September 11

September 11 is forever marked by a series of acts of cowardice perpetrated by people so different from you and me that we cannot possibly fathom why such heinous acts would even have been dreamed up. The horror we felt that day was infinitesimally smaller than what must have been felt by those trapped in the twin towers as they began falling, by the people in the Pentagon, and by the passengers on Flight 93.

I was at work in my suburban Maryland office that morning, interviewing a woman for a position in my company. One of our field technicians radioed me that he'd just heard on his truck radio that a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York. I recalled that a plane had once hit the Empire State Building and mentioned it to the lady sitting in front of my desk as a way of apologizing for the interruption. A bit later in the interview, the same technician called me again to say that he was on I-295 and that he could see black smoke from over near the Pentagon and asked me if I knew what was going on. I told him I didn't and went on the the interview.

When the interview was over and I'd escorted the lady out to the lobby, one of our salesmen stopped me and asked if there was something wrong with our telephone system. He'd been trying to call a supplier in New Jersey and couldn't get through at all. We went upstairs to the president's office where he and the executive VP had the TV on and the horror of the day was becoming apparent. I watched for a while, unable to comprehend, then went back to my office and turned on my radio. It was tuned to a commercial classical music station, but there was no music. Instead, they were advising people to go home, to get away from Washington, and to stay calm. I went into our dispatch center and told them to get on the radios and recall the technicians, to pull them off jobs and send them home.

During the next couple of hours, I spent my time going up to the president's office, watching the gut wrenching news video of those huge buildings collapsing and the fire at the Pentagon, of the mystery of Flight 93, then returning to my office to try to work. Our company was situated about 6 miles east of the Capitol Beltway, but we released the remainder of the employees. I saw the news reports of the massive traffic jams and decided to stay at work. By 3:00 PM or so, I was the only one remaining in the building. The quiet was disturbing, so I went outside for a breath of air. A normally fairly busy railroad line ran along side our parking lot, but no trains had passed for hours. The greater Washington DC metropolitan area has three major airports, but there was not a plane in the sky. At some point I saw a pair of military jets fly over.

Around 5:00, I shut down my computer, checked the building, set the alarm system, walked out and locked the entrance doors. Out on the road, it was eerily still with the lack of traffic. In my 15 mile drive home, I only saw a few other cars. At home, I went into the back yard and just stood, my mind a jumble that still did not comprehend. The silence was deafening. There were no children playing, there was no sound of traffic from the highway about a quarter of a mile away, and there were no aircraft in the sky. Back in the house, I sat in the living room in silence for the longest time, this vision of those towers collapsing and the huge fire across town at the Pentagon running like silent films through my mind.

My son called from Texas to make sure I was OK. He'd heard about the Pentagon, but didn't know if my office was anywhere near it. I assured him that I was fine, that the Pentagon was across the city from me. After he hung up, I broke down and sobbed, crying like a baby.

Every morning now, when I go downstairs and turn on the TV, I'm relieved to hear the cheerful voices of the news crew, indicating that something unthinkable like happened on 9/11 hasn't recurred while I slept.

Who Goes to Heaven?

Now, those who know me personally know that I'm a bit of a wise ass, a serious punster, and someone with an unknown amount of faith in the Lord.  I'm not a steady church-goer, but when I do attend, I'm a debtor, so there is always an awkward pause if I'm in a congregation of trespassers.  The relationship between me and God is strictly between the two of us, and as Matthew tells us all to do, I talk to the Lord in secret so that He and I are the only ones privy to our conversation.  I was taught many years ago that the Lord listens to all our prayers, which makes him pretty busy, so I feel we should limit our supplications to those times when divine intervention is truly needed.

I receive memos almost on a daily basis asking for my prayers for one person or another.   Some of these requests I deem necessary and I quietly ask my Lord to help out in the way He finds appropriate.  Others, I ignore, deciding on my own not to take up God's valuable time with trivial matters such as the granddaughter starting at a new school, the family moving to a new city, so-and-so taking a new job, a couple trying to have a child, or a football team meeting their cross-state rival.

I read the obituaries aloud each evening so my non-newspaper-reading spouse will know if someone she knows is no longer with us.  Most folks simply die, but there are those who go on a trip to meet their Heavenly Father, others who pass into the next life, and yet more who seem to have just fallen into everlasting sleep.  The cynic in me wants to say that those who simply died were known to have lead Godly lives so there is little doubt where they went, but those who are said to have taken that trip or passed in the next life, well, perhaps the family wasn't so confidant that their dearly beloved actually made it to those pearly gates, but by saying so, the rest of us will be convinced that the dearly beloved did indeed make it to Heaven.  

After all, as our daughter's pastor once preached, if you don't follow the rules of the Bible, when you die, you'll go to Hell.

Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol

I read recently that Congressman John Lewis (Dem GA) wants the statue of  Alexander Stephens removed from Statuary Hall in the nation's Capitol.    For those who don't know, Stephens was a US Congressman from Georgia, serving from 1843 to 1859 before the Civil War and from 1873 to 1882 during Reconstruction.  He was the Governor of Georgia from 1882 to 1883, and, probably the reasons Congressman Lewis wants his statue removed, the Vice President of the Confederate States of America from 1862 to 1865, and a slaveholder.

I understand Congressman Lewis' wish to rewrite history.  It was a terrible time for our country, but I feel his request might be a bit disingenuous as it came just days after the Atlanta city government asked to have the carving on Stone Mountain sandblasted away.  The Taliban and ISIS have been demolishing historic monuments, sculptures and even ancient cities in Afghanistan and Syria.  Congressman Lewis and Mayor Reed need to re-evaluate their requests before they begin to be compared to those groups.

Spanish philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," and without reminders like the statue of Alexander Stephens, repeating past mistakes is certainly a possibility.


Being somewhat of a cynic, I took Congressman Lewis' lead, and looked up to see who else was deified in Statuary Hall with a background we might now question.

• William Allen - a pro-slavery Senator from Ohio (Scheduled to be replaced this year by a statue of Thomas Edison, an inventor, unsuccessful businessman, and quite possibly, an atheist)
• Stephen F. Austin - Texas Secretary of State who helped populate the Republic of Texas by, among other incentives, offering 80 acres of land to immigrants for every slave they brought with them.
• Charles Brantley Aycock - a white supremacist "noted as having advocated that black students be properly educated through curriculum and care tightly controlled by North Carolina whites, to "benefit the black race to fit them into a subordinate role.""
• Bob Bartlett - US Representative from Alaska known for the 'Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act' which no doubt led to Sarah Palin's rise to power.
• William Henry Harrison Beadle - Surveyor-General of the Dakota Territories named for the slave-holding President of the United States.
• Thomas Hart Benton - a one-time slave holder
• Francis Preston Blair, Jr - a United States Senator who opposed Reconstruction
• William Borah - A United States Senator who thought well enough of Adolf Hitler to tell the press that, "the combination of President von Hindenburg and the Nazi leader should be able to administer the affairs of the German people"
• William Jennings Bryan - a Secretary of State who charged upwards of $500 per speech (shades of Hillary Clinton) while still in office, an orator, a prohibitionist, and anti-evolutionist known for his participation in the Scopes Monkey Trial.
• John C. Calhoun - a strong proponent for slavery which he called a 'positive good.'
• Charles Carroll - a Maryland slaveholder
• Lewis Cass - Secretary of War under President Jackson who 'was a central figure in formulating and implementing the Indian Removal Policy' of that administration.'  He was also in favor of letting the people in the territories decide whether or not to become slave states.
• Henry Clay - US Senator and Congressman who, at one time, owned as many as 60 slaves, even bringing several with him to Washington.
• Jefferson Davis - need I say more?
• James Zachariah George - Confederate Brigadier General during civil war, owner of 40 slaves in 1860, including children as young as 1 year. 
• Wade Hampton - Confederate Brigadier General, slaveholder with 153 slaves in 1860
• Andrew Jackson - former President of the United States and a slaveholder
• Robert E. Lee - Confederate General, slaveholder who, despite stories to the contrary, did not free the slaves in accordance with his late father's-in-law wishes.
• Caesar Rodney - Delaware slaveholder
• John Sevier - Governor of Tennessee, slaveholder, US Representative from North Carolina
• Edmund Kirby Smith - West Point Grad, US Army officer, slaveholder, Major General in Confederate Army
• Alexander H. Stephens - see above, also, owned as many as 29 slaves in 1860
• Zebulon Baird Vance - North Carolina US Representative 1858-1861, Governor of NC 1861-1865 and 1877-1879, NC US Senator 1879-1894, slaveholder
• George Washington - President of the United States, General in US Army, owned hundreds of slaves

That's all, folks.  I'll not be philosophizing on this.

The Smell Test

I saw this recently in reference to a government conference to which members of the press were not invited.  The writer said it didn't pass the Smell Test.

That set off some brain rumbling - there have been a number of things in the news lately that do not pass my Smell Test.

Special privileges for members of Congress:

• Government paid automobile
• Free parking at Washington National Airport
• Free flights

Government office holders who are running for office while they are still in another office.  They are being paid to run the government, but they spend up to six months or more trying to succeed themselves or, as in those listed below, get a new position with more power, more pay, and more prestige.

• Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey
• Ted Cruz, US Senator from Texas
• Lindsey Graham, US Senator from South Carolina
• Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana
• Rand Paul, US Senator from Kentucky
• Marco Rubio, US Senator from Florida
• Bernie Sanders, US Senator from Vermont

Of course, that leaves us with a bunch of unemployed who are seeking the Presidency, and, of course, Donald Trump, whose idea of border diplomacy is to insult those on the other side of the border.

But does it really?  How about Morrison Bonpasse, Jeff Boss, Harry Braun, Andy Caffee, Willie Carter, Lincoln Chaffee, Lloyd Kelso, Martin O'Malley, Doug Shreffler, Michael Steinberg, Jim Webb, Robbie Wells, Willie Wilson, and Brad Winslow all are Democrats who have publicly declared they are running for President.  Why isn't the press astounded at that number, or are they just too taken with Hillary and Bernie and the Republican Sixteen?  Does this pass the Smell Test?

 
Why the conservatives were so alarmed that Obama might not have been born in the United States (he was, you know.  Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959, Barry was born in 1961), but didn't think it necessary back in the day to question why Barry Goldwater wasn't born in the US.  Now, one of their hot tickets is Ted Cruz who, besides being a Senator who spends his time seeking the Presidency, was born in Canada to a Cuban national who didn't become a naturalized citizen until Ted was 37 years old.  Does this pass the Smell Test?

We Need Vince Lombardi in our School System

This is a modification of a rant I published a few years ago

A bit far fetched, but here is a thought. One of the reasons education in America is falling behind is that children are no longer driven to succeed, but rather just to pass. They are taught to pass tests, not necessarily to learn. They are shown over and over that just passing is enough. They now graduate from each level of school from kindergarten to college in the somewhat misdirected theory that, because so many will not graduate from college or high school, they are graduated from middle school to show they have accomplished something. Kids are given trophies for participating, not excelling. Score isn't kept in little kids' games because we don't want them to dote on winning.

Mediocrity is seen as the goal.  The goal we are teaching isn't to be the best you can be, but only be good enough to get the prize - that's my definition of mediocrity."

If Coach Vince Lombardi was running NASCAR, the standings after last Sunday's race in Arizona would be:

1. Brad Keselowski with 6 wins

2. Joey Logano  5 wins

3. Kevin Harvick 4 wins

    Jeff Gordon 4 wins

    Dale Earnhardt 4 wins

    Jimmie Johnson 4 wins

4. Carl Edwards 2 wins

5. Six drivers, each with 1 win

6.  Ryan Newman, and 5 other drivers without a win all season

Instead, NASCAR in all its wisdom, gives points for so many different things that Lombardi's philosophy of "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing" goes completely out the window.

Here's the current NASCAR standings:

1.  Denny Hamlin who only scored one win all season

2.  Joey Logano with 5 wins

3.  Ryan Newman with absolutely no wins all season

4.  Kevin Harvick with 4 wins

Note:  While all the other drivers will be on the starting grid for the final race, only the top four are competing for the season championship.  No wonder our kids aren't driven to succeed.  Keselowski, the driver with the most wins isn't eligible for the championship while Newman, without a win on his record all year is in third place and could conceivably win it all.    "See kiddies, if you play safe and finish well you, too, can become rich and famous. Don't worry about winning, that's too risky."

Ode to Joy

In the 1970's, I spent three years in Berlin, behind the Iron Curtain. Berlin was more or less an island, surrounded by a wall, insulated from those who would live free but who lived where they could not. I took this photograph in 1977, mostly because I was perplexed at the difference in dates. I figured Herr Urban was a victim of the wall, but that those who put up the signs didn't really know when he died.



The story is well known in Berlin. Herr Urban lived with his wife on Bernauer Strasse on the line between East and West Berlin. In August of 1961, the East Berlin authorities began construction on a wall and fences to prevent residents of the East from moving across town, or, as in Urban's case, across the street, to the West. Urban and his wife were frightened at the prospect of living in the socialist German Democratic Republic, so on August 19th, they rigged a rope at the window of their second floor apartment and used it to lower themselves to the street and freedom. Both fell, were injured, and were taken to the hospital in West Berlin. Unfortunately, Herr Urban contracted pneumonia and died in the hospital, but he died on September 9, 1961, having lived in freedom less than a month.

There are many, many more stories of those who perished while trying to escape, as well as even more who escaped successfully.   We who live in a free country, cannot possibly imagine what it would take to drive a person to leave his home, escape if you will, because freedom there is no longer a possibility.

In November, 2014, the free city of Berlin celebrated the 25th anniversary of the wall coming down. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, who, though born in the west, was raised in East Germany presided over the ceremony, and the Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestra played "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which, until researching for facts just this evening, I did not know is the anthem of the European Union.

Ode to Joy.  A song dedicated to happiness.  The freedom which we take for granted in our country has been such a strong magnet to those who do not have it that they would risk life and limb to get it. 

Ode to Joy.  Amazing.

Open Letter to President Obama and the Joint Chiefs of Staff

President Obama, General Dempsey, General Odierno, General Dunford, Admiral Greeniert, General Welsh, General Grass

Gentlemen, I am not blessed with a law degree, I did not graduate from Annapolis, West Point or the Air Force Academy.  I have not attended any of the war colleges.  The highest military school I attended was the USAF Senior NCO Academy nearly thirty years ago.

I am blessed, however, with a view of history that appears to be unique, at least compared to you who lead our nation's military.

I remember WWII, vaguely to be sure, but there are certain things that are vivid.   I remember living in a tenement near my father's job in the war industry.  I remember my parents using coupons to buy certain foodstuffs, gasoline, tires, and nylon stockings.   I remember the sighs of happiness when victory was announced over Germany and Japan.

I remember Korea only slightly better, but the lack of a victory meant no happiness except for those Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen who came home.  Now, nearly sixty years after the declared truce, we still maintain an enormous military presence on the Korean peninsula lest the North Koreans decide to resume the battle.

I distinctly remember Vietnam.  I spent a year there maintaining tactical radars and dodging incoming artillery, mortars, and rockets.  Our role in Vietnam was said to be designed to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam, but when we declared peace in 1973 and pulled our troops out, the North Vietnamese were victorious in less than two years.

I certainly remember the first Gulf War that we were on the verge of winning when suddenly we declared victory and came home, leaving Saddam Hussein in power in Iraq in 1991.

The Iraq war is also clear in my memory.  We went after Saddam Hussein in the aftermath of the 911 attacks, ostensibly because he was still maintaining a considerable stockpile of "weapons of mass destruction," which, for some reason, the national press took to mean only nuclear weapons despite the 1988 slaughter of thousands of Kurds with chemical weapons.  Hussein was pulled out of a hole in the ground, tried by an Iraqi court, convicted and hanged.  The war dragged on and finally the President pulled our troops out, or perhaps they just came home on their own, as he seems to be wavering on what role he really played.

The war in Afghanistan dragged on from 2001 until 2013.  While Osama Ben Laden was killed, beheading the Taliban did little to stop them from continuing to wage war, but in 2013, we pulled out our army.  Just recently, our marines were pulled out.  The war in Afghanistan is still active and the Taliban is still a force.

So I remember a little about WWII and Korea and substantially more about other wars in which American forces have been deployed.  We, and that includes our allies, won WWII, but it was a hard-fought battle in which the resources of this great nation were put to work to defeat our enemies.  Manufacturing, agriculture, and petroleum products were limited to the population in order to win that great war.  We went after the enemy in several major campaigns, North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany in the west, and across the Pacific aiming for Japan in the east.

Since the end of that great war, we have bombed our enemies from the skies and fought them in places like the Chosin Reservoir, the Pusan Perimeter, Inchon, Ia Drang, Khe Sanh, Hue, Baghdad, Mosul, Najaf, Kabul, Kandahar, and Tora Bora.   With the exception of those locations in South Korea that we are still protecting 60 years later, every single one of these places is either under the control of our former enemies, or in increasing danger.

What is different?  In WWII, we had objectives and when those objectives were met, we didn't pull out and let the enemy back in, we held on.  Then we set new objectives, met them, and so on until Germany and Japan capitulated.  Even then we didn't pull out and come home.  We stayed and helped our former enemies build new nations.  In this huge war, the American people were tasked to participate.  They were subjected to rationing like has never been seen since.

In all the other wars, the American people were only aware of hardship if one of their family participated in the war.  The home front did not exist.

If we want to clear the world if ISIS/ISIL, now is the time now to recognize the need to wage war as we did in WWII.  Establish objectives.  Establish beachheads on the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and enter the Middle East with enough power to annihilate ISIS/ISIL and don't stop until they no longer exist.  Yes, there will be an enormous losses of civilian and military.

The longer you wait, the harder the job will be.  Remember the Nazis?  If we had intervened in 1938 with the power that we used in 1944, the war would have been over much faster.  If we wait another four years like we did in Europe, the ISIS/ISIL forces will be that much harder to defeat.

Most important, you must have the full participation of the American people.  Steel and petroleum must be directed towards the war effort.  Agriculture must be used to support the war effort.  Shipping and other transportation must be used in the war effort.  In short, you must create a home front as was created to win WWII.