Accused sex trafficker and wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein found dead by suicide in Manhattan jail
Suicide.
Yeah.
Like Vince Foster.
Suicide.
Right.
One wonders what information would have come out at Epstein’s trial?
The correct term is “Arkancide“. Funny how that happens to a guy on suicide watch, innit?
Strange.
But no numbers as to what the radiation levels are.
It isn’t a reactor incident as far as we know, but still…
I cannot help but wonder if this is a planned attempt to get more gun control….
In fact, Australian style gun control…Essentially confiscation.
And I cannot help but wonder if the folks that want this gun control are willing to kill a bunch of people to get that gun control.
It is frightening to me that I can even consider this.
And even more frightening that I may be correct.
And if he allows these last two shootings to push him into signing some DNC type “Common Sense Gun Control” measure, he’s gonna lose another 1/3 of his supporters.
He’s already forgotten his promise to repeal BarryCare.
So I fully expect that we will have a DNC type for our next presided coming up.
’cause unlike Liberals, folks like us kinda expect results and punish betrayal.
I remember having lunch with Tam a few years ago and we were discussing the voting choices. Trump or Hillary:
Her words then: “You gonna vote for the New York Democrat or the New York Democrat?
To date, she’s been correct.
So far, Donnie hasn’t done much that he has promised, and if he betrays the Second Amendment folks, he’ll lose for sure.
4 dead, others injured.
All the dead were Hispanic.
The stabber, of course, must have been a Trump supporter….Hating on Hispanics because Trump.
Of course, he too was Hispanic. But that doesn’t matter.
Maybe there was another motive. Perhaps he was just insane.
I wonder how they will spin this…or if they will just ignore it ’cause it doesn’t fit their meme.
Fifty two people shot.
In one incident, HUNDREDS of rounds were fired.
Yet no national news. Why?
I guess that the Media just expects the folks in the South Side to behave that way.
Of course, despite the outcry that the Po-lice “Must Do Something”, no one in the communities are working with the CPD to identify and convict the perpetrators….
Despite trying hard (I am sure), they were only able to come up with men who did heroic things in an attempt to save the lives of others.
No woman, no flagrantly gay men, no lesbians, no transgendered folks (at least none who identified themselves as such)…And I am sure that the Media tried very hard to find someone.
Only men who risked themselves for the lives of others…often strangers.
Look: This was a tragedy. These folks perpetrating these attacks are whacked, deserve to be killed like rabid dogs, and (obviously) are mentally deranged.
I’m not trying to denigrate those other people here….those who took cover or ran did the normal thing….the wise thing. Those, however, who tried to save others, are heroes. And so far, I haven’t seen anything but men being hailed as heroes in these incidents. Why is that?
And the Media is having a field day.
Yet there were 12 people shot in Chicago’s South Side (just stannin on the conna mindin’ my own bidness….(well after midnight))….and no one in the Media even noticed because it was a normal Saturday night in Chicago…5 in one incident, and 7 in another a few miles away.
Why the big deal for the shootings, isolated incidents, in the other two areas of the country when this sort of thing happens in Chicago nearly every weekend?
One wonders. Is the Media simply ignoring the shootings in Chicago because they are “normal” or because they are in areas that are majority black and this is just what the (mostly white) leftist journalists expect from a bunch of “Darkies”? Why isn’t the weekly group shooting incidents news?
I’m thinking racism here.
And, oddly, “Moms Demand Action” had a “spontaneous protest” in Washington DC Saturday evening…complete with pre-printed signs decrying gun violence…..what a strange coincidence….
So the Collings Foundation came to a nearby local airport. There was the B-17 (Nine o Nine), the B-24 (Witchcraft), the P-40 , a B-25 (Tondelayo), a Grumman “Hellcat” , and then of course, there was a TF-51 Mustang (Toulouse Nuts).
We toured the B-17 bomber, and the Mitchell, and then MC pushed me in the direction of the table where they have people sign up for the Bomber rides.
I have been on those rides before, and while they are pretty neat, I didn’t want to spend the (large) dollars to fly on one again. But I was willing to shell out the bucks if she wanted another ride in the B-24…
Nope, She wanted me to sign the papers to fly in the P-51, which she had previously paid for and which was ready for me….
Now, I’m cheap frugal…..I would never pay for such a ride for myself, and she knew this. So she bought it for me.
She paid for a half hour ride. Pretty serious $$. But “No Refunds”….so I accepted the gift and signed the papers and walked to the plane.
I had help strapping in, and got the preflight briefing on how to release the seat straps if needed and how to bail out and what to pull if I needed the parachute that was strapped to me. I got a basic preflight briefing on where we would be going and what we would be doing….
But, it seems, as luck would have it, that they had decided to do a formation flight with the P-40 and the Hellcat. So the pilot of the P-51 asked if I would mind waiting while they started the other two aircraft and they took off. (duh, of course I objected I agreed to wait…..)
So we watched, and waited while they fired up, first the -40, then the Hellcat, then we fired up the Mustang and taxiied to the end of Rwy 9 and lined up and took off.
Acceleration on takeoff is jet-like….in about 3 seconds, the tail comes up and about 5 seconds later, we climbed out to enter a pattern for the airfield.
The P-40 joined up, then the Hellcat.
 |
| P-40 on the left |
 |
| Hellcat on the right side |
We orbited for a few passes, then the -40 broke off,
We flew with the Hellcat for a few more minutes, then the Hellcat peeled off. (sorry, no picture)
“Are you ready?” asked my pilot…
“Of course” I replied.
We climbed to 9500 feet, and did some aerobatics. first a roll, then a 4 point, then a barrel roll. Some lazy eights, then a cuban….
Then he offered to let me fly.
While the sight picture is different (the cowling is about 6 times longer than that of my 182), and there is an illusion with the cockpit rail which makes the backseater want to raise the nose, it only took me a minute to find what level flight looked like. I held straight and level for a minute, then tried out the controls, pitching up and down, banking left and right, yawing a bit.
The P-51 aircraft is easy to control. Trimmed out, it flew with very little effort. I did a turn to the left, then one to the right. Ron (the pilot) urged a steeper turn. I did…45 degrees….”No, steeper”…So I did, pitching at 60 degrees. “no, steeper“. So I did…nearly 90 degrees…..it is easy to do when one has about 1200 HP to keep the airplane flying.
I did some real turns, pulling better than 3 g’s. Put the nose on the horizon, bank, and PULL it through. It’s hard to do when one is used to a Cessna 182…flying like that would pull the wings off of my airplane….. But I soon overcame my caution and had a lot of fun,…Now I know, and truly understand, the term “Yanking and Banking“……. “you aren’t using the controls enough, Don’t be nice.. Fly this plane”. So I did. It was FUN!.
That is a REALLY fun airplane to fly. With a bit of practice I think I could learn to be pretty smooth….
“Do a roll”. Huh? “Do_A_Roll!”. Ok, so I did. The first one wasn’t as smooth, as I let up on the left aileron too early so I didn’t end up wings level…, but the next ones were pretty good, first to the left, then to the right. Pretty easy, actually. My 4 point rolls were shaky, …I’d never done those before, but the second set was better…Again, horsepower makes it easy to do. (I’m used to 230 HP in a 2900 lb gross weight airplane at 130 knots, not 1200 HP in a 9000 lb aircraft at 250 MPH…the difference is significant……way more energy and WAY more recovery). Cubans are fun to do when the airplane is designed to be “Yanked and Banked”….
Basically, with Ron’s encouragement, I was allowed to play with this airplane. It’s like being given the keys to a GT road racer and being told to play with it, only in three dimensions..(and yes, I’ve raced some high performance cars…the comparison is close).
Too soon, it was time to return….I flew the route back, and the pattern (250 MPH!…In the Pattern!!!) until the final turn and then Ron took over for the final and landing….
We touched down and he taxiied back…
And before I knew it, It was over.
Not many pictures, because I was TOTALLY surprised and unprepared for the whole experience…and I was engrossed in the flying…pictures came last… Had I known, there would have been a GoPro with me….But it was a surprise….
But it was great! Fun, exciting, Hands on, Interactive. 4.5 G’s. Noisy. Gobs of horsepower…. A real blast. A great experience.
I’m kind of a lucky guy. It was a great surprise and a great gift.
I really want a P-51 in my Christmas stocking….(and a large checkbook for fuel and maintenance)…
And I got 0.9 hours of P-51 Mustang flight instruction time in my logbook…
I don’t really think a non pilot can appreciate and understand what this aircraft is, or what it can do….I am sure that they enjoy the flight, but as a pilot, I can REALLY appreciate this plane.
Thanks, MC!
Wayne LaPierre (and many others) HAVE TO GO.
It is beyond time.
I’ve felt this way for more than a few years, and what with all the “Shenanigans” (as Peter Puts it) it is beyond time.
While we still have an NRA.
Time for the Board (and the members) to get it together and do what is necessary.
Get rid of the current management and clean house.
I join the others in calling for a housecleaning of the NRA.