suva, Fiji Islands, 20°09'S, 178°04'W. There are no casualties among the 40-man merchant crew and the 15-man Armed Guard; the latter remains on board with a fire-fighting crew to battle the blaze in two compartments (see 4 and 7 May).
Atlantic
U.S. tanker Livingston Rowe, loaded with aviation gasoline, catches fire at Recife, Brazil, near warehouses containing ammunition and dynamite; prompt firefighting efforts by crews of U.S. and British naval vessels in the harbor, from U.S. Navy and U.S. Army shore establishments, and from Brazilian army, naval, and civilian organizations prevent a major catastrophe.
Coast Guard cutter CG-58012 is destroyed by explosion off Manomet Point, Massachusetts.
Canada Killing Californians!
O.K., O.K., not actually killing (Yet!) & more like British Columbians, not all Canucks, but we couldn't resist the alliteration.
California health officials say about 100 people statewide have contracted norovirus in the last week after eating raw oysters from British Columbia, Canada.
The state Department of Health issued a warning Wednesday about the possible risk of illness from consuming oysters harvested in south and central Baynes Sound.
Canada has reported more than 170 cases of gastrointestinal illness linked to consumption of raw oysters.
Officials say the number of new illnesses is declining but the investigation is ongoing.
Four oyster farms in British Columbia's Baynes Sound that were linked to illnesses remain closed.
Norovirus is contagious and causes inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea and fever.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Hooray, Hooray, The First Of May ...
MAY
SAT 1 MAY 1943The wondering need wonder no longer: Phoebe Apperson Hearst (1842-1919; one of millions of victims of the influenenza pandemic.) was William Randolph Hearst's mother.
Pacific
Submarine Pogy (SS-266), in attack on Japanese convoy, sinks gunboat Keishin Maru off Iwaki, Japan, 37°04'N, 141°06'E.
PBY rescues eight survivors from U.S. freighter Phoebe A. Hearst, torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-19 about 240 miles southeast of Suva the day before (see 5 and 14 May).
[Now one-third through this annus horribilis, if you haven't been paying attention.]
Hooray Hooray, The First Of May ...
... which means we are one-third of the way through this yr. of suffering, agony & misery. How long, how long?
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