The Star Spangled Banner – All four verses

Nov 8 2022

This is what (sadly) had become a thread bare memory; especially the fourth verse, which may have never been heard by every generation since I was a small child.  The video below the first one provides the poignant history behind our National Anthem.

As a reminder, I checked the option to keep this at the top of the blog.

Official Super Bowl Ticket Packages

Call it morbid curiosity; I wanted to see what was being charged to view Superbowl LX.

There are no Christian adjectives for the prices folks are expected to pony up to see the Superbowl. They start at $5,755.00 per person, and that is in the top areas where you’d need binoculars. A good seat near the field, C113, at about the 30 yd line goes for $16,505.00.

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Nobody I ever knew had that kind of green to piss away on a game.

7 Famous Actors That Chose God Over Hollywood

This is way overdue. We’ve all experienced loss, adversity, perhaps betrayal.

How we respond to such things determines whether the result is positive, or self destructive. The stories you will see are a reminder that regardless of our personal struggles, others have had a rough road as well. Standing up for what is right has a cost.

Matthew 10: 28-33

28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

“Someday great white father”… The Song of Crazy horse

The tragic lesson on “manifest destiny”

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Pastel drawing of Crazy
Horse by Mary Bryan
Forsyth, 1957. This image
captures Crazy Horse’s
facial features best:
light colored hair and
skin, relatively narrow
face and sharp straight
nose, pronounced scar
to the left and below his
left nostril. Mari Sandoz
Heritage Society – M. A.
Anderson and E. Hamilton

Below link is to The Song of Crazy horse.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=KqoVldylcmA

Questioning blind obedience to Authority

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Irrespective of my lymphatic leukemia, I remain a Constitutional Conservative.

Point blank; if, ICE has egregiously overstepped their mission, of apprehending known illegal aliens, and deporting them; if they are targeting citizens merely exercising their first amendment rights, Trump needs to rein them in.

There are enough allegation being raised, that I resent the word protecting being in quotation marks by Fox news.

Assaults against brave ICE agents unfold in Minneapolis, Minnesota

The left has encouraged anti ICE actions against these agents bound to rid our city streets across our country, of heinous individuals, whose crimes defy description. These illegal immigrants have done much damage and ICE is committed to rid us of them. I encourage all to obtain access to LiveNOW from FOX, available via Tubi TV, to view developing events. https://tubitv.com/live/555127/livenow-from-fox

Image from anti ICE movement in Assaults against brave ICE agents unfold in Minneapolis, Minnesota:

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‘Nuff Said.

Mounting international issues

As I had stated last April, long before I became diagnosed with this lymphocetic leukemia, “For all the good Trump is doing, and much good will be accomplished, the trepidity I felt with his remarks about Greenland and Canada is not unfounded. The fundamentals of The Monroe Doctrine are a two way street. We have no business interfering with other sovereign countries affairs. Greenland is a part of Denmark. Period. Will we yet forget History’s lessons?”

Also, Trumps strikes on Venezuela is bizarre; long ago as a young man, the principal problem w/ drugs was and continues to be Mexico. The actions seem an overt attempt to control Venezuela’s oil reserves.

In any event, God is in charge; the lynchpin not to be distracted from, is what goes on with Israel. The terrorist groups in Gaza use human shields, hide their forces in hospitals, that would force harm to innocents in order to stop the militants, and have raised violent Anti Semitic actions against Jews.

My time here is up to Him. Whether I am to remain 3, 5 yrs, more or less is His decision.

I must stand steadfast in His will; do what is right, not what is convenient, and for however long He allows.

For all who have followed my blog- God has acted, my way home has been enacted.

Early Dec, I suddenly had pains in my left side; after having no result form my chiropractic sessions, I admitted myself to the hospital on the 21st. after having taken some blood samples, the initial diagnosis was – “acute lymphocetic leukemia”

Don’t be sad. Throughout my life, I’ve been able to stay well w/chiro sessions, and nutraceuticals.

I know this beast quite well. Lots of conflicting info delayed specifics as to where I stood; it was a sudden breaucratic decision to release me and receive help at home today on the tenth of Jan, from care divisions from the hospital; though I received calls from two different entities while being processed out, and I had requested them to call me later, at home. neither has called back.

I’ve been homes since about 3pm PST. it is now 5:17pm.

The last action the hospital had taken was an incision in my abdomen; they had established the a areas of lymphnodes was in the lower abdominal and groin regions, the operation was to to remove and examine them. (This should provide the definitive info they need)

Knowing labs, this could a minimum 2 weeks… before my doctors get the report.

It can go two ways; a 3 to 5 yr Rx program that has established a high degree of success; so I can function at “near normal” but there is no cure ever mentioned. Eventually, the beast will get me.

God is in charge; this is my way out of an amoral, deceitful, aberrant world.

Luke 17:26 “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.”

Daniel K. Inouye

Of the 3,528 Medal Of Honor recipients, just 61 are still alive. Many would know Mr. Inouye was a U.S. senator, but presently, few would recall the he was a Nisei, and served with the 442nd regimental combat team in WW II. For his heroic actions as a member of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team—resulting in the loss of his right arm—the World War II veteran ultimately earned the nation’s highest award for military valor, the Medal of Honor; however, it wasn’t until 2000 when Pres. Bill Clinton awarded him the Medal of Honor for his service in World War II. (born September 7, 1924, Honolulu, Hawaii [U.S.]—died December 17, 2012, Bethesda, Maryland)

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Daniel Inouye was an American Democratic politician who was the first U.S. representative of Hawaii (1959–63) and who later served as a U.S. senator (1963–2012). He was the first Japanese American to serve in both bodies of Congress.

Inouye was born to working-class parents of Japanese ancestry. His father had moved to Hawaii as a child, and his mother was born there. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Inouye, who was a Red Cross medical aide, assisted in caring for victims of the raid. Intending to become a surgeon, he enrolled in the premedical program at the University of Hawaii. However, he left in March 1943 to join the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the U.S. Army, a unit composed solely of Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans), and he eventually attained the rank of second lieutenant. Inouye was seriously wounded in Italy in 1945, and his injuries necessitated the amputation of his right arm. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and several other honours as well as a promotion to captain.

After nearly two years in an army hospital in Michigan, Inouye resumed his studies at the University of Hawaii, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in government and economics (1950). He then attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., receiving a law degree in 1952. Inouye subsequently returned to Honolulu and briefly practiced law before becoming the deputy public prosecutor for the city (1953–54). In 1954 he was elected to the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives, where he served as the Democratic majority leader (1954–58). In 1958 he became a senator for the territory. After Hawaii’s accession to statehood in 1959, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Inouye was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962 and continued to win reelection into the 21st century.

During his tenure in the Senate, Inouye developed a reputation as a mild and genteel politician who nonetheless doggedly advocated for his positions. He first came to national prominence when serving on the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (popularly known as the Watergate Committee; 1973–74), and in 1976 he was the first to helm the newly formed Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In 1987 Inouye served as chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition, which investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was also variously chairman and vice chairman of the Select Committee on Indian Affairs (1987–2005).

In 2000 U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton awarded him the Medal of Honor for his service in World War II. In January 2009 Inouye was appointed chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee following the resignation of West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd; he also replaced Byrd as president pro tempore of the Senate after Byrd’s death in 2010. In 2013 Inouye was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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A fork in the road…

You note that videos I posted have been restored; my statement about Google killing my site was a rash one. When I chose to use private browsing, and was able to view my YouTube channel undamaged, it became certain that whatever had occurred, Google wasn’t the reason. YouTube has parameters, rules about copyright, “terms of use” etc. They have procedures, and warn users of violations; they don’t just terminate a channel without notice.

Having enacted an update to Firefox, the last roadblock unraveled.

Still, it remains unclear. Not making an immediate browser update had ever caused unusual, or adverse effects before. With no real answer to the “why”, I will just continue as before; it has been five years since I uploaded any videos on YT; Windows 10 didn’t have the movie-maker program, and I since deleted a substitute because I’ve no intention to be active there anymore.

The recent, invasive actions via A.I. on YT videos are not immediately apparent. Titles of posted videos can be a clue; before viewing said videos I check the “more” link to the channel synopsis about the content. I have found many that under “How this content was made” contain “Altered or synthetic content” “Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated”.

This is frequent, and, IMHO disgusting. It is another obnoxious use of A.I. – not just photoshopping, but attempts to mimic voices as well. So far, there are giveaways to recognize A.I. voice narration; but as the damn thing becomes more sophisticated, this will not be as easy to detect.

One YouTube channel provides documentaries which are free of this subterfuge; ironically named DroneScapes, the author focuses on Aviation, WW II, People, Weapons, Veterans, veterans stories… so of course that piques “X’s” interest.

I’d viewed a video about a ground support aircraft which goes back to the mid seventies; the A-10 “Warthog” – eff I’m old. Anyway, it had long proven its worth, there are many troops who don’t want it retired, but this year its “death knell” has sounded, all remaining A-10’s will be sent to the boneyard.

Here is the wrinkle – another proven system that is still around is the B-52; estimated to have another twenty years of viable service. Yet the tech bullet train streaks on; we’ve been using Predator drones since 1995.

I wonder what those who joined the Air Force feel about the ability to remotely kill half a world away, at a computer console that controls these deadly weapons?

It seems so… sterile, there is an unconscious disconnect; some higher up directs you to a target and gives the kill order. You aren’t flying a real aircraft, in the battle zone, where there is a conceivable danger to your own life; the target is just erased – poof – and you go on.

Of course, there is value in eliminating troops from danger, but there has to be a psychological cost. Do the operators get nightmares? How many times have targets been misidentified? Is their conscience immune from a feeling of guilt?

The ethical, moral questions involving technology are many; I don’t purport to have any answers, but now with A.I. entering the arena, I still think wedding it to drones, even less seeing them become sentient, is a sinister road we should not embark upon.

Bob Hoover, the legendary American pilot.

In advance of Veterans day 2025

I could “bet the farm”, and win, that few know of Bob Hoover; until I found this video, courtesy of DroneScapes YouTube channel, I knew nothing of him either, despite all of my readings and research on WW II. Excerpt from DroneScapes:

The life and stories of Bob Hoover, the legendary American pilot that was able to escape a POW camp and fly to safety in a German aircraft, the Fock-Wulf Fw 190. Bob Hoover was also one of the greatest test pilots who ever lived, earning the praises of Chuck Yeager. Robert Anderson Hoover (January 24, 1922 – October 25, 2016) was an American fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and record-setting air show aviator.

Hoover flew Spitfires in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and was shot down in 1944 off the coast of France. He was held for over a year in a German POW camp before eventually escaping and flying to safety in a stolen enemy aircraft. He then worked as a United States Air Force and civilian test pilot after the war, flying chase for Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1 supersonic flight in 1947, and as a flight instructor for North American Aviation during the Korean War.

He is best known as an air show display pilot, who flew for nearly 50 years until his retirement in 1999. Referred to as the “pilot’s pilot”, Hoover revolutionized modern aerobatic flying and has been described in many aviation circles as one of the greatest pilots of all time. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1988 and Aerospace Walk of Honor in 1992, along with several other military and civilian awards and accolades. In 2013, Flying magazine ranked him 10th on its list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation.

Hoover learned to fly at Berry Field in Nashville, Tennessee while working at a local grocery store to pay for the flight training. He enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard and was sent for pilot training with the United States Army.

During World War II, Hoover was sent to Casablanca, where his first major assignment was flight testing the assembled aircraft ready for service. He was later assigned to the Supermarine Spitfire-equipped 52d Fighter Group in Sicily. On February 9, 1944, on his 59th mission, his malfunctioning Mark V Spitfire was shot down by Siegfried Lemke, a pilot of Jagdgeschwader 2 in a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 off the coast of Southern France, and he was taken prisoner. He spent 16 months at Stalag Luft 1, a German prisoner-of-war camp in Barth, Germany.

NOTE – Keep in mind, At the time of this interview, Bob was 94 years old; At 47:46 the interview was over, and facts on the P-47, commences til 59:41. Then Bob recounts his history from growing up through his military pilot experiences.