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45867. robertjayb - 12/18/2014 1:08:36 AM Yes, iiibbb. It has been too long coming. I've always thought that a smart and confident JFK would have straightened things out with "Cuber" and the Ruskies had he had the chance.
Among the hazards of geezerdom is events that prompt unavoidable reminiscences and spousal eye rolling. So:
In Oct. '62 I was a very green USAF 2nd Lt at a regional air defense Hqs in the upper U.S. when I drew my first OD duty. Officer of the Day. They should have called it Officer of the Night since things that fell to the OD would have been handled routinely in daytime. Being told I had the authority of the base commander did not impress.
A priority message came in that puzzled the com folks who thought should be handled by the OD. It puzzled me as well. From a base in Florida it ordered the immediate shipment of all tip tanks on hand for the types of fighter-interceptors in our region. What? In the middle of the night they needed auxiliary fuel tanks. These are the cigar-shaped things on the wings that mean extra range and can be jettisoned for maneuverability in combat.
So I went in search of an explanation when I came on three (count 'em, 3) actual Colonels huddled in the hallway. They pored over my twx a bit and said thanks, lt, we'll handle this. And so to bed. My contribution to the missile crisis was carrying a piece of paper about 50 feet down a corridor. With dawn the puzzle was solved. The Florida peninsula was weighted down wth U.S. aircraft.
Pretty tame war story but it's mine and I'm sticking to it. Col. Pat Lang, an intelligence officer who puts out sic semper tyrannis has a better one.
Well, good. I was going to be in the assault echelon for the landings on the north shore of Cuber in November 1962. That prospect went away. Good! Then, when I was in SF (special forces) in Panama in 1965, I was on the list to parachute into Cuber to link up with anticommunist guerrillas if war came between the US and Cuber. That never happened. Good!
Now Obama has used the power of lameduckhood to seek a return to normalcy between the US and Cuber. Good!
Rubio is on the tube bleating about Obama's fecklessness. Absurd!
Hey folks! There are seven, SEVEN, Cuban American members of Congress. Seven. There is only one state in which Cuban-Americans are more than 1% of the population, mostly they are less than .5%. That is Florida where they are 6.5% of the population. 6.5%
The US Chamber of Commerce will press for removal of the embargo by the Congress as will various other trade groups, farmers, ranchers, etc. Good!
Church bells rang spontaneously all over Havana as President Obama and Raul Castro made their announcements. Both praised the fisherman's heir (What does this mean?).
Let us all pray for peace in this season. pl
45868. robertjayb - 12/18/2014 1:20:02 AM More on Cuba...
If memory serves, a trip to Cuba was on cigarlaw's bucket list. Probably didn't have bucket lists then.
But, being a lawyer and all, he managed the trip, had some cigars, and IIRC, got laid too. Great!
Was it ALS that did him in?
45869. arkymalarky - 12/18/2014 1:53:44 AM yes it was.
great posts and story! 45870. wabbit - 12/18/2014 3:39:20 AM Would love to hear Maria's thoughts on this. 45871. arkymalarky - 12/18/2014 4:59:22 AM yes, I thought about her and that she wouldn't like it based on what I remembered. made me think how she's been gone a long time. 45872. judithathome - 12/19/2014 1:04:13 AM RJB: I've stolen your post and put it at my forum...it was superb! Had no idea before now that you were USAF... 45873. Ms. No - 12/19/2014 5:06:47 PM Yes, I was thinking of our Sprite and Mr. Law as well. Maybe we should fire up the hot tub in the Cafe? 45874. judithathome - 12/24/2014 1:25:12 AM Sixty-five million people have signed up for ObamaCare, gasoline is at $1.90 a gallon, and the Stock Market topped 18,000 today...yeah, this is SUCH a baaaad President....let's dump the SOB! 45875. robertjayb - 1/10/2015 3:41:41 PM Oh Joy!
"Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, told a meeting of donors on Friday that he is considering another White House run in 2016, a source familiar with the comments said."
(Newsmax)???
45876. arkymalarky - 1/10/2015 5:04:55 PM Huckabee is the one who makes me dread the GOP primary 45877. robertjayb - 1/10/2015 7:16:56 PM Chill and enjoy. With the Huck, Rick (00Ps) Perry, Cruz, Walker, Ryan, Paul, Jindal, Kasich, Christie, Rubio, Sarah, Carson?, and Jeb contending it should be a hoot. Maybe the bombastic pizza guy will come back. 45878. robertjayb - 1/10/2015 8:37:46 PM Herman Cain. And Mitt, of course. 45879. wabbit - 1/21/2015 2:42:18 AM Francis Fukuyama argues that the US gov't has grown too weak
Would love to read CalGal, Slackjaw, PE et. al. on this. 45880. judithathome - 1/22/2015 12:30:10 AM Not I...I don't give a flying fuck what CalGal has to say. Ever. 45881. judithathome - 1/22/2015 1:51:26 AM And pardon my....French. 45882. robertjayb - 1/22/2015 10:36:58 PM Could it be...
...a twofer?
Be still my heart.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leading potential Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney, who are engaged in a behind-the-scenes competition for dollars and support among party loyalists, are to meet in Utah on Thursday.
Could be a clue to whether Jeb really is the smart Bush. 45883. judithathome - 1/22/2015 10:56:46 PM Like there IS one of those.... 45884. robertjayb - 1/23/2015 7:19:27 PM My cup runneth over...
Sen. Marco Rubio takes steps toward 2016 presidential bid
As his field of potential competitors takes shape, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, is taking concrete steps to run for president in 2016, an aide to the senator confirms to CBS News.
Methinks Rubio is apt to get stuck in those concrete steps. More fun. It's shaping up to be a good year for GOP watching. 45885. robertjayb - 1/23/2015 11:07:37 PM Here they go again
(Wisconsin State Journal)
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s calendar is filling up with more events hinting at a 2016 presidential run.
Walker plans to attend an event this weekend in Palm Springs, California, at a private gathering sponsored by a Koch brothers affiliated group, campaign spokesman Tom Evenson confirmed Tuesday.
Politico first reported Tuesday that Walker will join three other presidential hopefuls at the event: Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida. The event is sponsored by Freedom Partners, which the online political publication describes as "the nonprofit group that oversees the network of fiscally conservative groups formed with help from (billionaires Charles and David Koch) and their operatives."
45886. judithathome - 1/24/2015 8:14:44 PM Well, at least the Kochs are unbending enough to let some of the goings-on reach the press this year...instead of acting as though this meet-up is some sort of Bohemian Grove hush-hush type of get-together.
(Jeez, that sentence may take the prize for "most hyphenated references" in one sentence!)
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