Military Veterans and Patriots

Year: 2021

  • Harry Beal, The First SeAL dead at 90

    Harry Beal, The First SeAL dead at 90

    Harry Beal, the first volunteer for the newly formed SeAL teams died on January 28th at age 90.

    Beal began his Navy career in 1948, first serving aboard the U.S.S. Shenandoah as a gunner’s mate. He joined the underwater demolition team, the precursor to the Navy SeALs, in 1955.

    When the first Navy SeAL teams were established in 1962, Beal was the first to volunteer for the elite special operations force.

    “President Kennedy wanted some idiots that see lightning, hear thunder, balance a ball on their nose, and had ‘stupid’ written right there,” Beal joked, gesturing to his forehead during an interview in November 2017, “and I had all of that so I put my hand up. I became the first SEAL on the East Coast in the United States Navy.”

    Harry Beal was the first Navy SEAL, thanks to the roster being ordered alphabetically. He also may have been the shortest, but he was capable of doing a one-armed pullup.

    Photo courtesy of the US Naval Institute.

    Later, Beal was credited with pulling John Glenn out of the water after his historic spaceflight. Beal became a SeAL instructor, serving until his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1968.

    Beal worked for the Pennsylvania DOT after retiring from the Navy. In 2020, a bridge was named after Beal in his hometown of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania.

    We have the Watch.

  • SCOTUS Rules on California Church Rules

    SCOTUS Rules on California Church Rules

    The Supreme Court has issued a pair of rulings striking down California’s ban on in-person church attendance. Both decisions were 6-3, with terminal squish John Roberts joining the consevative majority in the rulings. The rulings allow churches to re-open while the cases are on appeal, but leave in place capacity restrictions and the ban on singing and chanting.

    https://twitter.com/SCOTUSblog/status/1357923982004146176?s=20

    The opinons as in these cases are interesting as they give us a glimpse into the thinking of the Justices. Justices Thomas and Gorsuch wrote concurrence stating they would have given the appelants everything they wanted. They suggested that it is not difficult to determine in this case whether California has singled out religion for special, and more stringent, treatment. The Justices acknowledged that the state “has a compelling interest in reducing” the risk of transmitting COVID-19, but they expressed skepticism that the state’s justifications for placing restrictions on worship services. Justice Alito signed that concurrence with a note that he would give california more time to justify their capacity limits. The justices concluded by noting that the state may argue on remand that the restrictions are only temporary “because vaccinations are underway.” But it “is too late for the State” to make that argument as “this crisis enters its second year,” they stress, and “if Hollywood may host a studio audience or film a singing competition while not a single soul may enter California’s churches, synagogues, and mosques, something has gone seriously awry.”

    A separate concurrence, written by Justice Barrett and signed by Justice Kavanaugh said they thought the churches had not proved theur case vis the singing and chanting ban. She explained that it was the churches’ responsibility to show that they were entitled to relief from the ban on singing, and that – at least in her view – they had not done so. As a result, she wrote, it was not clear whether the ban on singing and chanting applies only to religious services, or whether it applies more broadly – for example, to Hollywood productions. 

    Chief Justice John Roberts, in his own concurrence, reiterated a view that he expressed in an earlier challenge by South Bay United Pentecostal Church: the idea that “federal courts owe significant deference to politically accountable officials with the ‘background, competence, and expertise to assess public health.’” Roberts explained, he saw no reason to overturn the state’s determination that singing indoors creates a greater risk of COVID-19 transmission. However, he continued, the ban on indoor worship services “appears to reflect not expertise or discretion, but instead insufficient appreciation of the interests at stake.” “Deference, though broad,” he concluded, “has its limits.”

    JUstice Kagan penned the dissent which was joined by Justices Breyer and Sotomayor. In it she complained that although the justices “are not scientists” and do not “know much about public health policy,” the majority had nonetheless opted to displace “the judgments of experts about how to respond to a raging pandemic.”

    “Under the Court’s injunction,” Kagan lamented, California is required to “treat worship services like secular activities that pose a much lesser danger. That mandate defies our caselaw, exceeds our judicial role, and risks worsening the pandemic.”

    “No one can know, from the Court’s 19-line order, exactly why” the court reaches that conclusion, Kagan observed: “Is it that the Court does not believe the science, or does it think even the best science must give way?”

  • Welcome to Saturday Conversation

    Welcome to Saturday Conversation

      Over Black Coffee and Gunpowder Tea
    served with

    If people keep complaining about the food offerings, they may be required to prepare food for the conversation attendees. 🤔🧐🤨😳🤓

  • QUIZ: A Horse is a Horse…

    QUIZ: A Horse is a Horse…

    Of course, of course

    Unless it has a horn…then it is a Unicorn! 😋

    What do you know about the various breeds of horses?

    Take the quiz below and share your results!

    [HDquiz quiz = “1520”]
  • Welcome to Friday Conversation

    Welcome to Friday Conversation

      Over Black Coffee and Gunpowder Tea

    served with


    Yesterday I told you (in a meme) Friday was coming and bringing wine. Someone grab the glasses.

  • Look Ma no hook…….

    Look Ma no hook…….

    This was one of those random videos that popped up in my Youtube feed.

    I had heard this story before, but never really knew any of the details beyond that it actually happened. Growing up, Navy and Marine pilots were frequently around the house; my dad was a pilot (that is story for another time) and we lived in Virginia Beach. It was the 60s to early 70s, and the military did a lot of things that made people with some sense say, “It may work, but not for long.” This was one of the stories I heard when I was probably 10 or so and all the F4 and A6 pilots around said it was basically a suicide run. Everybody knows about the Doolittle Raid and launching B-25s from the USS Hornet, but that was a one way trip, they had no expectation of being able to land on the carrier after the mission.

    This was a completely different ballgame, they wanted to be able do it whenever they needed to. 

    There’s a number of humorous comments on the video page, but this one is my favorite. 

    “The pilot was able to stop so quickly by dragging his huge balls of steel behind the plane.”

  • Equity vs Equality Let’s test that

    Equity vs Equality Let’s test that

    that there is a 5,000 year old Crystal dagger dug up in Spain with some other stuff

    ( lots of stuff )

    Previous analysis has suggested that at least one male and several females ( no he/shes no shims, no transgenders ) died from ingesting poison. The remains of the women were seated in a circular fashion in a chamber next to the bones of whom may have been the chief.

    The tombs also contained many grave goods, including “shrouds or clothes made of tens of thousands of perforated beads and decorated with amber beads,” as well as ivory objects and fragments of gold blades. The crystal arrowheads were found together in a cluster, which leads the researchers to believe that they may have been a ritual offering.

    Since there were no crystal mines nearby, the materials for these items would have been sourced from far afield.

    So everyone in my class take 4 pounds of crystal home over the weekend and fashion a dagger

    for Monday’s show -n- tell

    Equal outcomes?

    if one ever watches how a flint arrow headhead is made, it’s not easy when never having been shown how

    ( This contributes to the idea that they were intended for an elite few who would have been able to afford to gather such materials and have them shaped into weapons. )

    I highly dout the elite of the day would spend thier clams on junk Crystal shards

    Come Monday I’d expect to see many bandaids maybe a few suits filed against me for weapon instruction

    Life will never be Equal

    for we all are different with different interests skill sets

    How many of you can operate heavy equipment?

    When getting bullied

    that’s when you apply your skill set

    as in this example

    Say you have a skill set that is not very common

    you will be sought after

    We the People are the elite
    not them
    Government creates nothing
    wait… it does create poverty & misery

  • 17-Year-Old Navy Recruit…

    This 17 year old is following in the female family business tradition. Another uplifting story to overcome the surfeit of angst news.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/17-year-old-navy-recruit-sworn-in-by-her-own-mother-follows-in-her-footsteps-as-a-sailor_3665199.html?

    17-Year-Old Navy Recruit Sworn in by Her Own Mother, Follows in Her Footsteps as a Sailor

    (Courtesy of Navy Talent Acquisition Group San Antonio)

    A San Antonio girl who just enlisted in the U.S. Navy was recently sworn in. But the moment was made even more special by the fact that the girl’s own mother administered the oath of enlistment.

    Mariah White, 17, is following in the footsteps of both her mother and her sister by joining the U.S. Navy. She took the oath of enlistment at the Navy Talent Acquisition Group in San Antonio this week.

    Mariah, who is still in high school at Brennan High, will serve as master-at-arms.

    Epoch Times Photo
    (Courtesy of Navy Talent Acquisition Group San Antonio)

    “I joined the Navy to follow in the footsteps of my mother and sister,” she told ABC. “I love the ocean and look forward to traveling and serving my country.”

    On Jan. 22, the teen’s mother, Lt. Cmdr. Veronica White, told Fox News that administering the oath was very emotional.

    “I actually had a moment where I got choked up and I had to pause,” Veronica said in an interview. “It was very humbling.”

    The lieutenant commander is a plans, operations, and medical intelligence officer with the Naval Medical Forces Command. She said that she’s excited that now both of her daughters will continue carrying on the family’s growing tradition.

    “I am very happy because she is continuing our family legacy,” Veronica shared. “She will pave the way for the next generation of female sailors.”

    Epoch Times Photo
    (Courtesy of Navy Talent Acquisition Group San Antonio)
    Epoch Times Photo
    (Courtesy of Navy Talent Acquisition Group San Antonio)

    According to NTAG officials, as master-at-arms, Mariah will provide “waterborne and land security, aircraft and flight line security, strategic weapons and cargo security, maritime security and platform protection.”

    She will also conduct customs operations, detainee operations, and protective service operations, as well as other security, training, law enforcement, and anti-terrorism duties.

    Mariah is thrilled to follow in the footsteps of her family role models.

    She told Fox News that she was “super ready” to join the Navy and that one of the greatest paths in life is “being able to be an example for other people out there and [serving] our country.”

    Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter here:https://www.theepochtimes.com/newsletter

  • AOC Wasn’t Even in the Capitol Building …

    AOC Wasn’t Even in the Capitol Building …

    AOC Wasn’t Even in the Capitol Building During Her ‘Near Death’ Experience

    We’ve reported various aspects of the account of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) of what happened to her on Jan. 6 during the breach at the Capitol. But there are some very critical facts that have been missing from her story that I wanted to talk about here.

    The story, as it was initially related by AOC, suggested that she was about to be assassinated by rioters in her office in a video that has been viewed over 6 million times.

    https://twitter.com/urdadssidepiece/status/1356444065370427394?s=20

    Newsweek even claimed that’s what AOC said.

    Ocasio-Cortez said that rioters actually entered her office, forcing her to take refuge inside her bathroom after her legislative director Geraldo Bonilla-Chavez told her to “hide, hide, run and hide.”

    “And so I run back into my office,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I slam my door. There’s another kind of like back area to my office, and I open it, and there’s a closet and a bathroom. And I jump into my bathroom.”

    As it turns out, however, as my colleague Bonchie reported earlier, AOC said in her Instagram drama that the person who came to her office was a Capitol Police officer. But she denigrated the officer who came to help, claiming he “didn’t feel right” and that he was looking at her “in all of this anger and hostility.” Her staffer reportedly wondered if he would have to fight the officer and suggested that he might put them in a “vulnerable situation.”

    https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1356452601043300353?s=20

    So, basically, this story is about hyping the danger to the members and trying to say people still have to fear those inconsiderate uncaring police (even when they’re coming to help you). She’s even been called out by folks on the left for the effort to demonize the officer and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), as my colleague Sister Toldjah observed.

    But a few important things to note that seem to have been left out of this whole story.

    AOC wasn’t even in the Capitol building where all the action was going down. If she was in her office, she was in the Cannon Building which is nearby, but a different building. But of course, many didn’t get the logistics and just assumed that she was in the Capitol building.

    According to Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who has an office in the same hall as AOC, two doors away, there were never any rioters in their hall so there was never any physical danger from rioters coming in at any point.

    https://twitter.com/RepNancyMace/status/1356677360507052034?s=20

    AOC’s building appears to have been briefly evacuated during the day as police checked on a nearby suspicious package that was later cleared.

    So her “near-death experience” was an overreaction to a Capitol Police officer knocking on her door to direct her to another building, the Longworth Building, where she then stayed in the office of Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA). Instead of thanking the officer, she paints him as somehow a possible danger of which to be afraid. The Capitol Police were likely trying to evacuate the building quickly, it’s possible the officer was focused on getting people out quickly so likely didn’t have time for all the niceties.
    https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2021/02/03/321029-n321029 By: Nick Arama

    Comment: I know that I shouldn’t; however I tend to completely ignore AOC – she has cried wolf one too many times. And appears to be nothing more than a compulsive liar. Yet, here is the aspect which I find so disturbing. She has thousands of followers, who are just as immature and just as irresponsible. By her directing everyone’s attention towards Sen. Ted Cruz and accusations him of almost murdering her. You can read her followers comments/rants – so, is she creating another Steve Scalise situation? It may be a good choice to initiate a Recall before she causes someone’s injury. She is 31 years old – this is not high school & the mean girl in the class

    https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1354848253729234944?s=20


  • Welcome to Thursday Conversation

    Welcome to Thursday Conversation

      Over Black Coffee and Gunpowder Tea

    served with