Tonkinitis is caused by an international inflammation, typically of the civil war variety, which results in an irresistible foreign affairs itching leading to a military scratching by a U.S. President. Attempts at treatment are usually self-administered often without a second opinion and sometimes without Congressional consultation. The disorder usually devolves into a chronic recurring condition that varies in severity from minor localized skirmishes to complete regional coverage, in severe cases metastasizing to the political lymph nodes, where it may become terminal at the next election.
See also Police Action, Kinetic Military Operation, Gulf of Tonkin, USS Maddox Incident, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Vietnam, Harry Truman, Korea, Barrack Obama, Libya
DETROIT — In the wake of spring flooding in the United States and the recent Japanese tsunami, General Motors is facing a mounting public relations disaster with their recently introduced flagship “green” model, the Chevy “Volt.”
While GM proclaims “the future is electrifying,” some of even the most ardent environmentalist consumers are having second thoughts, as several electric car owners reportedly have been electrocuted after being caught in rising flood waters.
“We outlawed capital punishment, but now we have cruel and unusual punishment on the highways,” said Sunshine Groenomhelzing, whose husband, Brock, was electrocuted when his 2011 Chevy Volt got caught in a flash flood in Gila Bend Gorge. “He wanted to save the planet and Republicans executed him for it.”
Some have begun referring to electric cars as “Old Sparky,” which is the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New York, Texas, and Virginia.
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The Volt has been on sale in the U.S. market since mid-December 2010. The all-electric Nissan Leaf was also introduced at the end of 2010. Toyota has sold nearly a million Prius hybrids in the United States.
“It’s like throwing a toaster into the bath tub,” said Attorney Steven Dallas, who is representing Groenomhelzing in her wrongful death suit against GM. “You’d have think somebody there might have figured out that water and electricity don’t mix.”
Spring flooding has already begun and the worst is yet to come, with the greatest danger in the Northeast and Midwest, government forecasters said Thursday.
“The stage is set for widespread, major flooding,” National Weather Service Director Jack Hayes said. “The worst is still ahead.”
Pain associated with organized labor disputes, contract negotiations, work stoppages and public demonstrations that, under normal conditions, increase in intensity, frequency, duration, volume and violence, culminating in social and physical discomfort, as well as economic contraction. Labor pain is often identified — correctly and incorrectly — as PMS (Pre-Marxism Syndrome). Unlike false labor pains or Davis-Bacon contractions — true labor contractions do not stop when you change your position or relax. Labor pain mostly occurs in the abdomen, the groin, and the wallet.
See also AFL-CIO, Andy Stern, Richard Trumka, Stephen Lerner, Air Line Pilots Association ALPA, Amalgamated Transit Union ATU, American Federation of Government Employees AFGE, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada AFM, American Federation of School Administrators AFSA , American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees AFSCME, American Federation of Teachers AFT, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists AFTRA, American Postal Workers Union APWU, American Train Dispatchers Department ATDD, Associated Actors and Artistes of America (4As), Actors’ Equity Association AEA, American Guild of Musical Artists AGMA, American Guild of Variety Artists AGVA, The Guild of Italian American Actors GIAA, Screen Actors Guild SAG, Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers’ International Union BCTGM, Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen BRS, California Nurses Association/ National Nurses Organizing Committee CAN/NNOC, California School Employees Association CSEA, Communications Workers of America CWA, Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), Federation of Professional Athletes/National Football League Players Association NFLPA, Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union GMP (gmpiu.org), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees IATSE, International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, International Association of Fire Fighters IAFF, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers IAM, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBEW, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers IFPTE, International Longshore and Warehouse Union ILWU, International Longshoremen’s Association ILA, International Plate Printers, Die Stampers and Engravers Union of North America, International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers BAC, International Union of Elevator Constructors IUEC, International Union of Operating Engineers IUOE, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades IUPAT, International Union of Police Associations IUPA, Laborers’ International Union of North America LIUNA, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association MEBA, National Air Traffic Controllers Association NATCA, National Association of Letter Carriers NALC, Office and Professional Employees International Union OPEIU, Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association OPCMIA, Seafarers International Union of North America SIU, Sheet Metal Workers International Association SMWIA, Transport Workers Union of America TWU, UNITE HERE, United American Nurses UAN, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada UA, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America International Union UAW, United Mine Workers of America UMWA, United Independent Technology Technicians of America UITTA, United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union USW, United Transportation Union UTU, United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, Utility Workers Union of America UWUA, Writers Guild of America, East WGAE, CTW(The Change to Win Federation), International Brotherhood of Teamsters IBT, Service Employees International Union SEIU, United Farm Workers of America UFW, United Food and Commercial Workers UFCW, IndependentAircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association AMFA, Coalition of Graduate Employee Unions, Directors Guild of America DGA, Dramatists Guild of America, Fraternal Order of Police FOP,Independent Pilots Association IPA,International Union of Journeymen and Allied Trades IUJHAT, International Union Security * Police * Fire Professionals of America SPFPA, Jockeys’ Guild,Major League Baseball Players Association MLBPA,National Education Association NEA,National Emergency Medical Services Association (NEMSA), Programmers Guild,NHL Players Association,National Basketball Players Association, National Rural Letter Carriers Association NRLCA, National Treasury Employees Union NTEU, National Weather Service Employees Organization NWSEO, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association PBA, Professional Lacrosse Players’ Association PLPA, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society SDC, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America UBC, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America UE, United Independent Technology Technicians Of America, US Airline Pilots Association USAPA, World Umpires Association, Writers Guild of America, WGA
DAYTONA BEACH — Not everyone is embracing NASCAR’s move to E15 Ethanol blend fuel using American-made ethanol from corn grown by American farmers for the 2011 season.
“NASCAR is committed to being an environmental leader, and the sport has taken significant steps over the years toward conservation by introducing measurable, best-in-class initiatives in recycling, alternative energy, and carbon mitigation,” said Brian France, chairman and CEO of NASCAR, who claims the move will reduce the carbon footprint of their races. “We’re not exactly certain, how, but there is a benefit.”
Ironically, stock car racing in the United States has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition, when drivers ran bootleg whiskey made primarily in the Appalachian region of the United States. Bootleggers needed to distribute their illicit products, and they typically used small, fast vehicles to better evade the police. Many of the drivers would modify their cars for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity, and some of them came to love the fast-paced driving down twisted mountain roads.
Despite that storied heritage, some fans have yet to embrace the move away from gasoline.
“This ain’t a sport for tree hugging weenies,” said local fan Porky Chumwater. “And look at what they’re doing to our food supply .”
The cost of concession stand corn dogs has risen 467% at tracks across the country this season creating unprecedented unrest among even the most ardent NASCAR fans.
The popular motor sport is also taking heat from alcohol abuse prevention groups like Alcholics Anonymous, AL-ANON, Alateen and the Christian League for Alcohol Prohibition.
“Ethanol fuel is really ethyl alcohol which is the same type of alcohol found in whiskey, gin and demon rum,” said Michelle O’Camlin, Executive Director of CLAP. “What message is this sport sending to the children of this country?”
While the switch to ethanol might be the most important step in achieving an ancillary benefit — attracting new sponsors in the green economy to cash-strapped teams hurting for funding since the onset of the recession — NASCAR has to be careful not to alienate what is traditionally a staunchly conservative fan base.
Danica Patrick drives the #7 Go-Daddy Chevrolet in NASCAR’s Nationwide series.
United States Military Academy Established March 16, 1802
West Point’s role in our nation’s history dates back to the Revolutionary War, when both sides realized the strategic importance of the commanding plateau on the west bank of the Hudson River. General George Washington considered West Point to be the most important strategic position in America. Washington personally selected Thaddeus Kosciuszko, one of the heroes of Saratoga, to design the fortifications for West Point in l778, and Washington transferred his headquarters to West Point in l779. Continental soldiers built forts, batteries and redoubts and extended a l50-ton iron chain across the Hudson to control river traffic. Fortress West Point was never captured by the British, despite Benedict Arnold’s treason. West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in America.
Several soldiers and legislators, including Washington, Knox, Hamilton and John Adams, desiring to eliminate America’s wartime reliance on foreign engineers and artillerists, urged the creation of an institution devoted to the arts and sciences of warfare.
President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy in 1802. He took this action after ensuring that those attending the Academy would be representative of a democratic society.
Colonel Sylvanus Thayer, the “father of the Military Academy,” served as Superintendent from l8l7-l833. He upgraded academic standards, instilled military discipline and emphasized honorable conduct. Aware of our young nation’s need for engineers, Thayer made civil engineering the foundation of the curriculum. For the first half century, USMA graduates were largely responsible for the construction of the bulk of the nation’s initial railway lines, bridges, harbors and roads.
After gaining experience and national recognition during the Mexican and Indian wars, West Point graduates dominated the highest ranks on both sides during the Civil War. Academy graduates, headed by generals such as Grant, Lee, Sherman and Jackson, set high standards of military leadership for both the North and South.
The development of other technical schools in the post-Civil War period allowed West Point to broaden its curriculum beyond a strict civil engineering focus. Following the creation of Army post-graduate command and staff schools, the Military Academy came to be viewed as the first step in a continuing Army education.
In World War I, Academy graduates again distinguished themselves on the battlefield. After the war, Superintendent Douglas MacArthur sought to diversify the academic curriculum. In recognition of the intense physical demands of modern warfare, MacArthur pushed for major changes in the physical fitness and intramural athletic programs. “Every cadet an athlete” became an important goal. Additionally, the cadet management of the Honor System, long an unofficial tradition, was formalized with the creation of the Cadet Honor Committee.
Eisenhower, MacArthur, Bradley, Arnold, Clark, Patton, Stilwell and Wainwright were among an impressive array of Academy graduates who met the challenge of leadership in the Second World War. The postwar period again saw sweeping revisions to the West Point curriculum resulting from the dramatic developments in science and technology, the increasing need to understand other cultures and the rising level of general education in the Army.
In 1964, President Johnson signed legislation increasing the strength of the Corps of Cadets from 2,529 to 4,417 (more recently reduced to 4,000). To keep up with the growth of the Corps, a major expansion of facilities began shortly thereafter.
In concert with the increasing role of minorities and women in society and the military over the past three decades, greater numbers of minorities and the first women were brought to the Military Academy and the Corps of Cadets. Their presence has enhanced the quality and maintained the traditional representativeness of the institution.
In recent decades, the Academy’s curricular structure was markedly changed to permit cadets to major in any one of more than a dozen fields, including a wide range of subjects from the sciences to the humanities.
THIS is what the new “adult conversing” Republicans are putting their time and focus on?! More like a Jr. High conversation. What a bunch of petulant self-involved infants.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are preparing another strike against public broadcasting with legislation to bar federal funding of National Public Radio and prohibit local public stations from using federal money to pay NPR dues.
What President Obama is Putting His Time and Focus On
