General Discussion, Wednesday, May 22, 2019

National Today

Created by the United States Congress in 1933, National Maritime Day is a holiday that both honors and celebrates the Merchant Marine. (It also commemorates the first steam-powered transoceanic voyage when the American steamship Savannah set sail from the port of Savannah, GA on 1819.) What is the Merchant Marine? Think of it as the understudy to the Navy; it doesn’t get first billing, but it steps in when there’s a crisis and saves the day. Even when things are running smoothly, Merchant Mariners are working quietly behind the scenes to help make certain that the show goes on — and that the U.S.’s imports and exports get where they need to go.

Today, the celebration of National Maritime Day has expanded to include the entire maritime industry and domestic waterborne commerce, as well as the brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to serving aboard a Merchant Marine ship. So celebrate these courageous Americans this May 22!

In case you were wondering (I was) the tune they are playing is “A Life On The Ocean Wave”, composed by Kenneth Alford.

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92 Responses to General Discussion, Wednesday, May 22, 2019

  1. lovely says:

    Have a beautiful day folks 🙂 !

    Liked by 8 people

  2. nyetneetot says:

    Mornin’ stella! (Smiter of those that ought to be smote) 😎 🍸 (Long Island Iced Tea)
    Mornin’ WeeWeed! (Master Mixologist Extrodinare) 😎 🍸 (Old Fashioned)
    Mornin’ Menagerie! 😎 |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| (Jack Daniels – Single Barrel)
    Mornin’ Ad rem! (Queen Felis catus) 🐱 🍸 (Flaming Lamborghini)
    Mornin’ Sharon! 😎 🍸 🍸 (earthquake)
    Mornin’ ytz4mee! 😎 🍸 (cosmopolitan)
    Mornin’ waltzingmtilda! 🙂 🍸 (white wine and perrier)
    Mornin’ partyzantski! 🙂 |_| (Tom Collins)
    Mornin’ texan59! 🙂 |_| (Black & Tan)
    Mornin’ ZurichMike! 🙂 🍸 (fuzzy navel)
    Mornin’ Col.(R) Ken! (hand salute) 🙂 |_| (Boilermaker)
    Mornin’ czarina33! (aka czarina) 🙂 🍸 (Lynchburg Lemonade)
    Mornin’ czarowniczy! 🙂 |_| (Wild Turkey Rare Breed)
    Mornin’ letjusticeprevail2014! 🙂 |_| (Irish Car Bomb)
    Mornin’ Patriot1783-ctdar! (aka “ctdar”) 🙂 🍸 (grasshopper)
    Mornin’ tessa50! 🙂 🍸 (flaming volcano)
    Mornin’ waltzingmtilda! 🙂 🍸 (sidecar)
    Mornin’ varsityward! 🙂 |_| (Godfather)
    Mornin’ MaryfromMarin! 😀 |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| (Mortlach)
    Mornin’ Wooly Covfefe! (aka “Wooly Phlox” aka “taqiyyologist”) 🙂 |_| (Roy Rogers)
    Mornin’ Howie! (aka “doodahdaze”) 🙂 |_| (Classic Daiquiri)
    Mornin’ TwoLaine! 🙂 |_| (Gin & Tonic)
    Mornin’ Sha! 🙂 🍸 (Lemon Drop)
    Mornin’ BigMamaTEA! 🙂 🍸 (Harvey Wallbanger)
    Mornin’ cetera5! (aka “Cetera”) 🙂 |_| (Blackberry wine)
    Mornin’ The Tundra PA! 🙂 🍸 (Gentleman Jack Whiskey Sling)
    Mornin’ lovely! 🙂 |_| (Backdraft)
    Mornin’ michellc! 🙂 🍸 (Salty dog)
    Mornin’ auscitizenmom! 🙂 🍸 (Kiss on the Lips)
    Mornin’ Margaret-Ann! 🙂 🍸 (White Russian)
    Mornin’ Auntie Lib! 🙂 🍸 (Tom and Jerry)
    Mornin’ holly100! 🙂 🍸 (Jack & Coke)
    Mornin’ Pam! 🙂 (Not even water)
    Mornin’ Ms.Tee! 🙂 🍸 (Mojito)
    Mornin’ koolkosherkitchen! 🙂 🍸 🍸 (Cuba Libre)
    Mornin’ ImpeachEmAll 🙂 |_| (Flaming Dr. Pepper)
    Mornin’ Monroe! 🙂 |_| (Stinger)
    Mornin’ Les! 🙂 |_| (Rusty Nail)
    Mornin’ shiloh1973! 🙂 |_| (Jack Daniels)
    Mornin’ TexasRanger! 🙂 |_| (Whiskey Smash)
    Mornin’ Ziiggii! 🙂 |_| (B52)
    Mornin’ oldiadguy! 🙂 |_| (Rum & Coke)
    Mornin’ smiley! (“stuck in spambucket”) 🙂 🍸 (Spanish coffee)
    Mornin’ derk! (“Stellars”) 🙂 🍸 (Kamikaze)
    Mornin’ Jacqueline Taylor Robson 🙂 🍸 (Shirley Temple)
    Mornin’ facebkwallflower! 🙂 |_| (Night Train Express)
    Mornin’ Ms. Cindy! (aka “Ms Cynlynn” aka “ms cynlynn”) 🙂 🍸 (1970 ducru beaucaillou)
    Mornin’ sandandsea2015! 🙂 🍸 (1961 Château Montrose)
    Mornin’ amwick! 🙂 🍸 (Blue motorcycle)
    Mornin’ hocuspocus13! 🙂 🍸 (1970 Chateau Latour)
    Mornin’ Sloth1963! 🙂 🍸 (1971 Moulin Touchais)
    Mornin’ MTeresa! (Ex-lurker) 🙂 |_| (Albanian Raki Moskat)
    Mornin’ rheavolans! (aka “Rhea Salacia Volans”) 🙂 |_| (Hot Buttered Rum)
    Mornin’ joshua! 🙂 |_| (Mudslide)
    Mornin’ John Denney! 🙂 |_| (RumChata)
    Mornin’ litenmaus! 🙂 |_| (Stolichnaya elit, no ice)
    Mornin’ kinthenorthwest! 🙂 🍸 (A Lonely Island Lost in the Middle of a Foggy Sea)
    Mornin’ TwoLaine! 🙂 |_| (Smoking Bishop)
    Mornin’ patternpuzzler! 🙂 🍸 (Old Lady)
    Mornin’ Senatssekretär FREISTAAT DANZIG! 🙂 |_| (Red Russian)
    Mornin’ G-d&Country! 🙂 🍸 (Blind Russian)
    Mornin’ Gary! 🙂 |_| (Yuengling)
    Mornin’ valeriecurren! 🙂 🍸 (Flaming Sambuca)
    Mornin’ Lucille! 🙂 🍸 (Peach Schnapps)
    Mornin’ Lburg! 🙂 🍸 (Lburg lemonade)
    Mornin’ davidhuntpe! 🙂 |_| (Baileys Irish Cream on the rocks)
    Mornin’ skipper1961! 🙂 |_| (Brompton’s Cocktail – No cherry, no umbrella, no plastic monkey)
    Mornin’ mightyconservative! 🙂 |_| (Benjamin Franklin’s clarified milk punch)
    Mornin’ NC Nana! 🙂 🍸 (Beautiful)
    Mornin’ bjosz! 🙂 |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| (Some of Menagerie’s Jack Daniels – Shhhhhh)
    Mornin’ Angelle Staria Literary Works! 🙂 |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| (Some more of Menagerie’s Jack Daniels – Shhhhhh)
    Mornin’ whiners and complainers! 😛 (No drink for you!)
    Mornin’ to people posting that I missed. 😳
    Mornin’ to all you lurkers! 😕

    Also just in case someday; mornin’ to Elvis Chupacabra, F.D.R. in Hell and sundance! :mrgreen:

    Breakfast!

    NEW and IMPROVED breakfast with extra bacon for ZurichMike!

    Blueberry Scones

    Liked by 6 people

  3. stella says:

    This is fun!

    North Korea calls Biden ‘fool of low IQ’ over Kim criticism

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has labeled Joe Biden a “fool of low IQ” and an “imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being” after the U.S. presidential hopeful called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a tyrant during a recent speech.

    Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday said the former American vice president had insulted the country’s supreme leadership and committed an “intolerable and serious politically-motivated provocation” against the North.

    Biden during a campaign launch in Philadelphia on Saturday accused President Donald Trump of cozying up to “dictators and tyrants” like Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    “What he uttered is just sophism of an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being, let alone a politician,” KCNA said.

    https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/05/22/north-korea-calls-biden-fool-of-low-iq-over-kim-criticism/23732642/

    Liked by 2 people

    • jeans2nd says:

      By george, Stella, Chairman Kim is far more intuitive than most give him credit. Very astute observation.
      Wonder if Chairman Kim’s writer is available for my next communication with my Rep Tim Ryan?

      Thank you for the Merchant Marine info, very cool. The first nuclear powered commercial vessel was the USNS Savannah, obviously named for the steam-powered Savannah. Dad gave me a yuge poster of the USNS Savannah which hung in my bedroom for years when Dad was designing/building the nuclear reactors, Wicked Son has Dad’s USNS Savannah tie clasp now.

      Liked by 4 people

  4. auscitizenmom says:

    Can somebody here help me with a little advice? I want to get a computer of some sort to carry with me when I travel. My friend has recommended a Kindle Fire 10. I really think that will work fine. What I will use it for is to check my email, play solitaire and sudoku on, and sometimes do a search and that is about it. I don’t store many things on any computer. I don’t install a lot of games, just one of each I mentioned will do, so I don’t need a lot of storage, I don’t think. I am looking at one that is only16 GB. Thoughts?

    Liked by 1 person

    • stella says:

      I purchased the Kindle Fire 8 last November (it’s $79.99) to replace my old Kindle that died. I am perfectly happy with it, because my use is pretty light. 16MB will be fine for what you plan to use it. My last one had half the memory, and it was okay too. I should probably add that I keep most of my Kindle books on my laptop, but you can upload a book whenever you like to your Kindle.

      I notice that some people are complaining about connection to wireless, crashing, freezing etc. I don’t have any of those problems. I suggest that you read some of the reviews before buying anything. I will say that some people complain about things that they could remedy if they just did a Google search.

      The Kindle 10 comes with 32 GB of memory. I don’t see an option for 16 GB. It is also more expensive ($70 more) but it has more memory and a larger screen.

      Liked by 1 person

    • stella says:

      I play Sudoku on mine. I purchased Sudoku Premium from Amazon for $1.99, after using the free version for a time.

      Liked by 1 person

      • auscitizenmom says:

        I will definitely look into that. I found a free one on my friend’s and I like it. I used to play it on my original Kindle, but years ago, when I bought a new one, I never liked it and couldn’t get the same game. My friend has let me borrow hers, actually she almost forced me to take it and try it out. LOL I don’t like touch screens, but I think I can work with this one.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. czarowniczy says:

    Oh yeah, I remember those caps. I remember loading my cap gun with them. I remember learnin g to pop them with my thumb. I remember popping them individually with a hammer, in rolls with a bigger hammer and a box full at a time with a much bigger hammer. Thus began my infatuation with dangerous things and my serial marriages.

    Just ran across a neat Canadian treat (how many times do you see that in a sentence?), POUTINE!

    It has all of the best food groups: fried potato, cheese and GRAVY! Where has it been all of my life? Doluble-fried French fries, white cheddar curds and GRAVY!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. The Tundra PA says:

    Hello Stellar friends! I’ve been away for a while and missing all of you. DH and I just returned from a two week trip to the Holy Land, and it was an awesome experience. There were 18 of us from our church, including our priest who celebrated mass for us every day, in the most incredible settings. I think we visited the site of every miracle in the New Testament. Jesus’s life and presence are so real, so palpable in that land. Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, the Sea of Galilee, Cesarea, Tiberius, Capernum, Bethsaida, Cana, the Golan Heights, the Jordan River, Masada, Petra, the Dead Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and so much more. The question “what was your favorite thing?” is impossible to answer. We have a thousand photos to sort through. I hope they can help us remember it all. If I can figure out a photo-hosting site on the web, I’ll let you know (any recommendations?).

    We’ve been home for four days, and I continue to experience a level of exhaustion I’ve never known before. And what did we come back to? Moving. Three days before we left, we closed on a beautiful new house. The friends who house- and dog-sat while we were gone did an amazing amount of work for us. They moved lots of furniture and mountains of boxes that we got packed before leaving, but there is still so much to be done. And a lot of clean up at the old place to get it ready to sell.

    So after a whirlwind tour, my days are packed full of endless chores and moving details, just when I have the least amount of energy to deal with it. Fortunately there is not a huge time pressure involved. We hope to be completely in the new house in another week, and have the old house on the market sometime in June. I’ll be checking in here most days, but probably not commenting much. Hope the early summer is treating you all well!

    Liked by 6 people

    • stella says:

      Welcome home, Tundra! Try to rest now and then – maybe by sitting down at the computer to share stories about your marvelous trip.

      Liked by 3 people

    • czarowniczy says:

      Did you visit Masada? One of my dreams was to visit Masada at sunrise and watch the Israeli airborne take their oaths.

      Liked by 3 people

      • The Tundra PA says:

        We did visit Masada, and it’s an erie place. We took the tram to the top, none of our group (mostly over 60s) wanted to hike up. DH tucked a couple of pieces of rock in his pocket before we left. Now we have to watch the Peter O’Toole series on the events that took place there in 70 A.D.

        Like

        • czarowniczy says:

          RATSES! When my son was there last year I specifically asked him to bring me back a rock from the summit due to the significance but not being military he forgot. I’ll have to put Masada back on my bucket list.

          Liked by 1 person

          • The Tundra PA says:

            I was holding my breath going through customs, afraid he’d be arrested for removing antiquities or something.

            Like

            • czarowniczy says:

              Just tell them you wanted a rock from the Holy Land, you don’t have to be specific.

              That’s how I got a chunk of the Great Pyramid. There are chunks of it scattered all around the pyramid, it looks as dilapidated as public housing. For $10 US one of the charming little street urchins that inhabit the plateau carried my water and packed a chunk of the pyramid shrapnel while I toured.

              Also got a chunk of the limestone that originally covered it. They used chunks of it they’d scavenged years ago to help build the aircraft bunkers that protected their fighter jets. The IAF blew the hell out of them in ’73 and one of the maintenance folks pointed it out to me (we kept them supplied with beer and cigarettes).

              Liked by 2 people

        • czarowniczy says:

          Did you see the lots they cast to determine in which order who would kill who? I found that particularly poignant topped only by the cave where they found a group of skeletons including women, children and a fetus.

          Liked by 1 person

          • The Tundra PA says:

            The guide explained about the lots. We didn’t see a cave, or skeletons. We only had a few hours on top, and it was blisteringly hot. Over 100 degrees in unrelenting sun. DH wanted to spend 2 days there.

            Like

            • czarowniczy says:

              The cave is contentious as there’re some religious/historical questions – the bones have been removed anyway. The cave’s been a dogmatic problem since it was discovered in ’66, I believe. It’s part of the Masada complex but until the lotus eaters finally come to an agreement it’s not part of the tourist agenda.

              Liked by 1 person

    • Congratulations on your new house and welcome back! It sounds like you had an amazing trip!

      Liked by 2 people

    • lovely says:

      What a wonderful journey!

      From the gateway of your true home to your new temporal home. What a wonderful time in your life.

      Congratulations Tundra!

      As to photo hosting sites, I like Imgur, but several people here have had problems with it.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. jeans2nd says:

    Stella posted a vid a couple three days ago about Kaitlyn Bennett, a Kent State grad who had open-carried on campus and graduated with “Come And Take It” on her mortarboard last year.

    A cool update – Kaitlyn is still here locally,making radio commercials for a local large gun store, up in the Kent-Akron area, and being paid for it. Heard her commercial this evening, her voice is smiling as she talks.. How cool is this?

    Liked by 3 people

  8. stella says:

    Liked by 2 people

  9. stella says:

    This is a VERY interesting story that was linked in an email from Judicial Watch today.

    7 Reasons Why the Uranium One Scandal Won’t Go Away

    The mainstream press has repeatedly declared the Russian purchase of Uranium One a “debunked conspiracy theory.” But it’s no theory, nor has it been debunked. The Uranium One deal was complicated and had many moving parts, which also explains why misinformation about it has spread widely.

    It’s true that the Clinton Foundation received undisclosed millions from Uranium One stakeholders—such as the $2.35 million from board Chairman Ian Telfer. The Obama administration did allow the Russians to acquire domestic nuclear assets critical to U.S. national security. But minor inaccuracies in the soundbites have allowed self-appointed fact-checkers such as PolitiFact and Snopes to selectively “debunk” the larger story without critically examining the full set of facts.

    In the coming months, readers may find the Uranium One scandal coming back into focus. For that purpose, it’s time to set the record straight.

    1. Uranium One is the largest foreign-influence scandal in US history.

    If you ask any American what the largest political scandal in our history was, you will likely find that former President Richard Nixon’s Watergate affair tops the list. Nixon’s spying on political opponents left such a bruise on America’s collective psyche that adding “-gate” to later political scandals is an homage. For Nixon, the coverup was worse than the crime.

    Scandals that result in the impeachment of a sitting president are hard to top, which is why the Clinton–Lewinsky fiasco also ranks high among U.S. political scandals. Those shenanigans—and the more recent targeting by Obama of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign—demonstrate clear abuses of power, but have little to do with foreign influence.

    The Uranium One scandal, however, involves alleged bribery, kickbacks, extortion, and money laundering at the highest levels of the U.S. nuclear industry. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant-turned-whistleblower William Douglas Campbell infiltrated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and claims to have video evidence of “suitcases full of bribery cash.”…

    Lots more at this link:

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/7-reasons-why-the-uranium-one-scandal-wont-go-away_2914343.html?utm_source=deployer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newslink&utm_term=members&utm_content=20190523003746

    Liked by 1 person

    • stella says:

      This wraps it up:

      At its core, the Uranium One deal is quite simple: Putin wanted long-term access to the U.S. nuclear supply chain. Decision-makers in Washington were under no obligation to give Putin what he wanted. Politics aside, does anyone really think that Putin deserves any access to an industry critical to the American energy sector and national security? Of course not.

      Yet, in 2010, the Obama administration acquiesced and Putin gained a significant stake in an industry critical to U.S. energy and national security. Period.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. auscitizenmom says:

    lilbirdee12’s prayer:

    Our Heavenly Father, Your children come to you tonight to ask for healing and peace throughout our country so that we may return to being One Nation Under God. Guide us to be leaders in Your Kingdom, spreading Your Love and Salvation to all. Forgive us our sins and deliver us from evil.

    Lord, we ask for a blanket of protection over all our troops and law enforcement who serve to defend and protect us. Bless our representatives with the strength and wisdom they need to achieve the path You have chosen for us.

    Please place Your Guardian Angels of Protection around Donald Trump and Mike Pence and their families as they seek to lead America back to You.

    Grant us patience, Lord, as the evil ones try to anger us and cause us to fall.
    Spread blessings over Israel and Netanyahu.

    We humbly ask that You please comfort those who are grieving and in pain.
    Thank you Father, for Your Love and the gift of Life.

    In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. auscitizenmom says:

    A prayer for Justice Kavanaugh and Col. Flynn:

    Prayer to St. Michael

    St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle;
    be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
    May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
    and do you, O prince of the heavenly host,
    by the power of God,
    thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits
    who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls.

    In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. michellc says:

    Another wild night, twice already tonight we had to go to the basement, thankfully one tornado that was heading straight for us took a slight turn about 1/4 mile away.
    Second one got a little closer, but still missed us. Feel bad for the folks it hit, not sure of damage or size of either one yet.
    More building all around us.

    Another part of the state, two barges have gotten loose and are heading straight for a dam, they’ve told everyone if they don’t get out, they might as well mark their arms with a permanent marker to identify them when their bodies were found.

    Liked by 1 person

    • michellc says:

      One of the tornadoes that barely missed us has gotten stronger, it’s been on the ground now for a long time. I fear once morning comes we will be seeing a lot of destruction.

      It’s still so muggy here that regardless of them saying we’re in the clear I’m staying up for awhile. Lived here too long to take their word for it when it feels like it does now.

      Liked by 1 person

      • michellc says:

        That tornado was still on the ground when it headed into Missouri.

        Tornadoes, flooding and runaway barges, I think the only people enjoying this is the media, they seem almost giddy.

        Liked by 2 people

        • michellc says:

          Now they’ve lost the barges. They had expected them to hit the dam by now and they don’t know where they are.
          I don’t know how much crazier things can get tonight.
          Hopefully they’ve got hung up somewhere.

          Liked by 2 people

    • michellc says:

      One of the tornadoes hit a lot closer than we thought. I’m assuming it’s the one we heard as it blew away a neighbor’s shed and carport down the hill. Other than that just a lot of trees down.
      We had two more later on last night, one went right over the top of us, but didn’t ever drop all the way to the ground until it got about 20 miles from us. From what I’ve heard this morning it damaged some barns and took out some trees.

      Joplin got hit again and 3 people died.

      So we still have flooding to deal with and still two barges on the loose, but no tornado threats today. The barges have been found and are on rocks, but still a threat as the water is rising and they still haven’t secured them.

      Like

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