Really small change

I meant to pick this up sooner but better late than never.  Take a look at this:

That's a two-cent piece.  They were minted in the U. S. from 1864 through 1873.  They came into being because coins were not circulating during the Civil War because of the scarcity of the metals they were made of.  The U. S. Mint was running critically short of nickel and because of this, and the fact the lobbies for copper miners and nickel miners fought a battle in Congress and the copper miners won, the decision was made to make the two cent piece out of bronze.  The alloy was a mix of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc.

But before there were two cent pieces, there was a three cent piece.  The first was made from silver.

What made this coin, first issued in 1851 unique is that for the first time, the U. S. Mint was issuing a coin that had a face value lower than that of the metal content of the coin.  They did this by taking .900 fine silver and reducing it to .750 fine.  That's a complicated way of saying these coins were only three parts silver and one part copper, as opposed to being nine parts silver and one part copper.

Another fact that makes this coin's history interesting is that postage was also made three cents by the law that authorized the issuance of this coin.  So there was a coin that was of the same value as the price of a postage stamp.

Ultimately the metal mixture was changed back to .900 fine and the mint stopped making them in 1873.

That's because eight years earlier, in 1865, the mint started issuing the same denomination coin but in an alloy that was primarily nickel.

Guess the nickel lobby wasn't permanently defeated.  And since the following year would see a five cent piece, also made of nickel, maybe they won that particular war with the copper lobby.  Next blog on coins will be on the origin of the nickel and its predecessor, the half-dime.

Spin, spin, spin

Elise Labott is a foreign affairs correspondent for CNN.  She was suspended by the network for a controversial tweet.  The question is, which tweet was it?  According to the Huffington Post, New York Daily News, Politico.com and CNN Money (most telling), it was for this tweet.

House passes bill that could limit Syrian refugees. Statue of Liberty bows head in anguish @CNNPolitics http://cnn.it/1O5IS6b 

But if we are to believe some of the more "out-there" conservative blogs and websites, her suspension doesn't stem from that tweet, but from tweets sent out when she allegedly colluded with one of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's aides during her 2013 testimony on Benghazi.

Spin, spin, spin.  How about accuracy?   MintPressNews wrote "Elise Labott, a foreign affairs reporter for CNN, is now serving a two-week suspension from the Atlanta-based global news network for posting a critical tweet of Senator Paul during the hearing."

* * *

Donald Trump continues to insist he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 attacks, on television.  No one can find any evidence of this footage.  There are no police reports or other documentation of these so-called celebrations.  At least not within the borders of the United States.

This shouldn't be surprising.  No matter what he says, he apparently never backs off of something he said.

That particular characteristic is not presidential in any way.  Given the polarization of the two parties in Congress, a president has to be a maker of consensus to get anything done.  Trump's agenda would be dead on arrival due to his complete intransigence about admitting he was wrong about anything.

* * *

Kobe Bryant has announced this will be his last season of NBA basketball.  It isn't that big a surprise to anyone.  One of the best swingmen to ever play in the NBA, he was an amazing player.  However, his body simply can't perform at the level it once was able to.

I'm a big fan of Kobe.  He is one of the best clutch shooters in the history of the game.  But can you make a comparison between Kobe and Magic Johnson?  Or between Kobe and Jerry West?

More than ever, I am convinced that comparisons of players from different eras, especially the eras that did not immediately precede the current one, suffer from a bias.  A bias toward the players from the current era.  If asked to consider which NBA guard was the best ever, the discussion gets extremely complicated.  The arguments develop into whether someone was a shooting guard, a point guard or a swingman.  Most of the young people asked this question might well not consider some of the following names.

Bob Cousy - point guard
John Havlicek - swingman
Sam Jones - guard
Oscar Robertson - guard
Bill Sharman - guard

I limited that short list to only players who appeared on the list of the 50 Greatest NBA Players of all time.  There were others I could have listed. Younger people do know about Magic, Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Jerry West and others. 

But what makes someone the best of the best?  Championship titles?  John Havlicek has eight, more than Jordan, Magic or Kobe.  Sam Jones has ten.  Regular season MVP awards?  Jordan has five.

Those who broadcast and/or comment on basketball make a big deal anytime a player records a triple-double (reaching double-digits in three metrics in one game, usually points, rebounds and assists).  As an NBA rookie he nearly averaged a triple double for the entire season.  He averaged only 9.7 assists that year.  The following season he did average a triple double for an entire season.  That's a feat that will never be equaled.  Never.

The truth is that professional sports change from era to era.  If you put 22 year old Bob Cousy into the NBA in 2015, he'd be a solid player.  He'd be a superior playmaker.  But he wouldn't be able to dominate the way he did during his era.  The players are much more gifted physically today than they were back then.  Taller, stronger, faster.  This is why era vs era comparisons are hard.

I'll miss Kobe.  But I'm glad he finally reached the conclusion that it was time for the next phase of his life.  I'm sure he'll be successful at whatever ventures he chooses to pursue.

* * *

As the multiple Republican candidates debated about whether or not to discuss the shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood facility, Hillary Clinton rolled out her plan to spend more than $200 billion on the nation's infrastructure.

One drive on the Los Angeles system of interstate and state highways should make it clear that this is perhaps the best idea that any of the candidates has advanced thus far this campaign cycle.  Money spent on infrastructure creates middle class jobs.  It's an investment in the nation at the federal, state and local level.  It will more than pay for itself over time.

It's a good idea.  Her plan may or may not be ideal (I haven't had a chance to delve into the details) but it is the first time someone's addressed this vital issue.

* * *

An opinion piece in the L. A. Times claims that the younger you are, the less likely you are to support free speech.  In fact, a survey shows that 21% of current college students find the First Amendment to be "outdated."  I find that frightening.

There is a difference between expression and action.  I don't give a damn what the members of the KKK say to one another, or in public.  It's when they take action like assault, rape and murder that they cross the line from legal expression to criminal behavior.  Because I am Jewish, I heard all sorts of slurs aimed at me as I grew up.  But until the slur-slingers crossed the line from words to throwing punches, it wasn't an issue.

The old adage about sticks and stones can and does apply in such situations.  If college students on the campus of a public university want to use racial slurs, like it or not, that's protected speech.  When 40% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 believe that offensive statements should be outlawed, that isn't progress.  It is the exact opposite.
 

A new nickname for the Donald

In light of the fact that Donald Trump has taken his mocking of those he dislikes to a new level by making fun of a New York Times reporter with a disability; and the fact that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 is in theaters, I propose we give Mr. #DumpTrump a new nickname.  The MockingFool.

Serge Kovaleski is a reporter for the New York Times and he has a disability.  Kovaleski has arthrogryposis.  Trump has denied that he was mocking Kovaleski's disability and that he's never met the man.

Kovaleski denies this, saying   "I've interviewed him in his office, I've talked to him at press conferences. All in all, I would say around a dozen times, I've interacted with him as a reporter" when he worked for the Daily News.

This one is easy to solve.  If Kovaleski is like most journalists, he has a record of the interview he claims to have done with Trump in Trump's office.  Trump undoubtedly has his calendars going back to the day he was born with that platinum spoon in his mouth.  So let's have Mr. Kovaleski identify the date of that interview and Mr. Trump can refute the claim by providing his unaltered calendar for that date showing that he did not meet with Mr. Kovaleski.  Then we'll know for certain who is the truth teller and who is the lying liar here.  My money is on Mr. Kovaleski as being the truth teller.

* * *

By the numbers

509
422
426
427
19
107
9
6

So what are these numbers?  The first four are the number of murders in Chicago by year from 2012 through 2015.  Of course the year still has over a month to do, so that one may change. 19 is the number of men who were among that total of 426 during 2014 who were killed by police officers.  Those officers fired 107 bullets in the killing of those 19 men.  Nine of those 19 cases were described as "justifiable" by independent review.  Six of them can't be declared one way or the other because of conflicting versions of the details being told and still pending investigations.  One of the remaining four men was of course, Laquan McDonald.

The protests in Chicago over the death of Laquan and the other, lesser known victims of unjustified police shootings continue.  This in spite of the fact that some say they should stop because Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first degree murder.  The city accepted responsibility long before then, paying a settlement of $5 million to the family.  However, the big question remains unanswered.

Laquan McDonald was murdered in October of 2014.  The videos of this heinous act weren't released until more than one year later.  Officer Van Dyke wasn't charged until those videos were released.  What the heck took so long?  That's the question.  What did Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel know and when did he know it?

There is another question.  Although the number of murders in Chicago may have decreased since 2012, there are still far too many.  Where is the outrage over the murders committed by people other than police officers?  Where is the outrage over the killing of a nine year old boy by gang members seeking revenge on his father?  Pierre Stokes, the father of murder victim Tyshawn Lee has told authorities he will not cooperate in the investigation into his son's murder.  Is he seeking more revenge?  Should we revise the Confucian saying "before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" to read a whole bunch of graves?

Every single of a civilian by a police officer must be viewed with the strictest level of scrutiny possible.  Especially when it involves a person of color.  Numbers can be spun and skewed, but it is clear that far too many minority people, especially teen males are dying at the hands of those who are sworn to uphold the law while protecting all of us.  But that is no reason to not be outraged by any and every murder.  Nine year olds should not die because their parents are members of gangs.

* * *

Now that a Polish court has made a decision that Roman Polanski will not be extradited back to the U.S. and this decision cannot be appealed, it is worth revisiting the particulars of this case.  A grand jury indicted him on six felony charges.  His attorney reached a plea agreement where he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse.  As part of that "deal" he agreed to allow the judge to impose sentence after undergoing a 90 day diagnostic evaluation at the California Institution for Men at Chino.  He spent 42 days there and was released. The judge was not satisfied with the evaluation and wanted to send Polanski back for the remaining 48 days for further evaluation.  This is when Polanski fled.

The Polish court cited issues they consider unfair in the prosecution of Polanski.  These include "unethical" discussions between the judge and only one side in the case without all parties involved, informal instructions to the judges, intentional destruction of some of the documents in the case and loss of some others and excessive sensitivity of the judges to criticism in the media.

Did the judge have an ex parte discussion with the victim's attorney?  Seems to be the case.  But I don't believe it appropriate for one nation's court to cite the "fairness" of a trial in another nation as a reason to deny an extradition request.  Besides, if you take a moment to read the treaty between the U. S. and Poland, you'll find that either nation can choose to deny an extradition request from the other without giving a reason.

Personally, I'd like to see Polanski brought back to the U. S., ordered to serve 90 days in jail for his sentence under the plea agreement, with the sentence suspended.  It would put this to bed once and for all and he wouldn't have to spend a moment in jail.  If he had pleaded guilty to statutory rape, I'd feel differently.  But they made a deal allowing him to plead to a much lesser offense and it's time to close the book on this.

Shootdown

That's a SU-24 attack aircraft.  Known by NATO forces as a Fencer, it is similar to the one that Turkish forces shot down near the border between Turkey and Syria on November 24, 2015.

This is the F-16 Fighting Falcon.  One of these against a SU-24 might be a fight, depending on other variables.  But the Turks scrambled two F-16s.  Two of those against one SU-24 is not a fair fight.  It isn't much of a fight at all.  Apparently there was another SU-24 but it left the area after the warnings began.  Two on one isn't much of a contest.

According to CNN and other sources, the Turks warned the SU-24 crew at least ten times that they had violated Turkish airspace.  Ten times in five minutes.  The Russians say that their plane never entered Turkish airspace.    Both the L. A. Times and Reuters quote anonymous American sources as claiming the Russian jet was in Turkish airspace for only a few seconds.  Russian President Vladimir Putin said the SU-24 presented no threat to the Turkish people.

This was a bad call on the part of Turkey.  Force the plane down, force it to leave your airspace, but you don't shoot down a Russian jet at a time when that nation is engaged in an extreme level of saber-rattling.  While Russia and Turkey are on opposite sides of the equation in Syria (the Turks oppose the regime of Bashar al-Asad in Syria while the Russian attacks against ISIS are retribution for their downing of that Russian jet, they are also attacking the Syrian rebels as they support al-Asad), you don't shoot down a jet belonging to a country that is one of your biggest trading partners.

Russians visit Turkey as tourists in numbers exceeding 1.5 million annually.  Since the U. S. punished Russia by imposing sanctions against them for seizing land in the Crimea, the trade level between Russia and Turkey has increased significantly.  Turkey not being a member of the European Union is a factor in this.

As for the charges that the SU-24 pilots were fired upon as they attempted to parachute to safety, it seems that it was Syrian rebels near the border who were shooting at them and not Turkish forces.

This one could boil over rapidly.  Stay tuned.

Tax stuff

With the approach of the Thanksgiving holiday, the number of articles being written about ways to lower your tax liability will increase exponentially between now and the end of the year.  I had clients come to see me this week on more than one occasion with questions about how to pay Uncle Sam and Governor Moonbeam as little as possible without running afoul of the tax laws.

One of the best ways to lower (actually to defer) tax liability is only available to those who are self-employed.  It's called the Simplified Employee Pension (SEP).  Let's take a look at the federal tax return for President and Mrs. Obama for the year 2011.  You don't have to go through the whole thing.  Just look at the first page and start with line 12.  The entry of $441,639 is the net profit for President Obama's work as the author of books.  Now drop down to line 28.  That amount of $49,000 is the maximum allowable contribution to a SEP for the President from his net profits from self-employment.  The simplest way to understand the limit on how much can be contributed to a SEP is that it is the lesser of 25% of the net profits or the annual limit which was $49,000 in 2011.

Traditional IRAs have stiffer restrictions.  Maximum contribution in any year is $5,500 (when you turn 50, you can bump it up to $6,500).  There are income limitations and other limits come into play when you have a retirement plan through an employer.

The 401(k) or similar plan through an employer is better, with the 2015 limit currently set at $18,000.  But it still pales in comparison to what a self-employed person can put away for retirement.

Did some continuing education today and read something I found fascinating.  Seems that millenials are, on average, doing more saving for retirement than the generation before them.  Perhaps they learned from the lessons of the crash of 2008.

I wish I had a magic bullet that would make it easier to pay less in tax.  Other than buying a home, there isn't any way to make a significant dent in that tax bill each year.

The solution lies between the extremes

In September of this year President Obama said he wants to raise the number of Syrian refugees the U. S. will accept to 10,000.  In the wake of the terrorist attack on Paris this past weekend, governors and others are saying they don't want any Syrian refugees in their states.  There are worries about the potential danger these people represent. Other want to go ahead and let them into the country.  President Obama said the following on Thursday, 11/19/2015 regarding the refugees:

"The idea that somehow they (the refugees) pose a more significant threat than all the tourists who pour into the United States every single day just doesn’t jive with reality."

 Refugees allowed into the U. S. are supposed to go through a rigorous vetting process.  The details of this process aren't disclosed but sources say that this vetting can take up to two full years, although the typical case is more like 18 months.

The answer is actually quite simple.  Allow the 10,000 refugees in.  Establish refugee "camps" where they can be kept safe, fed and housed, while the vetting process is allowed to take place.  We have unused military facilities where they can be housed during this time.  Better they be housed and fed and provided with life's necessities while we still take the proper steps to ensure they pose no risk to us.

Humane and practical.  Makes a lot more sense than doing what some idiots are suggesting, that we allow only Christian refugees into the U. S.

* * *

Jared Fogel, the former Subway spokesman was sentenced to 15.5 years in federal prison after pleading guilty on 11/19/2015 to charges of child pornography and traveling to have illicit paid sex with minors.

The sentence from the judge is even harsher than the plea deal maximum of 12.5 years prosecutors had agreed to.  The judge was not bound by the deal between Fogel's lawyers and the prosecution.  At the sentencing hearing the defense attempted to argue for leniency in sentencing because the minors he had sex with were 16 and 17, just under the age of consent.

Reporter's note:  Minors cannot legally consent to sex when they are under the legal age for consent.  There is no consent for a minor where the adult is paying for the sex.  He ought to be locked up for a lot longer.  Also, a FB friend talked about treating pedophilia as a disease.  It should be, for those who haven't yet committed a crime that fits this definition.  For those who have, like Mr. Fogel, they need treatment AND long-term incarceration.

* * *

Joe Campbell is a 32 year old small business owner from Gilbert Arizona.  He began day trading stocks on E-Trade a few months ago and wound up owing over $106,000 thanks to a short sale he made. 

First, a primer on what a short sale is.  When you "short" a stock, you're essentially selling shares you don't actually own.  You borrow them from your broker on margin, which means you're borrowing whatever the value of the shares is when you actually purchase them and repay them to the broker.  Here's an example:

You short 1,000 shares of XYZ company when the stock is trading at $5 per share.  You're hoping it will fall to $2 a share at which point you will spend $2,000 to purchase the shares and repay the broker.  Your profit is the difference between the price at which you "shorted" (read that as sold) XYZ and what it cost you to purchase the shares to close the transaction.  So you made $3,000.

The tricky part is that there is a finite limit on how much you can make in that transaction.  Your maximum profit is limited to $5,000 if the shares were to become worthless.  But there is no limit on how much you might lose.  Imagine for a moment that instead of going down, the price of the shares were to rise.  If you were forced to close out the transaction by paying $15 per share, you'd lose $15,000.

That is what happened to poor Joe Campbell.  He thought his losses were limited to the $37,000 he had in his account.  But by the time he closed out his short position, he was $106,000 in the red.  So what did he do?  He started a GoFundMe page.  He is taking a real beating in the comments section on that page, and as I write this donations have been made that total raised $2,956.

Reporter's note:  I have no sympathy for this man at all.  His Twitter feed is filled with tweets about how well he had done in his previous day trading, with plenty of graphs to show his accomplishments.  A lot of the comments speculate he probably never gave any of those profits away to worthwhile charities or causes.  I don't know if that's true or not, and it really doesn't matter.  The idea of asking people to bail you out of a bad short sale of stock is about as bad as creating a GoFundMe page because you went to Vegas for the weekend and blew the rent and grocery money.  Many stockbrokers say that the only difference between the stock markets and Las Vegas is that there are no free cocktails in broker's offices.  I will point out that liquidating the 401(k) investments of Mr. Campbell and his wife to pay off this balance to E-Trade is a bad idea.  He should just file for bankruptcy.  Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.  Put it behind him and learn for the mistake.

FWIW, Warren Buffett is on the record saying he once made a bad investment decision that ultimately cost his investment partners and himself over $100 billion.  So you can bounce back.

* * *

Non-Paris/Terrorist News Stuff

Charlie Sheen has disclosed the fact he is HIV positive, qualifying the disclosure by claiming the virus is no longer detectable in his bloodstream.  He says he only had unprotected sex subsequent to his being diagnosed as HIV positive with two women, both of whom were aware of his condition and under the treatment of his doctor.  He also said he has paid out millions of dollars (one source claiming it was more than $10 million) to people to buy their silence about his condition.

Reporter's note:  I want to believe him.  But during this four year period (following his being diagnosed with HIV) he was still going on drug/alcohol binges.  He may not remember some of what he did during those times.  I hope he remains healthy.

* * *

27 U. S. governors (as this is written) have gone on the record as opposing anynew Syrian refugees being relocated to their states.   It should be noted that of these 27 states, 26 have Republican governors.  American University law professor Stephen I. Vladeck put it this way: "Legally, states have no authority to do anything because the question of who should be allowed in this country is one that the Constitution commits to the federal government."

Reporter's note:  The federal government controls who enters the country.  It can force states to accept refugees whether they want them or not.  A state governor making such a statement is akin to the field mouse flipping the bird to the eagle swooping down to eat him.

* * *

The Utah judge who had ruled that a lesbian couple could not be the foster parents of an infant, and then reversed himself; has now recused himself from the case.

Reporter's note:  This isn't akin to closing the barn door after the cows got out.  It's more like closing that door long after the cows have been slaughtered and sold to a butcher.

* * *

Rose McGowan wrote the following in response to Caitlyn Jenner's acceptance speech at the Glamour Woman of the Year Awards:

"Caitlyn Jenner you do not understand what being a woman is about at all. You want to be a woman and stand with us- well learn us. We are more than deciding what to wear. We are more than the stereotypes foisted upon us by people like you. You're a woman now? Well f—king learn that we have had a VERY different experience than your life of male privilege."

Jenner had told a joke in her speech about the hardest part of being a woman is deciding what to wear, prompting at least part of this comment.  McGowan also posted several graphic images featuring the Jenner quote.

Reporter's note:  McGowan is a very outspoken woman and she has every right to express her outrage.  Let's not forget she called gay men participating in a boycott of a hotel "...delusional idiots."  I'm also told by a former landlord of hers that she was the prototypical "tenant from hell."  None of that should limit her freedom of expression.  She apologized for the comment about the gay men in the aforementioned boycott.  She mentioned that she was happy for what Caitlyn Jenner has done for increased visibility for the trans community.  All in all, this isn't a big deal.  Or is it?

* * *

Moira Smith was a 38 year old NYPD officer who died on 9/11 after saving dozens, maybe hundreds of lives in the South tower.  Glamour Magazine honored her as a Woman of the Year for her sacrifice.  Now her husband James Smith, also a cop with the NYPD has announced he will be returning the award he accepted on his wife's behalf because the magazine honored Caitlyn Jenner.  Actually, he referred to her as Bruce Jenner and as a man in his written rant on the subject.

Reporter's note:  I suspect that if we were to measure homophobia and transphobia by profession, we would find the highest levels of this bias among police officers.  Just my opinion.  The fact this cop can't bring himself to refer to Caitlyn by her chosen name and gender identity is very telling.

* * *

Fox Sports is reporting that Boston Red Sox designated hitter David "Big Papi" Ortize will retire after the upcoming 2016 season.  The big question is will he become the first ever DH to make it into the MLB Hall of Fame.  There's no question that he will enjoy a "Retirement Tour" much like those that former Yankees Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter did.

Reporter's note:  I think he will eventually make it into the Hall of Fame.  The performance enhancing drug (PED) case against him is weak.  One failed research test.  He's been clean ever since.  The case that as a DH he never made any kind of contribution as a defensive player is stronger, but still shouldn't could that much against him.  Babe Ruth didn't make the HOF based on his career fielding percentage of .968.  Just FYI, it wasn't his base running either.  In 240 lifetime attempts, the Babe was caught stealing 117 times.  It was his hitting and pitching that got him there.  Ortiz has made a career of hitting the cover off of the baseball.

* * *

 Abdul Jamil Khokhar is the owner of nine Papa John's franchise locations in New York City.  He's going to be spending sixty days in jail after he pled guilty to voilations of the New York labor laws.  He failed to pay his employees overtime pay they were entitled to, a misdemeanor and he filed false business records, a felony.  He's also going to pay over $500,000 in restitution and damages.

Reporter's note:  He's getting off easy.  I just hope people remember that he, a franchisee did this, not the Papa John's company.

* * *

#Breaking - Bobby Jindal, the sitting governor of Louisiana has announced he is suspending his campaign for the 2016 presidential nomination of the Republican party.  His standing in the polls just before the most recent Republican debate was 0.8%.  He cannot seek reelection to his current office due to term limits and his political future is unclear at this point.

Reporter's note:  A little musical salute to Jindal as he departs the campaign trail.

 

* * * 

Huma Abedin, long-time aide to Hillary Clinton described Secretary Clinton as being "...often confused" in an email that was released by the State Department to the watchdog organization Judicial Watch.  Judicial Watch had to sue to get this batch of emails.

Reporter's note:  While Judicial Watch attempts to appear as a non-partisan group, it clearly has a conservative bias.  But that doesn't mean the above story is untrue or slanted.  I read the actual emails that were released to them.  Abedin's statement is clear and not taken out of context.

* * *

In October of this year the U. S. dropped a nuclear bomb.  Well, it wasn't really a nuke because the enriched nuclear material that would have made it a nuke was not used.  But it was the third test of the B-61 nuclear bomb.  The test was conducted at the Air Force's Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. 

Reporter's note.  Had we conducted an actual nuclear test, it would have been done at the underground test facility at Mercury, NV.  That would have been news.  This wasn't, although perhaps it should have been.

* * *

Veterans Day Stuff, Part IV

An official Army photo of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf .  While best known for his role in the first Iraq war, he rose to prominence earlier when the U. S. invaded Grenada in 1983.  He was the senior Army officer involved in the direct command of the operation.  A soldier's soldier, he received his third Silver Star for personally going into a minefield in Vietnam to save some of his troops.

Petty Officer First Class Stephen L. Morris, Navy SEAL.  One of four SEALs who drowned during the Grenada Invasion.  A poorly planned and conceived mission that wasted the lives of four good men.

The top photo is an image of an Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (we called them the ABCCC).  The photo below it is the external image of the modified EC-130E that had the ABCCC inside of it.  In 1983 my unit maintained these aircraft flow by the 7th ACCS that orbited over Grenada during the invasion.

The trailer for the 1986 film Heartbreak Ridge.  One of the few films to deal with the subject of the Invasion of Grenada.

* * *

An image of the Panmunjon Truce Village in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.  On November 23, 1984, a Russian named Vasily Matusak (sometimes spelled Matusok or Matuzok) ran across the demarcation line from the North to the South as he defected.  A firefight broke out.  U. S. Army PFC Michael Burgoyne was wounded.   Cpl. Jang Myung-ki, a KATUSA was killed in the firefight.

A photo from a 2011 memorial for Cpl Jang.  There is an annual memorial service in the place in the DMZ where the firefight occurred.

* * *

On December 16, 1990. four U. S. military officers stationed in Panama City, Panama were in a car on their way to dinner at the Marriott hotel.  They were stopped at a roadblock near the Panamanian Defense Force (PDF) headquarters.  Marine Corps First Lieutenant Robert Paz was killed in the melee that ensued.  Four days later, Operation Just Cause, the Invasion of Panama began.

A poster for The Panama Deception, an Academy Award winning documentary on the Invasion of Panama.

A member of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division posing for a photo in Panama after the U. S. had invaded.

* * *

CNN video from the night the First Gulf War attack on Baghdad began.  January 17, 1991. 

President George H. W. Bush shaking hands with the troops just before the start of the ground attack in the First Gulf War.

An Air Force MH-53J Pave Low helicopter

A U. S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter.  A force of the Pave Low and Apache choppers flew in ahead of the fights being launched on the first night of the Coalition attack on Iraq in 1991 and took out some of the Iraqi air defenses.  You can read more in Secret Warriors, a Newsweek article.

Johnny B. Alston is the Chair of the Drama Department at North Carolina Central University.  He was awarded a Silver Star during the First Gulf War, one of the first three recipients of our nation's third-highest award for bravery in combat.

Trailer for the 1991 film The Finest Hour.  An underrated movie about Navy SEALs starring Rob Lowe, Gayle Hansen and Tracy Griffith.

Trailer for the 1996 film Courage Under Fire starring Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips and Matt Damon.

* * *

During the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, Chief Warrant Officer (CWO3) Michael Durant's Blackhawk helicopter was shot down.  MSGT Gordon and SFC Shughart were members of the Army's Delta Force.  They volunteered to be set down at the crash site to try to prevent the capture of CWO3 Durant.  Both died in the action and were awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.  CWO3 Durant survived and stayed in the Army until retiring in 2001 after 22 years of service.

* * *

I could write a lot about the War in Afghanistan and the Second Iraq War.  But I've prattled on long enough on this topic until next year.  I will say that I, and many other Americans are very grateful to the men and women who served in these conflicts and all those that came before them. And to the men and women on active duty and in the Guard/Reserves today who continue to serve.  Thank you.

Terrorism in Paris

As the death toll rises in Paris from the unconscionable acts of terrorists, there are reports that Great Britain's MI5has been monitoring the chatter of known ISIS members to identify and thwart attempts by them to take revenge for the killing of "Jihadi John."

Is there a causal connection between the drone attack on this murderer and the attacks in Paris.  Perhaps, perhaps not.  It has been less than 48 hours since he was apparently killed by a U. S. aerial attack.  What happened and may still be happening in Paris was clearly well-coordinated and planned.  It might be that the death of Jihadi John accelerated the timetable for an attack that was scheduled to take place later this year, possibly around the holidays.  Terrorist actions are always devastating in terms of loss of life and the harm to our collective emotional well-being but they would be more so right around Christmas.

It doesn't really matter.  The takeaway from this must be a simple one.  The only answer to terrorism is to terrify the terrorists.  Whether it is shock and awe type attacks, or more devious operations, ISIS and other such organizations can't be stopped by killing just the leadership.  That may disorganize and slow their efforts.  It won't completely stop them.

We as a nation, as a collection of nations, as the population of a planet must come together and rise up against terrorism and terrorists.  We need to hunt down each and every one of them and either imprison or execute them.  Until we do, this will not stop.  No amount of vigilance will be 100% successful in preventing acts of terrorism.  It just isn't possible.  If terrorists keep trying to run operations, ultimately one of them will not be prevented.  Even one is too many to allow.

At this writing, the death toll stands at 118 with who knows how many more wounded or dead and waiting to be added to the body count.

I'm truly sad today.  I'm even more angry.

Veterans Day Stuff, Part III

Winding this up.

That's a C-130 aircraft.  On September 2, 1958, Soviet fighter jets shot down a similar C-130 with 17 U. S. airmen aboard.  The Soviets denied that they shot down the plane, even after a tape recording of the Soviet pilots' conversation was released to apply pressure.  They did return six sets of remains but the fate of the 11 remaining airmen remained a mystery throughout the Cold War.

This is just one incident.  According to an NSA document there were more than 40 such incidents of U. S. aircraft being shot down during the Cold War.

Did you know there is still an American POW in the hands of the North Koreans?  That ship above, the USS Pueblo is it.  It was attacked and captured by the North Koreans on January 23, 1968.  One member of the crew was killed in the attack.  The remaining 82 sailors were help captive while negotiations for their release dragged on.  They were finally released on December 23, 1968.

Sometimes the danger doesn't come from the "enemy."  That's the USS Liberty.  It was in international waters near the Sinai peninsula on June 8, 1967.  That was in the middle of the Six Day War.  Israeli fighter jets and patrol boats attacked the ship.  34 men died (1 civilian, the rest military), 171 were wounded and the ship was severely damaged.  The Israelis claimed the Liberty was mistaken for an Egyptian ship.

That's Navy Lt. Commander Albert Schaufelberger.  He was assassinated in El Salvador on May 25, 1983 by terrorists under the umbrella of the FMLN. 

On April 24, 1980, an attempt was made to rescue the 52 Americans being held hostage by Iran.  At a staging site in the desert an EC-130 plane collided with a RH-53 helicopter.  Eight serviceman died in the crash and subsequent fire.

I guess there will be one or two more parts to this, to include the two Gulf wars and the war in Afghanistan.

Veterans Day Stuff - Part II

Continuing to salute our nation's veterans

Some of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

Chappie James did not see combat during WWII but he did during Korea and Vietnam.  He also became the first African-American to be promoted to four-star General.

Trailer for the 2012 movie Red Tails.

A B-25 bomber like the 16 that bombed Tokyo in the famed "Doolittle Raid."

Second from left is then Lt Colonel Jimmy Doolittle.  He was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading the bombing raid on Tokyo.  He would ultimately rise to the rank of Lt. General.  Worthy of note is that General Doolittle was one of the earliest proponents of desegregation of the military.

Trailer for the 1944 film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, telling the story of The Doolittle Raid

A landing craft about to deliver troops to the beach during the D-Day invasion of France

Trailer for the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan.  This movie contains one of best depictions of the violence, death and bravery seen as the Allies invaded Normandy.  Steven Spielberg won the second of his two Best Director Oscars for this movie.

U. S. Marines making an amphibious landing at Inchon during the Korean War

I wanted to include a clip of the 1982 film Inchon! but couldn't find one that was of good enough quality to share.  Produced by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, it was the biggest war film flop in history when released.

Then Colonel Lewis B "Chesty" Puller during the Korean War.  The only person in the history of the U. S. military to be awarded six Distinguished Service/Navy Crosses.  Two of those were earned during the Korean war, one of them for his actions during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir

.
Trailer for the brilliant 1970 film M*A*S*H.

Trailer for the 1953 film The Bridges at Toko-Ri.

Last sequence of The Bridges at Toko-Ri.  The quality of the video is poor, but the scene is so powerful it's worth a view.  This is my personal favorite performance of Mickey Rooney.

The helicopters of the Vietnam War.  Their first use as life-takers rather than life-savers, although many American lives were saved by the brave men who were chopper pilots during Vietnam.

Major Bruce Crandall was awarded the Medal of Honor for making 14 helicopter flights in an unarmed chopper into a firefight during the Battle of Ia Drang.  He evacuated at least 75 casualties from the battle while delivering critical supplies and ammo.

John Vast, a Green Beret during Vietnam with Montagnard soldiers during the Vietnam War.  40 years later, he would arrange for the return of a North Vietnamese soldier's helmet to the family of the man who died wearing it.  He'd taken it as a souvenir.

This is a clip from the 1968 movie The Green Berets.  Jim Hutton as "Sergeant Peterson" dies a horrific death as he's caught in a booby trap.

Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock.  He was a Scout/Sniper during Vietnam who had 93 confirmed kills.  Gunny Hathcock estimated his actual kill total at between 300 and 400.

2nd from left is Colonel Arthur "Bull" Simons.  This is from the press briefing following the Raid on Son Tay, which was planned and led by Colonel Simons.  He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross personally by President Nixon.  He gained more fame later in life when he organized the rescue of some of H. Ross Perot's employees from Iran before the U. S. Embassy was seized.

A replica of the "unofficial" unit patch of the Son Tay Raiders.  KITD = Kept In The Dark.  FOHS = Fed Only Horse Shit.

A clip from the 1987 movie Good Morning Vietnam.  The late Bruno Kirby was outstanding as straight-man to Robin Williams.  Did you know that Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak was a real AFVN DJ during Vietnam?

January 1973, the U. S. POWs are released.

U.S. Air Force pilot Lance Sijan.  Shot down on his 52nd combat mission, he managed to escape capture for 46 days in spite of a fractured skull, a compound fracture of his left leg and having no survival kit.  After he was captured he managed to incapacitate a guard and escape, only to be recaptured hours later.  He received the Medal of Honor for his bravery, posthumously.  The USAF now has the Lance Sijan Award, for outstanding leadership.

One of the last helicopters evacuating people from a building often misidentified as the U.S. Embassy as Saigon falls on April 30, 1975.  It was the largest helicopter evacuation in history.

The haunting beginning of the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.  It marks the end of Part II of Veterans Day Stuff.  The third and final part coming soon.

Veterans Day Stuff - Part I

I thought I'd share a few things as we pause to honor all those who have served in our nation's military.  Since we had no formal military prior to the Revolutionary War, I take license to honor those who made major contributions.  Not possible to honor all individually, but certainly possible collectively.

Paul Revere was not the only rider.  We also honor William Dawes, Dr. Samuel Prescott and the others who were part of the "Midnight Ride."

Mel Gibson in the 2000 film The Patriot.

A view of the engagement between the forces of Col Richard Johnson and Native American allies of the British, commanded by Tecumseh during the War of 1812

The White House after it had been burned by the British during the War of 1812

An image from the Mexican-American War, this is the Battle of Cerro Gordo

A clip from the 1960 film The Alamo starring John Wayne.  Certainly better than the dismal 2004 film with the same title.

. 

The dead after a Civil War battle.

An image of the Battle of Vicksburg.  I visited there in the early 1980s.

That's Irene Triplett.  Her father served during the Civil War.  As of May, 2014, she was still collecting a pension of $73 a month for his service.  The costs of war continue long after the last battle is over.

A clip from the 1989 movie Glory.

An image representing the U. S. Army's all African-American 92nd and 93rd Divisions during World War I.

American soldiers in the trenches during World War I

Barbed wire fences made the going very difficult during World War I

The trailer for the 1941 film Sergeant York.  Alvin York, then a Corporal earned the Medal of Honor for taking command of his platoon after all of the senior NCOs were killed, and with only seven men left, killed 20 German soldiers and captured another 132, along with 32 machine guns.

American soldiers guarded Japanese-Americans interned at Manzanar and other "relocation centers."

The trailer for the outstanding documentary film from 2012, The Manzanar Fishing Club

President Harry S. Truman decorating the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.  This unit, made up almost entirely of Japanese-American volunteers was the most decorated unit of WWII.  Roughly 14,000 men served in the unit and among them there were 9,486 Purple Hearts.

Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a member of the 442nd being awarded his Medal of Honor by President Clinton.

That is the USS Indianapolis.  On July 30, 1945, it was torpedoed by a Japanese ship.  Approximately 300 of the 1196 men aboard went down with the ship.  The remaining sailors were attacked by sharks and suffered illnesses until they were spotted four day later.  Only 317 survived.

The iconic image of the U. S. flag being raised atop Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima

A battle scene from the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers.  22 U. S. Marines and 5 U. S. Navy personnel were awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Battle of Iwo Jima.  There were 82 Medals of Honor awarded to Marines for the entirety of World War II.  More than 25% of those were earned in this one battle.

The Japanese POW camp at Cabanatuan in the Philippine Islands.  Upon learning of the plans of the Japanese to burn all of the prisoners alive before Allied forces liberated the camp, a raid was organized to rescue them.  Army Rangers and Philippine guerrilla forces rescued the 552 Allied prisoners, killed an estimated 800 Japanese soldiers with only minimal Allied casualties.

Trailer for the 2005 film The Great Raid which tells the story of the rescue of those Allied prisoners from Cabanatuan.

* * *

Tomorrow, Part II beginning with more from WWII.