TheList 5314

The List 5314 TGB








Good Thursday Afternoon May 7. Some comments and history.

Regards,

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Thanks to Micro



The Playbook



All:

I've gotten multiple emails lately sending around articles and videos attacking Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx. A large number of the attacks are associated with development of vaccines and medicines where a pharmaceutical company "stands to make billions." In addition, there are accusations of government researchers making money off of patents, manipulating research for their own financial gain, and even doing something nefarious by funding research in leading laboratories around the world, including… gasp … Wuhan. I thought I would pen a few notes containing my opinions.



First and foremost, this is a Presidential Election year, as we all know. Everything needs to be considered in that light. First, the Democrats had no answer for the good economy and great unemployment numbers (not to mention no policies or candidates). When the virus came along, they saw that it was going to "fix" the economy and employment so it weakened President Trump's popularity, and they had something to run against. In regard to the virus, they could always say they would have done it differently and they would have been more effective. Of course, not one of them actually set a date that they would have done anything, whether closing down or opening up. So, they're running against a ghost.



When the Task Force was set up, the Democrats were against having the "unqualified" Vice President in charge. When he did a good job, they stopped complaining about him but questioned everything reported in the briefings. But those daily briefings caused the President's approval ratings to increase higher than at any other time in his Administration. Uh, oh. The economy had tanked, 30 million people were out of work, and the President's approval ratings increased. What to do?



Of course, Biden's hair-sniffing and gaffs have been sidelined by "social distancing," so the lack of campaigning kept him from screwing up more. Then, unaffected by social distancing or face masks, allegations of sexual misconduct continued to pour in, further weakening a weak candidate. What to do?



The first step is kill the messengers on the very popular Corona Virus Task Force. Let's see if we can find someone that doesn't like Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx. Democrats assume that everyone is corrupt, so it's just a matter of time before bad things will show up, and that will embolden others to come out of "hiding" to corroborate stories of malfeasance or illegal profit-making. Sounds like a plan.



A former researcher that got fired from NIH many years ago had her house raided by police with a warrant and was arrested and placed under a gag order suddenly found an audience. Her videotaped interview, clearly heavily edited, is being sent around as "proof" of more government overreach, but this time the targets are those pesky 40-year veterans of NIH research with impeccable reputations that were so irresponsible as to support the President in daily briefings. They even said the President listened to their scientific recommendations and always accepted them. Shame on them.



In the video interview, her story is clearly missing a lot of details because it doesn't make sense unless you believe that all Federal Government career employees and all Presidential Administrations since 1984 have been corrupt. Her story, as told by Democrat operatives, is that she is entirely innocent, was fired while doing world-class research, was berated by Dr. Fauci, was threatened by police, and was jailed and gagged for no reason other than she was innocent and a hard worker. Sure.



A little of her plan is inadvertently revealed in a small segment when she demeans Dr. Birx. They show a short clip from a White House briefing where a few of Dr. Birx's words lead in to a continuation of the interview.



Dr. Birx is responding to a question about what deaths are being counted as Corona virus deaths, since there had been various hysterical stories circulating, including one that claimed hospitals get paid "extra" for COVID-19 deaths rather than a "regular" death. Does anybody know when hospitals started getting paid for a death? Really? Seems to be a bad plan.



At any rate, Dr. Birx was explaining that the guidelines given to the States was that any death where the patient then tested positive was deemed to have died "with the virus." The logic was, even if the person seemed to have died of a heart attack, if they tested positive, it was virtually impossible to say that the virus didn't have something to do with causing this death at this time instead of six months from now. So, regardless of the apparent cause, if a person then tested positive (or tested positive before dying), Corona virus was put down as at least a contributing cause, and that death counted as a Corona virus death. Of course, such a death would also count as a death from a heart attack, but that wasn't the issue.



The disgruntled researcher/interviewee disparaged Dr. Birx who had said the person died "with the virus," saying, "People don't die 'with a virus', they die OF the virus." Of course, that is medically incorrect. If the virus causes pneumonia and you die of pneumonia, you actually died "with the virus." When it's that direct, you can also say they died "of the virus" but not in the wide-ranging cases that Dr. Birx was referring to in response to a question about the accounting of deaths and the policy associated with that.



Figuring that one interviewee might not be enough to carry out the Plan to Defeat Trump, suddenly there's a spate of "articles" circulating about Dr. Fauci "funding the Wuhan laboratory" and implying that the funding he is personally accountable for caused the virus and caused it to be released. The conspiracy continues by suggesting that he was paid by the Clinton Foundation, holds patents on drugs that can cure COVID-19, and holds some financial share of the main company that is expected to come up with a vaccine first.



These are all Democrat hit pieces. They have to demonize Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx. Neither of them has been political, as is appropriate, and they are world-renowned scientists with great respect and credibility. How dare they say that the President followed their advice! The political operatives had to find a way to eat into the increasing approval ratings and the success of the Task Force principal players. That's what all of this is about.



In response to an attorney friend that forwarded some of this stuff and has chosen to believe it, especially in light of the Deep State stuff from the FBI, etc., etc., I wrote about some of the claims associated with his concern as he stated, "Do you not think that government employees being able to be issued patents is a conflict of interest?" Here's what I wrote to him:



No, not at all. They are restricted by Federal law regarding how much they can make in royalties from a patent. There are many restrictions on them, but their organization gets the lion's share of royalties, and all government use of the patent is always royalty free. There is an entire regulation about this subject.



When I was managing about 115 employees at the Naval Research Lab (about 80 of those were PhD researchers), and later when I managed employees at six other Federal labs, this subject came up frequently. Scientists really don't make much money (a PhD degree is probably one of the worst "investments" there is in that regard), so they always think that, if they can "invent" something, they'll get wealthy. It has NEVER happened in government service, and it CANNOT happen. The maximum amount a Federal employee can receive is $100,000 from royalties on a patent (at least, that was the number when I was doing this). And, although my company held about 80 patents, applying for many every year in joint research efforts with Federal employees, nobody ever came close. I think the max I ever saw anyone make is about $20,000. Our contracts required us to live by the same rules as Federal employees, since they worked in the same labs on the same projects and were co-inventors.



Given that they cannot make much money from patents (or virtually anything else, like honoraria for speeches, consulting fees associated with any of their Federal work, etc.), then there is no basis for a conflict of interest.



And conspiracy theorists really don't have a clue how tight the regulations and oversight are on all these matters. It would take a chain of perhaps 20-50 people that don't know each other to enable a Federal employee to make millions of dollars outside of his Federal employment. He can't even buy stocks based on insider knowledge, and by that I mean any knowledge that he may have from his years of education and experience associated with his job. Every stock purchase or sale over $1,000 (by an employee or spouse of an employee) must be reported within 30 days of the event, then, annually, ALL transactions of ANY amount must be reported by the second quarter of the year (all done on a website named Integrity.gov). Each report is then analyzed up the chain of command, including by the legal office, looking for "conflicts of interest" or ANYTHING related to the information that the Federal employee has access to. They don't have to report mutual funds because they are broadly available to anyone, just like Index Funds.



You can look it up, if you'd like. It's called the STOCK Act.



In response to his question about Dr. Fauci or others funding research in Wuhan, I wrote the following:



Funding other labs around the world is relatively commonplace. They all race to be the first to discover something and publish it. They live off of publications. They compete with each other, but often they need someone else's insight to short-circuit one step in a process, so they involve another lab. They always try not to reveal what they know, only what they need, but there's often a tradeoff. Horse trading. But they'll never give away what they see as the heart of their project. No one trusts other scientists that much.



Wuhan most certainly would have been funded from a variety of sources around the world. That's how you find out who the players are, how far along they are, what "language" (scientifically speaking) they speak and understand, what their focus is, what their priorities are. There is nothing nefarious in that. It is absolutely necessary and should be applauded. What's muddying the water now is all the "experts" coming out of the woodwork, trying to compare this kind of research to some entirely different field that they are familiar with, and finding criminals behind every GC/MS.



In addition to the attacks on Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx, this wave of "articles" that are being sent around by email also indicate their authorship bias in another way. They talk about a pharma company named Gilead (and others) that is developing medicine that may treat Corona virus patients. The articles adopt an indignant tone and state that this company "stands to make billions."



Let's take a look at that, shall we? Who hates that companies make money? Democrats and Socialists. What does happen if any pharmaceutical company "makes billions"? Where does that money go? Well, if it's profit, it goes to stockholders. Oh, yes, now we remember why that same group of Democrats and Socialists hate Wall Street. Of course, if you think these are windfall profits that can make anyone rich and famous, go ahead and buy their stock. It's available for sale to anyone and always was. You can also choose some other pharmaceutical company to invest in. Go ahead. Don't want to because it's a high-risk venture? Hmmmm. That makes you sound more like a Capitalist.



Will someone get wealthy? Probably. Is it a sure thing? Nope. Whose 401(k) might get a boost? Just about anyone. Will any pharmaceutical company go bankrupt? Of course. They do all the time, or they get bought at a bargain price.



If you resent a pharmaceutical company, or any other, making money so it can invest in high risk research around the world, then you might reconsider whether you believe in Capitalism and Market Forces.



What have we learned? Attacks on President Trump are partisan, of course. If you must oppose him in an election year, you have to have a plan to weaken him before defeating him. Traditional methods include running a strong candidate with innovative and attractive policies. If at a loss, find a way to attack those that are visibly helping his popularity. Destroy their reputations. Spout scientific nonsense. "Allege" offenses that have no basis in fact. Allow conspiracy theorists to latch on and propagate the wave of innuendo.



That's what this is all about.



Dave





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Thanks to Dr Rich

Dark Horse Reunion in NVN



https://vimeo.com/168246685





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Thanks to Richard



Subject: Aviation Words Of Wisdom



ALL,

HAS BEEN AROUND BEFORE, HOWEVER ALWAYS GREAT TO SEE FABULOUS PHOTOS OF GREAT AIRCRAFT!!!!



The pictures are great, but the words of wisdom with each one are even better, proven with age, and indisputable.



Click Here to see pictures



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On this day in American Military History



1915 – British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland. Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into the Celtic Sea. Of 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people were drowned, including 128 Americans. The attack aroused considerable indignation in the United States, but Germany defended the action, noting that it had issued warnings of its intent to attack all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the war zone around Britain. When World War I erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality for the United States, a position that the vast majority of Americans favored. Britain, however, was one of America's closest trading partners, and tension soon arose between the United States and Germany over the latter's attempted quarantine of the British isles. Several U.S. ships traveling to Britain were damaged or sunk by German mines, and in February 1915 Germany announced unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around Britain. In early May 1915, several New York newspapers published a warning by the German embassy in Washington that Americans traveling on British or Allied ships in war zones did so at their own risk. The announcement was placed on the same page as an advertisement of the imminent sailing of the Lusitania liner from New York back to Liverpool. The sinkings of merchant ships off the south coast of Ireland prompted the British Admiralty to warn the Lusitania to avoid the area or take simple evasive action, such as zigzagging to confuse U-boats plotting the vessel's course. The captain of the Lusitania ignored these recommendations, and at 2:12 p.m. on May 7 the 32,000-ton ship was hit by an exploding torpedo on its starboard side. The torpedo blast was followed by a larger explosion, probably of the ship's boilers, and the ship sunk in 20 minutes. It was revealed that the Lusitania was carrying about 173 tons of war munitions for Britain, which the Germans cited as further justification for the attack. The United States eventually sent three notes to Berlin protesting the action, and Germany apologized and pledged to end unrestricted submarine warfare. In November, however, a U-boat sunk an Italian liner without warning, killing 272 people, including 27 Americans. Public opinion in the United States began to turn irrevocably against Germany. On January 31, 1917, Germany, determined to win its war of attrition against the Allies, announced that it would resume unrestricted warfare in war-zone waters. Three days later, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany, and just hours after that the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat. On February 22, Congress passed a $250 million arms appropriations bill intended to make the United States ready for war. In late March, Germany sunk four more U.S. merchant ships, and on April 2 President Wilson appeared before Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany. On April 4, the Senate voted to declare war against Germany, and two days later the House of Representatives endorsed the declaration. With that, America entered World War I.





1942 – Battle of the Coral Sea: American Admiral Fletcher sends Task Force 44 to attack Japanese troop transports bound for Port Moresby. The Japanese retaliate with attacks from land based aircraft. The Japanese also sight the American tanker Neosho and the Sims, they send aircraft after the ships and the Neosho is sunk. The Americans find Japanese Admiral Goto's close support force and they proceed to sink the carrier Shoho. Meanwhile, Japanese Admiral Takagi sends planes out in an attempt to find the American fleet. Twenty-one of the Japanese planes are lost without engaging the enemy, including a small group which attempt to land on the American aircraft carrier Yorktown. The Japanese troop transports return to Rabaul to await the outcome of the battle.



1942 – General Wainwright broadcasts the news of the American surrender at Corregidor from Japanese custody. He invites the remainder of the American forces in the Philippines to surrender. Despite the American surrender, the opposition faced by Japanese forces has been effective in disrupting their plans. General Homma was allocated 50 days to take the Philippines, the actual conquest took five months. The continuing resistance of the Filipino forces has prevented the release of his troops for other campaigns.





1945 – At 0141, General Alfred Jodl, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces, East and West, at Reims, in northwestern France. At first, General Jodl hoped to limit the terms of German surrender to only those forces still fighting the Western Allies. But General Dwight Eisenhower demanded complete surrender of all German forces, those fighting in the East as well as in the West. If this demand was not met, Eisenhower was prepared to seal off the Western front, preventing Germans from fleeing to the West in order to surrender, thereby leaving them in the hands of the enveloping Soviet forces. Jodl radioed Grand Admiral Karl Donitz, Hitler's successor, with the terms. Donitz ordered him to sign. So with Russian General Ivan Susloparov and French General Francois Sevez signing as witnesses, and General Walter Bedell Smith, Ike's chief of staff, signing for the Allied Expeditionary Force, Germany was-at least on paper-defeated. Fighting would still go on in the East for almost another day. But the war in the West was over. Since General Susloparov did not have explicit permission from Soviet Premier Stalin to sign the surrender papers, even as a witness, he was quickly hustled back East-into the hands of the Soviet secret police, never to be heard from again. Alfred Jodl, who was wounded in the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944, would be found guilty of war crimes (which included the shooting of hostages) at Nuremberg and hanged on October 16, 1946-then granted a pardon, posthumously, in 1953, after a German appeals court found Jodl not guilty of breaking international law.
1945 – On Luzon, the US 43rd Division advances about 5 miles toward Ipo. American troops attacking towards a ridge near Guagua are repulsed by Japanese defenders.
1945 – On Okinawa, the US 7th Division completes the elimination of Japanese units that infiltrated into the Tanabaru area. Fruitless attacks on the Japanese held Shuri Line continue.





1965 – 6,000 Marines of the 4th marine Division are sent to Chu Lai, a sandy pine barren along the coast 55 miles south of Danang to build a second jet air base. Chu Lai will sport a new type of field, the Short Airfield for Tactical Support (SATS) — a 4,000 foot long airstrip of aluminum matting with arrestor wires like an aircraft carrier. Initially all planes will take off via jet assist, but a catapult will be installed two years later. By 1 June, A-4 Skyhawks and MAG-12ss will be using the field.





Congressional Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day



*HANSEN, DALE MERLIN
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 13 December 1922, Wisner, Nebr. Accredited to: Nebraska. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company E, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Chain, 7 May 1945. Cool and courageous in combat, Pvt. Hansen unhesitatingly took the initiative during a critical stage of the action and, armed with a rocket launcher, crawled to an exposed position where he attacked and destroyed a strategically located hostile pillbox. With his weapon subsequently destroyed by enemy fire, he seized a rifle and continued his 1-man assault. Reaching the crest of a ridge, he leaped across, opened fire on 6 Japanese and killed 4 before his rifle jammed. Attacked by the remaining 2 Japanese, he beat them off with the butt of his rifle and then climbed back to cover. Promptly returning with another weapon and supply of grenades, he fearlessly advanced, destroyed a strong mortar position and annihilated 8 more of the enemy. In the forefront of battle throughout this bitterly waged engagement, Pvt. Hansen, by his indomitable determination, bold tactics and complete disregard of all personal danger, contributed essentially to the success of his company's mission and to the ultimate capture of this fiercely defended outpost of the Japanese Empire. His great personal valor in the face of extreme peril reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service.





SCHWAB, ALBERT EARNEST
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 17 July 1920, Washington, D.C. Entered service at: Tulsa, Okla. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a flamethrower operator in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Rykuyu Islands, 7 May 1945. Quick to take action when his company was pinned down in a valley and suffered resultant heavy casualties under blanketing machinegun fire emanating from a high ridge to the front, Pfc. Schwab, unable to flank the enemy emplacement because of steep cliffs on either side, advanced up the face of the ridge in bold defiance of the intense barrage and, skillfully directing the fire of his flamethrower, quickly demolished the hostile gun position, thereby enabling his company to occupy the ridge. Suddenly a second enemy machinegun opened fire, killing and wounding several marines with its initial bursts. Estimating with split-second decision the tactical difficulties confronting his comrades, Pfc. Schwab elected to continue his l-man assault despite a diminished supply of fuel for his flamethrower. Cool and indomitable, he moved forward in the face of a direct concentration of hostile fire, relentlessly closed the enemy position and attacked. Although severely wounded by a final vicious blast from the enemy weapon, Pfc. Schwab had succeeded in destroying 2 highly strategic Japanese gun positions during a critical stage of the operation and, by his dauntless, single-handed efforts, had materially furthered the advance of his company. His aggressive initiative, outstanding valor and professional skill throughout the bitter conflict sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.







SCHWAB, ALBERT EARNEST
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 17 July 1920, Washington, D.C. Entered service at: Tulsa, Okla. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a flamethrower operator in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Rykuyu Islands, 7 May 1945. Quick to take action when his company was pinned down in a valley and suffered resultant heavy casualties under blanketing machinegun fire emanating from a high ridge to the front, Pfc. Schwab, unable to flank the enemy emplacement because of steep cliffs on either side, advanced up the face of the ridge in bold defiance of the intense barrage and, skillfully directing the fire of his flamethrower, quickly demolished the hostile gun position, thereby enabling his company to occupy the ridge. Suddenly a second enemy machinegun opened fire, killing and wounding several marines with its initial bursts. Estimating with split-second decision the tactical difficulties confronting his comrades, Pfc. Schwab elected to continue his l-man assault despite a diminished supply of fuel for his flamethrower. Cool and indomitable, he moved forward in the face of a direct concentration of hostile fire, relentlessly closed the enemy position and attacked. Although severely wounded by a final vicious blast from the enemy weapon, Pfc. Schwab had succeeded in destroying 2 highly strategic Japanese gun positions during a critical stage of the operation and, by his dauntless, single-handed efforts, had materially furthered the advance of his company. His aggressive initiative, outstanding valor and professional skill throughout the bitter conflict sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.





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Thanks to WC Simonsen

Worth the read



You may have seen this. Thought it was very insightful

Wingo RIO 64 to 75 VF 101, 41,102,121,111,and Nav Pro Baltimore.



Snoops says Correct Attribution



MBA student Alyssa Ahlgren writing from a coffee shop in Minneapolis for Alpha News:



We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it. Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful.



Let me lay down some universal truths really quick. The United States of America has lifted more people out of abject poverty, spread more freedom and democracy, and has created more innovation in technology and medicine than any other nation in human history. Not only that but our citizenry continually breaks world records with charitable donations, the rags to riches story is not only possible in America but not uncommon, we have the strongest purchasing power on earth, and we encompass 25% of the world's GDP. The list goes on.



However, these universal truths don't matter. We are told that income inequality is an existential crisis (even though this is not an indicator of prosperity, some of the poorest countries in the world have low-income inequality), we are told that we are oppressed by capitalism (even though it's brought about more freedom and wealth to the most people than any other system in world history), we are told that the only way we will acquire the benefits of true prosperity is through socialism and centralization of federal power (even though history has proven time and again this only brings tyranny and suffering).



Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country. People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, elect politicians dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism. Why? The answer is this, my generation has ONLY seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the great depression, or live through two world wars, or see the rise and fall of socialism and communism. We don't know what it's like not to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague.