All photos by James Ulvog taken on the U.S.S. Midway museum in San Diego, California.
Official records reported Capt. E. Royce Williams shot down one North Korean fighter on November 18, 1952. He was also credited with one “probable.” This was back during the Korean War. He was awarded Silver Star Medal at the time.
We now know there was far more to the story.
He actually shot down four fighters.
Oh yeah, they weren’t North Korean MiGs flown by North Koreans.
They were Soviet fighters. With Soviet markings. Stationed inside the USSR. Flown by Russian pilots.
I-7 launch facility, assigned to 91st Missile Wing at Minot AFB. Photo by James Ulvog.
Apparently there has been a massive overhaul in the technology behind codes used to launch nuclear weapons. Changes are significant enough the equipment used to generate codes and manufacture the physical documents have been put on display at the National Cryptologic Museum.
To all veterans pulling alert today, standing watch, filling supply orders, or who have not gotten a “thank you” lately, please know your service and sacrifice is appreciated. I again accepted a thank you on your behalf.
This summer, my cousin Sonia and her quilting group honored me with the gift of a gorgeous quilt. They gave it to me in appreciation for my service in the U.S. Air Force so many years ago. I pulled underground alert on the plains of South Dakota to keep the Evil Empire at bay. I had a small part holding back the Soviet bear.
Photos here don’t do full justice to the quilt, which I shall long cherish. My wife and I recently moved into our new home, so I have not yet be able to properly hang in on a wall.
For all those who have served, please know this lovely quilt expresses the appreciation felt by a group of quilters in Minnesota for all those who have stood on the front lines, kept the supplies moving, preparing those going to line service, or otherwise helped keep the U.S. military machine working.
To all of you, I say thank you.
A hearty thank you to all of you from my cousin, her group, and many more grateful Americans you will never meet.
I extend a hearty thank you to my cousin and her group.
The Covid vaccination is 95% effective against infection.
That is what we were told by every public health official and media outlet in order to persuade us to get the shots.
95%.
It has been so effective we should get a booster. And another booster. And now there is a brand new fifth booster, because the previous four worked so well.
This is the first in a series of posts explaining the effectiveness statements were not only false, but were known to be false at the time.
We start with a survey of how incredibly effective the vaccine has been in 2022:
CDC director
10/31/22 – Center for Disease Control – Update on CDC Director and COVID-19 – I cannot describe this more lastingly than merely quoting the straight line offered by the CDC press release:
Saw lots and lots of buffalo on a visit to the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park a week ago. (Yeah, yeah, they are actually American Bison, but I am still gonna’ call ’em buffalo.)
In June of this year, I moved my accounting firm to Williston, North Dakota.
My wife and I have been wanting to be near our son and his family. So the simple reason for the move is “chasing the grandkids.” It is also good to be out of California, with increasing congestion, skyrocketing cost of living, and deteriorating economy.
With the wonders of technology, I will be able to serve my clients just as easily from Williston, North Dakota as from Alta Loma, California. Only visible change on the website will be the mailing address.
Today we celebrate the most important day in the history of the world.
Easter.
We remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
On the preceding Friday, he was brutally executed by the Roman government at the insistence of the religious leaders. His sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty for sins which we earned and fully deserve.
Was that sacrifice on our behalf accepted by God the Father? Are we pardoned from our sins?
The Sunday morning resurrection proves that yes, the sacrifice by the Messiah was accepted by God the Father as payment in full for your sins and my sins.
As a result, those who have faith in His atoning death are declared free of sin (crazy as that seems, it is true). We will be welcomed into heaven to spend eternity in glory.
Another rendition of this hymn, from Presbyterian Church of Novato with Katy Hatfield (organ), Walter Burge (vocals), & Siri Louie (vocals) on April 4, 2021.
Minuteman II on static display at March Air Base Museum. Photo by James Ulvog.
On 3/10/22, Mr. Cole Smith attacked the integrity of U.S. Air Force officers pulling alert across the northern plain states as they monitor their ICBMs and maintain readiness to launch in the horrible event the President were to make the decision to do so.
He also attacked the safety and reliability of the missiles and warheads with an unsupported claim that
“…there have been more near-misses than the world knows.”
His support for attacking crew integrity is citation of a drug-incident involving 11 officers in 2013 and a test-cheating scandal involving 34 officers. Those are old reports (I won’t bother looking up date of the cheating incident) and well know to all.
Support for the more near-misses claim is an accident at Little Rock Air Force Base back in 1980.
Um, that was 42 years ago.
The incident involved a Titan II ICBM. The Titans were liquid fueled. They have long since been retired with the last one pulled off alert in 1987.
In what is an absolute lack of surprise to anyone who’s thought about the issue, the severe regulations imposed by the state of California on legal marijuana shops means the majority of marijuana sales take place in the black market.
After five years of legal recreational marijuana, sales in the illegal market are estimated to be twice the volume in legal stores.
This is the 32nd article I have written covering the legalized recreational marijuana market. You can see my other articles by clicking on the regulation experiment tag.
One way to measure how severely the legal marijuana business has been restricted is to look at the number of licensed marijuana shops per 100,000 residents. For six Western states that allow recreational sales, here is the number of legal dispensaries per 100,000 people:
Above video is parody of the song “Imagine”, showing the actual results from communism every time it has been ever been tried: empty store shelves, hunger, poverty, repression, political prisons, and death.
The missile trailer located in the compound of the Oscar -01 launch control facility at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force). No date or further attribution attached to photo. (Note – if the access door is open and missile transport is getting ready, that is actually a launch facility, not and LCF.)
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute publishes a huge yearbook every yeare. I just learned about this. Yeah, yeah, I’m slow to catch on. I know. That’s why I’m writing this blog – to slowly catch on.
Anyway, I will not be buying the new edition because it runs about $100. Recent copies will run $60-$150 on eBay so will not be getting any of those. Copies 10 years or more from the past can be had for under $10. Might get one of those.
On 6/14/21 SIPRI announced release of their hot-off-the-press 2021 edition. Scroll to the very bottom of the linked page and you can see a link to a free copy of chapter 10 on World Nuclear Forces.
Following tables slice and dice information in the press release and chapter 10 for their estimates of world nuclear forces as of January 2021.
In the following tables, “deployed” is estimate of the deployed warheads either placed on missiles or located at bases where there are operational forces, which would allow rapid loading of the weapons.
“Other” means the warheads which are stored, reserves, or retired awaiting disassembly.
A foot note reminds us the British previously had an announced goal of dropping their inventory down to 180 but they announced this year they will increase the ceiling to 260.
The estimates for North Korea are guesses on how many weapons could be built based on the amount of fissible material they have produced.
Our weapons, along with our closest strategic allies:
Heavy bomber crewman, U.S. Army Air Force, World War 2. Photo from Legacy Flight Museum in Rexford, Idaho by James Ulvog.
Our freedom is under rapidly increasing assault by many politicians who think they are kings and queens appointed by divine right instead of having merely won a few more percentage points of the vote than their opponent in the last election. In the last year public health officials at the federal, state, and county levels who lack self-awareness of how often they beclown themselves have joined in the efforts to shred our liberty.
As a result of these attacks, it is ever more important that on this Memorial Day we remember those who shed all their blood so that we may be free.
A ‘thank you’ from me is so trivial, yet that is all I have.
I will demonstrate my appreciation for freedom purchased by others by exercising freedom.
Yesterday I exercised my freedom of religion. Tomorrow I will exercise my economic freedom, also called pursuit of happiness, by running my business the way I choose.
I have posted variations of the following ideas several times before. I will continue to make these points routinely.
