Monday Morning Hangover

[pcbtrojan]

A complaint posted to the Arizona Republic newspaper online, and the reply:

Complaint:

Subject:A wake-up call from Luke's jets
Jun. 23, 2005 - 12:00 AM
"Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show?

Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune!

Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns' early-bird special?

Any response would be appreciated."


The response:

Subject: Re: "A wake-up call from Luke's jets" (Letters, Thursday):

On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt Jeremy Fresques.

Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend.

Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the president of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.

A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?"

The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Lt. Col. Scott Pleus
CO 63rd Fighter Squadron
Luke Air Force Base

[TrojanFan2]

I saw this about two weeks ago. the guy who complained rewrote the paper and apologized. He was a former Navy Vet who didn't know about Air Force fly-bys.

[pcbtrojan]

The Curtain Rods

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.
On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.
On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of Chardonnay.

When she had finished, she went into each room and deposited a few half eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left. When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly the house began to smell.

They tried everything. Cleaning mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steamed cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days. In the end they paid to have the expensive wool carpet replaced.

Nothing worked. People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit. Finally they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move. A month later, even though they had cut the price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually the local realtors refused to return their calls. Finally they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to buy a new house.

The ex-wife called the man to see how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back.
Knowing his ex-wife had no idea of how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she was willing to sign the papers that very day.

She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork. A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home………including the curtain rods!

[pcbtrojan]

The following mind-boggling attempt at a crime spree in Washington state
appeared to be the robber's first (and last), due to his lack of a
previous record of violence, and his terminally stupid choices:
1. His target was H&J Leather & Firearms, A gun shop specializing in handguns.
2. The shop was full of customers - firearms customers.
3. To enter the shop, the robber had to step around a marked police patrol
car parked at the front door.
4. A uniformed officer was standing at the counter, having coffee before
work. Upon seeing the officer, the would-be robber announced a hold-up,
and fired a few wild shots from a .22 target pistol.
The officer and a clerk promptly returned fire, the police officer with a 9mm Glock 17, the clerk with a .50 Desert Eagle, assisted by several customers who also drew their guns, several of whom also fired, The robber was pronounced dead at the scene by Paramedics.

Crime scene investigators located 47 expended cartridge cases in the shop. The subsequent autopsy revealed 23 gunshot wounds. Ballistics identified rounds from 7 different weapons. No one else was hurt in the exchange of fire.

OPPS!

[TrojanFan2]

Great story with an almost fairy tale ending!

[tsufl]

Was he a UAB fan?
(kidding)

[pcbtrojan]

A little late but this is for all you Al Gore fans ;D

Anyone remember this??
>
> It was 1987! At a lecture the other day they were
> playing an old news video of Lt.Col. Oliver North
> testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the
> Reagan Administration.
>
> There was Ollie in front of God and country getting
> the third degree, but what he said was stunning!
>
> He was being drilled by a senator; "Did you not
> recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security
> system?"
>
> Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir."
>
> The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of
> the audience, "Isn't that just a little excessive?"
>
> "No, sir," continued Ollie.
>
> "No? And why not?" the senator asked.
>
> "Because the lives of my family and I were
> threatened, sir."
>
> "Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned.
>
> "By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered.
>
> "Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you
> that much?"
>
> "His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.
>
> At this point the senator tried to repeat the name,
> but couldn't pronounce it, which most people back
> then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed
> at the attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are
> you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked.
>
> "Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that
> I know of", Ollie answered.
>
> "And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked
> the senator.
>
> "Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend
> that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and
> his men from the face of the earth."
>
> The senator disagreed with this approach, and that
> was all that was shown of the clip.
>
>
> By the way, that senator was Al Gore!

[pcbtrojan]

I know I know football is only weeks away but I think a few Yogi ism's is a good way to start the week off!

" Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.
In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.
A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.
I usually take a two hour nap from one to four.
When you come to a fork in the road ... Take it.
The future ain't what it used to be.
I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did."

Yogi Berra

[pcbtrojan]

If this keeps up it will be the Monday Night Football hangover!

> WHAT SENATOR JOHN GLENN SAID
> >>>
> >>>Things that make you think a little:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January.
> >>>
> >>>In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the
> >>>
> >>>month of January. That's just one American city,
> >>>
> >>>about as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>When some claim that President Bush shouldn't
> >>>
> >>>have started this war, state the following:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>a. FDR led us into World War II.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>b. Germany never attacked us; Japan did
> >>>
> >>>From 1941 - 1945, 450,000 lives were lost ...
> >>>
> >>>an average of 112,500 per year.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>c. Truman finished that war and started one in Korea.
> >>>
> >>>North Korea never attacked us.
> >>>
> >>>From 1950 - 1953, 55,000 lives were lost ...
> >>>
> >>>an average of 18,334 per year.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>d. John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962.
> >>>
> >>>Vietnam never attacked us.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>e. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire.
> >>>
> >>>From 1965 - 1975, 58,000 lives were lost ...
> >>>
> >>>an average of 5,800 per year.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>f. Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent.
> >>>
> >>>Bosnia never attacked us.
> >>>
> >>>He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three
> >>>
> >>>times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on
> >>>
> >>>multiple occasions.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>g. In the years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush
> >>>
> >>>has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled
> >>>
> >>>al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran, and North
> >>>
> >>>Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who
> >>>
> >>>slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>The Democrats are complaining
> >>>
> >>>about how long the war is taking.
> >>>
> >>>But.
> >>>
> >>>It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno
> >>>
> >>>to take the Branch Davidian compound.
> >>>
> >>>That was a 51-day operation.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons
> >>>
> >>>in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find
> >>>
> >>>the Rose Law Firm billing records.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the
> >>>
> >>>Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard
> >>>
> >>>than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his
> >>>
> >>>Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquidthingy.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>It took less time to take Iraq than it took
> >>>
> >>>to count the votes in Florida!!!!
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Our Commander-In-Chief is doing a Great Job!
> >>>
> >>>The Military Morale is high!
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>The biased media hopes we are too ignorant
> >>>
> >>>to realize the facts.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>But Wait there's more!!!
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>JOHN GLENN (ON THE SENATE FLOOR)
> >>>
> >>>Mon, 26 January 2004 11:13
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Some people still don't understand why military personnel
> >>>
> >>>do what they do for a living. This exchange between
> >>>
> >>>Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenvbaum
> >>>
> >>>is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive
> >>>
> >>>impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one
> >>>
> >>>man's explanation of why men and women in the armed
> >>>
> >>>services do what they do for a living.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>This IS a typical, though sad, example of what
> >>>
> >>>some who have never served think of the military.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Senator Metzenbaum (speaking to Senator Glenn):
> >>>
> >>>"How can you run for Senate
> >>>
> >>>when you've never held a real job?"
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Senator Glenn (D-Ohio):
> >>>
> >>>"I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps.
> >>>
> >>>I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions.
> >>>
> >>>My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different
> >>>
> >>>occasions. I was in the space program. It wasn't my
> >>>
> >>>checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was
> >>>
> >>>not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the
> >>>
> >>>daily cash receipts to the bank."
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>"I ask you to go with me... as I went the other day...
> >>>
> >>>to a veteran's hospital and look those men
> >>>
> >>>with their mangled bodies... in the eye, and tell THEM
> >>>
> >>>they didn't hold a job!
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>You go with me to the Space Program at NASA
> >>>
> >>>and go, as I have gone, to the widows and Orphans
> >>>
> >>>of Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Toger Chaffee...
> >>>
> >>>and you look those kids in the eye and tell them
> >>>
> >>>that their DADS didn't hold a job.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in
> >>>
> >>>Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends
> >>>
> >>>buried than I'd like to remember
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>You stand there, and you think about this nation,
> >>>
> >>>and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>What about you?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>For those who don't remember...
> >>>
> >>>During W.W.II, Howard Mezenbaum was an attorney
> >>>
> >>>representing the Communist Party in the USA.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Now he's a Senator!
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>If you can read this, thank a teacher.
> >>>
> >>>If you are reading it in English, thank a Veteran.

[pcbtrojan]

Hopes and prayers to friends in harms way in La.,Ms, and lower Alabama. Still blowing here but nothing like to the west.

WELL, IT'S SO HOT IN FLORIDA IN AUGUST THAT. .


The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
The trees are whistling for the dogs.
The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
Hot water now comes out of both taps.
You can make sun tea instantly.
You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron!
The temperature drops below 95º and you feel a little chilly.
You discover that in July it only takes 2 fingers to steer your car.
You discover that you can get sunburned through your car window.
You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.
Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement?"
You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
The potatoes you planted are now cooked underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.

Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.
The cows are giving evaporated milk.
Ah, what a place to call home.
God Bless Our State of FLORIDA!

[pcbtrojan]

Today if you are at work or off there are some things to think about. Over a million people are without homes or work. An entire city will be for the most vacated.
If you haven't already helped or contributed don't assume your neighbor will. Just go ahead and do it. If you see people organizing or loading a truck with supplies see if you can help. I had yesterday two men from Louisiana, Jefferson & Plaquemines Parish stop and help me and my friends load a semi headed for Bayou Coden & La Batre and Mississippi.
They had lost all they had but they took the time to help.
If you have taken the time to help then God bless you.
If you haven't then get off your a$$ and do so.
Now to end this rant in the words of and old Jimmy Buffet song Down around Biloxi in my neck of the world the "sun sets off towards New Orleans."

[pcbtrojan]

At least my old agency didn't drag their feet!!!

Washington Post
September 6, 2005
Pg. B2
Federal Diary
By Stephen Barr
Let's have a round of cheers for the U.S. Coast Guard.
Hurricane Katrina wiped out Coast Guard stations in Gulfport and Pascagoula,
Miss., and looters wrecked part of its New Orleans base. But that did not
stop the Coast Guard from sending out rescue helicopters and cutters on
dangerous and exhausting missions to save lives and clear waterways after
the hurricane ravaged the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.
"We started the night that the storm hit," Jason Shepard, a Coast Guard
rescue swimmer, said yesterday in an interview from Mobile, Ala., one of the
agency's staging bases for Katrina.
Shepard, who carries the formal title of aviation survival technician first
class and has served in the Coast Guard for 18 years, called the Katrina
rescue effort "probably the biggest thing that has happened in our careers."
Coast Guard crews have rescued 22,000 people in Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama, Petty Officer Andrew Kendrick, a Coast Guard spokesman in St.
Louis, estimated yesterday.
The Coast Guard, in many ways, is a model agency. It is relatively small -
with about 45,000 uniformed and civilian employees - and believes in
"cross-training" so that each employee can perform more than one job.
It also is a part of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Coast
Guard's response to Katrina in recent days has again illuminated the
importance of capable leadership and a clear chain of command in agencies
during a crisis. Hopefully, as Congress moves to probe how the government
handled the Katrina crisis, the Coast Guard can serve as a model for fixing
what's wrong elsewhere in Homeland Security, including what many perceive as
poor leadership at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jim Elliott, who is helping oversee rescues from
Mobile, said the agency set up a unified command with states and local
industries before the hurricane roared ashore.
"We know how to join with other organizations to get the job done," he said.
"We were out the door as soon as the winds died down."
Elliott has been getting by on three to four hours of sleep each day for the
past week. Shepard said rescue operations are running round-the-clock, with
crews working "anywhere from six- to 18-hour missions, depending on what was
going on."
The work is demanding. Rescue crews that normally would be asked to pluck
about 20 people from danger on a tough day have been "doing 100 to 120
hoists" in adverse conditions that include heat and humidity and exposure to
contaminated water kicked up by chopper rotors, Shepard said.
The work is hazardous. Pilots have had to hover between electrical and phone
wires and drop cables from heights of 10 to 180 feet, Shepard said.
The Coast Guard trains personnel to rescue people from buildings, trees,
mountain cliffs and sinking ships. While the employees often specialize in
certain types of operations, they all train to a standard so that they can
form up as teams in emergencies, with each person knowing what each job
entails and how it fits into overall operations.
As Katrina approached, the Coast Guard pulled its regional command out of
New Orleans and relocated to St. Louis. Aircraft and cutters were dispersed
out of the storm's path.
The Coast Guard has put about 100 chopper crews, typically made up of four
people, in the air each day for the past week and has flown more than 900
sorties, Kendrick said.
Shepard and Elliott said their great satisfaction has come in helping pull
families and children to safety. "It is amazing the lives that we have
saved," Elliott said. "It is a great feeling to be a part of this
operation."




Semper Paratus,
"Always Prepared"

[pcbtrojan]

In 1927, a major unnamed hurricane struck the city of New Orleans.
It was actually more powerful than Katrina. The scope of damage
was much more severe because this particular hurricane actually hit
the city. Katrina missed it by 25 miles.

The interesting difference is the response the government gave in
1927 to those hurricane refugees, compared to the refugees of Katrina, err-
I meant "survivors" ---(sorry Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson).
How much aid did the government dispense at that time? Zero, nada,
not one dime. And you know how much aid the army offered? The only
aid from the army came in the form of loaning the city of New Orleans
tents and camp stoves. Ironically, later, the army sued the city for
reimbursement. So what was the big difference here?


It was the attitude the people had towards the government at that time,
compared to the attitude that Katrina's victims have. The 1927 "survivors"
expected nothing from the government. 80 years ago, people understood
that the government was there to "protect life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness." Today, Americans expect the government to "provide
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." That's a major difference.
And now, a week later, when the government failed on all three levels
of local, state, and federal to provide for their needs, Americans
were sorely disappointed.

Reverend Jackson and reverend Sharpton spend their opportunities
arguing about semantics."They shouldn't be called refugees, they should
be called survivors" Unfortunately, they missed the boat. It was a
perfect opportunity to deliver a very basic message to their people.

Fact, if you are poor and uneducated in America, this is what happens.
Fact, if you depend on the government, you will be sorely disappointed.
Fact, if you are poor in America, there is no reason for you to be
uneducated. Its free! 12 grades. And if you really apply yourself,
there is enough grants and assistance out there for higher education,
which will raise you above the poverty level. And no longer will you
depend on the government and be disappointed. Its unfortunate that this
lesson will be missed by most of the "survivors".

A couple of other points should be brought to light. G. W. has asked
the congress for 50 billion dollars worth of aid for the "survivors"
and clean up of the city. Interesting isn't it? one million people
displaced and out of work in that city, sitting all day in shelters,
waiting for the next handout. Of course, the thought never occurred to
anyone that just maybe, "hey, we should give all these folks jobs filling
sand bags to plug the levees and clearing trees." (Wonder how many of
them would want government aid if they had to work for it?)

And finally, they haven't hardly begun the task of picking up dead
bodies, and already the finger pointing has started. The congressional
hearings and probes will go forever. Millions will be spent on a wasted
diatribe of a bipartisan "witch hunting expedition"- all of which will
be nonsense. If you're a democrat, you are going to blame the
president. If you are a republican, you are going to blame the
mayor and the governor. This is another case in point of how the
government will once again fail its people, they could have spent the
millions educating the poor and misplaced citizens of New Orleans so
that they could go out and get a new and better life, instead of wasting
it on useless blame investigations.