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   ROGUE USMC

   On April 29th Kathy and I packed our bike and started to head out to Leesburg Bikefest and as soon as I started the bike we had black smoke pouring out from beneath the bike. Turns out that the brake light switch had burnt up and melted the wires. Also poured all the brake fluid out so we had no rear brakes. We had to call our brother Nuckles whom we were supposed to ride up with and tell him to start to Leesburg on his own. We were needless to say very disappointed. Took the bike over to Palm Beach Harley-Davidson to see if they could get it fixed in time for us to make the trip. Two hours later we had the bike back and was packing it up. So we headed out to Leesburg.

 

   Even though our trip to Leesburg this past weekend got started off to a rocky start, it turned out to be an outstanding weekend with the most awesome people you could asked for. Marc , Mike and Kathy and I had a riot all weekend. Between the time at Marc's house to being at Leesburg and all the riding we did and then add to that all the jokes and bull that was going on we just couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Marc and Mike kept us in stitches all weekend. All in all we were just happy to be there with our brothers.

 

   We even got some shooting in. Kathy carried her pistol for the first time and she finally got to fire it. I was proud of her as she did pretty good. Kathy had a lot of fun burnin up ammo at Marc's. Now she wants to go to the range so she can practice more. She also got to fire an AR which she was a little hesitate at first to fire an AR but after the first round she had no problems with it.

 

   We logged 604 miles from Friday evening to Sunday night. Not a bad weekend of riding. We rode back with Nuckles and bucked 20 mph winds all the way back to West Palm. Killed our gas mileage but it made it interesting. Kathy and I want to thank our brother Marc allowing us to stay at his slice of heaven in the country and for all his hospitality over the weekend.

 

   Sunday May 7th Kathy and I had an outstanding ride to and from Florida's 30th Annual Vietnam Veterans and All Veterans Reunion up at Wickham Park, Melbourne, Florida. Was a beautiful day for this ride. We were by ourselves this year but that's not a problem. It seems the past years we went up on a Saturday and the crowds were much larger but because it was Sunday this time there was still many people there but not as packed as on a Saturday.

 

   I find it hard to believe that it has been 40 plus years since the Vietnam War ended and 50 years since I first sat foot in Nam. I was watching all the vets and looking at how old we have gotten even though at times it seems like yesterday.

 

   If you've never heard of or attended Florida's Annual Vietnam Veterans and All Veterans Reunion then you should. It happens every year at Wickham Park, Melbourne, Florida during April or May. This is a National 5 or 6 day event, Vets from all over the country come to attend this event.

 

   May 21st Kathy and I had an awesome time at the Nam Knights MC's 19th Annual Rock N' Roll Sunday. Got to see lots of brothers and sisters, many hot bikes, vintage cars and trucks, have some great food and listened to some down home Southern Rock by Blackfoot. They were outstanding. If you didn't go, then you missed out. Thanks to the Nam Knights MC for a great Sunday afternoon.

 

   Till next time be safe out there.

    "If it weren't for flashbacks, I'd have no memories at all."

   Ride Free Ride Safe, Rogue USMC

 

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GOOD COOKING BY DEE

Mac Salad
 

1 pound elbow macaroni or other small pasta, 1-1/2 cups mayonnaise, 1/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons white vinegar, Salt and freshly ground pepper, 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, 8 ounces ham, diced 4 hard-boiled eggs, 6 slices bacon fried and crumbled, 5 stalks celery, sliced 1 cup chopped broccoli, 1 red pepper, seeded and diced, 4 scallions, sliced

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender, about 10 min Drain well and rinse with cold water. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside. Pour pasta into a large bowl. Add cheese, ham, bacon, eggs, celery, broccoli, pepper, and scallions. Stir to combine. Add most of the salad dressing and toss until evenly coated, reserving a small amount to refresh the salad if it needed. Can be assembled the night before. Just toss everything together in a large bowl right before serving. Dee

 

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Conservative commentary by Chuck Lehmann (photo by Mort Kuff)

 

Liberals and the Demise of Cities

   Look around the United States at the various “loser” cities and notice they mostly all have one thing in common  -  they are run by Democrats (liberals).  Yes, that is a damning blanket statement, but let's look at the facts. Go down the list, Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, New York City, New Orleans, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Oakland, San Francisco etc., etc.  They are all run by Democrat (liberals) politicians who pander to the mostly minority poor, ethnic constituencies that make up the majority of its citizens.

 

   Take the City of Chicago (as comic Henny Youngman used to say, “Please”), it has one of the strictest gun control laws in the country, but it has one of the highest murder rates in the country.  Most of the schools are under performing and the financial condition of the city is in dire straits.  Who runs the city   - the Democrats (liberals) under the direction of former Obama aide, Rahm Emanuel (a liberal).

 

   Another city basket case is the City of Detroit.  Once one of the wealthiest cities in America, it is now in bankruptcy and it has lost over half its population over the past few years.  Many of its former mayors have been convicted of corruption and some are presently in jail.  What political affiliation did these former mayor's have  -  they were all Democrats (liberals).

 

   Just recently, we've seen the the chaos and lawlessness raise its ugly head in the City of Baltimore.  The city is mostly minority in population and the political machine is made up of mostly black (liberal) politicians, and they have a police chief who is also black. They have screwed up the handling of the latest riots and unrest that caused a good part of the city to have gone up in flames and had encouraged criminal looting of businesses which took place on a widespread basis.  The Democrat-run (liberal) city has double the poverty rate and unemployment rate as the rest of Maryland and the schools are performing at very low achievement rate.  Could there be a correlation with these facts and the Democrat (liberal) control of the City of Baltimore?

 

   Another disaster area of the country, New York City, has an ultra-liberal Mayor, Bill DeBlasio, who has dropped many of the reforms instituted by former Mayors Guiliani and Bloomberg, which made the city a vibrant place to visit or to do business with.  The crime rate has gone up 20% since he took office and his economic policies have scared many residents and businesses away to other more tax friendly places of the country.  With a friend like DeBlasio, New York City doesn't need anymore enemies.  By the way, he is a Democrat.

 

   The one thing all these cities seem to have in common, besides being run by Democrats (liberals), is that the governing officials of these cities always seem to blame others for their failures instead of blaming their liberal policies which they have instituted.  It's always somebody else's fault, not their liberal policies (I guess they have taken a page out of the Obama and Hillary playbook).

 

   Besides the fiscal malfeasance, many of these Democrat-run cities have amnesty policies that welcome “illegal immigrants” into their cities (Sanctuary Cities) by promising not to to turn them over to the I.N.S. for violating our immigration laws.  These cities, trying to be benevolent and inclusive, have caused major problems within their cities by increasing the unemployment rate of long-time residents and by lowering the standard of living for many of its residents.  But, the people still continue to elect the Democrat (liberal) politicians over and over again.  They seem to validate Einstein's definition of insanity which was  - “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.  One ploy the Democrats (liberals) find effective in getting enough votes to get elected and re-elected is by offering the people “freebies” from the public treasury, which in turn has put many of these cities in or near bankruptcy.

 

   So, these distressing facts about these floundering cities is only scratching the surface of the failed Democrat (liberal) policies which seem to mirror the failed economic and social policies of Marxism/Socialism.

 

   I, therefore declare, that things will not change unless the people, in those cities revolt and throw out of office the miscreants that have engineered the demise of their cities  - those miscreants are the Democrats (liberals).  Case closed! Conservative commentary by Chuck Lehmann

 

CLICK THIS LINE TO GO TO CHUCKS BLOG WEBSITE FOR A LOT MORE OF WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

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   AXMAN    

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