Tag: Heroes

Common Thread

Good Stuff

Getting a little sick of all the “look at the Left exploding, aren’t they a bunch of fuckwits” videos and such.  They sucked (and still do), they lost, they don’t deserve our attention, fuck ’em, time to move forward.

Like Oz commentator John Anderson has done with Victor Davis Hanson in this podcast.  Now go and spend a couple hours to a) see how a real interviewer approaches a topic and b) bask in the clear wisdom and analysis of VDH.

By the way — and this next isn’t a political interview — go and watch Rick Beato talking with maestro keyboardist Rick Wakeman of Strawbs, Yes, etc.  As with Anderson, Beato only asks a few questions — I think it’s fewer than half a dozen over the entire 90-minute interview — as Wakeman walks us through recording techniques, musical history and how Yes put their wonderfully-complex songs together.

And finally, even if you aren’t at all interested in Formula 1 racing, spend some time as former team principal Otmar Szafnauer (American, not German) shows his considerable managerial capabilities in an interview with some guys I’ve never heard of, but who also give the interviewee the extreme courtesy of asking only a few questions, not interrupting his answers, and basically giving the audience the benefit of his insight.

It’s a common thread running through all three, and I don’t want to hear any bleats of the foul “tl;dr” genre.  Knowledge isn’t gained from bumper stickers, but from knowledgeable people giving us the benefit of their wisdom and experience.  And the more time we give them to share with us, the deeper our understanding becomes and the more our lives are enriched.

I happen to know a great deal about all three topics, and I still learned a whole lot from all three interviews.

You’re welcome.

Human Interest

Drive Time, Good Stuff

When people so often ask me why I read the horrible Daily Mail newspaper, I can point to stories like this one, which somehow always escape being covered by U.S. newspapers:

A grandmother and son embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime road trip in a vintage Caddy.

Annie Koehler, 79, and Jamie Hutchins, 60, completed the cross-country excursion last month – traveling 4,200 miles in nine days with the windows down. 

The duo traveled across the US — from Illinois to Santa Monica- – in a Cadillac he custom-made.

Despite dating back to 1957, the De Ville made it an astounding 4,200 miles in nine days, Koehler said in an interview – noting how the trip was all done with ‘the windows down.’

The retired trucker also said she needs a new set of tires – after making the journey at 90 mph and winning a couple ‘burnout’ competitions on the way.

Wait… she’s the “retired trucker”?  Could I love her any more?

Lemme tell ya:  among my several posts about doing a long-distance trip in an old car, I’d never have thought about having someone like her as a companion;  but I would now, in a heartbeat.  (But is there anyone “like her”?  I doubt it.)

And by the way:  4,200 miles in nine days, with a couple lengthy stops for the “burnout” competitions… you work out their average speed — in a rebuilt ’57 Caddy.

Fantastic stuff.  Thanks, DM — you made my day.

So Much For Paradise

Anti-Gun Nannies, Righteous Shootings

I know, I know:  Hawaii is anything but Paradise, that’s just PR.  In fact, when it comes to the mucky business of everydqy life — e.g. protecting your family from scumbag neighbors, it’s closer to Hell.  So we’ve all heard about this sorry little tale:

Only in Hawaii* would prosecutors arrest an armed homeowner who stopped a violent neighbor who had just rammed several cars with a front-end loader, shot and killed three women, wounded two others, and posed an immediate threat to shoot more. Yet, that’s exactly what law enforcement officials did…

Until some vestige of common sense (not to say to protect their asses from a lynch mob) set in:

…before ultimately deciding not to pursue charges, citing “issues related to self-defense and defense of others.” Even anti-gun officials, as much as they might have wanted to prosecute the man, had to acknowledge this was a clear case of justifiable self-defense.

When you read the details, it’s not only “a clear case of justifiable self-defense”, but also a confirmation of the old “he needed killing” saying.

The good part of all this?

Local lawmakers are now discussing the possibility of strengthening the state’s self-defense laws in response to the incident. Democratic state representative Darius Kila (that’s right, a Democrat!), whose district is near the scene, is among those pushing for changes. Kila has expressed interest in making Hawaii’s laws more clear-cut by shifting toward a “stand your ground” framework, rather than the current “duty to retreat” standard. He believes residents should be assured that they can defend themselves and their loved ones without fear of legal repercussions, especially in situations as dire as the one that unfolded in Waianae.

Yeah, forgive me for being skeptical, but I’m going to wait until actual laws have been passed before singing hallelujahs.

This is Hawaii, after all.

*not just Hawaii;  I can think of at least three states where the hero homeowner would have been arrested if not prosecuted for his perfectly-justifiable actions.

Kicking Against The Pricks

Eco-Crap, Resistance, Watermelons

The title of this post is an old English idiom, and it refers to rebelling against authority.  It was a common theme expressed to me as a schoolboy, and were it still in use, or in use in the U.S. at all, it would no doubt still be used against me.

I mistrust and dislike most authority figures, and always have.

In the old days, of course, it was largely political institutions and their acolytes (cops, etc.), but in recent times that’s grown to include busybody scolds such as the Climate Hysterics.

Which makes the following story all the more delicious.

An Irish pub has won plaudits for its devastating reply to a local tourist centre after it told them off for using a traditional peat fire. 

JJ Houghs Singing Pub, in Banagher, Ireland posted a picture to their Facebook page of two customers innocently enjoying the first turf fire of the season on Friday.

But local tourist centre Working Holiday Ireland was not happy about the use of turf (also called peat) as fuel and decided to publicly reprimand the owners of the 250-year-old pub.

In the comment section, they said: ‘I see you’re burning turf?! Carbon footprint guys…’

The response from JJ Houghs was immediate, and savage:

‘It’s how we heat the pub. Looking at your page you rely on tourists from abroad coming to Ireland correct? How do they get here? They hardly swam.

‘How would you quantify and compare the emissions of a Boeing 747 to a small turf fire. How do your guests get around Ireland when they arrive, do they walk?

‘I also see by your page you promote Dunnes Stores, who have 138 stores in Ireland and abroad, do you query their carbon footprint? When your guests are here do you check their clothing to ensure they aren’t made of synthetic polyester, a byproduct of petroleum? Did you write your critique of my turf fire on a phone or laptop? Both of which were developed and are powered by fossil fuel technology. 

‘Maybe think before criticising a small family run pub’s turf fire. Maybe call in some day and I’ll give you my carbon footprint up your hole.’

If ever I get to Ireland, I shall go to the Singing Pub and drink and eat excessively, because they are a place after my own heart and deserve my (and everybody else’s) support.

And to hell with these simpering, self-righteous assholes who have set themselves up as Guardians of the Galaxy, or something.  A pox on them all, the interfering killjoys and wokescolds.

Out Of The Past

Heroism, Military

Longtime Readers will remember that many years ago, I attended Boomershoot with the Son&Heir, and took the 2-day training course delivered by Gene Econ and two kids from the unit he was training, Adam Plumendore and Walter Gaya.  As a result of that meeting, we (I plus my Readers) kind of “adopted” Adam and Walt, and when they told me they needed some gear (scopes and rangefinders) for their upcoming deployment, we raised the money and bought them the gear.  (As I recall, it took about three days to raise the $25,000-odd, because as I’ve said before, I have the best Readers on the Internet,)

Anyway, the kids went off to Iraq.  Two months later we heard that Adam had been killed by an IED, and Walt had been badly wounded in a different engagement.

I told you all that so I could tell you this.  Walt and Adam’s CO at the time was Col. Erik Kurilla, a man of incredible bravery and outstanding leadership.  He himself was wounded in Iraq (shot three times in the legs when ambushed by some assholes in, I think Mosul).

It will therefore come as no surprise to anyone when I tell you that Colonel Erik Kurilla is now General (4-star) Erik Kurilla.  You can learn all about him here.  It makes for some interesting reading.  Just the other units he’s since commanded makes me quite awestruck, but I bet he left them better than how he found them.  He’s that kind of man.

I had a chance to chat with him once, some time after Adam was killed, and when by way of introduction I told him how I’d met Adam and Walt, and about the gear we’d contributed, his immediate response was “Oh, I know all about you, Kim, and your group, and how you helped us.”

He was not then, and I doubt very much whether he would ever be one of those remote, office-bound types who doesn’t take care of his men.  With men like him in the Army, there may still be some hope for our future.

I feel extraordinarily privileged to have known him, even as slight as that acquaintance may have been.