Memorial Day 2014

Freedom is Not Free.

Somebody Paid.

8 ways to honor our Fallen Heroes on Memorial Day

(and every other day)

Armed Forces Day 2014

Thank you to the men and women who have served, who are serving and who will serve their country in uniform.

 

My father: US Army Air Corps, 1941-1945

 

My father-in-law: US Navy, 1945-1969

 

My husband: US Marine Corps, 1969-1972

 

My daughter: US Army, 1992-1995

 

My son: US Marine Corps, 2005-2010

A Marine's Big Mistake

Found this on the internet. I assume it's true. It's hilarious:

No Truer Words ....

 

  

Earth Day 2014 ... Aftermath

Political Nitwit of the Day: Douglas Gansler

A Democratic candidate for governor of Maryland suggested his opponent, an Iraq war veteran - and the current Lt. Governor, was not up to the task of a “real job.”

MD Gov-candidate-draws-ire-for-suggesting-iraq-war-vet-opponent-not-up-for-'real job'

 

 “I’m running against somebody who has never managed anybody, never run anything, his ads are about how he’s a lawyer in Iraq, and that’s all fine and good but this is a real job,” Gansler said.

Well, Mr Gansler, let's check Wikipedia to see what real jobs you've had:

 

 wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Gansler

... Gansler went on to Yale University, where he was an All-Ivy, All–New England College lacrosse player .... earned a law degree from the UV School of Law ... was a law clerk to Hon. John F. McAuliffe, Judge on the MD Court of Appeals ... 
after working for a brief period as a real estate lawyer at a title company and at the law firms of Blah, Blah,& Blah, Gansler became an ASS't. U.S. Attorney, serving from 1992 to 1998. 


Now let's look at Col. Anthony Brown:

wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_G._Brown

 ...  Brown spent the summer at the U.S. Military Academy at  West Point before switching to Harvard College ... Since Harvard did not offer ROTC at the time, in his second year, Brown enrolled in the Army ROTC program at MIT and earned a two-year scholarship.

... Upon graduation, Brown received a commission as a 2nd LT in the U.S. Army. He graduated first in his flight class at Fort Rucker. During his time on active duty, Brown served as a helicopter pilot in Europe. During that period of active duty, Brown held positions as platoon leader for a target acquisition, reconnaissance and surveillance platoon, executive officer of a general support aviation company, a battalion logistics officer, and the flight operations officer for Task Force.
 
... After completing his active duty service, Brown continued his military service as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) in the U.S. Army Reserve. His assignments included Commander of the 153rd Legal Support Organization in Norristown PA, where, in addition to supporting deploying service members and their families with legal services, he mobilized eighteen soldiers to Fort Hood in support of the III Corp's Operation New Dawn mission to Iraq. Prior to his tenure with the 153rd LSO, Brown was the Staff Judge Advocate for the 353rd Civil Affairs Command headquartered at Fort Wadsworth, NY. Brown began his service as a JAG with the 10th LSO, where he held numerous assignments. 

 

...  In 2004, Brown, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, was deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom... served in Baghdad, Fallujah, Kirkuk, and Basra with the 353rd Civil Affairs Command as Senior Consultant to the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration. Brown received the Bronze Star for his distinguished service in Iraq.

...  He is the eighth and current LT Gov. of MD and is currently running for Governor of Maryland....  Brown previously served two terms in the Maryland House of Delegates.

 ... Brown is a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, having served in the U.S. Army for nearly thirty years. Brown is one of the two highest-ranking elected officials in the nation to have served a tour of duty in Iraq .

 Whew!!

I just have to wonder what Douglas Gansler defines as a "real job" and "being up" to it.

 

So, Why Isn't This Happening?

By Salvador Rodriguez: 

 

 Teen: save millions-change type font

A 14-year-old student has published a study detailing how the U.S. federal and state governments could collectively save about $234 million a year by simply switching the type of font that is used on printed documents.

In his study, Suvir Mirchandani, who lives in the Pittsburgh area, said he found that Garamond is the most efficient font for printing, among the fonts recommend for use by the General Services Administration. This is because Garamond uses thinner strokes for its letters, meaning less ink is used on each character.

If the U.S. government stopped using Times New Roman and Century Gothic and switched to Garamond, it could reduce its annual cost of ink from $467 million per year by more than 29%. That means it would save about $136 million per year.

An additional $97 million could be saved if state and local governments made the switch too.

H/T: weaselzippers