brickhistory

It's ok. The NSA will tabs on you based upon a rumor they got from this forum. I'd also be really meticulous with your taxes this year. But we're fine with the many, many classified e-mails you sent to your home server, including SCI and above ones. Worst case, an FBI agent drops by for a little chat. Hope you remember everything you've ever said otherwise you'll be lying to a federal agent. Apparently, some here and in the political world are ok with all of the above. But will clutch their pearls and get the vapors when the current gang in power does shenanigans...

Did you read the "actions" taken as listed in your posted link? Again, why didn't the Administration in office do something? If Ivan was attempting to disrupt a fundamental issue for our democracy, sanctioning the GRU and FSB seems pretty weak sauce. But it did virtue signal so that counts, I guess. But to recap the important points, for me anyway: the IRS was weaponized against political adversaries; the NSA was weaponized to spy on American citizens for political purposes; the FBI phoned it in investigating a national security issue dealing with one candidate and deceived a court to spy on the opposition candidate. There's more, but these cover the concept. All fun and games until it's done to you.

As noted above, this is old news. Not unimportant, but not new. BTW, tell me again why the last Administration didn"t do anything about the Russki's and their IO campaign even though they, Administration, admit they knew about said campaign? But I'll see your Russia and raise you the fact that Steele, the former MI6 guy, paid Russian government personnel for their 'information.' Paid Russian personnel for dirt. Sooo, conceivably paid Ivan for his IO campaign.

Last October 2017, the IRS admitted, due to a court order, that it had deliberately and repeatedly targeted for adverse action and/or delay conservative groups. It also paid an undisclosed penalty to be split among those groups. The only links I can find covering the court decision and IRS statement are right-leaning, so why bother posting since the messenger will be the focus and not the facts. The FBI officials that I believe involved in both the Hillary shenanagans and the Trump investigation were, until, recently, the FBI's General Counsel, the FBI's Chief of Staff, the FBI's head of the CI division, the FBI's deputy director, and the FBI director. None of them were Trump appointees. Holdovers? Yes. Appointed? No. All of this - the IRS, the unmasking of Americans by the NSA, and the FBI's seemingly lax investigation of Hillary's e-mail (along with all the details I posted earlier), etc, etc, etc - matters because if one side gets away with it, sure as sh1t the other side will go there and beyond. Democrats and Republicans will happily use instruments of force against us if we let them. edited to add: And from the FBI's leaders behavior thus far revealed, there are those in those institutions willing to help with that use. I'm agin that.

Yep. Impeachment is not a law enforcement issue. Rather a smart way the Founders came up with to help keep the three branches of government equal. The purpose of the special counsel isn't legal, it's to set the groundwork for impeachment. Politics is a rough sport. Don't play if you can't take a hit. Trump takes his chances with the special counsel. On the other hand, how many of us could withstand the unlimited scope, resources, and effort that such an investigation entails, much less a billionaire with all the complicated things that must occur in that life? Mishandling classified and deliberate spying on Americans using the Intelligence Community for political gain is not politics, however. It is illegal. If something develops against Trump and he's impeached; so be it. Liberals, including the establishment GOP, want Trump gone because he's a threat to them and their way of life. Bill Clinton lied under oath as was impeached but not convicted and removed from office. I expect Trump will likewise survive such an event, but won't make it for a 2020 run. Which, IMO, is the point. If you can't beat him, kneecap him. Especially by the #neverTrumpers. The senior ranks of the FBI has been revealed to be tilting to one side and putting a deliberate thumb on the scales of justice. So they have only themselves to blame.

A Cabinet Secretary knowingly sent and received classified material via non-secure, non-government systems. Not just once but dozens of times. Her staff did likewise. Even the President of the United States communicated to that official on that system. Knowingly. (Although "knowingly" isn't a requirement to be prosecuted for mishandling classified information. Just f'ing it up is enough if the Man wants to prosecute.) The FBI interviewed that Secretary during an investigation, but not under oath. Other subjects of that investigation were allowed to serve as legal council during that interview. Those other subjects were also not under oath during their questioning. The FBI agreed to only search part of the memories of multiple IT devices from those under investigation. And to letting those devices be physically destroyed immediately following those limited searches. U.S. citizens were deliberately unmasked from NSA collects. The US Ambassador to the UN is responsible for 300 of those unmaskings in the last few weeks of the previous Administration. Said Ambassador denies doing so. So, if she did it, why? If she didn't, who did using her name? Why? The Attorney General of the US met with the husband of a subject of an investigation privately during the investigation. The Director of the FBI drafted his findings before the investigation had concluded. The Director of the FBI, who investigates crimes but doesn't decide on prosecutions, made the determination to not prosecute. And the Department of Justice was fine with that. The Director of National Intelligence perjured himself to Congress regarding unmasking. And, as a result of this memo, apparently about knowing of a FISA warrant to surveil an opposition political party. The head of the FBI's CI division, who also did the investigation of that Cabinet Secretary and subordinates is the same one who was leading the investigation into Trump and associates. Including conducting, under oath, the no-notice interview of Flynn which led to his guilty plea of lying to an FBI agent. The now-fired Director of the FBI deliberately leaked classified info to a friend with the intent of that information to go to the media. Which lead to the current special prosecutor. Who, until it was publicly known, used that same FBI CI investigator from above. Who used a seemingly dodgy politically motiviated dossier that the wife of the number 3 man in the Department of Justice's wife worked on. Corruption is always there, regardless of party. Both sides suck. But, we are supposed to be a nation of laws. Try sending something interesting, but classified, to your home e-mail. Ask for the Hillary option...

It's like the mother of all broke jet delays. But Montreal from Dec - March? Brrrr!!!

Seriously? https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/navy-ship-montreal-stuck-1.4497416 A newly commissioned Navy warship will be wintering in Montreal after its journey to Florida was interrupted by cold and ice.

Obamacare? I either buy it or pay a tax. I refuse and my stuff is confiscated. I refuse to have my stuff confiscated and I go to jail. Supreme Court said it's all good...

Given the millions that he paid for each divorce, I'd say a direct cash transaction was the smarter business decision...

Sarcasm spike...close.

Because why not? https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/chelsea-manning-files-to-run-for-us-senate-in-maryland/ar-AAuDtME?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp Hope he/she/it wins the Democrat primary.

I missed to boat in investing in pearl futures. Sure have been a lot of 'em clutched in the past year.

River of Doubt by Candace Millard About Teddy Roosevelt's post-presidency Amazon river discovery voyage. I knew he'd done such but figured it was a "gentleman's tour" complete with rest stops, etc so it wasn't too strenuous yet would make for a good drawing room story later on. Not at all. Truly a survival story. While the hero's of the book are largely Kermit, his son, and a Brazilian colonel who were the true brains and muscle, along with the Brazilian grunts, of the expedition, to be in your late 50s and battle it out in the jungle for several months utterly alone and in no contact with civilization is pretty bad-ass. It was a 50-50 on survival of the group. Excellent read, not overly dramatic.

In the interests of being kind and considerate to my wife who will go to my movies, I took her and my home from college daughter to see The Greatest Showman. Fully expected to get an Elton John/Vegas Cirque du Soliel/Disneyesque type flick and I wasn't disappointed. As the Mrs was a former Tops In Blue performer (I'm not kidding and no, that wasn't a good use of O-3 pay, but it was also well before we met) and my daughter is a professional dancer (ballet, not the pole), the song/dance thing was for them; I can endure. What I didn't expect, and really hated, was the relentless social justice message. Not just an obligatory insertion of the "we're all equal despite being freaks" scene, but from nearly start to finish. If anyone else has the misfortune to see this film, I'd argue you can update your various Green Dot training/CBTs. At least the movie got a happy ending. Looks like all I'm getting is a Jamison's and water...

GDP <3.0% two quarters in a row and a third expected to be at or near 4% Dow up a gagillion for the year Major tax reform passed; corporate rates cut to very competitive in global market with other nations (Germany, et al panicking). A fair few other things going right, IMO. Countered by an on-going FBI investigation (which itself seems to have ethical/institutional bias of its own complicating matters) Loss of a sure-thing Senate seat National debt still climbing. Overall, a winning year. edited to add/note: Politico, never a conservative outlet, published a damning and very long expose of the last Administration interfering, then killing, a high-stakes investigation into Hezbollah's drug trade in order to appease Iran and get that deal done. Should be a good show to watch associated with that one.

You've discovered AFPC's methods. The Force is strong with this one...

Which, apparently, meant never fighting by past leadership all along the line.

A Pilot's Story by Bob Prest Excellent read about an RAF F-4 pilots road to wings and flying the mighty Phantom during the Cold War: getting bounced/bouncing all comers (sts) over Germany; intercepting Bears over the North Sea; deployments to the Med, etc; sitting air defense alert.

Nope. Like promotes like. So to get into the club, 99.69% of the time only those that are like me - think like me, act like me, respond like me - are going to get into the club. I do not blame just CSAF. Every single 3 or 4 star for the last, at least, 15 years who wasn't willing to fall on his/her sword and say "Enough!" bears responsibility. I am unaware of any such examples. Congress writes the checks. They need to be told to whom to write those checks. "We got this" is not always the right answer, but giving such will cost a few corporate board memberships or media talking skull opportunities. We, collectively, also bear some of the blame. How many at the lower echelons were willing to publicly fall on our swords? A few, but not enough to make the GOs get uncomfortable until the iceberg had already ripped the gash (sts) down the length of the ship. Or was it just easier to bail and go airlines? Or to whatever wasn't a dysfunctional Big Blue.

If Top Gun 2 generated buzz, then, of course, another in the genre will too... 12 O'clock Nigh Scene 1: Delta FO Harry Stovall, having parked his 787 at Heathrow, kills part of his 20 hour layover with a stroll down some shop streets near The City in London. Suddenly, he spots a model of an F-15C in the window in a junk shop...cue harp music and wavy focus camera... Scene 2: Then Captain Harry "Burner" Stovall is the reluctant wing exec and is slaving away at his desk awaiting the arrival of the new wing king after the previous one had been fired for boning SSgt Yummy Britches in the staff car. The door bangs open and in walks Col Frank Savage, fresh off his Air Staff tour (prior to that he'd flown the Eagle for one tour at Eglin, then had a career of exec/school/exec/school/command, to the Air Staff and now here at RAF Archbury). Stovall stands up to acknowledge the O-6. Who immediately berates Stovall for having the fun meter morale patch, his flight cap visible in his leg pocket, and his zipper slightly below his name tag. "Captain, I want to see the personnel folders of every pilot in this wing immediately." Scene 3: That evening in the Club bar, Stovall is at the bar trying to not badmouth the new commander as the bros gather 'round looking for gouge. When in bursts Savage himself, proclaiming "This bar is closed. All pilots will muster in the wing auditorium at 0700 tomorrow morning." The crowd files out grumbling unintelligibly... Scene 4: The next morning, at 0700, the auditorium is called to attention and in strides Savage, his Chief, and Stovall. Savage ascends the stage, dramatically pulls the cord to the curtain covering the big board, to reveal...The Plan "Gentlemen, effective immediately, every single one of you will reset your clock on all the ancillary CBTs the Air Force and DoD have mandated. You will complete this no later than a week from today. I will not tolerate sloppy uniforms or sloppy green dots." Raising his hand the OG asks, "Sir, that will take nearly 70 hours even if we group take all the on-line tests and the like. We are supposed to deploy for the Baltic Ops mission next week and had some LFEs scheduled with the Brits over the Wash." "Col Cobb, if I want your opinion, I will give it to you. That's all, gentlemen. Dismissed." Scene 5: A week later: "Stovall, why am I seeing all these 7-day opts?" "Dunno, sir. Here's mine..."

You'd think that admitting to trying to shoot a seal would've gotten him the death penalty in granola land...

Ya think? https://dailycaller.com/2017/11/09/air-force-reviewing-records-back-to-1996-working-247-to-plug-fbi-background-check-holes/

The only person responsible for this tragedy is the sick motherfcuker who pulled the trigger. Big Blue contributed by incompetence, but doesn't bear ultimate responsibility. I also don't necessarily want SAF/CSAF fired now unless there is a chain of firings from lowest to highest. THAT might get some attention and put lasting pressure on folks to do their job AND be judged by job performance. But, now that both the HASC and SASC have weighed in to grab some political attention, you can bet some senior heads (er, yes...) will roll. Because, you know, do something... BTW, I, as a gun owner am not responsible for this tragedy. Neither are the millions upon millions of legal, responsible gun owners in this country. I do want to, you know, do something, because... It is ultimately about control. Those who want to blame me want to assert their control. I'm agin that.

Laws against shooting others as in murder. Check. Laws against using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Check. Laws against felons obtaining/possessing firearms. Check. Laws mandating felony convictions put entered into FBI's NCIS database. Check. Big Blue f'ing this up. Check. So, to some the solution is more government. The same government that can't do this. Sick fcuk, abusing his wife and his infant. Now this. Rot in hell, you motherfcuker. I also hope that Big Blue is named as a defendant in a giant civil case as being negligent and culpable and the families get huge dollars. I also hope OSI pogues and Holloman leaders in place at the time draw, at a minimum, career-ending paperwork. Those who are supposed to audit such processes as well. Do your fcukin' job, morons.