To All,
Good Saturday Morning October 31, 2026. Currently sunny and 61 this morning here on this side of paradise with clouds and showers expected later today a high of 71 with a low tonight of 53. Hope everyone has a safe and dry Halloween!
Regards,
Skip
Make it a good Day
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Reminder: Our Republic depends on your vote! Don’t fool yourself to think that what we have fought and sacrificed for can’t be taken away. Midterm Elections is right around the corner: https://veteransvote.us/
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Next Bubba Breakfast is scheduled for Friday November 6, 2026. Doors open at 630AM and breakfast is served at 7AM, at the Rockers Senior NCO Club attached to the Fairway Cafe (next to the base golf course).
Add it to your calendar!
Address and Google Map: 3750 Anderson Ave, San Diego, CA 92145
Please don’t be a stranger!
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CC Distribution List: I do my best to keep everyone’s email address private and BCC when sending the list. However, I’ve been getting feedback on the list and a lot of really interesting notes on historical events and notes being shared by friends near and far alike. If you would like to be put on a CC distro list so that you can see each other’s responses and share in the conversation, let me know.
If we missed adding you, hit me again.
Skip
IF YOU NEED YOUR EMAIL UPDATED OR IF YOU ALREADY SENT IT AND IT GOT LOST IN THE WASH, SEND IT AGAIN!
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Robert Redford's The West: How Wyatt Earp Became The Most Feared Gunman Of The West
https://youtu.be/ETUZDso0BGQ?si=QTUJfn9F6YTdzAJJ
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The Incredible True Stories Of The Golden Age Of Piracy | Outlaws | Timeline
https://youtu.be/pX7F-Hxvr80?si=9vPCcZBsmn8A8Dc4
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Dan Carlin EP13 Gladwell and the Bomber Mafia
https://youtu.be/KKRWk060_6w?si=wPbruEWjJ9L5d8J7
Malcolm Gladwell’s politics aside… his book “The Bomber Mafia” is an excellent read.
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The First Explorer to Travel the Amazon River…and Survive
https://youtu.be/n0Cjk23QcZg?si=9AGfR0myZkT05bzF
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The Zulu War as it REALLY Looked 147 Years Ago
https://youtu.be/OdkiaIIkO2I?si=rZFr3sy0CSzcuw1W
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F-14 Tomcat — The Entire History | Full Documentary
https://youtu.be/qRygU5YbkfU?si=0ihPVZUA00456DV5
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The State of Halloween
Children across the US will dress up as Dolly Parton, dumplings, and more in search of candy tonight, as nearly three-fourths of Americans say they plan to celebrate Halloween.
Halloween traces its roots from an ancient Celtic festival marking the shift from summer to winter and was brought to the US by Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 19th century (see full history). Modern trick-or-treating became mainstream in the mid-20th century to curb hooliganism, with Americans expected to spend roughly $115 per person on costumes, decorations, and candy—up roughly 3% from last year in total spending. However, some neighborhoods may be quieter this year, as only half of kids now trick-or-treat in their own neighborhoods. Our collective sweet tooth is also evolving, with Americans increasingly favoring fruity and sour candies. Scroll here for the states with the biggest and smallest sweet tooth.
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/. Go here to see the director’s corner for all 101 H-Grams .
Today in Naval and Marine Corps History .
31 October
1803 The frigate Philadelphia runs aground near Tripoli while pursuing an enemy vessel in shallow water. As a result, the Tripolitans send a large gunboat force and attack Philadelphia. Stuck fast and listing, she is defenseless and Capt. William Bainbridge surrenders. Under Commodore Edward Prebles orders, Lt. Stephen Decatur leads a mission to burn Philadelphia early the following year.
1941 German submarine U-562 sinks USS Reuben James (DD 245) as she escorted Convoy HX 156, killing 115 of her crew. Reuben James is the first U.S. ship lost to enemy action in World War II.
1956 The U.S. Navy lands seven men in an R4D Skytrain on the ice at the South Pole. They are the first men to stand on the South Pole since Capt. Robert F. Scott in 1912.
1966 While serving as boat captain and patrol officer on board River Patrol Boat (PBR) 105 in Vietnam, Boatswains Mate 1st Class James E. Williams and his crew are taken under fire, facing a superior number of enemy vessels. Williams leads his men to sink 65 enemy craft and inflict numerous casualties among the enemy. He is awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) is named in his honor.
1972 While participating in a daring operation against enemy forces in the Republic of Vietnam, Engineman 1st Class Michael E. Thornton and Lt. Thomas R. Norris come under fire from a numerically superior force. Calling in for support and engaging the enemy, Norris is wounded by enemy fire. Learning that his lieutenant is down, Thornton bravely rushes through a hail of fire, fights off two enemy soldiers, and succeeds in removing Norris. Inflating Norris lifejacket, Thornton then tows him seaward for approximately two hours until they are picked up by support craft. Thornton is later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. See more at the end…Norris would later be awarded a Medal of Honor for a different action.
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Today in World History October 31
1517 Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg in Germany. Luther's theories and writings inaugurate Protestantism, shattering the external structure of the medieval church and at the same time reviving the religious consciousness of Europe.
1803 Congress ratifies the purchase of the entire Louisiana area in North America, adding territory to the U.S. which will eventually become 13 more states.
1838 A mob of about 200 attacks a Mormon camp in Missouri, killing 20 men, women and children.
1864 Nevada becomes the 36th state.
1941 After 14 years of work, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial is completed.
1952 The United States explodes the first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific.
1968 The bombing of North Vietnam is halted by the United States.
1971 Saigon begins the release of 1,938 Hanoi POW’s.
1984 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi by two Sikh members of her bodyguard.
1998 Iraq announces it will no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
1999 EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into Atlantic Ocean killing all 217 people on board.
2000 Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station.
2002 Former Enron Corp. CEO Andrew Fastow convicted on 78 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, obstruction of justice and wire fraud; the Enron collapse cost investors millions and led to new oversight legislation.
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Thanks to Micro
Vietnam Air Losses for October 31
Date: 31 October 1968
Aircraft type: A-7A Corsair
Serial Number: 153175
Military Unit: VA-27
Service: USN
Home Base: USS Constellation
Name(s):
Lt Richard Chester Macke (Survived)
A Corsair crashed due to accidental engine failure during a combat mission. The pilot ejected safely. [Note: this original entry did not have the pilot's name, which was corrected by the input below.]
The following was provided by Richard "Smokey" Powell, President of the Red River Valley Association (River-Rats.org):
I was in VA-27, on adjacent Catapult awaiting launch. Macke was launched just before me. I heard him on the radio calling “engine failure,” saw the ejection, and the ship suspended launch, turned slightly, and continued launching aircraft while the helicopter went to pick him up (combat operations, so sorties needed to go). No other details that I recall. That was our only operational loss; we were the only squadron to bring home all our pilots in the 2 combat cruises; we lost 4 aircraft in combat, 2 contested rescues. I had 220 combat missions when I left, all of us about the same.
Macke rose to the rank of ADM and became the Commander of US Pacific Command.
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft.
From Vietnam Air Losses site for October 31
31-Oct: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2012
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear’s Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…Skip Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady’s work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War. Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
The site works, find anyone you knew in “search" feature.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
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In the Know 1440
North Korea is suspected to be behind largest-ever crypto heist. Experts say an elite North Korean hacking unit appears to be behind a hack that stole roughly $6.3B from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Binance said it believes hackers breached its systems from multiple points of attack in what it describes as a "complex hack." The exchange is working with the FBI and Secret Service to recover stolen assets, but analysts estimate roughly $2.4B may be unrecoverable. The exchange has pledged to cover all customer losses. (More) |
President Donald Trump to rally in Kansas and Iowa tomorrow. The Republican president reversed his decision to cancel back-to-back rallies in the two states, both of which have competitive Senate races. The shuffling comes as early voting in Iowa and Kansas has surged roughly 30% compared with 2022, raising questions about whether Republicans maintain an edge. Trump is also hosting about 20 tele-rallies this weekend. (More) |
PS—Check out the best resources we’ve found on the history and function of midterm elections in the US. |
Christa Pike releases first public statement since botched execution. Pike, 50, said she is in constant mental and physical pain and struggles to speak after surviving a lethal injection in Tennessee last month. She blamed the failed execution on "incompetence," while thanking the medical workers who attended to her in the aftermath. Pike's attorneys have urged Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to reduce her sentence to life in prison. (More) |
Police investigate former Prince Andrew and Epstein activities at royal estate. Scottish authorities confirmed they are conducting active inquiries following allegations that the former prince, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked women to Balmoral Castle. The US Justice Department previously released photos of Andrew and Epstein shooting at the royal residence, which is where Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022. King Charles currently owns the property. (More) |
Scientists identify meteorite found in Sahara as 4.1-billion-year-old piece of Mars. A NASA study has determined that a nearly two-pound, rose-colored meteorite discovered in Mali's Sahara desert came from Mars (see 101). It is one of the three most ancient Martian meteorites on Earth, providing rare insight into how the red planet's crust formed as magma cooled and then changed upon contact with subsurface water. The data suggests Mars may have had a more dynamic water cycle than previously believed. (More) |
Linguists rediscover earliest spoken audio of Louisiana's dying Creole language. Recorded in New Orleans in 1935, the audio offers a rare perspective on a language largely studied through written records. Enslaved Africans developed the language in the 18th century, blending French with West African grammar and incorporating Native American words for unfamiliar plants and animals. The people in the recordings include a retired police officer, schoolteachers, and a pianist. (More, scroll for audio) |
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From the Archives
Thanks to Al
Throw a nickel on the grass
It is with deep regret that I report the passing of CDR (Donald l.) Sid "Whiskey" Schneider, USN (Ret) on Monday night, surrounded by family. He succumbed to stage four throat cancer which had spread to his lungs, rib cage, and other organs..
Sid flew the Demon, Phantom, and the Crusader. He was my nugget cruise 'stick' and a great friend. Later, he was the CO of VFP-63.
My wife, Patty, and I spent time with him on Sunday afternoon to let him know that we loved him.
Sid is survived by his son Steve and his family.
Fatal
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Thanks to Yesterday’s Aviation Today
From YAT files: "Six months ago, this aircraft was killing Allied pilots over the skies of Germany. Today, a 26-year-old Scotsman is about to climb into its cockpit. He has no flight manual. He has no instructor. The engines that wait beneath those swept wings have killed more German pilots than American bullets ever did. And if he touches the throttle the wrong way in the next 90 seconds, he will burn alive at the controls of the very weapon his enemies could not master. His name is Eric Brown, and what he is about to do no pilot has ever done before. September 1945.
Schleswig Airfield, northern Germany. The war in Europe has been over for 4 months, but the smell of it still lingers in the hangar. Burnt oil, cordite, wet canvas, the iron tang of machines that killed and were killed in. A young man in a Royal Navy flight suit walks across the apron. He is 26 years old. He stands no taller than 5 ft 7, and the German ground crew watching him from the shadows of the hangar must think there has been some mistake. This cannot be the pilot they have been told about. This cannot be the man who has come to fly the most dangerous aircraft in the world.
His name is Eric Melrose Brown. The Royal Navy calls him Winkle because he is small, because he fits where larger men cannot, because in cockpits designed for giants he disappears into the seat like a periwinkle into its shell. He has already flown more aircraft types than any pilot alive. By the time he
dies, 70 years from now, that number will reach 487. No one will ever come close. But on this September morning, he is not thinking about records. He is looking at the aircraft in front of him.
It has no propeller. It has swept wings, low and predatory. It sits on a tricycle undercarriage with the nose lifted as if it is already in flight, already running. The fuselage has the shape of a shark. The two engines hang beneath the wings like sleeping animals. In the nose, 4 30-mm cannons wait, the heaviest
firepower ever fitted to a fighter in this war. This is a Messerschmitt 262, the first jet fighter the world has ever seen in combat. Six months ago, this aircraft would have killed him on sight. He climbs the ladder. He settles into the seat. He looks at the controls, all marked in German, all of them familiar because he has studied them for weeks, because he speaks the language fluently, because the road that brought him to this cockpit began 9 years earlier in Berlin, in a city that no longer exists. He closes the canopy. To understand how a Scottish boy ended up at the controls of Hitler's wonder weapon, you have to go back.
Not to the war, before the war, before Hitler, before any of it began. You have to go back to a small airfield called Turnhouse, just outside Edinburgh, in the summer of 1927. A boy of eight stands at the edge of the grass runway, holding his father's hand.
The father is Robert Brown, a former pilot of the Royal Flying Corps. In the last war, Robert started as a balloon observer, strapped to a wicker basket beneath a hydrogen bag, drifting above the Western Front, watching for German artillery.
The life expectancy of a balloon observer was measured in weeks. So, Robert did what desperate men do. He learned to fly. He survived. He came home. And now, on this Saturday afternoon, he is going to put his sons in a Gloster Gamecock, a small wooden fabric biplane with an open cockpit and a roaring radial engine.
He lifts the boy onto his knee. The child's legs cannot reach the rudder pedals, but the father wraps the boy's small hands around the control stick. ""Hold this,"" he says. ""Don't let go."" They take off. The wind hits the boy's face. Edinburgh shrinks below them.
The Forth Bridge crosses beneath the wings like a child's toy. Eric Brown does not feel fear. He feels something he will spend the rest of his life chasing. He will never want to be on the ground again. Nine years pass. The boy grows.
He studies at the Royal High School in Edinburgh. He is bright, quick with languages, hungry for the air. His father takes him to Germany in 1936, ostensibly to watch the Olympic Games. The Berlin Olympics, the games where Hitler will stand in the stadium and try to prove to the world that the new
Germany has risen. But Robert Brown has another reason for the trip. He belongs to a fraternity of old pilots. After the Great War, the surviving flyers of both sides began to meet. Germans and Britons, Frenchmen and Americans, men who had tried to kill each other in the skies over Flanders.
They sat together. They drank together. They told stories that no civilian could understand. The leader of the German group is a man named Ernst Udet. 62 confirmed kills in the last war, a national hero, a drinker, a charmer, a stunt pilot famous across Europe.
And in this year, 1936, a senior officer in the new Luftwaffe, Robert and Eric arrive in Berlin. Udet greets them like family. And then, on a summer afternoon, he turns to the 17-year-old boy and says something that will change his life.
""Come with me. I will take you flying."" They drive south of Berlin to an airfield called Halle. Waiting on the grass is a Bucker Jungmann, a small, beautiful, fully aerobatic biplane. Udet helps the boy into the front seat. He climbs in behind him. The engine fires. What follows Eric Brown will remember for the rest of his life.
Udet does every maneuver in the book, loops, rolls, inverted spins. The boy's stomach is somewhere behind him, somewhere above him, lost. The horizon spins. The world turns inside out. And then, as they approach the runway for landing, Udet rolls the aircraft onto its back.
Inverted, upside down. The boy is hanging in his straps. The runway is rushing toward him, but it is above his head, not below his feet. They descend 50 ft. The wing tips of the young man are clearing the grass by inches. The boy is certain he is about to die.
At the last possible second, Udet rolls the aircraft upright and drops it onto the runway. He bursts into laughter. The laughter of a man who has frightened a child on purpose and enjoyed every second of it. As they walk back to the car, Udet puts his hand on the boy's shoulder.
""You must work on your German,"" he says, ""and get into a flying organization. If you become something, come back and find me."" The boy nods. He cannot speak. His knees are still shaking. Here is what neither of them know. 5 years from this moment, Ernst Udet will put a pistol to his own head and pull the trigger.
The strain of running Luftwaffe aircraft procurement under Hermann Göring will break him. He will die in November of 1941, and the man who taught Eric Brown to love German aviation will be buried by the Reich he helped to build.
But that is the future. In 1936, on the grass at Halle, two pilots shake hands and the seed is planted. Eric returns to Scotland. He enrolls at the University of Edinburgh, reads modern languages, joins the University Air Squadron, learns to fly the Miles Magister and the Gloster Gauntlet."
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From the Archives
As YP would say Some Chit For your continued education and enjoyment
Thanks to Mugs for passing this on
Commentary
What Does It Mean to Be ‘Woke’?
Tyler O'Neil | October 28, 2024
Tyler O'Neil @Tyler2ONeil
Tyler O'Neil is managing editor of The Daily Signal and the author of two books: "Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center," and "The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government."
“Woke.” You keep using that word, but I don’t think it means what you think it means.
A new survey shows that while most Americans think they know what “woke” means, they don’t actually have a firm grasp of the concept behind the term. I’d argue that the definition in my forthcoming book, “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government,” best encapsulates the real meaning and that most Americans do not support woke policies.
But what do Americans think?
Scott Rasmussen’s RMG Research surveyed 1,000 registered voters online last week, weighting the sample to make it more representative of Americans as a whole. The survey’s margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.1 percentage points.
Identifying as Woke
Most respondents (77%) said they know what it means to be woke, and 41% of those who say they know what it means to be woke also identified themselves as woke. Half of those who said they know also said they don’t identify as woke (50%).
Self-identified Democrats (63%) proved more likely to call themselves woke than independents (43%) or Republicans (24%), while Republicans (72%) proved more likely to say they were not woke than independents (38%) and Democrats (25%).
When asked if they would approve of a woke political candidate, more respondents said they would have a favorable view (42%) than an unfavorable one (38%), but many said they were unsure (21%). Those who identified as woke unsurprisingly proved more likely to prefer a woke candidate (81%). Democrats (60%) proved more likely to say they would favor a woke candidate, while Republicans proved more likely to view a woke candidate unfavorably (61%), and independents were split between favoring (40%) and not favoring (32%) such a candidate.
Institutional Racism
Respondents did not fully align with the views of critical race theory (a lens that interprets America as institutionally racist, with black people oppressed and white people oppressors), though they did agree that America has systemic racism.
Most respondents said the United States was founded on “the ideals of freedom, equality, and self-governance” (75%), rather than on “slavery, oppression, and racism” (20%). Even most of those who called themselves woke agreed that America had a noble founding (62%), although the self-identified woke proved more likely to say America was founded on slavery (32%).
Respondents proved split on whether they thought a woke person would say America was founded on ideals (45%) or slavery (44%).
Most Republicans (87%), independents (66%), and Democrats (64%) said America was founded on ideals, while independents (31%) and Democrats (29%) proved more likely than Republicans (11%) to say America was founded on slavery.
Most respondents agreed with the statement that the United States is “a force for good in the world” (61%). Even those who identified as woke generally agreed (51%). Only 10% said America is a “force for evil,” and those who identified as woke were slightly more likely to call the U.S. evil (13%). Others said America is a force neither for good, nor evil (22%), or that they were not sure (6%). Republicans (71%) proved more likely than Democrats (58%) and independents (44%) to say America is a force for good.
Many respondents (60%) said they think “there is widespread systemic racism and discrimination against minorities in America,” and those who identified as woke agreed even more (87%). Fewer Republicans (40%) than independents (68%) and Democrats (83%) agreed that America has systemic racism, and younger respondents (70% of those aged 18 to 34) proved more likely to agree.
Woke Policy
While many respondents agreed with some claims of critical race theory, most of them disagreed with policies the “anti-racism” movement supports.
When asked whether the federal government should “impose new regulations requiring businesses to give preferences to minorities in hiring and promotions,” most (56%) said no, while only 31% said yes. Those who identified as woke proved more likely to favor such affirmative action (59%), although about a quarter of them did not (26%). Most who did not identify as woke (81%) opposed it.
When asked “Are most white children taught racism at home?” most Americans said no (54%), while about one-third (29%) said yes. Those who identified as woke proved more likely (45%) to say white children learn to be racist at home, though many (37%) disagreed. Democrats proved slightly more likely to say white children are taught racism at home (41% yes, 39% no), while independents (47%) and Republicans (69%) mostly disagreed.
Among those who said white children are taught racism at home, a sizable minority (38%) said they would support empowering “teachers and school administrators” to “limit the role of parents in the education of their children.” Respondents were more likely to oppose parental rights in this way when they identified as woke (43%).
Most respondents said they would favor “cutting taxes to spur economic growth” (75%), while only 11% said they would not favor that policy. Even those who identified as woke (81%) supported tax cuts. Most Republicans (79%), independents (85%), and Democrats (69%) also supported tax cuts.
Republicans (46%) proved more likely than independents (26%) and Democrats (16%) to say that people who are woke oppose tax cuts.
Most respondents (73%) opposed allowing biological males who identify as women to compete in women’s sports, while only 16% supported it. Even most of those who identified as “woke” (53%) opposed males in women’s sports, while only 31% supported it.
Most respondents said that someone who is woke would support allowing males in women’s sports (53%), while a sizable minority (29%) disagreed. Those who identified as woke were less likely to say the woke support males in women’s sports (42%).
What Does Woke Mean?
While “woke” is the past tense passive form of the verb “to awaken,” it came to be associated with racial politics after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014 and amid the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter activists used it to describe themselves as having woken up to reality.
It has become a catchall term for the Left’s ideology, and I define it as encompassing four different ideas: critical race theory, gender ideology, climate alarmism, and a preference for technocratic government.
Woke activists believe that America is institutionally racist, was founded on slavery, and needs fundamental reform, if not a full revolution and overhauling of the current system. They also view America as oppressing various groups—racial minorities, women, LGBTQ people, and others. They support transgender policies, from allowing males to compete in women’s sports to placing male convicts in women’s prisons. They also believe that the burning of fossil fuels is changing earth’s climate and requires immediate action to save the planet.
Finally, woke activists support bureaucratic solutions to each of these alleged problems. Ibram X. Kendi, one of the leading figures in the “anti-racism” movement, called for an “Anti-Racist Constitutional Amendment” that would “establish and permanently fund the Department of Anti-racism (DOA) comprised of formally trained experts on racism and no political appointees.”
This federal department “would be responsible for preclearing all local, state and federal public policies to ensure they won’t yield racial inequity, monitor those policies, investigate private racist policies when racial inequity surfaces, and monitor public officials for expressions of racist ideas.”
Kendi’s amendment would also empower this agency to discipline “policymakers and public officials who do not voluntarily change their racist policy and ideas.”
According to critical race theory, “racist ideas” can run the gamut from true racism (believing people are inherently inferior due to their skin color) to a preference for virtues like timeliness and a work ethic. In 2020, the National Museum of African American History and Culture published an infographic presenting various aspects of Western culture—including the nuclear family, science, capitalism, and even competition, writing, politeness, and a work ethic—as part of an oppressive “whiteness” that must be rejected.
Portland, Oregon, activist Lilith Sinclair said that “black and indigenous communities” have to fight “colonized thought” among themselves. As examples of “colonized thought,” she mentioned Christianity and the “gender binary.”
The Elite 1%
Most Americans do not agree with this ideology, but it has broad purchase among a population Scott Rasmussen describes as the elite 1%. People who make more than $150,000 a year, live in densely populated areas, and have postgraduate degrees are overwhelmingly liberal and tend to favor more woke policies, according to research from Rasmussen’s Napolitan News Service. The elite 1% give President Joe Biden an 82% approval rating, compared to his 40% average from the rest of Americans.
Rasmussen’s polling found that Americans in the elite 1% are far more likely to support transgender policy, to support government crackdowns on disinformation, to trust government agencies over voters and elected representatives, and favor climate regulations.
A vast majority (77%) of the elite 1% support rationing of the private use of gas, meat, and electricity, while 63% of voters oppose such rationing. Elites favor banning gas-powered cars (72%), gas stoves (69%), and private air conditioning (53%), while voters heavily oppose such measures.
These elites likely support the Left’s infiltration of the federal government. My book, “The Woketopus,” explains how the Left’s dark money network funds woke nonprofits that staff and advise federal agencies.
It explains how climate alarmist groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club collude with bureaucrats to tighten restrictions on oil and gas. It reveals how the Human Rights Campaign essentially wrote a transgender blueprint that the Biden-Harris administration followed. It exposes the labor unions who help fund other woke groups and pushed the administration to crack down on Americans’ freedom to work as independent contractors.
“Woke” is an inherent part of “The Woketopus,” and I’d argue that my definition helps reveal exactly what the ideology is, and why it’s dangerous for America.
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From the Archives
Thanks to Dr.Rich
Great Dog Story ...
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/10/travel/dog-istanbul-boji-cnnphotos/
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From the Archives
. Thanks to Micro
Rules for Halloween (or anytime)
Just in case you have forgotten the rules for a safe and Happy Halloween!
1. When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it's really dead.
2. Never read a book of demon-summoning aloud, even as a joke.
3. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has gone out.
4. If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they should not know, shoot them immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. However, it will probably take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared. This also applies to kids who speak with somebody else's voice.
5. When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off and go it alone.
6. As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.
7. Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt. This would apply to any other house of the dead as well.
8. If you're searching for something which caused a loud noise and find out that it's just the cat, GET THE #*!! OUT!
9. If appliances start operating by themselves, do not check for short circuits; just get out!
10. Do not take ANYTHING from the dead.
11. If you find a town which looks deserted, there's probably a good reason for it. Don't stop and look around.
12. Don't fool with recombinant DNA technology unless you're sure you know what you're doing.
13. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice. Also note that, despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up with you.
14. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, kill them immediately.
15. Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, Nilbog (you're in trouble if you recognize this one), the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in Maine.
16. If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road, do not go to the nearby deserted looking house to phone for help. If you think that it is strange because you thought you had 3/4 of a tank, shoot yourself instead. You are going to die anyway, and most likely be eaten.
17. Beware of strangers bearing strange tools. For example: chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons, band saws, or any devices made from deceased companions.
18. If you find that your house is built upon a cemetery, now is the time to move in with the in-laws. This also applies to houses that had previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion, or had inhabitants who performed satanic practices in your house.
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
Why Don’t Women’s Clothes Have Pockets? And Other Fashion Oddities, Explained
If you know one thing about how women’s clothing tends to differ from menswear, it’s that garments made for women are often sorely lacking in pockets. On dresses? Usually nonexistent. Pants? So small as to be functionally useless. According to one study, the disparity is even more severe than you might expect: On average, the pockets in women’s jeans are 6.5% narrower and 48% shorter than those on men’s jeans. A number of companies now seek to correct this oversight, although many legacy brands have yet to get with the times.
But why is this lack of pockets a problem in the first place? And while we’re at it, what’s up with that tiny pocket on everyone’s jeans, or the V-shaped stitching on many sweatshirts? Here are the answers to a few common questions about the clothes in your closet.
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Why Don’t Women’s Clothes Have Pockets?
In the late 1600s, women didn’t have pockets in their clothing at all — they had belts with attached pockets that they usually wore under their skirts and accessed via small slits that were meant to be essentially invisible. These were spacious enough to carry everything from fruit to gloves, and often as stylish as the purses of today. Purses themselves became more fashionable (and functional) as dresses got smaller and less conducive to covert storage. It wasn’t until the late 18th century that pockets were regularly sewn directly into women’s clothing; for a time, most of them were even larger than men’s pockets.
Then the same thing happened to pants and other garments that had happened to dresses: Smaller, more form-fitting variants became in vogue, making it more difficult to accommodate large pockets. The line of thought was that they ruined the female silhouette, which brings us to perhaps the main crux of this issue: gender inequality.
Women have long entreated the fashion industry to elevate function to the same level as form. The Rationalist Dress Society was founded in 1891 to push back against corsets and other constricting garments in favor of clothing that was more comfortable and useful, but it wasn’t until World War II that this really happened en masse — and even that was only because women were performing jobs that had previously been the sole province of men. If you’ve seen A League of Their Own, you already know what happened once the war ended: Things went back to the way they were. Small steps have been made since then, of course, but by and large women are still forced to deal with tiny pockets.
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Why Do Sweatshirts Have Those Vs on Them?
Ever notice how some of your sweatshirts have V-shaped stitching under the collar? Known by some as a V-insert and by others as a Dorito (yum!), this strange little detail seems like it doesn’t really do anything, so far as most of us can tell, and some might find it a strange design choice. However, the V-stitch can serve not one, but two purposes (and you thought it was pointless!).
The first has to do with the structural integrity of the sweatshirt. As these garments are worn by placing one’s noggin directly through the collar, they’re prone to stretching. V-inserts originally included elastic ribbing that promoted stretch and prevented the material from losing shape. The second reason has to do with sweat, which has a way of permeating crewnecks and letting the world see how much that last workout raised your heart rate. Ribbed V-stitches absorb some of this perspiration, keeping us looking fresh even when we aren’t feeling that way.
While it’s true that many V-inserts you’ll see today are purely decorative, as they aren’t ribbed, some uphold the traditions of yore and keep our sweaters looking like they did the day you bought them. Thanks, V-stitch.
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What’s That Tiny Pocket in My Jeans?
Ever notice the tiny pocket-within-a-pocket in your jeans? As a kid you may have put small change in there, whereas most adults tend to forget it even exists. Despite all the names it’s had throughout time — frontier pocket, coin pocket, and ticket pocket being just a few — it originally had a specific purpose that didn’t pertain to any of those objects: It was a place to put your watch.
Originally called waist overalls when Levi Strauss & Co. first began making them in 1879, the company’s jeans have always had this dedicated spot for pocket watches — especially those worn by miners, carpenters, and the like. They only had three other pockets (one on the back and two on the front) at the time, making the watch pocket especially prominent. As for why it’s stuck around, the answer seems to be a familiar one: People were used to it and no one felt inclined to phase it out.
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What About That Loop on the Back of My Button-Down?
If you were to go pick a button-down shirt out of your closet and examine the back of it, you might find something surprising: a small loop of fabric an inch or two below the collar. The origin of locker loops, as they’re known, involves sailors, the Ivy League, and the mid-20th century. Having just heard their name, you can likely guess why they exist: Hanging shirts is a handy, efficient way to store them.
Locker loops are believed to have first appeared on the uniforms of East Coast sailors, whose ships tended to have lockers rather than closets, and their function was twofold: They saved space and prevented wrinkles that might arise from clothes being folded. Locker loops were then incorporated into the button-down shirts made by Gant Shirtmakers, Yale's official clothing brand at the time, helping develop an aesthetic that would now be described as preppy.
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This Day in U S Military History
October 31
1918 – In the worst global epidemic of the century, influenza (an acute, contagious respiratory viral infection) had been spreading around the world since May. Before it ended in 1919 some 20 million people were killed worldwide, about twice as many as World War I, with about 500-600,000 of them in the US. October was the deadliest month and about 195,000 died with 21,000 dead the 1st week. It was estimated that 20-40 million people died worldwide.
1918 – Pershing’s troops break through the third and final German defensive line. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive is to be renewed after a brief period of rest and reinforcement.
1941 – The U.S. Navy destroyer “Reuben James” was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Iceland, killing 115, even though the United States had not yet entered World War II.
1943 – LT Hugh D. O’Neill of VF(N)-75 destroys a Japanese aircraft during night attack off Vella Lavella in first kill by a radar-equipped night fighter of the Pacific Fleet.
1950 – The Chinese launched a strong attack on Eighth Army at Unsan.
1951 – Eighteen of the 67 Air Guard squadrons mobilized in 1950-1951 during the Korean War are returned to state control on this date. Only one of the 18, the 116th Fighter Squadron from Moses Lake Air Force Base, WA, served overseas during this period. Issued new F-86A Sabre jets the 116th was stationed at the Royal Air Force base at Manston, England as part of the reinforcement of NATO forces put in place to discourage a Soviet attack in Europe. The six squadrons that actually deployed and fought in Korea were released in July 1952. The last flying units of the Air Guard serving on active duty during this period were finally released on December 31, 1952.
1952 – The United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific. The first H-bomb ever ‘Mike’ was exploded at 7.15 am local time on November 1st 1952. The mushroom cloud was 8 miles across and 27 miles high. The canopy was 100 miles wide. Radioactive mud fell out of the sky followed by heavy rain. 80 million tons of earth was vaporised. Mike was the first ever megaton yeild explosion.
1968 – President Johnson announces bombing halt. In a televised address to the nation five days before the presidential election, President Lyndon Johnson announces that on the basis of developments in the Paris peace negotiations, he has ordered the complete cessation of “all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam.” Accordingly, effective November 1, the U.S. Air Force called a halt to the air raids on North Vietnam known as Operation Rolling Thunder. The President further disclosed that Hanoi had finally agreed to allow the South Vietnamese government to participate in the peace talks. Johnson said that the United States would consent to a role for the National Liberation Front, though he stated that the latter concession “in no way involves recognition of the National Liberation Front in any form.” The National Liberation Front (or Viet Cong, as it was more popularly known) was the classic Communist front organization that included both Communists and non-Communists who had banded together in opposition against the Saigon regime. Domestically, President Johnson’s action drew widespread acclaim; both major presidential candidates expressed their full support. The reaction in Saigon, however, was much more subdued; President Thieu issued a communiqué declaring that the United States had acted unilaterally in its decision to halt the bombing.
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Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
BRUTSCHE, HENRY
Rank and organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1846, Philadelphia, Pa. Accredited to: Pennsylvania. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Served on board the U.S.S. Tacony during the taking of Plymouth, N.C., 31 October 1864. Carrying out his duties faithfully during the capture of Plymouth, Brutsche distinguished himself by a display of coolness when he participated in landing and spiking a 9-inch gun while under a devastating fire from enemy musketry.
COLBERT, PATRICK
Rank and organization: Coxswain, U.S. Navy. Born: 1840, Ireland. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Served on board the U.S.S. Commodore Hull at the capture of Plymouth, 31 October 1864. Painfully wounded by a shell which killed the man at his side, Colbert, as captain of the forward pivot gun, remained at his post until the end of the action, braving the heavy enemy fire and appearing as cool as if at mere target practice.
GRAHAM, ROBERT
Rank and organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1841, England. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.. 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Served on board the U.S.S. Tacony during the taking of Plymouth, N.C., 31 October 1864. Carrying out his duties faithfully during the capture of Plymouth, Graham distinguished himself by a display of coolness when he participated in landing and spiking a 9-inch gun while under a devastating fire from enemy musketry.
HOWARD, MARTIN
Rank and organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1843, Ireland. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Served on board the U.S.S. Tacony during the taking of Plymouth, N.C., 31 October 1864. Carrying out his duties faithfully during the capture of Plymouth, Howard distinguished himself by a display of coolness when he participated in landing and spiking a 9-inch gun while under a devastating fire from enemy musketry.
*TALLENTlNE, JAMES
Rank and organization: Quarter Gunner, U.S. Navy. Born: 1840, England. Accredited to: Maryland. G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864. Citation: Served as quarter gunner on board the U.S.S. Tacony during the taking of Plymouth, N.C., 31 October 1864. Carrying out his duties faithfully during the capture of Plymouth, Tallentine distinguished himself by a display of coolness when he participated in landing and spiking a 9_inch gun while under devastating fire from enemy musketry. Tallentine later gave his life while courageously engaged in storming Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865.
MILLMORE, JOHN
Rank and organization: Ordinary Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1860, New York, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 326, 18 October 1884. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Essex, Millmore rescued from drowning John W. Powers, ordinary seaman, serving on the same vessel with him, at Monrovia, Liberia, 31 October 1877.
SIMPSON, HENRY
Rank and organization: First Class Fireman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1859, London, England. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 326, 18 October 1884. Citation: For rescuing from drowning John W. Powers, ordinary seaman on board the U.S.S. Essex, at Monrovia, Liberia, 31 October 1877.
BARGER, CHARLES D.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company L, 354th Infantry, 89th Division. Place and date: Near Bois-deBantheville, France, 31 October 1918. Entered service at: Stotts City, Mo. Birth: Mount Vernon, Mo. G.O. No.: 20, W.D., 1919. Citation: Learning that 2 daylight patrols had been caught out in No Man’s Land and were unable to return, Pfc. Barger and another stretcher bearer upon their own initiative made 2 trips 500 yards beyond our lines, under constant machinegun fire, and rescued 2 wounded officers.
FUNK, JESSE N.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company L, 354th Infantry, 89th Division. Place and date: Near Bois-deBantheville, France, 31 October 1918. Entered service at. Calhan, Colo. Born: 20 August 1888, New Hampton, Mo. G.O. No.: 20, W.D., 1919. Citation: Learning that 2 daylight patrols had been caught out in No Man’s Land and were unable to return, Pfc. Funk and another stretcher bearer, upon their own initiative, made 2 trips 500 yards beyond our lines, under constant machinegun fire, and rescued 2 wounded officers.
BUTTON, WILLIAM ROBERT
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps. Entered service at: St. Louis, Mo. Born: 3 December 1895, St. Louis, Mo. G.O. No.: 536, 10 June 1920. Citation: For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in actual conflict with the enemy near Grande Riviere, Republic of Haiti, on the night of 31 October_l November 1919, resulting in the death of Charlemagne Peralte, the supreme bandit chief in the Republic of Haiti, and the killing, capture and dispersal of about 1,200 of his outlaw followers. Cpl. William R. Button not only distinguished himself by his excellent judgment and leadership but also unhesitatingly exposed himself to great personal danger when the slightest error would have forfeited not only his life but the lives of the detachments of Gendarmerie under his command. The successful termination of his mission will undoubtedly prove of untold value to the Republic of Haiti.
HANNEKEN, HERMAN HENRY
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps. Place and date: Near Grande Riviere, Republic of Haiti, 31 October-1 November 1919. Entered service at: St. Louis, Mo. Born: 23 June 1893, St. Louis, Mo. G.O. No.: 536, 10 June 1920. Other Navy awards: Navy Cross with 1 gold star, Silver Star, Legion of Merit. Citation: For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in actual conflict with the enemy near Grande Riviere, Republic of Haiti, on the night of 31 October-1 November 1919, resulting in the death of Charlemagne Peralte, the supreme bandit chief in the Republic of Haiti, and the killing, capture, and dispersal of about 1,200 of his outlaw followers. 2d Lt. Hanneken not only distinguished himself by his excellent judgment and leadership but also unhesitatingly exposed himself to great personal danger when the slightest error would have forfeited not only his life but the lives of the detachments of gendarmerie under his command. The successful termination of his mission will undoubtedly prove of untold value to the Republic of Haiti.
. *PITTS, RILEY L.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company C, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Ap Dong, Republic of Vietnam, 31 October 1967. Entered service at: Wichita, Kans. Born: 15 October 1937, Fallis, Okla. Citation: Distinguishing himself by exceptional heroism while serving as company commander during an airmobile assault. Immediately after his company landed in the area, several Viet Cong opened fire with automatic weapons. Despite the enemy fire, Capt. Pitts forcefully led an assault which overran the enemy positions. Shortly thereafter, Capt. Pitts was ordered to move his unit to the north to reinforce another company heavily engaged against a strong enemy force. As Capt. Pitts’ company moved forward to engage the enemy, intense fire was received from 3 directions, including fire from 4 enemy bunkers, 2 of which were within 15 meters of Capt. Pitts’ position. The severity of the incoming fire prevented Capt. Pitts from maneuvering his company. His rifle fire proving ineffective against the enemy due to the dense jungle foliage, he picked up an M-79 grenade launcher and began pinpointing the targets. Seizing a Chinese Communist grenade which had been taken from a captured Viet Cong’s web gear, Capt. Pitts lobbed the grenade at a bunker to his front, but it hit the dense jungle foliage and rebounded. Without hesitation, Capt. Pitts threw himself on top of the grenade which, fortunately, failed to explode. Capt. Pitts then directed the repositioning of the company to permit friendly artillery to be fired. Upon completion of the artillery fire mission, Capt. Pitts again led his men toward the enemy positions, personally killing at least 1 more Viet Cong. The jungle growth still prevented effective fire to be placed on the enemy bunkers. Capt. Pitts, displaying complete disregard for his life and personal safety, quickly moved to a position which permitted him to place effective fire on the enemy. He maintained a continuous fire, pinpointing the enemy’s fortified positions, while at the same time directing and urging his men forward, until he was mortally wounded. Capt. Pitts’ conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity at the cost of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the Armed Forces of his country.
THORNTON, MICHAEL EDWIN
Rank and organization: Petty Officer, U.S. Navy, Navy Advisory Group. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 31 October 1972. Entered service at: Spartanburg, S.C. Born: 23 March 1949, Greenville, S.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while participating in a daring operation against enemy forces. PO Thornton, as Assistant U.S. Navy Advisor, along with a U.S. Navy lieutenant serving as Senior Advisor, accompanied a 3-man Vietnamese Navy SEAL patrol on an intelligence gathering and prisoner capture operation against an enemy-occupied naval river base. Launched from a Vietnamese Navy junk in a rubber boat, the patrol reached land and was continuing on foot toward its objective when it suddenly came under heavy fire from a numerically superior force. The patrol called in naval gunfire support and then engaged the enemy in a fierce firefight, accounting for many enemy casualties before moving back to the waterline to prevent encirclement. Upon learning that the Senior Advisor had been hit by enemy fire and was believed to be dead, PO Thornton returned through a hail of fire to the lieutenant’s last position; quickly disposed of 2 enemy soldiers about to overrun the position, and succeeded in removing the seriously wounded and unconscious Senior Naval Advisor to the water’s edge. He then inflated the lieutenant’s lifejacket and towed him seaward for approximately 2 hours until picked up by support craft. By his extraordinary courage and perseverance, PO Thornton was directly responsible for saving the life of his superior officer and enabling the safe extraction of all patrol members, thereby upholding the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
WILLIAMS, JAMES E. I believe that he is the most decorated man in the US Navy….skip
In 1966, Two Navy PBRs Didn't Wait for the Gunships on the Mekong. 65 Enemy Boats Were Lost.
https://youtu.be/er3zatTIjBg?si=k6ltSdm2b3G244cO
Rank and organization: Boatswain’s Mate First Class (PO1c.), U.S. Navy, River Section 531, My Tho, RVN, Place and date: Mekong River, Republic of Vietnam, 31 October 1966. Entered service at: Columbia, S.C. Born: 13 June 1930, Rock Hill, S.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. PO1c. Williams was serving as Boat Captain and Patrol Officer aboard River Patrol Boat (PBR) 105 accompanied by another patrol boat when the patrol was suddenly taken under fire by 2 enemy sampans. PO1c. Williams immediately ordered the fire returned, killing the crew of 1 enemy boat and causing the other sampan to take refuge in a nearby river inlet. Pursuing the fleeing sampan, the U.S. patrol encountered a heavy volume of small-arms fire from enemy forces, at close range, occupying well-concealed positions along the river bank. Maneuvering through this fire, the patrol confronted a numerically superior enemy force aboard 2 enemy junks and 8 sampans augmented by heavy automatic weapons fire from ashore. In the savage battle that ensued, PO1c. Williams, with utter disregard for his safety exposed himself to the withering hail of enemy fire to direct counter-fire and inspire the actions of his patrol. Recognizing the overwhelming strength of the enemy force, PO1c. Williams deployed his patrol to await the arrival of armed helicopters. In the course of his movement his discovered an even larger concentration of enemy boats. Not waiting for the arrival of the armed helicopters, he displayed great initiative and boldly led the patrol through the intense enemy fire and damaged or destroyed 50 enemy sampans and 7 junks. This phase of the action completed, and with the arrival of the armed helicopters, PO1c. Williams directed the attack on the remaining enemy force. Now virtually dark, and although PO1c. Williams was aware that his boats would become even better targets, he ordered the patrol boats’ search lights turned on to better illuminate the area and moved the patrol perilously close to shore to press the attack. Despite a waning supply of ammunition the patrol successfully engaged the enemy ashore and completed the rout of the enemy force. Under the leadership of PO 1 c. Williams, who demonstrated unusual professional skill and indomitable courage throughout the 3 hour battle, the patrol accounted for the destruction or loss of 65 enemy boats and inflicted numerous casualties on the enemy personnel. His extraordinary heroism and exemplary fighting spirit in the face of grave risks inspired the efforts of his men to defeat a larger enemy force, and are in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS
for October 31, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD “PHIL” MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY .
31 October
1910: Ralph Johnstone flew his Wright Biplane to a new world altitude record of 9,714 feet at the Belmont Park International Meet (See 22 October). (9) (24)
1942: After 10 days of bombing operations against German submarine pens in France, Gen Carl Spaatz informed Gen H.H. Arnold that the operations were too costly for the results obtained because the pens were too well protected from normal high-altitude bombing. General Spaatz planned to operate as low as 4,000 feet and accept the high casualty rates. (4)
1943: Near New Georgia, Solomon Islands, a Chance Vought F4U-2 Corsair pilot completed the Navy’s first successful radar-guided interception. (20) For the first time from the Mediterranean Theater, 38 B-17s from Twelfth Air Force bombed France, striking Antheor Viaduct near Cannes. (24)
1948: The USAF revealed that ramjet engines were used for the first time on piloted aircraft, a modified F-80. (12)
1951: KOREAN WAR. A service-test C-124A departed for the US, after successfully completing its test in the Far East. The results convinced the 315th Air Division of the need for a Globemaster squadron. Additionally, the 315th Air Division transported 3,200 passengers, including over 1,500 troops on "rest and recuperation" leave. Intelligence representatives from the Fifth Air Force, U.S. Eighth Army, and U.S. Navy decided to expand intelligence activities on the island of Cho-do, a prime location for infiltration/exfiltration of UN agents and refugee interrogation. (28)
1953: Mr. Trevor Gardner, Special Assistant to the SECAF for R&D, formed the Strategic Missiles Evaluation Committee to review and evaluate Air Force missile programs. (6)
1956: Lt Cmdr Gus Shinn landed a ski-equipped R4D-5 (a Navy version of the DC-3), named “Que Sera Sera,” at the South Pole. Shinn kept the engines running while RAdm George Dufek stepped out of the plane to stand at the Pole. Dufek and six other Navy crewmen became the first to stand on the spot since January 1912. (AFNEWS Article, “109th Airlift Wing Commemorates First South Pole Landing,” 3 Nov 2006)
1957: A Snark missile launched at Cape Canaveral completed its first full range flight test. It flew 5,000 miles to the target area near Ascension Island. (6)
1959: The first Atlas equipped with a nuclear warhead went on alert at Vandenberg AFB. (6)
1962: The first US geodetic survey satellite, Anna, launched from Cape Canaveral.
1965: SAC accepted the first flight of 10 Minuteman IIs at the 447 SMS, Grand Forks AFB. (6)
1966: The USAF selected Boeing Company to produce the AGM-069A SRAM for FB-111s and late model B-52s. (6) (12)
1972: The USAF inactivated the last BOMARC surface-to-air missile squadron, the 22d Air Defense Missile Squadron, at Langley AFB. (16) (21)
1976: The first USAF E-3A AWACS aircraft, with its full complement of surveillance and command and control avionics, made its first test flight.
1985: The Challenger’s ninth mission carried Spacelab D-1. West Germany bought the entire seven-day mission that returned to earth on 5 November.
1994: Through 1 November, two B-1 Lancers from Ellsworth AFB flew a nonstop mission to a bombing range in Kuwait and back. The 25-hour mission was the first time for the B-1s in the Gulf Region. (16)
1997: In the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) project, NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center flew the X-33’s linear aerospike engine mounted on an SR-71 from Edwards AFB. The sortie determined the unfueled engine’s aerodynamic characteristics. Ultimately, the engine was not ignited during this flight.
The aircraft completed seven research flights. Two initial flights were used to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of the LASRE apparatus on the back of the aircraft. The first of those occurred on 31 October 1997. The aircraft flew for 1:50 hours, reaching Mach 1.2 and an altitude of 33,000 feet, landing at Edwards AFB. The result validated the SR-71/pod configuration.
Five later flights focused on the experiment; two were used to cycle gaseous helium and liquid nitrogen through the experiment to check its plumbing system for leaks and to check engine operation characteristics.
2000: Mission Commander Bill Shepherd and two Russian cosmonauts launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan into space to become the first residents of the International Space Station. (21)
2001: Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. A pair of C-17s flew over Afghanistan to deliver some 35,000 humanitarian rations. The loadmaster aboard one C-17 tossed out a single plasticenclosed meal to symbolically represent the millionth meal airdropped. That act occurred on the 61st C-17 humanitarian flight to help feed Afghan refugees. (22)
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