The Candidates

Seems the Presidential race is is full swing and has been now for several months. Is it me or are they starting earlier and earlier? Before you know it people will be announcing their Presidential aspirations a month after a new President is sworn in. After all, you gotta build up that big ol' war chest.
Seeing as I generally vote Republican I'm going to dedicate this blog to my view of the current field of candidates.

Rudy Guliani. Rudy has created quite a buzz around his ability to gather support. I see him as the leader on what we need for a strong defense and military. I also like his ability to be tough on crime. He has a good amount of experience albeit with a mega-city and not any state experience. What I find lacking in Rudy is his stance on abortion and his liberal leaning tendencies. Lack of a firm immigration policy and his personal history could be the issues that make me look elsewhere. He's tough, but is he conservative enough with budgets and Constitutional rights.

Mitt Romney. Mitt has a lot going for him. I like his fiscal responsibility and business sense. He would make a great leader for our economy and would hopefully reduce government waste and spending as well as put us back on track. We need someone like Mitt to keep Congress' spending under control, because frankly they can't do it themselves. Mitt doesn't seem to have strong foreign policy experience and his past dealing from the left only to move right could be something that gives me pause. I like Mitt, but can he be more than 1 dimensional. He also needs to find a way to address the religion issue. I don't have a problem with it, but it does seem to pop up regularly and he needs to find a way to put it to rest.

John McCain. John is a wild card. He has strong qualifications in foreign policy and experience inside the beltway so he knows his way around. He also has valuable inside knowledge of Congress. But he comes from Congress and as such I haven't heard too much from him about how messed up they are which to me means he is complicit in the out of control spending spree. He also tends to break from the Republican party at times when he shouldn't and doesn't when he should. There's a reason he's not doing so well. He's his own problem.

Fred Thompson. I was one of the many who awaited Fred's jump into the race with high expectations. I am very disappointed. Fred's lackluster start is only fueling the controversy around his previous Senate record and rumors of his "lack of enthusiasm". He has a good pitch, but needs to refine the substance of his pitch and get more detailed. His folksy approach will only go so far. He had gravitas before he entered the race but seems to have been unable to maintain that perception. He could turn it around but he better get a plan and start getting out there. His MIA status on the campaign trail is hurting him.

The other candidates are so far behind (I should include John McCain in that group) that to vote for them at this time would be an effort in futility if you really intended to have your selection become President. That could change as there are a few that could be promising such as Duncan Hunter, Sam Brownback and Mike Huckabee but until they gain some traction we'll just focus on the main players.

Here's what I would like to see in a candidate:
Fiscally responsible. Reduce spending, cut taxes or hold them, get rid of earmarks and fund the most important issues such as Education, Defense, Housing, Social Security, Medicare, Infrastructure, and Children's Health care.
Secure our borders. Improve and modernize the military. Build foreign coalitions and relations. Pursue restructuring of the United Nations to clean out those with dismal human rights records and histories of corruption until they change their ways. Otherwise withdraw from the United Nations until action is taken. (I'd like to see how well they do without our tax dollars going to supporting the corruption rampant in that organization).
Reform the tax code. Reform Social Security. Reduce the size of government.
Reduce the national debt. Improve trade and encourage and assist nations who are struggling to jump start their trade. Equalize trade agreements. If you tax our goods coming into your country we will tax yours accordingly. Ban partial birth abortion. It is a cruel procedure that goes against everything we should stand for with the exception of if the life of the mother is in jeopardy.

So where is my candidate? I really don't know. I'm sure that I am in the same boat as many others this election cycle. There are parts of each that I like but not one has all the parts assembled into one complete candidate. Perhaps this is why the Republican membership is so fractured.

Air Travel Delays

Delays and the Airline business are as synonymous as peanut butter and jelly without the fond memories. As an airline employee who has intimate experience with the day to day operation, I can attest that the delays are getting worse. I can also attest that a big reason is the antiquated Air Traffic Control System we use in this country. I can watch on our radar sites as aircraft are rerouted around storms and taken the long way around storms. Once an aircraft is in the air it is directed by Air Traffic Control centers into what could be called airborne highways to a predetermined point only to be redirected to the next "fix" as it is called, until they reach their destination. It's like driving your car around a bunch of detours and construction zones and not using 60% of the other streets along the way. This take you miles out of your way to get to where you are driving. By utilizing only the predetermined sky-highway routes aircraft are forced to take the long way more often than they should. The airlines don't have any choice. Think about it. Would we want to delay you, use up more fuel and make all the flights after you late if we didn't have to? We are using a system that is from 1960 to route aircraft through our skies in 2007. Are you still watching a TV from 1960? Driving a car from 1960? The system needs to be replaced. Analog to digital. Ground based to satellite based. Radar blips on a screen to GPS. Until congress gets off it's butt and appropriates funds for this change you can expect that the delays will only get worse and the system more taxed. Meanwhile the airlines take the heat from the traveling public for delays that, for the most part, are beyond our control. The government has been collecting billions of dollars in taxes from the airline industry and our customers but have yet to fulfill the promise of an updated air traffic control system. It's time they put our money where their mouths are.

Boblo Boats

In today's Detroit Free Press news online the front page has a picture of something that brings a flood of memories back to when I was a child. The Detroit Boblo Boat Ste. Claire. She was one of a set of twin sister paddlewheel steam boats that used to ferry hundreds of people a day from stops along the Detroit River to Boblo Island, an amusement park located in the middle of the Detroit River. The only way to get to the park was by boat. Her sister ship is the Columbia. The boats are 97 years old so when I used to ride them they were already over 60 years old but what a majestic ride they gave us. Looking at the pictures brings back vivid memories of riding on these boats, the wind blowing through the decks, the smell of the water and the low chug chug of the steam engines driving the paddles around in the back of the boat. As kids, once we were aboard and away from the dock we would explore the decks and watch over the railings at all the people out on their own boats or the shoreline as we steamed on by. Our parents would relax while the kids would have free reign to go where ever they wanted. There was a souvenir shop on board but not much else. The ride was about 45 minutes to an hour but was rich in memories. I can still hear the sound of the chugging engine and the cool wind as it blew through our hair. The seagulls would form a chain behind waiting for any food that may get tossed overboard. Of course we were happy to accommodate them. My Uncle Pat took us several times and for a while it was his time to spend with us. We only saw him a few times a year but he sure made an impression when he did visit those summer months!
The decks were always freshly painted with a battleship gray paint and the railings and supports were painted white. The upper deck was open to the sky but sometimes it was a little to cool to stay up there. Once at the park we spent the entire day on the rides and playing games. Some of my favorites were the Comet, Antique Cars and The Log ride. We played all day long running around the park without a care in the world. We didn't worry about strangers or injuries or anything that is so prevalent in today's society, we just had a great time. I didn't realize how strong those memories could be until I saw the photograph taken from the deck as she is towed upriver. It's almost as if I was standing right there again on her deck as she sails up the Detroit River.

History, rerun or a new direction?

As I watch today's events unfold between the war in Iraq, the conflict in Afghanistan, the war of words in Iran and North Korea and the full blown, throw down Ultimate Fighting in our very own congress I ponder if previous generations had it so good? During WW II, were there vast numbers of the population who were concerned that we were making the wrong decisions on going to war? Did they believe that it was a war of our own making due to our policies toward Japan and Germany? Did they stage protests and rallies to draw attention to their beliefs? Were there members of congress who voted to go to war but then after a year or two stated they were misled and that the war was a mistake? Did the parents of children back then worry that their kid may grow up in a world ruled by dictators and oppression?
I see many similarities between the Nazis and current day radical Islam and if we are not careful the outcome of today's war could change our world for worse. Both believed that the Jewish people were the cause of today's problems and should be wipe off the map. Both ruled with iron fists, intimidation, death and fervor. Both believed that their vision of the world was perfect and both had the intent, capability, and passion to do whatever it takes to bring about the changes they sought through violent means. Are we able to learn from our past? Given the outcome of WW II perhaps we should pray that we would be doomed to repeat it. Seems that our stomach to do what needs to be done is no longer as strong as it was back then.

The great immigration debate

Seems to me that this new immigration reform coming from the island of Washington DC has all the markings of amnesty even though the proponents of the bill are loath to admit it. Those against the bill don't seem to realize that we actually need a majority of the illegal immigrants to fill the jobs that many of us wouldn't consider. Neither one of them understand what it will take to make immigration reform be a true reform. The general populace doesn't have any faith in governments' ability to stop border crossings, track illegals, and create an efficient means to enact the part of the plan that calls to monitor, catalog and verify the eligibility of anyone looking to be hired. The track record of the federal government is not a good one in terms of securing our borders. They are also known for the wasteful spending on programs that fail to perform the function they were paid to perform. We had immigration reform back in the year 1986, and yet we need another reform bill. If we secure the borders first, thus reducing the influx of border crossings, and then look at a comprehensive bill deciding what to do with the current illegals in the country, the general populace may begin to soften their stance on allowing the current immigrants a path to becoming residents. Only when the leak is plugged can you fix the plumbing. Securing our borders is not only to stop illegal immigration, it's to provide safety to our country for those who desire to kill us. It would perhaps also have the byproduct of showing the public that maybe, just maybe, the government can do something productive and, I believe, provide a way for the restoration of the population faith in our elected leaders.

The fools on the Hill.

I just read that the US Congress (Led by John Conyors) is trying to pass legislation that will allow the US government to sue OPEC countries for price fixing and they blame the current spike in gasoline prices on the high cost of crude. Their logic is that since the OPEC nations have reduced capacity and output of crude by 1.1 millions barrels a day, this has been the direct cause of the spike in gasoline costs. The problem with this theory is that the capacity reduction started several months ago yet the spike didn't occur until just recently. The real problem is that we are dependent upon oil from other countries, have limited our ability to drill and produce oil on our own soil, and haven't built a refinery in the US since the 70's. Allowing the building of new refineries, opening drilling in off shore areas that have proven reserves, and encouraged conservation and innovation to find new sources of energy would reduce our dependence upon other countries and thus bring down prices. Supply and demand. It's simple. Streamlining the refining processes and reducing the number of distilled products could go a long way to controlling fuel prices as well as bringing our energy needs under our own control. But noooo, congress decides that it's better to blame others for our inability to fix the issues. Do they really think that sueing other nations will work? Why would another nation allow us to have jurisdiction over them? They won't, but congress lives in a fantasy world where they believe that they have domain over other countries. How did we ever elect these fools? We are being made to be the fools for electing them.

The real truth?

I was reading where Michael Moore believes that President Bush was the reason he was being investigated for taking a group of 9/11 emergency responders to Cuba for medical treatment supposedly due to not having access to quality care here in the U.S. Of course travel to Cuba has been illegal for decades but apparently he doesn't believe the law applies to him. Also, if you were going to be charitable enough to take some well deserving people somewhere outside the US for medical care, why wouldn't you take them somewhere known for it's advanced medical care like Switzerland, Norway, Germany or even Canada? Why? Because it wouldn't have suited Michael Moores' purpose of trying to smear the current administration. His credibility is nonexistent on his latest project. If he really were concerned about the welfare of the people he took to Cuba for health care he would have taken them to a country that has better care than Cuba. But then, that wouldn't have made such a good story.
Footnote:
Does Michael Moore really believe that The President of the United States has the time or interest in making problems for him? Michaels' paranoia and delusions of grandeur could make a case for a visit to the clinic for some anti-delusional prescriptions. Of course, he could always get them from Cuba.

What if we really cared?

We are a political society. Seems politics permeate the airwaves, the TV, social discussions, and newspapers. The problem is, what is the truth? Politics by nature have become a "who can spin the best" type of contest. We are a fickle nation who elects our representatives based upon looks and presentation. You could make a beautiful looking dinner out of rice cakes, food dye and tofu but would it taste good? That's how it is with politics. Who has the best presentation, the best line, the best haircut and outfit? How many people actually take time to look into the beliefs and history of the person they elect? If it's not an easy to read, short and concise quote then we haven't the time to read it. The future ramifications of our votes are seldom considered. It's "what can you do for me and my social class" type of mentality that chips away at the foundation of the country. Politicians don't want to make the hard decisions to solve the real issues. They want to position themselves to reap the benefits of stagnation and obfuscation, never really taking a definitive stance. To do so would be political suicide. The problem isn't that we have no politicians willing to stand up and do what is right, the problem is they are attacked by the larger core of politicians who fear a straightforward honest member of their elitist group. They fear that it would remove the wool from the populations' eyes and allow them to see that they are drunk on the power and prestige granted them by the people of this country. Before long we will have no recourse to fix this utterly broken government. The complacency of the American people will allow those in power to assert that power with no control. We keep electing people who feel it is their right to be in office, not their privilege. When politics becomes a club, it's time to change ownership of that club. We as the voting public need to perform a leveraged buyout of Congress and let them know who they really work for. We should elevate those few congressmen and congresswomen who have actually placed the good of the country above the good of the chosen few. We need to reduce entitlements, balance the budget, force all legislation to be open and published before voted upon, eliminate pork barrel spending (better yet make it illegal), create term limits, fix the tax code, and get social security and medicare fixed and funded. We need to improve our intelligence gathering, make our military more efficient and better equiped, and reinvest in the education of our youth. There's a lot of talk about this stuff (except social security and medicare) but not much action. It's our own fault though. We keep electing the same ol' people. We've taken the easy path to our own destruction.
Unless we start taking a real interest in the future of our politics we all may find we've walked half way through a train tunnel only to find we can't out run the locomotive heading our way.

Where are the adults?

Every day there's a new article or story about children who are killed or die as a result of the adults consigned to care for them. The stories range from gang shootings where a stray bullet finds it's way into a house where a small child is sleeping to foster parents who commit murder through neglect or abuse. While I realize that the percentages of these events are small when compared to the number of kids in foster care or living in less than safe neighborhoods, I wonder what kind of people do these things? Evil does exist. When I read these stories I can't help to want to rush home from work and just hold my kids. How can parents do these things to children? How are we to set examples for the children when we as adults are unable to control our own behavior? Parenting is a job that makes your hair go gray, put wrinkles under your eyes, and caused paranoia. It's not a job for the weak. Making sure your kids are safe is job one, two and three. We live in a world rich in adventure and just as rich in risk. Taking the time to hold your kids is time well spent. I remember that every time I get home exhausted from work and my 3 and 5 year olds run to me wanting to play a game or show me something they made. Somehow my tiredness is relegated to the back of my head and I muster any amount of energy to spend that time making sure they know that Daddy wants to see their latest masterpiece. Sometimes I luck out and they just want to fall asleep in my bed as I watch TV and snuggle with them. Last night I came home to find them in bed with my wife. Sara was asleep but Connor was awake. I lay down next to him and he put his arm around me and snuggled close. He missed me. Soon he was fast asleep and I carried both kids to their beds. It's a nightly routine for us. Soon enough they'll want to fall asleep in their own beds, but last night we snuggled knowing that love fills our lives. It's not hard to know what's important, but sometimes it is hard to remember it. Thankfully, I've got 2 kids and a wife who help me remember.

Enough is Enough

I watched "Lord of War" last night. The movie starring Nicholas Cage where he is an arms dealer with a knack for trafficing illegal arms to impoverished nations. The story at the end states it is based upon actual events which means something happened similar to what the movie portrays but of course was edited to meet movie standards of entertainment.
None the less I lay awake last night thinking about all the impoverished nations in Africa and the arms dealers who traffic their merchandise to them all for the sake of profit. The natural progression of thought then went to Darfur and the families who are caught in a war between government and rebel forces. The forces kidnap children to fight in their war. One of the statements made in the movie by an evil dictator rang true. He said (paraphrase) that a bullet shot by a 10 year old child can still kill as well as a bullet shot by a 40 year old man. What kind of human would put a gun in the hands of a child and then tell him to go kill with it? Well, the word that I kept hearing in my mind was ENOUGH! Enough of the UN and it's "Super Powers" countries who refuse to do anything substantial to end the conflicts in places where their leaders act like spoiled children and get away with it. ENOUGH talk of sending in a "Peace Keeping force" to stop the carnage. ENOUGH talk, political posturing, diplomatic stagnation, and back room dealings that do not do anything. It's time the countries of the world who are supposed to be leading by example to say ENOUGH. Let's go kick some gun toting, genocidal, immature, power hungry, evil dictator ass! What are we afraid of? If Britain, France, America, Spain, Australia, and any other freedom loving nation decided to send in a battalion or two of well armed, well supplied and well supported military personnel with instructions to stop the armed conflict, protect the unarmed, and destroy any threatening force it meets, do you think the genocide would last for more than 1 month? Where is the morality? Where is the backbone to stand up for what is right? Do you think this initiative would be condemned by other nations except for the ones that are committing this evil? For once I'd like to see the countries that are supposed to be leaders in this world stand up and do what is morally right, not politically prudent. The UN is a worthless entity. It is merely a forum for countries to play tug-a-war with no results. It a money laundering business disguised as a political assembly of nations. How could it gain credibility again? Organize and deploy a multinational force to stop the killing. What do we have to lose? I don't know, but I do know we have an opportunity to save. Save the men, women and children of a country that doesn't care for it's own.

Bad day for Air Travel

I seldom talk about my work life in my blog. It's one of those things where I don't want to risk saying anything that would be taken the wrong way by the company I work for. I like my company. Not because they pay me well, or provide security and benefits, but because I like what I do. This is a rarity in the airline business. With so many carriers cutting pay and benefits it's hard to find a company that is thriving. I'm one of the lucky ones. I've worked for 2 other airlines. The first was bought out and stopped flying to the airport I worked at. The second went bankrupt. My Dad worked 34 years at an airline and then was laid off when they went bankrupt and closed down. That is never far from my mind when I think about where I work. He loved his airline too.
Last week was a rough week for the traveling public in the Northeastern part of the US. Hundreds of flights were canceled and flights were delayed. Passengers misconnected, flights were rerouted, airports were snowed under and havoc rippled across the system. Try as we may to accommodate everyone, it became an impossible task. Later flights were already full with other passengers so we were forced to move forward and try and get the system back to normal as quickly as possible to keep from impacting passengers traveling later in the week. I read about passengers stuck on aircraft for 9-10 hours. I'm sure it was horrible to be on one of those flights. I assume the airline was trying everything it could to remedy the situation, but that wouldn't matter to those on board. I'm thankful none of our flights were in that position. I do know that we worked our butts off to try and get people to where they were going. I spent hours trying to reroute 40 Customers going to Tampa knowing that they had vacation plans they probably made weeks ago. I found a way to get them there that same day but it was a long day for them. I hope they were able to enjoy the rest of their vacation. We had to cancel flights into several airports for the day due to weather conditions. Anyone on those flights would most likely have to refund their tickets. Hopefully they understand and could see for themselves why we couldn't operate. Two days later our system has recovered. Those 3 days were taxing for everyone who worked to take care of the Customers and flights. This happens a few times a year. Hurricanes, snow storms, and fog all force airports to close down or flights to cancel. It's a part of the airline business. What I think makes my airline special is that we really do empathize with the customers we fail to get to their destinations, and we try our best to get them there when we can. Even if it's an all day affair, at least the option is there for our customers when possible.

The Valentines Date

This year my wife Robin had the idea of taking the kids out for Valentines day to the bowling alley for some family fun. I wasn't exactly on board with the idea, but since I couldn't come up with a reasonable alternative I decided to go with it. What a great time we had! The place we went to had a kids option so when it was their turn to bowl, little gates popped up on the sides of the alley so the ball wouldn't go into the gutter. The place was under a blacklight so any white clothing seemed to glow. Little did I know that my wife can bowl pretty well. Well enough to smoke me in the first game. Sara would take the ball (with our help) walk up to the line, and give it a little toss that was more like a "drop with intent". The ball would take about 2 minutes to reach the pins and I thought on more than one occasion that it may just hit the pin and stop.
On the turns I helped her we would both crouch down after releasing the ball and help the ball down the alley by blowing as hard as we could. She loved the game and actually got 2 strikes. On one strike the pins fell so slowly the machine didn't register the strike (of course we corrected the score for her). Connor was getting better and better every time. He would switch from the lighter ball he shared with Sara to using Robin's ball because he wanted to be like us.
After the ball was on it's way down the alley he would dance and jump around. We played for 2 hours and the date was a great time for all. As for me, the date was a great time sharing the Day of Love with those I Love.

What to say?

A friend of mine recently emailed me inquiring about my next post. I was somewhat honored (translation=surprised) that he regularly checks my blog for new additions. I know he often doesn't agree with my point of view (99% of the time), but his readership is a nice thing to have. The problem is, what do I do when I can't think of anything to say? Life's been pretty hectic lately so I could always blame the lapse of blogging on lack of time, but how can I say I couldn't find 30 minutes to type something? I always have things to say, but after filtering them through my "blog worthy" processes sometimes I'm at a loss. There is always a lot going on in the world. My world is busy also, but not much different than most others and yet how can I not find something to articulate to the world? It all comes down to feeling. Sometimes I just don't feel like putting anything down into print. Sometimes I don't feel like I have anything worthy to say. Sometimes I can't choose between several items so I write nothing at all. Where's Barry Manilow when you need a song sung... feeelings..ohhhhh feelings. Anyway, readership is a valuable commodity so I'll do my best to find a new topic worthy of blogging soon. In the meantime, here's an appetizer to munch on and Thanks for reading.

Hey

When did the word "Hey" replace the word "Hi"? I've been doing it for years. Has the greeting been upgraded or downgraded? When you see someone, is the use of the word "Hey" meant as a more familiar style of greeting or a "passing through the moment and have to say something" type of statement? When was the last time you actually said "Hi"? Is it a lazy way to greet someone or is it the way to show the person you are greeting that they are in your familiar circle and as such formalities are not necessary?

Perhaps it's both? Either way, what the hey?