Tag Archives: military

02

Jun. ’24

I’m A Loser And Sucker

I am a retired airman. I joined the U. S. air force to have a somewhat choice in whatever job I would be assigned to do. Understand, this was during the time when there was a draft, and the air force did not draft like the other branches of service. Being Black, the jobs I could be placed in were limited but it was far more than the other branches of service. I served honorably and I grew into being an honorable man.

               It never occurred to me that I was a loser and sucker for serving my country. Well, it is what it is, and I am a proud loser/sucker and would do it again. Without being in the military, I probably would not have prospered as much as I have and probably wouldn’t know as much as I know now. I know I would not have been to nor seen the many places around the world. If all of this has made me a loser and a sucker, so be it.

               The ex-president made that comment and has repeated it many times. He dodged the draft and talked badly about all aspects of the military. He has said he knows more than the generals. If you were wounded, disabled, or died in the military, he dislikes you and don’t want to be near you. Protecting the country, fighting to maintain a democracy, and doing it willingly (there is no longer a draft), according to the ex-president, it makes all of us a loser and a sucker.

               Then, as I look harder at the comments that ooze daily out his mouth (and in the middle of the night texts), I am glad I wasn’t in the military when he was president. Why? Not only would I have been a loser and sucker, but I would also have been treated far worse than I was when I was in the military. When I was in the military I was called racial names, given unfair bad reports, and everything else that the racist people could think of.

               The ex-president does not like anyone that is not from a European White heritage. Don’t take my word, he said this and, at other times, alluded to it. Why would I want to protect a man and/or country that I know I don’t have a chance as a snowball in hell. Now he asks for my endorsement and vote for him to get back into office so that my benefits will get cut or entirely lost (not counting social security and other things). That is why I don’t understand why anyone that is not one hundred percent White would want him back in the White House. I do not understand why members of the military want him back when they know what he thinks of the military, and anything associated with the military. The members of the military that want him back must really be losers and suckers.

               Yes, I was a member of the military, I retired, and I am proud to be a loser and sucker. I don’t regret it; I am happy I retired before he came upon the scene and became President. I pray to God that he remains an ex-president.    

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15

Oct. ’23

Consequences

Everything and I really mean everything have consequences. Whatever you say, whatever you do, whatever you see, whatever you feel, whatever you taste, whatever you hear have consequences. Most people never think about it, but the consequences are like playing chess. One move (thing) leads to another and, to make the correct decision (move) you must think two or more moves ahead to outwit your opponent, and, at the same time, try to know what your opponent will do. Here is just a couple that is in today’s news.

               Hamas attacked Israel. They have very strong religious beliefs, a strong remembrance of things that happened to them hundreds of years ago (or longer), but they cannot remember the fierce fighters that they attacked. They also must not remember what happened in the six-day war. Now there will be dire consequences and, I believe, they will be at the wrong end of the war. Unfortunately, the Palestinians are caught in the middle. Hamas will feel the consequences.

               I know, what about the Palestinians? Their religious beliefs with Hamas are the same therefore they endured living with them. They knew what Hamas was doing but did not do a thing nor say anything. Unfortunately, if they are willing to be human shields then the consequences have come with more on the way.

               The ex-President Trump moved the American Embassy and separated the USA from most of the world pacts while being closer than close friends with countries that were normally called enemies. Comfort and secrets were given, and consequences ensued. He did not have anything good to say about anyone that did not butter up to him except for our enemy countries. Now consequences are ensuing (for the world and his personal life).

               Then there is Representative Tuberville. He is still holding the military promotions hostage, but his fellow Republicans can stop it. They will not do it although it is hurting the military, making the military slightly weaker, and making the military slightly vulnerable. Our enemies are watching, planning, and waiting. What secrets do they know? There will be consequences.

               While I am on the subject of a congressional member, I must write about the vacant Speaker of the House position. This, from the beginning until now, is the doing of the Republican party. Not a thing can be accomplished in the House of Representatives until a new Speaker takes the position. The old Speaker owed too many people too many things. Evidentially he could not play chess and he suffered the consequences. Because the vacancy occurred, consequences will ensue, and most will not be pretty.

               I can’t play chess; however, I can imagine many things that are developing and none of them are pretty. I am thinking about the war, Congress, the upcoming elections, and the blowback I will get for this blog. I am only calling it as I see it and there is much more that I haven’t written. As I said at the beginning of this blog, everything has a consequence, whether good or bad, the consequences will be felt and must be delt with. There is so much to write about and each and everything is partnered with a consequence. Be careful with what you do and say, mostly, because the resulting consequence will come back to bite you.

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23

Jul. ’23

I Am Not Stupid

I may be dumb, but I am not stupid. What do I mean? It’s an old saying meaning a person can tell you anything that pleases them, but you are not dumb enough to believe. You have a mind of your own and don’t need them to tell you what is or isn’t. What am I talking about?

               Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican from Alabama, is a one-man-band holding up the promotions and nominations of hundreds, plus, of military people. Many, if not most, Congressmen will go to extremes to secure whatever bill or talking point that they are interested in. What Tuberville is doing is preventing crucial promotions to force the Pentagon to change a military rule/law. Promotions that are critical to the wellbeing of the military and its performance.

               Tuberville does not want the military to cover the travel and time off when military members must go out of state for an abortion. With his boycott, he is on the brink of disturbing the stability of the Joint-Chiefs-of-Staff because they serve for a certain length of time. Others must be promoted to the proper rank to take the position. Then there are the lower tiers of the military that have commanders that must be promoted to take the position. Withholding these promotions can harm the fighting capability of the military.

               I do not understand someone that is willingly harming our fighting forces at a time when we really must present a super strong military to the world. I understand why he is doing this, but I do not understand why he is continuing, knowing the damage being done. I do not understand the Republicans that will not lift a finger to help the Democrats to stop this. I also do not understand how so much power is given to one person that the entire Congressional body have their hands tied.

               I am not against him because he is a Republican, I am against him because the military is being harmed. This is an unnecessary tactic that can be handled in a different way. Now that Tuberville’s tactic is successful, what is coming next? Who else will use this as a tactic to get what he/she wants? Why do ‘we the people’ put up with this or do they even care? Do the ‘blackmailers’ think we are all stupid. I may be dumb, but I am not stupid.

               I see the handwriting on the wall. If one Congressman can do this to get what he wants, others will try it until it does not work anymore. That will put the screws on a lot of things that must be done to keep the government functioning. They must really believe that ‘we the people’ are dumb as well as stupid.

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25

Jun. ’23

Watch AI

A short time ago I wrote about AI (artificial intelligence) and it seems as though it has expanded greatly since then. To mankind, it is great to have something to aid mankind, but I can see a hindrance that has a potential to really harm mankind in the long run. AI is a good thing but (as in some sci-fi movies) can be a bad thing.

               It’s good in medicine. At Duke University there is a machine that is aiding medicine and can outperform the doctors when predicting medical conditions, knowing all the medical jargons, and giving possible cures for something. I haven’t heard much about it recently, but it would be great if most hospitals have this type of mechanical brain. Cancer and all other conditions will be diagnosed quicker as well as more accurately. Why not put it into the labs to make newer medicine and bring down the cost of medicine?

               Transportation is booming with self-driving, self-parking, etc. vehicles. In the blog I mentioned, I wrote about a self-driving truck that took a load of ore from a self-mining mine to a self-operating factory and made other robots witho0ut a human hand doing anything. That can be done with almost anything, anywhere, at any time, with today’s automation.  Think about it; there are automated cars, trucks, trains, ships, planes, and the list goes on and on. Humans do not have to touch the controls.

               I only know about a small fraction of what the military has. I was in the air force (security, law enforcement, K-9) and I see a lot that have happened since I retired. In K-9, for instance, there are robotic perimeter guards that are like dogs (the machines walk on four legs). I guess me and my dog would be replaced at considerable cost. I can only imagine what is going on in the control room (CSC?) (Central Security Control). Back in the early ‘80s I flew on a plane that the pilot was telling me, as the plane was circling the Pyramids on its own, how the plane could taxi, take off, fly to its mission, return, and land on its own.

               Now that you have a little background about AI and our daily life, I now wonder what we are to do with ourselves if AI completely takes over our daily life. This is what I mean. AI is into farming by doing everything remotely and robotically therefore there is not a need for workers in the field. This has a domino effect that is attached to it. AI doing the work in the factories means there is no need for employees. When people are jobless, they cannot buy food, transportation, lodging, go on vacation, buy fuel for the vehicle that they have (electric vehicles cost more but without a job they can not afford to buy one), and anything else that a human would need to live. And it goes on, and on, and on.

               As you see, the domino effect, caused by AI, can affect living a minimal life. Like in the sci-fi movies, AI can take over and us humans will have to take a backseat and suffer. We are already suffering but it, maybe, will get much worse. I am not against AI; I am asking for caution and tighter controls. I remember an article I read, some time ago, that these scientists put two computers together to see what would happen. They had to unplug them when the computers started talking to each other in a language the scientists did not understand. Bad things, accidents, can and will happen. Watch AI as AI watches us.

              

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28

May. ’23

I Should Have Been A Congressman

I have had a full-time job (including the military) since I was fifteen years old. There were times I worked seven days a week, working two jobs and once I had three. Hours working was from twelve to sixteen hours with a smile on my face. Why? I was making a dissent living and after paying the bills I had a little left over to have something in my pocket. Except for the military, there weren’t enough hours in the day for much partying, but I wasn’t angry about that.

               While in the military there was once a time when the military had just started direct pay to the bank for us and that was at the time when Congress didn’t pass the budget or something like that. I was stationed in Europe and really didn’t know what was going on. When I was in the military, I didn’t keep up with what the politicians were doing. Well, those that did not have direct pay did not get a paycheck. I was lucky because I opted to have direct pay because I regularly went TDY (temporary duty) elsewhere and I didn’t have to be on base to get paid.

               I said all of that to say this. As I write this millions of people are set to not get paid because Congress is not increasing the debt limit. They can’t get their act together and lookout for the little guy. This affects the entire world, economies will tumble, especially ours. The people in Congress have left town for the Memorial weekend. I had very few holidays off before I retired, I should have been a congressman.

               Thinking about being a congressman, they not only left town before okaying the debt bill, but they will get paid when the rest of us do not. This means social security checks, retired pay checks, government debt, etc. will not get paid but congressmen will. A little while ago they asked for a pay raise. I should have been a congressman.

               I also look at how congressmen act. They act as if they are above everyone else and can say and do whatever they want. Even the few that are caught in the act of doing wrong know that it will take a very long time to actually be formally charged, then another very long time to go to court. If convicted there will be appeal upon appeal before any possibility of jail. During all these years the congressman will be out on bail, most likely on their own recognize and will still be in office. Normal people would have been tried, convicted, and done the time in jail before the congressman goes to trial. I should have been a congressman.

               To be a congressman would make me feel dirty and I would hate to see people I know are doing wrong. I know it sounds bad to say I don’t want to be a congressman because it is a dirty job, but I have morals and most of them do not. But the bottom line is, I have worked all my life and I want and need my money. The congressmen need to do the job they are overly paid to do. 

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14

May. ’23

Oaths

Oath: A solemn promise, often, invoking a divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behavior.

               Everyone takes an oath, whether they realize it or not. I will name a few, not all, because I know I will miss a lot of them. Oaths are given when someone is taking a government job (federal, state, or local). This includes enforcement of the law, military, doctors, nurses. Lawyers, etc. When you rent an apartment, you will sign a contract or when you buy a car (promise to pay or that what you put on the form is truthful). There are many organizations and clubs that require it. I think you understand what I mean. Oath covers a lot of territory.

               Rep. George Santos has admitted he is a liar and took the oath of office. Now he is charged with several things including lying to Congress. A breach of the oath. He stated he will not resign but the people that voted for him and elected him knew most of what he is accused of before the election. Even the Speaker of the House stands by him and said he wants to see if he is found guilty or not. There have been many other people that have been accused of something and were made to resign. The Republicans can not afford to lose one vote and I think that is why they are standing by him until this is bought to a head.

               Another (this will ruffle feathers) is ex-President Donald Trump. Becoming President, he took the oath of office and shattered it into a million pieces. Before and after becoming President, he signed many contracts and rarely was he true to them. When he was charged with rape, he was given a chance to meet his accuser in court and did not appear. Yet, he told his followers he was not given the chance. I believe he did not appear because he would have had to take an oath. I do not understand why that matters to him because he broke his oath numerous times in the past.

               I will mention one last person and that is the guy that was in intelligence service for the military and posted on the internet what he wanted. Of course, he had to take an oath and he shattered that oath for whatever lame brained excuse he gave. He not only hurt our government but other governments around the world.

               To list all the government officials that took the oath and broke it is impossible to list. That list is too long to even think about, especially those from the last administration. Today, oaths mean nothing. Back in the day, a simple handshake was all that was needed. There was also a time when a person gave their word and that was all that was needed.

               I have taken many oaths and kept all of them. I could not afford to be caught breaking an oath because I am a little guy and before I could recite my name, I would be so deep into the catacombs of prison that daylight wouldn’t reach me. I guess keeping true to the oaths taken is for the little people like me.

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30

Apr. ’23

Burn Baby Burn

Every day looks gloomier, and gloomier when you look at the world of politics. I guess I am looking for a country set in a world of utopia but, as I wrote in a previous blog, there is no such thing as utopia. There will always be mistakes, miscalculations, and the inevitable upper crust people greed. Greed is one thing but being overly greedy is too much for me. However, there are those that are mindless about all of this and want the rest of us to fall into the same fire that has engulfed them.

               I am thinking about all the problems our country is mired in and there seems to be no end to any of this. Especially when there is a faction that wants to unravel what is good and decent and only wants to cause discontent. When you add the craziness of some of these people into the mix, there is nothing but chaos and either nothing gets done or there is a slowdown of everything. Then again you add into the mix liars that are only out to destroy everything.

               There are many things on the table that need to be resolved including the abortion issue, the Supreme Court issue, our conflict with China, Russia and, in minor form, some other countries. Add in humanitarian aid to several countries and aid to many states in this country. There is still a big border problem which is not going to go away any time soon. Yet, there is a blockage in Congress to get the money to resolve some of this plus we have the upcoming debt ceiling deadline.

               Thinking about the upcoming debt ceiling deadline, I cannot see why Republicans want to cut money to our military, especially VA (Veteran Administration) hospitals, when they have said they wouldn’t. They want to cut employees from the VA as well as funding. How can we care for our injured vets (we can barely do it now) with fewer personnel and less money? Who would want to join our military knowing that if they get injured care is not a priority?

               Looking again at the Supreme Court and I see a court I would not want to handle my case, if I had one, because I would know they will decide on which way the money, politics, and friendship flow. This is the highest court in the country, and it is so tainted that being corrupt is the lowest I can think of without using a cuss word.

               The country is on fire, and we are all burning in the flames that are thrown in our direction. As the perpetrators of this mess will burn in hell for continuing to cause this, those that condone this mess and are attempting to drag others into this mess will burn also. I wrote about this in my other blog www.faithingodministries.net and I see it all coming true. The devil needs more fuel for his fires, and we are supplying it. Souls will add to the fuel, and I do not want any part of it. There is so much more I could write but I do not want to write a book. We all will burn because of this fiasco. Burn, baby, burn.

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05

Mar. ’23

Yes I Can

I am a loner. A strong statement but one that is true. I’ve found that staying to myself and keeping my thoughts to myself have taken me further than I thought I would go. Playing one side against the other and simply listening to what is said around me have given me insight into those that pretend they are my friend but is giving hints of attempted manipulation. Some attempts are under the table, softly spoken, and some are outwardly loud. I see them and most of the time I go along with them to meet my own end, but sometimes, when I feel it is necessary, I reject them.

               I was born during segregation and schooled under segregation going to an all-Black school. I used secondhand books with barely a whisper of Blacks mentioned in them. I learned Black history the way most Black people did, orally, the way it has been passed down for generations. As I read the hand-me-down books, I soon learned that much was left out, much was bull, and much was manipulated to the benefit of the White people.

               CRT theorist still does not want the learning of Black history and probably does not want a Black History month in which we tell our children about the accomplishments of Black people nor who they were and are. We were always told that we were incapable of doing anything, but that is untrue. We, as it was said back in the day, were to ‘get back’, meaning ‘get to the back of the bus’. Rosa Parks and others stood against that because they had enough of the BS.

               When I went into the military, I went primarily to beat the draft (I did not want the army, I wanted my own choice). I still could not get into what I wanted but it was still better than what I would have been in the army. I had been on the radio all of my high school years, but the military did not accept Blacks into any part of the communication services, including radio or tv (AFRTN).

               As an air policeman (later as a security policeman and I am not sure what they call it now), I was used as an augment for K-9 but could not formally be a K-9 handler because I was Black (this was whispered to me). I made a promise to myself to do it anyway and four years later I made it (this went well with me being a loner. Just me and my dog doing our thing). I went through much shunning, racial harassment, and I had to fight my way to the top of the K-9 field (I had to do more and know more than the average airman). I even made it to being a First Sergeant in the security field. Low rank equal low pay but I had my pride knowing I and others can do it as Blacks especially when told you can’t do it or that field is closed to you (remember the Tuskegee Airmen?).

               So, we have had the Black History month. With CRT theorist getting a stronger following, how many more Black History months will we have? When or how will people learn the true Black History? When will Black people stop being denied something because of their color? I will always say ‘yes I can’ and I did.

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18

Sep. ’22

The Borinqueneers

I just returned from a week in Puerto Rico, just ahead of the hurricane/tropical storm. My wife and I go there often and have been to most of the other major islands. However, after watching a segment of history about Puerto Rico on a morning talk show, I thought about I have never heard about Puerto Rican military people when I was in the military nor read about them in history books. It was as if, like Black military people and Native Americans, they never existed. I did some research, and it did not take long to find a lot of information.

               Like Black people, Hispanic people volunteered for military service and was delegated to segregated units. During WWI they formed the 65th Infantry Regiment and served as the U.S. military’s last segregated unit composed primarily of Hispanic Soldiers. This have echoes of Black soldiers in the military. These soldiers are known as Borinqueneers.

               There is a short piece in the history pages that I found, and it say ‘shortly after Puerto Rico became part of the United States in 1898, a regiment of Puerto Rican Soldiers was formed, and they served our nation bravely ever since. In World War I, they defended the homeland and patrolled the Panama Canal Zone. In World War II, they fought in Europe. In Korea, they fought in mud and snow. They are the 65th Infantry Regime, U.S. Army. They are also known as Borinqueneers’. The nickname ‘Borinqueneers’ originated from the Borinquen – one of the native Taino Indian names for the island of Puerto Rico.

               One interesting fact is that two hundred Hispanic women joined the military and was given the job as code talkers, just like the Native Americans. Now that I have a taste of Hispanic history, I will delve more into it because I know there is much more to discover. Like all the other ethnic groups of people, the Hispanics have done well in many things for the United States including doing better than average in the military. Also, like other ethnic groups in the military, the Hispanics were short changed when it came to receiving medals. When ex-President Obama was in office, he gave out a record twenty-four Medal of Honor at one award ceremony.

               Although Puerto Rico is a possession of the USA, they have trouble getting USA support when there is a disaster, need of an influx of money for infrastructure upgrades, and so forth. I really love that island and would love to live there if the hurricanes would skip the place. The island is usually in the path of most hurricanes that leave the coast of Africa. And, while I was there, the news said there were earthquakes on the east coast of the island. I didn’t feel them.

               I invite all of you to join me and dig deeper into Hispanic history (music also), especially the Borinqueneers. These people are as interesting as the Tuskegee Airmen and others. Mexico is not the only place for Hispanics, but most people only think of Mexico and southward as the only Hispanics. Duh, not so. Look at Puerto Rico and other places. Huum, I have to do more traveling. By the way, HAPPY HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH!!

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21

Aug. ’22

Classified Material

I have handled classified material all through my military and civil service career, but I have never imagined anything like what is in the news today. I had both respect and fear of the material I was handling. Respect because I knew what it was, what it could do if the wrong eyes saw it and honored to be able to handle such sensitive material. I feared it because I knew if I mishandled it, lost it, or allowed the wrong eyes to see it I was in very big trouble and the trouble would come very quickly. I used to say, ‘they would dump me in a very deep hole, fill it in, and build a prison over me’. Evidently not so today.

               When the boxes of material were taken from the White House, when the ex-President was reluctantly leaving, I asked then how he was allowed to take the material or is it the law had changed. Eighteen months ago, the removal of classified material was known. Yet, people are acting like it is new news. A year after the material was taken Trump was asked for the return of the material. See-sawing back and forth through delay after delay got the government nowhere with just asking for the return of the material. In June a subpoena was issued for its return. Again, delay after delay resulted in just some of the material being returned, although his lawyers said that was all of it. Now the raid produced boxes of highly classified material. Surprise-surprise-surprise!

               In my civil servant job, when I handled classified correspondence, I had to be very careful. I signed for the material, took it where it had to go, stood there while the individual read it, they signed for it, I took it to a secure storage place, signed in and stored it. When it was time to destroy it, there was a strict procedure that had to be followed to the letter. I could not just flush it down the toilet. If I did not follow the rules to the letter, there would not be a warning nor a chance to delay nor a subpoena nor more than a year going past before I was in handcuffs. Oh, I get it. I am not an ex-President.

               I have said from day one, if I did anything remotely close to what Trump have done, I would have been in prison years ago serving a very long sentence. My leading question is, what was he going to do with that trove of classified material? I know Putin blackmailed people with material like that (he is ex-KGB). Was he trying to do something like that? Was he going to sell it for the money he needs? I guess we will never know. We can only speculate.

               The handling of classified material takes obvious precautions with harsh penalties if you miss the mark, regardless of who you are. There are people for Trump calling for the disbandment of the law enforcement agencies involved or just leaving him alone. I guess they are saying you and me must follow the law and/or rules but Trump does not. He is above the law. He was given time to return the material where-by anyone else would immediately be in jail for the slightest misstep.  Who said this world is fair?

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