Category Archives: General
The extramost dangerous animal – ever.
Beware, be very ware…
And then the super computer starts smoking…
I remember taking an oath when I enlisted in the Navy Reserve many years ago.
Federal law requires everyone who enlists or re-enlists in the Armed Forces of the United States to take the enlistment oath. The oath of enlistment into the United States Armed Forces is administered by any commissioned officer to any person enlisting or re-enlisting for a term of service into any branch of the military. The officer asks the person, or persons, to raise their right hand and repeat the oath after him. The oath is traditionally performed in front of the United States Flag and other flags, such as the state flag, military branch flag, and unit guidon may be present.
In the Armed Forces EXCEPT the National Guard (Army or Air)
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
In the National Guard (Army or Air)
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of (STATE NAME) against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of (STATE NAME) and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations. So help me God.
Guide Note: There has been some controversy about whether the phrase “So help me God” is mandatory. I have seen officers allow enlistees to omit these words, if they choose, according to their religious preference and beliefs. However, federal law does not appear to make any part of the oath optional. See 10 United States Code, Section 502.
Now, what happens if the first part, defending the Constitution, is under attack from the second part, the president and the appointed officers? The third part, the UCMJ, clarifies it all with reference to obeying Lawful Orders. Of course, how is a simple enlisted service member supposed to know the difference? They are just following orders from the educated officers. Pity they don’t make acing the civics course a prerequisite for enlistment.
Happy, Merry Solstice
Best wishes to all as the cycle renews for another year.
Isn’t he cute?
A few days ago, Elaine selected her present and we brought him home.
Of course, trying to see a three pound all black dog in the dark, underfoot, is difficult and leads to an interesting walk/shuffle. He’s hard to see even if it isn’t dark. Is it him? or his shadow?
Follow more of Orion’s growing experiences in Elaine’s blog.
1+1 equals whatever you want it to
This is what happened:
On September 3, 1967, at 04.50 in the morning, the traffic everywhere in
Sweden was directed over to the right side of the road and stopped. Everything
stood absolutely still for 10 minutes, and at 05.00, when it started again,
all road users in Sweden from heavy trucks to cyclists were already on the
right side of the road, and they have stayed there since.
And this is how Dvorak starts a rant on the Digital TV conversion (coming Feb 17, 2009):
BERKELEY,
Calif. (MarketWatch) — There is a story about how Sweden changed from
driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right side back in
1967. The Swedes, being orderly, decided to let the trucks and buses
switch to the right side of the road for the first week of the
transition, and then cars switched on the second week.
Is there a story about Sweden changing the way he says? I don’t know, I never heard of it. But it sort of defeats the purpose of his rant to start off with a lie. If it is supposed to be a joke then it doesn’t seem appropriate since the digital TV cut over is being done in one fell swoop. Of course it might defeat the purpose of his rant if he mentioned that the Swedish car accident rate reached a low point at the time of the cut over.
10 Commandments to give by
A helpful Commentary from Michael Dirda in the WP on the 10 Commandments of Book Giving:
To Summarize
- Look beyond bestsellers
- A classic is always welcome
- Give them what they love
- Give them what you love
- Do not scorn second-hand books
- Be complementary
- Look for special associations
- Expand horizons
- Support the midlist
- Read book reviews
Human Rights Day
I heard on the radio that today was the 60th anniversary of the signing of
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
so I looked them up. Some very inspirational reading.
I would commend them to the Bush Administration. Please read them and take them to heart, especially the first 12 articles or so.
Light it up!
Elaine said the lights were so perfect that we wouldn’t need to put up ornaments.
Hah! She’s not getting out of it that easy.
The nightly feeding
I saw a very interesting sky tonight and after giving the horses their grain I went back inside to get the camera. In that short period, the sky lost interest and this is what I got.
Then I tried to capture the horses-
That’s Hap
That’s Rags
Magic is a bit tricky to catch, even with a flash.
But if you are suitably sneaky and can distract her…