“My friend has now witnessed first-hand how the game is played. Neither party monopolizes greed, corruption or cynicism. Both exist to entrench their players into safe seats at the taxpayer trough.
“America is no longer a democracy. It’s a corporacracy. Businesses, banks, unions and other special interests call the tune, and the White House and Capitol Hill kick up their Guccis and Jimmy Choos and dance.”
Comments Off on Quang Pham out of the race
Posted in Iraq, Library, Scribbles, Troops, Viet Nam
Tagged A Sense of Duty, Quang Pham
Full military honors (and then some) for the funeral and memorial service for the Vietnam veteran–who was murdered by a suicide terrorist while on the job.
Comments Off on Vernon Hunter honored
Posted in Texana, Troops, Viet Nam
Tagged Austin suicide plane crash, funeral, memorial service photos, military honors, Vernon Hunter
Mr. Hunter, 68, a retired Army careerist, Vietnam veteran and IRS manager, is presumed to have been killed in the suicide terrorism incident in Northwest Austin Thursday.
UPDATE: More from Hunter’s family, both related and friends. And this.
Comments Off on Vernon Hunter, RIP
Posted in Obituaries, Texana, Viet Nam
Tagged domestic terrorism, plane crash austin, Vernon Hunter
Can’t say I’d mind seeing D.C. buried by a blizzard for a while, so long as Veeshir has a full pantry and keeps his power. Serves the home of hot air right. Can you say Cap & Trade?
I worry more about Mr. B.’s godfather, Richard Torovsky, at the Reveille Vineyards in the rural Shenandoah. Been snowing heavy all day out there, he said on the landline a few minutes ago, and is still coming down hard tonight. More is expected tomorrow. The snow is not up to his porch yet but it’s wet snow and it packs like concrete. Fortunately, he has a 4-ton, 4-wheel drive tractor to get around on.
Comments Off on Big snow
Posted in Mr. Boy, Viet Nam, Weather/Climate
Tagged blizzard, D.C., Reveille Vineyards, Richard Torovsky, Shenandoah
Was thrilled to read that some folks are packing a DC-3 with relief supplies to ferry to Haiti. The venerable (75-year-old) transport (first one was named the “Flagship Texas”) was my favorite plastic model when I was a kid. I even have a new kit of one in the closet awaiting Mr. B.’s interest in such things. Well. Hoping. I last flew in one years ago in the Bahamas. It was painted pink. Flamingo Airlines, as I recall.
In Viet Nam 18,000-rpm mini-guns were mounted in their open cargo doors to support MACV advisory outfits like mine, a role now filled by the C-130. This outfit (making the semi-aerobatic, one-wheel landing above) teaches single-engine pilots to fly them. No, the DC-3 was never called the Gooney Bird. That was the Army Air Force’s C-47. But DC-3/C-47 is a distinction without (much of) a difference.
Comments Off on Gooney Bird
Posted in Mr. Boy, Science/Engineering, South of the Border, Texana, The War, Viet Nam
Tagged "Flagship Texas", C-47, DC-3, Flamingo Airlines, Gooney Bird, MACV, Mini-Guns, Spooky
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 