August 2010 - Argghhh!

Tighten the turnbuckles on your monitors in anticipation of John's obligatory Paroxysm of Surprise at yrs trly showing up thrice in a single week.Ready?No, there are no cat hairs, and yes, it *is* in Iraq -- do I give you guys context, or what?Geez, I'm even a bigger squish than John is when it comes to passing out clues......

We are all well acquainted with that windbag that embodies the current Majority Leader in the House of Representatives: Steny Hoyer...

First up - Congress passes a law, screws troops to the wall. Of course, since it involves tobacco, many of them will just be pleased with this unintentional [one hopes] result. Of course, it was "for the children." It always is. The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 quietly took effect June 29. It cut off those care packages by effectively requiring that tobacco be sent with one particular kind of U.S. Postal Service shipping that requires a signature for delivery but does not...

BRAB and Annabelle , pointed to me this morning to a simple show of gratitude. A show of gratitude now forgotten by the current occupants of THIS public housing. The Caption, Published by DFW USO's Facebook page reads: This morning at DFW Airport, George and Laura Bush greeted 150 (very surprised) troops as they arrived home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Their expressions were so priceless! No matter how the temporary tenants of The White House think of you, do not forget that we your grateful citizens...

I regularly visit the pages of Oleg Volk ...

Boq

Because I couldn't possibly give you another clue without *everybody* getting it.So, here it is, and, quite obviously -- it's an aerostat.Yup -- we have a gasbag with a sensor suite riding herd on the bad guys. Not a dirigible, 'cuz it doesn't have a rigid internal structure, and not a blimp, 'cuz it's tethered, rather than powered. For an idea of how big it is, that darker line with the teensy-weensy ladder on the north end is the work platform, and somebody six-foot-six...