Written on a bronze plaque attached to the pedestal of The Statue of Liberty is a poem called "The New Colossus" written by Emma Lazarus. The poem is about immigration. It reflects that this country is made up of immigrants from all over the globe and all have one thing in common, the desire of freedom.
The poem was originally written to raise money for construction of the statues pedestal in 1883. When Emma Lazarus was first approached to write a poem to raise money for the pedestal she refused but changed her mind when told of how the Statue would be a beacon to newly arriving immigrants, and it has done exactly that through the years. The bronze plaque with Lazarus's poem was not added to the pedestal until 1901.
Everyone knows the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of our country and one of freedom. The world knows it as a symbol of America's prosperity because of the immigrants that make up the country. It is also one of the most patriotic icons of the United States and no one can deny this.
Now, in this election year, the very nature of what the Statue of Liberty represents is under attack by those who call themselves patriots. These people, the Alt-Right, have beliefs that are diametrically opposite of the calling of Lady Liberty. Yet, this is only one problem of the Alt-right, they also devalue our country by dividing it along racial and ethnic lines. It is sad to say that Emma Lazarus who wrote such beautiful moving words would be attacked because she was a Jew.
People say they want to Make America Great Again yet they speak words and take actions that only serve to undermine what does make America great among nations. If you truly want to make America great again then read these words and take them to heart for without the immigrant this country would not exist.
"The Colossus"
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Writing experience, my life as a Christian (I am nowhere near perfect), life in general.
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
A former submariner on why Trump's take on military comms is wrong.
A day or so a go Donald Trump suggested using curriers or messengers for military communications believing to be more secure, safer. Total wrong.
I was not a ground pounder, I was a submariner. What I know of the battlefield is from studying history and talking to veterans. What I learned is stuff happens quick and the big picture changes rapidly requiring fast and accurate communications in order to adapt to a changing battlefield.
Though I am not a battlefield soldier As as Submarine sailor I did learn the importance of fast accurate communications in a fight. What battle did I fight? No military engagement because if the Subs I served on used their weapons you nor I would be hear. Our main weapon was the Trident missile whose use would mean everyone was going to have a bad day. No, the battles we trained for the most were what we referred to as casualties: fire, flooding, nuclear reactor problems, or something involving the missiles or torpedoes. These and some other incidence can be deadly on a submarine.
Take a fire for example. Of all the casualties that can happen on a submarine this is probably the most terrifying. There really is nowhere to run on a submarine and there is no fire department. The crew is the fire department, we have to fight the fire. Imagine being in your home not being able to leave with your only option to fight the fire or die trapped inside. Yes, on a submarine you can seal compartments to limit the spread of a fire, we do that, but every compartment has equipment vital to the subs operation and survival. The forward compartment is normally where control of the submarine takes place, officers quarters, galley and for Trident submarines, torpedoes. Can't just seal that off and let it burn out because we would lose control of the sub, ability to surface, ventilate the ship on the surface, our back up power and Torpedoes don't like fire.
The missile compartment can't be just sealed to let the fire to burn out because, well, missiles hate fire too not to mention we lose atmospheric processing equipment.
The engineering compartment or the reactor compartments. The names pretty much tells you why you can't just let fire burn there.
Part of the communications on a submarine is called sound powered phones. They use crystals to change sound waves into electricity then back to sound on the other end without using external power. This system is simple and reliable but can break , though it rarely does. Without the system we would have to use messengers, sometimes we still do if it is too loud. Now damage control direction takes place in control unless that is where the casualty is. So if the fire is in engineering the messenger has to go from the aft end of the ship to the forward part. Sounds simple? No because the engineering compartment would probably be filled with smoke, you will be wearing an emergency breathing apparatus you will keep having to plug into the EAB air header, get a big breath, disconnect, head forward far as you can, find an EAB connection plug in take a breath all this when visibility is zero. Luckily there are non skid pads you can feel under your feet that indicate a EAB connection is overhead or nearby. Finally you reach control, make your report, and are sent back with the reply repeating the same process all the way back. Now in that time the situation can change. The fire could be extinguished, which is good, or the fire has spread and you need more men to fight the bigger fire.
If you have sound powered phones working the person in charge at the scene will tell the phone talker the situation and what other resources maybe be required, the phone guy then uses the phones to relay the message to control who takes the information and acts accordingly the replies over the phones. Fast, more and accurate information that helps in fighting the fire and saving the ship.
Yes, messengers work but when time and accurate information is of the essence good comm systems are the way to go.
Trump wants to set us back 100 years behind our adversaries. Hell no!
I was not a ground pounder, I was a submariner. What I know of the battlefield is from studying history and talking to veterans. What I learned is stuff happens quick and the big picture changes rapidly requiring fast and accurate communications in order to adapt to a changing battlefield.
Though I am not a battlefield soldier As as Submarine sailor I did learn the importance of fast accurate communications in a fight. What battle did I fight? No military engagement because if the Subs I served on used their weapons you nor I would be hear. Our main weapon was the Trident missile whose use would mean everyone was going to have a bad day. No, the battles we trained for the most were what we referred to as casualties: fire, flooding, nuclear reactor problems, or something involving the missiles or torpedoes. These and some other incidence can be deadly on a submarine.
Take a fire for example. Of all the casualties that can happen on a submarine this is probably the most terrifying. There really is nowhere to run on a submarine and there is no fire department. The crew is the fire department, we have to fight the fire. Imagine being in your home not being able to leave with your only option to fight the fire or die trapped inside. Yes, on a submarine you can seal compartments to limit the spread of a fire, we do that, but every compartment has equipment vital to the subs operation and survival. The forward compartment is normally where control of the submarine takes place, officers quarters, galley and for Trident submarines, torpedoes. Can't just seal that off and let it burn out because we would lose control of the sub, ability to surface, ventilate the ship on the surface, our back up power and Torpedoes don't like fire.
The missile compartment can't be just sealed to let the fire to burn out because, well, missiles hate fire too not to mention we lose atmospheric processing equipment.
The engineering compartment or the reactor compartments. The names pretty much tells you why you can't just let fire burn there.
Part of the communications on a submarine is called sound powered phones. They use crystals to change sound waves into electricity then back to sound on the other end without using external power. This system is simple and reliable but can break , though it rarely does. Without the system we would have to use messengers, sometimes we still do if it is too loud. Now damage control direction takes place in control unless that is where the casualty is. So if the fire is in engineering the messenger has to go from the aft end of the ship to the forward part. Sounds simple? No because the engineering compartment would probably be filled with smoke, you will be wearing an emergency breathing apparatus you will keep having to plug into the EAB air header, get a big breath, disconnect, head forward far as you can, find an EAB connection plug in take a breath all this when visibility is zero. Luckily there are non skid pads you can feel under your feet that indicate a EAB connection is overhead or nearby. Finally you reach control, make your report, and are sent back with the reply repeating the same process all the way back. Now in that time the situation can change. The fire could be extinguished, which is good, or the fire has spread and you need more men to fight the bigger fire.
If you have sound powered phones working the person in charge at the scene will tell the phone talker the situation and what other resources maybe be required, the phone guy then uses the phones to relay the message to control who takes the information and acts accordingly the replies over the phones. Fast, more and accurate information that helps in fighting the fire and saving the ship.
Yes, messengers work but when time and accurate information is of the essence good comm systems are the way to go.
Trump wants to set us back 100 years behind our adversaries. Hell no!
Trump purposely endangering Clinton by calling her the devil
You know by Donald J Trump calling Hillary Clinton the devil he really put her life in danger. Look at a lot of his followers on Twitter, right wing extremists who think Trump is their savior. Some of his supporters will actually believe she is the devil and it is their Christian duty to destroy the devil. These nut jobs are armed with some serious fire power, we're talking about .50 cal sniper rifles like some militaries use. That has a good range and plenty of power. I hope the secret service extends the range of their protection around her.
Trump knows his true hardcore base he knows if he uses the right words he can cause one of his nut jobs to act then claim innocent saying he didn't tell anyone to take out Hillary. Right now there are probably a few hundred crazies around the country praying for an opportunity to take out the "Devil".
Calling her the devil is not just being irresponsible, no he knows what his followers are capable of and he uses them. Donald Trump gets his supporters angry at Hillary then calls her the devil. He is insane. The sad thing is this should be the plot of a very bad B movie but with Trump it could happen.
Trump knows his true hardcore base he knows if he uses the right words he can cause one of his nut jobs to act then claim innocent saying he didn't tell anyone to take out Hillary. Right now there are probably a few hundred crazies around the country praying for an opportunity to take out the "Devil".
Calling her the devil is not just being irresponsible, no he knows what his followers are capable of and he uses them. Donald Trump gets his supporters angry at Hillary then calls her the devil. He is insane. The sad thing is this should be the plot of a very bad B movie but with Trump it could happen.
Monday, August 1, 2016
The real reason the GOP hasn't pulled their support of Trump
Ask yourself why the GOP heavies have only chastised Trump and have not pulled their support of Trump, why?
These GOP leaders are getting barraged by their supporters to pull their endorsement of Donald Trump but they aren't going to do it. No, they would like Trump to win the Presidency then they will sacrifice him to put Pence in as president with their policies. It is obvious they will use Trump then impeach him. No wall, no Muslim ban, and all other of Trump's ideas the Trump Train want are gone bye-bye. The GOP could careless about the Trump supporters and Tea Party types; the will use and dump them. It will be a way to purge the party of the radicals that would have cost them control of both houses. Yep, Trump Train the GOP has sabotaged the tracks and you're about to be derailed.
These GOP leaders are getting barraged by their supporters to pull their endorsement of Donald Trump but they aren't going to do it. No, they would like Trump to win the Presidency then they will sacrifice him to put Pence in as president with their policies. It is obvious they will use Trump then impeach him. No wall, no Muslim ban, and all other of Trump's ideas the Trump Train want are gone bye-bye. The GOP could careless about the Trump supporters and Tea Party types; the will use and dump them. It will be a way to purge the party of the radicals that would have cost them control of both houses. Yep, Trump Train the GOP has sabotaged the tracks and you're about to be derailed.
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