Knitting women unite to keep Navy dolphins warm (Update with video)

KOMO-TV ^ | March 2, 2007 | Bryan Johnson

[Stoat]

Knitting women unite to keep Navy dolphins warm

Story Updated: Mar 2, 2007 at 5:50 PM PST

By Bryan Johnson

A group of women gathered Friday at the Bainbridge Island Senior Center.

They are part of a knitting group growing across the United States.

It only It looks like a knitting club.

This is much more than knit one, purl two. This is politics.

"The whole problem of putting them on the dolphins is one of the things we have to consider in the future. It's an interesting thought," said Jan Bailey, one of the knitters.

The women are knitting sweaters for warm-water bottlenose dolphins. The Navy wants to put them on Homeland Security patrol here.

One of the knitters Karin Beran says that's cruel, but says the dolphins will know what to do with the sweaters.

"Well, I guess the dolphins are so smart, so they can figure it out, if and how and when. I'm just happy to knit for them," Beran said.

They've thought of everything. Susan Scheirman showed me a multi-colored yarn.

"We've imported camouflage yarn for these local dolphins," she said, "so they don't become subject to any kind of terrorism."

Jan Bailey even went to a button store and bought regulation Navy buttons. She sewed the regulation 13 buttons on what could be called the bathroom flap. But dolphins don't have arms:

"That is the dolphins problem. No, that's the Navy's problem," Bailey said. "I think if they have divers in the water, and the dolphins signal. The whole problem of putting them on the dolphins is one of the things we have to consider in the future. Then the divers can go over and unfasten the 13 buttons, one at a time."

They even have a knitting song.

Oh so why do I swim through seas so arctical," one of the lines asks.

The women say they'll keep on knitting as long as the Navy plans to put dolphins in the frigid waters of the Northwest.

The women plan to present the sweaters to Navy officials at a hearing on the plan to put bottlenose dolphin into guard service locally.

[Stoat]

They still do. The group is called "Sox For Soilders." They are a world wide organization.

I'm delighted to hear that they are still doing this!  Is this the organization that you are referring to?

Socks for Soldiers

[wastedyears]

What is a sweater going to do for a dolphin?

[tumblindice]

My mother made me a whore . . . . .

(Send her some yarn, mebbe she'll make you one too.)

[Strzelec]

And sensible shoes? :-)

[Stoat]

This is a joke, right.

Please tell me this is a joke.

I wish that it was indeed a joke. 

It's yet another thing that makes me terribly embarrassed of Washington, my home state.

"sigh"

[Stoat]

Another moonbat game to give aid and comfort to our enemies.

Very true.  they could just as easily do something useful with their time and efforts that actually help our troops and benefit our nation in this war, but no, they have to make a stupid joke out of it.

Our troops overseas will read about this sort of garbage and it won't help their morale, which I'm sure is the intent of this silly effort to begin with.

[CDHart]

I think the Navy just wants to put them on Homeland Security Patrol. It wasn't the Navy's idea to have sweaters knitted for them.

Carolyn

[ishabibble]

The fruits of the labors of PETA and envirowhackos.

God forbid that they knit a sweater for some lonely soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan. Hate the US Military? Knit something for the Canuks, you spiteful hippie losers!

[Stoat]

"We've imported camouflage yarn for these local dolphins," she said, "so they don't become subject to any kind of terrorism."

OMG!

These women are WHACKED!

lol!

Sadly, we have more than our fair share of people like this here in Washington.

They will do ANYTHING to avoid doing something positive, real and meaningful for our Nation.

[fish hawk]

Haven't you heard of "Pikes on Bikes"?

[Fawn]

Wouldn't the weight of the sweaters drown the dolphins?

[2ndClassCitizen]

I just read through 30 posts. Not one person noted what the dolphins would be doing.

Does anyone wonder what are the dolphins capabilities?

Would you like to scuba dive in that area?

Just how intelligent are these dolphins?

How big is their vocabulary? Can they perform complex tasks with mechanical devices, ie. can they fire guns, take pictures, do they carry weapons, or do they have information gathering devices, or are they in communication with a human patrol leader while they are patrolling?

Anyone have any idea what the dolphins do? It is fascinating to me.

[Bigh4u2]

"Sadly, we have more than our fair share of people like this here in Washington.

They will do ANYTHING to avoid doing something positive, real and meaningful for our Nation."

I hear ya.

Living in this country is really getting to be a chore. Just to keep from going nuts.

[Stoat]

My knitting group knits caps for kids at cancer hospitals and for preemy-newborns. Thank goodness my group of ladies have good ole common sense and compassion.

Thank you so very much for what you do.  I do prehospital emergency medicine, and my emergency kit in my car contains, among other things, an emergency OB kit in case I need to assist an out-of-hospital childbirth.  It includes a cute little knit hat, which may have been made by you or one of your group.  What you are doing is very real, very useful and very important, unlike what these idiots in this article are doing.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

[fish hawk]

I can't answer all your questions but I do know that they really like Sashimi.

[Stoat]

I just read through 30 posts. Not one person noted what the dolphins would be doing.

The Navy has been training and using dolphins for a number of years.  Their duties include patrol, identifying mines and undersea hazards, and reconnaissance using attached cameras, among other things.

There's been quite a bit written about this program, but you may wish to start at the Navy's page:

U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program

[Stoat]

Won't global warming keep them warm?

Rule #14 from the Leftist Barking Moonbat Handbook:

"Never invoke one hysterical and unfounded Leftist, Anti-American lie when it could possibly interfere with another hysterical and unfounded Leftist, Anti-American lie"

[Lil'freeper]

Mmmmkay. Yeah, good call on that one.

[Stoat]

the dolphins will know what to do with the sweaters

The dolphins will laugh their grey asses off. This is proof that dolphins are smarter than these idiots.

I don't think that I would be going to far out on the proverbial limb if I were to suggest that your typical, standard-issue underbed dust bunny would be smarter than these idiots.

the dolphins will know what to do with the sweaters

The dolphins will laugh their grey asses off. This is proof that dolphins are smarter than these idiots.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Isn't that a picture! Soooo cute and homey like!

(Anyone ever tried to swim with a sweater? Share your experience here.)