My Sunday Rantings: Obamas going to Africa. NSA Snoops. Gun rights grabbers. IRS Brown Shirt Brigade.

From various sources:

The first couple’s (first) summer vacation will include a trip back to the motherland, according to the White House, as they embark on a three-country tour of Africa in late June and early July.

Obama and the first lady are preparing for the big trip, where they will meet with leaders, government officials, locals and youth.

The tour is scheduled from June 26 to July 3.

Both the president and first lady have made previous trips to Africa. Obama visited Ghana in July 2009 and his wife traveled to South Africa and Botswana since entering the White House.

Obama has a special tie to Africa, as his father is from Kenya. This will be Obama’s first trip to South Africa as president.

(The estimated tax dollars to pay for this vacation…100-million. To include bullet proof glass for the hotel where he’ll be staying. And, he’s taking along some special snipers, just in case those republican wild animals get aggressive on a safari. So much for his gun control position.)

Wonder why he didn’t go to Africa for Father’s Day? Or, to at least invite his dad to the White House.

I do have a suggestion. While he’s out of the country…OUR country…we should take the opportunity to close our borders, and require him to produce a passport to get back in. When I visit other countries, I must have a passport to get back into the US. And, I had to have a birth certificate to get my passport. Hmmmmm.

The NSA Snoops on the loose.

Facebook and Microsoft received thousands of requests from U.S. government agencies to turn over user data in the last six months of 2012. No numbers are available for the first six months of this year.

Representatives of both companies said that after negotiations with national security officials, their companies have been given permission to make new but still very limited revelations about government orders requesting user data.

First, control the language, take away the guns, and you control your subjects.

Facebook is only allowed to talk about total numbers and must give no specifics.

Facebook received between 9,000 and 10,000 government requests from all government entities from local to federal in the last six months of 2012, on various topics. The requests involved the accounts of between 18,000 and 19,000 Facebook users.

Microsoft received between 6,000 and 7,000 criminal and national security warrants, subpoenas and orders affecting between 31,000 and 32,000 accounts.

Want to know if YOUR account is one of those targeted? You might try filing a Freedom of Information request. I doubt you’ll get very far, unless you have attorneys that are more powerful, politically, than Eric-The-Red Holder. But, it would be fun if a few million of us submitted such requests. It would certainly keep the AG’s office busy. And, it might prevent them from committing additional felonies, like selling guns to drug dealers in Mexico. Of course, a word of warning…it could also result in being targeted by the Brown Shirt IRS Brigade. 

You should, by now, understand just how powerful and oppressive our government has become. Checks and Balances have gone out the window. We, as Americans…once free…now cower in corners, afraid to speak our minds. “They” have won, and “We” have lost. What next? Tracking how you vote on all of those electronic, computer voting machines? Think that’s impossible? Think again.

Here’s my take on the last six months. Since the Obama rights-grabbing administration didn’t get its way with the legislature and snatch up the guns of millions of law abiding citizens, the hooligans began gearing up to go after us in other ways.

In a war, you must first identify the enemy. They did just that. We all spoke out, and they were paying attention. With Obama’s equivalent of Hitler’s Brown Shirts…the IRS and the NSA and the Department of Health (I’ll explain later)…they gathered intel. Now, in what is going to be some sort of sneak attack, they’re making an end run. A frontal assault did not work. We can and did do battle with them when we can see them.

But, the sneaky little buggers are working it. They acknowledge a federal snoop’s allegations that they have the ability to listen in to our phone conversations and read our e-mails, but maintain it’s only to be used to fight terrorism. Do you think they consider gun owners terrorists? Oh, hell yeah! No doubt about it. With the technology to track us wherever we go, eavesdrop as we brag to each other about our most recent gun purchase, read our e-mails to see what our next plans are, check out the gun-type of web sites we visit… you get the picture.

They can send in the Brown Shirts to really dig into our tax returns…I mean REALLY dig into them…they can check with doctors and pharmacists to see what ails us…they can wage a war like you’ve never seen before in this country. It will not surprise me to see the likes of George Washington, Ben Franklin, and other brave men who took a chance, to rise up as zombies, and do battle with what has become a tyrannical government. 

 

 

"The commitment of this president and the vice president to taking action to reduce gun violence is as strong today as it was at the beginning of the year and in the wake of Newtown," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Wednesday.

Hogwash! That’s the paid liar speaking. “…take action to reduce gun violence”? No, if the administration really wanted to do some good, it would seek the stiffest of penalties, including the ultimate, for violent criminals. Once they’re locked up, or dead, then gun violence will go down. And, a byproduct of that will be that property crimes, narcotics crimes, rapes, robbery…all will go down. Why can’t those clowns that 51% of you returned to the top level of our government see this? Please, remove your heads from either the sand or your rectum, before it’s too late.

 

 

 

 

Looking for the Virgins. The islands, of course. Sailing and diving, the RMS Rhone, Caribbean sunets

    We’re back from another adventure, our third annual trip to the British Virgin Islands, aka The BVI’s. My wife, Robie, and I joined our friends Linda and Larry aboard Reggae, a 38 foot Beneteau sailboat, for a few days of sailing and diving.

 

    The weather. Well, it could not have been better if we had been able order it up ourselves. Eight days of Caribbean water, sun, and summer-time clouds. Picture perfect, you might say, as you’ll see in the photos throughout.

 Windsurfing off Saba Rock

 

    Robie and I flew, again this year, on USAirways. The only conenctions that could have been better would have been aboard a chartered Gulfstream. Leaving from Wilmington (NC) International at 5:25 am for an hour flight to Charlotte, then a connecting flight at 8 am for St. Thomas, USVI, we arrived slightly ahead of schedule at 11:30-ish.  Now, try and beat that connection!
    I really should have bought a lottery ticket that day. Not only was everything going better than we could have expected, I was standing at the luggage turnstile in St. Thomas when, lo and behold, the FIRST two bags out the shute were ours. I grabbed both, and we were off to catch a van to the ferry terminal. And, yes, we were the first two in the van.

These birds entertained us on the ferry trip

 
    Fifteen minutes later, and we were getting our tickets for the 45 minute boat ride to the British side, arriving at Soper’s Hole on Tortola where Linda and Larry awaited our arrival. A quick trip through Customs and Immigration, and we were loading our gear aboard their dinghy, a small rubber boat powered by a 15 horsepower outboard. Minutes later, we boarded our home away from home, got rid of street clothes in favor of shorts, tee shirts and Teva’s. 

 

    Back in the dinghy we went for a quick visit to the supermarket for provisions.

 

    A key ingredient to living for a week on a sailboat is food. And, I am not talking about cellophane sandwiches or Vienna sausages. We eat very well, thank you. Steaks, potatoes, spaghetti, conch salad, and more. Pancakes for breakfast. Fresh fruit with virtually every meal.  And, if you haven’t had fried plantains, you don’t know what you’re missing. And, mangoes.  And…well, you get the picture.

    Robie with galley duties

  Fried plantains

 

 Steak's on the barbie!!!! Try and beat that kitchen setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    One thing I didn’t miss. Cell phones. Connections, when they’re available, are EX-Pen-Sive. That was ok, ‘cause I get tired of hearing them ring. I did carry along my trusty 2-meter handheld ham radio (that’s a walkie talkie), and I checked in with the local ham radio network most mornings for the latest weather updates. Hams are such friendly and accommodating people. The morning “network control” ham was on St. John, but hams checked in from Tortola, St. Thomas and St. Croix.

 

    Larry and I had the opportunity to dive (SCUBA) the wreck of the RMS Rhone, a British mail ship that sank in a hurricane in 1867. This is one of the top dive sites in the Virgin Islands, and many divers have listed it as their favorite Caribbean wreck site. I can attest to its lure. In case you're not a history buff, but you're a movie buff, you may remember the film The Deep, starring Jacqueline Bissette and Nick Nolte. Yes, that movie. The Rhone was the background for the underwater wreck footage in that film.
     Located at Salt Island, just across Drake’s Passage from Tortola, the Rhone lies in two pieces. The bow section is in about 70 feet of water at the deepest point, while the stern section lies up against the shore. If you’re not a SCUBA diver, you can still take advantage of the stern section, easily reachable by snorkelers. Robie and Linda did just that, and said it was definitely worth their time.

Last known photo of HMS Rhone

    There are many dive sites in the BVI’s. On any given day, under most weather conditions, one site or another is accessible. Depending on wind and wave conditions, some locations are better than others. If in doubt, check with local dive shops. They have charters going pretty much 365 days a year.

    Let me tell you about one other dive. Santa Monica Rock, a really cool spot about a mile off Norman Island, is on the Atlantic side. Deepest part is about 75 feet, and the rock comes up to within a dozen feet of the surface. Now, if that doesn't make for a good dive, the only things I'll add should set your fins a-tingling. A 2-3 pound spiny lobster looking out from it's hole, a nurse shark about three feet long under one ledge, a green moray eel in the 4-5 foot range lounging peacefully under another, and some of the prettiest reef structure I've seen in a while.
    This, along with the Rhone, are two must-dive places to get wet in the BVI's.

   Diving Pirates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                The Caves. A popular snorkel site.

 

    Now, for some good refreshments and what I described as the absolutely bestest pizza I’ve ever had. We sailed into Virgin Gorda, in the BVI chain. We moored up in front of Saba Rock. Known, apparently, worldwide for its Painkillers, a tropical rum-punch-concoction, the setting is drop dead ideally suited for anyone who wants to spend a little time on dry land. At sunset, large tarpon show up for free handouts.

 Saba Rock

 

    Oh yeah, the pizza. That was at The Bitter End. A couple hundred yards, by dinghy, from Saba Rock. A cool resort, unto itself, in a beautiful setting, and a restaurant that just beckoned us. Ramon is the head chef. He dropped by our table because I wanted to know why our waitress said his pizzas would win any pizza competition, hands down. He didn’t brag, but he said he attributed the claim to the crust. Oh, and the brick oven, kept at the precise temperature, helped ensure the perfect crust.

 

Bitter End

     Robie and I settled on the special. A tuna pizza. Yep, and we would go back at ANY time for another of those. It was purrfect. And, as Ramon said, the crust was just like I was promised.

 

R&R (Robie and Raeford) just chillin'

    I have talked enough. Time for more pictures. After all, one is worth a buncha words. Should you get lucky enough to sail the BVI’s, be sure to take a camera. And, I don’t mean that little cell phone camera. Get a real one. You won’t be sorry.  

Time for a bath. The Baths on Virgin Gorda are accessible by boat (via your dinghy), or by taxi. Makes for a nice little hike. You will be amazed at the size of these Big Rocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 Linda takes a turn at the helm.

 I swear. That barracuda was this big.

 A happy skipper, Cap'n Larry 

 Larry in the rigging.

 

These sailors are looking for an overnight mooring ball.

 Did I tell you to bring a camera? Questions?

 Robie's getting into this snorkeling gig.

 I think I like sailing.

 

On Saba Rock.

Saba's beach,  complete with hammocks.

Is it ahhh time yet?

 

 You betcha. These are real pics.

 Color even looks good in black and white.

This is what sailors live for.

 Shall we say Seal Team Reggae

 Soper's Hole.

 Sailboats, power boats, kayaks.

 Another camera reminder

 Want real comfort? Complete with air conditioning. It will never replace Caribbean breezes, let me tell you.

 The famous Willy T. Ok, just Google it.

It's the party central location in the BVI's. Doesn't look like much, but the younger folks have a blast, they say, after the sun sets.  

 This is the ideal flip-flop setting

 Just an interesting picture, I thought.

 Hitching a ride on our dinghy.

 Nature's florist shop.

 

This is how they generate power to keep the batteries charged. Works great. And, of the thousands of these small windmills on the sailboats all over the place, I did not see one decapitated bird, nor did I hear anyone complain of the noise. If it's good for sailboats, why isn't it good on land?

 Yep. They call these Mega Yachts. Mega Bucks are required to buy AND operate these almost ships. 

 

Not a mega yacht, but Deliverance goes from boat to boat in the mooring fields, collecting trash (for a fee, of course), and selling everything from fresh fruits to ice. A floating supermarket, you might say.

 

These are our ladies. Left to right, Robie and Linda.

Talk about overkill. A cruise ship shares our waters as she pulls into Tortola.

 

 

 

Linda keeps a sharp eye out for other boaters, rocks, shallow water. Lookouts are as important today as they were in the says of Christopher Columbus.