Sic Semper Tyrannis

Happy Easter!

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Bad behavior

Once again.  Attitude, surliness, offensive language and bad manners in general will get you kicked out of SST.  I own this place and run it to my satisfaction.  You can disagree with me but you had better be polite about it.  pl

Great steaks

Weather was marginally passable today, so I cooked a well marbled rib eye and also a filet from Crabill's in Toms Brook.  Both were about inch and a half.  Blazing hot grill (500 degrees).  Rubbed with English dry mustard and lots of Montreal.  Ten minutes cooking time.  Perfect medium rare.  Amen.  pl

PSSK?

Does anyone know of aSOF type unit known by the acronym PSSK in Europe a few decades back.  They had some sortt of relationship with GSG-9.   pl 

I'm Back

I couldn't take it any longer.  pl

Mid-Winter break from SST

Even as the days lengthen and  the thought of Spring flowers in the mind I have decided to take a break and refresh my mind while continuing to work on my book/stories.

Authorized authors and editors, feel free to carry on.  I will take a look at this in March.  pl

Out of pocket

I'm doing some witness work for the federal courts. so write anything you want here for a couple of days.  pl

"America and Britain and the Soviet command economy" by Richard Sale

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2013/01/the-soviet-command-economy-by-richard-sale.html

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Happy New Year

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Happy New Year From Alexandria

Happy New Year to all SSTers (and everyone else)

King Street, Alexandria, Virginia on New Years Eve - 2012  pl

8 million

We crossed that line in lifetime page views today.  pat

Literary Criticism by Richard Sale

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/12/download-the-music-of-words.html

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Basilisk is in hospital

Our friend and fellow committeeman, Basilisk suffered a heart attack Christmas night and is in hospital.  He was catheterized and received a stent in a cardiac artery.  He is feeling much better and might go home this afternoon.  We all wish him a quick recovery.  pl

SPAM, etc

I Cleaned up some of the unpublished comments.  Typepad does that for some reason.  If you find that a comment of yours is unpublished, tell me!  pl

All Hail the Maya

 

I have it on good authority that this is the day the world ends, so don't worry about those Christmas credit card bills, and forget the fiscal cliff. On the other hand, we are five or so hours into this day on the East Coast of the United States (did the Maya use Greenwich time?) and I think we're still here.

Just in case it's all over I might as well publish this little story over on the Athenaeum. It does, after all have a perfectly appropriate name. Read A Car for the End of the World

Basilisk

Christmas Appeal for Donations

For all those who have not recently made a donation to SST/TA, I can only say that a donation of whatever size you find appropriate would encourage me to stay in the game.  Pat Lang

Bigfoot Story on TA

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/12/bigfoot-is-a-human-hybrid-species.html

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New Sale story on TA

"The Awakening." 

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/11/download-the-awakening.html

 

Open Thread - 27 November, 2012

I have to do some catch-up work today for my consulting business, invoicing, etc.  pl 

Happy Thanksgiving at Signal Knob, Virginia

E-mail down

My turcopolier e-mail was down for a day because of expiration of the domain registration.  What e-mail I would have received for tht period is lost.  pl

Paypal Buttons

Typepad is unable to fix the donation buttons on SST and TA.  At their recommendation I have installed buttons directly connected to Paypal for those who wish to make a supportive donation.  Use of this button does not require that you have a Paypal account.  Winter is coming.  Hint!  pl

Open Thread - 27 October 2012

I am doing rotisserie on a couple of ducks today.  I generally give good rotisserie.  I brined these overnight in water, orange juice, salt, sugar, some peppercorns.  2 hours on spit.  pl

Declaration of War

Data Call:  In the US, does a formal declaration of war by Congress require the president's assent to become effective?  pl

A beautiful old book

I was given a book by one of our friends here.  It is in Latin, bound in leather and printed in 1601.  There are numerous engravings at the frontispiece, chapter heads, etc.  it is the collected works of St.  Isidore of Seville, the last of the patristic fathers.  He lived in the 7th century. 

I want to get it evaluated and appraised.  Does anyone have any ideas about where and by whom?  pl

Army suicides up again

The press today is full of the news that US Army suicides were at an all time high in July.  the newspaper trash is largely devoid of data on this .  Please send me links to the data.  pl

Discourse on SST

Yesterday I counseled someone who call himself RKKA against ad hominem attacks on correspondents here.  He/she has persisted in doing that and I solicit "votes" from the "village" as to whether or not banning is deserved. 

Offending text follows:

"Buying "The Troops" more and fancier stuff does not solve our main foreign policy problems, though that's the only kind of solution USG are really interested in. And writing stuff that would fit right into a marketing brochure on "more and fancier stuff for The Troops" will not improve the situation."   pl

"Curiosity" thread on "The Athenaeum"

I have started a thread on TA to cover tonight's attempted landing..  Sadly, there will be no welcoming delegation from the Barsoomians to greet our surrogate.  pl

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/08/the-curiosity-landing.html

Cross my palm

I think it is time for me to make another appeal for contributions from those of you who wish to see SST continue. This site takes up at least two hours a day of my time. I could quote my consulting rate to you but that would not be in the style of this blog. Think of this appeal as something like the appeals made by PBS for money. There is a button for contributions on SST. Thanks in advance. pl

 

Syria atrocity videos

The Syrian rebels are good at PR,  They have TV production staff following them around so that they can post on the internet.  These productions of supposed government atrocities have influenced many of the gullible in the MSM.  Send me links of actual atrocities in the process of commission, not dead boies, crying children, complaining doctors, etc.  Either side will do.  Don't send me pictures of smoke over towns, aircraft firing or other normal combat.  pl

New/old Gun

For those of you interested in such matters I wandered about the National Gun Show today.  It was at the Dulles Expositions Center.  It was terribly crowded with a multitude of folk of various description.  I bought the world's greatest knife sharpener from a man who had sharpened my pocket knife gratis.  Basilisk had predicted that I would buy a gun.  I was doing my best to resist this thought when I spied the lovely old thing pictured above.  It is a Savage Arms "over and under" combination with a .22 magnum barrel over and a 20 gauge shotgun barrel under.  It has little engraved sketches on the sides of the receiver.  On one side is a fox and on the other a ruffed grouse.  I suppose that is why this gun is typically called a "silver fox."

I owned one of these a long time ago.  I bought it in Panama at the Canal Zone Rod and Gun Club.  That must have been in 1965.  I owned it until the late 70's when I took it with me to visit my dear friend Colonel Bob Sawyer and his wife Ellie at their retirement retreat near Bow Lake, New Hampshire.  I had brought it with the idea that a country gent should have a gun like this.  We were standing in a meadow shooting at empty tin cans with the Savage when for some reason he told me that the day was the anniversary of a day in early 1944 when a kampfgruppe of the 17th Panzer division overran and destroyed his company of infantry of the 26th (Yankee) Division.  This was just short of the Rhine.  The platoon he commanded lost half its men, including many he had served with in the National Guard in Massachusetts. 

As we walked back to the house. I handed him the gun and said "this is yours, don't argue about it." 

I saw this gun today and it became impossible to leave this old friend behind in that noisy, impersoanl place.

Basilisk and Harper waited patiently while I filled out the forms.  pl  

Text mutilation

I have asked Typepad why this is happening when I paste text in the compose window.  pl

Horst Faas early VN pictures

Someone suggested a cross-post for these.  pl

http://www.typepad.com/site/blogs/6a00d8341c72e153ef00d834527e4b69e2/post/6a00d8341c72e153ef016767430b90970b/edit

Re-publishing "The Butcher's Cleaver"

I have an agent who wants me to re-publish "The Butcher's Cleaver."  I own the copyright.  Can anyone suggest a house?  pl

Purge of Commentariat

Every once in a while a good purge is helpful.  I have decided that some of you are just sophomoric in your nastiness.  You will be gone.  pl

Storm Outage

We had a bad, bad T-storm last night here in the DC area.  A million households are without power.  Since I am a compulsive about planning, we have a back-up genreator that runs on natural gas.  It is getting a work-out.  The local internet is out, but i finally remembered that i could connect using my laptop and my BB as a modem.  pl

Rules on civility at SST

A reminder, personal attacks, insults and disrespect are not tolerated on SST or TA.  pl

A new Basilisk Story on Athenaeum

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/06/cowboys-side-by-basilisk.html

Be sure to read the first comment

 

--Basilsik

Open Thread - 20 June

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Road Trip - 13 and 14 June

Basilisk and I are going out on the Valley Pike to look and remember in preparation for commencement of drafting for my next novel.  I will be back in Alexandria on Friday.  Guest authors feel free to post.  pl

New TA Post - Horst Faas pictures.

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/06/horst-faas-vn-pictures.html

pl

Post on Stonewall Jackson on TA

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/06/jacksons-valley-campaign-and-the-operational-level-of-war-lang-et-al.html

pl

New TA Post

New TA post.  pl

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/06/what-will-befall-carters-grove.html

 

New TA Post - 5/30/2012

A great musical memorial.  pl

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/05/doc-watson-1923-2012.html

"This tale shall the good man tell his son."

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/

My sister, Maureen, has re-posted her Memorial Day piece from 2009.

Advocacy and Analysis

I will try once again to state the difference between analysis and advocacy.  My post explaining what the Catholic Church in the US is doing is analysis not advocacy.  Analysis is an explanation of what is occurring.  Advocacy is an arrempt to persuade.  pl

Health Bulletin

Someone told a firend recently that he feared I had suffered a stroke.  That is not correct.  I have Bell's Palsy.  This is not a stroke.  pl

Out of Town. 7 May 2012

Out of town today.  Play amongst yourselves.  pl

New Athenaeum Post

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/04/pearl-harbor-bouganvillea.html

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SALPs, an Athenaeum post

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2012/04/strength-in-numbers-the-mighty-salp.html

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