- Helobubbas - mcs13.brattland.org

Re: The Seditious Six
by Harold Brattland 11 Dec '25

11 Dec '25

What is your assurance that any of those old procedures are being followed beyond a few lower military? The prez doesn't read or pay attention to any thing beyond one page with two lines and a picture graphic. The underling aren't forced to do regular business, just Dogie'-style. If you point to laws or conventions or regs, you are pushed aside and replaces. Congress can get no answers in depth, if they even want to. Guess we all will have to meet at the Supreme Ct someday and beg for retired pay. On 12/11/2025 12:51, Marc Liebman wrote: > > So, having been either a participant in a seizure, or an observer in > the chain of command (in a command center) or the tasker of said > operation in the name of my boss, assuming they are following the way > we have done this in the past, here’s what happens: > > 1. A presidential finding, law, policy directive, or all of the above > is issued which is vetted by enough attorneys to fill a medium > sized law firm from DOD and DOJ authorizing action. In this case > there are many and this leads to tasking. > 2. We get intel that the boat is going to be full of drugs and it is > coming to the U.S. More likely the source is a human or COMINT but > in the case of a merchant ship or tanker it could be a > report/document in which the ship owner has filed that has > fraudulent information, i.e., inaccurate manifest, certification > that the ship has passed an environmental or material inspection, > invalid insurance, crew certifications that ar out of date or > non-existent, and the list goes on. I suspect the boats coming > from Venezuela or Columbia would not pass a U.S. Coast Guard > inspection, are not insured, and the crews have never taken a USCG > course. > 3. A asset with a camera – satellite, airplane, drone, helo, man in a > light airplane – is dispatched to take high resolution photos > 4. The target is then given a TOI – target of interest number > 5. More electronic and photographic intelligence is collected BEFORE > the boat leaves confirming or changing what we know > 6. The boat is tracked and at some point in, the execute order is > given after one last review by a law enforcement officer or a > DOD/DOJ attorney. > > FYI, on every one of these I have been involved in, there were as many > DOD/DOJ lawyers involved than Navy or CG personnel. And everyone of > them could stop the evolution. > > The Democrats and the press need to stop misleading the public. We’ve > done this type of operation for decades, you can even go back to WWI > to find examples. It IS LAWFUL and we are within our rights. > > Marc Liebman > > https://www.marcliebman.com <https://www.marcliebman.com> > > https://www.facebook.com/marcliebmanauthor/ > <https://www.facebook.com/marcliebmanauthor/> > > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_sDoFQM5wupNaCeGIvKL1g > <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_sDoFQM5wupNaCeGIvKL1g> > > *From: *"ahaefner(a)aol.com" <ahaefner(a)aol.com> > *Reply-To: *"ahaefner(a)aol.com" <ahaefner(a)aol.com> > *Date: *Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 10:11 PM > *To: *"lowderjf(a)gmail.com" <lowderjf(a)gmail.com>, > "habrattland(a)arvig.net" <habrattland(a)arvig.net> > *Cc: *"rcamero1(a)gmail.com" <rcamero1(a)gmail.com>, > "helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com" <helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com> > *Subject: *[Helobubbas] Re: The Seditious Six > > "Is it legal to use force?" s always an issue. Please correct me if > I'm wrong, our reason for using force was sold as finding WMDs and in > hindsight...no WMDs. After 20 boat attacks have we found any drugs? > W/r, AL ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ > > "Is it legal to use force?" s always an issue. > > Please correct me if I'm wrong, our reason for using force was sold as > finding WMDs and in hindsight...no WMDs. After 20 boat attacks have we > found any drugs? > > W/r, AL > > > In a message dated 12/10/2025 7:24:15 PM Pacific Standard Time, > lowderjf(a)gmail.com writes: > > What a pleasant fiction! The last time Congress passed a > declaration of war was 8 December 1941, after Japan bombed Pearl > Harbor, followed in 1941-42 by declarations against Germany, > Italy, Romania and Bulgaria. As far as I know, WWII was one of > only five declared wars in the history of the United States, > including the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American > War, and World War I. Neither Korea nor Vietnam were declared to > be "wars." Truman called the Korean War a "police action." > > Despite the dozens of "police action" instances of Presidential > use of deadly military force since passage of the War Powers > Resolution in 1986, including six major UNAUTHORIZED combat > interventions (Panama/Bush, Somalia/Bush-Clinton, Bosnia/Clinton, > Haiti/Clinton, Bosnia/Clinton, Kosovo/Clinton, Libya/Obama), only > three have have received Congressional authorization for the use > of military force (AUMF): Persian Gulf (1991), Afghanistan (2001) > and Iraq (2002). > > Actually, Harold, I share your sensibilities: My preference was > and is that Congress pass an AUMF to support presidential > interventions, or pass a resolution condemning them, but that is > not the world we live in. The fact is that Trump's use of force in > the Caribbean is remarkably unremarkable in that it is relatively > modest and not unique by comparison to Presidential precedent. > Unless and until he sends combat troops into Venezuela, at which > time I will hope for an AUMF, I believe it to be perfectly legal > and it bothers me not one whit. > > In my view, it is about time that someone besides Enrique Camarena > took the war on the cartels seriously, and I applaud the President > for finally taking prudent and effective action. I would bet my > life that those plastic drums in the cigarette boat that I saw get > blown up on the video in international waters were filled with > illegal drugs of the kind that has destroyed the lives of many of > my family members. The only thing I might have done differently > regarding the second strike would be to use the wreckage as bait > to lure another drug boat to the rescue and into my sights... > > On Wed, Dec 10, 2025 at 6:25 PM Harold Brattland > <habrattland(a)arvig.net> wrote: > > We always hope when going into a "war," we have support of an > Act of Congress properly passed proving authority, funding, > and limitations.. In case of current operations, called a > war by some, there is scant authority provided only by a legal > write up by OLC. It is classified so public can't know the > extent or basis for actions. Congressman on Intel cmte could > see it but can't characterize it, only to imply it is > questionable authority. Again, its quite basic that war > operations in a new place requires Congressional Act. > Apparently, some don't know that. Pity too, its a Coast > Guard policing mission and they have been doing it effectively. > > On 12/8/2025 14:22, Robert Cameron wrote: > > Thanks for asking - confused me, too. > > On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 1:44 PM James Lowder > <lowderjf(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > No disrespect, but what is your point, Harold? I am > seeking to understand. > > On Fri, Dec 5, 2025 at 2:12 PM Harold Brattland > <habrattland(a)arvig.net> wrote: > > While yucking it up about lawyers and congressmen, > don't forget the non-military counsel in Office of > Legal Council DOJ that wrote the classified > opinion providing the basis (legal basis???) for > combat ops in Caribbean, since no action requested > of Congress. Stupid is ignoring the > Constitution, thinking no one will notice. > h > > On 12/4/2025 15:22, Marc Liebman wrote: > > You can’t fix stupid. > > Marc Liebman > > https://www.marcliebman.com > <https://www.marcliebman.com> > > https://www.facebook.com/marcliebmanauthor/ > <https://www.facebook.com/marcliebmanauthor/> > > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_sDoFQM5wupNaCeGIvKL1g > <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_sDoFQM5wupNaCeGIvKL1g> > > *From: *Mike Brattland > <mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com> > <mailto:mgbrattland@gerlecreek.com> > *Date: *Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 10:28 AM > *To: *'Brian Miller' > <brianjmiller1977(a)gmail.com> > <mailto:brianjmiller1977@gmail.com> > *Cc: *'HeloBubbas' <helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com> > <mailto:helobubbas@helobubbas.com> > *Subject: *[Helobubbas] Re: The Seditious Six > > I enjoy hearing from actual lawyers. These > morons are so isolated from reality that they > thought they were attacking Trump instead of > the reality that they undermining the lawful > chain of command. That makes them stupid, but > not criminal. It hasn’t gone over well in the > veteran spaces I follow and the fact that > space boi is parading himself around like a > victim of his own idiocyinstead of taking > ownership of his attack on good order snd > discipline on the deck plates hasn’t helped > his case. > > What a great, original and accurate > description for the Senator from Arizona > Brian! mgb > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Helobubbas mailing list --helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com > > To unsubscribe send an email tohelobubbas-leave(a)helobubbas.com > > -- > > *Harold & Elaine Brattland* > > 609 Granger Rd, Detroit Lakes MN 56501-4112 > > Home Phone 218.846.1283, > > _habrattland(a)Arvig.net_| embrattland(a)Arvig.net > <mailto:embrattland@Arvig.net> > > _______________________________________________ > Helobubbas mailing list -- helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com > To unsubscribe send an email to > helobubbas-leave(a)helobubbas.com > > -- > > Best regards, > > Jim > > _______________________________________________ > Helobubbas mailing list -- helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com > To unsubscribe send an email to > helobubbas-leave(a)helobubbas.com > > -- > > *Harold & Elaine Brattland* > > 609 Granger Rd, Detroit Lakes MN 56501-4112 > > Home Phone 218.846.1283, > > _habrattland(a)Arvig.net_| embrattland(a)Arvig.net > <mailto:embrattland@Arvig.net> > > -- > > Best regards, > > Jim > > _______________________________________________ > Helobubbas mailing list -- helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com > To unsubscribe send an email to helobubbas-leave(a)helobubbas.com > -- untitled Harold & Elaine Brattland //// <mailto:habrattland@Comcast.net>//609 Granger Rd, Detroit Lakes MN 56501-4112 Home Phone 218.846.1283, habrattland(a)Arvig.net | embrattland(a)Arvig.net <mailto:embrattland@Arvig.net>

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The Seditious Six
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 11 Dec '25

11 Dec '25

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2025/12/03/the_seditious_six_11508 20.html

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Crashed Navy Super Hornet And Seahawk Fished Out Of South China Sea
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 09 Dec '25

09 Dec '25

https://www.twz.com/news-features/crashed-navy-super-hornet-and-seahawk-fish ed-out-of-south-china-sea CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) <mailto:mgbrattland@gerlecreek.com> mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com <mailto:mgbrattland@brattland.org> mgbrattland(a)brattland.org Admin/Moderator SanDiegoCarGuys List & Calendar of Events <mailto:sandiegocarguys@brattland.org> sandiegocarguys(a)brattland.org 619 454-0496 '38 Willys 2 Dr Sedan Webmaster for <http://www.brattland.org/> www.brattland.org <http://www.overthehillgang.com/> www.overthehillgang.com <http://www.overdrivehotrodnews.com/> www.overdrivehotrodnews.com <http://www.gerlecreek.org/> www.gerlecreek.org <http://www.helobubbas.com/> www.helobubbas.com <http://www.prowlers.org/> www.prowlers.org <http://www.gerlecreek.com/> www.gerlecreek.com <http://www.ford6vcarburetion.com/> www.ford6vcarburetion.com <http://www.westcoastwillysclub.com/> www.westcoastwillysclub.com <http://www.nssha.org/> www.nssha.org <http://www.nhahistoricalsociety.org/> www.nhahistoricalsociety.org <https://sh60fhoas.nhahistoricalsociety.org/> https://sh60fhoas.nhahistoricalsociety.org/

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FW: Aviation Week :: MQ-25 First Flight Slips Into 2026
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 09 Dec '25

09 Dec '25

From: Harold Brattland <habrattland(a)arvig.net> Sent: Tuesday, December 9, 2025 9:07 AM Check out this site https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/mq-25-first-flight-sli… -- MQ-25 First Flight Slips Into 2026 Brian Everstine <https://aviationweek.com/author/brian-everstine> December 08, 2025 <https://aviationweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/20…> The Boeing MQ-25 T1 demonstrator during a 2022 test. Credit: U.S. Navy SIMI VALLEY, California—The much-anticipated first flight of the Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> MQ-25 Stingray for the U.S. Navy has been pushed to early 2026, a delay after both service and company leaders called for the flight by year’s end. The Navy in a statement said the MQ-25 team is making progress toward the first flight goal, though the timeline for the initial test has shifted. “Over the last several months, the team has completed MQ-25A Stingray structural testing on a static aircraft, conducted initial engine runs, completed its flight-certified software, and commanded the vehicle from the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System (UMCS),” the Navy said in a statement. The aircraft is in the final stages of ground testing ahead of taxi and then flight. “The team is finalizing systems testing and flight clearance, with the first flight planned once certification is complete and weather permits,” the Navy says. The delay comes after both the government shutdown and a strike at Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> ’s Mid-America Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, and St. Louis facilities. But neither the Navy nor Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> pinned the delay to either. Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> in a statement said flight-certified software is in place, the aircraft is receiving commands from the Lockheed Martin UMCS and the aircraft has completed engine runs. “Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> and the Navy are taking additional time to complete deliberate systems-level testing and review and approve the final airworthiness artifacts needed for a flight clearance. Once that’s complete and we have a suitable weather window, we will fly,” a Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> spokesperson says. The first flight will be of the first production-representative MQ-25 built for the Navy program. A previous test article has completed multiple flight tests. The Navy has said the MQ-25 is critical because it will be the trailblazer for uncrewed operations on carriers. Beginning in April, top Navy and Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> officials predicted the first flight would come by year’s end. Dan Gillian, Boeing <https://aviationweek.com/term/boeing> ’s vice president and general manager of air dominance, told Aviation Week in April that “the airplane, the system and the team are all saying this is going to happen this year.” Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commander of Naval Air Forces, told Aviation Week in August that “affirm, by the end of the year 2025” the flight would happen. “That is the thing that unlocks the key to the future for manned/unmanned teaming on the aircraft carrier,” he said. “It really provides a future for collaborative combat aircraft on the air wing of the future, which is a good mix, a healthy mix of manned and unmanned assets of different sizes and types.” <https://aviationweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/author_thumbnail/public…> Brian Everstine <https://aviationweek.com/author/brian-everstine> Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D

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Nimitz Return
by Michael G. Brattland 07 Dec '25

07 Dec '25

https://www.facebook.com/SanDiegoWebCam/videos/2253627471807686/?sfnsn=mo&m… Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S23 5G, an AT&T 5G smartphone

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Sedition
by Marc Liebman 07 Dec '25

07 Dec '25

Here’s another view that actually looks at the law, er, laws….. "Sedition is a Real Thing" - by Todd Chase Anyone pretending that Senator Mark Kelly and his group of coordinated senators did “nothing wrong” is either uninformed or deliberately misleading people. There is a massive difference between casually expressing an opinion about illegal orders and what actually happened here. These senators did not give their thoughts in a private interview, a newspaper column, or a CNN panel. They issued a coordinated political communication directed at the entire United States military. That distinction matters. In the military, intent and audience define the act. And when the audience is the armed forces, the legal framework changes instantly. One thing the loudest voices refuse to acknowledge is the basic foundation of military reality. They keep claiming that “nothing illegal happened” and that these senators simply told the military to follow the law. This is a dishonest representation of what they did. And when liberals jump into comment sections writing “I served in the military, I know how this works,” that claim is almost always false. Anyone who has actually served knows this for a fact. Chain of command is drilled into you from day one. It is not optional, it is not vague, and it is not symbolic. It is the backbone of all military structure. If someone claims you can undermine the chain of command without consequences, they are lying or never served a day in their life. Now here is the part talking heads desperately avoid. The laws that govern what you can and cannot say to the military are not the same as the First Amendment rules for civilians. When a group of federal officials, especially retired officers, address the military directly about how to act during a political transition, that becomes a legal issue. And while we cannot declare guilt ourselves, the laws that cover this type of conduct are not “right wing opinions.” They are literal black letter statutes. Here is the framework they pretend doesn’t exist. 18 U.S.C. 2385 This law prohibits advocating resistance against lawful authority. When you tell the military to question the authority of a President or suggest they should treat upcoming orders as suspect or illegitimate, you step directly into the territory this statute governs. Whether prosecutors pursue it is their call, but the statute applies. 18 U.S.C. 2384 Seditious conspiracy does not require violence. It includes any coordinated effort to hinder or delay the execution of federal law. A jointly signed message directed at the military regarding how to treat election outcomes can be interpreted as an attempt to influence the execution of authority. 18 U.S.C. 602 and 595 These laws forbid federal officeholders from influencing government employees during political conflict. The military counts as government employees. Coordinated political messaging toward the troops is categorically different from an op-ed or TV interview. DoD Directive 1344.10 The Department of Defense specifically forbids the use of military personnel as a political audience. You cannot aim partisan messaging at service members. It is a bright red line. UCMJ Article 88 Retired officers remain subject to recall. Contemptuous or politically loaded speech directed at the civilian leadership by a retired officer falls under this article. It has been enforced in the past and remains enforceable today. UCMJ Articles 94 and 133 Article 94 covers any conduct intended to cause unlawful refusal of duty or undermine lawful authority. Article 133 covers unbecoming conduct. These are not theoretical. They apply to retirees and have clear precedent. The talking heads continue to argue that these senators did nothing more than “remind the military to follow the law,” but that argument is dishonest. What happened was not a general reminder of duty. It was a coordinated, politically timed message targeting the entire military chain of command during a contested political struggle. That is not protected in the same way a private opinion is. The military cannot be influenced, directed, or pressured by sitting senators regarding political transitions. Even the attempt is prohibited under long-standing law. The central point is this. When a powerful group of federal officials directs a coordinated message straight into the ranks of the armed forces during a political dispute, that is not harmless commentary. That enters the territory where multiple statutes exist for a reason, to prevent political actors from shaping military behavior. Anyone pretending otherwise is either lying, didn’t serve, or does not understand the structure that keeps the military neutral. The chain of command matters. The laws governing influence over the troops matter. And the coordinated nature of what was done is exactly why people are using terms like sedition. Whether charges come or not is up to prosecutors, but pretending there is “no possible crime” Marc Liebman https://www.marcliebman.com https://www.facebook.com/marcliebmanauthor/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_sDoFQM5wupNaCeGIvKL1g Author of: Cherubs 2 Raider of the Scottish Coast Big Mother 40 Carronade Render Harmless Death of a Lady Forgotten Last Battles Inner Look For a Few Francs Moscow Airlift Predators The Simushir Island Incident Fight We Shall Flight of the Pawnee Failure to Fire Insidious Dragon The Red Star of Death Member of: The Author’s Guild Military Writers Society of America Association of Texas Authors North American Snowsport Journalists Association --

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HSC-6-Screamin' Indians Homecoming | San Diego Web Cam
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 07 Dec '25

07 Dec '25

https://youtu.be/3uFlKcmHUek?si=3qZBJ7mat0FGuf-L

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In plain sight: The Pearl Harbor spy ----- HISTORY
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 07 Dec '25

07 Dec '25

From: andy.cain <andy.cain(a)comcast.net> Sent: Sunday, December 7, 2025 8:49 AM In plain sight: The Pearl Harbor spy Air Force Times By Brian Walsh Dec 7, 2025, 06:00 AM Aerial photograph from 2500 feet altitude, looking southward, showing the U.S. Fleet moored in the harbor on May 3, 1940. (Naval History and Heritage Command) Early one morning in fall 1941 Takeo Yoshikawa encoded a brusque telegram for the Japanese foreign ministry’s home office in Tokyo. In its entirety, the message read: “Details unclear.” It was an admission of failure, and Yoshikawa’s apparent testiness is easy to understand. The 27-year-old intelligence officer had spent much of the previous evening submerged in the shallows of Oahu’s Mamala sey, attempting to study submarine barriers at the entrance to Pearl Harbor, only to come away with nothing but a deep chill. His superiors in Japan had ordered him to get information on the barriers’ dimensions, formidability, and operation. Lacking any other source for the information and unable to view the underwater apparatus from afar, he decided to make an exploratory dive. To look like a local, or perhaps a Filipino laborer, he approached Ewa Beach shoeless, through a thick growth of elms. The undergrowth tore at his bare arms and the rocky, volcanic soil cut his feet. After dodging a Marine putting out his laundry, Yoshikawa made it to the water’s edge. In the encroaching evening, the water was smooth as glass. Any disturbance of the surface would be immediately apparent. Despite his misgivings and the sting of the saltwater on his fresh wounds, Yoshikawa entered the bay and swam toward the mouth of Pearl Harbor. When he got near, he spotted a sentry and took up position underwater, holding a large rock to keep from surfacing and breathing through a pipe, which he had rigged with a periscope and camouflaged its exposed end with driftwood twigs and leaves. Takeo Yoshikawa (Library of Congress) He knew there would be no way to explain his presence if he was caught, so he remained submerged as long as he could. The tropical waters, while perfect for a casual dip, were cold enough to leach the heat from his lean, unmoving body. In the growing darkness, the sentry became increasingly difficult to see; Yoshikawa’s mind began to wander. Eventually, he imagined that he could hear the sentry and heard him leave. When he finally surfaced, the sentry was gone — but his work was done: he had thwarted Yoshikawa’s reconnaissance attempt. Shivering, half drowned, and covered in scratches, the spy made his way back to the Japanese consulate in Honolulu in the dead of night, defeated. Or at least that was Yoshikawa’s story. It is impossible to know what really happened, and inadvisable to take Yoshikawa’s word for it. The former Imperial Japanese Navy ensign — then posing as a clerk at the consulate — was an unreliable narrator. Yoshikawa recalled his espionage exploits numerous times after the war — in two full-length memoirs (one published in 1963, the other in 1985), along with newspaper and magazine articles and in interviews with American and Japanese writers, reporters, and historians. At various times he recalled the same episodes differently, and in all of his accounts, pretends to personal qualities his actions clearly belie. Complicating matters further, although Yoshikawa died in 1993, a Japanese publisher dealing mainly in nationalist tracts, Mainichi Ones, issued a revised version of his memoir in 2015 that made Yoshikawa’s story more nationalistic and, superficially at least, more plausible. An account of the Mamala Bay excursion occurs in all Yoshikawa’s full-length memoirs, richly detailed and casting him in a heroic light while explaining away his inability to obtain information on Pearl Harbor’s submarine defenses — one his few failures during his mission. Some measure of skepticism is in order. Nonetheless it is possible, by combining what is known from American intelligence sources and Yoshikawa’s own recollections, to piece together a portrait of the man and his mission. The exercise is worth the effort, because Yoshikawa was indisputably effective as a spy. His activities made a direct contribution to the Japanese victory at Pearl Harbor. Yoshikawa had aspired to be a naval aviator, but a debilitating stomach ailment sidelined him during training. In 1936 at age 22, fearing his career was over before it started, he gratefully accepted an offer to enter the Japanese Imperial Navy’s intelligence section. He immersed himself in the study of English and read anything he could on the U.S. Navy, its warships, its bases, and its strategies and tactics. He took particular pride in his mastery of works by American naval theorist and sea power advocate Alfred Thayer Mahan, later boasting, “I can still quote much of Mahan from those days.” In 1940 the Imperial Navy charged him with his fateful mission to Pearl Harbor, which he called “a half-year of furtive existence in the twilight world of the spy in which all men are enemies and fear walks always beside one.” First, however, they seconded him to the foreign ministry, where he was to grow his hair out and learn the arts of diplomacy to establish his cover. The following year they sent him under official cover — as a diplomat named Tadashi Morimura — to the spacious consulate general in a quiet Honolulu neighborhood. There only the consul general, Nagao Kita, knew of Yoshikawa’s true mission. Yoshikawa collected information anywhere he could find it. He scoured newspapers and community bulletins for scraps of useful facts. He chatted up servicemen and bought them drinks. On the pretense of taking casual strolls, he reconnoitered around military bases and Oahu’s major beaches, exploring them for possible landing sites. He gathered intelligence on the depth of Kaneohe Bay and natural obstacles in the harbor by the simple expedient of taking a glass-bottomed boat tour. He repeatedly observed the island from the air in sightseeing trips, taking pains to bring along a different woman each time to give the impression that he was little more than a playboy with a successful MO and limited imagination. He established observation posts in secluded sugarcane fields, and in or near the establishments of friendly Japanese immigrants — the Nikkei. The information he collected gave attacking Japanese pilots an excellent idea of what they were up against. Detailed documents recovered from downed enemy aircraft led investigators to conclude that Japan had spies on Oahu, including “persons having no open relations with the Japanese foreign service.” Their report made many Americans imagine a far more extensive spy network than had ever existed, and ultimately contributed to the paranoia that led to the internment of more than 120,000 Japanese and Japanese American residents from the West Coast of the continental U.S. (although, ironically, sparing those in Hawaii). In his postwar writings, Yoshikawa consistently took pains to absolve the Nikkei, and especially the Nisei—the American-born offspring of Japanese immigrants—of rendering him assistance. “Hawaii’s Nisei shared a deep sense of belonging to the United States,” he wrote with apparent chagrin; when entreated to do something for Japan, “They would refuse me with the line, ‘I am an American.’” However, it is indisputable that without the aid—witting or otherwise—of some Hawaiian Nikkei, Yoshikawa would not have been nearly as successful. One who helped him was Taneyo Fujiwara, the proprietress of a Japanese teahouse, Shinchōrō, which commanded an excellent view of Pearl Harbor and was equipped with a substantial telescope. Yoshikawa used the telescope extensively, and often—after feigning drunkenness—spent the night unsupervised in the room where it was kept. (Interested readers can see the instrument at Shinchōrō’s successor establishment, Natsunoya Tea House, run by Laurence Fujiwara, Taneyo’s grandson.) Another Nikkei who assisted him was John Mikami, a taxi driver the consular staff often employed. Yoshikawa befriended and hired Mikami for frequent sightseeing trips. Though Yoshikawa never informed Mikami of his mission, the cabby seemed to have divined the purpose of Yoshikawa’s excursions and went out of his way to point out details of military significance or show Yoshikawa vantage points for observing Oahu’s military installations. Once Mikami took the spy to Schofield Barracks, command headquarters for the U.S. Army in Hawaii and home of the 25th Infantry Division. They somehow got onto the grounds and Mikami showed Yoshikawa around before heading for the exit, where he casually told the guard he had been attempting to take his fare to a tourist destination. The guard waved them on, despite the fact that Schofield is in the interior of the island far from any tourist attractions. At least one person offered Yoshikawa knowing aid — German spy Bernard Julius Otto Kühn, whom German military intelligence had dispatched to assist the Japanese — but Yoshikawa resisted it. Under Yoshikawa’s protests Nagao Kita had ordered him to meet with Kühn and pay him on multiple occasions. Brushes with American authorities and his frequent presence near sensitive facilities notwithstanding, Yoshikawa was careful to stay on the right side of the law, or as close to it as he possibly could. “Espionage essentially is at bottom an unromantic exercise in research methodology,” he said. “It is all there if you will only take the trouble to dig for it.” He dug relentlessly — but cautiously and patiently as well. He never raised the suspicions of American authorities. They never even learned his real name. The only prewar mention of Yoshikawa in military intelligence files is a routine record about his visa status under his alias. Robert L. Shivers, the FBI’s man in Honolulu from August 1939 until April 1943, cultivated extensive contacts in Japan’s Nikkei community. But in his memoirs he admits that he never suspected Yoshikawa. Yoshikawa maintained that he had no foreknowledge of the timing of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and it is likely he did not know anything concrete. The raid’s naval planners were stingy with information; even Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō did not learn the details until after the fleet had sortied. Nevertheless, Yoshikawa certainly suspected an attack was imminent. In the first week of December he burned the notes, clippings, and photographs he had used to compile his reports. On December 6, Yoshikawa settled outstanding debts and treated Mikami to dinner at Shinchōrō. But some sensitive materials remained in the consulate’s locked code room. After the attack he had to await the arrival of the consulate’s cipher clerk, who had the only keys. American authorities turned up before he could burn all the evidence and caught him with a detailed, if only half-finished, hand-drawn map of Pearl Harbor. Yoshikawa’s luck had run out. Printed in Japan, a map recovered from a midget sub appears derived from an English-language version; handwritten notes likely reflect information Yoshikawa provided just before the attack. (National Archives) In the immediate aftermath of the attack, American authorities confined the consular personnel to the compound grounds, and quickly arrested Kühn, whose extravagant spending habits had caught their attention. The German spy provided the Americans with a description of his Japanese paymaster; the Americans suspected Yoshikawa was the man. Still, considering the magnitude of the disaster they had suffered and that authorities were even then preparing to round up innocent Nikkei from the West Coast, they went remarkably easy on Yoshikawa. Authorities eventually interned the consular staff in a comfortable — if remote — ranch in Arizona. Given the situation, their captors afforded them every courtesy; Yoshikawa and his colleagues could play tennis, use the sauna, get cocktails, and — if not for the uncertainty of the future — generally enjoy the good life. Yoshikawa found himself wondering if Americans interned in Japan would receive such treatment. In spring 1942 (Yoshikawa believed it was May), the inevitable finally came to pass. An investigator came to question the consular staff. It soon became clear that Yoshikawa was his focus. Through four days of interrogation the spy maintained his innocence. Even when confronted with the map, he did not relent, claiming he had drawn it for the purpose of sightseeing. After the fourth day, Kita came to see him. Based on the investigator’s line of questioning and on Yoshikawa’s suspicious activities at the consulate, the rest of the consulate staff had concluded that he was a spy, that the Americans knew it, and that as long as he denied it they were in jeopardy. They prevailed upon Kita to ask Yoshikawa to turn himself in. Shocked, Yoshikawa said he would think about it. But Yoshikawa had no intention of falling on his sword. “My duty ended when the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor,” he explained. “After that it was out of my hands. I was in no hurry to die a dog’s death in some ridiculous exhibition of a spirit of self-sacrifice.” This was not in line with his training. The Imperial Japanese Naval Academy had placed a premium on developing an ethic of self-sacrifice in its students — of perseverance until death. Yoshikawa instinctively recoiled from this. Despite his efforts to internalize self-denial through Buddhist meditation, he remained, in his own words, “afraid to die.” Yoshikawa’s resistance to indoctrination, groupthink, and the romanticization of sacrifice would later cost him his position in the navy. In the short term, however, his sense of self-preservation paid off. The next day, the interrogator told Yoshikawa that he and his colleagues were free to go. The American had had only a week to crack the case and had failed. The diplomatic corps of the United States, Japan, and Sweden had worked out an exchange of personnel; Yoshikawa and his colleagues were taken to New York in preparation for departure to Japan. The suspicions around the spy were strong enough, however, that the authorities sought to hold Yoshikawa, and only Yoshikawa, back. The head of the Japanese diplomatic mission to the United States, Admiral Kichisaburō Nomura, maintained that the full mission would return or no one would, scuttling the exchange. The Americans relented and allowed Yoshikawa to join his colleagues. He was the last to board the ship before it cast off. At the neutral Portuguese port of Lourenço Marques in southeast Africa (present-day Maputo, Mozambique), the Japanese crossed paths with the former American mission to Japan. Yoshikawa noted that the Americans were disheveled, their bags of poor quality, and their appearances haggard. Rather than inspiring him to reflect on his own good treatment as a prisoner, the sight convinced him all the more of the necessity of struggling against the United States — which had so much power and wealth, his reasoning went, it could afford to squander it on captives. Insight of this sort coupled with moral myopia was characteristic of Yoshikawa. While he could discern injustice and evil, it rarely truly exercised him unless it applied to him personally. After returning to Japan in August 1942 (accounts vary as to the exact date), Yoshikawa married, began a family, and continued naval intelligence work, mainly as an analyst. Because of his skill with English, he also interrogated Allied prisoners, condemning in his memoirs the savage abuse some of them received. Yet neither the Japanese navy nor the government officially commended him for his contributions to the success of the Pearl Harbor attack — a sore point with Yoshikawa for the rest of his life. Eventually he ran afoul of his superiors. Sometime in June 1944 Yoshikawa surmised that reports of battle successes from frontline naval units were wildly exaggerated or wholly fabricated. He produced a more modest — more accurate — estimate based on Allied media reports and intercepted radio traffic, only to have his superiors accuse him of being “Americanized” and too credulous toward American propaganda. Yoshikawa argued that if the frontline reports were accurate there would be no American warships afloat at all. But as was standard within the Imperial military at this time, politics trumped reality. Yoshikawa’s estimate was discarded. The Imperial Japanese Navy would lose three fleet carriers and more than 600 aircraft during a catastrophic defeat at the June 19-20 Battle of the Philippine Sea. Yoshikawa resigned in disgust and spent the remainder of the war working at an aircraft plant. After the surrender, he made a small fortune on the black market before receiving word that Allied war crimes investigators were seeking him and other navy colleagues on suspicion of prisoner abuse. Believing that the United States simply sought revenge on the Japanese navy’s intelligence personnel, Yoshikawa went into hiding, spending four years at two Zen Buddhist temples until the trials were over. He drifted around the country until about 1950, then returned to his family to start a new life. He opened a gas station in Shikoku, but never reconciled himself to the new Japan of the postwar era. Shortly later, Gordon Prange, the chief historian on Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s occupation staff, somehow learned of Yoshikawa’s historic role and tracked him down. The former spy agreed to an interview and went to see Prange in Tokyo just before the September 1951 negotiation of the San Francisco Peace Treaty that would mark the end of the occupation. In the early 1960s, a pair of other projects—an article Yoshikawa cowrote with Marine Lt. Col. Norman Stanford, an assistant naval attaché in Japan, for the U.S. Naval Institute’s “Proceedings” magazine and a CBS News special he cooperated with to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the attack — led many right-wing nationalists to accuse Yoshikawa of selling out to the former enemy. Postwar anti-militarism was also near its height then, leading socialists, pacifists, and much of mainstream Japan to condemn him. Yoshikawa lived out the remainder of his life subsisting on income from the gas station, his wife’s earnings as an insurance agent, and the proceeds from his memoirs and articles. He enjoyed enough esteem from his neighbors to be elected to the local town council twice. Nevertheless he became a bitter man. His memoirs are full of self-pity and bile. He faded into obscurity, a condition in which he died in 1993. Since Takeo Yoshikawa’s death, his story has taken on new life — more recently in particular. A documentary on him by Japan’s national broadcaster aired in late 2014. The next year, the Mainichi Ones memoir appeared, altered to make Yoshikawa into a nationalist hero working for a righteous cause. Yoshikawa, however, does not fill that role well. Though he displayed pride at his ability to help his country challenge the greatest power on earth, his authentic memoirs hint at doubts about the rightness of Japan’s cause. He describes tears coming to his eyes upon reading Japan’s declaration of war on the United States and the British Empire. But then he adds that upon rereading, he “could not help but think that it lacked a casus belli” — the Anglo-American transgressions against East Asia that it cited being “nothing more than backing Chiang Kai-shek.” His descriptions of captivity in American hands contain grudging acknowledgment that they treated him well. He displays something like regret about his role in making Japan’s attack a success and speaks of understanding the hostility Americans hold toward him. The Mainichi Ones memoir has eliminated much of that ambivalence. We see Yoshikawa moved to tears by the Imperial Rescript, without the later doubts. His actions become more heroic. The volume “corrects” what its revisers (sometimes accurately and sometimes not) perceive to be errors in Yoshikawa’s original manuscript and distorts his narrative to make Americans seem more racist than Yoshikawa had ever implied. In his authentic 1985 memoir, Yoshikawa describes how in Hawaii no one would sell rice to the consular staff, temporarily confined to the consulate grounds, because of their perceived involvement in the Pearl Harbor attack. In the 2015 revision, no one will sell rice to “Japs” — an unlikely prospect on an island where one-third of the population was of Japanese descent. Elsewhere Yoshikawa tells of being escorted through New York, where passersby mumble something about “Japs” under their breath. In the Mainichi Ones version, these people now shout the epithet in the captives’ faces. Given that Yoshikawa changed his story and that that story has been altered since his death, there will always be some doubt about any part of it that cannot be independently corroborated. What can be said for certain is that Yoshikawa was a patriotic man from a naval background who conscientiously performed his assigned duties. Those duties, however, only helped his country commit to an ultimately disastrous course. This was something his country never let him forget during his lifetime, but now seems to be in the process of forgetting itself. https://www.airforcetimes.com/veterans/military-history/2025/12/07/in-plain…

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Re: All this political chat from former RotorHeads
by Brian Miller 06 Dec '25

06 Dec '25

To bring this back around a bit, the question is not whether or not someone in authority has the right to “double tap” a designated hostile target or not. The question for me is why is SEAL Team Six involved in killing them? These are Tier 1 targets? We have been droning women and children for years. The guy with the largest body count had a Peace Prize probably sitting within arms reach when he ordered the strikes. It’s why I voted to get us out of the game altogether. There has been zero return on any of it and our military looks more like a mercenary force for some bizarre agenda. No ballot box can fix what is happening. At no point was regime change in Venezuela and yet another oil war on the ballot. Literally nobody was discussing it, yet here we are, clearly with the nod of both parties. Democrats don’t care. They just want political points where they can and the military establishment wants Hegseth gone because he won’t let the weak or fat kids play and the fake reporters can’t spy for defense contractors anymore in the name of journalism. You can kill a million drug boats and it probably would not make a dent in the fentanyl game because last I knew, we got the overwhelming major of our supply from Mexico. I don’t even think Maduro is a close second, that’s out of my lane. He has plenty of oil though. When we would send dets to hunt drugs in the Caribbean, they would maybe score once or twice per deployment. As celebrated as the catches were, they didn’t move the street value of cocaine one penny. They also oddly enough did not seem to enjoy these types of resources to get the job done. Not to get weird, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the military is blowing up illegal cargo intended for some CIA backed program in South America. I’m kidding, but also that’s where we are now in my mind. On Fri, Dec 5, 2025 at 6:36 PM Marc Liebman <marc(a)marcliebman.com> wrote: > I think you are too generous…. Two terms for Senators, 6 for House members > so it is a maximum of 12 years. Also, no pension, only contributions to a > 401K, Social Security, and they get their health care via an Obamacare > marketplace. > > > > We need to limit their staff size, require them to actually READ the bills > they create and sign each page signifying they read it and lobbying needs > to be illegal which will force them to actually learn what the issues are. > > > > And, those who vote for dumb, or do illegal stuff. No immunity, right to > the Grand Jury and courtroom. > > > > Marc Liebman > > https://www.marcliebman.com > > https://www.facebook.com/marcliebmanauthor/ > > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_sDoFQM5wupNaCeGIvKL1g > > > > > > *From: *"ahaefner(a)aol.com" <ahaefner(a)aol.com> > *Reply-To: *"ahaefner(a)aol.com" <ahaefner(a)aol.com> > *Date: *Friday, December 5, 2025 at 5:09 PM > *To: *"brianjmiller1977(a)gmail.com" <brianjmiller1977(a)gmail.com>, " > habrattland(a)arvig.net" <habrattland(a)arvig.net> > *Cc: *"helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com" <helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com> > *Subject: *[Helobubbas] Re: All this political chat from former RotorHeads > > > > I think I have it all figured out! For the last 25-40 years depending on > your view point, our Legislative Branch of Government is suffering from a > group personality I've decided to call "abdication by decidophobia." ‍ ‍ ‍ > ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ > > I think I have it all figured out! > > > > For the last 25-40 years depending on your view point, our Legislative > Branch of Government is suffering from a group personality I've decided to > call "abdication by decidophobia." > > > > In the last 20 years this "disease" has spread to senior leadership in > many, if not most, departments of our government. > > > > In the last 5 years the "We the People," mentioned in early American > documents, sensed something was wrong and voted for change but our combined > focus was on the wrong Branch Of Government. > > > > We collectively split the vote of 2 poor choices without understanding > that the original disease of lame legislative houses was continuing to > decline and had created a fertile soil for a great statesmen or a > tyrannical nut job to dig in like an invasive species. Where are the great > Statesmen or Women of this country? > > > > We never had a chance and won't get anywhere positive until Senators and > Congressional Representatives bedridden with this dreaded disease of "abdication > by decidophobia." are removed and replaced with "newer models". > > > > So what did I figure out? We need a few New Rules for election of > legislators, Mandatory retirement at age 70 and term limits of 4 terms > for the House and 3 terms for the Senate. > > > > Feel free to pile on with critique, offer smart ass remarks or even add in > some New Rules like no NEW Stock Market involvement of any kind while in > office. > > > > Happy Holidays to all unrestricted aviators and their families, and may > the New Year revert this email group back to issues where we are actually Professors > Emerita. > > > > W/r, AL > > > > > Helobubbas mailing list -- helobubbas(a)helobubbas.com > To unsubscribe send an email to helobubbas-leave(a)helobubbas.com >

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How USS Gettysburg Ended Up Shooting Down A Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet
by mgbrattland＠gerlecreek.com 06 Dec '25

06 Dec '25

https://www.twz.com/air/how-uss-gettysburg-shot-down-a-super-hornet-and-near ly-another CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) <mailto:mgbrattland@gerlecreek.com> mgbrattland(a)gerlecreek.com <mailto:mgbrattland@brattland.org> mgbrattland(a)brattland.org Admin/Moderator SanDiegoCarGuys List & Calendar of Events <mailto:sandiegocarguys@brattland.org> sandiegocarguys(a)brattland.org 619 454-0496 '38 Willys 2 Dr Sedan Webmaster for <http://www.brattland.org/> www.brattland.org <http://www.overthehillgang.com/> www.overthehillgang.com <http://www.overdrivehotrodnews.com/> www.overdrivehotrodnews.com <http://www.gerlecreek.org/> www.gerlecreek.org <http://www.helobubbas.com/> www.helobubbas.com <http://www.prowlers.org/> www.prowlers.org <http://www.gerlecreek.com/> www.gerlecreek.com <http://www.ford6vcarburetion.com/> www.ford6vcarburetion.com <http://www.westcoastwillysclub.com/> www.westcoastwillysclub.com <http://www.nssha.org/> www.nssha.org <http://www.nhahistoricalsociety.org/> www.nhahistoricalsociety.org <https://sh60fhoas.nhahistoricalsociety.org/> https://sh60fhoas.nhahistoricalsociety.org/

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