Submarine And Navy Miscellany

A quick link-heavy roundup of items of interest to Submariners I haven't found time to write about more fully:

1) RADM Douglas McAneny, the new COMSUBPAC, announced that the Navy has confirmed that the submarine recently found on the seabed near Kiska is in fact USS Grunion (SS 216).

2) A Russian commentator discussed the future of Russia's submarine fleet. Still no word on when their new boomer, RFS Yuri Dolgorukii, will head out on sea trials.

3) Vigilis at Molten Eagle remembers the book "Spy Sub" and offers a related quiz. Eric at Decks Awash has more related videos.

4) The Navy puts more teeth into the PRP Program, following their rollout of the PTU to help Sailors pass the PFT part of the PFA! Now, if you're a fat boy, you can't get picked for IA duty. (Expect longer lines on the mess decks.) Once again, we learn that the way to beat Al Qaeda isn't to be smarter than they are; it's looking better in uniform than they do that will win us the Global War on Terror.

5) Midshipmen on assignment at the Air Force Academy use stealth to spy on the Falcons.

6) Check out retired Submariner Steve's new blog at Navy Blue Cougar.

7) And finally, from the "D'oh! Why didn't we think of that!" file, we see that the new generation of Submariners are a lot smarter than us old guys. Remember when changing out the anchor light involved a couple of EMs or IC-men in a rickety boat who were in real danger of falling into the harbor? As these Submariners on USS Newport News (SSN 750) show, there's actually an easier way of performing that PM:

Another picture of the evolution can be found here. And if anyone out there knows that we've actually been doing it that way for a long time, I'll feel really bad for the Submariners on my old boats.

Update 1258 04 Oct: Oh, I almost forgot...

8) The last DSRV has been replaced; we now have the SRDRS and SRCFS.

Haiku Live-Blogging The VP Debate

Lots of other bloggers will be live-blogging tonight's Vice Presidential Debate (including Boise's own Kevin Richert), and Fred Fry is even thinking about drunk-blogging it, but only here at TSSBP will you see Interweb history being made: the first ever live-blogging of a Vice Presidential Debate conducted entirely by haiku (seasonal reference-optional division). Here's an example of what you'll see exclusively at The Stupid Shall Be Punished if you come back after 1900 MDT:

"Senator Biden
Will win unless he teabags
Governor Palin"

(The particular circumstances of this debate -- having both participants with honorific plus last name being exactly five syllables, as indicated above -- makes this an easier event to haiku live-blog than most. Still, since this is the first time it's being done in the history of the universe, I don't mind having a lower degree of difficulty.)

I'll see you back here at 7 p.m. MDT.

Update 02 Oct 1858:
"Palin and Biden
Standing on a new red stage
Not kissing in tree."


1904:
"Senator Biden:
Bush econ worse than Hoover!
Hyperbole reigns."

1908:
"Biden's plan is clear
Attack McCain, not Palin
Not sure it will work."

1911:
"Senator Palin:
'Darn right!' She's very folksy.
Advantage, Palin."

1914:
"Biden whines to Gwen.
He has facts, but sounds whiny;
Talk to the people!"

1918:
"Governor Palin:
'Taxes not Patriotic!'
Is tax evasion?"

1922:
"The Bridge To Nowhere!
Biden mentions it before
Palin gets a chance."

1923:
"Senator Biden:
Calls some unpatriotic
Seems Dems do that more."

1928:
"Domestic questions
getting really boring, Gwen
On to better stuff!"

1930:
"Hey, did you notice?
Governor Palin sure does
Look like Tina Fey"

1931:
"Governor Palin:
Admits climate change real
Just not human-caused."

1936:
"On to better stuff:
Gay civil union rights, wow...
Palin is mainstream!"

1939:
"On to Iraq surge;
Palin somehow makes 'surge' have
many syllables."

1943:
"Re: Gwen Ifill book --
Now can't ask 'gotcha' question
Advantage: Palin"

1947:
"Senator Biden:
McCain voted against troops. (?)
Not believable."

1953:
"Senator Biden:
'Country north of Israel'...
Can't name Lebanon?"

1956:
"Governor Palin:
'Nuclear Weaponry' bad.
Never used phrase before."

2000:
"Palin has name gaffe:
'McClellan' vice 'McKiernan'
Biden whiffs on call."

2007:
"Gwen: 'Heartbeat away'...
Biden mentions Bush Doctrine.
What will Palin say?"

2012:
" 'Say it ain't so, Joe',
'Gosh darn it'; folksy meter
Pegs high for Palin."

2014:
"Governor Palin:
Now knows what a VP does --
Gets Senate gavel!"

2017:
"Biden: Cheney most
Dangerous VP ever!
But Burr treasonous."

2021:
"Biden chokes up, but
recovers with dignity
His "snowflake" moment?"

2025:
"Final question now;
Whose closing statement will have
Memorable quote?"

2030:
"Governor Palin:
Always proud American!
Quotes Reagan, good call."

2032:
"Senator Biden:
When knocked down, get up, thanks God;
No knockout blow lands."

2033:
"Final impressions --
Palin beats expectations,
Which were very low."

Update 2136 02 Oct: Getting away from the haiku form, here are some conclusions I reached about tonight's debate. While Governor Palin definitely exceeded expectations that had been about as low as anything I've ever seen, we really won't know until next week who "won" the debate. The people who really decide -- the American people -- won't really come up with a consensus until they talk about it at work tomorrow, and then talk about what SNL said about it when they get back to work on Monday. Gwen Ifill, because of the flap over her "pro-Obama" book that's coming out, wasn't able to ask any "gotcha" questions of Gov. Palin, and the controversy may have kept her from asking questions like "Do you support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage" that would have differentiated Gov. Palin and Sen. Biden on that issue.

Here's an analogy I've been using regarding Sen. McCain's pick of Gov. Palin for the VP slot -- it involves poker. Sen. McCain is an experienced politician, and he knew he was on his way to losing the election as we approached the convention. He knew he needed a pick who would "stir things up"; who would bring the conservative wing of the GOP back home and get the public's attention. Gov. Palin was really the only choice who fit that bill. Sen. McCain assumed that, as someone who won election as Governor, that she'd be a quick study in learning what she needed to answer questions from the national media. It's like Sen McCain was sitting at the poker table with the short stack, and went all in with an inside straight draw. He got no help on the turn (the first media interviews) and tonight was the river card. Maybe he didn't get the card he needed, but he certainly paired his high card; whether or not that is enough to win the hand remains to be seen. My guess is that it's not, and in 33 days people will be voting for the top of the ticket, like they always have, and Sen. Obama will win that one. Still, it was worth a try for Sen. McCain, and Gov. Palin did about the best she could tonight.

Submarine Hall Of Fame

Having never been to Submarine Learning Facility Norfolk (and having only pulled into Norfolk once, for two days), I never knew there was a "U.S. Navy Submarine Hall of Fame". Apparently, though, there is, as this post over at Rontini's Submarine BBS attests:

When a ship is inducted a shadow box is created and displayed in Alcorn Auditorium with a one page history below it. This Auditorium is at the Submarine Learning Facility Norfolk Virginia and is in continually use by today's submarine crews so that they can see a visual display of their heritage. The past inductees have been the following:

USS Norfolk: First Navy Ship to have all Tomahawks land on target

USS Narwhal: 25 years of special operations

USS Nautilus: First Nuclear Submarine

USS Irex: First Fleet Snorkel Submarine

USS Triton: First to circumnavigate the world submerged

USS Grenadier: Forcing a Soviet Zulu to the surface and proving the USSR was conducting deterrent patrols

USS Albacore: First in modern hydro-dynamic design

USS Skate: First to surface at the Geographic Pole

USS Growler: First in Regulus program

USS Parche: Super Secret Squirrel Sub and Most decorated ship in the Navy

It is that time again to nominate another submarine. The criteria for this award is a submarine that made engineering or tactical advances post WWII...

The post goes on to say that nominations for this year's inductee are due by October 17th, and has the E-mail address for Paul Rice of USSVI, who's coordinating the whole shebang.

So which boat not on the list above do you think should be inducted? Should it be USS Connecticut (SSN 22), who set an Alpha Trials speed record (under the expert supervision of her plank-owning Engineer, who spent the middle half of the full-power submerged run in his rack) that will stand for as long as they're still making Virginia-class boats? Should it be your old boat, who became the first submarine in history to make a nuclear repair using EB Green, curable resin, and the DCA's skivvies? Make your nominations (humorous or otherwise) in the comments.

Who Created the Subprime Credit Crisis?

Over-leveraged banks are at the core of the problem.

But why did they make so many loans to people who couldn't afford them?

Simple greed?

Or were class- and race-based politics involved?

See this well-documented revealing video!



The villains are Democrats Chris Dodd, Barack Obama, and Barney Frank, using the government-sponsored agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to direct patronage in the form of govt-backed mortgages to their non-credit-worthy constituents.

Banks that balked were threatened with lawsuits for being racist, by lawyers like Barack Obama...

Who (along with other dirty Congressmen, mostly Democrats) then received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from those government agencies...

And who then turned around and employed the same corrupt officers of those institutions in their campaigns!

John McCain and President Bush tried to reform the agencies at various times but were rebuffed...

And the Democrats have the gall to accuse the Republicans of causing the crisis!

See the video.

The highest receivers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac political contributions, directly, are:
1. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), $165,000
2. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), $126,000
3. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), $111,000

How does a junior Senator like Obama get so much money, even more than Kerry? Talk about machine politics!

John McCain received a whopping $862 from Fannie Mae between 1989 and 2008, according to the video.

Bottom line, the housing bubble and subsequent subprime loan crisis was pumped up not by poorly-regulated markets or by "failed economic policies of the Bush administration", but by Democrat political meddling and shenanigans.

Find out more at the video creator's homesite.

Iraq Now A Success

Well what do you know, the public is now seeing the Iraq War as a success!

For the first time since Rasmussen Reports began polling on the issue, a plurality of voters in September say the U.S. mission in Iraq will be viewed as a success in the long term.

In a national telephone survey Monday night, 41% said history will rate the war in Iraq a success versus 39% who said it will be seen as a failure, with 20% undecided (see crosstabs). These findings echo those of the previous two weeks (see trends).

By contrast, in August of last year, 57% believed history would judge the U.S. mission in Iraq a failure, and only 29% disagreed.

Similarly, 46% say the United States is safer today than before the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, but 34% disagree.

Funny how this breaks down:

The partisan gap on these questions is enormous. Seventy-three percent (73%) of Republicans say the U.S. mission in Iraq will be viewed as a success in the long-term, but only 16% of Democrats agree. Unaffiliated voters are evenly divided.

Seventy-six percent (76%) of Republicans say the situation in Iraq will get better in the next six months versus 23% of Democrats. Just over half of unaffiliated voters (51%) think the situation will improve.

Eighty percent (80%) of Republicans say the United States and its allies are winning the war on terror, but only 36% of Democrats agree, as do 52% of unaffiliateds.

Democrats: invested in failure.

Even if one dismisses the Republican optimism (and the reality on the ground), the stark difference between the Democrat pessimism and the evenly-divided stance of the unaffiliated voter (with apparently no political ax to grind) is revealing.