Benghazi update: There was a Spectre on station

 

BlackFive confirmed with a retired Delta operator: The fact that ground personnel were painting the target says there was a Spectre on station.

Having spent a good bit of time nursing a GLD (ground Laser Designator) in several garden spots around the world, something from the report jumped out at me.

One of the former SEALs was actively painting the target.  That means that Specter WAS ON STATION!  Probably an AC130U.  A ground laser designator is not a briefing pointer laser.  You do not “paint” a target until the weapons system/designator is synched; which means that the AC130 was on station.

Only two places could have called off the attack at that point; the WH situation command (based on POTUS direction) or AFRICOM commander based on information directly from the target area.

If the AC130 never left Sigonella (as Penetta [sic] says) that means that the Predator that was filming the whole thing was armed.

If that SEAL was actively “painting” a target; something was on station to engage.  And the decision to stand down goes directly to POTUS.

More @ PJ Tatler

Meddling

 

 The Moneychanger

On 26 October 1949 President Harry Truman raised the minimum wage from 40 cents an hour to 75 cents an hour (87.5% increase in one jump), continuing a long tradition of meddling in an economy he didn't understand. Presidents have been doing that ever since.

I Side With: Take The Quiz

Via  Hype And Fail

@ I Side With

 

Candidates you side with...

88%

Mitt Romney ^Republican

on social, economic, immigration, and environmental issues 

87%

Gary Johnson ^Libertarian

on domestic policy, foreign policy, economic, science, and healthcare issues

Josh "Tank" Watts

Via Benjamin Slider

Voting and the Pier

 2008 and 2012.  I'm a sucker for losers.

Only two write-ins available and since Michael promised he would write me in for President, I thought this was the least I could do..........:)

Plenty of empty chairs down here, but these pink ones are a first, though come to think of it, quite appropriate.

 It's coming.

As soon as I turned, two big ones came in.

Paul Morphy

290 Foundation

 VERBATIM 

 

This gilt, signed engraving of Paul Morphy hung for many years  on the walls of the Liverpool Chess Club until that establishment closed in 1938. Recently gifted to the 290 Foundation (BVI) Inc, it will be displayed appropriately in the months to come. Paul Morphy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to a wealthy and distinguished family. He learned to play chess by simply watching a game between his father and uncle. His family soon realized the boy’s talent and encouraged him to play at family gatherings and by age nine he was considered one of the best players in New Orleans. At just twelve years old, Morphy defeated visiting Hungarian master Johann Lowenthal in a match of three games. Receiving his law degree in 1857, Morphy was not yet of legal age to practice and found himself with considerable free time. He received an invitation to play at the First American Chess Congress in New York City. Morphy won the tournament which included several strong players of the day. Subsequently Morphy was hailed as the chess champion of the United States and stayed in New York playing chess through 1857, winning the vast majority of his games. In 1858, Morphy travelled to Europe to play European Champions, usually winning easily. While the much touted match with Chess Master Staunton never came about, Morphy was hailed by most in Europe as the world's best player.  Morphy returned to America in May, 1859, and was greeted with all the enthusiasm due a conquering hero. Morphy's embryonic law career however, was disrupted in 1861 by the outbreak of the American Civil War. Morphy’s brother Edward joined the army of the Confederacy although his mother and sisters emigrated to Paris. Paul Morphy’s Civil War service remains a rather gray area. He visited Richmond, Va., seeking to obtain an appointment in the diplomatic service of the Southern Confederacy but in this, he was 'seemingly' unsuccessful, returning then to New Orleans. He was there when the city was captured by the federal forces. At some point however, he was appointed to Beauregard’s staff and was certainly seen at Manassas. A reliable witness and resident of Richmond in 1861 described Morphy as then being 'an officer on Beauregard’s staff' though other sources indicate the General considered Morphy unqualified. Paul Morphy's intellect plus his many contacts abroad, were in fact of considerable use to the South for which he became both spy and unofficial 'ambassador' to European businessmen. In October, following the capture of New Orleans, we now know he escaped to Havana in a Spanish man-of-war, the Blasco de Garay and after remaining there a few weeks (?) sailed for Cadiz. From there he travelled on to Paris by rail where, apart from visits to London, he remained until the spring of 1865. Strangely, all records of Paul Morphy's activities, stored in the basement of a sheet iron and tin store belonging to a John R. Mountcastle, were 'accidentally' destroyed by fire in  August1868.   Following the war, despite several earnest endeavours, Morphy was never able to establish a successful law practice and was ultimately deemed to have lived a life of idleness, gaining support from his family's fortune. Despite appeals from his chess admirers, he never returned to the game. Returning from Europe in 1867 both his exploits as a world chess champion and secret, confederate agent were soon forgotten. He died in 1884 from a stroke at the age of forty-seven.

Big banks control both parties.

  

A former aide to Vice President Joe Biden describes the former Delaware senator in a tell-all book as an “egomaniacal autocrat” who was “determined to manage his staff through fear.”

But the author of “The Payoff” — Jeff Connaughton, a Biden Senate staffer who is now a lobbyist — admitted to Politico that he was deeply disillusioned with Washington and was embittered by his experience with Biden.

The vice president inspired Connaughton to enter politics, he said.

“I came to D.C. a Democrat and left a plutocrat,” he told Politico.

Connaughton served as chief of staff to former Delaware Sen. Ted Kaufman, who succeeded Biden. He describes his unsuccessful effort to get an amendment to the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill of 2010 that would have broken up the nation’s largest banks.

More @ Newsmax

The flag of the Union of Surveillance Authorities

 Hype and Fail

VERBATIM

Remember, they only spy on us 'when absolutely necessary'........or when we're walking down the street, or driving, or shopping, or sitting in the park feeding the ducks, or........

Still Thinking About Voting for Obama?

The Shame of a Nation

Via Traditions & Skills

 

Amen.

I came across a news article that touted the United States as a "Food Stamp Nation".  I know that in recent years food stamp usage has soared, but a food stamp nation?  In America?  It couldn't be true!

I stared in disbelief as I read the article before me.  44 MILLION people in the United States accept food stamps.  Another 9.3 MILLION accept WIC.  What has this nation come to?

When I was growing up, accepting "Food Stamps" was shameful.  Men would rather dig ditches or shovel manure than see their family pay for food with government issued stamps.  And it wasn't just pride that kept these men from accepting charity, it was a matter of freedom and justice.  Free men don't stand in lines waiting for their daily bread, slaves do.  Free men don't depend on someone else's benevolence to provide for their family, slaves do.  Free men don't wait for others to direct their lives, slaves do. 

More @ Paratus Familia