Random News and Notes 29 July
On this date in 1958, the U.S. Congress passes legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a civilian agency responsible for coordinating America’s activities in space.
The agency was created in response to the Soviet Union’s October 4, 1957 launch of its first satellite, Sputnik I. The 183-pound, basketball-sized satellite orbited the earth in 98 minutes.
The first 4,000 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay on this date in 1965. The majority of the 101st Airborne Division’s tactical operations were in the Central Highlands and in the A Shau Valley farther north. Among its major operations was the brutal fight for Ap Bia Mountain, known as the “Hamburger Hill” battle.
The 101st was last Army division to leave Vietnam. During the war, troopers from the 101st were awarded 17 Medals of Honor for bravery in combat. The division suffered almost 20,000 soldiers killed or wounded in action in Vietnam, over twice as many as the 9,328 casualties it suffered in World War II.
On this date in 1976, David Berkowitz, later to be known as the “Son of Sam,” pulls a gun from a paper bag and fires five shots at Donna Lauria and Jody Valenti of the Bronx while they are sitting in a car, talking. Lauria died and Valenti was seriously wounded in the first in a series of shootings by the serial killer, who terrorized New York City over the course of the next year.
Once dubbed the “.44 Caliber Killer,” the Son of Sam eventually got his name from letters he sent to both the police and famed newspaper writer Jimmy Breslin that said, “…I am a monster. I am the Son of Sam. I love to hunt, prowling the streets looking for fair game. The weman are prettyist of all”
Anthony Fauci, the father of COVID 19 and the killer of at least 17 million people testified before Congress today. The hearing before the Rand Paul chaired Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee went off the rails almost immediately. In his opening statement, Fauci invoked his 5th amendment right to not self incriminate. He said in part:
Therefore, although it pains me to do so, because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government, and my decades long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment to the Constitution, to refrain from answering your questions.
Thank you.
At one point Rand Paul had Fauci tool bag of an attorney removed.
There is a problem however, at least for good ol’ Tony. He cannot invoke the 5th for anything he had been pardoned for and in doing so, he opens up legal challenges to the validity of the pardon. Other than it probably not being legal because of the autopen thing that is. At the very least, Fauci has opened himself up to Contempt of Congress charges because of this stunt.
After a pause of several days, Iran fired a couple of ballistic missiles at US facilities in Jordan. All of the missiles that were going to hit something were swatted down by US and Jordanian air defenses. In response, the US – and for the first time – Saudi Arabia hit multiple IRGC linked militias in Iraq. These militias were carrying out drone and rocket attacks on Saudi oil facilities at the direction of the IRGC.
In a statement, CENTCOM said:
U.S. Central Command and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces conducted precision strikes in Iraq, July 28, against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.
U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours.
The unwarranted attacks against U.S. forces were not successful.
From February through April 2026, there were more than 600 attempted attacks on U.S. citizens and facilities by Iran-aligned terrorist militias in Iraq.
The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response.
Reports out of Iraq indicate dozens of militia members were made good islamists in the strikes.
From the MVAP outdoors desk we have a story out of Montana. 32-year-old David Cifaldi from Billings slipped near 11,800 feet while climbing Granite Peak’s 12,803-foot summit with friends. Somehow, he impaled himself on one of his trekking poles. The pole drove through his left side below the armpit and out his lower back, missing all his vital organs. Cifaldi and his friends walked down the mountain after determining the injuries were not life threatening.
The descent took six and a half hours, as they hiked 10 miles through rough terrain, boulders, and snow. At the trailhead, he got initial care before hospital removal of the pole.
Moral of this story? Sit home on your sofa and eat bon-bons.
Ok, the closing meme/video was gonna be dogs today, but instead for stopping when I found the one I wanted, I scrolled a bit further. And well, This one made me do a spit take. Talk about meta.