April 3, 2011

All-female team launches historic mission over Afghanistan

Via the U.S. Air Force:

3/31/2011 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- A team of female Airmen made history here March 30 when the F-15E Strike Eagles of "Dudette 07" blazed down the runway to provide close air support for coalition and Afghan ground forces.

The two-ship formation consisted of all females, two pilots and two weapons system officers, but more importantly, it marked the first combat mission flown from Bagram to be planned, maintained and flown entirely by females.

This mission represents the first combat sortie on record to involve only female Airmen from the pilots and weapons officers to the mission planners and maintainers, said Lt. Col. Kenneth Tilley, the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing historian.

Although the call sign for the mission may have been lighthearted, the sortie was all business calling for the pilots to travel to the Kunar Valley just west of the Pakistan border in support of a large Army operation that was underway.

"I have flown with female pilots before, but this was the first time I have flown in an all female flight," said Maj. Christine Mau, a 455th AEW executive officer. "This wasn't a possibility when I started flying 11-years ago."

My Dad and Grandpa were in the Air Force.  I like to think they'd both think this is pretty damned cool.  

John Noonan calls this "teach[ing] Taliban a lesson in cosmic justice."  I'll say! [intro]

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April 1, 2011

Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin Wins April Fool's

Or at least among elected officials, he offers a strong submission in sending out this newsletter. Note item #5, in particular:

MAKING IT WORK

April 1, 2011, Volume XIII, Special Edition
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The purpose of this newsletter is to provide information, inspire involvement, and make things work in this great city. You can request additional information or comment on the newsletter by emailingrichard.conlin@seattle.gov.

INTEGRATING CITY SNOW MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES
...

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March 31, 2011

Jim McDermott, the Constitution and "Silly Things"

Jim McDermott, my hometown congressman, is known for being many things: A psychiatrist, a featured interviewee in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, an alleged unwitting spokesperson for Saddam Hussein, and indeed, a civil liberties-minded liberal (like a lot of folks from Seattle).

The latter McDermott characteristic in fact seems to be part of what inspired him to get involved with Fahrenheit 9/11, and proclaim back in 2004 that by getting the film produced and distributed, "We really saved the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." (Side note: Sadly, he didn't).

And while I'm not a fan of Michael Moore, as someone who has taken issue with the PATRIOT Act, Bush (and now Obama) administration policy related to surveillance and so on, even though McDermott is well to the left of me and I disagree with him on a wide array of matters (including whether Michael Moore is really cool or not), his interest in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights was something I could at least kind of respect.

But now Jim McDermott doesn't sound all that interested in the Constitution... or in things like getting H.R.1 passed, one of the "silly things" that the House has managed to do in the last 13 weeks.

Gah!...

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