XBradTC

HLG3 on Facebook pointed out to us that NASA’s impressive collection of histories of spaceflight, aeronautics, and a host of other topics is available for free, or at very low cost. You pay the shipping, but the books themselves are often free.

See here.

Or, if you’re a cheap bastard like me, most of them are available online in either ebook or HTML format.

I stole this from the ONT at Ace’s. It’s in French, but unless you’re especially dull, you can grasp the gist of it.

There has, for some time, been a political elite in the nation. The first name that will pop into the head of many here is “Kennedy.”  But for the purposes of our discussion today, let’s go with Roosevelt.

And of course, today, we still have what constitutes something of a nobility class, the professional political class that has strayed from representing, to reigning.

Faith in government is at historically low levels. Indeed, contrast faith in government today with faith in the government in the era of FDR. The vast expansion of government under FDR was popular because it was seen to be accomplishing significant feats. The vast expansion of government today brings us Obamacare that cannot even get a website up and running, and a TSA that is good at shaking down Granny, but hasn’t found a single terrorist.

Look at the biography of Barack Obama. Education wise, he’s highly credentialed. Just like his predecessor, George Bush. And his predecessor, Bill Clinton.  But aside from working in government, what did any of them do? Bush at least worked in the world of MLB. But for all three, the primary path of success was work in government.

Let’s compare a bit to another fellow who saw government service as the path to success.

• attended Harvard-studied biology, boxed
• NY state assembly
• author of a respected book on naval history
• cattle rancher
• NYPD police commissioner
• Assistant Secretary of the Navy
• Fought in the Spanish-American War
• Governor of NY
• Vice President
• President

Of course, that’s Theodore Roosevelt. His son, Teddy Jr, was no slouch either. He was an enormously successful businessman, fought in World War I, helped to found the American Legion, also served as a NY assemblyman and assistant SecNav. He served as Governor of Puerto Rico, and Governor-General of the Philippines. He returned to business (again, very successfully) and went on to valorous service in World War II until his untimely death in Normandy. And he was awarded the Medal of Honor (which his father would also eventually be awarded).

My point is this. There was obviously a privileged class of political elite back then, much as today. But the expectation then was that when much was given, much was expected in return, in terms of service, and hard work. And sheer competence.

I suspect a primary source of dissatisfaction with today’s political elite is the fact that they’re good at getting into government, but not good at actually doing anything.

/rant off

Five years ago, the Battle of Combat Outpost Keating; twenty-one years ago, the Battle of Mogadishu.

Both battles are notable for producing two awards of the Medal of Honor.

Jake Tapper, who has covered the Battle of COP Keating extensively, pays tribute via twitter.

And our old friend DaveInTexas remembers the fallen of Mogadishu.

Our buddy Old AF Sarge has a nice little post on some of the hazards of a piece of life saving equipment, the ejection seat.

As a bonus, it starts with some shenanigans at the Midway Museum in Sandy Eggo.

Am I misremembering, or didn’t the Army a few years ago argue that NorthCom would be responsible for disaster response support in the US, and have trained teams to respond to weapons of mass destruction incidents?

One WMD scenario has long been biowarfare. Presumably, the Army’s trained teams for response also included biowarfare training.

So why is some guy with absolutely no personal protective equipment powerwashing ebola-laden vomit off the grounds of the Dallas apartment complex, instead of the trained response teams of the Army, or other agencies?

A busy day for the Medal, is 3 October. 10 Medals from the Civil War, 3 Medal holders, 5 Medals in a unique twist during WWI, a tough Marine aviator in WWII, and the two Medals that are thus far the modern embodiment of the Leave No Man Behind philosophy, Shughart and Gordon in Mogadishu.

Update: And now two Medals for Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Ty Carter and Sergeant First Class Romesha at COP Keating. Ironic note: I originally created this post on the exact.same.day. Staff Sergeant Carter and Sergeant First Class Romesha were earning their Medals.

via Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah’s Military Guys.. – Today’s Medal of Honor Moment for 3 October.

For you history buffs, John still updates The Castle with the story behind the Medals of Honor earned on each day of the calendar. Some days are harder to read than others.

The Telegraph has news from Pyongyang:

The North Korean capital has been placed under lockdown, according to sources with Pyongyang, raising new questions about the stability of Kim Jong-un’s regime.

Quoting sources within North Korea, the respected New Focus International news web site has reported that a ban on new travel passes to leave or enter Pyongyang was introduced on September 27.

The Gateway Pundit thinks there’s been a coup. I don’t know.

We do know that Kim Jong-Un, the third in the line of Kim dictators, had less of a grip on the levers of power than his father did when Kim Il-Sung died. Even absolute dictators need a base of power within their country to maintain their position.

Might it be possible some elements of the government wish to drag North Korea into the 20th century? One wonders if China has been quietly working to undermine the regime?