Our dad did not want to be cremated - "I was born in West Texas...had enough heat for a lifetime", told us he didn't want to be embalmed - "too many nasty chemicals that leach into the soil", but agreed to the dry ice since it evaporates over time. The hospice nurse was cool with it all, and even helped wipe down his body and remove the catheter (thank goodness). She also called the ME and convinced him that "these guys know what they're doing" so we bypassed some bureaucratic BS. I took pictures, telling my brother "this will make one heckuva story someday." It's all in the book. home,
We were surprised at how well the grandchildren handled seeing their dead grandpa laid out in the living room of his home, but we needn't have worried. The 4-year-old climbed up on a chair and looked down at his body and simply proclaimed "his arms look like wood!". That's when we knew we were doing right by our dad.
Not posted to hype a book, but it's about time the VA caught up with trend towards environmentally friendly burials.... it's now available in my home state (FL) - yay!
Our dad was the last surviving member of his unit from WWII, and did not want to be cremated or embalmed, so my brother and I dressed him in his favorite overalls and laid him out in his casket on the dining room table on a layer of dry ice. It worked! There was no mess, no smell, and the young kids took it well as it seemed like the natural cycle of life and death. No strangers in black suits, no spooky music - it was all very nice, and emotional (for us). We called the book "The Final Road Trip" based on our experience with our dad.
We had a nice wake right there in the dining room of his home, then loaded his casket into the back of my brother's Tahoe for the trip across Texas - we dubbed it "The Final Road Trip" (the title of the book we wrote about our adventure).
They deserve all the dignity we can muster on their behalf. With a Florida National Cemetery not far up the road, I'll be exploring those options myself... maybe with a custom-made casket :)
Thank Gawd we decided to move from Michigan to Florida instead of NE Tennessee!
There were many Hispanics in that line of Patriots, a few older veterans (like me), and a couple of walk-ins just dropping off their pre-printed ballots. The mood was upbeat and cheerful, and I would guess about 95% of Trump voters—possibly more.
We voted early here in SW Florida, and took a friend with us. Waited about 15 mins. in line and had some upllifting conversations with others in line. One lady walked out and shout "TRUMP 2024" to a round of applause. Not one Harris/Walz hat or shirt or sign in sight. Made my day complete by 10:30 AM, and she paid for our Waffle House breakfast :) It has been a good day.... all that worry and consternation washed away.... now I just need a nap!
We bugged out for Irma, stayed for Ian. I have plenty of provisions, underground utilities, and storm-ready Internet backup. Howdy, neighbor!
Well, crap! If the map is accurate, it's headed right toward us - we are 20 miles inland from Ft. Myers, which puts us on the "dirty side" of the storm if it tracks as predicted.
Silver lining - up till now the wifey has resisted my efforts to go vote early... maybe now I can finally convince her. The downside is, she doesn't like to admit when I am right. :) kek
I wrote this five years ago and posted it to social media (FakeBook). Still surprised it didn't land me in FB jail, but it probably did put me on yet another list :)
Joseph Misfud is, most likely, the "Maltese Fulcrum" in this whole Deep State affair. It is known that Mifsud has Counter-Intelligence experience because he taught the subject at Link and elsewhere. So, what would an experienced Intel guy do with equipment he was issued during the course of an operation (i.e. the phones) once that operation was complete? If he’s smart, put them in a lock box and hope no one comes looking for them....because in a perfect world with no loose ends the issuing agency would render the devices or the agent inoperative and move on. From Mifsud’s perspective, he knew this whole thing had gone sideways when Donald Trump stepped on the escalator and those phones became his lifeline.
So, what does he do? Perhaps he goes to the Italian police and asks for protection, but he has to prove that he is in danger. He swears out a statement and maybe provides copies of text messages from those phones to corroborate his testimony. I’m not sure I’d hand over the phones themselves since they might accidentally run into a hammer on the way to the evidence locker. Hand them over to his lawyer for safekeeping? Maybe. He also gives a sworn statement to his lawyers detailing his involvement and naming names, this is another dead man's switch indicating he’s covering his ass from every angle.
Eventually Barr and Durham show up looking for answers, and they may be his only way out of this mess. Joseph Misfud knows he could end up as collateral damage, the victim of a robbery gone bad with "two in the back" and that may not be how he wants to finish out his time on earth. For the sake of argument let’s say he turns over the phones to the Attorney General, who’s got a readout of what’s on there from the Italians along with his original statement. If Barr knows there’s exculpatory evidence concerning General Flynn, what should be his response? I’m going to suggest that Barr lets Sidney Powell (Flynn's attorney) know the Dept. of Justice has this evidence....which results in the "Motion To Produce Newly Discovered Evidence" concerning General Flynn. Stick with me here - it gets crazier.
The filing notes within that Motion To Compel indicate that “Western intelligence” likely tasked Mr. Mifsud against General Flynn as early as 2014 in order to set up “connections with certain Russians” for later use against him. Essentially, it is an intelligence entrapment scheme. Unfortunately the filing only identifies the cell phones along with the request for production of the content therein. However, the fact the Department of Justice has two cell phones belonging to Joseph Mifsud opens up a whole bunch of questions:
#1) How did the US Dept of Justice gain custody of Mr. Mifsud’s cell phones? #2) Were these Blackberry cell phones issued by some U.S. intelligence agency ? #3) Why has the Dept. of Justice taken custody of those cell phones? #4) If #2 is yes, wouldn’t that automatically destroy the “Mifsud as a Russian intelligence asset” narrative?
With U.S. Attorney John Durham and U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr traveling to Italy to listen to the taped deposition of Joseph Mifsud last month….. and now the discovery that the DOJ has his cell phones from a period of keen interest in the Russia collusion-conspiracy framework…. It would appear Mr. Mifsud might just be the Maltese Fulcrum.
In response to the defense Motion to Compel, the U.S. Dept of Justice told Ms. Powell: “if they determine the information is discoverable or relevant to sentencing” they will produce them.
If Mifsud was an actual Russian agent, logically, the Dept. of Justice would never have had access to his phones. The fact that they do have phones in their possession, by itself, indicates that Mifsud is a Western intelligence agent, probably for the U.K.
Taking that information one step further means that the Mueller Report claiming Mifsud was a Russian spy was outright false, thus making the Mueller report as a non-credible document and that the entire Mueller investigation was based upon a false premise. In other words, the whole report was bogus and was completely made up.
This simply means that the DOJ/FBI, along with the State Dept., and the intelligence community were all participating in a fraudulent conspiracy to falsely charge General Flynn, George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and others, in their quest to frame Trump for conspiracy of working with Russian entities.
Barr must act against all those involved with extreme prejudice so this will never happen again. It appears our entire federal government has a cancer of corruption that may be more than even Barr and Durham can even remove. Hopefully, they can excise most of it. The dominoes are tipping, and ready to fall soon. I'm not surprised the opposition party is anxious to get on with the impeachment narrative....it's all they've got.
Our duly elected President may be imperfect, but he's draining the swamp, just as promised. We were warned long ago about the dangers of the growing military/industrial complex...we should have listened. It’s going to be hard to come up with an excuse as to why they abused the system to destroy this guy as they stampede toward impeachment.
- On side note, I sent DJT a copy of my 2nd book, "Vipers In Pinstripes" and later received a personal letter of thanks which still hangs on my home office wall.... one of my prized possessions. Now I have to wonder whatever became of Mr. Mifsub.
I recently learned that an old friend - my K9 instructor at Lackland AFB and also my roomie in Okinawa - has terminal esophageal cancer. We've been close friends since the late 70's. The retired M/Seargent is being "fed" via a feeding tube. VA doctors gave him 6-8 months to live. He's in VA, I'm in FL I believe he is 72 or possibly 74.... a real standup patriot and was a great mentor during my bomb dog detector training.
Since I've been studying the different forms of cancer caused by exposure to defoliants such as Agent Orange, I figured I'd offer some hopium to my friend and sent him some information about these alternative treatments via email.
His response was less than enthusiastic, and I am hurting for him. This is what he wrote back to me this very afternoon :
12:43 PM (8 hours ago) "I know your head and heart are in the right place. But, I'm done. I'm doing everything I can to make one last road trip. After that - I'm done. Just let me die in my sleep. If I begin to suffer - that's another story - you do not want to hear the ending of that story. You have been a great friend and I still have one of your Genie lamps. Small but effective. Take care John. Think of me when you are 80."
Mentally, my buddy has just resigned himself to fate. I will remain as supportive as I can be without intruding further into his personal health decisions. You can lead an old NCO to water but you can't make him take Panacur or FenBen.
I would simply ask that my fellow GAW patriots say a prayer for healing. I know I'll be praying like there's no tomorrow, for tomorrow is not guaranteed. God Bless you all.... I'm gonna go purchase some Ivermenctin and FenBen.
We are good - much better off than many. One long piece of vinyl siding fell off and landed next to the foundation - no other damage noted, but it is just now getting light. 3M people out of power, lots of other damage, but we are blessed.
My eldest son had a deputy friend come by to do a welfare check just before dawn, even though I told him not to bother... they've got more important things to do.
I saw two Sheriffs in Chimney Rock interviewed....saying not to donate anything to FEMA. They recommended Samaritan's Purse as a reliable alternative. I cannot disagree with that. SP is a solid operation.
We had one spin up almost directly over us, so close it created a small waterspout on our retention pond behind the house.... pretty cool to see. Winds are now whipping up close to 70 mph here, and Milton just made landfall at Siesta Key.
We have power, Internet, water, and lots of provisions.... utilities are underground in our little gated community (thank God), and XFinioty gave us a battery back-up they call "Storm Ready WiFi". Life is good here, albeit interesting.
I'm about 20 miles inland from Ft. Myers.... hunkered down, but safe.
This is why most folks love our Governor and legendary 2A advocates like Sheriff Grady Judd. In fact, politics was a major consideration in our decision to land here instead of TN. Well, that and the lack of onerous taxation.
Thank you this, KD - we are inland from Ft. Myers but in the danger zone by a bit. I'll be using this all day tomorrow!
We have a good, pro-active Governor.... which is why we chose FL over TN a few years ago.
Beautiful and respectful.... that's OUR POTUS !
"Nessun Dorma" from the Sum of All Fears, I believe.
That's MY Governor, leading by example.... "where woke goes to die."
On my social media : "Our Governor just announced the State of Florida has established jurisdiction and he appointed AG Ashley Moody to oversee the investigation and the State's prosecution against Trump's shooter... Things are getting spicy here. Don't forget - this is "where woke goes to die", AND the home base of Sheriff Grady Judd! We got this."
I have written him twice, and twice have received personal responses. In my last letter, I proposed changes to the VA system and our SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) with Japan, then had AI concoct a sample Executive Order - I did not wish to lay another problem at his feet without offering some solutions to consider. The subject was Agent Orange stored and used on the island of Okinawa.
Since I cannot post an image of the letter of his latest reply (sent from Mara Lago) I will simply quote some of the salient parts.
"The strength of our country lies in the spirit of the American people and their willingness to get involved.
The commitment to duty and the professionalism with which you have served is part of the outstanding legacy of our military service members.
May God continue to bless you and your wonderful wife."
I had briefly mentioned my Air Force bride, and the response told me someone was paying attention. Even if it was written by a staff member and signed with an autopen, it hangs alongside his other letter in my home office. His signature bled through the backside of the stationary, so I'm going to say he probably signed it himself. Besides a small collection of small arms, It is one of the coolest items I own.
$4M mansion in NY, $2M condo in Hawaii, I hear.
In my 20+ years with the MI State Police as a Dispatcher/Trainer, I've participated in many such motorcades, going back to Bush, Sr. and possibly the Clintons (memories fade over the decades). There is usually one radio operator dedicated to the task of keeping track of all these Troopers, but they get their "marching orders" from the Command staff after coordinating with the USSS advance teams. It's a huge logistical challenge, but it is glorious to witness. With over 200 CCTV's mounted along the local freeways, we could watch everything from our secure location. It was all captured on video. It is not uncommon to have a shit-ton of "Blue Goose" units covering the entrance ramps, and a few motor units to assist... at one time they were using souped-up BMW bikes. The motor units were adept at leap-frogging from one location to another at high speed, taking turns with their assigned locations. Even the locals helped out by spot-welding all the manhole covers along the route, just as a precaution. The radio traffic was handled by one senior dispatcher and on a digitally encrypted, dedicated channel. Of course, we had the choppers overhead as well. And, yes - the USSS shared the airwaves with all of us. I miss the adrenalin and the "pageantry", but thank God I now live in the Free State of Florida not far from Sheriff Grady Judd. I'm much happier not being anywhere around "Big Gretch".
At first blush, it seems that what is missing is a competent prosecutor—but it's the Southern District of NY, so there's that. I'm not a lawyer (thank God), but I've worked in law enforcement all my adult life, and I know some stuff.
I grew up in Texas, and we know "pasture pudding" when we smell it.