Congressional Lottery 5 - Is Your Representative Among the Four Lucky Winners?

As promised, we have drawn four names of representatives selected by random lottery to submit voluntarily to legislation of their own making (H.R. 3200). If this week's representatives feel this puts them on the spot, good! We feel they have some explaining to do to those of whom they pretend to represent.

The winners of this week's lottery drawing shown above are. Here are their names and a few statistics:

17 Barbara Lee............CA-09, Lawyer -No; Veteran- No; Party-Dem
18 Steve Austria ........OH-07, Lawyer -No; Veteran- No; Party-Rep
19 Michael Conaway...TX-11, Lawyer -No; Veteran-Yes; Party-Rep
20 Jean Schmidt.........OH-10, Lawyer -No; Veteran- No; Party-Rep

If one of the above is your representative, you may want to acquaint him/her with their random selection to opt out of FEHBP and ask them why he/she has not committed to actually representing their constituents by voluntarily subjecting themselves and their families to the terms of HR 3200.

Please feel free to apprise the rest of us, if you ever receive an answer from YOUR elected representative (Most of you will not).

Yet, we are starting to see some results.

Hot, Straight and Normal Feedback - US Navy Mans Two Nuclear Subs with Women!

Normal Leftwing Policy - September 29, 2009 - Navy Officials Push for Allowing Women on Submarines - The Navy secretary yesterday advocated for allowing women to serve on submarines, which would require ending a long-standing ban.
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Leftwing precedent - April 1, 2008 - US Navy Mans Two Nuclear Subs with Women - Now, as the Navy has begun building a new class of submarines, an influential military advisory committee reignited the debate over the exclusion, recommending that the Navy plan to allow women to join one of the service's most storied and traditional fraternities.
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The Straight skinny... - September 23, 2009 - M.E.- Internal training and certifications to bring Grumman inspectors and welders up-to-speed on minor disciplines like subsafe quality and actually performing inspections will delay production by one boat in the next 5 years, anyway.
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Straight Confirmation... September 29, 2009 - While the yard has made some preliminary conclusions, it is not ready to release its findings and instead is focused on fixing the problems on the submarine New Mexico to expedite its delivery to the Navy, Mulherin said. That boat, a Virginia-class submarine under construction in Newport News, was on track to be completed this month and commissioned in November. But after problems were found in its weapons-handling systems, commissioning was pushed back to early 2010.
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The Hot... Congressional Lottery #3 - Is Your Representative Among the Four Lucky Winners?
# 11- Mike D Rogers .............AL -03, .Lawyer -Yes; Veteran- No; ..Party-Rep

Hot Feedback (YouTube) - Congressman Mike Rogers' opening statement on Health Care reform in Washington D.C.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Misleading Submarine News - It Never Ends

Vigilis has tediously researched and referenced so many posts over the last 5 years on this topic: Women on Subs: Just Around The Corner, that I had resolved NOT to write another word. Deficiencies in related journalistic reporting were obvious, however. On that topic more posting seemed appropriate.

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What follows are a few of Molten Eagle's observations relating to comments from some of Galrahn's readers (linked above) that are justifiable based upon the poor (misleading) NavyTimes journalism: U.S. news reporters are not YET bound by professional ethics requiring disclaimers for their inexpertise, nothing but the truth, and references to reliable and contrasting sources.

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Raymond III: "We all knew this day would come."

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M.E.: It has not (source) ...

Mullen spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby told the Web site that the chairman had previously asked the Navy to look into overturning the rule, but did not want to get too involved in managing the force.

John Smith: "I'd submit that if the space program can do it, we at least have a point of departure from which we could explore this change in policy."

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M.E.: Well, John, seems it is still being explored with serious reservations in the space program.

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And the pyschology of U.S. submariners has been studied in detail by clinically certified 'riders' since WW2 ended. The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory located on the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut has been involved in undersea research and development for over 50 years.

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M.E.: To the author: If you had a clue about the critical missions subs conduct you would know that unlike surface components, opportunities for subs to delay or abort missions due to sudden pregnancy or gynecological issues are much more problematic in the undersea domain. (see Model of U.S. Navy Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes)

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If the goal were to weaken an unequalled submarine service, this would be the best avenue to do so quickly as the RAN found out.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Persistent Myths and the Latest Submarine Tall Tales

September 23, 2009 - LONDON - NYT — Brown to Offer to Cut British Nuclear Subs - Prime Minister Gordon Brown will use a speech at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to offer the possibility of Britain’s reducing its fleet of ballistic nuclear missile submarines as part of a new global pact on nuclear weapons, aides to Mr. Brown said on Wednesday.

ACTUALLY: Opportunity for potential cost savings contributes to U.K.'s nuclear arms downsizing offer.

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September 23, 2009 - New London, CT - Navy strategy changing along with Arctic conditions PREDICTION [Rear Admiral Titley]: — Virtually all of the sea ice in the Arctic will melt during the summer in 25 to 30 years, said Rear Adm. David W. Titley, the Navy's senior oceanographer, who leads the task force. The ice will then “come back with a vengeance” in the winter, said Titley, who cautioned that he did not have a high degree of confidence in this estimate because of the dynamic Arctic climate.

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September 23, 2009 - Molten Eagle - Navy's Latest 5-Year Plan Cuts 1 Sub THIS IS WHY: Internal training and certifications to bring Grumman inspectors and welders up-to-speed on "minor" disciplines like subsafe quality and actually performing inspections will delay production by one boat in the next 5 years, anyway. Why should the Navy not use a potentially embarassing production slip to its fiscal advantage?

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Prediction: Iran and Hugo Chavez's Venezuela have less than 24 months of status quo remaining before surges in internally-sourced, civil unrest.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Navy's Latest 5-Year Plan Cuts 1 Sub, Rumor Says

A Bloomberg article today by Tony Capaccio advises the U.S. Navy has proposed a budget through 2015, that would cut 1 of 10 planned Virginia-class submarines. Read the short article, it is loaded with interesting naval tidbits.

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This submarine cut is more spin than news, however. How do we know? Three factors play prominently in our disbelief.

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1- Our submarines are VITAL to national defense and intelligence gathering, these days. No combatant ship has a higher deployment rate than our subs. As remaining Los Angeles class boats near the ends of their commissioned lives, they must be replaced to make such deployments (and reliefs therefrom) possible.

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2- Virginia class subs are built jointly by Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics in states with strong support for and from their influential, Democrat congressional delegations.

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3- Internal training and certifications to bring Grumman inspectors and welders up-to-speed on minor disciplines like subsafe quality and actually performing inspections will delay production by one boat in the next 5 years, anyway. Why should the Navy not use a potentially embarassing production slip to its fiscal advantage? That is what we thought!

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Since General Dynamics is best known to submariners by the historical name Electric Boat, Juan Caruso wanted to know if Northrop Grumman has yet earned a derisive name among submariners. Perhaps Wired Certs would be fitting for Grumman, he offered.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Wake Up, and Stop Them Before It's Too Late!

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic community of twenty-seven countries, established in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty. The EU has a total population of 497,198,740 socialist citizens. Germany has the greatest EU population (82 million) and Malta the smallest (404,000). For comparison, Washington, D.C. alone has a population of 592,000.

Europe has been increasingly critical of America's failures to live up to its global responsibilities. The US is not only the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases but is by far the largest per capita emitter of carbon and other pollutants.

- Steven Hill, Director of the political reform program at the New America Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute.
There is a serious problem with critics who cite the unpopularity of U.S. policies. Those critics always fail to consider the weight of opinion by the 50 U.S. states as sovereign entities in their own rights. Moreover, the subtle exclusion has a decided socialist slant of overlooking the size and robustness of capitalist engines within those 50 U.S. states. The capitalist engines (for profit enterprises that employ citizens, innovate and serve the demands of world consumption) are investments by incredibly productive U.S. workers for the futures of their children and grandchildren.

The EU gets a representative in many international bodies, while its 27 members also retain individual seats at the UN. For instance, European countries have eight seats on the 24 member Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (nine when Spain chairs its Latin American constituency).



The United States (actually a union of 50 sovereign states) gets one seat in important world bodies -- think of the United Nations, for example.


Left-leaning, political groups in the U.S. and several Democrat politicians openly support the gradual phase out of state rights (sovereignty of the 50 individual states) in favor of a national government only. In the end, that would automatically nullify the U.S. Constitution and result not only in diminished status for the United States in the world but elimination of individual rights for U.S. citizens. With removal of the U.S. benchmarks for standard of living, foreign leaders will face less pressure to improve or maintain living standards in their own countries. What a relief this would be for many of them!



Our unique U.S. Bill of Rights, now the envy of the modern world, would suddenly and irrevocably be 'modernized' to the slavish existence of EU countries. In the modern slavery known as socialism, free choices exist sparingly for members of the lower classes, and movement between classes is highly constrained.



Visit a socialist country soon, and do not be fooled. The reason Canada appears better is due only to the location of its southern border on the United States. Eliminate the exceptional freedoms of the United States, and commoners in every socialist country will learn what happens when a stellar benchmark is eliminated -- standards fall.

Uh Oh, Obama! This could sink you, Obama, Rahm Pelosi, and Reid. _ Why honest, accomplished people say they would rather be lucly than smart...

Feds unsure if arrest of Najibullah Zazi and two others has foiled al-Qaeda terror plot Read more: Active Terror Cell Prepared NYC Attack, Officials Say

What do we have to remember, boys and girls?

On January 22, 2009 President Barack Obama signed an executive order that requires both U.S. military and paramilitary organizations to use the Army Field Manual as the guide on getting information from prisoners, moving away from the Bush administration tactics, including effective waterboarding. [188]

Obviously, if an al-Qaeda terror bombing were to occur in the U.S. now, Obama and his fawningly supportive 111th Congress Democrat majority Congress will be held inextricably culpable of executive inexperience and gross negligence, respectively.

Pray Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid luck out! Time will tell. Tick Tock, Tick tock ...

Submarine Mystery Answers of the Week - 9-19-2009

M.E. provided only Mystery Answers instead of questions last Friday. Readers were asked to frame the corresponding questions. Hopefully, this infrequent format challenged some of our most astute readers satisfactorily.

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The theme was twins, of course:
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Answer [approximately] 1):.
1 in 60 African descent
1 in 90 Caucasian descent

1 in 150 Japanese descent

1 in 300 Chinese descent

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Question 1) - What is the expected incidence rate of fraternal twins?

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Explanation: link The rate of dizygotic twinning (commonly known as fraternal twins, but also referred to as non-identical twins or biovular twins) varies greatly by ethnic group, as ratios above attest.

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Answer 2): SSN-701.

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Question 2) - On which U.S. submarine did a set of publicly acclaimed identical twins serve together?

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Explanation: link Crew Members See Double Aboard USS La Jolla - October 2004

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Answer 3): 4th Engineer Battalion and nuclear power school.

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Question 3) - What happened recently with officer twins in the military?

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Explanation: link Twins will graduate as officers - One attended Annapolis, the other West Point - Only the the Annapolis grad, Nick Friedewald, is expected to be deployed on a sub when he finishes nuclear power training. His twin? - The 4th Engineer Battalion of the 555th Engineer Brigade at Fort Carson. - May 23, 2009

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Congressional Lottery #4 - Is Your Representative Among the Four Lucky Winners?

As promised, we have drawn four names of representatives selected by random lottery to submit voluntarily to legislation of their own making (H.R. 3200). If this week's representatives feel this puts them on the spot, good! We feel they have some explaining to do to those of whom they pretend to represent.

The winners of this week's lottery drawing shown above are. Here are their names and a few statistics:

13 Jim Himes............CT -04, Lawyer -No; Veteran- No; Party-Dem

14 Xavier Becera......CA-31, Lawyer -Yes; Veteran- No; Party-Dem

15 Bill Cassidy...........LA-06, Lawyer -No; Veteran- No; Party-Rep

16 Candice Miller......MI-10, Lawyer -No; Veteran- No; Party-Rep

If one of the above is your representative, you may want to acquaint him/her with their random selection to opt out of FEHBP and ask them why he/she has not committed to actually representing their constituents by voluntarily subjecting themselves and their families to the terms of HR 3200.

Every Monday, the names of 4 more House members drawn in Rex's lottery over the weekend will be announced here until the total reaches 24. At that point, the list will be repeated with the addition of 2 senators a week until 30 members of Congress are listed in total. If Congress can involuntarily draft us by lottery for military service, and subject us to controversial healthcare, it is time to call their bluff about the proposed HR 3200 being as good as what the Congress has now. One of them actually said words to that effect in a televised townhall Rex listened to on UNC-TV.

Please feel free to apprise the rest of us, if you ever receive an answer from YOUR elected representative.

NOTE: A sample size of 30 for a Congress consisting of 535 members (435 in the House and 100 in the Senate) was selected as a statistically valid sample in the circumstances, and as a fun way to apply random heat absent satisfactory explanation of unwillingness to submit to what they propose for the rest of us.

Submarine Mystery of the Week - 9-19-2009

Rather than Questions this week, M.E. will provide only Mystery Answers. Readers must frame the corresponding questions. Hopefully, this infrequent format will challenge some of our very astute readers more satisfactorily (eat your heart out, Galrahn).

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NOTE: Comments have been turned off so late readers have a shot before an expert can publish early and/or accurate results. (In consolation to SonarMan, you may e-mail for early credit, if desired).

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WARNING: Casual guesses are likely to be wrong.

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Answer [approximately] 1):

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1 in 60 African descent

1 in 90 Caucasian descent
1 in 150 Japanese descent
1 in 300 Chinese descent

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Question 1)?

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Answer 2): SSN-701

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Question 2)?

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Answer 3): 4th Engineer Battalion and nuclear power school

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Question 3)?

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Questions will be provided next Tuesday.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

More Misleading Submarine News

In the United States, the usual court oath required of witnesses who testify goes something like this: "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God."

The problem with the submarine news reported here, Super-light sub has 'capability greater than U.S. Navy', is that U.S. news reporters are not YET bound by professional ethics requiring a disclaimer of their expertise, nothing but the truth, and references to reliable sources.

Here are key assertions made by the reporter:

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Deep-sea sub that can dive to 37,000 ft is light enough to launch from a yacht

Brainchild of designer Graham Hawkes who is in process of producing first craft

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"Deep Flight II" has no price tag yet but current sub "Superfalcon" cost $1.5 million

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Hawkes: Superfalcon has a capability greater than the U.S. Navy

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Well, as it turns out, only half of those 4 statements represent the truth. Looked at another way, the story is as misleading as it is truthful.

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Hawkes Ocean Technologies deep-diving (37,000 ft) sub is still on the drawing board. Despite the misleading artist's photo of Superfalcon II accompanying the story, Hawkes was misquoted (carelessly or intentionally?) by the reporter. The 37,000-ft craft will be an UNMANNED robotic sub. Those who know U.S. Navy robotic sub diving capabilities are not free to release such details to the general public. Hawkes was never connected with the U.S. Navy, so how did he come by his depth comparison? Did the reporter even ask? Apparently not.

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The deepest point in the ocean (35,840 ft) is the Mariana Trench, located off the Northern Mariana Islands. Graham Hawkes is an internationally accredited ocean engineer/inventor and holds the world record for solo dive depth (3,000 ft), which he achieved test piloting his Deep Rover submersible. He can be seen and heard discussing the unmanned sub on a video here (near the very end).

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Submarine Prediction Appears to Have Been Correct

The Calabrian Mafia (Ndrangheta) was first brought to the attention of Molten Eagle's readers three-and-a-half years ago, in March 2006. Loyal readers will recall the illustration above.

Background - [La Maddelena: USS Emory S Land (AS-39), USS Hartford (SSN-768) , USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723)]

Graceful Submarine Exit Portrayed as Radiation Relief in Sardinia

What industries on Sardinia may be dumping thoriated wastes illegally? The US Navy's departure removes a convenient cover enjoyed by illegal dumpers or international mischief makers. (from 'Discussion' at Oct 1, 2007 posting)

The Prediction -

My guess is that the U.S. is either assisting Italy in identifying the true source of contamination, or has already shared that information. We may never hear about resulting arrests, because submarines are always silent and strange. - Molten Eagle, October 01, 2007 -

The Revelation -

Mafia accused of sinking ship full of radioactive waste off Italy

A robot submarine was used to inspect a shipwreck which a Mafia turncoat claims was sunk with some 100 barrels of radioactive waste. Authorities have been unable to identify the hull, because the name has either been scraped over or is obscured by algae.

Former mobster, Francesco Fonti, claims the 360ft-long ship is one of dozens sunk by the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta syndicate. Fonti told authorities he used explosives to sink them nearly 20 miles off Calabria in 1992.

Fonti claims involvement in the sinking of three vessels, and that the 'Ndrangheta made millions of pounds illegally dumping radioactive and other toxic waste from businesses in Italy and other parts of Europe.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Submarine Safety Deja Vu

Today - Central News Agency - Submarine captain's body recovered off southern Taiwan

The body of Chen Chi-tsung, captain of the submarine Hai Lung, was reclaimed from the sea 3.1 nautical miles southwest of Zuoying naval base near southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung City at 7: 45 a.m., naval sources said. The 47-year-old captain had been washed off the conning tower of his vessel by strong waves during a drill two days ago.

Vice Adm. Sun Yi-cheng said the Navy has learned a painful from the accident and will strengthen safety measures. From now on, Sun said, all naval personnel working on the decks of warships or on the raised observation towers of submarines will be required to put on a life jacket and safety line hooked up to the hull of the vessel.

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While rough weather was believed to be the major reason leading to Chen's death, Sun said the Navy is still conducting a thorough investigation on the incident in hopes of getting to the bottom of how it occurred

A similar tragedy happened in the U.S. Navy years ago, in which a naval captain fell overboard into the sea. ...

Commander A. L. Wilderman, CO of USS Plunger (SSN-595), was lost overboard in a storm just off San Francisco. 2 Dec. 1973. (This was neither the first nor only such an accident during peacetime).

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Question of the Week - 9-11-2009 ANSWERS

The following relate to last Friday's original posting.

Questions of the Week:
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1) Roughly, how far is Crete from Tehran?

.....Ans.: Air distance is 2479 kilometers (1540 miles or 1338 nautical miles).
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2) Nominally, what kind of missiles does USS Georgia (SSGN-729), shown above, carry?

.....Ans.: Each SSGN is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk or Tactical Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles.
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3) Who said, "Force protection has been the preoccupation of the U.S. Navy since the 1996 Taiwan Strait confrontation"?

.....Ans.: Robert S. Ross, who is considered one of the foremost American specialists on Chinese foreign and defense policy and U.S.-China relations.

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4) What is Master Chief Richard R. Peters, USN (Ret.), doing these days?

.....Ans.: Former SEAL Team member, Master Chief Richard R. Peters, USN (Ret.) is currently a Director of Security of a full-time executive protection team, and a lead instructor for Trident Investigative Service, Inc.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Congressional Lottery #3 - Is Your Representative Among the Four Lucky Winners?

As promised, we have drawn four names of representatives selected by random lottery to submit voluntarily to legislation of their own making (H.R. 3200). If this week's representatives feel this puts them on the spot, good! We feel they have some explaining to do to those of whom they pretend to represent.

The winners of this week's lottery drawing shown above are. Here are their names and a few statistics:
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09 James Randy Forbes VA -04, .Lawyer -Yes; Veteran- No; ..Party-Rep
10 Erik Paulsen ...............MN-03, Lawyer - No; Veteran- No; ..Party-Rep
11 Mike D Rogers .............AL -03, .Lawyer -Yes; Veteran- No; ..Party-Rep
12 Edolphus Towns. .......FL -06, .Lawyer - No; Veteran-Yes; Party-Dem
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If one of the above is your representative, you may want to acquaint him/her with their random selection to opt out of FEHBP and ask them why he/she has not committed to actually representing their constituents by voluntarily subjecting themselves and their families to the terms of HR 3200.
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Every Monday, the names of 4 more House members drawn in Rex's lottery over the weekend will be announced here until the total reaches 24. At that point, the list will be repeated with the addition of 2 senators a week until 30 members of Congress are listed in total. If Congress can involuntarily draft us by lottery for military service, and subject us to controversial healthcare, it is time to call their bluff about the proposed HR 3200 being as good as what the Congress has now. One of them actually said words to that effect in a televised townhall Rex listened to on UNC-TV.
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Please feel free to apprise the rest of us, if you ever receive an answer from YOUR elected representative.
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NOTE: A sample size of 30 for a Congress consisting of 535 members (435 in the House and 100 in the Senate) was selected as a statistically valid sample in the circumstances, and as a fun way to apply random heat absent satisfactory explanation of unwillingness to submit to what they propose for the rest of us.

Question of the Week - 9-11-2009

The expandable baton and OC (pepper spray) are non-lethal weapons. Even Ohio-class guided-missile submarine (SSGNs) watchstanders may at times be required to sometimes use the politically correct weapons.

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Questions of the Week:

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1) Roughly, how far is Crete from Tehran?

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2) Nominally, what kind of missiles does USS Georgia (SSGN-729), shown above, carry?

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3) Who said, "Force protection has been the preoccupation of the U.S. Navy since the 1996 Taiwan Strait confrontation"?

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4) What is Master Chief Richard R. Peters, USN (Ret.), doing these days?

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Answers Tuesday

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

News You Missed from (or while you've been) Down Under

UPDATE Sep 13, 2009 - Cadmium in submarines 'within safe levels'
Defence Personnel Minister Greg Combet says the low levels of cadmium found during testing pose little threat to workers. The Navy says cadmium has always been used in Collins Class submarine electrical components to minimise corrosion. Mr Combet said testing had indicated airborne cadmium levels within the fleet were "well below the Australian Standard".

Note: NTP: Suspect Human Carcinogen; Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH): 9 mg Cd/m3 (dust concentration lowered from 50 mg Cd/m3 in March 1995 ). Source: Cadmium is an extremely toxic metal commonly found in industrial workplaces, and is also present in the manufacture of some types of batteries. Cadmium emits a characteristic brown fume (CdO) upon heating, which is relatively non-irritating, and thus does not alarm the exposed individual.

PRIOR UPDATE - [Australian] Government sat on Cadmium risk for 12 months

“The lack of seaworthy submarines is hampering recruitment and training efforts because new submariners need at least six months of sea time to qualify, and only HMAS Farncomb is currently operational.”

September 03, 2009 - The U.S. connection

THE navy's Collins-Class submarines have been ordered to undergo urgent checks for the toxic chemical cadmium. ... The toxic scare follows the fitting last year of additional components under the Replacement Combat System Upgrade, which included standard US Navy fittings later found to include cadmium.

Danger to female submariners of child-bearing age.

Related

Sep 7, 2009 - The Australian Defence Force has identified potential heavy metal contamination in a waterway near the Amberley airbase in south east Queensland.

Preliminary tests have found mercury, cadmium and nickel in Warrill Creek near a water treatment discharge site.

Amberley, the largest airbase in Australia, is located west of Brisbane. Unlike submarine contamination, the fix is easy: "The long term fix [is] look at the sewage treatment plant."

Other

September 10, 2009 - Brigadier backs women in combat
THE head of the [Australian] army's rapid reaction force yesterday backed women joining frontline combat units as long as they could meet the physical demands.

"We're not going to change our standards in the defence force, and we're still not going to change the requirements of the job," Brigadier Michael Krause told ABC radio. "If you need to carry an 80kg pack, you'll still have to be able to do that. These are the requirements of the
job."

Defence Science and Personnel Minister Greg Combet said on Tuesday a decision on allowing women entry into the Special Air Service and commando units would take several years.


US Navy considering Aussie warship base
THE US Navy is considering a bid to use a Port Adelaide shipbuilding centre as a repair base for its warships. The US is in talks with the State Government over the proposal involving the $300 million Techport facility at Osborne.

"It only needs some slight political hiccup in the northern Pacific and current repair facilities in Singapore and Japan will look less attractive to the US Navy."

It is understood almost any US warship, except an aircraft carrier, is capable of being repaired at the site.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Deja vu or Terrorism

Deja vu: the vague perception of familiarity with scenes not previously experienced.

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Oscar Wilde: "Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life."

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The January 2007, and September 2008, scene depictions above are fictional movies. The nuclear blast involved the dastardly deeds of fictional terrorists.

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The August 2009 scene resulted from arson last month. Terrorist arson will be denied by authorities, however, as long as the U.S. is being blackmailed.

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For now, all we can do is add another coincidence to our rather long list of relatively current events. Notice that two items on the list involve submarines.

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How do screenplay authors know these things?

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Congressional Lottery #2 - Is Your Representative Among the Four Lucky Winners?

As promised, we have drawn the second four names of representatives selected by random lottery to submit voluntarily to legislation of their own making (H.R. 3200). If the representatives feel this puts them on the spot, good! We feel they have some explaining to do to those of whom they pretend to represent.

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A commenter has made us aware of one member of our U.S. Congress who actually did step forward on July 15, 2009. Connecticut Second District Congressman Democrat Joe Courtney (a lawyer) told his constituients that he will not take the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), a government-run purchasing exchange with lower costs than similar private exchanges and without the pre-existing condition loopholes, suggesting it is is precisely what the America's Affordable Health Choices Act in the House will provide for the American people.

Despite promising in 2008 to support universal health care, Joe Courtney has not introduced nor supported legislation to guarantee that every US citizen has access to quality health care. As of February 2009, he had neither supported nor co-sponsored HR 676, The United States National Health Insurance Act..[1]

The winners of this week's lottery drawing are shown above. Here are their names and a few statistics:

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5 Robert J Wittman VA-01, Lawyer -No; Veteran -No; Party -Rep

6 Albio Sires..............NJ-13, Lawyer -No; Veteran -No; Party -Dem

7 Judy Chu................CA-32, Lawyer -No; Veteran -No; Party -Dem

8 Cliff Stearns, Sr.....FL-06, Lawyer- No; Veteran -Yes; Party-Rep

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If one of the above is your representative, you may want to acquaint him/her with their random selection to opt out of FEHBP and ask them why he/she has not committed to actually representing their constituents by voluntarily subjecting themselves and their families to the terms of HR 3200.

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Every Monday, the names of 4 more House members drawn in Rex's lottery over the weekend will be announced here until the total reaches 24. At that point, the list will be repeated with the addition of 2 senators a week until 30 members of Congress are listed in total. If Congress can involuntarily draft us by lottery for military service, and subject us to controversial healthcare, it is time to call their bluff about the proposed HR 3200 being as good as what the Congress has now. One of them actually said words to that effect in a televised townhall Rex listened to on UNC-TV.

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Please feel free to apprise the rest of us, if you ever receive an answer from YOUR elected representative.

.

NOTE: A sample size of 30 for a Congress consisting of 535 members (435 in the House and 100 in the Senate) was selected as a statistically valid sample in the circumstances, and as a fun way to apply random heat absent satisfactory explanation of unwillingness to submit to what they propose for the rest of us.

REWARD: AUV Overdue 4 Days Before Reported Publicly Missing

Remember the submarine USS San Juan (SSN-751)? On 13 March 2007, a search & rescue mission by elements of the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group were initiated after a red flare was spotted in her expected vicinity, suggesting an emergency. Communications were established by the early hours of the next day (the San Juan had been submerged) and no problems were indicated.[1] A very good ending!

Crew families were notified with dispatch and the public informed by internet news quicker than ever before. The submarine had NOT shot the red flare, however.

The missing AUV was unannounced between 31 August and 4 Sept. No human casualties involved, no military connection, minimal, if any, taxpayer expense. REWARD $500 (call (941) 388-4441 ext. 271). Sarasota's Mote Marine Laboratory claim the $100,000 AUV been missing since Monday. Equipped with a red tide, toxic algae detector the loss would be close to $130,000.

Scientists aren't sure what happened to the robot, which is nicknamed Waldo. It could have had a leak or malfunction and sunk to the bottom. It also could be on the surface, but its communication system isn't working properly to signal its location. - Fla. Boaters Urged to Look out for Missing Robot - ABC News

Was the Slocum Glider insured? Insurance for a vessel like this costs around $6-7,000 per year (with $10,000 deductible), assuming it is in the water for twelve months a year. Deployments are 24 days at a time.

What has been going on for the last 3 days? Well, Mote scientists spent Thursday using side-scan sonar to look for the AUV, which dives through columns of water up to 4,000 meters deep, sending satellite signals each time it surfaces.

Perhaps a boater snagged the strange-looking sub, not knowing what it was. Perhaps the boaters were terrorists gathering satellite transceivers for a new mission without attracting attention. In military applications, AUVs are also known as unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs).

What is so awesome about the technology? After each dive, the glider dips its nose raising an antenna above the water. It determines GPS position fix, uploads data via Iridium satellite, and downloads a new instruction file. Hmmm!

Submarines are always silent and strange

Aussie Cadmium Alarm Has U.S. Connection?

Drawing from International Labour Organization (see childbearing link below)

According to ABC News (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Safety fears in toxic submarine scare The Federal Government says the safety of Australia's submariners is the top priority in dealing with a contamination scare involving Australia's submarine fleet.

The Navy says cadmium has always been used in Collins Class submarine electrical components to minimise corrosion.

But, M.E. also found this: Urgent check for toxic chemical on navy subs (The Australian)

THE navy's Collins-Class submarines have been ordered to undergo urgent checks for the toxic chemical cadmium. ... The toxic scare follows the fitting last year of additional components under the Replacement Combat System Upgrade, which included standard US Navy fittings later found to include cadmium. [color emphasis added]

What makes the situation potentially more dangerous is the potential presence of female crew of child-bearing years aboard Collins class subs.

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Submarines are always silent and strange.

Rx for health care: losers pay (tort reform)

Don't take it from me. Take it from someone VERY familiar with socialized medicine as practiced in the U.K., Canada and Germany, for instance, who knows. In addition. this guy is very familiar with the problem with today's U.S. healthcare. The guy runs a big regional hospital system.

Will Obama include obviously necessary Tort Reform in his latest prescription for healthcare (question for Dems, Inds, and Reps)? Well, you may ask an Obama partisan like this ex-submariner, who seems to cheerlead ad nauseum for everything Obama's administration tries to do.

Time will be a more accurate guide, however.

Obviously Obama is a lawyer, and his administration employs more lawyers than any preceeding administration ever has (counting his czars). Moreover, Obama is beholden to lawyer PACS for getting him elected (contributions second only to George Soros, perhaps) as well as ACORN (Association of Chumps Openly Registering the Non-living).

INGO ANGERMEIER tells us (read his full letter, there is more and it's only a page long):

The dirty little secret, the one that silently consumes massive amounts of precious health care resources, is the pervasive role that defensive medicine plays in that brokenness. In most countries, no expensive tests would have been ordered on the man with the headache. Unlike the United States, there’s no need in most of the world to practice defensive medicine. It is not a small cost. To put this into perspective, on a busy night, Spartanburg Regional ER physicians order 110 CT scans. About 20 are medically necessary. The other 90 fall into the category of legally necessary.

Ingo has balls, speaking truth to enormous power (the legal cabal). Way to go, Ingo!

By the way, the socialized medicine country from which our legal system evolved, the U.K., has had the loser pays for its torts. The law of the United States was originally largely derived from the common law system of English law. However, U.S. law diverged from English common law procedure in providing litigants virtually unlimited awards without a penalty for losing. U.S. lawyers average incomes in the high six digits, and the premiere lawyers amass (earn is a poor choice of words) millions annually.

PREDICTION: Obama must include a modicum of tort reform in his revised healthcare program, or he will be ridiculed royally. On the otherhand, if Obama goes as far as the U.K. (loser pays all court costs) his MOST influential domestic supporters will turn on him as they did with James Earl Carter. SOLUTION: Another Czar.

Senator Byrd wrote a letter to President Obama in February, criticizing the president’s strategy of creating czars to manage important areas of national policy. Senator Byrd said that these appointments violate both the constitutional system of checks and balances and the constitutional separation of powers, and is a clear attempt to evade congressional oversight.

Active Duty Submariners Rarely Suffer from ADHD, Narcissism, or Stalking

Many of us were psychologically screened. In fact, exceptions were unheard of in my day.

Regardless of screening, which effectively dropped volunteers prone to ADHD, Narcissism, and Stalking, to name just a few potential disorders there is another good reason submariners are rarely classified as sufferers of such behaviors. Submariners are accustomed to limited channels of personal communication.

When was the last time you sailed on a sub with social media networking facilities? What? No Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace?

By now readers will be asking what this has to do with behaviorial disorders. Well, check out the Social Media Venn Diagram T-shirt design below (hat tip bookofjoe)

There is really not much more to add. It is true. Forgive your children because maturity requires going through such fads. You may also want to forgive youre spouse or GF (55% of Twitter users are females). And, we can certainly understand why drug dealers, news reporters, and the clueless want to be connected. For the rest of us, such communications are risky and inefficient.

Profit motives? Huge, usually from advertisers.

Congressional Lottery #1 - Is Your Representative Among the Four Lucky Winners?

Not a single member of our U.S. Congress stepped forward by 8 AM today to opt out of their privileged FEHBP health coverage plan. As promised a week ago, we have drawn the first four names of representatives selected by random lottery to submit voluntarily to legislation of their own making (H.R. 3200). If the representatives feel this puts them on the spot, good! We feel they have some explaining to do to those of whom they pretend to represent.


The winners of this week's lottery drawing are shown above. Here are their names and a few statistics:
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1 Collin C Peterson MN-07, Lawyer - No; Veteran - No; Party - Dem
2 John Conyers Jr. MI-14, Lawyer - Yes; Veteran -Yes; Party - Dem
3 Shelley Berkley NV- 01, Lawyer - Yes; Veteran - No; Party - Dem
4 Gus M Bilirakis FL - 09, Lawyer - Yes; Veteran - No; Party - Rep
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If one of the above is your representative, you may want to acquaint him/her with their random selection to opt out of FEHBP and ask them why he/she has not committed to actually representing their constituents by voluntarily subjecting themselves and their families to the terms of HR 3200.
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Please feel free to share with the rest of us in the comments section below, if you receive an answer from your dedicated representative.
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Every Tuesday, 4 more House members will be drawn in Rex's lottery and announced here until the total reaches 24. At that point, the list will be repeated with the addition of 2 senators a week until 30 members of Congress are listed in total. If Congress can involuntarily draft us by lottery for military service, and subject us to controversial healthcare, it is time to call their bluff about the proposed HR 3200 being as good as what the Congress has now. One of them actually said words to that effect in a televised townhall Rex listened to on UNC-TV.
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Please feel free to apprise the rest of us, if you ever receive an answer from YOUR elected representative.
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NOTE: A sample size of 30 for a Congress consisting of 535 members (435 in the House and 100 in the Senate) was selected as a statistically valid sample in the circumstances, and as a fun way to apply random heat absent satisfactory explanation of unwillingness to submit to what they propose for the rest of us.