So it seems that our fair city ... actually, just Elmendorf AFB ... will be visited by TOTUS next Wednesday. It is exciting to watch Air Force One land and take off, both of which are clearly visible from downtown. Other than that, meh. It seems the plane will refuel here on its way to a 10-day Asian tour.
Hmm, another tour. I wonder when the "live" album will be released?
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Some somebody-or-other at the U. of Iowa (a single bright spot in an otherwise bleak landscape) has issued an economic analysis that Alaska was a bad investment purchase for the U.S. It seems the state has absorbed more federal dollars than it has returned. While I'm no fan of a continued federal handout, Alaska's location and terrain are apparently beyond his feeble reckoning skills. They wanted people to move here, and - strangely enough - Americans here want many of the same amenities enjoyed elsewhere. Small population + non-existent infrastructure = federal expenditures. Go figure.
I don't recall asking his opinion, but it must go along with Missouri Senator McCaskill taking Alaska Native corporations to task for following existing federal contract bid requirements. She thinks they get an unfair advantage; they maintain the 'advantage' was written into federal law in the late '70s, under President Peanut.
They're right, of course, but most of them are large enough now that they might not need the competitive advantage any longer.
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The weather is turning colder again; it's 37 with a misty drizzle. Since the weatherman predicts a 10-degree drop overnight, is white stuff in the forecast?
Um, not so much. This drizzle wasn't forecast, either, so who knows? It's a lead-pipe cinch that AccuHunch doesn't have a clue.
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In my original post yesterday about the Fort Hood massacre, I ended by asking how long it would be before the Bradys and/or their ilk would call for banning firearms on military bases. I then took it off, because it just didn't feel right to inject a snarky political comment.
But the calls for tighter rules didn't take long, did they?
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Y'all have a fantastic weekend: heal if you've been stressed, and relax just because. Thanks for stopping by.
Psalm 22:27-28: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he ruleth among the nations.”
3 comments:
Maybe things have changed, but when I was in, I had the ability to earn a ribbon (was it?) by shooting the .45. However, ammunition could not be brought on base without a bunch of paperwork and my company's CO and maybe XO signatures (hard to find men when we made it topside, sometimes). Or, I could have risked a captain's mast. It was crazy then, I thought. That was just ammo. Not sure about guns, but I think they all had to go to a special place and be locked up at all times. I am not even sure you could use them on the range, though I am not positive. (for gun owners who lived on-base)
Just wondering, but if this guy Barker of U of I had done an economic analysis of other states--say California--that included damage from earthquakes, fires, and storms; railroads running in the red; etc., would he have also concluded we should give it back to the Spanish? Or how about New Orleans or Florida? The guy is a tool.
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How can you get tighter rules for weapons than a complete lock-up of said items except for law enforcement whether civilian or military? Obviously, someone thinks every soldier on a military base walks around with his service issued weapon 24/7. If they had, this shooting would have either created chaos or ended after the second BANG!
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Weather! Can't do much about it but talk. Having taken a couple of courses in meteorology, I know there's a lot of "if" involved in the formulation of a forecast, but sometimes it gets absurd.
Sorry for a second comment so soon. Just went back and reread your post and noted that AF1 will be doing a refueling stop on the way to Asia for 10 days.
The One seems to be in a perpetual campaign mode.
Now he wouldn't be going by way of Anchorage because it's so darn close to Russia, would he?
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